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jenettAs a good way to know people, I like this meme (which is, basically "Ask someone who has done this meme to pick 7 interests for you to talk about. Discuss. Pick interests for anyone who asks you.")
She picked:
1. bardic skills
2. group dynamics
3. process geeking
4. religious mysteries
5. shawls
6. spinning yarn
7. tea
1. bardic skills
This is one that deserves a much longer post, but the short version is this: when I was just 15, I said "I want to be a Bard." I still want that, though I still (even after years of music lessons, being a music major in college, and all sorts of other stuff) don't think I deserve the title. But I still aspire.
I do keep working on the skills, though, and one of my goals this summer is to spend some serious time with it. (I did a bit in December, that got me further on some very specific blocks and old baggage, but I need more time and focus to spend on it.)
(What skills? Being able to write the music I want, the way I want, and perform it in ways that makes it not just fun to listen to, but *useful* to listen to. I'm particularly interested in the integration between music and magic (both thaumaturgy and therugy) but also other applications.)
2. group dynamics
For someone who's an introvert, I spend an absurd amount of my time in group settings. (Work, various committees, running a coven, being on the board of Twin Cities Pagan Pride.) Group dynamics is the bit that makes this less painful for me, and more useful for everyone else - both excellent things.
Basically, if I'm doing the group interactions stuff, I want to do it as well as I can. Learning more about how to make that work is huge.
3. process geeking
I refer to myself a lot as a process geek - by which I mean someone who is fascinated by better-engineering not just what I'm doing, but how I'm doing it. I like making the process better. Applies to home, to music, to writing, to my job, to coven life - pretty much everything.
I think part of my fascination - besides the fact that I'm naturally wired for an interest in how you sort through things - is that the habits I grew up with are not the ones I seem to want as an adult. (I was a not-neat kid, and have had to develop house-cleaning methods that work well for me as an adult, Mom was very possessive of her kitchen, so I've had to learn food prep methods that suit me since then, etc. etc. etc.) It's also a way of managing my own energy and reserves: I tend to do a lot, but then hit points where I just can't do any more. Being consciously aware of the process helps me prioritise a lot better.
4. religious mysteries
Religious mysteries are (religious) concepts that you have to experience, you can't just explain them in words. Many people are familiar with the term through the Catholic rosary - the five sorrowful mysteries, the five joyful mysteries, etc, but there are religious mysteries in pretty much any religious tradition I've come across - they're just not always about the same things!
Anyway, they fascinate me: I'm good at words, and not always as good at emotional/experiential stuff, and these things force me to cope. Very good for me.
5. shawls
I don't actually wear them a lot, but I have about three I'm contemplating knitting. They are nice warm cozy things, and they have many uses, and they can be adjusted easily, unlike a sweater which needs to be either on or off. (The shawl, you can drape, or tuck over your legs, or use as an impromptu pillow, or...)
6. spinning yarn
I spin for fun. I use a drop spindle (I keep contemplating a wheel, but given the choice about adding another harp to the little tiny house, and a spinning wheel, I would pick the harp.) I own three spindles currently, but am way behind on my spinning due to not having the energy. On the other hand, it's an incredibly portable hobby, you can talk/watch movies/etc. while doing it (unlike knitting, which I still have to pay a lot of attention to...) and you get to play with pretty colors.
7. tea
I am not actually a huge tea drinker in technical terms: I drink very little of Camellia sinensis. In day to day life I tend to like to avoid caffeine, and tend to prefer the taste of the herbals.
That said, I'm fascinated by the process and art of tea, and about how it's been approached over the centuries. And I'm a big believer in the process of immersing plant material in water and drinking it.
She picked:
1. bardic skills
2. group dynamics
3. process geeking
4. religious mysteries
5. shawls
6. spinning yarn
7. tea
1. bardic skills
This is one that deserves a much longer post, but the short version is this: when I was just 15, I said "I want to be a Bard." I still want that, though I still (even after years of music lessons, being a music major in college, and all sorts of other stuff) don't think I deserve the title. But I still aspire.
I do keep working on the skills, though, and one of my goals this summer is to spend some serious time with it. (I did a bit in December, that got me further on some very specific blocks and old baggage, but I need more time and focus to spend on it.)
(What skills? Being able to write the music I want, the way I want, and perform it in ways that makes it not just fun to listen to, but *useful* to listen to. I'm particularly interested in the integration between music and magic (both thaumaturgy and therugy) but also other applications.)
2. group dynamics
For someone who's an introvert, I spend an absurd amount of my time in group settings. (Work, various committees, running a coven, being on the board of Twin Cities Pagan Pride.) Group dynamics is the bit that makes this less painful for me, and more useful for everyone else - both excellent things.
Basically, if I'm doing the group interactions stuff, I want to do it as well as I can. Learning more about how to make that work is huge.
3. process geeking
I refer to myself a lot as a process geek - by which I mean someone who is fascinated by better-engineering not just what I'm doing, but how I'm doing it. I like making the process better. Applies to home, to music, to writing, to my job, to coven life - pretty much everything.
I think part of my fascination - besides the fact that I'm naturally wired for an interest in how you sort through things - is that the habits I grew up with are not the ones I seem to want as an adult. (I was a not-neat kid, and have had to develop house-cleaning methods that work well for me as an adult, Mom was very possessive of her kitchen, so I've had to learn food prep methods that suit me since then, etc. etc. etc.) It's also a way of managing my own energy and reserves: I tend to do a lot, but then hit points where I just can't do any more. Being consciously aware of the process helps me prioritise a lot better.
4. religious mysteries
Religious mysteries are (religious) concepts that you have to experience, you can't just explain them in words. Many people are familiar with the term through the Catholic rosary - the five sorrowful mysteries, the five joyful mysteries, etc, but there are religious mysteries in pretty much any religious tradition I've come across - they're just not always about the same things!
Anyway, they fascinate me: I'm good at words, and not always as good at emotional/experiential stuff, and these things force me to cope. Very good for me.
5. shawls
I don't actually wear them a lot, but I have about three I'm contemplating knitting. They are nice warm cozy things, and they have many uses, and they can be adjusted easily, unlike a sweater which needs to be either on or off. (The shawl, you can drape, or tuck over your legs, or use as an impromptu pillow, or...)
6. spinning yarn
I spin for fun. I use a drop spindle (I keep contemplating a wheel, but given the choice about adding another harp to the little tiny house, and a spinning wheel, I would pick the harp.) I own three spindles currently, but am way behind on my spinning due to not having the energy. On the other hand, it's an incredibly portable hobby, you can talk/watch movies/etc. while doing it (unlike knitting, which I still have to pay a lot of attention to...) and you get to play with pretty colors.
7. tea
I am not actually a huge tea drinker in technical terms: I drink very little of Camellia sinensis. In day to day life I tend to like to avoid caffeine, and tend to prefer the taste of the herbals.
That said, I'm fascinated by the process and art of tea, and about how it's been approached over the centuries. And I'm a big believer in the process of immersing plant material in water and drinking it.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-23 07:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-24 01:31 am (UTC)