Personal Stories Catalog - Gavin Chatterley

1.  The story of losing 10 pounds in a week...completely on accident [overactive metabolism, being skinny].  I tell this story to explain to people why I gave up on the idea of trying to gain weight.

2.  The story of the ideal mission companion [relationships, mental synchronization, shared vision].  I tell this story to explain what I am looking for in a dating relationship.  I normally only tell this to RM's because the effectiveness of this story depends on them having experiences similar to mine.

3.  The story of why I picked my major [personal priorities, inspiration, talents].  I tell this story when people ask why I chose the field I did.  How I tell this story changes every time I explain it based on my audience.

4.  The story of using seasoned potato slices instead of condiments on my hamburgers. [idiosyncrasies, ultimate simplicity, stinginess].  I share this story to explain my love of extreme pragmatic simplicity and thriftiness.

5.  The story of  the creation of quabablabachipichipi, a strange recipe I invented [culinary creativity, quirkiness, persistence].  I tell this story to explain the extent of my cooking experience and my characteristically unconventional approach to life.

6.  The story of how I got into ultimate frisbee [sports, high school, personal interests].  I tell this story when people are interested in my hobbies and how I acquired them.

7.  The story of getting all of my roommates into the same room at the same time for the first time one semester [college life, schedule coordination].  I tell this story to describe how improbable it is to wind up with six people who live together in the same room when they have very asynchronous schedules

8.  The story of the mission apartment that experienced bug infestations analogous the plagues of Egypt including ants, flies, and termites that fell from the ceiling [mission stories, bugs, apartment shenanigans].  I tell this story when the context of mission stories or bug infestations arise.

9.  The story of my subtle passive aggressive spiting of classic literature on the AP English test by writing about a book I had read outside of English class on the third essay [spunk, subtle acts of rebellion, inner satisfaction].  I tell this story during conversations with people about the high school English curriculum with people who at least somewhat agree with my position on the subject.

10.  The story of my thwarting of my teachers' attempts to split up our dream team during an informal debate tournament set up by a history teacher and an English teacher in middle school by restructuring the situation in our own minds [debate, teamwork, mental exercises].  I tell this story to myself to remind me of the power of changing mental constructs in order to solve problems and the often resilient nature of teams that band together out of loyalty.