For lack of a better title..

So I got my first paycheck today, albeit minus RM19 X 3 for the three days of leave I took after my LASIK surgery. Oh and it wasn't actually a check cos like my brother says, they probably pay me out of the Petty Cash account or something like that, lol. This being my first real work experience (helping Miss Lim teach theory to the kids every Saturday during my Form 5 days does not count, though I actually earned a great deal more per hour than I am earning right now, hmmm), I have to say it feels quite satisfying to finally be earning my own wages, modest though they may be. *pats self on the back*

Recently I have discovered that there are a few questions that I am repeatedly asked, by different people, and which I've grown most tired of answering.

FAQ about May:

1. "Why are you so skinny?" has got to be the ULTIMATE eye-roll-ughh-not-again-oh-just-kill-me-bleargh-inducing question of all time and I suspect will continue to be so for quite a while.

As the cute little Korean auntie (we call her 'Ajima'; incidentally, I only just found out that 'Ajima' isn't her name, it's Korean for 'auntie') who regularly drops by my aunt's place, ever so eloquently and animatedly puts it: "Many many rice! No fat! Very gooood!!!!" Unfortunately the average auntie/grandmother/distant female relative/envious female friend often fails to see this incredible phenomena the way dear Ajima does. Instead of being impressed at my apparent ultra-high metabolic rate and my ability to dig in without putting on, they tsk-tsk and shake their head with disapproval at what they perceive to be my unhealthy appetite and/or obsession with staying thin. And this does not even exclude people who are close to me, who ought to know that I have no such tendencies! I mean... Hello?? Do you not SEE the amount of FOOD on my plate?!?! For the last time, I love my chow and I. Am. Not. On. A. Diet.!

2. "So you know how to make Panadol then?" (referring to my work attachment at GSK). Answer: No.

3. "How many years are you bonded to serve the government, you poor girl?". Okay I know this is actually a very valid question but I've been asked it one too many times and am getting tired of repeating the whole lengthy explanation on the differences between a Biasiswa Penuh and a Pinjaman Boleh Ubah. So people, I am not bonded to the government because mine is the latter scholarship (convertible loan) and at the end of my studies, I need only pay back a certain percentage (interest free instalments) of whatever the government has spent on my education, depending on how well I do. Okay? Okay.

4. "Eh how come you celebrate Chinese New Year? Aren't you Christian?". Not to be racist but most of this kind of questions come from my Malay friends.

5. "Which town did you say you're from again?" (often accompanied by a snigger). Bentong. And that's in Pahang, not Johor, not Sarawak, and most certainly nowhere near Timbuktu, nor anything like it!

girl with the bulging wallet,

-may-