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Kiwi-esque: odd, prickly, tart and sweet.

***Happy 2009 and Year of the Water Buffalo soon! My resolutions: 1) Sleep more, 2) Master my toe edge, 3) Stalk the Kogi BBQ taco truck, 4) Brainstorm a kick-ass blog :) ***

Online dating has allowed me to explore some new experiences with interesting people. Firsts for me: riding a Segway, Vietnam, surfing, Hawaii, bouldering, snowboarding, real snowfall, Thai massage (receiving) and other stuff not to be mentioned online :)

Quick facts: Vietnamese by blood, born in Japan, raised in Houston, TX.

I'm not simple and I think that trying to categorize people as just one thing (sporty, nerdy, homebody) is too narrow. I'm just a bunch of contrasts ... but who isn't?

I'm obsessed with food. My adventurous palate means I'm not squeamish or too picky. I've tried (and sometimes liked) organ meats, ants, crickets, durian, scorpion, balut. But I'm just as likely to crave an In 'N' Out burger, a Jamba Juice or a red velvet cupcake. I love to marry my love of food with travel, experiencing another culture in the most basic and satisfying way and perhaps getting a bit scraped up in the process.

I like to stay active or get outdoors (but I'm not an athlete). My latest activities are the gym (yawn), yoga (om), hiking (yea) and learning snowboarding (yikes). Up next to try: wakeboarding, scuba, skiing. Oh yeah, I started biking with my brother during my last vacation, so perhaps there's a shiny new bike somewhere in my future.

I also adore animals (And yet, I'm not a vegetarian. Go figure.), domesticated or otherwise. Sometimes it's easier to communicate with them. Don't get me wrong: I'm still pro-human. I'm here after all. Humans can be very cool sometimes, like when they created words. I'm a bit of a word nerd and like reading, puns, crossword puzzles, palindromes (Wonton? Not now.) ... just tasting words.

Besides movies, I'm always up for any museum (art, history, science, media) and am sad I missed the nude photography exhibit at the Getty but caught the Japanese art at the LACMA. Live music: a local bar/lounge or the Hollywood Bowl with a bottle of good wine. Love most live theatre.

Chivalry and flowers are much appreciated, but romance to me is more personalized: random gifting, comfort-intensity, scratching their head in just the right spot, sappy text messages, silly insults and drive-by kissing.

I'm mainly a tomboy and quiet feminist (until you get me started), but I can be such a girl sometimes. I keep my hair long, have way too many pairs of shoes, like how I look in lipstick, swoon for "Pride & Prejudice" and enjoy being affectionate/adventurous with the right guy.

My family is in Houston, so every visit home is a somewhat repressed/genuinely loving reunion filled with food. My brothers (one 1.5 years older and my twin) are responsible for my tomboyishness and appreciation for things like The Transformers, H.P. Lovecraft and a well-honed blade. We'll get together with my numerous cousins (thanks Facebook) each year to make fun of each other and play Taboo, Rock Band and more recently, Wii!!

I write stuff online and wonder of wonders, get paid for it. I love the flexibility since I can work from anywhere, but I am slowly working on eventually leaving "the man" to do more creative writing that will frustrate and fascinate me with its ever-changing challenges.

Personally, I'm always seeking out novelty. If I'm visiting a new city, I want to do, see, experience, eat what's local. I'll often try new activities, whether or not I'd be good at it. Naturally, with this mindset, travel is the best way to find new things, so ideally, I'd like to combine this with my vocation.

I'm an over-analyzer. I can't help it. But that means I try not to have knee-jerk reactions or snap judgments ... or if I do, I'll reconsider my actions later. Truly.

The other upside of this is that I'm interested in almost everything as long as it's presented well. I adore literature, science, human interest, animals, etc. I don't care for sports stats and following pro teams, but if someone were to tell me a quirky fact -- like the hockey fans throwing octopi upon the ice -- I'll be fascinated and want to learn more.

Other things I'm good at: insomnia, wordplay, playing devil's advocate, power yoga, eating more than people expect (!), questioning everything, remembering pet names and other minutiae, finding unexplained bruises on me, delayed gratification, reading rapidly, thinking outside the box, saying "yes" or "why not" to new experiences.

Once people realize I'm female, short and Asian, they let their guard down since I seem rather innocuous. More fools they!

Since I'm comfortable in most situations, have a curious mind and am fairly articulate, I guess the first impression would be that I'm a decent and rather enthusiastic conversationalist (as long as I'm not too tired).

Other things to notice: I don't laugh politely at jokes I don't find particularly funny (rude, I know!); I like to sit with my legs up cross-legged or folded up; If possible or appropriate, I'll take off my shoes for maximum comfort!

I'm a lifetime bookworm who is at home in any library/bookstore, feels panicky if I don't have a book/magazine on the plane and have stayed up many nights to finish books even though I had to wake early in the morning!

Stuff I read: non-fiction books that analyze specific scientific things like "Stiff," "Salt," "Spook," "Animals in Translation" or social things like "Japanamerica"; science fiction/fantasy/supernatural novels, fun Charlaine Harris mysteries and food culture books like "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles"; Anthony Bourdain's non-fiction; young adult and children's novels; the Trader Joe's frequent flyer; my AAA travel magazine; online news; whatever I can get my hands on

**Some other favorites: Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness"; Jane Austen; Raymond E. Feist's trilogy on the other side of the Rift; almost anything by Robin McKinley; earlier Anne McCaffrey; Janet Kagan's "Mirabile" (a subgenre of sci fi I like apparently has to do with colonizing new planets and the curious biological challenges involved); "Ender's Game"; Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan series; Roald Dahl!!!

Stuff I watch: indie/cheesy/bad films as well as blockbusters (comedy/action/historical/martial arts); Some favorites: original Willy Wonka, Cinema Paradiso, Brazil, Hitchcock films, His Girl Friday, '30s-'40s screwball comedies, Waitress, You Got Served, Tampopo, Chung King Express, Raising Arizona, Gosford Park, Wallace & Gromit movies, Strictly Ballroom, Jimmy Stewart's Capra films,Kung Fu Hustle, 28 Days Later, the new Pride & Prejudice, Casino Royale (Daniel Craig)

On TV: Food Network; Animal Planet; Dexter; Pushing Daisies; Bravo cable shows like Top Chef and Project Runway; Discovery Channel (Deadliest Catch, Man vs. Wild, Dirty Jobs); dance shows; unusual medical condition shows, National Geographic's In the Womb series, No Reservations, Bizarre Foods, Chuck, Curb Your Enthusiasm

Music: Indie/alternative rock (Foo Fighters, Muse, Interpol, Feist, MGMT); standards; jazz; hip-hop; Elvis Costello; Aimee Mann; Ennio Morricone; the occasional showtune

Food: I eat darn near everything, so this is what I don't consume -- bananas & pineapple (allergies), coffee, sweet mixed with my savory, wet BBQ (dry is okay), iced tea, coconut meat (the milk in soups or curries are fine), most fast food (but I'll eat their slow food equivalents!)

More food: My favorites - olive oil gelato; Mozza nettle pizza; Tom Ka Gai soup; laksa, Vietnamese eggrolls, springrolls and banh cuon; pork belly skewers; Baja fish tacos; pupusas; saag paneer; chicken tikka masala; Peruvian; tapas; good sangria; seafood gumbo; ribeye medium rare; pomegranate juice; sea urchin shooters; hamachi tataki; stuff with lime ...

Ignoring the obvious and going with the spirit of the question:

1. My imagination/sense of whimsy
2. Dark chocolate (around 72 % bittersweet -- like me!)
3. Darkness - in all senses
4. Sensuality - as simple as feeling a nice breeze when I'm at the beach all the way up to more complex ways of stimulating the senses
5. Animals
6. Outlet for my creativity - journal, laptop, camera, pad and pen, OKCupid!!! :)

Err, at the risk of sounding repetitive, I obsess about food !!!

Also: people and psychology, violent fantasies, writing, men, how to improve myself, "what ifs," sex, mortality, taming the pack rat in me, how things tick, how I tick, alternate realities

Third-life crisis stuff: Leaving my job to find a bigger challenge and get closer to working for myself; moving to Texas to be nearer to my family; wondering if living in LA with all its diversity, food diversity, wonderful weather, access to surf/snowboard/hike has spoiled me for living anywhere else; thinking maybe my urge to move has something to do with the imminent Big One

Where to go now that I've found my passport

If I'm at home: being super lazy and selfish by vegging on the couch reading/catching up on TV or perhaps a slumber party with friends (such as a_daisy where we watch a really bad DVD that we rewind constantly b/c we're making loud comments over the dialogue

If I'm out: Miscellaneous date; dinner & movie; heading out of town; dancing; karaoke; pub/bar; something new suggested by a friend

Also, if I'm visiting Houston, I can often be found drinking margaritas with mariposa_wings.

I'm going a little stir crazy in this country and have been itching to go to Nicaragua or Costa Rica for some surf. Can't afford it at this time though, so I've been focusing on improving my career to better facilitate this restless jet-setting.

******
Oh, and also I was the WORST. GIRL SCOUT. EVER.

You're willing to take a chance on my bluntness. I just don't want miscommunication, so if I'm interested -- great and woo hoo! And if I'm not, I'll tell you ... ever so politely of course!

So it's all been me, me, me so far. That's because I've had my whole life to study me. You, on the other hand, are a mystery. This is what I imagine though:

You don't have a temper, but feel passionate about several things in life like family, art, a point of view. You're quick to smile about random things, even your own thoughts, and although you're not an Eeyore, you're not a Tigger either. You're VERY brainy and can make mental leaps with me. A fellow traveler, a lifetime questioner, a joker, a whimsy-seeker, a hard worker, a kind and generous spirit, an adventurer, a true blue friend/family member, a teacher and student, a person who oozes integrity.

I know it's a cliche, but the right sense of humor is very, very important to me. It's a kaleidoscopic thing that can be high-brow or low- depending on my degree of silliness, irreverence or subversiveness at the moment. If you've ever laughed out loud at KCRW or giggled at a punny joke, this just might work out. Surprise me.