Relatives...

Relatives. I’ve never fancied them much. Individually, they are alright. But as a whole.. Urrgh..

I was just catching up with a cousin I hadn’t spoken to in years. And if you were to believe what my relatives have been talking about me.

According to them, I told another cousin over MSN chat that I was now working in Saudi Arabia in some big time Oil and Gas company, earning a five figure salary. On top of that, I was now a PROFESSOR, giving out classes and consultation services!

First of all.. I haven’t spoken to this cousin for at least 5 years. Secondly, I haven’t logged on to MSN chat for probably 10 years. Thirdly, I have never been to Saudi Arabia in my life. Fourthly, I don’t work in a big Oil and Gas company earning five figures and lastly…. I certainly am NOT a professor.

So with all this in my mind… all I really wanted to say was… “What The F*ck?”

But I didn’t. If something I didn’t say could be spun into such an absurd story, God knows how THAT sentence would evolve once word gets around my relatives.

Not that my relatives are evil. In fact, I happened to like this particular cousin. But he was the exception. The rest of them are just negative, busybody gossip peddlers.... It’s fine if it’s just harmless pieces of information like how I’ve gotten fat, or my house roof collapsed or something like that. But when it turns into something like the above, I draw the line.

Because if the lie continued and I was still unaware of it, their perception of me, and what I truly am no longer tallies. Suddenly, high flying, high paying me who did not pick up the bill for the entire household becomes a cheapskate. Suddenly, not chipping in more money for my grandmothers medical expenses is being selfish.

At some point, I just want to say “Screw family.. screw the relatives…”

I feel a bit bad saying that considering just last week I was just expounding the virtues of family values in Asian society to a certain Frenchman.

But the same thing that’s so great about family is also the same thing so horrible about it. With family, no matter what happens, they will still be family. The links cannot be broken. But by the same token, family will be family…..no matter how hard you try to get rid of them. I guess that’s just it family… like this… like that…. Comme ci, comme ça