...in the blur of my days...

The continuing saga of life in Cincinnati...

...or the daze of my life...

The last few weeks have been really much of a blur. At the end of June, I took off to Washington DC for my first holiday of the year. It was a bit of a shock: I was walking down a street at 9 pm, there were people milling around who weren't out to rob me, and many people were dining al fresco in restaurants that came from many places around the world. The late night life, the hustle and bustle of the city - Oh Yes! - This Is What I Have Been Missing These Past 6 months!!!!!!! It's amazing how the quiet solitude of a small town - sorry - city, can lull one into a state of somnolence. And then, the re-enlightment on visiting a big city like DC becomes such an emotional event... I'm reminded of when I first went to Paris from Geneva. Colin had come to visit, so we took a train down to Paris. As I stepped out of the Gare de Lyon onto the street, I remember remarking, "Even the air feels more alive here...!" Yes - it was the same feeling....

Anyway. Washington was great. I had been there before, so it wasn't my first visit. But this time, I could take a leisurely stroll and just take in anything that took my fancy. I was very impressed with the Korean War memorial, and the WWII memorial. The Vietnam War Memorial was boarded up for some maintenance work, and I really could not see and get a feel for the whole thing. All in all, they were very poignant reminders of mans need to kill one another. The Library of Congress was impressive, and I even have my own Reader Card to prove that I've been there! As the Supreme Court was in recess, I got to go in and listen to a docent talk about the functioning of the court. It was great to have been in the well of the court, sitting in it, and being able to admire all the art around it.

In Washington, I also managed to do something I had not done in many many years: just kick back and watch the Wimbledon Tennis Finals. I used to follow the circuit like a mad fan - I mean, if it's Monday, it means time to check the latest ATP rankings. Not having watched for so long, it was amazing to see Maria Sharapova, a tall, lanky girl, literally beat the stuffing out of Serena Williams, a woman not known for playing gentle games of tennis. Even more spectacular was to watch the men's finals, when Roger Federer defended his title against American Andy Roddick. That was the first time in 22 years, that the top 2 seeds played each other, and what a match it was. The best part of it, was the graciousness by which Andy Roddick accepted his defeat. I really liked what he said to the interviewer, "I threw the kitchen sink at him but he went into the bathroom and got a tub". And when asked if this was the beginning of a great rivalry between the two men, he remarked, "For it to become a rivalry, I'm going to have to start winning some of these matches." My dad has often said, if someone is of world-class, go watch it, even if you don't know much about it. You will know what class is. And the way Federer played that day, he was, in the words of the great John McEnroe - "a walking textbook of how tennis should be played." Real class.

One of the best things about this trip was getting to meet my best pal, Colin again. He drove down to DC from Philedelphia with his girlfriend Mandie. We met up at his brother Greg's place, and just hung around, watched Spiderman 2, and at unhealthy things like taco shells with cheese or something of that sort. He's moaned about turning 32. I mean - age is a number. Just hope that number is not the same as the waistline - something I still do not have to worry about. Yet...

After Washington, I was back in the office for little over a week, and then I took off to New York. I was going for a 5 day course - the New York University Summer Institute of Taxation. However, the timing meant that I could go up to New York a couple of days early and speak to some NYU Stern Business School students on International Taxation as part of their International Financial Management class. I loved it. I think the students did, too. Well, Abigail, their professor said they did. And that 4 people out of 14 stayed back after the class to ask more questions means I must have perked their interest a little. Okay, I like teaching. So ... what next? Maybe I really should consider it full time. However, I have been corrupted by filthy lucre, and wonder if I really can go back to an academic's salary.

Now, talking about filthy lucre, I had the great opportunity of meeting up with two more of the Hong Kong circle of friends: Wai and Cynthia. Ah Wai was kind enough to let me have use of his studio down in Greenwich Village. Cynthia was a little cagey about it, even suggesting I might prefer a hotel. When I got into the studio, I sort of realised why she was slightly concerned for me. Now, Wai works for a merchant bank. He was a director in his last position, and moved over to his current one with a new bank less than 2 weeks before I arrived. Merchant banks (or investment banks, as Americans refer to them...) are known for their telephone number salaries and even bigger digit bonuses. Yet, Wai's studio was probably just a little over 250 sq ft. I suppose it is a function of where you hail from. He is from Hong Kong. When I was there, my flat of 500sq ft would normally have housed grandma, grandpa, son, daughter-in-law, grandchild and maid. It was a 3 bedroom place. So, in many ways, I could see where he was coming from. But to have somehow remained in the US for so long and remained untainted by filthy lucre and the American consume-to-excess culture, was truly another reason to really hate this guy. Apart from the fact that he is good-looking (my parents did not want me to introduce him to my sister...), athletic, a flair for music. Darn it - how does one just have it all... And yes, he's going to be married too! Nice girl. And in line with all that fine upstanding character of his, she is not a trophy wife. In fact, one would say, he really took his time before making his decision. In the 10 years that he took to make his decision, most of us had long since given up thinking about when he'd popped the question - all of us had in so many words said, "Just tell us when and where and we'll be there." Well. He finally did it, and Cynthia and he and finally going to get married. That's another trip to New York for me. It's amazing Cynthia stood by him for so long - many a successful woman like her would have happily moved on. Still - it was very nice of them to ask me to compere the wedding. The only hesitation I had was whether I had to do a bestman's speech in two languages: Wai emphatically said, "No speeches! I don't need to be introduced to the family..." Which after 10 years, probably is true...

During dinner the first night I was in DC, the maitre'd came by and ask, "Mr Kong, is everything fine?" I noted the respectful tone used, and later, as we were walking to the car, shared with him my thought that we weren't youngters any more. We are now "Mr Kong" or "Mr Koh". He emphatically agreed. By the time his father was our age, he had escaped from Vietnam with his family, and was setting up life in a new country. By the time my dad was our age, he had a family of 3. Yet Wai and I were still single, and in a sense, carefree. Society has changed. We are no longer marrying early, settling down and into life. Wai had come to the US from Hong Kong, having hailed from Vietnam. I had come to the US from Malaysia via Britain, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland and Singapore. When Susanna got married, her side of the family flew in from Vancouver, Charles's side flew in from Sydney. There were her friends and his friends. Definitely not a wedding of the old style where families knew of, if not not knew one another.

Anyway. I was supposed to have 2 weeks in the office after coming back from New York. However, business needs call, so I am off to Germany tomorrow after only 1 week in the office. 2 days of which was spent trying to sort out my vacation plans which were scuppered by the German trip. As always, negotiations with external parties were easier - after all, the airlines do not mind you changing tickets - you just have to pay for the privilege. The negotiations with the company became a pain. I was not going to be made to be out of pocket for this, but after many calls etc, my situation was such it fell between two policies. So now, I have had to pay first, and write to the Global HR division for an exception to be reimbursed for the cost of changing my flight. It was all too painful to recount, but left me in a depressed state for the rest of the week.

So. Most of today was spent on laundry - I had not put away the laundry from the last trip, but now have to wash, pack and get ready for a long trip that will take me from Cincinnati, to Frankfurt, to London, back to Frankfurt, to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and then back to Cincinnati via Korea and Atlanta. So in the next 15 days, I will be earning about 20,000 airmiles... Still. I am looking forward to the stop in Singapore to see some old friends, then home to see the family. No time to get anything for anyone as I had thought I had 2 weeks to get things. C'est la vie. My presence will be my present.

Until my next letter, I wish you good health and happiness!

Regards Darren

Back to Cincinnati...

to the webmaster go to homepage
Amended on: Sunday August 01, 2004