would you like to stay forever?

Movie of the day: Mulan.

One of my favorite Disney movies (though that's not saying much because I generally love all things Disney). But this and Aladdin vie for the top of my list because they have the best one-liners. [If you haven't seen Mulan, or can't predict the predictable ending...stop reading here].

So after all is said and done, Mulan saves China, kills the evil Hun dude, overcomes the sexism of society...only to come back to her house and try to figure out how to approach her father about having run away from home to join the army (to save his life, no less!) I must say I resonated with the themes of woman with the Asian glass ceiling (hence, why I would never consider being an engineer in a Korean company).

"Father...I brought you the sword of Shan-Yu [evil Hun dude] and the crest of the emperor - gifts to honor the Fa family"

And somewhere in the background, her grandmother says "Great. She brings home a sword. If you ask me, she should've brought home a man. "

Haha, that movie depicts exactly what it's like every time I come home. It's inevitable. I could have saved the world from destruction, won a million titles, accomplished just about anything...and somebody will overlook all of that and fixate on whether I'm still single or not. Middle-aged Koreans have such a one-track mind.

My mom has this facial lady that she goes to, and every time I come home for vacation, she sends me there. Apparently this ahjumma has known me since I was little, she's an old family friend - so she thinks she knows me soooo well. Who knows, perhaps she does. Every year while she's putting gook (slimey lotion stuff, not soup) on my face and doing whatever else she does, she eventually gets around to:

"So did you bring home a boyfriend?"

And every year I tell her no. And she kind of harumphs to herself, talks about other stuff, and at the end when I leave she always says "next year, bring back some good news!"

This year was no different.

"So did you bring home a boyfriend this year?"

"Um...no"

"Oh, OK...well congratulations on the apt and winning Nationals"

"Um, thanks"

"Next year, bring back some good news!"

Silly ahjumma...haha. At least she acknowledged that the other things going on in my life weren't completely meaningless due to the absence of a man...though she probably thinks my priorities are all out of whack. Perhaps they are. I think they should all stop asking me and just pray harder...haha and it's not like my parents wouldn't spread the news far and wide should Mr. Right come along...I swear they just ask me to fill in conversation and think they're telling me something new.

Not particularly looking forward to the repeat of this scene at Christmas Eve service at church, but hey, that's all a part of being home. One more tick mark of why it's beneficial to stay on the East Coast. Haha I fear the day that I actually DO bring someone home...because it might just end up like the movie:

Shang: "Um, you forgot your helmet."

Mulan: "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

grandmother: "Would you like to stay forever?"

Gotta love that grandmother...haha. That's one part of that movie where they got the Asian stereotypes right.