The other day I went to a
wedding, a friend had accomplished in finding matrimony. You know how these
days before you enter the wedding hall, you register and the person behind the
table will tell you which table you are supposed to be seated in? So I was
given a number. I headed inside and my eyes were studying each table.
Fortunately the numbers were written big enough that I had no trouble in
locating where I was supposed to be seated in. Many familiar faces were already
seated there. Though I wasn’t close to them, it still gave me a sense of
comfort. I greeted them and sat down. A guy
from high school then asked me what I did for a living, I answered him and to
continue the conversation, I asked him about his job; he stated that he works
in KL. He lives in Subang, so I almost by default started asking him about the
traffic jamm he ought to face each day.
Thinking about it now I am not sure if he was
being arrogant but at that moment I was sure there was an air of arrogance in
the way he spoke. This is what he said, “I don’t have to worry about that, I am
the boss. I go in whenever I like, if I don’t feel like it then I don’t go to
work”. I don’t know why but I sensed he was being cocky, so I lost interest in
the conversation and starting talking to others at the table. As the wedding
went on and after having something to eat, I felt the urge to head home. Sitting
on my left was a ‘friend’ who was well known for being wealthy. He was speaking
to his friends on how his friend just bought a house despite not being very
studious in school and of more people owning this and that. I just nodded and
laughed in agreement when I was supposed to. The urge to head home got stronger.
I wanted to give my wedding gift to my friend which was a 50 Ringgit note in a
Hari Raya sampul. I decided to give it to my friend which was what I did. This
guy then proceeds to take my sampul and immediately opens it up and looks into
it. After taking a peek, he muttered noddingly, “this is good enough”. I was taken aback and almost gave in to my
anger—but then I made the right decision and walked away. As I was walking, I
thought to myself what if I had given 20 ringgit instead? I also thought of how
the value of 50 ringgit could mean something to so much for some people and so
little to some. For that I should be grateful.
The other day at work…a colleague of mine who I am close with, a middle aged man... My cubicle is set across
my supervisor’s room. My supervisor is about 28-29 of age. He calls my colleague
and starts talking to him in a loud disrespectful tone and said things like, “You
get this done and only then you go back home today”. I was listening from
outside. It just didn’t feel right. For one I always knew this world was
anything but fair but then to daily live and witness this unfairness nullifies
one’s optimism. Having said that, I must
be a heck of a positive person for despite the bitterness—I still believe in
being hopeful.
