Duty of care (or lack, thereof)

On my way home today, a man on the bus collapsed in what I assume to be a drunken stupor. According to passengers, he's a local bum - meaning that he is often seen on the same streets and his antics are well known to the people who frequent the area. This particular bum was known for his enthusiastic hand gestures and a tendency to spit.

Anyhow, I was reading when I heard him crash onto the ground. It didn't strike me instantaneously that I should help. Instead, I remained seated and waiting for others to respond. No one did. Eventually, the bus driver called for transit security and we all sat and waited till the next bus arrived and we made our escape.

At some point, I felt ashamed. For many reasons - for not helping a fellow person in need, for failing a fellow human being, for not stepping in his shoes, for failing to act instinctively, for failing my Pendidikan Moral lessons.

The question is, did I owe this stranger a care of duty? By virtue of being a fellow human being, was I in any way obligated to helping him? The duty of care is extended based on one party's benefit/advantage over others and thus has a responsibility towards the others to exercise that advantage/benefit in a way that will altogether avoid or minimize harm towards any innocent parties that may be affected. In this scenario, I had the advantage of sobriety and the capacity to help so did I/was I supposed/obligated to help? The thing is, if the situation was reversed and it was me on the ground, would anyone help? Did the fact that this particular person was a bum make a difference to the intention to help? Personally (and this is not an excuse), I have seen enough incidents involving bums to know that it could have turned ugly and I wanted to avoid a situation. But does that absolve me of my reluctance to help? Or compound it seeing as to how a bum is by default in a less advantageous position and therefore more needing of help?

To what degree does being a fellow human being impose on another to lend a helping hand when one is in need? I've experienced enough kindness in this city to know (and hope) that I would have reeived some measure of care if it had been me on the ground. And yet instead of coming to a stranger's need, I contemplated my own well-being and concluded that my own superseded someone else despite his hopeless situation. I am not proud of it and yet I can't and don't feel bad.

Tis

It's been a while. School's alright. It's my first semester without any planned finals which also means I get done in less than two months. It's an exciting prospect; at the same time however, it also means I have shit loads of work to cram within these two months. But I only have classes twice a week which suits me quite fine, I have to say. Despite the many days of nothingness, time still flies by. Take yesterday for instance. I got up at 9:30, sat at my laptop and 8 episodes later, it was dinner time! Who would have thought?

Anyhow, Marco left last week to pursue greener pastures on the right side of the fence. I don't think I know anyone who went home as eagerly as he did. The people that have gone home have always done so begrudgingly and reluctantly - all for different reasons of course but begrudgingly and reluctantly all the same. I am quite happy for him, actually. In an ideal situation, I would do the same but of course, situations are not ideal.

Anyhow, nothing much has happened hence nothing much has been talked about. Ling came and gone. Marco's left. All my SFU kakis have graduated. Fall is here, winter is beckoning. I haven't worked in 2 weeks. I haven't been as up-to-date with my readings. I miss the girls. I watch too much TV.

That's it.

Filler post

It's the hours before 9am that I most appreciate. It's the time before the rest of the world wakes up and chores are allowed to go undone because it's outside business hours. I monitor the clock constantly and make little whoops when I realise I still have more time before I need to get off my ass.

Anyhow, Alaska was quite nice. I wouldn't recommend a cruise though. I think we're quite through with cruises for a good number of years from now.

School starts tomorrow. It's back to the grind but not for long. And while I detest the cold weather, I can't quite remember the last time I've pulled on my Anna Sui boots and therefore am looking forward to fall/winter.

These shoes are hot

*edited*

These days even blog-surfing has intentions. There is a noted change in the direction of my blog-surfing these days, mostly backed up by nobler (I use the term noble very loosely though) intentions.

Two days short of a week ago, the bigger picture was looking quite sterile and I wasn't looking forward to starting a job that I know I already hate. Then Fay came up with a brilliant idea and we've followed up on it with due diligence and now I'm excited again. I want to divulge because I can hardly contain myself but I don't want to put the horse before the cart. But wait for it, ya ya ya?

I have discovered the magic that is Payless Shoes thereby resulting in the purchase of these shoes (refer to picture) for only $28! Plagued by curiousity, I Google Lela Rose only to discover that Bergdorf stocks her too.

Photo credit: Payless Shoe Source

By noon tomorrow, I will be done with the Summer '08 term. In many respects, it is bittersweet. Bitter because I only have 2 weeks of worry-free days before the new term starts up and sweet because I have worry-free days at all. It also means I am one term closer to the sweet song of graduation.

I damn stress already. I also bought a pair of Converse for a price that I am now embarrassed to name because I Googled it in an attempt to find an image for my post only to realise that I fucken overpaid. Whilst the Converse website is retailing for the price that I paid for it, a lot of other sites are selling it for almost half less. Ciiiiibai. But I still heart my Converse.

I don't geddit

how people who go overseas only make friends with people of the same race/nationality/ethnicity. I understand the support group that necessitates friends within close cultural proximity and saving the best for your fellow countrymen. But I've been blog surfing for a while, mostly reading up on people I used to know (yes, I'm a creeper - you can say it) who I now don't know anymore because we moved to different countries; and their blogs, while full of pictures and references to friends always point to the same thing: Asian friends. I don't geddit lor. Cibai, if you tell me you are in Taiwan or China, it's okay la kan. But how the fuck do you find 20 over Malaysian/Chinese people in Dublin? It's Dublin, for fucks sake! Even in Vancouver we find it so difficult to maintain membership in MASA and Dublin (from said friend's pics) looks like its a thriving hub of Malaysianism that I never knew existed. A part of me is jealous and another part of me finds this quite an incredulous phenomena.
I always imagine studying in Dublin would be damn sad for a Malaysian 'cause got no Malaysian food and cannot understand English because Irish people have stupid accents. But I think I've been proven wrong lor. Dublin looks damn happening leh - what with Sports Day la, Mid-Autumn festival la, Raya celebration and all. Cibaiiiiii.

Que sera sera

So summer has come full circle. This time last year, I was on a flight back from Tokyo. I was also on flights bound for home and NYC. Andi and I just got back from NYC two nights ago. It was a sad realization for the both of us that the magic is now gone. Before, NYC used to hold a certain charm for the both of us - it was the city where we met, where courtship happened and affection blossomed. We lived out the early stages of our relationship in that city - a city from which neither one of us are native. We looked forward to the every other week that I would fly in. I remember being hardly able to contain my excitement at flying out the next day, even if it was just to spend the weekends at 745 7th Avenue. I ran around a lot on my own those days but my days in NYC always felt numbered and never lasted long enough. This time round, a week felt like forever and I missed the Pendrell Palace immensely. Before, we sat in quiet corners of plush bars, whispering and conspiring. We ran around town aimlessly, only to crash into bed at dawn. This time, NYC annoyed us and irked us with its hordes of tourists and rude citizens. The sweltering heat killed us and nothing and no one is good enough for us anymore.

Perhaps we've become cynical, jaded. Perhaps we've forgotten how to enjoy each others company in the absence of others. Perhaps living together has made us take for granted the pleasure afforded by just being together; now we look to plans and things to remind us of how much fun we can have. I don't know what it is, really; but we're glad to be home - our home.

How quickly another summer has come and is almost gone. A part of me is excited to only be four months away from graduation. The other part is sad to see the demise of long sunny days and dread the wind and rain that so often accompanies the Vancouver autumn. I might head home soon - a little bird tells me I am needed at home and experience has taught me to heed this bird.

Peanut Butter Cookies

This one is for Atena who shares full well my passion for peanut butter cookies.

So it turns out I'm quite the cookie wizard. Save for that one time (I must stress that it was also a "collaborative" effort with Virginia) we tried chocolate raisin oatmeal, everything emerging from my oven has been a great success. I have also throw cookies away once but I must stress that it was really yummy but due to my lack of a proper cooling tray, it all ended up as one big contaminated slushy mess on the kitchen counter hence justified.

Li tried to scare me once by telling me that a passion for baking is indicative of a maturing biological clock but I refuse to buy into such myths! So yes, once again, my peanut butter cookies (courtesy of Unilever and available here) are suuuper yummy and they look JUST like the picture!

Hurrah!