doing what he can

It was like every other day for Murugan. He gets up by 4.30 in the morning, has one slice of plain bread for breakfast along with a glass of warm water and he heads off to work. Works starts at 7.30 for him but he needs to leave home by 5.30 to catch the earliest bus to his workplace. It's a good 45 minutes bus ride for him because he rents a room at the outskirts of the city. Not that he wants a place so far but it's the best he can afford at a nice MYR30 a month with bathroom sharing.

He reaches work about 6.45, gets to his locker, puts on his uniform and his signature Nike cap of which he bought with one year's saving. It was something he rewarded himself with after all the hard work he had put into his work. On top of that, he needed a cap to keep the sun from frying him whilst working.

It was a pretty tiring job, having to wake up so early in the morning and work about 10 hours a day. It was never easy for him, hauling bags over his shoulder and piling them up into a specialised machine for such bags. The smile was often unbearable but it was all part of his job. Even rain couldn't get in the way of his job. If Murugan and his team did not work for one day, they'd get a whole lot of complains from the locals for being irresponsible. Rain or shine, work had to resume for Murugan. Not very nice eh?

He finishes work about 6pm everyday after doing his usual round around the community. At the end of his shift his skin burns from all the sun, his body aches all over from all the hauling, feet hurt from the walking, body smells horrible from the sweat plus other odour accumulated from his work. That is Murugan's daily working life. Despite all the hard work he puts in his day work, he barely makes enough for food minus the rent.

You might have already guess what Murugan does, but if you haven't, he's a garbage collector. He wakes up early every morning, hauls arse to work, collects garbage dished out by people like you and me, gets paid barely enough but continues doing what he can.

Murugan's family was far from being well to do, living in the slumps of the city. Having only education up till he was 15 years of age, he really couldn't do anything else and he was accepted for the job due to a government job allocation programme launched to reduce unemployment. He jumped on the opportunity to have some income after his drunkard father left the family leaving his mother alone, who passed on after contracting tuberculosis of which until now Murugan cannot forgive himself for not having been able to do anything to heal her. He simply couldn't afford it.

Outsider like ourselves who see people like Murugan hauling our garbage probably assume these guys are delinquents but most of us don't know these guys are doing what then can to make ends meet. Just like us, sometimes we can only do what we can, and there are times after we have done what we can, people still think we haven't done enough or we are simply unappreciated.

The point to take home is to really do what we can and at the end of day be able to look into the mirror knowing we have done what we done with sincerity and honesty. Someday, you'll be appreciate twice or trice as more.......... those who don't will one day realise they'd made a mistake.......

It wasn't a tough decision to make

Another person decided to leave the firm I work in. After 18 years with the firm, he finally threw in the towel. It was surprising to say the least because he didn't seem the type that would leave especially having spent a good half of his life in the firm.

He was nice guy I first met about 3 years back when I first joined the firm. He was a funny guy and always cheerful every time I met him and there's was plenty of jokes when we had small talk in the lift, passing by in the loo or by the water cooler.

His resignation did come as surprise even for the top brass. Corridor talk has it that he was never really a performer in the firm, wasn't someone you'd know for being very good at what he does.

I guess after 18 years, some people need a change. At least that's what I thought. Not until I had a short conversation with him. I thought he had a better job offer somewhere out there. It was quite the opposite actually.

"I heard you decided to leave. When's your last day?"

"Yea. Last day was supposed to be 16th this month but the partner asked me to hang on out until 30th to help out with the July peak period."

"Must have been a really good deal for you to decide to leave the firm."

"Not at all bro. In fact, I am getting much less than what I am getting here. Virtually half my salary here!"

"No kidding! Then why leave?"

"You see, I have a son who requires special needs. He's autistic and it doesn't help being a single parent. Working here doesn't help in trying to spend time with him. My mother has to help watch over him while I work everyday. The long hours here simply doesn't help me in making sure he grows up well. Almost everyday my mother calls me up to tell me the young guy is crying and looking for me. He cries almost everyday missing me. He needs me. The new job gives me more time to spend with my kid. Getting a lower a salary is a foregone conclusion."

"Sorry to hear about your kid and having to be a single parent. Must have been tough on you."

"All part of life. It's not easy but he's still my child."

"Did you have think long before deciding to resign? You are foregoing quite a good sum with this move."

"It wasn't a tough decision to make. In fact, to me the decision I had to make was very clear. That kid means more to me than anything else put together. He needs me and I haven't been there for him most of the time."

I shook his hand wishing him all the best in advance in case I didn't meet him before he left. The conversation really left an impression in my mind. Whilst most of us go through the grind of trying to earn big bucks, there are those out there who are simply much more enlightened than us who think too much of financial rewards. Being there for his son clearly made it more rewarding for him.

When it comes to family bonds, even a big fat cheque can seem insignificantly minute to those who understand how it feels to be able to love another.

the birthday cake

The alarm clock rang when the digital clock hit 6am in the morning. It was a cold, chilly, Saturday morning with a bit of rain when she looked out the window of her apartment. Gets out of bed, brushes her teeth, do a couple stretches and she heads down to the kitchen.

Standing at the entrance of the house kitchen, Meg rolls up her sleeve, takes a deep breath and start rummaging the kitchen for all the ingredients she bought a couple of days ago to bake a cheese cake. Meg had been reading up on baking books for the past few weeks for this day. The day she would bake a cake for the guy she secretly had feelings for.

Meg was anxious but all excited about it. She wanted to do something different for him this year compared to the typical birthday gifts. She wanted to make this year's birthday gift a memorable one for Ryan.

It took Meg a good 5 hours to bake the cake. She really put her heart and soul into it. From her heart, her feelings for Ryan flowed into her soft, tender hands and flowed into the cake she baked. It was no ordinary cake though, it was in the shape of Sponge Bob Square Pants! Meg had something for Sponge Bob Square Pants.......... she always felt he was cute and so bubbly.

At the birthday party Meg, presented the cake to Ryan. There was a moment of silences from everyone when they saw the cake. They were attracted to the cake, the fine touches of the cake, the nice curves. No one expected a home baked cake to have been so professionally done.

Ryan was impressed and that was all that mattered to Meg. In the crowd, she could only see Ryan and everyone else were like grey matter to her. Despite impressing Ryan, there was undeniable fact Meg couldn't turn a blind eye to - the fact that Ryan is taken. To make matters worse, Ryan's girlfriend is Meg's house mate and class mate. The truth can be ugly at times I guess.........

Sometimes she wished that she never fell in love with Ryan. It's simply painful knowing that she loves someone she probably can never be with. Every time Meg saw Ryan with her house mate, she felt happy for Ryan yet painful.

As a bystander, there are times when I feel she should let Ryan go. It sometimes seems so painful for her going on with this. But at the same time, I'd want to encourage her to push on as someday I hope Ryan will see how much Meg loves him. Love knows no boundaries and this is a first hand experience for me seeing love being professed through the hands of Meg in the cake she baked............. The birthday cake was no ordinary cake, it was a cake celebrating love, a cake that contained patience, a cake that was made with love, a cake professing sincerity...........