Win or Die

[le-chatnoir.livejournal.com]

Name: Kam
How did you find out about the community? If it's through an LJ user, please tell us who it is (individual user if possible, not just a community name!): I used Google. I was looking for a quiz-type thing that would tell me which House I'd best fit in. My friends all firmly agree that I fit squarely in one specific House, and while I'm kind of inclined to agree, I'd like a second opinion.
Age: 26
Location: Philippines
Occupation: assistant lecturer at a university




All About You

1. Describe your ideal house/home. Please go into as much detail as possible, and be sure to include your ideal geographical location in the description.

First, I would like it to someplace warm, maybe even hot. I just don't want it to be cold. I live in a tropical country and my blood's too freaking thin for the cold. I would, however, like my home to be located somewhere near water - fresh or saltwater doesn't particularly matter, though saltwater does have its appeal as a great location due to the sound of the waves on the shore. A lake or a clear river, though, is also equally appreciated. As long as I can go swimming in it on hot days, maybe even fish, I'll be happy. Having a forest nearby would be nice, but not really necessary.

The outside would be covered in places with flowering vines - jasmine, specifically. The front would be a tiled courtyard, with a fountain in the center - not an overly large one, but just right for the space. The entrance itself would be one of those old-fashioned arched doors with a big brass knocker on the center, and a trellis of flowers going over it.

The gardens out front need not be too big, but it's got to have a LOT of trees. They need not be all flowering trees or fruit-bearing ones, but I'd like them to be big enough for climbing and hiding out in the branches whenever I feel like it, or nestling at the base with a picnic basket and a good book. I would also like patches for berry bushes, so I can snack on the go, and places for herbs and a few seasonal vegetables. Decorative plants would include tiger lilies and tulips, but I would like for wildflowers to grow everywhere as well. I don't want it too organized, but I don't want it insanely wild, either.

I would like my home to be large and spacious, preferably in brick or adobe. I'd also like red tiles on the roof, and decorative mosaics on the floor. I would also like it to be a one-storey affair, with the rooms connecting each other in a natural flow, with as few corners as possible. Few doors, as well, wherever possible, with spaces being separated by bead or seashell curtains, or latticed screens.

I'd also like it very much if some of the windows were stained glass, as I like the color they bring to a home, preferably in abstract motifs. And speaking of windows, they'd all have elaborate lattices and shutters, with designs mimicking the designs of Arabic architecture. Wherever possible, I'd put a flowerbox under the window, or hang a basket of plants over it.

For furniture, I would like everything cushy, soft, and built for comfort. Lots and lots of pillows, on sofas and on the floor, and as for the sofas, I would prefer them to be wide enough and soft enough that I can actually sleep on them if I don't have the energy to make it to my bedroom. Afghans everywhere too, for those nights when the wind blows cool through the house and I need to keep warm. I would also prefer bright jewel tones on neutral furniture: the main pieces will be dominantly black, white, or tan, but they'll be covered in pillows and accent pieces in the brightest colors I can get: bright orange, aquamarine, blood red, sunflower yellow, cheery shades of green, rich magentas - anything and everything. If it clashes, I don't care; what matters is that it makes me happy.

Speaking of colors, I'd have rugs on the floor - lots of them. They have no specific pattern, and no specific color, and I have no plans to coordinate any of them, but I'll leave them in appropriate places. I'm not going for wall-to-wall carpeting here - I want to still SEE the floor, after all.

The kitchen will be spacious, but not overly so: just big enough for me to make a turducken if I wanted to without knocking over everything. Everything in this area will be state of the art, of course, but I don't want it to look unused: I want it homey and cheerful and welcoming. The kitchen and the dining room will not be two distinct places, but will flow into each other, to create a more intimate relationship between the place where food is prepared, and where it is consumed. There will be one long window overlooking the garden, and there will be a windowbox underneath it, and around three hanging baskets, for the most-used kitchen herbs to grow in. There will also be a door to the gardens so I can get to the fruits and vegetables and herbs there easily.The floor of the kitchen will be a mosaic, again using the abstract patterns prevalent in Arabic architecture. Colors will be primary: red, blue and yellow, with lots of white to brighten it up even more.

The bathroom will be large enough to comfortably house a two-person tub, two walk-in closets, a shower, and a large antique-style vanity. The windows will be large and overlook the gardens. If I can get the jasmine to grow around it, I will, and of course there will be flowers in the flowerboxes and in the hanging baskets. There'd be lattices here too, of course, but I'd leave the windows mostly open: I think the trees will provide enough cover against snooping neighbors. There will be very few rugs here, but the floor will be another mosaic masterpiece, again using Arabic abstract patterns. The colors will be a bit darker, though, than they were in the kitchen and dining areas: reds and purples and darker blues.

And then there is the library. I love books, cannot live without them, and I want my library to be a reflection of that. I would have built bookshelves practically eveywhere in my house (including the bathroom). But the main library itself will definitely be the biggest room in the house: a round room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the garden, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. There will be a small snack table here, with coffee and tea and little nibbles for when I get hungry but don't want to go all the way to the kitchen to make myself something. There will be a couch - practically a daybed, really - where I can read (or pass out while reading, if that's what happens), and a fancy writing desk on which I can put my computer and notebooks. The library will also house the home entertainment system, with the option of either using a big flatscreen TV or a projector system for viewing movies or playing video games.

Finally, the bedroom. Compared to the other rooms it will be somewhat smaller, just big enough for a dressing table, a few low shelves for more books, and a chest for linens and whatnot. The biggest thing in it will be the bed: a king-size bed made of cedar, covered in those abstract Arabic designs I keep mentioning, with a headboard that looks like one giant arch over the end of the bed. Not a four-poster or a canopy bed, though, because I'd have the ceiling done over in mosaics in deep purple, blue and soft yellow. The windows will be large, but not floor-to-ceiling, and will have soft, translucent cotton drapes in addition to the lattices.

In short: I want to live in a large, rambling, book-filled, garden-surrounded, next-to-water adobe or brick jewel box.

2. Imagine you’re given the classic opportunity: a genie granting you three wishes. What would you wish for? Please be as elaborate as you can. Wishing for more wishes is not permitted!

Hm. If I could have three wishes, I would definitely wish for the ability to time travel, or, failing that, the ability to enter parallel universes (since it's possible for the former to overlap with the latter, if I have my quantum physics correct).

I love history. I've loved it since I was six years old, when I received a lovely illustrated book about ancient world cultures, along with a copy of James Gurney's Dinotopia and a lavishly illustrated copy of Homer's Odyssey the following year. My mother also bought a lot of those Eyewitness Books that come with lots and lots of pictures, but were still so incredibly informative that I kept them as reference books well into high school. But a book's just a book, and a picture's just a picture. I want to see the real thing. I want to be there when it all went down. I want to meet the people involved, get to know them, understand them in ways that a book, no matter how thorough, can never really explain. And besides, history - especially ancient history, which is the type I love the most - can never be fully described in books, since there's so much missing that can never be recovered, and can only be conjectured upon. Plus, time travel will allow me to fulfill an item on my Totally Impossible Without Time Travel Bucket List: hatch and keep a velociraptor as a pet. Oh, and go see the Borgias for real.

For my second wish, I'd ask for robust health. I'm not the healthiest of people, and the fact that I come down with a cold every time the rainy season sweeps in (and the rainy season in my corner of the world lasts a good solid five to six months), being laid up with a fever or trying to cough my lungs out is just damn inconvenient. Interferes with my life, I swear, and I don't like anything interfering with the day-to-day living I do unless it's a good thing. Also, I've been sent to a hospital far too many times for my comfort, and I would like to go without people sticking needles into me ever again.

As for the third wish, I would wish for good to come to every person in the world. Part of the reason why I think the world is as screwed up as it is, is that a lot of people simply haven't had something good happen to them. The "good" I refer to does not have to be extremely large, like having a poor person suddenly win the lottery, but I'd like it to be something that alters their lives for the better. If that means winning the lottery, then so be it, but I also know that something as small as a smile can be enough to bring a person from the brink. And honestly, I think that's far more important than money.

3. In your life so far, what accomplishment are you the most proud of? Why? You can list more than one if you have trouble deciding. ;)

I'm proudest of the fact that I'm currently in a career that I love. Not a lot of people can say that they're doing something they love, and the fact that I'm doing precisely that, and have been doing so for three years, is, I think, something to be proud of.

Teaching is incredibly fulfilling, and I cannot imagine myself in a nine-to-five job after three years of it. It makes me proud that my students actually like me, and get back to me, sometimes, just to say thank you for a great term, or to say that they learned so much from me. And they say this to people even when I'm not in the same space: former students have "referred" me to their friends who have not taken the courses I teach. They've also often thanked me for being patient with them when they're being silly or have made mistakes, and I keep thinking: anyone in education has to be patient; it's practically a job requirement.

I'm also kind of proud of this backhanded comment one of my professors gave me. I've always figured I was a prose writer, but then at the end of a creative writing course, said professor told me: "Become a poet. Your poetry is far more beautiful than your prose." Considering that I'd always believed my poetry sucked, this was a very high compliment - but then she said I didn't write very good prose, so that was both a moment for pride and a moment for humility. Sometimes the estimations we make of ourselves and our capabilities are not exactly where we think they lie, at least in the eyes of others.

4. Which of the following is most important to you: Love, Money, Knowledge, Family, Friendship, Adventure, or Pleasure? Which is the least important to you? Please explain why for each choice.

Family definitely comes first. When there is absolutely nothing else, you can count on your family to catch you. I might not have the best relationship with my parents, but I know they will stick by me no matter what I do, and I'd quite cheerily do just about anything for them. When my mother saw how emotionally-damaging my friendship with my then-best friend was before I even knew what was happening, she didn't say anything to me, but comforted me when things finally fell through with said ex-best friend. When my sister took up smoking, got a few tattoos, and had a lesbian relationship behind our father's back, I lied for her and kept her secrets, because I knew she would have done the same for me. When you've got cousins who will tell you to your face that you're being an ass, but then pass you the tequila bottle to comfort you and swear they'll never tell anybody else and you know they mean it, then you know you've got something important, and I sure as hell won't replace that for anything in the world.

The least important would have to be pleasure. I would have said money, but I think it's too important to completely do away with. Besides, pleasure can come from a variety of sources: there is pleasure in being with family and/or friends, or learning something new, or experiencing something different, or even in earning that new paycheck. Pleasure is not necessary - nice to have, to be sure, but not something I think is extremely important. It is something that one works towards, not obtains.

5. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values? Explain.

It would definitely have to be the last stanza of the poem "Love at First Sight" by Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska:

Every beginning
is only a sequel, after all,
and the book of events
is only open halfway through.

While the whole poem does encapsulate my belief about love, it's the last stanza that really gets me, because it's more than just about love, it's about how I like to view life.

I am an optimist by nature, and though there are days when I cannot see the light for all the freaking clouds in the way, in the end I do believe that there is no such thing as a true "end" to anything. There will always be something else to help me start again, and though it'll likely be a slog to get to where I was before and then go forward, at least there's always something to look forward to.

6. How do you manage your money? On that note, how important is money/financial security to you? Go into as much detail as you can.

I try to be responsible with my money, in that I set aside as much of it as I can (a fourth of every paycheck), and when I do want to buy something, I think really, very hard about it. I always consider "needs" versus "wants." If I "need" something, then I spend the money on it, but if I just "want" it, then I can live without it totally, or wait until some other time to buy it.

Money is quite important to me, mostly because one simply can't function properly in this world without it. How does one eat or clothe oneself if one doesn't have money to buy what one needs? And this isn't even going into taxes, and electricy, and gas, and so on and so forth. Living a proper life needs money. So yes, money is important - but I'm not about to murder someone for it.

7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?

Reading is right on top of that list. In the absence of superpowers or magical abilities, reading is the closest I'll ever get to being whatever I want to be, wherever I want to be. Reading provided an escape when I was in grade school and being bullied: at twelve I discovered The Lord of the Rings and it has provided a refuge ever since. Reading is such a quiet, simple pleasure: doesn't take much skill or effort to read and enjoy a book, after all. The hobby itself is expensive in the sense that books don't come cheap, but the returns are very high.

I love to bake. There's something soothing about mixing everything together and then putting it in the oven, and then waiting for it to turn out just right. I've always considered baking as less fussy than stovetop cooking, because you don't have to stand over the stove and watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't burn or boil over. I like to think that baking is almost magical, really: you put these raw ingredients together, and then, if you've done it right, you come up with something fantastic.

I also love making jewelry. My mother and aunt have told me that I have a good eye for jewelry, and when they started getting into making jewelry, I started doing the same too. It's the same feeling I get from baking, except it's more luxurious, plus jewelry lasts longer than a muffin, no matter how awesome the muffin is.

I also do martial arts - specifcally stick-fighting. When I was an undergraduate I joined a stick-fighting club in the university at the urging of one of my friends, and I enjoyed it immensely. I'm told that I'm pretty quick on my feet, and have solid agility, even if my strength and endurance are down in the dumps, so I probably will never compete, but I like how it gives me something physical to do, and, to a certain degree, the ability to protect myself.

8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.

I am scared to death of falling. Heights, in and of themselves, don't bother me: I've been to the observation deck of the Macau Tower and though there was some vertigo, I wasn't really afraid. Then again, I had a harness, and I pretty much knew I wouldn't fall. I also like running down a zip-line (would like to try the ones that go across gorges), and would love to try rapelling one day. Hell, even hang-gliding sounds pretty appealing, and I would love to own and fly an ultralight. But bungee-jumping? Skydiving? Anything that involves the words "pray" and "jump" in one sentence? No. Way.

Another thing that scares me are needles. Not sewing needles, but needles used in the medical profession: syringes, IVs, acupuncture needles - anything that will go through my skin makes my skin crawl. This comes from a time when I was around nine or so, and was hospitalized for dengue fever. Every hour that first day of hospitalization, a nurse would come in to prick my fingers to draw a blood sample to check my platelet count - if it got too low, they'd need to start a blood transfusion. It got so that I jumped in the bed every time someone knocked on the door - even if it was just my parents. The fear has pretty much stayed with me ever since. Seeing others have it done to them, or the sight of blood, doesn't freak me out much, but this does.

I also have a fear of Alzheimer's - not in other people, but in myself. I don't know if I'll ever get it, because my family's medical history doesn't show people with Alzheimer's, but I just dread the idea of being diagnosed with it. To lose not just one's memories, but one's self, in little bitty pieces...it's horrific, to say the least.

9. Name (and elaborate on) your top three BEST and top three WORST qualities (personality-related, not physical). Please answer as fully as you can, as this is an important question.

My three best:

1. Ability to be objective when the need calls for it - I won't call it perfect objectivity; I think that's patently impossible for a human being. I do try my best to keep my prejudices and ideas to myself until I've at least got both sides of the story. I've been in situations wherein I've taken sides, and doing so does nobody any good at all. I'm also happy to listen to anyone who has an opinion on something, and not judge them for what they think or do (as long as the doing part is not criminal). I might personally think you're going about this the wrong way, but that's not going to stop me from being friends with you if I think you're a decent-enough person.

2. Expecting the best in people - I think this ties in with the third one, but I always try to see the best in people when I first meet them. I won't make excuses, and will call bad manners for what they are, but I do try to think that there might be reasons for why they're acting the way they are, and will do my best to stick it out with them for a while. If they turn out to be godawful people, I will definitely drop them like a hot potato.

3. Practical optimism - I like seeing the silver lining in every cloud, but I will still see the cloud and prepare for rain. One can't be happy, happy, joy, joy all the time, after all; that's denying reality, and reality's simply too big to be ignored. I'll call it like it is, good or bad, but I'll always hope that if it's bad, it won't be as bad as I think it is.

My three worst:

1. Procrastination - If I can do it tomorrow, why should I do it now? I am absolutely guilty of this to the extreme. If it's very, terribly important, I will do it immediately, but if it can wait, I'll let it wait - usually until the last minute.

2. Biting off more than I can chew - This happens quite often, particularly when it's not something vitally important. I always think I can handle something or someone, and then learn the hard way that I'm absolutely in way over my head. I'm not too proud not to ask for help, but it does suck a little when I get myself into that kind of situation. Also, this happens a lot in stick-fighting: I think I can take my opponent on in a few moves, and then I land on my ass and stare at the ceiling.

3. Bluntness/Rudeness - People who don't know me think I'm rather too blunt for their liking. Since I believe in respecting other people's opinions, I think that they should respect mine - which isn't always the case. I've been called rude, of course, but those who get to know me a bit better learn that it's just me speaking my mind and expecting people to respect what I say in the same way I respect what they say. Still doesn't stop me from opening my trap, though.






A Song of Ice and Fire Related

1.Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?

1. Daenerys - From Book 1, I liked this girl. Given the history of abuse that is implied in her relationship with Viserys, she rises from the ashes and becomes a true queen - excuse me, khaleesi. She's been through hell and fire, lost things and people that were of great value to her, and yet there she still stands, ready to sweep the world and claim what's hers. And she still remembers the lessons from when she was oppressed, and carries them close to her heart, knowing that, above all, she must be kind - and ruthless at the same time, if the need calls for it. The fact that she has to be both - and not only knows it, but uses it to her advantage - makes her one of my favorite characters.

2. Tyrion - To say that he's had a rough life is putting it very, very mildly, and yet he does not bow to adversity. He stands against it, fights it, or finds a way around it to make himself a place in the world. I see a bit of myself in Tyrion, actually, though I'm not a dwarf. But the fact that he relies on his mind to see him through the world, and deftly turns perceptions that others have of him to his own advantage, is something I admire and recognize as handy tools for defending oneself from the "sticks and stones" of opinion.

3. Petyr Baelish - I should hate him. I know I should. He's the reason behind all the insanity of a great deal of the books. He's the reason behind a good many things going horribly wrong. But I cannot help but love him at the same time - mostly because he gets away with everything he's done so far. It makes him no less evil, no less despicable, but I cannot help but bow to his superior manipulation skills. Machiavelli would have had a lot to learn from this man.

Runner-up: Brienne - I. Love. Her. For being honest with the world. For being honest with herself. And for wanting to be what she wants to be, no matter how long and how hard the road.

2.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series? Why?

1. Joffrey Baratheon - It's not that he's a Lannister. It's not that he's a brat. It's that he's a natural-born psychopath. Something was never, ever right with Joffrey, that much was clear after the first book, and the subsequent books bore out my suspicions. In the 21st century, a psychologist would have recognized that something was very, very wrong with this boy, and would've had him committed to a facility or very carefully monitored, because kids like him grow up to be serial killers. But since no such things as psychologists exist in Westeros, well... Most of us know what happened, I think.

2. Cersei - Again, it's not that she's a Lannister. And it's not that she's queen. What really, really gets me about Cersei is that she wants more. More, more, more, and there's no stopping her until she has absolutely everything. And she really, truly think she can hold it all together? I hope her house of cards collapses - and she goes up in smoke along with it.

3. Walder Frey - Two words: Red Wedding. And unlike Littlefinger, whose manipulations I can forgive despite the havoc he creates, anything and everything Walder has done makes me want to kill him - preferably by hog-tying him to a spit, and roasting him alive. And such a death would be a mercy, in my opinion,

3.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?

Viserys' "coronation" definitely has to be my favorite because of its repercussions. If this hadn't happened, Dany would never have found her wings, and she would never have become the woman she is currently. I know greater things have happened since this one event, but I keep going back to this one because of how poetic it is, and once again, the repercussions of this one event.

4. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?

Personally, I wouldn't mind leaving the author to it, since he hasn't let me down yet, but I do hope that the character death slows down a bit. It's difficult, falling in love with a character and then losing them a few books down the line.

In my dream world, though, Tyrion would become the Hand, because I know he'd be awesome at the job. Arya would become some sort of royal assassin, working for the King or Queen or whoever sits on the throne in the end. Jon would be leading the Nightwatch, though I imagine he'd come see his siblings more often - or at least Bran and/or Rickon, who I think would make decent Lords of Winterfell (more Bran than Rickon, though). And I hope Jaime and Brienne marry, because they can lead knights and have awesomely tall, awesomely pretty, and awesomely honorable children who'll want to be knights too.

As for Dany, well, it wouldn't surprise me if she does sit on the Iron Throne and claim the Targaryen birthright, but in the event she does not, I hope she chooses to go elsewhere and build her own empire. I think that's what a true Targaryen would have done.

Comments

Re: Tully

[le-chatnoir.livejournal.com]

Yay for another person who thinks Jaime and Brienne should breed :D! Westeros will be all the better for it, I think.

Re: Tully

[fallingtowers.livejournal.com]

I think there are more of those persons than you might suspect. Usually, we hide out over at jaimexbrienne - not a part of the westerosorting community, but maybe a good place for you too?

Westeros will be all the better for it, I think.

Well, only provided that Brienne doesn't die in childbirth and Jaime remembers that he actually is a father etc etc. :) /my cynical streak