You will have to forgive me if you’ve ever found me anti-social or aloof.
I can’t help it.
I just dread talking to people. Really heart-palpitatingly, hair-raisingly, with goosebumps-and-cold-sweat-dotting-my-entire-body dread.
Person A: Oh, you’re an actress is it? With which company?
Me: I’m a freelancer.
Person A: What shows have you appeared in?
Me: Here and there. Ch 5, Ch 8, in the cinema, corporate videos, commercials, independent stuff.
Person A: Oh, you act for MediaCorp? Part time?
Me: Yeah, you can say that.
Person A: Why don’t you join them full time?
Me: (inward duh) They don’t take you in just because you want to join them.
Person A: Why don’t you join Star Idol/Singapore Idol/Everyothershit Idol?
Me: I have in the past. Never succeeded.
Person A: Why don’t you try again?
Me: I’m a bit old for those things.
Person A: Why don’t you just tell MediaCorp you want to join them?
Me: Uh….
Person A: If you don’t try, you won’t know, right?
WHAT IS WITH THESE PEOPLE?
Maybe they get everything they want in life. Maybe they think life is simple.
Maybe they can just walk into Microsoft and say to Bill Gates, “I want to be a CEO in one of your offices,” and Bill Gates will give it to them.
Maybe I should start talking like them.
“Oh! You work as a HR executive at Lim Ah Seng Ltd? Why don’t you go work for Bloomberg instead? I heard they have an amazing pantry there.”
Here’s another one, which I also encounter way too often.
Person B: What’s your full-time occupation?
Me: I’m a freelance actress.
Person B: Oh! With which agency?
At least 50% of Singaporeans do not know the meaning of “freelance”.
There are also people who are either downright rude or just insensitive.
Me: Yes, I’ve acted in MediaCorp shows.
Person C: Oh, as a care-leh-feh (extra) is it?
And then, I was at this acting workshop attended not just by actors but also directors, producers, scriptwriters, or basically anyone aspiring to work in the industry. This person comes and strikes up a conversation with me.
Person D: So, are you an actor or director or do you work in the media?
Me: I’m an actress.
Person D: Ah, good, good. Have you acted in shows before?
*vomit blood*
It’s like, say, you meet some random dude at a cocktail party:
Person E: So, what do you do for a living?
Doctor: I’m a doctor.
Person E: Oh, awesome! Have you treated or cured anyone before?
Can I boycott people, please?
Turn the tables on them lah. Ask stupid questions about their job.
In the mean time, you may boycott people all you want.
What is with the Bloomberg pantry? Retards mention it far too often.
Boycotting people is good. I love humanity.
Funny enough, when I applied for a job at Bloomberg before, my relatives/friends all tell me the exact same thing about the pantry…
Acroamatic: Yeah, I know. But I think I’m just too nice. I simply couldn’t put people through what they put me through, having experienced it myself. Anyway, most of them are not malicious or anything. They’re just blur. Can’t take revenge on blurness, can I?
Crash/KM: The Bloomberg pantry must be one of the great wonders of the world. Everyone’s heard of it and are talking about it, but not everyone has seen it for themselves.
I feel your pain. Especially the why don’t you work for Mediacorp full time? Sheesh, I feel like asking them why don’t they apply to be the PM?
Anyway, how was the workshop? I still don’t know which one you were talking about lol.
Ohhh….THE Bloomberg Pantry.
Heard that someone in my marketing department went before. Ever since then, he would look at our pantry and sigh.
J/K
Is this the one with the mini 7-11 inside?
I don’t know about the Bloomberg pantry, I’ll go ask my aunt. Me, I’ve tried the Mckenzie one. ROCKING!
That aside, I strongly believe that people here in Singapore should polish up on their conversation skills.
Anyone who needs to know how, just go buy the book “How to win Friends and Influence People”.
Hmmm after reading your entry, it’s cleared something up for me. Maybe that’s the reason why people from a certain industry stick to that industry. Simply cos they can’t stand getting asked silly questions all the time!
Ruok: Hahaha… you get that question too? Makes you wonder what people are thinking, doesn’t it? The workshop was amazing. You really should have attended. Don’t know how come you didn’t hear about it… was in artscomm email. Maybe got filtered by your spam filter or something?
Minou: lol. I think so. You should ask Elyxia cos she was the one who took pictures of the pantry to show all of us, the evil woman!! =P
Vandalin: Is the book really helpful? Maybe I should read it, too, haha. Maybe if I knew how to “win friends and influence people”, they would stop bothering me with stupid questions. Heheh. Anyway, regarding your last statement, does that mean you get asked stupid questions about your job, too? Share, share!
Hmmm… Sounds exactly like things I might be spouting… Please feel free to put me back in my place should I say such rubbish to you in future.
I need to learn :)
very funny, sis
it seems like someone is trying to flirt with you but just sucks at it.
maybe your beauty has stunned the stupidness hidden deeply inside them.
Now, can i get a free meal when i go to Singapore?
XD
Dear loyal kingdom entertainer,
Your ruler understands exactly how you feel.
In fact, I have once encountered a peasent who was big of boobs but small of brains.
After Royal pleasantries, she asked me which company I was working for.
I had her quartered and fed to the Royal dog’s dog.
All hail fearsome me.
Me, heh… I don’t get asked stupid questions. Heck I don’t get asked any questions.
But most of the time, folks look at me funny and think that I’m either
a) rich beyond belief
b) have a death wish or
c) smart beyond belief.
Of the above, only B is true.
Oh the book is useful alright. Applying it is hard, but the more I work with people, the more useful I find it. In fact, I think I’ll go read it again.
I just remembered certain points on carrying a conversation. I think I’ll go post it on my blog.
well i think they are just confident about your ability and they dont know the business thats all… the bright side of it? they try to let you know they think you are good!