Sunday, December 31, 2006

Something to chew on for the end of the year

The internet have been bust for the past few weeks to the point that surfing was getting to be a pain from all the long loading links and time out pages. Hopefully the damage will be fixed soon. Well won't be updating much, enjoying a much needed R&R from work and just hanging at home before the next barrage of responsibilities and workload that will be avalanching my way at the start of the new year. Anyway just wanted to post something my dear girlfriend wrote on her blog which I think is profound and enjoyable to read and share. Here is the full text;

It perplexes me why people love to make scornful remarks to others just because they can, or constantly come up with jibes that sound innocent, but wound deeply. For others, I believe they have polished the art of being tactless to its finest. You never know when there is a thorn in their words. I have particular hatred for hypocrisy. Mind you I am referring to the attribute and not the person, since every one of us is a hypocrite in some form or another. Unless, of course, you’ve been canonized as a saint (When that happens be sure to tell me so that I can get your blessings to counter my dark side). So before I start brandishing my favourite cleaver and run amok in the streets, I need to let off some steam to maintain my sanity. Many encounters with acquaintances and strangers alike have inspired me to clear some misconceptions here:

If we give nice gifts, it doesn’t mean that “… we are throwing money about”. It means that we don’t mind spending a little more on you because we think you’re worth it. We have taken the trouble and expended extra energy to search for the right kind of gift instead of grabbing the standard ceramic figurine off the shelf. And perhaps if you looked more closely, you might find that we got it on discount/after haggling/after scouring countless outlets for price-checking.

If we like to cook in every night instead of eating out, it doesn’t mean “… we have sooo much time ah!” It just means that we are too poor to dine out each night and want to keep to our monthly budget. Yes we are tired after doing the same amount of hard day’s work as you did, but we prefer to expend extra energy to cook our own meals. Perhaps you have had a fractured past in consistently producing burnt toast, but why do you scorn people who are more domestically inclined? Many of our friends who are hard workers have proven to be great homemakers as well.

If we don’t talk as much as you do, it surely doesn’t mean “… we don’t have good PR skills, cannot communicate with people, sure one!”. Don’t be daft. It simply means either we’re not into the same interests, you are speaking in another language (of which you perfectly know that we don’t understand), or that we don’t like to talk to you. Well take the hint and go fly a kite.

If we tend to stick to a certain group of people, we are not being “clique-ish”. That’s because the people we hang with have more concern for us and actually treat us like we exist. Like talk in a language everybody can understand. Or still be around when you’re in trouble. Of course, some of us might be with a gang to further our own interests/ambitions, but that’s a story for another type of species – the kind we prefer not to associate with.

If we eat 50%-!00% more food than you do, we are not “greedy”. Sorry, but eating like a bird just doesn’t go well with some of us. For heaven’s sakes, don’t you ever notice that we actually keep the extras in the fridge and eat the same food two/three days in a row? We should be congratulated on our effort to save cooking gas and our own energy. Anyway, please excuse us for now. We’ll be sure to donate to your African Starvation Fund after our scrumptious meal.

If we blast music till your ears bleed, don’t wonder “how we can study with all that racket??!” After all, we think it’s better than that song you constantly play repeatedly on your com till it’s stuck in our head. Either that, or you were also guilty of showing off your new Altec Lansing’s abilities while sounding those irritatingly high-pitched voices from your downloaded Japanese animations. Chaos must be countered with chaos. Therefore creating an equilibrium where our minds can find peace in the knowledge that if we can’t study, you can’t study either.

If we don’t complain about our work, it doesn’t mean we have the ideal job, or that we are the boss’s pet. Word of advice: Please don’t assume that your life is always harder than ours, or that you have more right to complain than we do. Try to remember that the universe doesn’t only revolve around you and that the rest of us are mortal, intelligent beings that suffer as well.

If you visit often and our dog insists on having a taste of you for dinner each time you come, it could mean: (1) He doesn’t like you; or (2) We don’t like you; or (3) We like you, as entertainment/bait; or (4) You have wronged us deeply and we have trained poochy to assassinate you. It most certainly does not mean that we didn’t train him well. Sic ‘em, Tiger.

If we came to a restaurant to dine, it does not mean that we are there for you to stare at. Scrutinizing us from top-to-toe like some kind of hidden 3D image as you wait for your orders to arrive gives us a strong urge to grab the nearest fork and poke your eyes out. In a country where staring at a person continuously for 15 minutes is not considered rude, we’d love to return the favour. But just enduring your unfriendly glares for five minutes gives us indigestion, and could ruin our night out. Like, you haven’t seen a human eat before, or something?

Sometimes I wonder how and why I’ve become so sardonic after these few years, but I’m afraid the reason is simple – you’ve all taught me so well. But I shouldn’t worry really. It’s all quite natural. Like the irresistible urge I have to suddenly don a chainsaw and go to work, leaving behind only splattery remains in my wake. Or being more ambitious by wanting to work for a human pest control agency.

Visit her blog if you want to read more on her writings. It can be visited HERE.

And some last words from me before 2006 gives way to a new year.

Happy New Year Everbody! And may the next year be more profound and better than the previous, plus no petrol hikes hopefully when we wake up tomorrow. Happy partying and celebrating. To 2007!

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