25 Things About Me

A few weeks ago, everyone was caught up in the 25-Things-About-Me craze on Facebook. I did it as well. Here’s my list:

1. I hate the idea of forgetting something, so I always keep lists of everything. This includes doing my laundry. I also check my handbag before I leave work to make sure I have my wallet, keys, cell and Smartrip card.
2. I’m not bitter by nature, but I will remember people who’ve hurt me or my family. Then I will always be wary of them.
3. I don’t use the “friend” loosely. If I consider someone a friend, it means I trust him/her tremendously, and will defend them when someone else is hating on him/her (at a minimum).
4. Outlook Tasks help keep my work life sane. I always think of a million little things I need to do, and I hate to forget any of them.
5. I’m the master re-stocker of groceries in my home. You notice you used the last tea-bag? No worries– another box is right behind it! Because I noticed we were down to the last 10 bags last week, and I put that on our grocery list. Thus, we don’t run out.
6. One of the most vivid memories I have of my teen years is my dad’s friend telling me that “you’ll need to marry a rich man so that you can have as nice a car as your Daddy has.” What’s surprising about this incident is my mild-mannered mom’s furious reaction: “She’ll make her own money and buy it herself. She doesn’t need a man to take care of her.” I always remember that. And it’s my guiding force even today.
7. My inspirations are my mom, my granddad (paternal) and my grandmother (maternal). MY grandmother and mother are feminists who don’t realize they are. My granddad always believed in me, even when I wasn’t sure of anything.
8. Travel: I didn’t travel much until I was 23. That’s when I visited five U.S. cities in five months and traveled around southern India. I can’t wait for my India trip this year– so much to see and do!
9. I have THE weirdest celebrity crushes: I think Tim Geithner is dreamy, and I adore British actors like Colin Firth and Richard Armitage (NOT the former State Dept guy). I think this is because I’m drawn to people who seem smart, witty and stable. I hate the bad-boy type.
10. I’m extremely sensitive to people’s financial situation. That’s why I avoided asking my parents for anything as a teen, because i was convinced we had no money.
11. I’ve always been entrepreneurial. When I was six, I grew cilantro in the garden (well, my grandmom planted it), and I sold it to my aunt at twice its market value. I think I told her it was pesticide-free.
12. If I could watch cricket all day, I would.
13. I’m extremely thin-skinned, but I also have a thin, cold metaphoric vein of steel that runs through me. It means that no matter how upset/ sad I am, I can fulfill whatever tasks/duties/goals I have.
14. I get lost really easily and I can never ever give directions.
15. My sister and I are much closer now than ever before, in part because the age gap (6 yrs) isn’t as big a deal as it was when I was 12 and she was 6.
16. I had a dog from age 12-17, but have had cats before and since. I’ve come to prefer cats because I’m lazy about dog-walking and such, and because my dog’s death was totally traumatizing; I feel like I was a mediocre dog parent. My current kitty is actually my cousin’s, and I’m convinced he is the cutest,sweetest cat in the history of the universe, bar none. Biased? Who me? Ask anyone who’s met him. Even non-cat people love Jefferson.
17. I am uncomfortable around children, but I want my own someday. I’ve come to this conclusion after talking to my mother, who assured me that while she never really liked other people’s children, she loved her own.
18. The only shows I watch on TV are Bravo Reality Shows, 80s/ 90s sitcoms and bad girly dramas on ABC (Hello Private Practice!) I adore my DVR (altho I miss my TiVo. *tear*)
19. Oh, I love ABBA. LOVE. And not just the 12 songs on the Mamma Mia soundtrack either. I mean the whole freakin’ catalog.
20. Food: I like Indian, Vietnamese and Thai. I like Italian on occasion. I do not enjoy Ethiopian food.
21. My favorite U.S. cities: DC, Boston/Chicago when it’s not freezing.
22. I don’t consider myself very ambitious, but anyone who’s followed what I’ve done over the past years would think that I was.
23. Most people think I’m smarter than I actually am.
24. I read a LOT of magazines/ newspapers/blogs everyday– online. That means anything from the Post, Times, Slate and blogs from The Atlantic, The New Republic and occasionally the Economist. HuffPo is my latest media addiction.
25. I always watch the people who are far ahead of me and doing cool stuff, and I try to catch up. As a result, to 98 percent of the world, it looks like I’m rising and moving far ahead. Really, I’m trying to keep up with that one distant rabbit.