Some of us have a life, you know.

In case you haven't noticed, this is the first post in two weeks. That's partially due to the Physics exam on Monday and the impending Final on Thursday, but video games and CMU's Summer New Play Festival have also provided ample distractions. If you need details, I'll clarify in comments.

So I haven't been sleeping well lately. Part of it is Physics studying, video games, more caffiene than usual and just a general desire to stay up past 2am. Another part of it is the impending fear of going to my parents' house.
Anyone who knows me fairly well knows nobody in my family (nuclear or otherwise) gets along. It's just a fact that I've had to deal with for years. But now that I'm over age 18, I have a choice. And now that I've seen a relatively decent community at school and around Pittsburgh in general, I have a better role model who I'd rather spend time with. And what's a caring, control-freakish parent to do about it? Schedule appointments with doctors and dentists that requires a trip home. On the plus side, I can try to get my driver's liscense, hopefully succees and go places instead of loafing around their house.
Honestly, now that I clearly see what they're doing wrong but have no power to change it, I don't know how I'll stand it. Any amount of phone calls, prayers, financial support, bodyguard work would help. E-mail me if you need contact info; I'm not posting them on the Web.

Most of the time, I intend to spend in my room (which will either be locked or have something propped against it), contemplating life, asking myself the hard questions and/or playing video games. I might go downstairs to eat or checka my e-mail (if I can get my hands on the computer and bear the 20-minute wait dial-up entails), but that's the limit. And that's a pretty sad "vacation" if you ask me.
While I do that, I need some honest opinions from eveyone on some of these hard questions (which will appear sporadically over the next three weeks starting Thursday). Ask mutual friends of ours to write here too, because I need all the responses I can get. The previous meme (along with my own general observations) gave me the following general ideas of my weaknesses and strengths.

Plus
Open
Funny
Hard-working
Honest

Minus
Insensitive
Harsh
Frustrated
Lacks time management

The first two questions (which need serious answers) are:
1. How accurate is that list? Anything else worth adding or shifting?
2. What kind of job or hobby would work well with those traits?


In other news, I fail at cooking rice. Clues, anyone?

Also, on a slightly funnier note, I had this... interesting conversation with a bunch of 7-year-old kids who were hanging around for no obvious reason. Enjoy.
Kid1: Do you smoke?
Me: No.
Kid1: Good. It's bad for you.
Kid2: Do you do any other drugs?
Me: Ummm... I smoked a salmon once.
Kid2: Really?
Kid1: How do you do it?
Me: OK. So you get a salmon -
Kid1: Yeah?
Me: Then yo put it on a grill -
Kid2: Yeah...
Kid1: Wait, what's a salmon?
Me: It's a fish.
[Very awkward silence]
Kid2: Ohhh, I get it.
Kid1: Wait, what's a -
Me: Then you spray some oil on it, add some spices...
[Random Dude walks by]
Kid1: [to RD] Do you smoke?
RD: Yeah.
Kid1: It's bad for you, you know. [RD keeps walking] It's bad for you, you know. [RD makes L-shape with hand over his shoulder] Yeah... LOSER!!
Me: [Walks away, snickering and with a little less faith in our future.]

I love kids.