Leaving on a jet plane
I always know when my aunt has been in my room. The NUM LOCK on my keyboard is switched off; there's a half-drunk mug of coffee on my table; there're food wrappers strewn all over my floor; there's an apple core in my laundry bin (10 years, and she still can't remember that the tub in my toilet is not for throwing rubbish).
I don't know which is more disturbing: that sometimes I can come home to find all of these at once, or that -- even when that happens -- I'm no longer bothered by it.
***
My aunt is quite a character. She can scream non-stop, for an hour, when she sees a cat invading our kitchen, but ask her to pack up everything and leave to work in a foreign country where no one speaks her language, and she agrees without even batting an eyelid.
She left for Korea on a job posting this morning. She'll be stationed there for a year. It's not as bad as it sounds; during this time, she'll probably be travelling back and forth quite a bit.
Still, I'll miss the stories, the late-night snacks that she brings home, and the Saturday morning breakfast that we seem to have work into a routine these days.
(My aunt also has a habit of not closing doors -- EVER! -- so I'm grateful that I won't have to fear turning the corner and seeing her stark naked in her room. Hur hur.)
***
My aunt always maintained a strict no-mobile phone policy. Her rationale is that she works so hard in the office; she shouldn't be made to work away from it. I still can't figure out -- in this day of mobile communication -- how she managed to keep it up.
But in her recent trips to Korea, her company decided that she was getting too uncontactable, and they bought her a mobile phone. The look on her face when she told us -- you'd think that they asked her to sell her soul.
She was testing out the new functions of her phone, and we suggested she send an SMS to my sister.
"Okay, okay, I can do this!" she insisted, refusing our help.
how r u jfkajvklaj cheers (not exactly, but you get the idea)
Erm, who is this?, my sister messaged back.
ur jda;srwoiae aunt P jsiad;w
Welcome to modern technology! :)
***
The sky was dark, and the taxi was waiting. She refused to let us send her off to the airport.
"We'll see you soon," I said, as I gave her a hug. "Take care of yourself."
"You too," she whispered back. "Take care of your father."
As my vision blurred, I nodded, but now I'm not quite sure what that means. I'm not sure why people keep entrusting their loved ones to me (even if they're my loved ones too) -- as if I actually know what to do. I'll just... try not to mess up?
***
On the bright(er) side, her being away means that I get to use her car! Yee-haa! Bye-bye public transport! :)
I don't know which is more disturbing: that sometimes I can come home to find all of these at once, or that -- even when that happens -- I'm no longer bothered by it.
***
My aunt is quite a character. She can scream non-stop, for an hour, when she sees a cat invading our kitchen, but ask her to pack up everything and leave to work in a foreign country where no one speaks her language, and she agrees without even batting an eyelid.
She left for Korea on a job posting this morning. She'll be stationed there for a year. It's not as bad as it sounds; during this time, she'll probably be travelling back and forth quite a bit.
Still, I'll miss the stories, the late-night snacks that she brings home, and the Saturday morning breakfast that we seem to have work into a routine these days.
(My aunt also has a habit of not closing doors -- EVER! -- so I'm grateful that I won't have to fear turning the corner and seeing her stark naked in her room. Hur hur.)
***
My aunt always maintained a strict no-mobile phone policy. Her rationale is that she works so hard in the office; she shouldn't be made to work away from it. I still can't figure out -- in this day of mobile communication -- how she managed to keep it up.
But in her recent trips to Korea, her company decided that she was getting too uncontactable, and they bought her a mobile phone. The look on her face when she told us -- you'd think that they asked her to sell her soul.
She was testing out the new functions of her phone, and we suggested she send an SMS to my sister.
"Okay, okay, I can do this!" she insisted, refusing our help.
how r u jfkajvklaj cheers (not exactly, but you get the idea)
Erm, who is this?, my sister messaged back.
ur jda;srwoiae aunt P jsiad;w
Welcome to modern technology! :)
***
The sky was dark, and the taxi was waiting. She refused to let us send her off to the airport.
"We'll see you soon," I said, as I gave her a hug. "Take care of yourself."
"You too," she whispered back. "Take care of your father."
As my vision blurred, I nodded, but now I'm not quite sure what that means. I'm not sure why people keep entrusting their loved ones to me (even if they're my loved ones too) -- as if I actually know what to do. I'll just... try not to mess up?
***
On the bright(er) side, her being away means that I get to use her car! Yee-haa! Bye-bye public transport! :)
posted by Laughingcow at 11:27 pm
2 Comments:
You lucky girl with the newly-abandoned car! But i think i seriously will laugh to do posting abroad. It's like your roots are still here but you get to experience the life out of this small well too.
The date coincides!! This explains why I got a really random message when I was in Prague with my girlfriends.. It was a Singapore mobile, and the person kept refusing to say who he/ she is! Just kept sending really cryptic messages.. Me and the girls spent a good couple of hours wondering who it might be.. and came up with loads of ridiculous scenarios as well!
Cousin
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