Dinner with my family at Fatty Weng's tonight and it's been a while since I did anything with my family, as my parents are acutely aware of. My dad said they brought us to such places (like Fatty Weng's) so we can pass them on to the next generation. My mom said that the last time they went to Fatty Weng's was before I was born. And what a long time ago that was! I said. Oh yes, said my brother.
So suddenly it's March and how has your year been? I should be doing all kinds of useful things and organising my time and finances, but what I am going to do is go curl up in bed with a book. At least, at least - I looked through my blog entries for March 03 and March 04, and at least they're not exactly the same. Do you remember Sumiko Tan's column last Sunday (I think it was last Sunday), when she said that if a woman isn't married by 35, she should give up? There was a bit when she said that it was probably time to stop being a girl and grow up (my words, not hers) once one was past one's early 30s - it was simply not becoming to go on flirting with the world and giggling after cute guys once one was in one's late 30s. A few days later Steve showed me an IHT article which said that Japanese women were dressing like girls - in frilly blouses and long shapeless skirts and little cotton socks. According to some Japanese fashion critic, this is the virginal look. The article had an interview with a woman in her early thirties, who said that she enjoyed such clothes as they were "cute and comfortable" and would feel like she had stopped being a girl once she stopped being able to fit into such clothes.
(You should read the IHT article just for its preposterousness. Some Japanese fashion critic describes the popularity of the virginal look thus: "The Tokyo virgin is well-read, knowledgeable and sophisticated. She chooses to insulate herself in her own spiritual world. Virginity for her is less an issue of sexuality than a state of mind, and she strives to remain unsullied and pure no matter what her sexual experiences may be." Doesn't that remind you of the re-virginity movement in the American South? It's enough to make one want to run out and buy a miniskirt, fishnets and 6-inch stiletto heels.)
At 30 I'll probably feel exactly like the guys from "Sideways" and think that my life has marked one long forgettable boredom, but for now - preserve me from a future of pickled girlhood. Steve pointed out that if one didn't get married and have children and one's days are likely to be much the same, through one's 20s, 30s, 40s...Isn't that depressing? The only more depressing thing is being exactly the same person through one's 20s, 30s, 40s...if nothing else, at least let this year be different.