The Mini-Vacation.

I’m going to get asked how my “vacation” was. You tell me, how would you like to spend a couple days with an 82 year old indian woman who you can’t relate to at all?

I’m far more willing to play the game than I was as a kid. That was back when I was into blunt honesty. I’d try her food and say I didn’t like it. I have far more discretion now. I look at the big picture. No, I really don’t like her food. But if they can eat it, I can suck it up for a few days and eat it, too. I hate being treated like a special case, and in order to achieve that, I have no problem just eating whatever she makes.

Moreover, eating her damned food is about the only way I can show respect. I reiterate, I have nothing in common with this woman. She gets her worldview from the news. Her life consists of getting up, eating breakfast, laying down, reading the paper, eating lunch, laying down, eating dinner, watching the news, watching TV, then going to bed. I joke about republicans destroying the fabric of america. She actually believes it.

All she can do is get her nose in other people’s lives and tell them what she thinks they should do, even though she really has no basis in anything. The concept of fun just doesn’t seem to exist for her the way it does for us. Basically all you can do is say “Okay Grandma, whatever you say.”

You think I’m kidding, right? She said she likes my hair. She said, “You no grow hair out, if you grow hair out, it get long and it smells.” I simply replied that I use fruity shampoo and conditioner. No, really, she actually said that!

Oh, classic. Before I left, she said, “When you come back, you have degree.” What? That’s basically saying don’t come back unless you have a degree! The thing is, I know with this culture, nothing makes them happy. I don’t see happiness, all I see is stress. Straight out of fight club, I tell you. If I get a degree, I’ll get asked why I’m not married. If I’m married, I’ll get asked why I don’t have kids. And if I have kids, I bet I’ll get asked why I’m not bringing them over.

My Grandma and my dad just need to chill the fuck out and relax. Blindly telling someone to do regardless of their situation, without relating to them in the slightest, is an easy way to alienate someone.

Oh, another conversation, my Grandma told me not to date until I get a degree, because no woman will date a guy who doesn’t have a degree. My Aunt Gita backed me up in that the sentiment that males needs to be in a higher socioeconomic state than females is simply bullshit. If it weren’t for my sister and my Aunt Gita, I wouldn’t find much higher conversation in my family. Moreover, did I or did I not just get out of a relationship with a girl who had a degree? Of course, let’s not debate the socioeconomic impact of her personal debt. Who’s to say a degree necessarily changes your class? There’s a dissertation in there somewhere.

A game, all a giant game, conversation is. Just gotta keep my mouth shut and everything’s fine, ha ha. Anyone who thinks you can share everything with family must have a pretty nice, understanding family.

I also got the chance to meet up with Elena. I hadn’t seen that girl in nine years. I don’t believe people change much, they just become more themselves. She’s a good case of that. It was good seeing her. Noticed I still felt pretty much the same, even after nine years, but I kept that to myself. No time, and our time has passed. It’s fun keeping in contact with girls.

So, how was my vacation? A mild exercise in lip service, but otherwise an enjoyable change of pace. I actually like flying, and I prefer security now that there aren’t guys with machine guns walking around. My flight back took two hours, but the journey via mass transporation took four hours. Combination bad luck and the fact that I had to walk, bus, train, and taxi. Toss in a boat and a bike, and I think I would have had every mode covered.