a friend’s wedding is coming up and i was going to give the couple a red envelope. i asked my roommate if she had any and she said that she did.

she gave me a red envelope and i looked at it and blinked at her.

me: “uhhh, this isn’t the right envelope.”
her: “sure it is.”
me: “what does it say on this envelope?”
her: “joy, happiness, and prosperity.”
me: “yeah, this isn’t the right envelope.”
her: “what do you mean?”
me: “there’s a special one for weddings. double happiness or something equally chinese.”
her: “oh, i suppose there is.”
me: “yeah, i want that one. give me that one.”
her: “i don’t have any of those. this is good enough.”
me: “no, i want to be a real chinese person. get me one of those special envelopes!”
her: “fine, fine, i’ll go get some later.”
me: “sheesh, and you call yourself chinese!”

i’m not chinese, but i’ve ALWAYS used the same kind of envelope for weddings. it just wouldn’t feel right any other way.