Ok. I am not a surveyist on blogs or Facebook, but this one has swept everyone away. Since most everyone I know has done this, I figure it’s only fair that I participate, especially since even people that don’t do surveys did this. Here are 25 Things about me.
Rules (if doing this on Facebook): Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.
1. My full name is legally Richard Warren Daniel LeBaron Sieger Raven. Yes, all 6. For reference, that is 1 first, 2 middle, and 3 last. When your family is as insane as mine is, this really shouldn’t surprise you.
2. I have more siblings than anyone I know, many of which who are adopted like I am, and I am the oldest of them all.
3. I spent almost all of my life living in the Midwest but it is my least favorite place in the world. I am an urbanist at heart, and if I can’t have my subways- preferably the 24 hour sort (get on it Boston!) and a Starbucks in walking distance, then I am miserable.
4. I love animals, but cats drive me crazy as pets. The only exceptions are the weird cats that act like dogs. Sorry, but if I am going to put that much effort into something, I want something out of it too. This is also why I don’t date men with cat personalities.
5. I believe in every line in the song Affirmation by Savage Garden.
6. I am a hopeless romantic at heart, and will always fall for the “thunderbolt” type of love, sweet small things and grand gestures, sacrificing just about anything for it.
7. Very few things actually scare me, but for some reason I have an uncontrollable fear of the sensation of falling.
8. Whether you believe that there is truth behind horoscopes normally, anything you ever read about a Sagittarius will be true about me.
9. Maybe in part because of #8, I definitely find truth in signs. I am not so big on the daily type of horoscopes, but your birth determining certain traits definitely seems realistic to me, especially since it turns out to be true so often. I also believe that your name signifies a lot of who you are as well.
10. A long time ago a friend’s dad said that he felt anyone who didn’t give at least a week of their time a year to a good cause wasn’t worth the space they take up on this Earth. I completely agree.
11. I like dorky things like video games and comic books. In fact, I am pretty sure that many skills I use as an adult were developed from playing card and video games and reading books and comics as a kid.
12. In many ways I am an incredibly motivated person and am also very motivational to others, but for some reason I have no way of making myself motivated to do something if the motivation isn’t already there.
13. I am definitely more of a visionary than a nuts and bolts kind of guy. I like seeing the grand design and greater picture of things than see the details behind how it works in the same way that I like creating something or teaching something more than I like doing it.
14. If I lived several centuries or even millennia ago, I would definitely be a philosopher. I think I do many of the same things now. I love thinking deeply about a great many things and talking about them with my friends, or even random people. I get accused of “putting too much thought into it” which pretty much is the basis of philosophy, but no one really considers it useful enough to call it a profession anymore.
15. I thrive on people. I am not one of those people who hates going to Starbucks to read, but quite the opposite. I love the energy of people being around, whether it is working or being social, and being around people gives me more energy and motivation.
16. I hate hate hate companies like Wal-Mart but totally support good big businesses like Starbucks. Treat the community, your employees, and the world well and we’ll get along fine. If not NO money from me. (I haven’t spent money at Wal-Mart in YEARS).
17. I like sweet girlie alcohol drinks, but at the same time am totally fine taking shots of whiskey or Jager if the situation arises. Nothing thus far has eclipsed a Spastic Toad in my estimation.
18. I think snow is far better than rain. While storms can be beautiful, the rain they bring never seems to be. Snow on the other hand is beautiful and never seems to soak me the way rain does. Who wants to be drenched?
19. I like every type of food, unless it has onions in it. Onions are the devil to my tongue, but the wide array of interesting food in the world all appeals to me from home cooked Italian to crazy Thai dishes. Good thing I live in NYC so I can placate all my palates.
20. On any given day you are more likely to find me in an Oxford-style shirt and jeans, though I also love suits and think that no outfit is cooler than jeans, t-shirt and a sports coat.
21. I remember movies and actors far better than music and singers. The exception is if a movie provokes no emotion or intellectual interest. In that case it will be immediately forgotten, whereas if a song moves me it will be with me forever. Movies just seem to do that more often.
22. I love art, wine, and architecture, but sadly know little of any of them. I can look at something or taste something and tell you I like or dislike it, but for the life of me can’t tell you why.
23. I don’t smoke, and never will, but am drawn to the taste of cigars, but hate the smell, and hate the taste of cigarettes but love the smell coming from another. But then hate all smoke smell on a person when not smoking, hence rarely dating smokers. Strange, no?
24. I love working out and being physically active, but when I am not doing such things, I find it hard to remember the joy I feel when doing it, which is why I sometimes completely slack off in that department.
25. I am an incredible judge of people, their emotions, capabilities, moods, etc. I can tell you instantly if 2 people are a good match for each other as friends, business, whatever. This skill completely fails me when I add myself into the equation which is why I make stupid mistakes trusting people.
Strangely, this list took me more than a week to complete. Hmmm.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
To my unconventional Valentine
This year, rather than extol the virtues or reiterate the vices of Valentine’s Day, I decided to take a que from one of our local magazines. Rather than talk of love between people, they dedicated the article to something we can all (at least the magazine’s audience) agree to love: The City. Given that I have no partner to sing praises to, I decided to give my valentine to this island I live on and love oh so much.
Dear New York City,
On this day of lovers, I wanted to share with you how you have reached into the deepest parts of my soul and made me so happy.
How I love that you provide me with a Starbucks close enough to walk to no matter where I find myself.
How I smile every time I turn a corner and realize that there is something I hadn’t noticed about a street I pass every day.
How I love that your subways will always help me make my way home, no matter the hour.
How could I not be thrilled by the multitude of brilliant shows you produce and house every single day?
How I love that even within the sprawling buildings, you always seem to have room for a park filled with green in every neighborhood.
What words do I have to describe the delight I feel knowing that walking down the streets, everyone is able to be who they are without fear of reprisal?
What a wondrous thing it is that out of the millions of people you house, you always seem to provide opportunities to bump into random friends as though we were in a small Midwestern town.
And how can one not love your beauty? Fountains and sculptures, architectural brilliance, and cultural uniqueness make you shine.
Of course how can their be love without taste? Your existence ensures that no matter what my tongue wants, I can find. You can provide new and thrilling, or warm and comforting at any time.
And lastly, my sweet Valentine, I thank you for the people you bring together. So many walks of life, so many reasons for friends to visit, so many people, all brought together by you.
For this and all the wonderful things you are, and all the wonderful things you do for me and to the world, Happy Valentine’s Day!
-Your Loving Valentine, Rick
Dear New York City,
On this day of lovers, I wanted to share with you how you have reached into the deepest parts of my soul and made me so happy.
How I love that you provide me with a Starbucks close enough to walk to no matter where I find myself.
How I smile every time I turn a corner and realize that there is something I hadn’t noticed about a street I pass every day.
How I love that your subways will always help me make my way home, no matter the hour.
How could I not be thrilled by the multitude of brilliant shows you produce and house every single day?
How I love that even within the sprawling buildings, you always seem to have room for a park filled with green in every neighborhood.
What words do I have to describe the delight I feel knowing that walking down the streets, everyone is able to be who they are without fear of reprisal?
What a wondrous thing it is that out of the millions of people you house, you always seem to provide opportunities to bump into random friends as though we were in a small Midwestern town.
And how can one not love your beauty? Fountains and sculptures, architectural brilliance, and cultural uniqueness make you shine.
Of course how can their be love without taste? Your existence ensures that no matter what my tongue wants, I can find. You can provide new and thrilling, or warm and comforting at any time.
And lastly, my sweet Valentine, I thank you for the people you bring together. So many walks of life, so many reasons for friends to visit, so many people, all brought together by you.
For this and all the wonderful things you are, and all the wonderful things you do for me and to the world, Happy Valentine’s Day!
-Your Loving Valentine, Rick
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Long Time
It is sometimes amazing how when you perhaps need to put your thoughts to paper most are the very same times that you never seem to bring yourself to have time to do so.
Looking over the past month and a half it feels like a blur. Between campaigns coming to their final boil, and the economy making effectively working almost impossible, life has definitely been rocky. When one feels down on life, there are occasions where you can be surprised at what bothers you the most, and what you miss. My current situation, as well as that in the country at large has certainly led to a lot of philosophical thinking.
Since I started doing project work for MTV, I have really enjoyed the way that life was going. Even when I had occasions to work on a project that was less than exciting, I was still buoyed by the work I was doing and the direction I was building for myself in my life. Unfortunately, working for one of the big companies in this city, means that there are times that the market is felt all too keenly, and so it was that MTV cut back their project outsourcing budgets significantly, and my work-life came to a screeching halt. While I certainly miss both the peace of mind and the spending cash of my consistent job, I found myself unable to do some things that I have certainly taken for granted that surprised me a lot.
For the first time in 7 years, I missed the HRC National Dinner. That was a bigger blow than I expected. Missing something that I considered a staple in my life made me think of how we incorporate things into our lives, barely knowing how important they are to us. When you look objectively, it was a dinner, which had good entertainment, was for a good cause and would have been attended by great people. All of these are good, but frankly, there are other events happening all the time that do the same thing. The fact of the matter is, that on some level, this particular event had carved a place in my life and my heart, and I never even realized it.
Sitting here now, I think that the elections have raised too many issues to include with anything else, and tomorrow, when I am either rejoicing or crying is probably a better time to entertain them.
Another thing that being between projects has brought into sharp focus is the different ways of seeing “doing what is necessary.” I have been having this discussion with many of my friends, and most of us see things differently from one another. Which is the better path? Should one choose to do whatever job you can get to make sure that you are making the money you need to make in the moment? Or, is it better to live with less than you want in order to build towards something else? Is there a point at which you must leave one path to pursue the other? Can they somehow both be followed at the same time?
When trying to build something for yourself and your future, which is the greater sacrifice? Which is the better path? This is something I am sure I will ponder more as time goes on, and the tough choices continue to be put before me.
Looking over the past month and a half it feels like a blur. Between campaigns coming to their final boil, and the economy making effectively working almost impossible, life has definitely been rocky. When one feels down on life, there are occasions where you can be surprised at what bothers you the most, and what you miss. My current situation, as well as that in the country at large has certainly led to a lot of philosophical thinking.
Since I started doing project work for MTV, I have really enjoyed the way that life was going. Even when I had occasions to work on a project that was less than exciting, I was still buoyed by the work I was doing and the direction I was building for myself in my life. Unfortunately, working for one of the big companies in this city, means that there are times that the market is felt all too keenly, and so it was that MTV cut back their project outsourcing budgets significantly, and my work-life came to a screeching halt. While I certainly miss both the peace of mind and the spending cash of my consistent job, I found myself unable to do some things that I have certainly taken for granted that surprised me a lot.
For the first time in 7 years, I missed the HRC National Dinner. That was a bigger blow than I expected. Missing something that I considered a staple in my life made me think of how we incorporate things into our lives, barely knowing how important they are to us. When you look objectively, it was a dinner, which had good entertainment, was for a good cause and would have been attended by great people. All of these are good, but frankly, there are other events happening all the time that do the same thing. The fact of the matter is, that on some level, this particular event had carved a place in my life and my heart, and I never even realized it.
Sitting here now, I think that the elections have raised too many issues to include with anything else, and tomorrow, when I am either rejoicing or crying is probably a better time to entertain them.
Another thing that being between projects has brought into sharp focus is the different ways of seeing “doing what is necessary.” I have been having this discussion with many of my friends, and most of us see things differently from one another. Which is the better path? Should one choose to do whatever job you can get to make sure that you are making the money you need to make in the moment? Or, is it better to live with less than you want in order to build towards something else? Is there a point at which you must leave one path to pursue the other? Can they somehow both be followed at the same time?
When trying to build something for yourself and your future, which is the greater sacrifice? Which is the better path? This is something I am sure I will ponder more as time goes on, and the tough choices continue to be put before me.
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