- In loving memory of my dear friend. She was one of the 34 divers who lost their lives in the Conception boat fire incident.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_MV_Conception
Weiwei,
I cannot find a friend like you again, but I am glad that I was one of the many lucky friends of yours who had an opportunity to share joyful moments of your short life.
I am so glad that I decided to sit next to you that day at the beginning of a lecture at Chrysler. I am forever thankful for our countless days of study sessions in Dude filled with U-Go’s snacks with occasional study breaks chatting about future travel plans.
You always say “Let’s go to Mongolia!! A must before we die!” A soul like yours never dies. Next time when I go back to Mongolia, I will bring your happy soul with me. You will love it! Beautiful nature, horse riding, camel riding, cow riding? No such thing, but if you want, CAN LEH” (I am working on my Singlish), exploring traditional foods, and meeting locals, sleeping in a yurt, stargazing….Maybe you are doing all of these right now?
I was beyond excited to the level of jumping up and down when you told me that you got the job in Santa Barbara. During your short period of stay here, at least we got the chance to take surfing classes, kayaking under the sun until we became two Asian lobsters, hiking with no definite final destination, sharing Cal-Taco steak nachos, going to a Greek festival, getting lost in a dark forest on the way to a beach bonfire party, sipping delicious Apple-pie cider from the SB Cider Co. on Friday nights…. I was looking forward to doing more with you.
Sejay, Kevin, and I visited your office to see your desk and meet your coworkers on Thursday. One of your coworkers said, “It does not matter how long a person lives, it matters how much experience a person has. Wei has done so much, traveled a lot, tried so many things, and it makes sense that why she was so wise”. Your wisdom and curiosity to explore the world will be forever missed.
Oh, girl, you are so loved! Many of your friends have traveled from different states to Santa Barbara to celebrate your memorial yesterday, and many more from all around the world are thinking of you.
I wish I gave you a huge hug and lift you from the ground (which has never been a difficult task) before you say forever goodbye to this world. At least I am glad that you were sleeping in my sleeping bag, which I hope served a big warm hug on behalf of me on the night you peacefully rested forever.
As your father said “There is no good time for this life to end”, so it is important to cherish every moment of our lives. I will try to learn from it and fill my life with more adventures just like you, so that next time when we meet I will have stories to share with you…
Love,
Tsatsa, or as you call me Tsatsatsatsatsatsa
- **originally posted in September 2019**
