Tue 23 Jan 2007
My mom’s on a wacky roll today. This morning, an email string was going back and forth between my mom, Mr. W and me regarding an upcoming vacation he and I are planning. We’re going on an organized China tour in the near future and my mom’s got travel agent connections. Plus, she’s gone on 2 organized China tours herself so she has opinions on what places are worth visiting. The gist of the trip is that for about $1500, you get round-trip airfare, all transportation within China, all admissions into special parks or places on the program that require admission fees, all meals, all hotel accomodations (4-star hotels and higher), and tours for an 11-day trip. So my mom’s answering questions, giving us her feedback, telling us what her travel agent was quoting on tour packages and prices. And then all of a sudden out of nowhere, this paragraph from her:
11 days trip include Suzhou, wuzhen and Hangzhou, only 9 days trip exclude those places! I’d go for 11 days trip, only $60.00 more and you got 2 more days trip, meal and hotel! Any question, you can email her or call her tel# xxx-xxx-xxxx. She is very nice and she also can arrange Honeymoon trip!
Ehh??? That’s not subtle at all! And she doesn’t even know about a whole bunch of my friends who suddenly got engaged in the past few months. Mr. W thought it was so amusing he read the paragraph aloud to his coworkers.
And then later, my mom emailed me that my grandma’s birthday is this Friday, and that we should go out to dinner to celebrate. So this exchange followed:
Me: okay, we can both make it on Friday night. I suppose I should get Grandma something…what do you suppose she wants for her bday?
Mom: Money?
Me: really? that seems so impersonal.
Mom: Sign your name on it!
What the –? When did my mom get all wacky and smart-ass?
You’re Mom is cute! My Mom (and sisters) are asking for kids from me and I am not even married! Thank goodness that I do not get that from Chance’s side.
Chance’s side is rather unconventional, so they’re probably just happy if something works for you, whatever that thing might be.
honeymoon trip!!!! sign your name on the money!! I KNOW she wants another daughter… I’m probably related somehow… down the line..
That works for me, Jordan. “Mom, you have a long-lost daughter that I’ve found in Florida. She’s a nurse. Oh, and you have a 4 grandkids. No no, don’t thank me, it’s my pleasure.” Now I’m off the hook for grandbabies AND she has a medical professional in the family. She’d be elated.
and I want a mommy…. there ya go… everyone’s problems are solved.
Okay, so your mommy’s mommy’s bday is this Friday. Come home for a family dinner.
Awwwwww Grammy’s bday?? I so don’t want to miss that! Can you call come here for my bday? haha
Sure, we can go out to see you next month. But when you come down for Grammy, remember, bring lots of money. She likes money (according to Mom). It’s funny, this still fits under the “wacky matrons” heading cuz you’re another one.
Jordan your b-day is in Feb? We must celebrate!
When I told mom I was getting a Sky Redline she said in a year or so I’d be trading it in for a mini-van. WTF? SUBTLE? Don’t think so.
I feel you Cindy.
Happy B-day to money-loving grammy!
Yes it’s in Feb.. but let’s celebrate a few months after that mmkay? cuz.. you know… stuff… wink
Oh, we so should celebrate!
I think our parents are just used to one progression of life: school –> boyfriend –> married with rugrats
well this is like a BIG bday… but I don’t want to celebrate it now because it wouldn’t mean anything (given my situation), so I want to wait
Lol, well I guess we know where you get it from now ‘eh Cindy? 🙂
Oooh we get to Celebrate Jordan’s Bday!? Yay!
Jordan should come down for her big bday hoopla. A “different” sort of bday, away from random people’s accessibility to her. (how do you spell that word?)
James – I always thought I got it from my dad, tho. Or maybe my dad’s finally rubbing off on my mom.
Yea Jordan you should come down! 🙂 And Happy Early B-DAY!
thank you thank you :)…. I am so going to plan a CA vacation.. but not now (good reasons)… but sometime before we are all too old to enjoy some fun
the good thing about those trips is that everything is taken care of; the bad part is that they keep stopping all sorts of lame places to get you to buy stuff. so after a while you feel like that’s why you are there, and not visiting the great wall. so i would never do that again.
but it’s generally a much better deal, and you do stay at nice places. but you never actually get to stay at the nice places in the really popular areas in the big cities. but rather, you are off to a more remote area (neighbor is probably ok), but just far from the things you would want to see at night.
A new coworker who’d gone on a long China tour with her husband told me the same thing — to watch out for the deliberate planting of tourists in sponsored shopping places. Kind of like how they did it when we were going to Chichen Itza. I was pretty irrated then…
I just had a thought with the money gift. Why not fold them into origami figures? You know Sea World has some on their website.