Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Free time.

I am quite free nowadays and I am still not used to the spare time I'm having right now. The free time makes me things of random, unnecessary things such as:

1) A month ago, I saw a TV programme about 3 men venturing the States. They were in San Francisco and found a shop called Good Vibrations. The shop also runs sex classes. The one they decided to join was a class on threesome. So, there they were, being taught on how to touch the women, how to divide their attention equally to two women, how to connect emotionally and physically etc...
And you don't need me to tell you what was their homework/ assignment for that course...

2) When I was small, Father used to have a driver for himself. The driver was never meant for us which means, he would only drive us if Father was in the car with us and except for a few times when Mother couldn't drive us while Father was working or under certain circumstances such as going to the stadium to watch a football match and nobody would drive us there because the roads were congested, Father or Mother didn't want to be stuck in the traffic.
So I was never close to any of the drivers except for this pakcik because he was employed the longest.

I was raised in a pretty modern family. My siblings and I were never taught to salam my parents when going to school or kiss their cheeks or anything like that. I must say I was pretty much a brat back then. So, during the very few times when the driver drove us to places, my sister and I would just get off the car without thanking him.

One time, Father scolded us for not saying 'Thank you' to the pakcik. I was scolded the most because I was the elder sister and I needed to show a good example to my sister. This pakcik was very nice, because he would talk to us and make us laugh, unlike the previous ones, he would also put on songs he liked and sang loudly. Until now, I still could recite one of the paragraphs of the song he used to sing:

Baju ketat, seluar belang, dan kasut tumit tinggi
Begitulah iramanya, irama enam puluhan...

Being eleven and shy, I never uttered the words 'Thank you' because I was so not used to it, even after Father scolded us. I thought Father made a huge deal out of it. He was paid to drive. Father told us, "Pakcik works for me, he is paid to drive only me. What he did for you is only a favour, therefore you should thank him!"

Now, years later, everytime I get off a bus or taxi, I make sure to thank the driver. I don't always thank the cashiers, but I make sure to thank them with at least a smile unless if they really piss me off. In those occasions, I would roll my eyes sampai juling. :)

3) We, Malaysians, take the pride of being a community penuh dengan adab sopan santun dan ramah mesra. The truth is, the culture is beginning to erode and I think the Westerners are probably more civilised in terms of adab jual beli.
First, they, the customers or the cashiers, always greet you.
The cashiers also always thank you after each transactions. How many Malaysian cashiers thank you after you receive the receipt?
And the best thing in developed countries is: the customers are indeed always right!
You could return any goods you bought without being asked, not even judged by the sellers.

And I like how they, the elderly especially, randomly greet you with 'Good morning' and I could greet them back without looking stupid.

In Malaysia, if somebody did that to me, I must have thought he was a pervert with a very lame pick-up line. I would probably pretend not to hear it and show the grumpiest expression on my face.

This give me an idea. I think I would start to greet strangers with 'Good morning'. That would certainly brighten up somebody's day.

4) I want a classic/ retro Casio watch for my birthday. I don't know why but I am so in love with this watch. I think it is because it looks different and not many people would want to wear it. Don't you think it's stylish? The best part is I could wear it to work or if I wear it with a pretty dress, it would definitely tone down the glamour.

My boyfriend already bought me a watch for my last birthday. I would only admit it here: I don't really fancy that watch he chose for me! Too predictable, it doesn't really suit my style, I am more into unpredictability (if there's such a word).

So, presenting my cheap dream watch (I want the one in gold):

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It would be even greater if I could find the one which was manufactured in Malaysia/ Japan, preferably Malaysia lah. I read somewhere the quality is excellent if it was manufactured in Japan, equally good if it was manufactured in Malaysia, in the eighties/ early nineties, but since I am biased I would love to own a classic Casio watch made in Malaysia! Then I could pass it to my children turun temurun.

I think over time, my style has truly changed. I used to only aim for the latest gadgets but now, I've gone sentimental.

2 comments:

Rock Stars Roll said...

Oh boy! I used to have one in silver when i was a school kid, seriously. :)

And I want one too, lemme know if you could find one in KL.

the ectopy said...

I haven't found it yet. The easiest way to get it is by ebay but I don't know whether they sell second-hands or new ones.

Soon, I will be able to spot you, the girl with the classic Casio watch! :)