Posted on 03/15/2005 12:16:50 AM PST by nickcarraway
PETALING JAYA: Next year when revellers throw mandarin oranges into the lake at Taman Jaya here to celebrate Chap Goh Meh, bachelor Chin Choon Keat will be among those there, hoping to find a soul mate.
He's been doing this for the last four years, hoping that the Chinese version of Valentine's Day would bring him true love.
It has been nearly three weeks since the 26-year-old contractor picked up an orange with a phone number on it, but his attempt to build a relationship with the girl has not been fruitful.
They had exchanged a few SMS messages and had telephone conversations, said Chin, but “nothing impressive” had developed between them.
Over the past four years, he has been going to the park to pick up the oranges from the lake to celebrate the 15th day of the lunar New Year with thousands of other young hopefuls.
His most memorable time was last year when he picked up two oranges, including one that was tagged with an angpow and details of the orange thrower sealed in a plastic bag.
“I was so happy to get that orange because every other bachelor there was also trying to get it. It was the most unforgettable orange I had ever fished out of the lake.
“But it was such a disappointment because the girl wrote her requirements – her suitor must provide credit card, cash, condominium and car.
“She was there to catch a rich and successful husband. But I’m not rich,” Chin said.
His all-time favourite is the one he's presently having an SMS-relationship whom he refers to as Hui Hui, a 26-year-old office assistant who already has a steady boyfriend.
Although they have never met, a warm friendship has developed between them through SMS messages and phone calls.
“The most that can happen between us is for me to be her friend,” Chin said, adding that he cherished the telephone conversations he had with her.
“Furthermore, it’s more comfortable to SMS or call someone rather than see her.
“I can express my problems easily because I have never met her,” said Chin. He says sometimes he worries if this would cause a rift between Hui Hui and her boyfriend.
“I feel that she could have been the one for me. She is an ideal friend as she can empathise with me despite not seeing me,” said Chin, who believes in fate and old-fashioned romance.
“It is unfortunate that this 'courtship' has not ended happily ever after,” he added.
Asked whether he is looking forward to eventually meeting his true love, he said: “The expectation is always there and it does not matter how long it takes.”
He said over the years he had compiled a list of phone numbers from the oranges thrown into the lake and had passed them over to his friends.
“It is a good way of strengthening friendships.''
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