I have mentioned Constant Companion RR countless time in my posts.
Who is Constant Companion RR? WHAT is Constant Companion RR??
Over the years, I have studied this weird individual intensively, over many situations and locations. In this post, I will try my best to profile Constant Companion RR to the best of my knowledge.
Also, this is upon Constant Companion RR‘s repeated request. I do have a lot of other things to write about, but I want her to get off my back regarding this.
Disclaimer: Constant Companion RR is ever-changing entity. Inconsistency is the only thing consistent with her. At this time of writing, everything is true and are subject to change without prior notice.
First Encounter
It was the first day of my 2nd year in school, circa 2002. With my new classmates-to-be, we stood outside the studio, waiting to be let in. For the most of us, since that was the first time we met each other. With the ice hardly broken, we mostly kept to ourselves, looking at each other, judging and observing in awkward silence.
This was after a year of foundation class in an Arts Institution. Everybody who gathered there that day, had chosen the same subject to major in and would be classmates for the next two years.
When I first laid my eyes on this Constant Companion RR, the first thing I noticed about that mysterious creature is that she had a headful of orangey hair (dyed, of course).
My first impression of Constant Companion RR is “Ah! She must be my subject senior.” as the door to the studio finally opened and we scampered in for the course’s briefing.
First Interaction
Right after the briefing, young people being young people, we had pretty warmed up with one another and, of course, cliques were formed. With my new found friends, we went down to the dingy school canteen where I found Constant Companion RR feeding on a plate of rice with assorted food stuff, with a fork, alone.
I approached her and our first exchange went something like this.
Me, smiling: “吃饭啊?” (Literally translates to: Eating rice? But the same words can be used to ask if the person if having a meal and if you can imagine, is quite a silly question.)
Constant Companion RR, smiling: “Yes.”
Me, smiling: “Okay. Enjoy!”
And I turned around and went off. The exchange was short and redundant.
At that point of time though, I thought nothing of what just happened. Since then, I had given some thought and I cringed a little on how superfluous that first line was. Asking someone having lunch if he/she was having lunch indeed.
Diet
- Constant Companion RR fares well on a diet of avocados and vegetables. She savors the individual taste of each ingredient by itself, undisturbed by any sauces.
Meat wise, she is a fan of fresh seafood and the occasional beef.
- Constant Companion RR‘s idea of cooking is nothing more than boiling something in hot water for a couple of seconds. She takes great pride in her “ability to create” delicious salads when all she ever do was to lift a finger and point at ingredients from a salad bar.
- I was taken back to know that Constant Companion RR sometimes, consumes fruits right out of the packaging without washing them first. I pointed out how disgusting that was and it was when I reminded her all the pesticides and chemicals she could have taken along with the unwashed fruits, that she promised she will clean them before consumption. Knowing her, she will only keep that promise until she is too lazy.
- To Constant Companion RR, there is good sugar and then there is bad sugar. Because of this, Constant Companion RR takes it upon herself to stand between me and sweet, delicious treats whenever possible.
- Constant Companion RR shuns most of the common chocolate product which are readily available everywhere, stating how “they are not real chocolate“. When she needs a fix of chocolate, she would choose something that has to be bought in a specialised shop, insisting that they are made from real cocoa.
- Anything with rice and flour (noodles, dumpling wrappers etc) does not sit well with her. She believes that a person does not need so much carbohydrate in his/her diet, but that is because the life of Constant Companion RR is one which does not revolves around manual labour.
- While her palate is generally more westernized, yet, strangely, Constant Companion RR enjoys traditional Chinese pastries. This is just one of the many examples, she lives her life on both ends of a spectrum.
- Oh. She hates carrots.
Habits/ Lifestyle
- Constant Companion RR is a creature of comfort. She has conducted an extensive research on mattresses and duvets. According to her, any mattresses smaller than queen size are meant for children.
- Constant Companion RR has no qualms eating in bed, scattering bits of food all over. As a cat lovers, she also gave both her house cats total access on her bed. That means at any point in time, her expensive and well-researched mattress and duvet are covered with scraps of food and cat hairs which is pretty nasty in my opinion.
Yet, despite having some icky habits, Constant Companion RR is a slight germaphobe.
- Speaking about Constant Companion RR‘s love for cats, I thought I should reiterate how much she loves cats. As a proud owner of a British Shorthair tom cat for 13 years, her poor cat always wear that resigned look on his face as his owner showers him with affection the way only Constant Companion RR normally does anything; annoyingly. I have personally witnessed the poor cat going through some of Constant Companion RR‘s idea of showing affection which includes singing and speaking in gibberish at the feline, rubbing her head against his head and body and gingerly laying her head down on the napping cat. While the cat’s physical well-being is very well taken care of, it is his psyche that I worry about. Subjected to years of Constant Companion RR’s annoyance, I can understand why the cat has a permanent scowl on his face and a need to sleep all the time. If there is a cartoon character which can describe Constant Companion RR perfectly, it would be Warner Brothers’ Elmyra Duff.
- On the rare occasion when she does eat rice, she will do it with fork when I personally feel it would be easier with a spoon. Spoons are only for soups, she claims.
- Constant Companion RR likes to take her own sweet time to prepare for the day in the morning, only to rush out of the house head first, like a panicking deer at the last minute. If only she would learn how to balance her “commuting time” and “preparation time“.
- When something piques her interest, Constant Companion RR will compulsively pursuit it. Her current interest is all about fitness. Almost religiously, she will perform a set of body weight exercises at home on a daily basis regardless of the state of her body. To add up to the amount of daily physical activity, she will often walk the distance of several Tube stations, if not all, the way home from work. This is something I sort of admire about her; her single-minded determination and self-discipline to do anything that she, at the moment, is interested in until either exhaustion or boredom sets in.
- Prior to traveling, Constant Companion RR does not like to remember important details like flight dates and time, claiming that when the day to fly is nearing, she will automatically sensed it in the air which will then prompt her to check. Constant Companion RR absolutely detest packing her luggage; it always done last minute, with the help of her housemate (or anybody else actually) who basically does everything for her.
- Though she has straight, smooth, beautiful, black hair, Constant Companion RR prefers to tie them up into a messy bun, looking very much like a dishevel, drunken Taoist priest.
- Constant Companion RR is obsessed with clean toilets which I can understand. On the top of my head, I figured that on average, getting her to a clean toilet makes up about 17% of our travels. I am getting quite proficient at locating lavatories.
On the “porcelain throne”, she can spend an unnecessary amount of time. While I do not know what happens behind closed door, she tells me that she sometimes, does bodyweight squats just to clock her daily workout.
Mentality
- Constant Companion RR has the ability to express vivid imagery regarding the state of her mind. When her mind slows down and she cannot think straight or efficiently, she describes it as having a fluffy, white cloud slowly floating along. Alarmingly, it happens quite frequently and one can tell exactly when it occurs simply by her blank stare.
- In addition to her “Fluffy Cloud”, Constant Companion RR recently added a very classic, “toy monkey with cymbals”. I named the monkey, “Chi Chi”. This new mascot allows her to describe a more diverse range of mental states in greater details.
Excited? Chi Chi clashes his cymbals with great enthusiasm and hops around in his fixed seated position.
Drained? Chi Chi gradually clashes his cymbals less energetically until with one final hop, he flops down on his side, motionless.
Annoyed? Chi Chi covers his ears with his cymbals, screeching.
- Constant Companion RR always worries that she might somehow jinx herself by saying things too outright. For example, regardless whether things are going well or bad for her, when asked how things are, Constant Companion RR will reply with a very vague and general answer like, “It is okay”.
In fact, most of her comments fall all over the Grey Area; they are almost never a definite Black or White. Whenever confronted, Constant Companion RR will use her bullet-proof reply, “It is my way of answering. You just do not get it.”
- Constant Companion RR found her ideal romance from the movie, “Natural Born Killers“. While I have not watched the movie, she has explained that it is the movie’s concept of completely giving oneself to another, unconcerned with anything else/ disregarding any consequences, that she finds so romantic. I am glad she did not find murdering people amorous.
Conclusion
You might now think that you have a better understanding on this unique character that is Constant Companion RR, but I assure you that you still do not. Never be too sure about her and take everything you have read today with a grain of salt.
To sum things up, Constant Companion RR is…
- a cat lover
- vague; always grey, never black and white
- bipolar
Ian KHF 