Monday, May 5, 2008

The Ego and 10-Year Reunions.

I have a pimple on my forehead so big it hurts. It throbs, in fact, and is doing so right now. Lovely. At least I can be grateful that it didn't manifest during my 10-year business school reunion, which transpired just this past weekend.

My ego would probably have killed itself if that had happened. My ego wanted me to appear as the youngest-looking woman there, first because I AM either the second- or third-youngest woman in my graduating MBA class, and second because I am Asian and therefore must represent the gene pool well, and third because I actually own a day spa, and therefore have no excuse to be showing up pimply anywhere. I even went and got a facial before I left...that's how egoistic I was acting.

Well, it was a great reunion, but somehow unsatisfying. Did I get to look great? Yes, but as with everything the ego desires, it wasn't fulfilling. Did I get enough COMMENTS from other people that I looked great? Well, no. Nothing is ever enough for the ego, and mine has a rapacious appetite for compliments. "Oh, it's the beautiful Maryling. You're still stunning, I see." That was the best one of the night, care of Barnaby Grist. Upon its utterance, I was so moved that I asked him to marry me, forgetting momentarily that I was already married.

It was unsatisfying because...well, because I didn't get to really have many deep conversations. I wanted to pull aside so many of the 200+ people in the room and find out every detail about their last 10 years that, well, I ended up only having somewhat short and stilted conversations with about 30 people or so. Oh well. There's always the 15-year, right?

I am off to the bathroom now to squeeze out my pimple. That's a no-no for the rest of you, by the way. Or at least, if you're going to do it, use Kleenex, not your fingernails.

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