Into the Madding Crowd

25 Random Facts about me from Facebook chain note. 

1. I have an extensively detailed fantasy-fiction world existing in my head. I’ve been developing it since the 5th grade, ever since I fell in love with “The Neverending Story” [book & movie]. I have all the characters and the mythology worked out. It would probably take hours to explain it to anybody. One day, it will be written out on novel form. . .I hope anyway.

2. I always cry when I watch the movie “Farewell My Concubine,” sometimes two or three times, especially during the Cultural Revolution scenes.

3. I wear heels exclusively because 5′2 is a sad state of existence. Even my so called “flats” have at least 2 inches.

4. Even with my hair tied up, I always make sure to leave a few strands around my face to mask its roundness. I call my face a pancake face, it’s round, flat and retarded-looking.

5. My family operated a Chinese restaurant 7 days a week for 17 years. My dad cooked, my mom waited the tables. I was washing dishes and running the cash registers at 10 years old while my grandmother worked as the fry cook. When I was three, the four of us were living in one cramped bedroom in an 2-room apartment shared with 3 other immigrants. We basically scrimped and saved our way to a middle class status.

6. I could not read or write until the late into the first grade because I spoke Cantonese at home. I was actually held back for awhile in kindergarten because I couldn’t talk to my teachers.

7. Being an only child stuck in a restaurant most of my afternoons, I turned to books to occupy my time and help me escape the incredibly mundane surroundings. Out of that grew my love for writing. Something about the ability to create new worlds intrigued me.

8. I was voted “most intelligent” in senior superlatives and graduated valedictorian. Doesn’t mean much coming from my ghetto-ass public high school, though. I think about a third of my class didn’t even graduate.

9. My fragile self-esteem rests solely on how well I’m doing academically. It’s something my parents ingrained in me. My dad always reminded me that I had every opportunity to succeed as long as I studied hard — that all the sacrifices he made were in order to provide me with a better life. I remember those nights his right arm would twitch and spasm involuntarily because he overworked it, and I knew I couldn’t settle for anything less than an A.

10. I’m easily embarrassed and will often replay the moments in my head years after the incident occurs. I used to have terrible anxiety about speaking in class for fear of saying something stupid. Even today, I can’t speak in a lecture-size class without breaking into a nervous sweat.

11. The best college memories I have involve my two great friends, Brian Leary and Sean Conway. All those times we studied for ENGL 3000 and Rapp’s class at Hot Corner — 4+ hours on that couch; Jolt Cola; threatening to rip Ezra Pound’s book in half; listening to iTunes mp3s of some chick’s preacher, making fun of it, and then realizing she was sitting next to us. It never felt like studying with you guys.

12. I take pride in my nationality. I love using it for self-promotional purposes, but also blame it for all my faulty driving and lateness.

13. I’ve only dated three people in my life, two of them were incidentally Mormons. Due to my naivete at the time, I ended both relationships quite awkwardly.

14. I never make the first move. Doesn’t make sense to needlessly put yourself on the line. For that, I think I missed out on some opportunities in my life.

15. Most vivid memory: Summer of 2003, Europe Trip, 6 countries in 21 days, standing at the edge of a pier in Venice, Italy. Nothing but the ocean surrounding me on all sides. I felt like I was flying.

16. I attended a Christian elementary school and was once wholly devout. I was told by a teacher that if everyone in the world was “saved,” Jesus would return. Since I was surrounded by Christians most of the time, I thought everyone but my family was “saved” and they were the ones keeping Jesus from coming back. I don’t remember how I ever got over it, because my parents are still delightfully agnostic.

17. I’m agnostic, borderline atheist. I’m not exactly sure when I lost my faith, but somewhere along the way (early high school?), the logic didn’t make sense anymore. The people who called themselves Christians sometimes were the most condescending, hypocritical people, whereas most of my close friends were non-religious. The more I read about it, the more I’m convinced that religion as a whole has caused just as much evil as it has good.

18. I adore musicals. My favorites are Les Miserables, Wicked and Reefer Madness. There’s something exhilarating about a well-harmonized, resounding chorus. I also did drama and musical theatre in high school. It’s funny, as long as I am somebody else on stage, I don’t get nervous.

19. I have a soft spot for pop culture, Internet memes, the arts and entertainment. Ideally, I would like to land a job writing features and reviews on all of the above.

20. I love playing World of Warcraft even though I suck at it and haven’t played in six months. It caters to my geek fantasy-fiction sensibilities. Unfortunately, I keep getting ganked by rogues. My main is a night-elf priest, but I would love to work on my dranei mage and blood elf hunter some.

21. The summer I spent studying at Oxford was probably the most rewarding experience I’ve had. I’ve never been so challenged academically, but I walked away with some of the best essays I’ve written and a set of friends that hold a very special place in my heart.

22. I have an unusual affinity for the color green. It’s probably because the emerald is my birthstone, my favorite sailor scout was Sailor Jupiter who wore green, and I also loved the Wizard of Oz series which had the Emerald City. Sometimes, I wished I lived there so all things could look green. Green eyes are also incredibly sexy.

23. When I say I love a TV show, book or movie, I mean I obsess unhealthily over it. Prime example: When The Lord of the Rings first came out, my best friend Emily and I would skip our lunches so we could make Powerpoint slideshows about each of the characters in the movie.

24. I saw the Fellowship of the Ring at least 10 times at the movie theater. I only paid half of the time and movie hopped the rest.

25. I try pretty hard to be well-liked by others, since I’m pretty unsatisfied with myself on a normal basis. I fear I’ll never outgrow my meek, awkward middle school self.