Holiday diaries

I confess to being guilty of recycling gifts. But c'mon, don't you just hate it when someone gives you a gift that wasn't given much thought? Like a scented candle, for example. Or one of those bath gels from Watsons. It makes you doubt the kind of relationship you have going, and the truth is you will remember it every year as you buy the person a present and the two of you will be stuck in a cycle of exchanging useless junk every Christmas.

It alarms me that I have so much gifts to recycle but no one to give them to. On the other hand, it may be because I keep a small group of quality friendships instead of a hundred acquaintances I don't care much about.

* * *

B met my parents on Saturday night. It wasn't earth-shattering, as I imagined it would be. Then I remembered, to them he's just another prospect paying his respects. On the way to our house, I was more quiet than usual because I was so nervous. It's not that I was worried about his qualifications; I was more anxious about whether they would get along. I resented that B was the one trying to calm me down, considering it was his first time to meet someone's parents intentionally.

"How come you're so relaxed about this?" I asked accusingly. Like always, he caught the undercurrent. "It's not going to help us even if I stress over it. Just treat it like a business meeting. No expectations, no surprises. If it turns out well, you walk out happy. If it doesn't..." he shrugged.

It wasn't the most comforting thing to hear at the time, but his good sense considerably calmed my nerves.

Armed with that mentality, he met my parents and coolly chatted with them for more than an hour. I hardly participated in the conversation, acting more like a maid preparing refreshments and food. He spoke with my parents in Chinese, impressing all of us and, of course, putting me in the butt of jokes.

To sum it up, I'd say the Meet went pretty well. My parents didn't sing him praises. Even better, they had nothing to say.

One Christmas down. Two more to go: B's parents and his guama, who I'll be meeting for lunch as B's Christmas present for her. They better not ask me a lot of questions cos I can't pull off B's stint with my impoverished fookien bank.