Among many2 parents i know and befriended, nobody is quite like papa. He's hilarious, sporting like hell, unbelievably irritating and posses all sorts of quality magazines tend to describe a man, boy, father and son. Seriously, he's such a wholesome guy. And worse case is, he's a typical Kelantanese too.
You know how conversation tends to lead from one thing to another. Papa being him loves to do this. He likes to think of one issue then relate it to others and then starts thinking abt it all at once. So, occasionally, out of nowhere we get this snowball. They are seriously right when they say guys cannot multitask but papa, he has another major issue, he doesnt know how to compartmentalise too.
And this is how the most recent snowball happens
Papa : U know there's new township coming up near our new hse?
Mama : Really? Hah, okla like that Noreen. How much?
Ying : Yeah, how much?
Papa : You want to buy a house? How are u going to afford it???
Ying : Not nowla. Later of course can afford. Get married ke..
Mama : Yeah, kawin dulu
Papa : Mung nok kawin ni, boyfren mung dah cukup duit ko dok?
Ying : La, we've discussed about this right? We're working things outla
Papa : Dont think of things so lightly Noreen. Study tak habis lagi. Duit lagi..
Ying : But pa, if u want me to wait for him to finish study and all, 3-4 tahun lagila.. paling cepat. You want me to get married at that age ke? Kan we've agreed on this. study is study, kawin is kawin.
Mama : Tulah
Papa : Berapa tahun lagi?? Ish.. why so long? Pastu mung nok ur husband ada diploma je. U're a degree holder.
Ying : Takpelah, he's working it out kan. The other day we agreed already wat..(Shot a look at mama) Mestila lama, part time..blablabla
Mama : (Buat dek)
Papa : Nok senang, u support his study la. Buat full time cepat sikit habiskan. 2 yrs?
Mama : Ish pa, org tak cakap mcm tu. Jodoh ni kita takleh kata
Papa : No, kawinla dulu. Dah selamat kawin then u support his study la. How much is it going to cost u anyway?
Ying : $1000 kot per semester. Dunno. No pa, the cost is not much of a problem now. But isnt this unpractical?
Papa : Apa susah. Mung duduk dgn aku lah. Haaa...nak murah lagi gi study kat Bandung. You said everything there is murah. Institut Teknologi Bandung, very recognise u know. probably cheaper.
Ying : Haaa.. so u're allowing me to stay abroad la.. Sano sejuk jugak, adela rasa mcm migrate aussie jugak kan.. and the currency, sure jadi org kaya kat sana kan..
Mama : Yes, u start a business, jadi agent kain for mama here..
Papa : Hish, mung duduk sini dgn akula! Husband mung tu dok sano, study..
Ying : Nooooo way. You havent seen the girls there. Mama almost brought back one for Abe
Papa : Dont worry, your boyfren is not that good looking afterall
Mama : If that's the case i dunnola. As long as Malaysian, good looking or not is secondary.
Papa : Then u find another
Ying : Noo way!
Papa : Heyla Noreen.. i dunnola.. all i want is the best for everyone.. Dgn Cho SPM lagi, your CIMA how? Farez tu nasib baik dah balik study sini.. Aku ni tua doh.. You're the eldest.. Zetty tu.. kena harapkan adik beradik dah tu support.. blablablabla
And that's my father. Mind u, this type of conversation, especially the closure is veryvery common in our home. Though wat he said could be funny and insane to me, it also means that he's willing to allow unorthodox things happen to his family. Which is wat confuses me now, me getting married to a guy of unequivalent academic qualification (though working towards it..give another3-4 yrs) is worse than me being the sole-bread winner, supporting my husband study far away from sight? Twisted la papa ni.
While i truly appreciate his concern over this matter, i found it hard to understand the logic behind his suggestion. It's not like dearest is not pursuing his degree now. If that's the case, lain ceritala. Afterall, him working+part time study=3,4 yrs towards degree while full time study+not working = 2,3 yrs for degree.. beza sikit sgt to justify such a weird arrangement.
I've spoken to dearest about this. He understands papa's concern, but yeah, u guess right. I think it'll take one in a million to agree to this arrangement. And i'm glad, sbb if he agrees.. it'll be weird for me to tell i'm not willing to go with that huge sacrifice.. hehe.. me, practical.
For me, i'm bless to have parents as reasonable as them. Understanding and allowing our own choices though there are instances when it's tempting to intervene (be it a sound suggestion or not!). Papa likes dearest, i can tell. It's just the security he's lacking. Maybe he's not rich and deosnt come ready with all sorts of certs. But i'm sure with their blessing, and jodoh, of course, things will turn out ok. As mama always say to assure papa, "It's in her blood pa, we started off like that jugak dulu"