what's your sign?

Next weekend commemorates Liberation Day and International Workers' Day, which means we get a long weekend. While the places to visit here are so vast, being procrastinators practically ensures a local vacation and/or some creativity, as flights are booked months in advance, so we were limited to a few locales, of which one was Cambodia. While getting on a scooter and driving aimlessly would have been an interesting adventure, I was advised that it wouldn't be a good time to start learning. 

Although gambling here is just as big of a vice as any other country, the limited casinos in the country are limited to foreign passport holders in an effort to encourage locals to not gamble their limited income away. However, when there is a will, there's always a way so locals will go the short distance to Cambodia to have their casino fix. With that in mind, we decided to avoid the crazy tourists at the Cambodian casinos and head to Siem Reap for a 'mates weekend' [Aussie English].

Somewhere in passing on recommendations on Siem Reap activities, a comment was made regarding an 'accountant's' personality. For those who make assumptions about me based on categories that I fall into - age, gender, ethnicity, zodiac sign, profession, title, etc. (trifecta), they will tend to be wrong and disappointed. Perhaps because of this conflict between assumption and reality, a number have remarked that I'm a complex person, when ironically, I view myself as pretty simple - what you see is what you get.

There is one category that seems to fit me a bit better - Myers Briggs. While I took it late in life during a management development program, I think it would help people interact and understand others better if this was ingrained earlier, similar to knowing your zodiac sign. There are numerous apps that address this, including one that my company is building. Imagine using that app to help one pick up someone in a bar based on recommendations on how to best interact with a personality type. There's a market there.

My friend ended up taking a quick version of the test, which became a 'things you should know before we travel together' comical exchange, including quoting bits and pieces out of context from various summaries. One blurb reminded me of something a fortune teller here recently told me regarding the shape and size of my lips - when I love, I love passionately but when I'm done with the relationship, I am so done and never look back. There must be some correlation between lips and Myers Briggs.

Once the INTP has committed themself to a relationship, they tend to be very faithful and loyal, and form affectionate attachments which are pure and straight-forward. The INTP has no interest or understanding of game-playing with regards to relationships. However, if something happens which the INTP considers irreconciliable, they will leave the relationship and not look back.

So the typical accountant is an ESTJ (which many believe George W. Bush falls into this category). Note the number of differences even in the acronyms - so while I always thought that my struggle in my career had to do with either gender or ethnic differences/ceilings, the reality is that I just come from a different mold. The end of the exchange was 'You get compared to Albert Einstein. I get compared to Madonna! That's funny as hell!' He later retorted, 'Does this make me a prima donna?'

Then again, my ex and a number of people, who have known me for years, have likened me to Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (the girl with the dragon tattoo). I will admit Albert Einstein is a huge stretch. 😉