Proust Questionnaire
I was tagged by @somethingwendythiswaycomes. Thanks!!!
-- What is your idea of perfect happiness?
I guess I'm lucky to state that I've had it many times in my life. The moments when Mystic (The AwesomeCat) would lay down in my arms or across my chest, or when he'd fall asleep in my lap. The quiet times I get to spend with W, like when we went to the beach for her birthday, or when she is laying next to me and we're both reading.
I'm really an easy man to please... I like to laugh, I like good music, I like to read, and I love it when those I love are in my arms and beside me. Give me a big mug of ice water and I'm good to go!
-- Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I don't think there are any. I wouldn't even know where to begin ... I don't think I ever really see myself in anyone, but I know I am an amalgamation of so many that I have learned about, learned from, and those who have left a mark on me, both good and bad.
-- Which living person do you most admire?
I feel so let down by so many... those I respected that turned out to be just awful fucking humans, so filled with hate... I just don't have an answer for this.
There are those who I served with who rank highly in my mind, those who I fought fires with and responded to disasters with, those who do so much good in the world... and yet... to name one that I most admire... from cartographers to authors... I have a lot of people I think of.. but I really can't name one.
-- What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My inability to understand my physical condition and limits. I still think I can do anything and everything and my body is like NOPE... but I don't have my head in reality yet... and it gets me in a lot of trouble when I push it.
-- What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Lack of critical thinking and people who are full of hate.
-- What is your greatest extravagance?
Ask W, I'm not really one to spend money on stuff. The only thing I do NOT skimp on is food! Eat well and live happy is one of my strongest beliefs.
Do not starve yourself, do not eat crappy tasting shit, do not torture yourself with carboard and licking wallpaper!
My rule is simple... all bills are paid, a nice chunk goes into savings, and the biggest expense is good food.
But unfortunately, that's "within reason" ... It's been a very long time since I bought crab legs, or oysters on the half shell. Even a good steak has become less and less since COVID made prices skyrocket. But flank steak is now 8 bucks a pound and a good strip is 10 so we got some :)
-- What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Sentimentality is the first thing that comes to mind... and I'm a very sentimental person when it comes to things I own and experienced.
But the truth is, so many people use it as an excuse to not try new things, explore new places, or even just appreciate the joy that is the here and now.
People use it all the time as a cover for being afraid of change, and that's bullshit.
-- On what occasion do you lie?
I used to tell Mystic that he was the smartest cat... he was an orange tabby... you can figure that one out.
-- What is your greatest regret?
Not graduating from LMU...
--When and where are you happiest?
In a lazyboy, at night, with a big thing of water, some sunflower seeds, a good book, and a cat asleep on my lap.
-- What do you consider your greatest achievement?
The next one.
Sounds flippant doesn't it? For all I have achieved, for all that I have done, for all that I have experienced in my life... that was yesterday. Tomorrow is the intimidating thing.
I'll take a recent example for you - I remember looking at all of the emergency management training certifications.. AEM, CEMS, APS, PDS, NEMBA..... and going... NOPE... I'd never be able to take those classes, and I'd never pass if I did. There's too many, they're really difficult to get into, they're even harder to pass.
I now have 3 of the 5 and I only have one more class to get the NEMBA.
But those things are over... yes they were hard, yes they took so much out of me, yes I'm proud of them but...
It's one of those things where things I don't have seem so freaking incredible and amazing and difficult... but once I get them, it loses that AWE'ness... and I'm always chasing that for some reason.
Now if you ask me what am I most proud of - that's different.
I'm most proud of W... I somehow figured out the right combo of words and actions to get us to where we are today. I'm proud of our relationship, I'm proud of our life together, and more than anything, I'm proud of who she has become. Her work, her brand, her growth has been phenomenal... and so has her healing from both familial issues and the crap she went through in academia.
-- If you could choose to come back as something, what would it be?
I dunno... a capybara maybe?
What is your most treasured possession?
Probably half and half between my camera and my books.
-- Where would you like to live?
Orange County or San Diego by the beach. In a single family home with a backyard and a nice garage. I want the nice weather, the nice access to all the things to see and do, the solitude of no noisy people above me or sharing a wall with me, and just all the things that make me happy.
-- What is your favorite occupation?
The space i'm in right now... pretty fond of occupying it to be honest! Next to me is pretty amazing too.
But job wise... I've always had a belief that work pays you to live life. You work to afford the things that matter... work doesn't. Work is a means to more!
my
I've had a lot of jobs... As a teen I helped my father now and then with his electrical contracting business... which meant that more often than not I was just a delivery driver or working in the warehouse. I also helped my mothers boyfriend who was a P.I which meant I would often plant listening devices, deliver hidden cameras, and even just sit on a curb with a hidden camera cause no one would think twice about some kid just sitting there for hours reading a book.
I did a lot of different things in the Marines... mostly with electronics and communications... I was a police and fire dispatcher... I was a firefighter and EMT for a long time... wildland, urban, even fire boats!
I have done emergency management, disaster response, and even humanitarian aid missions around the globe.
I worked for a newspaper for a little bit... I was an incident and arson photographer for the department....
I worked in the Career Counseling office at UCLA.....
I know I'm forgetting a lot... but I always worked... I always put in at least 56 to 96 hours a week, on top of going to school.
OH! I just remember another one, I handled police officer involved shooting investigations for a law firm.
But honestly, I don't think I ever had an occupation that was a favorite... if I had to pick just one... it'd be cartographer. Making maps makes me happy in a way no other job ever did, enough that I'm willing to keep doing it in my free time.
-- What is your most marked characteristic?
2 things - Mike Jokes and Mikepedia. People know me for my really really bad jokes, some people call them awful, some people call them terrible.... some people will warn you to beware of when I go "full on Mike!" I go through laugh smiling, happy, and laughing.... everything strikes me as funny.... even at the worst of times. But when you saw the things I did, did the things I have done... you don't survive without being a bit bent. Other drink, do drugs, go dark... I went light... I went with bad dad jokes.
Mikepedia is a special thing, or as W calls me, her personal F1 key (for those that don't know, if you press F1 on your keyboard, the help info appears!)
The #1 thing I hear pretty much every day from people is "How the fuck do you know that????" I know - a lot - about a lot. I started my educational endeavors as a BioChem major with a CompSci minor. I have papers that have fancy titles on them that say Earth Science, Meteorology, Geography.... I study fire, environmental science, urban planning and housing, geomorphology, disasterology, geology, and oceanography to name a few....
On top of that, I read... I read a lot... I read about history, and politics, and war, and recovery - recovery from war and disaster. I read about mysteries, and spies, and this and that, and more stuff!
I follow historians and news journalists and war correspondents and OSINT and this and that's on twitter and elsewhere so I get a good understanding of what is happening here and abroad.
And I still keep my feet solidly in the compsci/tech world, learning new languages, programs, technologies, and skills.
So yeah... between what I've done and what I've learned... it's a wide gamut of information to draw from.
--- What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty, a good sense of humor, being a good person, good critical thinking skills, not being judgmental, and actually giving a shit about people and friendships.
--- Who are your favorite writers?
First and foremost is Douglas Adams... his ability to make me laugh is 2nd to none. I don't even care about the plots or the stories... just the way he wrote was incredible and I'm so glad I got to read his books when I needed them the most!
Second would be Gerry Carroll. His death was a great loss to the military fiction genre. His books were so good I have them in hardcover, paperback, and ebook because I read them so much!
And a special mention to a guy of many names: Nicholas Cain.
He wrote under the names of Nik Uhernik, Jack Hawkins, and Robert Baxter to name a few... but all of his books were some of my absolute favorites. From his Chopper 1 series to Saigon commandos, they're just my #1 non-guilty pleasure when it comes to reading.
--- Who are your heroes in real life?
At this point, I'm so tired of what I see in the world... it's anyone who has a good heart and isn't a fucking moron.
--- How would you like to die?
In my sleep, 10 decades after my 100th birthday.
--- What is your motto?
“This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” - Winston Churchill
“Do it or don’t do it — you will regret both.” - Søren Kierkegaard, from Either/Or
“I just took my mind off the hook for a bit. I reckoned that if the world wanted me badly enough it would call back”
and
“…there is no point in driving yourself mad trying to stop yourself going mad. You might just as well give in and save your sanity for later.” - Ford Prefect in Douglas Adam’s The Life, The Universe and Everything
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