I pride myself on being able to separate between my personal self and the workplace. Despite my seemingly affable appearance, I keep myself distant from most people at work. In the vein that one catches more bees with honey than with vinegar, I usually keep my nose out of most tangles at the office. Of course, one shouldn’t make the mistake that I am of no opinion when it comes to certain members at the workplace! I’ll have you know that I do opine. In grand fashion no less, too.
Such is the occasion that after facing certain individuals—be they from the workplace, or from social gatherings—that I tend to come away with a sour taste in my mouth. One such occasion was from the trainings I’ve conducted in my line of work.
The take-away of me as a trainer is that now I am of the opinion that youths nowadays are—as a majority, or at least half of that number—a thoroughly stupid lot. I wouldn’t have minded at all if people are ignorant, or ill-educated; not everyone could recite lines from Milton’s Paradise Lost unless one is a true classicist literati but I do expect a certain … coherent thought process. It just ticks me off when people just take what was given for granted and expected to be spoon-fed. It is as if they were still in diapers or leading strings. I am of the opinion that leading strings make handy strangling device, but that’s just me …
I’m not saying I am perfect. The Heavens alone knows I’ve done my lion’s share of mistakes and gaffes. Yet I believe I have, if not wiser for them, then certainly more careful about what shoe size I’m going to stick into my mouth. No, this particular entry won’t divulge what those mistakes are; such gems must be doled out bit by bit. And yes my dears, I’m very good with things going into my mouth: shoes, food, drink, ciggies, et al … It curdles my blood that these are the future software engineers, neurosurgeons, or insert whichever high-falutin’-job-here—all waiting to be mined as future resources. Such behaviour—the attitude that the world owes them—is verily beyond the pale. I believe Mark Twain said it best: “The world doesn’t owe you a living. It was here first.”
Of course, there are those youngsters who are a credit to their parents, or whichever system of education that inculcated a strong degree of professionalism and maturity—at times well beyond their years. I am sometimes awed by them as it just harkens back to my somewhat glaring lack when I was their age. For these little gems among the often overwhelming dross, I will wake up at 5:00 in the morning on the weekends!
