Rant #2,455: Who Am I?

Nothing much to report on the job search front. I did apply for more than a dozen jobs yesterday, was rejected by a few companies that I had previously applied for positions, and all in all, I guess I really did my due diligence yesterday.

But onto another topic ...

You might remember that in the summer, I finally did something I had wanted to do for ages, and that is submit myself to one of those companies that tell you who you are through a saliva sample.

I followed the instructions to the letter, and after three times, I failed to produce the type of saliva that the company claimed they needed to discern my DNA.

I was told by some that they, too, had had the same problems, that they had to do it several times for it to hit, or also were in the process of doing it more than once.

Some people told me that it had to do with the medicines I take for cholesterol and allergies that was making my saliva unusable.

Whatever the case, my saliva simply wasn't what the company needed.

I tried it a fourth time, and for whatever reason, this time, it took, even though I did the exact same thing this time as I had done the previous three times to get the company the saliva that they could use in deciphering my DNA.

I waited patiently for the results, and they finally came back the other day, in the midst of nonsense that I am currently going through. And I have to tell you, although I am happy that I was finally able to do this, the results didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know.

According to the results, I am "100 percent European Jewish." surprise, surprise, primarily based in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary and Israel. I did not think Israel was in Europe, but the company considers Israel to be in its "European Jewish" target area.

They pretty much are on target, because I know my grandparents came from Poland, Russia, Latvia and the former Czech area, so that was pretty much on target with what I already know.

"European Jewish region is not geographically defined in the same way as most other ethnic regions. The historic dispersal of the Jewish population from its origin in the Levant on the east coast of the Mediterranean resulted in insular communities scattered throughout Europe, North Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Although some Jewish communities enjoyed positions of relative peace and prosperity, many more were segregated from mainstream society by law, custom, and prejudice, experiencing sustained persecution and discrimination. Jewish populations from northern and eastern Europe are often known as “Ashkenazi.” “Sephardic” refers to Jews who were expelled from Spain during the Inquisition and mostly settled in North Africa and southeastern Europe."

I found it interesting that they consider, in their own way, that being Jewish is an ethnicity. Jews kind of define themselves with their religion, and I think that this is reflected by how the company handles being Jewish.

Generally, I know that I define myself as being derived by Eastern European Jewish stock, so "Jewish" is not just a religion, it is thought as as an ethnicity too. Very interesting indeed.

I have a couple of what the company calls "second cousin" DNA matches in their database. One I definitely know is true: it is my aunt's son, who I probably haven't seen in decades, who is actually listed as "first-second cousin."

There is also another person in the "second cousin" group, actually listed as "second-third cousin," whose last name I definitely know. I believe his father was my family's accountant for many years, and I know that we are definitely related because he was my dad's cousin. We even referred to him as "Cousin Joe." He actually taught me to tie a tie correctly, and as you know, I hate ties.

Anyway, the other three people in the "second cousin" group I have absolutely no idea about. I will have to run their names by my parents; perhaps they will know who they are.

In the third and fourth cousin groups are dozens of people that I have never heard of, but we are supposedly possibly related.

That is pretty much it. I can go into various traits that I share with others, and I can investigate some other things, but I pretty much gained whatever knowledge I wanted to get from this test that I went through. That it took four times to get this information remains a head-shaker, but OK, I did it, it is done, and I am happy that I did it.

So, "Who am I?"

The final answer is, "I am who I am," and there really isn't much more to say about it.