Good Deeds

I was very blessed while growing up.  Through school, church, the Girl Scouts and other organizations, I was given a plethora of opportunities to volunteer in the broader community.  From bakes sales to raise money for charities, to painting the walls at an aging retirement home I had ample opportunities to connect with people, feel good about myself, and at least for a fleeting moment, think that I have made a difference.

However now that I am working, I’m finding it much harder to give back. Sure, I can donate a few dollars to a charity or religious organization, but as my mom always told me “time is way more valuable than money… anyone can donate money (even if it’s a small amount) but few people donate your time.” You see, donating time requires real commitment.  It takes dedication to determine what skills you have to offer, what organization(s) or causes can benefit from those skills, and how to fit the donation of your time into your busy schedule.  I’m in no way saying that donating money is wrong or not needed, because as anyone with NGO can attest – not-for-profits always welcome and are in need of donations.  Rather, I’m arguing that to really give of yourself, to really make a difference, donating your time and skills can make a bigger impact – especially in your own life.   

For the average person, when you donate money you may take some time to research where you want to donate. However, once the money is transferred, most people quickly forget that they even donated, and rarely if ever check up to see what their money resulted in. When you donate time, the impact to the volunteer usually lasts a little longer – remembering how you felt during the volunteer assignment, feeling the appreciation of others or even appreciating yourself.  Now some may say that this is a selfish reason to volunteer, but I beg to differ.  I believe God mad volunteering and doing good deeds ‘feel good’ because it is a good thing to do.  There is nothing wrong with doing something that lightens your heart, puts a smile on your face as well as others, and generally leaves you with pleasant memories. With that said, even these feelings go away after time. 

I believe the only way to really change yourself on the inside through doing good deeds, is to do good deeds on a repetitive basis. Now that I’m an adult, with real skills that can be utilized (like accounting and bookkeeping, fundraising, writing, and communication skills) I believe I have an obligation to give back to the community. 

There is so much injustice and suffering in the world that I see, hear about and read about on a daily basis. I need to stop just feeling it’s wrong, and start doing something about it.    But what can I do? Well the first step, is to research what is in the area.  In KL I’m particularly affected by how beautiful the jungle is.  As more and more developments go up, more and more jungle (and all the flora and fauna associated with it) are destroyed – primarily for profits. Maybe I can join a wildlife conservation society or environmentally-focused community group. I also am extremely moved by the number of people I see here with disfiguring illnesses and disabilities.  This is shocking to me because in the US, most people have access to healthcare where they get treatment.  The most appalling are the men who have lost limbs and whose skin is infected with sores.  Are these sores treatable? Are they able to get medical attention?  I could try to contact some medical professionals and organise a group to meet once a month and walk the streets and make on-the-spot consultations of medical treatments that can be done to help.

These are just thoughts for now.  I’m interested to know what others in KL do to volunteer and give back. I’m open for ideas.

Can I Have Another Cab Please?

In continuation of my assessment of the cab situation in KL, I have one more gripe to log:

What is up with cabbies waiting until they have passengers in their car before deciding to get gas? I have only been here for a little over 3 months, and I have already been in 2 cabs where the driver ‘asks’ me if he can get gas on the way to my destination.  No is there really a choice? The first time I said ok – I was new to the area and wanted to be nice.  Little did I realise that he would go to a station with a 10 minute line of cabs waiting to get gas.  And of course, he kept the meter running!!!  So I paid 3-4 extra ringgits as a result of this poor mistake.  The second time it happened I said no – I’m not ok with you getting gas.  At which point the driver said that if we didn’t get gas then he couldn’t get to my place.  This is a sheer lie – as my place was literally 2 minutes away, and we had to wait in line for the pump for 5 minutes – with the car running.  This time I thought I would be smart – and I asked the driver to stop the meter.  But he just smiled and said to not worry about it. So, I internally calculated how much extra the price was as a result of the stop, and ended up paying 2 ringgit less than the total (as that was how much the meter ran while we were waiting).  I feel justified, as I already had to pay with my time and didn’t want to pay with my money.  I think cabbies do this on purpose to raise their fares.  I mean think about it – they are always in long queues to get passengers.  All this time waiting could be better spent in getting your gas before going to queue.   

High Cal???

I like milk.  Yes, I am lactose intolerant, but I like milk in my tea.  So, I buy milk in small quantities because it would otherwise go bad.  So when I moved to Malaysia, I was hoping to have nice fresh, high-quality milk – as I’m in a developing country that I would expect to have way less preservatives, additives, and hormones than the milk in the US.  However, I was horrified to find that most, if not all, milk in Malaysia is made from “milk solids’ a.k.a. powdered milk!!  I mean seriously?!?!  Ewwwwwww…

So the first thing I did was avoid it – trying to drink lemon tea or green tea.  However, my body was not fooled.  It missed and craved milk tea.  So I caved, and started trying the different brands.  This led me to my second ‘issue’ with dairy products here – there is absolutely no variety.  Yes, you see a lot of different brands on the shelf, but if you look at the back, they are all made by the same few companies, and moreover, they are all made with milk solids instead of fresh milk.  Skim milk is pretty much non-existent, so when I go shopping I have to scour the shelf for anything with a resemblance of ‘low fat’ or ‘low calorie’.   This past weekend, when I went to the store, the only option I was left with (in the size I wanted) was this milk that says, and I quote “low fat high cal milk”!!!!  HIGH CAL… why would anyone purposely buy high calorie milk? Especially when they are looking for low fat?  It just doesn’t make sense.  And moreover, why would that be a selling point? It just doesn’t make sense.  I looked at the nutritional value on the back and didn’t see that it was high calorie, when compared to others – so I was pretty much puzzled.

Leave it to my narrow-minded American brain to get this wrong, because when I got to work on Monday and asked about it pretty much everyone in the office started laughing at me.  ‘High cal’ does not mean high calorie (which in my opinion would make the most sense).  No, ‘high cal’ means high calcium!!!!!  I honestly didn’t see that coming for 100 miles.  Maybe the company should do more market research before branding their milk.  Hahahah!!  Oh well, you learn something new every day.   

Unable to Breathe

So in true Malaysian fashion it rained last night – night swim plans were of course cancelled.  So instead, I headed to the mall.  I mean what else is a Malaysian to do at night? The mall was packed. 

On the way home, I decided to take a cab. Now I am the first person to admit that I totally over-hyped the risks posed by swimming near bats.  However this cab posed an actual risk to my life: the cab driver must have been a chain smoker and the entire cab reeked of tobacco.   For reference, my cab ride is less than 4 minutes.  But in that short amount of time my eyes started burning, my nose became clogged, I started to get dizzy, and I contemplated opening the door and rolling out of the cab as he drove down the street (like they do in movies) – although yes, I could also have asked him to just stop the car… maybe that would be more realistic.  So what did I do – what would any rational person do – I rolled down the window.   I just couldn’t take it anymore.  Of course I thought the driver would be appreciative – I mean shouldn’t he be thankful for some fresh air? But no, instead he gave me such a mean look through the rear view mirror. 

Honestly I just don’t get it.  A note to the smokers of the world – yes, we are all aware that you smoke, and yes, we can smell your smoke stench even after you are gone (especially in elevators).  Please be considerate.  Just chew Nicorette J

Late Night Swim

I need my own identity – one that does not depend on where I work, who I married, my race, religion, or culture.  I also need my own time – time devoted to things I love.  I have interests that need to be explored.

My co-worker suggested that I should swim at night.  I like swimming – actually love swimming, especially after a long day.  There is a beautiful pool in my complex that calls my name every night when I walk up the driveway to my place.  Swimming at night poses a problem though – there are bats in my area that swarm around the lights.  Many say that these bats don’t bite. However, there just needs to be one bat that proves everyone wrong.  And knowing me, I would be the one person to find that bat.  There are always bugs hovering right above the pool – they love water (although I’m not sure why).  Aren’t those bugs teasing the bats – begging the bats to swoop down to the pool in search for dinner?  What if I come up from my breast stroke just as a bat is diving down, with fangs open, ready to taste the bug feast that awaits, and instead of the bugs, the bat gets a piece of my head for dinner?  That may be a risk that I’m not willing to take.  My co-worker says that “I think too much” but is there really a problem with that?   It’s survival of the fittest out there – it’s a scientific fact.  So if I determine there is an actual risk to my life of swimming at night, then maybe I should think twice before taking the plunge.  Maybe if more people thought before they did things then a lot less accidents would occur.  

On the other hand, I have decided that I am way too risk adverse, and want to face some of my fears.  I see (in the movies) that facing your fears leads to personal development.  So maybe I will take a dip, and just see how much I can tempt fate by ‘swimming with the bats.’  People swim with sharks all the time – which has to be way more risky than what I’m proposing.  

If I’m not here tomorrow – then you know why.  But if I am, maybe I will have experienced some personal growth – facing my fear and surviving.  Although I have to say, I’m not dying to find out…