Seasons of Mist

Here we go:

Went to public school.
Got all A’s without trying.
Inevitably shunned as a hopeless geek.

Graduated valedictorian of high school class.
Got degree from a private college, paid for with scholarships and loans.

Dated rarely.
In love four times.
Married once (still), obviously complicated.
Three children (one adopted).

Worked in publishing, government journalism, and tech industries for entire career.
Would rather counsel people, write, do research, do music, or do art.

Built worship band at last church (drums, keys, guitars, singers, etc.).
Wrote training materials and music for congregation.

Avid reader.
Lover of truth and beauty.
Desires to connect with others.

Coffee freak (the darker the better).

Dark, sardonic, witty, quirky, goofy sense of humor.
Punny person.
Can find the humor in anything.
Laughs randomly without revealing what’s

Possibility-thinker,
Theory-creator,
Word-stringer,
People nurturer,
Growth instigator,
Eye-opener,
Personality actualizer.

And… from earliest memories?
Transgender.

Prerequisite Grandiose Self-Pic

Moi (profile pic)

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Yup, this is moi as of May 12, 2009.
(And sorry for the dirty bathroom mirror, I’d make a lousy maid.)

Favorite Ice Cream: Toss-up between Ben ‘n Jerry’s “Coffee Heath Bar Crunch” or “Chunky Monkey” vs. Starbuck’s “Java Chip”

“Will Eat” Pizza Toppings: Bacon, Pepperoni, Ham, Sausage, Chicken, Mushrooms, Garlic, Peppers, Canadian Bacon, Extra Cheese, herbs and spices

Cat or Dog: Cats. (Although they can still piss me off when they get snarky.) Dogs are too codependent, and some of them smell pretty raunchy.

Bodily Damage: Broke my left ankle playing two-hand touch football in seventh grade (don’t ask); cut right forearm up in fifth grade by falling on glass while trying to catch and pet a cat (see note above), eight stitches; sliced finger open in high school, no stitches, still have a scar; almost impaled myself on a metal pole in my 20’s, still have the scar right under one of my breasts; chipped front teeth probably prying off a coke bottle (duh); lots of scars from having warts burned off my legs as a kid;

First Kiss: Junior in high school, she was a freshman; bad breakup; now after 20+ years we are bffs and do things together, funny huh?

Personality profile: MBTI = INtP; Enneagram = 5w4 sx/sp; Socionics =

Past Christian Affiliations: Baptist , Church of the Brethren, Methodist, Lutheran, Release Time, Evangelical Free, Non-Denominational, Brethren in Christ; Intervarsity; Evangelical; New Way Ministries; some pentecostal style church settings and Emergent-style church philosophies; MCC

Current Religious Affiliation: Christian agnostic (see Soren Kierkegaard) — “walking through the eye of the paradox”

Favorite TV Shows (various times): Cheers, Family Ties, Seinfeld, Taxi, Star Trek (various series), Knight Rider, Muppet Show, X-Files, LOST, Millennium, Unsolved Mysteries, Mythbusters, Crime Files, Fairly Odd Parents, iCarly, Josh and Drake (yes, I have children!), Powerpuff Girls, Looney Tunes cartoons, Pinky and the Brain,

Interesting Topics: Psychology, personality theory, personality disorders, philosophy, theology/spirituality, fantasy/sci-fi, cultural studies, astronomy, biology, comparative cultures/religions, paranormal, art, comic books, hiking, alpine climbing, caving — pretty much anything, I find interesting if I’m learning something, and I like to integrate it all into a larger understanding of the world in general

First Album I Bought: Barry Manilow, Greatest Hits cassette (20 songs). I had to ride my bike 5-8 miles into Mercersburg to the local drugstore in order to buy it, and it cost me $5. (Should have known then that my path to the Dark Side was complete, huh?)

Afraid of:

• Conventional: Spiders. They creep me out, I can’t even really touch pictures of them, as a kid I had to use a pencil to flip the pages in my science books. My worst nightmare (when I was five) that I still remember today involved me being a bug and spiders chasing me through the radiators in my room. Needless to say, Mordred turning into a spider in the Dark Tower really upped the creep-out quotient for me, as did Tolkien’s use of these crazy knitter critters.
• Unconventional: Eternity. When I was young, instead of being afraid of death (which is just an ending), I could not get my head around something that goes on forever. My mom would sit on my bed while I’d sob myself to sleep, but I could never explain to her what I was scared of in a way she’d be able to understand.
• Psychological: Being judged unfairly or misunderstood, while being voiceless and unable to explain myself adequately.

“Endless” Identification: Death.  She is my avatar on a few sites. Kind, quirky and whimsical, spirited, accommodating, perceptive, seeing things from multiple angles, consoling but honest about the inevitable change that every person must one day face. She is also the universal tarot sign of transformation, which ends up being entirely appropriate for me. Every moment of life, however, for everyone is actually transformation of some degree, for only the dead are static and do not change, and my transformation here is only one of the more drastic ones someone might face. I also identify with Morpheus’ (“Dream”) dilemma, and this blog is named after the story arc that gave him the answer to his problem. The difference is that, with Morpheus, as Lucius said, “Sometimes we must change or die; and there was a limit to how much he could change,” while I chose to change rather than literally die.

Musical Instruments: Officially, voice, piano, pipe organ, harpsicord, clarinet, oboe, and xylophone. But I’m the sort that can pick up any instrument and in a few minutes be able to play along with what’s happening even if the tone isn’t great. I have pretty close to perfect pitch (i.e., able to hear very well to begin with, plus all the musical experience beat the pitches into my brain).

Unexpected Occupation: Alpine climber. I have a lot of will power, I like to pit myself against nature, I like to see and experience places less determined people might never reach, I like to respond to challenges that arise and figure out the best solution, and I’m a good risk manager and think through everything carefully as I go.  A lot of my personality fits right into this.

Favorite Color: Deep vibrant colors; used to be blue, has shifted more to a rich purple or green, as I grow more positive about my life and feel stimulated by it.

Superhero I most identify with: Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) from X-men. “Average woman,” smart, passionate, sensible, intuitive, low-key presentation and powers, strong-willed though not abrasive, very tough. She’s most likely an INFP on the MBTI, but I don’t any “INTP” style heroes that fit my demeanor as much; I think she would be more apt to get idealistic and fight over the ideals, I tend to laugh more at the humor in things, but look, feel, and essence are similar.

Fights: Three times while in school, none after… once to defend a friend, once to defend myself, and another to carry through on my word to someone picking on me. One punch from me, each time, and the fight ended. I don’t like fights, they’re banal and violent and irrelevant to the issue at hand.

Favorite TV Villains: Mojo Jojo (“Powerpuff Girls”), Ben Linus (“LOST”), Plankton (“Spongebob”)… hmm… pattern?

IQ: 140+, depending on the test, although certainly not higher than 160, realistically around 150, and retaining the ability to behave like someone not in triple digits.

Voted the Following by TypologyCentral members:

• Most Likely to Die in Front of Her Computer
• Most Likely to Drown in Her Own Journal Entries
• Most Likely to Hose Children off the Lawn
• Most Likely to Build a Cabin in the Woods Made Out of Candy
• Most Capable of Bringing Up Sore Topics
• Most Likely To Mistake A Fairly Tame Comeback for a Really Mean One
• Most Able To Hide Her Claws

Dirty Pleasures (assorted):

• Circus peanuts
• Necco wafers
• black licorice
• “Cheaters”
• Kathy Griffin’s “Life on the D List”
• “High School Musical
• ” Star Trek TOS/TNG reruns
• “Tales from the Crypt”
• “Wonder Pets”
• overcooked brownie edges
• “Trading Spaces” (original few years)
• “Intervention”
• John Ford Coley & England Dan
• The BeeGees
• Hall & Oates
• Choose Your Own Adventure books
• iCarly
• MySpace “Blood” apps
• various types of cheap sandals
• Starbuck’s Doubleshots
• designer keys
• Spike Network “XTreme Elimination”
• water-balloon funnelators
• blowing things up, setting them on fire
• jet skis
• trampolines
• Used bookstores