30 Fun Facts

... about ME!


1. I think hanging up the phone is the most disgusting form of disrespect. The amendment "freedom of speech" was made for a reason, and cutting off someone in anger is usually a bad idea, especially if it's someone you care enough to speak on the phone with. But that's just me.

2. I have a plethora of amazing friends in all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and colors, but I have two people in my life that keep me grounded and know exactly how I feel without saying a word. I consider them my angels and my rocks, but I can't choose between the two. OKAY?! SO STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME CHOOSE!!!

3. My sister is my idol. She and I came from the same parents, the same backgrounds, and went to the same high school and undergraduate college. SO WHY ARE WE SO DIFFERENT? I wish I was as sensitive and caring as she. She's got an amazing heart that never judges and always understands, and I am perplexed as to why I am just human. I work at it. One day, I will be superhuman.

4. I am regretful that my parents never put me in dance classes when I was younger. In dance, I have found an outlet that I love and am passionate about, but my lack in real technical training has brought obstacles in my path that prevent me from pursuing anything too impossible. However, thanks to a few key players in my dance training at Columbia, I have been exposed to an underground dance world that is actually the BEST thing ever. And yes, the dance world is SO different from the real one.

5. I sing everywhere I go and I don't have a problem with it. So why should you?

6. Three of my very favorite songs are:
1. Lenny Kravitz - Again.
2. Mariah Carey - Always Be My Baby
3. Lauryn Hill - ExFactor

7. I have a problem with letting go of people. Some people can drop others like flies, but I've always been the type to appreciate a person's faults, taking the good with the bad. I am working on this. Some people don't deserve multiple chances, especially if your intentions were nothing but the best.

8. I have said "I love you" to someone, but the people I meet now are skeptical about this fact. I don't know what that says about me...

9. I wish more people would carry cameras. My friends depend on me to take the pictures, but think of all the different points of views we can get with more than one camera around! Photos are meant to capture a split-second in time - and I can't live my life through lenses. Also "Geia, take a picture of me!" becomes old after a while. Sometimes I wonder what my friends would say if I said "No" and meant it. Haha.

10. I had a brother who lived to be only 10 hours old. He would have been younger, and I sometimes think about how life would have been if he lived. A little less spoiled, a little more over-protective (although I take care of my big sister anyway), and the middle-child syndrome? Or perhaps a better understanding of boys and their way of thinking. Wow, that woulda been helpful.

11. I have a long closet with hanging space and shelves, a clothing rack, a large boudoir thingy, and another shelf unit in my room. My jackets are in the foyer, most of my shoes are in the garage. I often clean out my closet to bring to the Philippines. And yet, my room still looks like it's been hit with a tornado. Cleaning is therapeutic for me. If I had time in between working and partying (and coming home at 4am) and if I didn't have any clothes, I'd be an immaculate neat-freak. A naked immaculate neat-freak. But an immaculate neat-freak nonetheless.

12. I like to be self-aware. I like hearing what people have to say about me because I grow and develop through their comments and criticisms. One of the most often-heard descriptions about me is "confident." This makes me nervous... such a fine line between confidence and arrogance.

13. I am a huge dork. Like, wow. But I own that shit. Bitch, please.

14. FOOD IS LIFE. I do not understand calorie-counters and I have a problem with dietary limits. JUST EAT! Okay fine. I must work on this, too. Some people have other priorities. Mine is to survive and do it eating great food.

15. I used to be really scared of dogs. I think I had a problem with things I couldn't verbally control. Now I am better and want a shih-tzu.

16. I could write a book about the ridiculousness that is my life. I don't know if I am attracted to shit-shows or they come to me. Or could it all be just one happy coincidence? Nevertheless, between the people I meet, the events that take place, and the places I go, my life could easily be a NYT best-seller. I don't think this says anything about me so I give myself no credit. (A Filipina in NYC is not so hard to come by.) Rather, I am impressed at how small the world is and how often fun/ny people enter my life.

17. I used to be scared of my dad. He came to the US two years before my mom, sister, and me to establish a good base for his family and then worked night-shifts, so I did not see much of him. He and my mom were authoritarian parents and very over-protective. I wasn't able to say "I love you" to him when I was growing up because it wasn't very usual, but now I tell him daily. He is a big dork. Like father, like daughter. I also think I look more like him than my mom, but everyone tells me differently. (Also, my sister and I refer to our parents in third person as Mother and Father. People find this funny.)

18. My biggest pet peeve is inconsideration, upon which more other irksome things stem from. If people were considerate, my other pet peeves probably wouldn't exist.

19. Religion is something I grew up with, something I admire, but something I can no longer believe in. Organized religions all contradict one another somehow; if I were born in a Jewish family, I would be Jewish. If I was born into a Buddhist family, I would be Buddhist. Moreover, although many religions have a whacked-out amount of contradictions involved in their teachings, there is really only one religion I (semi) know- Catholicism... and yea, nvm, let's NOT get into that. In the end, I believe in a higher being (God, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, El Shaddai - a rose by any other name would smell as sweet) and karma.

20. I get nervous really easily, sometimes so much that my eyes begin to tear. I think I've nailed every interview I've had this way - by speaking about a subject that is important to me and hoping I don't sound like a fool, I get nervous and my eyes begin to water; The interviewer is impressed that I care so deeply about a subject. I am not lying.

21. Speaking of, I'm a terrible liar, but an amazing bull-shitter. If it's of any importance to me, you'll know the truth. If not, you probably won't. (This gets me into more trouble than it should.) The trick is finding out what is important to me.

22. Sometimes, all I want is peace and quiet. If I'm not speaking to you and we are in the same room, chances are, I want you out of the room.

23. I work in TV and I don't watch TV. Mehhh... I have better things to do with my life.

24. I am in renewal mode. I have parents at home who love me unconditionally without fail and who have given me everything they could give me and more, sacrificing what they could to keep me happy. I am so glad I did not move out when I had planned originally - I've been given a second chance to get to know them. My dad turns 51 in a couple of weeks and eventually wants to go back to the Philippines after retirement. At the speed I'm coasting, 14 years can go by at the blink of an eye... I don't even want to think about it.

25. Long-term goal: I want to see the world.

26. The worst thing about being single is not having someone to ask me how my insignificant day went. The best thing about being single is not having someone to remind you your day was insignificant. Lol. There are more pros in the latter list, but I think singledom has been closely associated with "lonely" and "unhappy." Sad thing is... I know more people in relationships who are lonely and unhappy than I do who are single. Ironic?

27. I think it's best to be honest with yourself. I am spoiled and demanding but never cruel-hearted and demeaning. I love attention and affection, but I do not beg for it. I am stupid and foolish, but at least I know it. Ha.

28. I hardly pick up my phone. At times I let my VM messages pile up to the double digits before I decide to check it. I am sorry. I am really trying harder...

29. Unless you're a guy I wouldn't necessarily place in the friend pile, you can read me like a book. It's kinda embarrassing, actually.

30. I love love love love loveeeeee awkward situations.

Wild Wild West

So, this is pretty ridiculous. I swear I did not cheat. The starred ones are so appropriate, it's scary.

------------------------------
1. Put Your iTunes on Shuffle.

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!

4. Put any comments after the song name.

DO NOT CHEAT. Write what comes out of that hand-held robot bastard and pass it on.
-------------------------------

What do your friends think of you?
*Smack That - Akon <--quite fitting

If someone says, "Is this okay?" You say?
*Doesn't Really Matter - Janet Jackson

How would you describe yourself?
*What's Going on - All-Star Jam <-- i am so happening!

What do you like in a guy/girl?

Something Bad - Wicked Soundtrack <-- this can't be good...

How do you feel today?

*Gotta Get Thru This - Daniel Bedingfield

What is your life's purpose?

Just Stand Up - Diva All-Star Tribute

What is your motto?

*I Wanna F*** You - Akon <-- lmao! i can't...

What do you think about very often?

Blossom - TV Theme Song
"Don't know about the future... that's anybody's guess... ain't no good a reason for getting all depressed..." <-- Awesome

What is 2 + 2?

Perfect - Simple Plan

What do you think of your best friend?

Kiss - Prince

What do you think of the person you like?

*Canned Heat - Jamiroquai <-- HAHA. if only I liked someone.

What is your life story?

Video - India.Arie

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Vanishing - Mariah Carey

What do you think of when you see the person you like?

Carol of the Bells - Robert Shaw Chorale <--wedding bells, i'm sure

What will you dance to at your wedding?
*Crazy in Love - Beyonce & Jay-Z <-- this is wonderful

What will they play at your funeral?
*Masterpiece - Atlantic Starr <-- that's me!

What is your hobby/interest?
Stay - Lisa Loeb

What is your biggest fear?
*Ave Maria - Celine Dion <-- hahah word...

What is your biggest secret?
The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson

What do you think of your friends?
*Kind And Generous - Nadia <-- aww, this is great

What will you post this as?
Wild Wild West - Will Smith

Signed,
BS <-- also very appropriate

ANTM Obsessed

Got invited to the America's Next Top Model Obsessed Oxygen party via fabulous work connections at Gotham Hall last week.

Highlights were:

1. the Merlot

2. the models ..yea, i'm only 5'3" [this is me with heels on]

3. the stars i knew would be there

4. the stars i didn't know would be there

Luxury, pleasure, and NYC.
Gotta love it.

Bright Sybarite

I started this blog because I had originally hoped to write about current events/happenings in NYC and the very real and difficult effort it takes to balance youth and professionalism, family and friends, fun and romance, and every other paradoxical pair around...

Now I realize... I'd rather write about myself. I know so much more about me than I know about the enigmatic city I love, which surprises me at every other block/avenue/dive bar I encounter.

Realizing my blogspot address was, in fact, very deceptive, I changed it to the following:

http://brightsybarite.blogspot.com.

bright –adjective

/braɪt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [brahyt]

1.	radiating or reflecting light; luminous; shining; quick witted or intelligent; clever or witty, as a remark; animated; lively; cheerful; characterized by happiness or gladness

Syb⋅a⋅rite –noun

  /ˈsɪbəˌraɪt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [sib-uh-rahyt ]

1.	a person devoted to luxury and pleasure.

So very apropos!