life – Grow with me

Visiting the Philippines

Jasper and I decided to pay a visit to the Philippines because a bunch of our colleagues are from there. We had a work trip to Korea, but I had wanted to drop by the PH to see them first. I’ve worked with most of them for many years online, and thought it would be nice to finally see them in person.

However, the moment we arrived at the airport, we were scammed by the taxis. We saw people calling us over for taxis, and had assumed they were legitimate since it was at the airport. However, later on, we realized we were charged 3x more than what we would’ve paid if we had gone with the Grab option instead (their version of Uber).

I was so mad. And the driver even had the guts to ask us for a tip! How dare you!?

For anyone who is considering going to Manila, I would highly advise you NOT to go unless you have local friends who could take you around.

I also needed a SIM card. However, I was too afraid to buy one because I felt like they were going to overcharge me and I didn’t want to pay 5x more than a local. So, I decided to wait for my local friends to help me when I’d meet them the day after.

The next day, we met two of our local colleagues/friends in Chinatown. We were stunned by how busy it was. Although it was Lunar New Year, I didn’t expect it to be such a celebrated holiday in the Philippines! Apparently, Binondo, located in Manila, is considered the world’s oldest Chinatown!

We went to the Chinatown museum, and it was kind of cool. The display made it very picture-friendly, but I didn’t take many pics.

Then, we had lunch at a dumpling noodle place that Felis recommended. It was VERY good, but the wait was 45 minutes. Once again, I was flabbergasted.

Jasper and I were not used to the heat, and we had to order ice to put into our drinks to cool down. Nonetheless, the dumplings were big and juicy, and it was worth the wait!

Then, we tried to leave Chinatown to head to the National History Museum. Little did we know that the Grab driver would take almost an hour to get to us because of all the traffic. We could’ve probably walked faster. I’m still astonished that the driver didn’t give up and cancel his ride with us. So dedicated!

Meanwhile, CZ had biked there and was waiting for a long time. Sorry, CZ!

The National History Museum was super nice. Felis made so many puns, and is the ultimate pun master.

I was looking at a lake exhibit, and Felis came over to ask me, “What do you call a counterfeit lake?”

I said, “I don’t know…?”

Felis replied, “A fake!”

And while I was looking at the pitcher plant, Felis commented, “Are you going to take a picture of the pitcher?”

I was soooo impressed. Felis is one of the punniest people I’ve ever met! The word play is brilliant! XD

There’s a common Chinese novel quote that goes, “You have eyes, but you can’t recognize Mount Tai.”

Well, my version is, “I have eyes, and I recognize the punny one, Felis!”

By the way, Felis is one of our best editors on Wuxiaworld, and CZ is one of our staff who deals with tech and customer support! Thank you for all your contributions, guys!

After the museum, we went to the Belfry Café. They had a bell inside the café, which was actually quite cool. Felis made another joke, but I can’t remember what was said since it’s been 8 months (oops). We spent more time chatting and getting to know each other.

Also, during the time we were there, there were a lot of people wearing duck clips on top of their heads. It looked very odd, but cute. Here’s an article about it if you’re interested: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/filipinos-stand-tall-with-duck-hair-clips-as-fad-takes-country-by-storm

Another interesting thing I’ve noticed is that Filipinos really like neon lights. Everything is so bright and neon. They like to make things look very Instagrammable.

The next day, we met with the others who were in the area. We went to the SM Mall of Asia. It was huge, and a very good mall.

We waited for others to arrive outside the McDonalds. It was Raido, CZ, Felis, Invictum, me and Jasper! Yuuko was joining us later in the evening since she was coming from another province.

I was extremely happy to see Invictum because even though we had never met in person, he’s always given me the feeling that things would be ok! I was so happy he came despite the long commute (was it an hour or two?). I knew we would vibe even before meeting, and my sixth sense was correct!

I’ll talk more about Raido later.

Once everyone arrived, we went to have lunch! We went to a Filipino restaurant and ordered a bunch of Filipino dishes. We had the yummy pork, and the super super super super super super sour soup called the sinigang. I feel like sinigang would give someone high blood pressure because of how salty it is. Aiya!

We also had the sisig, and it was really crunchy. And we had halo-halo for dessert! It was good, but I found it so sweet! Everything was so salty or sweet to me.

After lunch, we went the arcade inside the mall. I hadn’t played arcade games in years, so it was actually quite refreshing and fun. CZ showed us who was boss by winning A LOT of tickets. The tickets just kept flowing out! In the end, she redeemed the tickets for a small plushie!

I think going to the arcade is a good date activity if you want to do an activity with a significant other! 😉

Later on, I wanted us to try laser tag, but the time they had available was too late for us. Instead, we left the mall and went outside to go on some rides.

I wanted us to go on the rides together, and we all tried the pirate ship! Each time, it was halfway up in the air, it made my tummy feel funny. I was slightly scared, but I enjoyed the thrill. Not sure about everyone else!

Raido looked like he wanted to curse.

Thank you to everyone who went on even if they were not a fan. 😛

We took a picture, and Raido was super far in the back and looked like he wasn’t part of the group. Haha. Yuuko made fun of him later on when she saw the picture.

Look at how far Raido is standing. He doesn’t even look like he’s part of the picture! HAAHHA

We then went karaoke!! As some of you may know, karaoke is my favourite hobby of all times. In fact, my latest karaoke session with my friend lasted 5 hours, and we sang 70 songs. I could probably handle 6 hours if my singing partner rotated with me.

Anyway, the karaoke was quite expensive. It was 3000 PHP for three hours. It did include some food, but still seemed kind of scammy. Perhaps it was because we were in a tourist area.

There were a lot of Chinese businesses there, and we even saw lion dancing! The lions would go to each restaurant and get some red pockets.

Soon, Yuuko arrived and gave me a big hug and asked me to rate it. I gave her a 5-star rating. It was a good, firm, warm hug! A very loving, proud hug! I mentioned I would definitely praise her in my blog post. 😉

The girls (me, Yuuko, CZ), had a blast singing, but the guys looked dead. Raido looked grumpy like always, but it was nice he came even though he isn’t a fan of singing! I had met Raido previously in 2022 when we first went to LA. At the time, a lot of us caught covid.

I still remember his favourite line, “This is trash!”

To this day, I would still imitate him and go, “This is trash!” *points to actual trash*

I still remember how he pointed at the mushrooms outside and asked me if I was going to eat that since I was environmentally friendly and it would’ve gone to waste if no one picked it.

Anyhow, Raido was in PH so that was nice he could join us. I would describe him as a grumpy, kind, talkative man. Haha. Yuuko loves making fun of him too. Hehe.

Invictum also sang very passionately, and Yuuko said this is a typical Filipino man singing karaoke. Haha. It was funny. Too bad I didn’t record him! Invictum is full of passion. Haha!

Felis and Jasper were mainly listening. I hope they enjoyed the music!

After karaoke, I went on some rides with CZ because no one wanted to go on the spinning ones. It was not too high, so I was completely fine. I love rides!

We also went on the ferris wheel! The ferris wheel was nice, but it felt a bit short. We couldn’t all fit in one, so we had to split apart. Yuuko, CZ, me and Jasper were in one. And we took many cute selfies together.

After that, I had wanted to go to a rooftop bar, but Invictum said because of our outfits, we wouldn’t be allowed in. I forget if it was no flipflops or no t-shirts or shorts or something. We didn’t look fancy enough.

But we ended up picking a bar nearby and we ordered some light alcohol and drank and chatted.

Invictum was being a wise dad and giving us life lessons. CZ was sharing her love life with us, and Invictum was very invested and told her not to date someone simply because they were cute. *cough*. Talking about relationships is always fun. Raido also shared some of his stories with the ladies.

Felis didn’t stay too long because it had been a long exhausting day, and was allergic to alcohol? (I think). But I think Felis had fun, and thanks for coming out!!

Meanwhile, Raido didn’t expect the day to be as “fun” as it turned out. He ended up staying a lot later than he intended. Yay!

I was really happy that Raido and Invictum both came out!! It was out of their way, but we had a great time.

Too bad we couldn’t stay longer since me and Jasper were meeting Yuuko and CZ for Star City (an amusement park) the next day.

The next day, we had lunch at Jollibee, and I ordered the steak with rice. It was soooo yummy!

Speaking of which, Filipinos really love rice. At McDonalds, you could actually order one rice. I was SO amused. Take a look!

We then went to Star City, and went on a bunch of rides. The amusement park is half indoors and half outdoors. I really liked the little train ride we had gone on. Jasper even went on a rollercoaster type of ride with me and CZ, but he looked like he was gonna fall off since he was sitting on the edge. Yuuko actually filmed it and made fun of him. Haha. Poor Jasper!! Hehe. But I’m glad he went on despite his fear. Thank you for going out of your comfort zone, Jasper!

I personally am afraid of spooky rides and haunted houses, but we went through a creepy ride too. The only good thing about it was the A/C inside helped me cool down.

Near the end, me and CZ went on a spinning ride, and I was dizzy for 30 minutes after that. I don’t think I can handle spinning rides anymore!

Anyway, we then went to Shake Shack for dinner. It was so expensive. I wonder how Filipinos afford it if they’re earning their local currency.

CZ and Yuuko says it’s just a treat and not something people often do. But there were a lot of people inside, so I think Filipinos really enjoy living in the moment. They must be YOLOing. (YOLO stands for you only live once)

We chatted a lot, and CZ mentioned how it was very common for Filipinos to send money back home. Most of the time, they give probably 80% of what they earned.

I was so shocked that Filipinos would be so willing to do this. 80% is a lot!!! But CZ said that it’s normal because your family raised you. She said that if her grandmother didn’t raise her, she wouldn’t be here today. And she would do anything for her grandmother.

This actually reminds me of the Asian culture. Although I was born in Canada, I still follow a lot of Asian values. I give my parents money and goes to all their appointments with them if they require a translator. It makes it very tough for me, because I feel torn in between.

A part of me wants to leave my parents and just be free, but a part of me feels like I have to stay to take care of them because my parents need me so much. My parents do not speak English and they aren’t tech-savvy either. So when you have this combo in Canada, your life is very hard.

I wish I could be more like CZ and not feel resentful. I want to be a good daughter, but also live my own life. Sigh.

Anyhow, I was so happy that CZ came out three days in a row. By the end of it, she looked half dead and I felt a bit bad. She had run out of energy and asked me how I was still so energetic. Haha. But maybe because she bikes everywhere, so she burns a lot of calories on a daily basis!!

CZ, you need to eat more because you are burning too many calories! Thank you for coming out and helping me get the SIM card!!

After a few days in Manila, me, Jasper, and Yuuko went to Bohol. Yuuko suggested that to experience the PH, we really needed to see other parts since PH is super big!

Bohol is an island province in the Philippines, and is known for their chocolate hills and the tarsiers (they look kinda creepy and cute at the same time. Feel free to google). We took a plane there, and went to a nice hotel Yuuko had previously been before.

There were a lot of restaurants and bars around there, and the Korean Moon restaurant that we tried was so yummy that we went there twice!

Yuuko helped us book a tour, and we went on a day time boat cruise while we ate and admired the scenery. The scenery was gorgeous and the singing was great! The singers sang in different languages (English, Tagalog, and Mandarin).

However, the food was left out all day, and me and Jasper had food poisoning and I had explosive diarrhea for a week after that. I think Yuuko was the only one fine.

Anyhow, there were young girls dancing on the island as a group, and you could give a donation and they would also teach you.

Yuuko got off the boat briefly to dance with them. It was very cute!

When they were dancing on their own, they would go very fast and smack the sticks together very hard. They probably burn a lot of calories by doing this on a regular basis!

The driver also took us to see the chocolate hills. They really look like those truffle chocolates. I think you’d probably want to eat them if you see them! Here’s a picture:

We also went on the ATV! I was soooo scared and didn’t want to drive my own. Luckily, Jasper drove and I just tagged along as a passenger next to him.

It was very dirty and hot. I don’t know how our ATV guide wore long sleeves and covered his face with a mask too. It was like a hat mask. I already found it so hard to breathe. He was also soooo fast at running up to the top of the hill too! Very fit!

Our ATV guide was very experienced at taking pictures, and my favourite picture is the pic of Yuuko stepping on us. He was so creative and pro!

Yuuko stepping on us. It looks like she’s not wearing pants XD

I felt bad for him because he has to hustle so hard. He said this is his life, day in and day out. It is truly hard-earning money.

Me, Jasper, and Yuuko watched the sunset together, and it was so nice. In the end, we gave our ATV guide a big tip! He was very grateful.

I also ended up buying my carpet outfit in the PH. The ladies tried to scam me, but after Yuuko stepped in, I managed to get it for cheaper. I love it, but the needlework is very bad. It looks good on the outside though! (just like most things on social media)

We were also working in the hotel at the beach during most afternoons. It felt nice working by the pool, smelling the salty ocean air, and gazing at the sandy beach.

We went swimming on one evening, and I hadn’t been inside a pool in over a decade. I actually had a toe cramp where my toes were spread apart in a very disturbing manner.

My feet were probably not used to being in the pool after all these years. It was painful, but luckily it went away after a few minutes. I had to put my feet flat on the ground for a few minutes before it resumed its original shape.

On our last night, we had late night drinking on the beach, and it was very nice. Me and Jasper are super lucky to have our PH friends/colleagues take us around and spend time with us. Thank you so much to you all who came out, and especially to Yuuko for being such a great tour guide! Without you, we wouldn’t have gotten to experience so much.

Your hugs are amazing and I can’t wait to get another one! Hope to see you all again in the future!

P.S. If Yuuko hadn’t made such a strong request, who knows when I’ll ever blog… Do you know how many brain cells it takes to write? (Answer: A lot) Hope you enjoyed it!

My Netherlands adventures with the language genius

Long time no blog, guys! A few of you actually asked me when I would blog about the Netherlands. I had been meaning to, but it takes a lot of brain cells. However, I will try my best to give you guys some interesting tips and stories.

Here are some of the things that surprised me quite a bit about the Netherlands:

The number of bikes

The moment I arrived to Rotterdam, I saw AN INSANE AMOUNT of bikes. I think there were at least several hundreds. Biking is extremely common in Rotterdam/the Netherlands. I’d say you’ll see a biker every 10 seconds (not exaggerating). They have their own designated bike lanes, but you still need to pay a lot of attention if you’re trying to cross the streets.

Expect A LOT of walking

Similar to Paris, I don’t think the streets were designed for cars. If you go to Amsterdam, you’ll see a lot of roads that look more like square, rocky tiles. It’s not exactly a smooth surface, and the streets are crowded. It’s extremely difficult for cars to go through a lot of streets, so even if you want to be driven somewhere, it’d probably be like a 25 min walk vs a 20 min car ride in the city center. Hence, if you want to go to the Netherlands, either be prepared to bike or walk a lot. If you are not a fan of either, then it’s probably not a good idea for you to go.

Their English is amazing

We struggled a lot in Paris, but we were pleasantly surprised by how fluent everyone’s English was in the Netherlands. It seemed like 90-95% of the people we encountered spoke like an American. They are able to switch to Dutch and other languages very seamlessly. If you are afraid of not being able to communicate in the Netherlands, do not fear. As long as you can speak English, you’re basically fine 95% of the time.

They are very tall

I’ve never seen such tall people in my life. Apparently, people from the Netherlands are the tallest on the planet. The average height is around 186cm, and it’s very common to see guys above 190cm. I, as a tiny Asian girl who is 158cm, felt like a midget. The doors are also so big.

They love doors

Speaking of doors, I’ve also never seen so many doors in my life. Sometimes, entering the bathroom means you’d open three doors. One door, and then there’s another door (I guess in case people entered by mistake?), and then that’s where the sink will be for people to wash their hands. Then, to actually go to the toilet, you have to open another door. I found it very strange since in North America, we usually just have one door, and then a bunch of stalls lined up next to each other.

Note: The doors are also incredibly heavy because they’re actual wooden doors and not cheap plastic stuff. Continue reading “My Netherlands adventures with the language genius”

Travelling to Paris: My experience and helpful tourist tips

Surprises

Narrow streets: I didn’t expect the streets to be so tiny! I could literally cross some streets in six steps (I counted). It is not wise to drive in the heart of Paris, and most of the time, you could probably get to your destination faster by walking if you’re already in the area.

Uphill: I had no idea that everywhere would be like climbing a mountain/hiking. The streets are so slanted that it’s a huge workout every day if you’re outside. If you’re not physically fit and able to walk a lot, I would NOT recommend going to Paris. Many places don’t have elevators because the buildings were built hundreds of years ago.

Police presence: I did not expect the police to be holding all these gigantic assault rifles on the streets. They were alert and ready to fire. You wouldn’t want to mess with them!

Chinese: The airport has Chinese signs everywhere. The Chinese tourists must bring in so much money.

Fit people: I did not expect the Frenchmen to be so fit/skinny. I would say the majority (at least 75-80%) has the body type like One Direction when they had first debuted. I think it must be all the walking.

Note: I was only in Paris, so I’m not sure if it’s the same outside of Paris

Not many fast food chains: Apart from several McDonalds and Starbucks, I did not see any of the fast food/American chains that I commonly see in North America. I was surprised since there are quite a lot of fast food chains in Asia. It seems like the French really protected themselves from Americanization.

Things to Note

A lot of security: If you’re planning to go to a tourist attraction, expect to go through heavy security check. You’ll need to remove all your belongings and go through a scanner like at the airport. So, avoid carrying a lot of stuff. If your bag is over a certain size, they might not let you in. They do not allow carry-on either.

Wear comfortable shoes: If you’re a tourist, and you’re outside exploring, expect to walk thousands of steps and hundreds of stairs a day. Even if you are getting driven to your destination, you’ll need to walk a lot when you’re inside.

Museums tend to close on Mondays: We did not know this ahead of time; if you’re planning to get the Paris Pass, make sure to go to all your destinations before Monday or don’t activate it until after Monday.

Note: I would NOT recommend getting the Paris Pass unless you plan to check out more than 5 attractions in a day. It is extremely expensive, and most often than not, you’d probably be exhausted after 2-3 attractions in one day. The pass will activate the moment you enter your first attraction, so if you have a 2-day pass, you’ll need to see as much as you can within the next 48 hours. For more info, check out https://parispass.com/en-us/paris-attractions

Warning: I will go into detail about the attractions we visited and include pictures, but the post is very long since there’s also my own story + experience.

Why Did I Choose Paris?

I had always wanted to go to Europe. Back in 2020, my brother and I were going to take my mom to Italy. However, the trip was cancelled due to covid. So, when one of my family friend asked if I’d like to go to the UK in April 2023, I thought it would be nice.

Jasper, my colleague at the time, is from the UK. I thought it would also be great to see him again since we had gotten so much closer during our time in LA.

So I mentioned it to Jasper, and he suggested that we could also do a Europe trip since he’s already there, and we could travel to multiple countries!

It sounded like a wonderful opportunity as I had always wanted to explore Europe. However, I never had the courage to go alone as I was afraid of pickpocketers, being kidnapped, being scammed, and etc.

Since I was going to the UK with my family friend and my brother’s friends, it wouldn’t make sense for me to ditch them to go on a Europe trip with Jasper, so I told Jasper it would probably have to be another time, and we decided to go sooner (in Dec) instead.

I had asked Jasper if he would like to invite our other colleagues since a few of us had met in LA back in July 2022 and gotten covid. But Jasper said that it was already quite difficult to plan for two, so the more people, the more complicated it would be.

It made sense, and we had gotten so close, so I didn’t mind.

Later on, when Cosy (our colleague + friend) found out that we were going on a Europe trip with just the two of us, she bombarded me with questions.

“What? Just the two of you? Is this a couple trip or something?”

I, of course, denied it. I told her that me and Jasper were just colleagues who had gotten a lot closer since we spent ten days stuck together due to quarantine.

She replied, “Stop lying! Why would you go on a trip with the opposite sex if you do not want to progress things further?”

I told her she could join us if she wanted, and Cosy messaged Jasper to “test” him. Hahahaha.

When Sangria, my previous assistant and friend, found out, she was grumpy!! Sangria and I had also worked together for 3 years or so, and she had always wanted me to end up with Jasper. In fact, she was/is so hardcore that she created a fan name called, “Grasper” (the combination of Grace and Jasper lol).

Sangria had always thought that we would make a good couple for some reason. This was way before me and Jasper had even met. She’d imagine that Jasper was a respectful, calm gentleman with the British accent, while I was the friendly, excited girl who could help him open up.

Anyway, Sangria did not want me to invite other people to our trip. She said, “Grasper only!” LOL she was serious.

Cosy eventually said that she could read the room and was not going to intrude on our trip. (Awww, Cosy, don’t worry! We want to go on a trip with you too!)

At the time, I was a bit conflicted. I had just gotten out of a relationship, and I wanted to move to Asia for health reasons. After all, I’m allergic to all the trees in Canada. Birch, willow, elm, fir, maple, cedar… you name it. And I’m severely allergic to ragweed and pollen in general. Moving closer to the equator and near the ocean would help me immensely, and that was my plan.

That was why I had gone to visit Singapore in Sept. I really want to move to Singapore!!!! (I still do, but it’s a lot harder than it looks, and it doesn’t seem like a realistic option.)

Hence, getting into another relationship was not something that was on my mind. Not to mention, me and Jasper don’t even live in the same country!

But as time went on, people who knew we were going to go on a trip together started to tease me a lot. They really wanted me to view it as a couple’s trip even though we weren’t in a relationship.

One of my male colleagues messaged me and asked what I thought of Jasper. I responded, “Jasper is a very nice guy. We get along very well.”

His response was, “Okayyyyyyyyyyy.” (Clearly unsatisfied)

He then said, “You know, Jasper wouldn’t go on a trip like this with anyone else but you.”

I thought long and hard and figured that Jasper probably does like me to some extent, since we were going on a 2.5 week trip, and that’s a lot of time to spend with someone you didn’t like!

For me, I felt positive emotions towards him, but I wasn’t sure. And it was stressing me out.

I told my colleague that Jasper never said he liked me, and he had never even flirted with me! His responses had always been so professional. We had worked together for three years, and I’d say it was just a work relationship. He was a great listener and helpful, but he had never shared anything personal about himself. However, Jasper was a lot more open with me after we met in LA.

My male colleague said, “Flirting is not his style.”

Meanwhile, one of my close online friend/reader/supporter/ex-colleague, Dimple, was grilling Jasper like crazy and trying to be an investigator. She was super hardcore and even gave him multiple choice questions to respond to. It was hilarious when they told me about it afterwards.

Dimple stated she would be happy with whatever decision I make for myself, but I knew she was also a Grasper.

At this point, I was still unsure. Not only was I older than Jasper, but I also have a lot of health issues due to my autoimmune condition. I didn’t want to drag him down, and neither did I want to be accused of being a cougar.

My real life friends would tease me all the time and ask why I am always talking to younger guys. It just happened that the discord community tends to be younger people. It’s not like I go looking for a bunch of younger men and decide to talk to them because they’re young!

I’d say probably the majority of the people I meet online are younger than me, but we’re generally in our 20s-30s.

Anyhow, I had a lot of doubts, and even on the day of the trip, I wasn’t sure. After all, it wasn’t like Jasper confessed he liked me, so it doesn’t really count until he does, right?

Continue reading “Travelling to Paris: My experience and helpful tourist tips”

Day 1: Arrival (Friday, Sept 9th)

Back in May, I found a SUPER good deal to go to Singapore for a week (hotel and flights included) for $2000 in September. I was very excited because I was finally travelling again after five years!!!

Actually, for the past decade, prior to my San Diego + LA trip, I had only gone to China in 2014 for treatment, and to New York City for several days back in 2017. I had been so sick that I couldn’t really go anywhere. That is why I’ll be travelling A LOT this year and in 2023.

Anyhow, I only told several people I would be coming after I had booked my ticket because I wasn’t going to arrive until September, so I didn’t think I’d need to give people four months of notice. It seemed too much.

Because I deal with Chinese to English translations, I know quite a lot of people in Singapore, and probably had met roughly 30 people on this trip. As a result, I’ll be breaking down my posts into seven or eight (one for each day). It would be impossible for me to describe my experience and everyone in one post.

Quite a number of people had told me that my previous post was way too long, and they couldn’t remember who was who, because the letters confused them too much. So, I’ll be using their discord names or a shorter version of their discord names instead. Hope you’ll enjoy!

—–

The first two Singaporeans I told were Fallen and Cosy. I had met Fallen over six years ago on a translation discord server. Back then, I was translating on my blog because I wanted to grow my audience, and wanted people to read my blog posts.

Meanwhile, Fallen was translating and editing on volarenovels. However, Fallen actually can’t read Chinese. He read/listened based on the sound of the word (pinyin), instead of reading the characters themselves.

I thought he was nuts because it seemed so much extra work, but I eventually met more people that translated based on listening as well. Some people could read, but not speak. Some people could speak, but not read. In the end, I guess as long as you can process what the text is trying to say, it doesn’t matter!

Anyway, Fallen was asking for help in the translation server, and I helped him out back then. I think eventually, he privately messaged me and asked me to read his novel (and I did). At the time, I was also promoting my novel and my blog.

Back then, because I wasn’t really working due to my poor health, I had quite a lot of time. I would hop onto discord voice chat and talk to random people from all over the world and karaoke with them. I really enjoyed listening to different accents, and songs in different languages!

People might find it really odd, but I’ve actually met and maintained quite a few close relationships through discord (both male and female). However, most of the really close ones were formed years ago when I used to have a lot more time to chat leisurely.

Anyway, at the time, Fallen would hop on VC (voice chat) sometimes, and listen to either conversations/people singing. I remember I would tell him to hop on sometimes to chat/listen. He rarely spoke, but he would type a lot. I even remembered playing pipa for him once and he played the piano for me before as well. But that was soooo long ago, and I haven’t touched my instrument in years.

Throughout the years, I had made numerous Fallen jokes that he did not find funny. Ex. I told him he should name his future son “Trippin” since he’s “Fallen” LOLOL. I thought it was hilarious, but he just thought I was lame.

One of Fallen’s hobbies is reading, so he read all my translations from the time we met online (and probably most of my blog posts). From time to time, he would ask me for book recommendations. We would go for months without talking, but when we did talk, it would be quite a lengthy conversation.

However, Fallen never sent me any photos of himself. I had asked for years, but he said I would only see if I came to visit Singapore. He is not a fan of social media. (Disclaimer: I did not go visit Singapore because I wanted to see his face, BUT I did want to meet him. He’s the first Singaporean I had ever spoken to!!)

Anyway, Fallen told me if I was coming over, I had to give him a lot of notice, since he had to take time off work in advance because of his job. So, after I booked my flight, I told him I was coming!! He offered to get me from the airport if I wasn’t arriving in the middle of the night; I arrived at 7am.

Anyhow, when I arrived, I messaged Fallen and told him where I was, and took a picture of the area around me so that he could easily find me. I was grumbling and sad because I wanted to get a SIM card, but the lady at the booth told me I’d need to pay $60 for a 100GB one that would be valid for a month. But I didn’t need 100GB! I was only here for a week! Sadly, she said that was the only option. Fallen told me to wait until he got there; he was probably fifteen minutes away.

Later on, I noticed a good looking guy walking towards me. I didn’t know it was Fallen. Then, he stopped in front of me and said hi, so I was like, “Uh, are you Fallen?” LOL

And he said yes. I blurted, “Why wouldn’t you send me a picture for the past six years? You look fine!?! So cute?!?!” Continue reading “Day 1: Arrival (Friday, Sept 9th)”

Touching quotes from Tuesdays with Morrie

I had wanted to write about this book for a very long time, but the last time I read it was around 15 years ago. Time really flies.

I recalled feeling very touched and inspired after reading this, and bought ten copies on a whim to gift to people. (At the time, it was only $9.99. Now, the prices have more than doubled. *sniff* Inflation sucks!)

Anyhow, today, I finally finished rereading the book. Now that it’s fresh on my mind, I’ve written down a few quotes I personally found very touching from the story.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a real-life story about an old man dying from ALS. Morrie shares his life lessons with his student, Mitch, who is the author of this book. It’s a very genuine story that really makes you ponder on life. Here are a few quotes from the novel that evoked a lot of emotions in me:

“Well, Ted, one day soon, someone’s gonna have to wipe my ass.”

Mitch was very accepting of his condition and knew he was dying. But this was one thing he dreaded the most. Because when you need someone to wipe your ass, you no longer have the ability to take care of yourself. It is such a sad realization. Society also makes us feel very ashamed.

Despite so, Morrie was grateful he had the time and mental state to say goodbye to those he loved.

“I traded a lot of dreams for a bigger paycheck, and I never even realized I was doing it.”

This is also so sad. I think most of us would choose a bigger paycheck over our dreams. Sometimes, we just need that stability in order to survive or maintain our quality of life. It’s really hard to find a balance.

I just hope that we can still dream a bit, and chase some of our passions even if it doesn’t pay.

“Everyone knows they’re going to die, but no one believes it. If we did, we would do things differently.”

Death seems to be something that’s so far away. For those of us who are in our 20s or 30s, we probably think we still have several decades left; perhaps working another thirty years or so before even thinking of retirement. But who knows when life will end?

I don’t want to regret, so I’m going to do the things I want to do now before it’s too late.

“This is part of what a family is about, not just love, but letting others know there’s someone who is watching out for them. It’s what I missed so much when my mother died –what I call your ‘spiritual security’ –knowing that your family will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame.”

Knowing that there’s someone watching out for me is very comforting. I’m really lucky both my parents are still around. Although the generation/cultural gap makes it very tough sometimes, I am grateful for everything they’ve done for me.

I’m learning to cherish and forgive. Continue reading “Touching quotes from Tuesdays with Morrie”

Beware of Online Love + Crypto Scam. Personal experience included!

I was going to write this post several months ago, but I got lazy. But this issue happens too often, so I believe that it’s important for me to write a post about it to warn you all.

Nowadays, the younger generation spends most of their time online and on the phone. It isn’t uncommon for people to have various apps to stay in touch with friends, family, and even to meet strangers/potential love interests.

However, because you may be exposing yourself to the “world”, you really need to be careful. Sometimes, you’re not even actively searching, but they will find you.

For example, I received a random text from this dude who messaged me on Whatsapp a few months ago.

Translation:

Guy: Hi, Gwen. Nice to meet you. Auntie Wang gave me your phone number.

Me: Hi. My name is Grace. Who is Auntie Wang?

Guy: Auntie Wang said she already told you about me. Aren’t you Gwen? I have already messed up once. *angry face*

Me: You found the wrong person. I don’t know any Auntie Wang.

Guy: Forget it. I won’t keep searching. I’ll tell Auntie Wang I’ve found you. Nice to meet you, Grace. My name is Louis. Oh wait, you know Chinese?

This guy is clearly a scammer. First of all, I don’t know any Auntie Wang. And let’s say this “Auntie Wang” did exist, why the heck would she introduce me to someone that doesn’t even LIVE in Toronto? The phone number was from the U.S. And this person sounded surprised I know Chinese. Does he think I’m stupid? He is getting “introduced” to someone without knowing that person actually knows Chinese, but he messages me in Chinese?

Omg. I got so mad that I blocked him after a few more back and forth. I wanted to know how he would try to scam me, but it’s not worth my time.

And it’s also quite obvious he stole the picture of a random handsome “western” looking guy and is pretending to be him. I don’t know how he got my phone number, but I know of a few people who’ve also received messages from random strangers on Wechat and Whatsapp. My guy friend got a message from someone who claims she’s from Hong Kong. He told her she got the wrong person, but she kept talking and started talking about investing and etc. BEWARE. Continue reading “Beware of Online Love + Crypto Scam. Personal experience included!”

What would it take for me to play Squid Game?

Spoilers ahead. Read at your own discretion.

I’ve been seeing memes and videos of people talking about Squid Game everywhere. When I found out it was only nine episodes, I decided to give it a try. Personally, this is not the type of show I’d watch. I’m afraid of violence, loud noises, blood, death, suicide, and basically everything remotely scary. But I was curious, and I wanted to see who would win the money in the end, and how they would ultimately become the winner.

In Squid Game, a man approaches desperate people and asks them to play a game with him. If they win, they would receive $100,000 won (the Korean currency). If they lose, they would have to pay him $100,000 won or be slapped. Those who played the game eventually won some money, and they were given a card in which they could sign up to participate if they were interested.

However, the players really had no idea what they were getting themselves into. When they entered the vehicle, they were knocked out by gas chemicals. By the time they woke up, they were dressed in a numbered outfit and had all their belongings taken away. In addition, all the people working there were dressed in these hot pink suits with either a triangle, square, or circle mask over their faces. Some of them carried guns in their hands. There was one man in a black mask that appeared to have the most power. Anyhow, it wasn’t until during the first game that the players realize that losing would mean death. They were all freaked out and were given a chance to leave if the majority voted to do so.

Despite being “freed”, most of them decided to return to continue the games when given another chance. They knew they were gambling their lives, but they still chose to do it for the prize.

I thought the series did a very good job in the episode where a few of the gangsters butted in line to get seconds, while those who lined up and followed the rules didn’t get any. It was so cruel, but it also made sense. There are limited resources. The weaker players would either die because they fail in the games, or they would be killed by the other players. The game actually encourages people to get rid of each other, since each death would result in more money to the pot.

To stay alive, the players had to stick or work together. But eventually, they also had to turn on each other. Humans are ultimately selfish. Even though the main character was a super good guy, he still took advantage of the old man’s memory when he was about to lose. He knew only one of them would live, and he would rather sacrifice his partner, regardless of their close bond. Continue reading “What would it take for me to play Squid Game?”

Nine ways to retire early and achieve financial freedom

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could quit your job and not have to worry about paying your bills?

Even if you enjoy what you do, I think it’s fair to say that having the option to quit whenever you want while maintaining the same standard of living would be awesome.

But how?

I have come up with a list of nine ways.

Earn more

There are multiple ways you can earn more money. For instance:

Work more hours. If people usually work 40 hours a week, you could try working 60 instead. However, there are only 24 hours in a day. There will be a limit on how much you can trade your time for money.
Have a high income skill. To be worth more in the workforce, you need to become a person that is harder to replace. It would be in your best interest to develop skills that make you more valuable. Ex. If you’re the only person that can fix X, then you will be compensated more. But if you were selling popcorn, they can easily hire someone else to do your job. (No offense to those selling popcorn)
Side hustle. This could be a business, being a social media influencer, your own personal project, and etc. Basically, it’s something that earns you additional income from your current job.

Lower your costs

You can lower your costs by:

Finding a roommate/significant other to split the cost. Having two incomes to pay for expenses make it easier.
Moving to somewhere cheaper. If you are able to work online, perhaps you can move to another country where the cost of living is lower and your currency is worth more.
Spend less. Buy fewer things, eat less, and go out less.

Use patreon/onlyfans and sell your own merchandise

This is tough. There are A LOT of content creators. Even if people watch you or consume your content, it doesn’t mean they will give you money or buy your merch. In fact, based on my own personal experience, only one in a hundred would donate/give monetary support.

However, this is a very good way to scale. You’re no longer trading time for money. For example, perhaps you spend 2 hours creating content for a tier, but you can have unlimited subscribers for that tier. This means, there is no cap on how much you can earn. Regardless if 100 or 1000 people subscribe to it, you only spent 2 hours.

Note: It is EXTREMELY difficult to get loyal followers who would pay for content. There’s also no guarantee how long they will support you for. Continue reading “Nine ways to retire early and achieve financial freedom”

Topics: Simu Liu, racist girl, and Minari

Hey guys!

I’m back with another blog post! I’m really on a roll these days, aren’t I? 😛 (Just kidding).

Recently, I went on another podcast! It’s called Asian Movie Club, and you can find it on spotify and other podcast platforms.

Asian Movie Club is a podcast that is hosted by my friends Kyle and Robin. They talk about film, music, pop culture and more.

They have just recently begun so I’m featured in episode 2! Please do give it a listen. It is quite mind-boggling.

We talked about Simu Liu deleting an old tweet of him calling out Mark Wahlberg on his racist assault towards two Vietnamese men back when he was 16.

Simu and Wahlberg are going to be co-stars on an upcoming film. Naturally, it made sense for him to remove it. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be super awkward if fans/haters bring it up? (They still brought it up anyway, but that’s beside the point)

Do you think it was wrong of Simu to have removed the tweet? What would you have done if you were his situation?

We also discussed about people being subconsciously racist. There was an incident where a girl had accidentally left her phone inside an Uber, but had assumed it was stolen. She targeted a black teenager who happened to be around her vicinity and accused him of stealing her phone. Continue reading “Topics: Simu Liu, racist girl, and Minari”

My views on censorship: we can’t have an opinion

Lately, there has been an issue that has been bothering me and I would like to blog about it.

Ever since what happened on January 6^th at the Capitol in the United States, Donald Trump has been banned from Twitter and I think every mainstream social media app out there (correct me if I’m wrong).

As the president of United States, I think he should not be able to say whatever he wants due to the effect his words may have on his followers. Actions have consequences, and those who have participated in violent acts should be punished.

Some of his supporters are so extreme that they would probably kill or die for Trump.

So, I thought limiting Trump’s access to Twitter was actually a pretty responsible thing to do.

I didn’t, however, expect him to be banned from everything. Furthermore, a super right winged conservative app, Parler, has also been taken down.

While I do understand, I do think it’s an issue that needs to be discussed.

There are extremists for everything. Does that mean all extremists should be banned? Or are we only focusing on right winged extremists? How about violent left winged extremists?

Now, I’m neither extreme left nor right, but I feel like nowadays, people can’t even have an opinion.

What if you’re just a non violent supporter of Trump? Or BLM? Or Communism? Or whatever you believe in!?!

If you state a political view, someone is going to be triggered. The more popular you are, the more backlashes you’ll receive from the other side.

Nowadays, people may be afraid to speak out their views because they want to avoid getting banned or losing access to their accounts. In more serious cases, they may even lose their jobs.

This is even worse if you have a following. Because that means you have impact and haters may just be waiting around the bush to strike. Continue reading “My views on censorship: we can’t have an opinion”