Define Yourself

Me, Myself & Why Not?

/ Ally Bean / 8 Comments

:: Me ::

“How many hours have you wasted trying to think of something suitably witty, funny and original for your status on Facebook or Twitter?” ~ Generatus  I found this site as I was surfing along, so naturally I had to try it.  My status update, in the purple box above, is delightfully accurate.

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:: Myself ::

“What’s happening?” ~ Twitter As some of you know already, I was not immediately taken with Twitter.  But instead of giving up I asked for some guidance, and many blogger/tweeters came forward to help me understand the medium.  Thank you.  Now I’m on Twitter just about every day tweeting along with the rest of them.  Learning lots.  Laughing often.  Loving much.  You can find me @spectacledbean.

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:: Why Not? ::

“Yikes  Something went wrong! But don’t worry, we’re on it — and we’ll try to get it fixed as soon as we can.” ~ Pinterest  I’m enjoying my Pinterest account when it works.  Have you started one yet?  It’s addictive;  I was warned, but I jumped in any way.  Click here to see what I’ve accumulated so far.

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So this is what I’ve been up to lately while online. How about you?  What cool things are you doing? 

The “7 Things About Me” Meme

/ Ally Bean / 6 Comments

I saw this meme at Sweet Tea.  I thought that it looked like a fun “dog days of summer I have nothing else to say because my brain is fried” kind of post.

I’m to list 7 random things about myself… add this button to my post… and then invite other bloggers to do the same thing.  Consider yourself invited.

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1.  I like mushrooms and pineapple on my pizza.  Don’t judge.  It’s good.  Zen-Den refers to it as “dessert” pizza.

2.  I stood in line at Starbucks behind Peter Frampton one day.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but later when I saw his photo in the newspaper I realized that the handsome, pleasant Englishman in front of me, who everyone in the shop was looking at, was Peter Frampton.

3.  I love to go for walks in city parks.  Movement +  people watching = entertainment. Throw in a few inquisitive dogs on a leash and I’m smiling for hours after I finish walking.

4.  I like palm trees.  They are happy trees.  When I see them in real life I know that I’m on vacation.  When I see them in photos I remember that I was on vacation– near happy trees– having a good time.

5.  I don’t like pastel pink.  I like fuchsia, dark pink, or honeysuckle;  these shades of pink have some zing to them.  But pastel pink makes me anxious and irritable.  It’s too demure and passive for me.

6.  I think that social media is lots of fun, but that too many people take it way too seriously.  Lighten up, people.  Live from your heart, not from your FB friend count.

7.  I have narrow feet.  Finding shoes that fit is difficult and always has been.  For me, when it comes to shoes, it’s not about getting what I want– as much as taking what I’m given.

I’ve Been Sorted And So Can You

/ Ally Bean / 12 Comments

I was googling some Shakespeare quotes when I noticed the word: “Enneagram.”  Immediately, from the cobwebby corners of my mind, I remembered sitting in a regional staff meeting 20 years ago. We were being forced to happily taking a tediously long marvelously in-depth psychological test to decide which one of The Nine Enneagram Archetypes we might be.

We had a new boss and this was her way of getting to know us.

Curious as ever (and as a tribute to one of the more unique bosses I ever worked with), I clicked on the link where I found this simple little test: The Quick Enneagram Sorting Test.  So I took it.  I mean, who wouldn’t?  Especially after I figured out that there were only two questions (three-parts each) to answer.

The results of my test told me that there was an 80% chance that I was one of the following three archetypes.

I agree with the results in theory.  I would add that I think that I behave differently in different contexts.  Everyone does.  Which means that I’m probably a mix of all three archetypes– in different proportions– at all times– depending on where I am standing on the earth.

Type Three: The Achiever The Success-Oriented, Efficient Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious
Type Five: The Investigator The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated
Type Seven: The Enthusiast The Busy, Variety-Seeking Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered

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I invite you to take the test and get sorted, too.  See what it says about you.  And if you feel like it, you can share your results below in comments or on your blog.  We’d love to know who you really are.  

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Apparently I Belong In Canada

/ Ally Bean / 4 Comments

“How do you define a better life?”

An intriguing question, yes?

One that I’d never put much thought to until I found the Create Your Better Life Index, a simple interactive tool, which helped me focus on what is important to me and how to prioritize it.  Using this tool I realized that for me the topics that make life better are: community, education, safety, housing, jobs, health.  I place much less emphasis on: environment, governance, work-life balance.

By evaluating my preferences, the Create Your Better Life Index told me that I belong in Canada.  Or Australia.  Or New Zealand.

Okay, I can see that.

I also learned that I absolutely don’t belong in Chile.  Or Mexico.  Or Turkey.

Well, no big surprise there.  

And as for the USA?  It turns out that it is my 11th perfect country to live in on earth.  It follows seven northern European countries.

Hmmm.  Didn’t see that one coming.  

While I take the results of all online tools with a grain of salt, this one made me smile and reflect upon the fact that we are who we are– no matter where we live on the earth.  Geography exerts its influence, but temperament trumps it more times than not.

N’est-ce pas?

[Added 06.06.11 – Check out this article from MSNBC: “US doesn’t make cut for happiest nations list” – More info re: top 10 happiest countries.]