Tree Is A Company VI: Epilogue

It's halfway through the twelve days of Christmas, after three tree changes, countless visits to countless malls, multiple rearrangements and ornament additions, an almost impossible quest for the right tree topper, three light blew outs and one house party later, I am proud to say the Christmas tree of 2008 was a success. I think it added a nice warm touch to my home for the holiday season. However the aftermath remains unclear as I have yet to receive my credit card bill though I know exactly how much I owe the bank. But nothing sinks in reality more than the tangible proof of your overspending. I also now have enough angel tree toppers to last another three years if I should decide to change my tree theme. I am, however, not looking forward to the end of the twelfth day and the monumental task of dismantling the whole thing and putting it back into storage. Makes me glad they don't have Chinese New Year trees...

In Memoriam

Eartha Kitt
1927 - 2008

The Tai Chi Master

One of the dangers in meeting new people is how the conversation can sometimes take a turn for the worse. Like for instance how I (think) offended this particular person without knowing it. We were talking about group exercise programs in the gyms upon which the topic fell on tai chi. He was relating to me how in his youth he had bad asthma and how this so called "master" taught him some tai chi breathing and exercises which helped him a lot. He elaborated on how this master was of great reputation and don't take students easily, sort of like your stereotypical "shi fu" stock character (think Pai Mei in Kill Bill), and how he said that he's just going to show him once on some basic exercises once and after that he shouldn't bother him again. Now I wouldn't be so taken aback by the rather arrogant behaviour of this "master" but I would admit to being dumbfounded as to why this person who is relating to me this story be talking about him so reverently.

Call me lacking in tact, but I pounced on it immediately, asking him why the man had to behave in such a haughty manner when it comes to imparting his skill. He explained to me that the "master" had such knowledge in his hands that he had to be careful in choosing who to teach them to, as the knowledge he had can empower someone with the ability to kill with his bare hands. Now that to me is pure poppycock. What did it have to do with the master's arrogant holier-than-thou attitude? Correct me if I am wrong, but any knowledge is a dangerous thing depending on how you wield it. Like how a car is an instrument for transport, but put it in the hands of a drunk and you have a weapon of mass destruction. So to me, having a little knowledge in martial arts does not automatically grant you divine status to judge everyone else. You can either choose to impart your knowledge wisely or not at all, so all the haughty behaviour was rather unnecessary.

I digress, this person did not take my point of view well at all. He then argued that he understood the master's opinion because being that he was a trainer of sorts as well, he believes one has to be stern when it comes to dealing with students as a way to build respect. But I countered, being stern was one thing, but behaving like you're a god when it comes to imparting knowledge is just uncalled for. I was reminded of the days when I was in high school where we had teachers of such who terrorized their students just because they were in a position of power. I bolstered the fact that I also trained people in my line of work and I understood the view of being stern, but I believed helping someone improve should be the basis of imparting a skill, not demonstrating your superiority to others. At this point, this person got exasperated and let slip that people like me should just "go home". Usually I don't take last resort retorts like that lightly but I can see when someone has hit his boiling point. But really, let's not forget, despite what a great kungfu master Pai Mei was, his arrogance became his downfall. And what did he die of? Getting poisoned - now THAT, is killing with style and finesse. Killing with your bare hand, so crude and barbaric.

In Memoriam

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry
1932 - 2008

Tree Is A Company V: Angel... WIN?

Finally, the right angel to top the tree! Almost exactly what I was hoping to find. And only for RM39.90, from your friendly store where furniture is sold like groceries, Ikano (where the infamous IKEA is also based).

Just the right size and colour too!

Heroic Chilean Dog

I salute you, wherever you are. God bless. You are way better than any human being on this Earth.

Tree Is A Company IV: Christmas Lights FAIL... AGAIN

Seriously, what are the chances that two strands of lights blow out before Christmas while the third replacement, after a painstaking extrication and replacement session, HAS A FAULTY CONNECTOR? My currently half unadorned Christmas tree sits in the center of the living room awaiting the next set of replacement lights, with ornaments strewn all over the floor and sofa.

Yes indeed, I DO hate Christmas.

On a positive not, I loved Bolt. You've got to admit, it was cheesy, it was predictable and it was definitely designed to make you go "Awwww..." but hell, it's one of those movies that just makes you feel all melted and warm and fuzzy inside. Almost brought a tear to my eye... ALMOST. It sure beats Twilight, although very much a faithful adaptation of the book despite the compressed timelines. Both are crap, and Stephenie Meyer ought to be shot for unleashing this gruesome equivalent of a teenage girl's wet dream into the world. What the hell is wrong with those people out there who loves this piece of literary garbage?

The line that really cracked me and whiterabbit up:

Edward: (Looking all angsty while getting all sparkly like Christmas tinsel under the sun) This is the skin of a monster.
Bella: You're so beautiful...

Both of us almost gagged.

Tree Is A Company III: Christmas Lights FAIL

I thought that would be the end of it when I finally swore off spending more on the Christmas tree. Firstly, I have yet to stop visiting Christmas deco departments, mostly due to the fact that HRH is not around to smack me. However, I did not buy anything although my tree is still missing a topper which had me hunting in almost every major mall in the Klang Valley (other than the terribly secluded ones in Klang). The furthest I went would probably be the obscure Great Eastern Mall, located along Jalan Ampang, which is almost a good 45 minutes drive from where I stay, provided there is no bad traffic of course which is highly unlikely nowadays. They had some pretty ones which are unfortunately astronomically priced.

Secondly, I came out of my room one night into the living room to discover something was not quite right with my tree. It took me about 5 seconds to realise that the lower half of the tree was in darkness. Apparently the whole strand consisting of 100 lights had fried - which would mean I had to slowly extricate the mentioned section by removing all the ornaments. Fine, despite my annoyed disposition, I had to buy another strand of lights to replace the burnt out section (who the hell makes Christmas lights which fries the whole length?). To my annoyance, due to the rearranging, the tree now looks slightly unbalanced. To the lay person it would probably mean nothing, but the inner angsty artist in me screamed. Fine, nevermind, I thought, while I smothered the screaming angsty artist. Barely one hour later, the replaced section flickered and before my very eyes, the lower half of the tree was plunged into darkness again!

"Must... control... fist... of... death...."


It took all my strength to control the welling rabid madness within me and not rush towards my overpriced tree and rip it to pieces with my bare hands. Post mortem discovery - my multi-socket plug proved to be the culprit. The loose connection had somehow resulted in a surge. Result - another strand of lights needed, which means yet another painstaking removal and replacement session. Did I mention how much I hate Christmas?

Tree Is A Company (Part II)

The troublesome and expensive Christmas tree, pictures as per requested.

A wider view of the tree with my pet house plant.

Angel tree topper FAIL. The angel that was too heavy for the tree from Pinky. But it is so pretty right?

Tree Is A Company

I have a love hate relationship with Christmas. It's the season that gets me down and it is also the season that invokes unwelcome feelings in me. The only thing I love about Christmas are the Christmas trees. I am even less enthusiastic about receiving Christmas presents as compared to setting up a tree. Don't ask me why, but I have a feeling it stems from some repressed childhood thing when we used to set up an artificial tree back in hometown every Christmas season though nobody in my family are Christians. I never really asked my mother why we did it despite us being a family of freethinkers and pagan idol worshipers. I theorized it was really just for the sake of us kids. The "tradition" stopped after we started having dogs. According to my mother, she didn't want to have dog fur getting caught up in the tree though I suspected it was more because she didn't want the hassle of extracting the tree from our hazardously overloaded storeroom.

After a few years of living in the city alone and watching over the top and extravagant trees being set up in malls during Christmas season (I blame Metrojaya for the bulk of my obsession), I finally caved in last year and hastily bought a 5 feet tree from Tesco which I haphazardly cobbled together with budget trimmings in a vain attempt to make it look expensive. The end result was disastrous. Not so much because it ended up looking cheap and pathetic, but because it fueled by obsession that I needed to do better next year. My mother did not over-reacted as I thought she would when she popped by for a visit:

"A Christmas tree? You should have just asked for the old one at home if you wanted one instead of buying a new one."

I kept telling friends after that I am going to go bigger the next year, and get a 6 feet one. They just rolled their eyes and thought I was crazy. So my obsession began anew last month, the same moment Metrojaya began setting up their Christmas deco, so yes, they are to be blamed for my insanity. I attempted to refrain from giving in to my obsession to go bigger so I just hauled out the old 5 feet one and set it up, this time with new lights and ribbon garlands. The final result was no different from last year, it ended up looking sad and small in the corner of my living room and I couldn't bring myself to look upon it without feeling ashamed. With vengeance, I renewed my search for a bigger tree despite it being the middle of November, visiting different malls every few days and yes, bloody Metrojaya, in hopes of finding the tree of my dreams. No such luck from the latter considering their most decent trees were priced from RM400 onwards but God did it made my obsession burn. Just with luck, Carrefour was starting to sell trees, and the 6 feet one (made in Vietnam) was going for just RM50, and the branches look really thick with needles too. I could have made a Dr. Evil expression at the thought of getting a tree that large for such a steal.

So off I trotted home, delighted with my bargain to set up my tree. Coincidentally, Laynie was suppose to come over for a DVD night and found herself reluctantly drafted into my insane quest.

"Why the hell do you have two trees?"

I wasn't about to let my enthusiasm be dampened. But what's this as I began to unpack the thing:

"No hinged branches?"

It didn't look good. No hinged branches means higher susceptibility to wear and tear with each use. It was then I began to realize that nothing comes cheap without consequences. The quality was really poor. So poor that a little branch broke off as I was unfurling it. In my estimates, the tree probably wouldn't last 3 years without looking denuded. But still, I tried being optimistic. So after almost 3 hours, the end result was somewhat better than the previous tree. Not satisfied with the result, I started visiting malls again to compare. Yes, BACK TO METROJAYA... AGAIN. I wasn't going to be outdone, so after getting more trimmings from several places, I decided finally that my tree now looks more presentable...

Or does it?

Something was not right. After more visits to malls and more comparisons made later, I found my tree despite being 6 feet did not have foliage that covered the stand. But no, I wasn't going to feed my insane obsession of Christmas trees anymore. But itchy me, I could not resist a peek at the affluent neighbourbood malls of Bangsar during a lunch outing with whiterabbit.

"My tree needs berries," I proclaimed.

"Berries?"

"To top the tree!"

So yet another friend fell victim to my obsession and was for an hour dragged around Bangsar Village to look at Christmas decorations. The search turned up fruitless (excuse the pun), so off I went again, TO METROJAYA (curses!) and finally found what I was looking for. Berry branches, at RM10.90 a piece, and I got four. Finally I decided, this was going to be it. No more! Or so I vainly thought...

The nagging feeling that I had gotten myself a bad purchase with the RM50 tree continued to chew at my conscience. So this time I sneaked a peek at Bangsar Shopping Centre during closing hours after my session in the gym, and I caught sight of a nice tree going for RM249.

"Gulp. Must... resist..."

But I wasn't going to give in so easily, I had to go back this time and compare carefully. I can always decide again tomrrow because I would be around the area. So after coming home and staring at my already set up tree like for what seem like an eternity, I decided Carrefour tree had to go. So again I was in BSC the next day. However after closer inspection, I found I did not like that tree so much, so partially relieved, I did not make the purchase. It didn't end there - I somehow found myself in Pavilion, in the heart of KL. I was doomed the moment I stepped in Parkson. There among the trees available, was a 7 feet tree of excellent quality, with REAL pine cones, selling at RM599 for a discounted price of RM419.30.

"Gag."

It didn't help that I was also feeling somewhat depressed over the week over issues. The more sad I was, the more likely I will be to do stupid things to keep me preoccupied. I spent the next few hours running around in the Golden Triangle area looking at even MORE decorations in an attempt to discourage myself. I even saw a luxurious tree with detailed pine needles, going for RM1000+. I was going insane. RM419.30 is better than that price right? RIGHT??? My fate was sealed. In the end I was RM419.30 poorer, having two twinks lug my "Austrian Pine" to my car 4 floors down at the other end of the mall. A spectacle that HRH Nut would have been proud of. I spent a total 7 hours taking down my Carrefour tree and setting up the new one over the course of the next 24 hours. I'd even had to get another 2 strings of lights to light the whole tree. Three days later, after regular lunch with Pinky, I ended up with a Christmas angel doll with ceramic hands and head which Pinky insisted she paid for. Guess what, it didn't fit the tree. BLAST!!!! It now sits at the kitchen counter, looking like something from a horror movie and very out of place.

"You are to smack me if you ever see me wandering into anymore Christmas deco sales in malls," I said to HRH Nut.

"Why?"

"I probably spent close to RM800 this year on the Christmas tree."

"Good lord..."

"But then again I heard they have quite nice decos in Great Eastern Mall!"

*SMACK!*

Have Some Balls Abdullah

The audacity of that man. In the 2004 elections Abdullah had no hesitation in admitting that the landslide victory of BN was the mandate of the people for his rule. Now that the tide has turned, he has the gall to refuse to resign and say why should he when BN still won the majority to form the federal government? That is likened to the army dictatorship in Myanmar ignoring the will of the people. He's not even clever enough to find a better reason. Koh Tsu Koon had the grace to bow out in the face of Gerakan's defeat. Your mandate has been revoked, so salvage your dignity and just leave. The people have spoken and so have your predecessor, Mahathir. In the past four years you have shown yourself to be nothing more than a weak leader behaving like a senile old fool. Your ineffective and inefficient rule is over.

I Don't Care About The Elections

No, I don't care about the elections, and no, I am not a registered voter. I don't rule out one day I might exercise my rights to vote but right now I rather exercise my rights NOT to vote. Politicians and zealous friends can call people like me irresponsible but I think it takes greater restraint to not take sides. It seems rather pointless to me when I see no one worth voting for. The present government can just shut up because no matter what they say, it is a government divided by thinly veiled racial lines where equality, education and economic policies are concerned. I certainly have no faith in Abdullah Badawi, whom half the time looks like he doesn't know what he's talking about. Makes you wonder how this person stay up there when he answers question like a headless chicken during a recent interview by CNN. The opposition can promise nothing either because they have no experience whatsoever in running a country nor can they set aside their own differences to instill any confidence.

However when it comes to deciding the lesser of several evils, I would deny PAS any votes if I really had to choose. So despite my lack of confidence in the ruling coalition, I will certainly be glad to see them stamped out for good in the coming elections. As it is, the lines between state and religion are already blurred enough. To have this bunch of fundamentalist retards anywhere in the government is a hindrance to development if not a step backward. Hell, PAS should just come up with the tagline, "Vote PAS, think Afghanistan!".

So BN, DAP, PAS or whatever, I can't really be bothered with politics. To me, politics is just like money - by all pure logic, we don't really need it but through some twist in evolution, money has become the sole driving force in human survival. So for the same reasons we have somehow created a dependency on governments and politicians to survive. For the past five thousand years, humanity have created a muck that will take probably another few thousand years to unravel, if anybody is working towards Utopia in the first place. I am just waiting for tomorrow to come and go quickly come so that I don't have to read propaganda in the papers everyday, see eyesore banners in every corner of the streets and listening to silly politicians trying to outdo each other like some adult version of a kindergarten playground. Don't make us any promises because we don't need to hear it. Just shut up and do your job.

Hole In The Head

I don't want to have to deal with this.

I am tired, fed up, angry, disappointed and upset but it's not your fault though I really want to blame you for everything.

You should have had more courage to hold on to me if I was everything you've ever wanted instead of blaming your past.

We all have our pasts, if I can deal with it, why can't you?

I don't want to keep feeling the way I do.

I don't want to keep repeating this painful cycle.

Why am I allowed to feel this kind of happiness when eventually it would be taken away - it's not fair and yes God, I blame You.

I don't know where I am and I don't know where I am going but I know I don't want to be here.

There are no happy endings for people like us - gay men are programmed to be tragic and it spreads like a virus.

I don't want to be noble when all I can feel is how hurt I am and I want to scream at you for the pain you caused me.

I have become too damaged to sustain any more blows.

I have become too jaded to even cry - all the response I could dredge up is numbness.

I don't want to explain to everyone how we're no longer an item and I want to be left alone.

In Memoriam

Lydia Sum Din-Ha
1947 - 2008

In Memoriam

Roy Scheider
1932 - 2008

Mouldy

All around me are signs that age is catching up, even if I can afford to deny what I see in the mirror. Well okay, maybe I am not denying so much - I don't have as much hair as I used to have when I was 16 and of late, I can begin to see the vague outlines of crow's feet starting to form whenever I smile. Not good. People who die young, perhaps they are the lucky ones.

Physical aging aside, I managed to catch up on two schoolmates recently on Facebook. If they can have seven new wonders of the world, they should have seven new deadly sins and Facebook included as one of them for excessive but yet amusing waste of time. But I'm moving out of topic again, so back to the two schoolmates. I knew them back when I was in an experimental shithole of a school which ran on a single session. I was 16 then and they were about no more than 13? A bunch of bratty annoying kids - love them to bits. Fast forward 12 years later, I find them on Facebook and one is getting married... TO MY EX-CLASSMATE, while the other is practically a sarong party girl, dating a white guy in Singapore. My reaction? IMPOSSIBLE! Bratty girls simply do not grow up into attractive young women who marry your classmates and date white men. In my mind I still saw them as flat-chested, pinafore-wearing schoolgirls with horrible hair that would make drag queens scream. I felt like I stepped into the Twilight Zone... and it was about to get worse.

Few days ago, an ex-university classmate added me on Facebook as well. On her profile was the picture of a baby. At first I didn't pay much attention, and then I did a second take. Wait a minute, a baby? I clicked on the picture, and found out it had no description. A horrible truth began to dawn on me. I commented on the picture:

"OMG... is it yours?"

Few hours later, a reply came, "Yes. This fella is mine... huahahhaha...".

I didn't add the maniacal laughter, that was indeed her reply. My former flighty as a feather classmate had gotten married to my high school senior and with his help, produced a miniature version of herself. She is now a mother, while I, her cold logical friend who is of higher seniority is currently having commitment phobia and abandonment issues. God indeed has a very poor sense of humour. Despite looking way lot more attractive than I did 3 years ago, I am finding myself hard on reciprocating amorous attention. The irony of it was I could have easily returned such feelings 3 years ago. Now all I am capable of feeling is old, weary and wary.

I need to go practice dying glamorously naked on my bed now - whilst I still look pretty enough.

Funereal Hysteria

As predicted, the "public mourning" for Heath Ledger has died down as news associated with his death begins to drop from the headlines. Barely a week ago I found myself the target for "cyber assassination" for openly criticising the public mourning for an actor whom none of us really know other than the roles he played and what the tabloids report.

"He's dead. He ain't getting any deader. Get over it."

Not that I am being insensitive. It's a tragedy that one so young with such a bright future ahead of him is prematurely snuffed out but that is all there is to it for one among many who doesn't know who Mr. Ledger really is. Closer to home, if anybody really bothered to read the newspapers nowadays, the promising life of a young medical student had also been prematurely terminated in a road accident caused by a bus driver with 30 summonses. As far as I am concerned, she deserved to be mourned as much as Mr. Ledger, but nobody but her family and friends are feeling it. The only difference is she was not some celebrity who frequently made the pages of magazines and entertained us on the silver screen. But she could have been a promising doctor who might have saved plenty of lives if she had lived. So no, I do not believe in mourning for people I do not know, especially foreign celebrities, as influential as they may be.

I also find it strange that people feel for Heath Ledger for the roles that he played and not the life that he led - namely Brokeback Mountain. First of all, Heath Ledger was not gay, and neither was Ang Lee's adaptation of Annie Proulx short story about gay cowboys very realistic either. Remember it was a story written in such a way as to play with one's emotions. Pity that nobody really remembered his role as a gay athlete having to deal with prejudice and coming out in the Australian teen series Sweat which was by far more set in reality. I find "I wish I knew how to quit you" cheesy at best.

Whilst Mr. Ledger is being buried amidst the media circus and mass mourning surrounding his tragic demise, many also seem to have missed the circumstances of his death. Though purely through evidential speculation at the moment, he seem to have overdosed on prescription drugs - a disturbingly common tale associated with celebrities nowadays. Don't get me wrong, I am not belittling those with illnesses that genuinely need such drugs, but people are turning to using prescription drugs as easily as popping a couple of aspirins. Though it is unknown as to whether Mr. Ledger truly needed them, the more nagging question was did he know the dangers of it. There was a lesson to be learned from his death and from many others that died like him, but many seem to be more interested in lamenting how they will never see his presence on the silver screen again while many more turn to drugs because it seems like such a hip thing to do when you are "depressed".

Make no mistake, Heath Ledger was very human. He was a father, a brother and a son. But like every one of us he was just as fallible. To quote Neil Gaiman's The Sandman character Death:

"You lived what anybody gets, Bernie. You got a lifetime. No more. No less. You got a lifetime."

It couldn't be more aptly said. So enough with the howling hysterical sorrow and let the dead sleep.

In Memoriam

Heath Ledger
1979 - 2008

In Memoriam

Sir Edmund Hillary
1919 - 2008

Polis Diraja Malaysia: A Royal Disgrace

Take note that this is not an attack on the Malaysian police as a whole, but I can safely say that with how most of the force are behaving, it is starting to make their conduct questionable. This morning while once again braving the daily morning traffic horror at the LDP Sunway toll, what appeared to be a cop on a motorcycle stopped at the side of my car about 10 meters away from the toll when it was about to be my turn. Without saying anything, he made gestures to what seem like to me that I should follow my queue (which I was), then he proceeded to the same to the other line at the adjacent toll. Just as I was about to enter, he again pulled up at my side. This time I lowered my window to see what was the matter. In a rude tone he said:

"Pergilah tepi! You tak faham kah?" (Move to the side! You don't understand?")

It was then I realised that he was an outrider escorting some VIP. First of all, let me state that I believe that nobody, no matter how important they are, except ambulances or emergencies, should be given way on the road. By the look of how comfy this group of VIPs were in their car, they don't seem to be in any kind of emergency. Like everyone they should suffer like the rest of us stuck in the jam every morning. I mean we pay our taxes as well don't we? And if the VIP is a politician, all the more he/she should feel what the rest of us are feeling. After all, it's their fault for not managing the traffic system well. Take a look at the late Ghafar Baba who always insisted that he should not be escorted by outriders because he doesn't want to inconvenience other people. God rest his soul.

But I digress, I was much taken aback by the rudeness of this cop that I actually yelled back at him, "Belakang pun sudah block! Kalau boleh jalan, jalan sajalah!" (The back is already blocked! If they can move then move!")

Still, I was forced to give way, to not one VIP car, but several others as well in the entourage, further aggravating the jam which already had tempers flaring all around. This won't be the first time I had bad blood with the Malaysian police. Years back when I was still in high school, I had the very unfortunate experience of witnessing police brutality after being forced to participate in a police line-up. Not that I was the victim of their oppression of course. Me and several group of people had their identification cards illegally detained (I didn't know it was illegal then) by the police after what seem like a routine check at an arcade centre. We were told to go to the police station to collect them. We were made to wait in a small room and not told why we there. There was an open door connected to the next room where I could see a disheveled man in handcuffs being harassed by several plainclothes policemen. To my shock, they started assaulting him and told him to squat underneath a desk while one of them rested his foot on him like a footrest!

Never in my life have I ever witnessed with my own eyes a man being treated this way. It was almost as if he was worse than an animal. When the guy who was using him as a footrest saw me looking, he immediately went to close the door, as if he knew what he was doing was not meant to be witnessed by the public. I don't know what crime he has committed then but later did I find out he was a snatch thief after he was "herded" among us in a line-up while two women were brought in to identify him. It was after that incident that I lost my respect for the Malaysian police force in general.

Years later I had the "privilege" to experience police corruption at work after I was stopped for using the handphone whilst driving. My fault of course, and out of fear, I accepted the offer to bribe after he falsely threatened me that my driving license would be revoked on the spot and my driving privileges will be suspended for months pending hearing in court when in truth I would just be issued a summon. I lost RM100 in the process and feeling dirty having participated in the illegal transaction. Last year in May I was also summoned without notice after I was given warning that I cannot drive in a taxi/bus lane near KLCC. I only found out I had a summon after a colleague checked my record online, much to my disgust.

And who doesn't know that our police is already well known for inefficiency? I am sure anybody who had the unfortunate need to report a crime or IC loss will know. My ex had his house broken into once, and all they did was come around few hours later, look around half-heartedly and take a few statements. All that CSI thing you see on TV? I am beginning to wonder if it really does exist. If you are one of the common folk like me, don't expect to ever recover your stolen property, not unless you're a Datuk or Tan Sri, of which a suspect (or scapegoat) will definitely be in hand within the next 48 hours.

Having said that, I am sure they are a few dedicated men of law out there, just that the bad probably outweighs the good. If they are unhappy being underpaid then by all means go do something else. The rest of us have to deal with being unhappy with our jobs, I don't see why we have to deal with their disgruntled manners as well.

What Logic?

There are things that people sometimes which just defies common sense and logic. Here are some that I come across everyday:

The McDonald's Drive-Through

So the purpose of a drive-through is for a speedy take-away without getting down from the car right? I actually experimented with this after what I thought was a rather lengthy wait in the drive-through. One day during a particularly long queue at the drive-through, I decided to just park my car and get my take-away right at the counter instead. Before I went in, I marked a car in the queue just to see who would be faster, me or the car. 5 minutes later I came out with my order and the car? Still where it was with the driver none too wiser. From that day onwards, no more drive-throughs for me, unless I am pretty sure there was no queue.

The Queue

There will always be those who ladle their food in tiny portions while the long queue at the back of them gets frustrated at their apparent slowness. Why not just take a big scoop and get EXACTLY the portion you want instead of taking it in tiny bits? And speaking of McDonald's earlier, there are also always those who would never consider about what they are ordering while lining up and then proceed to frustrate others at the back when their turn comes by asking, "Uhhh... how big your burger ar??".

The Reverse Parkers

It's quite a common sight to find people do reverse parking in shopping mall car-parks. Never mind that they drive huge big ass clumsy cars which are way too big for them, they also take a hell of a long time going back and forth several times before their car moves into the parking space. I have questioned several of my friends on why they choose to reverse park instead of just driving in head first. Usually the reply would be, "It's more easier for me to come out later". From my own personal experience?

Time it takes to reverse park = 30 - 60 seconds depending on how skillful you are
Time it takes to drive out a car which had been reverse-parked = 10 seconds

Time it takes to drive a car in directly = 10 seconds
Time it takes to drive out a car which had been direct parked = 20 seconds

Seriously.