Richardology - The keys to the meme

Last week I invited people to participate in playing a meme for me.
I was very happy with the responses. The responses far exceeded my expectations. I had expected them to, overall, be polite and pleasant, but I was

I am not going to respond to each and every one of them (as I normally do), except to say a heartfelt thank you for all who played and gave such awesome responses.

I will, however, pick one item from each and respond or comment on it:

breal: Richard needs to (feels the need to) form some kind of conclusion/assign meaning to most things.

Most definitely. I find it very, very hard to just accept things. To know is not enough, I must understand.

carra: I want to amuse Richard.

I loved this response. It made me smile. I definitely need to be amused more, but you might find me a difficult person to amuse – I am quite solemn and stoic in person.

tena: If I were alone in a room with Richard, I would ask him to tell me what he fears more than anything.

I fear falling. I absolutely hate the sensation that rises from your stomach up through your chest. I do not go on roller coasters and do not expect to see me bungee jumping or parachuting.

Ingrid: I want to hug Richard.

Ingrid is an incredibly warm and effusive person whose smiles and hugs instantly make me feel welcome.

elvina: I cherish Richard.

(Elvina wins first prize for making me blush) I am pleased to have been able to have such a strong effect on someone half way across the world whom I have never even met.

kaymac: I think Richard should write that book.

I would love to, but I am not sure I have a story to tell. I find that my writing tends to be more about expressing an emotion or feeling or mood rather than about telling a complete story from start to end.

MOI: Richard needs to feel untied to life's ordinary hum drum maintenance activities and feel the freedom to follow a few of his dreams.

I definitely feel bound to the petty humdrumness of daily life and wish I could decouple myself from it.

bee: Richard needs companion.

We all do, though, perhaps, my needs are somewhat different from most. This may stem from having grown up in a small family (two parents and two siblings) without an extended family around. Even in the whole world, I only have two cousins, two aunts, one grandmother and 4 nieces and nephews (that is blood family, if I include Sofia's extended family, then I have tons).

tin-tin: I want to meet Richard.

There is no quston that I would like to meet my fellow bloggers - they are such an interesting and diverse group.

anonymous: When I think of friendship, I think of Richard.

(I know who anonymous is.) Anonymous has been one of my very favourite friends for many, many years and is not a blogger.

I also asked: Which of these words would you use to describe me?

(I am not responsible for the meanings someone assigned to them. I suppose we can debate endlessly whether the symbolic meanings attached are accurate or not, but ... that just misses the point of this having been a fun exercise.)

1. Moon - The one you miss.
2. Sky - The one you want to share your problems with.
3. Sand - The one you don't care about.
4. Snow - The one you love most.
5. Road - Best Friend.
6. Water - The one you hate.
7. Fire - Dream Lover.

breal: road
carra: moon
tena: sky
Ingrid: road
elvina: water
kaymac: sky
MOI: sand
bee: snow
tin-tin: moon
anonymous: declined or forgot to answer

Image nabbed from here.

Comments

Anonymous said…
fun memes, richard. :)
Richard said…
acey: I think it was fun, both for me (in terms of the responses) and for those who played (in giving responses). It is always hard to tell just from the text, but my impression was that it was a positive experience for everyone.

It is not too late to play (hint, hint). Or, you can grab it and play it on your blog.
B said…
i really enjoyed that meme and i like how you took a response from each person and commented on it. it is by far the most fun but engaging meme i've done.
Richard said…
breal: I got the impression that those who participated, enjoyed it to. I think responding to each and every one would have been overkill. Besides, it was easy to pick one thing from each and comment on it.
Was interesting for all and you handled the comments back to us in a unique way. Thanks for the feedback. Now, it would be interesting to give the same questions to your spouse (Sofia), who presumably knows you extremely well. Think I'll ask my husband to do it...although some of it may involve some joking around and laughing!
Anonymous said…
It is my first time here through Ruth's blog and I think it is a fun meme that you did and it is quite engaging as well
CG said…
I think it was one of the most challenging memes to fill out, I had to think carefully before selecting an answer not to appear like an utter idiot. I love chalenge.
Tena Russ said…
Hi Richard,

Finally I'm catching up after the great Bloggerama.

It's fascinating to see the results of that meme. I said "sky" - "the one you want to share your problems with." Sounds about right.
Richard said…
MOI: Hmm ... your and chase's comments didn't show up in my e-mail box. I wonder why?

I couldn't respond in full, so I think the abbreviated form was good.

chase: I think you have commented here before - perhaps a year and a half ago. Since I know you from rennyba's and tin-tin's blog (I think).

carra: I was very surprised you played the meme. And I imagine it was hard for you to fill it in honestly since we have very little blogging history between us. But your answers were good.

tena: I guess I am just a listening ear. I thought the results of the meme were very interesting myself.

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