Neophobia is the fear of new things or experiences. It is also called cainotophobia. In psychology, neophobia is defined as the persistent and abnormal fear of anything new. In its milder form, it can manifest as the unwillingness to try new things or break from routine. source: Wikipedia
A few years ago, I was the LET’S TRY THIS/WE ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE SQUEEZE IT BABY! person. I had enough energy to out-go the Energizer Bunny. I lived for novel experiences, to the point of putting myself in harm’s way, but that sort of bravado waned by the time I was a university freshman. I began to shun the world and withdraw in my own cloistered world. And long for the security of the routine. The displacement to Singapore hasn’t helped my comfort loving ways and I have tried to resist by coming up with excuses.
So this month, particularly this week I have been challenging myself to do something not ME. No, I don’t mean a drastic, my family wants to disown me type of thing. But more of:
- MUSIC: I love meaningful lyrics than catchy tunes. So when I started listening to non-English songs and non-Tagalog songs, I kind of felt foolish and what’s-the-point?-ish. How can I appreciate something I don’t understand? But yeah, if I am ever going to learn Mandarin/Nihonggo, I need to start with stuff that interests me, and that is Music. So yes, I have been listening to Utada Hikaru, S.H.E, Rainie Yang, and I have always been curious about the biggie about Jay Chou so I am testing my waters here.
- BOOKS: I have never been a fan of Sci-Fi or Fantasy novels, my second copy of THE HOBBIT (both were gifts, the other one I left behind, half-read) remains unread by me. The only Sci-Fi novels I have read include Asimov’s Dawn of the Robots (which I think is the basis for the movie I, Robot – correct me if I’m wrong). Plus I don’t like the idea of otherworldly beings as characters because it uses up too much of my imagination and that’s too stressful. I read to unwind and not to stress about how un-REAL it all sounds. But I have succumbed… I have read Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight and New Moon. Not because I’m a fan, I just wanted to know WHY? So reading two of her books is an accomplishment because I have never ever finished a Harry Potter book though I had a lot of friends who here HP fans. I’ve also been reading a lot of teen fiction, because that’s the genre I really want to write in. I can’t do the Paolo Coehlo-ishness, the poetic storytelling of Marisa de los Santos, the defiance for English grammar and usage by Jonathan Safran Foer and the cold grip fear inspired by Jeffrey Deaver.
- FORUMS: Someone invited me to join this writer’s forum from Fictionpress. I am not a very sociable person online. It scares me to communicate with people who I don’t know and may not have a chance meeting in real life. But yeah, I went and signed myself up and have been enjoying myself, reading stuff, learning about people and the writing craft. It is FUN, I feel like I have a net of support while going through writing OSTW and prepping for NaNoWriMo.
- COMMENTING ON BLOGS: I am a lurker by general, I love reading blogs when I do have the time. I don’t comment even if I’ve been a regular on that blog. It’s a case of cyber shyness. But I realize that I need to show appreciation to the blogger especially if I have read his/her post from beginning to end. I mean, if I spend writing on my blog, I would want people to at least TELL ME that they’ve been here and read my piece of mind. So in the spirit of paying it forward, especially with the increase in hits I have, I am beginning to post comments and not just writing on the tagboard at blogs that I enjoy.
- PSP: My fine motor skills are basically poor, plus the fact that my eye-hand (hand-eye?) coordination isn’t the best out there so I refrain from gaming gadgets from arcade games to PSPs. But last night I managed to win in some RPG game on my bro’s PSP without anyone telling me what to do. I must admit that it is enjoyable and potentially addictive for someone like me. Still a first is a first!
Speaking of blogs, my sister took a stolen picture of me while sleeping, if you want to see it click here. See you guys soon!
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