22 Facts About Me

01.  I turned 22 on June 13! This was the first birthday I spent away from home, without my family. It's a pretty big deal. But I'm glad I got to celebrate it with my new family here. :) They went to all the trouble just to ensure I'd have a great birthday, and I did! 


02. I don't want to bungee jump, sky dive or do any of those crazy stuff. Sure, it's fun. But I don't crave the adrenaline rush. Instead, I want to travel the world with my camera. I want to see the world through fresh eyes and meet new people. I want to explore new continents and learn about various cultures. I want something deeper than just a quick thrill. Now, that's fun. :)


03. I'm a creature of habit when it comes to food. I usually get the same dish, even when I venture to a new restaurant. It's not that I don't like trying new things; sometimes I just crave old things :)


04. I can't dance. Fact. Wish I could, though.


05. In group conversations, I'm not much of a talker. I'm more of a listener. And I've been told I'm pretty good at listening. Lol. Thank you :) I talk a lot more online than I do in person. People assume journalism/writing majors are always good with words, but I'm here to prove that wrong. I'm not good with words all the time. I take a slightly more cautious approach to my conversations, often thinking things through before speaking. It'd be great if I could be more spontaneous :) 


06. It takes a lot to get me mad. I don't blow up in public. I usually keep my cool and try to shield my annoyance.I don't mind being confronted but I don't like confronting others. Not directly, at least. I guess at the back of my mind, I'm always concerned about offending others.  


07. I've always wanted a dog, but sadly never had one. I grew up in a neighborhood that forbid dogs and cats.


08. I speak English, Malay and some Mandarin. I can't read and write in Mandarin, though. I used to be able to, but my fluent Mandarin days are long over. :( 


09. My dream city to live in would be San Francisco! Cutesy Victorian homes on steep hills, rolling roads, and an awesome array of shopping and food, filled with vibrant culture. It's the best city I've seen.


10. I always manage to come up with all sorts of weird nicknames for my pets. Currently, my hamster's "stage name" is Jiggles (that's the name I introduce him with) but behind the scenes, he's my little Sweet Potato, Potato Bun, Butter Ball, Gnocchi (an Italian dumpling), Dumpling Butt, Pecan Pie, and the list goes on and on and on. Poor hammy, he may be having an identity crisis.


11. I'm deadly afraid of alligators and crocodiles. Just the sight of them (even photos) make me cringe. When I was about 4, my mom took me to the Singapore Zoo and we visited the reptile section. There was a large tank with muddy water and a couple of logs thrown in there. My mom asked if I could see the crocodiles and I said no. So she picked me up around the arms, lifted me a couple feet higher and took a step toward the glass tank, so I could have a better look. At first, all I saw was dirty brown water. And then I found myself just inches away from the ugly face of a crocodile, with the glass as a divider between us. I think I screamed.


12. My favorite movie is Titanic. It's the only movie that can get away with being beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. Oh, and I used to think Jack and Rose were actual people (I even thought the old woman playing Rose was the actual Rose) but a couple months back I found out that Jack and Rose were fictional characters. WHAT?!


13. When I was 12, I won 4 tickets over the radio to a Westlife concert. The DJ said, "Congratulations! Now you can bring your friends and go enjoy the concert!" And being an innocent 12-year-old who'd never attended a concert before, I sheepishly asked, "Can I bring my family instead?" The entire Malaysia heard this. Hahaha. I did bring my family, and we had an awesome time at the concert. 


14. I was quite a tomboy, growing up. My mom had to force me into skirts and dresses because I only wanted to wear jeans and baggy t-shirts. Once, she forced me to wear a colorful, flowery dress with a large yellow bow in the middle for a church Christmas party. I cried. And the entire evening, I felt insanely awkward in the dress. Well, I also took up a part time hobby when I was 11: catching grasshoppers.  I eventually grew out of that phase when I was much, much older. I don't catch grasshoppers anymore; I just avoid them at all cost. And nobody needs to force me into dresses now, I'm the one forcing them to go dress-shopping with me :) 


15. I don't remember my first crush; I was probably 4 and he was some cutie pie at kindergarten. But I do remember the first boy I really, really liked. I was 7 and he was sitting beside me in class. He had a sleek, green mechanical pencil that he'd lend me almost every other day. It was an awesome pencil. I started crushing on him because he lent me that pencil. And then one day, our teacher re-arranged the class' seating positions and he was asked to sit behind another girl at the other end of class. I was so upset! Apparently I didn't know what awkwardness meant, because I went up to the teacher and asked, "Why are you moving Eugene away? Why can't he sit beside me?" She moved him away anyway, ignoring the sad pleas of a brokenhearted 7-year-old girl. 
Now I can't use his green mechanical pencil anymore!


Actually, I might have just been crushing on his pencil all along. Hmm. It's funny what reminisces reveal.


16. I used to love horror movies. I don't anymore. They creep the life out of me.


17. I get nervous when I have to crack an egg over a pan of hot oil because 50% of the time, the hot oil splatters. 


18. I'm quite old school. I like writing and receiving letters and postcards! That never gets old.


19. I was never a big fan of sports, but I made myself participate in badminton, basketball, track and squash in high school. Basketball was fun. The main reason I played it was because I wanted to grow taller. Sadly, it didn't work. :(


20. I disliked salmon until I came to the USA, and then I realized what I'd been missing out on all those years. Salmon FTW!


21. I'm no expert on relationships. I'm currently in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend in Australia and we've been together for 3 years and a half. It hasn't been an easy journey, but we've come so far and learned so much. I believe in saving myself for the right person, and not rushing into anything for the sake of the moment. The key is patience.


22. I've learned that the future reveals itself in tiny slices. I still worry about my future, and I still want to know as much as I can so I can prepare myself for what's ahead. But that's not how life works. So, I try to savor every good moment that comes. I do what I can to live in the moment. "You'll trip over what's in front of you if you're always looking at what's behind you." Yeah, and with all that said... I'm going to end with a cliche. YOLO! :D (you only live once)


Have a happy weekend everybodyyy!