Incredible Story

WOW. The last time I posted here was 2016? Seems like ages ago.

Anyway for today, I would like to tell you a fantastical story, so bear with me. It is basically the life story of a friend. We were chatting for super long after lunch, that she basically shared her entire life story with me. I love her so much that I want to document it here so that I do not forget it in future. Even though she has a boyfriend already, and we can't be together, I can always hope she breaks up with him some day. You never know. So here's Fei's story!

Basically she was born into a broken or dysfunctional family. Her mom is Thai, and her dad is mainland Chinese. She didn't quite reveal it, but I guess she was born out of wedlock, as her dad was previously a teacher and her mom was a student. Didn't want to probe too deeply on this sensitive issue. Her family started out poor as they lived in a shared home with other families when she was really small. That was until they bought their own first small apartment when her dad started his business. But then, her dad got a little frisky and had a few women around, leading to her mom being emotional and crying all the time. They rarely talked to each other, and her mom just likes to read her books. Fei had to be the independent girl that helped to keep the family together.

Soon after, her dad had business troubles, complications and perhaps running away from tax officials, etc. China. But meanwhile all this time, her mom stayed with him and supported him all the way. This lead him to finally believe which woman was there for him and I guess he finally started to appreciate her more. Things patched up well. Up to this day, they get along, however it would seem that the 3 of them still like to do their own things, even when they are together. Seems like a very individualistic and independent family environment. But enough about the complicated family situation. Back to the lovely girl in question.

At the age of 10, she decided that she wanted to go overseas to study. At that time, she was really into Harry Potter. The movies, and the books. And UK was where it was all filmed and shot, so the allure to the 10 year old kid was strong. It was decided then, that she went to a boarding school somewhere in Milton Keynes. Incidentally, this is near enough to Cranfield, which is where my dad went to study for his Masters. He brought our whole family along, and I stayed there for 2 years. Of course, at that time I was 5 and Fei was not born yet. But back to the topic, this is not about me. So, she would stay abroad and study there all by herself, and occasionally during holidays she would travel to parts of europe to meet up with her mom, who incidentally is a travel enthusiast. Her mom basically travels around the world, and writes reviews and articles about various spots, food places, and attractions. Fun job.

So what happens next is that Fei finished her high school and all, but didn't exactly get top results. She had interests in arts, but wanted to go to a proper university rather than an arts school. She likes design but wasn't the best at it either. So after looking around the different courses she decided on Computing. At that time, it wasn't a popular major, so even without meeting grades, she got into a university just by calling in. Cool. She made friends and all, but it seems that all her friends left the UK too after graduation, leaving her not much reason to stay anymore. Next, she set her eyes on another degree. She went to Australia to study for a year, but decided she really didn't like the place at all. The shops close early, and there were snakes and insects everywhere, lol. In her time that she was studying in Australia, she actually did work and also did an exchange program. This is where things get more "interesting".

So she did an exchange program with NTU in Singapore, met good people, and apparently really liked the place. I guess, sadly, that she probably met her boyfriend here as well. Unfortunate for me, but oh well. So end up, she pulled out of her degree program in Australia to stay here instead. And they actually still offered her some form of diploma for that. lol. But more interesting than that, is that the company she worked for, HP, really liked her so much that they offered her a job position in the Singapore office. No interviews, nothing, just phone call and go. They even sponsored half of her accommodation rent. That's quite a sick deal. So this is the crazy part. She was actually working for quite some time with HP at the Depot Road office, which is just across the road from my old office building. In fact, it could be that we may have crossed paths as strangers before, but didn't know that we would one day be friends. I mean, that's crazy right?!

Next, after all the people on her team starts leaving, she too saw no reason to stay in such a hectic environment, and she quit HP as well. It would seem, that she did some Minor in Technopreneurship thing at NTU, over the summer period before our matriculation. Finally, she would start studying in our Masters course, and I would meet her for the first time. It was a strange encounter. I mean, it was very early in the morning and I was heading for SPM class when I saw this pretty girl in front of me. She didn't look super local, but also didn't have the mainland chinese look. Certainly I didn't think she would be taking such a technical program like me. But little did I know, we ended up walking to the same room. So, I sat at the desk behind her, and hoped to get to know her someday.

Bam! Our prof Alton says we should start forming groups of 3 for our project. She turns around and asks "do you have a project group?", and the rest is history. I am so glad that I got to meet with and befriends with this pretty girl, Xue Fei. While it is unfortunate that we will likely never be together, I don't regret anything, and am always willing to lend a listening ear. I would do the same for any of my friends. If you have something to say, I will listen. I'll be there for you. Well, nothing much left for me to say, except that it was quite an inspirational story, I feel. And I would have very much liked to be the next chapter in the story, but alas it was not meant to be...