Saturday, November 28, 2009

The shower heat lamp

One difference between me and my wife is how we feel the cold.

She showers in luke warm water, leaves all windows open at all times and often sleeps with no blanket.

I am the exact opposite, so much so that when I shower the water is very hot and when I leave the shower I typically have the heat lamp on.

Well this heat lamp has caused a lot of ruckus in the house because it apparently wastes too much electricity, according to my mother-in-law.

My wife and her mother believe that such a device is an undulgence that no normal human should use, and just installing it was a household battle.

So anyway, last night I am in the shower and as I get out to dry myself I turn on the heat lamp. Immediately I hear a nagging voice outside the shower, complaining in Chinese. It was my motherin-law not happy that I turned on the heat lamp.

So what does she do?

She opens the shower door, slips her hand in and switches off the heat lamp. Yes its true, she did this!

Now this is my home, and I am happy for NaiNai to live with us as long as she wants, but it is MY home.

I paid for it and I am the major breadwinner, so one would expect that if I needed an indulgence like this, then it was my right, right?

Well, in practice this doesn't seem to be the case. Ms B and her mother have a different view and it seems that their view is that they call all the shots at home, whether I like it or not.

Sometimes I wonder who the real husband is in this relationship, me or my mother-in-law.

What do you like/dislike most about Chinese women?