Suka bantu orang

Today, at a petrol station where I was going to fill my gas tank up, a young boy of 7-8 years walked up to me with a window wiper in his hands, "Bang, nak tak? Boleh saya cuci?"

Unsure of how to respond, I nodded, and he proceeded to wipe my car windscreen. Was he working there? Wasn't he too young for this job? Wouldn't he be wearing a uniform?

"Dik kerja di sini?"
"Tak lah"
"Terima kasih ya! Tapi kenapa dik ada di sini?"
"Tak lah. Saya memang suka bantu orang!"

Boys and cars

There was something profound about washing my car just the other day, having spent most of my time on a Maserati, an Aston Martin DB7, a Mercedes C200 and two BMWs. I am currently working at an automotive detailing centre for this summer holidays till January (before I resume my uni semester) for some extra cash, and the job entails everything from handling customers to interior/exterior car care, mostly for an upper class niche. It’s hard work but I’m enjoying the experience of learning about an industry I never really took notice of, and the boys there are good men.

The mechanical task of spraying and wiping, coupled with the irony of washing my shabby, humble Proton Saga after washing those luxury cars invoked something in me that day – I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride towards my car, that despite its scratches, cracks and dents, it still serves me well and does its job.

Cars, like clothes, may have a universal function (to transport/to cover), but they vary in their social values, and, to a certain extent determine the measure of a person’s image and social worth. The great gap in prices between the cheapest and most expensive cars reveals - beyond the unavoidable effects of capitalism - society’s great fixation on status and image. With so much emphasis on form, functionality is a given and more often than not, ignored. But while the capitalistic system is unable to measure values beyond what is material, I believe we should never discard some important ‘measures’. That which has little "social value" may be of much more worth than we think.

On this day, I think about the school bus that transported me (and thousands of other children) to kindergarten every morning 18 years ago, the different cars I sat in on my way to Saturday Youth Meetings when I couldn’t drive, my carpooling partner’s blue Proton Wira that took me to my secondary school and back every day, and the 3 well-used (understatement?) vans that go as far as Kajang and Bukit Jalil to make sure that different ones get to attend my youth group in Subang Jaya every weekend. In light of all that, the Maserati still holds its appeal, but does not stand a chance against any shabby, humble Proton car that is used for the good of others.

And if that is true of cars, it has to be true of people and their abilities.

On this subject of size,

Small man. Big God.

Size doesn't matter

Particularly love "1:27"!

As a thief in the night

There is something about the fleetingness of time that defines what we do. Have you noticed how we are all collectors of memorabilia in some way? That, as if knowing we may never 'come back' to certain places, memories, situations and circumstances, we often bring along with us keepsakes of the past to soothe the pain/prospect of never returning?

I think something in all of us relate to this 'pain of never returning'. We find ways to freeze moments in our everyday lives, through photographs and random scribblings, relying on them to help us 'return' one day to those people, events, experiences and stories. Our pictures and writings transcend time, while we live in the moment. I guess this is why so many people are into cameras these days.

I've decided to return to blogging because of the above reason, and also because I'd like to get back into the habit/discipline of writing. I haven't stopped writing for the past 1 and a half years (did I say time is fleeting?); I've been jotting my thoughts down in random places like my ITouch and notebook (maybe this is reflective of my thoughts too), and I guess it'd be nice to write in a space where friends (and strangers) can read some of these thoughts too. My resolve is to blog at least once a week (just like how it was 1 and a half years ago)!

Perhaps this will help me 'return', someday in the future.