So there I was, sitting and waiting for class to start. The professor
comes in and has us start filling out one of those "get to know you"
notecards. You know the type. They ask all kinds of personal questions
like "What's your favorite movie?" "Favorite book?" "Favorite food
served at Harcombe?" and other things that you ask people on a date
when you get desperate. I guess. But this one had a twist that actually
made me have to think beyond the usual "What movies should I put down
to impress the teacher" train of thought.

The question was "What is something about you that makes you unique?" I
stared at that for about a minute, then thought, "Well, I'm filling out
this notecard with a Holiday Inn pen. That's pretty unique." I figured
that, while it was kinda original, that alone would probably not be enough
to impress the prof. So I started trying to delve deeper, and, you know,
there's really no one quality about anyone that makes them unique. It's
all about the combination of characteristics, interests, and features.
So, after I'd sorted through that little issue, what did I come up with
that made me unique?

I'm a little bit geek, but not I'm not one of those obsessive/compulsive
geeks who focuses exclusively on one area of geekdom. I'm more of a geek
of all trades. I'd rather understand something about everything than know
everything about something. I believe that understanding is more important
than knowledge. I don't have the greatest fashion sense in the world, and
see no problem with going out wearing torn jeans and a fancy dress shirt.
I want to direct movies, but not so that I can make a ton of money, more
so I can try to show my feelings and opinions to other people. I don't often
agree with the messages in movies these days, and I'd like a conflicting
opinion. I'm not very expressive. I do like sharing, and helping others.
I hate it when people say thanks when I help them - I probably enjoyed the
helping, and don't need the thanks. I also dislike it when a car stops to
let me cross the road. Most of the time, there's no car behind them, and
so I feel like I unnecessarily slowed those people down. I'm generally not
in a hurry, but I walk fast. I'm very mild and unaggressive, although I can
be a vicious bastard in video or paper games. I can also be a deceitful little
bugger when necessary, but I'm not really too proud about it. It's just useful sometimes.

I thought all this over, then realized that there was no way all this junk
was going to fit on a notecard. So I went with the Holiday Inn pen bit anyway.
Like I said, I'm not very expressive.