Temperamental Old Man

While driving to work this morning, I saw a green Mercedes which looked rather familiar. I was trying to recall the significance of it when it suddenly hit me – it looked like that Mydin carpark car!

I didn’t blog about this when the incident happened - sometime in April or May this year. I actually witnessed something in Mydin USJ covered carpark that changed my perception of a naïve old man. I never would have thought that a small, innocent-looking pakcik would be so aggressive and so temperamental that he’d do what did that day.

I had just reverse-parked my car and was readying myself to go out when something caught my eye. A man in an old green Mercedes was trying to park his car. I was across these 2 Kancils which were parked in the row infront of me, and this man was on the other row which was facing (butt-to-butt) with these Kancils. Since I was facing the road, I could see what he was doing.

He struggled to park, that I could see. He reversed his car to get a better angle to go in but couldn’t. Then I think he realized that there was a shopping cart which was at the corner of his parking space. He got off his car, walked to the cart and literally PUSHED the cart away! The cart went astray and finally headed towards my car. I got off my car and somehow managed a “Hoiiii!”. Lucky for me the cart was stopped by that unlucky EZ850 silver-colored Kancil!

The fragile-looking pakcik got out of his car, locked it and walked towards the shops. He didn’t even bother to check the dented-Kancil. Haisshh! At first I stood there unmoved since I was in a state of shock! It was so jahat of him lah! Later when I checked, the Kancil had a pretty deep dent. Kesian this Kancil owner :(

So guys, if you happen to see this green E230 Mercedes driven by a pakcik with plate number BER7XX1, do stay away ya?

Admit and Apologize

I wonder why it is so hard for some people to admit or apologize for their mistakes. I mean, if you were to borrow something from a person, it would be expected of you to return the item in the same condition when it was taken. Especially when the lender already told you of the do’s and don’ts in caring for that item. It’s your responsibility to follow the advice so that nothing bad would happen to the borrowed item.

If you spoilt the item, do admit your mistakes and apologize to the owner.. and at least make lah an attempt to compensate, although in most cases would be denied by the owner.

For example, say these:

“Sorry aaa... I tried to mend this thing but I couldn’t make it work. Please tell me how much this cost so that I could buy you a new one”

OR

“Sori. Could you please try to correct this? If you can’t, let me know so that I can pay you the amount you paid for that in the first place, or at least half the price”

OR

“I’m so sorry I did this. I must have spoilt it last nite when I was out collecting some cow dung in the paddy field which was so muddy after a heavy rain the evening before. But I’ll pay you back with the money I got from selling the cow dung”

Sorry, the last one was exaggerated unintentionally.

The lender would then say this, with only a tint of regret :
"I know you didn’t mean to spoil it. It’s OK. I’ll see what I can do. Thanx anyway”. (read : thanx for admitting, but hey, I don't want your money)

But since that person never said any of the three above, we’d have to get into that person's mind to get this out. Here’s the person's unspoken version:

"I know we don’t know each other well. In fact I think I’m only just one of the familiar faces you see around. But I still wanted to borrow this thing from you coz I liked what you have. I know you told me to take care of it coz it was quite fragile.

But I SWEAR to you, I didn’t spoil it. I did nothing at all, it just happened. I know that when I brought it home for one night, it was in a good condition but I SWEAR to you I didn’t know why it was spoilt. I tried to ‘unspoil’ it but I guess by doing that, it got worse. See, it's now totally spoilt, thanx to my effort.

Sorry lah you can never use it again. I suggest you find the solution to make it right, coz it was yours to begin with pun. Use your own money and don’t you dare asking me to compensate coz I didn’t spoil it!"

So who did it? Martha Stewart?

Some people just don’t have the common sense. A non-living thing don't spoil by itself, OK? C'mmon, we're not talking about an apple here. I know the thing cost less than a hundred, but where were your manners? Couldn't admit your mistake, could you?

My friends warned me not to layan that person anymore. But me being me, still do that. I just don’t know how to totally ignore a person. And you know what, that person never asked for the update on the spoilt thing. To him/her, it's water under the bridge.

Now I have to get me a new one. Or get it repaired.

Or perhaps I should just throw it away.

Sigh.

Eewww! Gross!!

There are some things better done in private. But there were so many times when you stumbled upon these people who did their 'thing' in public.

I remember around two months ago when we were having lunch at Bukit Jalil after the girls’ squash lessons. We were just finishing our drinks when we saw this Indonesian helper/waitress leaning against a pillar, picking her nose! And there were more than ten customers eating! Eeeeww!! When she came over to get the payment from us, we gave it to the owner instead. And the helper got a short ‘lecture’ from me. C’mmonlah, you’re serving food, apa? Duh!

There’s one Bangladeshi guy working at the Shell station near my house who loves to pick his nose. I think it’s a hard habit to break. Everytime he comes near me or my car, I’d say, Eh, don’t come near me, I saw what you just did. He’d just smile and acted as if he did nothing wrong.

But the worst was yesterday. I was at Mydin yesterday afternoon with my Hanis to get some books for my Hasya. Was waiting for my turn to have my fruits and veggies weighed at the weighing station when I glanced around and saw this man doing something really gross. I wished I hadn’t seen him but too bad, I already had. He was a customer in his early fifties, wearing a pair of shorts, a brown t-shirt, a pair of slippers and a pair of dark sunglasses. He was actually standing two feet away behind the man manning the station, so I was sure that those 10 to 15 people standing there with me saw what he was doing.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first saw what he did. I mean, why didn’t he do it in private, instead of doing it in front of two long queues of people? Hello, public etiquette... you forgot? This man actually picked his belly button, and brought the boogers(?) or dirt to his nose, and smelled them as if they were roses!! Gross!! He did it more than twice, at least, coz the nauseous feeling made me turned away after the second act. Luckily my breakfast was long digested and I haven’t had my lunch yet!

It's disgusting when people acted as if it was ok to do these things in public. This morning while stopping at a red light, this man in the car next to me was digging up his nostrils. Really deep. Gosh, I wished I would just stare ahead, instead of glancing outside the window.

Maybe it was an invasion of his privacy. He was in the personal comfort of his car. So, was I in the wrong here?

Be polite, ask the owner please....

We have this nice creeper plant where we got from my cousin in Tunjang, Kedah. The soft stem branch was just around 6 inches long when I first planted it a year ago. The leaves are similar to that of betel/sirih's. The plant stood out because of its uniqueness.


I've given to people who've asked for it. Just a cut at the end of it, thrust it into the soil, and you'll see it growing like there's no tomorrow.

And I've given a lot of my other plants to my friends and relatives... Knowing that somewhere out there, another tree/plant is planted, is enough to bring satisfaction to me. Happy tau...

But yesterday evening, came this couple walking their two dogs. The side garden door was left open. I guess they could see us inside. The wife came and patahkan like two of the branches. Ayah saw this... and walked to the lady and said something like... "Why didn't you ask the house owner?" She was like termalu for being caught in the act and said "I thought there's nobody.."

Hello.. can't you see the gate open.. with my maids and children there?

Anyway, I guess Ayah's always nicer than me.. so he just said..."Next time asklah, don't just take. We don't mind actually".

Some people just do what they want.. regardless of whose property they're trespassing..

Hhmmhh....