Six Things- a random survey

A little late in posting this, but it's appropriate for in between studying for tests on a snow day. I finally did the little survey originally from Maria (Maria Ink) but modified it slightly. I love these random surveys! Enjoy! (WARNING: long rambling after the jump.)
More musings...
Six random things about me:
1. I keep papers and other random mementos from different years of school filed in folders for each year. I believe I have things dating back as early as third grade, but most of it is from recent years. I don't know why I keep so much of this stuff; I'm either too lazy to sort through it and throw useless things away, or I somehow fool myself into thinking that I need to save all of it just in case I ever want to look at certain things again (which seldom actually occurs). It's perplexing; someday I just want to sit down and pick out everything I should throw away and finally discard of everything.
2. I survive on lists.
In order to remember every little thing I need to do, I have to write it down in a list and check it off when I finish it. Sometimes, I make the mistake of checking off before I even finish it just so it looks like I did it. I don't know; I guess it gives me a minor sense of accomplishment, especially when I procrastinate and subsequently feel like a failure because I didn't get anything done. Perhaps, I should stop doing that...starting now. (I should be studying for Chem. :/)
3. When I was little, I used to narrate parts of my mundane life like it was a story.
This was one of the many odd quirks I had as a child. In my head, I sometimes had a voice that would describe whatever pathetic thing was happening, complete with conversational tags. In certain situations, it would even turn into a play being acted out in my mind. I find it hard to believe this phase happened before I became a writer, but it may have contributed to my then lack of writing sense. Back then, I hated writing and wrote terribly for school functions. My parents groaned at the sight of my paragraphs, which usually consisted of a sequence of events connected by descriptions of people. As I grew out of my narrating habit, I think my writing skills improved. Gradually, writing became almost a way of life for me, and I will never regret it. However, my childhood narrating was still an adequate start to my budding writing career.
4. My myriad of interests make it difficult to decide what path I want to blaze after high school.
When I was little, I went from wanting to become a politician, to a teacher, to a librarian, to a historian. Fortunately for the last few years, I've stayed constant on pursuing either law, government (not politics), economics, journalism, or screenwriting. The downside is these aren't all viable careers, and I have trouble deciding which is best for my skills and capabilities. All would be rewarding, but not necessarily financially. (I'm sure my parents wouldn't want me to be dirt-poor!) Hopefully, as college looms closer and closer, I can figure out my individual path or combine my interests. I reckon I'll still be exploring my options well through college.
5. I always feel the need to connect with others, to feel that I have something in common with them.
It's the most difficult part of being me because I think I seem so different from people. I don't want to feel distant, but I never know what to say or how to react. I always get a peculiar feeling that people are judging me based on every move I make. My eccentricities also disconnect me from others, and sometimes I wonder if I'll ever feel truly comfortable around people in a casual way. I'm not shy or emotionally weak; I just have a lack of self-confidence around unfamiliar people. Or maybe I just don't know how to relax and appear casual because I'm stressed more often than not.
6. I'm convinced I may never fall in love.
I've discovered over time that I'm not much of love-struck person. I pay attention to guys and their looks and personalities, but I never get a feeling of attraction towards anyone. For now, it's probably because I have other life complications to focus on, namely my education, so maybe my attitude towards love will change as I get older. Yes, I know I'm an eternal pessimist, but I want to be more hopeful that the "perfect guy" will come: ambitious, handsome, intelligent, humorous, classy, with just the right amount of charm and kindness.

Six random things I like:
1. Over the years, I've become a pretty devout tea drinker.
I love iced tea, green tea, and chai in particular. Personal favorites: Starbucks' Chai Lattes, Arizona Green Tea, and Nestle Iced Tea. I also enjoy the energy I get from tea and the healthy antioxidants. (Don't worry, I'm not a complete health nut!) My friend has a bumper sticker on Facebook that says "Drinking tea makes me feel British". That very well might be another reason I love tea. Oh, those Brits! They seem so refined with their tea and accents. ;)
2. I love the ocean for both physical and symbolic reasons.
My favorite colors are all shades of blue and green (except fuschia, which is purple), and I love how they all blend together in the ocean. It forms this big blue-green expanse of nothingness. Just water and sea creatures for miles and miles and miles. It seems so endless, yet fascinating. The ocean also represents so many things about life and the world. The tides come in regular cycles, but sometimes they are unexpectedly smaller; or they suddenly get bigger, causing floods and tsunamis. Life can be like that: we get bored of our cyclical existence, and then something totally out of the ordinary happens.
3. I have an affinity toward portraits.
I love all photography in general, particularly landscapes and street views, but portraits have a strange, striking quality to them that other types of photography do not. You can learn a lot about a person just by examining a portrait of them and studying their facial expressions and gestures. Sometimes, people look dignified or important; other times they are more relaxed and easygoing; or they can look forlorn and melancholy. Portraits can be very enigmatic, just like the people they show.
4. I adore the music of George Gershwin.
I'm a classical music fan, always have been, always will. I prefer the Romantic and Modern periods over others because of the unique, individual styles that formed during those times. Gershwin's extraordinary style came about during the Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age. His music flawlessly combines classical music and the early stages of jazz, creating an indescribable mosaic of sound. He is one of the only renowned composers that composed quintessentially American music that reflected American life and society of his time. My favorite Gershwin piece is "Rhapsody in Blue", a free-flowing work featuring solo piano as well as numerous other small solos by other instruments. It paints a musical portrait of Gershwin's exciting era.
5. I envy those who have a perfect sense of humor and comedic timing.
I don't have a good sense of humor, so I love people who always know what to say to make people laugh. They can crack a witty joke at just the right time, and everyone gets it and remembers it fondly. Or, comedy writers like the crew on SNL always crack me up. One of my life goals is to work on improving my comedic skills.
6. I love city life.
My dream is to settle in New York City, capital of the world. Every time I go there, I feel as if the world is at my fingertips. You have access to everything the world has to offer. For the artsy person in me, NYC has an incomparable arts scene. For the part of me that can never blend in, I always enjoy how in NYC, you don't have to try to fit in. People from all walks of life, nationalities, occupations, etc. have found a place there, and it's easy to feel comfortable. I know this image sounds almost utopian, but it's so different from the suburban lifestyle that I've grown up in, where everything looks the same. One quirk or flaw can make you stand out, and that has always bothered me.

Six random things I don't like:
1. I get really peeved when people watch movies just to obsess over movie stars' looks.
Case in point: in English class freshman year, we watched Romeo + Juliet as part of our Shakespeare unit. Of course, some girls in our class were busy whispering to each other: "OMG! Leo DiCaprio is so hot!!" They spent the entire time discussing this, so I was about ready to shoot someone. When I thought it couldn't get any more irritating, they started arguing about how "now that he's old, he looks ugly." WTF??? Good lord. First off, since when was being 30-something considered old? Second, he's still attractive, I admit, but that's beside the point. Really, does it matter? He's a talented actor too, and I think some people can't take that seriously b/c of his looks. Ultimately, there's an infinite amount of things other than pretty people to appreciate about cinema.
2. Slow-walking people put me in a lousy mood.
When I get to school in the morning, the first thing I always notice is zombie-like, half-asleep people trudging through the hallways. Like them, I'm hardly conscious in the morning, but I always end up walking faster than them. Even worse, people will stand in the middle of the hallway to talk to their friends, and no one can get through them. We only have four minutes to get to each class, so it always baffles me why everyone walks at snail speeds in the halls.
3. I detest when everyone in the neighborhood has to mow their lawn at the same time.
I have mild allergies to grass, so when everyone mows their lawn, my eyes get super itchy and my sinuses feel more congested than they have to be. Sometimes, it seems like everyone makes an effort to have the best-kept lawn, so when one person mows their lawn, they have to do so as well. It's like a war of the lawns! That's the thought that comes to mind when everyone starts obsessively mowing their lawns in the spring.
4. I wish I could study math by osmosis.
I can't say that I hate math, but it's just not an easy subject for me. I used to be pretty good at math, generally speaking, when I took relatively basic courses with everyone else in elementary and middle school. But later in middle school and then in high school, when courses were divided by levels, I took some more advanced courses. Now, I realize math is my weakness. I'm not much of numbers and formulas person and can't wrap my head around them. Also, my interest in math has decreased since a lot of the advanced math I learn doesn't seem that useful, aside from Stats. Math is not my strong point at all.
5. I hate when people follow the zeitgeist.
What happened to individuality? When people only go with the recent trends or whatever "everyone else" likes, they're limiting their ability to make their own decisions. We all need embrace individuality because where would we be without it? It's hard to imagine life without the sheer idea of individuality, and if more and more people neglect it, the world would lose its purpose and become drab and predictable. We are all different in many ways, but that's also what connects us.
6. When people take notes, they tend to write really big and skip too many lines and pages before starting a new section.
This is one pet peeve of mine that I constantly spot. What a waste of paper! If everyone wrote a tiny bit smaller and used some of the space they wasted, we could save a lot of trees. Why skip so much space anyway? I get paranoid/symptoms of OCD when I skip too much space. Weird, I know. :)

Six random songs I like:
1. "February Song"- Josh Groban
2. "A Beautiful Mess"- Jason Mraz
3. "Somewhere Only We Know"- Keane
4. "Amsterdam"- Coldplay
5. "Hide and Seek" - Imogen Heap
6. "Wise Up" - Aimee Mann

Six random books I like:
1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
2. About a Boy - Nick Hornby
3. Stravaganza series - Mary Hoffman
4. The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
5. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking - Malcolm Gladwell
6. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier - Ishmael Beah

Six random movies I like:
1. Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984)
2. On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
4. Catch Me If You Can (Steven Spielberg, 2002)
5. Breakfast at Tiffany's (Blake Edwards, 1961)
6. Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant, 1997)

Well, that's all! Congratulations if you made it to the end! I apologize profusely if that was too long.