25 Random Things about Demin

1. I love Italian, French, and most Asian cuisines. I must have at least one Asian meal each week. I can go without Mexican food and Hamburgers. I get cranky without dark chocolate. Dark chocolate with nuts is a plus. There should always be a tub of ice cream in the fridge. When I was a little kid, the only vegetables I eat are cilantro and green onion. I eat most vegetables now. Raw tomatoes in sandwich are fine. Tomatoes by itself, in salad or as a drink don’t do it for me. I am not an Asian food snob; I eat at PF Chang’s. I think Asian restaurants that promise No MSG are lying. I am allergic to shell fish but eat them anyway. I don’t cook much but my Asian-influenced raw-garlic chicken pasta is usually well received. Chewing gum is a marvelous invention and a necessity for me. Congee is my comfort food; Pho comes next.

2. I am a “progressive Christian” who does not believe in hell or that everything in the bible is God inspired. I believe salvation is for everyone and God is love and does not discriminate. I believe in Metaphysics and that the universe conspires to help fulfill our desires. I believe in the paranormal and had experienced it.

3. It is absolutely not important to me whether being gay is nature or nurture. Actually I believe that some are born gay, while others become gay. Regardless of whether it is nurture or nature, I don’t think that one chooses to be straight or gay. You are who you are.

4. I am suspicious of Republicans. You can blame Bush for that.

5. No, I do not own all of Streisand’s albums and I didn’t get all verklempt at her concert. On a typical day, I am listening to jazz vocalists crooning/belting American Standards. These days, Sondheim’s “Being Alive” has been playing incessantly in my head. Occasionally, I pretend to like rap. At the gym, I am either listening to dance mixes by my favorite DJs or This American Life. NPR is a staple when I am driving to and from work. I don’t know what to make of Diana Krall.

6. I love to travel. A few random travel moments include having a feast at a beautiful winery in Stellenbosch, South Africa: I have never witnessed such sumptuous selection of food; dissolving my cares away while drifting afloat at a Turkish bath in Budapest; checking to see if my ears had fallen off on top of the alps (Jungfrau) in Switzerland in the thick of winter; fanning off a group of gypsies trying to rob me at the Spanish Steps in Rome; having my best smoke salmon risotto (ever) in Venice; being stuck in Bangkok traffic for hours and no one even horned; rows and rows of rubber trees and palm trees along the drive to Muar, Malaysia to visit relatives when I was a kid, romancing in Paris, blackout in my hotel room on the first night in Beijing, going to a Canto-pop concert in Hong Kong …

My dream destination is Tibet.

7. Many years ago, I accidentally swallowed a coin while faking a magic trick in front of the other kids. The coin is still inside me. Also many years ago, while using the chin up bar at home, the bar loosened and fell on my head; I dropped to the floor unconscious. Food smelled funny for weeks.

8. I have a huge scar on the back of my right thigh from a spider bite. I don’t like spiders too much.

9. In the past three years, I’ve yo-yoed between having a 6-pack and a gut. I am currently in between.

10. My favorite camping moment is being naked in a natural hot springs (off Buckeye Campgrounds) in the Sierras gazing at stars.

11. I forget birthdays and have a habit of not keeping in touch with good friends. I still love all of you though.

12. I was once addicted to sleeping pills and would not sleep for days without them. I had admitted myself to a sleep clinic. I consider a good sleep one of the most valuable things in life.

13. My ex once tricked me into believing that the “Blair Witch Project” was a true documentary-movie and I was scared shitless for weeks. I am usually not that gullible.

14. I don’t get why people ask me tax questions when I tell them I am a CPA. I know nothing about tax except how to use Turbo Tax to file mine. Then again, I also assume that everyone knows Excel.

15. I still don’t understand baseball. I am sure baseball will be one of the questions they will ask at my Citizenship interview. I prefer Aussie Rules to soccer.

16. In Miami, David and I adopted a deaf stray cat and named her Zoey. We soon found out that Zoey is a male cat. We started calling him Joey. He reads lips and didn’t care for it. So Zoey it is. Barney and I made the same mistake when we adopted a female cat in San Jose. She is called Calvin. No wonder the cats are as confused as I am. Zoey remained in Miami. Now I have two cats: Calvin and Teddy. Disclaimer: They are not named after two of my friends, Calvin and Teddy ☺.

17. I am a Mac convert. My MacBook has never frozen. That’s a record for any computer I had used.

18. I was in the Singapore military for two and a half years for compulsory National Service. I was depressed when they cropped off my hair. Maybe that’s why I still get upset whenever the hairdresser cut my hair too short.

19. The probability of getting a haircut I like is about 60%. I am also not very photogenic. Out of every ten pictures taken of me, I will probably only find one acceptable. I intend to improve my averages.

20. I worry all the time. It could be random things like whether it is bad luck to take home a pebble from the beach to what to wear to an underwear party.

21. My drink of choice is red wine. You can have great tasting wine from South America, Spain, Italy, South Africa and Australia for under $7. California makes good Zinfandels. I get wines at Trader Joes. I go all red (blood-shot red) when I have a few sips of alcohol. Some Asians don’t have the enzymes to break down alcohol; I happen to be one of the unlucky (or lucky) ones who have the “birth defect”. Thanks to Mark, I learned that if I take Pepcid AC acid reducer prior to alcohol consumption, the “red” effect is minimized. On weekend, I don’t leave home without it. I also learned that I should take the acid reducer discreetly at a party. People around me sometimes think that I am doing drugs.

22. These past few weeks, I have been hanging around people who talk about spaceships, achieving levels of awakenings, vortex and vibrational healing, past lives, alphabiotics, reiki, raindrop therapy, creating structures, crystals, etc. I acted nonchalantly as if I too discussed these things all the time.

23. I lost most of my growing-up pictures while moving to a new house. I would love to see some of these pictures because I remember being insecure about my looks. I used to think that my eyes were too small, my lips too thick and nose too flat. I even put on non-prescription glasses as a teenager just to shield the eyes. Wow! Was that vanity or insecurity? Ironically, today, I’d rather wear contacts than put on glasses when I am out of the house. I am either less insecure now or I have improved with age. Wait! Why do I have shades on in so many of my pictures? Hmmm…

24. I have a very bad sense of direction. I don’t think I will ever drive without GPS again.

25. The most interesting first date is when my date requested to energetically aligned me first before dinner. And that’s not even an excuse to touch me.