It Has Been a Great Long While, or Insert a Self-Evident Title

Why I suddenly feel the urge to write a post again after months of inactivity is somewhat ambiguous.  It may be because Kelli from the Blimey Cow group has started up her blog again semi-recently, or it may be because I have an essay due in less than three hours that I haven't even started yet.

And, of course, if I ignore a problem it will disappear.

(One day I will learn my lesson.  One day.)

Anyway, it's been a while, many things have happened, I've learned a great deal, so on so forth.  College is really mind-opening in more ways than one.

...that sounded morally ambiguous.

To clarify, other than the obvious things I might learn from classes, I've learned a great many media things, and have gotten better with interacting with people I don't know.  I've gotten involved in many clubs, and have realized that I don't like writing as much as I used to.  Which is a bit sad; writing and reading is wonderful.  Then again, I've discovered I like art a great deal more than I used to.  I suppose it's a give and take sort of thing for me—I can only have so many obsessions at a time.

Speaking of obsessions, I got introduced to anime, and that was my go-to "avoidance of things" last semester.  I watched more series than I can remember, and I've barely scratched the surface!  Personally, I highly enjoy Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-Kun, as well as Haikyuu!!, both animes that I discovered without the help of any "IRL" friends, which might be part of the reason I enjoy them so much.  Also, they aren't nearly as dirty as some animes can get.  GNSK and Haikyuu!! could probably fit into the G-rated shows in America...if not G, then PG.  (Although television doesn't correspond to the MPAA rating system, you know what I mean.)

Well, I could probably go on from here, but I can't think of anything particular to say that wouldn't completely deviate from the topic at hand.  Also, I have an essay to write, and another to fix the citations on.  I could theoretically put this blog post into my drafts and later revise it to be more cohesive, but in reality that would never happen and it is better to post than say nothing at all.  Writing is a good exercise to do; one that I haven't done in this form for too long.  It's time to stretch my muscles, and I'll be a bit shaky at first, but hopefully with time and consistent practice I'll get better.

Until next time!
—Zenta

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

—Mark Twain (x)

On Identity and Myers-Briggs Personality Types

For those of you who do not know, I have somewhat recently truly begun college.

A prominent topic so far, I have discovered, is the matter of identity, especially in my mandatory First Year Seminar class.  (Basically, it's a class designed to help freshmen settle into life at college; it's tied into our advising.)  As part of the program, we take various quizzes to determine various aspects of our personality.

We had been given a lecture at freshman orientation by the Dean of Psychology, who talked a great deal about identity, and how it is common to have "identity crises," and that we grow from them, and, while these crises are scary when they happen, ultimately they are nothing to fear.  She also spoke about not having identity crises frequently almost as a bad thing, as our "identities" being "stagnant" would not help us grow as a person.  Or something like that.  Anyway, I felt rather annoyed by that at the time, as I did not think any identity crises whatsoever would be in my near future, or ever.  I thought I knew and was content entirely with what I was.

How wrong I was!  Within the first few weeks, we were instructed to take a Myers-Briggs personality test.  Now, I have taken a Myers-Briggs personality test before, and have come up with INFP, and have been almost entirely satisfied by that answer.  Part of me was worried it was wrong, however much I thought it fit me, and as I was happy to identify as an INFP, I forwent taking the test again, until it was required of me in that class.

I came up as an INTP.  One letter off.  Oh crisis!  I didn't want to be an INTP...I wanted to get the result of INFP!  INFP's were sweet and cuddly in my mind...they love many and are loved by all.  INTP's were somewhat cold and harsh...standoffish.  Viewed somewhat as general jerks.  Who would want to be that?

I tried to remind myself of what I had told someone else having a similar crisis about getting a different result than formerly for the Myers-Briggs test not a month before.  "It's just stereotypes...sometimes stereotypes for one will apply to you, and sometimes for others, even ones you've never been associated.  It's okay!  You are a unique human being."  But it wasn't working.  Even worse, I thought about how also not a month before, I had mentally degraded someone for identifying with both letters on a given category.  "Choose one or the other," I thought to myself about them.  "You can't have both, you stupid!"  And then there I was, the stupid one...realizing how well INTP fit me, but remembering how well INFP also fit me.

I still feel foolish for identifying with both.  But some measure of peace is brought by a thought presented in a different talk.  For some of the letter categories in Myers-Briggs personalities, it is not uncommon for people to have aspects of both, and even to very closely straddle the line between the two.  So perhaps I am an INT/FP.  I turn into an INFP whenever I am in a jubilant mood, which, depending on the week, can be extremely often, but INTP is my default form.

I suppose it's silly that this matters so much to me.  But to me, a Myers-Briggs personality type is a relatively important part of my identity.  That may and likely will change later, but for now...it's part of me.

To the Fellow Introvert at that Big Social Gathering

Remember that one time at that big party where you knew no one but the host, who was hosting and therefore didn't have as much time for you as you would have liked?  I remember it too.  We met there.  I didn't know your name, and you didn't know mine.  We may have exchanged them, and we may have not.  I've met you in many forms.

Sometimes you were too shy.  I tried to talk to you, but you didn't really want to.  I'm okay with that now, though I missed your company then.  

Sometimes you were the one to approach me.  Like a flower to the sun, I reveled in your attention, your words, the little bits of you you let me know in that brief time we were together.  You asked for my address, and I gave it to you, but you never wrote.  I waited, and prayed, and wondered what might have happened to you, or what I might have done.  After a year, I stopped.  I guess our lifelong friendship wasn't meant to be.  We likely will never meet again, and though therefore we shall never be lifelong friends, we were friends for those few hours, and I treasure that.  

And that time with you then helped me to realize what the true circumstances of our relationship are.  

We are lonely, you and I.  All those people, all talking, laughing, chattering...enjoying themselves in their own way, but it is not our way.  So we look on, and then we find each other.  And then we laugh and talk and chat in our way, for though we have never met before, we are quite great friends.  We keep each other company during that party, but when the time is up, we leave, with the implicit knowledge that we shall not be seeing one another again.  

We don't know each other's names, but like all good friends, we are there when we need each other.  That party was a lovely experience, and I have you to thank you for it.  

Thank you for your time, for your words, and for your silence.  It was fun.  :)

—your fellow introvert

On My Introduction to P.G. Wodehouse

P.G. Wodehouse, as far as I can tell, is a British author.  If he isn't actually British I will be very surprised because his books are about as British as British can get.

If you're interested on learning more about P.G. Wodehouse, a link to his Wikipedia page is here.  (See, I do all the hard work for you!  Don't you just love me?)

But now onto my experience.  Several weeks or so ago, I briefly perused a post (perhaps this one?) and it mentioned P.G. Wodehouse and tea, and, more specifically, insinuated that they went well together.  As you, dear reader, likely well know, any book that goes well with tea is certainly a book to try.

Fast forward to a week ago.  I was poking through the shelves of my local Half Price Books store, trying to find some of the items on my list.  (I say list and not List, because, while most of the books on the list are also on the List, I was looking specifically for those books on the list and not my more comprehensive List.)  I had no luck in this venture, excepting finding The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, which wasn't even for me; my mother had requested said book, it being for my brother's future book report.

Events then transpired very quickly; for this part of the narration, dear reader, I choose interesting reading for yourself rather than direct accuracy for historians.  Why historians should ever be researching me is another matter altogether, but I hold that it is always best to be prepared.

Bending up, craning down, and whirling about in the strange dance that only a registered book addict can successfully do, I looked through the shelves.  I don't know what I was hoping for.  Perhaps I was waiting for the Right Book to fly off the shelves and hit me in the face.

That did not happen.  What did, however, happen, was that some brightly colored books at the end of a bookshelf, at approximately eye-ish level, caught my eye, and I witnessed a "WODE" in a sans-serif font before I moved on.  But wait!  "WODE"?  Wasn't there that one author in that one blog post that went well with tea?  By then I was directly in front of the books, and I saw it neatly writ on the brightly-colored spine:  "WODEHOUSE".  I pawed through the titles.  One in particular caught my eye, but something in the description made me think that I should not start with it, so I put it back.  My hand wavered over the rest of them, then I turned and walked away.

A lap around the store, and I returned to the "WODEHOUSE" books.  I should have to leave soon, and I needed to make a decision once and for all.  I looked through them again, and in the end, it was pecuniary matters that decided my choice.  Jeeves in the Offing was a dollar less than the others.

Back at home with my new treasure, I opened it and for a few blissful moments was supremely happy.  Then my expectations were rather rudely popped, as a balloon.  I found P.G. Wodehouse's style to be rather plodding and somewhat difficult to wade through.  But the book was mine, bought, and I felt an obligation to soldier through.  So I went on, slogging through the words.  A few pages in, however, I found myself not so much slogging as slowly marching, and then I found myself at an ambling walk.  By the end of the second chapter, I was at a brisk jog and had thoroughly come to the conclusion that P.G. Wodehouse was an acquired taste, but once you acquired it you would certainly want it again.

And that, dear reader, was my introduction to P.G. Wodehouse.

In Summer

"Oh the sky will be blue, and you guys will be there too..."

-Olaf, Frozen (2013)

Hey guys!  It's been a while, but hopefully it won't be so long next time since I have...drumroll please...FINISHED SCHOOL!  And not just any school...I'm done with highschool!  I will be going to college this fall, but for this summer—this last, glorious summer—I'm pretty much free to do absolutely whatever I want.  And I want to do lots of things!  

I do want to get a summer job, but our family will be going on vacation a couple times this summer so that could potentially get a little awkward...  I'm also thinking of making things and opening an etsy and/or Society6 shop, which brings me to a definite plan for this summer...

Making art!  I want to practice drawing, as well as experiment with different styles and techniques.  For instance: I got some watercolors and brushes several months ago, but have been so busy with school I really haven't had the chance to use them.  I also received some calligraphy pens and ink as Christmas presents and still haven't even opened the packages. Though I don't enjoy art enough to make it a permanent profession, I do love it as a hobby.  (And if, y'know, I can make a couple dollars here and there off my hobby, well, that's not bad at all!)

Another thing on the summer to-do list is work on some sewing.  I've got dolls that need dresses, pillows that need covers, and an old blanket to make into a patchwork quilt.  And to do all that, I've got a big bin full of cloth just aching to be used.  More on the line of a definite maybe, there's some skirts I want to make for myself, as well as some aprons I may produce and sell.  (on etsy.  that's part of the etsy thing.)  

As for the digital frontier this summer, there are some movies I want to watch (can anyone say Man of Steel?), and lots of editing to do on GIMP.  I've got blogs to run: this one, an MCU tumblog, and potential other fandom blogs down the road.  (A Doctor Who tumblog, perhaps?)  And coding.  Computer coding.  I'm going to learn that too—in fact, I already am, using this nifty website!  I've already done a great deal of HTML and CSS, and I'm starting with PHP and JavaScript.

But the first thing, the very first thing, on my summer to-do list is to give my room a thorough cleaning.  And with that, I shall leave you all.  

What are your plans for this summer?