The Love Quiz

I shamelessly stole this one from Janet. 

The Love Quiz Results

Explorer: 21

Builder: 20

Negotiator: 25

Director: 16

Whichever is the highest is your dominant type; the next highest is your secondary type. In fact, our secondary types can play an important part in our relationships (for example, an Explorer/Negotiator may have an understanding of social skills that an Explorer/Director doesn’t).

Keep in mind that personality is complex, and romantic love, ever mysterious. Looking at patterns is merely an opportunity for insight. What does it mean if you’re an Exployer, Builder Negotiator or Director?

The Negotiator
Negotiators have specific personality traits that have been linked with estrogen. Although estrogen is known as a female sex hormone, men have it, too, and there are plenty of male Negotiators. As the name suggests, this type is superb at handling people. Negotiators instinctively know what others are thinking and feeling. They artfully read facial expressions, postures, gestures, and tone of voice. Their interest in identity extends not only to others but to themselves. So they are introspective and self-analytical—men and women who take pleasure in journeying into their thoughts and motives. As a result, when they form a partnership, they like to delve deeply into the strengths and weaknesses of the relationship.  Yep. I do this.

Not only do Negotiators connect psychologically, they also have the ability to remain mentally flexible. When they make decisions, they weigh many variables and consider various ways to proceed; they see things contextually, rather than linearly—I call it web thinking. As a result, they tend to be comfortable with ambiguity. Negotiators can be highly intuitive and creative. I do like to think of myself as intuitive and creative. And they like to theorize. Perhaps their most distinctive characteristic is verbal fluency, the facility for finding the right words rapidly. With this skill—alongside an agreeable and accommodating nature, compassion, social savvy, and patience—the Negotiator can be very friendly, diplomatic, and authentic.

But as with all qualities, these traits can warp. Negotiators sometimes become such placators they appear wishy-washy to the point of spinelessness. I used to be that way, but I think I’ve learned a lot lately about standing up for my opinions and beliefs. Because they’re not willing to confront, they can turn to backstabbing. I don’t think I do this. I’ve had to work hard at it, but I’ve gotten better at confrontation. With their need to examine all the possibilities, they can get bogged down in rumination as opposed to action. And in a relationship, their desire to connect and dissect all the subtle meanings between the two of you can become cloying and invasive.

The Explorer
Explorers have a very active dopamine system, a brain chemical associated with the tendency to seek novelty, among other qualities. An Explorer might look up from the newspaper on Sunday and say, “Want to go to Warsaw?”—and by Wednesday you’re in Poland. Okay, I’d TOTALLY do this if I actually had the available funds at hand. Champions of “never a dull moment,” these adventurers live to discover new people, places, things, or ideas, often on the spur of the moment. Friends, family, and colleagues frequently regard them as highly independent and autonomous.  It does bother my husband sometimes because he wants me to be just a little less independent.

Explorers have more energy than most people; they tend to be restless, sometimes fast-paced. And they are highly curious—”For always roaming with a hungry heart,” as Tennyson put it. I’m definitely curious about everything. And I have to add that I like that Tennyson quotation. Constantly generating new ideas or creative insights, they easily shift their attention from one thing to another. Although the classic Explorer is a race-car driver, South Pole trekker, or bad-boy rocker who lives hard, taking drugs and having risky sex, I know many who exercise their passion for adventure by reading several hours a day; collecting stamps, coins, or antiques; or walking through the byways of a city.

People quickly like most Explorers. Generous and sunny, they tend to be playful, sensual, sometimes hedonistic, often unpredictable, and regularly amusing. But they can be difficult to take—especially in a marriage. Yes, I think my husband would agree with that! lol They do not tolerate boredom well. So they are generally not interested in routine social or business events. In fact, Explorers try to avoid routine of almost any kind, and can trample on another person’s cherished beliefs and habits—not to mention be impatient. Impatient? Moi? Okay, I have been heard to say that there are two things I want out of life: I want to learn how to be patient, and I want it now. Of course, that’s a lie. I don’t really want to be patient. Well, I sort of do, but not enough to do it. And there are many more things I want out of life that are way higher on the list than patience.

If you’re curious, you can find the test here.

Wednesday Mind Hump

Wednesday Mind Hump

Hello everyone!  Welcome to another Hump.  I just finished reading from a magazine, so today’s meme will be about magazines.

1.  Do you currently subscribe to any magazines?  If so, which ones?

I subscribe to Mad Magazine, Self, Allure, Weight Watchers, Glamour, Reader’s Digest, and The Ensign.  My subscription to Mad runs out in November, and I won’t be renewing it–I like classic Mad better than current Mad. So I’ll save up, buy the CDs, and have all the old classic Mad in one place. The Reader’s Digest subscription was one of those “my kid’s selling magazine subscriptions for school would you please buy one” deals; the person who hit me up is a good work friend, and I’m a sucker for helping the kids. I’m not a huge Reader’s Digest fan, but it was the only magazine I could see myself reading that I didn’t already get and that wasn’t so expensive I couldn’t afford it.

2.  What magazines have you subscribed to in the past?

Psychology Today, Rolling Stone, Time, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Lucky, Gourmet, Better Homes and Gardens, Us Weekly, History, Twilight Zone, A Taste of Home, More, Newsweek, The Smithsonian, National Geographic, Metropolitan Home, Scientific American. I enjoy all of them, but I’ve only got so much money. It’s kind of pathetic, I suppose, that I choose to spend my money on the frivolous magazines instead of the ones that actually have something important to talk about, huh?  It’s funny–I didn’t realize how many magazines I used to get. I keep remembering one more magazine I used to subscribe to. My problem is that I’m a tremendously fast reader, so I go through a magazine like nobody’s business. And then there are all those stacks of paper. So I’ve limited my magazine subscriptions to the ones that (a) I can afford and (b) I read regularly anyway. The other ones I’ll read at the library or else do without.

3.  What do you do with the little cards that always fall out of the magazine?  Do you toss them, or have you found a use for them?

I usually toss them.  I’d be interested in hearing what one could possibly use them for!

4.  If you could start a magazine, what would it be about?  Who or what would be on the cover of the first issue?

My magazine would be for medievalists, and would be about history, art, and literature from the Middle Ages. Geoffrey Chaucer would, of course, be on the cover of the first issue!  It would be a hideously expensive little magazine, because there’s such a limited market for such a thing. But wow! What fun it would be!

The rules are, there are no rules!!! All you need to do is copy and paste the above questions into your blog and add your responses. After you’ve finished, return here and leave us a comment so we’ll know you’ve humped. Be sure your hump is linked back to http://bdinsanity.blogdrive.com so others can hump too.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. If one of the questions doesn’t inspire you then simply “pass” it. Just use your imagination!

Harry Potter Traditions

Gypsy Girl asked yesterday about my Harry Potter traditions. 

For the book releases, my sister and I preorder the book so that it will be waiting for us at our friendly neighborhood Barnes & Noble.  A day or so before the release date, we stock up on such delectables as mass quantities of chocolate (needed to ease the aftereffects of dementor visitations), jelly bellies (because as I mentioned lately, the time I tried Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, I got a soap one and was queasy for two hours), and any other treats that catch our fancy. Last time I tried making up a batch of butterbeer. It didn’t go over so well. But if I can find a recipe at Mugglenet or somewhere else, I’ll see what else I can come up with.  This year we’re also going to the British Emporium to get some other fun things–pasties, fish & chips, clotted cream fudge, and any other British treats that we can’t resist. 

Then the night of the book release we go to Barnes & Noble, get our wristands and wait. We chat with other people; I get a lightning-bolt scar painted on my forehead and a pair of cheap plastic spectacles; we read; we talk; we play rousing games of “Who would you do” (and no, you’re not allowed to say neither. You have to make a choice.).  We get tired, a little grumpy because of the crowds (we’re both a little agoraphobic), but keep telling ourselves that it’s worth it.  Around 11 or so, the lines start forming. And usually we’re in the front part of the line because we got our wristbands early enough. And we wait in line, talk, read, more “who would you do” etc. As soon as we have the books in our hands, we are out of there.

Then we go read. Because I read faster than Liz does, she usually gets cranky at me for laughing or gasping or crying. Then she goes into the other room, puts in her earplugs, and reads until she falls asleep.  I continue reading because there’s no way my mind will let me go to sleep until I have finished the book. Depending upon how long the book is, I usually finish reading around 5 or 6. I then open the book and start to read it all over again, but make it only a few pages before I fall asleep. Then Liz wakes up while I’m still asleep, and she’ll go back to reading. If we’re both lucky, she’ll have finished reading before I wake up.

This year will be a little different, as Soleil is joining us. Yay! And I’m still trying to convince LeZard to join us as well.  And I’m dressing up this year, as Tonks, as is Soleil. And if LeZard comes, she’ll dress up also. So that will be fun. I think having three or four of us waiting will make the wait a little less tedious. And afterward we’re going back to my house. There are enough rooms, beds, sofas, etc., that everyone can have a comfy place to sprawl out and read. And if Liz gets too annoyed with me and Soleil for having audible reactions to what we read, she can go into another room and still be comfy.

So that’s the tradition for the book releases.

For the movies, we definitely do the midnight show on opening day. We buy our tickets online as soon as they’re available. The night of the movie we’ll go to Target and get assorted munchables, and take some books with us to read while we’re waiting.  Rave Motion Pictures, the theatre closest to my house, let everyone into the theatres, so at least we were able to wait in relative comfort. But it does get a little tedious. We usually manage to get through the bucket of popcorn before the movie even starts. Again, having Soleil and, dare I hope, LeZard with us will make it more fun.  And yes, I’ll be dressed up for the movie, as will Soleil. And LeZard, should she deign to come along.   And after the movie, it’s home to crash. I always take off work that day, because after having watched a movie at midnight, there’s no way I feel like getting to work at 7 a.m.

When Goblet of Fire came out, we were in the theatre waiting, and there was plenty of entertainment going on. There were a group of what looked like high school students, rehearsing for a musical they were in. And at one point, two guys dressed like Napoleon Dynamite and Pedro came in. Pedro turned on a huge boom box, and Napoleon Dynamite did his dance. It was so hilarious! When the music finished, he kept dancing for a moment, awkwardly, and then took a quick bow and raced out of the theatre to loud applause.

We always work up to the new releases of books/movies by rereading the previous books for the umpteenth time; listening to the audio CDs with the incomparable Jim Dale (the only voices he does that I don’t care for are Moaning Myrtle, who sounds subnormal, and Luna. I like all his other voices.); watching the other movies; going to the Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet obsessively; spending hours speculating. On a boring day, we’ll email each other frequently with our current speculations, knowing that they’ll all be proved wrong but still unable to restrain ourselves.

I think I mentioned yesterday that Leaky Cauldron is having a fun contest right now, where you get to write a chapter of book 7 imagining what happens with Harry’s last time home with the Dursleys. I’ll be working on that, and it will help work off some energy.

So those are my Harry Potter traditions. What are yours?