CHIANG MAI / VIENNA / PARIS VS. BIRTHDAY

First of all, I got a paper accepted for an architecture conference hosted in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It clashed with the birthday of Lee Ling. I thought well, as a wise saying goes, you can forget all dates in your lifetime, erased totally from your memory, even your own birthday but there is 1 date you should have no excuse to forget. It is the birthday of your wife/girlfriend! I had my supervisor to go instead and Chiang Mai is not very far so I don't mind not going eventhough I will be sponsored enough to cover most expenses for the trip by the university.

Then, came another good news but yet again clashed with Lee Ling's birthday. A current research project I am supporting and doing won the design prize to be presented in Venice, Austria. The prize is a fully paid trip for two (regardless of whatever airline you are using or whatever class of seats you are using or whatever plane you choose to fly in) and the full coverage of accomodation costs there. As a pianist myself, whenever I think of Austria, I thought of the best composers in human history: Mozart, Schubert and Strauss. It will surely be a pleasure to visit museums or any monuments dedicated to them. A few days later, came the news that the same project also got nominated for another design prize ceremony in Paris few days later, the day of our friend, Johnny Shevchenko's birthday.

Now, what will you do if you were in my shoes? I will probably have a hard time to consider if let's say I am given a chance for an all-expense trip to the recently upgraded five-star mark (Elite) Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to watch a match in the Presidential box and to get an autograph from Honorary President Alfredo di Stefano Laulhé and Raúl González Blanco. Raul by the way just scored his 290th goal for Madrid and levelling himself with Carlos Alonso Gonzalez (Santillana). He is only behind to Di Stefano's 307 goals.

Ah! Wishful thinking from me to get such a chance........I will probably have to break the conventional law if there is ever such a chance. Haha! I decided to still stay back and celebrate with her, giving up my place to other colleagues in the research group if the colleague who is suppose to go failed his visa application. I hope someday I will have the chance again.

Update: In the first place, two collegues who are the main people involved in the project are going. I mean to be fair, my involvement in that project is probably 3rd most in comparison to them. However, one of them is having difficulty with his visa application. I was in the first place given the chance as a back-up. My boss had a talk with me regarding the Vienna trip and persuaded me to reconsider if my colleague failed his visa application. He said that we should not waste 1 ticket with accomodation just like that. None of the colleagues can make it, either because of work or because of visa issues. I will book the ticket for now. I will go if his visa application fails. As for the award ceremony in Paris, one of us or a friend of ours will go to represent us.