Since I can't be bothered changing my profile (a lot of little boxes to fill in is annoying), but think there should be a little insight into me, however odd, since no one reads this as far as I can tell...
1.) I love the Russian language. I don't know if I have any special thoughts/feelings abt Russian culture or the Russian ppl (absolutely no offense intended) but I love the language. I've spent my entire like knowing that there was nothing else I'd rather learn and no place on earth I'd rather be than Russia (where I could be linguistically emersed). I can remember being 4 years old and loving the language already, never having heard it... and my parents being amused and horrified both.
2.) I learnt the cyrillic alphabet in a lunchtime 'class' at the University of Texas in Austin which was run as a publicity excercise. I had been waiting for this my whole life, after all, so I actually did know it 30mins later.
3.) I called the Red Crescent when I was 16 and had just finished high school to see if I could volunteer in Russia. They were horrified, not least becoz I had no medical training or linguistic skill. They told me, very politely, that I should perhaps call again when I either learnt the language or obtained some training.
4.) I went to medical school so i could be like Hawkeye from M*A*S*H - volunteer, disgruntled, on the front lines and helping ppl regardless of financial status, nationality or ethnicity.
5.) I wanted to be a veterinarian or a spy (James Bond) for most of my childhood......... then I wanted to be an archaeologist (Indiana Jones).
6.) My happiest year of school was 8th grade at Wellesley Middle School in Boston. It was one of the few times in my adolescence when I thought I might have actually been cool ;)
7.) I initially hung on to my American accent to protest my having to return to Perth, Western Australia after my time in Wellesley. Now, it's simply a part of me.
8.) I tend to do things becoz they fit into my idea of the 'James Bond skill set' eg. flying planes. I still want to be a spy... but may actually be more like Johnny English ;)
9.) I am apparently very 'gay friendly'.
10.) I'm a romantic in the truest sense of the word. Forget crap like flowers, chocolates and Valentines Day, I mean all you need is love and everything will work out fine. I apply this policy wherever I can (eg. my, hopefully, career in cardiolgy) and never worry abt those issues again.
11.) I was once a goth... and I don't think my sensibilities have ever really changed
12.) I have a tattoo that says "veritas' on the inside ofmy right wrist. I wish it were larger.
13.) I had two 'adoptive families' while growing up away from my mother - The Jankots and the Poole-Johnsons. I've never stopped loving both and have never forgotten how kind they were to me.
14.) I was glad when my parents divorced. I wished it was sooner.
15.) I have mad respect and love for single parents doing it tough and I am always incensed when ppl diss them.
16.) I discovered a love for languages in Taiwan. Taiwan changed my mind abt the Chinese language, the Chinese ppl and abt my own abilities. Suffice it to say, my stay there forever changed my life.
17.) I was once engaged, and I've never really forgiven myself for not being better to my ex when the engagement/relationship ended
18.) I'm spoilt. Somehow, even with a single parent, i've had almost every opportunity imaginable. ...I don't really have a proper appreciation of this even now and require constant reminding.
19.) I hate ppl who are obsessed with brands becoz they're snobs/wannabes: I hate brands. I hate snobs and I hate ppl incapable of dressing themselves without.
20.) I discovered, at 2am on a saturday in 2007, that I love cardiology almost as much as Russian.
21.) I love soft, furry things (and that includes reptiles). One of my fave memories is of being in Kuala Lumpur with my friend Jehan and getting to rub the nose of an iguana in a pet store. In my mind's eye all animals are gorgeous, have fluffy ears and long whiskers... even that iguana.
22.) My 3 friends from my childhood in Singapore have a huge place in my heart. They know everything abt me and stuck by me when I was at my most dickheaded and for that, I will be eternally grateful.
23.) I dress to theme. I got thru mod phases, 1950s phases, fetish phases and dress accordingly... even now. I'm always ready for that theme party that never actually happens except in my imagination ;)
24.) I have never stopped loving (not the same as 'being in love with') my first boyfriend, Shane. He remains one of the funniest, kindest, coolest ppl I have ever known, and our enduring friendship is the yardstick against which I have measured all others since.
25.) I have trouble trusting ppl.
