Sweet Nothings

M and I exchange our own peculiar endearments that may seem odd to most. This stems from his wacky sense of humor and strange concept of sweet talk. While some may not seem so odd if said in the Western cultural context, they are occasionally touchy in our own cultural background. Yet, I know him well enough to appreciate some of his comments as well intended, if slightly confused attempts at sweetness. A recent example: he pointed to the new baby orangutan at the Phoenix Zoo last year and said, "She looks just like you!" I love baby orangutans and all, but their look isn't one I aspire to. Yet, there was a certain cuteness in the way he said it that didn't appall me--even if being called a monkey is a huge insult in our culture (is it not in any culture?). Of course, I like to think I look nothing like this:





What he said yesterday though, still bugs me. He was walking into the other room, stopped, looked at me with an attempt at identifying something and walked on.

"What was that", I asked.

"Oh, nothing. You just look like the Queen of England with your hair like that. "

The look of WTH?! made him rephrase, "Oh, not exactly like her. Younger, and your hair isn't as stiff as hers."

I love you too, baby.