Tell Us About Yourself!

[Sunstone]

I hope to be a good influence on some of the students I teach.

Just out of curiosity, did you always want to be a professor, or was there some decision point in your life?

 

[Rival]

You forgot to tell everyone you're a brilliant writer and drop-jaw gorgeous too. Tsk. Tsk. The "sins of omission", as the Catholics say.

OK, if you insist.

Spoiler

 

[Sunstone]

In recent months, I have grown more and more convinced that if some of my good friends that I know offline were to post here and I only had text and debates to go by, I'd probably not like them nearly as much as I do. Ditto for them if they only saw that one aspect of me.

This thread is for you to tell other RFers about yourself. It could be an introduction, a personal story, or even just a bunch of random facts about yourself. Basically, this thread is meant as a reminder that RF is a community, not just a virtual war zone of debates and heated disagreement.

Go ahead! And don't hesitate if you're a new member. Everyone is welcome to post about themselves here.

Don't forget to tell us a bit about yourself, DS. At least, the safe for work parts.

 

[Sunstone]

I'm a poet.

My favorite poet is Charles Baudelaire and his work The Flowers of Evil.

Do you have some samples of your poetry?

 

[Sunstone]

Along the way, starting at the end of my drug days I moved from not paying any attention to anything related to the divine to become a seeker ultimately finding Meher Baba. One of his messages is that any path can lead to the divine even the path of an atheist seeking truth and justice. It's all good if pursued with an open heart and an open mind.

What did you find most attractive about Meher Baba, and which of his writings would you most recommend?

 

[sayak83]

Just out of curiosity, did you always want to be a professor, or was there some decision point in your life?

Scientist certainly. When I was young though, I did not know that scientists were also often professors and teachers. The only teachers I knew were in primary and secondary schools.
India, pre-internet and pre-globalization days...awareness of such things are low. Even though I lived in a very big city, there were no libraries with popular science books anywhere, and I only got to buy a few of them once a year at an annual book-fair. Things changed when I went to college and with the coming of the internet (nearly at the same time for me).

 

[Sunstone]

Even though I lived in a very big city, there were no libraries with popular science books anywhere...

Zounds! That sounds like my tiny hometown. The school library had almost no popular science books, and the local public library had none. My mother, however, subscribed us to a series of books on the various sciences. A new one would be printed every few months. I read those over and over growing up.

For a while, I wanted to be a chemist. Then a chain of chance events got me enthralled with philosophy.

 

[sayak83]

Zounds! That sounds like my tiny hometown. The school library had almost no popular science books, and the local public library had none. My mother, however, subscribed us to a series of books on the various sciences. A new one would be printed every few months. I read those over and over growing up.

For a while, I wanted to be a chemist. Then a chain of chance events got me enthralled with philosophy.

You had a school library. Our school library was reserved only for teachers, as "children can't be trusted to handle books properly."
I did get some books from a used books store...but there were mostly pre-2nd world war.
Anyways books were too costly for Indian standards back then. My family could probably afford 3-4 low cost edition black and white newspaper like paper quality science books back then. On the plus side, we preserved books carefully. So we had three medium sized bookcases full of books from the time of my great-grandfather onwards...the biggest collection among anyone of my friends' or relatives' families.
Mostly fiction or non-science books though.

 

[Sunstone]

You had a school library. Our school library was reserved only for teachers, as "children can't be trusted to handle books properly."
I did get some books from a used books store...but there were mostly pre-2nd world war.

Jeebers! That's practically criminal how they handled the library! What an attitude!

How do you reconcile your scientific and religious beliefs? Or is any reconciliation necessary?

 

[sayak83]

Jeebers! That's practically criminal how they handled the library! What an attitude!

How do you reconcile your scientific and religious beliefs? Or is any reconciliation necessary?

Take a look at some of my longer posts here.
Place of Rational Inquiry in Dharmic Worldviews
Place of Rational Inquiry in Dharmic Worldviews

Feel free to make a new thread in interfaith or general section to discuss anything from that thread, and ping me.

 

[Sunstone]

Looks interesting! I'll check them out.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I'm a mom, a partner, a liberal, a vet, a Girl Scout leader, a Pagan, a book lover, a gamer, and a friend. I am kind, soft-hearted, scattered and a bit messy. I've lost a lot in life and hit rock bottom and pulled myself back up. I am a phoenix. I am.

Draka sighting!!!

*Glomps*

 

[lewisnotmiller]

That’s the greatest tragedy of my life: I haven’t enough personal stories to keep up my end of a good bar conversation — a fact I feel compelled to compensate for by indulging in endless jokes about farts.

1) I'm personally shattered to hear that your fart jokes aren't all based on real life events.
2) I'd share a beer with you any day. I can probably talk enough crap for both of us anyway.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

My former life, so long ago, I was a very Conservative Southern Baptist, and I hated life and wanted to die. I barely graduated high school, drank often and heavily, got into crime, and wasn't a very good person.
Now, in my post-god life where I have accepted myself and becoming myself, I'm out in the Left field, take inspirations from Buddhism, Luciferianism, and Daoism, I rarely drink (and even more rare that I get drunk), graduated from college with honors, distinctions, magna cum laude, and jay walking is about the only "crime" I commit anymore.
And I recently moved out of Indiana to California, and wishing I would have done it much sooner.

I find your personal journey pretty inspiring.

 

[Kirran]

I am of fairly average height!

 

[Woberts]

I am freakishly tall!

 

[Revoltingest]

In recent months, I have grown more and more convinced that if some of my good friends that I know offline were to post here and I only had text and debates to go by, I'd probably not like them nearly as much as I do. Ditto for them if they only saw that one aspect of me.

I find that some friends are friends only in a particular venue.
Examples:
A common interest in volunteering at a museum doesn't mean
I want to open the can of worms which is politics or religion.
Neither do I want to meet RF posters IRL. To me, they're all
seen as their posts. And interaction is different from sitting
across from them at a table. So I'll avoid that awkwardness.

Note:
It's possible that not everyone here is hale, hearty, & pretty.
I'll keep my illusions.

 

[Sunstone]

1) I'm personally shattered to hear that your fart jokes aren't all based on real life events.

They were "inspired by true stories" though. Friends would tell me things, you see. Yeah, friends.

2) I'd share a beer with you any day. I can probably talk enough crap for both of us anyway.

If I ever get anywhere near your neck of the woods, I'm holding you to that, bro.

 

[Sunstone]

I am of fairly average height!

I am freakishly tall!

I don't believe either one of you. Send pics of yourselves standing next to a famous, nude Hollywood actress of your choice for scale so we have proof of your heights.

 

[Revoltingest]

I am of fairly average height!

I am freakishly tall!

I am freakishly average.
Although being an atheist, I'm prettier than most.