Enneagram Personality Types, Marriage, and Parenting

N and I took an Enneagram personality test. After about 40 questions it tells you which of the 9 personality types you are. We took the free version, while the "scientifically validated" version is $10. It turned out to be somewhat accurate, and insightful for our relationship as well as our views on parenting. So here it is. A free and uncalled for look into our personalities, and our marriage. : )

My Personality: #4 - The Individualist
"The introspective, romantic type. Fours are self-aware, sensitive, and reserved. They are emotionally honest, creative, and personal, but can also be moody and self-conscious. Withholding themselves from others due to feeling vulnerable and defective, they can also feel disdainful and exempt from ordinary ways of living. They typically have problems with melancholy, self-indulgence, and self-pity."

N's Personality: #6 - The Loyalist
"The committed, security-oriented type. Sixes are reliable, hard-working, responsible, and trustworthy...can also become defensive, evasive, and anxious—running on stress while complaining about it. They can be cautious and indecisive, but also reactive, defiant and rebellious. They typically have problems with self-doubt and suspicion."

Our Relationship
Strengths: "Rather than energize each other, when they are healthy, Fours and Sixes tend to support and stabilize each other, usually acting as a sounding board for worries and complaints that they feel they cannot air anywhere else. Fours bring sensitivity, sensuality, and the ability to express emotions openly, including the feelings that Sixes themselves do not know how to express. Fours talk about their inner lives—again, something that Sixes often need to learn. Sixes bring hard work, perseverance, practicality, loyalty, and concern with security to the relationship." Spot on.

Trouble Spots: "Generally, Fours are more interested in self-exploration and self-development and they tend to be more adventuresome in their tastes and in what they allow themselves to think and to experience. Sixes tend to be more conservative and resistant to change and to personal exploration..."

Parenting:
This one was pretty insightful--and good to remember when we're discussing parenting styles. Poor LG, he's going to have to balance all this institutional pressure:
Me: "May demand sensitivity, artistic creativity, emotional depth, and understanding—that their child be a Little Therapist"
N: "May demand dependability, obedience, perseverance, and trustworthiness—that their child be a Little Trouper"

N and I were laughing as we read the descriptions because of how accurate they are. The test didn't really tell us anything we weren't already aware of, but it was amusing to have it explained to us by a personality test.

Cloverfield: What the U.S. Godzilla Should Have Been

Don't let the fact that the above picture isn't shaking deceive you. This is a stomach-pain inducing movie. I went into it knowing that would be the case, and did pretty well until the end when we were walking out of the theater. Suddenly the normal non-shaking world seemed disorienting.

I have not seen the Blair Witch Project, so the home video style was new to me. It was quite effective in making the terror and violence all the more real. I thought it probably should have been rated R for that. [PLEASE NOTE: that is not an endorsement of the MPAA.] The shaky camera may have been a little gimmicky, but it worked well, and it was WAAAAY better than Godzilla (not better than Gojira, mind you, but the 2000 American version).

Thanks to my nephew J for recommending this movie. It was quite entertaining. Also, any movie with references to a guy leaving for Japan gets a few automatic points.

My Rating: B+

Barack vs. HillBillary

Obama: "I was helping unemployed workers on the streets of Chicago when you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart."

Clinton: "I was fighting against misguided Republican policies when you were practicing law and representing your contributor ... in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."

Obama: "You and President Clinton are distorting my record. Your husband..."

Clinton: "I'm here. He's not."

Obama: "Well, I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes..."

Actually, your husband is there. Unlike the rest of the couples, whose spouses don't give them an extra advantage, (well maybe except for Laura Bush. I think she helped her husband's campaign quite a bit) Hillary is running with a former President.

I also have a dream, that someday a man will run for President riding on his wife's coattails.

Our Kitteh is going to be famous with ur halp!

We submitted our Kitteh to I Can Has Cheezburger. She needs your votes!!! Click here to vote for our kitteh Old Prospector!

I'm Reagan! Nooo I'm Reagan! I'm Change! Nooo, I'm Change! ... and a site that actually counts the delegates accurately.

So went the debates in SC. The bright spot (debate-wise) for the Republicans was Ron Paul, notably when he pointed out that since Republicans have been in power, big government and spending have actually increased. Of course, Romney had to throw a jab at that, losing more points in my book. Plus we both found it really annoying that they couldn't invoke Reagan's name enough. Stop it already. He's dead. You are not him. Yes, he was a President. And so was Truman. And no, he was not Carter. If someone mentions Reagan or Carter again I'm going to vomit. We get it already.

The Dems haven't done much better. Their debate (last week) was a contest to see who could say the word "change" the most. Ugggh. Maybe it's the debate format... I definitely like listening to Obama the most. If that was the sole criterion, I'd vote for him today. Or maybe Fred Thompson, who also has a nice gruff voice... How about an Obama/Thompson "swanky voice" ticket?

I also saw some glimpses of why so many people detest Hillary Clinton. When she gets excited about something she starts sounding really mean--more than any candidate I have listened to (note: Ron Paul sounds whiny when he's excited). Maybe it's sexism. When a man speaks forcefully, he sounds serious or strong, but when a woman does it she's mean... Something to ponder anyway. A friend of mine noted that the first women to do anything must be a little gruff by necessity.

Finally, I found a decent site for tracking the delegate race. CNN's "Election Center" is strangely inaccurate (they still say Romney is leading, do they not know how to count?) and Fox's You Decide 2008 is confusing. CNN even lists delegates from caucuses that have not yet taken place... Is this news coverage really lame or am I missing something here? MSNBC appears to be the only one that is accurate.

'môrmən 'däktrin

"Mormon doctrine consists in the Old Testament (except the parts that aren’t doctrine), the New Testament (except the parts that aren’t doctrine), the Book of Mormon (except the parts that aren’t doctrine), the Doctrine and Covenants (except the parts that aren’t doctrine), and the Pearl of Great Price (except the parts that aren’t doctrine). All of these, as augmented by statements from church leaders (except the ones that aren’t doctrine)." ~Times & Seasons

This conundrum is actually one of the things that attracts me to Mormonism. I can believe what I want to according to my own mind, spirit, and (God willing) positive subjective experiences.

friends making music

Some old friends of mine from Centerville have a band called prospect mali, and they just put out their debut EP. The song "The Silence" (video below) was inspired by Jim and Pam's romance on The Office. How can you pass up a song inspired by a TV romance?

The band's name means "small street" in Russian. From garageband.com: "From 2001 to 2004, each member of the band spent some time on a street in St. Petersburg, Russia called "Mali Prospeckt," although no two members were ever there together."

Musically the EP exceded my expectations--really good percussion, vocal harmonies, and decent chord progression. You can buy the album at cdbaby.com, and is also available on iTunes!

Also, the bass player, Rob Green, was my drive-through bank teller for a few years. : )