Strength and Honor

7. things i like and things i don’t like about the way i look.

Things I like: Honestly there’s not much I’m super stoked about necessarily, but I’ve had others note particular features so I guess I can feel a little comfortable ish about these facets of my looks: My eyes (yay for slightly larger eyes?), above average height (at least, for an asian male), my tan (unless you subscribe to the bleach white sect of beauty standards), my soft hair (when it doesn’t have stuff in there) and my calves (heck yeah for dancing and lax I guess =p)? 

Things I don’t like: Wish I was taller by a couple more inches, a little more built (so hard to put on muscle on my frame -__-“), my hunch-y posture, and my super high arches on my feet. 

19. press ctrl v and post.

Bahaha all that shows up is question #25 since I’ve been copying and pasting these questions before going through them. Sorry to disappoint if you were expecting anything interesting. =p 

25. story of my first kiss?

Ok kids, sit on down cause this story is a little long. Back in the days of high school, senior prom was approaching and there was nary a date in sight for me. At the time I wasn’t locked onto any one person given the fairly tumultuous events my senior year of HS so I didn’t even have an inkling of where to start or who to pursue. I turned to one of my closest female friends at the time, Sarah B, for some consultation and to see what options were on the table. 

Over the course of senior year our IB crew had been holding regular movie nights, usually of the scary movie variety (probably where my deep-seated love of horror movies stems from), and we had visitors drop in and out of them with regularity. Of course, one of the visitors was someone I found super cute and endearing who also happened to be one of Sarah’s friends from drama/theater. 

After some discussion and probing/recon on her part, I got a green light from Sarah to pursue this lead out myself. Given that I didn’t want prom to be my first time getting to know her, I figured I’d ask her out on a date to the soccer game versus one of our rival high schools, Arapahoe High School. I had no freaking clue what to expect since it was my first date *EVER* and I was flummoxed beyond belief how to proceed. Alas. Onwards regardless. I called Amy up and we agreed to meet at the gate into the stadium on Friday night and we’d just roll from there. 

Friday night rolls in and I roll over to the stadium. It’s a little chilly but nothing too bad as I was wearing shorts as usual (side note#1: I used to be of the mindset that I wore shorts as long as it was above freezing during that time of year, which has led to plenty of odd looks and bewilderment on the part of friends and strangers alike…leading to one of my old nicknames, mountain trash =p). We meet at the gate and I’m likely a flustered, bumbling fool…cause well, cute girls are kinda kryptonite. =X 

We settle in to the game and it’s cold so of course she has a blanket (the girl was smart and came prepared…major points in my book :D)… So we huddle under this pocket of warmth and gradually drift closer and closer; I have no idea if this was conscious effort or not on my part, but I’m sure I was mildly freaking out mentally (what do you expect from a total cheeseball dork?). I don’t even remember details from the game because of course my entire attention is focused on Amy and enjoying her company and getting to know her. At some point we start holding hands and it’s like incoherency on the inside. Mind whirling under a surprisingly calm and composed exterior. I guess I sort of have a knack, for better or worse, of hiding my feelings for everyone’s sake. I basked in the happiness of having one of the best evenings in my life up to that point (after all, what other milestones did I have by then? Winning math competitions/awards? Getting admitted to college early decision? Attending a life-changing peer counseling/leadership retreat? All amazing experiences but a very short list in that regard). 

The evening winds down and I realize that we were to part ways soon. To compound the situation, I was disappearing off to New Haven for Yale’s admitted students weekend, Bulldog Days, that evening (yay for redeyes… -__-“) so I wouldn’t see her or likely talk to her until mid-next week when I returned (side note#2: so begins my continued on-going luck/curse of falling for someone/having something happen with someone a)long distance, b) in a relationship (that I find out later about), c) in a complex relationship with (e.g., best friend’s ex, someone I work with in one capacity or another), or d) some combination of the previous). The game finishes and everyone starts leaving the stadium. We linger, longer than normal people might, and enjoy the moment of peace to ourselves. Of course, seconds into our moment of peace my Dad calls letting me know he’s in the parking lot waiting for me so we can head to the airport. I hang up and look over. Smitten. What a total sap and cheeseball. o_O *shakes his head* We lock eyes and pause. My heart’s racing and I feel impetuous, so I ask. Call me old fashioned, call me antiquated, call me ridiculous but I felt like I had to ask: “Can I kiss you?” Her eyes light up and I know her answer before the words leave her mouth. “Yes!” All I remember is fireworks going off in my head, an eternity and a flash of time encapsulated in a single embrace. We slowly pull back, me with undoubtedly a sheepish grin plastered all over my face, and I bid her adieu before racing up the steps to meet my father for a whirlwind weekend traveling and exploring, mind torn between the amazing beauty in front of me and the crackling happiness of that Friday evening. 

Told you it was a long story. Apologies for the sheer amount of cheese and ridiculousness. =p