I’m almost 26 and I live at home

Before I start, let me post a link to one of the greatest things I have seen since I’ve been in India.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMKe7DAVeS8

Apparently the song was a super smash hit when it came out. I couldn’t stop laughing. The best part is when I showed my dad "Yeah, people think she's provocative, I think she's just plumpy"

I went to Ohio State about a month after I turned 18. I came home for the first two summers during college but my parents were really cool about letting me do whatever I wanted. I know some kids had to tell their parents exactly where they were going and when they’d be coming back but my parents didn’t care. After college, I lived in Cleveland with a roommate and San Francisco by myself. It’s fair to say that I’m fairly independent which is why it’s been interesting to move back home when I’m nearly 26.

In India, almost every unmarried kid who is isn’t in college lives at home. Just makes sense, everything is so expensive here that it’s not worth getting an apartment or house. The move back home is difficult for anyone but it’s particularly harder for me because I’m staying with my aunt and uncle.

The most unique issue I have is that my uncle is also the CEO at the company I work for. I don’t directly report to him but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been taking a keen interest in what I’m doing everyday at work. Remember when you were a kid and your parents asked you what you learned in school that day? That’s basically my life. Everyday I come home and my uncle asks me what I accomplished for the day and what I’m doing to improve the company. This is tricky on multiple levels, if I try actually did learn a lot, I'm afraid to delve into details because then he’ll start asking more and more questions, which I likely can not answer. Unlike banking, where I could zone out all day, I have to constantly be on my A game, otherwise my uncle will figure it out.

Last week, I came home a bit early, it just so happened that me and my uncle both came home at the exact same time. The only problem? His office is less than 10 minutes from the house, my factory is an hour away.

He saw my car, looked at me and then looked at his watch.

My parents also let me keep my room in any shape I wanted, it had to be decent but it was perfectly acceptable to have a few things around the room as long as my door was closed and they didn’t have to see it. My aunt & uncle want to make sure I’m not as messy as my cousins so they’re holding me to a higher standard. Since we’re so close, they don’t want to appear like they’re mad or frustrated so they’re sticking with this quasi passive-aggressive approach.

A few weeks ago, I came home from work and changed. Instead of hanging my clothes, I laid my pant and shirt on my bed. My uncle came into my room a few hours later and commented “Hmmm, I thought we had these things called hangers in our house?” Another instance, I came into the house, left my shoes by the front door and went to my room. Later in the evening, someone commented that shoes don’t magically put themselves away and then looked my way. Keep in mind this is the same household where my cousin puts dirty dishes in his drawers, complete with chicken wings and where I nearly died earlier this week as I tripped over my cousin’s 4 inch stilettos.

Also, I’m used to playing music in my room, basically all the time. However, my music drifts throughout a majority of the first floor. My aunt doesn’t listen to American music, my uncle only listens to The Carpenters and ABBA…they haven’t said anything but I’m sure they’re not impressed by Chamillionaire and Kid Cudi. On a few occasions, I’ve received phone calls from the servants asking how to shut off my music because I left it on before I went to work.

This isn’t intended to be a rant, I actually don’t mind living at home. I do get concerned at times because I do catch myself being a bit lazy (i.e. leaving an empty coke bottle next to my bed because someone will pick it up, not carrying my lunch to the car) but for the most part, I’ve been doing a good job. The only big luxury I give myself is that I have someone polish my shoes everyday. I think Ramu will actually kill me. Based off the picture in my prior post, you can see our boiler is surrounded by dirt…it’s been raining a lot here so I come home with mud-crusted shoes that he has to clean. I think I see that smile of his fading day by day.

Another big upside about living at home is that I don’t have to prepare food. However, this has come to haunt me. My aunt’s biggest concern is making sure I don’t lose ANY weight. I weighed exactly 152 lbs when I arrived in India and my aunt will be extremely mad if I weigh an ounce less when I go back to the U.S. next month. This basically means she is force-feeding me. She watches my food intake like a hawk and makes sure I eat everything on my plate, it’s gotten to the point where she’ll sit and watch me eat my dinner even if she’s busy. Everyday, she makes me eat some fruit to keep me healthy and ice cream, to fatten me up. My grandma calls me everyday to ask me what I had for lunch and if it was enough food. Even the driver is getting in on this, he insists I drink coconut water on the way to work and then he’ll make sure someone gets me another coconut as my post-lunch drink.

The dog, Duke, has also started to like me. He’s a rottweiler…for the last 9 years, he’s terrified me. He was trained as an attack dog, so he’ll pretty much kill anyone he doesn’t know. I remember a few years ago, I was staying in the downstairs guest room and I woke up in the middle of the night and saw him standing on his hind legs, staring at me through the window. It freaked me out. Luckily, he’s mellowed down a lot and actually likes to play with me. Although my heart does occasionally skip a beat when I’m playing with him and I hear a growl.

Living at home with my family has been an adjustment to say the least, I’m going to be lost when I get to China.

And on a totally different note, here is my current car. Once I master stick and get more comfortable, I'll drive my own car but for now...this is it. Talk about a step down from my BMW.