Your Writer, Revamped

I call myself The Reason You Come on this site and on some social networking sites. It’s an ego thing.

I’m the author of this site, by the way.

I have 5 tattoos, pierced ears, and a pierced navel.

My real name is Russelle Anne.

You can call me Russ.

Foreign people think it’s weird that a girl who is not a lesbian is called Russ. Filipinos don’t see it as a big deal since I’m not the only female Russ in the country.

I used to not like my name. Now, I think it’s a cool name.

I will not give away my surname on this site, unless I change my mind…which could be any second from now…

I change my mind a lot, although my fickleness seems to be fading as I get older.

Speaking of older…I’m 32 years old, although I haven’t accepted that fact yet. In fact, I still haven’t accepted the fact that I am in my 30’s.

I don’t think I will ever get accustomed to the fact that I am in my 30’s.

On second thought, I’ll probably accept the fact that I am in my 30’s when I turn 40.

I’m an only child and a spoiled brat. I resent, however, that I am not as spoiled as I used to be.

I don’t act like a brat most of the time. I can hide it well. My bratinella personality only shows up around a select few.

I have no idea how my subconscious selected the abovementioned select few. Nor am I in the mood to analyze my subconscious’ decision-making process.

I’m vain.

I love myself. I don’t think I have ever met anyone I love more than I love myself.

That being said, I love the idea of loving someone else besides myself.

When I was 21, a friend told me that my favorite hobby seemed to be falling in love. At 32, I think I can conclude that he was right.

My favorite hobby, it seems, is falling in love.

At 21, I eloped with my boyfriend at the time. It didn’t last.

I am, in general, considered a nice person. This opinion, I have never been able to understand. My parents know I am not really nice. My best friends know I am not really nice, but they still love me; that’s why they’re my best friends. A couple of my exes think I am anything but nice.

Still, the general consensus is that “Russ is a very nice and friendly person.” So be it.

One of my greatest fascinations in life is the English language. I fell in love with it when I was 4. I never stopped.

I read a lot, although not as much as I used to.

I don’t read the news, though.

I mostly read fiction.

And I don’t read medical books, which are probably what I should be reading whenever I get the chance to read.

My favorite book of all time is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

I love detective stories and anything that involves suspense, murder, and mystery.

I am the only person I know who reads the dictionary for fun.

When I read other people’s blogs, articles, email, and even text messages, the first thing I check is their grammar.

I am a stickler for detail when it comes to grammar, punctuation, spelling, and diction.

I am very articulate, and I’m damn proud of it.

According to the IQ tests I have taken in my lifetime, I have a superior IQ.

There are times when I can’t believe that I have a superior IQ.

Superior IQ notwithstanding, I tend to act really dumb sometimes. Believe me, I do.

If I were to choose between intelligent and smart as a way to describe my brain, I would probably go with intelligent.

Okay, it’s settled then. I’m intelligent, but I’m not smart.

I have relatively no sense of direction, and this puzzles most of my friends, especially when they consider the fact that I’ve been driving since I was 17.

In my own not-so-humble opinion, I”ve gotten pretty good at  parallel parking.

I write poetry.

I wish I had written Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten.

I have always said that my ambition in life is to be filthy rich. As it turns out, that doesn’t seem to be true. My ultimate goal in life is, apparently, to be completely and perfectly happy.

I am an imperfect person who seems to believe that she can find perfection in this utterly imperfect world.

I am a cynic one moment, a hopeless romantic the next. I am an idealist who gets jaded every other day.

I am a drama queen one minute, and stoic the next.

A man once told me that I am a tough one to figure out. I don’t agree with him.

I have always felt that I will not die young. I’m not sure whether or not I’d rather die young, though.

I use the words “though” and “rather” a lot.

When I was a kid, I was accident-prone.

My first accident was at the age of 4, when a car hit me. I just got bruises on my knee; I don’t think I was wounded at all. My yaya got a lot of scolding, though, from both my mom and the driver of the car that hit me.

When I was 6, I fell down a long staircase. I incurred no concussion, but they had to stitch the wound on my head. I still have a scar on my head.

My third major accident happened when I was 9. I crashed into a sliding glass door. Again, the only wounded part of my body was my knee. I still have the scar to show for it, too. My knee, it seems, was meant to bear the brunt of the effects of my mishaps.

In the interim (between the first and second accidents and the second and third accidents), I had minor mishaps like falling down a hill, slipping on the pathway leading to our gate, spraining my ankle while walking, etc.

I was a very sickly child, too. I was always in the hospital with pneumonia. I also had dengue (the hemorrhagic stage) and typhoid fever.

I’m still alive…and not sickly anymore.

I’m not accident-prone anymore, either. I’m crossing my fingers that I will remain accident-free till I’m 95.

I curse like a sailor. People’s eyes widen whenever they hear me curse like a sailor because I do not look like someone who curses like a sailor.

My favorite profanity of all time is Fuckshit! (yes, the two profanities combined)

I have dextroscoliosis. According to my former CI, it’s probably not severe because I feel no pain.

I have 3 best friends: Gigi, Ivy, and Ice. Belle is in the running to become the fourth.

My dream is to travel around the world. I want to visit all the countries on this planet (okay, maybe not Iraq, Rwanda, the Congo, Darfur, North Korea, and Iran).

I have been to different places in the US – Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, Utah, Arizona, Washington DC, Virginia, Florida, and New York.

My favorite city is New York City.

In the Philippines, I have vacationed in Tagaytay, Batangas, Bulacan, Laguna, Clark, Subic, Baguio, Boracay, Cebu, and Bohol.

I’m going to Donsol in April to swim with the butandings. I am über excited about it!

I am addicted to the camera. I’ll pose anytime and anywhere. Shove a camera in my face, and I’ll stop whatever it is I’m doing and just pose.

I have a relatively nice singing voice. I’m not a belter, but my tone is pleasant enough.

I have a good speaking voice, too. I’d probably make a good newscaster.

I went to college three times and have two degrees to show for it.

What I REALLY wanted to major in, though, was Broadcast Communication or English, since that was where my talents lay (and still lie). That was also my heart’s desire. What I ended up majoring in was Electrical Engineering.

That was when the whole shit started.

In my life, I have never really had to struggle to get what I want. I hope I will never know what it’s like to struggle.

When I was in grade school, I believed that the world literally revolved around me. Sometimes, I still act like the world revolves around me.

I don’t apologize for sometimes acting like the world revolves around me.

I know what it’s like to lose a guy to brain cancer.

I hardly think about Angel anymore, and I don’t know why. I thought I would miss him forever.

My prom date was a 23-year-old named Benedict. I was 15.

My first kiss was Butch. I was in love with him for 8 years.

I know what it’s like to be loved by someone with an intensity that compels him to give up everything in the name of love. A man once gave up everything – his career, his good relationship with his family, his friends, and even his child – for me.

I wasn’t ready for that level of intensity.

I’m ready for that level of intensity now. I think.

Some people see me as wild, and some as prim and proper. I don’t know what to make of those two extremely different descriptions.

I have come to the conclusion that my preferred defense mechanism is cynicism.

I have come to be a peaceful person. But with enough provocation, I become as violent as I was when I was a teenager. And I am not above yelling at someone at the top of my lungs either.

I find that yelling at the top of my lungs fills me with an intense sense of relief.

I have bangs – full bangs, Cleopatra style. I’ve had bangs for a year now. I love it.

I’ve noticed that I get hit on by men more frequently now that I have bangs than during my pre-bangs days. Is that the reason I’ve kept my bangs? I guess so.

The person I love most in this world is my mother, even though I want to live as far away from her as possible.

The person I am most in awe of is my father. I find him more intimidating than any head of state.

I’m a Capricorn, and I was born in the Year of the Snake.

My favorite colors are pink, red, white, and black.

I wear clothes that show a lot of skin.

I love wearing clothes that show off my tattoos.

I drink Coke Light everyday.

I check my horoscope everyday. I’m ashamed to admit it, but sometimes I believe the predictions.

I’m addicted to sugar.

My new favorite dessert is Lala Ube, though it’s only suitable for vegetarians and not for vegans.

I’m a mostly-vegan vegetarian.

I’m a member of PETA. I did not become a vegetarian to fight for animal rights, but I still reckoned that, being a vegetarian, I should become a member of PETA.

This year, I learned how to apply eye shadow.

I’m a Registered Nurse.

In a providential (!) turn of events, I suddenly became a special-unit nurse and not a bedside one. It’s just as well since I could never have lasted as a bedside nurse.

My short-term goal is to master the skill of venipuncture.

I love babies. I’ve been thinking of having my own a lot these days.

I want to name my first child Camryn and nickname her Kimmy. (See? I wasn’t kidding when I said that I’ve been thinking about babies a lot!)

In spite of my selfish nature, I still think I’ll make a good mother.

I don’t think I can ever be domesticated. Moreover, I don’t want to ever become domesticated.

I dream of and want domestic bliss, though.

I love pop music.

I’m too polite at times. In fact, I even say excuse me to cats (the feline variety and not the male homo sapiens) when I pass by them, and then I become aware of how ridiculous the act is and end up laughing at myself. But I still do it.

The thought of having a massive collection of boyfriends both excites and scares me.

I’m fond of social networking sites. My favorite is Facebook.

I Google people, and I’ve taught my friends to Google people, too.

I never feel that I have enough money, although considering that I have my salary, an allowance that is bigger than my salary, a single life with no obligations, and no expenses at all, I should have more money than most.

I’m planning to keep this site until the day I die…or until WordPress closes.

I think I’m in love.

I am, at this moment, both excited and apprehensive about something that is due to happen in the coming weeks.

I have the knack for hiding it well, but I am, in truth, a very judgmental person.

I go to Greenbelt every weekend. Don’t ask me why, but it is my place of Zen.

I am addicted to the food at Chimara.

I neither believe in nor have a religion. And although I’ll never admit it to their faces, I pity those people who do.

I don’t know whether or not I believe in the existence of a god. I probably don’t. But then again, I’m not sure.

Cockroaches scare me more than rats and snakes do. I see a cockroach, and I run for my life.

I seem to have gotten over my enchantment with American Idol.

I carry myself well and behave like an adult in public, but in truth, I’m still immature.

My mom says that the reason I look young is because I’m still a child at heart. She doesn’t mean it as a compliment.

I love getting compliments.

My boss calls me Barbie because, she says, I look like a doll. I blush with delight whenever I hear this.

I also blush with delight whenever I’m mistaken for a college student or somebody in her early 20’s.

I honestly have no idea where I’ll be 5 years from now.

The one thing I want to accomplish before I die is to write an international bestselling novel.

Another long term goal is to stay sexy until I’m 95.

I wish I looked like Angelina Jolie.

I actually have a friend who looks like Angelina Jolie. She’s vegan, too.

Whenever I get the choice to sit it out or dance, I dance.

I am both seductive and easily seduced.

I’m horny most of the time.

But I’m not promiscuous. I can control my hormones, no matter how hard it is to do so.

I do have high standards (most of the time).

I flirt with goodlooking male patients.

I also flirt with goodlooking doctors, but in a very subtle way.

I don’t say I love you, even when I’m in love.

I believe that actions speak louder than words.

I scoff at clichés, but I believe most of them nonetheless.

Oh, and did I already say that I think I’m in love? I think I am. For the longest time.

When all is said and done, I am one lucky bitch.

Also, when all is said and done, and in spite of some of the things that I’ve written above, I think I am an overall decent person.