New beginnings

今天是八月初一. The start of a good month - the eighth lunar month - as the Chinese believe it. It is the month of the Mid-Autumn festival, of bountiful harvests and the fullest moon of the year. It is a month of great unions (Chinese weddings spike during this month), love and beauty (symbolised by the Moon Goddess Chang-E 嫦娥) and longevity (symbolised by the Old Man on the Moon 月下老人).

Tomorrow is 1 Sep, the beginning of the ninth month on the solar calendar. Nine, 9, 九, is a symbol of longevity for the Chinese as it is phonetically identical with 久 (long). Tomorrow is also the first day of the Muslim holy month - Ramadan.

This great month is a month of new beginnings for the four of us.

Pauline is trying out something new - programme editing which hopefully makes better use of her creative talents - after 8 long years of corporate videos. Happy for ya girl!

Raymond finally receives a job offer after a long hunt since graduation day, and a good one if I may say, at Citibank. Great work bro!

雪 ... 认真的雪 ... is finally on the road again with some Singaporean tourists after 3 months of waiting in the aftermath of the 5.12 earthquake that devastated his usual route of Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟. Today he must be traversing the gorgeous terrains of Hailuogou 海螺沟. Hopefully, the tourists will return to Sichuan fairly soon ... I just came back and I can testify that it is home to some of nature's most extraordinary beauty!

Yes, I've come home. Although sad I've come to the end of this road trip, I am also grateful for having a job to return to. Me, too, like Pauline, Raymond and 雪, am embarking on a new beginning tomorrow. Having 3 other friends on the same journey makes this one especially meaningful.

Reminds me of that song by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis - At The Beginning. Have a great Sunday!