Grown-up baby brother
My baby brother took me out for lunch on Sunday, to celebrate my birthday. Wonders will never cease! hehee
Well, OK, 21 can hardly be called a 'baby', but you get my drift :)
He asked me to choose the place. I chose Pizza Hut coz I knew he'd enjoy it. No point bringing him to a place with ambience - he's not that grown-up yet! Or at least, I don't think he is... tee hee hee. I'm probably under-estimating him *wicked grin*
However, this is the brother (well, I only have one) who would go to Youth Group meetings wearing those huge, misshapen cotton T-shirts with holes at the armpit, T-shirts that people normally only wear to sleep because they're considered Not Fit To Be Worn In Public. He, of course, not being "people" (read: not being normal, LOL) would wear them. And to Youth Group, no less.
Mom would beg him to change his shirt. He'd go, "Why should I? I'm perfectly decent! It covers me! People shouldn't judge me by what I wear!" and march straight off to church anyway.
A few months ago, Mom admitted that when he'd packed to go to university for the first time in April last year, she'd hid all his old T-shirts so he wouldn't bring them along with him. But, when he came back for his mid-semester break, he'd brought some of his collared T-shirts home to exchange them for round-necked T-shirts.
"I wasn't expecting him to exchange clothes, so I didn't hide his old T-shirts this time. I don't know which ones he brought back to uni, and I don't want to know!" she said, looking wild and distracted. Feeling most unsympathetic, I roared with laughter.
One of Blink's (as I call my bro) church members told me recently that Blink has been wearing the same T-shirt to church every week for the past two months. It's a bright yellow T-shirt, so it's hard to miss. I was like, "Yup, that sounds like my brother, all right!" LOL
(Bright sunny yellow, by the way, is Blink's favourite colour. He says it's "a happy colour".)
As we walked out of Pizza Hut on Sunday, Blink handed me the receipt. "Why are you giving me the receipt?" I asked, puzzled.
"Maybe you want to keep it as a memento? The first time your brother ever treated you!"
It IS something to remember - he's the most stingy person I know! When we were kids, he'd never bring any money with him when he went out. In contrast, I always did because it was just easier to buy stuff I wanted without having to ask Mom or Dad for cash. So every time we walked by an ice-cream stall, he'd beg me to buy an ice-cream for him. He knew I had money, and he'd very cleverly brought none! Humph!
He's so stingy, he won't even pay the barber $5*. He tried to cut his own hair and it came out crooked. Mom couldn't stand it - she grabbed him and made him sit down, and cut his hair herself! (She used to cut our hair when we were young, but I haven't let Mom touch my hair since I was 11!) Last year, he went to camp, and one of the girls there offered to cut his over-long hair for him. He nonchalantly allowed her to do so. That's my brother for you. Mom nearly fainted when he came back and told her!
Things haven't changed; on Saturday, we went to a bookshop after lunch. Three hours later, we came out - I with six books, he with one.
"I hope I won't regret buying this book," he fretted. (It had cost $20.) "I nearly told the cashier to stop when she was punching in the cash register. I don't like spending money. Buying you lunch is different - you're my sister, and it's a relationship. But this is only a book!"
So says the bookworm who reads everything he can get his hands on *rolls eyes*
UPDATE: I forgot to tell y'all, he also gave me a pretty handmade card (I wish I had a digital camera so I could post a pic!), and a picture of himself as a "present". Blink always makes me want to laugh!