IVIENNE:full of life;French spelling for Vivian, Vivien, or Vyvyan; can never
be used by a guy PHEW!My full name is actually Wong Mee Ling, (Huang
Meiling in Chinese, for those of you who can understand Hanyu Pinyin). Vivienne is not my "legal" name, since it does not appear in my
birth cert. or ID card. Let me try to explain what my Chinese name means.
If possible, I'll try to show you how the characters look like :) "Wong" is my surname (or family name) which is shared by my family members, other than my mother. It means yellow literally, and is the surname of the first kings in Chinese history! "Mee Ling" is how friends address me; in my family's case, all the girls of my generation has "Mee" as the common name, and it means beautiful. Now, "Ling" is uniquely mine, and it is a bit tough to explain to non-Chinese; let's just say it means listening, since it has the "ear" element and my mum explained that my grandpa (who chose all our names) and her wanted me to be obedient and listen to her. I guess names are very important, since I believe it has shaped my life and character... I am an obedient child, and I always prefer to listen rather than talk ;) I shall not tell you why I chose the name Vivienne, since it is rather embarrassing hehe... let's just say I finally settled for this French version because it was the first French female name I learnt in French class :Þ
What do I think of myself? I am an introvert,if truth be known.Given
some free time, I'd really prefer to curl up in bed with a good book (romance of course!) and have nice music playing in the background :) Most people
really see me as more extroverted that I think myself to be hehe... To view
it pessimistically, I am a loner. I have no qualms about going to the movies
or shopping alone. I'm used to it now that my good friends are mostly
overseas. Never a "groupie",ie. I've never liked being in cliques
where everbody does the same thing together, I'd much prefer to enjoy a meal
or movie with one or two close friends. Anyway,one advice is never have more than
two persons along if you are going shoppping; all the different opinions will
sure spoil your mood hehe.
The reason why I spent so much time on explaining my name is because I think it might help you understand me. I feel surprised how some people view me, which is the exact opposite of what others and myself do. I guess it just shows you I am a typical human being, whose character is full of contradictions, not just black and white. To my classmates, I project a real serious image, always seen as the goody-two-shoes and studious one. Even teachers always say how hardworking I am! However,those who really know me think differently. I can be as crazy and fun-loving as the next girl, and be impractical and insensible at times too, which is contrary to what most people think hehe... I'd say ESP®egesso is this cheerful side of me :)
That is why I am sure many of you, both real and IRC virtual friends, will be surprised by what I've written here, that I've got 2 completely different sides to me! If you are not surprised,hey, I must say you know me real well then! Congrats! Hehe...
My friend from high school wrote in my autograph book, "I really admire
you, Meiling, 'cos you are one girl who has definitely earned the respect of
our class' guys..." You must understand that in those days, my class
was known as the most notorious, for being the laziest and disobedient.
I really resented this tag all the teachers gave my class, and it was real
insulting that they were surprised we all did pretty well in the
GCE'O'Levels exams. The circumstances sort of made me very conscientious;
I always make sure I do what is set out to be done, and especially during
group work, I make sure we accomplish what has to be done before we make small talk and have fun,as we are wont to do whenever we group together. I feel bad for being a spoilsport, but it is not because I do not like to socialise; it is just that I always have a direction and focus on what needs to be done before I get sidetracked. So much for what others think.
SP®esso:my IRC nick. I really have to thank IRC for broadening my horizen
and social circle; when I first started chatting, I met so many people from
all walks of life that I realised how narrow-minded I had been. I was almost
a prude, for goodness' sake hehe. Basically I am a shy girl; therefore
IRC, where distance makes one feel safe, has allowed me to open and loosen up. I really recommend IRC to introverts like me, because it truly is a great
way to train yourself to be more open about feelings, and be more vocal, so
to speak. That's why I feel terribly shy when I meet an IRC friend face to
face for the first time, cos he or she already knows so much about me, yet the irony is we have never seen each other before. This might appear bizarre to those unfamiliar with IRC; but believe me, it IS true. I must say exchanging photos is in no way the same as seeing a person face to face :)
I confess I am a copycat hehe... My best friend used the nick, "Cappuccino" and immediately,I thought why not use "espresso" myself? It just felt so right when I first used it, that I've been using this nick eversince I started. Now, even if I used a different nick, and the regulars see me, they would still call me "esp" for short :) This made me interested in coffee generally, and of course, espresso in particular, not the other way round!
Personal Parts!?!
I guess it's time to get down to the mundane personal particulars... no,I do not have a history of insanity in my family, and neither do I have any police records! Oh no? You do not mean to find out these details about my life? Fine, you want even more boring stuffs, here they are! My first cry was on one dark night (just past midnight,of course it was dark...), on the 25th of April 1978 to be precise :) I was the chubbiest and rosiest baby the hospital ever seen! (Well,I dunno about that, but my mum told me the nurses couldn't bear to let me out of their sight *blush*) Being born and bred in S'pore to true-blue Cantonese parents, of coz I live to eat! Keke... fortunately (or unfortunately?) I've a mother who is a fantastic cook, but too bad I do not have her skills, for isn't it true that the way to a man's heart is through the stomach?! *Wink*
Right now,I'm in the local Nanyang Technological University, studying Accountancy in the School of Accountancy and Business. I know you must now think I'm a calculative and maths wizard (witch?!) but hey, you cannot be further from the truth! I might just be a tad boring, but my maths results are too shameful to even be revealed on the internet...*sigh* Well, it has always been a dream to study in the UK, and I came this close to going to the University of Warwick. It is really one of the best business schools in the UK, and too bad,it's just not meant to be. Actually, I had applied to and was accepted by the University of New South Wales, yet my heart was in UK already, so I gave it up just before going to Sydney,Australia to visit the uni campus. Ironic huh?Hehe... Well, that's all I can think of about myself.Au revoir!
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