Home

Penang is also hot and humid, which is indifferent to Taiwan's weather. And it sucks.

I thought living on the 13th floor would make things better, because it's always windy up here, but nope. The wind is wet and hot, as if your dog is breathing on your face all the time. Stepping outside is like stepping into a sauna, or getting into a car that has been left in the sun for several hours.

Despite the need to shower several times a day, the heat is useful to me. I haven't felt hunger since I left San Diego. I don't know how the weather is doing it, but sitting in this uncomfortable warmth has given me no appetite at all. Which means I don't feel the need to eat, which is all the better for my summer diet plan.

What is not beneficial to my summer diet plan is my friend's creepy uncle, who lives in my apartment complex. I don't actually know my friend's creepy uncle's name, so I'm just going to call him Creeps. I come home for the first time in forever (I sung that last bit. It's all your fault, Anna), and I find him standing at the gate, with the guards. I have quite a history with him, and most of my friends would know this. He crashed my birthday party and started chatting to my friends and telling them what kind of food to order. No one knew who he was, and I wanted to kick him in the face and throw him into the pool.

He also stopped me while I was cycling around our apartments. Or rather, he told the guards to stop me from cycling around our apartments. What the fuck Creeps, mind your own business. He also stopped me every time he saw me downstairs so he could talk to me about the randomest crap he could think up. Once, he saw me in the little gym room we have in our apartments and knocked on the door. I got off the treadmill, opened the door, and asked what he wanted. Creeps said: "What are you doing?". I wanted to say: "I'm reading, of course. Why else would I be in the gym and on the treadmill? Gyms are for reading, duhhh", but I was respectful, and said instead: "I am running." He was about to start talking to me more when I slammed the door in his face and got back on the treadmill.
The last time he stopped me, we talked for half an hour. About the education system in Canada. Philosophy. Politics. He knows this politician guy, and he has politician guy on speed dial. Good for you. Why don't you call him up and chat to him instead of a teenage girl 3 times younger than you.
I always tried to break away from the conversation, but he just moves onto a different topic. It took me about 4 or 5 times before I realized I could pretty much tell him to fuck off if I didn't want to talk to him.

Anyway. I really really didn't want to see his face, but he's there. I will never be able to exercise in peace. I won't be able to swim in the pool knowing that Creeps might be watching. I really hoped he'd be gone, or at least different when I got back. Nup. He's still friendless. Unless you count the guards.

I used to hate home. It used to feel like somewhere I couldn't relax. Somewhere where I'm always suffocating. Now, I'm moving around this space with ease, still remembering where things are in certain cupboards, and which switches switch on which lights. I don't want to live here, and I don't think anything will change that. However, for now, this place is home.

With my parents. Creeps. Same old Penang. Friends who went to places all over the world for college will add some spice to life back here. Speaking of which, I can't wait to see those faces.