e*star LA

I haven’t been tagged, but I came up with my own “meme” of sorts. I have always found it curious that the root of “exceptional” is simply against the grain:

ex·cep·tion 

“an instance or case not conforming to the general rule.”

…yet “exceptional,” in adjective form, is “extraordinary, unusually excellent, and far superior.” So, I decided to play it up a little bit. More in root form than in adjective, that is. Because whether we admit it or not, sometimes we all just want to be different. Whether it’s a direct intention of our actions or we come to make our choices with that being a factor remains to be seen in each decision we make. It’s been an interesting point in my recent self-discovery. And so it goes that I shall now milk it in a blog post.

• I’m Asian and I carry my camera with me everywhere and take pictures of everything. Including food. But–when I can’t take a picture without using flash or not get enough light/steadyness to get a clear shot with a maxed out ISO on my point-and-shoot, I would rather not take the picture. I like action shots and I prefer to not disrupt the aura. You know when people can’t stop taking pictures and making flashes all over the place? That bugs.
• I am one woman of a total eight at my male-dominated workplace (indicative of an industry dominated by men).  The talk around the office is sometimes as crude as that inside a boy’s locker room. The concensus is, though, that I’m the loudest belcher here.
• I am from Wisconsin and I love cheese. Beer is good sometimes, depending on what it is. Bratwurst is pretty spectacular. No, not really any exceptions here. Oh right, well maybe that I’m Asian and I can’t hold my liquor (nor do I really strive to). Get it? Wisconsin? Asian? Turn red on first sip not that it means anything?
• Also:  I am Asian and I am not lactose intolerant.
• When I say I have a big head, I don’t mean I’m cocky–I mean I really have a big head like you know in terms of circumference.
• I could count on snow storms to close school at least two days of the winter months. That was the only thing it was good for in my youth (when I grew out of playing in it). Now that I’m in sunny California, I can’t get enough of snow because when I’m around it it means I’m in the mountains.
• I live in Los Angeles but traffic is not one of the things I complain about daily. It’s because I live not more than two city blocks away from my workplace. In fact, the city is rather convenient for me. I can walk to a mechanic, a car rental, a 7-11, Japanese, Pizza and Burger, Cuban, Thai and Chinese take-out, a coffee shop and my bank to name a few. I visit malls and farmer’s markets and see movies on the weekdays while the tourists file in on the weekends.

What can I say? When people I’ve just met give me that look or pass off the sort of energy that says, “Oh I got you all figured out,” my favorite thing in the world is knowing that they actually have no idea… 

Your turn. 

Love,
*e