An old friend

Last week I emailed my old friend Ming to say hello. Her reply, "Hi Ting!!! I miss you!!!!!" made my heart skip a beat. Then I heard her excited voice, "Shall we meet tomorrow? Let's have hi-tea at my office!"

Shortly after, her personal assistant called to reschedule the appointment. Oh dear, Ming didn't even know she had such a busy schedule ahead. Could we meet a week later?

So I was at her office yesterday. The landscape has changed completely. Their office building in the city is now flanked by luxurious condominiums, I almost lost my way.

Her PA is the same one who's worked for decades. She knows me well and made sure I was comfortable in Ming's office. "It's important for you to meet our new CEO." she whispered.

"But why?" I asked. "I'm here to visit my old friend."

Knowing how philanthrophic and wealthy Ming is, I'm sure many long lost friends have shown up to ask for favours. I'm not one of those.

Anyway, the CEO said a quick hello before hurrying off to 'handle a crisis'. I hung around Ming's large office, checking out her photos and art collection. A recent photo of her with Anthony Bourdain shows that she's still as beautiful and flamboyant as ever.

I've blogged about Ming before. She has a larger than life personality and she exudes such positive energy, every cell in my body comes alive whenever I speak to her.

She breezed into the office in her stylish bohemian ensemble, dropped her bag and quickly embraced me.

Ming's arrival immediately caused a stir in the otherwise tranquil office. As if on cue, her CEO and posse of managers suddenly appeared in her room.

Today she has a major crisis - her iPhone had suddenly stopped playing her favourite songs. The IT manager immediately took the phone away to reload her favourite playlist. A nervous designer came into the office with an artwork that was promptly rejected because the colours were wrong. The lighting guy brought in a sample for their latest project and was praised. Everyone was lining up to see her. Her PA went through her handbag to check if her boss needs more cash or stuff to be dealt with. It was fun to watch.

I had almost forgotten what a diva my friend can be. She's quite a personality and it's always very refreshing to see her. It's easy to see how in awe everyone is with her. She's a powerful business lady afterall and I'm glad she's a friend and not my boss.

We bitched about our ex (she was married to a surgeon) and wondered why they can be so heartless and unappreciative of good women like us. Then we talked about raising the kids (she has 3). That's probably where our similarities end.

She's in a totally different league but strangely enough, we can really click.