The final installment of “Introduce Yourself” for Self Portrait Challenge…
I am:
- a professional artist.
- an 8-year veteran in the game industry.
- a classically-trained pianist since I was 5.
- an amateur photographer.
- a former art school instructor for 6 years.
- trained in public speaking.
- a high-school salutatorian.
- a former varsity tennis player.
- a Mac addict.
- horribly out of shape.
- online a lot.
- addicted to puzzle games.
- a relatively decent cook.
- a loyal friend.
- very close to my family.
- an observer.
- a good listener.
- a bit of a goofball.
- generally in a positive mood.
- realistic.
- mostly practical.
- spontaneously inclined if it sounds fun.
- open to new experiences.
- a healthy mix of type A and type B personalities.
- single again after a 2-year relationship.
- a Wood Rabbit according to the Chinese zodiac.
- almost 31.
- always happy to meet new people.
- glad to be done coming up with material for “Introduce Yourself”. ;)
Photo Friday 5/26/2006: Home
Well, it’s over. Mei and I have called it quits. The long-distance thing just wasn’t working out, and there was no end in sight. We both decided it would be best if we stopped waiting and moved on with our lives.
For those not in the know, Mei moved back to Taiwan early last year because of job, visa, and family issues. What was originally going to be a 3-month wait turned into 6 months, then 9, then a year. Neither of us was able to find time and/or money to go see the other one. She had not been able to find a company to sponsor a work visa. And neither one of us was even remotely ready for marriage.
Patience and hope kept us committed to each other over the past year. Focusing on work and personal hobbies helped to pass the time as well. However, after a few discussions over the past few weeks, we realized that the situation didn’t look to be improving anytime soon. I had recently dropped a huge chunk of change on taxes and really couldn’t afford to spend a couple thousand dollars in one lump sum to travel overseas for an extended period of time. She just started a new job and wouldn’t be able to take any vacation time to come visit. Considering all of our constraints, it would’ve been at least another 6-8 months before either us would be able to see each other.
Even if we were able to meet up somewhere, there would still be the inevitable separation again. I don’t think either of us could deal with another long-term wait until the next uncertain visit. We’d just be back in limbo going about our own lives on two different continents. Breaking things off was the best thing for both of us.
Mei and I are still friends and plan to remain that way. The breakup was a mutual decision, so there’s no bad blood or blame anywhere. It still sucks, but it’s definitely best that we move on. Such is life.
Continuing this month’s Self Portrait Challenge theme of “Introduce Yourself“, I thought I would focus this week’s entry on my international travels.
I have:
- climbed the steepest of the accessible portions of the Great Wall.
- stood in the middle of Tienamen Square.
- seen the body of Mao Zedong.
- survived a taxi ride in Shanghai.
- been inside the Forbidden City.
- stood among the Terra Cotta Warriors.
- haggled with street merchants in Bangkok.
- sun-tanned on the beaches of Pataya.
- attended a drag show in rural Thailand.
- gone snorkeling in Maui.
- wiped out while boogie-boarding in Honolulu.
- looked at Paris at night from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
- seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.
- walked around Paris in the snow.
- watched a tornado blow past a farm I was staying at near Edmonton.
- gotten the chicken pox while in Hong Kong.
- been stuck in Nagoya Airport in Japan but never actually visited any cities there.
- had my 19th birthday party in Guangzhou, the capital of my family’s home province of Guangdong.
- not finished traveling the world…
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