Not In Public Please

Over the last week or so I've encountered four separate incidents about how people act that is just embarrassing. And yes for the record, all these incidents involved Asian people. There are very simple, common sense things you can do in your house but when you're in public around people, try to be more discreet please!

Incident 1: My parents and I were invited to a Lunar New Year dinner in Chinatown a week ago. My aunt and uncle were there also. Now I know my aunt eats alot but I would expect that in public she would tone down. Nope! We had one of those 10 course meals where the dish is set in the middle and everyone takes a bit. She was always the first one to grab and then her husband (my uncle) would eat very little and slide some food over to her and then make excuses that he was hungry or his tooth was hurting. So embarrassing. My mom called him (her little brother) the next day and gave him a good scolding.

Incident 2: My friend is an interior designer and he just finished decorating a new Vietnamese restaurant in town. So I got invited to lunch to celebrate him completing this contract. Now whenever someone is treating you for lunch, you order normally or maybe even a little bit less than usual. Unless of course it's a bet then you order as much as possible to rub it in. :) There was this couple with two small kids. The mom would tell her kids "oooooh, order this... the shrimp looks great, the lobster looks ever better, order this, order that. Now kids aren't going to eat alot. She was just using her kids to order more for her! As if nobody saw. My friend was clearly pissed off but what can he do? It's his mistake for inviting them. So that's a lesson for him. But that's just plain embarrassing.

My advice to you, eat a bit at home before you go. If you like to eat something, go buy it on your own and pig out! Not in public please!

Incident 3: I went to gym on Sunday with a bunch of people to play badminton and run on the indoor track. Among these people, there was an older lady, her son and a grandson. They were giving me a ride home and the lady wanted to pick up something specific from the bakery. I was tired and sort of nodding off in the back seat so I didn't care. We stop at the first bakery. "Mom, give me $20 so I can buy the cookies, I'll pay you back the change." That woke me up. Why so formal? It's mother and son. Just pay yourself. And if you don't have the money the phrase it differently. For example, 'Mom, I left my money and don't have enough, can you lend me some?". All the details about change and who owes who what can be talked about AT HOME.

Then it got weirder. The store didn't have the cookies they wanted so he came back to the car and returned the $20 to her. Then they went to the next store and he asked to borrow the $20 again... no cookies, so he returned the $20. This happened four times! For fucks sakes, you're an adult, hold onto the $20 until you can buy it, return the money when you GET HOME. So embarrassing.

Incident 4: This one goes a bit further back. One of my friends was carpooling us (four girls) to a Christmas party. It was freezing cold, about -25C. I hopped into the car first and it was cold! He offered me a blanket but I refused. Once I got used to the car I would be ok. The next two girls do the same. The last girl immediately takes the blanket cause she was really cold (and under dressed). Taking the blanket isn't that big of a deal. But she whined and complained about being cold the entire way. Even bitching about why the car was so old and didn't have enough heat. The car had plenty of heat, he had been driving for over 30 minutes already. I was pretty warm in my thick winter jacket! This may not be a "common sense" story like the others, it's just a spoiled brat story I guess. We had to drive her home and hear her bitching too.

At least she didn't pig out at the Christmas dinner.

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EDIT: I got one more.

Don't invite people to a party you're invited to. I was at a housewarming party a couple of weeks ago and all of a sudden some strangers rolled in. The host didn't know who they were. One of the invitees took it upon herself to invite her own guest to this party. Don't do that! It's embarrassing. The host has to put in alot of work for the party from the food to the decorations and making the house look nice. When invited you a guest, don't invite other people! If you want to invite people, throw you own party and pay for everything!