It was an unlikely event that I ran into Maureen in the first week of graduate school. She majored in Communications while I did International and Comparative Education. The two departments did not have a single common course. So if I had not met her during the New Student Welcome Social Night, I would probably never have gotten to know her. You may call it luck; you may call it a coincidence. I like to think of it as divine guidance. It was a Friday night during the first week of graduate school at Columbia University. So many things happened and so many meetings and adaptations. With all the excitement of the new program wearing down and all the graduate works started to funnel in, I was not particularly in the mood of exhausting myself on a Friday night social filled with “Hi, my name is…” conversations. Yet something stirred inside me, hinting at me that I should go. So I muscled my energy and dressed up. When I got there, it was somewhat crowded already. It took a while to find the crowd from TC because Law School, Business School, and Engineering School folks were also hosting their welcome party there. After I sat down and talked to a few peers I met at orientation, a gorgeous young lady came to the table and sat right across from me. She looked delightful and I started introducing myself. Surprisingly, the conversation did not go as usual as I expected, because when I asked her where she was from, she answered Kunming. I thought to myself, “no way!” and said “oh, I am from Kunming too.” A casual social turned into a group dinner, the dinner turned into a roof-top party, the roof-top party turned into four roof-top parties in the same night (yes, that group was crazy; many friendships made from that night lasted until today). After many drinks and many dances with this lovely girl named Maureen, I kissed her at the end of the final party. A few days later, we started our first date, and a partner for life and love-till-the-end-of-time relationship was born.

Our encounter on the third day of school was just like destiny. It was almost the end of the day after a long orientation. I was listening to the last speech, yarning, and taking one last glance at the program. All of a sudden, a “Welcome Party” poster jumped into my sight. The new students were having a welcome party at Bernheim & Schwartz, a German bar across the street from Columbia University. I was too tired so I just looked through a few more pages and closed the brochure. After 20 minutes, the final speech was done. However, as I walked out of the auditorium, the party came back to my mind. I started to hesitate because while I was tired, I could meet more new students there. The bar was in the same direction as my apartment. So I continued pondering while walking back. Finally, after a cup of latte at Starbucks, I opened the door to the bar. Several people were already chatting there. I picked a diverse table and sat down. Opposite to me was an Asian guy. He was kind of tanned. “Hello, I’m Justin.” “Hi, I’m Maureen.” This is how we met. Little did we know then that we had just met our life partners. That night, we found out that we came from the same hometown. When we were kids, we went swimming at the same place, tried delicious food at the same restaurants, and hanged out with the same common friends—We just never knew each other, even in such a small city. Now after more than 20 years and a flight that crossed almost 1/3 of the circumference of the earth, we met in New York. That year, we lay down on the meadow at Central Park and read together. We climbed out of his dormitory window and watched the starry night at the small balcony. We held hands walking through the snowing Times Square, and walked along the Californian beaches singing our favorite songs. And 5 years later, here we are now. The bar we met has been permanently closed, but our love goes on. We’re tying the knot and ready to spend the rest of our lives together. ♡

In the summer of 2019, Justin planned a national park trip. Justin and Maureen traveled to Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, and Arches National Park. The gorgeous scenery witnessed the growth of their love. How cool is it that the same God that created oceans and mountains and galaxies looked at them and thought the world needed one Justin and one Maureen too! In a very hot afternoon, they arrived at Horseshoe Bend. Maureen just took a nap in the car and felt kind of tired and dizzy. She almost gave up getting off the car. Justin tried everything, and finally dragged Maureen out of the car successfully. That day, Horseshoe Bend looked amazing with the blue sky and the omega-shaped river. As Maureen was wondering how God created all these beautiful things, Justin proposed to her! The mountains, the desert, and the Colorado River that have seen million-year history also witnessed Justin and Maureen's special moment. "Ω" is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Our love did not start at the beginning of time (alpha, α), but it will last till the end of time (omega, Ω).