The odyssey

Over the past few years, relatives and friends have been trying to find a match for me, but sadly, it didn’t work out. Before I forget, let me note them down and allow me to explain the reasons.

1. Mr. C was a fresh postgraduate when he was introduced to me, while I’ve left college for three years, working and looking for my niche. He was young.

2. Mr. L was also a fresh postgraduate, who just accepted an offer from the ministry of commerce. He was going to be sent to an eastern European country soon. Oh, no.

3. Mr. L2 arrived early at the restaurant, sitting at a corner table, trying to peek at the girl he was gonna meet, which would be me, from the top of his book. Damn it.

4. Mr. S returned to Beijing from a northern European country after he finished his postgraduate course. He hadn’t a plan yet. Europe or China?

5. Mr. Architect whose name I can’t remember. We met in a very dimly lit cafe. He seemed to be a young and good-looking guy in there. But when exposed to bright sunlight, I suddenly noticed he looked at least ten years older, like a vampire burning in the sun.

6. Mr. Dr. whose name I can’t remember. As the old saying goes, all work and no play makes the Dr. a dull boy.

7. Mr. Common was just too common to be commented. But he had an uncommon name, which I had to refer to the dictionary to find out the correct pronunciation of one Chinese character.

8. Mr. Robust whose name I can’t remember. Had I ever saw his picture, I wouldn’t have agreed to meet with him. I have a bottom line.

9. Mr. Artist. Ah! If he were slimmer and could talk a little faster. As he said, his life tempo was slower than other people.

10. Mr. Northeast. My prejudice against people from northeastern China was proven true. They are garrulous, with an accent.

Well, exactly 10. The problem is me. This is not the right way for me. Simply judging from appearance, few could catch my interest. I’m picky. What’s worse, I’ve grown an aversion to this whole thing and feel both physically and mentally uncomfortable having dinner with strangers. It’s a disaster.

大寒

几十年来最冷的冬天，冷空气一场接一场，整个北半球都在经历着extreme weather. 寒冷并不可怕，多穿点就ok了。出门的时候裹得严严实实，寒风一吹，居然有种醍醐灌顶的感觉。只是去年秋天新买的羊毛大衣一直没有机会穿，看来要等到三月份了。南方应该可以穿很久吧。

总是遇到不靠谱的人、不靠谱的事，就连在自己的blog上发个贴都要费一番周折。唉！Why can’t make it simple?

Miss He goes to India

“Miss He”, my surname which sounds like “ho” in Chinese was wrongly pronounced as the pronoun “he” in English at the Delhi airport check-in counter. “You have two boarding cards, one for Delhi to Shanghai and the other Shanghai to Beijing.”

At the boarding gate I was intercepted. Several guys looked at the two boarding cards, confused. “Follow me, please”, a woman said. I was wondering what wrong I had done. It turned out that the absent-minded customs officer placed the exit stamp on the wrong boarding card. So I went through the whole process again and accidentally became the last passenger to board the plane.

Luckily, the plane was only half full and we could curl up and sleep through the flight. At 4:30am the stewardess’ sweet voice woke me up. Half an hour later, the plane landed in Shanghai. India was like a dream I left behind, a dream about a journey to the west.

In the dream, Taj Mahal was shrouded in smog and haze; ladies were cocooned in fancy saris; city drivers honked the horns as if they were in a competition; street vendors yelled, vying for business; kids scrounged for food and money; animals were protected and worshipped.

It’s interesting to experience the exoticism, to see the good and the bad.

At this moment in Beijing, snow flakes are drifting down silently on empty roads. I realize it’s no longer the loudest and most crowded city in the world.