Strong Favourites

Except for the whirring of ceiling fan, the growling of thunder outdoors, and my tapping on this keyboard, the bedroom is silent. My loved ones are sleeping soundly on the bed across from me with the laptop's ambient light being the only companion on this restless night.

Perhaps it's an overdose of caffeine as wont that shifted my mind into overdrive. Or is it my constant worrywart that derailed any chances of a good night sleep? Something's been bugging me and couldn't put my finger on it. It's probably nothing. Perchance, it's the onset of you-know-what.

Before this entry spirals into a woeful entry, I'd better get down to what I plan to write about. If ever this narcissistic post offends anyone, it's best for banality’s sake that you want to skip it.

It was my perceptive boyfriend-turn-husband who pointed this out to me: That I am a person who possesses distinctive list of strong favourites.

So what is the difference between Favourite and Strong Favourite, you may ask. Oh well, to keep it simple, I'll use food as a fine example. I like many types of food - I don't mind eating sushi; I'll eat Pesto Linguini since it's my husband's favourite; and I would eat Ikan Masak Lemak if a great hostess is serving it.

However, the diverse array of victuals which I could and would be seen digesting don't necessarily translate to the food I really, really love to dig into. In fact, they are quite few and far between.

My strong favourites are sambal udang petai, sambal sardin, beef pepperoni pizza, fried yellow mee (the basah type), ikan masak assam, curly fries, juicy beef burgers galore and of course, an assortment of fried (the key word here is FRIED) chickens.

Likewise, when it comes to ice cream, the ones I'm truly besotted with are Rocky Road, Mint Chocolate Chip and Hazelnut.

You could call it a Taste/Cultural Desensitisation if you like, but I believe it is attributed mostly to my own idiosyncrasy.

Growing up with NKOTB (that's New Kids on The Block to you younger folks :) ), I liked their songs and was completely sold on their image. But, while other nubile teenagers (my sisters included) gravitated towards the predictable heartthrobs like Jordan McKnight and that McIntyre boy (forgot his first name), I chose the least likeable guy on the band. I even forgot his name. I think it's Danny something. Even my twin sister went ga-ga over the more rebellious (read: interesting) one, Donny Wahlberg.

note: Google confirms that this Bostonian group comprises Jordan McKnight, Jonathan McKnight, Joey McIntyre, Donny Wahlberg and Danny Wood. Incidentally, they are reportedly in the midst of a comeback album!

Yup, I fell for the wooden (pun intended) expression of my strong favourite guy.

For some twisted reason, I have always shunned anything that feels or smells remotely mainstream. The Flava of the Month. The Obvious Choice. Blame it on my non-conformist streak if you must but something (or someone) that is popular by design and appeals to general public will usually* NOT get my vote of confidence. I’d naturally repel any advances from others goading me to join their blood-thirsty pack.

I call this aberrant behaviour The Underdog Complex.

Which clearly explains why I never caught on to the Harry Potter bug, nor was I particularly drawn to LOTR trilogy, be it in the literary form or film adaptation. On the other hand, there is always sheer laziness to bear the brunt of the problem.

In Freudian-speak, the primary reason for going against the grain perhaps lies in my adolescent hung-ups about being ‘less than popular’ and therefore favouring those perceived to be sharing the same plight. Again, emphasis is on the word ‘perceived.’

*Well, back to strong favourites, this quirky trait obviously contradicts the non-conformist rule as far as popular things are concerned. As such, herewith I apply a caveat : My strong favourites list trumps the selfless duty to champion the underdog category, on any given day. Sorry, but a girl has to yield to her passion.

Like Starbucksing, Mall-hopping, Zara-ing, SATCing, Blogging and lately, Facebooking.

Yes, I finally went to the dark side and joined BukuMuka. I don’t know what came over me when I filled in the data on FB’s first page. (At this point, my twin sister would be sneering somewhere in the background)

Curiosity got the best of me and I found myself having the urge to look for friends, old and new. Hah! I can’t understand it myself but this networking tool surely works in checking out these friends’ status – physically, metaphorically and social/financial mobility – and what they are currently up to.

Thanks to the bloggers who have ‘taken me in.’ Virtual friends like you are definitely a dime a dozen!

Now, where did I put that page-turner of a chick lit?