I was walking from the bus stop to work in my half comatose state -- waking up the day after a public holiday is awful, every molecule in me screams that it ought to be a Sunday; yes, I confess I am a five-day-week softie -- when my colleague told me that she bought a new portable TV.
You know I like gadgets, even gadgets that I have no conceivable use for in my lifetime, yet at that moment, while checking out the box, I realised this: I will never ever buy a portable TV.
In fact, I am not even neutral about it, I am positively repelled by the idea of needing to have a portable TV. What do you do with one? I was surprised at my strong reaction, so I thought of a bunch of other things that I will probably never do while I still have breath:
1. I will not drink to get drunk.
2. I will not buy a lottery ticket.
3. I will not visit a fortune teller.
4. I will not bow my head at any temple; AND
5. I will not buy a portable TV.
What about you?
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Some things I will not do
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10 comments:
Portable TVs are very 90's in my opinion. What about portable DVD players? Aren't they the rage? Or has something else usurped the spot already?
Hmm, you've got me thinking on a very early afternoon... esp. on the aftermath of a public holiday too. So here goes;
1) I will ne'er smoke.
2) I will ne'er convert to another religion. They tried to make me when I was a tiny person but they failed didn't they? *smirks*
3) I will ne'er wear high heels. They're repulsive to me.
4) I will not develop an insatiable craze for shopping (as in, being all SG sarong party type and going nuts for shoes and little tube like clothes). In fact, I hate almost all forms of shopping except book-shopping.
There's probably more in the list but they'll be too prudish or something for me to list them here. *laughs*
Happy belated Singapore day btw.
I suppose portable DVD players are more in than portable TVs right now.
You know, I can imagine something too wild for this site, but something too prudish? :)
What religion do you consider yourself? I had the impression that you were more of a free-thinker type..
*snortish laughter* I might be a Victorain closet case for all you know. No really. I think I'd leave certain things unsaid.
As to my religion, as I grow older, I accept my religion. I'm Hindu. When I was younger, I was more on the lines of yes I believe in what my religion tells me, but surely labels disable.
People have misconceptions about all religions and I thought I shouldn't call myself a Hindu for fear of closing myself into a box. At the end of the day, religions basically preach similar lessons of respect, love, and all that jazz. Well, that's what I thought.
The historical imperative comes into question, as well as the cultural and the personal. I find myself negotiating with these much easier as I discover more. Growing up, some call it.
I will never ... what a fantastic question! ... but who can say? I once participated in a study on marriage at our local university. For "Will you ever get divorced?" I checked the box NEVER. "Explain your answer," it said. I wrote, "a vow is a vow is a vow."
Very poetic, and sincere, truly.
I'm a Catholic, for God's sake!
But, alas, I did get divorced 6 years later.
So, is it safe to say I will never have a third husband?
how about "i will never again..." ? cos i was going to say i will never smoke, then i remembered otherwise ;)
ok, ..
i will never stop _______ . i will never bungee. i will never kill myself.
:)
Elle, the thought of you as a Victorian closet case is an interesting one. Is that why you like using Victorian themes as your site layout? :)
I know what you mean about growing up and finding it easier to negotiate all of that. Maybe it is because we become more comfortable with ourselves and the inherent contradiction between our labels and who we really are? Just a theoretical question, what do you think it would take for you to convert?
For me, I think if I ever convert to anything, I'll probably convert to agnosticism, and it will be because I am terribly angry with God about the way things are. Of course I think conversion to another religion belongs to the "never list" but as joan rightly points out, who knows? I only hope and pray that I won't.
Joan, life is full of twists and turns isn't it? And my heart is the most deceitful of them all. But I hope I will never buy a portable tv.
Smole, neither will I. But I think you will bungee before me. ;)
I've learned to never say "never," but I'm with you on the portable tv. Only problem is, I did buy one once, so I can't even say I'll never do that (except like Smole said, never again). It was a mistake. We never viewed it. I've made lots of mistakes and I'll make a lot more before it's all over. ;-)
lol... i think these kinda statements reveal where you are in life...
i think i take a more pragmatic and ambivalent approach now than when i was in my idealistic youth - when things appeared more black and white... in contrast, there are a lot more greys now as i get older...
and where i'm at, what i've learnt to say is i'll give it a shot and at least after that, i know why i'll never do it again...
i know the kind of repulsion and revulsion you're talking about... like the thought of eating monkey's brain, or experimenting with hardcore drugs... or engaging in abnormal sex, etc... these are still very black and white to me... won't go there ever...
but the other stuff, those that you can say: at least i've done that once and survived, or what doesn't kill you makes you stronger... i think those kinds of stuff i'm more open to now... i think people get to a stage in their lives and realise, there isn't a lot more years left, so what's the harm?...
am i having a mid-life crisis, you think?! lol... maybe... maybe...
Let me see. My primary school teachers tried to convert little girls by the busload. I found it an alienating experience when they preached against the Gods I pray to. And I was young- it was easy to hate evangelical types as a result.
I still get exasperated by them you know, but I'm not about to wage a 'jihad' or anything ridiculous. They believe what they're doing is right for everyone so it's not harmful if they go about it in a benign way. There's another side to this picture of course and I won't go into that.
What would it take for me to convert? Well, since I believe in reincarnation, I cannot say. If I become an atheist, that's worth looking into. Who knows how many faiths I've embraced in my previous lives? I'm not about to abandon my belief in God, whichever religion's idea of God it may be.
I wouldn't convert. That shows a lack of faith that betrays the whole purpose of believing. Reincarnation involves cause and effect. I was born into this religion for some reason that I might never fully appreciate for all I know. Moving from one version of God to the next is rather juvenile to me. That's how I see it at least. There's a reason behind everything. Now I sound juvenile, and pathetically cryptic. ;)
Gwynne: "I've made lots of mistakes and I'll make a lot more before it's all over." so true, so true :)
TOT: I'm not sure if I'm the kind of person who can try it at least once and then know why I will never do it again.. I read too much into things and in hindsight, will probably attribute all kinds of unreasonable things to "that one time". :) But, if it is something I want to do, then I will probably live with the consequences..
Elle: I'm sorry about your primary school experience. It must have been disconcerting to be thrown into such a flux when so young..
You don't sound juvenile or cryptic at all. "I wouldn't convert" is what faith is about after all. Faith is to stick with what you believe and trust in, even when there is no evidence to support it. So I'm with you on that..
I think people only convert when something radically changes their worldview, or when they are changed by a supernatural experience, then perhaps, they cannot help but "change gods", so to speak.
Yet, I wonder if it is normal to suddenly not believe in the existence of the old god/s anymore. Wouldn't that make you psychotic? I know that no matter what happens, whether or not I actually choose to obey the God I've come to know, I cannot deny his existence.
I'm reading a book titled "A New God in the Diaspora: Muneeswaran worship in Singapore". It is an interesting premise: that Muneeswaran worship arose apart from Mother India, but I'm kinda stuck in the second chapter. :)
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