Human Nature

Hopping on buses and trains during peek hours are getting harder and troublesome these days. There are just too many complaints I've heard from friends. In fact, this morning when I checked my facebook, I saw a friend posted this "Bloody Idiot!! Early morning wana make me angry. Still got d cheeck to ask me "where u wana go" when i said excuse me to move in to d centre of d train. I'm not like u Stupid! Dont move in n let others have a chance to get in as well. Bloody Arsehole!!!" The other night, she also shared the same story she experienced while riding her bus home. In her anger, she blamed Singaporeans for being so insensitive, selfish and Kiasu, though she herself is also a Singaporean. Then, one colleague texted me about her funny experience this morning. When she reached the office, she relayed the story of a bus driver who had used 3 languages (Malay, Chinese, and English) trying to urge people to move to the rare and center of the car so others could go in. The driver, already frustrated, shouted to the passengers "What other language you want me to use so you all will understand me!"

Sadly, most of the people here are inconsiderate and think only of themselves. The bus and train story is one good example. Why can't people put their shoes into others'? Why can't they give way for other passengers to go in? Why must they crowd and stay near the door when the center aisle is empty? Does the driver count 1,2,3 when the passengers alight which makes all these bunch of people afraid of being left behind? It would be a little understandable if they are to stop after 2-3 stations away. But despite of their short trip, these folks really like to stay near the door. This selfish act is rampant in many of the workplace here as well. For instance, other colleagues will try to push things to you when they see a major issue is coming their way. The same goes when you are on leave and someone is supposed to back you up in your absence. That person (your back up buddy) will try to find some faults in your way of doing things in order to get something to bigmouth to the boss. Assmosis and playing safe seem to be part of these people's nature so as to attain advancement and recognition and eventually receive better appraisal/increment. Is this the disease of an advanced country? I don't mean to point one race here 'cause I witness many individuals who have this kind of attitude regardless of nationality or gender. This proves that human nature is the most complicated of all things to understand. What for we have thousands of adjectives to describe our behaviours and personalities.

PS: Written on Wednesday. But posted only today.

Hygiene and Vanity

I was on my way to my appointments this morning and was sitting inside the train while reading a book with the seats on both my sides still empty. Suddenly, here came a boy ( a teenager if I'm not mistaken) who occupied the seat on my right. I couldn't concentrate with what I was reading due to the foul smell coming from this lad who I guess did not bother to do a little wash up after waking up in the morning. Until I could no longer  bear the smell anymore, so I half-covered my nose, which already started to get clogged, without hesitation . But the agony did not end there. The boy's phone rang and so he picked it up. Guess what?! When he talked, his bad breath reached my too sensitive little nose. You just can't imagine how I felt the whole time he was sitting beside me. There I was, all too fresh from a 30minute morning shower with a good scent on trying to stand the offensive smell that the owner was so unaware or unmindful of. It made me asked myself whether the young fellow knew that he smelled so bad. 

It's not that I'm bragging but when it comes to personal hygiene, I am so meticulous and sensitive. And I think I have even gone far to being so vain. In fact, this morning's appointments were to get my braces' wire changed and to have my underarm hair removal treatment, which the latter by the way reminds me of how, in many occasions, I saw some women at the train not shaving their underarm hair. Just how gross can people get!

My family and friends know that I do not really need the braces as my teeth are not really that badly formed. Nevertheless, I am spending for the benefit of either hygiene or vanity. Or maybe both. I don't see any harm in being a little vain anyway as long as one knows the limitations. A person can buy expensive clothes, bags, accesories, make ups, etc. for vanity's sake. But I hope they would give more attention on their personal hygiene , else it would be unforgivable. It somehow leaves me wondrin' what makes it difficult for some to take a shower in the morning, shave unwanted hair, brush teeth, and put on a little cologne before starting a day. These should actually be a regular habit. Are these things cultural or self-imposed? But seriously, there's a lot of them (unhygienic) around here.

Universal Truth

I was talking to a friend today who has been courting a girl for years with a different race than him. He somehow got the positive response he has been waiting for a long time. But the final verdict still relies on the girl's parents' approval. He was so anxious that the parents may not approve of him. So, I asked him why does he have to worry? If they both love each other, then the parents should not be a problem. This is anyway what I believe since we are already in this high-technology generation where most people are so concern about economy and new inventions rather than meddling with some "trivial" issues of their kids' life. But this is totally not the case for him and the girl because he is Indian and the girl is Chinese. The racial differences matter most to the girl's family. This proves that even in a very advanced country like Singapore, there are still people who are very traditional. Like parents who choose or must approve a partner for their son/daughter and who look at every angle before making any consideration. Then, it occured to me that as much as people hate racism, discrimination, prejudice, stereotype, partiality, biases, etc., they are actually, consciously or unconsciously, practicing it. In the middle of our conversation, I told my friend, more or less, exactly these words.

"When you are not of the same race with the majority, you are being alienated. Even if you belong to the same race, if you do not have the same status in life, you are considered an outsider. And you may be of the same status, but if you do not have a good history or family background, you are still unaccepted."

Sad but true. Apparently, this exists in every part of the planet. Other countries have denounced discrimination, but this is an inevitabe reality because it's one of the unique behaviour given to mankind since time immemorial.

5 Funny Facts About Facebook

Here are the five funny facts I have observed about facebook. Originally, I only have one funny thing in mind, which I ranked here as number one. So to start with, let's take off from No. 5.

#5: Facebook is the best site for plowing fields, planting crops, cooking dishes, decorating houses, and building towers. It makes young and old, men and women go gaga for farmville, plants and zombies, cafeworld, restaurant city, cityville, etc.. It's no surprise that, if being surveyed, only a few of those who play these games know how to do the real thing.

#4: Facebook is making members become stalkers, gossipmongers and the likes. It also gives a variety of subjects for "critics" to criticize.

#3: Facebook makes members think and feel like they are celebrities. They take pictures of themselves with very funny faces and poses to make as their profile photo or to upload in their album. This is very common to youngsters who even go their way of trying to immitate their Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, and Japanese celebrity idols.

#2: Facebook is used for a show off. Some people when they buy new stuffs, especially expensive ones, they post a photo or a status about it. Often than not, they say something like "having a new baby".

#1: Facebook is making one feels like an idiot. Some members add and accept people regardless of whether they know them or not until their list of friends accumulate to thousands. But when they post one single status, not a single soul would even make a comment. Ouch! And that's just pathetic.

Guilty or Not?

A locked door or a wrong door...

Most of the time, people keep pushing themselves into things which are not really meant for them. Then, they rationalize doing it for determination and perseverance. BUT sometimes, even the STRONGEST strong will and the HARDEST hardwork are of no use if destiny has not ordained us to get what we have desired the most. How should we know whether something is really designed for us? Well, it's through common sense. You know we keep talking about this COMMON SENSE thing but when it comes to making our own decision and choosing what is right, we often forget these two important words. Why? Because we keep believing and we are focused on believing that we would be able to get anything we want through deternination, perseverance, hardwork, etc., etc.. Why not we write down the pros and cons, the advantages and disadvantages, the possibilities and impossibilities, the yes and no to decide whether to continue or give up on something? This would definitely help us make the right choice and set forth an alternative as necessary.

Everyone must have heard or read of the quote that says "when a door closes, a window opens." That is somehow related to what I am trying to convey. However, I've just got a little to say on that quote because, that is not, in a way, how I see it.

When a door closes and you cannot open it, it's because you barged in to someone else's door - maybe it's your neighbor's and you didn't notice it due to either you are too sleepy or drunk (not literally; sarcasm intended). Which means, dude, you've got the wrong door! Try to find the right one! Then, here's this "a window opens"? Come on! Why would you choose a window? Would you like to get inside a house using a window? Well, if the window is big enough for you to fit in, fine. But what if it's a jalousie? Sure there is no way you can get in. Besides, we go in and out of the house using a door and not a window, unless you are a burglar of course.  

Ok! Those are too literal. The bottomline is when a door closes, try to open it again. If it won't work, it's definitely not the door for you. Don't force yourself in but try to find another one to open instead. Remember that with the right key, you'll be able to open a locked door, but definitely not when you have the wrong key. And please forget about the window idea. That's absurd and won't help.   :))

New Year 2010...

At this very moment, I can still feel the weariness from all the activities that I did the past few days. I was always out with friends since last Friday, 24th Dec, 'til yesterday. My energy has totally run out last night which made me decide to stay home alone for the New Year. After doing the last round of shopping for 2010, I decided to spend the remaining hours doing my laundry, cooking and cleaning the house. When my housemate left to party with her friends, I immediately felt the urge to go to bed early. As much as I wanted to sleep, I could not help but wait for midnight to strike to officially call it a New Year. So, I killed time by arranging my wardrobe and putting my shoes/sandals/slippers in their proper places. :D

Here's my wardrobe with some items still at the clothesline.

Got a very small space for these stuffs which made the others be kept below the wardrobe drawer. 

And my housemate's dumbbell which i sometimes use is being squeezed in as well. :D

I was done fixing everything at past 1 in the morning. I went to sleep with a light heart and woke up at 8am with a good feeling for the new day/year. Then, my colleague, Irma, informed me thru sms that she wanted to come over to try the spaghetti and the peach float I prepared last night. Here she is enjoying her lunch. Bon Appetit!!

Happy New Year 2010 and Welcome 2011! :))