Friends?

Today is just not my day. It started off pretty pleasantly with a nice breakfast session with my mother-in-law. The TV was showing a rerun of ‘Friends’ back to back. It’s nice to watch it again. Used to rush home to catch the show on NTV7 many years ago (8 yrs ago I think).

Then I decided to complete an entry which I wrote halfway for my blog the night before. While watching the TV, I waited for my laptop to start up. This is when everything seems to go wrong. It refused to start. An error message came onto its screen saying something about a missing configuration file in Window32 folder and asked me to insert the setup disk and type ‘r’ to repair. The thing is, I don’t have whatever setup disk it mentioned and I also don’t have the Windows XP disk. The one that I was using then was a pasar malam copy.

I really hate all these computer viruses, spywares, adwares and whatever other wares out there that will corrupt my laptop. Many a times, all the canggih-canggih antivirus company is the main culprit for all these computer viruses. If there are no viruses, who would wanna buy an antivirus?

As I was trying to figure out what was wrong with my laptop, a very good friend called. She needs a favour from me. She need me to collect something from her tomorrow, then go to somewhere else with that something, to help her to get 2 appointments for next week (it doesn’t concern life/death). I couldn’t believe what I heard. Put that aside. I need to settle my laptop first.

So, off we went to Low Yatt. Altogether, for backing-up all of my crucial files, reformat my hard disk, plus a new antivirus to protect my laptop from future infections, I spent RM219. Super freaking sien! Whenever I am poor, I seem to always need to spend more somehow or rather!

Low Yatt is packed to the brink with bargain hunters, holiday makers, or losers, like sardines in cans. I hate crowds. I hate having to wrestle thru to get to my destination. I hate dumb people who walked so slowly as though they are walking down the aisles, blocking the whole long line of people. I hate inconsiderate people who pushes baby prams in crowded places and acted as though it is our duty to give way to them when most of the time, the baby is not even in the pram (if they have some cow sense, they wouldn’t even bring their babies along to crowded malls like this). It is not that I am inconsiderate; this is just plain common sense. I guess some people just don’t have it.

Back to this special favour request for a friend, anyway, she already apologized and I accepted her apology. Just that it somehow prodded me to reevaluate many people who I categorized as close friends, meaning, friends that I would say hello on msn and asked how are they doing or friends that I would call them to hang out once in awhile and these are the friends that I would be there for them when they needed a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear. As I was thinking, I realized that whenever someone ever buzz me, after the ‘how are you?’, it is always followed by a ‘can I ask you for a favour?’

My this friend told me that she thought with the ‘depth’ of our friendship, I would not mind doing this favour for her. Honestly, let’s not talk about a life & death situation, if it is important enough, serious enough, I would do it for her. I would go out of my way to do this favour, but it is not (not to me). Then I start thinking what went wrong? I realized that it could be a result of always being there for friends when they are in need, many a times, will led them to think that we will always be there, and that we love and care for them, we will not say no, and will help them whatever we could. All because, we love them.

Whenever I get a ‘hi, how are you?’, I always hope it will be that. That he/she just want say hi and nothing else. Unfortunately, it is always followed by ‘can I asked you for a favour?’, ‘do you have this or that?’, and ‘can you help me do this or that?’… I remembered an ex of mine said how he hates friends. Whenever someone ever called, it is always about something they want or need. That time, I thought he is just exaggerating. How very true. Even for him, whenever he buzzed me, it is always about something he wants or need.

Honestly, I have concluded that I am tired of this kind of friendship. I know friendship shouldn’t kira so much, that you scratch my back and I yours. I am not kira-ing anything, just that, no one ever scratch my back before. I am the kind of person that would think carefully what to get for each and every person for Christmas, even if it is a homogeneous present that I am giving to everyone, it will be something special that I made/bake or something that have a special meaning. I am also that kind of friend that will be there when you are not well and needed some company, or that kind of friend that will drop everything I am doing and rush to your side when you needed a shoulder to cry on. I am also the kind of friend that would be there on your party when I know there will not be many people turn up, to give you the moral support, to cheer you up a little just so you will not feel disheartened.

Conclusion is, stop asking me for unimportant favours that is totally out of my way (I would not mind at all if it is on the way. I must make this clear. Otherwise, you will think that i am arrogant). I may be free most of the time, but I prefer to spend my free time, my way.

P/s: I don’t mind a sincere get together to catch up. Just don’t try to sell me Amways, Elken, Insurance, Unit Trusts, Investments seminars & etc at the end of the catching up sessions. If that ever happen, I promised you that you will be as good as a stranger with immediate effect.

p/s: If any of you wish to drop me from your list of friends after reading this, I wouldn’t mind that either. Cause I’ve always treated each and every one of my friends from my heart.