53 facts

Since I just visited Ah Wei’s blog, and because I’m feeling lazy and want to delay taking a shower, I shall post 53 random facts about myself (some of which you probably wish you can un-read).

1. I chose the number 53 because I have 53 posts (prior to this) on this wordpress blog.
2. When I was in kindergarten, I bullied my friends.
3. Also when I was in kindergarten, I once refused to get into my mom’s friend’s car. He had come to pick me up from kindergarten because my mom was sick, but I insisted that I mustn’t get in stranger’s cars. In the end he had to go to the kindergarten again with my sick mom…
4. I was a tomboy up till about Form 2…I was all about big t-shirts and baggy shorts before that, yeah!
5. Now I refuse to wear jeans that doesn’t make me have difficulty breathing when I squat down.
6. I seriously considered attending The One Academy or Lim Kok Wing after high school for a degree in computer graphics/fine arts.
7. Now I’m thankful everyday that I didn’t actually do it.
8. I’m very impulsive…if I think that I need something, I would do it right then and there or feel really frustrated/uncomfortable until I do it.
9. I used to hate attending piano lessons, chinese calligraphy lessons etc, but now I’m grateful that my parents made me attend every single one.
10. I’m extremely forgetful…please don’t take it personally if I forget your name one day.
11. OK I’m just kidding for number 10…
12. …well only if I talk to you now and then.
13. I HATE romance stories, whether books or movies.
14. I’d rather see people being blown up (fiction, ok, fiction!) than people kissing.
15. I have epilepsy.
16. I cried when I was first diagnosed and when I saw the hospital/doctor’s bills.
17. I’m forever grateful that my first neurologist let me pay his bill $50/month. It took me nearly 1.5 years to finish paying up his bill.
18. I love Japanese food.
19. I’m addicted to Bleach. The anime/manga, not the liquid.
20. Although I do really like the pair of jeans I own that is splattered with the liquid.
21. My favorite character from Bleach is Abarai Renji, a 6″2′ dude who has long red hair and tattoos all over.
22. I secretly want a tattoo of a dragon (oriental-looking one, not the kind from Harry Potter) on my right shoulder blade.
23. The only thing that’s holding me back from actually achieving number 22 is my mental image of a wrinkly dragon when I’m 70 years old.
24. Shopping is my favorite way of relieving stress. My second favorite is kicking, screaming, or punching. So watch out if you’re nearby…
25. I love going to museums, aquariums, zoos…
26. I like Zits…the comic, not the ones that frequently appear on my face.
27. I think back and find it funny now how seriously I took my UPSR results back then.
28. I wish I knew kung fu. So that I can say “I know kung fu” like Keanu Reeves did in The Matrix.
29. Yeah, I also wish that my body’s flexible enough to do those cool Matrix back flips/paddles…wtf are those called anyway??
30. I used to have to pay 10 cents for every non-English word I said at home. I hated it back then, but now that I’m staying in the US, I’m thankful. Thanks, mom.
31. I didn’t have boy experience in high school, so I handled my first few relationships very badly. Sorry dudes.
32. When I have my own house one day, I want a room specially for my clothes, shoes, and bags.
33. When I first came to the US, I didn’t even know how to fry an egg properly.
34. I nearly spent USD1000 on a bag today, but now I’m glad I didn’t.
35. I really want to visit Hong Kong next year.
36. Followed by Japan, Paris, China, Egypt, South Africa…etc. Now if only I print money…
37. My “informal” English name is Toni, thanks to an English teacher from primary school…it came from Toe-Knee-Chin.
38. At my lowest point, I was a size 11 in the US.
39. I used to bully my brother.
40. I hadn’t grown in height since 14.
41. I like wearing yellow gold jewelry.
42. The only concert I’ve attended so far is James Blunt’s.
43. I hope to attend Celine Dion’s in Vegas one day.
44. I like singing, just not in public.
45. I wish I had been more active in high school. Being a librarian was cool, but I could’ve done more.
46. I never realized that I love performing/dancing on stage until I participated in Malaysian Nights at UNL.
47. Now whenever I hear oriental music, I picture dance moves in my head, usually involving fans, ribbons, or swords.
48. I wish I don’t have to depend on my medication everyday.
49. I own a white sofa which I hardly sit in because I’m afraid that it’d get dirty. *sigh*
50. I really, really, really, really, no, really, suck at Math.
51. Despite that, I have a Math minor. The irony…
52. Among my career choices when I was young were: movie scriptwriter/director, actress, Chinese opera actress (I’m not kidding), artist.
53. I listened to 16 Jay Chou songs while writing this. WTF where’d the time go?!

A rant about zits

Yes, zits. You know, those pesky red pumps on the face, a.k.a. pimples. I’ve been battling them ever since I started giving a shit about my appearance. I thought they would go away once I’m older, but no, I still get visits from them (frequently) at the ripe old age of 26. Hello? Did someone forget to notify the big guy upstairs that I’m past puberty?

For example, right now I’m fretting over four of them on my left cheek. I have narrowed down the possible triggers to three:

1) That time of the month – makes me wish I’m a guy

2) I just started using a new product this week:

DDF Sulfur Therapeutic Mask

3) I started reading this book a couple of days ago:

Big Honking Zits

Sure looks like I’m asking for it isn’t it??

Almost one year since I last blogged

I know it’s awfully lame to blog about how I haven’t blogged for a long time. I find that ever since I became more active on Facebook and Plurk, I no longer find the need to blog. I mean, do I really need to update my friends three times about the same thing?

But lately I’ve been a big fan of makeup/skincare blogs, so maybe I’ll steer my blog to that direction, haha! I can almost hear some people zoning out already.

Honestly though, do you know what I’m really looking forward to right now? Labor day weekend…and San Diego. Aahhh…

Westlife

Every night after I shower, I would go to imeem.com to listen to my favorite songs. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Michael Buble, James Blunt, Phantom of the Opera, Enya…etc. Tonight, for some unknown reason, I typed “Westlife” into the search box. Sure enough, playlists after playlists popped up, filled with Westlife songs. I clicked on one, fully expecting to cringe when the music starts.

Not.

Not only did I not cringe, I found myself humming and singing along with those familiar tunes. Yep. I’m a Westlife fan. Was would probably be a more accurate term, because it must’ve been about 5 years since I last listened to their songs. But back in the days (in high school, that is), I listened to them over and over again. For some reason, they helped me study, especially when I had to memorize stuff, like History or the ever ridiculous Moral Studies. Even when I was doing Add Maths, I liked to play Westlife songs softly in the background. They were, to me, a sort of meditation music, odd as it seems. 

However, much as I liked their music, I never bothered learning the names of the band members. I had no idea which voice belonged to whom, and still don’t. I supported them fervently though, even insisting on buying an original copy of their first album. Then, after I came to the US, I abruptly stopped listening to them. In fact, prior to writing this post, I had no idea they were still releasing albums as recently as 2007. As a fan, I have to say that’s really lame of me.

Nick, Kian, Mark, Shane, and Bryan…thanks for being there when I needed the support.

Great quote

People who know me well knows that I love shopping. I go through phases…sometimes I’m obsessed with shoes and that would be all I shop for. Then sometimes I go crazy over jeans. Currently, I’m in my bag phase.

So I just had to share this fabulous quote I came across today, supposed uttered by Carrie Bradshaw (from Sex and The City):

“I’m thinking balls are to men what purses are to women. It’s just a little bag, but we feel naked in public without it.” – Carrie Bradshaw

That totally made my day!

Back

I realize it’s been a long time since I last blogged. What with work, shopping, and procrastinating, I haven’t had much time lately. Usually by the time I get home from work and finish dinner, it’s usually close to or after 9pm. With my infamously long wash-up/shower time, that would bring me to 10 or 11pm by the time I’m in jammies. Such is working life. But I’m not complaining! In fact, back in school 11pm is just about when I would start doing my assignment/project…shhhh.

Back in school I can easily pull off 2 or 3am bed times. Now, however, going to bed after midnight two days in a row is enough to zombiefy me. It’s quite sad, really. It’s a constant reminder to myself that I’m slowly but definitely growing older. 

Much as I wish time wouldn’t rush by so quickly, I have to say that I’m at a happy place right now. My eyes have finally healed so I can finally seriously consider getting LASIK procedure. I had just received encouraging news related to work, and I had celebrated it by buying a little something for myself. My parents are visiting this December, and I’ll also be going home for Chinese New Year next year. 

Speaking of getting LASIK done, I have so much reading and thinking to do that I wish I had an assistant to do that for me! I’ve been dreaming about having this done ever since I heard of the technology many years ago. Yes, it’s scary, but I’m so so so sick of wearing my extremely heavy glasses, which I have to wear right now because I’m still not allowed to wear contact lenses. I’m sick of having to constantly push it up when it slips down my nose, sick of feeling so dependent on them, sick of feeling lost and blind without them. So I’m definitely looking forward to get the LASIK procedure. Hopefully it happens soon!

New recipe :D

So I had a piece of salmon that has been sitting in the freezer for a while now. I rarely cook salmon so I wan’t quite sure what to do with it. Then I saw the tomyam paste in the kitchen and thought, “I wonder how salmon tastes like with tomyam?” And thus begun my little experiment…

First, I diced half an onion into teeny pieces. Then, I stir fried them with a little bit of oil. After they are slightly soft and fragrant, I added a few teaspoons of tomyam paste into the wok and mixed the paste with the onion. When the tomyam paste turned slightly brownish, I added half a bowl of water into the wok and stirred it around. Once the mixture is nice and thick, I added a few sprinkles of light soy sauce, salt, and sugar. 

Next, I placed the slice of salmon in a baking pan and poured the tomyam sauce evenly over the salmon. Then into the oven it went! Taadaaa!!!

Tomyam salmon

The oddest book I’ve ever read

So I read Wei Wei’s blog post about Roald Dahl’s book, My Uncle Oswald. Her description of the book was captivating, so I couldn’t resist borrowing a copy of it from the Mountain View public library. 

My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl

I’m a Roald Dahl fan. Not a hardcore fan, but a fan nonetheless. I liked BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Witch, and etc. His books were always extremely imaginative and way out there. At the same time, they all share something in common. They’re innocent. Most were about children for children.

So after I finished My Uncle Oswald, I closed the book and stared at it for while. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It is, of course, still extremely imaginative and, may I say, waaaaaaay out there. Just out there in a direction that I never imagined that Roald Dahl would go.

*Spoilers ahead. Please stop if you’d like to read the book yourself!*

The plot of the book is about Oswald’s project to collect sperm from famous men. He and his team members would freeze the sperm and sell them to wealthy women. Imagine having Einstein’s child! Or Sigmund Freud’s! (I’ve got to say he or she would most probably turn out to be a nutcase though)

It sounds like it’s just some people forming a sperm bank, right? But the process of obtaining those famous sperm samples was so hilarious that I couldn’t help laughing out loud while reading the book. If I had to use an emoticon to describe how I felt after finishing the book, it’d be this: 

I totally recommend this book to everyone. Especially if you happen to like Roald Dahl and sex!

What would I do without the internet?

Nowadays I find myself visiting Facebook several times a day. And I log onto Friendster almost every day. Whenever I take pictures, the first thing I think of is “that would be an awesome picture to upload onto Facebook!”. 

The first thing I do every morning is check my email. Before I go to bed, I check my email. I am logged onto MSN Messenger almost every waking minute of my life. I check Google maps for directions, check Yelp for restaurant recommendations, weather.com to find out if I need to bring an extra jacket, imeem.com for music, and of course, plurk.com to keep in touch with my friends. I even read Chinese novels on the internet too. At work, I check the internet for C++ references and information about how to use certain tools. I check user forums for tips on everything ranging from Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts to how to write scripts.

Some days I couldn’t help thinking…what on earth would I do without the internet? How would I find movie show times? Heck, how would I find the cinema’s phone number to call to inquire about movie show times without the internet? I shudder at having to actually look at maps to figure out how to get to the cinema. I hate to admit it, but I think I’d be rather lost without the internet.

What would you do without the internet?

Interesting Japanese menu item again…

I’m beginning to think Japanese restaurants specialize in funky food names. After Screaming Orgasm Special and Girls on Top, I thought I’d seen it all. But no! Introducing…

Sex on the mountain

By the way, I have no idea why my phone camera takes such blurry photos. *pout*