happy father's day + leaving beijing

before the post proper, he's a shameless preamble. warning: very very shameless egotrip coming.

i am realising more and more how goodlooking i am. i was in my father's office conference room. backfacing the door. the secretary came in to speak with my father. as she was leaving, she saw me and kept her eyes on me and bang! hit the door. my father and i had such a good laugh. hahaha. just last week, i was getting my portrait drawn. i also had a family photo there as i wanted a portrait of my family too. the sales people told me i was very shuai. i thought they were simply flattering me. but as it turns out, they started commenting on my family when they saw the photo. the were literally arguing! one was saying my mum looked very elegant but another was saying nah, my dad was handsome. i was like, whatever, they're husband and wife, can't they both look good? from there, i know that i have goodlooking genes. and then they started debating about my brothers and i. their conclusion: all three goodlooking but i'm the bestlooking. wahahahaha. it is important to note that they weren't talking to me. they were having their own debate. i was posing for my own portrait. but i was within hearing distance. prior to coming to beijing, i will always remember the day i bumped into my cousin and friends at starbucks plaza sing. he introduced me to this girl who simply melted shaking my hand. she literally said, "hi handsome". my cousin was like, "so i'm not handsome?" she went, "you are handsome, but he is very very handsome." all this time, she was still holding on to my hand. unfortunately i suspected she was too young and hence, didn't even get her number. hahaha.

such a long preamble.

it's father's day. i have a wonderful father. coming to beijing has been really great. and one of the great things is getting to know my father better. he took such good care of me. always getting me the little things like matter (like washing detergent and a sponge), always bringing me things from singapore, always has time to have dinner with me at least once when he's in beijing. i get to see how hard he works and find out more about what the company is doing. i must say that i am very proud of my father. and i realise i do take after him. i get my thoughtfulness and attention to detail from him i reckon. happy father's day!

the time has come. it's been four months. and i need to leave beijing next week. i love beijing. i really really do. i don't really wanna leave. it's such a beautiful city with so much to offer. i don't like the people much, or the lack of sanitation at times. but other than that, it's wonderful. i'm so used to cycling around school, admiring the beauty. i am really gonna miss tsinghua after i'm gone. i have grown so much here. i have learnt so much here. my chinese has improved so much. if one day, i need to/want to work in beijing, well, i'm more than prepared. although i would never raise my children here. the people here do not provide a good milieu for raising children. i don't want my children learning that shouting and fighting are the only ways resolve everything. i don't want my children learning that cheating and lying is all right. i don't want my children growing up in a place where people drive like maniacs. yes, the people. but really, when u get past the people, beijing is really wonderful. that' why i think dad did the right thing. no visa. that means he can only stay in china for 15 days max. means he needs to come home every two weeks at least. and we get to grow up in singapore. i love my family. =)

i'm moving to shanghai next thursday. i'm starting all over again. i always wanted a jetsetting globetrotting kinda life. this is it. july and august in the most exciting (and the most expensive) city in china. it's gonna be great. guess what? firstly, AVEN's coming back to shanghai for a year. so we can totally hang out! and guess who's coming to visit? only my brother SHIJUN and my best friends in the whole world DARIAN and SEBASTIAN!! that's the order i think. aven late june, shijun early july, darian end july, seb august. it's gonna be so great! darian and i should be going to tibet. shijun and i should be going to nanjing or somewhere. seb and i should be going to huang shan.

very importantly, i will be working!! i miss work. although that means i need to get up really early. oh crap. i hope i can. the company really liked me. i got instant acceptance at the interview. i'm going to do research in chinese and produce work in english. i don't know how that's gonna work but i'll do my best. and whenever aaron chew gives his best, there's no chance for the rest. ;-) wonderful news. office is in the heart of shanghai, and apartment is supposed to be quite near. whee!! imagine that. working and living in the heart of shanghai? pinch me...

2009 is turning out to be a really really good year. although i feel really really old (23...) but at least i'm making progress in life. i did win a (small) case competiton (runner up). and not only did i get offered the internship at dulwich in shanghai, i got offered an internship at hp! my father's dream company for me. hahaha. and this time, it was based not on interview but on resume. i really thank God for His favour and grace. thank you Lord. hp is the biggest computer manufacturer in the world (by quite a lot really). working for them is going to be an opportunity of a lifetime. i am so so so excited.

i have lost even more weight now! whee! since i landed in china, i have been to the gym 88 times. running more than 5km each time. i aim to run more than 1000km this year. doesn't sound too hard to attain, given that by the end of june, i would have run around 645km this year. when aaron chew starts something, he finishes. if i wanna lose weight, i will make sure there is no more flab in my tummy.

i will call 2009 a good year if:
-i get offered a job at hp after graduation
-i can comfortably fit into size 32 jeans and M tops in every cut
-the above-mentioned really all come to shanghai
-darian and i get to go to tibet
-seb and i get to go to huang shan
-i visit nanjing, suzhou, zhenjiang, yangzhou, hangzhou
-seb and i get to to on our yearend trip to south korea (excited!!!)
-i give my parents a wonderful silver wedding anniversary (25 years) celebration
-i get to see darian at the year end
-i get to meet xiu before she leaves for new york
-my cell group(s) can grow once again

2009 is going to be a career-oriented year. balanced with lots of friendship and fun. lots and lots of it. it's a wonderful year. i love my life.