Friday Five....

1. What's the most daring thing you've ever done?

I'm really not sure about this. I'm thinking about things that I was super nervous and full of adreneline for, and I can come up with three:

-bungee jumping in Gatlinburg on Spring Break in college
-getting my tongue pierced (this was really the only piercing I freaked out about)
-taking the plunge and talking to our IT director here about transferring to his department

2. What one thing would you like to try that your mother/friend/significant other would never approve of?

I want my nose pierced. I figure, I've wanted this done for about 12 years now. I should be reasonably confident that I won't change my mind. And more tattoos. The 'rents are ok with what I have, but they don't have to look at it very often, and didn't know I had it until I'd had it for 5 years or so. And they are ok with my ear piercings, but had freaked out about my tongue (but my sister's is ok?). They have never really known about the others that I had though. My grandparents would really really freak out.

3. On a scale of 1-10, what's your risk factor? (1=never take risks, 10=it's a lifestyle)

Probably about a 6 or 7, but it depends on your definition of risk. If we're talking major adreneline-rush risks, it's probably lower, but the more everyday risks were including, that number might go a bit higher.

4. What's the best thing that's ever happened to you as a result of being bold/risky?

Probably the job switch I made here at work last year. It got me out of a bad (& rapidly deteriorating) situation in my old department, and also gave me a new position in which I have some growth potential.

5. ... and what's the worst?

I think my behavior regarding financial things in college was very risky, and it's landed me with a lot of debt still. Unfortunately, being a "smart poor kid" (my mom's phrase) will get you scholarships and loans & grants, but you can't use that to cover the cost of keeping up with the rich kids you're going to school with. I've been out of school for 5 years, and it's only been the last 1-1/2 or so that I've felt I'm getting a handle on paying down the debt.

futubachan Saturday Six (only a week late)

1. Which icons do you have in your icon bar, Dock, or similar (or which applications do you have shortcuts to on your desktop)?

On my icon bar: Desktop, Outlook, MM Contribute, Windows Explorer, Illustrator, PhotoShop, ImageReady, XMLSpy, RealOnePlayer, Internet Explorer, Quicktime, Dreamweaver
On my desktop, a bunch of random files that need to be cleaned up, the CD burner software, Rational ClearCase, my fax application, and WebSphere.

All that comes to about half the software that's installed on this laptop. And I use it all too.

2. What windows do you have open right now?

Outlook, Rational Clearquest, Windows Explorer, XMLSpy, Dreamweaver, Internet Explorer, Notepad

3. What's your desktop image?

Nothing. Used to have a cute photo of me, some friends and Rodney Yee, but I go through machines like candy here and it's gotten left behind at some point.

4. What theme or color scheme do you have your window decorations set to?

The default

5. What's your browser's home page set to?

Here at work, our Intranet; at home, livejournal.

6. Which newsgroups are you subscribed to at the moment?

In college, I was a usenet junkie, mostly reading things like rec.arts.bodyart and some veggie cooking lists, and swlab, which is, I believe where I first heard about WomBAT. Nowadays, I do subscribe to email lists, but not so many groups. There's WomBAT, the local Digital Eve list, some of Webmonkey's lists, a few things regarding writing, and local political issues, and the list we created for Iron Chef Family Dinner.

I'm easy to amuse...

I just went downstairs to obtain a Snickers bar. Upon opening it, I noticed the graphic on the front reading "Most NUTS Ever!" This made me giggle for a multitude of juvenile reasons, not the least of which was that in my head, it was read in the voice of Comic Shop Guy from The Simpsons.