I went shopping for relatives!

And I mean the English meaning. You know that sentence has two different meanings in English and Sinhala right? In English, it means what it means. And in Sinhala it means, well, 'kade yaama' you know...

So it's the first one.

I know that most of you, if not all have an FB account. Is anybody a member of that awesome group called No Bitch...I aint Indian...I'm SRI LANKAN!!!!? You can assume what it is about I guess, and specially the people who live abroad know all about what it means, I'm sure of that. Here is the link.

Anyway, what I was coming to was, in the group description there is a long list starting with the words You Know you are Sri Lankan when.... And there is one entry goes like You're walking out of customs with your trolley at the airport and you see all twenty-five members of your family who have come to pick you up.

Ain't that so true?

The thing is, I'll be returning to Sri Lanka for a three weeks holiday (*YEY YEY YEY!! WHOOOOOOPPPSYYYY!!! LALALALAA*) in a couple of weeks and I have as many relatives if not more. And since relatives are what they are - relatives, (umm... I hope none of them are reading this...) you can't really afford to miss anyone, can you? If you do, it has dire consequences trust me. It's even worse than forgetting your girlfriend's birthday.

So I was facing a problem with wanting to get something for everyone and yet keep some money in my pocket so, you know, I could spend my holidays in SL without asking for any money from my mom. I carefully weighed my options. Being the cunning bastard I am, I found a solution that only a genius would. Oh maybe not, but still it was a pretty good idea. There is something called 100 Yen Shops here in Japan. I think they are called Dollar Stores or something in US. So if you're not a genius, let me explain. Anything - yes anything - that's sold there is just 100 bucks. And you can find almost anything there as well. From toys to exercise books or pens, spoons, knives, ornaments, whatever. You name it they have it. Add to that the fact that the shop I went to is the biggest such shop in Japan. It has five stories and absolutely everything. And when you look at those stuff, there is no real way you could tell that they are cheap. See, I'm good, ain't I? Oh you could tell the difference if you have ever been to Japan, but there is only one person in my family have been to Japan before and he's in Italy now. So, unless any relative of mine comes across this post, I should be safe.

Besides, it's not the value of the present, but the idea that you're giving a present is what is worth, isn't it?