69th post

now I've seen it all!

I was in The Village Grocer yesterday and saw something out of The Devil Wears Prada - but Malaysian style lah. The mem besar was a Datin-wanta-beast, 'nicely' dressed and overly made-up and ornamentaled as usual, but instead of the requisite Indonesian/Fillipina maid, she had a well dressed young man (!) in tow, pushing her grocery cart, and trying not to look as emasculated as I felt he must've felt. Don't get me wrong, I see plenty of guys doing the weekly shopping, but this was something else. At first, I thought they were a husband and wife duo, they were that close in age, even if she was a tad overdressed for the shops. It was when she started pointing at the stuff she wanted, and the way she barked at the poor man, I deduced this was her driver/p.a./kuli batak!It was fascinating to watch. I stood rooted to the spot, as initially I was going through a pile of kankung when I heard her first barking order: "Hah! Ambik kankung tu! Pilih yang bagus, jangan ambik yang lubang-lubang!". I was so enthralled by this little scene that I stepped aside for the guy to get to the kankung, myself mouth hanging open, still holding up the bunch I was about to bag and put in my own cart. The poor guy avoided my eye the whole time, and I just stared from him to her, like I was at Wimbledon watching a tennis match, to see how this scene would unfold.

Mak Datin pulak, ignored me (I guess I was that obvious), and shamelessly displayed her POWER by continuing in this fashion from the veggies, to the meat section and so on. God, it was breathtaking! I literally held my breath at the biscuit section - I was picking out Milo's school treats - and she stood right next to me, pointing at the tin of butter cookies on the bottom shelf right next to her own foot, and demanded her slave to get the tin, but the second one - mind you, not the one on the outer shelf. [you guys know me right? I was bursting to say, "Bend your fat back and get the damn tin yourself, you lazy, pompous git!!!"]...I didn't trust myself to speak, instead I just looked her straight in the face and rolled my eyes at her. As she passed me, I muttered, "...some people...!"

As for the guy in tow, well, he must need the money real baaaaaad to put up with that. It got me thinking, how many people I know who are actually in that position (or allow themselves to be) at work and in life. Are you one of them?
22-May-2007