Amanda profile picture

Amanda

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me

My interests include: Learning studying languages health and fitness bellydancing singing listening to music reading talking with people eating, cooking - LIVING!Here's a handy guide. It may answer those important questions like what kind of Coke I am (I'd probably be Diet Dr. Pepper - it REALLY does taste like regular Dr. Pepper):
TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name: Amanda
Birthday: July 30, 1980
Birthplace: Dallas, TX
Current Location: Dallas, soon Kanazawa Japan
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair Color: Auburn
Height: 5"3
Right Handed or Left Handed: Right
Your Heritage: Irish, Scottish, English, Welsh, German
The Shoes You Wore Today: Black platform flip-flops? (I don't know shoes)
Your Weakness: Food :)
Your Fears: Not being true to myself
Your Perfect Pizza: Hawaiian sans Canadian Bacon or White Spinach Pizza with fresh tomato and basil
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year: Become a better teacher
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger: lol
Thoughts First Waking Up: I can't see :)
Your Best Physical Feature: Don't know, I'm fond of my nose
Your Bedtime: Depends, usually later than 11pm
Your Most Missed Memory: Times walking around my old neighborhood
Pepsi or Coke: Iced Match Latte with Tapioca Pearls
MacDonalds or Burger King: Dude, you have to try the new Asian Salad at McDonalds:)
Single or Group Dates: Both are fine as long as some alone time is had
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: I'm southern, Lousianne...actually Green Tea is best
Chocolate or Vanilla: Coconut, White or Dark chocoloate, and Rose ;)
Cappuccino or Coffee: Machiatto - it gives the right zing (best if taken once a month)
Do you Smoke: No, never - I'm allergic
Do you Swear: My grandmother is saltier-tongued than myself
Do you Sing: All the time
Do you Shower Daily: Baths are nice too
Have you Been in Love: Yes
Do you want to go to College: Been there, done that - however....a Doctorate at some point would be nice
Do you want to get Married: Yes
Do you belive in yourself: Yes
Do you get Motion Sickness: Not really
Do you think you are Attractive: Yes, I think most people are beautiful
Are you a Health Freak: Some would say yes, some would say no
Do you get along with your Parents: Of course :)
Do you like Thunderstorms: You have to see them in Texas! BEAUTIFUL!!!
Do you play an Instrument: Some piano
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol: Two glasses of umeshu (Japanese plum wine) and One Michelob ultra
In the past month have you Smoked: Not one bit...allergic
In the past month have you been on Drugs: Never
In the past month have you gone on a Date: Zero times. I have been enjoying being with my family before heading off to Japan
In the past month have you gone to a Mall: More times than I can ever remember going in my life. At home with no car and 7 minutes away from NorthPark :)
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos: A box? Um, no...maybe 10 Oreos total
In the past month have you eaten Sushi: Yes, thanks to Chiharu-chan
In the past month have you been on Stage: No
In the past month have you been Dumped: No
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping: No
In the past month have you Stolen Anything: No
Ever been Drunk: Once so I know my limit. I don't drink often.
Ever been called a Tease: No
Ever been Beaten up: No
Ever Shoplifted: No
How do you want to Die: When it happens, it happens - I don't dwell on it
What do you want to be when you Grow Up: A translator or a diplomat
What country would you most like to Visit: Ethiopia - I studied Ethiopian history in undergrad. I would love to go and see all the places I've read about... CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!"...if all the people in the world were to work for just a half an hour more than they do now and were to dedicate that money to helping the suffering, there would be no starvation and all people would be healthy. The heart of selfless service is the state of forgetting one’s individuality and seeing the pain and suffering of others as one’s own. When we love others, seeing ourselves in them, there will be no place for hatred or fear. May God’s grace guide all." - Mata Amritanandamayi (The Hugging Saint) http://www.amma.org

My Interests

I love learning languages. I am currently concentrating on Japanese since I will be living there as of July 10th of this year.

I'd like to meet:

Actually, where I would like to go is more appropriate. I enjoy people. I don't have any special preference. Although... if we're talking about dead people I have to admit I'm fascinated with NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI. (Image provided by: http://members.surfeu.at/4all/machi.htm)He is deeply misunderstood in some respects - he wrote "The Prince" with an eye toward getting a job. It was a really successfell resume that spoke volumes about what the ideal politician has to be - it did not necessarily say anything about morality - just how to succeed in a world devoid of feeling for the common man and concerned with the survival of the state. Though I disagree with the idea that politicians have to be immoral, during his day there were sterling examples of puissant immorals. Just look at the best-selling books about business and success. His was one of the first. It inspired great evil, entrepreuneurship, and great good. It all depends on the lense through which you look. PERSONALLY, I don't espouse Machievellian thought. I believe in equilibrium (and not that of the fox and the lion) - Machiavelli definitely is NOT the ideal by any means. However, he is a great example of someone who used an extreme for his own advantages - not necessarily embodying the belief system he touted (which of course is another topic altogether about the merits of honesty and being true to oneself, which is something precious few beings see as important). Balance is to be striven for, but in balance you cannot find extremes, especially materialistic ones.

Music:

I have eclectic tastes: Rock, folk, hip-hop, reggae, reggaeton (See Ricana's page for some great music), bhangra, bollywood, j-pop/rock, k-pop-rock, traditional world music, some country, bluegrass, classical...anything with a beat you can sway your hips to or that makes you feel alive!

Movies:

I love pretty much all cinema (from classics to modern blockbusters and non-pretentious art films (isn't that an oxymoron - lol) I am a huge Bollywood fan ~:)

Television:

Currently, I am obsessed with Asian Dramas: Japanese (Kimi wa Petto, Orange Days, Hana Yori Dango), Korean (My Name is Kim Sam Soon, My 19 Year Old Sister In Law, Full House, Goong, Loveholic) and Taiwanese (ISWAK, Mars, Meteor Garden)

Books:

I've read tooo many...used to work at a bookstore. I'm partial to Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Hesse's Siddharta...A note on most famed Victorian Literature AKA Brontean claptrap: I'd rather watch a Brontean film than read one (Jane Eyre was a milquetoast). I quite enjoyed a book called The Crimes of Charlotte Bronte: The Secrets of a Mysterious Family : A Novel. This story, though implausible is a dark interpretation of the Brontes by a noted criminologist who obviously shared my dislike of her novels and "took it to the next level," as it were.

Heroes:

My old voice teacher, Joan Tallis. My mother who is an incredibly strong woman. Dr P! (No, not the carbonated beverage - the high school teacher)
MySpace Layouts

Your Birth Month is July
Introspective and intense, you tend to be a deep thinker.
You are quiet and spiritual - and you have a unique perspective on life.

Your soul reflects: Lightness, luck and an open heart

Your gemstone: Ruby

Your flower: Larkspur

Your colors: Green and red What Does Your Birth Month Mean?

My Blog

Starting to plan my trip to Tokyo...

Hopefully everything will work out and I won't have to go back to the US for a quick trip to get my Visa. For anyone trying to get working visas in Japan: things have changed. You can no longer take a...
Posted by Amanda on Tue, 30 May 2006 08:18:00 PST