Comment "WORDS" to this entry and I will comment back with five words I associate with you. Then you post this in your journal elaborating.

Here are padparadscha's words.

Baking: I first learned to bake cookies when I was something like 5 years old or so. Later on, when I was HomeSchooling for a couple of years in late Elementary and Middle School, my Mom used baking recipes to teach my Brother and I fractions. Stuff like making 1 2/3 of a recipe instead of doubling it, or 5/8 instead of halving it.

After I completely failed to find a job in Oly, and moved back to the Island, I got a job at a Bakery/Cafe doing soup/salad/sandwich-type stuff. I got sick of that right at about the same time as one of the Night Bakers moved down to California, and the boss thought I'd be pretty good at that, so he was willing to train me. Most of a year after that, I came to the realization that basically everyone I liked there had left, and took off for the other bakery in town, where I still work, and greatly enjoy it.

Thoughtful: Well, I try to be. I've always had a tendency that way, which was rather strongly reinforced in College, when I spent a fair amount of time hanging out with and arguing with Econ and Philosophy Majors. Those kinds of folks can rip you apart if you haven't very carefully considered what you're saying and mad sure you've covered all the exceptions and counter-examples. This does lead to much of the sort of thing padparadscha was talking about here, with adding in unnecessary qualifications when speaking to an audience that wants a quick overview, but it's definitely a good thing to keep in mind while you're preparing a concept, and then stripping it down later.

Like so many things, it becomes a double edged sword. I have missed many opportunities by overthinking things for so long that the moment had passed before I decided to act. On the whole, though, I'd say it's been a good thing for me.

Capitals: Ever since I first learned to write, I've rather liked Capital Letters, and always tried to find grammatical ways to fit more of them in my sentences. Then, somewhere in High School, I read that it had been in the past common practice to merely capitalize letters for emphasis, and my informal writing has never been the same since. I particularly like the effect of InterCapping, and often do so with Compound Words. Hell, one of the attractions German held for me is the fact that all Nouns are Capitalized in German.

Introversion: Possibly one of the most defining features of my life, especially after it became exacerbated by the bouts of depression that have been steady companions since sometime in my late preteen years. One of the big struggles of the last few years has been trying to sort out what is Depression (and what I can do to get rid of that), and what is Introversion (and how I can work around that, since it not only can't be changed, but it comes with a number of benefits that I rather like).

The book The Introvert Advantage has really helped me in both regards, but I've still got a long way to go. I've gotten very used to being alone, even though I often feel lonely. It does make it hard to meet people, as I become tired very quickly when hanging out with people who I'm not really comfortable with. In many situations, I even end up feeling more alone when I'm surrounded by people, if I can't make some sort of real connection with at least a few of them.

Gaming: I first started playing D&D when I was 8 or so. Some time After that, I got into M:tG, and then BattleTech introduced me to Table Top Wargaming. From there, it was only a matter of time until I got into Warhammer Fantasy and 40K, which I've now been playing for something like 12 years, and I'm even captaining a Team from my local Gaming Group for the Ordo Fanaticus Club Challenge in August.

I still play D&D, Magic, and BattleTech occasionally with the friends that I used to roll with in Middle and High School, and my Brother's talking about starting up a RoleMaster Campaign this summer.

In fact, almost all my male friends who I've managed to stay in touch with are people I regularly played D&D or 40K with.

Interestingly enough, I've never been that much into Computer games. There were a handful of old Turn-Based Strategy and RPG titles that I enjoyed for a bit, but anymore, if I'm not interacting with real people, in person, games don't seem to hold my interest.