Be a lil bit nicer, will you?

Lately I noticed that I could smile more often than not. I'm really happy, although I haven't gotten what I want this year, the burden that I felt these few months is gone. I'm glad, and am thankful to HIM for answering my prayers.

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Every time after I watch a movie, I will usually reflect on the values that I can extract from it, so that watching movies will not be something wasteful to do. One of the movies that I have watched a few times is Nanny McPhee (okay, I know it's not a new one.. pardon me for being outdated in commenting). Apart from being a decent story, I must say I love the way Nanny McPhee handled the naughty, very ill-mannered seven children, and how she guided the children in making decisions and actions in benefit of their family. Though to a certain extent, yeah, there were a few times when she used her magical gift to teach the little rascals (if not, it is doubtful if she could tame them), the lessons that she gave them were applicable for just any parents to teach their children manners.

Being fearful of the tapping of her walking stick, the children learnt to obey her. There were five lessons: Lesson no.1: 'To go to bed when they are told', lesson no.2: 'To get out of the bed when they are told', lesson no.3: 'To get dressed when they are told', lesson no.4: 'To listen', and lesson no.5: 'To do what they are told'. Well, lesson no.5 for me, is subject to how we perceive what is being told, and that has resulted the clever part of the movie when Simon, the eldest of the seven, purposely interpreted his stepmom-to-be's instruction 'Behave' as 'Beehive'.. and by causing a turbulent moment as if the wedding was being invaded by bees, the undesirable matrimonial ceremony that could lead the father and also the entire family into deep nightmare was ended.

Apart from the five lessons, which I think are still applicable to us four siblings even we are way past childhood (lesson no. 2 and 5 still uphold on every weekend!) I am most attracted to the another phrase in the movie: 'say please and thank you'. If every people would have said this to the person they wanna seek assistance from, I believe that person would be glad to help.

In this modern climate, it is hard for me to find anyone who would come to me and say, "Ira, would you... blah blah blah blah, please? Thanks" instead, "Ira, I want.. blah blah blah asap ok~" Well, it is not that I am scrutinizing the way every people communicate with me, but I would certainly be a lot more willing to help if there is an added 'please' being said.

Oh, the age gap? Well, being more senior doesn't validate one to treat the younger ones in a less courteous way. There was one of the national slogan "Bahasa Menunjukkan Bangsa". This phrase does not mean that if I speak Malay, I am a Malay, if I speak English, I am an English.. no. This phrase literally means that we are how and what we speak.

(I dunno if it is just me.. but I really think there is a huge difference between 'Thanks' and 'Thx', or 'Thank you' and 'TQ' and 'tq', or 'Please' and 'plez' and 'pls'. I don't at all prefer 'Thx' or 'TQ' or 'tq' or 'pls' especially if it is a request note or email. Nevertheless, I would write that to express some kind of objection in responding to the sender (because I don't wanna leave out 'that word of acknowledgment' anyhow), but yeah, different people have their own style and different opinions.. maybe mine is inapplicable to others..)

Talking about courtesy, there was this incident, when I was on my way back from the office. The train was full of people, and of course, those waiting to get into the train were pushing each other to make way for themselves. I managed to secure a standing place somewhere near the door, when a man was still trying to squeeze himself among the tiny spaces. The doors were about to close and he was still attempting to get in. Obviously it was not easy to push a number of people when you are doing it alone. He was already been trapped between the doors, and the doors opened again as always when there is something between them. Looking desperate, he shouted, "Woi, masukla sikit" in a not-so-good, grouchy tone, and pushed the few tired-looking women in front of him. He managed to get himself through finally. What came to my embarrassment was that he was wearing our company corporate shirt, which had his name on it. I glanced at him and his name a few times, until he noticed. I just did that purposely, to make him realize my 'errghh kind of look' towards him. Personally, I would likely think 'hey, this not-so-courteous guy is working under the same roof with me... euuww~~' .. okay, he might be having a bad day at work that day; perhaps his deals were not closed successfully, or it was just his 'err' day, or maybe he was rushing home due to an emergency, or for whatever reasons for his act. But, I have to say, we should watch our act everywhere we go. It is not a matter of being pretentious, but definitely we do not want to be judged by our 'sudden cloudy mood', whereas on the regular basis, we are actually nice people with contagiously-nice smile. Anyway, yeah, the subconscious mind tend to take us over when the emotions are in control. I couldn't blame him for that..

(..well, that goes for me too.. let's not regularly blame PMS season for the now-and-then straight-faced me.. (>_<) stick it inside your brain, Sharifah~!)

At the end of the day, it is us who actually shape or decide how people look at us: the 'stormy fella', or the 'oh, he is that seasonal moody head', or perhaps, the 'nice person to work with'. Tepuk dada, tanya selera :) It's in your hand on the final take.

"...kalau saya tak mahu kerja dengan awak.. fikir-fikirlah kenapa ye..~"

haha.. *wink* ;)