Dinners with the Family.
Tonight was the customary belated birthday dinner. Not for me but the Sister rather. Whom my cousin noted with malicious glee was fast approaching the dreaded "sell-by date". Don't ask me why the average straight male view single women past a certain age as being less desirable simply due to their age. I'm sure I'll take an interesting, reasonable and mature (as in the way he thinks) man past the "sell-by date" over a hot but precocious twink anytime.
But then again men don't seem to have "sell-by dates" and I'm gay so that makes it moot. I digress. So dinner was at Tung Lok Signature at Central, that disgustingly haphazard mall which I never fail to get lost in. Just attempting to navigate the maze of little shops at the basement is a veritable nightmare. Dinner was good but as usual the conversation was highly superficial, a banter I seldom partook in.
In case, you haven't already realised by now (duh) I'm not chummy with the Family. Sad but true. Of course it's always been hard to be close to family who view homosexuals as depraved mentally disturbed individuals who revel in activities as "enjoyable as shoving a straw up your nostril." (Though how that NMP who made that ludicrous comment was any authority on the joys (or lack thereof) of anal sex is quite beyond me)
Anyway it was "Family Time". You know the time where people who have absolutely nothing in common are supposed to grin and suddenly converse with great gusto. Which I fail miserably at. Entertaining clients is one thing, making conversation for the sake of filing up the silence is another. But as usual they were having none of that.
So after having absolutely no headway with the "Why are you playing computer games again? You spent FIVE hours just on that game (Warhammer), no good you know" talk, they went back to the newest pet peeve. My Work. "Are you still doing matrimonial work?"
"Mainly and my old commercial cases."
"No good you know, cannot just do family work, your brain cells will die."
"Oh please what rubbish"
"Well but it's boring right? all the children, fighting couples. It's sinful you know"
Now everytime someone mentions sinful and roll their eyes or make little tut-tutting noises, I automatically tune out. It's the kind of "Must stay married till you die" mentality which pisses me off. Why you mean marriages don't break down? And if they do and parties want to leave, you're going to chain them together physically till one murders the other? It's all very well to have your own moral/religious view. It's another to see to impose your view or what you deem is acceptable on others.
So I took a little perverse pleasure in informing them that, no Matri work wasn't a bore. In fact, matri work (sans the painful and tedious aspect of having to deal with clients and the other parties) is quite interesting. From the salacious (husband ran off with china woman 2 years older than my daughter) to the saucy (wife engaging in cyber-sex with ex-boyfriend over msn) to the downright scandalous (wife caught husband in bed with another man - whoops).
I think I horrified them sufficiently gauging from their scandalised faces and I was able to finish my dessert in peace. But seriously all the "but your work is so sinful" kind of crap is just goddamn annoying. Screw you and your goddamn morals.
On a happier note, I had a good chat with the Punkette at last night's Law Soc Dinner at the Fullerton. Been like 3-4 months since we last talked and it was good catching up. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she was now doing Matri work too which means I'll be seeing her in Court a lot now.
Work is still piling up, I'm getting the hang of things now and sooner or later I'll need to kick start my non-existent love life. (Perhaps I should be less ambitious and settle for working on my sex life first. Which happens to be non-existent too. Argh. ^^)
