wHOami

Name: Michael Ming-Ta Ho

Sex: Male

Nicknames: Fat-Ho, Mick, Mickey and Ho

About the Site: It’s taken a long time to settle on a name that I like for the blog but as of 2009 my blog has been titled “Polysyllabic Nerd”.  It’s pretty self-explanatory and there’s probably no denial that I am a bit of a nerd who has a healthy appreciation of most things literary.  I can’t be pigeoned-holed into a complete nerd as I also really enjoy other things in life, but as I have not got a musically talented bone in my body it’s difficult to justify calling my blog “polyphonic” – music being something that has made significant impact on my life, so much so that my previous blog ‘title was “Danke Schoen” which in German quite literally means ‘Thank you very much’.

The title was mostly chosen because I’m a sentimental guy and I believe that I have a lot to be thankful and grateful for, but also it’s one of a few favourite jazz songs that has me singing loudly, proudly and disgracefully.

Motto’s and philosophies on life:

Vincit qui se vincit – Pronounced and articulated as ViniViniVini, what does it mean? It’s actually Latin for “He conquers who conquers himself”. This was our uninspiring school motto and to this day I have no real desire to conquer myself. If anything, life is about learning more about yourself, less about conquering and more about being a better person, which means you can never really conquer yourself even in the metaphorical sense that school tried to jam down our throats. I’ve also put it down as it deserves a mention as possibly the high school motto that offers the most comedic value based on the sheer hypocrisy of the school’s competitive and academic nature.  The majority of students choose to do well but NOT to “better” themselves as the motto apparently implies but rather to do better than other peers.  Don’t get me wrong I have fond memories of high school and for the most part enjoyed the time I had there, but I also witnessed some changes that suggest that the only things students would be conquring were their books.  Extra-curricular activities which helped define so many students (including myself) were no longer seen as priorities.

110% (One Hundred and Ten Percent) - Sounds like a cliché because it is. It is effective for a simple person like me. For someone who can’t remember much; “110%” simply means to give it your all, in no matter what you pursue and although I don’t always quite get there, for the most part you will know that I have given it everything I had.

Trying is a part of failing. If you are afraid to fail then you’re afraid to try. That’s the simple and short of it, if you don’t at least try things once you’re losing out on valueable life experience.

This is was so true about me a long time ago, until I realised that you really ‘never, never know if you never, never go” (Stupid television advertisements)

Hope – Simply put Stephen King summarises it beautifully in his book “Shawshank Redemption”, which is also one of my favourite movies. In the book Andy says two things “Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can you set you free” and that “Hope is a good thing – maybe the best thing, and no good thing ever dies” I personally think that a world without hope is a sad place, but I say that sitting in the comfort of my own home, in front of the computer.

Have Fun – But not at other people’s expense (this excludes paying/bagging out and/or playing tricks on your friends).

There is beauty in Everything – Make time for yourself to relax and reflect – There’s nothing like going at a million miles an hour to stop you from appreciating the small things in life, remember also to look up every now and then, you’ll be surprised to see how beautiful the world actually is.

How I would describe me: Quietly Boisterous, Passively Aggressive, Intolerably Patient, Lovingly Annoying, Beautifully Ugly, Uselessly Helpful, Competitively Relaxed and Extraordinarily Average.  Nouns (not adjectives) that others have used to label me: Tool, Dumbass, Wanker, Dickhead, Loser, Pig, Smart-arse and Fat-ass!

Political Persuasion: Not easily persuaded

Religious Background: Free thinking, open minded individual