iPhone, Among Other Things...

A few days ago, Karen, my dad's assistant messaged me on MSN to ask me for some third-party software sites for the iPhone, since I've told her I have some friends who use the iPhone. I was totally inept in getting the sites though, because none of my iPhone user friends were online since it was middle of the nights. As the conversation went on and she told me more and more about iPhone cracks in China, I started wanting one. So naturally, just like when I wanted anything else in China from the past, I asked Karen to hunt one down for me before I go back to Beijing in June.

And it got me thinking... she is one of those people in life that I really take for granted because she's so far and I only get to see her in the summer. It's crazy how much I relied on her (and still do) when I go back to Beijing. She first became my dad's assistant when I was in grade eight. I've heard from my family that my dad hired a new assistant who's beautiful and smart, not to mention she graduated from one of the best universities in China after completing high school in one of China's few elite single sex high schools. After I heard about it, I was anxious and furious at the same time. I've heard too many stories about men fucking their assistants not to be worried. My mom was on the verge of tears every single day, although my parents were already separated at that time.

In the summer of grade eight, I finally met Karen. She came to the airport with my dad to pick me up, and my dad introduced her to me as "Aunt Karen" (Chinese people address their parents' peers as "Aunt" or "Uncle"). She looked uncomfortable when I politely greeted her as "Aunt Karen", blushing feverently, she said "I'm not much older than you." She was in a crisp green satin blouse and a grey pencil skirt, juggling her phone and laptop case around in her hands. She was timid, and talked very little. She was indeed not much older than I was but her piercing eyes and composed demeanor suggested that she was a lot mature than she was. She was in a pair of four-inch Christian Louboutin patent pumps, and she walked faster than me (and I walk really really fast).

Karen perplexed me at first; she grew in Shanghai, and graduated from a top-notch university. She could've had any job she wanted in Shanghai. I had no idea why she came to Beijing to intern for my dad, because my dad was well-known for his quick temper and grumpiness especially to employees. However, she did not seem like the typical gold-digger either.

Over dinner that night, my dad asked Karen to "take care" of me for a few days because he was going to be in Hong Kong for a board of directors meeting and it was my first time returning to Beijing alone. After dinner, my dad drove me to my (then) new apartment (the one I talked about being sold in my last post) while Karen went back to her place to get some of her things for an extended "sleepover". On the way home, I demanded to know what the fuck was going on between my dad and Karen. What my dad told me shocked me. A lot.

It turns out that Karen actually grew up in an extremely wealthy and influential family in Shanghai. After she graduated from university, she moved to Beijing against her parents' will and landed in a small company as an intern. Being the feisty, confident girl she was (and still is) she had a heated argument with her boss over a business decision and my dad happened to walk in on this little episode because my dad happens to be friends with her ex-boss. My dad was impressed with how she phrased her arguments and her business insight so he took her in as an intern. My dad's assistant back then was my lanky godbrother (not exactly "god" brother, but that's the closest term I can think of to describe our relationship. He's the son of one of my dad's bestest friends), who was smart yet rebellious. Eventually, Karen took on the role as being my dad's assistant and my dad mentored her.

After I got the whole story, I was shocked yet amazed at how much guts this girl has. I would NEVER evoke a heated argument with my boss EVER. Karen was only less than nine years older than I, yet she has done the impossible already -- running away from home. "But how does she support herself? Surely the salary you pay her is not even sufficient to buy the pair of shoes she was wearing today!" I asked my dad in awe. It turns out that Karen has a gold Visa card co-signed by her dad, something very rare for Chinese twenty-somethings to have. "I guess he just can't watch his daughter suffer. She grew up in such luxury." My dad answered as he tried unsucessfully to park his SUV in the tight parking space in the underground parking of my apartment building (my dad is the worst driver EVER).

During the week my dad was away, Karen and I got to know eachother. Years later, she told me she was anxious to get to know me because she was afraid that I thought she was a gold-digger. I laughed it off and told her my dad told me the story after dinner that day. That week was one of the best weeks I spent in Beijing in all the summers I've spent there. That night, Karen showed up in my apartment with a Longchamp suitcase filled with her work clothes and casual wear. She has such amazing taste but when I asked her where they sold Louboutins in China, I was in shock again.

She had no idea what I was talking about. I pointed to the shoe rack with her Louboutins and she said "Oh that... Lane Crawford. What did you say it was called again?" "Louboutins." I replied in my best French accent. I've never met ANYONE who bought Louboutins without even knowing what it is. Then, I helped her hang up all her clothes in the closet when I discovered her whole wardrobe consisted of Miu Miu, Chloe (and See by Chloe), Liu Jo (amazing avant-garde designer in China) and various pieces from all the famous designers. I did not see a trace of jeans and tees anywhere. Mind you, I was the homely eighth grader back then who gushed over clothes in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. I've never met anyone remotely my age who owned so many designer pieces. I mean, I've seen my share of my mom and her friends' wardrobes, but they all consisted of generic LV bags (Monogram Speedys ONLY), fugly Celine pantsuits (personally, I don't hate Celine, but it's more of a "mature" brand), and Burberry trenchcoats. Karen's wardrobe was fresh and just... beautiful. It's still quite inconceiveable to me how she managed to buy all those clothes without knowing how big their labels are.

"We had uniforms in high school, and we were so proud of our school that we wore uniforms when we went out on weekends as well. We had like 6 sets of different uniforms, and each of us had at least 3 skirts and more than 5 blouses. Our high school life was hell, we got at best 4 hours of sleep each night since the school was so academically demanding and I spent my summers abroad participating in school programs which required us to wear our uniforms anyway. I rarely went shopping with my friends, I barely had time to MAKE any friends. I didn't really start buying my own clothes till university. When I first started university, my mom took me shopping and showed me to a couple of stores. I thought the style was pretty good and it was close to my house so I did most of my shopping there."

"You know, some girls would KILL to have your wardrobe. They're all from first-class designers! How can you do this to the world?!?!?!?!" I demanded. Then, I ran down to the 7-11 not far from my apartment and grabbed two issues each of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and RayLi (a Chinese magazine similar to Vogue). I stayed up the whole night explaining designers and labels to Karen and the 4.0GPA engineering-major prodigy was amazed by me, an eighth grader struggling to maintain an A in math.

That summer, Karen slept over a lot and we went shopping when my dad went on business trips. She went with me to get my first D&G jacket and Vivienne Westwood skull necklace, which basically started my obsession with occasionally purchasing designer duds. We explored Beijing together and she lavished me with expensive dinners courtesy of her dad's gold Visa and when I left for Vancouver again in September, she gave me an Anna Sui pendant necklace as a leaving present.

The following summer, the summer of ninth grade, she became a semi-permanent fixture in my apartment when I wasn't visiting my relatives. We spent many nights sharing secrets and talking about boys and relationships, and many days shopping and sharing our haulage over yummy Korean BBQ in the Xidan shopping district of Beijing. We went through a traffic accident and police interrogation together when she accidently slammed my dad's SUV into a taxi while exiting out of the wrong end of a gas station. She was flooded with tears as the police interrogated her harshly after seeing her Shanghainese driver's licsence (due to the ongoing historical grudge between Beijingnese and Shanghainese people) and I had to pull out my best Beijingnese accent to answer the police officer's questions. As I churned out answers, Karen was smart enough to call the "housekeeper" of my dad's company, who took care of the company's cars and supplies and such and the problem was eventually solved without us getting arrested.

As I chatted on with Karen about the iPhone a few days ago and when she sent me lists of specs, price comparisons, and other information, I suddenly realized how unthoughtful I am. Every summer or Christmas break when I'm in Beijing, Karen always made sure the fridge in my apartment always had my favourite food and drinks, and I had all the issues of my favourite magazines that I missed while I was in Canada sitting neatly on my shelf. She made sure I could book flights for my domestic travelling in China and that I have enough money in my bank account. She always bought me birthday presents and threw me leaving parties. Although my dad gives her birthday presents in my name, I just wish I could be more thoughtful. After all, Karen is younger than most of my cousins, and I've really developed a "sisterly" bond with her through the summers we spent together. She's always the first person I text when I land in Beijing. Taking care of me wasn't part of her job, but she did it in addition to knowing the stats of the company's stocks every day and knowing where every single file folder is in my dad's three offices across China.

"I lose the urge to shop when you're not in Beijing. There's no one to shop with me!!!" She wailed to me in a conversation yesterday. Indeed, she has no friends in Beijing because she's in the office all the time, in a constant competition with my dad to see who's the more addicted work-holic. The girls in the office are reluctant to make friends with her, because she's the youngest yet one of the most accompolished girls in the office. Plus, there aren't many twenty-something girls in my dad's company anyway.

"So what do you do on the weekends if you're not shopping?!" I asked.

"I don't know. Sleep or fly home to Shanghai to see my boyfriend la."

"Seriously, when are you guys getting married?" I enquired about her boyfriend of almost five years.

"Soon, I guess. I don't know actually. I don't feel like quitting my job yet."

"Yeah right. Like you totally enjoy working for my dad, who's like the male counterpart of the devil who wears Prada."

"Haha. Nooooo. Your dad is like... the satan who wears Lagerfeld jeans with a Hawaii-esque shirt."

"Ewww. And you let him go out like that?" Me, appalled at my dad's wardrobe choice.

"Haha. But yeah, your dad's so funny sometimes. I'm learning a lot from him."

"I know. But it's not like you're really gonna work in this industry."

"True. I don't know what to do with my life. I don't wanna be a freaking housewife forever. I mean I'm going to amazing places right now and meeting interesting people. I enjoy working."

"........." I was utterly speechless at someone who actually enjoys working.

I absolutely cannot wait to go shopping with Karen when I get back to Beijing. She told me a new mall just opened in our favourite shopping district and it's huge not to mention it houses some really great stores. And this year, I'll bring her back goodies.

Lesson learnt: always appreciate everyone in your life. Especially people whom you've bonded with.

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P.S. I spent the last night of my spring break writing this post and chatting with friends. Nothing constructive AT ALL. LOL