From the altfriday5:

1. How dirty is your dwelling right now? How messy is it?

Not particularly dirty. A bit messy in places.

When I moved, I wanted to keep the townhouse both cleaner and neater then the apartment. I soon realized this meant that I needed to come up with a definition of 'clean enough'. It took a while, but here is my definition: I wanted to keep it clean and neat enough that I could invite people over on the spur of the moment and not have to rush home and clean before they came over.

It's actually worked pretty well. The downstairs stays neater then the upstairs, but rarely is either floor embarrassingly messy for any extended period of time.

Getting rid of huge amounts of 'stuff' has helped a lot. I suspect that in the last year I've gotten rid of probably 50% of the stuff I owned a year ago.

2. Which part of your dwelling does it drive you crazy to have dirty or messy? Why?

The kitchen. I hate not having counter space. And the bathtub needs to be clean, for reasons I can't explain.

3. Which part of your dwelling does it not drive you crazy to have dirty or messy? Why?

I happily leave clothes on the floor in the bedroom for weeks, and a separate pile of clean clothes somewhere that isn't on the floor. Move that same pile into the office, and it would drive me insane. I suspect that's because it's acceptable to just close the bedroom door when you have company, and honestly, if someone's being invited into the bedroom, they're unlikely to be paying attention to the dirty clothes on the floor.

4. Have you ever gotten into conflicts with dwelling-mates over cleanliness? Which side were you on (i.e., "clean freak" or "slob"?) How was it resolved (if at all)?

I've been on both sides, and never managed to resolve it to my satisfaction either way.

5. What inspires you to clean? What makes it harder? Why?

I clean for two different reasons: I clean because something has exceeded my 'acceptable messiness' level, or because I feel like cleaning. The former isn't related to any mood - it just happens. I will usually draft anyone in the vicinity to help me clean it up. Cleaning because I feel like cleaning is different - I always want to do it alone, because I'm never in a good mood if I feel like cleaning. I'm either upset, or want to be left alone, or feeling a need to be in control (usually because something else in my life is making me feel out of control), and none of those are mood that make me social.

Tags: friday five
Current Mood: chipper

From the altfriday5:

1. Have you ever fired a firearm at a target or other inanimate object? Why or why not?
2. Have you ever fired a firearm at a living entity (animal or human)? Why or why not?
3. Have you ever owned a firearm? Why or why not?

This week, these make more sense to all be answered together.

I own two firearms - a Browning .22 and a Remington 20 gauge. I've always had boyfriends who had guns, but I never owned one. I'd shot all sorts of handguns, but they were all too big for me. When I decided I wanted to try target shooting, I went looking for something smaller that I'd be comfortable with. I really liked the Browning, so that's what I bought.

Later, I decided I wanted to try skeet shooting. The 12-gauge pump my boyfriend had was too long for my arms - I couldn't pump it with it up on my shoulder. So for Christmas one year, he bought me a 20-gauge - the Remington child's model. It's perfect. Skeet shooting has sort of gone by the wayside as a hobby, because I just don't have time for it, but I still have the gun.

I've never hunted. I don't have any problem with people who do, and I don't even have any problem with the idea of doing it myself, but I've never made the time. I think hunting is like fishing - if you do it, you need to eat (or arrange for someone to eat) what you kill. Catch-and-release fishing is evil - it's essentially torturing small animals for fun, but that's a rant for another day. I don't see how people can eat meat and be against hunting for food.

I don't have a concealed carry license, but that, too, is mostly because of a lack of time. If I had the license, I would probably carry in limited situations - for example, there are lots of times I end up alone on a dark airport late at night. And I wouldn't have a problem pulling/using a gun if I truly felt my life was in danger.

4. Do you feel that there should be restrictions on what types of firearms people can own? What should the restrictions be (ranging from "none available" to "no restrictions")?
5. What do you feel a person should have to do or be in order to purchase a firearm (ranging from "it should be impossible" to "walk to the corner store")?

When I bought the Browning, I went to the gun store on a Monday night because I wanted to be sure to have it for the weekend, and I'd heard about all these rules about wait times. I walked out with it.

I don't see any point in restricting the types of guns people can own, or where they can buy them. I can see valid points to restricting who can own a gun - people with convictions for gun-related crimes would be an obvious one.

In an ideal world, anyone could buy any type of gun they wanted. If they were convicted of committing a crime with a gun, they lose all rights to own or possess a gun permanently. If a gun that they owned was used in a crime committed by someone else (this would be things like "my 5-yr-old shot his friend"), they obviously did not properly secure it, and lose their right to own for 5 years the first time, and permanently the second.

But that's too sensible to ever be law.

Tags: friday five

From the altfriday5:

1. When was the last time you took a test?.
Probably the first written for my CFI rating, a few months ago. Before that, the written for my commercial, last August.

2. Does taking tests make you anxious? How anxious?
Yes. Very. Which is odd, because I tend to do well on tests. It's sort of a side effect of my fear of being found incompetent - deep down inside, I know I'm incompetent, and I'm terrified that someday someone will find out. Yes, I know it's silly.

3. Pick your favorite type of test question (short answer, essay, multiple choice, etc.). Why? Least favorite? Why?
It depends on the test. If it's a subject I know a lot about, I often enjoy the opportunity to ramble about it in an essay question. Multiple choice makes more sense for simpler questions. I dislike short answer, because you don't get to explain why you answered in the way that you did.

4. Have you ever felt that someone was deliberately "testing" you (i.e., setting up situations or conversations to see what you would do or say)?
Yes. And I'm pretty bad at picking up those sorts of things, usually.

5. Have you ever deliberately "tested" someone?
I try not to, but yes. I think everyone does - it's part of figuring out if you want to get to know someone more. I think some people are less aware that they're doing it then others.

Tags: friday five
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Scarlet Begonias - Jimmy Buffett

From the altfriday5:

Name your guilty pleasure when it comes to:

1. Music.

Caribbean Amphibian. A duet with Jimmy Buffet and Kermit the Frog.

2. Food and/or drink.

Ramen noodles. And milk. I can drink a quart of milk without even thinking about it.

3. TV and/or movies.

Really bad soft porn. The stuff you see on Showtime at 3am. Of course, I haven't had Showtime or the equivalent in years.

4. Activities.

I own coloring books.

5. Reading material.

Piers Anthony.

Tags: friday five

From the altfriday5:

1. You have half an hour to leave your home, knowing that you will never be back, and anything you leave behind will be destroyed or gone. What do you take? (assuming all the people are taken care of)

Not much. Passport, driver's license, cash. I don't have pets. A stuffed animal or two. A backpack of clothes. Cellphone and chargers. My CamelBack full of water.

2. You have twenty-four hours to leave your home, knowing that you will never be back, and anything you leave behind will be destroyed or gone. What do you take? (assuming all the people are taken care of)

A few CDs of backups - pictures, addresses, that sort of thing. Tent/sleeping bag/pillow. Books. iPod/Camera/Laptop.

3. For those of you that have a car: Now answer 1 & 2 assuming you don't. For those of you that don't, assume you do (just a regular-size car, not a Hummer!).

Not much would change. I'd have to skip the tent/sleeping bag, but the rest could fit in a reasonably large backpack.

Honestly, I wouldn't use a car to leave town anyway - I wouldn't want to leave the Tripacer, so I'd probably just fly it inland.

4. You have to go at least 100 miles away (and if you're coastal, inland) to be safe. Where would you go? Family? Friends? A shelter? How would you get there?

It would depend on the direction. My family is all either local or 800 miles away. I've got friends scattered all over the place, so that would be a possibility. Honestly, I'd probably just go 500 miles inland and get a hotel room.

5. How much would losing your home and possessions affect your life? Would you recover fairly quickly? Or would it be disastrous for you?

It wouldn't be a huge deal. I have insurance, and I have enough money in the bank to handle new security deposits, first and last month's rent, replacement clothes, that sort of thing. I'd be heartbroken if anything happened to the Tripacer, but it wouldn't be financially devastating. When a tropical storm hit the office a few years ago, they simply sent us home with pay until they got the building back running, so I have no reason to suspect I'd lose my job if I couldn't get in for a week or two.

Tags: friday five
Current Mood: tired

I just joined the altfriday5 and fridayfiver comms, because, well, all my friends were doing it. And if all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too? Oh, wait...

Anyway, I'll probably pick one or the other set of questions each week. This week, they're from altfriday5:

1. What religion(s) were you raised in, if any?

My mother was Methodist, my father was Baptist. I went to religious schools my whole life, including high school at a Pentecostal school. We mostly went to Baptist or intra faith churches.

2. How did you feel about those religions as a child? How do you feel about them now?

I always had trouble taking the concept of "you shouldn't question, you should just believe" seriously. How could being inquisitive be wrong? But I mostly believed until my late teens.

In my late teens, my parents were diagnosed as HIV+, and suddenly all of these people who talked about love and inclusion and support turned their backs on us. Admittedly, in the 80's, people were less educated about HIV, but this was a witch hunt. I've seen my mother run out of several churches since.

I left organized religion shortly thereafter.

3. What religion(s) do you practice now, if any?

I'd like to say none, but I'm not really sure that's true. I'd probably make a good Unitarian - I believe that everyone should find the path that makes the most sense to them. I think the afterlife is what you believe it will be - if you believe you'll be reincarnated as a three-toed sloth, that's what you'll perceive happening when you die. If you believe you're going to the Christian heaven (or hell), that's what you'll perceive.

After all, the Bible doesn't say there aren't other gods - it says you shouldn't worship them and the Christian God at the same time.

If I had to choose an organized religion to practice, I'd probably choose Buddism - I love the idea of a karmic universe. But I'll admit I don't know all that much about Buddism (that was a hint for someone on my friends list to give me a book link).

4. Are you a member of any structured groups dedicated to celebrating your religion(s)?

No.

5. How "organized" do you feel the practice and expression of faith should be?

I don't think it should be - it should be personal.

Tags: friday five
Current Mood: sleepy