Thursday, January 28, 2010

what makes me angry

A friend asked me this a few nights ago, and at that time I didn't have a concrete answer, but I do now!
Was going by Thomson Road today, and saw a very petite and thin, nearly sickly, foreign maid carrying quite a big backpack, walking next to relatively big and well-fed boy. The boy was taller than her, DEFINITELY wider and bigger than her, in terms of his limbs and his tummy. The question is, WHY IS SHE CARRYING HIS BAG FOR HIM??
Firstly, he is obviously not a young child, probably 14 years old or more. He shouldn't be letting a much older woman carry HIS bag of books for him!
Secondly, he is SO much bigger than his maid!! One look and you can tell that the bag is too big for her to handle comfortably.
What kind of upbringing is this?!
I'm not even talking about bringing up some NOBLEMAN or GENTEEL guy..but its common sense right? In this case where physicality matters, carry your own bag, especially if the option is letting a much weaker and smaller person carry it!
I mean, its not like he was BUSY...or SICK..or ABSENT....  he was walking the same route from the bus stop home, next to the maid... HELLO?
Between the two of them, its obvious he needs more exercise than her! And he would have much less difficulty carrying the bag. (I have nothing against chubby people or thin people)
I don't think having a maid is right or wrong, there are pros and cons.
But its how the maid assists the family that can be beneficial or not.. it can blind us to the necessity to do things on our own, to the understanding of effort, humility and kindness. We look only to our own comfort, because we can afford it, because mum and dad says, let the maid carry it for you. Once a habit, it becomes hard to break and this may carry into future relationships, work and life attitudes, in the end it only disadvantages the child. We become unable to see the needs and difficulties of others, even when they are right in front of our faces. Empathy becomes very very low and we don't even realise it, and yet this lack of empathy and understanding will be felt by friends and people around you.
  Yes, the maid is paid to work for you, but in this case where you can literally alleviate someone's difficulty AND be responsible for your own items, I don't see why the boy is not doing it.
I don't think this is the fault of the boy or of society. It is the choice and principles of his parents. They want to save him the effort of carrying his own bag (so he can study better?), and are willing to pay and save him that trouble. I feel for the struggling maid and this daily load of books in the bag, that the young boy can easily carry, but won't.
 It didn't help that the maid really didn't look too healthy as well  :(  I guess that made me sad and also mad.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Something Interesting

nglinli found this interesting and thought you'd be interested in it too:
Simply Radical Sneetches

Posted via email from Lin-Li's posterous

Friday, January 22, 2010

Thursday, January 21, 2010

more...

Joey: The question, Rachel, is this: does he like you? Otherwise, it's just a moo point.
Rachel: A moo point?
Joey: You know, like a cow's opinion. It doesn't matter. It's moo.
Rachel: Have I been living with him too long, or did all that just make sense?

a quote from the Friends sitcom

Ross: Hypothetically speaking...
Joey: Wait. You lost me.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Singapore

 Taken with da phone on a typical sunny, cloudy Singapore day (i.e. even though its cloudy, its still hot and bright everywhere)
Part of downtown Singapore, with the singapore river in the foreground, iconic Esplanade on the right (the 2 oval dome shapes), and lots of other attractions/hotels/shops..

Posted via email from Lin-Li's posterous

Sunday, January 17, 2010