Wednesday, January 19, 2011

再见了香港


I'm not sure if bringing a suitcase full of bears and cows for a short trip counts as psychotic. But I know not many grown women do that. The housekeeper/s sure had some fun arranging the soft toys on the bed! So I don't think I irritated them too much.

In the mornings, I plucked soft toys off the bed and plonked them onto the chairs to allow space and minimize trouble to the housekeeper making the bed. When we came back in the late afternoons, I found the cuddlies quietly sitting on the bed. The housekeeper had taken the trouble to line them up. In the nights, probably during the turn-down service, we would spy the bears neatly tucked under the covers, holding on to tiny boxes of chocolates or mints. How very nice.

The long weekend flew by, and all too soon, it was time to go home. It's always the same in any country, on any work trip or vacation- there's a tinge of wistfulness towards the end of my time there. This was a totally random trip decided at the last minute. Okay, the dates weren't completely random. Sure, it coincided with some interesting events, so all the better.

En route to the airport, the man buried his nose in a magazine and read all the way. Lucky him. I get nausea when I do any sort of reading, including messages on the phone. I stared out of the window and soaked in the familiar sights that lined the road. Don't know when I'll be back again. But at least it's nearby and not to difficult to swing another long weekend in the city.

It's nice spending time with the man. I'm not given to calling him 'my husband'. It gives me the goosebumps. When other people say 'your husband', I generally ignore it and don't repeat after them. The term 'partner' slips out easier. Or simply his name. He has a name and an identity. He doesn't belong to me. I'm reminded that he is my friend first and foremost. He isn't my best friend. I already have a best friend. And two and three at that. He isn't my soulmate. I don't believe in the idea of soulmates. To me, that's a load of bullshit. But he is a trusted friend, an intimate, like those I hold nearest and dearest.

8 comments:

tuti said...

i like how comfortable you are with yourself. and i love that pic of your hands and his. very meaningful and sweet.

sinlady said...

1. i love that kind of housekeepers.
2. i like the last para :)
p.s. the labels "husband" and "wife" give me the heevy jeevies.

bookjunkie said...

I love that book your bear is reading :)

celcilia_tjioe said...

how sweet!

Jo said...

that's really sweet..

I like calling the husband the husband. It's like he's the one. like how you call yours the man. Nice what! Don't mind me, I'm just crapping. :D

I too get motion sickness easily, even when reading and replying to smses. The last time we were in HK, I got car-sick (in cabs) Twice! :P

imp said...

tuti: :) something my fierce asian Tiger mother drilled into me as a kid.

sinlady: hehehhe.

bookjunkie: HELLO! The bear has some specific taste in books indeed!

celcilia: sometimes!

jomel: we all have our own preferences! whichever works well for you. did you get carsick the last round?? not at the Peak right?

Jo said...

coming down from Peak, then another time, on the way to Stanley market. I'm just hopeless on the road! :)

imp said...

jomel: oh dear. easier to be in the driver's seat, then no nausea.