the crazies

“here’s to the crazy ones. the misfits. the rebels. the trouble-makers. the round pegs in the square holes. the ones who see things differently. they’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. you can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. but the only thing you cant do is ignore them. because they change things. they push the human race forward. and while some may see them as the crazy ones, i see genius. because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

taken from pipinero.tumblr.com

Malaysian first

often in my travels when i meet people, they’d ask me where i’m from
i’d say Malaysia.
I am Malaysian.

some will look at me oddly and say, “.. but you look chinese!”.
i’d then patiently explain that there are a few different cultures and ethnicity residing in Malaysia and have been for years, and yes, even though our forefathers were from China or India or of the Malay Archipelago, we’re all regarded as ‘Malaysian’.
granted not many people can grasp that concept but hey, thats why we’re unique!

so anyways, it actually just occurred to me that i’ve never told people “I’m chinese” anywhere else except in Malaysia!
it seems like somehow my country men are obsessed with what i am just because i look like i can be Malay, Thai, Indon, Cambodian, Lao.. you get the drift..

so this begs the question, why are Malaysians so obsessed with their race?
do they really feel a need to validate their existence through the acknowledgement of their race?
first of all, our leaders can’t even answer the question “Are you first Malaysian? or first Malay.”
some even said the latter first.
its quite embarrassing when they’re trying to preach 1Malaysia when they are not even living it.
that and the need to include ‘race’ and ‘religion’ in our identification card and in forms.

i suppose it stems from insecurities.

if there really is interest in creating a truly unified and harmonious nation, eliminate all need to categorize your citizens into pigeon holes.
the fault of unity failing at every level comes from our leaders.
if they can’t even be brave enough to eliminate the importance of racial categorizing, what more their people.
traits like these seep down through the cracks and into all crevices whether you dare and/or choose to acknowledge it or not

so ask yourself, are you Malaysian? or a race?

was ready to give up

a few days ago as i was walking along the streets of Bangkok, i felt like i was ready to give up
i felt like i was ready to just go back, admit defeat, and attempt to be like everyone else
but then, out of nowhere, it occurred to me that all the great people in this world felt like giving up at one or more times in their journey to achieve their goal
but because they did not give up, they are where they are now

of course i felt an immediate sense of relief and tried holding on to the seemingly fleeting moment of clarity

yesterday on my visa run out of thailand, there was a well aged man sitting opposite me in the train and i felt bad for taking up his leg space because if i was not there, he’d be able to sit with his leg up on my seat
so after a few stops at about 5+pm, he bought dinner along the way, so did i
i finished my dinner first before him but thought to just wait for him to finish so i can throw his food container along with mine so he wont have to get up
so after he finished, i just tapped him on his shoulder and indicated to him that i’ll throw his boxes for him
he was in shock
he looked at me weird as though i stole his brain or something

by about 6:30pm, i was dozing off hugging my legs on the seat and he tried to catch my attention, and then proceeded to tell the train supervisor to turn my seat into a bed so i could sleep, and then he moved off somewhere else
see, these bunk beds dont get made till almost 8pm or past unless you’ve got a baby or child onboard
so this man gave up his seat so i could get my bed first because he saw that i was falling asleep
touching story number 1

after arriving at Butterworth, i made my way to the ticketing counter to buy my return ticket
and realized i was short of RM1
i was frustrated and flustered because the nearest ATM was across the street somewhere
but a man beside me asked me how much i was short and proceeded to giving me RM1!
as i was getting my ticket, a chinese couple came up beside me and started asking me in mandarin to help them get train tickets to KL
they told me that they have not been to school before so they did not know how to speak malay or read for that matter
they looked tired, lost, worn out and so kesian…!
so i tried to help them buy their tickets but the guys behind me were getting really impatient so the lady behind the counter told me that they had to go to the back of the super long line and wait their turn
so i told the lady what they needed, and she acknowledged that she knew, but just to be sure, i took out my notebook, tore a page out and wrote down in BM “dua orang, malam ini, train pergi ke KL Sentral” (translation: 2 persons, tonight, train to KL Central) and passed it to them
they thanked me over and over and over with so much gratefulness in their voices it was heartbreaking
if i had the money i’d even buy them their ticket, seriously.. but i didnt have enough
but i did realize how important it is to have basic education

anyways, after that i got to chatting with a chinese guy who works in thailand and is on a visa run as well
he asked me what i was up to and i explained roughly
then he surprised me by saying
“dont give up. we each have our own lives to live, our own paths to walk. so since you’ve already chosen this path, just stick to it, and one day you’ll succeed.”
i was blown away
i didnt think that i sounded or looked like i’m about to give up
neither did i indicate to him anything remotely close to that
but here is an absolutely random person giving me the advice i needed to hear straightforwardly and unabashedly.
not only that, he later paid the cab driver my cab fare and told me not to worry about it!
i’m so grateful. so grateful!
(lets not think negatively, can?)
touching story number 2 

things to be grateful for?
kindness and generosity 

so first a voice in my head, the next a totally random guy?
i think its a sign