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Ask Tehuti Anything!
Tehuti has been a member since July 28th, 1999.
# Asked: 500 -- # Answered: 3338
Average: 0.41 -- Average: 4.57
Rank: 77 -- Rank: 21
6.14.00 - Uh...ask me anything?...
Okay, I don't believe anybody's exactly jumping at the chance to ask me anything, for two good reasons: 1. I'm actually a pretty boring person and 2. Nothing much of interest happens to me. What you see on my Profile Page (new and improved, check it out) and in my answers is about it. So...I fear that I will get no or few questions. Ah well. 'Tis life. :)
But should you wish to know something about me, ask away. I don't even care if you ask more than one question. (But if you ask me something I wouldn't know, like about metaphysics or something, uh...don't expect much of an answer.)
All good questions will get fours unless 1. they're really rude, in which case they'll get something LOWER (I don't mind personal, just not rude), or 2. they're really good and interesting and let me blab a lot, in which case they'll get a five. So ask at your own risk, and I'll answer at mine. ;)
And now I sit and twiddle my thumbs...
--Tehuti
heyteach on 6.14.00 - So, where did you get your passion for Egyptian mythology? Have you been to Egypt? Have you taken any coursework in the field? Would you like to go explore the pyramids and such? Can you read any hieroglyphics?
DAMN, you answered fast, Heyteach!! I thought this thing'd sit around here for a while...I've been rating answers ever since I got here!!
All righty...to answer question one: I got my "passion" from a really weird, kind of stupid source--a dog food commercial. Yep, you heard right. Around 1986 the Quaker Oats Company came out with this brand of dog food called "King Kuts." (Ohhh, I cringe in embarrassment now.) The first time I saw their commercial I laughed my head off. But then I became obsessed with it. Finally one day I was bugging my dad and he said, "Why don't you go write a story!!" So I left and a while later came back with this notepad just FILLED with text. Dad said, "I told you to write a STORY, not a NOVEL!!"
That story was King Kuts. My very first "novel." ;) I wrote more about him, in a series, and of course I started getting more into ancient Egypt because of that. Finally I focused on the mythology and began writing about that. (This was all still in elementary school, keep in mind!!) I finally broke away from King Kuts, though, and started trying to write things that are more...well..."mature." I doubt many people would like to read too much about King Kuts who eats dog food and lives in a pyramid. ;D
Nope, never been to Egypt; no way we could even BEGIN to afford that. Strange as it sounds...I don't even WANT to go that badly. I heard recently about a bus of tourists that was fired on with guns. Eegh! Also, the heavy tourism has helped contribute to the deterioration of the tombs and monuments, and I wouldn't want to contribute to that any. Still, I can always dream...maybe ONE day I'll have both the money and the inclination to go.
Hm, coursework. All that I know of ancient Egypt is stuff that I've learned on my own. There haven't been any classes or such on it offered in my area--basically I've just read all the books I can find--I used to watch all the TV programs, but now they're all so repetitive--"Let's find the mysteries of the pyramids!"--so I tend to ignore them. I'm still waitin' for the good mythology program!
I read about what it takes to explore the Great Pyramid--I'd probably cling to the wall and refuse to move!! <:D I can't remember exactly how it went but you go into the Grand Gallery and it's difficult to get through--very steep and cramped in spaces--bat guano--things such as that. I would LIKE to go exploring inside one, but I'm the original gutless wonder.
And hieroglyphics...sadly enough, no, I actually can't read them. (Isn't that PATHETIC??) I know a few ancient terms, and can sometimes tell a bit about the phonetic (English) spelling of a word by looking at it (for example, words ending in "-et" are usually feminine), but when it comes to the hieroglyphs themselves I'm completely lost. I keep thinking maybe someday I'll work on that, but I doubt it... <:)
heyteach on 6.14.00 - Boring, eh? Nope.
So, what would you like to write about? Do you desire the "fame and adulation" of being a published author, or is there an inner need, a drive to write, because you must?
What are you willing to do to become a published author? (Go pitch the book, maybe even vanity press it if you don't get a willing publisher any time soon, etc.)?
You people will be treated to a novel right HERE in the updates to this thing!!
Heyteach's second question:
What do I like to write about...it's always fiction,
to make it short. I'm not good at factual writing--it's too confining.
But most of what I write is either occult/paranormal fiction (Satanism,
alien abduction, things like that) or fantasy/mythology (like Horus). I
like writing stories where all the "rules" don't always apply. Makes up
for the dullness in my life! ;)
Hm..."fame and adulation" versus a need to write...I think it's a combination of both. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY would like to be known for my writing--I'd actually appreciate fame more than fortune! (Though fortune's not that bad.) I know, if I were to become famous, I'd probably DIE from embarrassment--but I can dream. *Sigh.* Anyway...everyone can also see that I keep writing even though I haven't tried sending anything out, so it's obvious I just LIKE writing too--it's one of the few things I believe I'm actually good at (even if it can use a lot of work), and once you find a talent like that, you tend to latch onto it like a life preserver. It gives me something worthwhile to do...even if I haven't done anything worthwhile with it yet!
What I'm WILLING to do will have to depend on what I CAN do. I'm TERRIFIED of facing people. I hate to think of pitching the book, but if I had some support from others, perhaps it's something I could do. (I'd really need to overcome my fears of facing people!! So that would take a LOT of work.) But...a vanity press?? EEGH! I would never have my story published through one of those. Generally you have to pay for the publishing, the book looks kind of cheap, and you have to take care of all the promotion and such. ANYBODY can get their book published if they have the money. But it's more the recognition I want than to simply have the story printed on good paper between two nice covers. If I went and did it on my own, I'd be defeating the whole purpose of actual publication. I could never do that. It's almost like cheating, in my eyes.
However, though I'm not doing anything at the moment, I'm really going to have to work on my fears so I can actually SEND SOMETHING OUT sometime! I'll never get published if I can't even do that. <:)
Kileana on 6.14.00 - What event in your life has shaped or helped to shape the person you are now ?
Hm...Kileana's question. That's actually a toughie. I think it would have to depend on what aspect of who I am now that you mean?
For example, there's the aspect of my writing, as it's such a big part of my life. It's probably impossible to choose just ONE event that shaped that part of me...I would say probably my experiences in elementary school. While everyone else was outgoing and into sports and doing their hair and such, I was the one who--even though I wasn't nearly as shy then as I am now--was more in the background and wrote things. I don't recall people drooling over me, but I do believe they recognized and liked what I wrote. I also drew a lot then, too. I remember I had a bunch of drawings of "King Kuts" (see above) characters and one guy was asking if I'd sell him the drawings! No...but I did draw him one of his own. I was good at making up stories that the others liked. I didn't get nearly the amount of attention I wanted but it was something.
Then there's the aspect of simply why my imagination turned out the way it did, so that I dwell more in there than I do in the real world. I think it's because of how things are in my own life. I'm a "Type 4." (Ever hear of the Enneagram?) My word for this is the "hopeless romantic." Even while I'm a pessimist I always dream of things that are better, more interesting, and easier to lose myself in than the reality I have to face every day. I know, not always healthy...but I've always been that way. I can't name anything that made me become more interested in dwelling in my imagination except for the whole of my experience. Life is so difficult and painful and dreadfully dull--who wouldn't want to simply make everything up and start over fresh?
But then there's probably what defines me most--depends on who you ask--my fear of facing other people. (I hate calling it shyness because that word's not strong enough.) I've always been shy--in school I was known as a crybaby (I even remember reading it on the back of a bus seat once that I was a crybaby!)--but it got worse in junior high, and things went downhill from there. My first year in junior high my best friend was still there with me, to give me support--we had our own small group of the four of us who'd hang out together and act silly. But in my second year she moved away...the other two grew away from me...and from then on I was pretty much on my own. That's when I just began withdrawing into myself even more. I had a few sorta-friends in high school--even, for a time, two that I'd hang out with all the time--but things were never exactly the same after that. Every time I tried to make friends with someone they would "betray" me in some way--by moving away, or lying to me, or some other thing--and so finally it just became too difficult for me to approach anybody. Why bother when they'd end up leaving me on my own again, right? It wasn't worth the pain and trouble of even trying to meet someone I might like. After both of the friends I made in high school "betrayed" me, I just shut everyone out and gave up. I really would like more--ANY--friends, and I can't say I'll never try again, but I'll never have the trust I used to have when I was little.
*Eegh*--sorry about that. <:) But I do hope that it somehow manages to answer the question...as I said, that one was a toughie!
obi-wan on 6.14.00 - Tehuti I see that you are obsessed with Dragon Ball Z. Are you into all kinds of anime or just that one? What is your favorite anime movie? Did you ever see Ghost in the Shell?
Obi-wan's question:
Actually, the only anime I've been able to see
is that which they air on Cartoon Network. (Limited, I know. <:) ) So
this means I've seen, to varying degrees, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Gundam
Wing, Robotech, and Voltron. I recorded as much as I could but never really
caught onto the last two. Gundam Wing I like but if you asked me to outline
the plot for you I wouldn't know how to do it--it's in reruns and I STILL
have no idea what was going on. <:) However, DBZ and Sailor Moon--the
episodes they've shown on US TV--I know a lot about; I also read the comics,
which are currently being published in English.
Toonami is supposed to be airing another anime program, Tenchi Muyo, pretty soon--sometime this month. I'm going to be catching that one also--I think I may like it.
(However, programs like Pokémon and Digimon I never watch. I'm not too sure of when they're on around here, plus they just don't hold my interest that much. They look to be clones of each other.)
I would probably follow more anime, except it's very limited around here. TV is about the only place one can see it. Also, I don't think I'd really go for the more "adult" anime that there is, you know the stuff--with all the SEX and NUDITY and such. Violence I can stand. But when they start taking off their clothes, I flee the room. ;)
The only real anime movies I've ever seen are the three DBZ ones that they released to US TV. Of those, The World's Strongest was the best, in my opinion. (Yes, all the anime I see is hopelessly Americanized.) I really wanted to see Princess Mononoke but they didn't show it around here!! Grrrrr!! Stupid local theaters and their big-name hyped-up movies!! >:(
*Sigh,* Ghost In The Shell. You know, when I was in Georgia last month, I almost got the chance to see that. My brother has digital cable and he gets like a hundred or so channels. One day Ghost was airing, but it was already partly over, and we were going to leave the house soon. I watched a little bit of it; it seemed a TAD too gritty for me, but I would have liked to see the whole thing. I saw that it was going to be on again early Monday morning and I planned on recording it...but my brother's VCR wasn't programmed to record channels that high. *Sigh.* So there went my one chance. >:( I'm not certain if our video store carries it--perhaps they do--but for now I suppose I'll just have to live with my DBZ and Sailor Moon.
And Tenchi Muyo, whenever he shows up.
Kilnamar on 6.15.00 - I can't help saying that I enjoy reading your posts. You have an attitude that is just instantly likeable. :) Are you this fiery and spunky in person? Compare and contrast your online personality with you offline personality.
Kilnamar's question:
Holy crap!! This is actually quite funny. I must
be more likeable online. You'd never recognize me in real life--I am NOTHING
like this in real life. <:D
Fiery and spunky! I'm actually flattered, because I'm not really like that. (I WANT to be, but I'm not.) I admit that I have a temper and at least with people I know well I can sometimes act like this--the way I do around here--but it's simply not the way I usually am. There was a question asked around here recently about the difference between "social phobia" and "avoidant personality." I was the one who asked, for good reason--I believe I'm avoidant. I'm HIDEOUSLY timid--can't even make eye contact, much less open my mouth to say something funny. (Though I want to!!) If I were ever to go to a party or social gathering (AS IF!!), you'd recognize me as the one standing right next to the door (for quick escape), wringing my hands, keeping my head low, and with tears welling up in my eyes. Seriously. That's what I tend to do when I'm really uncomfortable. <:) You would see me and say, "That's who I was thinking of? That's Tehuti?? That's not who I expected at all! Jeez, THIS is a disappointment!!"
Hm, compare and contrast--let's see how I can do that...
ONLINE: Mouthy
OFFLINE: Quiet
ON: Outspoken (when I got the guts!)
OFF: Keep opinions to myself
ON: Funny (I like to think so!)
OFF: Bland
ON: "Charming" (I try to be, at least--notice
all these qualifiers??)
OFF: Whiny and irritating (though I've been told
I'm like that online, too--don't doubt it)
ON: Sociable
OFF: Asocial
ON: Chatty
OFF: Reclusive
ON: Witty (hopefully ;) )
OFF: At a loss for words
This MUST be only a few...I bet there are plenty of others, and everyone else, of course, would be a much better judge of how I appear to them. However...I can say safely that I'm really NOTHING like this in real life. I would have to know you people for, like, three or four years before I'd even begin to act anything like the way I do around here.
(Quite a commitment, isn't it! That's one reason I don't really have friends. They're all too impatient for me. <:) )
hismel on 6.15.00 - Hi Tehuti, are you involved with someone? Whether you are or are not, what characteristics do you feel are most important in a person you would be/are attracted to? How do you think what you need/want in a person is different from the "usual"?
Hismel's question!
Nope, not involved with anyone. Never really have
been, either. (Isn't that scary??) When I was in high school there was
a guy who asked me to go steady, and I said yes, but I never really felt
anything for him and I don't think he felt anything for me either--when
I was in college he said one day he'd call me the next day and he didn't.
Six months to hear from him--and then I hung up on him. Twice. (Served
him right.)
*Ahem*--anyway...
The most important characteristics of someone I'm attracted to! >:) First off, I have yet to really be attracted to anybody, so I'm not even sure it'll happen. But let's assume it can...then this is what I'd look for the most.
I'm not a complete saint, so he'd have to at least look all right. Not necessarily like Tom Cruise or anything, but I'm not blind and as much as I hate to admit it, looks DO matter a little. But the most important thing of all would be that he can LISTEN. When I know people well, I like to yak. A LOT. He'd have to be a good listener, and what's more, he'd have to LIKE listening to me. I'm not saying he's some kind of potted plant who just sits there mutely and lets me yak my head off, but he would have to listen a lot.
He'd have to be INTERESTED in what I say. This would be a miracle in itself. Do you know any okay-looking guys who wouldn't mind sitting around listening to me yak about ancient Egypt and my writing?? If so, PLEASE send them my way! They must be one in a billion. I have yet to find one.
(But it would have to be a SINCERE interest!! As much as I like any kind of attention, if I sensed for one second that he wasn't really interested and was just trying to be nice, I'd feel instantly horrible and clam up, just to spare him. I would never be happy. It would never work out.)
He would have to be funny, and yet know when his funniness isn't appreciated. I understand the power of a good laugh to cheer someone up...but there are times when I am upset and I don't WANT someone trying to make me laugh. I just want them to understand my situation, the cause of my sadness or anger, and empathize with it. Face it--I'm in a foul mood, he makes a joke--instead of laughing, I COMPLETELY lose it and either scream his head off or run off wailing. Not a very good situation, is it? <:)
He'd also have to be REALLY, REALLY PATIENT. There are a lot of things I'm not ready for and I hate making someone feel like they're going to wait forever. But that's what I'd make them feel like. Rather than feel guilty over "denying" them something, I just avoid getting involved altogether. A sorry state, *sigh.*
Man, I really don't think the guy I'm really looking for exists--sensitive, funny, empathic, interested, interesting, patient...Jeez!! I ask for too much.
Let me confess something here that will probably continue to haunt and embarrass me the rest of my life. I'm posting a story right now, Horus (no, this isn't a plug unless you see it that way! ;D ), and there's a character in it--Anubis--his character hasn't been fully developed yet in what I've posted, and it isn't in this story, but based on the personality I gave him, he's my idea of the perfect guy. (OHHHHHH, Lord, I'm never gonna live this one down...**blush**) A bit too moody for my tastes, since I'm pretty moody too, but I bet we could be happy--uh--being moody together. ;D Hey! At least I'm good at it!
I'm not certain if anything I'm looking for is different from the usual--I think we all want to feel as if someone is interested in us, and is patient with us when we need them to be, and is funny enough to cheer us up when we need that. I'm not sure how anybody else feels about not wanting to be cheered up, though? Like I said, when I'm in a bad mood and I just want that person to understand that and, even while trying to make me feel better, avoiding from trying to make me laugh? (I don't mind someone trying to cheer me up, but if they do it by trying to turn my attention away from the matter or by making a joke that often makes it worse--I just want them to tell me things will be all right, and to maybe tell me how! Kind of "affirm" why I'm feeling bad, and then try to solve it, instead of saying, "Oh, don't feel bad, there's no reason to!")
I'm not sure if other people ever feel like that? (I hope I explained it clearly enough!) If they don't, well...that's the difference, right there. But I do think that everybody feels that way at times.
Loaded on 6.15.00 - You answered a question about what kind of person you would be attracted to in a relationship, so what kind of person are you attracted to concerning a possible close friendship.
Loaded's question:
Hm...that's something I've never really thought
of before. It's something you kinda tend to take for granted. But I think
the answer's pretty simple...any potential friends would have to share
many of the characteristics of the "perfect man." Just not to as great
a degree. There's more leeway with "just friends," in my mind. With the
person you're in love with, you expect much attention; with your friends
you realize they often have other people to hang out with, they aren't
"involved" with you, and so you have to cut them some slack. Still--if
they were complete jerks who never listened to a word I said, never sympathized
with me, and had no interest whatsoever in me...I wouldn't be hanging out
with them too much. ;)
(But the times when I did have friends, I did tend to be more jealous than an average friend is; I felt angry and left out whenever they were hanging out with someone else. That's a problem that was on my end, though--I can't really blame them for that.)
It wouldn't matter as much in the looks department, but a big thing is that they too would have to be patient in me getting to know them. This happened several times in high school--let me give an example. There was a girl there who was actually a cousin of mine. One day she invited me to a movie for the following night. Now, with someone like me, this is a no-no. I hardly knew her, I'm terrified of going out with people I don't know too well (a social thing, not that I thought she'd attack me ;) ), and so asking me outright, just like that, to go to a movie is a bad thing to do. It puts me in a very difficult situation. I really didn't want to accept, but I couldn't refuse either. So I said all right. That night "Bob" paid his first visit of the month. (Yeah, uh--I call it "Bob." Heh heh. <:) ) Now I was REALLY miserable. I was excused from school the next day--so of course I couldn't go to the movies either. I showed up the day after that, and my cousin never really talked to me again. I bet she felt I'd ditched her, and she never came to me to ask for an explanation. I didn't really care that much; it was all I'd expected.
Thing is--she wasn't "patient" enough. She assumed that just because I hadn't wanted to go out and do something on the first try, I was NEVER going to be interested--and so she gave up, just like that. Many people have been like this with me--when it takes "too long" to break the ice with me (ranging from one try to a few weeks--believe me, it takes a LONG time), they give up and move on. It's depressing, but how am I to step in and tell them to give me a few weeks more? Chances are I'd end up not wanting to hang around them anyway. <:)
Hm, that was depressing, wasn't it...but as I started to say, patience is one of the biggest things in both a potential romantic relationship AND a potential platonic relationship. Oh yeah--I forgot to add something earlier--that and truthfulness. Just about everyone I've known has lied to me in some way--I don't mean little white lies, they don't bother me--I mean major ones. Of course this has weakened my trust--and so sincerity is another important thing in either kind of relationship, right up there with patience and the ability to listen.
prncss on 6.16.00 - Why do you like stupid questions so much? (I still call them that, too!)
Prncss's question!:
Oo, this is actually an easy one. ;) In the "real
world" I don't get much chance to talk up and make myself heard, much less
make other people laugh. But I think of doing it all the time. One of my
dreams is of being one of those life-of-the-party types who can make everybody
around them burst into laughter on a whim--laughter that actually isn't
aimed at them! (Believe me--I've had plenty of that.)
That might be another part of it, a way to control the laughter--since people are going to laugh anyway, why not make it work in your favor? MAKE them laugh before your ACTIONS make them laugh. Turn a possibly embarrassing thing into a good thing. It's good to have control like that.
But anyway, back to the question--as I can't do this much in real life--take control like that--I can try to do it on a screen. No eye contact, no one in the same room looking at me, no feelings of anxiety (those are good at dampening humor!!). If your answer doesn't make anybody laugh (that is, gets a low rating), well...nobody can see the look on your face if it was hurtful. If your answer DID make somebody laugh (got a high rating, I'm assuming), then you can feel as good as you want without guilt of being seen as "full of yourself"--and you just accomplished your mission. Y'made someone laugh!
They're also easier to answer than many other questions, and yet difficult in their own way. There are many questions I either can't answer because I have no knowledge of them, or won't answer because they're obviously demanding a good balanced argument when all I have to offer is my little opinion. (Such as "Should there be a death penalty? Give me three reasons for or against"--I wanted to answer but my brain wasn't working that well so I couldn't. Rather than just say "No" and get a really low rating I moved on elsewhere.)
Stupid Questions aren't usually factual. You can make it all up as you go along. I've always been good at making things up. But the challenge is in making up something funny. It's not always as easy as it might seem. (And I know there are times when I could have been WAY funnier...*sigh.*) You have to come up with just the right thing that's either funny enough or absurd enough to warrant a laugh--nothing else is worth posting. There are actually Stupid Questions I've refrained from answering because I honestly couldn't come up with any funny enough responses! (Funny responses, maybe, but not funny ENOUGH.)
Ain't that funny, having standards on what's funny enough? HAR HAR! ;D
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