Oh boy...

Another Father's Day gone by. We went to the local Chinese restaurant for a full family dinner. Partners included, which is always of interest as different people have different issues with different partners. This particular Chinese restaurant is an interesting one. This place is always full. Almost every night of the week. And mostly with people of Chinese background. I hadn't actually eaten there in about seven years so I was quite surprised to see just how Anglo the menu is considering how many Chinese people go to the restuarant. Am I a snob when it comes to Asian food? Maybe... maybe... I blame it on me being spoilt in my times away.

All in all, I would have to say that this was fairly successful for a full ********** family dinner. Let's see... Brother 2 was angry with Sister 1 for being rude and bossy and proclaims that "She's gone nuts". Brother 1 was angry with Sister 2 for picking on him for being fat (he IS! And for a skinny family it's a point of contentionfor him, I guess). Brother 1 then proceeded to call Sister 2's husband names for the rest of the night, though naturally not to his face because Brother 1 is pretty gutless all told. Mother was angry with Sister 1 for not listening to her and angry with Sister 1's husband for an ongoing knee complaint (apparently this backdates to before my recent family associations).

But honestly? All the snide remarks and venom were mostly limited to one on one issues which is highly unusual and impressive for my family. I'd have to say, with the exception of having to share breathing space with Brother 1, it was a successful night out for the family. I stayed out of everything and just observed. I'm a bit too hippy left to be taken seriously by my largely conservative family so I've learnt the best way to make for a good night out with them - bite my tongue!

And the family wonders why I prefer living overseas to incessant family gatherings...