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25 (not so) random things about me
Mar. 17th, 2009 07:01 amThis meme has been out for awhile but I've been busy preparing for my sister's wedding. Anyways, here's a list of 25 things about me for the insanely curious...
1. If I’ve tagged you, it’s for a reason other than having you actually replicate this.
2. The nickname most people call me is “D2”. No, I have not dressed up as R2-D2 for Halloween.
3. Eventually, I’m going to teach history somewhere in Arkansas. If I’m lucky, I’ll end up teaching American Government AP or American History AP. I’m going to be an exceedingly harsh teacher with regards to grammar. You know how there are Grammar Nazis? I’m going to be the Grammar Führer.
4. In private conversations I’m usually fairly awkward and quiet. I am terrible at making small talk thanks to my anti-social tendencies. Surprisingly, my public speaking skills are above average. I attribute this to doing extemporaneous speaking for my high school speech team at the behest of the friend I’ve known since kindergarten.
5. For six years of my life, I studied piano. I love piano music for this reason, even if I never practiced my scale drills enough. I became a technically excellent player with regards to music theory and reading notes, but I lack emotion when I play. I play notes, but I don’t play music.
6. I chose electrical engineering as my first major in college because I am great with math. It sounds odd for an aspiring history teacher to say that, but I could totally factor expressions in my head for MATH Counts in junior high. Also, I won a state calculus competition the senior year of high school.
7. My senior year of high school, my Quiz Bowl coach chose me to be the varsity captain despite the fact that I did not want to do it. Looking back, I thank him for it because it challenged me to take on a leadership role. I won Regional MVP that year and led us to the first of six consecutive Regional Science Bowls.
8. Having taken a bunch of personality tests, I have determined that I am a cross between an INTJ and an ENTJ. Indeed, I am quite the Mastermind Field Marshal.
9. I’m the tallest member of my family. I always say it comes from my habit of eating cereal and milk for breakfast.
10. In my junior year of high school, my friends convinced me to try out for the musical “Oklahoma”. This is how I became known as the “Asian Farmer” or “Asian Cowboy”. They even gave me a line, “I’ll give you eighteen dollars for that gun.” I said that in the most broken English I could muster to the delight of many.
11. At one point in my life, I knew all the world capitals. I studied them for Geography Bees in grade school then kept up with them for Quiz Bowl in high school. I don’t remember them as much now but I do happen to know where a lot of major cities are in the world.
12. I am a walking repository of random quotes, idioms and fables. Proverbial statements stick with me, and they’re useful conversation pieces.
13. Undoubtedly, I am a nerd. I like science fiction, anime, comics, Magic: The Gathering, D&D, etc…
14. I don’t drink or smoke. I don’t drink because the people who named me taught me that one can enjoy life without alcohol. I don’t smoke because I had asthma when I was younger.
15. I don’t drink coffee. I’m beginning to think that I should start.
16. I’m a pragmatist when it comes to politics. Democrat or Republican, our government will always buckle under its own weight.
17. I'm someone who struggles with my faith. I respect a lot of Christian traditions but I don't think I can ever admit that Jesus is the one and only way to heaven. I incorporate a lot of Buddhist ideals in my thinking but there's room for rational thought. I believe in the power of prayer but I avoid praying too much because I know I must answer if I hear something from the other side.
18. I love sports. Part of it is my love for gaming, but another part of it is the simple aesthetics of athletic competition. Few people can understand the nuances of moving a pawn, but many people can understand the implication of a thunderous slam dunk or beautifully turned double play. I spend too much time reading sabermetric blogs. I also possess a strong curiosity for the business side of sports.
19. I'm suspicious of people who take too long to explain their position. This is why I prefer short conversations or even silence in the car because I'm usually pretty blunt even when I shouldn't be.
20. I prefer avoiding conflict whenever possible. Call me a regular ole Neville Chamberlain. This gets me into trouble because there are times when I need to fight or incur pain to achieve my goals.
21. I avoid cursing as a matter of self-discipline. Also, it's a very good habit for a teacher to practice.
22. I heart Facebook a lot. Before Facebook came along, I was terrible with names. Now I’m pretty good at recalling names thanks to the fact that I can see a picture of someone and associate with their name thanks to photo tags. I read almost every note on my friends list, skimming the meme ones. The majority of my Facebook Info page consists of awesome quotes about my narcissistic self.
23. One of the specific things I love about Facebook is its photo albums feature. One day, I noticed that you could make comments on each photo. From then on, all of my photo albums have a sort of narrative. I admit I feel an irrational squee of happiness when someone uses a photo from one of my albums as their profile picture.
24. I desire a simple life. I still want to get married and have kids some day, even if I doubt that I'll ever get married. My parents and other family members constantly question me on why I don’t have a girlfriend and have never been in a serious relationship. Well…I’m not that serious of a person but I am quite a somber person. No, I don’t bat for the other team and I’m not a switch hitter. Yes, there is a probability, though infinitesimally small, that there is a girl out there who understands me and loves me for who I am.
25. Of all the people I know, my sister has had the greatest influence on my life. She’s smarter than me thanks to her incredible ability to work on the small details. I was overjoyed that she asked me to be her master of ceremonies for her wedding, and I’m proud to say that I nailed it thanks to her hard work. Best wishes and congratulations to you and Bala!
1. If I’ve tagged you, it’s for a reason other than having you actually replicate this.
2. The nickname most people call me is “D2”. No, I have not dressed up as R2-D2 for Halloween.
3. Eventually, I’m going to teach history somewhere in Arkansas. If I’m lucky, I’ll end up teaching American Government AP or American History AP. I’m going to be an exceedingly harsh teacher with regards to grammar. You know how there are Grammar Nazis? I’m going to be the Grammar Führer.
4. In private conversations I’m usually fairly awkward and quiet. I am terrible at making small talk thanks to my anti-social tendencies. Surprisingly, my public speaking skills are above average. I attribute this to doing extemporaneous speaking for my high school speech team at the behest of the friend I’ve known since kindergarten.
5. For six years of my life, I studied piano. I love piano music for this reason, even if I never practiced my scale drills enough. I became a technically excellent player with regards to music theory and reading notes, but I lack emotion when I play. I play notes, but I don’t play music.
6. I chose electrical engineering as my first major in college because I am great with math. It sounds odd for an aspiring history teacher to say that, but I could totally factor expressions in my head for MATH Counts in junior high. Also, I won a state calculus competition the senior year of high school.
7. My senior year of high school, my Quiz Bowl coach chose me to be the varsity captain despite the fact that I did not want to do it. Looking back, I thank him for it because it challenged me to take on a leadership role. I won Regional MVP that year and led us to the first of six consecutive Regional Science Bowls.
8. Having taken a bunch of personality tests, I have determined that I am a cross between an INTJ and an ENTJ. Indeed, I am quite the Mastermind Field Marshal.
9. I’m the tallest member of my family. I always say it comes from my habit of eating cereal and milk for breakfast.
10. In my junior year of high school, my friends convinced me to try out for the musical “Oklahoma”. This is how I became known as the “Asian Farmer” or “Asian Cowboy”. They even gave me a line, “I’ll give you eighteen dollars for that gun.” I said that in the most broken English I could muster to the delight of many.
11. At one point in my life, I knew all the world capitals. I studied them for Geography Bees in grade school then kept up with them for Quiz Bowl in high school. I don’t remember them as much now but I do happen to know where a lot of major cities are in the world.
12. I am a walking repository of random quotes, idioms and fables. Proverbial statements stick with me, and they’re useful conversation pieces.
13. Undoubtedly, I am a nerd. I like science fiction, anime, comics, Magic: The Gathering, D&D, etc…
14. I don’t drink or smoke. I don’t drink because the people who named me taught me that one can enjoy life without alcohol. I don’t smoke because I had asthma when I was younger.
15. I don’t drink coffee. I’m beginning to think that I should start.
16. I’m a pragmatist when it comes to politics. Democrat or Republican, our government will always buckle under its own weight.
17. I'm someone who struggles with my faith. I respect a lot of Christian traditions but I don't think I can ever admit that Jesus is the one and only way to heaven. I incorporate a lot of Buddhist ideals in my thinking but there's room for rational thought. I believe in the power of prayer but I avoid praying too much because I know I must answer if I hear something from the other side.
18. I love sports. Part of it is my love for gaming, but another part of it is the simple aesthetics of athletic competition. Few people can understand the nuances of moving a pawn, but many people can understand the implication of a thunderous slam dunk or beautifully turned double play. I spend too much time reading sabermetric blogs. I also possess a strong curiosity for the business side of sports.
19. I'm suspicious of people who take too long to explain their position. This is why I prefer short conversations or even silence in the car because I'm usually pretty blunt even when I shouldn't be.
20. I prefer avoiding conflict whenever possible. Call me a regular ole Neville Chamberlain. This gets me into trouble because there are times when I need to fight or incur pain to achieve my goals.
21. I avoid cursing as a matter of self-discipline. Also, it's a very good habit for a teacher to practice.
22. I heart Facebook a lot. Before Facebook came along, I was terrible with names. Now I’m pretty good at recalling names thanks to the fact that I can see a picture of someone and associate with their name thanks to photo tags. I read almost every note on my friends list, skimming the meme ones. The majority of my Facebook Info page consists of awesome quotes about my narcissistic self.
23. One of the specific things I love about Facebook is its photo albums feature. One day, I noticed that you could make comments on each photo. From then on, all of my photo albums have a sort of narrative. I admit I feel an irrational squee of happiness when someone uses a photo from one of my albums as their profile picture.
24. I desire a simple life. I still want to get married and have kids some day, even if I doubt that I'll ever get married. My parents and other family members constantly question me on why I don’t have a girlfriend and have never been in a serious relationship. Well…I’m not that serious of a person but I am quite a somber person. No, I don’t bat for the other team and I’m not a switch hitter. Yes, there is a probability, though infinitesimally small, that there is a girl out there who understands me and loves me for who I am.
25. Of all the people I know, my sister has had the greatest influence on my life. She’s smarter than me thanks to her incredible ability to work on the small details. I was overjoyed that she asked me to be her master of ceremonies for her wedding, and I’m proud to say that I nailed it thanks to her hard work. Best wishes and congratulations to you and Bala!
