iNTj

Going through some old files I found this information on personality types, it was acquired years ago from a business processes consultant who thought it would interest me. It was not something he used in his current job but was trained in it for his previous job as a military recruiter. As a recruiter he had monthly quotas to fill, he said “like any sales job”, I had mixed feelings on what he was “selling”. He claimed he had never recruited anyone without them and their family fully understanding what they were getting into … and unfortunately it fulfills a necessary function in society.

He could identify a person’s type by simply interacting with them; at least he identified mine on a subsequent visit. He asked if I had researched it, when I said yes he stated that he bet I was an INTJ, he was right. I had determined that by taking this 72 question Typology Test, the results were that I was “Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging” … a “Rational Mastermind”.

The 4 Temperaments are Guardians, Idealists, Artisans & Rationals with subcategories of:

Guardians
Inspector |  Protector |  Provider |  Supervisor

Idealists
Champion |  Counselor |  Healer |  Teacher

Artisans
Composer |  Crafter |  Performer |  Promoter

Rationals
Architect |  Fieldmarshal |  Inventor |  Mastermind

Who are you?

Answer all the questions from the perspective of what feels real for you, not answers that you think are how you should behave in any particular situation. The objective is to understand yourself as you really are.

march moon

sad again

can now watch, in eight parts

what

sad

houses

can’t watch

funnies

This was my favorite comic, a daily read, here’s a few I cut out and saved for some reason. These were from 1990, my boys would have been ages 8 and 5.

notes falling slow

I sent the picture below to my brother, it’s my downtown neighbor’s use of  property we had leased from them for decades, I made light of the situation trying to be humorous about it.

He replied:

“This is a very, very, very sad photograph! It reminds me of some of the great images that documented the Great Depression, created through the lens of photographers like Dorothea Lange…see the attached images. Perhaps it’s because I’m too close to it, but the pathetic image of an old farm tractor, begging for a sale on the site of what was once a vibrant new-car sales and service lot…well, it’s almost an iconic image of the Great Recession…fuck that, it’s as close as we’ve ever been to a Depression…it is in Michigan anyway.”

His reply had a black and white version of the photo I had sent him.

My brother has firsthand experience in the situation, losing his job with an automotive advertising agency about three years ago, followed by his wife losing her job. But they recently started their own business, which seems to be taking off and should be very successful.

I sent him a link to an article that examines the visual documentation of now compared to eighty years ago; The Great Recession: A Hidden Depression? There are many interesting links within that article that are worth checking out.

The whole situation has preoccupied my thoughts lately, a melancholy reflection on what I would have been doing now, what I have done for over a quarter century with the rejuvenating spring weather … preparing for a busy selling season. And I’ve responded to optimistic inquiries about the news of dealers being reinstated … well that’s dealers who still have a product to sell, our situation is different the product was eliminated, it’s not that they didn’t want us to represent the product, we were one of their best performing dealers!

But I’m still dealing with the settling dust of a business lost. This month I have finally finished closing the accounting books for 2009, there were many one-time adjustments and physical counts that had to be done. I finally sold the parts inventory the manufacturer stuck us with, for pennies-on-the-dollar. The utilities finally got separated from properties leased to properties owned, but the billing is screwed up. I am now finding time to go through files and years of paperwork to see what can be disposed of and what has to be saved. Then in the back of my mind is what the hell am I going to do when all the busy-work is done … I’m taking it one step at a time to keep my sanity … “this ain’t no depression … just notes falling slow”.

march ditch

why margo sings

The third peek into the development of Renmin Park.

(the place)

Yes I’m re-blogging a blog but I’m finding it thoroughly interesting, not only the process but a look at another culture.

Apologies to Michael.



junk

Following an artist’s creative process can be very interesting, Michael Timmins has been known to share elements of that process, usually after the fact when the finished, polished product is done he’ll share some of the early raw demos.

(an intro)

Here he is sharing the process up-front, releasing samples of semi-processed environmental sounds he recorded on a trip to China, a trip he calls an other-worldly experience.

(the sounds)

I find the musical adaptation fitting of that trip description, in my opinion music is derived from a re-creation, a refinement and reorganization of sounds humans experience in their everyday lives, natural or man-made, real or imagined.