Friends

These are from a while back but I don't feel like writing, so here're some pictures...to give you an idea what kind of life I've been living in Hong Kong.

Carmen, Julia, Jack and me. We're elementary school pals, and Julia has been one of my best friends for most of my life. Carmen has an adorable 4-year-old daughter and worries a lot; Julia is married to a quiet man and she likes all things vintage; Jack works in China and gets bombarded by managers who want to marry off their daughters to him. In HK it's pretty easy to stay in touch with school friends coz most people stick around rather than move to another state or city in the country. That is, if you make an effort and actually like those people beyond random presences on your Facebook friends list.

Helen, painter, teacher and now tango dancer. A tough girl who acts funny and mellow for the most part. We've known each other for 12 years. Back in the days she's known for being blunt ('Why do you have such bad skin lately?' when we're just crossing the road) and making fun of herself ('My perm is so bad I want to jump into the sea right now' when we're at the Victoria Harbour after she just went to the hairstylist). We're the kind of friends who grow more similar and closer as the years go by, though she doesn't say silly things so often anymore. Well, she still does sometimes.

Bobit Segismundo, Filipino artist in Hong Kong. I wrote about him last year--he was my interviewee for a feature article on the Philippines Arts Festival and we became friends. Bobit is a punk: he creates art to express his feelings and doesn't give a damn if nobody likes his work. In person he's a straight-shooting and curiously caring guy.

Sarah from Australia, my netfriend on a certain kiddy, outdated online diary site. I started reading her maybe 1.5 years ago and lo and behold, here she was in Hong Kong for a short trip. Sarah loves her music, art, family and friends, cute boys and lazy days at the beach. I should check up on her to see if she's learning Italian as she's planned to, as she obviously has a knack for language.

Me with Claire and Christine at Claire's birthday. I wrote about these two girls in my New Year's Eve entry. Claire is a painter and a fiery girl at times; in quiet times she can be terribly patient, esp. with her art, which I'm a little envious of. Christine is dynamic, optimistic and ambitious--she's going to be a successful entrepreneur of some art-related business one of these days, I'm sure.

Me at Claire's birthday party. Most of the time I'm actually quite happy. These days I don't have much to say coz it's all work and more work and some writing for me. I miss my friends.