In this semester I’ve had more accusations leveled at me than I’ve encountered in 2 years. Some of these are pretty funny, some are patently untrue (which is why I have to address them) and some are just… sad. They come from all corners, from people I regarded as friends (and still do). Just goes to show, you can never truly know someone.
1. I am a Rich Bitch.
Okay guys, first of all we need a quota for that word, it’s way overused. That aside, all I can say is “I’m not rich!” This is something I’ve had to deal with for years. People take a look at my address and go “eh isn’t this a rich people’s area?” Frankly, I don’t know. It’s not Beverly Hills or Orange County, it isn’t even Bukit Antarabangsa or Lucky Garden. I live in a terrace house, hellow! Ok la so the houses opposite are bungalows. So that means I live on the poor side of the road. Yes, in KL the rich have to wake up every morning to the sight of the not-so-rich, right across the road. It’s not Bukit Timah. Now if my housing estate was anything like that, the title Rich Bitch would be fully deserved.
I still don’t understand how I, in my Birkenstock ripoffs and cheapo Giordano jeans can still be accused of being a Rich Bitch. But I guess different people have different perceptions on how money should be spent. I don’t really have anything I’m saving up for (except, I dunno, my freakin’ future), so I have no qualms about buying Abercrombie or splurging on a good meal just because I feel like it. I’m driven by the pursuit of pleasure, because I have nothing higher to aim for.
Still envy the Rich Bitch?
2. I am a bimbo.
Well, as several people have kindly pointed out, I am dumb but not pretty. So I’m not a bimbo, ok? Besides, I’m more of a tomboy la, how to be bimbo? And I don’t have long curly hair to twirl around my fingers or to flip gracefully. I’m just plain dumb. This is one of those funny accusations you just have to laugh off.
3. I am anorexic or have some sort of eating disorder.
Ok, serious now. I covered eating disorders in Abnormal Psych. (Chewah, bringing out the credentials.) Trust me when I say, I most definitely do not have issues that are manifested in my relationship with food. My relationship with food goes as follows: Buy. Cook. Eat.
Those people who accuse me of being anorexic because I’m thin have never seen me eat. Entire nations of cookies, marshmallows and potatoes have been known to quake in fear at the mention of Lynn. I just have skinny genes. Really. And I don’t throw up after meals either. It doesn’t work, because you only get rid of what’s in your stomach and food already goes down into your intestines by the time you get around to purging. And to clear up something, bulimia isn’t just about puking. It’s a binge-and-purge cycle. Bulimics eat when they’re depressed, and they eat wayyyy too much. Driven by their guilt over the loss of self-control, they make themselves vomit as a compensatory act.
By the way, those girls who throw up regularly after lunch are actually anorexic, not bulimic. It’s a purging subtype, info here.
4. I do community service for the points.
This was brought up yesterday by the head of the volunteer corps. He asked us to examine our reasons for doing community service. Well, I will be the first to admit that yes, if you didn’t give me any points, I wouldn’t continue doing it. Why should I? My time is precious, I need points to stay in hall, and if you aren’t going to give me something in return, I’ll have to find some other avenue of earning those points.
And I think most of us feel this way as well. But before you immolate us as selfish hypocrites, let me point out something to you.
Many of us could easily have chosen other committees to serve on. But we choose to do volunteer work to earn our points, no doubt because we feel the need to serve. Look, as much as I would like to applaud your idealistic view of “let’s do it from the sincerity of our hearts”, I think we all have to face the truth that in this case, virtue is not its own reward. Not in the current situation, where we are all severely pressed for time and other resources.
That is not to say that we don’t enjoy our time in service. You do form attachments to the patients, the clients, the kids. There wouldn’t be so many of us seniors returning to our services, if this were not the case. And in the end, I think this is what the focus should be. You start out doing it for the points, but the points are not the be-all and end-all. There are certain intangible rewards as well. It’s just that the intangibles by themselves are not enough to justify the investment.
I’m sorry if I come across as cold and calculative, but I’m a pragmatic person and this is the way I see it – in terms of resources and returns on investments.
In conclusion:
I know that some things are said in jest, and some are exaggerated to tease me. However, I think we all need a reminder once in a while that just saying something doesn’t make it true, but if you say it often enough it just might. Our self-perceptions are shaped by those of the people around us. If you keep calling me a bimbo, I’m going to wonder if that’s how you, and the rest of the world, see me. The objective accusations (see #3) can be dismissed out of hand, because they are true-false statements, but the more subjective ones are always open to interpretation.
Through our words, we shape others into the people we think they are. Are you using that power for good?
