Term's over...
So Zhengnan (better known to Nelson as "Ah Lam") has gone home now, having left for the airport yesterday afternoon. When he was walking out that door, I just couldn't resist taking another dig at him by telling him to "have fun" with his two girlfriends back home! Nelson chided me for reminding Ah Lam of his preeminent predicament, but hey, it really wasn't my fault! He chose to have two girls instead of just the one like the rest of us, and the night before he left he came to my room and told me, not too happily of course, that he's bracing himself for some fireworks this holiday, because both of his girlfriends are back in their hometown, which happens to be the same town, which also happens to be his hometown! He's bound to have a "merry" Christmas alright, if the more the merrier is true! Haha...imagine, walking hand in hand with No.1 after having told No.2 that he's got to help his dad out at the shop, and then walking straight into No.2 at the mall!! Or vice versa, put it anyway you want, the permutation's not the issue!
You know the day before Ah Lam left, the both of us, he and me, gave a joint-talk on pensions to the class. We actually only finished preparing for the talk the night before, what with me having an exam some time before the talk, but I'll say it's one of the more meaningful things that we've done together for quite some time. I've had a rant about him to some mates and in my previous articles about his obvious sluggishness, but he was anything but lazy regarding the talk. I won't say I was surprised though because he is a person who cares a lot about his academic stuff, but I've got to admit I was really pleased. Pleased that I did not have to cover other people's arses in a team work for once! We were supposed to have a third speaker for the talk, but the bloke took off to London before chipping in anything worthy, and the way the structure of the talk worked out, we were better off working with just the two of us anyway. Plus I got a few "well done" compliments from some other mates, so I guess we didn't do too badly, though I do feel I spoke just a wee bit too fast!
I just had a big clean-up of the flat's bathroom and kitchen yesterday with Nelson (this is nothing academic, so Mikey's jet off back to China leaving just the two of us at it!). The condition of the kitchen and bathroom was deplorable to say the least. We shopped downstairs for some bleach and tough cleaning liquids and it took us about an hour and a half finish the job. It does look very presentable now, and Nelson, forever the clean freak, took much pride in our efforts. "Look, we can even rent the flat out now!"
This is where the contrast between my two housemates becomes obvious. Nelson cares zit about his studies (I honestly don't even think he's registered for anything with Heriot-Watt right now), but he's all for extra-curricular activities, including flat-cleaning, snooker, or plain hookering and lap-dancing. Michael on the hand, divides his attention between his studies and girls...and practically nothing else (though he's been out naughty with Nelson the once!). No, no flat-cleaning for him. Me? Em...my attention goes to my studies, girls, and sports, though I'm not telling you what's the proportion of time I spend on each!
You know, when I'm out in town or on the bus, I always get young kids or toddlers staring at me very curiously. I know I'm a bit different from the rest of them, but somehow I just cannot stop feeling uneasy. I also find it really hard to put on a friendly smile or a nice greeting for the kid, though I know I probably should. Perhaps I should ask, "Hey kid, do I have a booger hanging outside my nose??" My girlfriend's gonna give me some stick if she sees me ignoring the curious little fellas. Perhaps having grown up in a big impersonal city like KL, I'm not very used to having any kind of unwanted personal attention, albeit from kids. You know most of us, we grew up having parents telling us, "Don't look at pipple like dat! Very rude!" while the Brits, if their kids were to stare, wave at , or greet a stranger, they'll just smile and the stranger will most of the time return the pleasantries. I don't think I'm the only one who thinks that it's better that way. It's better for the kid to be more open and out-spoken, and having the confidence to talk to other people, strangers or friends. My girlfriend would very defnitely prefer the way of the Brits. They're just more..."inter-personal" compared to most Malaysian or Asian youths, where most of them just can't respond favourably when being approached by a stranger. I myself am partly guilty of this, but only if kids stare at me. I'd love to think I'm very comfortable with strangers approaching me for directions or help of any kind but financial!
I was at Thornton's (a very well-known chocolate shop) this late morning, and there was this lady who was serving a small, frail-looking..."senior" lady (English and its way of words!). What impressed me about this small transaction between the two was the way the female attendant dealt with the Ah Poh (senior woman in Cantoese). She was so unbelievably polite that I can guarantee you will not find any better customer sevice in KL. She was joking and laughing and complimenting the Ah Poh, that Ah Poh might have felt "Maybe my own daughter won't be this nice to me!" Though at times I do feel it's a bit overdone but...I'm sure we won't complain about fine customer service at all, overdone or otherwise!
Ta for now. Gotta pack and leave for home tomorrow. Just got a text from Gary, who obviously still remembers I'll be home for a month, telling me to attend another Great Eastern talk, just a day after I land! Needless to say, my mind is very much favouring having a rest! Just having got back from Britain, and then having to get stuck in the jam of central KL again on a Monday evening is too much!!!
You know the day before Ah Lam left, the both of us, he and me, gave a joint-talk on pensions to the class. We actually only finished preparing for the talk the night before, what with me having an exam some time before the talk, but I'll say it's one of the more meaningful things that we've done together for quite some time. I've had a rant about him to some mates and in my previous articles about his obvious sluggishness, but he was anything but lazy regarding the talk. I won't say I was surprised though because he is a person who cares a lot about his academic stuff, but I've got to admit I was really pleased. Pleased that I did not have to cover other people's arses in a team work for once! We were supposed to have a third speaker for the talk, but the bloke took off to London before chipping in anything worthy, and the way the structure of the talk worked out, we were better off working with just the two of us anyway. Plus I got a few "well done" compliments from some other mates, so I guess we didn't do too badly, though I do feel I spoke just a wee bit too fast!
I just had a big clean-up of the flat's bathroom and kitchen yesterday with Nelson (this is nothing academic, so Mikey's jet off back to China leaving just the two of us at it!). The condition of the kitchen and bathroom was deplorable to say the least. We shopped downstairs for some bleach and tough cleaning liquids and it took us about an hour and a half finish the job. It does look very presentable now, and Nelson, forever the clean freak, took much pride in our efforts. "Look, we can even rent the flat out now!"
This is where the contrast between my two housemates becomes obvious. Nelson cares zit about his studies (I honestly don't even think he's registered for anything with Heriot-Watt right now), but he's all for extra-curricular activities, including flat-cleaning, snooker, or plain hookering and lap-dancing. Michael on the hand, divides his attention between his studies and girls...and practically nothing else (though he's been out naughty with Nelson the once!). No, no flat-cleaning for him. Me? Em...my attention goes to my studies, girls, and sports, though I'm not telling you what's the proportion of time I spend on each!
You know, when I'm out in town or on the bus, I always get young kids or toddlers staring at me very curiously. I know I'm a bit different from the rest of them, but somehow I just cannot stop feeling uneasy. I also find it really hard to put on a friendly smile or a nice greeting for the kid, though I know I probably should. Perhaps I should ask, "Hey kid, do I have a booger hanging outside my nose??" My girlfriend's gonna give me some stick if she sees me ignoring the curious little fellas. Perhaps having grown up in a big impersonal city like KL, I'm not very used to having any kind of unwanted personal attention, albeit from kids. You know most of us, we grew up having parents telling us, "Don't look at pipple like dat! Very rude!" while the Brits, if their kids were to stare, wave at , or greet a stranger, they'll just smile and the stranger will most of the time return the pleasantries. I don't think I'm the only one who thinks that it's better that way. It's better for the kid to be more open and out-spoken, and having the confidence to talk to other people, strangers or friends. My girlfriend would very defnitely prefer the way of the Brits. They're just more..."inter-personal" compared to most Malaysian or Asian youths, where most of them just can't respond favourably when being approached by a stranger. I myself am partly guilty of this, but only if kids stare at me. I'd love to think I'm very comfortable with strangers approaching me for directions or help of any kind but financial!
I was at Thornton's (a very well-known chocolate shop) this late morning, and there was this lady who was serving a small, frail-looking..."senior" lady (English and its way of words!). What impressed me about this small transaction between the two was the way the female attendant dealt with the Ah Poh (senior woman in Cantoese). She was so unbelievably polite that I can guarantee you will not find any better customer sevice in KL. She was joking and laughing and complimenting the Ah Poh, that Ah Poh might have felt "Maybe my own daughter won't be this nice to me!" Though at times I do feel it's a bit overdone but...I'm sure we won't complain about fine customer service at all, overdone or otherwise!
Ta for now. Gotta pack and leave for home tomorrow. Just got a text from Gary, who obviously still remembers I'll be home for a month, telling me to attend another Great Eastern talk, just a day after I land! Needless to say, my mind is very much favouring having a rest! Just having got back from Britain, and then having to get stuck in the jam of central KL again on a Monday evening is too much!!!
posted by Keith at 6:49 AM
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