Waffling On...

I need to buy Christmas presents.

LOTS of Christmas presents. I don't know why I didn't start this earlier. I am panicking right about now. I plan to embark on this crazy mission tomorrow, and finish approximately...tomorrow.

I don't have a choice!

I have to finish packing by Friday.
Which means that the shopping has to be done by Thursday.

It doesn't exactly help that I've booked a ticket for a morning flight [well, okay it does: I prefer morning travel], which leaves me less time for shopping.

You know...it would be really nice if chinese families didn't have all these traditions and shows. Then I wouldn't be expected to buy presents back. Not that I am being expected to technically, since to the grandparents, I am still a 'child'. But my parents aren't children. And my aunts and uncles can't exactly be called seniors. And since I fly alone, I am expected to bring the presents with me.

This is truely the Nightmare Before Christmas.

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On a different topic...
Work today was a crazy experience. It was only for five hours, but WOW what a day.
I met this senior lady who was buying a card and asking if she got any kind of discount with this membership card she had. I said not with that particular card, but if she had a senior's card, she could get a discount.
I looked at her name: Beng Sim.
My mother's name is Beng Sim.
So we started having a fat conversation, all about her birthdate, her Golden Anniversary, her kids, grand kids, nephews and neices, how she came from Petaling Jaya to Perth, how much she likes eating Penang Laksa etc etc. It's always nice to meet a Malaysian overseas, but wow, I don't think she ever lost her penchant for telling grandmother stories when she moved to Perth.

How typically Malaysian...

Then some chinese guy comes up, and I think his name is Mr. Hwee. The minute he saw me, he tried to make me speak in mandarin. Then switched to cantonese when he realised mandarin wasn't working. Then back to mandarin again when he realised I knew even less cantonese than I did mandarin.
I was frantically going 'wo bu shuo, wo bu shuo!!!'
But he insisted of trying to test my language skills.
Well excuse me, but after going to two different schools trying to improve my mandarin, I think it is pretty clear that it is simply not going to work out.

Although when I think about it, I probably should have insisted I was Thai or something. But he might have been able to tell. Most chinese can. Or just not tried to tell him 'wo bu shuo han yu' at all.

Anyway, that's my day...
Moral of the story: learn mandarin and cantonese. FAST.

Mishy <3

PS. Three more days...