A decade

I attended half of grade 5 and all of grade 6 at an elementary school in Taiwan, and last week there was a Chinese New Year dinner arranged by some classmates. Ever since we started using Facebook, some of us found each other, so occasionally (once a year or so) there would be a gathering just to see how each other’s doing.

It’s nice to meet everyone (out of 35 people in the class, we found about 10-15. Not too bad!), even though it’s always a bit awkward at first. The people I was friends with when I was 12 are only strangers now. One of them was my first “boyfriend” (but he’s a player so he liked almost every girl in the class and we were together for only a week). Another one is going to be getting married in September to her university classmate. April moved to the States shortly after junior high, and Annie went to Shanghai in the middle of junior high. And the class fatty is now the best looking guy (in my opinion) out of the bunch.

After leaving elementary school, everyone went on to live their own lives, and because technology was not as advanced back then, we couldn’t keep in touch. I’m quite envious of those people (like V) who have childhood friends of 20 or 30 years and counting. If you’re one of those people, you should count yourself to be very lucky! :)

I love my friends!

I came home today to another package in the mail… more Christmas goodies! I want to say ‘Thank you’ to JTran and Jewels for the wonderful book (I love the Oatmeal!! It’s even signed by him, and addressed to me!), and my Starbucks cards collection continues to grow even though I cannot physically collect any cards here in Taiwan on my own.. Thank you guys. :’)

It’s honestly not the gifts themselves that bring me so much happiness, but just knowing that someone out there is thinking about me. I love my friends. They are my sunshine; they make me happy when skies are grey. Thank you for being so amazing. Thanks for being you!

If I still worked at Adams, I’d bring this to work today to share with everyone:

But unfortunately I cannot be there, so you guys get pixels instead. <3

If I ever get married…

I attended a wedding this past weekend at the Grand Hotel in Taipei (The hotel is so oriental, and very beautiful). I never attended a wedding in all the 15 years that I lived in Canada, and the last wedding I attended was 10 years ago, in Taipei (for some uncle twice removed that I’ve never seen before in my life). That’s because most of my friends are not at that age yet, and even though I had 4 cousins who married one after another within a period of 6 months, none of them invited me to their weddings (because most of them just had church ceremonies, with no wedding banquets).

So, this time was the first time that I had the chance to really appreciate what happens at a wedding, and the first thing I thought to myself was: “Who am I going to invite to my wedding if I ever get married?” Most of the people I want to invite are all in Canada, and even though they would probably love to attend, the plane ticket to fly over would cost so much that most of them won’t be able to come.

I don’t have a lot of friends here in Taiwan (sadly). I think it’s really difficult to make friends once you’re done school and out in the real world. Most lasting friendships are formed in school, which is why I miss school, because I love to socialize and meet new people. This makes me appreciate my sister all the more. <3

At the wedding, the newly wed couple gave out personalized pink, red, and white M&Ms to every guest. They were specially ordered from the States! How cute~

Congratulations to the new couple. :) And I hope everyone finds their own happiness one day, whether it’s through marriage or staying single.

Snail Mail: Happiness in an envelope!

I came home today to find two envelopes sitting on my desk! It was rather unexpected, and I immediately felt less tired from my long day of work after seeing them. I held them, weighed them in my hands, and wondered what surprises they contained. Snail mail is simply happiness in an envelope!

I have been feeling quite nostalgic these days. I even dreamed about Canada yesterday… I dreamed that I was at a barbeque, and I was messaging my friends in Canada asking them to come. But it was only just a dream.

I saved the envelopes to open them during my favourite time of the day: Right now, which is at night right after I shower and before I go to sleep.

Inside there was a “postcard” of the Rockies from Eye. It’s actually a photo that she took on her way to Alberta! It’s so postcard-perfect, and reminds me of home. I’m going to take it to work and decorate my desk space. Eye, thank you for showing me the Rockies from your eyes. I know more adventures await you there, and I can’t wait to hear all about them!

JTran sent me a cellphone charm from her trip to Hawaii (Thank you, it’s adorable! I know just the place to put it!), Starbucks gift cards (because I used to collect them in Canada, but I can’t collect them here because they cost money here in Taiwan), and a sweet letter (I’m so happy to hear your updates. And thanks for being such a sweet friend).

Hearing all about their trips makes me want to travel as well!

I thought I would miss Canada less as time goes on, but now that my internship at NMNBA has ended and I’ve been brought back from Heaven down to Earth, I’m really starting to feel it, and everyday is hard. It’s hard to make friends once you leave school, and things really aren’t the same when you no longer have friends to keep you company. Like Eye mentioned in her postcard, thank goodness for technology like Line and FB… but still… I miss everyone so much.