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http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,192888,00.html?
Have you seen my dream girl?
Undergrad sets up website to get info on mystery girl he spots on bus
February 15, 2009
EYE FOR A GIRL: Mr Xu thinks his odds of finding the girl via his website are slim because Singapore girls are conservative. TNP PICTURE: JONATHAN CHOO
BOY sees girl on bus, girl sees boy, boy chickens out of making a move - and regrets it later.
For most, that would be the end of the story. Not so for undergraduate Neil Xu, 24.
He launched a desperate search for his mystery crush, created a website, uploaded a sketch of her and appealed for help to get in touch with her.
He had noticed the girl when she hopped onto SBS service 74 from the Ngee Ann Polytechnic bus stop along Clementi Road on 8Jan at about 3pm.
For about 40 minutes during the journey, he claimed that they stole occasional glances at each other.
All this while, Mr Xu could not muster enough courage to speak to her. Before he knew it, she alighted at Ang Mo Kio central.
He was left in a daze. He did not know how to react. But he knew he was smitten.
Tells best friend
When he got home, he decided to describe her to best friend Johan Koh, 24, a student, and got him to draw a sketch of her.
Mr Xu uploaded the sketch onto the website, www.girlonbus.com, on 13Jan and appealed for the girl to come forward. He also asked netizens to help him look for her.
He believes that the girl should be 'around 18 years old' and could be a polytechnic student.
Why didn't he try looking for her at Ngee Ann Poly, where she got on the bus? He felt it would be difficult because of the large number of students there and the vast campus.
Was it a prank inspired by a similar search in New York for a mystery train commuter by a smitten American recently?
Mr Xu insisted he is sincere and even agreed to sign a legal declaration for The New Paper to prove it.
He knows that because he is unwilling to reveal his face, people will question his credibility.
'My greatest challenge is to convince people that I am real,' he said. 'I am concerned about my own privacy; yet I want this girl to know that my efforts are genuine.'
He claimed that he has received almost 20,000 hits on his website. Nearly 200 people have responded to his appeal by e-mail.
He claimed 90 per cent of the e-mails have been supportive. He has also received support from people abroad.
The New Paper contacted some of his overseas supporters.
One of them, Ms Helena Chen, 22, from the US, in an e-mail to The New Paper said she felt that Mr Xu was 'very courageous' and that 'it was important that he has tried', if not he would go on to 'regret this for the rest of his life'.
Another supporter, Ms Lea Angelina Chen, 20, from Indonesia, said his efforts to locate the girl may be extreme, but his critics are in 'no position to judge' as they have 'never been in his position before'.
Mr Xu does not see himself as a hopeless romantic or desperado, as some of his critics call him.
He has received about 20 e-mails from critics, some calling him 'average frustrated chump' or 'unattractive guy'.
Even Mr Koh, who drew the sketch of the girl, had his doubts initially.
'I found his determination to locate this girl very weird. I didn't expect him to be so serious about this. I am surprised because in my 10 over years of knowing him, I've never known him to do such a thing.'
Mr Xu agreed, describing himself as an introvert. But he is irked by the doubters.
He said: 'I would appreciate it if people don't simply judge a person in this manner, especially if they don't know the real story behind this.
'When I saw her on the bus, I just liked the way she carried herself. I found her graceful and cute. My intuition told me that I should get to know her.'
Will he succeed in finding his dream girl?
He said: 'I think my chances are slim. It is definitely not as good as that guy who found his dream girl on the train in New York. This is because I think Singaporean girls are generally a conservative lot.'
But he's not giving up any time soon.
He will continue to maintain the website for the next few months and 'see what happens'.
The happiest thing that can happen, he said, would be for her to reveal herself on Valentine's Day today.
'I hope that I can get to know her. I promise she will not regret knowing me.'
Should he dream on?
- Sing Keng Loon, newsroom intern
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Similar cases
On 8 Nov 2007, a New York subway rider found his mystery woman through a website he created for her.
Mr Patrick Moberg, 23, created www.nygirlofmydreams.com, and posted a sketch of himself and the woman he saw on a train but was too shy to approach.
The woman, MsCamille Hayton, a 22-year-old magazine intern then, was quoted as saying she couldn't wait to meet him especially after he took the trouble to make a website for her.
They got together and hit it off immediately, according to ABC News.
On 20 Jan this year, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that newspapers in Australia were duped by an actress who was hired by a viral marketing campaign company to promote a jacket.
This actress had earlier posted a video on YouTube telling the world that she was trying to find her Prince Charming - a man in a jacket - she met at a cafe.
Have you seen my dream girl?
Undergrad sets up website to get info on mystery girl he spots on bus
February 15, 2009
EYE FOR A GIRL: Mr Xu thinks his odds of finding the girl via his website are slim because Singapore girls are conservative. TNP PICTURE: JONATHAN CHOO
BOY sees girl on bus, girl sees boy, boy chickens out of making a move - and regrets it later.
For most, that would be the end of the story. Not so for undergraduate Neil Xu, 24.
He launched a desperate search for his mystery crush, created a website, uploaded a sketch of her and appealed for help to get in touch with her.
He had noticed the girl when she hopped onto SBS service 74 from the Ngee Ann Polytechnic bus stop along Clementi Road on 8Jan at about 3pm.
For about 40 minutes during the journey, he claimed that they stole occasional glances at each other.
All this while, Mr Xu could not muster enough courage to speak to her. Before he knew it, she alighted at Ang Mo Kio central.
He was left in a daze. He did not know how to react. But he knew he was smitten.
Tells best friend
When he got home, he decided to describe her to best friend Johan Koh, 24, a student, and got him to draw a sketch of her.
Mr Xu uploaded the sketch onto the website, www.girlonbus.com, on 13Jan and appealed for the girl to come forward. He also asked netizens to help him look for her.
He believes that the girl should be 'around 18 years old' and could be a polytechnic student.
Why didn't he try looking for her at Ngee Ann Poly, where she got on the bus? He felt it would be difficult because of the large number of students there and the vast campus.
Was it a prank inspired by a similar search in New York for a mystery train commuter by a smitten American recently?
Mr Xu insisted he is sincere and even agreed to sign a legal declaration for The New Paper to prove it.
He knows that because he is unwilling to reveal his face, people will question his credibility.
'My greatest challenge is to convince people that I am real,' he said. 'I am concerned about my own privacy; yet I want this girl to know that my efforts are genuine.'
He claimed that he has received almost 20,000 hits on his website. Nearly 200 people have responded to his appeal by e-mail.
He claimed 90 per cent of the e-mails have been supportive. He has also received support from people abroad.
The New Paper contacted some of his overseas supporters.
One of them, Ms Helena Chen, 22, from the US, in an e-mail to The New Paper said she felt that Mr Xu was 'very courageous' and that 'it was important that he has tried', if not he would go on to 'regret this for the rest of his life'.
Another supporter, Ms Lea Angelina Chen, 20, from Indonesia, said his efforts to locate the girl may be extreme, but his critics are in 'no position to judge' as they have 'never been in his position before'.
Mr Xu does not see himself as a hopeless romantic or desperado, as some of his critics call him.
He has received about 20 e-mails from critics, some calling him 'average frustrated chump' or 'unattractive guy'.
Even Mr Koh, who drew the sketch of the girl, had his doubts initially.
'I found his determination to locate this girl very weird. I didn't expect him to be so serious about this. I am surprised because in my 10 over years of knowing him, I've never known him to do such a thing.'
Mr Xu agreed, describing himself as an introvert. But he is irked by the doubters.
He said: 'I would appreciate it if people don't simply judge a person in this manner, especially if they don't know the real story behind this.
'When I saw her on the bus, I just liked the way she carried herself. I found her graceful and cute. My intuition told me that I should get to know her.'
Will he succeed in finding his dream girl?
He said: 'I think my chances are slim. It is definitely not as good as that guy who found his dream girl on the train in New York. This is because I think Singaporean girls are generally a conservative lot.'
But he's not giving up any time soon.
He will continue to maintain the website for the next few months and 'see what happens'.
The happiest thing that can happen, he said, would be for her to reveal herself on Valentine's Day today.
'I hope that I can get to know her. I promise she will not regret knowing me.'
Should he dream on?
- Sing Keng Loon, newsroom intern
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Similar cases
On 8 Nov 2007, a New York subway rider found his mystery woman through a website he created for her.
Mr Patrick Moberg, 23, created www.nygirlofmydreams.com, and posted a sketch of himself and the woman he saw on a train but was too shy to approach.
The woman, MsCamille Hayton, a 22-year-old magazine intern then, was quoted as saying she couldn't wait to meet him especially after he took the trouble to make a website for her.
They got together and hit it off immediately, according to ABC News.
On 20 Jan this year, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that newspapers in Australia were duped by an actress who was hired by a viral marketing campaign company to promote a jacket.
This actress had earlier posted a video on YouTube telling the world that she was trying to find her Prince Charming - a man in a jacket - she met at a cafe.
