1
Small talk
Posted by Qi...
on
23:31
They say, taxi driver is the best reflection of a city
Somehow I had to agree with this
Reminded me of how I wanted to be journalist
Because I wanted to listen to stories of others
and write it down so all these oral histories won't lost with time
It's always stories of all these small characters that moved us deeply
Because we could always find parts of ourselves in their narration
I know KL's taxi driver don't have very good reputation
I once frowned and doubted when my friend told me
Taxi is very safe and convenient and she always took taxi alone
That's when I was little hesitant to took taxi alone during my matriculation time
You know, it is surrounded by forests and uninhabited area and who know what will happen?
But now, taxi is my choice and I actually prefer it over train
At some occassion, I will meet some nice taxi driver
and I found amusing to have a little chat with them
or just listen to their complain
Vividly remember an uncle who told me
He was once manager or something in hotelsss
He took Hotel Management during university time
worked in Golden Palaca hotel and some five star hotel that I couldn't recall
But he chose to quit and drive taxi now
because life as a manager is so stressful
You have no holiday on weekends or any holidays
You are out of the social circles gradually as you could never join any gathering
YOU NEED TO WORK
and in those off days, you are too tired and you would just sleep it off
Sometimes he even had to sleep at the office or ran back at the midnight
I could imagine, how such job eats one off
Although he did not earned as much as before
and I don't think his living condition is good,
judging from his taxi and shirt,
but he said he is happy with his life now.
Simple, with more freedom
He invoked a lot of thoughts in my brain
About life, work, societal perception and choices we made in life
Remind me of the story of the Mexican fisherman
Had a very very hard laugh together with the uncle
about all type of funny stuffs that could happened in a hotel
Although till now I can't imagine how his African employee
prepare yee shang by biting the materials LOLL
...............Wait, or he is psychotic?
But still, I genuinely meant it when I told him
I enjoy talking with him very much
Today, it was a 70 years old uncle
Who repeatedly told me he was an original dweller of KL
Jalan Temerloh is his spot
Where he grew up and
how he witnessed the change of this city
from forest with clear blue sky to this sky-crapper metropolitan
I was excited to dig more stories about our area and
the mysterious building beside our hostel,
but too bad it was just a five minutes journey.
But he shared one philosophy with me
Everything will collapse, everything has its age
No matter how strong how concrete all these buildings are
They will have their day and their last day
I look at all these familiar tall blocks and I wonder,
what will happen to this city after 100 years?
We are all temporary dweller of this world,
I don't think I have time to witness this
But I was thinking, maybe starting from scratch was easier
than rebuilding and maintaining the existing one
When all these new and shiny building become shaky
should we demolish and rebuild?
should we retain its original state and just try to repair and fix?
Hmmm, I'll just leave this to the future architects :p
Sometimes I wish i have whole afternoon for them
To talk with all these people who witness the most of this city
hearing from passengers from all walks of life
You know, sitting in a kopitiam
Take a sip of coffee and listening to all the stories
Because they have so much to tell
But well, it would never be the same when told in a different place
The story won't even begin if it wasn't in a taxi
That 5-10 minutes trip was their show time
Some choose to present a brilliant summary of their life
Some show the highlight of it
Some tell you about the recent incidents
Some tell you about recent news-complains about traffic, price, government
Maybe those stories are retold till their children can memorize it
Maybe these are lapuk stories in kopitiam
But since it is all fresh to me,
It's like an extra for me, at least the trip wasn't that boring
So yes, I do enjoy the small talk
provided the conversation partner is interesting :P
The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor and eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But señor, how long will this all take?" To which the businessman replied, "15-20 years." "But what then, señor?" The businessman laughed and said, "That's the best part! When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions." "Millions, señor? Then what?" The businessman said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"
-Author Unknown
Somehow I had to agree with this
Reminded me of how I wanted to be journalist
Because I wanted to listen to stories of others
and write it down so all these oral histories won't lost with time
It's always stories of all these small characters that moved us deeply
Because we could always find parts of ourselves in their narration
I know KL's taxi driver don't have very good reputation
I once frowned and doubted when my friend told me
Taxi is very safe and convenient and she always took taxi alone
That's when I was little hesitant to took taxi alone during my matriculation time
You know, it is surrounded by forests and uninhabited area and who know what will happen?
But now, taxi is my choice and I actually prefer it over train
At some occassion, I will meet some nice taxi driver
and I found amusing to have a little chat with them
or just listen to their complain
Vividly remember an uncle who told me
He was once manager or something in hotelsss
He took Hotel Management during university time
worked in Golden Palaca hotel and some five star hotel that I couldn't recall
But he chose to quit and drive taxi now
because life as a manager is so stressful
You have no holiday on weekends or any holidays
You are out of the social circles gradually as you could never join any gathering
YOU NEED TO WORK
and in those off days, you are too tired and you would just sleep it off
Sometimes he even had to sleep at the office or ran back at the midnight
I could imagine, how such job eats one off
Although he did not earned as much as before
and I don't think his living condition is good,
judging from his taxi and shirt,
but he said he is happy with his life now.
Simple, with more freedom
He invoked a lot of thoughts in my brain
About life, work, societal perception and choices we made in life
Remind me of the story of the Mexican fisherman
Had a very very hard laugh together with the uncle
about all type of funny stuffs that could happened in a hotel
Although till now I can't imagine how his African employee
prepare yee shang by biting the materials LOLL
...............Wait, or he is psychotic?
But still, I genuinely meant it when I told him
I enjoy talking with him very much
Today, it was a 70 years old uncle
Who repeatedly told me he was an original dweller of KL
Jalan Temerloh is his spot
Where he grew up and
how he witnessed the change of this city
from forest with clear blue sky to this sky-crapper metropolitan
I was excited to dig more stories about our area and
the mysterious building beside our hostel,
but too bad it was just a five minutes journey.
But he shared one philosophy with me
Everything will collapse, everything has its age
No matter how strong how concrete all these buildings are
They will have their day and their last day
I look at all these familiar tall blocks and I wonder,
what will happen to this city after 100 years?
We are all temporary dweller of this world,
I don't think I have time to witness this
But I was thinking, maybe starting from scratch was easier
than rebuilding and maintaining the existing one
When all these new and shiny building become shaky
should we demolish and rebuild?
should we retain its original state and just try to repair and fix?
Hmmm, I'll just leave this to the future architects :p
Sometimes I wish i have whole afternoon for them
To talk with all these people who witness the most of this city
hearing from passengers from all walks of life
You know, sitting in a kopitiam
Take a sip of coffee and listening to all the stories
Because they have so much to tell
But well, it would never be the same when told in a different place
The story won't even begin if it wasn't in a taxi
That 5-10 minutes trip was their show time
Some choose to present a brilliant summary of their life
Some show the highlight of it
Some tell you about the recent incidents
Some tell you about recent news-complains about traffic, price, government
Maybe those stories are retold till their children can memorize it
Maybe these are lapuk stories in kopitiam
But since it is all fresh to me,
It's like an extra for me, at least the trip wasn't that boring
So yes, I do enjoy the small talk
provided the conversation partner is interesting :P
A Little Story
The businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The businessman complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while.
The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The businessman then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy life, señor."
The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The businessman then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy life, señor."
The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor and eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But señor, how long will this all take?" To which the businessman replied, "15-20 years." "But what then, señor?" The businessman laughed and said, "That's the best part! When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions." "Millions, señor? Then what?" The businessman said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"
-Author Unknown
