Introduction to SwankiVY!

Hi there. Well, if you want to know a little bit about me, you came to the right place. There's a LOT to swallow if you want to understand me, but let's start with the basics. I will direct you to more links as appropriate. This is more of a rambly, roundabout introduction; if you want the basics about me in a more question-and-answer format, you'll like the stats page. You may call me Ivy (the "Swank" prefix isn't necessary). I am known to the electronic world as "SwankiVY," and in regular life I am known as just Ivy, Swankie, JuJu, Vee, Hairball, Tiny, Pixie, Booger, and some names I'd rather not repeat. For the full story on my name, go here. Physical Stuff Skip the physical stuff; read about my personality I have rather long medium-blonde hair. I like to wear it in braids, pigtails, or under a kerchief, and it's always been blonde. It is naturally straight but often looks wavy from being braided. My eyes are a regularish blue color. My vision is very bad, and I wear contacts to correct it. I am four feet eleven inches high (about 149 centimeters), which seems pretty short for a person who's stopped growing. I am not bothered by it. My weight is usually around 97 to 105 pounds. I have very light skin, a medium build, and I have double-pierced ears and no tattoos or other piercings. Most people say I am pretty enough, some like to say I'm sexy, and I really don't care. I pay attention to my physical appearance but not the way most people do. I'm in very good health from riding my bike, playing tennis, and eating things that are good for me. My voice is maybe a tiny bit higher than average and my singing voice goes way up--and I sing often, so a melody is frequently accompanying me wherever I go. I like to wear glitter sometimes, but I don't usually wear other makeup. I like jewelry that's made of plastic, and I like to use fun hair accessories or cool hats. The clothes I wear usually display cartoon characters or funny slogans or are from something I like, some of them I make myself. I am partial to baby tees and tank tops and jeans, and sometimes floaty dresses. I always wear mismatched socks, and I like Converse All-Stars as my shoes. My taste in clothes is dictated by what I like and what is comfortable, not by what is fashionable, though it's fashionable to be unfashionable these days so I guess we all kind of are. There's more about that on my fashion page if you care. If that isn't enough information for you, you are welcome to go to my photos page and see what I look like yourself. Personality Notes Skip the personality notes and read about my issues How can I describe my personality? I suppose one of the most striking things about me is that I am extremely happy. Sometimes annoyingly so. Very small things can make me very excited and joyful, and even when there is nothing making me happy, it is my default state. I am very, very creative and prolific. I spend a lot of time and energy and effort perfecting various arts that I am interested in. You can learn about those by checking out my hobbies page or going to the other parts of my site that talk about my creative ventures--writing, singing, or drawing. I have a sort of obsessive personality, but not in a scary or bizarre way. I like to get really into things and learn all the details, and expound on them, adding my creative voice to the mix. When I am interested in a project . . . ooh boy, watch out. I am eccentric. People who know me will generally agree with this statement. I fit with a textbook definition of the word; you can look at my breakdown of it at my essay about eccentricity. I am considerate, sometimes almost annoyingly so--I will bend over backwards to avoid hurting someone's feelings, and will put forth lots of effort to assist people if it's in my power. This doesn't mean I'm not rude sometimes (aren't we all?), but I've always had a hard time doing things that would hurt other people, even if it means I end up suffering for it. I'm optimistic. Most of the time I think things are going to go my way, and if they don't, I don't believe it's the end of the world. I have very high hopes for myself and tend to believe in other people--sometimes unrealistically, but it keeps me happy nonetheless, and hasn't done me any permanent damage yet. ;) I'll continue to look on the bright side, I hope. I am idealistic. Sometimes I get mad when the world does not rise to my standards. I have high expectations for people and am frequently dismayed and angered by people's inability to meet my requirements. Especially when said failures are in the realm of refusing to learn or look at things from another person's point of view. Occasionally I'll come across as being angry or bitter when I get REALLY into ranting about someone being a jerk and having a closed mind, but in general I'm not an angry person. I'm just disappointed sometimes. I am easily confused. By some things. I'm not stupid or anything, it's just that I am very out of touch with the "real world" and at times it seems as if I don't belong on this planet. I never watch TV, and I have a bad sense of direction. I'm also prone to spacing out or getting lost in my own world. I am easily amused. It is difficult for me to become bored because my own thoughts are normally enough to entertain me, and with the aid of a computer, some paper, or even just an empty room, my brain can amuse me for hours. My capacity for reverie is pretty high, but it can be very useful when trying to formulate stories. I am something of a child at heart. I have not "outgrown" a lot of the things that I am "supposed to" by my age and that leaves me in an interesting position, having the responsibilities of adulthood with the outlook of a child. I still see the world as a sort of magical place, which causes some people to think I'm a dingbat and others to find me refreshing. But it keeps me quite happy and puts me in an unusual position that keeps life from becoming something other than the adventure it's supposed to be. I am intelligent--that's not an egotistical statement, but rather a description of how I tend to do on IQ and intelligence tests, okay?--and sometimes I am introverted, but that's not the same thing as "shy." Introversion in general means you'd rather be alone than with others, but I am comfortable around others; it's just that if given the choice, I'd rather spend an evening alone creating something than "go out" just to have something to do. I always have something to do! Among other things, that makes people think of me as a nerd or a geek. If being uninterested in "partying" means I'm a geek, I embrace my geekdom. Click here to see my "geek code." When I was a child I had sort of autistic tendencies (I liked to be alone and was VERY antisocial, and played repetitive games and didn't understand the world at all). I have some qualities of those who have Asperger's Syndrome: To this day I have not outgrown some of these "autistic" activities and outlooks, and I am not a social butterfly (although I have a LOT of friends) and don't really need other people the way a lot of other people seem to. I like to talk to myself and space out and stay in my own little world. Some people would just call it "daydreaming," but even though it is sometimes just daydreaming, it is usually more than that, and I will laugh or comment about something that only happened in my head. It's part of the process of writing or being creative for me, and some people think it sounds borderline pathological. But I am happy the way I am and I don't experience disordered thinking, so I am not trying to change it. However, one of the most important things that seems to "define" an Asperger's person is that they have trouble understanding the emotions and motivations of other people, and that's something that's the opposite of me. I tend to be very intuitive in my dealings with others sometimes, and when people read my writing, they're often surprised at the authenticity with which I can describe things that never happened to me. Issues Skip the issues and go to the end of this page I have issues. Issues with people, issues with practices, issues with life. Many of them have their own rants on my rants page. Some I will simply mention here so you can get a better idea of what I believe. I'm not religious in the usual sense of the word. I'm very interested in discussing thoughts about religion with other people but I do *not* like to be told I am a Satanist or that I am going to Hell because of the things I believe. It's hard to put a label on what I believe so I just refer to myself as a Pagan and let other people figure it out. Read more about my beliefs here. I care about recycling, conserving water and electricity, not littering, and all those other Earth-friendly issues. I hate it when people who *can* do something simply *do not* because they don't care. I ride a bike, and I don't have a driver's license or a car. (I've never had a license.) I get around fine by my own devices--public transportation or my bike--and maybe one day I'll look into it but so far I've found no real need to. I'm also pleased that my transportation doesn't contribute to the pollution of the world. I hate when people cannot be original--I do my best to express myself through my writing and through my Web page, and then some people steal things from it because they're lazy and they like it. It bugs me when people not only don't have their own brains, but are completely shameless about it, as if being unoriginal and lazy is a valid excuse to plagiarize me and that I shouldn't complain. You can read my rant about that here. I am single. I'm happy that way. "Single" does *not* mean "looking," people! It does not bother me to not have a significant other, and while I am open to many possibilities and don't claim to know what the future holds for me, it is equally true that I may remain single forever. I'm not looking, and I'm not interested because I'm asexual. I also didn't just get out of a bad relationship, thank you. You can read more about asexuality in my article here. I'm a vegetarian. You can read why here. What's weird is even though I even go so far as to give money for animal rights, I do not actually like animals. I don't want a pet and I don't like to interact with other people's pets. I think animals are great--from a distance. Politically I tend to lean liberal (and I'm registered independent), and one of the social issues I care about a LOT is gay rights. Similar but distinct is my passion for a wider understanding of gender issues and masculine/feminine "roles." I think gay people should be allowed to get married, and I think sexuality and gender identity are nowhere near as cut and dried as some people think they are. I hate typos. Hate 'em. They're not so bad if they're just in online conversation or e-mails, but I mean I've seen them all over the place on billboards, store signs (professional ones!!), published books . . . is there no such thing as an editor? Please. Now you know me a little better. Want me to get to know you? E-mail me.

THE OTHER PAGES FROM THE "BASICS" SECTION:

CREDITS: The Background Boutique: This page's background.