My birthdate

I came across one of those "what does your birthdate mean" websites. Normally I treat them with a very large grain of salt, because they say stuff that's applicable to just about anyone ("you like being praised, you like food, you hate it when bad stuff happens"). But I found this one surprisingly accurate.

Your Birthdate: June 7

You are an island. You don't need anyone else to make you happy.
And though you see yourself as a loner, people are drawn to you.
Deep and sensitive, you tend to impress others with your insights.
You also tend to be psychic - so listen to that inner voice!

Your strength: Your self sufficiency

Your weakness: You despise authority

Your power color: Maroon

Your power symbol: Hammer

Your power month: July

I was having a conversation with a coworker a few years ago about the fact that I really can't stand being around large groups of people, even though I'd like to be able to do so, and hey, going out usually tends to be more fun when you're in a group. And she replied that while yeah, groups are fine, my situation wasn't so bad. Specifically, she pointed out, most people are utterly incapable of doing the smallest, simplest things in their life without a group of people, and that it really spoke well of me that I was self-reliant like that. What she said really made me sit down and think, because I never noticed what she was describing until that moment. Yeah, there really are a lot of people who can't bear the thought of: living alone, getting groceries alone, going to work alone, or just going out alone once in a while. But yeah, I've always been a bit of a loner. Though I'm honestly trying to change, at least to a certain degree.

Okay, now looking at the results in more detail: I really prefer to be self-sufficient, but since entering the working world, I've gotten a lot better about teamwork. I HATE authority figures with a passion. Anyone actively seeking out a position of leadership is someone I automatically consider to be suspect: no one seeks power for altruistic reasons--they seek power to further their own ambitions, and I'd just as soon not like to get caught on the shit end of that. That's probably why I don't care for some of the people I meet in DC. They're all buddy-buddy, but they won't hesitate to crawl over their own mother for a nickel (while doing so badly dressed, I might add...). Now, I'm not talking about cases like work or the army... you need authority figures and leadership in these situations, and I'm really not railing against those. The absolute WORST authority figures are the ones that start to emerge in amorphous group settings. Like you're stuck with some kind of group project (this seems to be the new pedagogy in grad school) and someone tries to become the de facto leader. Naturally I rise to the challenge. After all, doesn't every good leader need a good foil? You know, someone to put him through his paces... really make him earn his stripes.

To be fair, I've also had the complete opposite happen, and it sucks just as hard... the one who needs to make sure everyone's voice is heard. Again and again and again. I was working in one group assigment, and one of the women volunteered to be the point person and take our individual submissions and turn them into a finished product. Cool. But she kept on emailing the team, urging us to get together "just to make sure everyone's on board." I think someone finally emailed her and politely told her that some of us work full time, and if everything looked okay, there really wasn't a need to take time out of our busy schedules for one long group hug.

Maroon. Hmm... why couldn't it have been turquoise or teal? Hey, I'll even pick something in the same color family, like magenta. Or mauve? I just like saying mauve. But okay, I can deal.

July. That's a mixed bag. I like long summer days, but I hate DC's sucky summer humidity. I can't go for more than a block without wilting.

Hammer. Okay, that's a pretty cool symbol. I'll gladly take it :)