In NYC for 6 days and what do I have to show for it? $86 USD, a head-cold and more alcohol in my system than I’ve ever had in my life (yes, including Frosh Week). I didn’t do any shopping (well, okay, I attempted to, but I was so hung-over, I could only drag myself down Jamaica Aveue once and picked up a sole pair of sneaks).The wedding (and reason for the trip) was an exhausting exercise that took 4 days to complete. There was a Bachelorette party the night we arrived and that just threw my sleeping pattern right off. They got married in church on Saturday, had a house party (Indian theme = me in a sari) that night and a proper reception on Sunday night plus the bhobath on Monday afternoon. BTW, for my non-Eastern readers: bhobath literally translates for wife-rice, basically meaning that the new wife cooks a meal for her new family. These days, the wife usually just stirs the ceremonial pot of rice and everyone helps themselves. Anyway, the bhobath is also when all the gifts are opened and we “ding-ding-ding” every time there’s cash. That got old fast. By the end, we were only dinging any amounts over $100.
One thing I learned: I MUST register for any special occasion – I mean, they got four sets of wine glasses. FOUR. I don’t know from where the Anglo-Indian hangup about registering originates, but it’s stupid. What new couple needs wine glasses and vases when they’re starting out? I know it seems rude to say “cash only please” – but I do wish that people would be logical about these things and just do the right thing. Hence why you’d think that the registry is an idea that would be embraced by these people – but no. As my mother says: it sounds like you’re telling people what to give you. Well, yes. Yes I am. If they don’t like it, they can give money. Since when are useless gifts appreciated? Honestly. But this whole wedding was fraught with things we couldn’t do because of what “people” might say. For example, they had a buffet-style dinner, which is cool. So, I said that they might want to call out table numbers to eat, in order to avoid long lineups. You know what the bride tells me? There are no tables numbers... why? Because “people” will think “oh, I’m sitting at Table 7 and my sister is at table 4... they must like my sister more.” ...what. Plus, she says, we can’t call out numbers anyway – then people will say we like the numbers we call out first more than the rest. Good. Lord. And “people” wonder why I run so far away from my community.
I also ended up in an argument about Canada. When surrounded by ignorant Americans (not any other kind), I can’t help but lose my patience. The fourth person to comment about how “cold” Canada is was the unfortunate recipient of my rant. Yes, it’s cold. But it’s not like we don’t have summers (complete with a 40 degree humidex) or that we live in igloos or never wear shorts. Canada is a vast country and on any given day, you can go skiing and surfing and swimming and skating. I mean, are Alaska and Hawaii the same? Jebus. What really gets me is this is NYC. These people get snow like we do in GTA. Are they really this dumb? It makes me sad. And mad. Anyway, I am happy to be home. I missed my shower and my bed and the clean streets of Canada (a stereotype that does seem to ring true). I’m looking forward to eight hours of sleep and eating without rinsing my cutlery first. New York City is a fabulous place to visit, but there’s nothing like coming home.
4 comments:
... and they talk about Canada as if it's on another planet or something, when we're just a skip and a jump next door. I'm sorry you couldn't get a real NYC experience, like Broadway and the Empire State Building like you'd wanted. But hey, getting drunk at your family's expense is good too!
one day, I'll do right by the Apple... one day
One little caveat about the Registry. You may end up going through all that trouble for nought. At my now Mother-in-Law's somewhat frantic urging we set up the Registry. We dashed about the store scanning items and what now. We were tired, overwhelmed with our long to-do list and and making decisions pretty much on the fly (oh, this bedding set looks good, ok, scan!). We didn't go to one of the stores we really wanted (like MEC, Pottery Barn or Williams and Sonoma) since guests needed/wanted to be able to see items and so on so we were stuck with Sears, Bay or Canadian Tire. We also were supposed to order a selection of smaller items and larger items. Guess what I don't need wine glasses or $20 tchotchkes?
In the end, the frantic morning spent putting together a Registry ended up with a total of 4 people buying from it. 4! This includes my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, my own mother and one uncle who actually purchased one thing from Registry and one thing not from the registry (I did not want the spice rack...
So in the end, you plan, pick and try to appease and then end up with a spice rack, multiple wine glasses, cheesy plates, etc... Some just refuse the cash thing. One option you have is regifting at least!
I don't get people who ignore the registry... don't like something on it? Gift Certificate! Because it is SUCH a waste of good money to be spent on simply regifting.
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