house vs. home...

it's been more than a month since i moved into my new place... and so far, i've only had 2 visitors! ok, 3 if you count the property agent... and that 2 visitors were my YWD leaders, who dropped by for a home-visitation. so strictly speaking, i've not had any visitors at all! which is truly depressing, really.

sometimes i wonder, would the sentiment be different if it were my own place, and not a rented one? would my close friends be more excited for me then?

i guess unlike our western counterparts, we asians are more realistic. for them, a new place, irregardless of if it's bought or rented, is always a reason to celebrate. they throw parties and housewarmings. guy friends come over to help lift the heavy boxes. girlfriends come over to help with the organizing and decorations (have i been watching too much Sex In the City?). in a way, it symbolizes a new beginning and a new life. but in our asian culture, a rented place is just a "house" where you keep your things and a roof over your head, while your own place is a "home" where you actually live your life... so question: before we are able have our own piece of property to our name, does it mean that we've not really started living? is it because a rented place is not our own, so there's no need for celebration? we're gonna move again anyway, so it's just a temporary arrangement, hence there's no need to get so excited?

but to be fair, the girls are coming over next weeked for a small intimate gathering, so i shouldn't say that no one cares... i guess now that we're not staying under the same roof anymore, it's no longer a friendship of convenience. we need to make a greater effort to meet up and keep the friendship going. a friendship will rot if we only remember our good friends when we're free, or we have nothing to do, or when we need something, or if it's convenient to us... personally, i think a friendship needs commitment too. like in a boy-girl relationship, friendships have emotional attachments too. if the effort is only one-sided, there won't be any tango.

anyway, san and mon, thank you for being such great friends! love you guys! ;)