Can't stand my parents
damn damn DAMN once again I type in a whole chunk of stuff and when I leave to answer a call, the blogger server kicks me out and now I've to rewrite everything. damn damn DAMN!

Ok, as much as I can remember I was griping about my parental units. [i coined that phrase with the slayer] I started off with: My parents have been pushing for me to work in the same place that my cousin does, 'cos they say some money's better than just sitting at home. Downside: My cousin sorts and delivers mail at $5 an hour. That is one damn lot bunch of peanuts.

Q: If I decline this seemingly-generous offer, am I being the picky graduate that everyone picks on in the papers?

The problem with our parents is that they grew up in a totally different environment, with a totally different and narrow perspective, and somehow, they think this infuses with the wisdom of the ages and that it is their sublime and holy duty to make us that us, their offspring, follow their wisdom, otherwise all manner of disaster and mayhem will befall us. This is the problem with my units. From primary One they've been telling me to do things the way they like, only that now that I'm older and obviously have a thinking mind of my own, it's a bit harder for them to do that. Then to them, I become selfish, materialistic, picky and snobbish.

[i'm now posting this para by para so that I don't lose anything]

I missed a tuition offer over the weekend. The agency called when I was in Jap class and I didn't get the call, cos my phone was on silent. A potential channel of future income: Gone. The best thing about it is that they called my house then, so my mum sent me an sms and that's how I finally got to know about it. I couldn't call back the agency cos firstly, it was late [who's at the office at 630 on a sat nite??] and also becos my phone was on low batt again and I wouldn't have been able to talk to the lady for more than 5 sec without it dying. [some of you may know about this curious trait about my phone]

Anyway, I got a bit upset about it when I heard about it, because hello, come Jan, I'm on my own, and I like, really need the income? And my parents' way of comforting me? Telling me that I should have gotten my priorities right. [ie take the call and leave the jap class] So sue me if I follow a basic courtesy practice that HALF the population of Singapore doesn't, even if I've been doing it all my 3 years in NUS.

The irritating thing about my parents is that they think that their narrow perspective on life has somehow given them the wisdom of seniority, and that if I don't follow that wisdom, I will be struck down by God or something. Never mind that they grew up in totally different eras, or that they are 2 different people from me, or that they didn't follow the same educational path that I did, they somehow think that they can impose their way of thinking over me, because they're always right and I'm always wrong or at best, misguided. They're always harping about 'my priorities' when it's perfectly clear that they don't know what my priorities are, and couldn't care less, unless it was out of line with what they think it should be. They did it in pri sch, after my Os, after my As, and now they're doing it after I graduate.

Like, screw you. I have my own goals in life, and I don't need you to decide them for me.

Now I can only pursue my goals in silence, cos if I tell them what I really want to do with my life, their response will be so predictable. MONEY. It's always about MONEY and even though I know there's some truth in it, I'm sick of the way they keep harping on it, and the way they keep pulling me to join their path of monkeyhood. I know I need money to survive but I don't see why I have to become a damn wage monkey to a multi-billion corporation who's more interested in their shareholders than the needs of their employees. [and that I have NO illusions about, becos that's exactly what they taught us in bizad]. There are more than one ways of pursuing money, why can't I, for now, try a different way?

The worse thing about my parents is that they don't give a heck about my priorities, unless it's out of line with what they think it should be.