My books

MY FAVORITE BOOKS: Love in the Time of Cholera, Pride and Prejudice and Heart of Darkness.

MY FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Anne of Green Gables, The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson and The Giving Tree.

MY FAVORITE T.V. SHOWS: Nip/Tuck, Inside the Actor's Studio and Sex and the City.

MY FAVORITE SONGS: Forever in Blue Jeans, I Think We're Alone Now and Islands in the Stream.

MY FAVORITE FOODS: Maryland blue crabs with the brown paper and mallets, Curry soup with coconut milk and Thai eggplants over rice, and New England clam chowder.

MY FAVORITE QUOTE: "Give me a book and a friend with whom I can be silent."--SM Frazier

This excerpt is from my friend, Susie. I'm posting it because: a) it makes me laugh and b) it's quite flattering:

Well, after spending more time on your website I feel like I didn't know you very well when we were at Hornblend. Of course I knew the girl who was witty and loud and made everything seem fun and important and went on crash cabbage soup diets (that is plural on purpose because you did it more than once) but I didn't know the intellectual smarty-pants who now apparently drives a convertible??? Congrats on all your success and goal-reaching. I'm proud of you!

This is from my best friend since Kindergarten, Tamara. (She is also the inspiration for The Jade Dragon.) She revised my horoscope to read as follows:

A visionary, a motivated spirit with a good heart. Easily influenced by good looking members of the opposite sex, but easily distracted. Having lots of ideas. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay in committing to a relationship. Choosy and always wants the best. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke and loves to laugh. Great debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly (to most, unless she doesn't want to talk to you). Knows how to make friends (unless she doesn't like you). Loves music and corny musicals. Pretty. Loves to dress up for the right occasion, but generally likes to just be comfortable and screw what other people may think...in fact, on occasion, you'll start to think her Birkenstocks or some sort of flip-flops, are permanently attached to her feet. Easily bored. Don't get in her way or hold her back from what she wants...she'll get it anyway! All in all, a true Gemini; you'd love to be her friend, but hate to be her enemy!

This is my crazy friend, Lt. Glen Cesari. He's very "special." Evidently, he also has a great deal of time on his hands. He created a powerpoint at my expense, of course. But , it's actually quite amusing so I thought I'd share it. And, he wrote this blurb about me which he freely posted on another website:

My friendship with Ms. Virginia Loh (VLoh for short) started in the jungles of the Philippines. I was representing the U.S. government during a series of bilateral talks prior to the joint anti-terrorist Operation Balikatan. After two long months of negotiations in Manila hammering out America’s roll as advisors versus hired mercenaries we decided to go south on patrol with US and PI special forces to see how the implementation of Balikatan was progressing. When we got down to southern sector command center the SEALs asked for a volunteer from the delegation to go on a routine patrol. I was quickly volunteered and was fitted with a M162A with the M203 grenade launcher on the undercarriage. As we (the SEALs and PI special jungle forces) rounded the patrol two miles south of Mount Pinatuba the patrol became something other than regular. The unmistakable crackle of AK-47 fire rung out on our right flank. The SEALs went into action by setting up a perimeter and the PI forces pursued the attackers. Things got worse when mortar fire rained in from the left flank. This attack had all the signatures of Abu Sayyaf and by their initial setup they were probably following us for a week. In the ensuing chaos I, who had not trained with either group, became separated from my unit. Operating on my own I launched a grenade salvo with my M203 knocking out two mortar sites. Unfortunately this focused a lot of attention on me. I quickly used my four clips to slow the advancing circle of Abu Sayyaf rebels. After taking out about 12 more terrorist the noose closed and I became the first POW and ransom bait of Operation Balikatan. After two days of torture I woke up in my cage to the sound of a single MP-5. When my eyes finally focused I could see a small jungle mercenary in the fatigues worn by the Chinese Special forces. This warrior was about 5’ 1” and was lacing the camp with hot lead and deadly accuracy. As he ran up the hillside to camp at full seed he took out the 3 guards in the tower with 3 shots at a distance of 200 yards. This was no normal soldier; this was a piece of highly trained government equipment unleashed upon the under-trained terrorist rebels. As the mercenary came closer I realized it was a female. After leveling the command center/ammory with the toss of two hand grenades she was jumped from above by three rebels. This piece of well trained female weaponry dropped the first one with the butt of her rifle, dropped the 2nd one with a super fast round house kick and as she finished the kick she pulled a jungle knife from her boot and neutralized the last one with a slash to the throat. Since the rebels were arming up at the command center there were few rebels left to fight. As this machine approached my cage I didn’t know what to do think. Was she here from China or N. Korea to take me prisoner in order to learn the details of Balikatan? As soon as she spoke I knew she was an American and my heart soared. She unslung a 2nd MP-5 off of her back and shot open the lock and handed me the weapon and told me to stay low and follow her. As we ran out of camp she took out two more rebels returning from patrol with an explosive tipped arrow shot from the compound bow she was carrying. I hadn’t seen anything like that since Rambo I, II, and III. I told this firecracker that I wasn’t sure how we were going to get out of the mountains because my legs were badly wounded during the torture sessions. She gazed across the camp with her 1,000-yard stare and began moving towards a small helicopter without speaking. After scanning the controls for a moment she said efficiently, “get in, we are flying out of here.” Before I knew it the engines were humming and the rotors turning. While we were flying she looked at me and told me coldly that I, “looked like shit” and that she was taking me to a hospital. She landed the bird on the helo pad at Manila General Hospital. When I woke up two days later “she” was at my bedside reading to sick children who had gathered in my room. Although she looked similar to the warrior in the jungle this was a different person. She wasn’t wearing the cammies or weapons but rather what one would expect from a grade school teacher. She had smart glasses and a casual business suit on. She finally noticed that I was awake and, in a soft voice, told the children to go back to their play area. Now I really didn’t know what to think. She told me her name was Virginia Loh and that she was part of a super elite, super secret government agency developed after 9/11 for just such an occasion. When I asked her about her natural abilities with the kids she told me that in order to fill the void caused by the death and destruction that she creates she teaches in the barrios of San Diego. Simply put Virginia Loh is a warrior poet and an international beauty with a mean streak that should not be tempted. One warning: be nice or be scared…you will not win a fight with Vloh! I only hope that I will be able to return the favor and save Virginia’s life before I die. :) :) :)

07/09/08

My full name is Virginia Shin-Mui Loh. Shin-Mui means "Beautiful Heart" in Chinese. I was born in the year of the dragon. My sign is fire and my kua number is 9. My zodiac sign is Gemini.

I am a a university instructor, an elementary school teacher and a published author/writer. I was born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia and am currently residing in San Diego, California.