From Introvert To Extrovert

Before my Costa Rican volunteering trip, I was rather nervous. Not because I was going to a foreign place whose people speak in a language I didn't understand, nor was I worried about the security of the country. ISV assigned to me a community project, meaning I would be working closely with the locals. Being an introvert there was some concern that I would find it hard to fit into the culture. Throughout my life I was always the person no one really cared about. My friends don't totally ignore me, but I'm definitely not the most important friend, the first one that comes to mind. I am never great at creating conversations -- in fact I question the need to converse just to break the silence -- which doesn't help with attracting my friends' attention. All these experiences lead me to conclude that I will be left out in the project: the person who works in the background, and when he leave the project no one would remember him, or even notice he has departed.

My fears turned out to be unfounded. During the project I felt I was being recognised by the locals as well as my group members. You can say this was my first taste of being an extrovert. As a result I now feel more comfortable working with people. I am still a long way from becoming an outspoken person, the centre of attention. That's fine. I don't aim to be a celebrity in my life. All I need is enough courage to actively look for people I can help, rather than wait for them to seek my assistance.

Reverse Gotcha Calls

A Gotcha Call is the name adopted by radio station FOX for a prank call. Usually a prank call is initiated by the prankster, however if an annoying person calls you up an opportunity exists to play a little prank on them. I term this a reverse gotcha call.

It is not difficult to guess which type of callers are most likely to fall prey to a reverse gotcha call -- the telemarketing people, of course. Lately a lot of calls are marketing for mobile phone plans. Here are some ideas to extract entertainment value out of an otherwise disruptive call:

• After the initial greeting, immediately start a stopwatch and stop talking to the phone even if the salesman asks a question. See how long they keep talking before realising no one cares and hangs up.
• A variation of the first one. See how long you can keep them engaged before they realise you are just wasting their time. Only do this if you are very free.
  
• If they offer a new phone with the plan, insist they give you an Apple iPhone or you don't want it. Applicable to countries where the iPhone is not available, which at the moment is everywhere except the U.S. (I did this once already but the caller didn't seem to know what an iPhone is.)
• Insist they give you better or more freebies, like a free trip or petrol voucher. Tell them the last marketing call you got offered those items. Then start demanding more and more unrealistic things like a Barbie doll house, a brand new BMW, an Airbus A380, and finally (if you get this far) a pollution-spewing nuclear power plant in Springfield.
  
• If the caller is from India, which is quite likely these days, put on Indian Thriller or some other Indian music. Then hold the phone up to the speakers or just crank up the volume. Look for a reaction on the other end.

A last option, conceived out of frustration at the salesperson hanging up as soon as they found out they won't get a sale, is to return in kind: replace your phone onto its cradle (or charging dock) as soon as you have identified the caller as a telemarketer. See how quickly you can do this without hanging up on the wrong person such as your parents or boyfriend/girlfriend.

Free countires...?

There was a time when I considered countries like the U.S. and the U.K. as "free" countries. Countries such as China used to scare me because the government was so powerful that the slightest hint of dissent will result in your imprisonment. Back then I was lucky enough to believe in a black and white world, where the Western countries were the good guys whereas dictatorships such as the Chinese government were inherently evil.

As I learned more about the world, I discovered things are never truly black and white, only in various shades of grey. Nonetheless, it was not difficult to convince myself that the Western countries come in much light greys than my own Motherland.

I can no longer say that.

I have read news reports stating London has over a million surveillance cameras in operation. I have heard complaints that the British government is becoming Big Brother. My impression of the country is that ever since 9/11 and especially the London bombing, it had enacted laws that substantially empowered law enforcement. I can't say whether the police is abusing their newly acquired power, but it nonetheless scares me, the way the Chinese government scares me.

The situation in the U.S. is a little different but just as worrying. I have read many articles about students getting suspended for doing the most trivial thing -- doodling a gun for example -- as well as people getting arrested for the most ridiculous reasons, such as standing around on the street. My impression of America now is that the slightest nonconformity will set off alarms that can get you into trouble. Since I generally hate conformity and might even unconsciously strive to be different, this makes me feel uncomfortable if not down right afraid.

I think "free" countries are a lot less free now, and most of the erosion of freedom occurred after the 9/11 terrorist attack, usually under the guise of security measures against further terrorist attacks. If you think about it, these security measures would have come in force regardless of the Coalition's achievements in Iraq, the so called "War on Terror". If this war really is about getting back our freedom, then we have lost miserably, even before the first soldier set foot in Afghanistan or Iraq.

We were defeated the minute we began to trade freedom for security.

Meaning In Life

I used to think no matter what I do there is no meaning to it.

I could make a lot of money and buy a lot of stuff but sooner or later I will die and can't enjoy them anymore.

I could help other people by directly giving them assistance or through money donations. However these people will eventually pass away, no matter how much help I provide.

I could invent something, either a physical object or an abstract theorem that people can use or invoke for generations to come. In the end though I suspect the human race might die out so maybe my invention or discovery will be forgotten.

That was the old thinking, and it was wrong. I assumed an action I undertake must have repercussions in the infinite future for it to have meaning. This is far too restrictive.

If an action can make me happy now or at any time during my life, it should be meaningful enough for me to carry out the action. This is not a remarkable discovery; a typical person might even think I am crazy to be so narrow-minded in the first place.

Whatever others might think, this realisation have turned my life around. Things I previously deemed pointless are now worthy of my time and attention. Helping people does not seem like such a lost cause. Getting a "normal" job like everyone does is becoming a sensible rather than meaningless idea, although I won't completely rule out the possibility of doing something highly unusual.

Life looks a bit brighter now. Just a bit. Like by one tiny light bulb. That's a lot if you used to be in complete darkness.

Learning vs. Teaching

Source: Indexed/original post

No wonder I don't learn much from lectures. :P