Because it’s better than writing “uhhhhh” for ten paragraphs

Small Town, Small Times tagged me for this meme last week…sometime…and I’m finally getting around to it.  It was a busy week around Chez Alias and a nearly equally busy weekend, so this seems like a good a way to get some writing up without actually having to, you know, think.  Plus I like reading these things about others, due in part to #3 below, and I flatter myself that others care that much about me.  So here we go.  I’m supposed to list seven personality traits.  Right.  Ahem.  Shall we?

1) I’m empathetic.  To the point of PAIN, people.  I not only feel badly for you if you are going through a rough spot, I actually, completely, feel what you are going through.  This has actually gotten worse as I’ve gotten older, and especially once I had the Buddha.  Now I can actually feel the heartbreak of hurt children around the world.  I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like after Kid Redux appears.  Remember [GEEK ALERT] in one of the later seasons of Buffy when Willow went all witchy-woo and could feel the pain of everyone in the world?  And thus wanted to kill us all to put us out of our misery?  Yeah.  That.  For non-geeks: I’m just saying, post-partum me could get ugly.

2)  I’m messy.  I am.  I like the look and feel of a well-kept home, but, ultimately, it’s not as important to me as other things.  Like playing with the Buddha.  Or going for a hike.  Or watching Top Chef. That said, I have improved since becoming a mother because one look at the Buddha crawling around on my grubby floors was enough motivation to dig out the mop.  But my house is absolutely a far, far cry from tidy.  And my desk at work is cluttered enough that when I actually do clean it off?  People stop by and say, “Whoa.  You cleaned.”  Embarrassing, yet true.

3)  I like people.  This one actually came as a surprise to me, since I spent most of my youth being generally grumpy about all humans.  Then I took a job where I worked from home, on a computer, all alone, all day.  I was desperate for human interaction within a week.  That’s when I realized that people are really pretty interesting and I like dealing with them on a daily basis.  The stories and insights I come out with are worth the minor irritations.  This is also why I love blogs.  You people are fascinating.  So, individually, I like people.  But as an entire species?  I confess that I still find you irritating as hell.

4)  I’m impatient.  We’ve covered this one before, but it is so true that it must be mentioned.  Am I doing five things while you talk to me and don’t appear to be listening?  I’m sorry.  I am listening.  Am I trying to hurry you along while you examine some plant on the side of the trail?  I’m sorry.  That is a nice flower.  It’s not you; it’s me.  Okay, sometimes it’s you.

5)  I like sleep.  A lot.  I’m at my happiest in that awesome moment right before I drop off into unconsciousness, all snuggled under blankets and curled up into a pillow.  Left to my own devices, I used to routinely sleep in until 10 or so in the morning.  *sigh*  I miss sleep.

6)  I’m moderate.  And I don’t just mean politically (although that’s true).  I dislike stridency.  I tend away from extremes.  I dislike Al Franken as much as Rush Limbaugh and Wall Street traders as much as sanctimonious hippies.  I don’t want to pick fights and I don’t want to hug everyone.  I take the middle road, man.  Can’t we all get along?

7)  I’m simple.  And I don’t just mean intellectually (although that’s true).  I don’t buy a lot; I have no interest in handbags; I don’t need to go out every night; I don’t spend my time thinking deep thoughts; I don’t want to save the world.  As I type this on a very basic laptop, I’m sitting on my beaten-up couch with a snoring dog beside me, a sleeping child upstairs, a piece of homemade apple cake at hand, and a hot cup of tea balanced next to me.  And that’s just about all I need right now.  That’s really about all I need any afternoon, though I rarely get it.

There’s me, in seven items.  I think I’m supposed to tag people, but I’m going to skip that part because I need to go mix up some breadsticks so they will rise in time for dinner.  Which sound very homemaker-y, does it not?  Should I put that as #8?  That I’m wholesome?

Nah.