L & C

so, last saturday night, steve and i took my cousins to ethiopian food in la. great place. great food. gawd. i love ethiopian food.

i was going to post a pic here, but i'm afraid someone they know will see this post. my dad thinks i shouldn't make waves... heh.

now, they're not my first cousins. they're actually my mom's first cousins. but they're younger than i am. L is 24 and C's 23. although, C has always acted older than L. i don't know what you call them... cousin first removed? or second cousin? i don't know. anyway, in korean, they're supposed to be my "aunt."

however, i refuse to call them my aunts because they're younger than i am. also, calling them aunt is a sign of respect, but i refuse to give respect to people just because they're my mom's cousins. they've never done anything for me... besides be my cute little cousins. seriously.

i really do like them and everything... so, tell me if i'm taking this the wrong way...

we're at the restaurant and steve goes to move the car (we parked far away and when we got to the restaurant there was a sign that said - parking in back... heh.)... the girls are sitting there when C (the younger one) busts out with: "you know we're not really cousins, right?"

when i left her messages, i'd just say, "this is grace, your cousin." you see, there are a lot of korean graces, so i thought i'd be a little more specific... i didn't feel like saying, "this is grace, your niece." Or, "this is grace, you guys and my mom, you're cousins."

anyway, so i told her, "yeah... i know. you and my mom are cousins... i just didn't feel like leaving a lengthy message... it's just easier that way..." "yeah, but you're really my niece." "uhm, yeah. i'm not going to call you aunt, okay?"

my dad told me once that you could say anything you wanted, even be completely rude, as long as you had a smile on your face... if you smile, they can't really say anything back. so that's what i did... and she didn't say anything else... and i thought that was the end of it...

steve picks up the bill (L&C made for their wallets like they were going to pay, but that's all just for show in korean culture. they knew we would pay. i mean, steve is the only male, i'm older than they are, and i invited them out, they don't really have jobs, etc.) and then we take them to boba/coffee.

we're all sitting there and then again, in front of steve, C says it again! "you know you're like my niece, right?" or something to that effect... or did she tell steve he was her nephew? i don't remember... i kinda blew it off again... with yadda, yadda, yadda, and blah, blah, blah...

but it really irked me. L didn't say anything, so i guess this is just about C. if C wants me to call her aunt, maybe she should look me up and call me to see how i'm doing, instead of me doing that... maybe she should invite us out... or drive all the way down to orange county instead of us going all the way to LA. maybe she should pay for dinners and coffees... since i've known them, i've always done that shit.

when they were 16, 17, i'd take them out. i'd pay (even though i was in college and i was broke). i'd make sure they were doing okay whenever i was home for holidays and summer and stuff...

what makes her think she deserves to be called an aunt?

the weird thing about this whole thing is that before C went off to college, she was SO into korean culture. korean music, korean coffee shops, korean karaoke places... she gets into my car and she's like, "whose car is this?" i tell her it's mine. "oh, the blue lights in them... they're just so ASIAN." uhm. okay. and her point would be... ??? just things like that. she's not into asian/korean culture anymore, but she expects me to call her "aunt?" she's trippin'.

i'm sure steve will tell me i'm making a big deal out of nothing again, but i can't help it. i'm paranoid and obsessive...

oh, man. i'll bet she'll post the pic of us on her blog and say something about her niece. omg. i will die.

i don't think i'm going to call them anymore... if they want to look me up, they have my number.