Tess and I originally met over the Internet in September 1996. In June 1996 I had completed the Asia Pacific Management Co-Op Program (ampcp) in Vancouver, Canada. The apmcp is an award-winning, graduate business program specialising in Asia Pacific business. Upon completing this program I was recruited by Times Mirror to work in Hong Kong. Off I went.

Tess did the apmcp the year following me, starting in September 1996. The apmcp is technology driven, and has a First Class Client e-mail system fondly referred to as The Hub. The Hub is used for the express purpose of students and alumni conversing, the former offering advice, the latter providing updates on Canada and what happened on ER the night before. In September 1996 Tess & I had our first chat.

Scott MacLeod (Program Director) told Tess that I might be of help to her since I worked adjacent to the Los Angeles Times office in Hong Kong. (For her thesis Tess was writing on South East Asian female politicians whose fathers had also been political figures). I mentioned that one of the writers in the office had a contact number for Burma's rightfully elected president Aung San Suu Kyi. Well, you can only talk shop for so long, and Tess sounded really fun. (I also thought she had a very sexy name.)

At first our relationship was purely plutonic. The beginning of 1997, however, there was a definite shift after Tess and I exchanged several e-mails about our favourite music. That was when we started realising to ourselves that we had romantic feelings for each other. Shortly after that we openly admitted it to each other. Somewhere in here we made the fatal error of graduating to the telephone. I lived in Hong Kong. Tess lived in Vancouver. Believe me, that was NOT cheap. Once we heard each other’s voice the relationship picked up tremendous speed.

When I learned I would be spending two nights in Vancouver I asked if she would like to see a movie on one of those nights. Tess agreed to this, but over the course of the next several weeks she did a "security check" on me to make sure I wasn’t some sort of axe murderer!

The story of how we first met is hilarious. I was delivering a talk to her class. (After all, I WAS alumni!) I landed in Vancouver, and went straight to the apmcp to give my talk. I walked into the class, and one of the professors did a short introduction. I noticed Tess out of the corner of my eye on the right side of the class. I was so nervous, I removed my glasses so the entire room would be slightly blurred. Over the course of the next 60 - 90 minutes I almost completely ignored the right side of the room. (A major faux pas for a trainer like myself!) So I must have looked like I had a crick in my neck from the flight, and was staring off into space. That class never did like me much… except for Tess, of course.

At the end of the class Tess slipped off unnoticed. I remained behind to answer questions one on one with students. Tess and I had already arranged to meet that evening. When we finally met that night face to face, there was an awkward four minute period, when finally Tess made The Great Leap Forward and wrapped her arms around me.

We quickly discovered there was a definite connection between us, which did not surprise us at all and we were hoping for that. I was quite swept away by this wonderful woman who totally enraptured me to the point that I didn’t contact anyone else while I was in Vancouver. We saw The English Patient (we both cried at the right parts) and talked and got along quite well. For both of us it was an instant click. I saw her again the Sunday after returning from Toronto and we both knew this was something that could be great. It was on that Sunday that the famous "Diner Shot" was taken (pictured above) in Hamburger Mary's, Vancouver.

The next stop for Tess and I was Bali where we both attended the APMCP mid term conference. Bali was HELL for me professionally. The conference had a definite Forum spin to it and all my work problems were clamped to my face like The Alien! It was very hard and stressful, however, the only person able to de-stress me was Tess. We ended up having the most amazing time for ten days when I wasn’t in the conference being processed!!

Next, Tess flew to Hong Kong in conjunction with some job interviews she had. She was here for six days spanning Easter Weekend and that was one of the best weekends of my life. I didn’t go to work for FOUR days (HK had the whole weekend off)!! and Tess and I had one of the most romantic weekends in HK that a person could ask for.

To sum up how I felt about this person was difficult... I had totally fallen in love with her, head over heals, euphoric, smitten. My feelings for Tess were really, really substantial and I am really, REALLY happy when I am around her. Tess has been able to awaken feelings inside me that I never even knew I had, and she has many qualities that I truly admire.

The next step in our relationship was a big risk for Tess. She had already passed up job opportunities in Vietnam to come to Hong Kong, and in May 1997 I headed back to Canada to meet her. We spent a few days in Vancouver and Victoria, and then headed up north to Yellowknife to meet her family. Technology had worked for Tess & I, so I put it to work with Tess’ mother well in advance of this trip after having met Tess.

There was considerable scepticism on Tess’ family part because of my past - I had been previously married, and the marriage had only recently ended. After explaining the circumstances of the marriage and the amicable break-up, the burden of the past faded, and Tess’ family showed tremendous love and support towards Tess’ and my relationship.

After a wonderful time in Yellowknife, Tess and I flew back to Hong Kong to start our new life. We were immediately hit by overwhelming odds that in most cases would have sunk any relationship. At the same time, however, we shared and saw amazing things: the handover of Hong Kong to China, travel through Asia, raised two cats and even rescued street kittens. The list is endless. Within about six months we were on solid ground, and in May 1998 became engaged.

Over a nine month period, from the first Hub Chat, to meeting in Vancouver in May 1997, Tess and I chatted for hundreds of hours on The Hub and exchanged over 1,400 e-mails. From February to May 1997 we spent over $ 14,000 Canadian dollars on long distance phone calls. In the end, we are worth it.

EPILOGUE: February 2000 and we have now been married for six months. For our six month anniversary we spent a weekend in Seoul, Korea because Charles had to be there for business. Whenever possible, we try to take holidays around Charles business schedule (which takes him all over greater Asia) to economise on the flights. One of the advantages of being in Hong Kong is that it is close to many wonderful destinations. Since Tess joined Charles in Hong Kong we have been to India, Macau, Beijing (China), Kota Kinabalu (Borneo/Malaysia), Bali (Indonesia), the Maldives, Korea, Paris, London, Dubai and Tess has also been to Vietnam and Thailand. We have also managed to squeeze in three trips to Canada, and Charles a few more thanks to business travel.

Working in Hong Kong has had tremendous professional advantages for us, too. Tess writes for the Hong Kong Standard and Charles is the Director Human Resources for Rockwell Automation Asia Pacific. Charles just finished his Executive Masters of Business Administration at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management (as in Northwestern) and Hong Kong University of Science & Technology’s Joint MBA program.

What do we do for fun in Hong Kong? Unknown to many people, 40% of Hong Kong land is government protected tropical rain forest so we love to hike and walk for exercise and fun. We also do all the usual things: movies, shopping, meet friends, rent videos (we got a terrific VCR dirt cheap at an expat sale!) eat out at our favourite restaurants. Sometimes we explore parts of Hong Kong we have never seen that involve the local life: antiques, wet markets, tucked away places that are treasures to discover. There is no doubt, Hong Kong is an exciting place to live.