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My Secret Self–Not
December 11, 2009
Over the weekend, in an attempt to make room in the cabinet for that condo paperwork I promised I’d file, I pulled out a fat folder of magazine clippings I’d saved. Rather than just chucking all the contents into the recycling box, I made the mistake of opening it to go through and see if anything was worth keeping. I got distracted almost immediately by something from the July 24, 1990 issue of Family Circle–a quiz called “Find Your Secret Self: 15 Questions That Can Change Your Life”. Even though I wasn’t so sure my life needed very much changing, answering some questions seemed like more fun than cleaning out the file drawer, so I grabbed a pen and got going.
As per usual when I do one of these, I wanted to ask questions about the questions. “Rate these items according to your preference: Buttons, Snaps, Zipper, Velcro, Drawstring”, the quiz said. Preference for what application? Fastening my pants? Closing my purse? What material are these made from—metal or glass buttons, plastic or metal snaps, silk cord or rough twine drawstring? These details could make a difference in my answers! Sure, I could and did make my best judgments and filled in the blanks, but I was skeptical that the results would be accurate for such an imprecise measuring device. As it turned out, I think it came up with a pretty accurate assessment. My highest and lowest scores were in the areas of Recognition and Intellect/Creativity, meaning those are the things that are most out of balance in my life. That sounds about right, at least in the work arena where I spend most of my waking hours. I didn’t pursue the team leader role but rather was drafted and that’s been meant having visibility than I really wanted, while outside of the team leader stuff my actual work hasn’t changed much in the last several years—I’m still doing 98% of my programming in languages that were cutting edge in the 1990s. Looks like that might be changing in 2010, though, so there’s hope.
On this date in 2008: Any Time Now
2007: WDW, Part Deux
2006: Inside the Numbers
2005: Sunday stress
2004: No entry
2003: No entry
2002: The Promised Elaboration
