The Kohs

Have not been blogging for a while... Spent the evenings of the past week watching Wu Jiajing, a 16-year old Taiwanese winning the 2005 World Pool Championship. The youngest champion ever.

Last week, my Philippino colleague, Mike was chatting with me about names. His name was Mike de La Cuesta (sorry if I spelled wrongly), translated from Spanish, means Mike of the Hill. Following this logic, you could say I am part of the Koh family. Hmm... ?

I also happened to bump into an old classmate of mine. She was surprised to see me and after some small talk, she asked: So, how is Edmund? I said he's fine, happy in his job and a smooth love life.

It seems always when I meet old friends, the question most often asked is about Edmund. (It's not that I'm jealous. I've heard Edmund mention that friends who bump into him also ask the same thing about me.)

The thing that irked me is this. Outside the association of Edmund+me, there is nothing. She doesn't know me, doesn't know what I do, doesn't know what I'm proud of and what I dislike. Me, on my own, as a solitary figure, she has absolutely no idea. I have not walked out of the shadow of Edmund+me. If you see me, you must see Edmund.

And I wondered further. What can I tell her about me? What different things set me apart from that shadow of Edmund+me? Is it my job? My achievements? My personality? If I am Wu Jiajing, I could hold my head high to proclaim myself as the pool champion of the world. But I'm not. I am from the Koh family, and sadly, I know nothing about the history of the Kohs.

You lose your roots, you lose your identity.