The Universe Is Conspiring To Find Me A Husband

I don't like blind dates or being "set up" by my friends... preferring to meet people "naturally" through social events or friends of friends. But recently it seems like there's been a rash of people wanting to introduce some fine eligible young man to me. And then there's the matter of my parents' anxiety over their thirty-something single daughter- their last hope of having any grandchildren. Well who knows if that is even in the cards for all of us? Oh but I digress. To allay this relentless worrying by my parents I finally gave in. So far it's been split with 1 out of 2 introductions being somewhat favorable.

So back in mid-January I was up in Taipei for a visit before flying off on my Mexico/Los Angeles/San Francisco vacation. And yes, I was there to see someone I'd been introduced to by a friend of the family. At that time I was staying with a relative in Taipei for a few days.

Apparently one day I entered the building (with a set of keys given to me by my relative) and on my way to the elevator some woman asked me where I was going. I paid no attention to her and just got in to the elevator. I truly have no recollection of this exchange, but at the time I probably thought it was none of her business where I was going and didn't want to get into it.

The woman watched the elevator to see what floor I went to. She was a resident of the building and unbeknownst to me, she later paid a visit to my relative's- after I'd left the country. She told my relative about our little exchange and then proceeded to ask whether I was single or not because I guess she liked the looks of me; she had a son who was also single and she wondered if I'd like to be introduced to him. She went on to say that he had been educated in the U.S. and worked at some hi-tech company. My relative, "J" told the woman that she didn't even know if I was available or not because I had been in town that week to visit someone who I'd been recently introduced to.

J was pretty anxious about the whole thing; she relayed the story to my Mom who relayed it to me and she even consulted with my Mom about how to handle the situation. She didn't want me to lose out on any other "opportunities" I suppose. I found the whole situation amusing and somewhat flattering. I wondered what kind of mother would go to such lengths to find her son a match- and this was just based on my looks! Just what did she know about me or have to go on ?! I politely told J not to make any further inquiries about her neighbor's son and to just not to do anything about it.

More recently, I was up in Taipei earlier this month to attend the FAPA 25th anniversary dinner banquet. I was seated at a table with my Mom, her friend and friend's friends. I was the only single person, not to mention the youngest one at the table. So it wasn't long before one of the older gentlemen smiled at me and said he could introduce me to someone.

And just last weekend at a luncheon for my cousin's grandmother, with my Mom, surrounded by my aunts, uncles and their friends, I once again found myself there the youngest and only single person. There was some discussion about how young people these days marry so late. One of my uncle's friends Mr. L said that he has more nephews than nieces and that a lot of them are still single. Well, I'm not sure how it all started, but I suppose some of the friends and relatives started saying things to encourage Mr. L, like "Here's your chance to make a match, for the next generation." So he started going on and on about one of his nephews. His nephew was born in Taiwan, had moved to the US at the age of 6, works for some hi-tech company in Silicon Valley, is an easygoing talkative guy, and just so happened to be in Taiwan (visiting his family in Kaohsiung) while on a business trip in the Asia region. I thought it was all pretty hilarious and simply a gesture of goodwill. I took Mr. L's offer with a grain of salt and just thought: it's the thought that counts.

Well, last night the nephew actually gave me a ring and yes, we're going to meet over dinner later tonight.