I'm quite annoyed. Annoyed enough to need to write about it anyway. Although I really shouldn't be because good things happened today and the bad parts were really minute comparatively but still.
So Germ came up with the brilliant idea of baking cookies and giving them out for donations at the SMSA barbecue today, to raise funds for Katrina. And we did a lot better than expected, we managed to raise a grand total of $113.67, despite the fact that our recipe for 60 cookies only produced about 35 and we thought we'd be lucky to hit even 50 bucks. So I am really really grateful to all the people who donated, especially those who did it in a really nice way and not because they felt too pai seh to say no, and those who'd already donated to hurricane relief via other sources but helped us out anyway. The people we know and that we can call friends didn't disappoint at all and for that too I am thankful.
But here comes the but, there were a few people that were really just ....... . Seriously lah, will giving one or two dollars to the Red Cross really kill you? Will it keep you from buying that spanking new pair of shoes you saw when you were shopping in SF the other day? Will it stop you from procuring that little bubble tea treat, or from getting a soda with your meal tomorrow? And even if it does, is that such a terrible thing to contend with? Maybe it's a little hypocritical for me to be getting upset over this, when just a week or so ago I wasn't all that enthusiastic about the whole affair myself, but please lah. Two dollars?! I mean I can understand if you just didn't think of it and so never actually made a move to donate, but if someone comes up to you with the sincerest intention to help others is it so hard to give a little?
The thing is it's not people saying no that bothers me, it's the way they do it. There were a few people who were genuinely apologetic cos they didn't have any money or change on them, and that's fine. But there were people who really just made me feel crappy and made me want to stop asking anyone anymore. It brings me back to flag days in secondary school and JC when we were avoided like the plague and had to deal with all kinds of rude people, and fuck man, I'm too old for that kinda shit. So xxx and xxx and xxx, minus points minus points minus points, all my friends are going to hear about how I don't like you so there.
But anyway pretty much everyone else was very very nice and if you gave us money today and you're reading this, I like you! Oh and Olivia deserves honorable mention cos when she read the email she immediately donated 20 bucks and she didn't even get a cookie. So you know, the world is full of nice people, it really is. =)
On Winamp Today: Rufus Wainwright - Poses
5.42 pm -
9 September
I Need To Recharge My Zen
One entry in all of August? I reach new lows every day. I admit I am so lazy it's an embarrassment.
The file server at work has been down the last two days, so I spent hours today just tweedling my thumbs and reading random articles online and attempting to study for my exam. You'd think that such a big company would have a better system backup than this but no, two whole days of people stuck doing virtually nothing because all the files are inaccessible, and goodness knows how many people are getting into deep shit for missing deadlines and whatnots. Thankfully I am just a lowly analyst and so I get into no such trouble.
I think I might be homesick or something. That's the only explanation I can think of for feeling like something is wrong in my life despite having a job I'm perfectly happy with. That, and the fact that most of my friends are gone and leaving, which I guess is all much of the same thing. At least I'm perfectly happy with my job. Now I'm looking back on the last dunno how many years of my life, especially the last one, and thanking my lucky stars that I didn't make it through all those stupid interviews and sucking up affairs, cos I can scarcely imagine how I would've ended up somewhere better than this. Which just goes to show again, whatever little setbacks we encounter that may seem life changing or similarly dramatic, everything always works out in the end. Not that I had any life changing setbacks or that I'm very near any kind of end lah but you know.
I don't know if anyone's heard of this book by Jose Saramago called Blind, but the situation in New Orleans totally reminds me of it. Except that in the book the bad behavior and incompetence were more justified I think. Anyway I was very buay song about donating money cos it's not like the US very poor and a lot of it is stupid really, but today I read a very sad story and in any case rationally I know there are innocent people out there who are just damn suay and it's not their fault this country is run by the inept, so yah. Donations are tax deductible anyway heh.
Big Brother is ending in 2 weeks!!!! What will I do!!!!
