Surprise!!

My extended family loves surprises. My aunts plan surprise after surprise, they somehow always have some kind of hidden agenda. Question why they are doing something instead of taking the path of least resistance and they will shoo you away. There, you know they are brewing another surprise.....

There's 2 kinds of people. The ones who like surprises and the ones who do not. I'm thinking I'm more of the 2nd. That doesn't mean that I don't like to plan for one for people around me, I just don't like being the surprised one. Lately I was planning to surprise a friend, and when that didn't turn out the way I planned, I was quite upset and started taking it out on him. But wait a minute...was it his fault that I couldn't surprise him? I guess not. I was more upset about how I planned it than anything else. If I had done this instead of that, if I have said this instead of that, or if I had said this or that at a different time....

This made me think of other situations in life where a simple word/action could have an impact on the rest of your life. If a surprise could be ruined by a word, what else could be altered by a different word, at a different time, in a different way?....What if...

Age, marital status and appropriateness...

Yesterday, I went to the hair salon to have my hair done for my cousin's wedding.
The hair salon was operated by Koreans who barely spoke English. But even with their limited english, the woman setting my hair with curlers, after a couple of introductory questions, asked point blank how old I am.
Taken aback, I still answered her and immediately after, she asked if I was married! She didn't comment on my single status, but kept asking other questions like, where do I live, what kind of work do I do, etc.

Since hairdressers are usually known for gossip, I was wondering if she was actually just asking questions for small talk or if it was going anywhere in her head. In any case, I thought it was quite nosy of her, so I was relieved when I was handed over to a hairstylist.

The hairstylist was a young Korean guy and he asked me what kind of style I wanted for my hairdo. I had the hardest time to decide between an updo and a half up, half down style but when asked, I decided to go for the updo. The guy, though, said that a half up, half down style would make me look younger. Fine then, the younger look it shall be. Not surprisingly, a few minutes later, HE was asking me how old I am AND asking me if I was married!!! At least, he joked about it saying "not yet, right?". He also asked me what kind of job I have.

So, what is it about Korean hairdressers and the way they talk to their customers? Obviously, they must have some kind of script according to your age range because a relative who is a bit older than me, also had nosy questions, but they were of the nature of "what religion are you?". I wonder now....do they all go through a training that says "Chapter 12: questions to ask a woman in her late twenties..."?

What is it...

about being abroad that makes you act differently than in your own city?

The plan today was to walk up the street and enjoy the neighbourhood.

So there I was chatting with someone by my side and walking at a fast pace to catch up with the others when passing a guy on the bus stop. I haven't paid attention to that guy, actually, I didn't even see him until he said "hi" to me, and then on impulse, I said "hi" back. Errr...yeah, that was a reflex and chances are, I would have done the same in Toronto...but I was taken aback, shouldn't my awareness level be higher in an unusual place?

Second incident was just an hour or so ago. The crew was taking pics by a dinosaur statue, by the side of a traffic-jammed street (don't ask!), and I was just waiting for them to be ready to set off again when I heard someone clear his throat behind me. So I turned and this guy sitting in a truck in the traffic jam was looking directly at me and when I turned, he made some appreciative noise and instead of just turning back and ignoring him (what I would obviously have done in TO), I smiled and then went on my way. When the light turned green and he passed us, he waved his hand through the window to say bye.

Okay, I was flattered....

In a tank top and capris and my hair in a loose bun, I certainly wasn't worth a double take. I get cat calls walking to work in TO sometimes. In heels and dressed up, it's justified....but I have never turned and smiled!!

So I'm not sure if it's the air here or just the fact that I'm on vacation...or maybe just the men around here....whatever it is, if I was just half as friendly walking down the street in TO, I sure would have loads more friends back home than I do now!

Update:
I was approached today by a guy in a wheelchair in a McDonald's. He wheeled his chair straight at me and said that I'm so beautiful it makes him wish more than ever to be able to walk!!! 
And following my cousin's wedding, my cousin was telling me today that her cooking instructor asked about me at her wedding. I could have sworn the guy was taking pictures of me, but it wasn't obvious, he could have been playing with the settings on his camera!
Maybe I should consider moving here....

Not nerdy enough...

I'm back after 2 yrs!

I was thinking during my flight over to L.A this morning that I'm not nerdy enough, I should really update my blog and this is the perfect occasion to start again.

So here I am, after waiting 2 hrs at LAX for my cousin to pick me up. (We redefine "fashionably late" over and over in my family.) I think I saw Christina Ricci while waiting, I got a snapshot of her, that I will upload later if I can find a software to crop pics on my new Aspire One. Some paparazzo took pics of her too, so I'm 90% sure it WAS her and she barely reacted to his flashes....

So here's to the first few hours in L.A....Now where are those burritos or fish tacos?