The Letter Meme
May. 7th, 2006 07:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreAfter I confessed my sins, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fr_john said he needed to consult with Rome and told me to do this meme while I waited.
Here's how it works: You reply to this and I'll give you a letter of the alphabet. Then you post this in your own LJ along with 10 words starting with the letter I give you along with what they mean to you.
I was tagged with "L"
1. Literacy Books have been an important part of my life since about the time I could walk. They transported me to place both real and imaginary. This doesn't begin to address the reams of basic information that is in word form. I'm shocked that there are still adults in this country who cannot read, and angered by by those who brag about how long its been since they read a book.
2. Leisure My relaxation time is important to me. Even if it just surfing the net or watching old movies, I need tome to decompress. That being said, were I in a position to stop working (say, winning the lottery) I doubt I could live the "life of leisure." I'd find something to do.. go back to school to become a geologist, learn to build custom bikes, something. The key would be finding work that I thought of as leisure time.
3. Language Way back when, when I was first entering the Army, they gave me a test called the DLAB (Defense Language Aptitude Battery) to determine my ability to learn foreign languages. My score was so low they were amazed I spoke English. I'd love to be able to speak another tongue, but I've tried and it is a stone wall for me. Even "easy" languages like German appear to be beyond me.
4. Leather Not in a kinky way, but I've always loved leather. Motorcycle jacket, a good set of jump boots, gloves.. they wear well, look great, and piss off silly extremist liberals. The perfect clothing!
5. Longitude I'm a history buff, and to me one of the most amazing unknown tales of history was the quest for longitude. When sailing long distances, latitude is easily determined with a sextant and a good star chart. But longitude required whole new technologies. The tale of how a cabinetmaker solved the riddle in the face of scorn of the scientific establishment of the era is one of intrigue, conspiracy, and heroism.
6. LRRP OK, it's not a word, but the Vietnam era Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols were the beginning of the reforms in the US Infantry that culminated in how I was trained in 1984. The LRRPs emphasized preparation, tactical thinking, and strong team work to "out G the G" (out guerrilla the guerrillas). They also trained and operated at night, something we did a great deal of in my day.
7. Laparotomy The surgical procedure I had in 1995 that led to my cancer diagnosis. Surgery is very, very weird. Your body knows that you have been severely injured, but has trouble telling what is wrong since everything has been sewn and stapled shut.) I was lucky in that I had a surgeon who understood that gross was not a problem for me, and described exactly what had been done to me.
8. Laminate One of the tasks in the Army I hated more than anything, more than cleaning the latrines on a Sunday morning, was having to laminate maps. Before any exercise, we'd have to laminate the appropriate maps and cut them into sections so the officers and senior NCOs would have waterproof maps that could be carried in the cargo pocket of our BDUs (battle dress uniform.) The laminate we used came in large sheets, and was impossible to work with. It would fold, stick to everything but the maps, and inevitably leave bubbles and ridges. Once we got the maps laminated, we had to cut them into sections, then laminate them again, front and back.
9. Loud I like things that are loud. Heavy Metal music, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, thunderstorms, large caliber firearms... I have no idea why, but something about loud noises just thrills me. Probably why I like Wagner but no other operas.
10. Love A concept I'm still trying to get a handle on after 16 years with Kirsten. I'm a logical guy, and sometimes I try to analyze these feelings, try to distill why I love her, and not other people. I try not to think about it too much, mind you, but I'll freely admit that while I don't understand love, I like it!
fr_john said he needed to consult with Rome and told me to do this meme while I waited.Here's how it works: You reply to this and I'll give you a letter of the alphabet. Then you post this in your own LJ along with 10 words starting with the letter I give you along with what they mean to you.
I was tagged with "L"
1. Literacy Books have been an important part of my life since about the time I could walk. They transported me to place both real and imaginary. This doesn't begin to address the reams of basic information that is in word form. I'm shocked that there are still adults in this country who cannot read, and angered by by those who brag about how long its been since they read a book.
2. Leisure My relaxation time is important to me. Even if it just surfing the net or watching old movies, I need tome to decompress. That being said, were I in a position to stop working (say, winning the lottery) I doubt I could live the "life of leisure." I'd find something to do.. go back to school to become a geologist, learn to build custom bikes, something. The key would be finding work that I thought of as leisure time.
3. Language Way back when, when I was first entering the Army, they gave me a test called the DLAB (Defense Language Aptitude Battery) to determine my ability to learn foreign languages. My score was so low they were amazed I spoke English. I'd love to be able to speak another tongue, but I've tried and it is a stone wall for me. Even "easy" languages like German appear to be beyond me.
4. Leather Not in a kinky way, but I've always loved leather. Motorcycle jacket, a good set of jump boots, gloves.. they wear well, look great, and piss off silly extremist liberals. The perfect clothing!
5. Longitude I'm a history buff, and to me one of the most amazing unknown tales of history was the quest for longitude. When sailing long distances, latitude is easily determined with a sextant and a good star chart. But longitude required whole new technologies. The tale of how a cabinetmaker solved the riddle in the face of scorn of the scientific establishment of the era is one of intrigue, conspiracy, and heroism.
6. LRRP OK, it's not a word, but the Vietnam era Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols were the beginning of the reforms in the US Infantry that culminated in how I was trained in 1984. The LRRPs emphasized preparation, tactical thinking, and strong team work to "out G the G" (out guerrilla the guerrillas). They also trained and operated at night, something we did a great deal of in my day.
7. Laparotomy The surgical procedure I had in 1995 that led to my cancer diagnosis. Surgery is very, very weird. Your body knows that you have been severely injured, but has trouble telling what is wrong since everything has been sewn and stapled shut.) I was lucky in that I had a surgeon who understood that gross was not a problem for me, and described exactly what had been done to me.
8. Laminate One of the tasks in the Army I hated more than anything, more than cleaning the latrines on a Sunday morning, was having to laminate maps. Before any exercise, we'd have to laminate the appropriate maps and cut them into sections so the officers and senior NCOs would have waterproof maps that could be carried in the cargo pocket of our BDUs (battle dress uniform.) The laminate we used came in large sheets, and was impossible to work with. It would fold, stick to everything but the maps, and inevitably leave bubbles and ridges. Once we got the maps laminated, we had to cut them into sections, then laminate them again, front and back.
9. Loud I like things that are loud. Heavy Metal music, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, thunderstorms, large caliber firearms... I have no idea why, but something about loud noises just thrills me. Probably why I like Wagner but no other operas.
10. Love A concept I'm still trying to get a handle on after 16 years with Kirsten. I'm a logical guy, and sometimes I try to analyze these feelings, try to distill why I love her, and not other people. I try not to think about it too much, mind you, but I'll freely admit that while I don't understand love, I like it!
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Date: 8 May 2006 02:56 (UTC)no subject
Date: 8 May 2006 12:40 (UTC)no subject
Date: 8 May 2006 07:43 (UTC)no subject
Date: 8 May 2006 12:40 (UTC)