#24. Drive the speed limit for one whole day

Why?

Because I don’t want another one of these…

Speeding Ticket Received on MONDAY 6/8.  My first driving ticket ever!

Completed 6/9, 6/10, 6/11….

#33. Watch all DVD’s in my current collection at least once during 1001 days

1. Face Off - 11/22/08 – horrible special effects, but I like the action and John Travolta as a bad guy
2. Devil Wears Prada-12/08 – Love the fashion in this and Meryl Streep is the best character in this movie
3. Lord of the Rings 1 – 12/08 – love these movies especially the extended versions.
4. Lord of the Rings 3 – 12/08 – #3 is my absolute favorite

#34. Complete an internet inspired contest #1 – Photo 365

Why?

I love photography.  This love affair started in 2000 when I went to Europe and wanted to capture every thing of beauty I saw.  At the time my travel mate Virginia had a 35mm SLR that I coveted.  Immediately after I got back to the US I bought a Canon Rebel 2000 and began taking classes at a community college where I learned B&W photography.  From then on I have been dabbling in photography, ever expanding the toolbox for yet another hobby.  The latest addition was my Iphone which has a camera and takes rather crappy photos in a quality sense but that is also why I like it so much, kind of a high tech, expensive Holga that you can talk on.  I thought I would wait for some day of significance but I already tried that once and failed so I figured I would just pick a day and get started.  Guess any day is a good day to photograph your life!

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Here is my Flickr site for Photo 365

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

#35. Complete an internet inspired contest #2 – 100 Things about me

Why?

To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.
– William Shakespeare

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1. I truly enjoy being by myself and rarely feel lonely

2. I have a 12 Wide foot and only measure 5’3″ in height

3.  I am a bit of a perfectionist because I am afraid of failure or disappointment

4.  I don’t wear skirts or dresses because I hate chub rub (hoping to fix that during my 1001 days)

5.  I do not like doing my hair, therefore, I really like my natural hair, mainly because I am lazy

6.  I don’t chew gum. My jaw pops whenever I try it and it is so loud it annoys other people around me.

7.  I HATE hearing people chew food, especially if they smack.  OMG…I get the most hateful look on my face and it scares my nieces and nephews.

8.  I must have a tooth fetish because I love a maintained set of pearly whites.  For me, a messed up set of teeth is definitely a deal breaker during the potential dating phase.

9.  I don’t like woman that play helpless.  I think they make it harder for woman to succeed and be taken seriously.  In fact, I often say they should be treated like lame horses and made into glue.  Oh…harsh I know…but true nonetheless!

10. I don’t want to have children and if I do it will be totally by accident.  I think I would be a better parent than most, but don’t desire it.

11. I studied Mandarin Chinese in College because I had many Chinese friends and I love a challenge

12. I also tried to study Italian and Russian at the same time.  Baaaad…idea

13. I used to wear VERY baggy clothes but about 3 years ago I started dressing with clothes that fit my body.  My mother said to me “I never thought I would have such a fashionable daughter”

14.  The first time I ever traveled internationally was to visit my friend Virginia in France in 2000.  Since then I can’t get enough!

15. My dad used to call me “eek eeky Moniquey” and he had a song about it and I was the princess of eek eeky land

16. I stopped forgiving my dad when I turned 18 and decided not to really socialize with him.

17. My dad apologized for a lot of things on his death bed.  I don’t know if he was truly sorry or just scared. I vowed to try and apologize as soon as possible to prevent any regrets similar to his.

18. I met my half sisters for the first time at my dad’s funeral.  It was amazing how much one of them looked like me, it was uncanny.  The reunion was not ala Oprah.  We met as strangers and left as casual acquaintances.  We have not spoken since.

19.  I think my stepdad is the best man in the world.  He took in four kids from my mom’s marriage and raised them with very little complaint.  He is even raising grandchildren now.  Not very many men are like him.

20.  I grew up in Orange County, CA and I am very bad African American or ghetto slang.  Although I may be black, I stick out like a sour thumb in black neighborhoods if I speak.  Last time I visited my cousins we could barely communicate because I used big words and they used slang.  We laughed about it for weeks.

21.  My sense of direction is HORRIBLE and forget about asking me for a street name.  I am a smart person but directions are my kryptonite.

22.  I have developed an ever growing phobia of large bodies of water due to my fear of sharks.  I don’t even like watching Shark week.  Consequently, water sports are not my thing

23. I consider myself a Taurus although my birth sign is Pisces

24. I eat food after the expiration date.  To me if it looks OK and tastes alright then it can’t be all that bad..can it?! and cheese with mold on it…just cut it off it’ll be alright

25. I almost got married to a gay friend in order to get a better financial aid deal for being independent from my parents.  Thank GOD I didn’t but it is definitely a memorable time in my life…it was going to be a Star Trek themed wedding..hee hee.

26. Oh, if you didn’t already know…I am a huge Star Trek fan and an even bigger fan of Klingons and Worf especially.  I even have a Klingon tattoo.

27. During and after college I worked in restaurants, with the ultimate hope of go to culinary school, C.I.A. specifically, and becoming a chef (the reason behind #25).

28. I quit the restaurant business while working at MASA’s in San Francisco on shift pay and walking by a local Starbucks which had it’s pay rate posted.  I did the math and found out I was making less than the Starbucks guy.  Within months I quit and got an office job.

29.  I always ask for things, even if people have given me a blanket okay before. I hope it eliminates their possible feeling of being taken for granted by giving them yet another opportunity to say “no”

30.  I have rarely pursued a friendship either in the making or the keeping.  But while there I do nurture and cherish them to keep them healthy.

31.  Speaking of car, I got my first car at 26.  Toyota Matrix.

32.  I got my drivers license at 21

33.  Spain, specifically Barcelona, has remained my favorite travel destination since 2000.  Can’t wait to go back

34.  I have no desire to travel to India at this point in my life and might even say “no” if asked to go.  That is uncommon for me.

35.  I want to own a house so I can paint and have a washer and dryer of my own

36.  I hate arguing about things that have no definite right or wrong making politics, philosophy, and religion off limits.

37.  I try not to get angry often because I tend to see black and say very very mean things.  I am also extremely exhausted afterward.  Kinda like Hulking out without the radiation.

38.  The Matrix was the first movie I ever saw more than once in the theatre.  I saw it 4 times when it came out and I still love it.

39.  I wanted to name my cats Star Trek names but they were already names wehn I got them from the shelter so I stayed with Kira and Keegan.  Kira, by the way, is a Star Trek name.

40.  I envied Jadzia Dax when she married Worf.  I was going to wear the same dress in my wedding.

41.  After 10 years of friendship, I once broke up with a friend via e-mail.  We had just grown apart and had very different likes.  He agreed, something I don’t think would have been the case if the friendship was worth saving.

42.  I once didn’t talk to my current BFF for months.  I am always glad that she was the bigger person and got back in touch with me.

43.  I hate watering plants.  I feel bad every time I buy one because I know their eventual fate.

44.  I don’t like unloading the dishwasher and tend to let the sink fill up before unloading and reloading the dishwasher

45.  I love colored nail polish on my toes and a flower on the big one.  But I don’t like fingernail polish due to the chipping potential.  It drives me crazy.

46.  I voted for Obama, but don’t have the same level of hope and relief that I hear expressed on the radio and television.  I feel like a bit of a downer but the economy still looks dismal and he has a long way to go to before I rejoice like everyone else.

47.  I do believe Obama’s victory was historical and amazing simply on the fact that only a year or two ago some of my family member said that it would NEVER happen in their lifetime.  I am sooo very happy it did.

48.  I hate talking to salespeople.  I always feel like they are trying to sell me something :O)

49.  When people quit a job, I always envy them a little.  I think “I want to quit too” even though I may have no intention of leaving.  Just the prospect of change sounds so exciting!

50.  I didn’t realize this list would be so hard

51.  Back in my cooking days, I made persimmon pudding with some persimmons we had ordered by accident. I had never made or eaten persimmon pudding. It was a big hit and we ended up selling both to some customers for their Christmas dinner.  I was so proud on that day.

52.  I once danced the cumbia and salsa in a restaurant after hours with a guy I had the HUGEST crush on.  Still remember that day like a fairy tale.

53.  I love crab.  It reminds me of a lot of things but especially my dad.  My mom once said that she knew my dad loved me because he used to give me the claws even when I was a kid.  I used to remember him grumbling about it, but he gave them to me anyway.

54.  As I grow older, I begin to realize that my parents are just people.  Flawed like the rest of us and not superhuman as I thought when I was a kid and need to love those flaws as well.

55.  I believe crazy is contagious and tend to not associate with people that have a lot of drama in their lives, even if it is family.

56.  I love noodles.  ALL NOODLES!!!  Spaghetti especially, I could eat if for days

57.  Corned Beef and Pastrami – two more vices for the food list

58.  Asian cuisine is my favorite type of food.  Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanes, Thai…but if I had to choose just one, it would probably be Vietnamese.

59.  I was lucky as a kid and  only had to wear braces for 6 months

60.  I have a huge scar on my leg for playing superman on a tired swing (spin said tire swing and let legs fly out while going super fast).  My mom had told me not to do that beforehand so I had to lie and tell her that I fell.  Therefore, I got McDonald’s after stitches instead of a whooping.

61.  I have 7 large plastic bins of Star Trek toys and paraphernalia.  I love Star Trek.

62.  My favorite Star Trek series is Deep Space Nine.  I own the entire season.

63.  I have only watched the Star Wars series once.  I just thought it was okay.

64.  My graduation from college was delayed because of the Earth Science requirement.  I failed or dropped the class so many times, not because I didn’t understand but I just hated the class.  Jill even did my homework during one attempt and I still dropped it.

65.  I originally went to college for journalism but Berkeley dropped the undergrad program the year I started, which made me switch to Political Science…bad idea.

66.  I applied and was accepted to the Medill School of Journalism.  The tuition was so expensive that I was not able to go.  I am still sad over that.

67.  In my senior year of high school I was C.I.F. champion for Discus.  This was monumental because another girl, whose dad was the coach,  was favored to win and was even given the caption in our year book.  It was very sad for her but amazing for me.

68.  I have never taken drugs in my life, not even marijuana, but have been accused of looking high because of my sleepy eyes when I am tired.

69.  I have a size 11 ring finger and they are not excessively fat, at least in my opinion.  The man who finally put a ring on it will be paying through the nose.

70.  The poor guy who actually pursues me will have to be pretty persistent because sometimes I am just oblivious to the obvious and even then I second guess everything.  Oh wait…that might just be because I am a woman.. hee hee

71.  To prove item #70, I once invited a guy to my house to see my Star Trek collection which happened to be in my bedroom.  He was mighty disappointed when he left at 11pm and all he saw was my Star Trek collection.  Did I mention he was giving me googly eyes?

72.  I am a girl drink drunk.  All my drinks have to be fruit flavored and not taste too much like alcohol.   However, it definitely have to have some kick because I have quite the constitution.

73.  Jamison Irish Whiskey and Guinness are probably the only non-girl drinks that I can drink straight.

74.  I think of having a crush as emotional bulimia.  I love it while it is lasts, but also know that I have to purge and get back to reality at some point.

75.  I searched for years to find out “what I wanted to be”.  I finally think that I wanna be a project manager and am content in my decision.  It was completely random and not planned at all…go figure.

76.  My dad once called me a “social retard” because I liked to be by myself.  I may be apprehensive about large groups but I am in fact quite good in social settings and remind myself of that every time I think of that label.

77.  Most people think of me as a counselor and come to me with their problems.

78.  I don’t believe in crying at work or in front of men at any cost.  I have cried about 5 times at work all either in the bathroom or in an office with another woman and the shutters clothes.

79.  I love it when nerdy people (not unlike myself) are secure about themselves.  I think they are the most genuine and carefree people.

80.  I love it when really smart people talk about things using plain English and I can’t understand what the hell they are talking about.  It is almost like the challenge of learning another language.

81.  One of my biggest pet peeve with other people is vanity.

82.  I fear becoming no much of a complainer.  I always have to watch myself because it is easy to fall into the trap of constantly complaining.

83.  I don’t like lipstick that comes off on glasses and faces.  I either don’t wear it or use the long last, almost permanently tattooed variety to keep this from happening.

84.  I love magazines.  However, I like buying them at stores more than subscriptions.  I like the thrill of the hunt and subscriptions just stress me out and remind me of how much landfill waste I am creating.

85.  Show me a deadline and I will show you procrastination coupled with an internal temper tantrum that may or may not result in the item getting done despite my most heartfelt tough love treatment of my own psyche.

86.  I envy people that can live a bohemian lifestyle. I am way too tied to creature comforts and a steady income to venture too far from the mainstream.

87.  I don’t really like riding bikes because I did it for so many years before getting my car.

88.  Library books and Movie rentals are a black hole for my money due to late fees.

89.  I once got so mad at my mom that I didn’t talk to her for 2 months.  I finally broke down and started crying after watching Stepmom (1998) and called her.  We argued and didn’t talk for another couple weeks.  Good thing we both are not that stubborn with each other.

90.  I have only had 4 crushes in my 31 years of life.

91.  I stopped being friends with my elementary school best friend when she said she was going to a different Junior High.  I walked out in the middle of playing with her Scarlett O’Hara doll and didn’t talk to here again except for a chance meeting in Junior Year of High School.

92.  I only went to two high school dances ever.  Sadie Hawkins and Homecoming.

93.  I am almost always cold.  People laugh at me because I am often walking around the office with a huge fleece parka on.

94.  All my clocks, except for my cell phone and computer are set betwen .5 and 1.5 hours early.  This is my attempt at not being late.

95.  I believe hearing spontaneous Tom Petty is a sign of good luck and from the moment forth your day will be good.  This is probably more of a sign that you make your own luck than that Tom Petty is really lucky.

96.  I love getting mail.  E-mail, snail mail…it is the excitement of possibly getting something cool and new.

97.  I truly believe in not trying to change people and trying to accept them for who they are.  I may WISH they were different but I put little to no effort into trying to make them into who I believe they should be.  Instead I will not associate, avoid, or simply ignor them.  Probably not the best method but I am a true believer of “live and let live” and “to each their own”

98.  I hate group decisions.  Way too much hemming and hawing and “what do you think” going on.  That is why I tend to limit myself to no more than 3 people.

99.  I also don’t like going out with people who don’t know where they are going or what they are going to do.  When asked, “hey you want to go to lunch?” by a group of people and they don’t know where they are going to eat, there is a 98% chance that my answer will be NO.

100.  I love chronically my personal history, that is probably why I love journals, blogs, and photography so much.  Since I have very little memory or knowledge of my family history these are my way of remembering my life before and helping others to understand who I was and how I became who I am today.

Phew…that was really quite hard.  It started this list on October 1 and it took me 6 weeks to get through it! Next to 101 in 1001, this is probably the best list I have ever made.

Enjoy learning a little bit more about me

P.S. I guess number 101 is that I do not like proofreading so forgive my random spelling and grammar mistakes.  I really CAN spell and make coherent sentences…its just… who wants to read what they wrote right after writing it?