Personality

Took a personality quiz at the NY Times. The only reason why I posted the result is because I love it so much. Here’s what it says:

You’re Culture Curious

Open-minded and inquisitive, you are the sort of person that likes to tackle problems head on, and you are not afraid to get your hands dirty in the process. You enjoy being really involved from the ground up, and love the sense of satisfaction that you get from seeing something through to completion. When all is said and done, you are a bit of an intellect with a tendency to do a spot of soul searching from time to time.

You’re sophisticated and inquisitive with a real passion for art and culture. You pride yourself on being an early adopter of the latest music and films and always like to have a good book on the go. Your ability to bring together very diverse and even dissenting opinions is rooted in your appreciation for all points of view. You believe in immersing yourself in interesting experiences that make you look at people, places and opportunities from new angles. Being sensitive and creative you want to feel connected to the world around you and actively seek out opportunities to explore it. It’s all about broadening your horizons and living life to the full. Anything else would not fulfill your curious nature. You’ll love the list of The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, the Critics’ Picks and Arts Beat.

Home

Who will walk with me under the trees in the afternoon, when I am fifty.
Whose presence calms me.
Who feels content in my company.
Who ignites my creativity.
Whose dreams parallel mine.
In him I will find home.

Gratefulness

I guess I should feel grateful that it is the lack of activity instead of lack of income that stressed me out more during the time of unemployment. Not that I don’t need any income. I’ve been eating into my savings these past two months but hey, at least I still have some savings to eat from. And I still have some high hopes that this will not last for a long time.

Cycling

I had dreamed of using bicycle for daily transportation since about ten years ago. I was always too afraid to do it back home. But I always know that it is what I want to do while living in Europe.

The first year, I lived in Sheffield. A northern English town that was said to be like Rome: Built on seven hills. Well, my house was on top of one of them. And even though they ride at the same side of th street with home, I doubt if I will be able to take my bike to the top of the hill. Besides, it was too cold for my tropical body. I remember I even gave up running on the street in the beginning of December because my lungs refused to breathe the chilly air. So, I did not have a bicycle in Sheffield.

In the summer, I moved to Paris. The city is flat, and we did have a bike garage in the apartment, so why should I have doubts? It will definitely be better than to cram in the stinking metro, right? Well… it is quite a big-ish city and difficult to navigate (at first). True, they have maps everywhere, but I guess at first I was taken aback by the language and the fact that they use the ‘other’ side of the street. And the roads are quite big, busy with cars, and they don’t have bicycle lane in all streets.

So I decided to give it a try with the velib. The street bike rental. I tried it with a friend, at 3am in the morning, when the metro did not run anymore. Fun.

But it was summer. And when school started and it got colder, the stinking metro started to have an appeal. My daily routine was to be in class 9 to 5, and school was 11 metro stops away from home, on the same metro line. Around 22 minute. Not bad at all.

I learned the route that I had to take, to go to school by bicycle. I had to cross the Seine, and there are two possible bridges to do it. One of them is a one-way street to the opposite direction. So it was not convenient. Once I cross the bridge, the easiest way is to follow the huge boulevards: Blvd de l’Hopital – Blvd Saint Marcel – Blvd de Port Royal – Blvd Montparnasse before turning into the small street where school is. Sounds easy? Well, in practice, I had to compete with buses. In these huge boulevards of Paris, somehow they decided to merge the bike lanes with the bus lanes. And at 8.30 in the morning, when the streets were busy, I found the rushing buses a bit intimidating.

However, I was determined that I can do it. A friend, who couchsurfed at my place at the time, came with me on my first week of not topping up the monthly Navigo card (the metro pass). We went by velib to my campus. I did not remember the way – not surprisingly – and we took the wrong turn, once. When we finally got into Blvd Montparnasse, I tried to speed up because I did not want to be late. When somebody else in front of my velib made a sudden stop at the red light (ok, I had to admit that I did not see that it was red. But it was only for pedestrian crossing – not an intersection – and there was nobody crossing the street. So technically we can go, right? Right?), I could not handle the bulky velib and did not manage to make a smooth stop, and I fell down. Ouch. The asphalt was wet and cold and hard, and my hip and elbow was hurting like hell. Thank God I was still able to get up and continue riding (when the light turned green).

It was not a massive accident, but enough to put me off the velib. Since then, I stuck to the stinking metro and only used the velib on the nights out when I went home way after the last metro.

In December, I went to visit my best friend in Copenhagen. She took me on hardcore bike ride everyday, in the middle of heavy snowing. It was nice because of the convenient bicycle lanes, that were snowblowed every morning so we did not have to slide and skid in the thick snow. To be honest, that experience helped to convince me that my body can endure even the coldest snow day on the bicycle. My desire to have a bicycle grew even stronger.

I finally got my bicycle in the next city. Before moving to Grenoble, wikipedia told me that it is a bicycle-friendly city. So I was determined: “This is it! I’m gonna get me a bike!”

I found a studio through the internet, and upon visiting the girl who was moving out offered me to take her bike as well, if I want it. Yeay! She sold me her bike and TV and mirror, and I think it was a good offer. So, even though I ended up not liking the studio and now living someplace else, I have a bike!

It is indeed nice to bike around Grenoble. The streets are flat, the city is small, and people are extremely friendly. All cars give way to bicycles, even when we’re riding on the street without a bike lane. My internship place is a bit out of town, and the bicycle lane extends even further. They even have signs to prioritize bikers than cars. As if it’s not enough reason to bike, the weather got better and better. It rarely rained in February, and by the end of March it was already close to 20 degrees. Now I can’t think of how life would be like without the bike. Must be miserable

Everyday beauty

I found beauty in everyday life. Mostly it comes in the form of nature, or human behavior.
The color of the sky at sunset. The blooming flowers in the garden.
Or like last Sunday, on the way to the market. Two passers-by helped a lady who had car problems. People in cars giving way for bicycle riders in intersections and roundabouts. The fruit vendor that smiles at you as you pass by their shop. The bakery guy that gives you a discount

Impulse

A few days back I was reminded of my ENFP potentials. I embraced it warmly. As if I was brought back on track, from wherever I’ve been drifting, trying to believe that I want something – and ignoring my deepest desires.
Since then, I listened more to myself, my thoughts, my heart. I talk to myself and be honest. I was encouraged to follow my dreams and believe in my spontaneity. And I am happier. And I hope it is for the better.

Dream

Since the second half of last year, I have had dreams in which I was a different character other than myself. Most of the time I was a male. The last one involves me being a twelve year-old boy being chased by a bad guy. Weird, even though some googling told me that I’m not the only one experiencing dreams of being someone else.
Now I’m not a superstitious (most of the time :p) but I do like to know how to interpret dreams. I think it is how my subconscious told my conscious mind about what’s going on with me. Therefore it got me super curious about this whole changing character while dreaming thing.
My latest theory is that it may have something to do with the fact that this year I am experiencing something new, exploring new possibilities, even considering a turn in career altogether. Either subconsciously I am not ready for it, or subconsciously I know that it is not actually for me. I’m not sure which one. But it is true that after finding an opportunity which seems to be in line with what I have always been wanting last week, I start to dream as myself again. And now I really hope I will get that opportunity! Fingers crossed. And pray. Everything is as God wills.