Little talks

Listen: Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven

(I wonder if Blogger will ever put the "mood today" thing that was one of LiveJournal's special features - probably not, too gimmicky for them.)

Was talking to Shu Yuan the other day about how we're basically shareholders. In a more specific context, but I'm going to go on general here.

So you're a shareholder in a certain company. Let's call it The Company. It's not necessarily the company you work for, the company you buy shares in - it can be anything you invest in: your relationships, your family, your country.

So you're a shareholder - you invest time and money in The Company; you're providing what The Company needs and gladly takes from you: capital. In return you expect The Company to recognise that you have invested and contributed to them; you would expect The Company to be run in your and their best interests - in everybody's best interests. Win-win situation.

So The Company does OK. Wonderful, never been better. You're going along all right, everything's fine, and then one day you realise: Here, this isn't what I want. Other Companies can offer me so much more. So you either: a) voice your concerns, b) get other shareholders to voice their concerns that are similar or the same as yours or c) you do nothing because you're the 'wait and see' kind of person.

Let's say you choose b). And what happens is beyond your wildest expectations - some of the directors of The Company tell you: if you're not happy, you can go elsewhere.

You're dumbfounded. You've invested so much time and money in The Company that you can't believe what you're hearing.

Unless you're cynical to begin with, like Cartman here. So you aren't really surprised because you've been expecting it all along.

But then there are always good people. (Aside: Shu Yuan is on this side. I'm usually with Cartman.) So some of the other directors try to convince you to stay. They give some of the things you asked for; they promise on others; they tell you: work with us, and we'll reward you, because you're a valuable shareholder.

So what do you do? Do you: a) walk out because you're tired, b) walk out after letting the directors know what you really think, or c) stay put because you're still 'waiting and seeing'?

Now if this had to do with you paying the directors' salary, you would probably be really pissed off if they tell you to go fly aeroplane if you're not happy. I'm still waiting - most of us are still waiting, ffs - for the Budget. Or 'Baaaaa-jet', as my sister liked to say in secondary school, with totally on bahasa baku and a derisive tone. According to her, it's slang to describe someone who tries really hard to be someone s/he isn't. And failing very miserably at that.

But to go back to The Company we've been talking about. What would you do, seeing as you're not happy already?

***

Been reading Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies, and that's much more English history I would ever know compared to Malaysian. About Cromwell and Henry the Eighth with his second wife Anne Boleyn (what a woman! King's wives and PM's wives are scared little mice compared to her. Or Mantel just made her really intimadting), and the political scandals and wheelings and dealings and secrets.

I still remember how we're stuck in an endless loop whenever we learn Sejarah: Parameswara, Melaka, the new states, British coming, WW2 (cos WW1 never happened, and we never did bother enough to ask our Sejarah teachers, "Eh how come WW2 happened only? When was WW1?"), independence, bla bla bla, let's stop at Tun Abdul Razak. And Mahathir's administration which nobody bothers to study because "sure won't come out wan!" And the loop repeated from primary up to Form 5. And nobody ever bothered to ask what happened after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, because that was the only thing that was mentioned in the textbook about WW1. True story, because I was reading a fictional book set during WW1 period while studying for SPM, and was going "ONLY THIS???"

Funny thing, history. I wonder whether they've changed anything much in the textbooks.

***

Been watching more episodes of Breaking Bad, and I'm still not warming up to the show. At least when you break a marriage contract in Game of Thrones, your prospective father-in-law shows you the real consequences by giving you a really Red, Bloody Wedding.

But at least I can say that I've watched That Show about a certain drug-making chemistry teacher.

***

Slept for almost 12 hours and did absolutely nothing today. Today was a good day.