cougartown

Today is the day I say adieu to one decade and aloha to another. There must be a correlation between aging and time flying...or is it that time is flying because I'm having fun? While the previous decade had a lot of turbulent learnings, the last decade was where the learnings turned into living. It was a decade full of good and bad moments, but the common theme was that they were all pivotal points of some sort:

• Lived through 9/11 and the aftermath. See carpe diem.
• Lost my virginity - I know that it may seem like a shock to many for different reasons: 1) for those who thought I was a sexual prowess up to that point...yeah, no...fooled you!; 2) for those who thought I would save it for marriage, well Mr. Right never came a'knockin and come on, I held off long enough. Yet one doesn't experience something like 9/11 and not think of all the things on one's bucket list. But I do apologize to the individual whom I've known had a crush on me since college and approached within the month after to start the bucket list - a bit straightfoward and definitely callous of me. However, it eventually happened with a different person and on the right terms.
• Learned to love (at least to the extent that I was capable at that point in my life).
• Purchased my first apartment. 
• Achieved the ultimate level at work. While I had eventually given up in the prior decade on seeking my parents' approval and while they still have no clue what I do, they understood enough of the accomplishment that I was told that dad teared up with pride.
• Blessed with the most loving, adventurous, curious, intelligent nieces and nephews who constantly entertain and amuse their favorite and crazy aunt (no biasness whatsoever).
• Purchased my first house.
• Experienced loss. See in loving memory.
• Became a godmother to a beautiful goddaughter with wonderful parents.
• Found me! See unanswered prayers.
• Met my soulmate, at least one of them. 😄 And while the first meet was when I was still the shy, cautious self, I got the opportunity to see him again in the confident skin, and it was much more fun. Ironically, it was because of the regrets from the first meeting that I started throwing caution to the wind - living a fearless life.
• Sold the apartment and paid off all the mortgages.
• Prioritized, packed up and relocated for new adventures.

If the pattern and momentum of history is any indication of the trajectory of my life, the next decade is bound to be better. ROAR!

it takes a village (part 2)

Someone I met a few months ago as a potential business client is taking a medical leave of absence for a few months to de-stress. She came to Vietnam a number of years ago as an expat wife. Her husband's company put them in a large house with a staff of 10, more than what an elderly couple would need. While other expat wives were busy playing mahjong, luncheoning and gossiping with each other, she decided to call a meeting of her household staff to talk about goals and dreams.

One of her housekeepers responded that she is not qualified to have a goal. She did not finish high school because she had to take care of her parents and siblings as the oldest daughter. The expats eventually decided to downsize their abode and have subsequently retired. However, she is now the CEO of a not-for-profit organization and owner of an interior design and furniture store that is managed by the ex-housekeeper who thought that she could not amount to more than a housekeeper and is now functioning as the president of the store, which has never had an unprofitable year. She is the first person in her family to have purchased a house.

The gardener ended up owning his own landscaping business with a little bit of seed money. He eventually sold the business for a profit and moved onto other ventures. The driver now works as the communications and business development manager of the not-for-profit organization as it turns out that he has a knack for building relationships and chatting it up with random individuals (a skill set he developed during all the idle time waiting with the car). Here's to her quick recovery and a reminder that we all should dare to dream...

the road less traveled

I finally decided to do the touristy things during my latest trip to Bangkok. I'm usually not a huge fan of typical tourist attractions, especially after going to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, which probably still ranks in the top 10, possibly numero uno, of the biggest disappointments. I can now check off blessings from the Emerald Buddha (who is really made of jade) at the Grand Palace, a long tailboat ride at the Damnoen Saduak floating market, and a bare-back elephant ride.

But when a friend invited me to go on a random neighborhood walkabout in the shanty town near Phra Pin-klao and Rama VIII bridges, I was totally game. He explained that he got lost a few years ago and ended up in the area, making a mental note to come back and explore. We had no map and no clue what we would discover. It was a great afternoon of discoveries and meeting such friendly people who were happy to share their lives and feed our curiosities.

A few things we learned:

• Monks get cremated, and the cremation chamber has a number of wide doors that are opened for the soul to fly.
• Bhuddists believe that there are 65 heavens (six worlds of desires with 60 levels in the sixth world).
• Only 2.7 million of the 65 million people in Thailand pay taxes since it is mostly a cash-based, sole proprietorship society (similar to Vietnam).
• Although it is more developed with a huge reliance on the tourism industry, less people speak English in Bangkok than in Saigon.
• Similarly, there is also less free wifi.
• Wind blows in the opposite direction of the direction of the rainclouds.
• Thailand is probably the only country where the entire country is predominantly one religion - so cultural and religious beliefs are difficult to distinguish one from the other.
• The society views raising children as a group effort rather than individual parent(s)' effort.

We ended up getting lost trying to find a restaurant that he somehow remembered he wanted to try. Although we ended up a different place, it had a live local band, riverfront views, and with only one other foreigner there. The night ended with a nightcap at Khao San road, another touristy spot, but at that point, I stopped noticing.

another lifetime

When I went to New York for college, there were many occasions during that four-year period where I was in constant awe and development of my life experiences after having grown up in small town America in an immigrant family. As I got older, those moments have lessen as I got used to the lifestyle and experiences of 'keeping up with the Joneses'. Part of the appeal to relocate across the world was to recapture some of the excitement of new learnings and experiences.

My first trip to Hong Kong has now set a high bar. Upon our arrival, we were whisked to a beach on a remote island that can only be accessed by private boat. It was a catered, theme party for someone's 30th birthday. Au d'oeuvres and champagne were brought to us while we were frolicking in the ocean. Warm water, beautiful weather and good friends - a formula for great fun that ended with dancing on the top deck of a boat surrounded by fresh ocean breeze and scent under a cloudless sky filled with stars and moonlight.

Just when I thought the surreal moment was the highlight of the weekend, we ended up at another part of the remote island on Sunday finding snails, exploring caves, and drinking and chatting it up on a millionaire's speedster. Lunch at Jaspas Beach Club that can also only be accessed by boat was full of laughs and casualness. We all had a hard time leaving to catch our flight that evening, and for once, I was hoping to miss my flight. More importantly, I met new friends from all walks of life (from farmers to entrepreuners) that appear to just enjoy life and tell it like it is - something I find I miss a lot living in a very passive-aggressive country like Vietnam. They reminded me of my friends in New York, and while I'm not entirely sure whether it is the metropolitan city that shapes people or whether people like that gravitates to such cities, I just know it was a breath of fresh air for me.

Of course, I didn't realize how unconventional my weekend was as a 'day in the life' of a Hong Kong tourist until I got back to the realities of everyday life and was told that Hong Kong does not have any nice beaches so I could not have spent a weekend in Hong Kong. Looking back, it was definitely one of those 'who would have thunk?' moments. Here's to more of where that came from!! Cheers!

color me confused

While many currencies in Asia are linked to the US dollar, each country has its own currency although I wish they would learn from the benefits of the Euro...ok on second thought, maybe not, given the economic situation in Europe. I used to have a mug with random coins from my travels since they usually wouldn't convert the coins back to the US dollar. Of course, I would always forget that I had them when I went back to the respective countries - I have loonies galore.

I have stopped converting now since I plan on making numerous trips back and forth during my stint in Asia. My travels though have not taught me to be any more efficient in discerning the notes and coins. Even in Vietnam, there are times where I catch myself giving the wrong currency since the colors of the notes are similar (VND 500,000 is a similar blue as VND 20,000) - a very few honest individuals have given me the notes back. There are so many colors that it baffles me why we cannot have a note in purple, for example.

To add to the confusion, Hong Kong is one of those rare countries where they do not have just the central bank printing the notes. Certain coins/notes are minted/printed by not only the central bank but also three approved banks with their own branding. At first blush, I thought people were giving me counterfeit bills as change - one of those 'take advantage of the stupid tourist' scenarios. Even after understanding the system though, I'm still convinced that there is a component of 'stupid tourist' traps, especially when it involves imbibing Absolut and Jack!