feeling a bit better now! temporary relief though; real change & happiness will only come after hard work and intentional, continual efforts, which i understand
currently on the flight home from seattle! well, the second leg right now. i had such a good time in seattle, and i genuinely really needed it right then and there. here’s some of the people that made this past week such a happy and memorable experience!
daisuke (jsa): never would i have thought my first japanese friend (by this i mean geographically, not ethnically) would be someone i’d meet in the US. it was so entertaining to tell you about the japanese salarymen YouTubers i watch and see how shocked you were that they were getting millions of views of “so boring” videos haha. it was really sweet to hear about where you want to get a home at, started with an O and was in/near Kanagawa. i totally misheard Okinawa and that turns out to be uh not it. thank you for answering my questions about parts of the japanese language—never had someone to discuss it with. now, you understand my pain. why we being so respectful to water and tea nomenclature-wise, but not alcohol, lemons, or rice tsk tsk. i hope you have an incredible time in san fran and make friends! thank you for sharing your struggles with me as well. i wish i was working in sf so we could hang out before your rotation in the US ends! fingers crossed your extension gets approved. i also really liked your jsa jacket. wanted to ask if you could get me one, but i shall reserve that question for the future. i will continue to put in effort in learning japanese! especially now i made my first friend i could practice with :) im so happy about that
mert and tayyip (turkish): now i have to go to istanbul again 😤 jokes aside, you guys made my time there so fun. tapster especially. can’t believe you guys got chipotle for your first dinner outing (smh tayyip). also can’t believe you guys don’t know Meat Moot in Istanbul 😭 meal’s on me there when I visit again!! to mert, thank you for your energy + moods. i loved seeing you excited and passionate about your thoughts, but also thought it was really funny seeing you annoyed at our case team. it was a delight working out our network strategy with you in the case too. sorry i thought you were 33… that was on the lower end of my range too 😔 also, i think it’s crazy we discussed politics so quickly. not a taboo topic, but i enjoyed the civil discussion. to tayyip, you’re a kind and thoughtful soul. i was particularly appreciative that you were so thoughtful to take photos of me when i was presenting! thanks for being someone i could rely on—i really really appreciated it, especially at the end of seminar dinner w/ helping me secure my steak dinner to-go 😉
sophia (acs): it was fun hanging out with you as well! tapster was a blast with you + thank you for taking the second shift of covering daisuke’s dinner there haha. we gotta look out for our own. i absolutely loved us poking fun at noel together, and also thought it was so funny that you kept nagging noel about buying something for his wife and kids when we were at the mall. being a girl’s girl. hopefully i shall meet you again in LA. newport it seems :)
vered (et al): your kindness + energy + joy was very infectious. thank you for your compliments and awe haha. i promise you i’m not particularly impressive. i just know how to handle a wide range of tasks + i like strategy cases. happy to have made your AI video idea a reality—everyone loved it, it was funny. kudos to you going from a flight attendant to corporate; hope all goes well for you and that you got good goodies from your Target run 😆
parmesh (qatar): hope to visit fiji and you in doha some day!!!
mia (allegiant) & lindsey (american): really enjoyed hanging out with you guys! really lovely to meet other US airlines + hear about what’s going on/how life is on the other side. mia—i would love to travel for work in IR like you do! although not sure if allegiant’s network is one i would want 😭. lindsey—thank you for taking care of the broccoli. for real a trooper. hope you don’t get questioned about expensing the 4 iced milk teas + dessert for dinner 😆
avneesh & noel (boc aviation): excited to have met two more people from singapore! to noel, weird to write something personal for mr. senior vp, but hope your son likes the boeing lego kit! enjoy the comfy ride back while avneesh sits in the next cabin 😆. to avneesh or mr. yale-nus, was great hanging out with you. definitely will hit you up in singapore. thank u both for appetizers 😋
li ding + meihui sun (china): wish i had more time to interact with the folks from chinese companies. i would’ve really liked practicing my mandarin and getting to know more about you all and the vibes working in china/taiwan. did quite enjoy using a bit of canto though!
chamine: i missed you! i haven’t seen you in like 6 years or something. regardless, you’re still the same person i remember: kind, funny, honest, genuine, and admirable. i hope everything works out in this part of your life and with your relationship! thank you for picking me up after work on my first day here. my favorite moment was how excited you were to have our meal expensed—the way your eyes lit up in excitement and joy. how i missed being in a car hanging out with my close friends, so thank you for that too. loved your car, genuinely. it felt just so homey and made me miss mimi (my first and only car i bought). also, that seahawk dance practice was a blast to see (you guys were so good! and you were taking point?? so impressive), and your adoptive aunts are just absolute delights to meet. hope i see them again next time i find myself in seattle and meet up w/ you! here’s a toast to my awfully-made/ordered MeetFresh drink + hamilton soundtrack car session + mega backdoor roth + our cafe dreams!
