Maverix Musings

How did I end up being a lawyer?

Pardon this rather self-absorbed entry, but I was just sitting in my office, on the phone with a client, and I lifted my head and saw my black robe and white bib hanging on my door. And it suddenly hit me... I'm a lawyer.

How in the world did THAT happen??

When I was a little girl, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to be when I grew up. I didn't want to be anything else. I wanted to be a pilot.

Whenever my parents took me on trips by air, I'd sit by the floor-to-ceiling airport windows and gaze in awe at the HUGE BIG airplanes taking-off and landing outside.

I'd stare at the pilots in their crisp white uniforms dragging their black rolling-suitcases and I'd picture myself in their shoes.

I was completely and utterly amazed that these people could take control of the HUGE BIG airplanes and FLY 'em in the air to go all over the world.

When I became a teenager, instead of posters of boy bands or hunky actors, my room was decorated with pictures of airplanes.

I wanted to be a pilot so badly, that it never occured to me that I couldn't become one.

When I was in Form 3, at the end of the final semester, we had to decide which 'stream' we would be joining for the coming year. I knew that joining the science stream would be a prerequisite to my application to be a pilot. But before I did that, I wanted to find out what the other qualifications would be.

So I wrote to MAS's recruitment division, asking for a list of qualifications.

A few weeks later, I received a reply and I eagerly read down the list...

1. Malaysian citizen
- check!

2. Aged between 18-26 as at date of application>
- check!

3. Good command of Bahasa Malaysia and English both written and spoken
- check!

4. Medically and physically fit with perfect eyesight and visual acuity of at least 6/60 without optical aid, correctable to 6/6 and not colour blind.
after years of carrot sticks and vitamins - check!

5. Not less than 163cm (5ft 4in) in height.
- check!

6. Prepared to undergo vigorous training up to twenty (20) months.
- check!

7. Prepared to sign training bond
- had no idea what that was but - check!

8. Pass SPM or its equivalent qualification recognized by Malaysian government with six (06) credits including Bahasa Malaysia and a minimum of B4/C4 in Mathematics, Physics or General Science and English taken at one sitting.
- can do!

9. Male

...........

Male?
That was one thing I could not possibly do anything about.

I was stunned, and with great apprehension, I called them up. I spoke to a very kind lady who confirmed that in order to apply as a cadet pilot with MAS, I had to be male.

So I hung up the phone, moped for a couple of weeks, tore down my airplane photos and signed up for the non-science stream, taking a mongrel of subjects including Add Maths, Eng Lit, Accounts and Economics.

People tried to pacify me, saying that I could try out as an army pilot, or another airline. But I had had my heart set on being a pilot for the national airliner that I refused to consider the 'other' alternatives.

So that was that.

I had no other dreams, so I plodded through Form 4 and Form 5 without much thought about what I'd be doing after graduation.

I carelessly and half-heartedly toyed with other 'ambitions'...
Thought of being a hotel manager, an undercover detective, an advertising executive, a UN representative... all sorts of stuff.

It was only towards the SPM trials did I seriously sat down and thought it over. And my mind drew a blank. I had no idea what I wanted to be.

So I went to see the guidance councellor who encouraged me to take a rather lengthy aptitude test. I completed it and the results came out -- Most suitable profession = Law

I did a different test (one that involved lots of hypothetical questions and personal attribute tests). The results came out -- Law.

I did a final test (one that ALL us Form 5 students had to do). The results came out -- Law.

So, tadaaaaah!!!!

Here I am.

I may not be wearing a crisp white uniform, but I AM wearing a sombre black-n-white suit... and by a twist of fate, I AM dragging a black rolling-suitcase... not through the hustle and bustle of the airports, but the hustle and bustle of the courts.

Don't get me wrong now, I like what I'm doing. I really do.

But I'm just amused at how I ended up.

5 year-old Mediha would be very surprised to see 26 year-old Mediha.

Que sera sera... what will be, will beee...

Note: The qualifications for MAS cadet pilot no longer includes the prerequisite of having a penis.

If read out loud, that sounds like a country-western song...

I'm not blogging as much as I used to. I could blame my workload, but other people work too and they're not abandoning their blogs... I could blame the fact that I just got married... but then again, married people are actively blogging... I could blame my Muse being absent, but that's simply not true... she's ALWAYS around... I'd be happily doing my own thing when suddenly, something happens and I go "Oooh. Wish I could blog about this!"

I guess I just don't have as much time as I used to.
Thus, I shall now resort to the time-saving tactic of "Blogs-within-a-Blog"

And the theme for today is 'Sometimes Silence is the Safest Bet'.

MY TUMMY IS MY BUSINESS
Dedicated to all well-meaning kepohchi women out there....

"Are you pregnant yet? Why aren't you pregnant yet? When are you planning to get yourself pregnant hah? hah?"
(Insert wide-open eyes OR Disapproving tsk-tsk-tsk sound OR Smugly raised eyebrow OR (my personal favourite) Hand on MY TUMMY).

Yo lady.

I just got married 3 months ago.
My husband and I have not even had time to go on our honeymoon.
My husband and I have only started our respective careers a year ago.
My husband and I are NOT PLANNING to have a child any time soon.

Why?

Well, it's reallly none of your business but since you keep on insisting that we explain ourselves to you, let me just say that the last thing we want to do is to have a baby without the necessary preparations JUST TO PLEASE YOU.

In fact, we KNOW we won't be able to please you because next, you'll ask us "Why haven't you got a 2nd child to keep your firstborn company? Nanti dia lonely... Nanti dia jadi manja..."

So please, despite your (questionable) well-meaning intentions, STOP bugging us about it.

Having a baby is a result of having sex. Everytime you ask me about whether or not I'm having baby, I shall assume that you're nosy about my sex life and I'm SURE you don't want me assuming that.
So please, quit it.

And WHY do you assume that you have the right to put your hand on my perut? I just don't get it.
*sigh*

YOUR FOOT DOESN'T TASTE THAT GOOD NOW, DOES IT?

A person, lets call her 'Yani', asks for a ride from the office to the LRT station. Of course, I say yes and off we go walking towards the car park.

Yani & I don't know each other very well, having just met a couple of times on a purely professional basis... so while we walk, we make small talk.
The conversation turns to cars (yes, women DO talk about cars too...)

"Yani: I seriously can't tell the difference between a MyVi and a Savvy!

Me:Well, they're both cute, I suppose.

Yani: Tu laa! I was thinking of getting one for my daughter, for her graduation. But local cars are such bad investments la.

Me:Cars, in general, are bad investments.

Yani: Yup. But LOCAL cars really suck. Quality tak elok, kalau bawak pegi US, mesti kena ban! Like the Kancil, it's such a death-trap!

Me: M-hmmm (fumbling in my bag for my car keys)

Yani: Dah la tak selamat, the designs for local cars are so teruk! Tengok the gaudy colors on the Gen-2! Bright BLUE and ORANGE! And the Kenari pulak... yaaa RABBI, macam kereta bawak keranda je!"

"BEEP!BEEP!"

I open the doors to my kereta keranda, and send the embarassed mayat to the LRT station.

*roll-eyes*