I can't force myself to do a list of 25. It's impossible. There are simply not 25 things I can come up with, so I'm just gonna go with it and see how it goes. I'm only doing this for Johnny--let it be known. It should be fine, since I'm 99.75% sure that he's the only person who'll read this.
- I often pretend I'm in a music video. I did this most often when I used to ride the Far West bus everyday. I'd stick my ipod headphones in, stare out the window and listen to some sappy song. The song usually is some sort of coming-of-age song in which the singer is doing some kind of growing up/moving away/letting go, etc. Sometimes this can be embarrassing when I get a little carried away and it becomes obvious that my head has me somewhere far away from the bus seat I'm sitting in. That rarely stops me.
- Being the youngest of 9 kids, I've always been terrified of being considered spoiled. That was always the first thing that people would ask me when they found out I was the baby of 9 kids, "Ooooh, so they must've spoiled you rotten!" or "Ooooh, so you were a pretty spoiled kid growing up, weren't you?" Because of this, I always tried my hardest to be as unspoiled as possible. I think that's why I'm terribly indecisive. I never wanted to really put in my say--for fear that I would "get my way" and be thought of as spoiled. However, I think this makes people feel like I'm just being a child who doesn't want to make her own decisions and would rather other people make them for her. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
- I used to have internet boyfriends. I still talk to one of them every now and then, Scott Neverdusky from Clarksville, TN. I think he's 25 or 26 now. He's married to some Asian girl I think. I always knew he had a thing for Asians. I met him on a website for people who watched this show--MVH--which was a Korean music video show. I wish I could say I was too young to know better... but I was 13 and knew it was weird. But really--all this meant was that I chatted to this boy everyday and I didn't have any other boyfriends--which wasn't a problem because in middle school, I was "the friend" so no biggie. This abruptly ended the summer before my freshman year in high school. I met a boy on aol. His AOL sn was Tuneduin. His real name was Jason. He went to the same high school I was about to go to and we talked every night for a few weeks--never a "boyfriend" but I liked him a lot. He apparently was a very depressed boy who had not been taking his pills. The whole story is a little convoluted, but long story short... I called him one monday around 4--cause he was supposed to be at summer band practice that day--and his mom picked up the phone and told me that Jason hung himself that day. That was my first experience with death, really. And I blamed myself for a long time. I have my reasons--and I still think they're pretty valid.
- I always wish I was more of a girly girl. There are so many asian girls that can do the "downtown" look so easily. I rarely can do (or pull off) the "downtown" look... and even when I do, I usually forget I'm wearing make up and I end up rubbing it all off.
- On my last.fm, though I never delete tracks I listen to, I do try to sway my chart in certain ways if it looks too embarrassing. Thanks to listening to N Sync's Christmas cd during the holidays, they show up as one of my top listened to bands. I love them--but I'm not 15 anymore. They don't even have new songs. I take comfort in knowing that I have better music tastes than prettier girls.
- I hate the word "drama." I'd rather be in the midst of "drama" than hear people say things like, "Don't start any drama." On the same note, Kyle Umlang sucks.
- Green is obviously my favorite color. I feel like this is so obvious a random fact about myself that it would be almost wrong to leave it off of this list.
- Anne Elizabeth Guthrie, my brother David's girlfriend who passed away over 3 years ago is the closest thing to an angel on earth as I can imagine. I feel like people always say nice things about people after they die, but I think everything that was ever said about Anne was completely true. I often have Anne days--days in which I sit and do nothing but cry on and off. This year on the anniversary of her death, I managed to go until 9 PM before I realized it was her day--and that was because her youngest sister, Grace, wrote on my wall. Part of me was glad that I had forgotten--because I knew it wasn't as if I'd forgotten her--but because it meant I was actually letting go. The other part of me was ashamed because I think the whole idea of "acutally letting go" is bullshit. Everytime at church when the priest says the thing about "for all the unspoken prayers in your heart," I do a silent prayer for Anne's soul. Not because I don't think she's already happily in Heaven--but because I want her to know I still think about her. I went and got her necklace restrung last week. Soon I'll have it back and I'll have it on as my daily reminder of the bravest young lady on earth. On her friendster page, she wrote "Cancer Survivor at the age of 22!" That was, obviously, before she relapsed, but I wish she knew how much more there was to her than that.
- My very first plane ride ever was when I was 8 years old. I was by myself too. My sister, Rachel, flew me out to Atlanta to meet her, and then we flew to Orlando, FL together. This is where the story of the "$25 Salisbury Steak" took place. You see, we went to eat in Cinderella's castle. 8 year old Melissa ordered the salisbury steak. My sister kept asking me if I was sure that's what I wanted and I insisted that it was! I LOVED SALISBURY STEAK! That is, I loved the one that came in the frozen foods section under the Banquet brand (I still do, too). So when an actual steak came out. I think I took one bite and that was it for me. I think Rachel, to this day, still thinks I'm a picky eater.
- When I was younger, my siblings had the coolest friends. Now that I'm older, I just hope that my nieces and nephews think I have the coolest friends. I think I do.
- Although I'm not a Singer anymore, I wish it was acceptable to still sing at parties. "In the Halls" was like a free pass to roast anyone! And everyone can openly enjoy the roasting! I wonder if any Singer was clever enough to incorporate one of Michael Scott's roast quotes into the "Halls" verses at the last party. Probably not. Maybe Jack, if anyone.
- I think I have the best taste. I don't think it's pretentious, but I definitely think it's above par. Does that make it sup-par? Since below is sub-par?
- In one of my English classes, my teacher taught the use of "--"to break up a thought in sentence. I've abused it ever since. You can probably find several above.
- Mr. Golenko, my latin teacher, was phenomenal. He was the closest thing to a college professor I had in high school. He didn't treat us quite like adults (which made sense, cause we were stupid kids), but he didn't treat us like children. He just treated us like idiots--which is the best way to go with high school kids, I think. We're very receptive to that. He, however, did not like it when me and Ryan Cobb would high five each other whenever one of us got the answer right (... which was a lot).
- Johnny Pham (and I am not saying this because I know you're reading this) is one of the funniest people I know. I've said this on numerous occasions. From his first funny comment, "On a lady?", to his rant in Miami, to his obsession with disgusting wall-to-wall PDA, to his second set of 25 random things--he's so funny it makes my stomach hurt. I've decided that he can make or break a trip downtown. If Johnny feels like being Drunk Johnny--it'll be one of the best nights of your life (e.g., his 23rd birthday). If Johnny feels like keeping it chill, so will everyone else--which usually ends up pretty lame. Not saying it's your fault Johnny--but you do hold the power. Quit being so withholding with the fun.
- Since I never had allergies growing up, I didn't realize that I was having issues with allergies when I moved up to Austin. It just developed. I thought I was just sick, but then EVERYONE around me would tell me how they're just having allergy problems. After this happened several other times, I've come to the conclusion that I am not immune to this so-called "Cedar Fever" and have to suffer through it like everyone else.
- I take offense to people thinking I'm wrong. I rarely just make up shit--so when I say things, I'm usually under the assumption that I am correct. In the event that I am incorrect, I'll often admit it when I find it out (e.g., I e-mailed a patient from the office when I realized that I was wrong about a debate we were having). I have no problem with admitting I'm wrong. But when I know beyond a shadow of a doubt (white phrase) that I am correct--nothing drives me more crazy than someone insisting I'm wrong. Thomas Wilder likes to do this.
- There are some words, phrases or activities that are primarily used/done by white people. I refer to these as white things. Thomas Wilder, Kayla Bollom & Mr. Matt are guilty of 95% of these things. Kyle Umlang is 47.5% guilty.
- When I hear a song that's pretty and the lyrics are quite love-related and meaningful, I text the artist and song name to Thomas for him to review. This is for the sole-purpose of finding our song for our first dance at our wedding. The most recent one was Eisley - "Lost at Sea." I'm debating on whether or not Kate Nash's "The Nicest Thing" is worthy of candidacy.
That's enough for tonight. I'm exhausted. I hope you're happy Johnny.
Tagged: Johnny Pham
