Scraps Inside-Out

I just read a great post by Princess of JustAnotherSternGirl. In it, she tells of an episode of one of her favorite TV shows in which a teacher has her class do the following exercise:

At the beginning of class, their teacher puts five words/phrases on the board: Jock, Prom Queen, Geek, Loner, and Friendly (which here means slut). The students are then asked to describe other members of the class using one of these words. After this short exercise, the class is divided into pairs, and each group is given a digital camera and a set of instructions to follow. At the end of the class period, each student is supposed to take a picture that shows how they see their partner.

Since she didn't get a chance to do this exercise when she was in high school herself, Princess shared her own answers to the instructions they were given and posted them; at the end, she invited anyone else who wants to do the same on their blog. Since I was impressed with the questions/instructions and her answers to them, I thought I'd give it a shot. Happy reading, everyone...

1. Share something personal with your partner.
I've always felt inadequate at pretty much everything I've done in life. I don't think I live up to people's expectations for me, or for that matter, my expectations for myself. It's partly because I was (unfavorably) compared to my siblings for most of my life, and partly because I have a lot of practice at self-criticism and I always feel like I could/should have done better.

2. Lighten up. Do an impression of a celebrity or famous character.
As Princess pointed out, it's hard to do this on a blog, but I'll try:
[crunching long carrot] Eh...what's up, Doc?
Thank you, thank you. I hope you enjoyed my impression of Bugs Bunny.

3. Admit something that worries you or something you're afraid of.
Deep down, I'm afraid that no one really likes me...and what's more, that there's nothing to like. I'm afraid that I'm constantly annoying people and that they're just too nice to tell me. I'm afraid of being too needy, too clingy, and that if I am that people will see how pathetic I really am and they'll hate me. Holy crud I cannot believe I just said that....

4. What do you want to be in ten years?
I want to be happy. Really, truly, consistently happy. (Yes, I know that was your answer, Princess, but who says we can't want them same thing?) The truth is, I've come a long way in the past few years, and I think that overall I'm a happier person than I was before, but in the back of my mind I'm always nervous that it won't last.

5. Tell your partner a secret.
I don't think anyone knows the real me. I'm not even sure if I do. And I'm afraid to find out, because I'm not sure I'll like what I find.

If I could take a picture of myself, it would be a black-and-white photo taken from behind of me standing on a hill staring off into the distance with my hair streaming out behind me. Wistful and hopeful at the same time.

As Princess mentioned, anyone else who would like to do this exercise, please feel free. I'd like to know what people have to say...

PSA: Free Slurpee Day! and other stuff

Today is a very special day, ladies and gentlemen. Today is 7/11. That means that at (most) Seven-Elevens, they are giving out free Slurpees in special, 7.11 oz cups. Yay for free Slurpees!

In other news, I forgot to mention that yesterday was technically my second blogiversary, even though I first posted in July and only picked up again in December.

*Ahem* "Hi, my name is Scraps, and I like long walks..."

...although not on the beach; the sand gets in my shoes and it feels icky. And it's hard to walk in sand anyway.

I've always liked walking. It's a good thing, since I've been walking to shul from a very young age; first, a little more than half a mile each way, from around age 2-3 or so, and later a little over a mile each way starting at age 5-6. I like to go walking for pleasure and exercise, though in allergy season I have to take some sort of medication before I step outside or I'll be sneezing the whole time. I have gone walking in cities and parks, in the country and through little-trod paths in the woods. I earned my "Poco patch" in seventh grade when my class went on a camping/nature trip and I climbed 4 mountains in 3 days. I have walked over one of the longest bridges in NYC several times. One time, I walked almost 11 miles on a Shabbos when I couldn't carry water (although I stopped once along the way).

Most recently, this past Fourth of July, I called up a friend and asked, "Do you want to do the Tip-to-Tip Trip?" And, to my excitement, she agreed that this would be an excellent way to spend our precious day off, walking for hours on end through the city. :) For those not in the know, the Tip-to-Tip Trip is a nickname for walking the entire length of the island of Manhattan, from one end to the other--from 220th Street all the way to the Staten Island Ferry. That's right, walking 14 miles through the city is my idea of a fun way to spend a free day off.

We had a really nice time--the weather was perfect for walking, not too hot and not too cool, overcast and a little rainy at the end, but overall very nice. We made a few stops along the way, for fun and for lunch and when we ran into people that we knew. Pretty much everyone thought that we were crazy for attempting such an activity, but were duly impressed and wished us luck along our way. It was really cool walking through so many neighborhoods in NYC; we saw places we'd never heard of before or knew existed, places we'd heard of but never seen for ourselves, the way Spanish Harlem eventually gave way to regular Harlem gave way to Columbia University gave way to the Upper West Side...etc. It was such a chavayah--a real experience! I would totally do it again. Unfortunately, we didn't take pictures along the way, although we'd meant to originally. I didn't have a camera, and my friend brought hers and took before and after pictures, but she got so caught up in walking that she forgot to take them along the way. Nu, next time... :)

Then, this past Shabbos, I walked about 3 miles each way to visit a friend I hardly ever get to see, and it was totally worth it. The people I was staying by thought I was crazy--they were actually placing bets on whether I'd come back for seudat shlishit, with odds 4-1 against my return (good thing they weren't betting money, or they'd have lost!)--but I had a really nice time visiting and catching up with my friend, so I have no regrets. And I got another 6 miles of walking in; that makes 20 this week. :) Not bad, huh?

So, if anyone knows any nice, normal, single guys who like long walks...send 'em my way!

8 Things meme

I've been tagged for this meme twice! Thanks Chana and Lvnsm27!

1) Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.
2) The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.
3) At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

~1~ I used to be petrified of the dark. I still get nervous when it's pitch black and I literally can't see my hand an inch away from my face.

~2~ My mother tried to tell me I couldn't get my ears pierced because "Jews don't put holes in their bodies." Then, ever the sharp-eyed child, I pointed out that the rebbetzin of our shul, as well as the local Chabad rebbetzin, had their ears pierced, as did their daughters. My mother relented when I was nine. ;-)

~3~ I hate avocado.

~4~ I have begun writing, and never completed, at least five books (I might be forgetting one or two). I even tried signing up for NaNoWriMo last year as a motivator, but it didn't work, because I didn't have a computer to write on at home, so my writing hours were severely curtailed.

~5~ I love to read, but I have a very low tolerance for authors who go on and on without ever getting to the point. Hence why I have a dislike for 19th-century British authors (many of whom were paid by the word). My favorite genre is fantasy, particularly young-adult fantasy, especially if there is also an element of historical fiction.

~6~ A lot of people think that I'm an extrovert (at least people who know me in real life). This is because I have the ability to make conversation with a brick wall. However, being able to talk a lot does not equal being an extrovert.

~7~ I kill bugs and open jars. If I was just a foot taller, I'd make a great guy. :-P

~8~ My parents always said my younger sister was going to end up taller than me. We're the same height, which I consider a triumph.

Okay, now I'm supposed to tag 8 people, but everyone has already done it, or been tagged by others. So I'll tag okee, sabra, and bella, and hope that at least one of them still reads this blog...