Dinner Table Discussions...
A typically amusing dinner table discussion with my parents this evening:
Mom: "So former President Lee Teng-hui is celebrating his 84th birthday today. And he hopes to continue his work for Taiwan for another 10 years."
Dad: "Well, every year he says that. I'm not sure how many good years he has left."
(Note to my little sister: If the seething sentiments you expressed in your email this summer in response to the possibility of Lin offspring still apply, please stop reading here or proceed with caution!)
Mom: "How could you say that? You're not so young yourself. Let's hope that *somebody* has the chance to become a grandfather before reaching the age of 70..."
Wishful thinking and a complete impossibility where I am currently concerned... I was sitting directly across from my Mother as she said this. I laughed as I responded:
"Well don't look at me!"
Of course my parents weren't pinning their hopes on me--a thirty-something single, independent woman, living in Taiwan, who has long given up any hopes of being in a normal dating situation as long as she remains here (in limbo), having declared way too many times: that she's getting ready to leave and return back to North America--where she's certain that she'll be back in a normal dating pool. *Right* well the grass always seems greener...
"Of course not", laughed my Mother. "So, Dad said that he recently received an email from your younger sister saying that she and her husband are looking for a bigger house. That's interesting. I wonder if that means..."
Oh no not the *B* word... I thought.
Mom: "Well she did say that they'd be looking for a bigger house if and when they were ready to consider having a b----"
My Dad just laughs at my Mother's suggestion.
Me: "Don't hold you breath on that one. The last time I brought that up as a completely innocent joke- the response I got was basically *when hell freezes over*. That was pretty much the consensus among the few married, childless couples in our family (among them my sister and cousins). Once I got that response, I was like- Okay, I won't even touch that topic with a ten foot pole!"
Mom: "Well, so what about you? What are you waiting for, would it matter- if there was someone who asked you out on a date, whether he was a local Taiwanese or foreigner- wouldn't you just go on a date for fun or something?"
Me: "Well, problem is that there haven't been many people asking me out on dates lately. I don't understand Taiwanese men or the rules of dating here. And the foreign men- well, that's another story. I don't _just_ want to 'go on a date to go on a date' and it's really hard for me to meet the right person in my current situation."
Mom: "There's always email and the internet. Can't you meet someone that way?" As she looks knowingly at Dad, "Didn't so-and-so, that lovely young couple- who was part of our tour group- that we met during our trip to Europe this past summer, didn't they meet on the internet?" Looking at me, "And your friend S who got married to Y a few years ago, and now they are now having a baby- didn't they meet over the internet too?"
This... coming from a woman who doesn't know much about the world wide web, doesn't have an email account or know how to surf the internet. It just cracks me up! The internet- it is now the new magic pill for my relationship (or lack thereof) crisis.
Me: "Here's an even better idea than finding love through the internet- if you're so eager to help me find someone, why don't you just start a T.V. show called, 'Who Wants To Marry My Daughter?'"
Mom: "Hmmm... sounds like a good name for a sitcom or novel... Maybe you could write something like that based on your life..."
We all had a good laugh as my parents started going off on ways that they could find someone to introduce to me.
Problem is, I have a very strong aversion towards being setup in any way shape or form by any friends or family- it doesn't seem to matter how close a confidante, or well-intentioned the *matchmaker* is. Am I a control freak when it comes to this or have I just had a few bad experiences with setups? I think that I'd just like to keep it simple and be able to say that I, myself take full responsibility for any dating foibles that I've encountered.
A typically amusing dinner table discussion with my parents this evening:
Mom: "So former President Lee Teng-hui is celebrating his 84th birthday today. And he hopes to continue his work for Taiwan for another 10 years."
Dad: "Well, every year he says that. I'm not sure how many good years he has left."
(Note to my little sister: If the seething sentiments you expressed in your email this summer in response to the possibility of Lin offspring still apply, please stop reading here or proceed with caution!)
Mom: "How could you say that? You're not so young yourself. Let's hope that *somebody* has the chance to become a grandfather before reaching the age of 70..."
Wishful thinking and a complete impossibility where I am currently concerned... I was sitting directly across from my Mother as she said this. I laughed as I responded:
"Well don't look at me!"
Of course my parents weren't pinning their hopes on me--a thirty-something single, independent woman, living in Taiwan, who has long given up any hopes of being in a normal dating situation as long as she remains here (in limbo), having declared way too many times: that she's getting ready to leave and return back to North America--where she's certain that she'll be back in a normal dating pool. *Right* well the grass always seems greener...
"Of course not", laughed my Mother. "So, Dad said that he recently received an email from your younger sister saying that she and her husband are looking for a bigger house. That's interesting. I wonder if that means..."
Oh no not the *B* word... I thought.
Mom: "Well she did say that they'd be looking for a bigger house if and when they were ready to consider having a b----"
My Dad just laughs at my Mother's suggestion.
Me: "Don't hold you breath on that one. The last time I brought that up as a completely innocent joke- the response I got was basically *when hell freezes over*. That was pretty much the consensus among the few married, childless couples in our family (among them my sister and cousins). Once I got that response, I was like- Okay, I won't even touch that topic with a ten foot pole!"
Mom: "Well, so what about you? What are you waiting for, would it matter- if there was someone who asked you out on a date, whether he was a local Taiwanese or foreigner- wouldn't you just go on a date for fun or something?"
Me: "Well, problem is that there haven't been many people asking me out on dates lately. I don't understand Taiwanese men or the rules of dating here. And the foreign men- well, that's another story. I don't _just_ want to 'go on a date to go on a date' and it's really hard for me to meet the right person in my current situation."
Mom: "There's always email and the internet. Can't you meet someone that way?" As she looks knowingly at Dad, "Didn't so-and-so, that lovely young couple- who was part of our tour group- that we met during our trip to Europe this past summer, didn't they meet on the internet?" Looking at me, "And your friend S who got married to Y a few years ago, and now they are now having a baby- didn't they meet over the internet too?"
This... coming from a woman who doesn't know much about the world wide web, doesn't have an email account or know how to surf the internet. It just cracks me up! The internet- it is now the new magic pill for my relationship (or lack thereof) crisis.
Me: "Here's an even better idea than finding love through the internet- if you're so eager to help me find someone, why don't you just start a T.V. show called, 'Who Wants To Marry My Daughter?'"
Mom: "Hmmm... sounds like a good name for a sitcom or novel... Maybe you could write something like that based on your life..."
We all had a good laugh as my parents started going off on ways that they could find someone to introduce to me.
Problem is, I have a very strong aversion towards being setup in any way shape or form by any friends or family- it doesn't seem to matter how close a confidante, or well-intentioned the *matchmaker* is. Am I a control freak when it comes to this or have I just had a few bad experiences with setups? I think that I'd just like to keep it simple and be able to say that I, myself take full responsibility for any dating foibles that I've encountered.
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