25 Things About Me

After seeing a zillion 25 Things About Me come through my Facebook feed, and actually enjoying reading what folks wrote, I thought I’d follow in the footsteps of my coworkers, Thu, Wysz, and Mike, who all posted a similar list on their blogs. Here we go:

1. When I was in middle school, I spent the summer ‘acting’ in a film series by the Missouri Botanical Garden on the different biomes of the world. I was one of the kids who nodded along while the high school kids taught us about science. If you look hard enough, you can find me on the MBGnet website.

2. My first quarter at Stanford sucked academically – a W (withdrawal) in Chemistry, and a C in Calculus. Next quarter, I decided to take a History course (History 59: Introduction to Asian American Studies). That course inspired me and I somehow ended up graduating with distinction, even though I also received a C in a Physics class called “Black Holes.”

4. I’ve never broken a bone but fear getting carpal tunnel from work.

5. I don’t think I get enough sleep. For some reason this has yet to catch up with me.

6. I don’t drink coffee – I never liked the taste, and since I am lactose intolerant, I cannot put milk in it to alter the taste.

7. I’m a quick learner but rarely master anything. Bass guitar, cello, skiing, biking, and photography immediately come to mind. Snowboarding will probably be next.

8. I’m pretty good at remembering where people are from and random facts about them. I usually don’t vocalize these details because it might be creepy (unless your name is Michael Wyszomierski, son of Kathy and Jack Wyszomierski).

9. My first CD was “Crash” by Dave Matthews Band. #41 still remains my favorite song.

10. I attribute my fine motor skills to playing videos games. My best achievement was unlocking all of the cheats in N64′s Goldeneye, including beating the Facility level in less than 2:05 for the invincibility cheat.

11. When I was in high school, I was the victim of a phishing email and my checking account was zeroed. Luckily, it was only ~$300 and PayPal gave it all back. I don’t think they’ll do anything like that anymore so it really was my fault.

12. I like crossword puzzles. In high school, for a few weeks I brought the crossword puzzle into orchestra class and the cello section would take turns filling it in. We were never caught.

13. The details are vague, but the longest I’ve stayed awake without sleep is 48 hours. It was writing some papers for finals during my Sophomore year of college.

14. I have no clue what I want to do in 5 years. I once wanted to go to grad school in history after working for a year. I’m now considering business school. But, I haven’t researched or looked into anything. It doesn’t bother me that I don’t have a plan, although I’ll tell people I’m considering these options when they ask.

15. I think I’ve squeaked into a lot of places. I was admitted to Stanford off the wait-list. I started working at Google as a contractor. I think both circumstances have driven me to work hard in order to prove I belong.

16. I’ve never had a pet. I would love to have a doggie, but I know I would be a bad owner.

17. I internalize a lot of frustration and anger. That’s probably a bad thing.

18. I can never remember my dreams. That’s probably a good thing.

19. I’ve never had an interest in seriously learning a foreign language. I took Spanish just because I had to in high school and college. I love traveling, so this is ultimately a huge failure. If I encourage you to come on a trip with me, your linguistic abilities may be a reason why.

20. I’m really practical, but I often do things without thinking too much of the consequences. This has been problematic on many occasions.

21. I really like lists. I’ve never been into keeping one online, because I really enjoy the act of writing out a task or item and then crossing it off. On several occasions, I have written out a task I’ve already done just to cross it off. With that said, a lot of things I need ‘to-do’ are never written or recorded anywhere. I’m trying out Google Tasks to remedy this gap.

22. I know a lot of people, but am really bad at maintaining friendships. I think this is a product of moving around a lot when I was younger – 5 states before I started 5th grade and then coming out to California for college. I think only a few people really know me. Maybe it’s also because I’m not too open about a lot of things, you know, the touchy stuff – emotions. I’ve accepted that.

23. Even if a movie is bad, I’ll sit through it. Same with reading book. I just need to finish it.

24. I don’t get artisan water. I kind of get organic food but won’t go out of my way to buy it.

25. I more or less subscribe to the belief that you should at least try something, and if it fails, at least you tried. I think my personal growth is the result of far more mistakes than successes. My goal is to at least avoid repeating the same mistake twice.

4 Comments

  1. Evan says:

    Reid says that science is his favorite subject. That’s one reason he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. He likes lots of sports, too, particularly soccer. In the summertime, he likes to spend vacation time in Hawaii, where his parents grew up.

  2. Sophia says:

    I identified with some of these… which basically means Reid and I are the same person.

    :D :D :D

  3. Swetha says:

    Hahaha
    That was a good read… I’m thinking i should also write my 25 ;)
    I disagree with 18.. I remember all my dreams and I learn a lot from them..Ooops.. only 24 more to write ;) :)

  4. Patrick says:

    About #12. Wow, you are one crazy guy! :P

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