attitude

10th July 2009 was truly a memorable day. so many things happened. not that i was suprised.

as i mentioned, there was this event in a sub-suburban hospital. and since i have agreed to help source for breakfast (as mentioned, there can be no event if there is no food... what no tea time??? that would be the biggest crime you can commit here in malaysia on government premises - if you challenge this statement, i dare you to name one government event where no food was served), i decided to call this lady whom i know makes nasi lemak - Kak R.

i told Kak R, i needed some kuih (cakes/ snacks). 60 pieces of curry puff, and perhaps another 2 type of kuih. so i asked her what type of kuih is she planning to make. she says "tengok dulu ler, kalau ada mood, kak akan buat" (let's see, if i have the mood, i'll make some).... what in the world made her think i would wait and see if she has the mood to supply?? and what if she decides she is not in the mood???!!!!

so i thought, fine. if she is not interested in the business, i should not force her. afterall her family members are probably quite comfortable making money in ways our government encourages.

so, i asked "Kak R ada buat mee siam kan?" (Kak R makes mee siam?)... she says yes. i asked if she has plastic fork (which can be purchased at any convenience store nearby, i'm sure). she said no!! but she has plastic spoon... so i asked if she thinks it would be a good idea to eat mee siam with plastic spoon? she says yes!!

o-m-g ... i could have vomitted blood at that point in time. i cannot tolerate such absurd level of laziness. complacency. lack of ambition.

so i said. i don't take mee siam with spoon. so, forget about the order. i will find something else.

so i did. then i was looking for drinks. i went to a very established (or so i thought) con-venience store, bought some drinks and asked the boys behind the counter if they sell paper cups. one of the boys (let's call him ahmad) behind the counter said no, the other boy (let's call him ali) looked around the store and said, there is only one stack of about 10 cups left. i asked if there are any more in the store room. without blinking an eye, they said no. this is in a store which is supposedly established, and sells drinks to walk in customers.

not one to give up so easily, i walked into another store. a branch of this "established" convenience store. i asked if they have plastic cups. fatimah, without blinking an eye, says no.

so i drove on, to an esso station. i walked into a brightly lit, well stocked "on the run" store. this is the station opposite IOI mall. i looked around and it was obvious, there were no paper cups for sale. i decided to try. so i asked ah chong sitting behind the counter. he says they do not have paper cups for sale. but he will ask his lady boss, ah lian. ah lian says, she does not have any cups for sale. but there are some cups which are used by customers buying coffee from the shop's dispenser. she offered to sell those to me. i was so happy! i took 20 cups from her. from now on, i will be buying from "on the run" opposite IOI mall.

that is the sort of attitude we are breeding. complacency.

think about it. why else would our currency be weakening compared to our neighbours? we are not competitive... therefore, not in demand. i will not be buying from Kak R even if hers is the last nasi lemak stall on earth. imagine that happening at a country level...?