I met a new friend whose story is made up from those seen in soap operas.

It’s quite complicated: She was dating a guy in Europe for a few months when she also met someone online in Hong Kong. Hong Kong guy gave her an airline ticket from the Philippines, prompting her to decide whether she wants to pursue the relationship with European guy or go to Hong Kong.

She decided to go to Hong Kong as it was closer then had a one-night stand.

During one-night stand, guy was cocky and said that since he traveled all the time, he wasn’t looking for a commitment so she shouldn’t hope for anything. She said that she wasn’t as well and upon returning back home to the Philippines, proceeded to delete the guy’s number and his input from YM account.

Guy tries to call her and when couldn’t reach her, pursues her. Finally, she gave him a chance and despite hesitations, married him within a few months and moves to Hong Kong.

The man is a decent enough man. He is British who has lived in Asia for many many years. However, she has only one complaint: “He is too nice. Too nice to his friends, too nice to his colleagues.”

I told her that there is no prefect man.

Either you find a nice man who can be a pushover, or a jerk who pushes you over. God has always been fair in allocating our partners. If they are strong on one hand, they would have weakness on the other.

A rich guy may be arrogant and sleep with a lot of girls.

A nice guy may be boring and have lower sex drive.

A smart guy may be socially inept.

A family man may have no ambition and you have to be happy with just his basic salary and get a second job.

Trader is not perfect as well. He can be tight with money (or you can say, he is too pragmatic on financial matters) and that troubles me a bit. I understand that couples fight about money quite often and I wonder what life with Trader will be like if we got married.

However, he is kind and adores me. I respect him as well and I like it that he listens.

Soooo despite his faults, I accept them. For all things into account, I am still quite lucky. I could do so much worse.

My new friend tells me about her husband’s friends. They seem to be like jerks.

“They hang out in Wanchai all the time drinking,” she said. “And their girlfriends/wives are all afraid of them. It’s as if they cannot speak out or the men would get mad.”

She tells me that sometimes, when the friends are too drunk, they would take home girls by renting those HKD250 for 3 hours rooms. I ask aboutt the costs of these women. My friend tells me they’re about HKD3,000 for the foreigners, HKD1,000 for the locals, and even HKD500 or free if you’re lucky.

Sigh, I’ve always wondered about the dangers of sleeping around. Think about all different types of disease and don’t even understand why men don’t seem to care that the woman’s “hole” has been visited by so many different foxes.

And it’s not as if these women in Wanchai are beautiful. Many of them can be quite ugly and so “used.”

Then again, we are not here to be judged but to be thankful.

Overall, we have a lot to be thankful for. I know I am!