M-O-N-E-Y...

Inspired by Women And Money by Confessionelle

True Story No.1
The other day I was on a bus. A few ladies were talking. One of them just got a job so surely the topic was about the job, and the salary. Considering it was veeeery crowded and pretty warm in the bus and we were all standing and I could hear every word of them loud and clear, it was a bit pfffffff... Plus one of them, a middle-aged lady just would not quit eye-contacting with me... And due to the damn closeness in the bus, I was like "almost hugged her"... Sorry lady I was getting really uneasy- I knew it was impossible for me to turn deaf or blind or mute immediately, nor it was for you to stop trying to drag me into your talk through your eye contacts...

And obviously the lady took my smiles as an agreement to partake in the conversation. (My smiles are fake ones actually- I did not feel like smiling at all and I bet they look uglier than if I made the !@#$%^*&^% face.) So, she was finally at it!

"What do you do?"
"...Ummmm some office work."
"Then how much do you make each month?"
"......"
"How much?!" She would not let me go.
"Ehhhhhh enough."
"Then how much is that? 3000? 4000? 5000?" Plenty of alternatives.
"Heheheh..." Fake ones, too. "Just enough..."
I turned my face around, from a 12 O'clock to an almost 6 O'clock direction, and then started to talk to myself.

"Ohhh My Holy Neck!"
"What she is talking about?"
"She must be insane, but the other ladies seem quite normal."
"Where am I now?"
"How many more stops to go?"
"WTH..."

This one is true. And as a matter of fact, it is not very unusual for Chinese to have talks like that.

True Story No.2
Back to year 2004. My Aussie teacher of English told me seriously about her story of being asked about her salary as a "foreign English" teacher in university. This is what she said, "It is really weird. I will not ask my boyfriend such questions, let alone strangers... I will not even ask about his job..."

Privacy. Yes, I know. But not even his job??? Isn't it going to far????


True Story No.3
My ex-boyfriend said really bad things to me because I did not share all my money with him. He did not share his either. I did not want to share. This kind of relationship will never last. And I am so lucky it did not. I still do not know why should I need.

True Story No.1001
My neighbour has been fighting with her siblings for ages for the "rooms" that their mother will leave behind. She is still alive. Then why is she still alive? Why isn't she dead?! No, those are just "rooms", I will not call that "houses", or "apartments". They are dark, small, and in poor condition. I have been to there before.

I have neighbours like this all the time. You may also have met people like that...

True Story No.1002
Similar as the one before, but this time it is between man and wife.

I do not know what I am saying.

Take care,
Fran