Now that I am almost done with packing, I can actually sit down and reflect upon the past few days. Since I live in Malacca, I’ve had to go apartment-hunting in Kuala Lumpur (KL), where I’ll be studying my MBA. This seemingly easy task has been complicated by many things, such as:

One. I had started out with this brilliant plan to share an apartment with my best friend Wern, who’s working right now in KL as well. Problem was, his workplace and my university are miles and miles apart, and about an hour’s drive from one end to the other. Even if we found someplace that was geographically the middle, it’d still be half an hour’s of commute for us both. In the end, we just couldn’t make it, which was a shame. Still, we’ll be both busy during the week anyway, and this way we’ll have more to talk about and crazy shit to pull during the precious weekend.

Two. It’s almost impossible to find apartmentmates cuz everyone I know here’s working – I’m the only one still studying, lazy brat that I am. Giving up Wern as an apartmentmate just made things harder. And I really don’t want to share an apartment with strangers who might end up being real pricks.

Three. Worst of all, would be that my Dad wants me to stay real close to the university, like within walking distance. That would mean killer rental given the proximity.

So, with all of the above, I ended in disagreement with Dad, our first since my return. I’m so used to both of us looking the same way, that it’s a bit of a shock at first. And we’re so adamant about our views. He doesn’t want me to spend so much time driving; I don’t want to pay through my teeth when I can rent an entire apartment 20 minutes away for the price of one room that’s right across the uni.

I tried to look for a compromise, I tried really hard. There just wasn’t one, not when our views were completely in the opposite direction from each other.

This made me really unhappy, not angry, just disappointed that my Dad couldn’t see my point of view. Then, I took a moment outside of everything. I saw how unhappy he was with this. And he’s only concerned cuz he worries about my safety.

And I’m only so against it cuz I think I can take care of myself fine. I mean, I’ve lived two years in the big city by myself, then another year abroad, in another country, another freakin’ continent, for goodness sakes!

But that’s besides the point. So what if he can’t see that? He prolly never will. Parents don’t see you as anything but their children, their precious. And I rather not even think of the day when they won’t be around to even to that. To nag and nag and nag. To care.

I guess my Dad and I used to argue so much in the past cuz we were both essentially trying to change each other, if only cuz we cared so much about each other. Dad’s sixty now. I doubt he can change much more.

So it’s time for me to change. Time for me to give in.

I told my Dad I was taking the very expensive and very unnecessary condominium apartment opposite my university. Well, not all that unnecessary. It did get the smile back on my Dad’s face. And that’s worth all the money in the world.

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Copyright © 2002 Kenny Mah Ying Fye.