On my lunch hour today, I had to have some bloodwork run. The nearest lab to me is in Chinatown. I love Chinatown, but it's always a bit of a funny experience at this lab, where there are literally no waiting room magazines in English, or signs in English, or fellow patients to chat to who speak English. Ah, Canada. Ah, multiculturalism. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Anyway, I'm wearing some beautiful bangles today that I picked up at
, a little boutique in Gastown. These bangles are a personal triumph. You see, my wrists have been too fat to wear bangles for quite some time, but now that I'm losing weight - over 50 pounds down now - all sorts of fashion avenues are opening up for me: knee-high boots, skinny jeans - and BANGLES!
The technician, who was Chinese, admired my bangles while she took my blood.
"Those are beautiful," she gushed.
"Thank you," I said proudly, twisting my wrist this way and that so they jingled.
"Chinese people like those," she said. "It means you should have gold and diamonds. I can't wear them - I look too bony."
"Oh really?" I murmured, not because I necessarily cared, more to be polite. I was actively trying to ignore the giant needle in my arm at that point.
"Yeah. I'm thin, I can't wear them. Old Chinese people - they like people like you, people more plump. It shows you're prosperous because you eat too much. It's good that you got a bit of extra flesh."
And, smack! Cue the back-handed compliment. Serves me right for being so smug about my bracelets.
