Why ?

warning : long wordy posts are rare, but this is one of them. don't blame me if at the very final dot, you realise you've just wasted several minutes of your life. I've warned.

So, lately, I received a lot of questions about the part-time job I'm doing. Oh yes, did I not tell you that I'm working at a cafe? Well, now you know it :) 

 Anyway, recently, people have been asking why do I want to work. Unlike most of my friends, I still do have to attend lectures every single day and I have coursework continually given to us one after another and I also have exams to sit for. So why do I choose to work, even when my time is awfully limited hmm ... *blank*

I remember my parents' first response, why didn't you tell us if you needed money? oh no no no guys, you have given me more than enough to pay for the rent, buy lunch and dinner, keep me warm all night and also to pay for the err handbags, hehe. 

Well.. I may not be born with a silver spoon stuck in my little mouth, but I was also not born penniless or famished. It's suffice to say that for more than twenty years, I've been provided with sufficient food, ample clothing to cover myself, endless love from people surrounding me and also an incredible strength spiritually. I, too, have a mother who perpetually reminds me to be thankful to god for his blessings upon the family. And for those reasons, I am so very grateful and contented. 

 So, it's not about the money, you see. 

 I get paid very little, in fact. However, it's never crossed my mind to create a public unrest because money is not the reason I'm willing to serve food for eight hours without rest, or to keep smiling even to the rudest nastiest most inconsiderate customer who comes to buy just a cup of coffee, or to get my hands all dirty cleaning up the place after everyone's left.

I'm not entirely sure how to explain this, either.

On my first day at work, a colleague asked : so why are you here?

And it just came out so suddenly : for all the things I don't get in my engineering classes.

He then walked away from me : right, I bet they don't teach you this *he went straight to a customer standing by the corner, took his order, chatted for about half a minute, made some joke, had a big laugh together and came back with tips, looked at me in the eye with a smile and said, this is home, you know, and they are family*

and, I bet they also don't teach you that *pointing at another colleague who did work so efficiently, moved so swiftly and arranged things so neatly on the counter - like the kind of scene you see in Coyote Ugly*.

or this *he put the menu and the order sheet in my hand, tidied up my apron and pushed me forward towards a lovely elderly couple who just entered the cafe and he whispered with a grin, don't forget to smile* It was my first £!%$/" day!!!

So, I may study at one of the world's top universities that inarguably makes people go wowwww every time I mention the name, but I realise some lessons are just not taught within the lecture theatres and some needs in life are just quenched through different means. And I'm lucky to have seen it sooner.

And because of that, I've always loved a line from Limp Bizkit's song that goes "life is a lesson, you learn it when you're through".

Oh, by the way, that guy on the left dreams of being a model. If you happen to know any modelling agency, please give him a call? I've already told him it's a tough business with lots of men in underwear - just underwear, but he wouldn't listen. Boo! An Italian, 26 and is not interested in women (but has a gf).

On a separate note, I need a camera, please!! Been using my phone all these while.