List 3: 25 Random Facts About Me

1. One of the reasons I avoided doing this for so long is that I didn't want to go with the crowd and do what was popular at the time. But I realize now that this notion just makes me seem slow and slightly passé. Lol whatever, I do what I want. And I'm reading over my list now and it's super long. Oh, well. Stick with me if you can. 2. Home is where the heart is, home is where the heart is. I used to tell this to myself whenever I was depressed or homesick. But then I think of Homer's Odyssey. Now, there's a man who was homesick! Odyssey is typically referred to as a journey, usually a journey through life or something like that. But Italo Calvino's The Uses of Literature had a fantastic essay about how Odysseus was on a journey back to somewhere. Ithaca is what kept Odysseus moving; it was his goal, sometimes just a layover. So when I say, "Home is where the heart is," home (and the heart) is my anchor. It's what keeps me grounded and it's what keeps me moving. It's where I began and where I will end up. Home is where the heart is, and my heart is fixed upon an everlasting cornerstone. Is there a worthier home? 3. I'm INTJ. I'm like the definition of INTJ. I'm arrogant, calculating, want things to make sense, and what I know (and what I don't know) is my life. I hate the process of things, because I typically have a strong vision for the end. So when I say things like, "Can you keep up," I mean it. Can you keep up? And you'll be like, "What are you talking about?" And I'll think, "I'm alluding to Destiny's Child, my Tumblr, and your blatant unawareness all at the same time." Mm, I have issues. 4. Before, I used to perceive people based on their intellect and knowledge. I think I got over that spectrum of measuring things, and now I perceive people through their curiosity. I love people who are interested, passionate and excited about the things they don't know and the possibilities of what the world holds. Complacency is my greatest enemy. I cannot understand people who are so satisfied with their situations, because satisfaction is an indication that a person has decided to limit the possibilities of the world. I think I still struggle with this, because it gets tiring sometimes to always be yearning. 5. If I could have three wishes, I would wish for 1.) an unlimited supply of money; 2.) humility; 3. self-awareness. However, Tim Keller tells me that 2. and 3. are contradictory. :/ 6. I love food. I love the art of cooking and eating. I love how smells, tastes, and the physical appearance create such a sensory experience. And I can eat just about anything, but I really appreciate great food. I love the pan seared duck from Citrus Bar & Grill. I love the ice cream sandwich from Ed's Lobster Bar. I love macarons from Laduree, clam chowder from Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey, 떡보쌈 in LA, deep-fried Twinkies from Santa Cruz Boardwalk. I love roasting chicken, sauteing onions and garlic in olive oil (it produces the most amazing smell), waiting hours for something to braise. And I really, really like pork. 7. I really like awkward people. I think it's because they feel more genuine to me. I don't like those polished, perfectly witty and eloquent people. I just like that natural grit of getting to know the details of a person. And I love dry humor. I love Kristen Wiig. 8. I read a lot. At least, I think I read a lot. I know a lot of books. I like a lot of books. Books make my world so much better. Books make my world so much bigger and brighter and more beautiful. I don't think I'm necessarily restricted to a certain genre; I really just appreciate excellent writing and there's never a shortage of it. (There is a lot of bad writing too though...) I like YA, classical and contemporary lit, cookbooks and some memoirs. I love graphic novels and short stories. Not so big on commercial or chick lit though. :/ And I love talking about books. 9. I love the environment that I grew up in. I love my family: parents, grandparents, older brother, younger sister, and...cousin. They truly bring out the worst in me in a way that no one else can. And it's beautiful. And I consider it more than a blessing that they are my family. I wish I wasn't so far from them. 10. I really want to get married. And I don't idolize weddings or marriage or anything like that, and I don't romanticize it in any way. But since I'm INTJ, I know where I want to be long-term, and it's this really slow process that aggravates me. I don't want to date, I want to get married. And people says things like, "You're too young, you don't know anything yet," or "Have some fun while you're young!" Honestly, I'm not made like that. No one is ever fully ready to get married no matter how old they are and, believe me, my idea of fun is probably different from yours. I don't mean to sound defensive, but, c'mon, I'm not stupid. Usually. 11. I'm really happy to be Korean. Or, rather, Korean-American. I was pretty white-washed until the summer before coming to NYU when I became obsessed with Super Junior. And now I have a minor in Korean. Oh, how things change. But Korean entertainment aside, I love Korean food and the culture and the nationalism. And as much love there is, there is also hate. Because I seriously hate the uber-patriotism. And netizens. I hate netizens. 12. I have semi-fetishes... but it's not provocative or anything! I really like it when guys wear TOMS shoes, and I really like softly accentuated collarbones. 13. My favorite color combination is blue and gray. I specifically like navy and a fair shade of gray. I like the serene intensity of the blue and the coolness of the gray. While I worked at Banana Republic, I loved to dress men in navy V-neck sweaters and lightweight wool gray dress pants. You know, just for fun. 14. And 13 leads to the fact that I love menswear. I really like business casual to formal menswear. I'm really glad that men get married in suits. It's a nice vision to be walking towards. 15. I like to travel alone. Last summer, I went to Berlin for a month for a short study abroad program. I spent some time in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, where Martin Luther lived and preached. I loved the weekend I spent in Paris and Versailles. And I loved doing it alone. I think I spend so much time taking account for what other people want to do and making up for anything that lacks that spending time alone is such a relief. I'm excited for the day that I meet someone who I would want to take with me on my travels. Hehe. 16. I love Bethel, the church I grew up in. Seriously, that group of people is completely irreplaceable. They are family in way that still surprises me. And just like my real family, they are capable of bringing out the worst in me. (And hopefully the best sometimes.) I have memories and ties there that take me to a whole new level of nostalgia. From staying up all night talking about life to going to Denny's way too often to beach excursions on New Year's to spending half of the summer (and winter) breaks at Steven's, they are just a foretaste of the home I will return to. 17. I'm really OCD sometimes. I get inexplicably picky. When I get in one of my moods to clean or making everything aesthetically proportionate, I get a little crazy. I like when things are in order and aligned. I alphabetize books and DVDs, set up a lot of different computer folders, and line things up on my table. On top of that, I'm a little ADD so I tend to have a short attention span. 18. I have a weird taste in music. Since I basically listen to whatever inspires my writing, I listen to songs and not artists. It's rare for me to find an artist that I can say that I like more than a handful of songs of (i.e. John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Clazziquai). But there are a lot of different songs that I ardently like, ranging from K-pop to Christian Hip Hop. Music is probably my second biggest, if not equal to the first, inspiration for my writing. 19. I like to substantially talk to people. I like to meet and learn about people. I like to find out what people are passionate about and see what they're like. But I don't think people always like my relentless questioning. Believe me, I don't like it either, so I love it when a person can keep a conversation going well. 20. I don't like how my voice sounds when I talk. I think that I talk too choppy sometimes, and my breathing gets weird when I get too intense. And whenever I get really serious, my voice drops maybe two pitches. But I love talking about my passions and I don't think people are used to that kind of fanaticism. 21. During college, I had the hardest time committing to attending one church. I attended Morningside, Times Square Church, Redeemer, Morningside again, Redeemer again... At the same time, I discovered my inability to really open up and commit to other people. I have a fear of vulnerability that kinda takes on this whole new kind of damages. I hate revealing struggles while in the throes of them, but I love talking about it in retrospect. I'm soooo good at retrospect. Michael Keller says that it has to do with my pride. LOL nothing new. 22. I watch a lot of TV and movies... 23. I like face-to-face communication. I'm bad at online chatting and texting. I guess I'm okay when it comes to e-mailing but it takes forever for me to respond (even when it's on my Blackberry) and I really like phone calls, but I tend to put my phone on silent and forget until about four hours later.. So, yeah. Just talk to me. 24. I'm a Christian and a writer, and I consider only these two things to be somewhat fixed about me at this point in my life. But I'm beginning to realize now, after two years of studying the foundations of identity, that things always change even if it is within boundaries. And my desire for stasis only thwarts my simultaneous desire for growth. 25. As a Christian, the Bible is the Word of life and the source of Truth. And I'm still discovering the beauties of it. And as a writer, there have been some works that have had a heavy influence on me; namely, Jorge Luis Borges' "Borges and I," Marguerite Duras' "Writing," Margaret Atwood's "Happy Endings," Neil Gaiman's Sandman: Seasons of Mist, etc. I write. And "I write" in the intransitive verb way that Roland Barthes said that writers should write.