So I turned 45 today ! a good friend from home asked me so how do I feel at 45? I had joked that I will be needing some age spot removal really soon – hahah!! and I sat back tonite and thought a little about what i did 20 yrs ago – and what were the difference. Well, 20 yrs ago – i just started out working in the hotel industry – i just came back from a very challenging 6 months 10 days experience at boot camp for my new job. I was recruited to become Management Trainee. Little did i know that less than 2 yrs – i would be in the position to head a department. It was exhilarating – i was working a good 16 hrs a day – and less than 6 months later – i was transferred to the global division and headed out with a Task Force to build hotels – around the Asia Pacific Region.
Yes, ! i traveled lots – met lots of friends and went to lots of parties – went to a lot of site inspections and had lots of hotel connections or insiders discount. But 20 yrs later – all those hotel friends – are still in the hotel – some are still the Chef Concierge and some have branched out to become Executive Chefs for other establishment. But what I’m trying to say is – while I’ve moved out of the hotel industry – worked for a foreign firm in Spain and lost all contacts with these people – because I could never put in the kind of dedication of 16 hrs a day work away from home.
I don’t party anymore – i don’t travel anymore – I still work a lot but very close the my daughter and my spouse but I have no regrets. If I had to turn the clock back – would I have done it differently? No – my daughter is priceless – had i not given up my life back home – i would never have had her. As i grow older and celebrate my quiet birthday every year – each year becomes more meaningful because of my family here and my online friends. I can boldly say that my online friends have more “heart” than those that i’ve gone thru’ thick and thins with when I was in the hotel industry. Just like this gift sent on my birthday – arrived all the way from the States but coming from my daughter’s Kai Mah – it’s not only the gift.. it’s the thought behind the gift – that I truly appreciate and am touched. You all know who you are .. and you all make my life and me a better person. Thank you for making my 45th birthday a great one!