Aaargh! I did not want to be tempted by this meme but I couldn't resist a listing challenge. Hey Facebook, you may want to keep my stuff, but you can't own me.
1. My idea of a good weekend is staying home and watching five movies in a row. When movie theater tickets were cheaper, I would watch three movies back-to-back-back. Schindler's List? Saw that twice in a row in the theater (and did it twice). Fellowship of the Ring? Ditto. (And I saw that ten times in the theater). Actually I did that with all the Rings movies.
2. Star Wars never did it for me. Where do I sign up for the Fellowship?
3. Getting hitched (or "settling down") has crossed my mind, but I still want to go to Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, Sudan, and Pyongyang. Having said that, indecent proposals are welcome.
4. I am a Filipino. I can't imagine myself being a citizen of another country.
5. I was crazy about vinyl records when I was younger. How crazy? Read on: http://paolospen.blogspot.com/2008/03/i-heart-vinyl.html
6. I've shaken hands and spoken with Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former US President Jimmy Carter, but the person that made me starstruck the most upon seeing was Bella Flores.
7. The first memory I ever had was of me drowning. When I was about one or two, my toy fell into a big container of water. I tried to reach for it and went straight into the bottom headfirst. My yaya found me just in time. Every day has since been a gift.
8. I'm not supposed to eat anything sweet, salty, spicy, sour, starchy, fatty, caffeinated, and carbonated. Kill me now.
9. When I'm alone in my room, I try to enjoy myself by reading and listening to music. (I may be lying).
10. Indonesia is my favorite country besides my own, and my favorite city remains Yogyakarta ("Jogja") in Central Java (Ubud doesn't even come close).
11. I've thought about converting to Islam, but a life without dinuguan? It's just wrong.
12. I'm a huge fan of anything Indian. Except the caste system thing. You can't subscribe to that belief and be democratic at the same time.
13. I voted for the same person in the last two presidential elections. Even when he was already dying, I still voted for him. I seriously do not know whom to vote for next year. One thing's for sure though. I'm voting.
14. I've experienced being interviewed on radio, TV and print, but they weren't nearly as stressful for me as showing up in family gatherings, or doing small talk at cocktail parties.
15. I'm dying to study again.
16. You can assign me to dangerous places, or make me sing in public or force me to write a decent poem in an hour, but don't make me trek or enter a cave again. I, however, fancy skydiving, and have thought about doing that bungee jump near the Tibetan border. And I want to go scuba diving!
17. I have a ton of books, mostly second-hand classic novels, but I've never read most of them. Recently I've been more interested in non-fiction (which also explains the alarming number of old magazines at home). For me, at least right now, reading fiction is like willingly letting yourself be enslaved by somebody in his or her fantasy world. Which is actually the point, but I don't like doing it often. My favorite novel is The Catcher in the Rye, and my favorite writer is former New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael.
18. I was briefly hooked on Indonesian clove cigarettes ("kretek"), specifically Sampoerna mild menthol. I would love to smoke it everyday, except for the health and dying early thing. (Note: I don't smoke anymore.)
19. Until recently, my favorite movie for the longest time was Federico Fellini's "La Strada." I also admire Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Salo (120 Days of Sodom)," not because I'm a perv, but because it was such a strong piece of work that successfully tried to depict what could happen if there is absolute power...(blah blah blah...). My favorite Filipino film is Manuel Silos' "Biyaya ng Lupa." Among the great living directors, I have a soft spot for Tim Burton. I'd gladly let Tim Burton film my biopic, starring--who else?--Johnny Depp.
20. I did everything in high school: I was a singer, dancer, actor, wrote for the school paper, drama club president, joined art and writing contests, won in scrabble and quiz bees, spelling bee champion, church choir member, and was campaign manager during the school government election. In college, I did none of these.
21. I love cats. We used to have 13 cats one time. I was that kid who would go out in the middle of the night to look for a crying abandoned kitten and feed it milk (the fact that they almost always end up dying is another story). I do think they're smarter than dogs. Truly, you don't own cats. They own you.
22. I have two ear piercings, and am now seriously contemplating getting my first tattoo.
23. I used to fancy myself as a member of a band, either a vocalist or a djembe player. If I were a rock star, I would love to have been Bob Marley. I like his music and his politics. The ganja thing I can do without, thank you.
24. My favorite album of all-time is "Circus" by the Eraserheads. (The only other album that made me weep as much was Radiohead's "OK Computer"). The Eraserheads sucked live, though. I'd drop everything to watch Prince live. Prince is a genius.
25. If I could go back in time, I'd go to Manila circa the late '60s to late '70s, perhaps join the protest movement, and buy all the vinyl records (Pinoy rock! Manila sound!) I could get my hands on. I'd also love to go back to Nick Joaquin's Old Manila before World War II, walk down Escolta and ride the tranvia.
No comments:
Post a Comment