Tuesday, March 21, 2006

friendly compatibility?

Inspired / prompted by Omni's "fascinating tidbit posted @ 3/20/2006 06:37:00 AM"

"How can you tell if someone's compatible as a friend?"

I have a feeling if Omni & I were to meet, we might find our tastes quite similar...

For example Omni had liking, or at least appreciating, something like THIS as a criteria of sorts.... pssssssst, guess who has about 30 similar mp3 punk covers of a variety of oldies/pop songs... and i think these versions are just awesome!! So different than the original, and yet, sooooooo listenable :-) And I don't expect most people to appreciate these versions, at least not in this part of the world... :-(

Rocky Horror Picture Show? omg yessssssssssssssssssss! *grin!* My ravings about it in the link.

Appreciating Dilbert? Yuuuupppppp!! I'm not a *huge* fan, but I certainly appreciate and can relate to the whole life in a cubicle with idiot (pointy-haired) bosses and senseless work... I subscribe to the Daily Dilbert, and have quite a few of them strips saved away on the 'puter, to review on a rainy day when I need some laughs :-)

Weird Al?? LMAO!!! Y-O-D-A is one of my all-time fave songs... plus the original "One More Minute" (... i'd rather clean all the bathrooms in grand central station with my tongue...)??!! I can sing almost all the lyrics to "Like A Surgeon" even tho I haven't heard the song in like YEARS... I've belted out "The Saga Begins" karaoke-ing in public, in a bar full of strangers except for Kosh & his folks... and later attempted to memorise the song so that I could sing it "over" the original American Pie (didn't quite work, drew a blank halfway, bummer!)

But anyways...

I don't actually have "compatibility criteria" per se, but I suppose someone would certainly need to fulfill some of the following to move from "acquaintance" or "colleague" to FRIEND. In no particular order, and kinda just winging it here... sorry for any incoherence...

  • Firstly, no matter what, "potential friends" should have characteristics like open-mindedness; be non-judgmental; be aware of own biases, and acknowledge them where appropriate. Have the conviction to have and state their opinion, but in addition, being able to discuss these opinions rationally! Be able to see, or at least appreciate, other peoples' perspectives: not be so quick to judge & dismiss others. Very relevant to, but not limited to, how one handles matters pertaining to differences in religion, religious beliefs.

  • Has a healthy respect for music in general; rock / heavy / classic rock more specifically. Hey, *i* think some of the stuff in that category is noise too... but if *all* someone listens to is the Light&Easy or Top40 stations, well, chances are you're a bit of a wimp in my eyes *grin!* Bonus points if you are a pre-Bat2 Meat Loaf fan :-) If someone introduces me to a new band/sound that i proceed to totally enjoy (like "joe" who got me into Placebo, and those punk rock covers), they get bonus points :-)

  • Reads. Pref not Romance nor Chick Lit lah, I shudder just at the sight of those kinds of books :p Bonus points for reading fantasy (e.g. George R R Martin, Robert Jordan). Additional points for having opinions on Robert Jordan & whether he is just milking his fans by dragging out a tale that should have been finished 3 books ago *grin!* Majorly additional points for having read, having an opinion on, and able to discuss, Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Again, introducing me to an author that I then proceed to voraciously consume everything he/she has ever written - a load of points earned! And a note on the Da Vinci Code: major points for questioning basis of beliefs after reading the book, but lose loads points if you swallow all that is written hook line & sinker :p

  • is a F.R.I.E.N.D.S. fan. And I mean fan enough to be quoting obscure lines from the series. Recognising my obscure references is of course a plus; and stumping me with your own obscure references is good too (up to a point lah, I'm no expert & don't make me feel inadequate, k?) Here's a quote: "seven!" ;) need more? It's Monica, both hands up, with 7 fingers up. Kinda whispering it, kinda in ecstasy. Got it? Heeheheheheeee :-)

  • Has a quirky sense of humor that, while probably doesn't match mine, it can at least be pretty compatible... puns are fun... word play too... total off-tangent perspectives... knows Weird Al songs... knows of the existence of the secret diary of aragorn... ... ...

  • Babylon 5!! Nuff said.


Okay, brainfreeze... can't think of anything else right now. I bet Kosh is reading this, slapping his flowhead wondering why I didn't mention x, y or z that are *so* obvious to him :p Beb, if you are, drop me a line in the comments lah, k?

And guess what?

Not many people can "pass" the above: one of the reasons i find it extremely rare to find someone of my wavelength (especially in Malaysia!! especially for the 1st point!); why I treasure the few people who have somehow "gotten to me"; why I am loathe to drop out of touch with anyone who's made it to the "inner circle" ... and why, when it comes to friends, I choose quality over quantity.

Thanx again to Omni for this blog topic for the day (night! morning?!! took me over 1.5 hrs and it's already "tomorrow"!) :-)

g'nite!

2 comments:

  1. ... i think that about covers it. maybe something about not being complete "elbow chickies"? perhaps an interest in EtOH, card games (except "Magic" mah!), and having some degree of email/blog/computer literacy?

    don't blame me if i'm missing something - i'm not omNIPOTENT, ya know. if i were, i'd probably kill myself. :-P (a quote hidden in there, no worries!)

    -kosh

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  2. Just realised that I fit into your criteria like a comfy glove.

    Regarding music, people never believe it when I tell them what genre of music I like - Classic rock and heavy metal. Yeah I like Meat Loaf too.

    The fact that I like Sci Fi serials (including Babylon 5) is another thing that people can't understand.

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