My Hari Raya Greeting To All :)

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The Small Feet

I always thought my feet are small enough. Yesterday's experience made me think otherwise. I was at a shopping mall in town, looking for a new pair of shoes after having lunch with my best buddies. The shoe shop where I frequently bought shoes from, was packed with people. Almost all the nice shoes were taken. The prices were hiked high enough to make a regular buyer like me feel discourage to buy, especially after knowing the shoes only look good and they don't last long. I noticed one type of shoes was sold RM10-20 more expensive during this Hari Raya season. It's clearly their maneuver to get more profit but it was unreasonable to me since I'm looking for shoes that are worth it and last long. So I didn't buy shoes from the shop. I almost thought I should just forget about buying new shoes. I would not be stupid for paying more for something that cost less.

As I was looking around, I saw this shoe shop that I never bought shoes from. I went in and I looked around. I spotted this shoe but before I could come near, a girl grabbed it and put it on. I thought that she might not want the shoes even if she tried it. But I was wrong. I saw her consulted the salesgirl and waited at the counter. I thought she must ask the salesgirl to look for her size for that type of shoes. I actually like the shoes so much too. While the salesgirl was running around looking for a new stock, I asked her, Do you have 37 for this shoes? She said, "Yes we do." Then I said, "Okay, I want one."

The girl who tried on the shoes before me, was still at the counter. I overheard the salesgirl said that the size that the girl asked for was out of stock (size 35), they only have one left, and that was the pair they put on display for people to try on. She wanted a new pair. So she almost thought of canceling. None of my business, cos all I cared they have stock for my size. Hehe. So while I was at the counter waiting to pay, another girl came to the counter. She paid right away. Then here comes the confusion. The man at the cashier asked the girl, "Which shoes did you pay for?"

Here's the answer. The second girl actually paid for the display shoes of size 35, the same shoes that the first girl tried on and asked for a new pair but the shop didn't have it. So the first girl suddenly said to the cashier, "I come first." The cashier was blur at first. Cos he had just taken money from the second girl who was also paying for the same shoes. Maybe the first girl made the salesgirl think she canceled buying the shoes. But it was a short time for another buyer to come and paid right away. So the cashier had to return the money to the second girl and then only he took the payment from the first girl, for the same freaking shoes. And that shoes are the same shoes that I bought, but mine was size 37.

It made me giggled and relieved that "My feet aren't that small actually." Hahahaha. Of all the shoe shops in the shopping mall, and this shop isn't even considered favourite, I saw 2 girls going for the same shoes with a size smaller than mine. The other good news for me is - because my size is bigger than theirs, I don't have to be the third girl to "fight" our way "Who should buy the shoes?"

Maybe the first girl would have let go the shoes since it was a display item, tried by many people so it was like buying a pair of second hand shoes, with the price of a new pair. But since she saw the a second girl came right away and willing to pay for the shoes, maybe she felt stupid cos someone else would pay for that shoes even if it was display items so she fought her way and insist to buy the shoes no matter what.

Sometimes we have that attitude. If nobody wants it, we also don't want it. When you learn that people are going nuts after it, then only you feel moved to go after it too. It makes you think that "There must be something good with it to make others go for it, so I must go for it too." In some cases, you don't even know what's so good about that thing. Hahahahahaa. Don't be a victim of trend dear friends. *giggles.

The reason why I bought the shoes was it fit my specifications. I saw it at first glance. I was looking for high heels like that because the last time I bought high heels with thin heels it was giving me muscle pain since it didnt give good balance. I also like the shiny colour of silver-grey of the shoes and finally after I saw the price tag, it was so reasonable, considering that I have gone almost all the famous shoe shops in that shopping mall.

So here it is. My new shoes. If it can last for 1 month, more than enough for me. Hahahahaa.

You Want It Cheap?

Recently I have this salon owner came to me asking for a service. She came to get my service twice – at a certain price of course. I don’t really compare my price with the market price. I only know the price of my work. I do know the market price for one kind of service, but when the customers give details of the work they want, the price should vary depending on the difficulty.

So when she finally came to me a few days ago asking for another artwork. She showed me artworks made by some shop and she said “It’s not my taste.” It occurred to me that maybe she thought the price I put for my work was a little too high so she went to look for alternative. If not, she would go straight to my place, right? I giggled quietly.

She rushed me and luckily I was a bit free so I straight away do the job for her. She looked at my half-done artwork and she was delighted. I was a bit particular with my work and I want it to be perfect but the problem is when they rush me and I just settled with the best at hand. So when she finally saw my final artwork, she agreed to it right away and I gave her a discount price, which might still be expensive to her. She paid me happily. As a professional hairstylist she must understand that a good work does come with a price. Nothing is too expensive not unless you can do it YOURSELF. The other day I come to her salon, I did not even negotiate A BIT with the price that she gave me because I understand what is the price to get a professional service.

This customer learnt that lesson that IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE, the price is number two. It’s about satisfaction. It’s about hitting the right point that, “This is what I want!” The last time I thought getting someone’s service for something was too expensive, I learnt the skill myself. It took time, it took money and it took a lot more. The result was still unsure. If you are born with the talent, you’re lucky. If you are not, sometimes you can never perform it as good. At the end of the day, you still have to admit that there are things that are best to ask from someone who is doing the job fulltime.

The choice is yours anyway. *giggles.

The MaShiMaro Moment

Look at that... Haahahahahaha

Yesterday I was in pain because of the irritation in my stomach. My mom didn't know that I was having a pain in my stomach but she knew there was something wrong with me because of my pale face. Suddenly my mom cracked a joke on our way home.

"Look at the Mashimaro. Her skirt is so loose it almost fell."

I turned and caught a glimpse of the girl Mashimaro hanging at the other side of the car front mirror. I couldn't hold my laughter. I saw the yellow skirt of the Mashimaro was already off her waist and only one point of the skirt that was still sticking to the waist. If not, the whole thing would have just fallen down. The rubber around the skirt got really loose now. The rubber around the skirt waist will usually tear after a while. But that is in human case because we wear and take off repeatedly. What about the Mashimaro?

It's just hanging there without having to even wear and take off the little skirt. It was so funny that even its skirt got loose. This Mashimaro always made me laugh because of its little skirt and the ribbon on the ears that really tells people that Hey I am a female Mashimaro. With the eyes always shut and looks like sleeping all the time, watching it alone is already a total comedy. Everytime my mom commented on it, I tickled me. It was a perfect moment to crack the joke about the Mashimaro because I needed to cheer up. I found out that surviving tough emotional journey might be tough, but it wasn't so hard to make me laugh.

There's another thing. Not everyone might find a Mashimaro as an object of cuteness. To some people it's just childish stuff and only kids find Mashimaro amusing. But I have this cuteness sensor that made me appreciate all the cute things nothing like how people see it. My other siblings are not like me. But my parents know me too well to know that I am like that. The Mashimaro joke really meant so much to me because I understand that my mom was busy with other things too, she had a lot of things in mind too and it was raining heavily along the road. But when she still cared to mention about the Mashimaro. She knew I was going to laugh at it. She wanted me to cheer up.

It's in the simplest little ways that we actually feel it so much. I don't know why it suddenly made me think, not that I don't know it already but I have a reason to remind myself that "My mom loves me." I felt so grateful inside :)

" The Useless Child" PART II

Continuation to Part I

After the wedding, finally all came out to the surface. The wife finally found out the guy was actually Penniless, Jobless and has nothing but Debts. The guy was so smart because he picked a rich and independent girl to be his wife and after sucking his parents’ blood to get the girl, it was time to suck the wife’s blood since he was staying at the wife’s family house. The RM60k that he said he waited for NEVER came. The wife found out that the project was also halfway done so it was logic that he didn’t get any payment from it. Now that he was jobless, it was his reality that he could not hide anymore after the marriage. The wife knew he slept the whole day and only woke up at the afternoon and did his activity around the house and slept so late watching movies and surfing the internet without bringing back any benefit. The wife got so tired of this she even cried in the middle of the night.

But it wasn’t the end yet for the parents’ sorrow. He kept coming to the house asking for money. He said it was for “another project”, building “another company” and all the stuff that made his parents thought he was going earn more money by take a few month thousands from them. Not enough with that, the wife also now start sucking his husband’s parent’s blood by borrowing money for her business and promised to pay in 2 weeks but she never paid. Maybe because she thought even her husbands borrowed almost RM100k from his parents and never paid, why should she pay such a small amount of RM3K. Now with the habit of coming and taking more and more money from the parents saving, IMAGINE what the parents felt. So is this what the parents get after raising him as an educated person?

The lady who came to me and told this story was the guy’s sister. She was in tears when she told me the story. The parents are so helpless because they believe that money is not everything. They shouldn’t make enemies with their children just because they borrow money and never pay back. The rest of the siblings did ask the parents to stop giving money but the guy has a way to ask from them. He become so SHAMELESS cos everytime he comes he brings a new excuse that is not even reasonable and he always PROMISE to pay back. As if he never stops believing that one day he gonna get a million by fluke. The most pitiful thing about the parents is that they NEVER stop believing that the son will finally tell the truth about him being responsible for his debts. Now that the debt is accumulated to RM100k, it’s almost everything that that the parents have and it all goes to ONE child only. The child that was one they praised so much to be “THE BRIGHTEST” because of his achievements in school. He also has good attitudes compared to his other siblings because he is good with socializing while the rest are not so friendly with relatives. The parents were right at one time. But NOT ANYMORE. People change. Life gives us non-stop challenges that make us go haywire and this is how our strength is tested. This is how we are tested if we could use our “weapons” to never get distracted from our values. If you choose to get lost in your own fairytale, this is what happens. If you play foul, you have a price to pay. If you make mistakes and never repent, they are going back at you in a different way. The point is YOU want to change your life or not. You want to quit your stupid dream or not. IF YOU HAVE A FUNCTIONING HEART that make you think wisely IF THIS IS HOW YOU SHOULD TREAT YOUR PARENTS.

I cried as the sister spoke in tears because she reminded me of my own parents too. She told me how hard the parents raised them. She didn’t believe that her brother would do this to them after they sent him to university and got a degree. Just a few days ago he came again and asked for RM5K from the dad. The sick dad had to dress up quickly and went to the bank to take out the money from his ASB. After he got the money he sent him back and pretended like nothing happened. The next time he visit the house, he won’t say anything about the money. He would act like the most innocent child who occasionally come to visit the house and talk of his future plans as if his parents have not even spent anything yet on that stupid almost too-good-to-be-true dream. The most painful thing is he refuses to find for a job because he thought the normal job won’t make him rich. They also refuse to take a job as a engineer because he said he doesn’t want to get transferred. So what he prefers to do is to sleep the day off and dream to get one-off deal to become an instant millionaire.

The good news is that – The Useless Child is only temporary. Just like when he becomes The Favourite Child, is also temporary. I made mistakes to my parents too at one time in my life. But I have admitted my fault. I have repented my mistakes and freed my parents from the sorrow I once caused them. If you happen to be this Useless Child now, FIND YOUR WAY BACK home. God gives us a lifetime, guys. This is not a punishment. FIX IT… GO FREAKING FIX IT before things are too late.

GO FIX IT, GUYS. God gives a way. Please make the effort. Help yourself only then God can help you. PLEASE… PLEASEEEE…

:(((((

“The Useless Child” PART I

Remember how our parents brought us up. Especially when they were not highly educated. They didn’t land a good job. When they started to have us, their lives were becoming harder. Budget was tight. They barely spent for themselves. They dedicated their lives to their children.

They sent us to school with a big hope that ONE DAY we gonna have a life nothing like the life they have. They did everything that their parents didn’t manage to do for them, so that we won’t end up in hardship like them. So that we don’t have to cry while we alone, thinking how we gonna pay the school fees and books that our kids ask for, just like they did. It’s not easy to bring up kids. If it’s easy, TRUST ME nobody wants to dump their babies. Look at how many of the babies got dumped. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF OUR MOMS DID THAT TO US BEFORE????

My point here is don’t think that every parents will love and care for their children. NO. Not only that they don’t necessarily love you, they don’t even necessary want you with them to begin with. Judging from what happens around us, you know that some parents may not even want you ALIVE!!! So look at yourself now and what kind of parents you have!! Now that you are a grown up, with good education, with people around admiring you for your capabilities and your charms – Look at WHO you are now! If our parents decided not to have us, I’m sorry to say that you’d be lucky if you are still alive at your age now. Now do examine what are you doing in your life that has your parents’ name in it?

After what their parents did, now that the parents are getting older, they thought they could slow down and now it’s time for their children to follow the course of their own lives. Now what some Useless Child does is this. Here’s one case of Useless Child. A useless child would NOT let their parents rest. After how hard they brought him up, now when he’s big, he starts lose direction of his life because of his own greed. He got too tired of working with the salary of RM1500 thinking that it couldn’t make him rich. He’s too tired of waking up in the morning and keep getting call asking for his whereabouts. He’s sick of taking orders and he’s sick of feeling tired. Finally he found himself a girlfriend who is high in taste who was driving BMW and wearing a RM3k handbag, he suddenly felt so embarrassed with himself. To overcome this, he started doing extra contractor job under another licensed big contractor who was willing to pass some work for him to handle. He thought that he could build a new career from there, he quit his job at the property company that gave him RM1500 per month. It was the starting point where he started to suck his parents’ blood. He said he didn’t have enough capital to run the small project. Logically, he was just a sub-contractor he should convey his problem to the main contractor and not the parents. Now he asked the parents to “lend” him some money with the promise that he would NOT spend the money. He only wanted the money in his account so he could be eligible to get a license. What he did was not that. He actually used the money to do the works and since he didn’t have a monthly salary now, also to high his own ego so that he could match his gf status. With all the juggled things in mind, he found of the money of RM60k was still not enough to complete the job and it was only done halfway. The main contractor refused to pay him anything. The few months work was in vain. Luckily the gf was super happy because the guy spent so much on her. With the engagement that was extraordinary expensive than normal, he won the gf’s heart as well as her family and also the relatives of the gf thinking that the girl got herself the real prince charming. Handsome, Rich and Generous. Now what’s with the parents?

Their smiles were built on the parents’ sweat. He LIED to them about the money. The money that he used to buy other people’s heart came from his parents saving accounts. Yes, money from their tight spending since the child was small. What kind of punishment these parents deserve to be treated that way? He kept telling people that he’s a contractor but the fact was the only project he was assigned to do was A FAILURE and nobody knew about it. He was using his “talent” to mislead everyone about his situations. He made them believe that he has so much money to spend for the gf when the money was all his parents’!! Now that his other siblings smelled something fishy about their brother’s bad steps, they started to fight him and argued with him. The parents were in big heartache seeing their kids argued over money. The other siblings only wanted to stand for their parents’ right but the parents didn’t want to see them argue like that. It make them so sad as if it was all about money.

He kept doing it. He said he had another big project. The money of that project expected to be cashed in before his planned wedding. That was what he told his parents. The wedding was getting nearer but no money yet. They parents believed that he was waiting for some RM60K in his account so they took out their money first since that it might be too late to prepare things if they waited. The parents ended up sponsoring the whole wedding without a penny from their son because he was just rich of sweet lies and not a single penny. Even at this point, he had no guilt or feeling of remorse or anything. He even got mad at the parents on his wedding day because all the money gifts from friends and relatives given to the parents and not him. He thought that it was his wedding, he should get all the money. He even complained about the shortcomings of the wedding event because he thought he was the person to be celebrated, it’s other people who should take care of the event. My oh My!

To be continued in Part II...

Only The Strong!!!

Business is getting tougher day to day. To start a business is hard you say? I agree. But it’s much tougher to make it survive. You heard how people started business today only to close down months later. Not even a year, my friends! Now what are we talking about actually? Is it the attitudes, the competitiveness or it’s just the end of the world for many kinds of business out there?

I may not be the best person to speak of this. Just look at business loans. They have piling of applications of the high-spirited businessman wannabes – they have plans – they have visions – they have the spirit to make it happen. When the loans are approved and they get the money, only a few could actually make it like the plan they presented. The rest of them tried something but screwed halfway. And the rest of them just vanished. Now you know you can start a business with some effort, but you need more than effort to make it survive. Then here’s the question. Is it enough just to survive?

I had some mind sharing with the people who are in this field. They feel it how tough to even see another day doing the thing that they have been doing. People said location is everything. But sorry. Even those who opened a shop at Centre Point could close in months. Or do you means 1Borneo? Or Suria KK? Or Wisma Merdeka? You name it. High profiled shopping malls don’t promise anything. With the rental that is too high, the location alone is not enough to make them earn more. With the existence of cheaper alternatives, people who are more into needs and less on the brands and styles can rely more on budget stores like RM2 shops to get their household equipments. Trust me even the used clothes are in better demand than the clothes that you see in high end retail shops. Hell, the people who are selling kuih at the tamu are earning more than some of the business owners who rent shop lots.

This could be the reality of business scenario nowadays. It’s tough everywhere. Even the place like 1Borneo is only a place where people come and watch, but not buy. Even the eating outlets are hard to survive unless they have long ventured in this business and have strong capital to cover temporary losses due to unpredictable customer flow. People who rely entirely on business as the source of their income are having a hard time to think for their future. Would there be tomorrow for their business or should they change profession?

If they think using the straight way, or force on their original plan to work – they just can’t force things to happen their way. They must amend their strategy so that they can keep in the track of going forward. With the current business scenario and the trend of buying in consumers, it’s hard to be the one to change them unless you change the way that you are still capable to get your market share. Otherwise, you will be lost cos nobody is waiting for you. Nobody has the time to wait for you. The competitive one will adapt to new kinds of business or products to ensure that they are still in the market. They won’t wait for the stars to fall from the sky cos that’s not gonna happen.

Suddenly you wonder why some people can survive even when you thought these people might not make it in the long run when you first learn about them. Deep inside you, you believe that you are still better than them although you look like you can’t hardly survive. You know what, stop being cocky and think too high of yourself. In the critical times when you survive or die, you know that these survivors don’t just accidentally survive. They have “a weapon” and a strength that you don’t. Now maybe it’s time to learn from them. And low yourself a bit. Maybe you are just too full of yourself. Accept it that you are no longer the superior or maybe who cares who is the superior. You don’t have to do it the sophisticated way. You need to survive. You ask me is to survive enough? In case you answer No, tell you what, before you can aim higher than that, this survival is crucial. Survive it :)

A Screwed Up Life – Is it God’s Fault?

I have a story to tell. Not to embarrass anyone but to take a lesson from it.

He started off like some other kids whose parents didn’t get to be together. Still he has the mother who then married another guy who loved him like his own son. Then he has a sister and other younger brothers who accepted him as one of the siblings since birth. Financial burden and lack of education awareness could be among the reasons why he quit school early. But the same goes with the rest of the siblings. Being the eldest among them, he should have it more than the younger siblings.

When he was in his 20s, he got married to a girl. Not long after they got the first child. He never landed a proper job. It was his wife who busted her buns everyday to earn a living. She never quit even how hard it was for her. With a husband like that, imagine what kind of strength she should have to endure more than 30 years of marriage. The wife, with vision defect (which one of her eyes was blind from small), was not really the kind of lady that you thought would have time to mess around with other men behind her husband’s back. Not when she was too busy working to put food on the table. Despite her sacrifice, the husband always screamed at her, accusing her of having an affair with her superior or any guy she came in contact with. Everyone knows that jealousy was always the reason of heated arguments between them. What did the husband do all the while? If he has the time, he went out hunting. Other than that, he was just sitting at home sleeping, or going to other people’s house and chatted there for hours gossiping about other people.

Their first child was a girl. After less than 9 years, she got a new sister. What kind of fate that this sister deserved when her father accused her to be a child from her mom’s secret affair. Imagine that. Even if she had to endure people badmouthing about her resulting from her own husband’s agenda, she still managed to bring up their 2 kids like normal kids who got the basic education.

After SPM, the first daughter finally found a way to work in town, even if just a cabin cleaner. Her life back at home could be one of the reasons why she could just be happy as long as she got to stay away from home and she was satisfied enough to land a job like that. Now the younger sister also got to be away from home when she got accepted to take a government-funded course at a local institution. What left at home were again the husband and the wife until something that happened months ago. The ongoing argument on jealousy finally came to its peak. The guy got so mad at the wife and started telling his younger brothers that his wife was saying bad things about their late mother and the rest of the siblings,(which was not true) that made the brothers so mad. That nite, one of the angry brothers actually hit the wife so furiously, punched and kicked her till she had to run to the house of the Village leader, who was also one of the guy’s younger brothers. She asked for help to call the police, but the Village Leader was siding his brother. The husband just watched her wife got physically abused and was so delighted that he got other people to teach her a lesson.

Yes people. You read right. What you read was a real story happened to my own relative. This wasn’t a drama that you got hit and kicked and punched with fake bruises and pain. With only one working eye, been working selling vegetables to support the family and raise the kids on her own with the husband just to make their lives harder, that was what she got in the end. That incident hurt her so badly. She finally decided to move out from the house and took refuge in her relative’s home, and she never came home again. Maybe she didn’t believe why life has been so harsh to her. The husband left alone in the house, a house which was also built on the wife’s sweat. Even his brothers know that there’s no way that something in the house actually comes from their own elder brother. All he got was a mouth that can poison people’s mind. He couldn’t even use his mouth wisely.

So for months since that incident, he stayed there alone. No one was there to feed him. Luckily his siblings’ houses were all nearby. They did go there and visited him but they had their own lives and families too. Deep inside they knew their elder brother was good for nothing. He was just too lazy to improve his life.

After months living alone and unattended, with no one to cook for him, he had to do everything on his own. Without no jobs or even anything. In his 50s now, he only waited for anybody to drop by and send something for him. Not long after that, his health was deteriorated. Not long after that, he was sent to the hospital and stayed there for weeks now. He was diagnosed with a few diseases that need constant treatments. The siblings barely come and visit. Even his own siblings thought that he didn’t worth their time. Had him not made the stupidest mistake of framing the wife, maybe he still got someone beside the bed, just like all the times before whenever he fell sick. Now he continues to live on people’s sympathy. Luckily he got one very caring sibling (she is the only sister in the siblings) who have been sending him foods everyday and week. Even at this point, God never abandons him. At least He sends him someone to take care of him.

I looked at this man. His life was totally screwed. I tried to think whether this is God’s doing or is it his own. Now I see it with my own eyes that IT’S US who decide what kind of life we want to have. I know I’m right all along about God gives us 90% the power to get the life we want when He only takes 10% from it for our written destiny. It’s not God’s fault that He didn’t look for a job. It’s not God’s fault that he couldn’t not control his jealousy. It’s not God’s fault that he didn’t know how to appreciate the wife. It’s not God’s fault that he was too lazy for anything. It’s not God’s fault that he used his mouth for the wrong purpose. Is it God's fault that he never did one single good thing to contribute to the life that he ended up having today.

We take a lesson from this. The guy has been given more than 50 years, to clean up his acts and come clean, start a new slate, be a better person the next day – you name it. He failed to use any of these chances to get the life he wants. I’m sure the life he wants is not laying on the hospital bed, crying at nite, not just out of pain, but out of total loneliness.

Whatever we have today is the result of our own doing. Don’t go ask the same question again one day about who should be blamed if you have a screwed up life? Don’t give yourself the chance to blame. Cos the answer to that question is not anybody, is not God, but it is YOU.

Think about it. :)

The License To Curse

“You don’t have to scream at me like that, you idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Said the lady to the policeman on the phone. I was startled in disbelief. How could a lady, with such respectable character with a good religious background – did something like that to a police officer who was doing his job? The fact that this lady was a leader for a bunch of salesgirls selling sewing machine, who went into a police barrack without permission, she at least deserved some brainwashing about getting a permission first. I was like, “Wow…you did something like that?” Not only that, she also talked rudely to the policemen who were there at the station because she said the policemen were just trying to act smart and prolonged the matter. She said she understood their explanation and they just didn’t want to let them go. They asked for their ICs and recorded them as if they had just committed a crime. The lady felt so unfairly treated so she started saying things just to stand for her right as a citizen. “They could not treat us like one of those refugees!!” One of them finally called their superior who then shouted at the lady through the phone that made her shout so loud she scared everyone who were there. Oh my. My question was, “What has turned you into a tigress, my friend?”

This is what happens when someone push you off your limit. Even a soft lady like her can get so vicious. I mean, or maybe I have not known her so well yet? Then let’s just put myself as the study case here. (Erks!!) If I talk to you, you might complain that I look cold and unfriendly when you come as strangers. But you would never complain that I am harsh with words. You won’t barely hear a single cursing words from my mouth. I admit that. So this is what I told the lady when we had a long talk yesterday.

“You know what inside my mind when I get really mad at someone? If I curse, I only show them my weakness. My ego is too high for that. I don’t want them to see me a level lower. I know that suddenly I feel stupid, embarrassed and …unashamedly uncivilized too.” I said to her.

She looked at me and nodded. Maybe she thought it all made sense. I might be right about all those. But it didn’t stop her from thinking that she did The Right Thing.”I only curse and raise my voice when it’s appropriate.” Suddenly something knocked into my senses. She was right. I was not far different or far angelic than her. Suddenly I realized that I CURSE so badly too.

I seldom curse at people. To me cursing at people only made me look stupid and immoral. If I claim to be better than them, cursing is the easiest way to be exactly like them. But still, I NEED TO CURSE. I curse so much when I’m alone actually. Especially when I do my work and I make the silliest mistake that cost me money. I thought that NO good words I should deserve after doing the same mistake over and over again. I thought that I was always too hasty to never correct my mistakes. I NEED TO CURSE to tell myself that I am NOT happy with my own work and I better get it right next time or I might deserve another serious of bad cursing from my own self. Erks?

Imagine when someone steps on your toes, would you want to scream and say something bad? The act of people stepping on our toes do come in different ways actually. I remember the other day when I shouted at the clerk through the phone because I was so pissed with the extra charges that DHL charged me. Also, how I chased out a salesman from my office because he kept forcing me on his products when I have said it clear that I was not interested. Also remember the times when someone made you wait for hours just to tell you that it was cancelled. Remember when someone accused you of taking something but you didn’t. Remember when someone forgot to tell you something important that made you the person to blame in the end. I believe that maybe I rationally know that cursing is not good but I just can’t accept people’s wrongdoings or even my own – without expressing that it’s not something favourable to me. Cursing is a way that we let people know they did something wrong and next time they know to never repeat it again.

Now I know… the person like the lady who turned into a tigress when she faces situations that need her to, is actually doing herself a favour. She will be nice to people who deserve it but it doesn’t mean the rest can just step on her. Self defense gives you the license to curse but in the name of manners and humanity, spare cursing only when you really desperately need to use the license, or else, you would be perceived as one irrational, immoral, loose canon who have totally lost it. Nope, it’s not worth it.

Let’s use the license properly, k?

*giggles.

Do Our Professions Age Us?

I have been thinking about this since a long time ago. I knew there’s something about Professions and Aging. There are some professions that you think are only made for “older people” and automatically anybody would address the people in that certain profession as someone “older”. If they are Really older, it’s okay. But how about the younger people? Are they ready to be addressed as someone much older? Do they care or not being addressed as someone older by someone who is obviously much older than them? I hope I ask the right question! *giggles.

If you are a bus driver for instant, I have watched it that even the elderly women called the bus driver as the word “Pakcik or Abang” by default. Hehehe. I mean, maybe they don’t find it important to see the person’s age, but it’s just the way they address a bus driver. I mean, I understand a bus driver might have more things to worry about rather than what they are addressed with. It’s like, Yeah call me uncle or brother as long as you pay the fee, u understand me? Hahahahaha. Ok kidding. But you guys get my point? I also look at this the job of Security Guard. At least this is true in the case of the guard who is working at the building where I work. I call him with Uncle. He’s a man around his 40s. What I find funny is that, all the cleaners also call him Uncle or Pakcik, even if one of them is actually the same age if not a younger by one or two years. You don’t call someone who is just slightly older than you with the word Uncle, right? Like most people, I think I would just call the person by name.

Maybe this is not so much for the men. What about the women? Women are usually very sensitive with age. Do they have to accept this as a result of their profession? For example, in the professional fields, you thought whoever is there sitting at the chair that you won’t entitle to sit just because you think it’s too early for someone your age, automatically you would think that whoever is sitting at the chair MUST be someone who is so much older just because you think it’s the nature of the profession to have someone professional and someone professional is usually not someone very young. That’s just an assumption. It’s not written anywhere. You guys have to remember that not everyone who is sitting for SPM is 17 years old. They could be younger, agree? It applies everywhere else too. A boss can be someone younger than the person who walks in for the job interview can be so much older.

My other friends get it too. There’s this one guy who just moved in to the building opening his own studio. When he first walked in, he was curious that most of the ladies in the building look so independent. They run their own companies, have workers under them and stuff. This guy, who claims to be new in his kind of business, does look so much younger because he likes to throw that curious look as if he’s a totally beginner. Well, apart from the fact that it’s hard to guess for someone’s age nowadays, sometimes we just assume someone’s age from how they behave. So this guy has been addressing everyone in the building as “older sister” and none of the ladies complain because the guy does look a little younger. Recently they found out from the guy’s Facebook that he’s in fact older than all he lady bosses in the building! I make this assumption that like some people, the guy might think that these ladies must be so much older to be where they are since that he’s nowhere near their achievement and he’s already at his age now. I find it quite funny how Profession becomes a way people assume someone’s age.

I remember long time ago, I was queuing at the cashier counter. The cashier at the time was this big frame girl. I remember I was a secondary school student that time. So when it was my turn, I looked at the girl with her uniform and overheard her conversation with her supervisor. Then I saw her nametag. I was shocked to find out she was younger than I was! Without the nametag, I would just assume her to be someone older because she was already working as a cashier, which I thought a job I would never get even as a parttimer because they might need you to be older to trust you to handle money. I remember feeling a little awkward and I did feel bad actually because I felt so left behind. Hehe.

So now you guys get the issue. I don’t suggest anything to fix this because I don’t think it’s a big deal anyway. It’s just that now we have our eyes opened that Professions do make us age or maybe otherwise. Maybe waitress is among the professions that make you look younger, don’t you think? You might think that jobs like that are only for part-timers so only the school leavers do it. Unless the person looks and acts so obviously older, maybe it’s not an issue. At least you can tell that you come across a special case where finally someone older also does the job. Hahaha.

Oh well. For the ladies who are way ahead of time, NOW YOU KNOW that it’s not necessarily because you look older when someone addresses with something that doesn’t match your age, it could be because of your profession. So no sweat. Just wait until they find out the truth about your age, you’ll enjoy seeing that look in their face. That time, maybe you might think it’s worth it to withstand an older person salutation for quite a while. Maybe your profession is just too great for someone as young as you.

Hahahahaha. Have fun all :)