mmailliw: (Default)
mmailliw ([personal profile] mmailliw) wrote2019-05-06 04:34 pm

Friends Post

EDITED to reflect the state of my life as of December 2015 (at least this isn't as late as my last update)!

I officially declared my LJ to be semi-friends-only (which means that about half of the posts are friend-locked) on May 6, 2009. This was merely formalizing what had been my practice for quite some time... but these days, unlocked posts from me are rare.

In my journal, I post about the following things:

I) RL: This journal was established in early 2002 (when I was a 17-year-old Harvard sophomore) to talk about the events of my life (in a sarcastic, snarky tone), and even now, this is by far its primary purpose. For a brief summary, I was in academia for a long time (PhD earned from UCLA in 2011 followed by 2 years spent in 3 postdocs - with my first having been at the MSRI in Berkeley for fall 2011, my second being eight months in Helsinki in 2012, and my third involving two quarters teaching at UCLA and finishing a research program at IPAM... which marked closing of a long chapter of my life.

After finishing that final postdoc at UCLA in the summer of 2013, I spent a year in London trying to switch gears, ultimately earning a masters in econometrics and mathematical economics from LSE. The DAY after I took the final exam for that degree (pulling a 73 on that particular exam is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life ;)) I finally received a phone call I had awaited for two years: the first post-academic job application I had submitted had finally come through.

So I moved back to Maryland, where I grew up, to start my first non-academic, 'permanent', job as an applied 'mathematician'. My job can be ironically described as 'rent-a-genius', though for a number of reasons I don't go into too much detail about it on this blog. I've been working at this job for over a year, though I moved from Baltimore, MD to Arlington, VA at the end of June (my first move PURELY based on 'where I want to live' in my entire life!)

That said, I am also interested in economics (and the subtle skill of passing actuarial exams) and am not 100% sure which plan will FINALLY end up coming to fruition. I am 31 years old and male. As proud as I am of my physical appearance, I eat very indulgently (and will often talk at length about particularly delicious foods). That said, I learned back in late 2009 that what I thought was 'YES! I'm in shape!' was really 'being kept unnaturally thin by a condition so embarrassing that people refer to it by its initials'.

II) HP fandom: I have been an active member of this fandom since July 23, 2007 (yes, this is the correct date) and am a proud member of two sorting communities. As many of my LJ friends are part of these communities, I will often refer to them from time to time. To be honest, though, the fandom seems to be growing stale; while I HOPE to meet awesome new Slytherins, they seem to be few and far between...

III) Politics: I rarely talk about politics on my LJ, and when I do, it's usually exclusively for the purposes of snark and sarcasm. In general, I am extremely socially liberal (after twelve economics courses including a full year masters, I still lean liberal economically as well ;-)) and generally identify with the Democratic Party.

I will not defriend you merely because you disagree with me; being a douchebag, on the other hand, is a different story...

IV) Religion: I talk about religion even less than I talk about politics on here. I am a mildly observant Jew (in other words, I keep Passover, but do NOT keep kosher). If forced to pick a denomination, I would go with 'Reform', but that doesn't mean I agree with anything that the denomination does...

(Note that my 'defriend' disclaimer for politics also applies for religion; being a douchebag is still prohibited. That being said, my favorite anti-Semite is Eric Cartman.)

NOTE ALSO:
A) I love receiving comments; feel free to comment on any of my entries whenever you think you have anything to say! (In particular, definitely comment to this post when you friend me).
B) The content in my journal, on average, would generally rated BBFC 15, which means the following:

Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate to 15 year olds.
Language

There may be frequent use of strong language (eg 'fuck'). But the strongest terms (eg 'cunt') will be acceptable only where justified by the context. Continued aggressive use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.
Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.
Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed but without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour.
Violence

Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief.
Imitable techniques

Dangerous techniques (eg combat, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on imitable detail. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.
Horror

Strong threat and menace are permitted. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.
Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse.


Should I feel the need or urge to go far beyond BBFC 15, I will warn you in the subject line.
B1) If you wish to use this journal to send me porn, it had better be done well... and all the characters involved should be ATTRACTIVE!

C) Out of respect to those of my readers who aren't interested in reading about particular topics, everything from II)-IV) (and everything which is long in I)) will be put under LJ-cuts. I also often put lots of topics in single post; this, together with the LJ-cuts, ensures that your list will not be clogged by stuff you don't want to read!

D) Those who want to learn what really makes me tick would probably do best by looking at my sorting questions tag and my Q&A tag (note that the ACTUAL name for the tag is in Finnish. ;))

E) For a more detailed read on some of the things that make me tick, go read this piece and this interview, though they may be a bit dated by now!

[identity profile] clzair.livejournal.com 2011-06-10 04:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Hai, for some reason I keep thinking that I am LJ friends with you and then realizing that I'm not, so I'm going to add you if that's okay XD

[identity profile] mmailliw.livejournal.com 2011-06-10 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
You seem awesome enough by association... added!

[identity profile] bascoeur.livejournal.com 2011-06-29 08:49 am (UTC)(link)
You! I've been stalking apps over at HiH, and often your comments have jumped out at me. You have an interesting perspective on things. I've taken the liberty of adding you, your writing is the type that I can't resist plunking down on my f-page.

And thanks for the Slytherin vote. I wouldn't mind ending up in the dungeons as an alternative to the lion's tower. ;]

[identity profile] lyssa027.livejournal.com 2011-07-12 01:27 pm (UTC)(link)
I've read your postings at HiH and I find you to be interesting, especially seeing as you're so into mathematics, which is something I'm slowly finding myself getting into and I love to comment and I'm not a douche.

Can I friend you?

[identity profile] mmailliw.livejournal.com 2011-07-12 03:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes!

[identity profile] spidey.livejournal.com 2011-08-26 05:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Howdy friend! I'm going to add you on Pottermore, and just wanted to let you know since we're LJ friends but I'm woefully inactive on my journal but saw your comment in H_E. I'm NightHallow118!

[identity profile] fvck.livejournal.com 2011-11-19 04:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Hullo William. :) Was just directed here from the Three Broomsticks. ;) I've seen you around HiH for a long time -- I used to be veilingofthesun (recently changed my username) but I'm not sure if I'm very memorable at all so that might not mean anything to you, bahaha; in any case, I've seen your username around a lot. LET US BE FRIENDLIES, AYE? Also, even if I didn't want to add you for other reasons, "my favorite anti-Semite is Eric Cartman" would be sufficient to make me want to add you. ^_^;;

[identity profile] mmailliw.livejournal.com 2011-11-19 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)
*adds back* and you were quidditch mod last erm, weren't you?t

[identity profile] fvck.livejournal.com 2011-11-20 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Cool. :D

& yes, but for not very long and tbh I did an arse-tastic job at it. but yes. :P you & Lena seem to be running things very smoothly this term from what I've seen. ;)

[identity profile] treeperson.livejournal.com 2012-01-03 08:43 am (UTC)(link)
Hah, I know your computer just bit the dust, but I am of the opinion that you should add me as a friend when you get a new one and are no longer running around crazy in Finland. >.>

'Cuz I'm all shiny and new and stuff. :D

[identity profile] irnbruise.livejournal.com 2012-03-28 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
Hi, I came across your journal in a random community thread and you seem really cool, so I hope you don't mind if I add you!

[identity profile] mmailliw.livejournal.com 2012-07-07 04:15 pm (UTC)(link)
*adds back* - sorry it took so long!

[identity profile] pinkplaidprose.livejournal.com 2012-07-07 06:04 am (UTC)(link)
Like so many of the others who have commented on this post, I'm here because of a review you left for HiH. You gave me the most in depth justification for where you think I'm best suited, and I adored getting to read your take on my answers. I've always considered myself something of a snake, but after reading what you had to say, I honestly see the aspects of myself that are very, very like the lions. It isn't often we're given the opportunity to potentially change the way we view ourselves, so the glance into my own thoughts from a different perspective was a real treat.

I hope to see you around, probably in the dungeons. Thank you for being brilliant, and thank you for the encouragement toward academia!

[identity profile] mmailliw.livejournal.com 2012-07-07 04:16 pm (UTC)(link)
so glad that you actually liked my vote! It's definitely cool that you came over and talked to me directly... *adds*

and any questions on the academic life itself? (Of course, I've written A LOT about my time in grad school: 04-11 in two different programs, and in my 2 postdocs this past year...)
Edited 2012-07-08 00:28 (UTC)

[identity profile] pinkplaidprose.livejournal.com 2012-07-10 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
Ugh. Bit of a late response on my part. I've been swamped attempting to corral work, and solidifying my fall/spring class schedule. Bah.

Hmm. I'm not sure that I have many questions, to be honest. Have you posted what you've written? It would be interesting to take a look at them. I'm still quite new to the journey into finding a career in academia, but I'm thrilled to know someone who has already broken into that area.

[identity profile] 0nlymemories.livejournal.com 2012-11-11 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
I feel as if I should feel marginally less shiny and special than is my default setting because it seems I am but one of many people who have decided to friend you because of your insightful sorting comments, but I am also forced to admit that marginally less than my default "shiny and special" setting is still pretty fucking shiny. I don't really use my LJ for anything any more due to old-fandom former-BNF PTSD, but I definitely think that I would enjoy interacting with you further.

That is, if you can handle having one more obstreperous Slytherdor in your life. ;)

[identity profile] undauntra.livejournal.com 2013-02-09 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Consider yourself friended. There's not much to read on my journal, since I stopped updating it several years ago, mind.

[identity profile] cyn-ful.livejournal.com 2013-06-25 03:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Call it the puff side of me, but I had to come check out your journal and WOW! I was a bit nervous when I saw Harvard. That is awesome though. Congrats! I wanna be like you one day.

I post randomly when I think about it. I prefer LJ to FB. I can't wait to get to know you. I have made some of my closest friends through sorting comms. I'm still deputy headmistress at my old and practically abandoned one. There is no activity except for random postings every now and then - but none of us can walk away from it because there is so much of us in it. I also tend to ramble.

[identity profile] cyn-ful.livejournal.com 2013-06-25 03:05 pm (UTC)(link)
And have I mentioned that I just love your user name. I knew I had seen it before in a few places, but I just totally looked at it. AWESOME. Seriously. Okay, gotta run to work now, so you are safe from my random bubbliness.

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[identity profile] mmailliw.livejournal.com - 2013-06-26 04:23 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[identity profile] cyn-ful.livejournal.com - 2013-06-26 05:14 (UTC) - Expand

[identity profile] iam4him.livejournal.com 2014-07-23 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
Hey William! It's Holly/Gryffindor from HiH! Can we be friends?

(no subject)

[identity profile] iam4him.livejournal.com - 2014-07-23 10:32 (UTC) - Expand

[identity profile] heartsignite.livejournal.com 2014-07-31 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
Hi William!

I'm adding you to my friends list. Feel free to friend back if you would like! =D

[identity profile] jenniferkaos.livejournal.com 2016-06-29 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Hello, how are you doing? I came across your journal through a few mutual friends of ours and I think I would really enjoy reading your journal! Would you want to friend? :)

[identity profile] mmailliw.livejournal.com 2016-06-29 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
The first thing I thought when I read this comment was "I haven't updated my status page for the current year yet."

Anyway, I looked at your journal and I think I'd be happy to friend you!

*adds*

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