Friday, May 29, 2009

Why are we so quick to judge?

A while ago, my firm welcomed a new client.

As I was driving him to the Commissioner of Oath's office, he asked me:-

"When do you plan to be a lawyer?"

Perplexed by his question, I went "HUH?"

He repeated the question but this time followed it up with " Do you actually PLAN to be one?"

I looked him in the eye, laughed and said " Mr. A, I AM a lawyer. I have been one for the past few years."

He thought I was a clerk in the firm.

-_-

Seriously.

But it got me thinking about how we are quick to judge others. When we see somebody, we judge them by their looks, their jobs, their friends and their lives.

When friends/acquaintances found out I walked away from a 7 yr relationship, many were quick to assume it was because I had found somebody else.

When high school friends of yesteryear found out my best friend was JoL, many assumed we were two party girls who had no morals and no ethics.

When some friends found out I was dating a pilot, many assumed I was dating him for his money. (it's not JUST his money ok, it's for his good looks and hot body too!*ahem*)

And to prove my point on how people can be judgmental:-





And these are snippets of some of the comments of the picture above:-


(dahlah his english is so bad,he wants to be judgmental)



Dudes. You don't even KNOW them. Much less be in the position to judge them.

Monday, May 25, 2009

You have no guts to do my job.

I hate it when people think that my job is unimportant.

Sure, I get to go home at 530pm sharp everyday.
So what? Does that mean my job is probably not as important as say, someone who slogs it out in the office til 10pm every night?

I have a friend who likes to exclaim :-

"oh, you're SO lucky to be able to go home early."
"Oh, I HAVE to work this weekend."
" Oh my gawd, I am SO busy."
"Oh I do not know how you find time to do your Masters in Law! I have no time to even go to the gym!"

Which is usually said with a snide snicker, as if staying in the office til wee hours of the morning makes her job more important. or makes HER more important and wanted by her firm.

I usually retort, so what time do you get in for work every morning? 10am?
I make it to my office by 8am everyday. And if I were going to court, I am out of the house by 645am. And I do not have long lunches. I have one brief hour for lunch.

And perhaps, just perhaps, the reason why you are still stuck in the office at 10pm everyday its probably because you have bad time management. That you are perhaps working hard, but not working smart. And perhaps you're foolish enough to venture into corporate and conveyancing. Or civil litigation. Sorry, to me, that is just plain boring. It is all about paperwork. So, half the time you're seated in your office, reading through hundreds if not thousands of pieces of paper.
Interesting? Exciting? Important?

Sorry. Not for me. Paper work does not interest me. That is why I LEFT civil/conveyancing law.

To all those haters and snide remark-ers of how unimportant my job is :-

Have you ever stepped foot in a prison? Seen the prisoners? I have. And it is an experience worth redoing over and over again.

Have you ever consoled a family member whose husband/wife/sister/brother has been charged in court? Petrified that he or she will be imprisoned? I have. And it takes a lot of strength to do that.

Have you ever argued a case before a court about whether a man should be in jail for a few months instead of a few years? I have. And it takes a heck lot of research and persuasion.

Have you ever seen your clients in handcuffs and try to avoid the press for fear that he may be shamed? I have. And it is not an easy job trying to whisk him to another place.

Have you ever sat in the court for 7 hours sorting out your client's bail so that he does not need to spend a night in lock up? I have. And it is exhausting.

Have you ever talked to policemen who are trying to intimidate you into not doing something? I have. And it takes a lot of confidence and shamelessness to do so.

Have you ever spent a whole day taking pictures in KLIA, looking at the check in counters, baggage areas, officers and etc because your client may be hanged for allegedly trafficking in drugs? I have. And it is hard work.

Have you ever pored through pictures and statements to find inconsistencies because your client allegedly raped someone? I have. And I cannot afford to make a mistake.

As for making the decision to do my LLM self funded and self study, yes, I MAKE time for that. I make time because I do not want to be stuck in this country forever, working at 70% of what I am capable of. I want to venture out and be better.

Seriously, have you ever left the comforts of your office, and ventured out into the unknown? Criminal law is exciting because it is not about sitting in the office and reading through documents. It is not about helping someone buy a house, transfer a land, sue for money or help merge a company.

It is about life and death. Freedom and incarceration.

So if you think your job is SO important because you stay til 10pm every day in the office, then sure. I will let you have that.

Because I know what I do. And is it better and more exciting than yours?

HELL YEAH.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Karma and Feng Shui

Over the weekend, I was all ears for the BF's rant about his good friend's love dilemma.

Apparently, the BF's bff (sounds quite gay when I put it this way) recently broke up with his girlfriend. And a few days ago, the BF's bff found out that his ex was dating his good friend. And not just any good friend, but the type that he hangs out with every time he is not flying. The type that he has been friends since forever with. The type where he told all his troubles to. And apparently the type that dates his ex without his knowledge.

Apparently the BF thinks its karma coming back to bite him in the arse. And that if he is not a good friend to any of his friends, he cannot expect them to be good to him.

Well you know what they say, KARMA IS A BITCH.


So while we cannot control karma, except well, to stop doing things that will influence the winds of karma to come back and bite us in the arse, here is some feng shui tip for the day. (Just when you think they were nothing but damned pimples! Here comes wisdom attached to it)







So, now you know what those damned blemishes are trying to tell you.
I feel so much smarter already.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

How come you are not a stewardess- ah?

I have always been somehow linked to the aviation industry.

My sister was a stewardess for 5 years.
The ex's father was a regional manager.
And now the BF is a pilot.

So naturally, everyone asks "How come you not a stewardess-ah?"

My classic answer is: NOT PRETTY ENOUGH LA.(plus not patient enough, tall enough, slim enough or adventurous enough)

Actually, truly it was because my sister told me not to. Not that she thought I was incapable of doing the job (Actually she did think I would probably punch the daylights out of irritating passengers as I apparently have a very low threshold for stupidity) but because she thought I should pursue my career as a lawyer. She said while she enjoyed travelling and all the perks that came with it, it probably was not a career cut out for me(with the low threshold of patience) And she said it was hard work- physically and mentally (not that I am afraid of hard work mind you)and after awhile, sometimes the money is not worth all the exhaustion that comes with it and also missing birthdays, anniversaries, family and all other important occasions.

At one point in my life, I did think of dropping everything and running off to join the airlines. But at that time, I was with the ex. And the ex never approved of having long distance relationships. And being young and naive, I thought yeah, maybe I should stick around just in case this relationship was worth it. Well, obviously THAT did not work out.

I have a friend who laments every time I see her that she wants to join the airlines. So I said that she must be too old by now to which she quipped " No, some airlines still take people my age!"
Weird thing is, she did not reveal that she liked to travel or that she loved the job because it allows her to travel. All she did mention was "Wah, it pays more than a lawyer la! I want to make that money too!"
So, she said if all fails, she will ask her bf of 9 freaking years to consider being a pilot. But then after a brief evaluation which goes something like this :-

She: How much is 90 divided by 30?
Him: 30?

So there goes the dream of him being a pilot and earning enough so she can be tai-tai, out the window.

But now I think I am much too old for the airlines. And as much as I wish I could travel the world, I still have not conquered my emetaphobia. Which is the fear of vomiting. So, unless and until I can stop myself from punching passengers and running away from people who throw up, I probably am not suitable for the life of a cabin crew.

So the reasons why I am not a stewardess consists of one two many words. Better to just stick with :-

I AM NOT PRETTY ENOUGH-LA.

That usually shuts everybody up.

Now, go play far far and quit asking me why I am not a stewardess.

On a separate note, I hate people who have never had anyone they love worked in airline.

Over dinner with some high school friends, the BF spoke about this incident :-



(see that man fly out the aircraft in the second picture?)

This was the picture taken inside the airplane a second before it crashed. A B737 had collided with a Embraer Legacy mid air and all onboard the B737 were killed- crew and passengers on board.

The BF lamented that it was so scary. And I attest to having that fear, as everytime the BF flies, I have the jitters that something may go wrong and that morning/lunch may have been the last time I see him. And that was the same for my sister. Every time we do not hear from her for sometime, we fear the worst.

But this is what the BF's high school friend says:-

Eh, so far ah, your airline has any accidents like this ah?
No la, thank god!

Cheh, so boring.

Seriously. What type of stupid, insensitive statement is that?

Monday, May 11, 2009

Love hate relationship with Singapore

Over the weekend, the BF and I hopped over to Singapore. We flew on a budget budget airline cos the BF's airline's prices were not cheap, and even as crew it was still not cheap. And as I am not in the airline, and I was doing the booking, I owe his airline no loyalty.

I learnt a few things over the weekend in Singapore:-

1. Singaporeans are very very rude.
BF: *asks lady at the drinks counter in food court at Raffles* Why so angry-la?
Lady: I DONT LIKE LA!CANNOT MEH?

2. Singaporeans are a stickler for rules (thats why until die also, same Government)
Airport Guy: Excuse miss, you cannot take a picture here. (we were at the tarmac just before boarding the plane)
Me: Why?
Guy: For security reasons.
Me: What are the security reasons?
Guy: *???* Security reasons-la.
(What? I am going to take a picture of the budget airline and then plan a hijack is it?!)

3. Singapore Changi Airport sucks.
At the arrival gates, no cars can stop outside the terminal for arrival. Not even a 15 mins grace period. So, everybody has to park their cars, even if you want to swing by, grab the person you're picking up from the airport and speed away, you CANT. Cos the arrival terminal does not allow any cars. What type of stupid nonsense is that? Then why bother with an arrival hall which has doors which lead outside? Nobody can stop there to pick up anybody. The arrival hall should lead straight to the car park-la.

4. Clubbing in Singapore is a bore.
Who the hell would allow GUYS on the podium or in cages? In Malaysia, if you are a guy and you jump on the podium to show your dance moves, you will be pulled off it so fast, you may suffer a whiplash. There, its acceptable. Seriously. It's heinous.
And why are girls who look 15 yrs old allowed to even go into clubs? And what is up with the clothes the girls are wearing?!

5. Singaporeans like to go clubbing alone (or they just have very very very bad friends)
Man on podium dancing came alone. Man curled up in udang kering position at the side of the road obviously came alone, or his friends abandoned him.

look ma, no friends!

And the other guy a distance from udang kering, slumped on a chair at the side of the entrance to the parking at Clarke Quay, more likely than not, came alone too.



look pa, no friends!

And the guy throwing up on the bench in the rain, bent sideways cos he was obviously too drunk to bend over in front, must have come alone too.

6. The BF can sure as hell complain alot on a flight which is not the airline he works for.
Why the girl so ugly wan? Why the pilot so lembap? He should have turned as soon as he took off! Why is the stewardess so rude? What type of boarding room is this?! How come they are so lembap in their boarding process?

7. Singapore is a beautiful beautiful systematic city with lots of work opportunities for me (pity the people there though).
I love the country, I love the city. But the people. Well...it could do with an upgrade.

Lastly, if a Singaporean says : WAH, you MUST try this!It tastes DAMN GOOD!

It's bullshit. Singaporeans don't know jack about good food.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Who needs enemies when you have friends like these?

Today I lamented to my friend that it is bad enough that the BF's ex is in print and tv ads for a certain airline, recently I happened to see her face on a big, no make it HUGE billboard while I was going up the escalator in KL sentral.

So in excitement, he requested to see how she looks like. I directed him to the ads. And this is what he said :-

"WAHLAU, SO PRETTY!HOW ARE YOU GOING TO COMPETE LIKE THAT?!"

and then to add salt to the already gaping wound, he continues:-

"You mean they broke up and now he is with YOU?!!"

"WHY AH?!"

*_*

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Oh of course I can speak Malay!

In my line of work, speaking Malay(not the garden variety type but the WAH you can speak Malay like a Malay la type) is necessary.

We speak Malay in court, we talk to the court staff in Malay, we speak to the police in Malay and we speak to all the governmental bodies in Malay. I write letters and draft documents mostly in Malay. So, technically, my Malay is well, passable. (My chinese on the other hand is so bad, the canteen lady in my school told me "AIYA, you cakap Melayu la. Saya boleh faham Melayu la!Saya tak boleh faham lu punya Cina!")

But yesterday at the Attorney General's Chambers, my so called passable Malay flew out the window never to return again. And here is why:-

"Siapa suruh you datang kaunter ini?"
"er, perempuan, er, wanita...er.."*points finger at the lady at the next counter*
"Yang mana?"
*points finger at the lady sitting behind the counter* "er, tudung, wanita..er.."
"INDIA ITU AH?"
"bukan. Yang duduk sebelah India itu."
"Oh yang melayu tu."
"er, ya, yang melayu tu."
(note to self: fnd out how to refer to Malay lady if there is more than one sitting next to each other)

Konon la my Malay damn canggih.

So when I told the BF about this, he laughed his head off. Cos the BF who is supposed (as in by birth) to be better in Malay did not fare so well in his SPM. So my constant jibes about his bad Malay was finally repaid in kind by my dismal performance at the AG's chambers.

Speaking of Malay, the conversation between the BF and his brother at the tailor the other day.

"Berapa baju tu?"
"Entahlah. Tapi saya rasa tak maHAI kot."
"Kalau buat kat SP pun saya rasa tak maHAI sangat."

Now, to the untrained for curse words ears, Mahai is also a slang for MAHAL but to me, it just means..well...a certain part of a woman's genitals and it is usually used when someone say, swerves into your lane, and you show him your finger and shout:-

MAHAI!