Feedback and wedding

Hi there,

Thought I’d update again. I’ve received feedback on my short story and so far so good. My friend Janet did some close reading on it and picked out a few grammatical mistakes that I stupidly overlooked. Luckily they were only one or two, so I’m getting better at my proof-reading. Considering that no-one has faulted the content, or the story as some would say, I’m guessing its all good to go for sending off. The only issue I have no is how to write a covering letter to a publisher. I think it’s time for another Facebook status update for advice…

Other than that, the weekend has been very good. My cousins from London came to visit, as a close family friend’s son was getting married. Yes, I we do go to a lot of weddings. After all, the summer is the wedding season for us Asians. Who the hell wants to get married in the hail and rain, or even the snow?

Anyways, the cousins stayed for the weekend. They spent the Saturday with my brothers and me at my brother’s house, as my parent’s house was crowded with visitors. We watched ‘The Losers’ as we munched on samosas and spring rolls. It was very much like the ‘A-Team’, but as have not watched the film version, I can’t really compare and comment. Even though the storyline was a bit of a bore, Chris Evans and Jeffery Morgan did make for some good eye-candy.

We were going to watch Kick-ass after and as I opened the laptop to download the file, I realised that I needed my brother's password and he had just left to pick up my sister-in-law. So, we were forced to watch the X Factor. Well, I was but my cousins enjoy laughing at deluded people.

I’ve always found the X Factor to be pretentious and money-grabbing, using young attractive people with very little charisma to sell a few million copies before dumping them like skets that have just been shagged. Not only that, but for years I’ve found the audition stage very tired. Watching deluded people trying to convince the world that they can sing isn’t fascinating or funny anymore. Or so I thought. I’m going to be honest; I did find last weekend’s show hilarious, particularly the group with the Chinese girl, Indian dude and single mother. It wasn’t so much that they shouted and screeched painfully throughout Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’. But more because of Cheryl’s shocked faces and the fact that both the judges and audience went deathly silent after their performance, as the group panted and grinned. Inevitably, the Chinese girl asked, “H-how did it go?”
But for me, the ‘Release Me, Release You’ woman was the highlight. She was the kind of auditionee you don’t feel guilty laughing at, as she herself wasn’t taking it seriously and didn’t seem too convinced that she was great. Despite my enjoyment, I won’t be ‘tuning in’ in future. It is the kind of show you either watch because you’re bored, or because you’re forced to watch it.

After that followed Pizza and custard on cake as we watched ‘With Love from Paris’ with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and John Travolta. Unfortunately, it was very mediocre. If you want an idea as to how mediocre, think Daredevil. Not only that but it was very predictable…well, to my cousin anyways who guessed who was behind the terrorist attacks. And Meyers and Travolta didn't make a good match either.

Anyways, the wedding the following day was lovely, although tiring. We had to drive to the groom’s house, where my dad encouraged me to give the groom money, with the help of my aunt. Yes, this may seem silly, after all, how hard is it to give someone money? But, when it comes to weddings, you need to do some symbolic hoo-ha before you give the money, which unfortunately made me look like a tit. I dipped my finger in the red paste, and as I was about to put it on the groom’s forehead, he told me to put it on his forehand. Then came the pinch of rice. I had to ask my aunt twice if I really should put it on his forehand, because it seemed a bit strange to me, considering that it’s always stuck on forehead and never anywhere else. And to top it all off, I dropped a few notes as I gave him the money. Yes, I really am a dork. But one I’m proud of :)

It was a two hour journey on the coach to Bolton, which was where the wedding was taking place. The staging area looked stunning, with its Roman pillars, pink and white drapes and matching lilies and roses. It really made me wonder what it would look like if the drapes were maroon and cream, with gold painted roses…and how I would look underneath it, in a white and red wedding dress. Yes, it is always these occasions that bring about these musings that only last a few weeks.

The journey back was a very tiring one, resulting in a nasty headache and stomach ache (the latter was due to eating crisps on the coach). Luckily, I’ve recovered now. But I’m missing my cousins already :(