Go give me that elusive 'O'

Last Saturday night, Mr. J flew in to New York for work.

A few days before his flight, he asked if I'd like something from his trip.

I thought really hard. What could I possibly want from the Big Apple? A luscious little cupcake from Magnolia Bakery would be excellent, except that it'd be a little soggy by the time it gets back to Malaysia.

I went to the newstand and consulted latest issues of InStyle and American Vogue to see if I'd needed anything from the Big Apple. Still nothing.

Just before he was about to leave his apartment to the airport, suddenly I remembered not getting THAT one item from Sephora in Paris a few months back.

Quickly I scribbled on a Post-It note and stuck it on his passport.

'Please get me NARS Orgasm blush from Sephora. And no, Sephora is not an erotica shop. ;) '

Busy with cakes

Goodness, I've neglected this blog of mine for weeks. Seriously don't have the time coz I've been running around all over KL, sourcing for baking supplies and cake decorating equipment. And learning how to decorate cake. I'm proud to say I've taken the first step on becoming a cake decorater. (* Pic of my very first decorated cake. )

Anata wa Nippon-jin desu ka?

Whenever I stay over at Mr. J's place, I'd pop to the minimart downstairs to get my supply of Belgium beer, Twisties, Japanese green tea ice-cream and instant soba noodles.

I love the tiny minimart as it stocks a good variety of Japanese and imported foodstuff and most importantly cheap imported beer like Ottinger, Bavaria, Marten Pils. Cheap beer for me is a can of beer cheaper than the unjustifiable RM7.00 price tag of the 'brewed in Thailand' Heneiken.

I'm now a regular at the minimart; the staff would acknowledge me with a friendly nod as I step into the shop.

Yesterday, the Ah-Neh store supervisor asked me if I were Japanese? Korean?

'No lah, saya orang sini lah.' (No, I'm local)

'Oh, aku ingat apa hal pompuan jepun ni selalu beli beer?' ( Oh, I was just wondering why this Japanese lady here always buy beer) he replied sheepishly.

I guess it must've been my mandatory purchase of instant soba noodles and green tea ice cream that got him thinking I'm Japanese. Plus my hard-to-tan fair complexion and small eyes.

I get mistaken for a Japanese nationality all the time and at any place. It doesn't matter which country I'm at -UK, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong.

Once, I got a Japanese menu handed to me promptly at a Japanese restaurant in KL, much to my bafflement.

Hmm, maybe I should go take up Japanese again.

* Ah Neh - 'brother' in Tamil.
Anata wa Nippon-jin desu ka? - Are you Japanese?

Meeting Mrs. J

All my life, I noticed a definite pattern of boyfriends.

1. They all come from all-boys siblings.
2. They are the eldest son.

For some strange reason, the men in my past and current life are the eldest son in all-boys family. I seriously think my sub-conscious picked them out for reasons unbeknownst to me.

And yes, Mr. J is the eldest son with a younger brother.

In the past, I've never had easy 'relations' with exes' mothers. They have never approved of my being the other female in their eldest sons' lives.

Last month, Mr. J asked me to meet his mother. With unpleasant memories of disapproving looks on my exes' mothers' faces, I was undoubtedly reluctant to meet his mother.

'Could we wait until I'm ready? All my exes' mothers hate me, you know.'

' Why? Glenn's mum loves you. Please, do this for me,' he'd plead quietly.

So after one lenghty discussion, I finally agreed but told him to not expect a smooth sailing event.

Last Sunday afternoon, I had dim-sum with the matriarch Mrs. J.

The night before, I was all nerves. I wrote down all the best diplomatic answers to intruding personal questions like marriage and babies. I had to keep reminding myself that it's not the end of the world if things do not go well. If it turns out badly, I'm off to Thailand for a short island holiday to restore my frazzled self.

After writing down my list of diplomatic answers, I couldn't sleep. I read and it didn't work. Watched some tv and I was still awake. After pottering around my apartment, I decided to paint my nails in the colour that will probably fail me in Mrs. J's eyes the following day. But I was strangely relaxed after transforming my nails into this deep shade of ruby red.

The next morning, I woke up, slightly impatient to get to the restaurant. I wanted the whole lunch affair to be over quickly. Just deal with it and be done with it.

At around noon, I was a little nervous as I stepped into the chinese restaurant. I scanned the floor, searching for a 50-something woman with a lilac top. However, she spotted me and waved. When I saw her, I heaved an inner sigh of relief because she looked like someone my own mother would befriend.

Mrs. J has an easy demeanour and a classic sense of dressing - very simple and elegant. She was very pleasant, had a warm smile and spoke well.

During lunch, she told me she had wanted to meet me because she was curious about her son's girlfriend. And she also mentioned that she completely understood why I was reluctant to meet her. (Earlier, I had told Mr. J of my rule of not meeting the parents until I'm ready)

Not once did she interrogated me on my relationship with Mr. J. Instead, we chatted of my trip to France and nyonya cuisine. Later we discovered we had something in common- Mrs. J schooled at my alma mater in KL.

Some interesting facts I learnt from Mrs. J :

1. Women who can cook are greatly revered in the clan.

2. Mr. J's family are deeply traditional with great ties to their Peranakan cultural values.

3. Unconditional love and acceptance are two things that I can use to make my relationship work.

And she liked my ruby red nails.