After half a year, my dad finally returned.
As is customary of any Chinese family, all we've been doing for the past 2 days is feast. I say feast, but that may be too grand a word to use for indulging in simple meals at the hawker and small kopitiams. Bobbing on the waves months after months, never once sailing close to even the border of his birthplace, the food cravings were-- in every sense of the word--overwhelming. Thus, we proceed to stuff ourselves accordingly, even though the rest of us had no good reason to. My father said that the Chinese are greedy beyond what one can even begin to imagine, though I doubted that as I slurped on the noodles when I wasn't even hungry.
Having starved myself for a good period of time, my stomach was able to retain the illusion of flatness. Though it's now bulging again, to much disappointment. I suppose the statue of the Laughing Buddha embodies universal truth.
Between a plate of RM10 fried noodles and one that costs RM40, which would you eat? With refined taste buds such as yours, do you think the expensive one will be more satisfying?
But of course, in actuality the noodle doesn't cost RM40, serving it costs RM40. Sitting on cushioned seats at a round table that's covered with a soft golden coloured tablecloth, a lazy susan decorated with glitters turns at the centre, and the waiters pour your tea for you, substituting used plates for new ones without having to ask them. You're still having the same RM10 noodles, in fancy packaging.
Recently, I was compared to another woman whose physical, sexual appeal is 1000 times higher than mine. If she is the clouds that float up in the sky, then I am the mud at the bottom of a polluted river. She's #1 sushi grade tuna, and I'm the salmon sashimi they serve at Sushi Mentai. I don't suppose that this statement, or comparison, is terribly cruel? After all, if one is going to judge the quality of women's bodies so, then I suggest that they should just continue eating fish in a world without women. Salmon may be cheap, but it's just as sensitive as any other sliced seafood exposed to the prying eyes of men.
I am thankful that I never liked eating raw fish to begin with. My family isn't too keen on Japanese food either, so I think we won't be dining at a Japanese restaurant anytime soon. It's a bit of a relief.
