Sure Sounds Like Fallout In Here...

No, seriously.  The radio station in my laundromat could have been DJ'd by Three Dog.  Okay, maybe it's bad that I automatically associate fiftiesesque music with tromping through a post apocalyptic wasteland dodging supermutants and radscorpions.

I have, however, had this song stuck in my head ever since and am developing a fondness for it:

Personality Tests, Their Validity, and Contradictory Personalities

Warning: This post/ramble probably falls under the "too much introspection" label.  It does, however, involve a concept that I find really interesting.

So just took the Keirsey test as a just for fun thing for a class that I am taking.  Came up with "Idealist."  Not surprising really.  I fit the bill pretty well.  I really want to believe the best of people, that if we just sit tight and put in the time, effort and understanding we can work things out and all get on.  I am an incurable romantic. I highly value the relationships in my life.  Forming close and caring relationships with people is probably one of my major motivations in life.  I am a crappy liar, especially when it comes to something I have emotional investment in, and I always beat myself up about it and have a hard time living with myself if I feel like I'm not being honest.  It generally shows all over, and the fact that I don't believe/am not happy with what I'm saying can generally be read from my face, voice, and body language if you know me at all and are paying any sort of attention.  This is not necessarily a good thing, because if I start talking I sometimes wind up being too honest for my own, or anyone else's, good. 

I always find these tests interesting though.  In a lot of ways they are quite limiting.  This particular test had two options for each question.  I had some trouble filling it out, both because I feel different ways at different times, and more importantly, in different situations.  Questions about how I react in social situations, for example, are difficult to answer as it depends entirely on the social situation.  I also found that frequently I would fall somewhere between the two options, or somewhere completely different that the test didn't address.  I feel like reducing things to a binary is kind of problematic when we're talking about people.  We rarely fit into either/or categories, our feelings are rarely simply on or off. 

In the context of this personality test, this is very interesting for me.  While I am an idealist and I feel like that's how I probably started out, I'm also pretty cynical.  This was probably picked up through experience.  It's kind of like having two competing views of the world going on in your brain at once, on one hand, believing the best in people, and that everything can work out okay, on the other, believing that people/the world will screw you over, whether on purpose or by accident/through negligence and nothing will ever be okay. 

This whole, two competing world views/contradictory personality type thing showed up again when I went and, out of curiosity, took a more detailed version of the test.  Well, a couple to be exact.  One put me up as INFP, which the Keirsey test defines as "Healer."  Yup, fit that one pretty well.  Another defined me as ENFP, though just on the edge, which the Keirsey test defines as "Champion."

Fun story?  They both fit.  Sometimes I'm one, sometimes I'm the other, sometimes I feel like I'm both at the same time.  Though it's more like the extroverted, enthusiastic "Champion" persona is sort of submerged under the introverted, reserved, shy "Healer" persona and pops out sometimes, when I start feeling comfortable.  It also sorta varies depending on who I'm with.  I've found that certain people tend to bring out the more enthusiastic, extroverted me, generally people who are bouncy and enthusiastic themselves.  Yay contagious enthusiasm.  This isn't to say that I think the "Healer" persona is bad.  I think it's pretty good and definitely is very defining in my personality.  They both have their benefits and get me into different kinds of trouble.  "Champion" me tends to be a bit happier on the whole though...

Is there a point to this rambling?  Maybe, maybe not.  I do tend to find the idea of contradictory/competing/complementing personality aspects to be fascinating though, especially since I see them so much in myself.  I sometimes wonder if everyone has that whole contradictory personalty thing, or if a lot of people have it to the same degree that I seem to, or if I'm just weird (well I know I'm weird but you know, unusual in that respect).  A friend actually talked me into doing an in depth astrology thing once, and it was about six pages of statements about what different parts of what was in the sky when I was born said about me.  Many of these things contradicted each other.  Sometimes something it said would be the complete opposite of the statement that came right before it.  Go figure.  Whatever you feel about astrology, what it has to say can definitely be interesting to think about and compare to your own experiences/perceptions.  Sometimes it even leads your thoughts off in new directions (/tangent)

So here ends my introspective rambling.  Hope it was at least vaguely interesting. 

Hack-N-Slash

Nerdy Amazing Heartwarming Nostalgia

Okay, so these pictures are adorable.  They also incorporate two things that were much beloved in my childhood: Winnie the Pooh and Star Wars.

I'm not sure I have words to describe the warm fuzzies I am getting from this.

I've never heard of the artist, James Hance, before, but give the rest of these a look: http://www.jameshance.com/wookiee-the-chew.html

Also, I played Pooh sticks for the first time since I was a very small child the other day.  This makes me happy.