One of those conversations

We've all had them... At least I hope we have. You know, those mental exchanges with our creations when they've begun to take on a life of their own?

Me: We need to find you a name.

Creation: (silence)

Me: What do you think of "Ember"?

Creation scoffs almost audibly.

Me: Ok, you don't like Ember... What about "Singe"?

Creation rolls eyes but still refuses to comment.

Me: Hmmm... "Scorch"?

This prompts Creation to finally break the silence. "Do you see a Ty, Inc. tag on my fuzzy green butt?"

Not liking the direction this is going, I decline to point out to Creation that he does not, in fact, have a butt. Instead I just start throwing out a list of possible names pulled from my mental thesaurus... Charcoal, Simmer, Braise, Broil, Brûlée... (Starting to get just a little frustrated, I take a deep breath to begin rattling off more words/potential names.) Immolate, Flare, Ign--

Creature interrupts: Go back! There was one back there I liked.

Me: Please tell me that it wasn't "Immolate" I was really only being sarcastic about that one.

Creature: No. (Eyes roll as if to suggest that **I'm** the idiot here.) Brûlée! I like that. It's perfect. I've always wanted to be a "Green Brûlée!"

I groan in pain and then look sternly at the creature in front of me. "Do you really want to go to your intended home?"

Creature/Brûlée: Um, Yes!!!?!

Me: You might want to rethink that joke.

Brûlée: Why?

Me: They have a different language there. I'm not sure how well your horrid pun will translate.

Brûlée: Oh, come on. You've got to be kidding. I've haven't been around for even 12 hours yet and I know about the Green Berets. It can't be that obscure.

Me: I'm so glad that you won't be sticking around, Brûlée. I really don't think that we're destined to get along.

I'm thinking that including the creature in discussions about its naming may have given him a slightly too high opinion of his own self-worth. What I should probably be thinking instead is that I'm losing my mind and should really seek professional help.

Personality Tests

One of the side-effects of my depression is that I have this constant need to better understand myself. I'm always trying to gauge whether my thoughts and reactions are "normal" or whether I'm in some sort of unhealthy space. I'm also very uncertain of how others see me. One result of this is that I have become completely addicted to online personality tests. I could sit and take them for hours. Blogthings has a lot of these kinds of tests and there are links to more tests at the top left and bottom right of every test and results page. At least one of the additional tests usually grabs my attention and I end up clicking through to one after another and before I know it, hours have been eaten up by my quest to have a better understanding of my place in the world.

When I was in college, a friend who was in the education department gave me the Myers-Briggs test as part of a testing methodology class that he was taking. I've since taken several abbreviated versions of the test and the results tend to vary only slightly. Sometimes I test as INFP and others I test as ENFP. I have to assume that I'm right on the I/E border and the natural variations in my answers based on whether it's a good day or a bad day end up being the deciding factor.

I was wondering, earlier today, where I'm at right now. I started a new medication today in hopes of dealing with the lethargy, cloudy-headedness, and low energy levels caused by my depression. So far, today has been encouraging. I'm not feeling hyped up or stimulated but I'm not struggling to stay awake while I try to coax Sprout into a nap so that I can go back to bed. Which isn't to say that I wouldn't love it if she'd take a nap. I might even snuggle up next to her to try to get her to doze off. Once she's asleep, though, I'm thinking that it would be nice to spend some time reading something that she didn't choose.

Here's the result of the MB knock-off test that I took this afternoon... It seems pretty accurate. I'm not agitating to get out of the house, but I'm reasonably happy to be out of bed.

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards. You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's Your Personality Type?

Reclaimed Checked Scarf

scarfandswatch
Originally uploaded by MysticSpiral

I've written before about my interest in reclaiming yarn. The socks that I've knit so far (a pair for me, 2 pairs for Sprout, and a pair for my niece) have all been knit from reclaimed yarn. My current project is the one that's getting the most attention of any of my projects so far, at least locally. I had a moment at the knitting guild meeting on Monday where I wondered if it might get lost on its way around the room. Knitters with a whole lot more knitting experience than me were quite taken with it and had numerous questions about what I was doing.

One advantage of using recycled yarn for a project like this is, by choosing a striped sweater to reclaim, you can get multiple colors/shades of the same yarn without buying whole skeins. There's no question about whether or not the care will be the same, and the odds are pretty good that the yarns won't bleed into one another.

There are 2 other pictures of the scarf in my flickr stream and I wrote practically a whole blog post worth of description between the 3 images. I'd love to hear what you think.

Pay It Forward Exchange

I love the whole concept of Random acts of kindness and Pay it forward. I like the idea that good will and positive spirits can be passed from one person to another. It is a reminder that our actions can have a direct impact on people who we don't know and may never meet. This is what led me to join the Random Acts of Kindness group on Ravelry. It is also the reason that I continue to participate in Freecycle type groups in spite of the more disturbing aspects of the official entity and some of the internal problems of the groups.

I know that there are a great many things in my possession that really don't need to belong to me. Things that are still useful in spite of the fact that I no longer have a use for them. I've spent way more time than I'd like to admit holding on to these things intending to put them in a garage/yard sale. While they might actually be worth some money, or I might get a tax credit for donating them to a charitable thrift organization, instead, they remain in the house cluttering up my life and preventing me from enjoying the space where I live. It is really wonderful when I can find, through one of these resources, someone who genuinely needs or wants something that is merely occupying space in my life.

While browsing the May wish lists on the Random Acts of Kindness group on Ravelry this morning, I found a post that caught my attention. I'm not sure what about it grabbed me but I looked at the person's profile and then clicked over to her blog. Once there, I saw a post about a Pay It Forward Exchange. I've cut and pasted (and then re-formatted and adapted) the rules for the exchange from MochaMom's blog, "life as I know".

It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based of the concept of the movie Pay it Forward where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on.

So here’s how it works:

I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange.

I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise!

What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Now for my variations on the rules... Nothing major, just a couple little things to take into account the things that I know about (at least some of) the readers of this blog...

1.) In your comment, tell me a little bit about yourself. There are so many types of crafts that I do that I'd like to have some idea of what you'll like before I make your gift. (i.e. if you're highly sensitive to fragrance, a scent bottle with an extra BPAL imp might be a really bad gift... On the other hand, I've spent quite a bit of time in forums where it would be the perfect gift...)

2.) As much as I like the idea of recipients paying it forward through their blogs, I know that not everyone has or wants a blog. If you're one of those people who has no blog and no desire to create one, you can still participate if you post the promise in an online forum where you participate. Include the link in a follow-up comment so that I can check out the forum. (Hopefully, one or more of your PIF recipients will be bloggers who can continue the blog part of the exchange... maybe the rest will continue it in other forums that they frequent.)

That's it. Two little changes/additions but basically the same concept as the one posted on MochaMom's blog. I look forward to learning more about you.