25 Random Things About Me

by Celes | | Email this post

This is a Meme that has been going around Facebook Initially I ignored it, then I thought that it will be a fun way to let you readers find out some random trinkets about me

1. Favorite drinks. My preferred beverages nowadays are either plain water or fruit and vegetable smoothies. I don’t drink coffee at all – I just do not like the idea of having so much stimulant (caffeine) in my body. I also stopped drinking sodas since 2 years ago as part of a healthier lifestyle.
2. Cycling. I don’t know how to cycle. Ever since I was young, my parents have kept me from anything remotely dangerous, which includes bicycles. Usually people around me are quite shocked when I tell them I don’t know how to cycle, which is considered a very basic skill! I made a couple of attempts to pick up cycling after I grew up but never really kept at it since I don’t really see a need to learn it.
3. Ice skating goal. The reason why I want to learn rollerblading is because I want to be a veteran ice skater – I really admire the skill, grace and elegance of ice skaters. However, I’m rethinking that now since I fell down and almost broke my spike 2 weekends ago when I went to rollerblade with my friends.
4. Family. My immediate family consists of my dad, my mom, and my elder brother who is 2 years older than me. I’ve been living with them all my live – it’s Asian tradition that you stay with your family until you get married. I might move out one day to live independently of them, but that will be something I’ll think about a few years from now.
5. Short-sighted. I’m short-sighted, with -3.75 and -2.75 myopia in left and right eyes respectively. I might potentially be going for LASIK many years later, but not for now. When I’m head out I wear contacts, otherwise I wear spectacles.
6. Height. I’m 5′ 7″ (170+cm), which is quite tall for an Asian girl (the average Singapore girl is 5′ 3″ or 160cm). Growing up, I was usually one of the taller girls in my primary and secondary school classes. This meant I would be sitting towards the back of the class and standing at the back during assemblies. Sitting at the back allowed me to multi-task (finishing assignments so I didn’t need to bring them home, making plans for my websites since I owned a network of sites back then, or just daydreaming), so I can’t say I wasn’t happy about that
7. Talking speed. I’ve been repeatedly told all my life that I talk really fast. I’d like to think that I’ve slowed down considerably over the years, though people still tell me I talk fast. When I’m excited, my speed increases by 2-3x.
8. Hair. I had short hair, like a boy’s, up till when I was 18. My mom didn’t want to let me to have long hair, because she said it’s not condusive for Singapore’s tropical climate. As a kid, I hated it and felt oppressed whenever she forced me to get my hair cut. Because I always had short hair, I never thought much about getting long hair until I hit 18. That was when I realized  was just an illogical subconscious conditioning and decided to break out of it. Today, my hair is quite long and extends beyond my shoulders.
9. Nickname. I got the nickname ‘kawaii’ among my friends since 5 years ago. Kawaii means cute in Japanese. Since having the nickname, I picked up the habit to chirp ‘kawaii!’ in front of my friends whenever I feel bored or see something cute.
10. Cutting up clothes as a child. When I was a kid up till I was 12, I would cut my parents and brother’s clothes whenever I was angry with them. I think it was a passive aggressive way of getting back at them. Oddly, they never really reprimanded me for it. (It really isn’t as scary as it sounds by the way!)
11. Sleeping. I’m quite a light sleeper. Unless I’m exhausted and tired, I usually wake up quite easily in the presence of disturbances.
12. My mini bolster. I have a mini bolster nicknamed ‘Elmo’ which has been with me ever since I was born. Every night, I go to sleep having it covering my ear. I think that’s the reason why I’m a light sleeper (see #9).
13. Love life. I am single and never been in a serious relationship in all 24 years of my life so far!
14. Braces. I wore braces for 1.5 years when I was 20-22. It took me a long while to make the decision since I didn’t want to have a ‘metal mouth’ for two years. In the end I settled for a compromise by going for ceramic braces (the tooth colored kind).
15. A romantic. I’m a true-blue romantic at heart and I absolutely love watching romantic comedies. The standard formula of two people meeting, knowing each other, falling in love, overcoming all odds to eventually have a happy ever after works for me all the time, no matter how predictable it can get.
16. Idealism. Being an idealist, I love anything that uphold idealistic themes of good vs. evil, forces of light vs. dark, with the good eventually triumphing over evil in the end. This is evident from my favorite movies, shows, games, etc. (see #18)
17. Video gaming. Growing up with an elder brother of 2 years got me exposed to the world of video games. I played a lot of consoles games before from all kinds of different genres. I ended up becoming a more avid gamer than him! We started out from the 8-bit Micro Genius when I was 8 (it was 1992 then!), to 16-bit Sega Genius, then 32-bit Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, Playstation, and eventually Playstation 2. I gradually stopped playing a couple of years back. My all time favorite genre is definitely RPGs for their engaging storylines and depth of plots (Final Fantasy!). I would say the idealistic themes advocated in RPGs/games helped shape the idealist in me (see #16)
18. Favorite shows. My all time favorite movies typically belong to the romantic comedy (#15) and superhero genres (see #16). Some of them are Ever After, Anastasia (watched this over 10 times!), Click, The Lion King, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, X-men, Spiderman, and generally the Marvel movies. Memento is a really smart show worth checking out too. My favorite dramas through the years are Buffy, Angel, Charmed (up till season 5, the seasons afterwards pretty much went downhill), Prison Break and Heroes (season 1). Joss Whedon’s Buffy and Angel are easily two of the best dramas in its time!
19. Mass media. I stopped watching TV since 2 years ago. I’ve never developed a habit to read the newspapers. The mass media features content that vibrates at low levels of fear, desire and pride, so engaging in them lowers my consciousness. I figure if something is important enough, it will eventually reach me through my friends. In a way, people around me act as quality filters for what’s worth knowing and what’s not. If I want to watch TV shows, I’ll get the syndicated content where I don’t need to be viewing ads.
20. Photographic memory. I’ve been repeatedly told that I have photographic memory. There are times when I can recall events dated years ago, right down to specificity in terms of the exact word-for-word conversations that transpired, where it took place, what people were wearing, how the situation unfolded, and so on.
21. Visual (Spatial) learner. I’m more of an visual person than audio person. I grasp and remember things better with visuals and imagery than with sounds.
22. Songs. When I listen to songs, I listen to the tune, rather than lyrics. As a result, my likes/dislikes towards music are based on the former than latter. I’m also not conscious of the lyrics of many of the songs I like unless I try to listen out for it.
23. Graphic design. I was running my own freelance graphic designing business for about a year when I was studying in university (I briefly mentioned this in my story growing up). My web and graphic designing skills were basically picked up on the side, through self-learning since I was 15. Eventually I stopped my business when I graduated to join the corporate world, since it would be too busy to straddle across two jobs.
24. Cold hands. When I’m in an air-conditioned room, my hands become extremely cold. I’ve repeatedly shocked (literally) many friends before by playfully putting my hands on their necks or arms
25. Birthmark. I have a black mole about 7~8mm in diameter on the side of the 2nd finger on my left hand. It’s a birthmark I had since young and I’ve been told by various people that it’s a lucky mole (based on Chinese and Buddhist beliefs).

Filed in: About Celes | Posted on Feb 16 2009