Category: general

I don’t know if this is really Dr. Phil’s test. I don’t know if any of the claims are true. But it’s kind of fun.

I had two different answers for 3 and 9, so depending on which ones I go with, my score adds up to 33, 36, or 39. Ultimately, that doesn’t actually matter, but I like to be precise.

Here’s the obligatory email forward text that came with the test:

Dr. Phil’s Test: Here you go. Try this!

Below is Dr. Phil’s test. (Dr. Phil scored 55; he did this test on Oprah – she got a 38.) Some folks pay a lot of money to find this stuff out!

Read on, this is very interesting!

Don’t be overly sensitive! The following is pretty accurate and it only takes 2 minutes. Take this test for yourself and send it to your friends.

The person who sent it placed their score in the e-mail subject box. Please do the same before forwarding to your friends (send it back to the person who sent it to you.) Don’t peek, but begin the test as you scroll down and answer.

Answers are for who you are now — not who you were in the past. Have pen or pencil and paper ready.

This is a real test given by the Human Relations Dept. at many of the major corporations today. It helps them get better insight concerning their employees and prospective employees. It’s only 10 Simple questions, so grab a pencil and paper, keeping track of your letter answers to each question.

Ready??

Begin.

Aaaaaaand here’s the actual test. Play along!

1. When do you feel your best?
   a) in the morning
   b) during the afternoon &and early evening
   c) late at night
2. You usually walk…
   a) fairly fast, with long steps
   b) fairly fast, with little steps
   c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face
   d) less fast, head down
   e) very slowly
3. When talking to people you…
   a) stand with your arms folded
   b) have your hands clasped
   c) have one or both your hands on your hips
   d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking
   e) play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth your hair
4. When relaxing, you sit with…
   a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side
   b) your legs crossed
   c) your legs stretched out or straight
   d) one leg curled under you
5. When something really amuses you, you react with…
   a) big appreciated laugh
   b) a laugh, but not a loud one
   c) a quiet chuckle
   d) a sheepish smile
6. When you go to a party or social gathering you…
   a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
   b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
   c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed
7. You’re working very hard, concentrating hard, and you’re interrupted…
   a) welcome the break
   b) feel extremely irritated
   c) vary between these two extremes
8. Which of the following colors do you like most?
   a) Red or orange
   b) black
   c) yellow or light blue
   d) green
   e) dark blue or purple
   f) white
   g) brown or gray
9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep you are…
   a) stretched out on your back
   b) stretched out face down on your stomach
   c) on your side, slightly curled
   d) with your head on one arm
   e) with your head under the covers
10. You often dream that you are…
    a) falling
    b) fighting or struggling
    c) searching for something or somebody
    d) flying or floating
    e) you usually have dreamless sleep
    f) your dreams are always pleasant

POINTS:

1.	(a) 2	(b) 4	(c) 6
2.	(a) 6	(b) 4	(c) 7	(d) 2	(e) 1
3.	(a) 4	(b) 2	(c) 5	(d) 7	(e) 6
4.	(a) 4	(b) 6	(c) 2	(d) 1
5.	(a) 6	(b) 4	(c) 3	(d) 5	(e) 2
6.	(a) 6	(b) 4	(c) 2
7.	(a) 6	(b) 2	(c) 4
8.	(a) 6	(b) 7	(c) 5	(d) 4	(e) 3	(f) 2	(g) 1
9.	(a) 7	(b) 6	(c) 4	(d) 2	(e) 1
10.	(a) 4	(b) 2	(c) 3	(d) 5	(e) 6	(f) 1

Now add up the total number of points.

OVER 60 POINTS: Others see you as someone they should “handle with care.” You’re seen as vain, self-centered, and who is extremely dominant. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don’t always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.

51 TO 60 POINTS: Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural leader, who’s quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the exciteme nt you radiate.

41 TO 50 POINTS: Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who’s constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who’ll always cheer them up and help them out.

31 TO 40 POINTS: Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who’s extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken.

21 TO 30 POINTS: Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It would really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then, usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.

UNDER 21 POINTS: People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions & who doesn’t want to get involved with anyone or anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don’t exist. Some people think you’re boring. Only those who know you well know that you aren’t.

Copied from Merujo. I don’t really think this works very well. But it’s interesting to try.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name)
Sylvester Sanctuary

I think Sylvester was my first pet, anyway…

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your mom’s side, your favorite candy)
Tilly Mounds

Um.

3. YOUR “FLY GIRL/GUY” NAME: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your last name)
H. Me

This would work better as H. Mead, I think. Or H. Med. Yeah!

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Purple Dog

(Does this work for anyone?)

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Aubrey Nicholasville Lexington (bla-DOI)

Sounds classy, doesn’t it?

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom’s maiden name and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in):
Meahestrnic

Geshundheit.

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (“The”, your favorite color, favorite soda)
The Purple Dr Pepper

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first name of both your grandfathers)
Walton Rupert

That’s one respectable Ricky Bobby.

9. FUTURISTIC NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne and the brand of your favorite shoes)
White Shoulders Skechers

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother/father’s middle name and the next name you hear on the tv/radio…)
Irene Mackey

I cheated on that one, no TV or radio in here :P

I watched my dream as though I were watching a movie I enjoyed as a child. I knew roughly what was going to happen, but the details still surprised me.

There were three siblings: a tall older brother, a middle-child sister, and a little brother. And they were trapped on some rural acreage with their emotionally abusive father and trying to escape.

They got their chance when he brought them to a pond there. They knew that there was a trapdoor leading away from the area. All they had to do was get time to get to it.

That turned out to be unnecessary, though, as their father left them alone to run a quick errand, and the children jumped into a cab. The old 80’s car took off, driving them deep into the city.

I became the girl, and helped point out passage through traffic. The cab wove expertly through the cars and neatly dodged a man standing in the middle of the ten-lane highway dressed like Ray Stanz of Ghostbusters–complete with pack–and smoking a cigar.

Not long after our flight began, the cabbie realized he was out of gas. We pulled over, much to my chagrin. The older brother was asking why he hadn’t filled up before, and the cabbie said something about only liking gas from this chain of gas stations, and not having passed one until now.

I felt that the abusive father was in pursuit and was very eager for us to get back on the road.

Finally the cabbie swiped his card in the machine, and all of a sudden words and numbers scrolled across a giant marquee. Some of them were “ARREST WARRANT” and “DRUGS”.

“The police are coming!” I said. “You’re wanted!”

“What for?”

“Drugs!”

We hurried to get back into the car as I turned over this new information in my mind. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if the police showed up, I thought. They could protect us from the abusive father.

We ended up stopped at a grand old hotel with a huge lobby. I had a flash of memory–the police would help us, all right, help us go back to our father. They wouldn’t listen. They’d think we were just naughty and didn’t want to be punished for it.

And then, somehow, I was the girl, except I was my age, and I was me. What happened to the girl and her brothers was in my memory, and I was back at the hotel, and I was somehow watching it. It wasn’t just that I was remembering it, because I had a friend there, and as we watched a scene where a police officer gave us a speech about how lucky we were and how much our mother had given up to go away and find a job, I turned to that friend and said, “This all made a whole lot more sense when I was a kid.”

Then I was just exploring the beautiful lobby. I was there with a huge group of friends and family. We’d meant to just stop briefly on our way to something else, but it was late and we’d started to think it would be better to just spend the night there. I found a keychain-sized swipe card that said “Place Your Order”, and I knew it was meant to be used as credit in the hotel. I looked at some eyeshadow samples and brushed one of them–light purple–onto my wrist. And I saw a beautiful box in a display case with words embossed in gold script: “Tycho Brahe”. I desperately wanted to take a picture, and it was then that I remembered that I didn’t have my purse, which meant that I didn’t have my camera.

I was headed away to complain to my mother that I couldn’t take pictures when one of my friends said, “Happy Birthday!” I stood by a massive column at the front entrance of the hotel, gazing down the steps at my family beaming up at me.

“Thank you,” I said.

“I ordered you a chicken salad,” someone said, gesturing to where hotel orderlies were placing a large bowl on a cafe table back inside.

“That can be my birthday cake!” I replied cheerfully, but by the look on her face I could tell that I could expect a real cake, so I quickly said, “Or not.”

Last night I dreamed about a new kind of flight technology. Airplanes were fitted with a long green cylinder that completely covered their tails. These cylinders propelled the planes off the ground with minimal need for runway. The planes were in the air two seconds after the cylinder activated.

Once the plane was in the air, the cylinder deflated and fell off the plane onto the ground–harmlessly, because it was made of some sort of soft fabric.

I was on one of these planes and watching another one, in that mode where I’m just an observer but then I jump into one of the dream characters’ bodies. The characters in this dream happened to include Chandler and Monica from Friends. They were sitting on one side of the aisle and there was another couple on the other side, and somehow the topic of conversation got around to swinging. I think they were actually going to do it.

My cuticles are falling apart, and my face has never felt this oily. It’s been like this for two days now. What is going on, body?

My day started out, well, terrible.

First, I had trouble sleeping, because I was going to (dun dun dun) Traffic Court for the first time in my life. I was worried about where to go and what to do. I finally woke up 15 minutes before my alarm and decided to stay up. I checked the ticket for the address and checked Google Maps and took a shower and blow-dried my hair and almost forgot my suit jacket on the way out the door.

When I got to the approximate area of the address, I discovered that street numbers were not listed on any of the buildings. So I drove through the parking lots trying to figure out which one was where I needed to be. Court time was rapidly approaching and I was getting desperate.

Finally someone opened up the building where I’d parked, so I got out of the car and locked it, thinking I’d at least go in and ask someone where I was supposed to go.

Then I looked down at my purse and saw that the zippered pocket where I put my keys was open. So I looked into the car…where the keys were still dangling from the ignition.

I didn’t really have time to panic or deal with that particular situation. Instead, I asked a man going into the building if this is where I was supposed to go. He said no, I needed to be next door. So I walked through the rain-sodden grass and pine straw to the adjacent building (did I mention it was raining?) and went for the first door I saw.

That turned out to be the wrong one, so I went outside again and reentered through the correct door. From there I was able to follow the signs to the courtroom.

It looked just like those courtrooms on TV. A lady sat up next to the judge’s bench doing paperwork. After a time she called out names to see who was there. There were only three other people in the room, and one of them ended up getting to leave because the defendant in their case had already settled.

Time ticked by, and I wondered when the judge was actually going to come out, and whether or not the police officer in my case was going to show up. I started to imagine giddily that he was detained and couldn’t make it, which would mean my case would be dismissed. Then, finally, the door to the back offices opened, and in stepped the officer.

He called my name, and we went outside the courtroom. “I don’t like taking people’s money at Christmas,” he said…and then he made me a very fair deal, which I took.

From that point it was just a matter of walking back to the first door to settle up. Feeling much better about life, I asked the lady at the desk if anyone could unlock my car for me. She called a dispatcher who found another police officer who kindly popped the lock.

And I still had an hour before I had to be at work!

So I went to Sunrise Grill for breakfast, and after that I went to Wal-Mart and bought myself some jeans so I wouldn’t have to wear the suit skirt anymore. (It has a slit up the front of the left leg that makes it difficult to sit, well, modestly.)

And I still made it in early to work, early enough that I had time to post all this. :)

“Cyber Monday is for people who never use the Internet,” I said. “It’s unnecessary.”

“So it’s for the rest of us.”

“The Internet is 24/7. It’s not about being online at a particular time. That’s Old Media. That’s TV.”

“Well sold,” my boss said. “…except for that Old Media part. That hurt a little.”

;D

U.S. Bans Sale Of iPods To North Korea

The U.S. government’s first-ever effort to use trade sanctions to personally aggravate a foreign president expressly targets items believed to be favored by Kim Jong Il or presented by him as gifts to the roughly 600 loyalist families who run the communist government.

Kim, who engineered a secret nuclear weapons program, has other options for obtaining the high-end consumer electronics and other items he wants.

But the list of proposed luxury sanctions, obtained by The Associated Press, aims to make Kim’s swanky life harder: No more cognac, Rolex watches, cigarettes, artwork, expensive cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles or even personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis.

The new ban would extend even to music and sports equipment.

[…]

Responding to North Korea’s nuclear test Oct. 9, the U.N. Security Council voted to ban military supplies and weapons shipments – sanctions already imposed by the United States. It also banned sales of luxury goods but so far has left each country to define such items. Japan included beef, caviar and fatty tuna, along with expensive cars, motorcycles, cameras and more. Many European nations are still working on their lists.

This has brought out quite a number of emotions in me.

Amusement, of course, because this is hilarious. But also outrage, because it reminds me how well Kim Jong Il lives at the expense of his people. If any country is always at war with Oceania, it’s North Korea.

I have no idea if this will work at all, but it does bring me some grim pleasure to think that Dear Leader won’t be able to easily or legitimately attain his favored luxury items.

And let me just say that I am very, very glad to have that walk over with.

Man, I am really out of shape. My body has gone so downhill since the fire.

In my first dream, Gabe and Tycho worked at the TV station with me, and their content was expanding into television. I was all excited; I think I said something like, “As a commodity with continual content production, it’s only natural to expand into other media.” Tycho mentioned something about the search for a new reporter, and I thought he meant the station was looking for one…but then he corrected me, “No, a reporter for us.” So apparently Gabe and Tycho would have their very own gaming news reporter, hired by the station. Whack.

In my second dream, Sean and I went to Athens Restaurant and Taverna, which is being sold (if it hasn’t been already). While we were there Sean got the idea to buy the place. So we toured the facilities and talked about the pros and cons. I was excited about the prospect of owning our own business, and I couldn’t believe that Sean was actually for it, but I also had some reservations–it’s very difficult to run a restaurant, and I knew the initial cost would be high, and there would be no telling when we’d get a return on that investment.

Sure enough, we eventually discovered that the asking price was $79,300. I spent the rest of the tour pondering how crazy it would make us to take out a loan, and wondering if Sean really wanted to do that. I also considered other uses we could make of the space, like turning it into a bellydance studio for Mari.

Sean and I have this deal with our parents. We spend Thanksgiving with one set and Christmas with the other, and trade off each year. It was my idea, and everyone agreed it was fair. (Well, mostly everyone. But no need to go into that.)

This year’s circumstances are a little different, though. We were due to go to Kentucky for Thanksgiving…but due to various family issues on both sides, we didn’t go there, and we didn’t do Thanksgiving with Sean’s parents, either.

Instead, we stayed home, and I cooked a feast for two (with plenty of leftovers).

I made:

• Turkey breasts seasoned with rosemary and thyme
• Corn casserole
• Green bean casserole (had to substitute cream of chicken for cream of mushroom soup, but that apparently didn’t matter)
• Mashed red potatoes
• Berries-in cranberry sauce (I opened a can, woo)
• Rolls Biscuits
• Pumpkin pie
• Cherry pie

I also did three loads of laundry and cleaned the bathrooms!

We spent much of the day watching Lois & Clark seasons 2 and 3, and after Thanksgiving dinner we passed out for the night. At 8:30 p.m. Man, we’re old.

(Sean actually went to bed around the same time tonight, but I refused to give in and instead stayed up to catch up on pictures and posting.)

It was a lovely day, and so was today, and I’ve still got two days left of my fabulous four-day weekend :)

(…and now I’m caught up!)

This past Tuesday, Mayor Deke Copenhaver lit up the city’s Christmas tree at the Augusta Common. I couldn’t go, as the lighting took place while I was still at work, but I did swing by that way after work on Wednesday to take some pictures of the pretty tree.

Thanks to Dariush, I’ve learned more about my camera’s controls, so I was able to get night shots with more detail than I’ve ever managed before. They’re still terrible, but I can tell they’re less terrible than my previous night shots ;)

More starting here.

I mentioned before how I like to take some measure of control over a changing situation, and that when my officemate left for a new job I decided to rearrange the office. Here, finally, are pictures of what I did to the place. (To see what the office originally looked like, check here. Not so many great views, but you get the general idea.)

The madness begins here. Basically all I did at this point was shove desks away from one door and towards another.

Then I went batshit loco.

See that dirty-looking arc on the floor? That’s the mark left when the cleaners buffed the floor around where that second desk used to be. As you can see, I rotated it 180 degrees. I also shuffled the contents of that desk with the contents of the white table I put in its place.

So now I have something of a cubicle:

With my desk moved away from the previously-unused door and the second desk right next to mine, there’s a free and easy walkway through the office from door to door.

There is the danger that my office might become a hallway, but I figure I’ll just leave a door shut when I’m not feeling particularly sociable.

All in all, I like the change. It’s different, but it feels comfortable and usable.

One of the office ladies looked in and said, “Wow, it’s so nice and neat and clean!” Granted, there was a lot of dust around before I rearranged (and left a note for housekeeping), but I think organizing and storing all the clutter really made a difference. Instead of piles on top of piles, there are open surfaces and clean lines. Very feng shui :>

There are still things to do, but on the whole I’m happy with how it’s turned out.

I do want to get rid of that penguin, though. It annoys me, for some reason.

In my dream last night, I was having a very passionate argument with someone. It was a man, but I can’t remember who it was, except that I know it wasn’t Sean. I get the feeling it was a fictional character, or maybe a coworker.

Perhaps due to that dream argument, I spent the morning wondering how people see me. For the most part people react to me the way I expect them to, but sometimes they don’t and I can’t figure out why.

Years ago, when I applied for a job at Wal-Mart, I expressed interest in working in the stock room. The lady I was interviewing with discouraged me…but encouraged another girl, who was skinnier and–in my opinion–wussier. I have never been able to figure that out. First of all, wouldn’t you want the skinnier, and therefore closer to the current arbitrary model of beauty, girl out on the floor? Second of all, wouldn’t you want people in the stock room who are tough? Does this mean that people don’t think I’m tough when they first meet me?

People at work were surprised when I recently moved two large desks and heavy computer equipment around all by myself, but I don’t think that’s the same thing. After all, people here know me as a desk worker and don’t expect me to do physical labor. But that Wal-Mart lady had just met me, so what made her think I couldn’t make it in the stock room?

Maybe I wasn’t tall enough?

I guess I’ll never know.