Name studies
This afternoon, after a tour in the new BBH Asiapac office and before our conference call, a few of us went to the mall fortune teller for kicks. It’s just 10 sing dollars anyway. The fortune teller tells your fortune depending on your Chinese name. He said my name is very strong, too strong, for a woman. Compounded by the fact that I am a dragon. It makes me live like a man. He told me I am better off starting my own business because I am a natural leader at work and at home. And I prefer not to take instructions from somebody else. I am very strong and lucky in career etc except for love. Coz my name is too strong, very few men’s names are compatible with mine. Ganon??! He said this is not a good time for a relationship, and if I am married now I will get divorced. (Ganooon?!) If I have a kid now he will not be close with the father, and I will not get along with my in laws. So better to wait. And since I’m very vulnerable when it comes to love, I need to grow first and experience 2 heartbreaks. At least that’s what my officemate translated. Eh, I had 3 heartbreaks na eh, isn’t that enough??! So after all these things, what is the solution? Change my name. He changed it to a similar sounding name but the meaning is Beautiful lights. (MY current name means Lady of Praise/Beauty). If I change my Chinese name I am guaranteed to find love in 6 months. Ayoko nga to change my name! My grandfather gave me my name. And he makes a lot more money when he paints your name in calligraphy. (10dollars for consultation but 100 dollars for the calligraphy.) But sige, I’ll post my new name on the wall and see if my luck in love will change. Apparently, you don’t need to change official documents you just post your new name somewhere. Riiiight.
My partner Yinbo and I compared notes after and he says the fortune teller told him the same things, that he must start a biz etc. I said, but that guy told me you can work for others!! And he said the new name means Neon Light. Haha. So red light district. Then Leo, our head of Chinese copy, corrected him that the word originally meant beautiful light but it’s the same word used for Neon signs. Anywhichway, it’s just so darn ugly. It’s a yucky name. Unlike my original name which, when pronounced in Mandarin is the ultimate admirable woman; but when pronounced in Taiwanese sounds like a GRO in classy wine pubs. High-class prosti! Hahaha. At least high clazz. hahaha. I like the irony of it. The tension of opposites. It’s so me.
Starting tonight, Yinbo has been calling me Neon. As in yelling in the streets,”Hey Neon, come over!” Let’s see if my luck will improve in 6 months.
