westerosorting | Win or Die (Reply)

Name: Ilka
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 first heard of the community from

mrstater and she's also the one who talked me into joining.
Age: 33
Location: Munich, Germany
Occupation: Aerodynamicist

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!.
My ideal home would have to be in the mountains. I'd want to be able to look out the window or stand on the porch and have a stunning, breathtaking view of high, rocky peaks, glaciers and green alpine meadows. For the house itself, I imagine a sort of modernized log cabin. Sort of rustic, with lots of wood but huge panorama windows, a large porch and a big fireplace. And of course wifi ;). There'd be a small lake right next to the house with a little rowing boat where you could swim in the summer. And the best part about the house? No neighbors. There'd be just a small, private dirt road leading up to it and the house would be far away from the next larger road. All you could hear would be the sound of birds, the water and the wind. However, the nearest larger town would have to be within a reasonable driving distance, so I could go there whenever I'd get the urge to socialize or see a movie.

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!
I think my wishes would be pretty basic. I'd wish for happiness. Not love, because I think happiness is the broader definition which includes love. I'd like to know I'll live the rest of my life as a happy, content person.
Then I'd wish for health for me and my loved ones. Which sort of might already be included in the happiness part, because it really wouldn't be a happy life if your loved ones or you yourself died at an early age or you had to suffer a long illness. Also, I'm a very active person and I hope to remain physically active until I'm old and grey.
My last wish would be a materialistic one. I'd want financial independence. Which, let's face it, might actually also be included in happiness. Financial independence would allow me to work for fun and spend the rest of my time pursuing other projects and traveling.
In case either health or financial security were already included in happiness, I'd go with the ever popular world peace :)

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. ;)
Hm, that's a tough one. I don't feel like I've accomplished all that much so far. If I had to pick one thing it'd probably be getting my phd, since I invested a lot of time and energy into the research and writing of my thesis. And I feel it helped me grow as a person and a scientist.

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.
Most important would have to be knowledge. I guess not picking family or friendship makes me a horrible person, right? But in all honesty, even though I love my friends and family, I believe knowledge is more important. The saying “knowledge is power” really is true. And things like money, or even adventure and to a certain degree pleasure are actually by-products of knowledge. I also honestly believe the world would be a far better place, if everyone was just a tiny bit smarter. That might be a pretty naïve way of looking at things, but it couldn't hurt, right?
The least important thing for me out of that list would be money. Not to say that money isn't important, it's just something I don't really think about or strive for. Granted, this is coming from someone who never wanted for anything, but compared to the rest of the things on that list, money is definitely the thing with least importance

5. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values? Explain.
“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot.” Albert Einstein
I mentioned before that I believe knowledge to be one of the most important aspects in life, one that everyone should strive for. And if everyone was just a little bit smarter, more knowledgeable, the world just might be a better place. However, with knowledge comes responsibility. Not only in the world of science, where history provides us with an abundance of deterrent examples, but I believe this also extends to our personal lives. The more you know about a person, the more power and ammunition you have to deeply hurt them. Thus, the trust someone places in you by letting you get to know them is a gift that comes with a great responsibility.

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 guess I already talked a bit about that in my answers to 2. and 4. While I do think financial security is important, money itself is not that important to me. I would be just as happy, if I had less money. I'd just not want to have to worry about whether I'd be able to pay my rent at the end of the day. However, if what's left after all my expenses is a large or a tiny sum of money is really inconsequential to me. That's also the way I manage my money. I don't want to have to deal with it or spend a lot of time thinking about it. Luckily, that's worked so far ;)

7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
Most of my favorite hobbies center around the outdoors. I love hiking, climbing, snowboarding... Basically, if you can do it outdoors, and in the mountains, I'll love it. When I'm at home (which is rare these days), I love to read and watch my tv shows. I've only recently started writing, but it's fast becoming another hobby of mine. And, last but not least, I couldn't function without music. I listen to it pretty much constantly, I've played the piano since I was six and I've been known to sing.

8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
Two things I'm afraid of on a fundamental level are being forgotten and disappointing others. My fear of being forgotten does not only encompass my fear of living a meaningless life and leaving nothing worthwhile or worth remembering behind, but also my social insecurities of people literally forgetting about me, not inviting me or including me. I guess my fear of disappointing others is linked to that to a certain degree. I have this need for others to think the best of me.
My third fear is something more mundane and probably a bit silly. I'm deathly afraid of spiders! Those things just creep me out. Especially the big ones with hairy legs. Just gross!

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.
Best qualities:
I'm very adaptable and a quick learner. I usually pick up new things, be it physical tasks or more complex, abstract concepts pretty effortlessly and very quickly. That is very closely linked to my ability to adapt very well to new situations, to the point where I can usually fool people into believing I've been doing some new task my whole life and actually know what I'm doing :)
I have an analytical mind. Coming from a science background, I have the ability to quickly grasp a situation, break it down, analyze it and form conclusions, leading to a possible solution. I'm very good at seeing patterns and connections or finding gaps and faults in existing theories.
Last but not least, I'm a good listener. I find that people like to come to me for advice or just to vent or tell me about their day.

Worst qualities:
I'm terribly impatient to the point where I've been known to pick a fight when someone was not getting the point fast enough. However, I'm also impatient with myself, getting fed up with tasks when I can't complete them fast enough.
I'm a big procrastinator. Mind you, I always finish things on time, I just can't help but start things at the last minute. I work best when I feel the stress and pressure of a deadline, and I can never motivate myself to start things well ahead of time.
I have a tendency to think the worst of people. I guess you could say I'm a misanthrope. Mostly, this is a defense mechanism which prevents me from being disappointed by others.

A Song of Ice and Fire Related

1.How many books from the series have you completed?
I've read all of them.

2.Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?
Jorah Mormont. Why do I love Jorah? Because he's a romantic at heart. Even a world away from home, even after his chivalry and romantic nature got him banished in the first place. He has is set of values and his own moral compass and he sticks with it. Because he is stubborn and proud to a fault. Even if it gets him banished by his queen, the woman he loves. He is smart and adaptable, quickly learning the important languages and customs of Essos and the Dothraaki. The scene that never fails to destroy me is how after everything he's been through as a slave, hearing of Dany's marriage is the thing that breaks him. Because that is the sort of man he is. On a shallow note, it doesn't hurt that Iain Glen is playing him in the series ;)
Daenerys Targaryen. Dany's story arch is the one that fascinates me the most. How she grows from a shy, insecure girl who is sold off by her brother to a barbaric, giant horse lord, to the mother of dragons and queen in her own right. I love how she's far from perfect and certainly makes her share of bad choices, be it personal ones (Daario. Really? A dude with blue hair and gold teeth?) or strategical ones like staying in Mereen. However, after everything she's been through, she still manages to retain a piece of innocence, of humanity. To paraphrase Jorah, she has a gentle heart, and I do hope she manages to preserve that til the end.
Tyrion Lannister. How can anyone not love Tyrion Lannister? He's smart and very resourceful. He's funny. His dry wit and sarcasm never fail to crack me up. He doesn't lament the hand life dealt him, but tries to make the best of it. And if that isn't reason enough to like him, without him and his quick wit, Jorah probably wouldn't have survived.

3.Who are your least favorite three characters in the series? Why?
Lysa Tully. She's just an utterly unlikeable character, who is strongly motivated by her own jealousy, be it toward her own sister or Sansa. And breast feeding her child until he's old enough to talk? Come on.
Lynesse Hightower. Granted, we never really learn much about her, except from Jorah's point of view, so I might be a bit biased. But anyone who doesn't like it on Bear Island and who can't appreciate everything Jorah, the good old romantic bear, tried to do for her is instantly unlikeable.
Shae. Again, I might be biased by my love for Tryion. And the fact that we have her to thank for his new round of obsessive “Where do whores go?” questions, which I find utterly annoying. My main problem with Shae is that we never really get insight into her motivations. Was she ever really in love with Tyrion, or was that just an act? If it was an act, what did she hope to gain from it? I realize that is more GRRM's fault than the characters. But I have a really hard time picking three characters I don't like, so Shae is what you get ;)

4.#1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?
That's a tie between the end of GoT, with Dany birthing her dragons, and the Red Wedding. Both are scenes that stayed with me for a long time, albeit for quite different reasons. Whereas Dany's fiery baptism and birth of her dragons was just this fantastic, awe-inducing moment, ultimately changing her story arch forever, the Red Wedding was the kind of horrible scene you find yourself reading with open mouth and wide eyes, unable to believe the words you're reading, but unable to stop yourself from finding out who else gets killed.

5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?
I probably have a very unconventional opinion on that. I don't really care who sits the iron throne or if they divide up Westeros into smaller kingdoms. In the end, I just want Daenerys to be happy. I know it sounds completely trivial, but I really think she deserves some happiness, and the chance to choose her own fate and future, not because she feels obligated by some sense of queenly duty. I want her to be able to experience free will, want her to choose her own happiness for purely selfish reasons for the first time in her life.