Posted by Scott in Vermont on June 22, 2004, at 14:03:56
In reply to As many good points as I can think of about me, posted by Racer on June 22, 2004, at 12:24:04
...but first, I want to say that I'm impressed that you pushed your "right now" aside and you looked within yourself to find some core values about yourself. No doubt that other people in your life see those qualities as well, especially the flash of brilliance in a pinch or the ability to be a communicator and teacher. So thank you for finding those things about yourself. Things you have always known about yourself, really... but have "forgotten" in the haze that is the "right now", because I know that your "right now" is simply bad. So for the strength you have displayed, you have my thanks and it honestly is something I'll remember the next time I start falling down (which I hope is never, but it's not a bad idea to be prepared for such things).
So, my challange is 12. Here goes:
1) I am physically strong. I'm not all that "big" visually (I would never be mistaken for Ah-nold, or even someone 1/2 his size), but for some reason I'm rugged as all get-out and I'm pretty hand to have around (especially if you're moving or it's time to put up the winter firewood).
2) I'm intelligent. I barely graduated high school and I have a handful of completely unrelated college credits, but I have an ability to communicate (especially in writing) and to grasp a concept that I was previously ignorant of. I enjoy reading books on ridicilous (meaning they have no practical application in my life) subjects like "Analytical Methods and Basic Concepts of Phase Diagrams". It means nothing to me in my life, but it's just... neat, you know? That's also why I am able to accomplish #3, which is...
3) I work in telecommunications. No formal training except OJT, but in the time I have been in this field I have taken on telephony, CATV, and Internet, and I have become highly accomplished in what I do. I basically BS'ed my way into my first Communications job in Virginia in 1997, and since then I've been eating up as much information about the Communication industry. I read the trades, I stay abreast on what is going on, I attend seminars that even my bosses don't go to. I like what I do and I'm really good at it. Not too bad for a townie redneck with minimal education, eh?
4) I'm an awesome father. I mean it. I used to think that I was "adequate" or "ok", but a lot of my friends keep telling me I am awesome, and other dads have asked me things like "how do you deal with..." or "what would you do if..." and that's a great feeling. Not because it makes me "special" but because I know that I really am giving my kids the best that I can give them, and evidently, other people seem to think so as well. :)
5) I'm very loyal to those I love, and I have endured hardship so that others would feel their own a little less. I have a friend who is a wonderful person but in a bad financial situation. I work for the phone company. So, I pay his bill on occasion. He only noticed this recently, and while it did start a heated discussion about pride and permission, I ended that conversation with "I love you, and I will take care of you as much as I can". That drove the point home. I would do nearly anything for those I love, unless it was my children. For them, I would do absolutely anything. Period.
6) I'm proud. Sometimes in a very extroverted way, but mostly it's a private thing. There are things I am very proud about myself that I don't share much (the above example would be one of them, but it illustrated my point so I shared it here). I take pride in being a good dad and being a good friend. I take pride in being loyal and being dependable. Pride in myself has kept me afloat when my boat was sinking everywhere else.
7) I'm interesting to have as a friend. My interests are eclectic, and range from the mundane to the bizarre, but there's never a dull moment when Scott is around. Some days are filled with the eternal quest to find "the" perfect rock. I like rocks. Other days are filled with surfing lawn sales and looking for old & weird tools that no ones even knows what they are for anymore. Then I look them up in my equally old book of tools and figure it out. Sometimes I even wind up using the tools for something related to the original purpose, just so I can say that I have used a (insert tool name here). Other times I can be found climbing trees, jumping over bonfires, raising a horn of mead to my Gods, running naked in the woods, mountain biking through a mud bog, target shooting with my bow, throwing axes, carving rocks, or any other thing that I have an interest in. Bizarre? Perhaps. Boring? Hell no.
8) I know my family history. I have a long and proud line of angry and drunk Scotsmen in my family. On both sides. One side we can trace back as far as 1602, but that places us in Germany (the story is they immigrated to Scotland to fight as mercenaries against the Crown). The other side goes back as far as we can trace without actually going to Scotland, which is the early 1700’s. I know the names of many of my forefathers. I have pictures of many of my ancestors. Someday I want to go to Scotland and follow the family line as far as I can, no matter where it goes.
9) I can fix things. I can work with my hands as well as my mind. I build things like cabinets, bookcases, gun racks, chests, etc. I enjoy working with wood a lot, but I’m also a “jack of all trades” handyman. I know enough about electricity to wire a house (and what I don’t know, I’ll read) and I can plumb, do vehicle repairs, repair electronic equipment, and basically, if I can think it, I can find a way to do it and (usually) do it right. And the beautiful thing of all this is, I really enjoy doing those things.
10) I have “given back” to country and community. I was in the US Army from 1988 to 1994, and worked in civilian law enforcement from 1994 to1996. I have paid my dues, so to speak.
11) I can play (to a reasonable standard) just about every stringed instrument I have ever picked up.
12) I’m really good in the sa(edited so I don’t get a “please be civil)
Ok, so I started to get a little weak on the last ones, but I’m at work and this has taken me all day to write it seems. But the points are there, and yes, I like Scott quite a bit.
PS- When I started to respond to this, no one else had yet. I wonder how many posts happened in the time it took me to write this? Ha.
poster:Scott in Vermont
thread:359049
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040619/msgs/359091.html