My New Life As a Non-Smoker

So I finally took the plunge and decided to quit cigarettes. My reasons for this involved many things, of which include mortality, my Dad's mortality, the people I love, my poor lungs and hey, why not nurture my singing voice?

Today was the first day and it was a good challenge. More often than not, I felt like a fighter, putting my nose down at cigarettes and proud to be able to say NO! Other times got me thinking wistfully of these sticks, distant from a lost friend. I wrote a goodbye letter last night, and in it I put out the fact that cigarettes were like a friend to me, especially in my darkest hours. There was some sort of emotional attachment to a overrated box of cancer twigs. But I persevered, much to the surprise of many friends perhaps. My persona for the past six years had somehow gelded with cigarettes; many people associate me with Salems; one almost always in my hand, especially after meals or between work. Cigarettes were part of my routine, how I decided where to eat and and a constant companion especially on long car drives. In fact, my car had never known me as a non-smoker, having witnessed the many puffs I would take as I coast down a Malaysian highway, or crawl through a Malaysian jam. For 6 years, I held hands with cigarettes and now it is all over.

The bigger part of me is extremely happy, and has already planned many things to replace the habit (think lollipops). A small teeny tiny part of me is sad, because it feels like an era gone by. But even an era will eventually fade. And I have to remember that the good has to outweigh the bad and perhaps my trusted ciggies are more bad than good. Most definitely, I should say.

It's 2012 and the time has come to make some overhauls. The only thing I'm bringing with me from 2011 is the phrase "Why not?" Let's rock this joint.

Brand-worship Starts Early

As a human being, I am insulted at the level of entertainment in the mainstream media. I feel like the creators behind this trash assume that the human race is stupid. If you look around properly, you may be able to understand why they think that way. But I believe we've all been duped, brainwashed, spoken down to and made to believe that this is the only way the world works. In January next year, a Mexican company will be bringing Kidzania to Malaysia. The premise of this 'edutainment' place is quite intriguing. Create a space for children where they pretend to be grown-ups, trying out different jobs, earning a salary and buying daily needs. "Wow, what a concept!" I thought. And kids LOVE to pretend that they're grown up. I remember clearly a time when I stupidly wanted to hurry up and be an adult so I could go to cool parties, stay out late at night and consume alcohol. Kids want to grow up fast because they think being an adult is a ball. They never find out about the ugly catch of course. So, Kidzania sounds good right; definitely a viable business. You bet your ass it is. Because they're replicating the real world, banks where the kids open their accounts are operated by CIMB. Brands went a bit nuts crawling all over Kidzania and putting out their brands. Elsewhere, Proctor and Gamble was involved to teach kids how to wash their hands. And of course, the spokesperson for P&G said that the aim was to hope that the kids would grow up remembering and eventually purchasing their brand when they grew up. This is really quite a genius move. Get the kid to remember happy childhood memories, which are now associated with P&G; and of course they're going to buy your soap, they're now officially emotionally attached to your product. Well done. Kinda creeps me out honestly. That's like brainwashing right from the start; teaching kids to be devoted to the brand from an early age. I don't know about this whole brand thing to be honest. I'm a little uneasy at the blatant advertising, but then again I'm not a friend of the current system of capitalism (it's totally screwed up, no one can deny that). The idea of advertising to kids then, you can imagine, leaves me frowning at the screen and squirming in my seat. This was brought up in a well-written piece in Newsweek but no further questioning was done. Because that's just the way things are. Banks exist, the job market exists and a fight to get a degree exists too. As usual, the system is left unquestioned. Well, now I ask you though. If you could re-create the world, how would you do it? As for me, I certainly wouldn't allow CIMB bank into my kid's world. Also, don't get me wrong, I'm not living in a bubble. Yes, this is the way the world works, and no doubt, Kidzania teaches responsibility and certainly educates a child, while allowing some creativity loose because they're allowed to be anything they want (well, as far as the job scope in Kidzania goes). There is also a Kidzania government who meet once in awhile, so hopefully that increases social justice awareness (I'd be curious to go in and take a look - and I'll try not to look like a creepy kid-stalker). But what about re-imagining the world? What if we had billboards with informative things on them, instead of a blown up image of Brad Pitt posing for some luxury brand? What if we could write out messages, what if graffiti was more appreciated? What if we could plant trees where the land is barren? What if we could refrain from using paper? What if we could really follow our passions? What if we imagined what we WOULD do if profit wasn't involved? Why stick to our boring real-world situation of collapsing financial structure and a stifling job pyramid? But I suppose that's the whole point of Kidzania - replicating the world as we know it. But goddamn it sucks, the way we know it.