Interview questions from ![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cathouse_blues
Jun. 15th, 2003 12:35 am1. Would you be happier with more sweethearts, do you think, or fewer?
Hmmm... I have a strong motivation to explore and try new things, a motivation which I've unleashed everywhere except in my social life and relationships. I like to experiment, to poke-and-prod and figure out things. So if I could do so without harming others dear to me, I'd want to be more daring, cuddle/date/play with/experience more people, more personality types and intellects and body types and different kinks and styles. Not everything/everyone would work for me, I'm sure, but it would be fun to explore someday. But I'm not sure that that's feasible now.
But that's tangential... the question was more narrowly focussed on the optimal number of ongoing, long-term relationships. Frame of reference is important... if the question implies fewer-but-deeper vs. many-and-shallow, then clearly I'd pick the former. Connecting on many levels is important to me. If the question is implying "are you open to more relationships" then I'd say yes, I'm open (but not in a particular hurry to find any). But much would depend on how any new sweeties fit into my life -- given family commitments and my travel schedule, as well as my commitments to existing partners.
2. Would you ever want to live completely alone?
On a personal level? No. I'm happier around people. If I have something to occupy myself (an experiment, some duty to perform, etc) I can be productive in isolation for extended periods. I could live for six months alone in a capsule or in a wilderness without going insane. But being able to handle that kind of adversity doesn't mean that I would choose it for off-duty hours. I'd rather live with others. I've never lived completely alone -- unless one counts living in a single room in a college dorm for two years. Even there, it was a crowded, communal setting.
3. What sort of life do you envision for David?
David's a bright kid -- his test scores place him in the local gifted-and-talented program range, if he weren't otherwise in special ed. His issues aren't in understanding or analysis, they're in understanding others, picking up on situational cues and choosing the right behavior for a setting. And social integration. I think that secondary school will be hard for him... he'll almost certainly be an outsider, a loner, perhaps stigmatized. Academically, I'm sure he'll succeed, unless he lapses into depression or apathy because of all the negative social feedback. If he can clear the hurdle of high school, I think that life will slowly start moving in his favor... his intellect and charm will be increasingly valued over his social awkwardness. College should be better, grad school is a possibility. I think that he can be a highly successful, contributing individual, in the mainstream.
4. Do you want us to go back to the moon?
A qualified yes. If we use exploration of the Moon as a trial ground for techniques, facilities and technologies that we'll need for future exploration of Mars and the other planets, then I support it with a clear conscience. But it has to contribute to humanity's long-term reach into space, as well as our understanding of the universe. A politically-motivated "flags and footprints" program with no lasting legacy, like Apollo, would be negative. It would consume the only opportunity we'd likely have to get out of Earth orbit for the next 20-50 years without building anything that we could take onward. And probably wouldn't add all that much to our understanding of the solar system. So if this administration proposes an Apollo-style lunar return in 2017, I'd oppose it.
5. What sort of life do you envision for *yourself*?
I'm getting too old to have a reasonable shot at getting an astronaut slot... so a future move to Houston seems less likely. I want to continue to contribute to adding to knowledge, to exploring, and to extend our reach in various little ways. And to have a lot of fun in so doing ;-).
I'd like a home someday with multiple adults, with kids and pets underfoot, with noise, laughter, energy and chaotic life teeming around me. It doesn't need to be Martha Stewart-tidy or spotless, but it has to be loving and comfortable. And I want to enable all of my children to have the opportunity to realize their personal potentials.
And I want to travel a lot, to meet interesting people, places, and cultures, to be spiritually-rooted, ethical and to keep learning new things until the end :-).
Hmmm... I have a strong motivation to explore and try new things, a motivation which I've unleashed everywhere except in my social life and relationships. I like to experiment, to poke-and-prod and figure out things. So if I could do so without harming others dear to me, I'd want to be more daring, cuddle/date/play with/experience more people, more personality types and intellects and body types and different kinks and styles. Not everything/everyone would work for me, I'm sure, but it would be fun to explore someday. But I'm not sure that that's feasible now.
But that's tangential... the question was more narrowly focussed on the optimal number of ongoing, long-term relationships. Frame of reference is important... if the question implies fewer-but-deeper vs. many-and-shallow, then clearly I'd pick the former. Connecting on many levels is important to me. If the question is implying "are you open to more relationships" then I'd say yes, I'm open (but not in a particular hurry to find any). But much would depend on how any new sweeties fit into my life -- given family commitments and my travel schedule, as well as my commitments to existing partners.
2. Would you ever want to live completely alone?
On a personal level? No. I'm happier around people. If I have something to occupy myself (an experiment, some duty to perform, etc) I can be productive in isolation for extended periods. I could live for six months alone in a capsule or in a wilderness without going insane. But being able to handle that kind of adversity doesn't mean that I would choose it for off-duty hours. I'd rather live with others. I've never lived completely alone -- unless one counts living in a single room in a college dorm for two years. Even there, it was a crowded, communal setting.
3. What sort of life do you envision for David?
David's a bright kid -- his test scores place him in the local gifted-and-talented program range, if he weren't otherwise in special ed. His issues aren't in understanding or analysis, they're in understanding others, picking up on situational cues and choosing the right behavior for a setting. And social integration. I think that secondary school will be hard for him... he'll almost certainly be an outsider, a loner, perhaps stigmatized. Academically, I'm sure he'll succeed, unless he lapses into depression or apathy because of all the negative social feedback. If he can clear the hurdle of high school, I think that life will slowly start moving in his favor... his intellect and charm will be increasingly valued over his social awkwardness. College should be better, grad school is a possibility. I think that he can be a highly successful, contributing individual, in the mainstream.
4. Do you want us to go back to the moon?
A qualified yes. If we use exploration of the Moon as a trial ground for techniques, facilities and technologies that we'll need for future exploration of Mars and the other planets, then I support it with a clear conscience. But it has to contribute to humanity's long-term reach into space, as well as our understanding of the universe. A politically-motivated "flags and footprints" program with no lasting legacy, like Apollo, would be negative. It would consume the only opportunity we'd likely have to get out of Earth orbit for the next 20-50 years without building anything that we could take onward. And probably wouldn't add all that much to our understanding of the solar system. So if this administration proposes an Apollo-style lunar return in 2017, I'd oppose it.
5. What sort of life do you envision for *yourself*?
I'm getting too old to have a reasonable shot at getting an astronaut slot... so a future move to Houston seems less likely. I want to continue to contribute to adding to knowledge, to exploring, and to extend our reach in various little ways. And to have a lot of fun in so doing ;-).
I'd like a home someday with multiple adults, with kids and pets underfoot, with noise, laughter, energy and chaotic life teeming around me. It doesn't need to be Martha Stewart-tidy or spotless, but it has to be loving and comfortable. And I want to enable all of my children to have the opportunity to realize their personal potentials.
And I want to travel a lot, to meet interesting people, places, and cultures, to be spiritually-rooted, ethical and to keep learning new things until the end :-).
