Apologize for the few-day blogging hiatus.

Last Tuesday, I started coughing and my lovely boss ordered me to stay home. She didn’t really want me to infect the office, and as a result, was able to enjoy a great 7-hour brunch at Grandma Nitti’s in Shida Road.

That’s 7 hours (from 11AM to 6:30PM) of just lounging outside the terrace and great conversation about Shanghai, paintball (or in our case, “painball”), the importance of relationships/connections in business and life, my life’s soap opera and more.

It felt like work, though time kinda flew.

We kept on drinking Grandma Nitti’s hot tea (I think we went to the bathroom AT LEAST 7 times!) that am sure we made the high cost of food worth it. 🙂

Ah, nothing better to nurse a cold than cups and cups of hot tea… and stimulating conversation.

This is happiness.

It comes from the simple things.

For me, my happiness mantra is… doing what you love with people that you like. *thumbs up*

And I did that last Tuesday, and that felt GREEEEEEEEEEAT! 😀

Afterwards, I took a short rest before venturing out again for a meeting (Okay, so I’m not the best person to rest on a sick day… though I did get a lot of sleep in the morning and drunk lots of tea). JH and I met up at Bellini’s Cafe, a swanky Italian restaurant at Fuxing Road, with semi-high prices, cool ambience and pretty good food.

Their steak is delicious! But order the one NOT on the menu if you go… it’s a thicker cut, and there’s around 6 pieces.

But it’s divine.

And probably quite $$$!

Meeting up with JH is an experience by itself. Admittedly, I was quiet on my way home, thinking, “There’s more to life than what I am doing.“

Aggressive, straightforward and confident as hell, JH is around 32 years old and is CFO of a large music company in Taiwan, their largest Asian market aside from Japan. The accumulated 6-year work experience include working for the global CEO of the said music conglomerate, and the various C-whatevers around the world.

Personally, I like people with a wide variety of interests — it means they have a life — and JH is someone with tons of varied interests.

Interests include traveling, horseback riding, wines/liquers, fine dining at nice restaurants, having stimulating conversation with intelligent friends, running the 10K, helping out MBA alma mater, the driving range and spending time with relatives.

I’m not proud to admit that I was a bit intimidated, but I was. 🙁

Sure, I myself have led an interesting life and I’m no dunce. I’ve organized several successful events I’m really proud of. But if I really admit it, my accomplishments are nowhere yet close to what JH has achieved.

For example, organizing a 240 person gala last November… JH organized the European Emmy Awards!

For me, it was hard to look at someone with an MBA from a good school with a straight face. Actually, I don’t think it’s the MBA.

It’s just JH has that ability to intimidate me.

My only saving grace is that I’m 25, JH is 32… so I still have 7 years to catch up or at least, accomplish a lot more than what I’m doing right now. So you can’t really compare until you’ve reached that age whether or not you’re equally successful.

On the positive side, I’m opening my eyes and realizing that there is MORE that I can do… MORE to accomplish. It made me realize that I want to get that MBA, maybe at least 3 years down the road.

I don’t care if people tell me that it’s not important. Cause for me it is.

Where else can you meet a higher proportion of ambitious, smart intellectuals with various interests and skills all at a single campus who have the thirst for more knowledge?

I don’t really care how much it costs… count me in!
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I love my mom, talked to her on MSN this morning and this is what she had to say about my encounter with JH:

Raven: I had dinner with JH last Tuesday. It made me think. JH is 32 years old, CFO (Chief Finance Officer) of (music company conglomerate’s name). I was really impressed. JH is confident, had an MBA from a good school, knowledgeable, smart, worldly and very accomplished. She worked for the CEO of (music company conglomerate’s name).

Raven: I don’t like the feeling of being intimidated.

Mom: So she inspired you to open more your eyes and ears.

Raven: Yes, it’s an eye-opener. I mean, we always meet accomplished people back home… but they’re all so old. This time, JH is a mere 7 years older than me… not that big.

Mom: Learn from her in a few sittings. Nothing wrong with treating her out and finding out her good points. Maybe you will find something in her that is not as good as you]

Raven: Our dinner was NT$3,600+. Expensive. That’s almost P6,000 for just the two of us.

Mom: Honestly, charge to mom all your treats to her so as to get her experience and know-hows in just a few sittings. By all means, embrace her to join your group. Sometime we get experience from people who are better by us by humbly talking to them. You can learn of their experience in 20 years in just a few meals.

Raven: I guess… i just didn’t like being intimidated. Usually, masmagaling ako sa iba here. (Usually, I’m better than most people here). It’s really rare to find people who are way better than I am, and it shows.

Mom: No harm to admit someone better than us, but only in your heart and never admit by mouth. Never tell people that they are better than you. You can appreciate but can express in some other way than telling her that she is good. Because you still don;t even know if she is really good. By her telling you who she is, she is still waiting to be proven.

Raven: Yes, I was okay. Didn’t show my intimidation though I was. It was definitely an eye-opener. You learn more from people who are better than you, than people who are stupider.
Raven: So I was pretty quiet on way home, thinking that I want to get an MBA 3 years down the line.

Mom: She might be good but NOT HAPPY naman. THAT IS WAY DAD WANTS YOU TO COME HOME AND TAKE YOUR MBA AT AIM. No one is as good as you are thinking. For me, I think that my angel is still the best,

Raven: Thanks mom But yeah, I was a bit intimidated and that’s a rare feeling for me. Usually, I can talk to people better than I am and treat them as equals (thanks to u and dad’s training).

Mom: That is why dad wanted always to have you with us when we meet people even when you were small. This is so that you can observe how older, intelligent people talk.

Raven: Haha, now I am observing how young, intelligent people talk. There are quite a few very smart people here in TW.

Mom: It is healthy to feel intimidated because that is the thing that pushes you to improve yourself.

Raven: Yes, I was very motivated after meeting her.

Her point?

It’s not a bad thing to be intimidated, but by looking at the people you’re intimidated with and learning from them, you yourself can push yourself to success.

And she did it in a way that made me feel loved and special.

I love you mom! 😀