Inspired by
Evita, I want to also share some facts about myself that I could think of so far...
1. I love food...but more importantly, I always prefer to have home-cook meals to eating out in fancy restaurants.... it is healthier, cleaner, and of course cheaper !:)
It is also probably because my family very rarely ate out while I was growing up. A very simple pan-fried veggie at home satisfies me more than a delicious chicken at a chinese restaurant. It may also because I love to have meals where I can relax myself without much distractions from my surrounding. So, this gives me motivation to learn how to cook ever since I came to the US. Honestly, I didn't even know how to make scrambled-eggs or even sunny side up back then. I always asked my younger brother to cook it for me if there was no food at home.
2. Some of my all time favorite foods are petai (stinky beans), bakso (indonesian beef ball soup), tempe, and noodles. Petai is a type of food which you either love it or hate it. I didn't like it back then in Indonesia. I only started to love it when I tried it here in US. However, when I first went back to Indonesia 11 years later, I found out the Indonesian petai is much, much, much better than the frozen petai they sell here. They are not just more fresh and crispier, but the smell is also different. Petai is just so addicting to me once I started to eat it. tho it does make the bathroom smells so bad for a couple of days...but thanks to air-fresheners... problem's solved!! ;)
3. Speaking about food, there must also be some drinks... I LOVE COFFEE!! Tho I am not one of those coffee addicts, since I am still trying to restrain myself unless I really need it. However, since I always have to wake up early for work everyday, I always have a cup every morning before I leave the house. And later on during the day, I sometimes have my second cup. Tho it is not-recommended, I really need it to keep me functioning. :)
4. My worst subject in school was English. Yes, ENGLISH!!!! I hated it so very much back then. I barely passed it every semester until I graduated from high school. And I never thought I would ever live in any place that uses English as their language, and forget about going to the US. It never came across my mind. Until the day after I finished my EBTANAS, my parents asked me to go to Surabaya to get a US visa. And from that moment, my life started to change.
5. My best subject in school was mathematics. I was not one of the smartest ones in my class. I was good in studying only in elementary school. When I got into junior high, I started to think,
why do I study for? Many parents, including mine, used to say
if you study well now and get good grades, later you could become rich like so and so. You won't have to worry much about anything and work as hard as us (my parents). But I heard many people who did very well in school when they were young, had such an ordinary lives in their old age. Some of them even had to struggle more than others who were not that good in school before. My grades started to go down drastically. And I kept on pondering about this even after I graduated from college. I found out the answer much later, after left my "dream job". Back to the topic... So, while I always on the passing level on all of the subjects, but I somehow managed to get at least an 8 in my math every time. I don't know why I like math. I just remembered when I was in the first grade of elementary school, where we were only learning 1+1=2, I looked at my older brother's math notebook, and found myself so amazed at geometry that he was learning. I remember starring at the 3-dimension cube in his note for a long time, with all the little numbers written all over it. Certainly, none of them I understood. But I thought it was so cool.
6. I love reading romance novels when I was in junior high / high school. And of course, in Indonesian. My favorite author was Marga T. Many people told me that Mira W. 's novels were better, but after reading one of her novels, I still like Marga T. more. My favorite ones were
Sepagi Itu Kita Berpisah (2 books),
Namamu Terukir di Hatiku ,
Badai Pasti Berlalu. I read them over and over again, since my mother didn't let me buy new ones, and the book rental place nearby where I lived also didn't have many of her novels. I used to buy them around Rp.5000 each back then, using my pocket money. And once I started reading, I somehow could not be disturbed with anything. My mother got very irritated with this and threatened me that she would burn all my novels if I kept being like that. And of course, once I came to the US, I couldn't read any Marga T. novels anymore. And tried to read English ones instead. But as I mentioned before, because I hated English, I wasn't so attracted into reading anymore. The only English novel I liked to read was
The Godfather.
7. Of course, as a normal kid, I also love reading mangas. But unlike many other girls I know whose favorite were some of girly mangas, such as 'mira-chan" or whatever...sorry, I can't even remember any.... my favorite manga was DRAGON BALL!!! hahahaha.... yup!! It could be the result of growing up with 2 brothers, and no sisters in the family... :P
8. I love thrifting!!! Yes, I could stay for hours in a thrift shop, digging into their old collections of kitchenware, clothing, shoes, etc. And I was always so thrilled when I found something great quality in great condition with such a great deal. I have bought 4 pairs of shoes from thrift stores that costed only about $12/each. And guess what.... 3 of them were perfectly new! Only 1 of them were worn, but still in good shape. Each of them originally cost at least $50 (if on-sale in store). I also bought a pair of winter pants which were originally cost $700 in store, but I only paid $7....hehehe... :)
9. I am not a positive thinker. I tend to always think of the worst situation that could happen, and prepare my mind for it. We can only do the best we can, and let God take care the rest. Right?! :)
10. I am not an animal lover. Although I always had a dog / cat at home when in Indonesia, I don't like being touched by any animal. Weird, huh?!
11. I don't like korean / chinese dramas. You all are probably going to laugh at me because the only chinese dramas I like was Huan Zhu Ge Ge. I don't like Meteor Garden that was such a big hit in all Asia back then. And the last Korean drama that's stuck in my mind is Full House. Other that those, I usually only looked at the actors/actresses when watching those kind of dramas, and don't care about their stories. No offense to those Asian drama lovers, but I find lots of their stories are pretty boring.
12. I love to sleep at the beach, under the sun. I first experienced it in Pulau Payar, Malaysia. The sound of water, the warmth of the sun, the the birds flying in the sky....these make me feel like I am in heaven. :)
13. I am pretty tomboy. When I was little, I used to have a boyish hair cut. I really didn't like it because many people mistakenly thought I was a boy. But because my mother was the one who decided what kind of style I could have, I really had no other choice, besides frowning every time I got a haircut.
14. I listen to classical music on the road because classical music makes my heart and soul rest.
15. I love watching operas and broadway shows. But of course I can't watch too often due to the ticket price. My first broadway show I watched was Mary Poppins. My husband treated me back then when we were still just friends on Valentine's day. :)
16. I love bridges. My dream home is one near the water with the view of a bridge. I also would love to have a small bridge built over a pond in my backyard, if God allows us to have a big house. :)
17. On my wedding, I made my own wedding cake, all hand bouquets for myself and the bridesmaids, boutonniere for my husband, and drove myself from the salon to the church, then going home.... I am proud of myself.... finally could have a wedding tho with very tight budget.... hehe :)
18. I always bring my old iphone 5 with me to the bathroom while doing my 'big business' hahahaha.... yea...checking my instagram...or watching youtube videos.... :P
19. My role model is Mother Teresa. Tho I converted to Christianity, somehow I still admire Mother Teresa more than any Christian preacher I know.
That's all I have for now.... :))
