win or die
Sep. 16th, 2012 11:25 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
haveaday510.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
westerosortingName: Sarah
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!): A link from DeviantArt, under a fantastic modern!Starks drawing by an artist named Sigune
Age: 26
Location: Newcastle, UK but I am from the US originally (New England, if you want to know that too)
Occupation: Getting my Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology. Before that, I worked a lot with adults with developmental disabilities and LOVED it. Ideally, I would do SLP with that same population, if once I get certified.
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!
US or UK? To be honest, at this stage, I don't know. I love New England (especially Vermont and Boston, MA) and Old England equally, and I know that whichever place I end up living, I will be equal parts happy and wistful for the other.
Geographically? I want to be in or near a small city, Boston or Newcastle-sized (places like NYC and London are too much for me), but also near a rural area with access to lots of good hiking. I like having easy access to civilization (a metro/subway stop nearby would not go amiss), but I also need to commune with nature once in a while to keep my sanity. Moors are good. Trees are great. Mountains are best. Snow in the winter, good foliage in the fall and nice spring/summer days would be awesome too.
I'm kind of a minimalist when it comes to possessions, so I don't need or want anything large or fancy, but I want something that's unique and very me. I like colors and skylights and cool angles (attic-type rooms are great) and fun spaces (window seats and the like), lots of bookshelves and landscape pictures and maps on the walls. I want the essential and the quirky - I would go for a messy finger-painting by someone I know over fancy highbrow art any day. My room today has a section devoted to artwork made by clients from my old jobs, and I would like to keep that.
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!
1) The end of discrimination against LGBT people in the world. I don’t need all the churches to open their doors and hang rainbow flags (thought I wouldn’t complain if they did) but the hate crimes, LGBT-targeted bullying, workplace inequality, tolerance of anti-gay slurs in real life and the media, and (most importantly) the anti-gay legislation needs to stop. And I mean all of it, from DOMA in the US to execute-openly-gay-people in Uganda. We need to be past this, like now. It's just ridiculous.
2) More pro-activity and fewer political power games in our world’s governments. I don’t know how to solve the world’s problems, but I’m sure there are people out there who do and it would be nice if they could actually do it. If they can't fix our mess of a world completely, it would be nice if people in power legitimately worked together to try. I bet we'd be surprised at how much good would get done if everyone put other people's needs in front of their own.
3) So we've fixed the world and now... lets get rid of my student loans. I don't need to be rich, I just don't want to be in debt anymore. That's all.
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. ;)
My career path so far has involved me working with adults with physical and developmental disabilities. I worked at a sleep-away summer camp for three years, and a full-time day program for two years. I loved what I did and felt like I made a real positive contribution to clients’ lives. I am very proud of that, and I hope that I can keep that up in the rest of my career.
Also I finally managed to manually light a European-style gas oven without a) killing anyone or b) causing any sort of fire damage to the apartment. VERY proud of that.
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.
Although knowledge comes in a very close second, and family/friendship/love earn their honorable mentions, I'm going to have to say adventure is the most important.
-Adventures are awesome. I like having adventures. Without them, I stagnate and life becomes routine and unmotivating and that is sad.
-Adventures contribute to knowledge. The more you see of the world, the more you do, the mistakes you make and the things you accomplish...all of that increases your knowledge of the world in a way that will stay with you longer than any fact you read in a book. And it makes for good stories.
-In case it hasn't come out yet, I'm kind of a romantic and an idealist. I want to reach the end of my life feeling like I've lived it to the fullest.
Least important is easy: money. I know that I've been lucky enough to lead a fairly privileged life, growing up in a middle-class home, so money hasn't been a major issue for me the way it is with a lot of people nowadays. It's certainly a major concern in my life as a graduate student. But I don't need a ton of it, and I think too much of it corrupts. There is a whole political rant about this that I will skip.
5. What's one quote (or passage, song lyric, etc.) that effectively describes you and your values? Explain.
I recently saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and I loved this one: “Everything turns out alright in the end, so if it’s not alright, it’s not the end.”
To be honest, I don’t always manage to be that laid back and optimistic about things, but I try to be. It's that kind of "take a breath and hang in there" message I find myself telling people (and myself) frequently when things get rough.
This quote by Benjamin Franklin comes in close second: “Beer is God’s way of telling us he loves us and wants us to be happy.” Truer words were never spoken, my friend.
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 want to be able to survive and pay my student loans. I don't know if I ever want kids, but I would want to provide for them and make them happy. I love to travel and have adventures, so if I can afford to do that (even... no, especially on a shoe-string budget) that would be nice. That said, I don't need to be the 1%. I don't WANT to be the 1%. I manage my money carefully, as much as I need to so that I know I won't go bankrupt before I graduate, but I do it out of necessity, not the desire to be rich.
7. Name (and elaborate on) some of your hobbies. What are your favorite things to do outside of school/the office?
Read. No big surprise there, given that this is a community based on A Song of Ice and Fire. People who don't like to read are probably few and far between around here.
Write. I have a travel blog, and I've been doing creative-type writing (stories and novellas) since I was 8 and wrote a story about a school secretary dumping a wastebasket over her own head and causing madness in the classroom. Grad school has kind of separated me from this hobby in particular, but I try to keep it up with my blog. I don't think I'll ever be published, but I write for me, not the market, so that's okay.
Hike. Give me a nice moor or mountain and some decent weather (read: not down-pouring, this is Britain after all) and I'm happy.
Jigsaw puzzles. They are relaxing and help me think. Also I feel very accomplished when I'm done.
-Exploring/traveling/having adventures/blogging about them. See above. I've been to 12 countries on 3 continents. I would love to think I'm not done.
-Making fun of/being made fun of by British people. It's a laugh.
8. Name three things you are afraid of. Explain.
1) Wasps. Not being stung by wasps, that’s fine. I can handle that. It’s the buzzing and the flying and the aggressive stares and the pure evil, demonic, devil-worshiping, kamikaze little buggers that… okay deep breath. Wasps. Yeah.
2) Being betrayed by my friends. It hasn’t happened in a long time, but it has happened and it left its mark on me. I have a hard time getting close to people because of it.
3) Failure. Not in a perfectionist kind of way, but in a massive-scale, drastic and unfixable mistake, resonates through the rest of my life, humiliating and permanent defeat kind of way. That's where one of (actually... both) the above quotes comes in handy.
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
Right then. Here goes.
BEST.
1) Independence. If I want to do something, I do it. I don't wait for other people to join me, or do the same thing. I learned when I was a kid that if you copy what everyone else is doing, you end up with a life shaped around what other people want, and that is extremely dissatisfying. I work well on my own and can take care of myself. I'm also a very good solo traveler, if I do say so myself.
2) Even though I was born with a complex and serious heart defect, I have never sought attention, let myself be helpless or let my life be shaped in any way by it. I don't let it stop me from doing what I want, I manage my own health without becoming a burden on other people, and I get on with it.
3) I try very hard to have a positive effect on other people's lives, including friends, family, coworkers and clients. I shaped my career around it. I try to listen to people when they have problems and be helpful/supportive when I can. I like to be there for people when they need me, and as much as I can I try to put their needs first when the situation calls for it. I know that this seems to contradict my first point, but what can I say? Life is complex.
WORST.
1) I have a lot of difficulty trusting people, even my closest friends. I keep people at arm's length, out of paranoia that people are constantly laughing behind my back and one day will all turn against me.
2) Me stressed = me moody. Even after 26 years, I can't pretend to be in a good or relaxed mood when I'm not. The best I can do to avoid taking my stresses out on other people is retreat until the mood passes.
3) I have a tendency to daydream during important conversations, and to lock myself out of my apartment. It has been said that I think way too much, and obsess about things. These are all interrelated.
A Song of Ice and Fire Related
1. How many books from the series have you completed?
Just finished A Feast for Crows, but I've read spoilerific reviews/summaries of A Dance with Dragons so I think I know all the major points.
2. Who are your favorite three characters in the series? Why?
3) Tyrion Lannister. Because he is possibly the smartest semi-altruistic character in the series, and he has (almost) all the best lines.
2) Hodor. This one was inevitable, given what I do for a living. I love Hodor for a billion reasons, which are effectively summarized in this one scene in A Storm of Swords:
"Jojen shaded his eyes with a hand and gazed off toward the setting sun. 'Look, there's something...A rider, I think. Do you see him?’
"Bran shaded his eyes as well, and even so he had to squint. He saw nothing at first, till some movement made him turn. At first he thought it might be Summer, but no. A man on a horse. He was too far away to see much else.
"'Hodor?' Hodor had put a hand over his eyes as well, only he was looking the wrong way. 'Hodor?'"
How can anyone not love him, I mean seriously?
1) Arya Stark. Because I spend a lot of time wishing I was half as badass as she is, and she’s 11. Because being afraid of something pushes her to confront it more than she would if she didn’t care (ex. eating the worm). She is powerful and smart and strong and quick and awesome. But I’m afraid of where her killing-lots-of-people storyline is headed.
(Honorable mentions: Daenerys, Bran, Asha, Sansa, Catelyn. If Alleras does turn out to be Sarella Sand, then her too. Dolorous Edd, Renly… wait was that more than three? Sorry. See "obsessive" above.)
3. Who are your least favorite three characters in the series? Why?
3) Walder Frey, the eldest (though his namesakes, especially the two fostered at Winterfell, are not far behind). He is a cranky old man who has no cause to be cranky. He is self-centered, arrogant, greedy and way too complacent with his own power. He is also the worst wedding host in the history of ever. I mean, seriously.
2) Lysa Tully. She is a worse mother than Cersei and that is saying something. Somewhere along the line (most likely the incident with Petyr, her father and some tansy) this woman was seriously messed up in the head, and her insanity has caused a whole host of problems all over the place, not the least of which is raising the most incompetent Lord and Protector of the Vale ever. Petyr Baelish was an improvement to that situation, which is also saying something. I actually felt relieved when he pushed Lysa off the mountain, in a "thank God she can't do any more damage" kind of way.
1) Ser Alliser Thorne. Jon doesn’t even make my top 10 list of favorite characters, but there is no excuse for Ser Thorne treating him and Sam the way he does, or anyone else for that matter. It’s his job to see that new recruits are prepared to be men of the Night's Watch, not humiliate them and exact petty revenges when they retaliate. It’s a stupid I-have-to-be-better-than-you-and-have-the-last-word-always type of power game and there is no point. So lay off.
(Honorable mentions: Joffrey (duh), Stannis, Melisandre, Viserys, Tywin, the Boltons, Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Margery Tyrell)
4. #1 Favorite moment in all of ASOIAF so far? Why?
Oh good lord there are so many. I loved Robb being named King of the North, then winning battles and capturing Jamie Lannister. I loved when Brienne beat Jamie in the fight. I loved the dragon-hatching scene, Catelyn shamelessly name-dropping before going all “this man tried to kill my son, now arrest him” (misguided, yes and with bad consequences, but a great moment for her and completely understandable given what she thought she knew about Tyrion), every moment when Tyrion proved himself to be the best Hand ever (so basically all his chapters in A Clash of Kings until the end)…
…but I think this one wins for me:
Sansa-as-Alayne building a snow-Winterfell at the Eyrie. Up until this point, she has been the least Stark of all the Starks. She is happy to leave Winterfell, her direwolf dies first, she's had to pretend to side against her family in the war, and fake happiness when they lose. Ever since Ned was killed, her life has been an endless acceptance of the terrible things that people have done to her and her family, saving her own life by smiling and pretending to enjoy and/or deserve what is happening, while everything she has ever hoped for is systematically taken away. She's rescued, she gets this moment of peace, and what does she do? She plays in the snow, and builds Winterfell.
I love how much work she puts into it; it feels like the first time in forever that Sansa can freely express herself without worrying about the consequences, or anything else in the world. This scene made her seem truly free, and I love that.
I even like the part where Petyr knows instantly that it’s Winterfell and helps her complete it. The kiss kills the mood, but I'll consider the scene right up to that point and be happy with it.
5. In your dream-world, how would you like to see the series end, and why?
-Sansa as Warden of the North and in charge of Winterfell. And I don’t mean Tyrion, that guy Petyr is setting her up with, Petyr himself or any other man Sansa ends up marrying. I mean Sansa. She is growing a lot and learning how to be a smart and capable manager of people, and she already had a lot of skill in that area to begin with. Even Tyrion noticed how good she was at being a noble member of court. She could be Lady of Winterfell and everyone would love her.
-A Tyrion and Daenerys alliance would be fantastic. Dany as Queen and Tyrion as Hand would be the buddy cop movie of the ASOIAF universe. Brilliant.
-The Starks (whoever is still alive, that is) need to reunite. Including Nymeria. And her pack.
-The theory of Jon Snow’s parentage turns out to be true, and so he becomes the fabled thrid head of this 3-headed dragon. Also the horn that Ghost found buried with all the dragonglass weapons turns out to be the Horn of Winter, and Jon Snow single-handedly saves the world from the Others. He’s not even my favorite character but I want all that to happen, okay?
-Theon dies, but not painfully. Maybe even a little bit honorably. I never thought I would feel sorry for him, but I do. He deserves a good death.
-Arya and/or Brienne become knights and join the Kingsguard. Too much?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Oh no!
Date: 2012-09-17 10:19 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2012-09-17 10:21 am (UTC)[MARTELL]
Date: 2012-09-17 10:29 am (UTC)[TARGARYEN]
Date: 2012-09-17 01:57 pm (UTC)Stark for you
[TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-17 02:06 pm (UTC)Also, I really enjoyed the way you have written this. idk why, but it made for an excellent read =D
eta: sorry for forgetting to put my house in!
Re: [TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-21 10:48 pm (UTC)Re: [TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-21 11:06 pm (UTC)[MARTELL]
Date: 2012-09-17 02:46 pm (UTC)Also, Newcastle! I'm an American headed up that way in exactly one week now. :)
Re: [MARTELL]
Date: 2012-09-21 10:48 pm (UTC)[Tully]
Date: 2012-09-17 04:27 pm (UTC)[TYRELL]
Date: 2012-09-17 06:31 pm (UTC)[STARK]
Date: 2012-09-17 08:27 pm (UTC)[STARK]
Date: 2012-09-17 08:54 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-18 02:12 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-18 05:29 pm (UTC)Also, I feel like I am sort of your
Re: [TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-21 10:50 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-18 05:35 pm (UTC)[TARGARYEN]
Date: 2012-09-18 08:38 pm (UTC)[TYRELL]
Date: 2012-09-18 09:35 pm (UTC)[GREYJOY]
Date: 2012-09-18 09:48 pm (UTC)[TYRELL]
Date: 2012-09-19 02:15 am (UTC)[Tully]
Date: 2012-09-19 02:20 am (UTC)[STARK]
Date: 2012-09-19 07:36 am (UTC)[STARK]
Date: 2012-09-19 08:58 am (UTC)[TYRELL]
Date: 2012-09-19 04:17 pm (UTC)[TARGARYEN]
Date: 2012-09-19 07:05 pm (UTC)[MARTELL]
Date: 2012-09-19 08:12 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-19 09:04 pm (UTC)[MARTELL]
Date: 2012-09-19 09:57 pm (UTC)[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-09-20 01:38 am (UTC)[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-09-20 02:35 am (UTC)[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-09-20 11:57 am (UTC)[TARGARYEN]
Date: 2012-09-20 12:30 pm (UTC)LANNISTER
Date: 2012-09-20 01:56 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-20 04:09 pm (UTC)[LANNISTER]
Date: 2012-09-20 05:02 pm (UTC)[TYRELL]
Date: 2012-09-20 08:39 pm (UTC)[TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-20 10:10 pm (UTC)And your Franklin quote reminded me of a friend that collects beer quotes. Here's one that I contributed to his collection that I like a lot, b/c it makes me laugh:
"In wine there is wisdom,
In beer there is strength,
In water there is bacteria." -- German proverb
ETA: oops, forgot my house.
Re: [TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-21 10:52 pm (UTC)Re: [TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-22 04:18 am (UTC)Here's TJ's beer quote page if you want to take a gander: http://home.hiwaay.net/~tjhiggin/beer.shtml#DrinkingQuotes
Re: [TULLY]
Date: 2012-09-22 04:21 am (UTC)-------------------------------------
I only knew about that proverb b/c a former co-worker had it on the wall of his cubicle. XD (I don't really drink that often.)
Here's TJ's beer quote page if you want to take a gander:
home.hiwaay.net/~tjhiggin/beer.shtml#DrinkingQuotes
[MARTELL]
Date: 2012-09-21 03:07 am (UTC)SORTED: STARK
Date: 2012-09-21 05:11 pm (UTC)You may join
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