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| Some of the high rise buildings in district 7 |
On August 1st, 2015, I woke up with a realization
that I finally am leaving Ho Chi Minh City. “This is it, I need to pack and get myself
sorted before I’ll change my mind,” these were the thoughts that came into my
mind.
After five years, Ho Chi Minh has already become my comfort
zone. I can walk everywhere without
getting lost, guide a taxi without a hassle on language barrier, where to go
for my facial routine, which spa to go for specific requirements from stone
massage, body massage and foot massage, where to go for badminton on specific
days, where to go for zumba classes with specific teachers, where to eat
depending on what I desire, where to chill out when I’m bored at night, where
to watch movie for CGV outlets (I have CGV membership card if you ask me why
CGV), where to go for manicure and pedicure, and good outlet for eyelash
extension too. And the most important
things of all, if I feel like I wanted a very Vietnamese environment my staff
at Oriental Saigon were there to drag me along to squat down the alley of
District 4 for Vietnamese street food.
It may sound silly to
you but all those I mentioned above were part of my stress relieving activities
after a hard day at work. Not to mention
my unrealistic decision to live extravagantly in Phu My Hung when I’m supposed
to save money.
Call me silly and
unrealistic for living in District 7 while working in District 1, I just want to
have that feeling of being in my “comfort zone”.
I was packing but I had butterflies in the pit of my stomach
thinking about my decision to give up my expatriate life in Saigon and move to
another city.
Later in the afternoon, I phoned my ever beloved girlfriends
and buddies in Ho Chi Minh, Yvonne and Michelle for coffee just to keep me
preoccupied.
Then there it was the realization that boosts my confidence,
“Michelle’s tantrum against our order for pizza. It was served quite late and
so spicy that Michelle went out for a walk, leaving us behind.”
The scenario reminded
me that “life is not always rosy at all”.
There will always be a time that we have to let go of our so called
“comfort zone,” whatever it is. May it
be in a form of relationship, things or career there will always be an ending
and a beginning. I have to start again
somewhere, look for places to go and things to do when I get stressed at
work. If there’s no badminton court or
cool zumba teachers then time to change the pattern.
Speaking of pattern, before I left Saigon I’ve asked my
girlfriends if they have patterns with their relationship wondering why we still
stay single at our age. Never mind
knowing their answers otherwise they’ll hate me. It’s enough to know how “single and fabulous”
they are.
Single and Fabulous
Michelle, who works in the marketing department of Coca
Cola, lives in a nice two bedrooms apartment in Saigon Pearl. Invite her for a movie and she’ll say no,
but once you dragged her into
watching movie with us, she’ll be the first one
who gets affected, like she’s watching a real scene.  |
| (Left to right: Michelle,Yvonne and me |
Invite Michelle for Karaoke she’ll say not her type, but
once we dragged her into Karaoke session she’s the one who can sing for real.
Yvonne and I ended up back-up singers.
Make a comment about seeing her always in pants and she’ll prove her
femininity by buying a skirt. It’s the
cute side of Michelle. Sorry Michelle but I felt the need to let the world know
how cute you are.
Yvonne is the exact opposite of Michelle. She’s outgoing and a “kikay” like me. Yvonne works and lives in New World Hotel.
She loves to go out and have a glass of wine outside of New World.
Perhaps her desire to
chill out was also brought about by the fact that she could feel being held
hostage living in her working place. Taking
charge of the revenue producing department of a 500-room hotel is stressful
enough, let alone living in the same hotel, sort of office below and bedroom
upstairs scenario. It’s like absorbing
the stress 24/7.
Yvonne is smart and bubbly but still single. She’s a “cool girlfriend” material, if you
ask me. Sorry Yvonne but I am selling
you for our promised reunion in six months.
