INFJ Personality Type

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I’ve scanned personality profiles for INFJs ever since I realized that’s where I fall on the Myers-Briggs chart.  For instance, I am Galadriel from Lord of the Rings, Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars, and Remus Lupin from Harry Potter.  I’m a bit of a sucker for reading descriptions of INFJ personality qualities because I love that thrill of “Oh my gosh, that’s me.  How is this so eerily accurate?”

I recently stumbled across 16Personalities, and their description felt like someone had psychoanalyzed me and published their findings on the Internet.  If you know your type, you can read through the description under the “Type” tab.  If not, the site offers a 12-minute test that you can take for free.

I’m going to list some of the statements that struck me as especially accurate.  I don’t know how interesting this will be for the casual viewer of this blog, but hey!  Think of it as a way to get to know me a little better.  Continue reading →

Hope in Lord of the Rings

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When I was in seventh grade, my older brother invited me to see The Fellowship of the Ring on opening night with a group of his friends.  They invited one other younger sibling in an attempt to set us up.  I did fall in love that night, but not with the other seventh grader.  My heart was 100% stolen by the beauty and power of The Lord of the Rings.  Continue reading →

The Super Bowl and Trafficking

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The Super Bowl is a time for friends to gather together in order to eat delicious junk food and scream loudly as their favored team either wins or loses.  It ought to be a good time for everyone as a sport competition unites people across the country.  Unfortunately, it is not a good time for all.

In 2011, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said, “The Super Bowl is the greatest show on Earth, but it also has an ugly underbelly.  It’s commonly known as the single largest human trafficking incident in the United States.”  The article by Huffington Post, “Super Bowl is Single Largest Human Trafficking Incident in U.S.: Attorney General” covers this phenomenon in more detail, claiming “that the sheer number of men looking to pay for sex substantially increases demand and the massive crowds allow for pimps and victims to essentially go unnoticed.”  Continue reading →

Prophecies, Libels, & Dreams by Ysabeau Wilce

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YES!  More Califa stories!  The California/Aztec world created by Wilce is one of my absolute favorites, so when I stumbled across the existence of this compilation of short stories (cleverly compiled by a “historian” who comments on the likely historicity of each one in chapter Afterwards), I jumped at getting my hands on it.  I’m so glad I did!  Although the last two stories didn’t quite grab my attention–they take place after the events of the Flora series–the first five are wonderful.

We get the background of Springheel Jack in a flashy, hyper-descriptive little story.  But no contest, my favorite stories were the three about Hardhands and Tiny Doom.  Flora’s father was always one of my favorite characters, and it was so fun to read about him as an arrogant, powerful teenager.  Tiny Doom as a toddler was also hilarious fun, and as always, Pig is a scene-stealer.  Continue reading →

Places to Eat in Old San Juan

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  1. Barrachina -You can’t eat in Old San Juan without going to the birthplace of the piña colada!  The drinks are a bit different than they are in the States; they are creamier, smoother, and more delicious.  And don’t worry, the food is excellent too!  Make sure you check their website before planning your evening, however.  Some nights they close earlier than others.
  2. Waffle Era Tea Room – Have you ever wanted gourmet waffles?  Of course you have.  This is a must-stop breakfast location while you’re in the city.  Their menu is divided into savory and sweet waffles as well as by size (small wafflitos and plate-sized waffles).  I suggest you get two wafflitos – one savory and one sweet!  You won’t regret it.
  3. Caficultura – For a nice afternoon coffee, there’s no better place than Caficultura.  They’ve got all the fancy coffees Americans are spoiled with, and a lovely hipsterish atmosphere.  Be forewarned!  This is definitely the coffee place for tourists.  Not a bad thing, but if you’re aiming for cultural immersion, I suggest you go to #4.
  4. Café Manolín – Suggested by our hotel clerk as “where Puerto Ricans eat breakfast,” we visited this place twice, once for breakfast and once for lunch.  Breakfast was both delicious and cheap.  We sat at the diner counter and watched Puerto Rican businesspeople drink coffee before heading to work.  We returned another day for lunch, which was a little disappointing.  The food was not as great, and a cruise ship full of tourists had also found the spot.  I suggest you go early, and make sure you order coffee!  It was wonderful.

Do you have a favorite restaurant in Old San Juan that I missed?  Comment and let me know!

Travel Tips – Travelling with a Cat

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My cat and I are extremely attached to each other, and my love of traveling is only marred by my sadness at leaving Rory behind.  The solution?  Bring him with me as often as possible!  Continue reading →

The Story of a Friendship: Michal & Tricia

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When I first went to Dallas Theological Seminary, I was scared I wouldn’t fit in.  I’ve always been too conservative for the liberals and too liberal for the conservatives.  Voluntarily walking into a place that churns out pastors intimidated me to no end.  My first class was Introduction to Bible Study in a tiered-seating room for 200.  Doing my best to go unnoticed, I slipped into an empty seat in the second to last row.  A blond girl was next to me, and we smiled hellos before directing our attention to our laptop screens.

The next week we sat beside each other again, and this time I glanced at what she was doing online before class started.  She was reading Rachel Held Evans’s blog, and I blurted, “I love her!” before I could stop myself.  The girl next to me smiled widely.

“I might, uh,” I stammered.  “I might consider myself a feminist, I mean, a little.”  Continue reading →

Marking Time by April White

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A friend suggested I download Marking Time while it was free on Kindle.  I did, though I was not super won over by her texts about how embarrassed she was to love the series.  It took a while for me to get into the plot–it jumps around quite a bit–but soon I was also hooked.  It’s a clever premise, as White creates a mythology that explains popular YA tropes, from time travel to vampires.  And the writing is occasionally really witty and clever.  

You can sense the “but,” right?  But, the plot ambles or accelerates at an unwieldy pace.  It tries to be too much–a boarding school book, a secret powers book, a supernatural romance book, etc.  I never quite got totally hooked, although full disclosure, I am prejudiced against ebooks.  They don’t seem real (even if they are actually published in print but I’ve just happened to read an e-version) and I don’t give them the same leeway I would a book with pages.
 Continue reading →

Best of: So You Think You Can Dance

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I haven’t watched So You Think You Can Dance the last couple summers, but there was a time when I was totally obsessed with the show.  I’ve never been into Dancing With the Stars; I don’t care to see people learning how to dance.  I want to see professionals who are stretched beyond their expertise, but who definitely have an expertise to begin with.  I love the different styles of dance, and the way different choreographers portray a variety of emotions through movement.

And I love Mark Kanemura.  His audition intrigued me, his weirdness endeared me, and then this dance absolutely blew me away.  Continue reading →

Tricia Believes in Magic

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Like every child who grew up in the 00s, I was obsessed with Harry Potter.  I read the books, watched the movies, and scoured HP websites for hints and guesses of what was to come.  Unlike every child who was obsessed with Harry Potter, my obsession never really stopped.  Just last year my brother bought me a wand for Christmas.  The kids I nanny are reading the series for the first time, and the three of us are equally delighted to discuss Hogwarts for literally hours.

1918029_526155190432_1915909_nThankfully, my best friend from college was similarly obsessed.  Stephanie and I watched A Very Potter Musical in one awestruck sitting, then proceeded to quote and sing it for the rest of our friendship.  We always talked about visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, FL, but we graduated, moved to different states, and grew up.

Or did we!?  No, we didn’t.  Grow up, that is.  Continue reading →