Strife for Life

5:00pm and I'm staring at my Friendster.com windows. For the first time in months, I'm actually bored at work not for the things I have to do but for the things I don't have to do. That's how things are for me when I return from a trip or block leave. Furthermore, my manager's actually back in India coz his wife is due to deliver his 2nd child soon. There's no one to bother me... I'm getting the 'Post-Holidays Blues'!

While watching how some younger friends in Friendster.com write and post pics of themselves seemingly carefree reminds me of myself when I was in Boston. School days are always only remembered, very much like the 'I was in the Army' sweet memories when the hard reality of MONEY hadn't exactly kicked in. Yes, we were poor and luxurous indulgence were out of reach, but at least we did not have to look gloomly into days ahead not knowing what to look forward to. College days were the days when I could look forward eagerly to the next B-grade horror movies rented from Blockbuster, the 'Part 2's of Christmas parties, the pub performance by Suede, and not forgetting to mention the endless days of CounterStriking after exams. The days were full of booze, chemistry experiments and waking up 3pm in the afternoon for walks in the parks.

Sound familar? Yes I would assume them 'distantly familiar' for most, if not just some 'I know that one...' memories. Sometimes I wish I could join these youngsters with their up-and-coming successes in career out of the concept of 'play', with trash-can musicians turning recording artistes and street grafitti artists designing Nike and appearals earning big bucks. However, when I looked back into my path, I reckon I wouldn't be who I am today if I had taken any different route.

Riches are not those with thick stacks of bucks in his hand, but are those who knows what to make of the thin stack they have...

Made in Thailand...

Just got back from yet another visit to my in-laws in Bangkok. Nothing out of the ordinary, really, except for more observations of body languages of a different culture. Verbal language-wise, I'm still as lost as an Alaskan visiting Egypt, hence all the more I noted body languages when surrounded by strange tongues of Thai-speaking locals for 5 days.

Thai's behave very much more oriental than other IndoChina culture (perhaps except Vietnam) and their young trends root from a mix of Hong Kong/Japanese with tints of western subcultures. Only difference is the scarce of bodily contact except perhaps with parents. BGL couples are often oddly seen walking side by side, with almost no contact at all except for occasional brushings of their hands. For someone like me who's used to seeing deep smooching even when moving up an escalator at Orchard MRT Station, catching a glimpse in the street of Bangkok of a couple holding hands stood out in the massive crowd (only to find this pair a young farang couple). Even my wife alerted me to her embarressment when I tried to give her a peck on the cheek, only to be brushed off like a flikering bug beside her ear. The 'prim and proper' culture of the Thai simply don't encourage physical contacts... at least not in the open public.

When their language contain the same nasal qualities of Cantonese, Thai conversations are usually very high-pitched. This is especially noticeable when listening to male voices vocalizing strong emotions through raising of voices in conversations, such as those ending with the vulgarities of "Ai-HEE-ya"... Try imagine the ladies of the gentle voices pitching that.

Did much of our house supplies of toiletaries at Central Mall when the topic of P&G came to my mind. Little had I noticed that when work at P&G or Gillette may seem boring, consumer product companies really earn a hell lot from consumers around the world, most of whom don't realize they are actually patronizing one single corporation at most times. Counting down the toiletaries we got from the mall, I noted 90% of the 21 items bought were from P&G or Gillette. Once merged, the new organization would be behaving like a brand monopoly. Fair? Not exactly otherwise but not unnatural either.