What D&D character would you be? click here. my results:
I Am A: Lawful Good Elf Bard Ranger
Alignment: Lawful Good characters are the epitome of all that is just and good. They believe in order and governments that work for the benefit of all, and generally do not mind doing direct work to further their beliefs.
Race: Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently conccern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.
Primary Class: Bards are the entertainers. They sing, dance, and play instruments to make other people happy, and, frequently, make money. They also tend to dabble in magic a bit.
Secondary Class: Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.
What video game character would you be? find out here. My results:
I am a Pacman Ghost.
I like to hang around with friends, chatting, dancing, all that sort of thing. We don't appreciate outsiders, and do our best to discourage others approaching us. I enjoy occasionally wandering around randomly, and often find that when I do so, I get to where I wanted to be. What Video Game Character Are You?
1. Q: It is illegal to operate an automobile in public that is uninsured.
A: False...the law does not say that you cannot operate an uninsured vehicle, you just have to prove you have the financial means to pay for an accident, which i think is called financial resposibility. anyways, you can either post a bond, proclaim yourself self insured, or deposit $35,000 to the dmv.
2. Q: It is illegal to make a U-turn in the middle of the street with a solid double yellow line.
A: False...it is perfectly legal to do so, provided it doesn't conflict with a few conditions, such as signs posted that say no U-turn, or turning in a business zone.
These are just a few fascinating and useful facts i learned while attending an 8 hour defensive driving class over the weekend. that's right...i can't think of anything better to do at 8am on a saturday morning than to make my way to albany and enroll in this most exciting class and fellowship with a few other fellow perps. actually, i didn't have any violations, but to make a long story short, it was an insurance matter for me. but in all seriousness, the class wasn't as bad as i thought it would be...i thought for sure i would not be able to make it through 8 hours of class starting at 8am without falling asleep, but the instructors were actually fairly entertaining. it was also interesting to see how their approach in teaching defensive driving...he started out talking bout insurance, how much it costs, etc...getting everyone in a cost-savings frame of mind, which makes it so much more effective when he finally ties in the defensive driving part...by then everyone is more agreeable and eager to listen to how it might save them $$$. whatevers...i refuse to be brainwashed like that =)
When i think back to reflect on chinese new year, the first thing that pops into my mind is food...i feel like the holiday revolves around food. the big event is dinner, where u get ur red envelopes and eat lots of food. normally that'd be a great thing, except that i eat chinese food like everyday and am getting sick of it...someone give me a burrito or something! don't get me wrong though, i do love eating food...so much in fact that i watch the food network all the time. this past week, i noticed that they had a chinese new years theme...what struck me as funny was that they had guys like emeril and wolfgang puck putting on shows bout how to prepare a chinese feast. not that they're not great cooks, but how credible are they when it comes to the delicate art of chinese cooking? and why not give ming tsai or yan can cook that honor? or padme lahksmi? (ok, maybe not) not that they'd actually do a much better job, but at least they'd LOOK a little more authentic and credible. oh well...i did observe wolfgang puck really closely and i was surprised by his knowledge of chinese culture/superstition and confirmed with my grandfather that his technique and ingredients were indeed authentic, but it still weirds me out that i'm receiving instruction in chinese cooking to the tune of a thick austrian accent.
I'm still alive! I know it's been a long time since i last blogged, but i'm still here. i missed out on lumps fellowship yesterday because of class (and i will continue to miss out on lumps fellowship for the next 10 weeks), but reading DaSh's blog brought me up to speed...and where did he get those spiffy looking borders btw...do all suckas trying to race with their weaksauce jettas on 19th ave. have a penchant for biting too? ;P all joking aside, the passage did cause me to rexamine how i'm handling my own transition in life...am i consciously seeking God's guidance and will for me, or am i trying to steer myself in my own direction? i actually had a situation the other day that made me contemplate this very issue. I was trying to enroll in an intro to interior design night class at CCAC (the very class that keeps me from lumps), and they told me last week when i applied that the class had just filled and that i was first on the waitlist. i decided to drop by the class anyways just in case anyone dropped. well, the class was pretty packed...overpacked actually...there were only 16 spots and 17 students signed up for it. i talked to the 17th student and apparently she applied the same day i did, but somehow they were able to make an exception for her. i talked to the instructor and she said there was room in the class to add another. so i called the office the next day and the assistant director basically told me that they have strict policies regarding enrollment and would not be able to accomodate me. at this point, i figured...well, i made an effort to take this class, i guess it's just not going to happen...perhaps it's God's will, and that i shouldn't be skipping out on lumps and bible study. this brings up a very important issue...as i thought bout how i should live life according to God's will, i realized the potential danger in just reacting to how things turn out and writing it off as God's will. i believe we must seek His guidance and also be aware to take responsibility and always give our best effort. with that in mind, i decided to email the director of the dept., explaining my situation. i mentioned that i was considering applying for the fall term, so the timing in taking this class is crucial for my consideration of full time enrollment. i also pointed out that they were able to make an exception and asked to make just one more. sure enough, i got a call and they reluctantly added me to the class...i was glad that persistence paid off! so yeah, i'm thankful i stuck through with it, because i have a tendency to be lazy and to write things off as God's will.
Car for Sale so i'm contemplating (painfully) bout selling my car to save myself some money now that the factory warranty has expired and i am now considering life for the next few years as a student. like DrYa i thought bout selling my car and getting a bike, but my parents would probably kill me before the bike would. i also though about buying a car brand new that was less expensive than the resale value of my car. DaSh's suggestion of the turbocharged SRT Neon was duly noted, but i'll have to pass on that one. then i thought bout getting a preowned car with extended warranty...i checked out other audi's, but they're way too expensive...it'd cost more to buy an older version of my car! lexus has a pretty good deal though...i could get a '96 model of either one of these shown here and save a good amount of money.
the LS would be most practical though, since my grandparents are always complaining bout how small my car is, i could finally shuttle them around comfortably. and since it's not a performance oriented car, i would be less tempted to do anything to it. comes with a 3 year/100,000 mile warranty with roadside assistance...man...this is practically an upgrade...in fact, almost too good to be true.
It's hard not to notice the wave of blogspots that have popped up recently...and among the ones i've consistently observed, i've noticed that people begin blogging bout their personal thoughts and daily experiences, but eventually they carve out a niche for themselves...like MiCh and his top 10 lists, DaSh and his potpourri of random im chats and discounts, Gdub and his picture posts, etc...I think i've reached that point where i've hatched out of the newbie stage and now must carve out my own niche...so i've decided to entertain my faithful audience with intriguing, sometimes bizarre and often random news articles. So in moving on from my last post about relationships, here's an excerpt from an interesting article that i stumbled upon recently. If you've checked out Shihburger's post on www.coincidencedesign.com, it's kind of similar, but instead of creating coincidental opportunities to hook you up with the dream of your life, they create chance encounters to scheme a breakup or any other potentially uncomfortable confrontation...more like something you would use if coincidencedesign didn't come through for you. btw, coincidence design is a joke as you all know, but this is actually for real...leave it to the japanese to make crazy business concepts like this a reality.
It's an industry that thrives because Japan is still a nation that can't say no. For the right price, operatives will dump your girlfriend for you, lose your husband, drive away that mistress or fire that longtime employee.
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The person a client hopes to banish--the "target," in industry parlance--often is lulled into a trap through a seemingly chance meeting in a bar, at a party, on a flight. A moment of weakness captured by a camera hidden in a cigarette box or behind a lapel is enough to upend his or her life. Though breaking up is hard to do, these firms boast 95% success rates.
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Stubborn targets can even be lured into fake business deals, saddled with huge financial debts and visited by faux mafia-linked debt collectors. Threats of a careerending scandal also work wonders to weaken tender ties, often before a sympathetic new "friend" guides the target emotionally into accepting the divorce or breakup.
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The companies all agree on who makes the easiest target. "Men can always be seduced if the woman operative is reasonably good-looking," says Hiwatashi. "That's an absolute. Men are basically simpletons."
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One of the toughest cases for Daiko Research Office involved a husband who refused to leave his mistress despite repeated efforts at discrediting her. Finally, after two years, the firm lured the pair into a promising business deal using dummy offices, business cards and secretaries. It saddled them with $160,000 in debt and presented him with a choice: Give her up or pay the debt in full.
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"I don't think I'll ever be able to marry," says operative Ito. "Human ties seem so fragile to me now."
Company president Yoshida, known as "Mr. Shadow" to his colleagues, says he's very comfortable financially but has almost no friends, remains constantly on the move and is increasingly suspicious of human nature. "I've experienced the depths of hell," he says. "It's really too much. You stop trusting people."
Relationship Roles there's a discussion in one of my forums about guy roles vs. gal roles where there's mutual interest involved. some extreme views are that the girl should just outright show her affection almost to the point of asking the guy out, while on the other end girls should show no emotion and force the guy to blindly put his heart on the line. others are somewhere inbetween...is it the guy's responsibility to take initiative? or should the girl subtly make her interest aware to the guy? and what would be appropriate? this kind of discussion could probably go on and on, but i think the koreans have it figured out ;)
The clubs afford Koreans an acceptable way to violate mating taboos. Korean society discourages young people from interacting with the opposite sex. Many Korean teenagers are trapped in a regimented same-sex school system until they go to college. For university students and marriageable young professionals, introducing oneself to a stranger in a bar or at a party is considered unseemly. And arranged marriages are still common. As a result, many Koreans are uncomfortable looking for dates on their own.
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Booking clubs offer a way around the social strictures. By getting hauled “involuntarily” across the room by a waiter, Ms. Kim can preserve an all-important image of chastity and still meet men.
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When a man spots a woman he’d like to meet, he will summon a waiter and place his “order.” The waiter then physically delivers the target woman to his table.
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“The beauty of these clubs is that people don’t like to waste a lot of time,” he explains. “People are very efficient. In some ways, these clubs show that young Koreans are more progressive and liberal than Western people.” The young Koreans, for instance, have no qualms about giving their phone number to someone they have just spoken to for a couple of minutes. He thinks Westerners don’t do that sort of thing.
INFJ while we're all blogging on the meyers-briggs topic, i guess i'll share my profile too. we INFJ's are a rare group...so just be happy with INFP TiNg...not everyone can be an INFJ!
INFJs are distinguished by both their complexity of character and the unusual range and depth of their talents. Strongly humanitarian in outlook, INFJs tend to be idealists, and because of their J preference for closure and completion, they are generally "doers" as well as dreamers. This rare combination of vision and practicality often results in INFJs taking a disproportionate amount of responsibility in the various causes to which so many of them seem to be drawn.
INFJs are deeply concerned about their relations with individuals as well as the state of humanity at large. They are, in fact, sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so genuinely interested in people -- a product of the Feeling function they most readily show to the world. On the contrary, INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates." While instinctively courting the personal and organizational demands continually made upon them by others, at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates. This apparent paradox is a necessary escape valve for them, providing both time to rebuild their depleted resources and a filter to prevent the emotional overload to which they are so susceptible as inherent "givers." As a pattern of behavior, it is perhaps the most confusing aspect of the enigmatic INFJ character to outsiders, and hence the most often misunderstood -- particularly by those who have little experience with this rare type.
Due in part to the unique perspective produced by this alternation between detachment and involvement in the lives of the people around them, INFJs may well have the clearest insights of all the types into the motivations of others, for good and for evil. The most important contributing factor to this uncanny gift, however, are the empathic abilities often found in Fs, which seem to be especially heightened in the INFJ type (possibly by the dominance of the introverted N function).
This empathy can serve as a classic example of the two-edged nature of certain INFJ talents, as it can be strong enough to cause discomfort or pain in negative or stressful situations. More explicit inner conflicts are also not uncommon in INFJs; it is possible to speculate that the causes for some of these may lie in the specific combinations of preferences which define this complex type. For instance, there can sometimes be a "tug-of-war" between NF vision and idealism and the J practicality that urges compromise for the sake of achieving the highest priority goals. And the I and J combination, while perhaps enhancing self-awareness, may make it difficult for INFJs to articulate their deepest and most convoluted feelings.
Usually self-expression comes more easily to INFJs on paper, as they tend to have strong writing skills. Since in addition they often possess a strong personal charisma, INFJs are generally well-suited to the "inspirational" professions such as teaching (especially in higher education) and religious leadership. Psychology and counseling are other obvious choices, but overall, INFJs can be exceptionally difficult to pigeonhole by their career paths. Perhaps the best example of this occurs in the technical fields. Many INFJs perceive themselves at a disadvantage when dealing with the mystique and formality of "hard logic", and in academic terms this may cause a tendency to gravitate towards the liberal arts rather than the sciences. However, the significant minority of INFJs who do pursue studies and careers in the latter areas tend to be as successful as their T counterparts, as it is *iNtuition* -- the dominant function for the INFJ type -- which governs the ability to understand abstract theory and implement it creatively.
In their own way, INFJs are just as much "systems builders" as are INTJs; the difference lies in that most INFJ "systems" are founded on human beings and human values, rather than information and technology. Their systems may for these reasons be conceptually "blurrier" than analogous NT ones, harder to measure in strict numerical terms, and easier to take for granted -- yet it is these same underlying reasons which make the resulting contributions to society so vital and profound.
After tonight's intro class to interior design, i think i've moved one step closer to being set on pursuing design as a career, although i'm still far from making that decision. one of my greatest obstacles is convincing myself and my parents that interior/environmental design is a viable career path for me. i remember graduating from high school and being set on attending architecture school, and having to change direction because my parents thought it was a risky avenue. the architecture field is extremely competitive and they basically believed i'd have a hard time making money in that field. one reassuring thing that was mentioned in class today was when my teacher explained how she used to be an architecture major but switched to interior architecture and was glad she made the switch because there are more career opportunities and higher pay for interior designers. man was i happy to hear that...not that i need to justify my course of study anymore, but at least that would help alleviate any worries my parents might have. but then i got to thinking, how is the career that i had chosen b4 any easier or less competitive? i always thought of myself as kinda misplaced in the i-banking world, i don't see myself as having that kind of personality...not that it's a bad thing...being uncomfortable in a situation sometimes inspires you to work harder and learn more. but i figure, if i'm gonna have to work hard to make it in a competitive field, might as well pick an area that i'm personally interested in and would enjoy doing the work. so in that sense, i don't see myself as taking such a huge risk anymore by exploring a change in career paths...not like continuing in i-banking would be any easier...i did get canned after all...such are the economics in that industry. one thing i really appreciate from this experience is living life as a poor student again. it's really humbling, especially after a year of getting paid and living at home. i think i'm a little less materialistic now (i.e. i'm not dreaming bout what to do to my car next) and often look at things from a different approach. oh, and i appreciate the flexibility in time, so i can do things on a whim like drive to millbrae to play GTA3 :)
