It’s sad that an extremely good colleague of mine resigned and returned to her hometown. We’ve been quite close over the past few months, chatting, having lunch and finishing different tasks together every workday.

She’s diligent, conscientious at work and kind-hearted towards people. But she said living in a fast-paced metropolis was tremendously hard and she felt over-pushed. She also said the pressure here was overwhelming everyday and she often had insomnia. Most importantly, she went back home to prepare for her wedding in May. I was shocked after knowing about her getting married but not surprised about her struggle. She struck me as a fairly sensitive person. Imagine the typical TV scenario of two daughters with adverse personalities in a family. Then I would be the badass, the cold-blooded sister with a heart of glass as opposed to her, the sentimental and discreet one.

She constantly contemplates stuff about work while I completely shut down the whole work thing the minute I’m heading home after work. She couldnt sleep well at night if there's unfinished or difficult work but I could easily fall asleep anywhere in any kind of position which amazes and entertains the people around me. She would dwell on the reproach from the boss if she is wronged or treated unfairly but I would totally forget about it if under similar circumstances. She chose to live in the dorm within the institution for its walking convenience and ridiculously low price. I decided to rent an apartment room in a distance for its coziness and personal space. She cleans her room and keeps it fresh everyday. I only tidy up all my things every other week when it’s almost intolerable to stay in or I cannot even set foot on the floor. She would go home every Spring Festival to spend quality time with her family and help her mother with household chores. I typically return to my hometown at a frequency of only once in 3 or 4 years. She left the city because she deemed the mode of life here too stressful and she wanted to build a warm family and a stable life back home. I’m gonna leave the city next year because I’ve already experienced the life here and wanted to start a brand-new phase in a different place, and then another one in the next few years, to be always on the road.

Despite all these above, the two of us kind of complement each other. And I really miss her.

Wish her great happiness in family life and a spectacular wedding ceremony!

p.s. and completely irelevant:

I classified all the files at work and redecorated the work office as a breath of fresh air for the new year. 

I came across a song called Alors on Danse. It's a French song and I can only understand a few words. But the song has a feel of sexiness and flirt, a touch that is uniquely French, I guess. Although I hate learning French, French music and drama is quite fascinating!

Stars: "born in violence, dies in epic explosion". A female scientist had sparkles in her eyes when talking about the birth of new stars. She said for quite a period of time, star formation in details was mysterious for human beings.  The entire process is mind-boggling and seems 100 times more turbulent than child birth.  I couldn't help but associate and compare the two, though I don't know one bit of either formation.