be merry

Superstar fixed my coat.
I don't know how people learn this kind of things. Time is the factor. Where do they get all the time for making a meal, sewing up a button, planning a surprise party, or shopping during this crazy shopping season? Is it true that I have 24 hours a day but others have 36? So not fair.

Let's talk about them one by one. First, make a meal.
One night, Superstar decided to cook. If you ever came to my place, you would imagine how clean my refrigerator was. It preserves air, basically, in case I need fresh air for abrupt panic attacks. You know, I like to be prepared for my health condition.
Therefore, in order to cook, ingredients were needed. I was like... oh no.... that would take a long time to get everything. So how about pasta? Get noodles and a jar of sauce?
Superstar: sauce? I never bought prepared sauce.
I was literally in shock and thought I met another Italian. Immediately I had a deja vu of the 30-min public scolding, led by the second-generation Italian research center director, on how unbelievable it is that I do not cook. The director even made noodles in his house.
Pei: how did you make pasta?
Superstar: flour and milk. um... do you have flour?
Pei: Do I? Can we just get a jar of white sauce? It's much easier.
Superstar: alright, I'll trust it this time. White sauce means seafood. Let's get fish. Which fish do you think better in pasta?
Pei: No idea.
He picked the fish and said that cooking should never go easy and got some fresh squids and scallops. He walked around, sniffing herbs, touching vegetables, wrapping spices. I followed.
Grocery shopping took an hour. Cooking another hour. We finished dinner within an episode of Sex and the City.

Second, sew a button.
I did take the class, in both junior high and high schools. Mama helped a lot in this domain, however. She sewed a stuffed animal and knitted a scarf for me to submit them for my grades.
You cannot blame me on my impotent skills. I don't have 30 minutes for fixing a hole on my shirt. I don't have 20 minutes for ironing a skirt. I don't have 10 minutes even for thinking about repairing clothes.
Alex, Zabeth, and Mama all fixed my clothes for showing how much they loved me or showing how much they could not stand watching me doing anything. I prefer to believe the former.
Superstar took my coat and asked why I was frowning. I said I might need to carry this long coat back to Taipei for Mama to show her love.
I can do it in 5 minutes. He said. That was one of the most romantic things to say. My body was dancing. I was free from worrying time that might be wasted. Super.

Third, plan a surprise party.
On Monday the 12th, Dr. Anna called me in the morning and asked me to be in the lab asap. What did I do wrong? Why was I thinking that I might do something wrong? Did I do something wrong? I hurried to the lab. What greeted me was an incoherent shout of "happy birthday!"
I was truly surprised.
This officially was my first ever surprise party. I had had no clue that she would plan a party for me, two weeks ahead of my birthday. Wow, it was awesome. They sang the birthday song. Paola showed up late, and I easily forced her to sing the song in Italian. I was flattered, totally.
When did they find the time for planning such a party?
Well... I myself have throwing parties for friends, and most of them were openly known what was celebrated. It was an effort for making people merrily surprised.

Fourth, shop in December.
Since the black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), every store has been on sale. I had been good and not joined the madness. Macy's was one mad place to visit now. I could not find my breath in Macy's on the 34th street in NYC. People were everywhere. Lines of lines. Waiting for waiting.
Thus, I went to Macy's on the JFK express way in NJ. It was better but still took me 4 hours to get things matching my expectation. My expectation was not easy to match. I may have tried on 10 and not taken any. I may have liked one thing, but that thing was out of my size. I may have wanted a specific item and never seen the item in the specific texture that I wanted.
I was so tired after 4 hours battling with clothing and cashers. I didn't even walk around to see other things in other stores in the mall. My left arm was paralyzed from carrying kilograms of the to-be-tried-on.
I wish the trade-off of time and money was pure pleasure.

If I had 36, instead of 24 hours, a day, I would not spend more time on any of the four things mentioned above. I might be less cynical. I may read more books. I will watch more movies. I am going to hang out with witty friends more..... so that they will take their time doing the four things mentioned above for me :)

Oh, be merry!