So my bestie is....

I have had a few best friends in different stages of life.

I have to say my favorite bestie has always been Kelly Wang, my roommate at Columbia.

I think she is a key reason why I am emotionally so attached to my alma mater.

Note that I am totally foreign in New York, but I think everything just felt so much more amazing with her company.

Why do I like her so much?

I guess it is our upbringing.

She moved to the states when she was 10 or something so she had good knowledge in Chinese before moving to the states.

She is from Tianjin, which is just a bit away from Beijing. So I guess we are both from Beijing.

Have I told you this? When I was small, I spent every single holiday in Beijing.

When it was Chinese new year, summer, easter or any holidays that is longer than 5 days, I would travel to Beijing.

So I didn't really spend time in Hong Kong during the holiday seasons.

I consider myself from Beijing.

I identify more with Beijing than Hong Kong.

I don't like Hong Kong because Hong Kong is very confined. To me, Hong Kong is just an island.

Whereas Beijing is so spreadout, so cultured and so historic. I think there is not much to do in Hong Kong other than shopping.

I have had friends from Beijing too and I have to say Beijing people are a lot more chilled than Hong Kong people. And guys from Beijing are much better looking too. Taller, more built and more masculine.

Hong Kong guys are feminine. I don't know whats wrong. Maybe it is the culture, or the genes. Who knows?

I asked my mother many times in elementary school, I asked her why she gave birth to me in Hong Kong?

I wanted to be born in Beijing.

I don't want to live in Hong Kong, yeah, even when I was kid, I didn't like Hong Kong very much.

Maybe it is because the suffocating atmosphere and the cutthroat competition.

Economically, Hong Kong was better off in the 90s when I was growing up but that didn't help me fall in love with Hong Kong unfortunately.

I also dreamed of working and studying in Beijing after college. It really shows how much I don't like Hong Kong and how much I prefer living in Beijing. Even for a 80% pay cut.

I don't know if you know this: actually I hate to say this, Beijing people are very different from Shanghainese. Stop confusing us. It is very annoying because Beijing people do not like Shanghainese. Also there is a big discrepenacy in culture in the north and in the south. Generally speaking, Beijing people don't like people down in the south either.

I am one of them. Maybe that's why I don't really like going back to Canton province.

I have never been to Canton until I was 26 for a business trip for Skadden.

That's how much I hate Canton. If it was not for business trip, I would never go there.

Even though it is like just an hour of train ride away.

If there is anything I can change, I would still want to be born in the same family but not in Hong Kong. Maybe I will tell my mom in a dream to ask her to give birth to me in Beijing instead.

It's funny cos my mom likes Hong Kong a lot more than me.

Which is weird.

She likes Hong Kong.

I told her I like 東北男孩兒.

And she is the first one to say no to this.

I want to cry now.

Yes, I am going to cry for a bit now, over my fate, over my family objection of liking 東北男孩兒.

I seriously don't get why my mom would come all the way from Beijing to marry a Cantonese guy like my dad!!!

I don't get it!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEKJGhoGH3Y