Month: November 2018
Descriptive Writing Vignette Collection
Likes and Dislikes
There are so many things I like, it would take an hour to list them all. I will be starting with small things like food. I prefer tartar sauce over most sauces anytime, even if tartar is generally associated with fish dishes. White chocolate is chocolate and that is a fact, nothing will change my mind. I really like prime numbers, the reason for it I am not exactly sure. Prime numbers are just so amazingly simple. I really like arranging my room so that I can grab whatever I need in a jiffy and still have a room that looks really simple with a lot of blank spaces, a whole lot of it. Crime and Deduction are my all time favourite genre, anything about Sherlock Holmes attracts me. I mean who doesn’t feel like a fool when listening to him deduce, but still admire him for his work. I am not really into socialising, but I love playing video games with my friends. The feeling of sweat dripping down your back in an air-conditioned room all because of the tension and excitement in the game is extraordinary. I have a weird passion of watching people cook, even if they are bad. The product is always so satisfying, and the best part about watching a video is, I don’t have to do it myself. Another one of my special hobbies is watching and spectating what others do, especially when they don’t notice me. I know it sounds creepy, but what I actually mean is how I get to know them better through watching how they interact with others without having me as a part of the conversation.
Now let’s start talking about stuff I don’t like, the reason behind it could be relatable, or it could be ridiculous. I can’t stand people that waste my time explaining their mediocre and boring points, I have to restrain myself to not be disrespectful every time I have to listen to these people. Let’s talk about something more relatable, seafood is just not for me. I can taste the slightest bit of odor in the food, and I am just disgusted by it. I especially hate chewy seafood. I have a specific phobia about birds as well, or just any feathery creature in general. They just seem really scary to me for no reason, and I get stressed every time I am near one. I get really angry when things that could be done more efficiently my way, is slowed down because some incompetent person screwed it up, and the sense of disappointment, annoyance is always strong. One of my most unique dislikes is someone messaging me just one “?”, alone by itself. It is just abnormally irritating and rage-inducing to me. In my opinion, that would be the video-game influence coming into play. If you made a questionable play or your team is just trying to be nasty then you would get a question mark, and trust me, it doesn’t help you keep a positive attitude.
I am going to wrap up for now on my likes and dislikes. I understand some of these are quite relatable and some are just strange, and it is only a part of what I like and dislike, but it is some of the most significant ones out of a great bundle of “likes and dislikes”.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
My Name
Many Chinese names contain sophisticated and complex aspirations, and has many forms that are pronounced the same, but not mine. Mine is simple, and to the point, just like my mother’s personality. Simple it maybe, but it contains so much excitement, anticipation, and the most common aspiration parents have for their children – to be safe.
The name “安达“ is actually quite interesting once I did a little bit more digging. A german philosopher chose the exact same characters for his Chinese name, and he even chose the same surname. My indian friends also told me that my name means egg in Hindi, which is quite ironic since I didn’t like eating eggs until I was 10 years old.
In Han, A branch of chinese ethnicity, there are rules to naming. Each generation has to have a certain character in the middle to indicate their age and how they should be treated. My parents and grandparents however, couldn’t care less about these rules. They just wanted my name to carry their best wishes for me.
I was born during midnight, in a hospital in Beijing. My father said the stress during the time between my first cry and seeing me made the sweat drench his shirt completely, then later the tears of joy blurred his eyes when he saw me. That stress and anxiousness was how my name came to be. “An” for the Chinese character “安“, meaning safety, and “Da” for the character “达”, meaning arrival.
These two characters are two rather common characters in the vast Chinese dictionary. Most of the children younger by 5 or 6 years of me have these popular poetic names, which in my opinion sound rather abstract. Even my brother’s name which is pretty unique, being the chinese word for new moon or crescent, has deep cultural symbols embedded in them. Compared to their names, mine is more realistic and practical, but I always valued my name greatly, it is a constant reminder for me of how much I mean to my parents, and their aspiration for me to pursue my dreams while the name I carry keeps me safe.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
A Classroom
Moving from one city to another would be challenging for most, and even more so to move from one country to another country. In my case, I moved from China, the country I lived in for 13 years, to Singapore. However a classroom changed that, a classroom thousands of miles away from both of the countries changed that, a classroom that I flew alone across the pacific ocean to study in for a summer camp changed that.
The classroom is a college classroom, but used for summer camp purposes. It is not decorated, the desks are askew and slightly chilly. I am there for Electrical Engineering, a class I have never learn in depth before. I am alone there, and the only thing I know for sure is I that will be there for 9 hours a day, for three weeks.
The jet lag was unimaginably painful for the first few days, and the embarrassment of accidentally falling asleep in class still makes me tremble till this day. The room seemed cold as well as the people, and the sunlight shining through the window helped not one bit.
After the third or fourth class, I started to realize that the only barrier of communication between me and them is me and my lack of motivation, and I have to eventually open up. So the occasional question asking turned into dormitory chats, then into casual lunch conversations. I made friends that helped me talk to others, and shared our common struggle in understanding the complex equations. All of this would have seemed surreal to me just a week ago. Maybe the Amps and Ohms were still a problem, at least it was a struggle I can share then resolve, and that beam of sunlight through the window was a pat on the back warmer and more welcoming than ever…
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
The Norse God in Red Robes
There are three bedrooms in my home in Singapore, and one of them is mine. That one room is filled with items that I brought to Singapore from Shanghai when I moved, one of the most important items being a Thor action figure. The action figure is overall well preserved despite the age with some minor scratches. Theses scratches are no imperfections, but evidence of how long I have had it by my side. The original golden paint for Thor’s hair and fearsome mustache has been more or less rubbed off, making his hair look brownish and stained, slightly aging this Norse god. He has a stern and determined expression, with eyes staring firmly in front as if he is declaring “the only way is forward!”.
His robe is “woven” with crimson rubber, after 5 years of aging, still sleek as ever. The armour wrapped around his arms, silver and shiny, exhibiting those magnificent muscles. His suit is blue rubber plated with silver armour, the details are still remarkably well preserved, giving the outfit a metallic bulky texture. I like to think of the scratches on these parts of the figure as scars from epic battles with supervillains. Red embroidery outlined his trousers to the boot, the tall black boots that helped him stand on the ground with unmatched power.
This figure was a gift from my mother, given to me when I first moved to Shanghai, it comforted me through the days when I had no friends because I was new, and I never neglected it. Everytime I look up at it on the shelf, a rush of emotions goes into my head. The awkward feeling of being the only one in the class that is new, the panic of running around to find the new classrooms, and the feeling of loneliness at the lunch table. However, there is also the feeling of excitement and cheerfulness when my mother handed me this action figure, and the feeling of pride when I made my first friend. This mini-Thor contains too much memory for me to simply leave it at the bottom of a drawer, or tucked away under a bed. Now that I am studying at a new school again, and meeting new people, this robed warrior just reminds me to keep my head up, and marvel at all the possibilities.