how old am i?

i'm always curious how old people think i am. generally, i think the majority of people think i am younger, which is a good thing. i don't get mad when i still get asked for my ID.

but it's hard to get an unbiased guess because you'd always have a frame of reference. for example, if i asked someone at work, they'd know i'm new to the company, a recent graduate, etc. if i asked a new acquaintance, they'd know me from someone else, and that person becomes their frame of reference. even if i ask a random stranger on the street, they'd still have something to guess from. i might be dressed in a hoodie and jeans by my house, which is right beside the U of T campus, so they'd think i'm young. but if i'm in a suit and on bay st, they might think i'm older.

one time, someone at work asked me how old i was. i should have asked her how old she thought i was before i answered. after i told her i was 24, she said she thought i was around 26. not because i looked older, but because she thought i was mature and articulate, and the fact that i moved out here by myself for a job made her think i was older. that's a better answer than saying i look old.

when i went into the bank this past summer, the teller saw my age pop up on the screen, she asked if i was 23, and i said yes, in which she replied "whoa, i thought you were 15 or something." i thought she was being ridiculous.

and then yesterday, i met my aunt's sisters for the first time, and both of them thought i was younger. like way younger. one of them said i was 8 years older than what she thought i was! she said she thought i was around the same age as my two cousins, they just turned 15. maybe it was because i was hanging out with them watching harry potter, rather than the adults playing mah jong. i don't know if i look 8 years younger, but it's better than looking 8 years older.

here's to having asian genes.