State of the Union

Sadly, I will be unable to geek out and watch the State of the Union tonight. I will be sealing juvenile records in the U-District, but with some lovely people. While drudging to the 5:30 bus, I was thinking how in 100 years students may be studying the oratory of President Obama like we study President Roosevelt, perhaps even more so because Obama is the first black president and utilizes such skill in all of his high profile oration.

Now, I would much rather watch the State of the Union of Poverty, a talk that was given at Stanford a few weeks back, but I will take the State of the Union on podcast for tomorrow's morning workout. I can dig that.

I learn fastest when mortified. Proof- today. I had an interview with a U.S. Attorney for the 7th Circuit for a federal 1L clerkship, and of course, I mixed up PST and CST. It was comical how fast I went through the transition from nervous to blaise because I thought that I had ruined the entire interview process. Luckily, he was patient and moved me on to the next round.

Next round, judicial interview. Next interview with the ABA… Friday. Hopefully I move through the ABA so that I can ensure some funding for my summer.

Embarassment #2 of the day: Going out to the bar with other law students to review finals, ask the waitress for water, she goes to the public pitcher for everyone and pours your glass. Ouch, did not mean to seem privileged. Bam. The worst part is- she remembered me from previous visits and was being so nice… I just never ordered water before. (maybe that says more about me then her going to get me water…)

…..on that grind.

Vivid Dreaming

Alas, my dreams have caught up with me. Perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, but when I wake up at 5 am on the weekdays in order to go to the gym I always wake up during a dream cycle. This morning my dream was particularly violent, and although I do not always enjoy waking up at such an early hour, I was very glad to have this dream interrupted before the injuries that I was seeing become exposed in more detail.

The funny thing is, I have no idea where my mind gets this violent and graphic images from. As a child I witnessed violent things, but never to the extent that was revealed in my dreams. Maybe I caught a glimpse of injuries on the television, but this makes me wish that I hadn't. Why would you want to expose yourself and others to such trauma on a daily basis via media sources. I can't watch graphic violence in movies or on television anymore because I find it disturbing, but I didn't find it as disturbing in elementary or high school.

Ok, for example, my dream this morning featured a couple on a beach. The beach was somewhat of a geographic wonder. The winds were very strong and the beach was more like a series of cliffs covered with greenish yellow algea. There were a few other people out in the cliffs as the tide became to come in, but the couple had an argument and the male tried to leave. In an attempt to leave he jumped from the cliff hoping to drift in the wind. As soon as he jumped, the wind let up and he crashed into the rocks.

I have never seen a climbing ot rock accident in real life, and I hope never to see one. But how could my imaginiation be so vivid as to picture the damage that could occur from such an accident? Wild.

Conversely, maybe this is an extension of the nightmarish dreams that I have always had in association with the ocean.

Funny, because I just visited Wesport, WA this weekend and saw a coast line that is very different than the east coast and the Northern California coast.

Good morning world. I woke up up this morning feeling fatigued and unready to open up the curtains. Can I stay in bed all day? No, no. Get up. Get somewhat ready, because you have commitments to follow through on. Get up. You don't have to be perfectly put together together today- you just need to be there. Emotional shrapnel is lodged into my skin. I don't want to go out, because I don't want othr people to see it. I feel like I need to spend the day picking it out.

Can someone else pretend to be me for a few hours today?

Souvenir Socks

Watch cars as they pass.
Make names for the drivers.
As your skin melts toward the ground
And your mind reaches to the moon
Their made-up futures pulsing through your brain

You are a transit center
Travelers pass through
Leave socks that fell from leather luggage
A Stranger's socks-- Black tubes, and Hanes
Musty with the regret

I knew the owner once
She slept in my bed
And kept her hand in my heart
I knew the owner once
She caressed my skin
And squeezed my spirit tight

I don't know when she left
But I felt the air as she passed
Traveled through-- this transit center of a heart
Leaving socks as souvenirs.

--Crys

Introverted iNtuiting Feeling Judging

by Marina Margaret Heiss

INFJs are distinguished by both their complexity of character and the unusual range and depth of their talents. Strongly humanitarian in outlook, INFJs tend to be idealists, and because of their J preference for closure and completion, they are generally "doers" as well as dreamers. This rare combination of vision and practicality often results in INFJs taking a disproportionate amount of responsibility in the various causes to which so many of them seem to be drawn.

INFJs are deeply concerned about their relations with individuals as well as the state of humanity at large. They are, in fact, sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so genuinely interested in people -- a product of the Feeling function they most readily show to the world. On the contrary, INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates." While instinctively courting the personal and organizational demands continually made upon them by others, at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates. This apparent paradox is a necessary escape valve for them, providing both time to rebuild their depleted resources and a filter to prevent the emotional overload to which they are so susceptible as inherent "givers." As a pattern of behavior, it is perhaps the most confusing aspect of the enigmatic INFJ character to outsiders, and hence the most often misunderstood -- particularly by those who have little experience with this rare type.

Due in part to the unique perspective produced by this alternation between detachment and involvement in the lives of the people around them, INFJs may well have the clearest insights of all the types into the motivations of others, for good and for evil. The most important contributing factor to this uncanny gift, however, are the empathic abilities often found in Fs, which seem to be especially heightened in the INFJ type (possibly by the dominance of the introverted N function).

This empathy can serve as a classic example of the two-edged nature of certain INFJ talents, as it can be strong enough to cause discomfort or pain in negative or stressful situations. More explicit inner conflicts are also not uncommon in INFJs; it is possible to speculate that the causes for some of these may lie in the specific combinations of preferences which define this complex type. For instance, there can sometimes be a "tug-of-war" between NF vision and idealism and the J practicality that urges compromise for the sake of achieving the highest priority goals. And the I and J combination, while perhaps enhancing self-awareness, may make it difficult for INFJs to articulate their deepest and most convoluted feelings.

Usually self-expression comes more easily to INFJs on paper, as they tend to have strong writing skills. Since in addition they often possess a strong personal charisma, INFJs are generally well-suited to the "inspirational" professions such as teaching (especially in higher education) and religious leadership. Psychology and counseling are other obvious choices, but overall, INFJs can be exceptionally difficult to pigeonhole by their career paths. Perhaps the best example of this occurs in the technical fields. Many INFJs perceive themselves at a disadvantage when dealing with the mystique and formality of "hard logic", and in academic terms this may cause a tendency to gravitate towards the liberal arts rather than the sciences. However, the significant minority of INFJs who do pursue studies and careers in the latter areas tend to be as successful as their T counterparts, as it is *iNtuition* -- the dominant function for the INFJ type -- which governs the ability to understand abstract theory and implement it creatively.

In their own way, INFJs are just as much "systems builders" as are INTJs; the difference lies in that most INFJ "systems" are founded on human beings and human values, rather than information and technology. Their systems may for these reasons be conceptually "blurrier" than analogous NT ones, harder to measure in strict numerical terms, and easier to take for granted -- yet it is these same underlying reasons which make the resulting contributions to society so vital and profound.

Tegan and Sara,

Can we hang out tonight?

http://youtu.be/WZHGeg_0Rlo