Five Things You Didn't Know About Me ~ Installment #1

This will likely be the first of many installments, but here we go ...

1) I COULDA BEEN A CRYSTAL. 

My parents wanted to name me Crystal, after Crystal Gale. I'm SO glad they didn't -- that name has always sounded sorta ... stripperish to me. Sorry if your name is Crystal, I'm sure you're not a stripper. Or are you? Hmmmm.....

 In case you didn't know who Crystal Gale was ...

But instead of crowning me with a stripper-life fate, they decided to do what many Filipino parents are oh so very fond of -- the mixed name combo. Mom's name is Mary, Dad's name is Sam -- hence the MarieSam (pronounced MarySam). Ah yes, as if the combo name wasn't enough, they got creative and changed the spelling up too. Kinda like how people do the name Marcus, Markus, Marquis, Marques = hilarious!!!

PS - As a toddler, I looked like I had no chance of growing up cute, my parents wont admit it, but I'm sure they were worried. Example ...

2) I HAVE A DEFORMITY.

I have a permanently broken/deformed right pinky finger, and ironically my daughter has one too!!

I don't know how my finger came to be like this, my Grandma used to joke with me and say she sat on it when I was little thus breaking it. But I never knew if she was joking or being truthful because she always chuckled right after she said it. Nevertheless, it's my flaw and I have embraced it. Although I will say that it has prevented me from learning how to do a cartwheel or handstand ... or at least that's what I'm gonna say, lol.

As for Chey, she broke her right finger in elementary school during recess. It was a freak accident, but we had a splint put on it, by her Pepa (Tommy's dad) and it healed just fine, except now it's a little  crooked and looks like mine, although not as bad. Strange right?

3) I WAS A DANCING QUEEN. FOR REAL.

For about 9 years when I was a kid I took ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, and hip-hop lessons and I was freakin good *HOLLA* I competed every year with my dance group -- Chorus Line Dance Studio -- and won more than 30 trophies. We also did yearly productions at the auditorium at Long Beach Jordan High School and I'd invite all my friends and family to come watch me. I began performing at such a young age, I had to learn how to do my makeup and hair because my mom couldn't always attend my competitions. So you could pretty much say I've been doing hair/makeup since I was about 7, hence my love for cosmetics and other beauty products!

My ballet/pointe teacher was Anne Demko and she was a professional ballerina who mingled with the likes of other well-known performers. One year we did the Goblin King as a ballet production and I played the lead role. She said she showed the tape to her friend, David Bowie, and he thought I was beautiful and loved me as a dancer. I never knew if she was telling the truth, but I decided to go ahead and believe her because it just tickled my fancy :)

And oh yes, there are pictures. Here are just a few of the lost archives.

 

OMG, yes I totally thought I was sexy here!!! Look, I even signed the damn thing, HA!

4) I COULD HAVE DONE A DUET WITH STEVE URKEL.

Aside from being a dancer growing up, I also played ... wait for it ... wait for it ... the accordion. Oh yes, I played the nerdiest instrument known to mankind!!!

I have not a clue how my parents got me into playing this thing, but one day somebody came to the house and gave me a lesson and the rest was history. I played for about five years and I was pretty good whenever I'd actually sit down and practice. But alas, I hated practicing! The instrument was heavy as can be and I would have rather been dancing. Nevertheless, my group won lots of competitions and one year I even placed 2nd runner up in a largest accordion competition on the West Coast. It was held at the Hyatt Hotel at LAX every year and the first year I totally bombed. The next year is when I placed and my parents were overjoyed. I was a bit proud too especially because I HATED the instrument, lol.

On a side note, I still have my accordion and Tommy begs for me to whip it out now and then. I still remember a couple of things, but it'll probably take a few lessons for me to become fluid at it again. But don't hold your breath, I have no desire to revive my life as the female version of Steve Urkel, lol.

And here's yet another accordion pic during my pre-teen fugly era. I can't believe I'm really posting this, WOW.

5) I AM TOTAL CHICKEN $HIT.

I'm afraid of scary movies and suspense material, and I mean, hide under a blanket or my jacket when I'm watching them scared.

I never understood why my friends growing up always wanted to rent scary movies during slumber parties, but they did and I hated it. I've never really been able to overcome this fear, perhaps it's because I have an overactive imagination and begin to think that the scary characters or occurrences I see in the film will carry over into real life. The last scary movie I watched was "The Ring" and I am still convinced one of these nights that scary little chick is gonna walk outta my TV screen and eat me.

In the late 80s, I remember watching "Pet Semetery" with my accordion group, ironically, and I almost peed in my pants in the theater. For the next two years I was convinced Zelda -- the skeleton/ghoulish sister with the jacked up back who was locked up in a room -- was living in our guest room, which had a bed that was empty but no one slept in there. It was awful and sometimes I still have flashbacks of her face *EEKKKK*

Admittedly, I am still chicken $hit to this day and my threshold for watching scary stuff is limited to the show "Criminal Minds". Yeah, even that crap scares me. I recently sat through a Criminal Minds  marathon and I am thoroughly convinced that anyone who looks at me sideways is a freakin serial killer!!!

Ok enough about me for now ~ do you still think of me the same way?