A pair of pointe shoes
Pointe shoes: I'm tough on the inside but gentle on the outside, and I'm malleable to a certain extent but you can only push me so far before I snap spectacularly. I'm also a little impractical, and sitting awkwardly on the fence between history and technology (I have university degrees in both / compare Blochs with Gaynor Mindens).
I also love ballet and dance at least 8 hours per week. I'm not sure I'd necessarily call it my one true talent, but I love it all the same. Hm...would they be GM's or Blochs? I'm more of a GM in the sense that I'm trying to mix history and technology in my PhD, but I use Blochs when I dance in real life...SO COMPLICATED. =P
So...yeah. Pointe shoes.
Man, I dont think I've ever worked that hard to find an iconographic metaphor for myself before...