Feeling a bit blue, I need to pop myself happy a bit. And what better to do than to make a slightly more narcissistic post than before? 🙂

As I was riding the MRT home, I asked myself, what made me different from most women? Given that everybody’s beautiful and special, there should be a few things about me that stand out from the average woman. Here’s the 10 I came up with on my ride home:

1) Unlike most women, I don’t like chocolate. Give me apple pie instead!

Some women swear chocolates make them happy.

Personally, I think that they just make me fat. 🙁

The marginal benefit of munching on a bar of chocolates do not outweigh the calories it harbor. Mean fattening qualities aside, chocolates just aren’t my thing. After a bar or two, I feel like puking and my throat feels thick.

Sure, I’d share a brownie with a friend, but given the choice, I’d rather have apple pie (yum yum!) or the Chinese dessert (dong qu fen yen forever!).

So whoever tries to bribe me with Godiva chocolates will ironically fail to get my good graces. Actually, I wouldn’t really appreciate his presumptuousness! Bewarned: Don’t give me chocolates as gifts. Give me flowers instead!

2) I love walking in high heels.

Not that there’s anything special with women wearing heels, but who can dare say that they make walking home a habit after a delicious yet heavy dinner… in heels? 🙂

If there’s anything I enjoy more than climbing, it’s strolling in the streets of Taipei. My dream before I leave this island is to walk from Shida to Shilin. I’ve already walked from Shilin to the top Yangming Mountain (took me four hours btw) so would be nice to know how long it would take me to get to Taipei’s largest night market by foot.

Now, if only there’s someone who’d accompany me, as I have a tendency to get hopelessly lost.

Moreover, walking in the evening is a great way to get to know a guy. Instead of being in a loud bar, or a noisy cafe, you are leisurely strolling and talking. I find it to be a more intimate experience, and my walks have taken me to the many beautiful parks around Taipei.

Totally lovely — I recommend strolling around the CKS Memorial Hall late at night. The lights are indeed beautiful, and as an added amusement, you can count the couples making out in the steps at night. 😛

3. Instead of branded goods, traveling is my biggest luxury.

I would think twice of splurging my hard-earned cash on an LV Speedy Bag, but would have no problems in spending NT$50,000 for a trip to Laos. Sure, the trip may be only a week long while a bag is ideally forever, but I really believe that the experience changes you.

I mean, who can boast that they’ve seen the sunrise atop a 2,000 temple in Bagan, Myanmar?

Who can claim that she’s had a life-death experience in Cambodia?

Call me crazy, but I don’t have too many branded goods in my closet. Most of my outfits are around the less than NT$1000 variety, but given a choice of shopping or traveling, I’d take traveling anytime!

4. Climbing is a major interest of mine.

How many female climbers do you know?

Enuf said.

5. Given the opportunity, I throw all caution in the wind and dance wildly.

In the MRT, you spot a long-haired woman dancing to the beat. Geez, this woman is weird, you think to yourself.

Actually, that may very well be me.

Give me some loud music, and I’ll unconsciously sway to the beat. Bars are venues not to pick up men but rather, to dance your heart out as if your life ends the next day.

Which is probably why most women give me evil looks when I go to Carnegies or Room 18. While they’re looking prettily/sexily, there’s that crazy woman who’s just hopping and dancing alone on the side. That crazy woman is probably me.

Life is too short to care about what others think anyway. If there’s music, let’s dance!

That said, I don’t gyrate with men in bars, okay? I usually dance to have fun, and that’s it.

6. Tons of guy friends — and of course, the girlfriends aren’t happy.

Most of my best friends are male. During my birthdays, I have an imbalance ratio of males to females. Not a lot of women like me actually. Sigh.

When I go out on date, I have this propensity to start out as a romantic prospect, and end the date as the guy’s shrink, hearing how he’s been sleeping with x amount of women, feels absolutely lonely in Taiwan, and blah blah blah.

Seriously, if I knew I was going to be his psychiatrist, I would’ve charged for the hour!

Maybe it’s my ability to listen closely and reflect what guys tell me which is why I end up being good friends with them instead… still, it can be quite frustrating.

You think this guy has potential and BAM! Suddenly, you’ve both placed each other in the friend’s zone!

Which is why if I’m interested, I fight to keep him out of the friend’s zone and vice-versa. But yeah, having too many guy friends isn’t always a good thing especially when you encounter jealous girlfriends.

I mean, if your guy and I were to hook up, we would’ve done so long time ago. Chill sister!

7. I’m very affectionate.

Well, actually, one reason girls may be jealous is because I’m a bit touchy-feely with almost everyone. “You give guys a signal that you’re interested,” my friend CW warned me.

Blame it on my Filipino (Spanish) background where everybody expresses their fondness by hugging, and making beso-beso (air kissing the other’s cheeks). At home, hugs and kisses are free for everyone!

When I say goodbye to my friends, we give each other tight hugs. When I like someone (and not necessarily in a romantic way), I give them hugs upon greetings/goodbyes, and if I really like someone, the hugs linger, as if I tell you to hug me longer.

Most Chinese females hate to be touched. As if you have a plague.

Not I — hugs galore! And that’s how I like it.

8. Pets or kids aren’t really my thing.

When I was young, I had a Japanese Spitz. Her name was Princess and though she was absolutely beautiful, I wasn’t the type to just dote on her, wash and brush her. Our maids would do it for me.

Fast forward a few years, and am still not too hot on pets. I think there are other pet lovers out there and they’re better off with them than with me. If you leave me with your pet, he/she would get walked, taken care of, but I doubt I can ever be the doting type.

Same goes with kids. Don’t get me wrong, they’re adorable.

But when I taught part-time, preferred to teach adults than screaming kids. For me, I can relate to adults better and actually feel that I’m learning something about Taiwan, than teaching a 5-year old ABCs.

Jeez, is it too bad to admit in your blog that you’re maternal instincts sucks?

Since we’re at it, am also not in a hurry to have children.

Actually, don’t mind if I don’t have kids. I mean they just don’t make economic sense. Sure, people say that I’ll change my mind in the future, but at present… kids?

Nah.

If I have my choice, then no thank you. However, this is seriously up for discussion with my future hubby. If he wants kids, we can negotiate, but personally, I’d rather be selfish and not raise another individual who would create waste in the world. There’s too many people already for me to contribute.

9. Always been more comfortable with people older than I.

Sigh, it’s true.

Blame it on my parents’ training — when we were growing up, they would bring us EVERYWHERE. Imagine my dad having a meeting and my brother and I would be lugging our books and studying on the side.

Hence, we grew up with a lot of adults surrounding us, which is why I can relate to people older than me a lot better. Unfortunately, this also meant that I’m forever part of the out crowd, never really belonging in my own age group. 🙁

This has major long-term implications to my life. For example, I once dated a guy who was 18 years older than I was (thought he was mature, but forgot that age has nothing to do with maturity as at that time, he acted 18). My friends are all in their 30s, and heck, if mom had her way, I would be dating somebody at least 11 years older than moi.

Really need friends my age. Too bad can’t really relate that well with them. Some of them bore me to tears, or maybe because the interests are different.

Oh well. Moving on.

10. Just HATE doing laundry.

Some women are just meant to be home-makers — they like to cook, clean and yes, do the laundry.

Ummm… give me dishes to wash instead, or clothes to fold. But I’m no Betty Crocker.

The first time I’ve ever used a washing machine was when I was 22. The first time I did my own laundry was when I was 21. God played a big fat joke on me when He allowed me to stay in a house with no washing machine… with comedic results.

I mean, who the heck would’ve figured out on their own that you needed to separate the colors and the whites?

Hence, the first time I did laundry, I ended up having a lot of pink feminine shirts and lingerie. 🙁

Which probably explains why I’m still single. I mean, which sane guy would ever marry a non-domestic woman? There’s so many sweet Taiwanese women out there who can cook up a feast! Why would they go for little ol’ me?

Anyway, that’s 10 and my golly, that was easy to do.

So how about you? What do you think differentiates you from your fellow men (if you’re a guy) or women (if you’re female)? Thank you for letting me talk about myself for this post especially, and if you write anything similar, feel free to let me know. Would love to listen to what you have to say.

Gotta shower. Cheerio!