Parenting

The time for studying has come again. This blog, as dead as it already is, will be 'dead'er in the upcoming weeks. I don't want to bitch about how hard it is studying without food in your stomach cause I don't really think it's that bad. It sucks, but it's manageable.

There are so many things to talk about. I don't feel like I can cover all of them and give the ideas that I have justice by writing nonchalantly and unemotionally. Perhaps it's better that I just save the stories for later. But if I do that, the moment just passes by. I might even forget those stories.

Sigh*. The sacrifices I give to the actuarial world.

I'll give one quick story despite ;)

I always stalk my friends' blogs. In fact, I update those blog pages maybe four to five times a day. It's a bad habit. Terrible actually. Yet I can't help myself. I have to know what they have to say and I have to know what other people are commenting about their writing. Most of the comments that they receive are dumb and totally unrelated to their postings. But one recent entree from a friend had her mom comment in her blog...

Yep. Her. Mother. Mom. Mommy. Mama.

First of all let me clarify. My mom is an awesome mom. Not just an awesome mom. She's also a damn sporting mom and I wouldn't hesitate for a second to introduce my mom to my buddies. But in all honesty, if my mom read my blog I'd probably be a little embarrassed. Well not that embarrassed. (keep on contradicting yourself Adam. good job)

It's the upbringing that we have in Malaysia that has made me this way. Not just me, but most of the people I know surely feel the same way to some degree.

Do you guys remember your first day in school? Some of your parents would be going to school and looking at you, standing in the middle of the class in front of everyone to see if you would be able adapt to your new found surrounding. And at that time, you would feel so embarrassed for no particular reason. "Go away mom and dad. I'm coping fine. I'm ashamed that it seems as if I need you to be by my side all the time" you tell yourself. Of course there are some other parents that know how their kids feel about their presence and would hide behind the building pillars. Ever so slightly they would take a peek or two when you weren't looking to make sure that you are doing well.

That is the Malaysian culture. We shy away from our parents for no good reason. Kids over here in Western countries are so different. The kids here feel left out if the parents aren't there when they achieve something. "I finally won the Math prize this year. But it means nothing since my parents aren't here to see me win this!" they say to themselves.

Now that I'm older I wouldn't mind my parents being at my side when I achieve something. I remember when I won the 'hadiah matematik' for getting the highest marks in class when I was small in SRKBBB. At that time I was praying so hard that my parents wouldn't cheer for me when I was walking on stage. Two years ago, I graduated from college. At that time, my parents and brother cheered. I took it all in.