How Many Bottles Of Cologne Has It Been
June 18th, 2007
he’s a fretter. always fretting. ‘go back into your room and change your top!’ he would growl while flailing his arms about; as if by concealing my cleavage from his sight, it would somehow go away. i always respond with a distracted ‘aiyahhhh’ before i grab my keys and am out the door into the car of the next boy waiting. one time i looked up and saw him watching me from the balcony with a cigarette in his hand. the balcony - that’s where he goes when he wants to smoke and i’m in the room. i notice these things but i’m just too proud to acknowledge it. i once said thank you; it was barely heard over the voice of the CNN newscaster, and i said it as if i wasn’t impressed, merely aloof, but i know he heard and i know he knew i was impressed. ‘you’re welcome,’ he said. and after his smoke he came back to the couch and we continued watching TV, tsking and shaking our heads together at all the misfortune and bad news the world seems to go round on.
i dont quite know why, but he has this thing against wet hair. whenever he sees me with my hair still wet from the shower, he always tells me to go dry my hair, lest i get a headache. like i said, fretter. ‘yes lah yes lah,’ i will mutter but i wont do anything about it because everyone knows air-drying your hair is better than blow-drying it, plus i’m lazy. a grown man pulling a hairdryer by its extension cord and then blow-drying his daughter’s hair in the middle of the night as she plays The Sims 2 is a funny sight.
when i was little, i used to draw stick figure pictures of me and my dad, where we both had heads too big for our stick bodies and bright orange skin. i would write corny things like My Father My Hero across the top, but once i put the finishing touches on my 7-year-old objet d’art, i always forgot about it, like children are prone to do when other things catch their fancy. but many years later when i was rummaging through my parents’ wardrobe, i found a whole stack of aforementioned corny stick figure pictures in my dad’s underwear drawer, folded neatly and tied up with a rubber band.
it’s the little things about him that i love - the piles of books he buys but never reads, how he has absolutely no fashion sense, how he orders cappuccinos without foam, the way he pronounces Skype, his dentures hahahaha, his passport picture, how he never knows what to order at McDonalds, how he hates all my boyfriends, how he always says sorry very nicely when he makes me cry.
happy father’s day, pa. dont eat so many cholesterol thingies! and dont always make me cry. i love you.
(i forgot to mention this, but my love for my father has multiplied tenfold because he is the only person on this planet who will take me to watch Michael Learns To Rock when they’re here next month, and not make fun of me for liking them. sniff. *grateful)
(part of the Rice Bowl Journals collaboration for June 07)
Entry Filed under: General
44 Comments Add your own
1. ria | June 18th, 2007 at 9:07 am
i like this post, just the right dose of sweetness. :) makes me think about the things i love about my own father.
2. ionStorm | June 18th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Hehe…your father’s character is quite cute…and he’s not the only person on the planet who would take you to that concert lah… ;)
3. Confused Neanderthal Male | June 18th, 2007 at 9:47 am
i luv mah farsha too …
Its all the little things he did that matters most to me. Things weren’t going so nicely about 10 years back when he was still in the workforce. He was almost draconian back then. Like some kids, I hated my dad because sometimes he comes home screaming. I couldn’t understand it was stress then.
When he retired he began to ‘tame’. As he grow older (and wiser I’m sure) he began to mellow. He’d do and say things he wouldn’t possibly had back in the past. Maybe it’s because of circumstances, or maybe it’s because I’ve matured, but whatever it is, my appreciation and love for him grows each day. I believe he love me just as much too.
4. pearly | June 18th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Aha, your dad has problem pronouncing Skype too? Does he go like Sky-Peeeee? Cause my dad prounounces it that way and it never fails to make my sister and I laugh (:
5. alvin | June 18th, 2007 at 10:56 am
this is my most favorite father’s day post ever.
6. ronin | June 18th, 2007 at 11:36 am
You should really appreciate your father. I’m sure it is not easy for him to see his daughter traversing to Mount Kinabalu, flying abroad to meet an alien, writing a blog openly, etc. He must be worried sick, yet he allows you to live your life as you see fit. Who can ask for more ….
7. Farah | June 18th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
The question is, what were you doing rummaging through their wardrobe?! ;p
8. Michael | June 18th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
daughter loves daddy, boy loves mom…actually i dun quite like my dad…maybe cos he never did anything similar in ur entry to me….But i still love my parents always…
9. Nicole | June 18th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
O god~ Father’s day I made my dad move house with me…
10. entwined | June 18th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
best father’s day dedication evar! :)
i used to like MLTR too! :P
11. k0k | June 18th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
I like MLTR too (after my Dad put me through a year-long regiment of The Actor playing constantly from the car radio, the home theatre system and his lousy, semi-tuneless whistling).
He pronounced it as Sky-Pee? That’d ought to explain why you don’t like the phrase Sky-Juice so much.
I love my Dad. He’s the guy that told me when I was fourteen; “You haven’t started watching porn yet? You don’t know what you’re missing, man”. He also told me it’s okay to drink (I still don’t drink… much) but warned me that if I ever get any part of my body pierced, he’ll personally skin me.
Happy Daddys’ Day to all!
12. hw | June 18th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I love MLTR. The Actor, 25 minutes, Paint My Love, That’s Why You Go Away, all the oldies. Reminds me of my primary school / early high school years hanging out with my then best-friend.
I wanted to go to the MLTR concert as well, but alas none of my friends I know like MLTR enough to want to go to the concert.
13. bs | June 18th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
MLTR rawksss!!! woohoo!
14. Steve | June 18th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Our dad seemed almost alike, except that I have no cleavage and is seeing the opposite sex. But then again, all dads seemed the same to me, always fretting about something, always pronouncing something in the wrong way, and always have a thing for Discovery Channel.
Cherish your papas, guys. Never too late to say, I love you Dad…
15. penguin | June 18th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
this post almost made me cry coz i will never have a dad like yours.
16. scott | June 18th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Yay!
Oh, and he’s right about your boyfriends.
17. steph | June 18th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
loved the post!
havent spoken to my dad in ages and the father’s day text i sent has not been replied to.
hope your dad appreciates you the way you do him.
18. Lalita | June 18th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Reading this post and the ensuing comments just reinforced how blessed are we who have great dads and then there are those who don’t have dads quite like that. Aiyah, all this Father’s Day posts are making me cry lah!
And yes, the question is, why were you going through your parents wardrobe lah? Your dad sounds a bit like mine was - always asking me to change and “wear a shorter skirt”, hated all guys who were associated with me and always loved me no matter what, always buying me things I liked to make me happy. My dad rocked! Yours sounds really cool too!
19. Lalita | June 18th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
PS - I also totally identify with the bit where your dad kept all your “stick people” drawings. Bet he keeps all your cards from Father’s Day and Birthdays too. My dad kept my silly letters to him when I was little plus everything else I sent him - silly and sentimental.
GREAT FATHERS ROCK THE WORLD!!!
And Su Ann, thank you for reminding me about MLTR!! I so-ooooo have forgotten them over the years. Do they have them on I-Tunes?
20. Michelle | June 18th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
My dad is relatively bad at picking places to eat out. Even on Father’s day which is his day… he couldn’t even pick a place to dine in.. He says he doesn’t know how to order food.
I wanna laugh when I hear that from my dad.
And oh, I also told my dad about the cholesterol thingy and he complains about how I turn into his father!
The post of yours makes me wanna cry and laugh at the same time. Gosh, bipolar disorder.
21. Jay | June 18th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I will tell you one thing, if I have a daughter, I will forever ever and ever hate every single boyfriend she introduces me to, even if the guy is like prince charming. Hell, I hate every single boyfriend my younger cousin introduces me to! (We’re act more likely siblings than cousin, including fights.) Haha…sigh…I’m too young to think all this!
22. Kevin | June 19th, 2007 at 1:24 am
Ehhh…I thought of bringing her go as well haha since she likes them too
23. val | June 19th, 2007 at 1:59 am
haha we all love our fathers don`t we?
my dad wanted to know the meanin of wtf…
at first he thought it was “want to faint”
haha,never fails to make me smile everytime i think bout it…
daddys~
24. tze | June 19th, 2007 at 2:45 am
yes, sweet without being overwhelmingly so.
fuck you la su ann am i never gonna see you before i leave! whatever happened to years and years of sweet valley trading and watching each other grow up with our respective bad bfs wtf
25. Daily misery » Blog&hellip | June 19th, 2007 at 8:31 am
[...] quaintly.net » How Many Bottles Of Cologne Has It Been this is my most favorite father’s day post ever. [...]
26. foreverjas | June 19th, 2007 at 11:16 am
aww. i love my dad too.i love mltr too!!
bring me go with u!!! :P i’m in penang, and
i’ll be waiting ! haha
27. Albert Ng | June 19th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I love air-drying my hair too!
(And what are you doing in your dad’s underwear drawer? I suppose you have a picture of yourself sticking out of it, too.)
28. TheRealAnonymous | June 19th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Wah… damn sweet article. Got show ur dad anot? LoL… =p
Micheal Learns To Rock eh? They’re going on board Star Cruise as well to perform too ya know? I might be on board at that time also… LoL. Though my schedule isn’t confirmed. =p
Btw… how come MLTR left oni 3 members ar?? What happened to the other one? =p
29. MichelleSY | June 19th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
The ban on wet hair and cleavage-revealing tops - that’s such a Dad thing to do =)
Btw, how many bottles of cologne has it been? That seems to be the default gift for dad’s on father’s day.
That and wallets. But I don’t mind the latter. Cos it keeps the shop where I work part-time in business +D
30. CloudyRainbows | June 19th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised if your dad reads your blog too!!! Maybe you should make him something next year instead of buying him cologne?
31. Meikee | June 19th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Agreed, the best father’s day dedication :)
32. foreverjas | June 19th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
i love 25minutes !!!! and paint my love… and lots more!!! T.T
pls take me go…
33. Marianne | June 20th, 2007 at 12:26 am
Hi babes,
Got a new site up… just thought i’d let you know. :)
hope life is well and will try and keep in touch at some point where my stupid busy life isn’t stupid. :)
Cheers,
marianne
34. Charlie | June 20th, 2007 at 11:27 am
Wow.. looks like you guys have a wonderful thing going there. I was melting all the way through the post but the stick figure thing just turned me into a puddle instantaneously.
Well, a faintly jealous puddle la..
35. jake | June 21st, 2007 at 4:43 pm
why don’t you reply your comments anymore? T-T
36. pinkpau | June 22nd, 2007 at 2:12 am
ria : glad u like it :)
ionstorm : he is so the only one. everytime i tell ppl abt the MLTR concert they start laughing at me -___- or they think that i’m being sarcastic. grrr
confused : im glad ur dad has mellowed out :) all that shouting and yelling must not have been very good for his nerves and blood pressure. but then that’s the price one pays for having kids ;)
pearly : yes! sky pee! hahahaha! and most of my friends’ dads pronounce it that way too. haha wtf is going on!
alvin : does it win me another teeny tiny peanut butter cup that im not allowed to blog abt? :D
ronin : WOW. have u been speaking to my dad? that is exactly all the things he complains about. haha. and more.
farah : i was hoping noone would ask :P
michael : hehe ur very freudian. but there is truth in that, to some extent. im glad u love ur parents unconditionally :) most ppl my age dont.
nicole : ur father is lucky to have a daughter like u :) im sure he loved every minute of moving hse.
entwined : used to?? i still do!
k0k : arghgh i cant believe ur dad said that to u. my bros once got caught for bringing naughty materials to school, and when i angrily told my dad abt it and tried to provoke him into telling off my bros, he just looked at my mother and laughed naughtily like muahahha. and then my mother also laughed naughtily like muahhaha. wtf. wtf.
hw : haha i love all those songs!! Blue Night is my fav
bs : i know, right! how come the rest of the world seems to disagree??
steve : always pronouncing things the wrong way! hahaha! that is so true. but as per my observations, most dads prefer cnn or bnbc to discov channel
penguin : aww penguin. im sorry :( but u be a good parent when u grow up, ok.
scott : now what are you yay-ing about, mister?
steph : i think he appreciates me a lot more than i appreciate him. sigh. sorry abt u and ur dad not talking for a long time, i wish that wasnt the case with so many other parent-child rships in the world
lalita : did ur dad ask u to wear a shorter or longer skirt? great fathers rock the world indeed :) wouldnt know abt itunes, i dont use it
michelle : haha ur dad so cute, but nvm lah good oso means u get to choose what to eat heehehee. what, ur grandfather nags ur father abt cholestrol lvls??
jay : ur poor future daughter. haha u will be like HRG!
kevin : stoopid. bring girlf (or soon to be girlf) but dowan to bring friend. -___-
val : want to faint????? hahahahahaha!!!!! hahahahahahahha! when my dad learnt how to use LOL he kept putting that at the end of every sms. ‘what u doing LOL’, ‘how are you LOL’, ‘what time u coming back LOL’
tze : of coz we meet up!! u going pd ah when u going!!
foreverjas : haha! mltr not going to penang sorry! even klites gotta travel up to genting to see them
albert ng : haha underwear drawers are beneath me
therealanon : show him meh, very shy lah. har MLTR playing on star cruise???
michellesy : ya i gave him cologne AGAIN this year. boringness. where do u work?
cloudyrainbows : he does once in a while. then scolds me for whatever it is that i blog abt :P
meikee : high praise :) thank u
marianne : hehee i see ur boobilicious pic. yum yum :) babe dont ever stop being hot and smart.
charlie : dont be liddat lah =(
jake : i always reply :D dont have net access for long these days tho
37. TheRealAnonymous | June 22nd, 2007 at 4:02 am
yup yup… concert on starcruise. =)
38. fishnet | June 23rd, 2007 at 8:34 pm
hey! thx so so much for promoting our iu night to your friends!! >.
39. bumiputera student in exile campur | June 24th, 2007 at 12:19 am
I havent even read your website yet i just like looking at your cute face =)
40. Michael | June 24th, 2007 at 1:10 am
Does freudian have something to do with Sigmund Freud? U mean the sexuality thingy huh =.=…nothing to do with it actually…just sorta observed it…
41. Michael | June 24th, 2007 at 4:20 am
btw, i never gave my dad presents or wishes…it really make me feels awkward to do so…
42. pinkpau | June 24th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
therealanon : I OSOWAN
fishnet : ur welcome, how did it go?
bumiputera : awwww tq :D
michael : yes, the psychoanalyst sigmund freud :) he had a theory that said daughters are actually in love and or sexually attracted to their fathers subconsciously, and sons to their mothers.
michael : i understand :) it is a strange facet of our culture.
43. jake | June 30th, 2007 at 2:08 am
but i wanted to know why do u need so many tissues for drying your face after a shower instead of using a face towel (from an older post) .. you never replied those comments..
44. Manny | June 30th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Great story about your Dad. I thought it was great that he kept your stick figures of him all these years. I think that’s his way of saying you’ll always be his little girl.
See you around on RBJ.
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