Notes of a Desolate Libra

Thought this was worth a write-up.

I am not a super superstitious person. I admit, there are certain things that I am more uptight about and prefer to follow. There is a saying in Chinese: rather believe it to be true than not 寧願信其有,不可信其無. That’s the general thinking regarding things that may bring bad luck.

Well, my luck with flying has been hilarious. There’s ALWAYS a certain incident before I fly. It’s happened so often that I have come to expect it. For example, my most recent flights:

1) JP/TW trip (10/2008): right before I left for the airport, the strap to my bookbag broke (MAJOR bad juju). My mom stared blank-faced and then rushed to say: “well wasn’t it good that it happened before the trip?” Mind you, at the time I was going insane because of all the bad stuff that had happened so far in 2008 and I was already envisioning my plane engulfed by flames and plummeting into the Pacific… now this…

2) Puerto Rico trip (12/2008): my travel partner Lan, right before we were to board, got very sick and spent a lot of time in the bathroom. We didn’t run onto the plane until after their final call. Then while she was on the plane, she locked herself in the bathroom and we almost got “escorted” off the plane because we were causing the plane to be grounded and the crew was skeptical as to whether or not we were (physically) fit to fly. Needless to say, I was endlessly grateful when Lan was able to make it out of the bathroom somewhat recovered and the plane finally took off. The crew was so afraid we’d come down with something that they were super nice to us the entire trip.

3) Hong Kong trip (5/2009): this time I got sick right before the flight and I thought I was developing a fever. Now, normally this wouldn’t be a huge issue, but remember this was at the height of the swine flu fever and if I exhibited any symptom at all (esp. a fever) I probably would had ended up quarantined. Fortunately, by the time I got on the plane I was feeling fine again (took some fever meds) and the rest of the flight proved uneventful.

4) San Francisco flight (6/2009): I, being the insanely distracted person I was, forgot that my ride to the airport (provided by my dear friend Jeremy) was supposed to show up at 4 and thought it was supposed to be 3… and of course, by 3:30 when he didn’t show up (and of course by my luck he had fatefully forgotten his cell phone on this day, my entire family started panicking. Somehow though, I thought it was extremely funny, because I knew this – SOMETHING – was going to happen. And it did.

Now… it’s not like I enjoy these little incidents. Actually every time there was potential that something bad could’ve happen… but I guess it didn’t… and looking back, they *are* kind of funny.

Another thing about traveling alone though, I started chatting with the elderly gentleman who sat  next to me on my flight to SF (he had a mask on the whole flight so we didn’t actually talk until the end of the flight). Mr. Liu had guessed I was Chinese from the Tarot book I was reading and I ended up giving him my business card and asked him to let me know if he ever needed help with any translations. Fun, eh? :)

Travel 2008, Hong Kong, Japan, Planes, Puerto Rico, San Francisco, Taiwan, Travelogue

Wednesday 05/20/09

All three of us were back in HK now. Boss had a good trip in BJ and we’re going for another round of negotiations. This time around, everything went quite well and we were expecting that the details would be ironed out in the next day. We were supposed to have dinner with one of our clients but he canceled on us last minute so I actually had time to meet with my friends. Miu Lee was coming by to drop by a wallet that she got for me because I brought up in casual conversation that I needed one (yup, this is the type of sweet friends I have) so I just grabbed her and also called Ron out. I also contacted Sipak Robin since I wasn’t sure if I had another chance to meet with him. Even though it was so last minute, everyone was kind enough to run out and meet me around Times Sq. At that time I had a massive headache/migraine and was feeling ill, but I wasn’t going to miss the rare chance to hang out with everyone before I run back to NYC even though if I ended up moving to HK I’d have plenty of opportunities. Never wait – NEVER wait to do something you really want to do or say the things you want to say– that’s the lesson I’ve learned.

On the way there, I started feeling really unwell and after an unsuccessful walk around Sogo (food level, ML knew better than to take me to the shopping center), I had ML half carry me to Hui Lau San across the street and I collapsed there for about an hour while ML ate her mango pudding. Having a migraine is possibly one of the worst things ever to have to go through. Someone described it as a “near death” experience every time. There’s just no way to stop it. It was not just pain; it was a dizziness that I didn’t know how to deal with and that brought on near-despair. I would have been happy to roll on the ground if I could get rid of the pain. But nope, that wasn’t going to work. Finally, by the time Ron got here, I reached my limit. The bathroom at HLS was “in repair” (although we saw people coming in and out) so I just ran out to the streets (right across from Sogo), leaned on a post and… eventually puked my brains out.

After puking – ahh… alive again. The lady at the newspaper stand right in front of HLS offered me some ointments but I politely declined (I didn’t want to stink like Chinese medicine the whole night) and she ended up putting some newspaper over… err… the parts of me left behind at Times Sq ^^b.

Fortunately, that meant that by the time Sipak Robin got there, I was about 50%. I thought it was amusing since none of the 3 of them knew each other and we just sat at the same table and chatted about random things. If I had been well I could’ve handled the situation better… but I was barely able to hold myself together. But everyone was well behaved (lol) and sociable and everything went smoothly.

After chatting for about an hour (this is after I had been sitting there for an hour already), we felt bad for the crowd waiting out side (we were all done with our drinks) so left. Ron was kind enough to walk me home and we had a nice chat. It was strange since we met up less than 2 weeks (but felt like a lifetime) ago in New York. This was when I thought moving to HK wouldn’t be so bad after all. I have a lot of great friends in HK and I could travel anywhere in Asia easily.

Thursday 05/21/09

As I had learned before, it’s when you thought something was going to work for sure and you take it for granted that it falls completely apart. It was a strange morning… but it’s amazing how much your life trajectory can change in one day.

We had a negotiation meeting in the beginning and somehow it just started falling apart. I didn’t understand what was going on but was trying my best to salvage things. But I could clearly feel that the two sides were drifting apart and if that was what my boss wanted (I wasn’t sure if we were having “real” differences or if this was just part of their strategy) at some point I just gave up.

After we walked out, my boss and teammate told me they had something to tell me and to be prepared: the group that we had been negotiating with for the past two weeks were professional con men and are actually wanted criminals in China. My boss and teammate spent the previous evening “dealing” with the issue at the police station and then decided to keep me in the dark for my own good (so I could actually be surprised if the police showed up). Let’s just say, that was probably the biggest shock of my life and it twisted everything around in 1 minute. I think due to my Libra personality, I was able to deal with it very quickly. In some way, I’m relieved. Everyone else was somewhat flipping out still, but I think that things work out in their own ways. One of my teammates laughing commented that this could be in the next John Grisham novel. ^^

Since we had the rest of the afternoon off and A was busy, I decided to run off to the IWTA HK HQ and do a little shopping (yes I was actually able to SHOP for some stuff). I got off at Mong Kok instead of Tsim Sha Tsui because I really wanted to walk. On the way there, I was able to pick up the stuff my mom wanted (random pharmacy on the way there) and also got HLS again. It was really funny since I had REALLY wanted HLS but didn’t see one anywhere on my way down from Mong Kok. Then when I almost at the HQ I took a detour to visit the TinHau temple and lo and behold there was HLS straight across from the temple! So yea… somehow things just… turn out right in their own ways. ^^

The signature tourist pose

I met up with Sipak, who helped me do the WT shopping and then took me over to the HQ’s and took some pictures. It was really funny to be in the HQ (although it was empty, maybe for the best because I didn’t have to figure out how to address everyone >_<) and see all the pictures and banners. We started taking funny pictures but I didn’t dare pose with the wooden dummy because I felt like I was still inadequate. Then later in the evening I went to dinner with my boss and a large media group and had an interesting conversation. It never ceases to amuse me how much my boss knows about China and the connections that he has. After dinner A+A came to my hotel room (ML wasn’t able to make it) and we just spent some time chatting. I preferred this so much more than hanging out in a shopping mall.

It’s been an amazing trip. I’ve learned tons, met people I never dreamed of meeting, saw the HQ’s of IWTA and got some items and books, and got to see some of my best friends!

Kind of... scandalous?

Friday 05/22/09

Time to go back to NYC! I realized that:
1) You can check in at the Central Airport Express location and you only need to get there about 2 hours in advance because the line is very short.
2) But these are morphing check in counters, i.e. if your flight is in the morning and that’s that particular airline’s only flight out of HK for the day, then your counter will be gone in the afternoon.
3) If you’re with a handicapped person (o_O) you get through the lines a LOT faster.

On the other side of the ocean (and time difference)… it felt good to be home!!! I ended up working until late to unpack and organize everything.. Whatever life has planned for me… I shall face it with the new experiences and wisdom I’ve gained from my trip! Everything somehow works out… somehow. ^^

Travel Hong Kong, Travelogue

Monday 05/18/09

Surprise!

Our morning was action packed. It was a mad dash between Terminals 1 and 2 at HKG to get our tickets for Hainan (our trip was such short notice that we weren’t able to get the actual tickets but only the reservations). Fortunately, everything turned out OK and we were on our way to Hainan right in time.

We were unexpected greeted by a “welcoming crew” (as my teammate put it). When we landed in Sanya airport, we were kept on the plane and we didn’t know why until people in full protective gear armed with a camera pointed directly at us turned up at the door and proceeded to inspect our temperatures one by one. We thought they were going to drag someone off the plane (which didn’t happen). It was so amusing that I sneaked in a picture. The lady sitting next to me said “if they can take pictures of us, why not take a picture back.” True, of course. I do wonder what would have happened if they caught me doing it though. All of the passengers were actually having a good time (at least we were smiling despite the delay).

Outside my hotel room window

We had a hectic trip before us. Good thing Hainan was so beautiful that it made the crazy running around worthwhile. We were on the Southern tip of the island and had to rush to see a few properties and then rush up to the Northern part of the island to see a few more the next day. The Holiday Inn that we stayed at was gorgeous, with a beautiful view of the ocean. NOT the same Holiday Inn that we’re used to in the US. The hotel also had a little pool of fish that swims up and massages your feet and eats the dead skin on your feet. I had to give it a try. :) In the mornings it also had someone teaching Taichi in the gardens.

Eat away, fishies!

Our hosts in Hainan were very kind to us and I asked my teammate whether or not he thinks they’re legitimate. He thought so and I hoped so. But regardless of whether or not they were crooks (which is always an ever present danger when you’re in business, especially in China). We can only hope that people are genuine, but you just never know. I think the only complaint they had all day was “ok, one of them doesn’t eat pork and the other doesn’t eat beef, this makes ordering meat very difficult.” Yes… chicken & seafood please. :)

Tuesday 05/19/09

We had to wake up at 6ish again (which I have been doing for the past few days) and went all the way up to the N of the island. The N side was more of a disappointment. I really liked Hainan for its simplicity and the innocence that the people were able to retain. Haikou, the N city, was just like every other metropolis that we have seen and did not have the charm that Sanya did. Aside from the mad rush, the day wasn’t too bad. We got back to HK and then later went out to dinner together. Chatting with my teammate is always delightful. We shared traveling experiences (we both see the immigration stamps on our passports our badges of honor) and also our thoughts on the differences between E and W. What are the chances that two people are different as us would have the chance to share our life views and observations on humanity? One day I hope to visit his vegetable garden (and take some veggies home)… I mean, a terrace large enough for a vegetable garden in midtown Manhattan? That’s gotta be a sight.

Coconuts!

During this time, I was still taking freelance. I was in severe lack of rest, but I appreciated every chance I had to do the type of work that I wanted to make a lifetime ambition. Who knows if I would change it later, but right now, it makes me happy and proud.

Travel Hainan, Hong Kong, Travelogue

Saturday 05/16/09 (recap)

Entrance Hallway

After an entire morning of not hearing from the other party, we decided to hop on over to Macau. This was exciting for me since I’ve actually never been to Macau despite the multiple times I’ve been to HK. I don’t shop or gamble so there really had been no reason for me to go there. The MGM was having a Czech Food Festival (who’d've thought?) so we enjoyed some dancing and singing while we had lunch. The rest of the casino (MGM & Wynn) was not that impressive. Their scale was rather disappointing (despite that we’ve all been told Macau kicks Las Vegas’ @$$) and the attendance was lacking. That’s until we got to the Venetian. I have to say, if there is one casino that you have to see in Macau, it would be the Venetian. It was gorgeous! Beautiful paintings on the walls and roofs, canals and gondolas (it was hilarious to see Chinese ppl dressed as gondola operators), even the hallway decoration was taken straight from Las Vegas.

We didn’t have a chance to see the other side of the island, which had the Portuguese style buildings. But I guess at least I’ll have something to look forward to if I decide to return to Macau.

We received the contract later in the night and of course it was all in Chinese and they didn’t even bother changing the wording of the notes and suggestions that I made and simply copy and pasted them. Some of them weren’t even complete sentences (e.g. “perhaps add article for assets and liabilities?”). At this point it didn’t matter to me. To my teammates, this was an opportunity of a lifetime, but for me, I have said before and I will always keep in mind that I am on this journey because a wonderful man who saw and appreciated my worth wanted to help me pave a road for myself so that I could potentially land myself in a job that will provide for my entire family and expand my career. It’s for his trust and love that I am doing this trip and that’s the only reason I would work my @$$ off for no pay. If it comes through, I’ll be happy, if it doesn’t, as long as everyone is provided for (which they are), I’ll still be fine.

One of our teammates left on Friday and one today. So it was down to 3 of us in HK now.

Sunday 05/17/09 (recap)

Today began my 3 day insane journey. Day trips to Guangzhou are NOT fun, though now with the direct train, it’s a lot more comfortable. I went with my remaining teammate. By chance we met two gentlemen on the train who was quarantined for a week and a half, first in a hotel, and then at a camping site probably in New Territory. There was a woman on their plane who was sick and about 20 people in their group had to be quarantined. They took in stride and treated it like a vacation. They were impressed with the HK government and the health employees because they tried their best to provide whatever these gentlemen needed. The campsite was also a nice breath of fresh air and they even did yoga in the rock garden that was right across from their cabins. It was such a pleasure talking to W people after so many days of dealing with the Chinese. It was direct and we didn’t have to worry about “crossing lines”. We then heard from our boss (he went to BJ), who apparently was unfortunate enough to have been on the same plane as a woman who had an extremely high fever. Now, it would seem reasonable to avoid getting on a plane if you already have a temperature of 103. But some people are just not reasonable. Of course, he did not give them his actual contact information and in the end it seemed everything was fine (that lady didn’t end up in the news after she was carried out by the authorities).

See ya later, alligator >_<

Guangzhou was less… cloudy than I remembered. The city was less filthy, but it was still not a city that I would live in. You could immediately feel the difference between HK and GZ (China). Our friend there took us to a HUGE restaurant where you can pick your own (sea)food and cook it right there… and we found certain things that made us rather… squeamish… D:

We met a few developers and people who had projects to pitch to my teammate. It’s amusing. I talked to my teammate after meeting them and each time he explained to me how he knew they were crooks. He had had so many years of experience working with people and doing deals and he told me that in the beginning, what’s most telling is the stuff that they *do* say, but after about 10 years, it’s the things that they *don’t* say that really tells you the most about them. Really, sometimes I wonder if people think Americans are all dumb idiots who have all money and no brains. They don’t really realize that a lot of Americans got to where they are by working really hard. This particular teammate, for example, is from a family of real estate developers, starting with his grandfather. But he had worked his way up from garbage collector to bathroom cleaner to carrying wood for the carpenter… and so on. He worked for 10 years without a break to make his own fortune, and then had a breakdown and made a promise to himself that before he dies, he will visit 100 countries. He’s doing quite well so far by going to an average of 5 a year.

The saddest thing was that one person we met was the son of a very prominent government official in Chinese modern history with a very good reputation… but he turned out to be pretty much scum of the earth. He first told me that “it’s your job to go get tea for us” when we have barely sat down and then went on to speak to me as if I’m some bimbo from the streets (cutie 美女 this cutie that, “let’s open the doors so everyone can see you”, ordered a drink that “I would definitely like” and it’s filled with agar and sweet juice wth). I had so little respect for him (I had some before because of his father, but no longer) that I did what I do with everyone I really dislike: I smiled and nodded to whatever he said and provided absolutely no reaction. I put on my mask. My teammate asked me later: Couldn’t he see that you’re my friend? Why is he treating you like that? And I promptly replied: He probably thought I was just a random Chinese girl you picked on your trip for “temporary companionship.” = =+

I must say though, my teammate’s passion for his work really moved me. He said it’s all the micro that added up to the macro and it’s because of his love for his work that he was able to make it so far. Whatever we do, really, passion is essential.

Travel Hong Kong, Travelogue

It was another day of meetings, but fortunately I was only expected to attend the morning one and not the afternoon one. So after the morning meeting, I ran off to meet up with Alvin and Alicia. Since by now I knew I wasn’t going to Beijing but to Hainan Island instead, I decided I probably need to prepare some light clothing… and made the mistake of thinking I could stand shopping.

Working hard to master the self-pic

A+A were kind enough to drive me around to a shopping center that was split into a “local” mall (cheap clothing and accessories) and middle class mall (think Banana Republic level). Anyone who knows me can predict the outcome – miserable failure. I was in there for less than 5 minutes before I started collapsing on Alicia (who was actually shopping for herself). The only thing I ended up buying (rather, they treated me) was a juice. I had my usual cases of disorientation and dizziness, which the masses of Chinese people didn’t help at all. After about an hour and a half of walking around and whining about how I should never have listened to myself about going shopping, A+A kicked me onto the metro headed to my dinner place. I got there slightly early and ended up sitting around and doing people watching. Really, this was what it meant to be in the moment. Regardless of how much I disliked HK, it was a great city. And what’s the point of hating a city that you have to be in anyway?

My teammates gave me a sweet surprise: because I was out with friends and they went to the Peak without me, they apparently missed me enough to create my name (“C”) in sushi. Although it was with my most hated sashimi (tuna), I forgave them because it was so adorable. Imagine a group of men ages between 37-66 collectively missing a (relatively) little girl and creating her name with sushi. It’s one of the cutest things anyone’s done for me (although there have been an incredible amount of sweet things that my friends have done for me… because I have so many wonderful friends :D). The other funny thing is the 5 of us all squeezing into a HK taxi. If you’ve seen pictures of everyone (below)… you really wonder how that’s actually possible (of course, I’m always the one with the role of the “wedge” sitting with most of my body hanging off the seat… lol).

Starlight Starbright

Being in Asia with a bunch of 100% Westerners, the difference between W and E culture really hits home. The W guys all gave me incredible amount of respect whereas I kept on getting called “little girl” by the E men and getting slighted. Now, I don’t consider myself all that important. But it seemed that the W people would actual value intelligence over brand. All of the guys I am with have done great things of their own (one of them developed the building that is currently the most expensive building in Manhattan and my boss had played bridge with Mr. Deng Xiaoping), but none of them were even close to arrogant and I could actually have a decent conversation with all of them. I couldn’t imagine myself doing that with any of the E people I have met on this trip. Maybe that just means I’ve been too Westernized.

We were being treated to dinner by a lovely lady for a major Thai corporation who is based in SH. She took us to Savaan, which was on the top of the Prince’s Tower in Central. It was a beautiful, slightly SE Asian flavored restaurant with a gorgeous balcony (which I was too shy to step onto b/c it seemed like it was so bustling with activity). The food was good (but not AMAZING) but the ambiance was without comparison.

Random thoughts:

Past and Future

I had a strange feeling of everything merging together – time and space (TW in 2008, HK in 2006, HK in 2009, and so on…). Mr. James Wang (one of the amazing people I met on this trip) said that there are parallel universes, each of which is occurring at the same exact time but all of them are distinct and may be of a different space and time that we have personally experienced/are experiencing. He traveled through a wormhole while crossing the bay on the Star Ferry and saw it for himself. Now, this is a man whose work is based on science and rational thought, but he is also spiritual and allows room for such thoughts that some may deem completely nuts. He is currently on a trip to India. He told us that there is a leaf there that has had his name written on it for 2000 years, which he has set off to find, accompanied by his wife. I don’t know if he would find this leaf, but what I find extremely touching is his wife, Ester, who, regardless of whether or not she has the same beliefs, gives her husband and his beliefs unconditional support and love. Sometimes cases like these lead me to feel that perhaps there is still possibility out there to find someone who is exactly matched to you (give or take a few customizable parts ^^).

I guess another huge difference between then and now is that now, whenever someone stretches, my brain is automatically programmed to think that they are doing a form in WT. It’s one of the most dorky things, but I think it’s absolutely fun. I also sometimes can’t help but “stretch” on the train… I think it serves to avoid trouble.

Oh… and I love my new toys (Netbook: L, Camera: Hikaru). <3

Musings, Travel East vs. West, Hong Kong, Parallel Universes, Travelogue, WingTsun 詠春, Wormhole