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Interview
From interview questions from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
trifold_flame
-What lures you to the "Magnet South"? (as it's called in a favorite early-american poem) I haven't figured out what exactly draws me, but it's got a hook for sure.
The people. I once heard a stand-up comic talking about The South (anytime you capitalize "The" before a proper noun, you know you are referring to it as a proper thing). He was making fun of how slowly things happened in the South. He chalked that up to how slowly people did things in the South. They talk slowly, the move slowly, and they change slowly. At first he chalked it up to people in the South being "slow". Then he experienced a true and proper Tennessee day in the summer. 95 degrees, and so much humidity that you simply had to wave a cup around in the air to get enough water for your ice tea.
He had figured it out - people moved slowly in the South out of Necessity. You cannot move very fast in heat like that.
The heat has nothing to do with why I like The South. It is that I was able to tell that story, without any real purpose, and claim it had something to do with the subject at hand.
*That* is the culture of "The South".
Another quick story: I went out with a new person Saturday night, and eventually I mentioned that I am from Kentucky. Turns out she is, as well, from Florence, KY, which is about 80 miles away from Louisville. On the way home, I started thinking of people I might know who knew her. That is right, Kentucky is that small of a place - I would know someone who graduated a couple of years after me from a high school 80 miles away.
Louisville, as I like to call it, is the largest small town in the country. When I was living there I would walk into a large grocery store chain and would more often than not see someone I knew. Every time I go to the airport I run into someone I know. When I fly to Louisville, I look around the plane with full expectations I will know someone on the plane.
In addition, I tend to be a somewhat shy person by personality. Southern hospitality, however, is ingrained in me. I more than demonstrate it to others, and I expect it from others when I am there. It is more than just a nicety, it is a way of life. It is impossible to describe to someone who has not lived there for any amount of time.
-If given the choice between being killed or very badly maimed (and I do mean very badly) which do you take? Why?
I would really like to think that I would rather continue on, that if I had my brain I would continue to contribute to society.
I know my true answer is death, however.
-What's going on at IMSA, That Hellhole? Have they started selecting less mentally damaged classes, as a whole? Because mine was sure an interesting crew.
One needs to look at the applicant pool to truly explain the dynamics. As someone who has sat in on the Review Committee (where each application is read by a small group), I have a lot of thoughts on the applicant pool, but...
It is an up and down thing, year to year. This year's seniors have been crazy since they came in as sophomores. The juniors this year are going to come in like a lamb and out like a very quiet sheep. The sophomores this year are not as crazy as the seniors were two years ago, but...
It is amazing reading the alumni responses to the "Recent Unpleasantness" (which I have been informed not to talk about). IMSA alumni are... well... With a few exceptions that I have met, they are largely just grownup IMSA students.
That is not a compliment to the alums, realize.
A description of what I mean by that is well beyond the scope of this entry, and is probably better saved for when I have truly left the Academy. Turning in my letter of resignation allows a lot of freedom, but...
-If someone gave you a manpurse (you know, one of those European clutch things) would you carry it around?
In a minute. I keep looking at messenger bags to tote things around. I do not have a lot to tote around. I do have my nice 12" PowerBook now, though.
Hmm...
-We've all heard about the fallout from the great octopus experiment (very sorrowful). If you had it to do over again, would you? Any new cephalopods in your future?
I would do it again, and three times on Tuesday. I learned so much about a wide variety of topics. I know now more about plumbing, electricity, lighting, water chemistry, and a wide range of other topics as a result of "the grand experiment".
Just today I was looking for new things to add to the tank to join Lefty and Righty. I am going to make a "Live Fish" order later tonight. A couple more fish, and a couple dozen hermit crabs to keep the tank clean. I have no idea what I will do with them come June, but...
And I would certainly get another octopus if I was staying another year at IMSA. I would do things somewhat differently (more live food), but...
Wow, I just wrote a lot more than I was planning on. Having no plans will do that to you, I suppose.
trifold_flame-What lures you to the "Magnet South"? (as it's called in a favorite early-american poem) I haven't figured out what exactly draws me, but it's got a hook for sure.
The people. I once heard a stand-up comic talking about The South (anytime you capitalize "The" before a proper noun, you know you are referring to it as a proper thing). He was making fun of how slowly things happened in the South. He chalked that up to how slowly people did things in the South. They talk slowly, the move slowly, and they change slowly. At first he chalked it up to people in the South being "slow". Then he experienced a true and proper Tennessee day in the summer. 95 degrees, and so much humidity that you simply had to wave a cup around in the air to get enough water for your ice tea.
He had figured it out - people moved slowly in the South out of Necessity. You cannot move very fast in heat like that.
The heat has nothing to do with why I like The South. It is that I was able to tell that story, without any real purpose, and claim it had something to do with the subject at hand.
*That* is the culture of "The South".
Another quick story: I went out with a new person Saturday night, and eventually I mentioned that I am from Kentucky. Turns out she is, as well, from Florence, KY, which is about 80 miles away from Louisville. On the way home, I started thinking of people I might know who knew her. That is right, Kentucky is that small of a place - I would know someone who graduated a couple of years after me from a high school 80 miles away.
Louisville, as I like to call it, is the largest small town in the country. When I was living there I would walk into a large grocery store chain and would more often than not see someone I knew. Every time I go to the airport I run into someone I know. When I fly to Louisville, I look around the plane with full expectations I will know someone on the plane.
In addition, I tend to be a somewhat shy person by personality. Southern hospitality, however, is ingrained in me. I more than demonstrate it to others, and I expect it from others when I am there. It is more than just a nicety, it is a way of life. It is impossible to describe to someone who has not lived there for any amount of time.
-If given the choice between being killed or very badly maimed (and I do mean very badly) which do you take? Why?
I would really like to think that I would rather continue on, that if I had my brain I would continue to contribute to society.
I know my true answer is death, however.
-What's going on at IMSA, That Hellhole? Have they started selecting less mentally damaged classes, as a whole? Because mine was sure an interesting crew.
One needs to look at the applicant pool to truly explain the dynamics. As someone who has sat in on the Review Committee (where each application is read by a small group), I have a lot of thoughts on the applicant pool, but...
It is an up and down thing, year to year. This year's seniors have been crazy since they came in as sophomores. The juniors this year are going to come in like a lamb and out like a very quiet sheep. The sophomores this year are not as crazy as the seniors were two years ago, but...
It is amazing reading the alumni responses to the "Recent Unpleasantness" (which I have been informed not to talk about). IMSA alumni are... well... With a few exceptions that I have met, they are largely just grownup IMSA students.
That is not a compliment to the alums, realize.
A description of what I mean by that is well beyond the scope of this entry, and is probably better saved for when I have truly left the Academy. Turning in my letter of resignation allows a lot of freedom, but...
-If someone gave you a manpurse (you know, one of those European clutch things) would you carry it around?
In a minute. I keep looking at messenger bags to tote things around. I do not have a lot to tote around. I do have my nice 12" PowerBook now, though.
Hmm...
-We've all heard about the fallout from the great octopus experiment (very sorrowful). If you had it to do over again, would you? Any new cephalopods in your future?
I would do it again, and three times on Tuesday. I learned so much about a wide variety of topics. I know now more about plumbing, electricity, lighting, water chemistry, and a wide range of other topics as a result of "the grand experiment".
Just today I was looking for new things to add to the tank to join Lefty and Righty. I am going to make a "Live Fish" order later tonight. A couple more fish, and a couple dozen hermit crabs to keep the tank clean. I have no idea what I will do with them come June, but...
And I would certainly get another octopus if I was staying another year at IMSA. I would do things somewhat differently (more live food), but...
Wow, I just wrote a lot more than I was planning on. Having no plans will do that to you, I suppose.
no subject
I keep myself so out of touch that I have no idea what the "recent unpleasantness" even is! After you finish your time at IMSA we ought to have a chat.