Oops! I Thought I Was the Law-Abiding Type

I may be running afowl of the law. I know I looked up the local ordinances eons ago and thought I found a clear loophole saying that if I kept chickens as pets, not livestock, they were okay. Perhaps I’m safe as long as my neighbors don’t complain–and I intend to bribe them with delicious, free eggs. Certainly my hens are much quieter than dogs, don’t kill birds or spray like cats. They aren’t a nuisance in any way! Just look at this cute face. (This is Jewel; her eyes are red. Corabelle’s eyes are yellow.)

Meanwhile, I have a new obsession: personality types. I haven’t given up entirely on classifying all people as narcissist or non-narcissist, but it has given way to the more sophisticated Jung-based classifications of ESTJ or INFP and the like (sixteen variants). These, I feel sure, will provide me with the key to understanding people so that I can spot mean people immediately and avoid them. (Mean people will henceforth be referred to as MAS, those suffering from what Alison has identified and named “major asshat syndrome.” I laugh every time she says “ass hat.” I get the weirdest images. Is the ass the hat, or is it a hat to be worn on the ass? Either way I imagine a derby.)
I rediscovered these kinda backwards, searching some personality quirks via Google and coming across detailed descriptions of personality types and freaking out at how well they described me and others I know. Not in an Forer effect kind of way, or astrology kind of way (okay, well, maybe some), but in an alarmingly dead-on kind of way. It was enough to get me researching it more. It’s not a way to easily classify all people, stuff them neatly into boxes, but it is a useful tool to understand certain tendencies and predilections and different points of view. So I talked to my headshrinker about it and asked how to take a real test and she suggested the Keirsey Temperament Sorter over the Myers-Briggs.
So I took the test, paid the $15 to learn the details of my score (yeah, I kinda feel like a sucker for that, but I wanted something reliable), and learned I’m either ESFP or ENFP (my S and N scores were the same). For those of you who like tables (and you know what type you are . . . probably INTJ), my temperament type breakdown is
E = 7 / I = 3
S = 5 / N = 5
F = 9 / I = 1
J = 2 / P = 8
To understand what the heck the letters stand for, you’ll need to do some reading. Here’s a start.
Okay, so the best part about Keirsey Temperament Sorting is that some people think the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter saga is based on it. Evidently, as an “Artisan,” I belong to the Slytherin house. Which I should’ve known, since I also speak Parseltongue. Which totally freaks out the hens.
Okay, enough navel gazing. Have I piqued anyone’s curiosity? Tell me what type you are. If you don’t want to take the test, read descriptions of the types and see what fits best. Also, kindly inform me if you are suffering from MAS. Thank you.