Tuesday, June 16, 2009

I Love Military Men & Nerds (I'm told I'm a Rare Nerd type)

That may be an overbroad statement. But I'm really excited right now because I just met some traveled, high-caliber men who are former military and lived in D.C. for awhile too. Really fascinating and educated and experienced guys.

One was a Marine and the other Navy for Marines, as a doctor. He's got his PhD and I thought, "wow. No wonder the U.S. knows about and likes his family." This guy is very quick and sharp.

I was talking for a short time and he looked at me and said, "You're very digital. I was watching you as you were speaking and the way you process information is very rare. Only about 3% of the population is digital and it's most commonly seen in the type you'd think of as a nerd." He said "nerd" in an apologetic way and I laughed and said, "Hey! I think it's great! I love nerds! I've always felt like an undercover nerd myself."

So I asked what he meant by "digital" and he said the way my eyes shift when I'm speaking and processing information is rare, that it's side to side, scanning horizontally, whereas the vast majority of the population is kinesthetic or vertical or something. I asked if there were any studies I could take a look at and he named one off the bat. It's on neurolinguistic programming.

These guys are really, really, smart! I think this is a good day already. The guys I'm staying with are a total cut-up and have me laughing out loud, and now I feel I'm meeting some interesting people again. I've met a few before today, but I think today is a good day.

One worked as a bartender at Bar 51 in D.C. and the other one grew up in Dupont Circle. Shout out to D.C.!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I want to go on and on about these guys, but I am trying to be respectful of their privacy too. This one guy is straight up though...his daughter works at the White House and husband for the Senate and just really smart.

I just met this really cool girl too. What's crazy is that she sat down and I instantly liked her. We clicked right away, right off the bat and kept laughing, and then I found out she just graduated from h.s.! but is going to Brooklyn! I feel a kind of kindred spirit connection with her. Part of her family is Jewish and she wants to go into theatre and biology. Really darling. What's strange is how sudden the connection was and I'm as old as I am and she's so young but it doesn't seem to matter for some reason. It's really hard for me to sometimes get a good connection with other women, and this one just flew out like a bird from the palm.

The first woman I sat next to was doing a pencil drawing. She was drawing purple and white violets with crimson background and shading them and then signed with "ladybug". I pointed to "ladybug" and said, "Oh, that's cool" I don't know what I thought it was, but she said it was her signature.

The first cool thing of the day, though, was finding a marble at the bottom of the carfloor. I spotted it as soon as I got in, out of all the mess. I picked it up and said it was "mine", to the guy next to me, saying "finders keepers" and he said okay and I put it in my pocket. I felt connected to that marble. Weird I know. Then I took it out of my pocket and put it on my laptop and looked at it more closely, and it looks like one of the marbles I had when I was a little girl. I liked marbles a lot. This one is clear and older, you can tell, with a rust-red stripe, a pistacio green stripe, and a rich cornflower blue. It's not stripes really, it's three swirls connected that run through the center of the marble.

I went outside and was talking to this woman and when I moved my laptop, the marble fell and I said, "Uh-oh, I just lost my marble" and then realized how THAT sounded. I laughed and said, "Maybe I shouldn't say that out loud...lost my marble...one marble too, not a lot to lose."

I thought about my eye movements when I was talking to others after the one guy. I don't think I was scanning as much. Not at all, actually. I noticed my eyes dropped down and took other direction or was focused straight ahead. I think the scanning motion left and right was partially due to facing a window where I could see the reflection of cars driving by and I was watching them go back and forth while talking at the same time. I know for sure I don't scan back and forth while speaking all the time. I think I did because of facing the window where I could see the reflection of the cars driving by behind me.

I don't know if I'm really in that 3%, although I do still think I'm an undercover nerd.

I think I might be versatile.

This day is getting even better! I just met a sculptor who's returned from training in Italy and then was in Seattle but is here for awhile. I told him my name was "Cam" and he laughed and said, "Is that like camshaft?" which reminded me of something that was said last night with my housemates. But anyway, I offered my modeling services which he said he would take up. It's been awhile since I've done it, but I support the arts! He gave me his artist card with a bust on the front.

So, I told him about last night. My housemates asked what my last name was (ahem...let's keep my ID under wraps!). "Hey Cam! what's your last name?" I said, "Shaft." Silence. They said nothing. Someone asked again, after I heard some confusion in the background and mumbling, "What did you say your last name was?" I was already on the couch, covered, and about to sleep. "Shaft," I said again. One of the guys said, "Is that like camshaft?" and I said, "Yeah" and then the other one, who is a mechanic, laughed out loud and said, "Camshaft, can I marry you?...Uh, but you can keep your own last name"..." His first name is Silas. Silas Shaft

I think all my Native American ancestors are coming up from the grave. The sculptor is really interested in Native American models and I just met this woman whose situation I "saw" perhaps, a few days ago, who I talked to...Well, he wanted more models and I hooked them up. Pretty good deal I think. And then I told this woman I met who has lived in French and was a teacher and is fluent, about the French teacher in town whom I met a few years ago and told her they should become acquainted and how to find him. All of these people who can make some really good connections.

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