So while my family trooped off to my uncle's place I stayed home for a long needed snooze. I've been seeing the whole clan for the past 2 days anyway. Besides I'm running out of non-black colored tops. I always have a wardrobe problem this time of the year.

The most annoying thing about all this is the polite conversations I'm forced to make. Inevitably it all boils down to something along these lines:

Relative: So how are you? (How do you answer such vague questions?)
Me: Pretty good (duh)
R: So what are you doing now?
Me: Still serving NS.
R: Wah. How long more to go?
Me: Till Dec. (I usually pretend to think before answering this just to look a little more interested in the conversation)

And the sole variation in the conversations usually branch here -

R: Wow that's a long way more (Oh really? I didn't realise.) OR
R: Aiyah very fast one lar, one year only (Easy for you to say. Twit.)

Me: < Sheepish grin >

R: So when are you getting a girlfriend?
Me: Shut up and go away.

Ok so that last line doesn't come up (as if I'd dare make such a retort to my elders) but I kid you not. Every single conversation I have with my relatives starts this way, with only slight variations in grammar/vocab. I love my family, and my relatives have been really supportive of me, especially when I got hit by thyroid cancer when I was 10, but it gets irritating to have to repeat myself to each person I speak to. We probably should issue family dossiers to everyone before each reunion, so that we can just skip all the interview-like questions.

Anyway. Went to the Loke household after dinner. Jonah is surprisingly hyper for a 9 year old jack russel. Probably should cut down on his sugar intake.

And I finally managed to meet up with Desmond and Alicia after months. Love driving out with them for supper. Tailing each other and doing crazy things on the road - Think I spent more time looking at my rear view mirror than what was actually in front of me. Surprisingly there wasn't much open in Changi Village and what was meant to be a supper turned into a dinner. But it was good stngray. Dunno why I always end up eating stingray when I'm with them.

Going to Pastor Raymond's home tommorrow. So far I've been there 4 times and each time I always made the same wrong turn at the junction. Bah.

posted by NEB at 1:49 AM

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