I had a conversation with a friend the other day about first impressions. Mostly about how I just don't seem to give off the best ones. I'm kind of tricksy-- I can be a little bristly when I first meet new people. It's not intentional, more that I'm one of those people who loosens up the longer they know someone. As a result, when I'm meeting lots of new people at the same time, I have a tendency to be a little awkward, because I'm feeling the crowd out. Norms and expected/accepted behavior vary so much from group to group, and I know that I'm prone to foot-in-mouth disease, so I'm generally a little more subdued until I know the group a little better. I like to know what eggshells not to step on, you know? Well, that and there's also my auto-response of "the more I tease you, the more I actually like you." Because as we all know, my socialization skills got stuck somewhere around third grade. I really do much better one-on-one and in small groups, I think, or when adding new people to a group I'm already comfortable with. I have my bearings, so to speak.

Anyway, out of curiosity... I'm going to screen the replies to this post, at least at first. Answer anonymously if you'd like, but if you've met me in person, I'd like to know about your first impression of me, and how/if that changed over time. If you have other observations about first impressions in general, I'll unscreen them automatically. Just let me know if it's not okay to do so.

Good morning. To take a page out of Abby's handbook, I feel like a walking pathogen vector.

It's a combination of things: the cold wind this morning (note to self: hat!), this week's depletion of my body's iron, and probably a little low blood sugar tossed in there, too. I didn't sleep particularly well last night, either. It took me nearly an hour to fall asleep, and when I did, I kept having fever dreams, including one where I was in a movie theater at the bottom of the ocean (?) and we were being attacked by great white sharks and some new species of super scary shark called a black gun shark. You know, I honestly have no clue where my dreams come from. At any rate, I have a headache that's comprised of more uncomfortable lightheadedness than I would like. Maybe it's an extremely delayed hangover. Regardless, I think I'm going to stop somewhere for dinner tonight, as my body's doing its montly calling out for rare red meat thing.

In other news, holy BPAL update, Batman! I think I'll probably hem and haw until my next paycheck, but this is certainly the update that is breaking my nearly four-month no-buying streak.

( Carnaval Diabolique pt. III, Lupercalia, Faces of the Heroine, Panacea, Hunger Moon, etc.Collapse )

So, to recap:

Yes! Yes! -- Abhisarika, Svadhinaopatika, Saw-Scaled Viper
Probably! Probably! -- Bakeneko, Vasakasajja, Luperci 2007, Smut 2007, The Oblation, Arachnina, Australian Copperhead, Temple Viper, Western Diamondback, Hope & Faith, Priada.

And there are bath goodies comin' down the pike. Man, they know how to knock a girl dead.

And what day is complete without a little bit 'o food poisoning?

At least, that's what I think it is. Maybe there was bad cheese on my pasta or something. At any rate, it was remarkably sudden and dramatic. Mostly out of my system, but I'm still not feelin' so hot.

I didn't even get to have a red meat extravaganza. Boo.

I did, on the other hand, get through about half of World War Z, which has thus far been superb.

shadowcaptain, I forgot to say happy birthday, so-- happy birthday!