inahandbasket

rainbow_spork asked me these questions:
1. Do you know why your parents named you Ry and not Ryan or really any other name out there? If so, what's the reason? Have you ever met anyone else with your name? (so that was 3 questions, shoot me.)
2. It's the last vacation you'll ever take in your life, and you can stay as long as you want, but you can only go some place you've already been to. (And you can't stay home.) Where do you go back to?
3. Where did you grow up? Tell me about. (I'm confused as to why I don't already know the answer to this question.)
4. Do you like your job? To the extent that it's what you want to do for the rest of your life? If not, do you know what you do want to do?
5. Tell me your favourite movie and why.

1. about the name 'Ry':
They liked it. Ryan was too normal, they were hippie types from back when. (although dad was a green beret. go figure.) There's a musician named Ry Cooder, and that's where they got the name from. I'm not named after him, but that's where it came from. As for why that one, I couldn't tell you. Why do you name a pet/person what you do? just comes to you. it's a zen thing. ^_^
I've never met another Ry in person, although once I did run across one when googling once. I e-mailed him just to say what's up, and it turned out that he just goes by Ry, and his legal name is something else.
fucker.
I've known a couple people who go by Ry, including one LJ person who signs all her posts "-Ry" which is probably the only reason I don't have her friended. kept catching my eye as I'd scroll down my friends page, and was driving me nuts.

2. Last vacation ever, to somewhere I've been:
Tough call.
There's three options really:
a. An island on Glover's Reef off the coast of Belize.
b. Maui.
c. The Southwest (Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico.)
So where to cut? Well, of the tropical options, Maui has my sister and I'd like to visit her one last time, so that probably wins out over the more isolated and wonderful tropical island in Belize. But only bearly.
The tossup between the southwest and Maui is very VERY tough. The Southwest is austere, dry, desolate, and beautiful. Maui is lush, green, vibrant, and full of life.
I think it'd end up being Maui, just because it's more relaxing, and if it's my last vacation ever I'm going to want to chill.

3. Where I grew up:
Southeastern PA, on the edge of Amish country, 5 miles from the nearest town of Elverson. google map of relative location.
My parent's house is in a quiet little valley, across the road from my maternal grandparents (both now dead). The vally was dubbed Pensioner's Hollow, because most of the houses were from just post revolutionary war, and the soldiers were given plots of land instead of the pay they were owed, because the army was broke. (I'm pretty sure it was revolutionary, not civil war, but I could be wrong.) The house I grew up in was one of those houses, with a new roof obviously, and a greenhouse/kitchen added on. We all (me, parents, sister) slept in two queen-sized beds in one room until my sister was at least 8 I think. My parents built the rest of the house during my first few years of life. I can still remember my dad slaving away putting in floor boards, and building stairs. I also remember getting a splinter in my ass cause I always ran around naked, and I sat on an unfinished ceiling beam. ^_^
The houses were shouting distance apart, and there was lots of woods, creeks, ponds, and green space for me. I like to think I made good use of it, but whenever I say that in my mother's presence she scoffs, and says I was always inside reading books, and later playing video games. Pshaw, whatever. I have machette scars in my leg from when I missed what I was swinging at, scars on both elbows from bike crashes, and I caught a few bajillion fish in those years. i was out doing stuff a lot. Eventually my sister and I got our own rooms, she went on to college, I got my driver's license, and my world got a little smaller. But I had a great childhood that I wouldn't trade for anything.
Oh, I was born in that house (in what's now my sister's bedroom) and my parents still live there.
(schooling is a very long entry that I'm not about to make now.)

4. Do I like my job, is it my forever career:
Oh man, loaded question.
Meg keeps pushing at me to tell her what I want to be when I grow up. It varies, but carpentry comes up often. (As does Brewmeister, rockstar, pro zen master, and a few other things.)
I like my job. I like doing IT. I don't like dealing with other people.
Is it my forever career? Shit, I don't know. so much can happen in a lifetime...
I found a career where there's always a lot of stuff changing. I mean, change is the name of the game in technology. I thrive on change, I love it. (No snickers from those I've lived with please.) So as far as single lifelong careers go, I think I picked a pretty good one. But will it stick? I dunno. I'd much rather be doing something more with my hands than typing and pointing at monitors. Do I see it happening? Sure, in my dreams. ^_^

5. Favorite movie and why:
I dunno. let me know if you find out what mine is. :o)
Among the top tier of movies in my head:
Original Star Wars trilogy
Hackers
The LoTR Trilogy. (The books are definitely better, but they did it well.)
Akira (newer, longer release)
The Usual Suspects.
I like all of these for different reasons.
Star Wars: well shit, what's not to like? Best special effects of their time, and still the best when I was a youngster. Great story, engulphing universe, they were phenomenal. the new ones are shit. (haven't seen sith yet, hearing better things about it.)
Hackers: It's a cute cult classic with a great soundtrack. Also, it captures what I thought of my teenage years at the time, so it means more to me than just the movie aspect.
LoTR: Awesome, in the traditional sense of the word. Yes, they're not perfect, but they bring my favorite story to the big screen and do it well.
Akira: my favorite ever piece of Anime. I really can't explain it, I just love it.
Usual Suspects: the only "normal" movie on my list. It's a very smart, well done criminal movie. It's got that intangible 'something' that really makes it shine. Kevin Spacey (one of my favorit-er actors) gives an amazing performance to top off the great script and supporting cast.



oceanic asked me these questions:
1. If you could have all the variations of One Thing, collected in your possession, what would it be? For example, would you collect all the different kinds of bass guitars, or stamps (hey, some people), or wood types (as planks OR trees), or... what?
2. If you could make ice cream out of a flavor not yet discovered by mankind, what flavor would you make? Would it be any good?
3. If you had to dress up as your inner three-year old for a day, what would you wear?
4. If you were offered a grant for a year’s living expenses to go and study something, anywhere in the world, where would you go and what would you study? This doesn’t have to be purely academic, just in the sense that you couldn’t only live somewhere, you would have to be investigating something.
5. How do you want the kids on your street to describe you when you’re an old codger? Compose a few lines of dialogue of the children walking (sneaking? Running?) by your front porch.


1. All the variants of one thing:
The largest 3 denominations of legal tender from all the currencies in the world. ^_^
but seriously...
There's a few things that tempt me:
All the video game systems ever made and all their games
Traditional/Native/Local carvings from every type of wood that exists
Every hand-tool ever made for any purpose.

2. new ice cream flavor:
Well it's awful hard to describe if the flavor hasn't been discovered yet. That's like asking a blind person to describe a photograph you're showing them. =P
Ideally it would combine the best parts of a few different things:
Cool refreshingness from Mint
Warm, yummy thickness from Caramel and Toffee
Simplicity of really, REALLY good vanilla

3. Dress up as inner 3 year old:
my three year old self was a very boring dresser.
But, speaking from a modern viewpoint...
A very silly hat
a striped shirt
green, orange, or blue courdoury overalls.

4. One paid year, living somewhere studying something:
Three answers to this: academic vs. practical vs. fun-as-hell study.
Academic: some kind of anthropology. Beer or food would be tempting.
A little more scary would be to go somewhere war-torn and look at the rebuilding efforts from an anthro perspective: community rebuilding when half the community is freshly dead, and what the community crystalizes around vs. what it casts off.
Practical: Apprentice to a world-class handmade-furniture maker with a mind to starting my own shop afterwards.
Fun-as-hell: Somewhere hedonistic in europe learning paragliding, kitesurfing, and beer drinking from the local professionals.

5. How do you want the kids on your street to describe you when you’re an old codger?
that whacky old guy who makes really weird gadgets in his basement...
"Dude [or mid/late 21st century equivalent], that's old man Ry! Don't mess with his Garden, or some crazy wind-up mechanical gnome will gnaw your dick off! I swear! it happened to my friend's cousin's buddy's younger brother! He's a nice guy though, just ask him for a cucumber and he'll give you one, no need to yoink it."


Thanks chicas, that was a good use of a slow hour at work. ^_^

Comments, more questions, or requests for questions are hereby solicited.