So I just had one of the very few deep and meaningful conversations with my dad that I very rarely get to have with him. It usually starts off by "Serene, come in the study room. I want to talk to you." And I'll be thinking "Shit, what the fuck did I do? Did I forget to lock the door again?" Then it leads to me standing meekly at the door and poking my head through into the room and be all "Erm. Yeah?" Then he'll bustle me in and ask me to sit on the chair.

Well of course I had an inkling about what he wanted to talk to me about. My parents may have closed door discussion, but yeah I can still frickin hear what they're saying. So my dad discussed the idea of surgery. I think he's all for me going for this surgery, and he must have read my mind because he kept telling me not to worry about the costs because he can afford it. Its actually very reassuring to hear your father tell you not to worry about things because he can afford it. It makes me feel relieved. Because you always think you'll be such a complete burden to your parents, them having to pay for your education and food and living expenses and putting up with other kinds of crap. And surgery is no small pie in the sky. So of course my first natural reaction when the orthodontist mentioned surgery was "I can't let my parents break the bank for this!"

But my dad was somewhat nonchalent about it. It made me feel slighly better to hear him say that. Next, he went to to apologize to me for having passed on this "lousy gene" (his words, not mine) to his three children and that considering that there is a solution to his mess, he advises me to take it up.

So once that point was done, he moved on to discuss about my preparation for NTU, and said a lot of meaningful points about education and learning in life that I definetely will never forget, because my own mother can never ever tell me this. The more he spoke, the more I realized who I inherited my working ethics and ambition from. And the more I came to understand why my mum married my dad. Definetely not for his looks, but for his values and beliefs. Though its depressing to know that the relationship my parents have now is more platonic than husband-and-wife, because of the strain brought on by raising on autistic child.

My dad then started discussing marriage, and I got really embarrassed and almost choked when he went "Do you have a boyfriend?". Well I said no with ease, but then he was all:

"Do you want a boyfriend?"

"Huh?"

"Yes? No? Maybe? Don't know?"

"Erm."

"Don't know."

"I think so."

"You don't know if you want a boyfriend?"

"Erm"

"Stop erming and nodding your head like some bobblehead!"

I mean, Jesus who asks questions like that?! Well of course I want a boyfriend! But how am I supposed to say that to my dad without sounding like some desperate wannabe right? But anyway, my dad has officially banned me from meeting a future boyfriend via the Internet. Considering the whole fiasco between my sister and her boyfriend, I'd say he has nothing to worry about.

And to culminate the end of our very rare one-to-one talks, he was like "Next time, you can come to me to talk about anything. I'll be here to talk to. Better than your mum, because I've seen more in life. Anything. Life, books, homework, school, politics. Even sex. I'm a very easy guy."

Oh yeah how could I possibly discuss something like menstruation to my dad? He can't even pronounce it right! He calls it "men-sure-ra-tion". Once, he had to teach my brother the science of human reproduction and I fled the room before he could say the word 'sperm'. I may be open minded about topics relating to sex, but I am positive that I can never talk about sexual relations with my dad. I don't even discuss it with my mum! I'm sure my parents know that I know how babies are made, the mechanisms involved and all. They're just to embarrassed to mention it. Can you imagine my stuttering dad telling me "All right, so penetration occurs, and the sperm swims up the fallopian tubes and to the egg." My mum will tell me to shut up and give me a dirty look.

So you see, my sexual education didn't even come from my parents. They came from the school. And books. And the internet. And movies (much to my embarrassment, because it so much weirder seeing, as opposed to reading sex, but whatever.)

Cake Boss is on!