Who You Are

Dr. Suess is a literary genius, and some of his quotes have hit home in the struggles of my life.



" Sometimes the questions and complicated, and the answers simple "




" You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep, because reality is finally better than your dreams "



" Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind "

-Dr. Suess
US Author & Illustrator (1904 - 1991)

Ushering

Today I attended my cousin's wedding dinner. As a close relative I had to help out and usher and seat guests. All in all, I had a fun time meeting and greeting.

Truth be told, I'm not going to delve any further into the whole wedding. I'm just out to rant, and this post is specifically designed to accommodate my mindless anger sans irritation.

As an usher, I was given a stack of paper filled with names to sort out which guest is seated at which table. Then I was to direct them to their seats when they came to the front desk and registered.

Easy, right?

Well, it obviously did NOT help that the guest's names were all screwed up, since some people were listed down as families, hence going by 'Mr. & Mrs. So-and-so', meaning that whatever GRANDMOTHER names they were coming up with were NOT A MATCH in the list UNLESS they said the name of the family patriarch.

To make matters worse, random people were listed as Mr and Ms. respectively, totally SCREWING UP the alphabetical system.

Therefore, when someone mentions their name, I have to:

1. Check the alphabetical list for their name.

2. Not there? Check the family names under 'Mr and Mrs blah blah blah'

3. STILL not there? Then check the random individuals under Mr and Ms.

4. In desperation, check the list of Datos, Datins, Drs and Profs. (Honestly, THIS too messed up the system)



To cut things short, there was this bunch of expensive-looking elderly ladies that walked in, and I was supposed to show them to their seats. There was no match for their Mandarin names, so they came up with a plethora of English names which, I guess, was how the hosts, my cousins and her parents, know them by.

From the steps above, it is evident that for every name they come up with, I have PAGES to look through. Their impatient yammering and constant grabbing for the list did NOT HELP AT ALL too. In the end, I apologized and told them I couldn't find their name.

Then my cousin's sister came to help out. She promptly looked through the list and found the lady's name.

The stupid expiring yak had the gall to turn to me, and with an imperious lilt, tyrannically declared:

'See, I TOLD you it was inside!'

Okay woman, obviously there's something you don't understand. For one, I did NOT say your name wasn't inside. I TOLD YOU I COULDN'T FIND IT. And another. While you were unable to shut your gaping trap, I was looking through hundreds of names just to find, maybe in vain hope, that I could catch a glimpse of one of the FIVE names you mentioned, UNDER DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.

THAT'S why I asked my cousin sister for help. Geddit?

But that wasn't the brunt of it. As she was walking away, she told my cousin sister 'THIS BOY IS NOT VERY GOOD.'

Excuse me?

Not very good?

Not very good IN WHAT WAY?

In the way that I'm not getting paid? In the way that I don't work as a receptionist for a living? Or maybe it's the way that I am A FAMILY MEMBER OF THE BRIDE OF THE WEDDING YOU'RE BLOODY ATTENDING, AND ALL I'M TRYING TO DO IS HELP EASE THE CROWD SURGE.

You tell me, bitch. Not very good in WHAT?

Henceforth, the moral of the story: Please treat the ushers at wedding receptions nicely, because they ARE BLARDY FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE BRIDE/ GROOM. We're not here to please you because our livelihoods depend on your sad tips.

We're just there because we value our familial relationships.

Geddit, bitch?

I Need To Poison My Wife

A friend of mine sent me this joke via e-mail, and I found it pretty funny. Enjoy! :)

A nice, calm and respectable man went into the pharmacy, right up to the
pharmacist, looked straight into her eyes, and said, "I would like to
buy some cyanide.."

The pharmacist asked, "Why in the world do you need cyanide?"

The man replied, "I need it to poison my wife."

The pharmacist's eyes got big and she exclaimed, "Lord have mercy!


I can't give you cyanide to kill your wife! That's against the law!


I'll lose my license! They'll throw both of us in jail! All kinds
of bad things will happen. Absolutely not! You CANNOT have any
cyanide!"

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture of his wife in
bed with the pharmacist's husband .

The pharmacist looked at the picture and replied, "Well now. That's
different. You didn't tell me you had a prescription.

Anger - Who Hurts More?

LOL, How apt that I have an earlier post with the same title.

Bad moods are horrible. They place me in a zone of silence. I don't feel like talking, I don't feel like interacting. Not because I'm angry at the people around me, I'm just... not in the mood (no pun intended).

Someone once asked me, " Are you angry at me?"

You know, unless you murdered my aunt's cousin's grandmother's brother's second son's niece's (twice removed) mother-in-law, or ate the cup of yoghurt I was saving for my after-supper dessert, I can't possibly be mad at anyone who asks me that question.

It just shows me you care. How sweet.

And I can't fault that.

So my standard answer is 'No'. And I mean it.

You know, at times we may get angry at another person. We hurt them, either intentionally or unintentionally. We leave lasting impressions, scars that linger to remind them of the abuse. We're haunted by the ghost of our callousness, an undercut handed over in the form of reckless behavior.

But when we think it through... was it really worth it?

Was proving that point so important, was winning the fight everything?

Did you leave the battle lightly scratched, but overcome with the immensity of your actions, the gut-wrenching hold of guilt?

Confrontation is worthless if hurting another only hurts yourself. Revenge is a double-edged sword of a nail-laden hilt.

The pain ultimately falls on you.




I agree. I was slightly harsh with my language, and it was totally unnecessary. The issue was petty, inconsequential even.

Friendship is thrown around as a term nowadays, heavy in emotions, but lacking in meaning. True friends - the ones that will be at your side when adversity is faced, are hard to find. And I think that you may just be a true friend. *btw, please don't prove me wrong*

In hindsight, I shouldn't have done what I did. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to you for all the hurt I've caused. The scars may be there, but hopefully the salve of forgiveness is able to take the edge off the sting.

Sorry.

Being Mortal

As one who is young, we often think of ourselves as infallible beings, built of rock and stone, with a heart encased in pure gold.

Perhaps it's because as humans, we are programmed to be dualists; To believe that the spirit and body are entities capable of divine centrifugation; That there exists a life transcending material.

Our notion of imperishability probably stems from that belief of an immortality that outlives our time as mortals, lending us the naive courage to live at the spite of death.

Of course, taking out biology at face point, we are all but expiring creatures infesting a planet in the vast galaxy. And to magnify what is already minuscule, each of us are living on borrowed time, in vessels as fragile as an intricate ivory lattice, sheathed in soft flesh, permeated by warm blood.

All wounds bleed; All pain hurt.

All misgivings pierced into a beating heart will eventually halt its rhythmical struggle.

We will die. Our bodies will rot; Cadavers bearing the memories of a life once existed.



We will cease to remain,
When our gold-encased heart suffocates under the weight of its own armor.

Obligations vs. Morality

Student Dies After Kiosk Workers Refuse To Help

In this post, I would like to press on the issues of obligations and morality.

Obviously reading the flow of events that brought to that devastatingly heart-wrenching ending, it pains the reader to attest to the knowledge that, the girl could have been saved, if only more help was at hand.

By more help meaning, the use of a fire extinguisher to put out the flames that had started eating away at the upturned car.

People are blaming the workers at the petrol kiosk who refused the good Samaritan's attempt to obtain a fire extinguisher, even after much pleading and bargaining. Thoughts and rallies of blame against that particular petrol COMPANY are even underway, or brewing within the minds of those enraged by this seemingly breach of... what? Ethics? Humanity? Law?

The heart of the argument seems to lie within the domains of JUDGMENT vs. OBLIGATION.
With judgment accounting for critical thinking and the way one would handle a stressful chaotic situation based on clear reasoning.

In defense of the petrol kiosk, I would like to point out some key points:

• The accident was around 500 metres away. None of the workers could have assessed the situation, and hence was unable to envision the extent of damage.

• Fearfulness and a sense of duty. They were ordered to not open the kiosk doors, for reasons including theft and safety, which brings us to the next point.

• FRAUD. Many people argue the rationale in turning down a MAN, rushing in at 3 IN THE MORNING, demanding that you OPEN the DOORS to your store, to aid in an ACCIDENT, you can't see there and then. I would most certainly have taken precaution, AGAINST THAT MAN.

• Workers. What type of attendant would you think, will man a petrol kiosk at 3 am? I'm certain he or she does not have a degree in chemical engineering. Heck, he or she may not even have an education at all, and may not even be a CITIZEN of Malaysia.
  

Couple up the last two points, and you have a degree of mis-communication and mistrust. That is certainly not a good combination in the face of an emergency.

Which brings us back to JUDGMENT. Assessment of the situation, making a level-headed rational decision in a chaotic situation for the benefits of both parties, coming up with an amicable solution.

Would an immigrant worker be able to do that effectively? Would a petrol kiosk attendant manning the stall at 3 am have the CAPACITY, be it mentally or job-orientated, to do so?

*The tunnelhole of this argument is not somebody working at 3 am. It is ' What KIND of person would you expect to take the night-to-morning shift at a petrol kiosk?' and hence, their sense of duty and also, intelligence*

To sum it all up, this accident was an unfortunate incident with which its damage could have been significantly dissipated if GOOD JUDGMENT was available. However, to put it simply to avoid delving deep into the various facets of law and human rights, NO HUMAN IS OBLIGED TO HELP ANOTHER IN DISTRESS.

*With obligation meaning in this context, being bound by a set of rules or laws; to forbear something.*

Hence, we get something of a full picture, whereby the kiosk attendant had the right to refuse help, regardless of whether he/she had full knowledge of the accident. Plus, being non-obliged to offer any assistance, in lieu of safety and job *ignore the irony* obligations.

Nevertheless, in times of need and we call upon the humanity of others for help, the attendant has failed miserably (In his/her defense, the issue of misunderstanding could be brought upon). And on the basis of moral judgment, it is unfortunate that the attendant did not choose otherwise, which could have saved a life.

Obviously, I am commenting based on my third-party view within the confines of cold hard logic. However, on an emotional scale, I am unashamed to say that I DO feel a sense of INJUSTICE, RAGE, HELPLESSNESS and of course GRIEF, for the victim and her suffering.

This is my interpretation of this event, and I am not hardpressing my views on anybody, with no offense meant.