wispfox

I am _not_ giving anyone questions in return, as I never got around to doing it the last time this went around. However, additional questions are welcome, as long as people are willing to give me time to reply.

Without further ado, 5 questions from

randysmith:

1) What is your ideal number and configuration of partners? How close is your your current situation to that ideal?

I'm not sure. I know that I tend to want at least one local partner. I tend to vary between missing men and women if I'm not dating any (that was actually the most obvious signal that I really couldn't be monogamous), so I'd likely say that I prefer gender balance, although that balance doesn't necessarily need to be specific to partner vs. sleep together friends (yes, I alternate which word I use; still haven't found one I like).

I know that things like working and school fill up my time such that my time/energy to have relationships reduces, so when I go back to school, the available slots for people will reduce by one. Now if only I knew what my max was _now_.

I know that local and long distance take up similar amounts of time, but in different ways that tend to coordinate well together.

And my current situation is somewhat... undefined, as far as partner numbers go, since there is one which is definite, and one relationship which is undefined. (and one which is defined, but not partner level) Even if I knew my ideal number/configuration, I couldn't answer the part about how close it is to that, right now. :)

Huh. Did you mean 'partner' = 'person I'm in love with', or 'partner' = 'person that there is some type of defined sexual relationship with'? I interpreted as the former, as that's how I use the term, but...

2) What are the characteristics of therapy that pull you towards it as a career?

Digging into people's brains, figuring out how they work, and helping them work on things that they want to work on. People's minds fascinate the hell out of me. Conversations investigating people's minds are one of my favorite types. Helping people figure themselves out, and figure out how to be happier with what they are doing and who they are, is also something I thoroughly enjoy.

Now, that said, therapy is probably a temporary thing. I suspect that the kinds of psychology which investigate the overarching reasons for things - both physical and habitual - would draw me next. Thus my potential interest in neuropsych and Cognitive/perceptual psych. I suspect therapy would drain me, even considering that I intend to not take anyone on who doesn't actively want to be there and want to be involved in the process.

3) What characteristics tend to attract you to someone as a possible romantic/friends++ person versus as a pure friend?

I'm... not completely sure. Part of it appears to be simply the degree to which I can read and feel easily understood by them. Part is how easily and early there appears to be a base-level understanding between us. I think that my potential for sexual relationships relates to some combination of mutual physical attraction and the degree to which I am drawn to a person. The degree to which I am drawn to people appears to be significantly (but not solely) about depth of understanding, and isn't really something I can fully understand or explain. It's also partly about how fascinating I find a person, but I suspect that that fascination is as a result of attraction, and not vis versa.

I suspect part is whether or not there is time/energy/availability in the life of myself and potential lovers. If there is not, I will tend to not go there.

4) What would your ideal computer game look like?

An RPG.

Lots of believable social interaction with sufficient flexibility in what can and cannot happen (ie, if you make it possible for men and woman to date or have sex, you'd better damn well allow for men/men and women/women! Allowing for poly would also make me happy).

Good story which draws me in, much like a good book, but which doesn't handicap the ability to be flexible. New/interesting ideas are best, but even fairly well worn concepts are good, if done well.

It needs to cause me to have enough interest to want to know why things are happening, and to want to know what comes next. Without that, I won't continue with a game (there's a reason I rarely replay games; my memory for things I've done and conversations I've had - if they are basically the same as the first time through - is _entirely_ too good and I get impatient).

Pretty/realistic/appropriately varied graphics and good sound effects/music.

Sufficient ability to compensate for my poor memory for random details and crappy spatial awareness/ability to visualize things (the ability to make my own markers on an in game map, for example, and write my own notes in the journal. This means I can't lose notes I take. The ability to use both the local and world view on the map to compare where I am with where I want to go, while I'm able to move around).

Not having puzzles which make it completely impossible for me to continue the game, especially if they rely on computer-to-mouse hand-eye coordination (I've had to stop more than one game because of that problem).

Prob'ly more, but I'm running out of ideas offhand. Haven't played much lately. (I note that I didn't say much about combat; I tend to expect RPGs to have combat, but that holds little interest to me, and I _have_ stopped playing games because there was either too much or too difficult combat)

5) You said "Shiny!" yesterday; what were you talking about? :-} (If you didn't actually say it, use your imagination).

Hmm. I didn't, I don't think, as I rarely use that word other than consciously.

But if I had, I might have said it about the fact that I got random chatty email from

australian_joe. Or the fact that I'm all planny about my .au trip (and less strongly so, but still so about my eventual US wanderings).

Not sure. The thing is that most brief bits of goodness - which is the most likely thing to cause such a reaction - isn't something I'll be able to intentionally recall later without someone else referencing it. Which is probably why me telling people about niftiness helps.

Also, yesterday was _CRAZY_ busy at work. Less time for random shininess that way. :)