Seven Sins of a Child

Seven Sins Depicted in America's Next Top Model

Okay, before the bombing starts, please know that this is just an observation. There is no malice from my part... I just consider it to be an interesting observation. I am not writing this to discredit all children. In fact, I love children and besides, I was a child too! The following article is applicable only for children under the age of seven.

I have always heard people saying that children are pure, innocent, good, little angels, etc. However, in actuality, they are the embodiment of the seven sins. In case you did not know it, the seven sins are gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, lust and pride.

Gluttony

Gluttony is derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow, which meant over-indulgence and over-consumption of food and drinks. Saint Thomas Aquinas categorized six ways of committing gluttony as eating too soon, eating too expensively, eating too much, eating too eagerly, eating too daintily and eating wildly. (from Wikipedia)

Surely, you don’t need me to explain much to prove that children are the embodiment of gluttony. They commit five of the six ways to commit gluttony as described by St. Thomas Aquinas explained above. Children will demand for food no matter what the time, always demand for delicacies like sweets, ice-creams, cookies and cakes and will gobble up everything when your back is turned... provided it’s the food they like, of course. They are just never full... only for food that they like of course :P.

Greed

Greed in psychology is an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves. (from Wikipedia)

Well, it is again obvious that children are greedy. They will want to hoard all the food they like, want to have lots of toys, gadgets, attention, etc. They will be unwilling to share but will not accept the fact that others have the right not to share their toys/food too.

Sloth

Sloth is defined as putting off what someone asks you to do or not doing it or anything at all.

For those who are parents, how often is it that you have to threaten your child to do their homework and housework? Children would rather spend their time glued to the TV or just sitting around doing nothing rather than doing something they are told to such as cleaning their room. Babies sleep all the time too… of course, they need the rest, but sleeping whole day doing nothing fits the description of sloth too :P.

Wrath

Wrath is an emotional state that may range from minor irritation to intense rage. In Buddhism is also defined as “being unable to bear the object, or the intention to cause harm to the object.” (from Wikipedia)

Ever heard a child’s scream? The probability is that the child’s parents refused to buy something that the child wants. They would throw tantrums, scream wildly and in some cases, would even utter words that a person should never know at such young age. Some more bold ones would actually start to throw things around in their attempt in exacting vengeance on their parents.

Envy

Envy may be defined as an emotion that "occurs when a person lacks another's superior quality, achievement or possession and either desires it or wishes the other lacked it. The Book of Exodus (20:17) states: " You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour."

Well, don’t you remember when you’re little that you were green-eyed when the other child has a brick game or a Gameboy or a beautiful Barbie doll? Don’t you ever wished that your parents would be as generous as the other child’s parents? Didn’t it ever cross your mind to wish to see that beautiful Gameboy that child is playing will break down or maybe you even thought of stealing it? Remember when the teacher praised the others instead of you? Enough said!

Lust

Lust is an inordinate craving for flesh of another to the point of assuming self-indulgent and sometimes violent character.

Okay, this is only one of the seven sins that is in the grey area… meaning, that this is the only sin that children did not commit the full meaning of the sin. The sin of Lust is primarily used for sex. And of course, thankfully, we are not in an era when this thing is common for those who are related through first blood.

However, in a lesser level, lust is also the feeling of love to the extremities. Examples are, loving someone so much that you would do something that would hurt him/her just to get their love and attention. And that is something that children would do. In order for you to continuously love them, they would just do almost anything to get your attention. Children would cry whenever you leave the room or when you leave them in the care of another. They would be screaming and flailing wildly at you so that you would not leave them and would be at their side forever. Of course, it is amusing to note that this feeling will wear off once they have gotten used to the idea of you leaving them and once they got to know friends. Just remember, whenever you think that your teenager child is not loving you as much now, it was you who convinced them that they could survive without your presence!

Pride

Pride is, depending upon context, either a high sense of the worth of one's self or one's own or a pleasure taken in the contemplation of these things. One definition of pride in the first sense comes from Augustine: "the love of one's own excellence. (from Wikipedia)

Pride is also known as the root of all sins as mentioned by St. Thomas Aquinas and seconded by Pope Gregory I… although I do not possess the wisdom to connect pride to the rest of the sins… I mean I can connect pride with wrath, envy, greed and lust, but I have no idea how to connect it to gluttony and sloth.

Children are obviously proud creatures. They would lie and steal just to not be humiliated by others. A great example would be in claiming that they possess certain things that would make others envy even though they did not possess them. Other examples would be claiming their parents to be someone that they are not, lying about toys, gadgets, etc. In Cantonese, we call them "ying lek", if translated directly would be "admitting own's cleverness".

So there, here they are, the Seven Sins. It is horrifying to know that most of us have committed some or even all of the Seven Sins since we were young… at a lesser scale, but nonetheless, it’s still the Seven Sins. No wonder the adults are even worse!

I must say that I have committed all of it since I was a child… except for the last one, pride. Strangely, it never did occur to me to show off when I was a child... I never hide the fact that I am from a poor family, besides, in my time, the stuff that makes us happy doesn't cost lots of money unlike children nowadays, phones, PSP, DSi, computers, etc. Of course, now that I'm an adult, it's an entirely different matter! Now, I am committing all except for one too, guess what is it :P. So, the big question is, are the Seven Sins overrated? Meaning that they are not as bad as they sounds? Or are we just too blind (or unwilling) to see the evil in a child. Afterall, if children are evil, there can be no hope for adults!

The Day When Bamboo Went Blind... Almost

Okay, the title was a little bit exaggerated... but it's the truth that something bad and mysterious happened to my vision on last Sunday. As usual, I woke up early that morning and went hiking. There's nothing noticeable wrong with my visions. Then, I went to have breakfast... I had half-boiled egg and toasted bread for breakfast.

After that, I went back to have a shower and out of boredom, I went to Coffee Bean to go online with my laptop. Up until that point, that day was just like any other... nothing out of ordinary... just the plain old boring schedule.

However, when I left Coffee Bean at around 12 afternoon, I almost fell to the ground. My eyes were unable to focus at all! Immediately, I sat down and check my spectacles. Sometimes, my spectacles would get dirty and will somewhat distort my vision (though I have never experienced one that can upset my balance). Sure, the glasses were a little bit dirty and I used a napkin to clean it.

I put my clean glasses on and I 'saw' the same thing again... I am able to see things but it's like my eyes were acting out of sync and I was unable to focus on details like words. I don't really know how else to explain it. It was almost like seeing a double of everything except that I was not! It was like looking at things when I go cross-eyed and yet, it wasn't really like that. I just can't make out details but I have no problem seeing things. I tried to read this novel I had with me and I kept on reading two lines at once!

I was really afraid and I checked my eyes one by one and they worked fine! I was really baffled. By now, I was already having some pretty disturbing thoughts on what could have caused this unnatural disorder. Maybe not enough sleep? But I have tried not sleeping for 36 hours straight and this thing never happened to me.

Then I thought of the pot luck dinner yesterday and thought... food poisoning... but that had to be one good poison to have these effects. Or maybe the Witch's evil brewed potions did work afterall???!!!!! Maybe I slept in an unatural position and thus my blood vessel or brain was somehow dislodged, moved, disoriented?

Or maybe I pushed myself too hard during hiking? Or my history in consuming huge amounts of sugar has finally caught up with me and I'm going blind? I heard that one can go blind during the final stages of diabetes... but I don't have diabetes (as of May 2008) Or has my vision deteriorated so much that even glasses will not help me correct my visions? Was it a curse? Is the end near? Did I expose my eyes to toxic fumes? Will this be the new disease where they'll name it after me? And no, I did not do drugs!!!

Anyway, baffled by all these, I decided to go home and have a good sleep... and thus maybe somehow my body would naturally correct this disorder. You have no idea how difficult it is to drive partially blind... well, I was not exactly blind... it's just that if I was hit by a car, I woin't be able to read it's car plate at all... also, I was unable to read the road signs... of course, being a regular driver of these roads every week does come in handy. I slept for 3 hours and woke up still with the unnatural vision!

Okay, so my next option would have to be the hospital, I thought. But being a really stubborn person, I refuse to seek out professional help. Well, the last thing that I did before getting this 'sickness' was going online. So, I thought maybe it's the laptop's harmful rays that cause it. And as the Chinese saying goes, "to cure poison, you must use poison." So, I attempted to play pc games with my laptop!

An hour later, my troubling vision seemed to have improved! Since it was already late and I still did not have dinner (I skipped lunch :( ), I decided to go online while having dinner to continue this 'special' healing process. However, I passed by an optometrist shop and I remembered my glasses were a little bit twisted since I accidentally sat on it :P. So, I entered the shop and requested the staff there to repair my glasses. Lo and behold, after repairing my glasses, I found my vision returning back to normal!

But surely it can't be due to the glasses since I was wearing the same pair in the morning when my eyesight deteriorated. My eyesight was okay before breakfast and deteriorated after breakfast while my glasses still remain the same! I really cannot figure out this mysterious encounter.

My final conclusion is that maybe my "laptop medication" corrected my eyesight and it took some time for it to become normal... however, this meant that the underlying problem is not solved! Luckily all these were temporarily solved before attending my 2-day training course or else I really don't know what to do.

Phone Insurance

I've finally met my match. I have always been accustomed to winning in almost any arguments... of course some of them are actually really forced arguments but no matter how, I almost always win. The only time that I would lose an argument is in technical matters which is almost impossible to turn and twist is the way I wanted.

However, I have finally met (or more accurately, talk with) someone who is able to turn my own reasoning onto me. I had to resort to some very unreasonable and downright crude methods to keep myself from being dragged into his reasoning.

Over the past two years, I have received numerous calls on congratulating me for being the lucky customer who is the 'specially' selected few to receive a bargain of the century in insurance. To tell the truth, initially, I did buy some of the policies. It sounded a real bargain and maybe it really is a bargain but I always ended up cancelling them after paying the policy for a few months. I don't know if it's a sickness of what, but no matter how they explained to me how the policy works, I still find myself in the clouds. Yes, I actually bought them even though I'm not 100% sure what it does.

My mind just went numb and I ran out of questions during these phone calls. However, I smarten up over time and managed to fend of these 'telemarketers' easily. I hope that I did not offend anyone with similar job nature but it really is quite annoying. Heck, I remembered reading an article somewhere that a woman sued the telemarketing company for calling during dinner and hence, disrupting her precious family get together time. Of course, they did ask if it is alright for them to continue and I always says yes. The reason is, I'm a nice guy :P. I can say that I'm busy, but they will phone back at another time... without fail. Thus, I'm being the good guy in letting them know that I don't want to buy anything from them and hence they can move on to other people, saving both our time.

Most of the time, they did not really push me to buy the various policies they have at their disposal. However, this phone call I got is really persuasive and determined. I don't know how their system works but I supposed they would have very low basic salary and will get incentives for every person they call who buy the policies from them. But this guy, whom I shall call John (I didn't pay attention when he said his name :P) sounded really sincere.

He said that since it is my birthday, (hello... that was like 20 days ago) his company decided to give me this out of the world (not his exact words) offer to me. He said something about normally that I would have to pay the policy for 25 years but for me, I need to pay for 10 years only... or was it 15? :P Anyway, this is the most expensive policy I ever encountered that is offered through the phone. I need to pay RM100++ every month for 10 / 15 years for the 25 year policy. Also, I only need to pay for 11 months only per year! As a result of that, I would be covered with each and every sickness that is and will be available on Earth, except AIDS. Again, I didn't remember how much they will pay me if I got critical illnesses but it's supposed to be really huge amount. Also, if I didn't claim any money at all, they will return back all the money I have given them at the end of the 25 year period with an interest rate of 5% per annum!

Frankly speaking, I was quite attracted to it. The strange thing with insurance policies is that it is usually more attractive to the lower income group than the high income group. And the irony is, the lower income group cannot afford the additional burden. Well, paying an extra RM100++ per month is still affordable for me but I prefer to save them and use them in whatever way I find fitting.

Thus, I started to refuse the offer. Another thing that really irks me is the way those 'telephone people' works. They would explain the thing they are selling and ask if you have any question and then go straight to asking your details to register you for the policy. They won't ask like "Do you want this policy?". They would just say "So, now I would register you to this policy. May I have your IC number please?"

Anyway, when this guy said something like that, I politely declined the offer. Sure enough, he asked for a reason. I know that they do need to write a report or something for failing to coax someone to buy the policy... which will in turn be used as a reference where they'll come up with great and solid counterattack if this reason is used again in the future. So, I go with the basic reason, "I'm not interested in this policy."

And he asked why and I said that I don't need it... which triggered him into a lengthy explanation furore. He talked about how different it is from the normal policies what they don't cover and what his policy covers, etc. etc. I did not pay even a single attention. Again, after the explanation, he immediately wanted to register me as a policy holder, which I again declined.

He asked for a reason again and I said I think that if I got a critical illness which is not covered by my current policy and I failed to cough up with some several hundred thousand of cash, I would be a really pathetic person... meaning that I don't think coughing up several hundred thousand is a problem to me. I know, I know, I sounded very haughty. Well, I thought this would be a closure and again, he went into this windy explanation, which again, I did not pay attention.

Again, he tried to register me and again, I declined. By now, I was already sweating... in an air-cond room! He went on saying that the policy would leave some money for my loved ones like my wife, children, parents, etc. and I went on to say that I have no wife, no children, no girlfriend and no close relatives! 

And he said I will have a wife in the future and I said I will get one when I do get a wife. He retorted that if I get a policy by then, I would have to pay much more than what I need to pay now. By now, I have already run out of answers and reasons... so I had to resort to saying that I don't want the policy and I don't want to tell him the reason. I acted like I have a very good but very dark secret reason for not wanting the policy.

Again, he pushed for the reason again and I stood firm on not wanting to tell him the reason. At last, after our 20 minute conversation, he gave up! Phew! However, I did not feel happy at all. I had to resort to such barbaric method to get rid of him! It is just a step above from slamming the phone on him and I will not use such uncivilized method.

I'm sure that most of you would have gotten a similar phone call at one time or another. So, if you have a very good, persuasive reason that I can use to fend off these people, please do tell me. I'm not sure if I can survive another encounter unscathed. 

Sports (Part 2)

(Please be informed that the following article is biased due to the author’s one-sided view of sports. It is the ravings of a nut job who never intended his work to hurt anyone in the process.)

Okay, so now we will be talking about sports on a point by point basis. First, let us talk about health. Sports are always related to health. I have heard friends and relatives drone on and on about how healthy one would get when they joined a sports activity. Well, it is true that sports like football, basketball, tennis, squash, swimming; etc. will develop one’s stamina, strength and agility. But then again, we can all gain that through exercising like jogging, working out in a gym and hiking too. While both would gain similar results, exercising does not have the risk that one faces in sports. In sports, (eg. football, basketball and hockey) there would inevitably be bodily contacts, such as pushing, shoving, hitting, kicking and even punching… all of these actions would lead to injuries. How many times have we seen or heard about a professional sports player having to undergo surgeries… and not just any normal surgery… there’re knee surgeries, muscle tear surgeries and even brain surgeries. The only people who would gain from this are the insurance companies because these players would be heavily insured. So, in the end, you’ll end up facing the risk of having permanent disability while playing sports. Unless you are foolish enough to drop weights on your toes in a gym or fall flat on your face while jogging, exercising is pretty much hazardous free and much more flexible.

One can only be good at one or two sports and thus, their health development would be focused on several key areas only. When one exercises, they can train their body depending on their needs. For example, one can jog or go hiking for higher stamina, do push-ups for a more developed chest and shoulder blades, sit-ups for a dashing six-pack, lift weights for well toned biceps and triceps, etc. This cannot be done in sports as each sport usually focuses only on the development of several parts of the body. So, in terms of health, exercising wins hands down.

Next we should talk about the spirit of sports. I never ceased to laugh out loud when some moron on the television mentioned that taking part in the sports event would make them understand others’ culture better and make friends. How fake is that! For one, it is rare for sports people to be friends with one another, even for those in the same team. This is due to the fact that they are all vying for the top position… the champion. Runner-ups are as easily forgotten as the one who loses in the first round. Each would want to beat the other in a sports event and thus, I highly doubt that they would sit down together in a coffee shop and eat together, chatting over some unrelated topic and bonding with each other. For heaven’s sake, even in sports like football, those who are in the same team are divided into several groups and it is not uncommon to find that these groups hate each others’ guts.

Coaches, political people and even the sportsmen (it’s referred to both males and females, too lazy to type both :P) themselves all talk about how their participation would increase international ties, build teamwork, make friends, blah, blah, blah. Punching, kicking, fouls, cheating are just but a few of the ugliness that is brought out by sports. Maybe, once upon a time, there is really such a thing as non-competitive sports, but now, faced with luxurious rewards, winning at any cost is deeply ingrained in people who play professional sports that even those so called friendly matches are just but a façade.

Okay, so how about character building. A sportsman who is able to endure the intensive training would be a better man such as more hardworking, higher mental strength, nicer, etc… my foot. Well, actually, the above might be true but I do know for a fact that sports bring out the worst in a human. Have you ever noticed that sportsmen are rarely modest? When they win, they will say that they deserve it. If they lose, it’s either their opponent are lucky or they are not in their top condition or the referee is one-sided. Shouldn’t it be the other way round? For me, if someone is really good, then they should win by such a big margin that a few “unfair” points given to their opponents won’t affect the outcome. All those who cry foul when they lose by one point should realize that they are just not good enough and not blame others.

The word ‘drugs’ is also ultimately tied with the word ‘sports’. Whenever someone mentioned drugs to me, I would immediately think of a wasted body sleeping behind dumpsters… but a lot of these “professional” sportsmen use drugs to help them win. Why? Because they just can bear to lose and decided that winning unfairly is better than losing fairly. Also, one can see the inherent untamed animal in these people when they play especially in teams. Fights are just a common sight in sports like football. There is even a title for teams who played fairly throughout the entire tournament! This means, it is publicly acknowledged that these sports are usually played unfairly! From the ideal character building sports, it has now become something that rouses our inner evil monster.

Now, we should talk about revenue generation. Sports bring revenue to a country… or so they claimed. Hundreds of countries spend billions for their sports facilities and infrastructures just to host some sports event. Hundreds of millions are spend in training the players through the employment of foreign coaches and setting up training grounds overseas; all these just to qualify for the qualification on bidding to hold sports event. The thing that no one seemed to realize is that for any major sports event, it will take several decades before the same country can be the host of the event the second time. Thus, after the so-called huge income jump with foreign currencies, those countries are left high and dry with the maintenance costs. For example, in one sports event, the facilities are built for 30 teams. When the event ended, the facilities would be over capacity by 29 teams! And I suspect that even with millions of people coming to watch the event, it won’t really cover the cost used to build the new buildings, employ extra part-timers for the event and organize security personnel. True, businesses like hotels, taxis, planes, buses and restaurants would receive a great boost… but those are just for city centers… further expanding the income gap in between cities and suburbs.

It is also true that the country would be famous for holding the event (if successful), but it does not last long unless the country managed to secure several major sports event in consecutive years. I mean, do you still remember what was the opening of the Olympics like four years ago? After all the praises and hype about it being the best opening up to now, it doesn’t change the fact that humans easily forget something if they are not constantly reminded of it, heck, I would wager that a lot would have a hard time which country it was held in a quarter decade ago. Won’t it be easier and better if we were to focus our energies in something more reliable like technology and research? If a country focuses their resources in developing the next generation of technology, we would gain profit and fame just the same without needing to be bothered by the maintenance cost, unreliable income and practically begging other parties to let us hold an event. Other countries would be begging us to sell them our technology. Just like Japan, the word ‘technology’ is one of the few descriptions that could be used to describe the country.

Humans are inherently evil. Envy is part of us… as inseparable as our nails with fingers. Thus, it really baffles me as to how one could watch the success of someone else’s everyday. Don’t you just loathe all those sportsmen who are more good-looking, younger, richer and famous than you? Doesn’t it cause you (or your other half) to compare yourself to them and realize that you are a really pathetic person compared to them? You work 10 hours a day for several thousands a month while the famous footballers earn thousands by the minute when they are on the field! Sometimes, they earn more in a minute than you could ever earn in a month! Doesn’t that make you hate yourself? Why on earth would you want to do that to yourself? Without our support, there will be no sponsors and thus no sports… it would not matter even if there is someone who could run 100 meters in 1 second. They are all rich, famous and arrogant because of you!

For those who watch sports like a dog staring at red meat, you’re basically spending money on the tickets, transportation, lodging and food. If you are going overseas, you will be taking annual leaves, paying for an extremely expensive plane ticket, staying in an overpriced hotel, eating at restaurants where owners stare at you like a wolf encircling a trapped deer and buying costly souvenirs that would be collecting dust in your big chest of rubbish a few years from now as you find better things to put on display. You spend that vast amount of money just to see someone performing better than you and cashing in the money that is indirectly from you. You’re going to see someone who is well-fed, superbly clothed and surrounded by cameras and screaming fans while you hammered out the money to buy the ticket by staying in a low grade motel and eating flat bread for one month. And don’t get me started on the condition of the sports venue. There will be throngs of humans, all jam packed in extremely small seats where you can have a good view only if you pay an absurd amount of money for those ‘special’ seats. Most of the people would spend most of their time watching at the big television that is hung up at an unnatural angle. Won’t it be better to watch it at home? Also, you’ll be wasting lots of time in getting there early so as to get a nice car park or nice seats. Then, you’ll either have to leave early to avoid the jam or leave when the game is finished and be stuck in traffic for hours or leave several hours later. Also, in some major sports event, the spectators are exposed to the risk of being caught in a fight. An innocent spectator who just wanted to enjoy the view might inadvertently get caught in some spat between supporters. Then, police will come and you will get caught, taken to the police station and even placed in jail just because you have a bloody nose and is suspected to be a part of the fights.

I might have accepted that there are only a few of these dim-witted fools. However, millions and even billions of people are doing the same… how can such a race actually claim dominion over all creatures on earth? We are basically spending money, time effort and placing ourselves at risk in order to make someone else rich, happy and famous just to feast our eyes on something boring, like two men batting a ball at each other or two groups of people chasing after a ball. If you want to watch something, isn’t it better to watch movies? At least they have a plot, audible dialogue, good music and cheap!

Actually, at some point I pity the sportsmen too. There is usually no turning back when you started the path of a professional sportsman. Unlike me, I can change jobs if I don’t like it… even changing to jobs that I never thought of doing. However, once you started to play sports professionally, you are stuck with it. I have never heard of a footballer changing to play basketball, have you? Out of these thousands and millions of sportsmen, only a handful would be rich and famous. The others would die without anyone realizing they existed. For those lucky (and sometimes talented :P) few, it is both a blessing and a curse. Of course, there are a few smart ones who cash in on their fame by setting up restaurants and shops while they are famous to ensure a steady stream of income even after they retire from sports. It’s either this, or become a coach.

But one must realize that there are only a few rare positions open for coaching since one coach can teach several people at the same time. Thus, by the time these sportsmen reach the age of late thirties, they would have not much income since they would start to lose to the youngsters and no sponsors or advertising companies would look for them. But even so, they should have been millionaires and billionaires by the age of thirty… you’d say. This would be true if they save up just like you. However, when one becomes famous and rich, their living standards would inevitably increase proportionally as well. Of course, I did not do an in-depth research in this, since I just want to blabber about something… but there are lots of supposedly rich and famous sportsmen who ended up being deep in debt. It’s the way of life.

When you are rich, you would be connected with those of the rich community. And in the rich community, they spend money like water. Gambling, alcohol, luxuries are just a few that can turn a billionaire into a pauper. And as mentioned previously, a sportsman faces the risk of having a permanent disability if they pushed themselves too hard, but if they don’t push themselves, then they would just end up being a nobody. Also, it is rare for a sportsman to enjoy being famous (and thereby rich) for the entire of his career. There would be ups and downs and most would be considered lucky if they actually basked in glory for just a few short years. The sacrifice is big but the benefits are not guaranteed.

So, in conclusion, sports are bad for both the sportsmen and the supporters. Why do we still continue with this kind of lunacy? And my friends wondered why I hate sports…

Sports (Part 1)

(Update: I’m sorry to inform you all that my post for Sabah Trip Day 6 and Day 7 had to be postponed because I am still trying to get the pictures from my friends… just in case you did not notice, I was too busy climbing the mountain to take pictures at that time! Will try to finish the Sabah Trip posts ASAP as it has really stretched too long. As such, I will post one of my 99 pre-prepared post used for emergencies to sate your hunger :P)

First, one must realize that sports and exercise are two different things. I have no bad feelings towards exercising, but I absolutely loathe sports. Needless to say, I am one of those few rare people on Earth who does not touch sports at all. Well, I did take part in sports while I was in primary school, but from my teens onwards, I have not joined in any sports event.

I shall divulge the reasons for my abhorrence towards sports in two posts. One, it’s from personal experience and second, it’s through point by point analysis. I’ll start with my personal experience first.

Just like any other boys in primary school, sports define who we are. Guys play sports like football, basketball and badminton while girls play skipping ropes, throwing stones and box hopping. My first sport was football. It was a good activity. You got 24 guys playing in a mud-filled field with all their attention focused on the sphere shaped thingy. For those who know me, they’ll know that I am a non-confrontational type. Thus, I preferred to be a defender (I was too skinny to be a goalkeeper, they said)… which I liked… let the others run after the black and white rolling thing.

I would have made a good goalkeeper. I think it is one of my hidden special abilities… no matter where I stood, the football would definitely seek me out… and always embraced me by the head. I was not exaggerating when I called myself the ball magnet. No one could have been hit on the head as many times as I do… I might even make it to the Guiness World Record! I was already wearing spectacles that time and after breaking two glasses in three games, I quit football.

Well, I might have better luck with the ball if it is not shot in my direction. So, I turned to basketball. I have a cousin who was quite good in basketball and I asked him to teach me about the rules and stuff. Before that, I tried playing basketball by myself. I did not try any of those impractical moves that those youngsters did in those days. Instead, I focused on putting the ball through the hoop… and I was amazing! 8 out of 10 throws? I would say that it’s more than a beginner’s luck. So, primed with confidence, I took my first practical lesson with my cousin… and I almost lost my two legs… okay, that was exaggerating. However, I sort of stepped on the basketball while happily slamming it to the ground. I slipped and fell and I was bleeding from my knees. Luckily my kneecaps were undamaged or I’ll be riding a wheelchair for the rest of my life!

Okay, so balls are a no-no. So, I took up badminton. I mean, you can’t be hurt by the shuttlecock, can you? So, I told my parents about that and they were very supportive. They bought me a racquet and even ask my uncle (who is a contractor) to draw the lines for a badminton court in my mother’s shop. There is a part of my mother’s shop which has no roof and it was an in-house garden. Thus, they destroyed the garden, cemented the floor and voila, an in-house open air badminton court! At that time, we were in the Rashid Sidek era, and at that time, badminton received more attention than football in Malaysia. Friends and relatives came over to my mother’s shop to play badminton with me. I even invented several smashing methods that were powerful and graceful at the same time!

I could have even joined BAM if the situation continued. However, the badminton era passed by and my friends began to be more inclined to football again. The only one left for me to play with was my sister… which I won against every single time that I was sick of it. Thus, my badminton racquet retired into a dusty shelf and never saw daylight again.

I was in my college years when I started to itch again… itching to be near a ball. Maybe I was clumsy while I was young… and I shouldn’t have given up easily after a few scrapes. However, I wanted to do something different and my college friend came over at that exact time and asked me to join the Bowling Club. I paid RM10 and I will get discounts every time I bowl in the bowling alley. I immediately start off with another college friend. Both of us suck at bowling, but I had a very great time. At last, a ball that would not hurt me!

I think it was my fifth time at the bowling alley when the incident happened. I was bowling alone… and my bowling points finally went into three digit numbers when there was a sharp cracking sensation. I looked down and stared at my left hand (I bowl using left hand)… and blood was pouring out from my thumb!!! Mysteriously, almost whole of my fingernail came off. Up until this day, I did not know what happened. I did not have long fingernails and it really is a mind-boggling incident. Almost crying, I ran to the nearest clinic, with some unfinished games left. Hard staring eyes bore into my skull… and I never went to that particular bowling alley again. I still play bowling with friends… maybe once a year, but my dreams of being a professional bowler were smashed to bits.

After that, I am 100% sure that misfortune would befall me if I’m near any spherical shaped thing. I am quite sure that in my later years, as a joke by God, I would be killed by a wrecking ball.

Well, that is all that I have to say about sports from my personal experience. Coming up next is a point by point analysis about the disadvantages of sports…

Petrol...

In just overnight, thousands of blogs would appear discussing about the recent 40% increase in petrol price all over Malaysia. At RM2.70 per liter, it is still lower than the market prices, if not by much; however, people are still staggering for the gigantic jump in price… no one even suspected that it would be increased in such big scale. The prices would be reviewed on a monthly basis, different from other countries where prices change on a daily basis.
While I am not exactly in agreement to the petrol hike, I do, however understand the need to withdraw the support of petrol subsidy. Once upon a time, cars were luxury items. Only the rich could afford it, but now, it has became a necessity. It is so ingrained in us that we could not survive with even a little bit of walking, or like China, sticking to the good old conventional method of cycling. Of course, in places like Kuala Lumpur, it would just be crazy to cycle all the way from Kajang to KL. Car pooling is not exactly a very good idea. While it is true that most people start work at around the same time, even those who are working in the same company might not leave for home at the same time. Some need to work overtime on an urgent project, some others want to have dinner before going home, some need to go home early to buy stuff to cook at home, some want to go home later in order to avoid car jam… the list goes on and on, and that is why the car pooling idea never work.
Well, there is always public transportation, but ask any Malaysian, and they will tell you millions of reasons for not using the public transportation. Unless one is a regular, one would never know which bus is going where until it stop right in front of you for you to read the sign in front or at the side of the bus which states where it is going. By the time you finished reading it, the bus would have already gone. Also, the signs mentioned only the names of famous places or streets… if you’re planning to go somewhere that is not really popular, you would need to know which route the bus will be taking and whether it would pass by your desired destination… which is impossible for those who do not take public transportation frequently. Of course, you could always ask, but it is a gamble since you might either meet a nice driver who would tell you which bus number to take or you would meet a rude one who would look at you, wondering if you are stupid for not knowing which bus to take.
Maybe with the increase in petrol prices, Malaysians can finally focus on improving the public transportation system. However, as in the past, Malaysians usually would protest for a while and after that, everything would just return to normal. They would still drive as much as they previously do, I would still get flashed by headlights for driving only at 110km/hr on the fast lane and people would still use big horsepower cars. Malaysians are just too flexible and fast to adapt to be affected much by such matter.
However, there has never really been such a high increase in such short notice as far as I remembered (which is not really that long). While Malaysians could find some way to adapt to the increase in petrol prices, it is the chain effects rippling from the petrol price hike that worries me. Immediately after the announcement of the price hike, the transportation companies quickly declared that they will increase their prices too. The electricity tariff has been announced to increase in line with the petrol price increases at the same time. True, it won’t affect much to the small households, but it doesn’t mean that it won’t affect most of Malaysians. First off, the prices of transportation would increase. Parents who send their children to school in school busses would have to fork out additional money. Those who are regulars in using public transportation would need to make out a new budget. The ticket prices for express bus, trains and planes would be increasing as well. Several times, I have met the situation where the fuel surcharge is higher than the plane ticket itself.
Next, we come to the industries. With the increase in transportation costs, the operating cost would increase, thereby reducing profit level. The manufacturers would most probably pass at least part of the price increases to the consumers since they would not be able to absorb the increases. This is because they would not be facing only increases in transportation costs. The material cost of metal and plastics would definitely be higher and the electricity prices would increase as well. With rising petrol, transportation and product prices, the inevitable would happen; the demand for higher salary. So, either the employers would not agree, which will lead to reduced buying power, lesser sales, reduced profit, closing down of unprofitable companies and finally losing jobs, or the employers would agree to it, which makes the operating costs even higher and thus even higher product prices, which cancels the effect of a salary increase and finally, we are back to square one. It is sort of an unending cycle, one that will lead to disaster sooner or later.
However, there is a mention of implementing a subsidy scheme, which I hope would alleviate people of their suffering. There is even a worksheet being circulated around that shows how much you will spend for petrol after the implementation of the new rebate scheme, though there has been no official information about this. It never ceases to amaze me where on earth did they acquire such information.
Anyhow, Malaysians are a resilient lot. Such a matter would upset them, yes, but they were never those who would only whine about something that cannot be changed. Some would reduce their petrol usage, some would attempt to increase their side income and some would just shrug it off as nothing happened, but in conclusion, it would take more than this small inconvenience to throw us into chaos.