Totally Useless Information About Me

I have no idea why, but I have been inundated with surveys this past week, both through e-mail and the blogosphere. I'll start off first with the email I received from Kit, Dao, and Jack. The surveys they sent were pretty similar, but a few questions were different...so I mixed and matched.

5 snacks I like to munch on:
1. Khao niew ma-muang (mangoes with sweet sticky rice and coconut milk) = CALORIE SUICIDE + much sobbing afterwards
2. Cookies & cream ice cream -- and no, it's not the same thing as vanilla with oreos.
3. Cinnamon graham crackers -- cinnamon anything, really.
4. Oishi green tea (do beverages count?), because it's the best drink EVER
5. Chocolate (unfortunately)

5 bands whose songs I know all the words to:
1. Literally anything and everything by Hanson (remnants of high school teenybopper days)
2. Aerosmith
3. No Doubt
4. Goo Goo Dolls
5. Rooster
6. Texas
7. Savage Garden, even though they broke up ages ago
8. The Corrs
9. Blue, because I am a sad, sorry person and a sucker for British boy bands. Unfortunately, can't blame this one on high school stupidity, seeing as how Blue didn't release their first single until my freshman year of college.
(I know 9 does not equal 5. So I cheated and added a few more, okay?)

5 places I would run away to:
1. Southwest coast of Ireland, for good craic and stunning scenery
2. Tuscany, to be charmed by the land and to bask Under the Tuscan Sun (heh, sorry, couldn't help it)
3. Prague, to walk along the Vltava river
4. Burgundy, to soothe the soul
5. Paris, to indulge in la dolce vita Parisian style, baby

5 things I'd do with $100 million:
1. Give a large part of it to my parents
2. Travel the world over. Thrice.
3. Give to all my favorite charities
4. Buy a house somewhere in the aforementioned places
5. Invest or start up a dream business venture

5 biggest joys:
1. Photography
2. Reading
3. Writing
4. Driving
5. Travel

5 bad habits:
1. Tapping fingers/feet to whatever song I currently have playing on repeat in my head
2. Clumsiness/klutziness
3. Sleeping in
4. Cursing like a sailor
5. (see below)

5 things I say too much:
1. Like
2. Oh my God -- put #1 and #2 together, and you have Lynn the Long-Lost Cast Member from Clueless.
3. Um
4. Totally
5. Feck -- could never say/type f*ck without feeling just slightly guilty, thanks to 13 years of Christian and Catholic schooling. Yet, oddly enough, damn/ass/crap/shit/random Thai swear word all come easily to me. I guess that, other than f*ck, I am pretty much a (shame-faced) potty mouth.

5 things I would never be caught dead wearing:
1. This. Oh my God, dear Charlotte, what HAPPENED to you?
2. This. It's usually a hit or miss with J.Lo. Sometimes she looks spectacular, and other times she just looks like, well, a sack of potatoes.
3. This. Still, I'll always love you, Britney!
4. These.
5. And definitely not these.

5 joyful memories from your youth:
1. Driving down to LA to visit family every year
2. Family road trips to Napa/Lake Tahoe/Yosemite
3. Sunday school and summer school at Thai temple -- I used to HATE Thai classical dance and khim lessons, which is probably why Jirat, Jessica, and I would sometimes act like total brats. Oh my God, our poor teachers. Karmic retribution is coming my way someday, I just know it.
4. Trick-or-treat on Halloween
5. Tuesday mass at my old school, because I will not lie -- I secretly enjoyed singing those hymns.

5 embarrassing/bad memories from your youth:
1. The whole "Orange" fiasco in eighth grade (Arwen, Teresa, Alice, Pam, Michelle -- if you're reading this -- you know what I'm talking about)
2. The time I peed in my pants in Mrs. Lamm's 2nd grade class, because we were only allowed to go to the bathroom 3 times the entire YEAR, and I'd already used up all my excuses and thought I could keep it in until lunch. Apparently I couldn't.
3. In 1st grade, when we were supposed to give a speech about our ancestors, and I -- not having anyone at home to ask what the word "ancestor" meant -- except for my non-English speaking Chinese grandmother -- as my parents were away in Thailand, attending my grandfather's funeral -- announced to the entire class, "I'm sorry, I don't have any ancestors."
4. The time I puked three feet away from my crush's locker in 6th grade, leaving me feeling completely and totally HORRIFIED. No, not because he was looking at me -- because he was; like he could miss the new girl hurling less than 3 feet away from him -- but because I'd had a bowl of kuay thiew at the CRAP RIS cafeteria at lunch the period before and was thus struck ill with food poisoning for the next three days.
5. In 5th grade, when we were playing kickball and I accidentally kicked the ball smack into this one guy's groin. Apparently I'd kicked the ball so hard, he had to be taken to see the school nurse -- ACK. I was sooo embarrassed, and blamed it all on my mom, who'd made me join the soccer team the year before, thus turning my leg into something out of Rambo, or something.
(I have about a billion more embarrassing moments, but I think I've said enough already.)

5 (current) TV shows I like:
1. Lost (!!!) -- don't think I watch this show to find out what the heck is going on on that ol' island; au contraire ma cher, I watch it for the guys. ;)
2. Gilmore Girls -- I wish I could transplant myself into this show; what an awesome cast of characters and killer script.
3. Will and Grace, though I watch it more for Jack and Karen (who always crack me up, without fail) than Will and Grace.
4. Scrubs, because Zach Braff rocks and everyone in that entire hospital is totally INSANE, I tell you.
5. Arrested Development, because they will make even the quirkiest family look like the Brady Bunch.

5 (all-time favorite) TV shows I like:
1. Friends, of course.
2. Late Night With Conan O'Brien -- LOVE him and that crazy hair of his. Love him even more for making me choke on my iced tea in 1997 when he interviewed Fabio and questioned him about his man boobs and whether or not he does man boob workouts and lifts weights with his nipples to keep fit. Please don't look at me like I'm insane; you had to have seen it to get it -- I NEARLY DIED LAUGHING.
3. Charmed, because girls who can kick demon butt in a tube top and pair of heels rule.
4. South Park, for the 3rd grade boy alive inside of me.
5. The Naked Chef, because I love me some Jamie Oliver.

5 books I like:
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Angela's Ashes -- so depressing, but oh so funny; talk about a total oxymoron.
3. The Time Traveler's Wife -- made me cry like a baby, but DAMN was it good.
4. The Other Boleyn Girl
5. Outlander
6. Memoirs of a Geisha
7. The Historian
8. The entire Harry Potter series
9. Ditto the Shopaholic series, because I'd be a big fat liar if I said I didn't love Becky Bloomwood and her charming, scatterbrained ways.
(I live for books. How could I not cheat on this one?)

5 Movies I like:
1. The Princess Bride, because as the Grandfather in the movie says, it has everything -- "fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles..." It also has Westley, but whatever.
2. Labyrinth, and not just because David Bowie is in it.
3. The Count of Monte Cristo
4. Love Actually -- made me cry, which is ridiculous because it had a happy ending and no one died or was left behind.
5. The Phantom of the Opera, who WAS left behind -- also made me cry, because what's sadder than the Phantom living out the rest of his days beneath the Opera Populaire completely and totally alone?
6. Big Fish (cried again)
7. House of Flying Daggers (cried as well -- are you sensing a pattern here?)
8. Moulin Rouge (TOTALLY BAWLED MY EYES OUT)
9. Il Mare (you can probably guess what happened here, too)
(Totally cheated again)

5 fictional characters I would date:
1. Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice -- there's no need to even explain this; c'mon, we're talking MR. DARCY here!
2. Chandler (Matthew Perry) from Friends
3. Seth (Adam Brody) from The OC, who proves that geeks are sorely underrated.
4. Sawyer (Josh Holloway) from Lost
5. Jack (Matthew Fox) from Lost
(#4 and #5 probably explain my current Lost obsession)

5 famous people I'd like to meet (dead or alive):
1. Jesus
2. Buddha
3. Jane Austen
4. Socrates
5. Bono, because he's soo cool.

5 people you tag to do this:
1. Niffles
2. Mi mejor amiga, Mama Goose
3. Paddy
4. Kris
5. James

Heh, if there's one thing you learned from this list, it's probably that I'm a big cheater. ;)

*****
OK, now for the survey Doc Gibbon tagged me with:

Mechanics of the "Weird List" - Tagging Game:
Write 5 weird habits that you have and then tag 5 other ppl by leaving a msg on their blogs. Put their links in your own blog too.

1
1. Besides singing, sometimes I also dance in my car. You will probably never have the good fortune of witnessing this because I only do it when I am alone, or, on occasion, in the good company of my brother. And that's only because I have enough info at hand to blackmail him for a lifetime.
2. Whenever I take a test, I have to spritz myself with perfume beforehand. Crazy, I know, but when I saw P'Ying do it too, I was relieved I wasn't the only one. We figure it has something to do with aromatherpy.
3. No matter how hot it is, I have to wear a jacket or cardigan when I drive, because like most Asian girls I'm afraid of the sun's killer UV rays and the damage it can do to my skin.
4. To evade paying sky high parking fees at malls (especially since I tend to spend the entire day there), I will instead park at adjoining/nearby hotels and pretend I'm a guest there so I can get free parking. (I used to think I was the only one who did that, but now know it's more a question of who DOESN'T do that?) One time the bellboy actually questioned me -- like he didn't believe I really WAS a guest there, pfft -- and to save my ass I started speaking to him in French (read: gibberish), and he totally believed me and apologized.
5. I always wear sunglasses when I drive, even if there are low-hanging clouds out and it's raining like the end of the world.
(Heh, I just realized 4 out of 5 of those facts are related to my car/driving.)

2
Five Songs - The Rules:
List five songs that you are currently loving. It doesn't matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists, and the songs in your blog (Xanga). Then tag five other Xanga friends to see what they're listening to.

1. Trouble by Pink, because this song will make you run like the wind on the treadmill, and if it doesn't, then, well, you're probably dead.
2. Broken by Robert Downey Jr., because I thought he was so suave when he played the piano on Ally McBeal. I saw him on Oprah a few weeks ago and couldn't help wondering if he still had it in him (since he went through his whole druggie phase and all). Well, the guy performed, and guess what? Yep, he still has it. If anything, he's better -- yay, Robert!
3. With or Without You by U2, because I will NEVER grow tired of this song (or band).
4. Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden -- laugh if you must, but this will forever be one of my all-time favorite ballads.
5. Runaway Run by Hanson -- I swear I played this song on repeat my entire senior year in high school. And no, I am not even kidding. Even now, when I listen to it, it reminds me all over again why I love these guys so much.

3
Official rules:
Write 20 random facts about yourself then tag the same amount of people as minutes it takes you to write the facts.

1:37am

1. I get all excited whenever I see a bookstore or library. In fact, the first thing I hit the second I step into a mall is the bookstore. After perusing the new arrivals, THEN I hit the shoe stores and shop the life out of them.
2. I've never gotten a traffic ticket from a cop in my life, but that's only because I do what ALL Bangkokians do, which is slip a little cash their way. The lowest I've ever slid away with? Nada. I told the cop I was late for an autopsy (I really was) with Dr. Porntip at Siriraj Hospital and that I was so so sorry I'd unknowingly (really!) taken an illegal turn, but would be really grateful if he'd have a little compassion and let me slide by since I'm just a lost provincial girl who lives ten minutes outside of central Bangkok and who gets all confused whenever she goes into "town", and that I swear I'd never make an illegal turn again. He let me go, but not before asking why a nice girl like me would want to get into forensics and hang around with dead people all day. I told him I didn't, but that Dr. Porntip's class was a requirement if I wanted to pass Pathology, and thus the entire school year.
3. I love learning new things, which makes the Discovery and History channel my most favorite channels ever. OK, I lied; they're my most favorite channels ever after E! and VH1.
4. Don't be fooled by my chattiness on this here blog. In real life I tend to be really shy when meeting someone for the first time, and people will always ask why I'm so quiet. Of course, after getting to know me a little more, many people will claim I don't know how to shut up.
5. I am such a slave to pop culture; not so much that I have to do or wear what the celebrities do or wear, but more so that I have to know about Tara Reid's latest faux pas, or about how Paris and Paris have called off their engagement, or about how Britney and K-Fed's baby boy is doing. Speaking of celebrity spawn, did you guys hear about the latest TomKat news? (They're having themselves a TOMKITTEN!!)
6. If I don't drop a little something into the donation boxes at the supermarket, I end up feeling really guilty later on.
7. I laugh really easily and ALWAYS lose at those staring games where you have to stare at your opponent to see who laughs first; it's always me, and usually after, like, two milliseconds. This makes me a really bad liar, because I'll usually end up laughing or making a total ass out of myself in a way that tells the other person that I'm so totally keeping something from them.
8. During my sophomore year of college, they used to leave the Anatomy room open the night before an exam. My friends and I would spend an entire night in there with fifty some cadavers and would be TOTALLY FINE, but a year later, when we passed by the room when it was dark, someone (and to this day, we still don't know who) let out a loud shriek and we totally freaked out and ran the entire way to my car, screaming and laughing the whole way.
9. I would gladly touch a cockroach or gecko with my bare hands than come within ten feet of a spider.
10. I'm not sure how my fear of spiders came about, but I have this distinct memory from 3rd grade. See, some @#$%*& kid left these cryptic messages in my science book for me -- i.e. "Turn to page 30", and when I got to page 30, there was another note saying, "now turn to page 172", and when I go to page 172, there was ANOTHER note that said, "okay, last one, turn to page 87 for the coolest picture in the world!" -- which eventually lead to the hugest most god awful picture of a hairy spider about to sink his fangs into a poor silk-wrapped fly. I literally threw the book across the room and wanted to cry when I found out a few months later that we were going to be reading Charlotte's Web in English Class.
11. I LOVE driving, but I think that's mostly because I love listening to music (while I drive).
12. I used to be such a fashion magazine whore in high school, but I never look at them anymore. Not only did I get tired of the recycled articles, but I've come to learn that while fashion comes and goes, STYLE is something that can never change. ;)
13. I like to chew on บว๊ย (tamarind) when I drive. It's a habit that started in college, since the sour tanginess used to keep me awake in traffic after those long nights of little or no sleep.
14. I love living in the city (or maybe just Bangkok), but would just as gladly move to the country. Not Hicksville, USA or anything, but more so Tuscany or somewhere in the French countryside. Can you imagine anything more cool than that?
15. During our sophomore year of college, Su and I once lugged a human brain (totally soaked in formaldehyde and all) back to my house (she lives about ten minutes away from me) at 3 AM so we could get ready for our Neurology lab exam, which was scheduled for 8 AM. We ended up sitting around until 7 AM trying to locate things, like, the corpus callosum and cingulate gyrus, both of which I distinctly remember NOT showing up on the exam. We felt sooo cheated, but did the same thing all over again the next month when we got tested on the cerebellum and basal ganglia.
16. I hate, hate, hate math, but was always put into the advanced math classes all the way through (high school) graduation. Somehow I managed to slide by with Bs and the occasional C, but my hatred for all things arithmetic finally caught up with me my senior year when I did HORRIBLY on my final Calculus exam (let's just say that while I didn't fail, it was enough to make me hate math with a passion).
17. I LOVE and appreciate art, but can barely draw a stickman without making it look like something that just landed from Mars.
18. I always have to bring a book, magazine, lecture notes from school, or newspaper with me everywhere I go. If I have to wait for someone, it's like I can't sit around idly for 5 minutes without reading something.
19. I'm a dental student now, but when it comes to flossing -- even though I try to do so on a regular basis -- I sometimes get lazy and "forget" to floss. (But shhh, but don't tell my profs that!)
20. I make fun of French (the language, not the people), but secretly think it's one of the most beautiful languages in the world, Italian being a close second. Any ill will I feel towards the French language is simply a remnant of horrific nightmares I have of high school French class.

2:49am

Um, there is no way I'm tagging 72 people, so how about a standard 5 instead?

1. Noi
2. Pete
3. Poeh
4. Caro
5. Ben

ACK. I so have to sleep now because I have to wake up early tomorrow (well, today, actually) to go to my nephew's birthday party. Oh wow, can you believe the guys at the house across the lake from me are still partying? Someone's singing a god-awful version of I Will Survive, and I want so badly to laugh. I'm not sure if it's because he plain SUCKS, or if it's because he's plain plastered; from all the slurring he's doing, I'm thinking the latter.