Five more Questions, 2 more times

Answered these before the weekend, but did not feel like posting them just yet.

Because pbwashu asked

1. You state regularly that you hate everyone, some more than others. Is this really true, or part of your cultivated air of indifference?

Nope. I kinda do. Part of my anger management is recognizing those things that upset me, and dealing with them. People in general just piss me off. Doesn’t stop me from liking them, but being around folks is not the most fun experience in the world at times.

I jokingly describe myself as a “functioning sociopath,” but sometimes it’s not all that funny. I exhibit many signs of Antisocial Personality Disorder, which is sometimes referred to as “serial killer syndrome.” It’s mostly not my fault, but I don’t use the injury as an excuse.

I’m just a miserable bastard sometimes. And some folks need a good stomping.

I manage. The benefits of having other people in my life outweigh the “costs” of irritation and anger.

2. What would you be willing to give up in order to be able to go into space?

I’m assuming that you mean permanently. A weekend trip on the Russian station holds no appeal for me, But to live and work amongst the stars I’d probably give up everything not connected to my body.

3. You have offspring, I know. Do you have a relationship with ?

Not the one I want. I’m working towards a different one

4. Is there a single romantic relationship that you regret more than any other? This could include one you desired and never had.

I try to live without regrets. Blessed with hindsight, there are certainly choices I would make differently, and people I would not have hurt. But I cannot change the past, and I’m not sure that doing so is all that good of an idea.

5. Which do you enjoy more – straight distillates (i. e. rum, whiskey, tequila, etc.) or mixed drinks?

Mixed drinks. Any food product that has to be prepared or combined with another is preferable to one that comes straight from the manufacturer. When I get a cocktail or mixed drink, the bartender had to make it for me, and although I have an expectation as to taste, I really don’t know what I’m going to get. His/her style and method is what I’m paying for, and I don’t mind the higher price I pay to drink in bars vs at home.

With beer or spirits, I know what is coming if I’ve had that brand/variety before. Wine is different, as are small batch beers that change frequently. But generally, I want something that is prepared, and for which I show gratitude (or disdain) to the preparer.

and then buttrflydrming asked

1. How do you find time for it all?

I don’t. I strive instead to find a balance between what needs to be done, and what I want to do.

2. Would you rather be able to run very fast or to lift heavy things? When would that come in handy?

Run fast. Lifting things is for suckers, and any thing can be lifted with enough mechanical advantage. And by run fast, I’m talking so fast I’m a blur to the eye fast, outracing bullets and dancing between raindrops fast.

I hate running slow. It makes me feel fat and awkward, like I’m standing in molasses. I’m not built for speed, I’m built for explosive power. I’m actually built for lifting heavy things, and even in my reduced state can do so.

But to run….

3. Favorite minor character out of J.M.Barrie’s Peter Pan?

Dark revelation time. I really don’t have fond memories of the mythos. I find Barrie himself more interesting than his constructs, and preferred the tales of Oz, the thousand acre wood, or the Deep Woods and Hollow Tree book.

Reviewing what I remember, I like the Picanninny tribe, and Tiger Lily in particular.

4. I could certainly be doing something more productive now, if there was something to do. What do you do at work during slow times? Are there any?

There aren’t any, but I have to slow things down frequently. I read, catch up on current events, or network in “off” times.

There aren’t a lot of those recently. In fact, of late I have been entirely without the balance referenced in q1. Which is very amusing, given how well the rest of my life is going.

5. On the topic of friendship: what friendship has been your best and/or longest lasting?

Is it a cop-out to say my mother? I’ve never really known anyone else like her, and I can’t imagine a world without her in it. Or more accurately, I choose not to.

I have a few friends from High School with which I correspond regularly, but the folks I met in the next three years form the core of my “oldest” friends. Given what a right bastard I was back then, I’m frequently amazed that they stuck it out with me. But I’m awful glad they did.