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Friday Five 18-June-2021 #2
Sunday, 20 June 2021 00:19These are questions from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
thefridayfive
1. Are you better off financially than your parents were at your age?
This is a tough one. You really can't compare, can you? When my parents were my current age, they were married and had us kids already. But I suppose they had it good? Dad was working as an expat chef and so his salary must have been good. Mom was a civil servant, working as a school director. She got full-family paid holidays (flights and hotels and all that) every 3 years, 14-month salary and a guaranteed retirement. They also already had the apartment fully paid for. So I suppose they were better off financially than I was. However, I do not recall any of them having much hobbies outside of home things. Never heard of them going to the movies with friends, going out for drinks, go dancing or tennis/bowling/sport. I think I seem to have more spending money than they did, but that's also because I don't have my own kids and my own apartment/mortgage to worry about.
2. Do you feel you are happier than your parents were at your age or not?
Given what I just wrote above (them seemingly having no life), I suppose I am happier than they were? I have regular meetup with friends, I play weekly sport with them, movies every once in a while.
Granted, NOW I see my Dad going out for a beer or late-night dinner with his friends sometimes, and Mom has outings with her friends too, but these happenings are specifically recent only.
3. Do you suffer from mosquito bites or do they leave you alone?
Mosquitos do bite me but they do not hound me. And my mosquito bites don't usually itch or swell like some of my other friends. I guess I'm lucky? Not sure how scientific it is but I heard it's blood type Bs that attract mosquitos. I have a friend who's B and indeed she's always screaming about mosquitos and being bitten.
4. When you need advice, who do you go to for support?
I ask around. Usually friends rather than the parents though. I guess it really depends on what I need advice on. Nowadays, I ask people about how to operate certain Chinese platforms and so it's no use asking the parents. If I need advice on cooking and/or ingredients then of course I ask my Dad. I kind of avoid asking my Mom for advice, as she's the type to nag on and on if in the end I don't do as she says.
5. Have you found yourself becoming more like your parents as you age?
Absolutely. I'm starting to think like my Mom too, at least when she isn't being all modern Karen. Like, I get very particular about something, for the principle of it. Also, a general dislike of rowdy kids. Like when in a restaurant, and there are kids from other tables running around, I'm sure in the West people will say "let them run, they are kids," but hey, on the other hand, everyone in there are paying patrons and should not be disturbed by running kids that run and bang on strangers' chairs and all that. While we try to be polite and not complain, we really really dislike it. And just the other day Mom was complaining within our own table about kids running around and I voiced that I agree with her. Dad then says "you were a kid running around too" and both my Mom and I said "Absolutely not!" I'm infamously known to sit in my chair and fall asleep at the table as a kid, so much so I just plopped, fell forward and dunked my face into a plate of food, LOL. (side note: Dad doesn't know much about my time as a kid as he was working elsewhere in China.) So, if I were to scold those running kids, I could very well claim I never acted that way and that I have manners LOL. I've also taken up some of my Mom's quirks, though I can't think of a specific example to elaborate.
thefridayfive1. Are you better off financially than your parents were at your age?
This is a tough one. You really can't compare, can you? When my parents were my current age, they were married and had us kids already. But I suppose they had it good? Dad was working as an expat chef and so his salary must have been good. Mom was a civil servant, working as a school director. She got full-family paid holidays (flights and hotels and all that) every 3 years, 14-month salary and a guaranteed retirement. They also already had the apartment fully paid for. So I suppose they were better off financially than I was. However, I do not recall any of them having much hobbies outside of home things. Never heard of them going to the movies with friends, going out for drinks, go dancing or tennis/bowling/sport. I think I seem to have more spending money than they did, but that's also because I don't have my own kids and my own apartment/mortgage to worry about.
2. Do you feel you are happier than your parents were at your age or not?
Given what I just wrote above (them seemingly having no life), I suppose I am happier than they were? I have regular meetup with friends, I play weekly sport with them, movies every once in a while.
Granted, NOW I see my Dad going out for a beer or late-night dinner with his friends sometimes, and Mom has outings with her friends too, but these happenings are specifically recent only.
3. Do you suffer from mosquito bites or do they leave you alone?
Mosquitos do bite me but they do not hound me. And my mosquito bites don't usually itch or swell like some of my other friends. I guess I'm lucky? Not sure how scientific it is but I heard it's blood type Bs that attract mosquitos. I have a friend who's B and indeed she's always screaming about mosquitos and being bitten.
4. When you need advice, who do you go to for support?
I ask around. Usually friends rather than the parents though. I guess it really depends on what I need advice on. Nowadays, I ask people about how to operate certain Chinese platforms and so it's no use asking the parents. If I need advice on cooking and/or ingredients then of course I ask my Dad. I kind of avoid asking my Mom for advice, as she's the type to nag on and on if in the end I don't do as she says.
5. Have you found yourself becoming more like your parents as you age?
Absolutely. I'm starting to think like my Mom too, at least when she isn't being all modern Karen. Like, I get very particular about something, for the principle of it. Also, a general dislike of rowdy kids. Like when in a restaurant, and there are kids from other tables running around, I'm sure in the West people will say "let them run, they are kids," but hey, on the other hand, everyone in there are paying patrons and should not be disturbed by running kids that run and bang on strangers' chairs and all that. While we try to be polite and not complain, we really really dislike it. And just the other day Mom was complaining within our own table about kids running around and I voiced that I agree with her. Dad then says "you were a kid running around too" and both my Mom and I said "Absolutely not!" I'm infamously known to sit in my chair and fall asleep at the table as a kid, so much so I just plopped, fell forward and dunked my face into a plate of food, LOL. (side note: Dad doesn't know much about my time as a kid as he was working elsewhere in China.) So, if I were to scold those running kids, I could very well claim I never acted that way and that I have manners LOL. I've also taken up some of my Mom's quirks, though I can't think of a specific example to elaborate.
