A short nagging which I got over the weekend triggered this question in my mind. Why is it that the older generation and the younger generation are always at odds when it comes to this prickly issue? I have never been able to place a finger on the pulse of this matter.
It was last weekend when me and my parents went out for dinner at our favorite wantan mee stall. We ordered 2 bowls of dry wantan mee (Medium) and 1 small bowl. The bill came up to be RM10. This means 1 bowl of medium-size wantan mee is RM 3.50. That got my dad really fired up.. going on and on about how expensive it is, and the increase in price is not justified as the portion remains the same, and etc. Dad was talking about it for 15 minutes and that just got me so worked up. I told dad... "the RM 3.50 is well spent and it fills you up to the brim, and it is a real wantan mee. It's not like you are eating wantan mee without the wantan filling, and it has no BBQ pork". But, he was still going on and on about it.
When I start to think about it, there is truth to his grumbling. To the older generation (ie. our parents, uncles, aunties), RM 3.50 is indeed a huge amount. Back in the good ol' days, perhaps 30 - 40 years back, you can get a bowl of steaming hot wantan mee, delivered to your doorstep only at the price of 30 cents. And, once you are done with your food, you will only need to leave it at the doorstep and the man will come and collect it (That is the BEST example of excellent customer service!) RM 3.50 would have been able to feed a family of few (you can buy rice, vegetables and maybe an egg with that measly sum)
To the younger generation nowadays, even a 7-year old kid would scorn at being given a RM 3 angpau. I noticed when kids starts to pester their parents to buy something expensive worth RM 80 or more and their parents try to persuade them by saying it's expensive, the kids make remark such as "It's only RM80... it's very cheap, every month daddy and mummy gets a lot more money, why can't you buy this for me?" And, these remarks will be accompanied by watery eyes, and the next you know, they start bawling...
Scenarios like this are getting more and more common, if only one just chooses to open their eyes and ears wide enough when walking in the shopping centres. I find it apalling that kids right now take for granted the value of money; and instead make such careless remarks. Funny thing is, the parents just ignore them. If it were for my mum or dad, the first thing I'd get is probably a stern warning followed by caning at home.
I used to get excited when I see shillings on the floor; ie. those unaccidentally dropped by people. The first instinct to do is to pick them up and keep it in my piggy bank. Finders keepers.
Fast-forward to the present... Poeple will not bat an eyelid even if they see someone dropped a 10-cent shilling on the ground.
What is our society turning into?
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Ambitions
Ambitions.. I am certain everyone; irregardless of age would have at least one, since the day we get ourselves interviewed by our teachers "What would you like to be when you grow up?". I do still remember some of my choices.. a doctor, a lawyer, a nurse, a policewoman (Surprising, huh?), a teacher, a manager and etc. Ambitions change as you grow up as our thinking gets influenced by many external factors. The books we read, the dramas and movies we watch, the people we live and connect with, the topics of conversation, the environment which you grew up in, the people you look up to.
One cannot deny the influence of these external factors in shaping your ambitions. Also, not forgetting is how you picture yourself climbing up the career ladder. Is it going to be at the expense of other people, or you climb the ladder through sheer hard work and taking challenges head-on or by apple-polishing your way up?
I live by the motto that "There's a price to pay for everything". Hence, if you choose to step on the toes of people along the way for your own benefit, you have to pay the price for it. Which means, you will never have true friends and acquaintances. You will always live with scepticism and view things and people in a suspicious manner. Why live way in such a sad manner??
I am fortunate that I have been brought up in an environment that irregardless of how much you desire for success, you should never do that at the expense of someone else. If you feel you are worthy of the level of the success, so, make sure you put in your effort and work your way up by your own virtue, instead of resorting to other measures. That way, once you have reached the position which you desired, there will be no question to your credibility and integrity. Even if there is, at least you know you are true to yourself and that is all that matters. (You got there by your own ability!)
Perhaps it's because that I hold firm to such principles in life, hence I am being mistaken as someone who is unambitious. Ambitions should commensurate with your current capability! No point in trying to hit the sky when your current capability only allows you to hit the 5ft wall... right?
One cannot deny the influence of these external factors in shaping your ambitions. Also, not forgetting is how you picture yourself climbing up the career ladder. Is it going to be at the expense of other people, or you climb the ladder through sheer hard work and taking challenges head-on or by apple-polishing your way up?
I live by the motto that "There's a price to pay for everything". Hence, if you choose to step on the toes of people along the way for your own benefit, you have to pay the price for it. Which means, you will never have true friends and acquaintances. You will always live with scepticism and view things and people in a suspicious manner. Why live way in such a sad manner??
I am fortunate that I have been brought up in an environment that irregardless of how much you desire for success, you should never do that at the expense of someone else. If you feel you are worthy of the level of the success, so, make sure you put in your effort and work your way up by your own virtue, instead of resorting to other measures. That way, once you have reached the position which you desired, there will be no question to your credibility and integrity. Even if there is, at least you know you are true to yourself and that is all that matters. (You got there by your own ability!)
Perhaps it's because that I hold firm to such principles in life, hence I am being mistaken as someone who is unambitious. Ambitions should commensurate with your current capability! No point in trying to hit the sky when your current capability only allows you to hit the 5ft wall... right?
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