1. Until the age of 16, I was an introvert i.e. I don't make friends, I speak only when spoken to, I hardly smile, I cannot go on stage (except when there is no audience!!!), I was tongue-tied when asked to speak before an audience
2. At age 16, I had a life-changing encounter at a Bible Camp. Not only did I find what Bible Camp organizers hope participants will find, I also metamorphosed into a totally different personality. (Those who know me today know that I eventually made a career as a professional Emcee and today is a Motivator/Speaker/Trainer/Facilitator)
3. My father tells me that when I was born and the nurse came out to the waiting room to tell him, his first question to her was: "Is it stillborn?" The nurse's answer: "No, she's alright but she's the 1st baby I've ever helped deliver who didn't make a sound when born. Even when the doctor hit her, she let out a low growl"
4. 4 years ago, my mother admitted a secret she has kept for 40 years. When I was 2 months old, she left me on her bed for less than 5 minutes and when she returned she was shocked to find the bed empty. She was about to call the police, when she searched the room again and found me sleeping soundly a few feet from the bed hidden under the curtain. I had rolled off the bed, under the curtains and continued sleeping without crying out.
5. Growing up, my favorite games were not dolls and masak-masak (pretending to cook), but re-enacting the scenes from Lone Ranger and Combat (the TV series). I especially loved crawling along the floor, a plastic bucked on my head, hugging a broom handle (my rifle)
6. I had many soft toys as a child but only 1 doll, which I immediately gifted to my brother 3 years my junior. The adults never bought me another doll but gave me a whole menagerie of animals. I had many different bears, a tiger, a lion, monkeys galore, and of course many dogs but only 1 cat.
7. I read voraciously and maybe over the board, because when I was in my teens, I remember my mother telling me to stop reading for half an hour and come watch TV!!! Don't parents usually do it the other way around? Switch off the TV and send the child to her books?
8. My favourite author is still Stephen King. I want to say to those who haven't read him: "Don't type him as a horror writer"
9. My favourite books by him are The Stand and of course, the Dark Tower series. His short stories are all a joy to read - although there are a lot of horror ones inside his collections, there are some gems like Quitters Inc. - a great one for smokers.
10. I have read Pride and Prejudice 8 times. I just recently reread every one of Jane Austen's 6 books.
11. I have read Gone With the Wind 5 times.
12. Among all of James Clavell's books, Tai-Pan is my favourite, followed by Shogun
13. I resisted the Harry Potter phenomenon for a long long time and finally succumbed, bought all the books and devoured them all in 10 days. After which I bought the DVDs and watched them in a 2-day marathon.
14. A month ago, I was conned by my husband to watch a segment of The Little Nyonya (a Singaporean TV series). I thought it was a sitcom - turned out to be a serial. "Wasted" 2 days chasing the series to its conclusion.
15. I love Sex and the City and the thought-provoking blurbs Carrie Bradshaw comes up with every segment.
16. Growing up, I wanted a very grand wedding. I did, with Ning Baizura and Leonard Tan singing a song each at the wedding dinner. And Zainal Abidin singing the chorus of his signature song.
17. I believe marriages are for keeps. Divorce is a no-no. In my frustration at not having any children, I thought of the D word a lot but I am now over it. Instead of children, we have 2 dogs and a cat.
18. I believe dogs and cats are the glue in a childless marriage.
19. I not only hate durians, I feel vomituous when I smell durians.
20. I am quick to distrust on sight any good-looking men although I know all about not judging a book by its cover yadda yadda yadda. I have found to my chagrin that good-looking men can also be kind, decent, responsible and make good platonic friends.
21. On the flip side of the coin, I take to beautiful women almost immediately (and have been bitten a few times - as in taking them into my confidence too early and finding it all flying over their heads) Oops, that sounds snobbish.
22. I didn't use to care about my clothes until I met JY Kraska. She was my colleague then and she would so dress up for office. She eventually enlisted a few of us to also make the effort for office. Since then, I've cared for the right clothes for the right occasion.
23. Since 1982, I have followed every match of every FIFA World Cup, staying up to the early hours. I used to post up the results and the names of the goalscorers on the wall of the living room for my father and brother when I was young, then, for my husband when I got married. Nowadays, I sms them.
24. Since my marriage in 1997, I have had to change my allegiance from Liverpool (my father and brother's favorite team) to Manchester United. My husband said if I support Liverpool, I sleep outside. But I still secretly follow the fortunes of Liverpool, rooting for them, hoping season after season for them to be the EPL (BPL) Champions. Alas, this season they are definitely out for the count.
25. I think I have 2 left feet and cannot dance to save my life.
