Home Along Maroubra Road

#166: First Official House Party

Background: Term 1 is over. Or shall I say, the torture is over? Finally. Now I can snap out of this zombie-ish state I've descended in in the last three weeks. That should stop people from asking if I'm alright. (I'm fine. Don't let the dark circles around my eyes and the alternating intense-and-blank look on my face fool you. And no, I am not on the brink of a nervous breakdown.) And so, after three months of living in this space and always not having the time nor the energy nor the brain space to orchestrate a Vivaglam-worthy party, I finally said 'yes' to my flatmate. Yes, we can now throw the 'housewarming' party we promised our good friends from Oakhurst early in January. And yes, I am sure it will be a blast.

------------------------------------------------------

Dear Guests,

Welcome to our Humble Abode!

The theme of tonight’s party is “Home Along Maroubra.”
(Inspired by the Filipino show, "Home Along Da Riles")

Our building, as you may have observed, is not the poshest place on earth. Our mailbox is broken, the elevator smells like an old man who hasn’t bathed for 2 weeks, and there are a lot of grammatically-challenged graffiti ‘artists’ who continue to deface the elevator walls everyday. If you leave a shopping cart outside, some psycho will bash it to some unrecognizable form; and at night, if you stay up late enough, you will hear some guy screaming at his ‘b*tch.’

But on the Nth Floor, in Unit X, we’ve been able to make a nice home out of a space initially dominated by Mr. Sundal’s countless hair particles. We’re proud of our humble table which can only accommodate two people but which we assembled ourselves. We’re pretty proud of having bought (for a very good price) this spiffy-looking branded hand-me-down entertainment showcase which now serves as meal companion and distraction-from-studies all- in- one. We’re proud too of the way our couch – the cheapest model in IKEA, along with the color-coordinated KMart cushions, has been able to bring a semblance of poshness in our space. We’re proud of the little touches here and there which speak of our desire to make the most of the little that we have and make this flat a continuing and living joint project. Most of all, we’re proud of the warmth and joy that the Lord has blessed us with in this house. For two people who were strangers to each other less than a year ago, we’ve been able to bond as good friends and sisters over the countless Kelly Clarkson and Rascal Flatts songs we sing our hearts out to, the numerous contestants eliminated from Biggest Loser, and the incalculable number of clothing articles ruined by color runs.

The menu for tonight is a fruit of a few “Aha!” moments we’ve had over dinner when something hurriedly put together came out surprisingly good. It’s not much but we hope you enjoy.


Gladys & Monica