This was taken from my 25 Things Note on Facebook that I had posted in 2008, but I thought I’d post it on my blog as well, to give you a better peek into Ritu. Some of the things are no longer true like number 16 (add the East China Sea to the list) and number 21 (I’ve now been to Birdland!) but you get the gist.
1. I can say “I love you” in 10 languages.
2. I was born in Bangladesh, lived in England as a kid, became a teenager in India, went to highschool in Quebec, Canada, finished up with a bang in Toronto, went to university in a small town called Waterloo and now am living and working in New York City.
3. My name means ‘season’ in Bengali, Hindi and Sanskrit.
4. I grew up on my own since the age of 13 when my parents sent me to boarding school.
5. I took classical Indian music lessons for 8 years as a kid and can play the harmonium, but still can’t really sing. But I do play the silver flute and am trying to learn to play the guitar.
6. I dropped my cell phone in the toilet at the Guggenheim once! But it still sorta works.
7. Last time I went home to Canada, I wasn’t sure if I’d make it back into NYC because of my visa.
8. I took surfing lessons in Punta Del Este, Uruguay in January. It was a rush, although painful and super tiring.
9. I’m either smart enough or desensitized enough to let a guy break my heart anymore.
10. Right now I’m spending 5-10 hours a week preparing for my first bellydance solo! I’m very nervous for it.
11. My first kiss was so horrible that I ran upstairs and tried wash my mouth out afterward, and I was terrified because my friend told me that I’d kiss like that forever!
13. When I was 6 or 7, my nanny in Bangladesh pierced my ears with a needle and thread. My mom was pretty shocked when she came home from work.
14. I was “landlord” to four amazing and beautiful girls in Toronto for almost a year and our house number was 420! haha.
15. I have an older sister who is 34 years old and a younger one who is 7.
16. I’ve swam in the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
17. I’m addicted to Sample Sales.
18. I didn’t learn to ride a bike till I was 15.
19. I had a hamster in my last year of college name Jammy the Jamster, and I loved him. RIP Jammy.
20. I’ve had a blog for over a year and love to write in it, but am afraid of over-sharing.
21. One of my favorite songs of all time is the jazz song “Lullaby of Birdland” and I’m still waiting to go to the namesake jazz bar in NYC.
22. My best friends in the whole wide world were born in Japan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Canada and Thailand.
23. I’m sometimes intimidated by girls with fab manicured nails and slightly put off by guys that get mani’s.
24. I’m finally growing up and am not that afraid of taking on responsibility – for myself, for my work and for others. However, I’m terrified of turning 25 in a few months!
25. I really hope that something from my 25 list doesn’t make it onto someone else’s “25 things I did NOT want to know about you” list. Like this one: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1877187,00.html
