Much improved.

I'm in a much better mood today than yesterday, which is nice. Really inexplicably sleepy, though. It's going to be a long day, although not a bad one, I think. Phones are pretty reasonable even this early. Hopefully it'll last. Off to try and catch up on email/LJ.

Reminder, local folks!

Evening with Kevin Smith ticket for this Friday, still available

Bored, lonely, and stuck at work.

Anyone still out there to entertain me for the next hour and a quarter?

Oh, hell. How about giving me something to write about? All topics fair game.

[Poll #936635]

Or maybe answering a question for me. What kinds of things do you do to maintain long-distance friendships and relationships?

Question #1

If you could live anywhere in the world where would you choose and why?

If this were only about me:
I'd be interested in exploring living (as opposed to vacationing) in various parts of the world, for a variety of reasons. I'm particularly curious about Iceland and about some of the Polynesian islands. It may seem like an odd juxtaposition, but in both cases it's about a combination of curiosity about geography and culture. And since reading Jared Diamond's Collapse, I'm extra-fascinated -- both regions feature prominently in his writing, especially their ecological fragility. I'd be interested to spend more time understanding how people live differently with their land when it's so dramatically fragile.

In all practicality (figuring in pets/loved ones/etc):
The biggest factors for me about where I live have to do with being reasonably close to people I love, having a cost of living that allows me to afford a place I can have my pets, and gives me reasonable access to political/cultural activism. I'm also fond of temperate to cool climates with lots of fresh water. I'm really pretty happy in the Midwest, given all that. There are cities I enjoy more than Cleveland (Chicago is an excellent example), but the cost of living, combined with being further from most people in my life (although closer to a few) isn't enough to motivate me to move.

And although I'm not in the mood to move back to the middle of nowhere, I do miss it regularly, and wish it were someplace I could spend time more often.

Question #2

What do you like about February?

Well, it's snowing lovely big flakes outside! This has actually been a really nice February. Interestingly snowy. Normally in Cleveland it's the season of grey slush, and is pretty universally disparaged. However, winter came so late this year that I feel like I'm just now getting to appreciate it. It's kind of nice to get to enjoy it while knowing that spring is right around the corner, too. That takes some of the nip out of the chilly days.

Also, I do better with cold that hot. I'm generally fine in really cold weather, I like outdoor temps between 30 and 70 best, and wilt very quickly above that.

Question #3

why are bears your thing?

It's partly physical, and partly temperamental, I think. They're generally mellow and playful and not remarkably high energy, and they like woods, water, and sleep (generally in the same kinds of climates I enjoy). They're not generally actively nasty-tempered, but it's also a bad idea to piss them off, and they're big, physically powerful and well-padded.

Which probably doesn't explain it all that well, really. But if I could picture myself being any wild animal, I'd picture myself as a bear.

It's somewhat incidental that it's also a term used within the queer community, but I like that, since I generally do tend to be attracted to many people who could be described that way.