photo by Nicholas Leong of Green Edible Tomatoes, Singapore

1. I’m a Singaporean-born ethnic of Sumatran Chinese, Thai, Balinese, Javanese lineage
2. I was born in the month of November
3. I am a great fan of calamari, yes that edible sea creature
4. I have traveled and lived in 5 different continents of the world; 22 different countries
5. I used to dream of settling down in Nepal and build a house among the mountains
6. I windsurfed and swam a great deal of my youth in Southeast Asia
7. My mom used to say that if I do not know how to spin, knit or weave that no man will want to marry me
8. I beach bummed in Bali most of my youth
9. I have exhibited fine art photography and performed body movement in 7 different countries
10. My favorite subject in high school is World History
11. I taught in a Singapore-British high school education system for 3 years
12. I speak 6 different languages
13. I am 12 years younger than my dear husband but he behaves 12 years younger than me
14. I have worked for the top 20 news market in the USA

15. My husband is Irish-Italian American with a full-blown matriarchal Italian mom and a softspoken Irish dad
16. I am the proud mother of 2 lovely baby girls each of them is named after their maternal and paternal great grandmothers
17. My favorite Chinese cuisine is Singaporean Char Kuay Tiao and Hokkien Mee. Yum!
18. My favorite Indian cuisine is Singaporean Roti Prata with Fish curry Yum!
19. My favorite Indonesian cuisine is Gado-Gado and Satay Ayam More Yumm!
20. My favorite dessert is Ice Avocado; OK I probably need to get a plane ticket to Bali
21. I like my meat medium-rare. I used to like it well-done
22. My wedding band is a mokume-gane with a fusion of rose gold, titanium and yellow gold
23. I love Japanese people; I think they’re awesome. I have worked a lot with Japanese artists and dancers; I almost married one
24. I went through 16 years of Singapore-British education, 7 years of American tertiary and I have 4 different degrees

25. My favorite color is yellow because it’s cheery and makes me happy
26. I make a point to have a haircut whenever I am feeling unlucky
27. I crave and eat sushi when I was pregnant, both times
28. I have a Nikon F3, aBronica medium format, a Mamiya medium format and a large format Hassleblad…
29. I love shooting on an Ilford Pan50 and a Fuji Pan X 25 – rare and discontinued
30. I really think the best sandwiches are made in Singapore and sold by the Olio Dome cafe
31. As a true blue Singaporean I took great pride in being a citizen (however I am now a full-pledged American citizen); Singapore is top 1 in the Globalization Index and has the world’s best port and airline
32. Ok seriously I would love to one day own a farm I can call my own; which is kinda ironic because before I moved to the States I have been forewarned by my Singaporean gal friends that I may turn into a Dutch Lady, Amish or something
33. My father was a teacher with the Singapore-British education board and my mom owns a business
34. I used to date a US Marine and I have a lot of respect for the military
35. I grew up learning Balinese traditional dance and later trained with contemporary Japanese Butoh performers and contemporary dancers
36. Oh I love mushrooms in general, all kinds and shiitake especially except for the magic ones
37. I am drug free, alcohol free and smoke free and proud of it too
38. I never understand why chewing gum is so fun; probably because I originally came from a nation that bans them
39. I don’t like to label myself a liberal or a conservative in the American sense but rather enjoy the entertainment of seeing both groups insult each other
40. I would ask for spinning fiber as opposed to a diamond for a Valentine’s Day gift
41. My husband thinks I have the most quirkiest sense of humor; you can’t blame me for being exposed to British Black comedy for most of my life
42. I would like to go back in time to unravel the thoughts of British colonizers; I mean what were they thinking? The exotic east?
43. Oooh I haven’t mention this but I love Edward Said; I am a great fan of him; I would love to meet him in person one day; That would be such an honor!
44. My skin is naturally tanned after my Indonesian father, my mom thinks only fair-skinned girls like her are pretty
45. I love Siamese and Kucinta Singaporean drain cats; they have the most interesting personality
46. I have a 56 gallon freshwater aquarium filled with Severums and Parrot fishes; I think they’re awesome
47. One day I’d love to own a French or German Angora Rabbit; they are gorgeous and make great fiber source
48. My favorite drink is Sweet Port at Xmas
49. I hardly wear make-up except when I’m working.
50. I’d rather have no religious preference but I’d go to the Balinese temple in a heartbeat. They’re the most beautiful and cosmic.