KL

Most of you know that I have this deep affection of the place I currently called home. You guys know how I always talk up Kuala Lumpur like it’s the best place ever to be on this planet. But like Diana’s response to my entry similar to this one, she said that it’s the familiarity that draws me towards it. Perhaps. But today I would like to talk more on how I am proud and glad that I came from where I came from because of the people.

Like I’ve previously mentioned, the part of KL that I came from is not that of the new KL. It’s not anywhere close to Bangsar or Damansara or maybe even Subang Jaya. But from where I came from, there’s this mix feeling of modernization and traditionalism. And I guess with the addition of the amazing job my parents did on raising me, I now know how to appreciate both. I mean, all this time as I was growing up my parents never once forget to remind and to show me the hard life that others are living at the same time giving me the best life they can afford.

The best example I love to give people is the one and only, Food. Even though my parents take me to those fancy restaurants, they also brought me to mamaks and also to gerais scattered around our area. Maybe like I said just now, I guess my parents want for my brother and me to experience both. And me, I love both. I learnt how to appreciate expensive food at the same time how to make full use of not-so-expensive food without complaining. They taught us it is not wrong to really indulge in food once in a while (or often, in my case) as long as we remember that somewhere out there are people who can’t even afford a plate of rice. That’s why my dad loves to say, “Fuh, one coffee costs RM10. The laborers at my site work ten hours a day for a mere RM10.” But when he said that, he's not implying that he disapproves of me spending on food. Instead he’s just reminding me to be grateful. But while we can afford it, it’s okay.

Besides food, there’s also the shopping part. See, sometimes my friends and I can spend close to a thousand per person shopping in a day. I mean, we do live in KL where KLCC is just ten minutes away. We can’t help it. But again, I’m glad for the company God sends me. Although my friends and I can spend one whole day raising KLCC’s income, we have no problem whatsoever going to Giant the other day and raise Giant’s income. And it’s not just the people I grew up with. I met a few other KL-ites (one in particular) when I started college and he is also like the rest of us. He has the money. He can buy a shirt costing RM200 out of his back-pocket if he wants to. But he doesn’t. Simply because when you have the confidence, you don’t need others' approval based on your lifestyle. But then, if that lifestyle gave you inner joy feel free to continue :)
In conclusion, this is another reason why I love KL and the people living in it. You can throw us into a remote village and we won’t complain a bit because the fact is, old KL is one of the original Malay kampongs. But you can also throw us into the middle of a world-class event and we would also know how to conduct ourselves. And I would like to take this opportunity to thank our old-ER parents who kept their traditionalism intact while they were raising us :)

-C-