Not everyone is a night owl, but when I used to be one, I'd never call people after 10. I felt uncomfortable even calling some people after 9 pm.

But my aunt never calls earlier than 10:30 (I don't answer), and my dad thought 11:15 would be a great time to call me last night! 

My dad had called at 7 pm first and left a message to say he was calling to see if there was anything important he needed to know about his place.

Quite frankly, I am not sure where my dad is right now. All I know is that he is in China –whether it’s Hong Kong or the mainland, I have no idea. Despite my numerous requests for some sort of address, he’s not told me. All I have for him is a cell phone number for a cell phone that’s rarely turned on.

He calls using Skype, and it’s the worst connection EVER. I hear maybe every third word amongst a lot of static.

Every time I have to talk to him, I just get angry. E-mail would be easiest for me to deal with. I actually thought he was calling about a Christmas parcel I picked up for him from his “friend” that he “no longer speaks with.” I had just sent him a short e-mail that morning. He is 15 or 16 hours ahead of me.

I told him to not call so late next time. Normally I don’t even pick up the phone after 10 pm, but I knew it was my dad calling so I answered. He called 3 times before I could actually hear him. The third time was almost 11:30 pm. (I am trying hard to get to sleep between 10 and 11 these days because I don’t get enough sleep during the week.)

He said I was difficult to get a hold of. I always call him back when he leaves a message. Also, he has my cell phone number. The last time he called me was on my birthday, almost 2 weeks ago…but it was to tell me (for the third time) to pick up Christmas cakes for him). The message did end with, “oh, and happy birthday.”

Yeah, I am choked he called not to chat and see how I was doing, but to ask if there was anything he needed to know about his place. You’d think I would have attempted to let him know?

I probably won’t hear from him in a couple of weeks until his cheques are estimated to arrive. He’ll call to ask if they’ve arrived and give me directions (again) to deposit them for him asap.

He also rushed to get off the phone when I was trying to tell him about my cousin’s wedding. We have to RSVP by the end of the month, and my dad won’t have a chance to look at the invitation.

I’m quite excited for the wedding. There’ll be a Chinese banquet for the welcome dinner the night before the wedding. The following day is the ceremony and then a reception at the aquarium! I didn’t think my dad would be interested in the aquarium festivities since it’s not Chinese food, but he said he was going to skip the welcome dinner.

I think he’s being rather disrespectful to not attend every thing. Oh well.