Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Flashback: Personality Test

This flashback takes us way back.  Back to a lovely spring day about 3 years ago when Arthur and I had been "intentionally hanging out" for about a month.  (We "intentionally hung out" for several months before officially dating-- Alex was a little leery of dating and committing to anything.)  On that spring day we were on a bike trail.  While we were riding along somehow the conversation lead Arthur to think it was a great time to give me a personality test.  The test included three questions.  What is your favorite animal and why?  What is your favorite natural phenomenon and why? And what is your favorite color and why?

This story focuses around the first question. Arthur asked me and I replied that I like moose because they are gangly and awkward, big, and graceful in the water.  But I have commitment issues and then changed my favorite animal to a wildebeest-- I like to cover all my bases with multiple answers.  Arthur then answered the question with a border collie because they are eager to please, obedient, and loyal.  I then asked Arthur what this question had to do with personality.  Arthur answered that the answer to your favorite animal is what you are looking for in a spouse.  At this point I'm pretty sure I turned white as a sheet or blushed- I'm not sure which.  With my answer of a moose I had basically described Arthur to a tee.  Arthur is a big guy, he is a little awkward and gangly when he tries to skip.  However, he is very athletic and was doing a lot of swimming at that time to prepare for his summer job as a lifeguard.  According to this test he was my perfect match and that terrified me at that time.  On the flip side it also scared me a little that he was looking for a "border collie" wife.  Someone who would by obedient and quick to follow his every command, who would heel right by his side wherever he went, and a gal that would fall all over herself trying to please him.  Well, that sure wasn't me.  If that is what he wants than this guy just needs to keep looking.

Interesting side story: this personality test is one that Arthur loves to give to all his friends, and it has been amazingly accurate in predicting comparability.   One friend however, gave a very memorable answer to this question: when asked what his favorite animal was, he responded with a cow.  This is hilarious enough in itself, but when he described why it get even better; he liked cows because they are "tasty, stupid, and easy to control."  This particular friend happens to still be in the market if any of you single ladies out there are interested.

Several months later we talked about this conversation again.  One reason I had been hesitant to really start dating Arthur was that he wanted a "border collie" wife.  In this later conversation I explained my feelings about this and he laughed.  He pointed out that I was only remembering part of his answer on that fateful bike ride.  His version of the answer was that border collies are incredibly intelligent, very hard workers, but also very playful in addition to loyal, obedient, and eager to please.  At that point my thought was, "Oh shoot, maybe I am little bit of a border collie."  Of course the rest of the story is history.  I married my moose and Arthur got his version of a border collie wife.  I'm pretty sure all the research and data collected by eHarmony isn't as accurate as Arthur's personality test question on this very early date to predict future matrimony.  Despite Alex's initial hesitation, Omnia Vincit Amor.

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