the boyfriend question

You know you get this. You get this from family, family friends, anyone who hasn't seen you in a long time. If you're a guy, then you get the girlfriend question. Nine out of the ten people I've seen these past weeks home have asked me this burning question: Do you have a boyfriend?

No, I don't. And after that question comes a string of questions that must be answered if the answer is no:
1. Why not?
2. Haven't you met anybody yet?
3. What do you do on the weekends?

And so on, and so forth. It's only a stupid little question, yet everything behind it seems to bug me. It makes me feel as if I'm not interesting enough if I don't have a boyfriend. Because when you do have one, then you get to talk about where you met, what he's like, what he's studying, and blah, blah, blah. I say I don't, then it's like, "Well, why haven't you found someone, Elaine? How come you don't want a boyfriend, Elaine?"

And then, they turn to my Mom, and say to her, as if I wasn't there, "She's so pretty now!" I'm standing right here! And what does "pretty" have to do with it? And I don't like that "now" there in that sentence. If I had a boyfriend, I hope to God that none of his main reasons for being with me was because I was "pretty". Must "pretty" be a main facet to have in order to acquire a boyfriend? It seems like it, in this day and age. That or a girl must be "hot". These are sad times...

Moving on...Oh, dear God, I have been missing out. I watched "Kung Fu Hustle" and "Shaolin Soccer" this past week, and Stephen Chow is so amazing!! I love his combination of action, comedy, and a little romance. Where have you been all my life, Stephen Chow? He's so hilarious too.

Happy New Year, by the way. I hope yours got off to a good start. We can all start new.