Yesterday I screamed.

Ok, not that I am proud of it, in fact, I really felt bad after I did it. I was talking to my MIL on the phone yesterday afternoon. Is that enough to make anyone scream? Well, if you know her, I know it will.

I had a terrible headache after work, a clear prelude to PMS and the upcoming bad hair days. MIL was asking me how to reply to the email I sent her - burning lines for an international phone call just to ask a very trivial question which her other son staying with her could no doubt readily answer. But is seemed that it was either the other son was not there, or she just badly want to piss me off hear my voice. *grin*

The computer had been lying in their living room for 10 years now. I have acted as a technical support personnel for her for the past seven years or so and every time, she asks the same questions over and over and over and over…like an energizer bunny.

While I was keeping my cool answering her question as to why the message she tried to reply to “disappears” once she hits the Reply button, my beloved daughter was screaming on the background demanding to get the umbrella my husband was waving happily. I shot him a very bad look. He didn’t budge. He kept on teasing the shrieking toddler to his heart’s content.

Meanwhile my MIL asked the same question again only this time she added the line. “What is an email address?”

**Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy to explain but we have been emailing each other for at least 6 months and now, this question? ***

The shrieking continued with my husband’s laughter in the background. He was having fun while our daughter was trying to grab the folded umbrella from him. Really, really pathetic.

I snapped.

… and shouted “Urusai!!” a nasty Japanese word meaning, “shut up!!”

It worked both ways. The father-toddler tandem froze, with apologetic faces turned on me. The MIL at the other end of the line fell silent also. I forgot to cover the mouth piece of the phone before I shouted and she clearly thought the fury was aimed at her.

I don’t know what happened next, whether my husband answered her query or not. I gave him the phone and went to the bedroom to sleep. But before that, I prayed and promised myself not to ask my future children in-law what an email address is.