Sometimes I do act my age

My mother in law has been staying with us since the past 2 weeks ever since a heated argument with my father in law who said some really unforgivable things to her. And the amazing part? I actually have not lost my sanity. She has stayed with us before, for a week I think was the longest, that was about 3-4 years ago and I remember almost losing my mind back then because we just have different ways of doing things and I kept getting constantly annoyed at her rearranging of my house, the garden etc. But now? I don't know if it's because I'm older and if not wiser, am more patient or because my daughter rearranges the house anyway or perhaps because as of late I've been a counsel/counsellor for clients with all sorts of messy marital problems, but it's actually been okay having my mom-in-law around. And guess what? In addition to her staying with us for possibly in perpetuity if my father in law doesn't come up with a good apology plan, the three of us and Amani are all going on holiday together this coming long Labour Day-weekend! And we're all going to stay in the same room. Am I an adult or what? I feel all very zen-like and mature..hehe..perasan!

The blues gang

We went to Seremban to see an old friend who also had a little girl. I just sat back and watched my daughter make friends. She never ceases to amaze me.

Virtually Friendly

This was posted in Subang Jaya's community paper, here. Tapi nak jugak post kat sini :)

Virtually Friendly

I am playing Scrabble with my ex-CFO. At the same time, I am enjoying a cup of coffee with an ex-colleague from France, comparing movie tastes with my cousin in London and getting spanked by a person I knew from school 20 years ago but have hardly exchanged two words.

I am not Superwoman, but thanks to the internet technology, I may well be on the way to becoming one. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s give it up to the virtual world created by the internet.

From internet banking to online community to blogs, the virtual world is slowly but surely becoming more prevalent in our lives. The recent general election is testament to the power of the virtual communication. While BN utilized mainstream media to convey their election messages, the Barisan Rakyat, with shallower pockets, used the internet. In the end, it was clear which medium was more relevant to the people. This was especially true in areas like Selangor and Penang, where internet penetration is higher.

The introvert in me welcome this live in the virtual world. Contrary to what others may think, I am somewhat reluctant to meet people, especially new people that I don’t know. I am horrible at small talks, and even worse at remembering faces and names. There have been many instances where people stop me in the street and have a chat with me, and I will be smiling and nodding away, but have no clue as to who that person is. Some may label me toffee-nosed for that, but the plain truth is just that I am such a scatterbrain.

So I love this virtual world of the 21^st century. I can do my banking, renew my driving license, complete my income tax returns, even order food, all without having to get out of my pajamas. More importantly, I don’t have to suffer those embarrassing silences when I just don’t know what to say to the mak cik that looks so familiar but I can’t seem to place where I knew her from.

In primary school, I was kind of a geek and stuck with a close group of friends. Not that I did not want to make friends with other people outside my clique, I just don’t know how to go about doing that.. Thank God there were many kind souls who took me under their wings and became my friends.. (Hi Marina!)

But now, I can chat up a storm with anyone from across the globe. Online communities have given me the opportunity to make new friends and renew old acquaintances.

There are many sites out there offering online social networking services. There’s My Space, Squidoo, and countless others. The two that I am signed up to are Friendster and Facebook.

So now with Friendster and Facebook, this socially challenged female have hooked up with people that went to Sekolah Kebangsaan Subang Jaya the same time she did. Never mind that during the 6 years we were in school together, we hardly exchanged hellos. The point is, I am chatting with someone I knew 20 years ago, and that’s kinda cool.

So far, I have also hooked up with people from secondary school, college and university. I am waiting to see if I could find any kindy mate 

It will be good to see what the new Selangor government will do to improve our virtual lives. They have won their seats in part because of their very effective cyber campaigning. So I am sure they are very aware of how relevant the internet has become.

For one, it will be good if schools in Subang Jaya could be more in touch with the cyber technologies. Instead of, or in addition to, the circulars printed on papers that are sure to be found scrunched up at the bottom of my son’s school bag a week AFTER the event, maybe parents can be informed of latest happenings via email or SMS. Report cards and students’ performances could be made online too, so that parents can have constant access to their children’s academic performance instead of twice a year. Some schools are already initiating efforts like this, but such exercise takes money. So instead of spending millions of ringgits building giant pigeon statutes that benefit no one (except probably the pigeon contractors), why don’t the state government spend a tiny bit to bring schools up to speed with the internet era?

Similarly, local authorities should also come out of the stone age and embrace the cyber age. In this respect, MPSJ has done a good job with their site. I have yet to try their services, but from what I see, Subang people can pay their assessments, lodge complaints and enjoy many other services that they have made available online. Am sure that there is still room for improvement, but MPSJ is definitely moving in the right direction in this respect.

As with many other things, the virtual world has its disadvantageous. Inability to have two minutes to yourself is one. At any one time, friends and family can contact me by at least two (usually more!) communication modes. I am contactable by SMS, email, IM and of course, the other conventional methods of voice calls, mail, fax, or (gasp!) actually walking from the next cubicle to mine and telling me in person about the so and so meeting.

So there is no way that I can play truant from work without my bosses or colleagues calling me back to the office . No way I can go pick up hubby’s surprise birthday gift without him calling me and asking me what I am doing (hubby has a sixth sense when I try to sneak around him.. I can’t never surprise him. He will always call me when I am up to something ) I can’t give excuses like “I did not get your message”, or “I did not know about the meeting” or “the documents must have gotten lost in the mail”. No way, Jose.

This dependency on these technology can be daunting sometimes. So used to being reachable 24/7, I am sure I am not the only one who feel like I can’t breathe when my phone suddenly dies on me when I am traveling, and there is no way that anyone can contact me. It’s like I’ve dropped off the face of the earth. All sorts of paranoid thoughts go through my head like what if something happened to my kids and no one can call me? What if my mom or dad got admitted to hospital? What if there was a fire at home? What if the sky really is falling? The feeling of being unreachable is so overwhelming that I just can’t live without at least my 3G mobile or my internet enabled PC, preferably both. I am becoming a virtual paranoid and there is just no way of reversing it.

Oh well.. que sera sera.. at least I know that I will be informed of the latest Jusco / Metro / Parkson sale the moment it happens. Never mind that Mr. Editor can SMS, IM, voicemail and email me to tell me that I am late for my article submission.. (errr.. Mr. Editor.. my cat ate my hard disk.. is that an acceptable excuse?)