August 12, 2009

• Moments that change your life…

  A few weeks ago, a young lady by the name of Claire was at a famous temple in Taiwan, asking the spirits and ancestors when she would find a nice man, someone who would love her the way she wanted, and who she could settle down with and maybe have a family with. The temple is famous because it is said that if you go there and pray for a partner, there is a good chance you will find him/her.
  
  Around the same time, your humble chronicler was having another Saturday night at home, preferring the company of two growing kittens to a night of drinking in a bar. As has been well documented, I am not in to the pub scene, and certainly not to find a woman. A friend of mine saw me online and asked me why I was not going out – I told her and she was surprised that someone like me could not find someone. I retorted finding someone is easy, finding someone special is the tough bit.
  
  So she offered to help – and I gladly accepted. She said she would post something on to a forum and see if it generated any response. Five minutes later she told me she had posted something – I did not ask what, I merely trusted her – and ten minutes after that there was a reply from someone., saying that Rob is a person she would like to know more about.
  
  MSN contact details were forwarded, and that – for the moment – was the end of it. Despite sending a message to this young lady, there was no reply. Ah well, I thought.
  
  The following Wednesday I was at the clinic, getting myself checked up because of an on-going hernia issue, and as  I entered the clinic, I saw a Buddhist monk, standing and holding a pot, collecting money. I was running a little late but made a mental note that if the monk was still there when I left, then I would put some coins in to the pot.
  
  After getting confirmation that I did indeed have a hernia which needed operating, I left the doctor, and sure enough there was the monk on the way out, so I pulled out a fistful of coins from my suit (no idea how many coins or what value) and placed them gently in to the pot.
  
  Until this point, my sales in July had been terrible, and in fact, I would say that pretty much the whole of the month until then had been depressing. But things were about to change.
  
  As I got back to the office, an order had arrived from one of my customers which pulled me over target once more (4 full months in the company, 4 monthly targets hit). At the same time, a message was on my MSN from aforementioned young lady.
  
  Her name was Claire. And this contact changed my life.
  
  We talked a little on MSN, and I could see immediately that this was no ordinary girl. She has personality, character, and a huge heart. Although her English was not fantastic, we understood each other fairly well, and let’s face it – I am the one who needs to learn better Chinese anyway. We talked for a while and then some more when I got home that evening. She works night shifts at a hospital and slept during the day, so did not get online too often.
  
  We agreed to talk some more the following day, and I think it is safe to say we enjoyed talking with each other immediately. The following evening – the Friday – I was due out with some of the guys from the office, and so I invited her along. She said she had to work, but if she woke up on time, she would come. By this point we had also echanged phone numbers, and on the Friday morning she called me to ask me to wake her up by calling her at 8, so that she could come to Alley Cats for pizza.
  
  At 8 I called her up, but there was no answer. 8.20, same. And 8.35. I headed to Alley Cats with the guys from the office. Just after 9, Claire called me up and said she was on the way and sorry for sleeping. Problem was, by the time she was due to arrive at the pizza place, she would have maybe only 10 minutes before she had to leave, and could I please take her to her work?
  
  This – as anyone will tell you – is my kind of woman. She arrived at the MRT station and called me, so I walked over to collect her, and we felt immediately at ease with each other – no strange moments, just talking like we had been going to eat pizza regularly for years. I introduced her to my colleagues, she ate a slice of pizza, then we left. Of course I got her to work on time.
  
  We arranged to go out the next day after her shft finished and get some lunch before she went home to sleep and I went to work. It didn’t work out that way. She didn’t sleep. I didn’t make it to the office. We went out, had Indian food (changing the plan due to a tehnical issue with the Suzuki!) took a walk around Tienmu, talking all the time, had a coffee, and I got her home in the evening. She invited me in, but I refused. I wanted to, but I also wanted to resist any possible temptation I may have had. After all, I was very attracted to her.
  
  The next day we went out once more, and this time for lunch in Yang Ming Shan, followed by a walk around the sulphurous area of Siao You Keng, and then she got a phone call from her friends, inviting her for dinner. She said I was also invited and so off we went.
  
  After a nice dinner and talk at her friend’s house with their baby it was dark and late, and so I took Claire home. Having spent the whole weekend together, and having had the chance to get to know each other better, we decided at this point that we wanted to be together, and so the first kiss came. It was beautiful, it was sensual, it was wonderful.
  
  And in the days that have followed, Claire and I have spent many hours together, holding hands, walking and talking, enjoying each other’s company and getting to know each other. I – for one – am deeply in love with her, and I don’t care who knows it. I want to go with her to the temple where she prayed, to give my thanks to the spirits and ancestors for bringing us together.
  
  Some will call it fate. Some will call it karma. Some will call it coincidence. But I believe there is a much deeper fundamental reason for us coming together in this way. I don’t care what the reason is – all I care about is having met the woman I feel I can spend the rest of my life with.

  • 1:28 am
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