Saturday, November 26, 2005

Click


The new corporate look was not well perceived

The sun was on high beam, and 90 new executives at Greener Pastures scavaged for shade catered by the restaurant at Seri Dinar Resort. Despite that our tee shirts and track bottoms were soiled by a good mixture of sweat, grass and water provided by the outdoor activities, we cared less, sat among each other, and drowned ourselves in afternoon laughter and the not-so-subtle armpit odor. So, as you can see, the orientation for new execs was actually fun.

While we all indulged in chicken rice and red jelly for lunch, one of the guys next to me asked, "Did you study overseas?"

No, I studied at a local U.

"Then how come you got a thick American accent?"

Long story, I said.

Oh.

This is the sort of conversation I will have among strangers. Before, I would treat them with chapters and chapters of my childhood life, explain and justify, and reveal when I moved to this country and that country, and when to this school and that school. But now, I am growing old and tired, so like yogurt, I give the no-fat version.

"I wonder," he continued saying, "how come you don't hang out with that group?"

What group?

"That group."

In a table next to mine sat six guys, all graduates from the States. It is easy to say that I can relate alot with them: New York, Krogers and a sport call soccer. But for some reason, I simply did not click with them, and prefer to hang out with those that I do. I guess I have come to an age where I admit no shame in saying that I do select who I want to hang out with. There's no need to assimilate. It's way, way, way too much effort.

Not sure why, I finally responded. Does it matter?

He shook his head, smiled and then continued sipping dark coffee in the heat.

24 Comments:

Blogger Feather's Mother said...

It's finally an update! Guess your new execs orientation has finally over, but more with-fat version, please..

8:26 AM  
Blogger an0nymous-ign0ranus said...

muddy's back but for how long eh? are you guys still taking in new recruits? nak apply ni ...

4:17 PM  
Blogger Lin said...

but doesnt everyone do that?
like choose the people you wanna hang out with?

5:44 PM  
Blogger Fiza said...

tua-tua pun kena orientation some more?

1:55 AM  
Blogger [V]landa said...

no, it doesnt matter :)

3:15 AM  
Blogger [V]landa said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

3:19 AM  
Blogger Vlad said...

Yes it is all about choice.

At times, choosing to hang out with beggars are much more fulfilling than to sit down with educated people.

As long as you don't mumble Aussie, I am pretty sure I can hear you out.

5:44 AM  
Blogger Lala-land said...

"thick American accent"... ohh sex-sa! :-P

3:42 PM  
Blogger kepala_angin said...

90 news rookie. ramainye peers.

good to hear from you again.

4:34 PM  
Blogger Sports Freak said...

I understand completely dude. I also agree that football played with a round ball is called Soccer.. :) its less confusing calling it that..:)

90 new execs?!? wow, what do you guys do? we are downsizing here and you guys can expand, must be good business...

1:20 AM  
Blogger Pesa said...

welcome back dude...guess you so called training (makan angin??) for the new job dah abis ehh? eyy, your bro won the vj hunt rite? x buat party and makan2 ke? :P

6:22 AM  
Blogger Lin said...

Golly, does it matter who we hang out with? Got certain group that we have to belong to???

You are right... does it matter??

5:54 PM  
Blogger disco-very said...

ninety? wowee. it's like a school trip!

I also get asked about my accent by strangers all the time. tiring, kan? it's wierd how some people suddenly put you into a certain category once they hear you speak. in college, a few were surprised that i hung out with certain people. wassupwiddat? i feel you brova.

8:45 PM  
Blogger kimster said...

Funny how all the folks with kononnya similar accent kononnya HAVE to group together. He he...

I have a very local accent but I couldn't care less. The main thing is perception, foresight, and the quality of thinking & analysis.

Welcome on board Bro!

6:22 PM  
Blogger madnessinvain said...

Steady la bro. Hahaha.

7:33 AM  
Blogger MDR said...

yes, yes finally an update! :-)

lots of ppl equate having an accent with studying overseas, don't they? but most aren't aware that a real 'accent' can't be easily acquired unless u've grown up in a particular speaking environment since young, right? i suppose like u, mine is a token from childhood..but the sad thing is, I actually had to learn to disguise it or at least dilute the American-ness to avoid questions n prejudice..

ur non-fat version works better i suppose! :-)

9:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Greetings from Tsim SHa Tsui hehe..

Say Muddy, do you think you can click with my group then? hehe

2:16 AM  
Blogger Muddy said...

The Yoga Instructor :

Yeah, the new execs orientation is finally over, but sad that it did. because it was the BEST 2.5 weeks i have ever had that involves with colleagues or a company.

More fat version? Ya sure? Kekeke, won't effect your yoga? ;P

ailin :

heya mommy. ;) yeah, loved krogers. that's the only place in town where we could get kosher meat. and my family used to buy water there too, in large plastic cartons. remember that as well? huhuhu...

things :

a very good question. well, to tell you the truth, i seriously think that my accent has been diluted, since been living in malaysia for quite some time and the fact that i studied at an international school. if you caught me back in 1996, my accent was seriously ghetto, thanks to my bestfriends who were mostly african americans and latinos. there was also a hint of country twang, also thanks to my stint living in a college/hick town. kekeke...

now its mumbo jumbo. you just have to hear it yourself to find some definition in it now.

4:05 PM  
Blogger Muddy said...

dade ghost :

kekeke, siapa yang hilang diri? well, exactly, i guess we do grow selective as we grow adults. its finally ok if we are not friends with everybody, or with a certain group of people because hey, you got other friends of your own. no need to pretend anymore.

kaisersoze aka sifu :

hahahaha yeah, 90 new execs is a truckload. according to the company's history, it is the largest they received.

dude, yeah the soldier pic is really cool. but sorry man, i really don't know why it may seem familiar to you. perhaps you tried out for the army in your previous life? hehehe...

babe :

heya babe, yeah, just apply. i applied, thinking all odds are against me. but it turns out, ada rezeki. :)

4:11 PM  
Blogger Muddy said...

lin :

hey lin, thanks for dropping by! :)

yeah, people do hang out who they want to. but to some, this might come across as being selective/choosy/judgemental/narrowminded...

but as we grow older, i figured that its ok if we are sometimes. because we know now which crowd we will have fun with and which one we won't.

9 :

yeah man, dah berjangut tapi ada juga orientation. which is great actually, it makes us feel like we are all back in college. kekeke...

ylanda :

exactly, babe. exactly. ;)

4:17 PM  
Blogger Muddy said...

vlad :

hahahah, no pal, haven't been down under to muster aussie. but can't say much about my second brother though. he's ghetto/aussie which is a definite weird combo.

miss yy :

sexy ke? giggle giggle giggle. ;)

kepala angin :

yeap, 90 of us babe. and during the orientation, we had an activity where we have to memorize everybody's name. it was a great exercise for my slowing brain...kekeke...

good to hear from you too. :)

4:48 PM  
Blogger Muddy said...

sports freak :

hehehe...yeah, you can spot a yankee from a mile when you hear, "wow, so MU/Arsenal/whatever is a soccer team." kekeke...was myself a victim.

pesa :

makan angin indeed! minus the times when we had to dwell in the sun and scavaged for our own food in the forest, the rest of the days have been living in this semi-hotel which serves you six meals per day! damn, miss the ready-to-eat pancakes in the morning...heheheh...

disco-very :

huhuhu exactly babe! just mustering a few words can put you in categories you never existed. sigh, but its okay, we still rock! heheheh...yeah, a definite school trip. mari kita pergi zoo!!!

4:53 PM  
Blogger Muddy said...

the kimster :

kekekeke...yeah, exactly! but i am not saying they are bad people, just that i rather hang out with people with other interests. but yeah, if you ever spot someone walking around the building speaking Yankee, you better say wassup! kekeke...

yeah, the ride on the Fathership is great so far. And everyone seems to be SO intelligent around here. Haiyoh, the competition...kekekeke...

madnessinvain :

aku memang relaks brader! kekekeke....

marinadelray :

heya babe, yeah finally an update. i felt bad for disappearing for awhile but when you are plucked and placed in a forest, you just have to sigh and accept that there is indeed no internet there. kekeke...

wow, we are so much alike. the thing about our accent is that its really hard to shed: we talked like this since we were munchkins, so i am sorry if i pronounce merah as "mayraa" or the "per-ciara-ann" bus. my tongue just rolls on its own. huhuhu...

but workin on it. ;)

5:05 PM  
Blogger Muddy said...

enthralled :

hey, thanks for dropping by. :) and yeah, the combo is a cliche but a honest cliche it is.

chi :

i love chilling with your group! bila nak lepak lagi sekali? :) :) :)

5:07 PM  

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