Blog Challenge Day 1

A recent picture and 15 interesting facts

about yourself

The picture to the right is my most recent one. Can't find in my laptop the one that doesn't have "Accessories by Precious" and I'm currently way too lazy to download the original photo from my cellphone. Hehe.

15 Interesting Facts About Me

1. I'm a jewelry designer. Still an amateur but I consider myself one already as I've been making pieces since 2007 that I either sell or give as gifts to friends and colleagues. In fact, my picture here is the profile picture of my Facebook Business Page. I'll be closing the page soon though as I'm about to leave for the US to join my husband and it's going to be for good. Who knows? Maybe I'll start a line there once I'm able to get the capital. Getting the much-needed capital though means working as an employee of a company (any company! haha) first. Then again, my priorities will surely change once I become a mom. Oh well... Let's just say that I'm thankful for the skills that I know I'll take with me once I leave the Philippines.

My Kare-Kare

2. I'm not fond of sweets but I like my Kare-Kare sweet and my dipping sauce a combination of sweet, sour and spicy.

3. The best gifts to give me are chunky necklaces and bags (ehem... calling my friends...).

4. My mom and dad were public speakers and writers. Thus explains what I've been doing since grade school.

5. I can't swim, much less, float. I don't even trust a flotation device enough to just let go.

6. Sue me but I'm anal when it comes to really bad (not tolerable!) grammar and pronunciation. I'm not perfect but hearing people settling for something mediocre such as saying "cents" when its "centavos" that should be said (hello! 50 cents and 50 centavos are NOT the same!) and saying b-ih-tch when they mean beach is completely unacceptable.

7. I think (and some do) that I have the gift of prophecy. I just do not wish to explore that area. I only do it for fun.

Our Wedding Missalette

8. I'm not Chinese (or maybe I am because of my great great grandparents) but for some reason, the number 8 seems to hold an important place in my life (Note: I did not make it a point to put this fact as the 8th Interesting Fact About Myself  -  it's merely a coincidence... or is it?). My 8th official boyfriend became my husband. We became a couple in 2008 and got married on January 24, 2010 (01+2+4+1+0=8). The unit number of our property in Manila is 1H (H=8th letter of the alphabet).

9. I'm not against the Reproductive Health Bill in the Philippines. Haha. There! I said it! But before you condemn me to death, wait for a blog post about my reasons. lol

10. I was a Batibot child star in the early 90s! I remember coming to their studio on EDSA (near Quezon Ave!) after school and "interacting" with their puppets.

11. I love spicy tuna rolls, gyoza, hakaw, chopsuey, spaghetti in red sauce (not too sour or sweet, please), Pizza Hut's Hawaiian stuffed crust (cheese) pizza, Greenwich's Mozzarella Garlic pizza, siomai, Chinese cabbage (bok choy/pechay) and fried eggplant and/or steamed kangkong (water/swamp cabbage) with bagoong (alamang).

12. I hate pork fat (but I eat chicharon! lol), wasabi, kimchi, mustasa (mustard leaves) and ampalaya (bitter melon).

13. I ballooned to 185 lbs last year because of my sedentary (it's way too cold to jog in the Bay Area! lol) almost 6-month stay in the US (hello all-you-can-eat restos and big servings!) so when I returned to the Philippines to wait for the approval of my spouse petition, I vowed never to knock on death's door because of weight issues. I thought, if I love eating so much, I have to match that love with an active lifestyle. Plus, I want to become a mom already! I have to be in shape for that! So when my dad's monthly hospital confinements ended in November of last year, I started making it a point to go to the gym at least 4xs/week. The 3 and 5-lb dumbbells, the treadmill, the Abcore machine and the Precor elliptical and crossramp machines are my bestfriends for at least an hour while at the gym. As of this typing, I've already lost 20.5 lbs! Now you know my current weight. lol :)

14. I can read Spanish texts and make native language speakers think that I speak the language fluently. Proved that during my 2-month stay in Nicaragua while on a business trip. Haha! Seriously, I wish to go beyond my poor fluency in said language. Accent is not an issue. Grammar is somewhat an issue. Vocabulary IS the biggest issue!

15. I am afraid of heights....The stairs of the MRT stations in Ortigas and Shaw are to blame for this! Let's also include the really high escalator at the Shangrila Mall in EDSA. I have to overcome that though so as not to spoil the trip hubby's planning to the Grand Canyon Skywalk. Wish me luck!