my aunt as a friend

How do you describe such special friendship? aunt/niece? friends? I guess we are both!

Ellie, she is my aunt, a real aunt but only 6 years older, she married my uncle 10 something years ago....I still recall the first time I saw her, she was still a flutist, my sister was a huge fan and she performed on stage from time to time.....we were at my parents' 30th anniversary and my uncle showed up with this slender elegant woman dressed in a black dress, his new girlfriend....honestly I can not recall at all on how our relationship evolved since that day 13 years ago, its something you can not explain because it just developed through time.

Although she is my aunt in the family tree, personally she is more as a friend to me, a very dear friend who I can dump trash and count on when Im in need of a shelter! We often exchange our deep secrets in life!

We used to hang out quite often before I turn into motherhood. We dont see each other so often these days since we both are very occupied with families. However, we do make sure we catch up with each other from time to time, updating the latest like any other girls. We sms each other a lot, we wine and dine together, sharing our gastronomic interests, we shopped at the same stores to a point that we talked about sharing clothes, we go to the same hair stylist, we exchange a lot of information on life style such as traveling, latest trend, new discovered spots..etc, we can drink and chat till the sun comes out........

The good old days, we used to travel together, we have been to Bali, Indonesia, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and India together, good memories! She met most of all my closed friends and we just mingle into a nice crowd when we see each other!

Friendship, comes in all forms, this one is definitely rare indeed!

My friend, Eugene

My very dear friend Eugene lives in BKK with his daughter Andree-my god daughter, she was my god daughter even before she was born! We dont get to see each other very often but when we do, it always warms my heart and cheers my soul. We have known each other for almost 20 years and he walked me through some hard times in life and he has always been around when I needed a hand!

This time we met up just a few days after I came back from Europe, we are big sushimi eaters so of course we met up at our favorite sushi place with 4 bottles of white wine, that's our routine = sushi + white wine or Champange, I totally fished myself up that night after being in Europe for 5 weeks without any raw fish!

We went to a small bar Organo behind my house for a night cap, several Hello Kitty drinks and we headed home since Eugene had to take off early for China the following morning and Andree had to intern at a gallery! Patrick, a good friend of Eugene's, a very funny character one can not miss also joined us that evening!

Friendship, you don't need the quantity but definitely need the quality, its those unspoken words that speak between true friends! I can not explain how Eugene warms my heart neither how a comfortable vibe he carries when I see him, he just holds such a special place in my heart! Eugene, a very special friend indeed!

3 days in Shanghai (Aug 5 to 7)

I had to fly to Shanghai a few days after I came back from Europe, I was lazy but really had to get some stuff done, tax, bank, apartment search...etc...and of course I was dying to see my friends especially Sandy, my best friend!

I stayed at the Peninsula on the Bund this time, all is good with this hotel but I realized this type of glamorous 5 star city hotel is not my cup of tea anymore and I felt money was wasted. The room was filled with multiple digital panels including a nail dryer, panels showing outside temperature and humidity, cordelss fone panels with speaker in the toilet room as well as the bathroom, very thoughtful but unecessary.

We had a very nice dinner at Mr. Willis the first night, lots of wine and good food. It was great to see Karen, Tsai Tung and my brother. Sandy and I went back to my room and headed to the bar downstairs for more wine and of course we didnt get to bed with a clear head.

My best friend Sandy called me the following afternoon to join her at this new boutique hotel also on the bund but a bit further down,the first thing she said to me was you will love this place! She knows me well, a boutique hotel just opened with only 19 rooms in a loft setting, roof top bar with wonderful view of the river and Pudong, reminds me so much of New York. So we went to the bar twice that day, afternoon and evening, after a very delicious Shanghainese dinner, I havent had such yummy Shanghainese food in a long time, Im still drooling over the dishes.

3 days ended fast, it was hard to leave my friends but I do miss my girls tremendously and I really want to make it back for father's day for my hubby!

Friendship is therapeutic, I cherish these rare friendships and love my friends!