citizen of the planet

This Christmas Eve I’m over at my parents’ place.  Come to think of it, really, where else would I be spending it, right?  Like I mentioned in a previous Twitter update:

It’s enough to be with my family. It’s not about stuff: if want something, I can buy it. Can’t buy togetherness.

It’s nice being back here.  I’m here in my old room, lying on the old bed, thinking about how it’s both strange and comforting to be back in this place.  The deep red curtains and the deep red bed spread trigger memories.  For sure, the familiarity of it all kind of puts me at ease.  And yet, I feel like I’ve grown out of it.  I know it shouldn’t be this way, but deep down I sort of feel like I’m a stranger: this isn’t entirely my sanctuary anymore.

Well, whatever the reason, I know that I will always have a place here if I need it.  I don’t anticipate needing it, but this room is a sort of a safety net. All of that puts me at ease.

I have a profile up at Twenty Something Bloggers. So far that’s the blogger community that I’ve been participating most in, which really isn’t a whole lot but still, every little bit counts, right?

Anyway, when I signed up I had to fill out a form requesting just some general information about myself. When it came time to fill out the “About Me” section, I was kind of stumped. I didn’t want to put anything too dorky because really I don’t want to come across as such. After much debate I ended up crafting this response:

I’m an engineering grad with a tech job in downtown Toronto. I’m battling that ongoing struggle to define who I am and what I want, all while trying to maintain some sanity when everything else has gone crazy.

Now, I suppose that was fine and all, but something about it struck me as being rather incomplete. It was short and kind of trite. The cheese factor was there, but I didn’t mind so much. Over time though the incomplete quality of it started to bug me more and more. Just a few days ago I did something about it. I fleshed out a longer bio, which is really harder than it sounds. I kept the bit above, but also added more meat. I think that it balanced out the cheese quite nicely. Anyway, here’s the rest:

Despite the tech job, I don’t consider myself a tech nerd. I’m good at what I do, but I willingly leave the interest in techno-babble at work. Where do my interests lie on my own time then? Err…good question.

I’m a runner. I’m far from being fast, but I have the determination needed to get the distances done. I’m currently working toward a half-marathon in October.

Languages interest me. I find etymology interesting. I have the right mind for trivia. I am a background observer type.

I can swing from silly to serious, air-headed to severe, dedicated to aloof. I’m like Shrek: I’m an ogre with many layers. I fit a classic Scorpio archetype.

I kind of like it. I think I’m still inclined to add just a little bit more to close it out nicely, but as it is right now I find that I can live with it.

What thoughts do you have?

Ugh. Sometimes I can be dense.

Day’s just started for me and I’m already dangerously close to my daily quota of “stupid.”

Sow seeds to rot from the inside; even dandelions can sometimes break through concrete.

I was chatting with a friend about being a little bit subversive at work. That’s where this came from. My friend thought it was cool.

I…feel like a cat that has just buried a hot steamy one in the litter box.