1. I
absolutely LOVE playing soccer, more than any other type of sport. But surprisingly,
I’m not so much into watching soccer matches or being a huge fan of one
specific soccer club.
2. I’ll
have to be real honest with this. I think I’m quite talented at singing. But
the thing is, I’m not sure how most others feel about my claim. If they
disagree, then I think it’s mainly because they haven’t heard me sing in my
best condition. After I had vocal training, singing became something more than
a simple hobby; it transformed into a “window of expression” for my feelings,
especially when I’m hurt by whatever hardships in life.
3. Living
abroad in the US for 2 years has turned out to be one big turning point in my
life. I experienced a huge change in my personality as well as my attitude
towards life: before, I was a shy child. After 2 wild years in California, I now
just couldn’t resist the idea of getting the entire spotlight at everything I
do.
4. I
think I might have a thing about East Asian countries. I once fell in love with
Hong Kong for no special reason, have visited HK, Singapore, Japan, China, and am currently into Chinese culture, which also does not have a solid reason.
5. I
like to know about other people. Things they do, reasons for some noticeable
actions or traits, and the understanding of mankind with respect to different
social contexts. Maybe this is why I’m interested in cultural studies and
anthropology. Some kids make fun of my somewhat “absurd” fields of interest,
but who are they to judge?
6. I
hate to say this myself…but guess what? I’m a romantic guy. I can’t seem to get
my mind off of things I truly love, and I constantly imagine out-of-nowhere
fantasies about them. I make use of fancy quotes I see in movies or TV shows
and song lyrics all the time. I seldom use those directly in 1-to-1
conversations; instead, I devise plans to create a situation in which that
cheesy stuff will fit, although this never seems to work.
7. I
am a “person of soft power.” I abhor bossing people around even if I’m in the
position to lead. I prefer persuading people to do their work from their heart,
although it often takes a long time to establish such relationship with one’s
group.
8. I
dream of living the lives of awesome characters from movies, novels, or pretty much
any kind of source. After watching a good memorable film, I look into the
mirror and pretend to be the hero from the movie. But then after a little
while, I realize I’ve been making total fool out of myself.
9. I,
and hopefully most others, regard myself as a caring, considerate person. Sometimes,
because I believe such a trait ruins my “manliness” I’m expected to possess, I
struggle to be nonchalant about things around me and be cool, which, according
to my friends, is all revealed in my facial expressions.
10. Not many people would think I’m fat or
at least chubby, so I’m pretty sure about how surprised they’ll be when they
hear about my amazing appetite. I usually go on binge after starving for a few
meals in a row. I once ate 8 dishes of sushi at a Buffet!
11. Nowadays, I’m madly into this American sit-com
called “How I met your mother.” I guess I get some “substitute satisfaction”
from the character’s lives. There are so many precious quotes and beautiful
scenes from numerous episodes, including my all-time favorite: “Life isn’t
about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
12. When I was young (and I mean REALLY
young), I never wanted to stand out from others, at least as far as I remember.
However, it turns out that I’ve always wanted to be the center of spotlight at
everything after all. I have hard time admitting defeat, although I’ve had
plenty of such experience in the past years at KMLA. Nevertheless, I have no
regrets.
13. I am easily moved emotionally by words
or actions others wouldn’t put too much significance in them.
14. I don’t know if this is due to my habit
of binge-eating or the stress I get from schoolwork (maybe both, actually), but
I seem to have an extremely weak intestines. I always have butterfly stomachs with
growling sounds. Weak intestines might actually be the cause for my binge-eating. It’s too hard to decide which one is accountable for the other one.
15. I am in love with a singer named Kim Yoon-a.
Don’t get me wrong here. I love her as my hero, not as the subject of amorous
intentions. Her devotion to and passion toward what she truly loves have always
re-fueled my enervated soul whenever in times of hardship. The unique lyrics in
many of her songs, which echo her attitudes toward life, touch upon the deepest
emotions in my heart and soothe my soul.
16. In a way, I guess I’m an extremely
dependent human being. I always need my own, unique ideal type or role-model to
feel comfortable in my daily-life. Without an ideal figure to look upon and
fantasize about, I somehow seem to lose my sense of identity and become a “nobody.”
When I lose the certain taste of my fantasy, I desperately struggle to find a
new one I can rely on. Some of my past ideals types are Olivia Hussey and Ye-jin Son.
17. In elementary school years, I had a
playdate with my friend at my house. We were playing ping-pong on the floor and
when I went to the far corner of the room, I found a humongous and black-furred
cricket crouching on the ball. Immediately, I freaked out to death and vomited at
the sight of my father getting rid of it because I was absolutely disgusted by
the idea of touching its furry, squish belly. I guess one could refer to my lingering fear of crickets as a trauma.
18. I have a nickname called “Albie.” It was
originally spelled “Alby,” but then my friend from Hong Kong pronounced the
last syllable “by,” rhyming with “I” so I decided to change the spelling.
Despite the fact that many of my friends make fun of this nickname, I really
like it, mostly because the name “Albert” has a much too erudite sense in it
which I am not capable of handling.
19. I have a 'Joy luck Club" of my own. Since I could barely walk on my own, I've been close friends
with children of my mother’s best friends. The three families-including
mine-used to go on trips together. Although we couldn’t meet as often as we
used to due to us growing up and getting busier and busier, we still hold
gatherings at least once in every 6 months. The intimate bond between the other two families is
something I wish keep for the rest of my life.
20. The first word I muttered
out loud was “watermelon.” For most kids, however, their first words would be
something like “ma” or “pa.” Am I destined to be unable to fulfill my filial
duties from such a young age? This thought kind of makes me feel sorry for my
parents.
21. I am a born-workaholic! Even
from an extremely young age, I guess. A relative of mine told me that I once
shouted out loud I had work to do and should therefore go home when I was at a
family gathering.
22. I hate being teased. Most
of the time, I try to disregard any kind of teasing, but I’m afraid it will
hurt my reputation. I know from the bottom of my hurt that I shouldn’t make a
big thing out of it, but I always find myself reacting in the exact opposite
way.
23. I believe and live up to my
“pineapple can theory.” I got this idea from one of my favorite movies, “Chungking
Express.” Basically, it’s about expiration dates which fall on relationships between pretty much anyone we know. According to the theory, there is an
expiration date for all relationships-just like pineapple cans-which we might
or might not realize. We just have to admit the simple yet disturbing fact and enjoy
every single moment you spend with others, for the fond memories never die out
whereas the relationship itself always does.
24. I’m a pseudo-pessimist,
if there is such a phrase. I don’t believe in happy-endings, but thanks to this belief, I
struggle to make everything before the ending as happy as they can be. This
attitude is sort of in line with the pineapple can theory.
25. I’m not afraid to say
that I cry a lot. I don’t usually burst into tears, but rather only get to the
point where tears well up in my eyes. I get such experience when reading books,
listening to songs, and watching films. Why not be true to your emotions deep
down, and repress your genuine feelings? Tearless preoccupation of males is not
a good-enough excuse for me.
26. I believe outer
appearances have as much importance as, if not more, than inner qualities of a
person. It’s not a matter of good-looking
or being handsome. What I pay attention to is one’s sense of neatness and tidiness. Keeping a neat appearance reflects one’s respect toward
others.
27. Throughout my school
life, teachers have often told me that I am slightly stubborn in that I have
hard time absorbing new information or techniques. They say I try to stick with
what I already know or possess. This, although a bit discomforting, is true to
some extent considering the fact that I’m a relatively conservative person,
born and raised in a household with conservative atmosphere.
28. I’ve never been in a
serious relationship with anyone, although I feel like I’m currently on someone’s
hook (Shh!!!) Still, I believe “the one” for me is getting here as fast as she
can, so my plan is to simply wait until fate does something about it.
29. I don’t know why, but I
somehow feel really connected to Hong Kong (and no, this is not because of the
infamous Aika!) During the short stay, I had the best moments in life.
(Although I have to admit that I’ve had a few “best” moments so far) I’m
planning to re-visit HK after graduating from KMLA.
30. At night, especially I am
working by myself with all my roommates asleep, I feel hopelessly lonely. But
here is the funny thing; although I loathe the idea of being lonely, I kind of
enjoy the time all alone without any possible source of disturbance.