The RubeTube

1. My all-time favorite food is bacon. I'd eat it for breakfast without hesitation. Same goes for lunch and dinner. I like 'em slightly burnt, toasted to a crisp, with all the excess fatty oil removed.
   
2. A teacher from fourth grade (Mr. Angeles) in Ateneo Grade School was the one who gave me the nickname "Punzki". He wasn't even one of my regular teachers; he just proctored us for one of our quarterly exams. He announced the top scorers for each subject and he got tired of saying my full name so he came up with this ridiculous nickname.
3. I failed Biology in Philippine Science High School in my third year for one quarter. I flunked because I didn't do my lab reports and I always went to lab sessions unprepared.
4. 17 is my favorite number. It's the most beautiful number one can think of. Prime numbers are inherently beautiful, and 17 is the "most prime" prime number. And 17 is so obviously prime. You can't say the same for "2" or "29" or "97". 13 comes a close second though.
5. My parents say I looked like E.T. when I was a baby. And sadly, it's true.
6. My preschool years were spent at G.O.A.L. Montessori, a school inside our subdivision. G.O.A.L. stands for "Gift of Advanced Learning". I'm not sure if I ever learned anything advanced.
7. I am one of the most asymmetrical people you will ever meet. My left hand fingers are longer. I can hear better with my left ear. My left foot is bigger and that makes it hard to buy shoes. When I say every part of my is asymmetrical, I mean every part.
8. I've always been good at math, but I never really liked the subject. I just wanted the A's.
9. I first used a computer when I was 5 years old. I started with GW-BASIC on a Philips 286 PC clone which cost a fortune back then.
10. My first email address was mark@freemail.webquest.com. Webquest is a long-dead Philippine ISP. I remember having to use Eudora Lite as my POP3 email client. Do people still use that?
    
11. My ICQ number is 19812952. Now when was the last time I used it? Heck, I had to search for myself on their People Search to remember my number. I'm pretty sure that's me unless there's another Mark Punzalan born on August 22, 1985 nicknamed "Punzki".
12. I learned how to whistle by sucking air in instead of blowing it out. I always thought that was the way most people did it.
13. I composed the musical arrangement for our high school batch's graduation song. Well, most of it anyway.
14. I once had an allergic reaction from eating a choco-flavored lollipop. I thought it was absurd to get an allergy from a choco-flavored lollipop but I've never had any since then.
15. I actually like airline food. Most of the time.
16. I have never played DotA and I've only played Counter-Strike once. I don't like to be "in" when it comes to gaming.
17. I never learned how to properly eat with a spoon until I was 16 years old, in high school. I always thought you were supposed to hold it like a shovel at all times until someone pointed out my lack of dining etiquette.
18. I totally pissed my brother off when I deleted the hard disk partition from our 286. I was 6 years old then and I was curious if "fdisk" was a game.
19. My favorite computer game of all time is Civilization. Sid Meier is a genius. Who cares if it's unrealistic that a phalanx can defeat a battleship?
20. I puke whenever I try to eat squash or any of its derivatives.
21. I can't swim to save my life. They say it's impossible for a human being not to float in water but I'll never believe them. I don't float.

Labels: birthday, facts, Punzki