Skills

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Hey all,

How's things? Hope you're all fine and/or dandy.

I was just chowing down on some rice paper rolls and 'special' seafood rolls (which were not that special really) earlier today thinking I should be doing my assignments, but being the procrastinating wonder that I am, I was busily scribbling things for a blog entry in between mouthfuls of rice paper roll and baby coconut juice, trying hard not to get fish sauce or coconut juice all over my bits of paper. I can write while eating only because there's no one sitting across the table looking at me aghast 😊

Writing for me is a relatively solitary experience, much in the same way studying is. Sometimes it can be done with someone else, but generally things happen faster when you're alone and you're not distracted by anyone or anything. Or maybe, just maybe, it could be just because I'm actually terrified of other people 😊

Why I kind of write a preface/foreward for my blogs I'll never understand either. Anyway, This week's entry goes something like this:


Napoleon: Well, nobody's gonna go out with me.

Pedro: Have you asked anybody yet?

Napoleon: No, but who would? I don't even have any good skills.

Pedro: What do you mean?

Napoleon: You know, like nunchaku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills. Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills….

- Napoleon Dynamite


I find it's generally important to have a few skills, and not just to impress girls. Sometimes, it's not enough to just be fiendishly good looking or attractive to get by. There'll come a time when you'll need some substance and ability. One day, you never know when you're going to have to replace a flat tyre, perform a heimlich maneouvre, an emergency tracheotomy with a ball point pen, or whip out the nunchaks to beat down on some sissy.

MacGyver is loaded up to his eyeballs with skills, which is why he's a much admired hero and a huge hit with the ladies. Same thing applies with Chuck Norris. People are amazed by his supreme acting skills, tae-kwon-do ability and all-round awesomeness. And I haven't even begun to talk about the attributes of owning a beard. There's a caveat though, you do have to use your skills for good, not for evil or self promotion. A case in point is David Copperfield. He's good at making stuff disappear, but that's a trick, not a skill. He'll be much more respected if he made stuff disappear that people actually disliked, like taxes or Celine Dion. But anyway, I digress....

What I've actually been meaning to explain is, on a day to day basis certain skills can help you in social situations and fit in more. In my case, it's my skills in Asian pursuits that have assisted in my assimilation and acceptance within the cards centre here.

There have been a couple of examples when my Asian-centric skills have come in handy. For instance, when I was asked the following question:

"Ben, do you play table tennis?"


Now not only do I play, but I've proven I'm alright on the cards centre table tennis table. My table tennis skills have brought me closer to my colleagues, who may have wondered how Asian I actually am despite my exterior.

Before I get accused of stereotyping or racism or anything here, let me explain that Asians that live/grew up abroad are sometimes frowned upon if they are completely clueless when it comes to their roots and origins. Hence, I generally get a hard time at the airports here as I have a vietnamese surname, but don't speak vietnamese. You can understand the consternation and quizzical looks at immigration when I'm saying to the Vietnamese immigration dude 'I have a Vietnamese surname but I'm actually Chinese!!' in English while shoving my Australian passport in their face. Clearing immigration would probably be easier for me if they just set up table tennis tables at airports....

Ok, I'm over it now, that took waaayyy longer than I anticipated, to be continued next week.

Look after yourselves now,
Ben

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