It’s difficult to recall when I first met Angela, as it’s been over 20 years. I definitively remember the place: the house of my friend’s brother in a small college town where I was attending my junior year at the local university. Previously, she had attended U.C. Berkeley but took a year off to travel to England. When she returned, for a reason that I don’t recall, she transferred to CSU Chico, my university. I do know she’s a good friend of Vin. They grew up together and went to high school in Richmond, CA. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she transferred schools. Anyhow, she became my roommate for the next three semesters before Vin’s brother decided to sell the house.
There were a few indications she was into Chinese mysticism at the time. Her family was from a South Eastern Chinese ethnic group known as the Toishans, who practice shamanism. In fact, her uncle was a part-time shaman who frequently presided over funerals and matchmaking. Angela’s approach to life is a pragmatic fusion of free-spirited whimsicalness and practicality. For example, we talked for hours about the futility of chasing materialism, and yet she’s a business major. During a previous visit to her relatives in China, she lived in a poor village and had great things to say about her experience. As I mentioned, she also stayed in London, England, where she had a great time going clubbing and patronizing modern cafes and restaurants. The free-spirited side of her is willing to pick up everything on short notice and travel halfway around the world for new experiences. Her practical side always sends her back to California, where she can rely on friends and family. However, it’s her trip to China that will eventually define her as the mystic psychic that I know her today.
We parted ways after graduation. Of course, we promised to keep in touch, but like most friends I had during that period, we faded apart. I saw her a few times, during a friend’s wedding or a get-together. She did keep in touch with Vin for a few years after, but even they grew apart. About a year ago, fate had us meet again by the least likely of chances. I was in Berkeley and needed some cash. I was close to a Wells Fargo but didn’t want to use the ATM as I needed a fairly large amount. I was standing in line when I heard, “Johnathan! Johnathan Wong!” To my utter surprise, sitting on one of the bank officer’s desks was Angela, a familiar face recognizable over 13 years later.
Now is a good time to explain why this site is called Mystic Wabbit instead of the more traditional Rabbit. No, it’s not a homage to Bugs Bunny as told through the lens of Elmer Fudd. The first impression people get of her was an adorable speech impediment. She would pronounce her R’s as W’s. It’s not an accent since her pronunciation of other letters was unremarkable. I later learned the speech impediment is fairly common, known as rhotacism. For a few months after I met her, there was an added hint of a British accent as well because she had just come home from living a year in London,. The accent later went away, but her W-for-Rs remain the cutest thing I remember about her. And why rabbit? She was born in 1975, of course—the year of the Wabbit.
Now, how does mysticism relate to her? After the chance reunion, we caught up on our life stories. She was an accountant for a few years at a battered women’s shelter. The job was enjoyable, but she says it’s not quite her calling. Her life was filled with fascinating experiences. She traveled globally, going to countries such as Dubai, Serbia, and even Nigeria. A few years prior, around the summer of 2015, she once again yearned for a change in scenery. There was really nothing tying her down. She was not married nor had kids. By chance, her mom spoke to their extended family in rural China. It turns out an English teacher from one of their schools had left, and they were in urgent need of one. She decided that it was her next adventure. She gave notice to her accounting job as soon as she was accepted to teach in China. There, she met again with her shaman uncle. She became fascinated with the old traditions of her uncle’s profession. Aside from her regular English teaching job, her fascination with the traditional mystic arts led her to become his de facto apprentice. The young villagers found mysticism to be old-fashioned, but it enchanted her. Every bit of her uncle’s secrets of the trade was eagerly absorbed. She was passionate about it. When she returned to the States after about a year, the battered women’s shelter hired her back as an accountant, where it’s still her main job today. However, she’s still passionate about the mystic arts and started a fortune-telling business as a side job.
Oddly enough, I did not get the idea for this site from Angela’s life experience. My friend, Anne, needed to show her friend Rachelle, who was visiting from Florida, around San Francisco. Unfortunately, Anne needed to work that day, but I was free. “Sure, why not”, I told her. As I was showing our guest around, Rachelle wanted to visit a fortune teller. It reminded me of Angela. It turns out Rachelle really believed in Chinese mysticism, and had I had more time, I would have introduced her to Angela. Unfortunately, it was a workday, and she did not live in San Francisco. But it did give me an idea. 🙂