I love surprises – good surprises that is.  I love watching movie stars surprising their fans, Oprah surprising her audience members with a free trip to Australia, or Ellen DeGeneres surprising a school teacher with a $10,000 check from Target.  Surprises gets me every time.  Although surprises don’t come that often in my life, my girlfriends from Taiwan gave me one of the best surprises this weekend, as I was heading to our regular Girls Night Out dinner on Friday night.

話說，我最喜歡看明星surprise fans, 或是歐普拉surprise 忠實觀眾，送她們一張免費機票，然後全場high 翻，哭著抱成一團，當然在現實生活中，我想強尼戴普不會來敲門，劉德華應該不會唱歌給我聽，我還在癡癡等待歐普拉送我一棟房子，不過，幸虧我有一群超級貼心的死黨姐妹淘！今年給了我即將到來的里程碑生日一個最棒的禮物.

Friday night as I left work and headed to the girls’ dinner with my mommy friends in Hong Kong, I had a lot on my mind – work unfinished, the kiddies’ homework, the plans for the weekend, but on the top of my “To Worry” list is the health problem of a close family member.  I just wanted to sip a little wine, listen to some harmless gossip and complain about whatever it is that I wanted to complain about.  I arrived late at the girls dinner restaurant, but immediately spotted another friend who wasn’t on the guest list.  Next to her were these two girls covering their faces with a menu.  I thought to myself “what’s going on?” and then the next thought, “Please don’t ask me to sit next to people I don’t know.”   I walked over to say hello, and saw that it was my besties from Taiwan, A and B.  “Surprise!” YEAH!!!  Celebrating my birthday with them was one of those things that I wish could happen but never had the courage to ask and didn’t think it would be possible.  I was so happy to see them that I burst into tears right away.  It was the best surprise ever because I have been totally missing them.  Even though I said I didn’t want to do a celebration in Hong Kong this year, they flew in for a girls weekend/early birthday celebration.  So we spent the weekend doing what we used to do, shopping, hanging out, going out to dinner, drinking and talking until wee hours of the morning.  Just the perfect weekend before we head to New York for my big birthday trip.

I met these girls in Taiwan when I arrived shortly after college to embark on a new career and a new life.  I think my biggest achievements after living there for 10 years – besides meeting my husband – was the friendship I’ve built with them.  They’re kind, thoughtful, compassionate, and just beautiful human beings who know almost everything there is to know about me.  Not to say that I’m anywhere near success but I wouldn’t be in where I am in life without their support and friendship.  I can imagine us as old ladies, sitting at a bar, gracefully sipping on champagne, and reminiscing about the gooden olden days.  Thank you and I love you girls so much!

I’m equally grateful to the good friends I’ve made in Hong Kong who didn’t let my milestone birthday go without unnoticed.  They gave me a wonderful evening, topped by a spa voucher at the Mandarin that I am so looking forward to.  Very deeply touched by their sweet gesture.

星期五晚上，下班前的幾通電話讓我心情很低落，其實主要是聽到家人健康狀況讓我覺得憂心。  終於關了電腦，準備出發前往我們慣例的媽媽聚會，我只想要喝一杯紅酒和聽聽無傷大雅的八卦。  沒想到，一走進餐廳大門，我看到另外一位沒在當晚賓客名單上的好友，身旁坐了兩位用menu 遮住臉的女孩，朋友臉上掛著個詭異的笑容，我還在狐疑是否巧合遇到？  一走過去才發現原來是我台北的死黨A 和 B!  哇！ 真是份太棒的驚喜，可能是因為最近家裡有事，讓我特別想念住在台北的她們，一看到熟悉的面孔，我就激動得哭了！  原來，她們知道我今年要跟老公去紐約過生日，但是還是想來為我慶祝今年的生日，於是跟我老公串通好，特地瞞著我，給了我一份驚喜。  更令我開心的是可以這個週末都跟她們一起鬼混，其實也不用做什麼特別的事情，只要一起逛街，吃飯，東南西北的八卦閒聊都讓我覺得超級開心。  我常常在想，大學一畢業就回台灣工作，在台北工作和生活了十年，最大的收獲（除了認識我老公之外），就是認識這一群死黨，雖然有些人離開台灣去其他國家生活，但是我們的友誼不減，每兩年我們約定在國外來一趟 Thelma and Louise 姊妹旅行，聚在一起時，大都遭受其他人異樣的眼光，因為笑鬧聲分貝太高。她們美麗善良，不耍心機，為人大方直爽，處處為他人著想，跟她們在一起的時候，我可以真正的 be myself.  這不才是 what friends are for ？

我當然也很感恩在香港認識的一群媽媽朋友們，我本來想悄悄地在國外度過這個重要的里程碑生日，她們還提前幫我訂了一個美麗的大蛋糕，還送我東方文華的spa 禮券，貼心的舉動更令我感動，友誼萬歲！