Back to London

After 2 years, I flew back to London for 3 weeks, supposingly for business, but I find myself enjoy the reunion with my ex-colleauges enormously. They followed the big boss to the firm I recently joined 2 years ago before I left for Beijing. It is just like the good old days, when we have meeting in the conference room 101 (the pub downstair) bashing/bitching about work. The big boss drew a couple more of my ex-colleagues, we are all in the same boat.

Dave and Manj were 2 of my favorite. Manj is my drinking partner, he's always had the charisma and very talented developer. We spent so many nights drinking and talking silly stuff, nothing very constructive but great to release the stress and it always feels great to hang around with him. Dave is calm and shy, we didn't talk to each other for 2 years because I think he didn't like me. He later explained that's because he is very clumsy to express himself (and clumpsy physically). He's become my mentor, he taught me that I have to be more assertive and there is no need to feel apologetic to anyone. Oh well, I have to say the teaching has reached its success in every dimension, I become a scary woman (after 2 years of professional service and non-stop traveling) who deeply believes no one should mess around with me. I am no longer eager to please the world. Who knows, I think it is partly attributed by aging that I cannot be bothered to try.

I have also met new friends in the team, all very amiable. I threw a housekeeping abuse party on Friday night, presented not very good-tasted roast beef (Brits might think it is OK but it is nowhere close to the standard of Chinese tongue). Anyhow, people came in with drinks and we had a blast.

However, I didn't leave any work for housekeeping. I cannot help but start sorting the soiled plates, forks and knifes, put them into the dish washers while the party was on going. I was reading a book "a female thing", which describes the 4 quantities/emotions still bother nowaday females, struggling between feminism and feminity. They are: envy, sex, dirt and vulnerability.

The section about dirt drew my attention particularly. It is very true that woman and man has different level of sense of cleanness. Thought men started to help out in house chores, women are doomed to do more about the scrapping and washing. What is wrong with us? I only find this cleaning tendency gets stronger and stronger as I get older. I even started to clean up the table in the restaurant if my company dropped things by accident.