How things have changed

I wonder how often people have started a paragraph by saying "How things have changed". Well, here's to the twenty trillionth time, I suppose.

In a space of 3 months, which used to be measured as 1 quarterly reporting season, 12 company results notes in Sushi Bank, probably 3 working trips, 20 client meetings, 2 credit papers and 5 pitches here in old department of current bank, or probably 1 holiday, 3 special dinner outings,  but for the purposes of Feb - May 15, is now, for all intents and purposes - immeasurable.

Nobody likes to listen to gory details and besides, I've found humor to be as good a defense mechanism as any in times of pitch dark confusion and loss, so here goes the anecdotes of the past period.

Superhero - "No, I am not comforting you because I care about you. I only care about stopping you from stepping out the window and toppling down through the roof of [name of next door mamak stall], because my life depends on roti canai at 6pm."
Sidekick - *glare*

Sidekick - "I need to get my mojo back."
Superhero - *silence*
Sidekick - "Anyway, is mojo an acronym?"
Superhero - *silence*
Sidekick - "But seriously, what does it stand for?"
Superhero - "If you're asking and talking so much about it, I think its likely you won't be getting it back for awhile."
*while walking into nearby hip and popular coffee joint*
Sidekick - "I bet I still have enough mojo to ask the shop to let me borrow and bring this book home" *waves thick story book displayed for patrons' enjoyment*
*flags down a staff member*
*produces best smile in weeks*
Sidekick - "May I please borrow this book, I promise I'll bring it back tomorrow, or someday..."
Staff member - "Sure sure, no problem no problem"
*Sidekick prances out of the shop behind Superhero who is stalking away*
Sidekick - "At least I got the book, so minimally, I still got it.."
Superhero - "The staff looked like he just got off a boat from Bangla/Pakistan, and you're the fairest thing he's seen. Standards, yeah."

[no racial slur intended whatsoever]
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Finally, I think, someone who gets me. Life has been pretty much upside down since last year and god knows it's only gotten much more complicated and painful but finally, at least one good thing comes out of it.

Mom - "You know, after talking to you, like really talking to you, I realize you're actually quite a simple person."
Me - "Hallelujah. Nobody, nobody believed me when I said it!"
Mom - "Because you cover yourself up with so many layers of verbose descriptions, glitzy trips, so many handbags, you spend so much on our dinners and outings!"
Me - "Yeah, anyway, I should count my blessings that at least YOU know that what I cared about in my 20s, I don't care about it anymore. Nobody seems to believe in change around here...."

I may need to re-think the ways I have been presenting myself to the outside world. Perhaps that's attracting the wrong kind of karma. I don't know. Even the supposedly closest person to me in this world recently looked at me in disbelief when I told him tiredly, "Seriously, I don't care where we eat. I already told you since last year, I.don't.care.about.much.anymore.Why.don't.you.believe.me.at.all"

Among the lessons learnt are:-
1) I am more willing to spend on loved ones than myself
2) You can run away physically, but no matter where you go, you cannot run from your problems. So no point spending so much money. Yup, 2 Japan trips, 1 USA trip, 1 Europe trip later. Gee thanks.
3) I am slowly rebalancing my life from work - to focus inwards and on my personal life but the latter's pretty ironic considering I am currently fumbling around in it like a blind man in a sandstorm with nothing but a crazy parrot for company. (more about the said crazy parrot if I feel like it later)

I don't know much more about what will happen but all I know is I dearly need a good book - maybe the one I filched from the aforementioned coffee place. Which I may or may not bring back.

Just kidding. I will bring it back.

Maybe next year.