The Festive Bug

Flo and I were just discussion over lunch a few days ago, that how I wished people will just stopped inviting me to their homes for the festivities. You hate to turn down their good intentions, but really, I know I won’t show up.

Flo reminded me that a staff feels very proud to have your presence in their home, that I should at least ‘show face’.

But holidays are my private time. I cringe at the thought of giving up my precious ‘me’ time to engage in small talk and fake giggles. Small talk is hard work, even harder than 4 hours at the gym or a having to come up with a full proposal. You really need to put your brain on overdrive to come up with topics that others can relate to. And not to mention the frustration of trying to locate house in areas that are totally foreign to me.

The only time I do any ‘festive visiting’ these days is during Chinese New Year, and that is also only because I have to chauffeur mom around.

So far, I have not gone to any weddings, kids’ birthday parties or festive open houses invitations. I have never invited anyone but close friends to my home – the thought of the work involved is already too daunting. The only one thing I do attend, or at least “show face” is funeral. I know it weird, but I think a friend in grief will need me more that a friend at merrier times.

When I was a little kid, visiting was always fun. You see old friends, and you get ang pows. Even right up to high school, visiting was still fun. The whole scout group will go from one house to another on a biking entourage.

I wonder when the festive bug left me. I think it kinda stopped when I went to college, there wasn’t the need to. Friends were all back at their hometowns. And that habit stuck on since.

I told Flo that I don’t believe that my staffs don’t need me to visit their homes to know that I think highly of them.