Clare Henney: 100 Things

I remember most bloggers had this kind of entry back in the day so I thought, why not do it with this blog? I hope this helps you guys know a little more about me apart from my entries. This is a work in progress…hopefully next time you come back I have added more or completed the list!

  1. I’m left-handed. 
  2. I’m an Ate (older sister in Tagalog): I have three younger sisters and a younger half-brother.
  3. Dance is something that I love like crazy. Watching people dance, admiring choreography, being a fan of some amazing dancers and all that is something I enjoy. If I had an opportunity to do so, I’d still be taking dance classes myself. Thank goodness for Masterclass on DS2DIO on YouTube.  I have also been known to break into a silly dance or two just to break the monotony of a moment. Lol!
  4. My father passed away suddenly in 2010. I miss him constantly. I think you never really get over the loss; you just learn to move on in spite of it.
  5. My taste in music is pretty eclectic. Depending on my mood I like to listen to a wide range of music: classical, pop, reggae, rock, Broadway, alternative, country, rap/hip-hop and R&B. I can listen to just about everything except Death Metal (sorry, I draw the line there).
  6. I dream of being a writer/novelist one day ala Melissa dela Cruz and Meg Cabot. It’s been a dream since I was a little girl. I have drafts lying around that haven’t finished – mostly because I am afraid that people would hate it. Hopefully I can have the guts to put my work (my babies) out there one day and make this dream happen.
  7. I used to be a cheer dancer in college. I say dancer because I could never do the death-defying stunts that cheerleaders do these days. My parents would have killed me if I tried.
  8. I think it’s a given that I love Filipino food, but I also love Mexican (enchiladas, I love them…super), Japanese and Korean food.
  9. I have a weird laugh. If you make me laugh and I go on ROFL mode, expect me to be shaking like crazy and not making a sound to the point where I lose my breath. THAT is how I laugh.  It’s sad because it really doesn’t take much to make me laugh and I end up looking like I’m having an asthma attack because of it. My sisters have teased me about that a lot, lol (hmm, may I shouldn’t use LOL that much considering I rarely do that in real life, haha).
  10. I love coffee.  I grew up staying with my paternal grandmother a lot and she was a coffee lover herself and that got me started on it.  Which leads me to…
  11. I dream of owning a coffee shop where all the coffee is sourced from here in the country (Barako coffee!) and all the food served will be Filipino inspired.
  12. It should be no surprise since I love coffee that I also love Coke. It’s another bad habit I got from childhood because my dad used to have it around the house all the time.  Everyone in my family, even my cousins, know how much I am addicted to it.  Thank goodness they have Light and Zero versions now (though I prefer the original, for health reasons I often opt for Zero).  I try not to have it as often as I used to though.  But if you offer me some, I doubt if I’d say no.
  13. I love taking pictures.  I don’t want to call myself a photographer because I don’t consider myself one but I just love taking photos of people and places that interest me.  I own a decent enough camera (a Sony NEX-C3) and I’ve won a couple of photo competitions but I still think I’m more on an enthusiast as opposed to a legit photographer.  I don’t use fancy equipment or think about the technical things like aperture and focal points and all that stuff.  I like to watch, observe and then click and shoot.  If I get great photos from it that’s enough for me.
  14. Another thing I picked up from my father is that I love to sing.  Whether or not I’m good at it is up to you guys to decide when you hear it. My father was a really good singer and he always encouraged me and my sisters to sing with all the music he constantly played at home and the videos of musicals that he bought for us.  Even with my father gone, my sisters and I still love to get together and sing on the videoke for fun.  It’s something I think he left us that we will always share together.
  15. My favorite thing to eat for a meal is chicken.  If you ask me randomly what I’d like to eat it will definitely involve some chicken. 
  16. As long as it doesn’t involve floods, damage to homes, etc., I love rain.  I love the rainy season more than the summer.  I’d only love summer if it means being near the water 24/7 so I can swim and cool off anytime.
  17. I’m a flip-flops kind of girl.  I enjoy being girly and wear heels or ballerina flats and all that when I can (and when I should), but for the most part I love being in flip-flops.  
  18. I think it’s also my love for being laid-back in flip-flops that attracted me to yoga because you’re barefoot when you work out.  I’ve tried just about everything: weight training, Taebo, aerobics, martial arts, circuit training, Pilates and just about every workout fad out there (OK fine, except Crossfit) but I always go back to yoga.  I’m in love with yoga because it works out the body and the mind.  I may not be perfect with my moves just yet but as Jillian Michaels said, “it’s not about perfection, it’s the journey.”  
  19. I wear the rattiest, oldest clothes when I’m at home.  When my father was alive he threatened to throw out my clothes so I’d stop wearing them because he said they looked like rags.  My family doesn’t get it and they don’t agree with it.  I like wearing worn out, ratty and sorta old stuff because they’re the most comfy for me. It’s hard to explain why.  I have newer stuff but I feel like they’re not worn out enough so I don’t like wearing them at home.  I even cut up some of my shorts just so they’d feel worn out enough for me to want to wear.  Weird huh?
  20. I enjoy reading.  As a child I had to wear glasses because I kept reading even when the sun was down.  My grandmother had to be the one to switch the lights on because I wouldn’t want to stop reading to do it.  I’m not as addicted to reading as I was back then but I still enjoy reading a good book when I can.  
  21. One of my biggest frustrations is the arts.  I took visual arts classes in high school and had the arts as one of my two degrees from college.  I’ve always been fascinated by the arts: particularly paintings, drawings and all the like. At one point I dreamed of being a museum curator so I could be around works of art.  I also dabbled in drawing and painting (I still do sometimes) but I can’t really say I have much talent in it.  Still, I enjoy drawing/painting when I can, but these days I just do it to de-stress.  I find it very therapeutic.
  22. The tendency to wear my heart of my sleeve is my biggest flaw…and according to some, also my biggest asset.  If you are someone I care about, I can be your biggest supporter.  Even if you mess up, it takes very little for me to forgive you.  In Tagalog, I’m the type “na di makatiis, pusong mamon kasi.”  It doesn’t take much to tug at my heartstrings.  I even cry when I watch touching scenes in movies, even cartoons…I even cry when someone gets picked on The Voice during the auditions!  And I can’t look at TV/movie shows where there are scenes where the character will be embarrassed — I literally cannot look because I feel for the person (even if he/she is a fictional character).  That’s how much of a sap I am!
  23. Like everyone else in my family, I prefer the pool to the beach.  Don’t get me wrong, I love going to the beach and enjoy just sitting around near the water and all but I would not want to swim there.  I prefer pools for that.  I think it’s a combination of my fear of open water and having sand in my clothes that make me feel that way.  
  24. As a child I was sick all the time.  Asthma, allergies, heart problems, eyesight problems, vertigo, digestive issues…the list goes on an on.  It got to the point where I was already used to people poking me with needles or sticking monitoring devices to my body.   Thankfully I am healthier now that I am older and hopefully now that I had surgery for my thyroid, I will be able to live the rest of my life healthy.
  25. I’m a sucker when it comes to my niece and my nephew (edit— and another new nephew).  They are the loves of my life.  I do what I can to make and keep them happy when they’re around — even if it means having my hair all tangled as my niece tries to braid it or having to pretend wrestle my nephew when he jumps on my back to play with me.  Yes, I am that kind of aunt.
  26. The sight of blood makes me weak.  I have no problems with needles and I’ve even had surgery but the sight of blood itself (even fake ones on movies and TV) makes me feel like I’m going to faint.