#NaBloPoMo: In which I get a tad defensive

I exercise. A lot. Many of my friends don't understand it. They tell me "but you don't need to lose weight."

But when did I say anything about losing weight?

Exercising for me is not fuelled by the need to lose weight but by the fear my heart will stop pumping one of these days and I will fall off the face of the earth. You see, poor cardiovascular health is a multi-generational inheritance in my family. Fear is a pretty strong motivator. Also seeing the definition in my quads and shoulder muscles is an added bonus. ;-)

Obviously, eating is also part of the big "Beat the Impending Heart Attack Plan". I eat healthy, very healthy. (There, I said it) I look at the back of packets to see the fat content, % of sugar, artificial ingredients etc. I buy the wholegrain / low fat/ less sugar version of most foods. I eat "hipster" food like quinoa, buckwheat noodles, rye wraps and stoneground 85% wholemeal bread. I cook at least 5 times a week, if not 6 - mostly because I struggle to find healthy takeaway food that doesn't cost the moon and the stars.

This is where most people start rolling their eyes because this "healthy eating" translates to living off salad and veggies only. This is followed by feeling sorry for me and my deprived food choices and very often even judging me as vain.

But I don't understand it. If you know me even a little bit you will know how much I LOVE my food and live for it (see my Instagram for proof) so why do you feel sorry for me? Healthy eating is more than salads. Because food is so important to me, I cook really delicious meals that are also healthy. I have an emotional relationship with food so I always cook food I enjoy eating so please, don't worry I'm not depriving myself. I just know how to cook food that will not clog up my arteries and kill me.

I'm aware that I sound a bit like a privileged whinger banging on about health, fitness and other buzzwords. But I'm not. I don't normally talk about my fitness or my food with people because you see it's no one else's business. I don't try to get anyone to think the way I do and don't judge anyone for eating differently or for choosing a different lifestyle. But a few things have happened lately that have made me feel very…judged. So I figured I'd vent and defend my choices because hey you know what? It's my body so these are my choices and I'll get sexy thigh muscles if I want them dammit!

*This post is part of the November NaBloPoMo blogging challenge.

lunch time "amusement"

So I'm standing in line at Subway (which, being only 5 people long at lunch time was pretty amazing in itself!). Anyway, so 30 seconds into her wait in line, this lady in front of me turns to me and goes "Why are they slow.. its only a sandwich.. how long does it take?" I just smiled because I did not want to be rude. Anyway, so she's at the counter soon enough and when the girl asks her what bread she wants, she yells at her saying "just normal bread". Umm, hello.. what is "normal" for you? Anyway...moving on, with lots of crankiness in between for being asked "what cheese?", "what salad?" etc she reaches the end of the line and tells the guy she wants chilli sauce so he asks her "Hot chilli or sweet?" And man, she just lost it yelling at all of them and telling they were totally incompetent for not even knowing what chilli sauce is etc etc.

Amusing lunch, yes.

The reason you are asked, what bread, what size, what drink, what salad etc at a fast food restaurant is because different people have different choices and I bet, if people weren't given a choice they would complain even more. Ordering at Subway is all about making choices and I like that - you don't just get a standardised sandwich, you can pick what you want in it. Whether or not this lady had ever been to Subway before, she had no reason to treat the staff so badly. I felt so so so bad for them.

I used to work at McDonald's...for about 3 months in 2007. Anyway, I didn't hate my job as much I hated the people I served because like this lady, some people would just be cranky and yell at you for no reason. I also worked at an Italian restaurant for over a year and though infinitely better than Macca's, cranky customers can really ruin a day for you. I know, from experience, that no matter how many other trouble free customers that Subway gets today, the staff there is going to be cranky about this lady until end of the day. I know Macca's is "fast food" but the word is "fast" not "instant" and I remember some people would get sooo irritated just because they had to wait a couple of minutes to get their burger. Now I am not saying Macca's is perfect.. some of them have really bad service but the one I worked at had amazing managers and it was a very efficient team so a customer seldom had to wait too long, even in the middle of lunch hour.

My point is, why do people unleash their wrath on some hapless fast food server? Does that really make you feel better about yourself?

Human nature is strange... the moment people realise another human being is "serving" them, they automatically feel superior and seem to have this urge to treat them badly - whether its a maid, a waiter or a shop assistant. Its mean and its petty but you will notice some people thrive on it.They do not believe these "servers" deserve common decency and a basic respect. It's disgusting.

On the other hand, having worked in hospitality now, I think I sometimes I am overly polite to waiters and retail staff...and I think people may find that a bit strange too. But better strange than rude right?

My Hit List

Psych Babbler's post on Pet Peeves today spurred me on to write my own. I call mine a Hit List because this list is mainly about People Peeves...you know the "type" of people I just CANNOT stand. So here goes..

I hate it when...

... people litter! It is a disgusting habit and I think the Indian case for it is only worsened by the fact that there are no rubbish bins on the street. Nevertheless, if you're in a car... you could hold on to your rubbish instead of just throwing it on he road! But come on people, if you're in Australia, there's always a bin nearby... how hard is it to throw your rubbish in the bin?

... people automatically assume you can't speak the language if you have an accent. Dude! It's an accent not a language disability!

... people stereotype. "She's a party girl..so she must be dimwitted!"... "He's Asian so he must have poor English skills"... "They're Muslims...must be terrorists." Now really, if the world were that easily boxed into categories and types, wouldn't someone smarter than you have figured that out by now?

... people argue for the sake of arguing without having any logical base for what they are saying. You know, people who cannot look at a situation objectively but will just fight for a cause because apparently that's the "right thing to do" (a longer rant on this in a soon-to-come post).

... pedestrians don't say thank you when you stop the car and let them cross the road even though it's not a zebra crossing. Yes, Psych this is similar to how you feel when people don't say thank you when you allow them to merge lanes in front of you. Seriously, it's just a wave people.... not that much effort!

... people try to cut in front of you in a queue.

... co-workers leave the microwave and kitchen bench filthy and leave their dishes in the sink and expect someone else to pick up after them. Seriosuly, who does it for you at home?

... people don't order off the menu and insist on modifying everything they order.

... people get offended if you don't say "Hi!" to them on GTalk or MSN even though your status message clearly screams "AWAY" or "BUSY".

Okay, enough hating for the day methinks... I'll just stop here for now :)

Jai Ho?

Why "?" and not "!" you ask? Well, its because this song is really, really annoying me right now.

I don't mind the original version from the movie (the one in Hindi). Its nice, I'm not sure who sings it but they are good and like I have said before A R Rahman (the music director) did a good job but this is definitely not his best. Not after Roja, Bombay or even Saathiya. Anyway, so I don't have a problem with the Hindi song or with Slumdog Millionaire. The problem is with the slutty Pussycat Dolls version.

First of all, its stupid that they say "Jai Ho" and say "You are my destiny" because that is not what “Jai Ho” translates to but it's pretty much how they sing it.

Secondly, Pussycat Dolls? Sorry, no offence if you like them, but yuck!! Double yuck!

Thirdly, every store and every radio channel seems to have this song on loop. Lucky for me (not!) that I work so close to a mall, so I end up going to the mall at least once every two days and its hard to walk past a Supre, Cotton On, Ice, City Beach store (all clothes shops, for the non-Australians) without being assaulted by the song. Notice, I said "walk past" because the song puts me off so much now I don't even want to go into the stores! Plus I was listening to the radio and the commercial channels down here play it a little too much, so I switched to online radio and I couldn't get away from ‘Jai Ho’ online either.

Ugh!

I know many Indians in India have a problem with Slumdog Millionaire, I'm not one of them. But I wonder, is ‘Jai Ho’ even half as popular in India? I think a sudden increase in the popularity of ‘Jai Ho’ could also be because the Pussycat Dolls were touring down under. But seriously, I think the world can do without their plans for “Doll Domination”.

The song isn't really that bad but when any song is played a million times, it loses its charm don't you think? I don't know what it was like in other parts of the world, but this reminds me of Celine Dion's ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from Titanic. It isn't a bad song but when the whole world and its cousin wants to request it on the radio and on TV, play it at home, in the car, at parties, at nightclubs.... it gets a bit much. That’s how it was in India circa '97. Some people tell me that they can finally like the song again, now that the hype is dead. But the charm of the song died for me the day I heard the taxi drivers and auto wallahs obsessing over it.*

*Disclaimer: No offence to taxi drivers or auto wallahs a.k.a. drivers. Its just that, in India, these are not the sort of people who wouldn normally listen to an English song (because they don't understand/speak the language) but when they did too, it just meant the song had been really, really overdone.