At The 3rd Floor Store
September 7th, 2006
i walked down to the store earlier to go get one of those kitkat ice creams. while i was paying, i saw this kid of about 12 or 13 years old, just chilling at the checkout counter. he was holding an unlit cigarette in his hand.
i remember just 2 years ago i went out with james, whom i no longer speak to anymore, to this snooker centre in OUG’s Pearl Point. we played a few games of pool, but after a while i wanted to leave. the reason being the place was just full of kids hanging around the place smoking cigarettes, dressed in short little skirts and hiphop bling, and using language some adults wouldnt. and when i say kids, i mean kids who are like 10 years old. i just couldnt stomach the sight of it.
james, who hails from the OUG area, says that this is the kind of crowd pearl point attracts, and that i shouldnt feel too disturbed. what kind of logic is that, i asked. just because pearl point is the meeting place for delinquent children, does it make it any less real that these are CHILDREN sitting around a dingy snooker place sharing cigarettes? these kids should be at home, having tuition classes, eating homecooked food or watching cartoons. or something! i wanted to grab each and every one of them by the shoulders, shake them hard, and tell them to be a kid again. dont grow up so fast. you’re breaking your parents’ hearts.
my brother got suspended from school a couple of days ago. that’s messed up. usually i’d be very upset and inconsolable, but sometime this year i’ve realized that there is absolutely no way i can go on pretending to be an authority figure to my brothers anymore. they’ve become old enough to realize that no one died and made me queen, and thus i have no right to tell them what to do. having them say that to my face was hurtful beyond belief, but very awakening. there’s only so much an older sister can do before she has to learn to let go, and let them make their own mistakes.
so this kid at the store. he’s about the age of my younger brother, and it made me so sad to see him holding that cig in his hands. i looked at him and then at his cigarette. upon catching my eye, he instantly hid it away. he’s embarassed, i think to myself. either that or scared. so why does he do it?
i walked out of the store with my icecream. i’d gone as far as the elevator when i turned around, went back into the store and said to the kid, ‘dont smoke. it’s not good for you’. then i gave him a sad smile and left. he didnt say anything, he just looked very scared.
kid at store, you look so much like my brother. i hope you learn to make the right choices in life.
Entry Filed under: Musings
32 Comments Add your own
1. voonkiat | September 7th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Haha i’m first! xD anyways, pinkpau, i’m proud of you going back there to give the kid some wise words;p (i dun like smokers btw) i don’t think many people nowadays would even bother doing that. Reminds me of my sassy girl, the part she went to scold the girls who were prostitutes at the restaurant. Don’t tell me u got inspired by her :P haha tsk tsk!
2. Az1 | September 7th, 2006 at 6:24 pm
I came across a similar scene before. Kids who were still in their school uniforms sitting at a food center in Seksyen 14 area looking like they were sending smoke signals, red indian style. I mean, they were puffing away and not caring of what people think. I felt like giving them a good knock on their heads for doing such things. Sheesh, kids nowadays. I pun cannot tahan looking at them like that ler. Shoulda done what you did tho. Good job Pink… :-)
3. jirwan | September 7th, 2006 at 6:26 pm
hahaha im really glad u gave that kid some advice and hopefully he listens to you and will stop :)
4. Sharon | September 7th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
Hey, sorry to hear about your brother.
It’s sad whats happening to the kids nowadays isnt it?
Sometimes you wished you could be more of a help to them and sometimes you just think that you dont have the ability to help them.
Sigh..
5. prawn | September 7th, 2006 at 6:36 pm
Good for you. If no one starts, the kid might think that smoking is ok and continue to do it until he grows up. Telling him now would surely knock some sense in to him =)
6. Waifon | September 7th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
Like I said, they’re growing up wayyyy to fast! What happened to the after school tuition from 2-6 and 8-10 regime? I used to slave myself over school work, co curicular activities and tuition when I was young [not that I'm THAT old now :D] Le sigh… my sister is 15 this year and I never fail to reprimand her whenever she does something wrong.
Perhaps she needs a little breathing space and I should lay off but there’s a clear fine line between their liberty and our responsibility as an elder. I hope I’m right but thing is, they tend to be more defensive when we start provoking them by that I mean sounding them not provoke them with a fist or knife. When are you watching Actorlympics? I havent get my tickets yet cos i’ve been busy, busy and busy. College blahhhhh…
7. steph | September 7th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
i liked the way you handle it. certain choices have to be made before one learns from one’s mistakes. i cant say im a ciggy virgin either… and the fact that you werent self-righteous about it scored brownie points in my books. =)
8. kristof | September 7th, 2006 at 8:23 pm
Kinda ironic cause… just today a kid asked me for a cig. I gave him one.
Hokay now I feel kinda bad after reading this. But in life there are so many choices and to limit one’s choices would be a wrong to do yes?
Before I lighted the cig for him, I said… smoking is bad for your health… you know that? He smiled. I laughed and lighted it up anyway.
I’d prefer to not practice ageism. Yes he is a kid and probably doesn’t know the full effects of smoking blabla. But who in the world actually knows the consequences of everything. We decide what is right and we simply thrust ourselves to it, mending our mistakes later. If the whole of that kid’s life, everybody tells him what is right and wrong, he wouldn’t have much of a life… yes?
Well for justice’s sake, a grandma who passed by started lecturing me.
9. Sv | September 7th, 2006 at 9:01 pm
its great of you to tell the kid so… XD
10. Esther | September 7th, 2006 at 9:26 pm
wow, you really amazed me, to walk back up to the kid. but, you do sound like someone who does stuff like this. sort of (maybe?). i’m so proud of you babe *claps hands*
and about your brother, tell me about it. i don’t have any younger siblings but i grew up together with my younger cousins. as they grew older, they’ve just stopped listening to me when i try to reach out to them. i’m sure you know what i mean, rite?! yeah, so it’s just sad.
11. Waifon | September 7th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
I have juniors whom I’m really closed with who smokes. When they first broke the news to me that they smoked, I cried. WTF right? I know! It just saddens me that the people whom I love so dearly are doing stuff like that, in which to me in morally and politically wrong! I once said it’s bad to smoke to a teenage 15 year old dude at my club esp when he plays sports, he told me to get lost and you know… *toot* off.
Anyway, is the James you’re talking about a chinese mata sepet dude who smokes and plays pool at the said shopping mall cos I know of a James like that. He’s from some Mega something school or was it his house address. omg… if that is him, I’d say, a small world indeed!
12. pinkpau | September 8th, 2006 at 12:32 am
voonkiat : it was damn funny when she did that ok :P haha i couldnt be half as cute even if i tried!
az1 : its probably a good thing you didnt go over and tell them to put out their cigs :P they could have beaten you to a pulp!
jirwan : i really hope so too :(
sharon : not so much that, but more of i wish they would let me in. but then again i see where they are coming from, cos if the situation was reversed and i had an older sibling trying to butt into my life, i probably wouldnt like it very much either.
prawn : he just made a bad choice. i feel sorry for him :(
waifon : does she take it well? hehe im guessing you’re the eldest also. sometimes we have to let them make their own mistakes and learn from them. the risk we take as concerned elder siblings (who nag a lot) is that we may potentially push our siblings away from us. cause resentment and all that. it’s sad.
steph : yea thats what i keep telling myself .. haha im just worried cos they dont seem to be learning much from their mistakes. but i guess things like that take time
kristof : haha you’re terrible. yes he has to make his own mistakes, but you may have kicked soil over whatever progress he’s made when it comes to realizing that smoking isnt good .. :) hehe cute grandma. i hope you were nice to her!
sv : i think i scared him a bit .. haha he’s prolly going to avoid me whenever i see him around.
esther : yea totally know what you mean about your cousins. but i guess if we were in their place we wouldnt like it very much either
waifon : omggggg yalar that’s him .. james chee. wtf man the world too small. how you know him wan!! (hey btw i removed his email addy from ur comment for privacy and spam prevention purposes!)
13. MichelleSY | September 8th, 2006 at 1:50 am
Yeah. I know.
Where the heck do them kids get them ciggies from?
Oh. OK. Just read Kristof’s comment.
But there’s no way they could be bumming 20 smokes a day right?
Right? Right? Right? Or am I just being naive?
Btw, kids in Aus start smoking in primary school. Yup. Primary school. Around 9-10 is the median age. And they pinch the smokes from their mom/ dad’s ever-ready stash at home.
*mind boggles and neurones re-align*
Sigh. In case you haven’t noticed, I really don’t dig smoking. Or smokers for that matter.
Hope your brothers know how lucky they are to have you. Yes they probably think you’re the bane of their existence atm, but hopefully, just maybe, they’ll come around and realise what you’re trying to do for them.
When they’re like 20, or 30, or something. Hey, the light of realisation dawns late for some OK? :)
Gawd knows, being an elder sister myself, it’s a thankless job. Doesn’t mean me and and my younger sis fight any less, it just means that we keep the jabs above belt now, if you know what I mean? :p
Cheers,
MichelleSY
14. TheRealAnonymous | September 8th, 2006 at 9:24 am
Its always sad to see more and more people smoke. Its even sadder to see that the age of when they start smoking starts getting lower and lower.
I’m not a smoker. Never have, never will be.
Smoking is something an individual has to want to do to pick it up. It doesn’t purely depend on influence. I do hang out with a lot of smokers, my dad, and my grandparents also used to smoke… even my sister smokes wei !!
There is much that we could to in saving the world from smoking. I guess we can only sit back, and hope, that these smokers know what they’re doing. It would be stupid if they’re smoking for the sake of being ‘cool’.
MichelleSY,
There are heavy smokers amongst us wan. I know this 1 guy who smokes 2 big packs in 1 day! Beat that!
20 smokes are easily reachable if they’re a clubber. Most my friends say they do smoke more when they club.
15. MichelleSY | September 8th, 2006 at 10:44 am
The Real Anonymous:
Yeah I know. My dad used to smoke and so did grandads.
And the whole learned behaviour thing as well - apparently you tend to smoke more when you drink as well. Gah. Grandads certainly smoked more when he was having his morning cup of kopi-o.
16. ionStorm | September 8th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
You guys should realize by now…that reprimanding is only half the answer. What is more important is for the them to know that you love them. Reprimanding and subsequently being verbal about your love for them is one of the few ways to get thru to them…’coz at the end of the day, they will realize that you could be a nagfest…but you love them.
Some might think saying “I love you” may end up sending off the wrong signals…but this is only because many of us have such a skewed/shallow understanding of what love is. By verbalizing our love, it helps to ingrain in a person, that love is not only limited to romance. Love is also about so many things…
17. turquoise | September 8th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
i know who your bro is ! he’s not in my class tho. i’m in the 2nd class. there are several kids in my year who go to bam after school ( from what i’ve heard ) and all share a lighter. it’s kinda weird cos we learned this year about what smoking does to your lungs and your whole body.
didn’t cigarettes like go up in tax again ? how come smokers don’t seem to be affected by it ? it seems more and more seem to WANT to smoke.
18. ront | September 8th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
still want to have your babies and the risk of exposing them to this kind of culture? heheh…then again..you have to agree that with kids like these, your parents are proud and relieved that you’re not one of them.
19. kowlat | September 8th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
These are the scenes in KL. I’d raise my kids in Penang. Maybe it’s the penang sea wind that always seem to straighten me up every time. And you know, KL no sea wind…hehe
20. Sv | September 9th, 2006 at 12:41 am
u might have scared him. but it doesnt change the fact that you did good. who knoes.. maybe you changed his life..
21. Adrian C | September 9th, 2006 at 1:32 am
it’s growing pains Pinks. dont worry about it. i hung out a snooker joints and smoked when i was growing up too. now, i dont do either … and managed to graduate from university and holding down an steady well-paying job. i can say that growing up in the streets thought me to be streetwise and tough. and i learnt that things dont come handed on a silver platter.
p/s i dont condone smoking or excessive snooker playing for adolescents in any way. i am just saying God can still work His miracles on the worse of us. me, being one once upon a time.
22. tze | September 9th, 2006 at 3:33 am
eh so sad la your brother thing. =( *hugs pinkpau
which brother? the super cute person sitting in yellow house made err.. form of transportation or the other one?
23. Waifon | September 9th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Eh, I thought I replied addy but comment tak keluar. Moderated kot.
Anyway, I know him through another mutual friend of ours. It was so long ago…during the ICQ days if I’m not wrong.He pestered me so many times to go play pool with him and I always refused to. You know lah, internet a few years back damn dangerous right? Cannot meet strangers, later get raped and throw into longkang ala Canny Ong how!? how I ask you~!?
Omg, you dare go out with him ker? He’s kinda freaky you know. haha… keep on talking about all the girls yang minat him and all that. I think I actually liked him before. Wah lau… what on Mars was I thinking man? Biasa ar… naive crushes. disgusting infatuation. haha… dont tell me he’s your ex wei :b
24. sarah | September 9th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
its funny. i’ve never even met you and i already look up to you and respect you a lot. good job on the kid =)
25. jimmy | September 10th, 2006 at 1:34 am
pinkpau, i thought u said u liked the smell of cigarettes on ur ex-es clothes and stuff… hmm…
i hate them fags .. lol
26. Jay | September 10th, 2006 at 11:26 am
Jay was here. New York Times - “Best comment in the modern age of pinkpau blogging!” LA Times - “Before you know it, your hooked!” Coming Soon…Comment on “At The 3rd Floor Store.” Look for it at a pinkpau blog near you!
27. Kevin | September 10th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
I really cant understand behind the logic of ’suspending’ a delinquent student. It just gives them extra holidays! which I’d really love when I’m in secondary school haha
28. AbbyC. | September 10th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
Its pretty sad to hear bout ur bro problem.
hope he will get to school soon. sigh. kids thesedays memanglah. hopefully they know how to think and understood what they do. school kids holding expensive handphones.. even betta than us and adults and smoking ciggies around compounds… NO LIFE
29. pinkpau | September 10th, 2006 at 3:43 pm
michellesy : hehe they buy them. it’s not difficult here in msia. hey do lots of people smoke in melb? cos i dont remember seeing many smokers during my trips there. usually i only see the intl students smoking. haha what, i have to wait that long before they’re going to realize i actually mean well?
therealanonymous : im glad you have such prinsip yang kukuh :D
ionstorm : i wish i could be like that with my bros. but we’ve never had that kind of relationship :(
turquoise : haih biasa la ssg kids and their relationship with the BAM building! yea duty for cigarettes went up but only by one cent per stick. not really a deterrent ler.
ront : my parents.. haha. i’m not sure if they realize what a nice daughter i am :P
kowlat : i would raise my kids in penang too if i could! haha all the penangites i know are damn nice and sweet wan.
sv : wah i should hope so! that would be so nice!
adrian c : last time i used to be damn emo at the idea of my bros doing this kinda stuff wan. haha then i realized actually there’s nothing so bad about the stuff they do lah as long as you know, they still have respect for adults, dont do anything cruel or illegal, still uphold some morals .. haih. i guess we all have to grow up going thru some experiences. and i cant take that away from them.
tze : haha the one suspended is the elder one! btw the ‘cute’ yellow house one now not very cute anymore :P
waifon : you used to like james chee?! hahaha ya ya i know what you mean.. why do you think i dont talk to him anymore :P
sarah : thank u :)
jimmy : i did?! haha only a few of my exes smoked.. are u sure i said that!
jay : haha you random person!
kevin : the logic is that it’s embarassing :) and their parents will give them shit at home.
abbyc : yea he’s back in school already but on probation!
30. MichelleSY | September 11th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
Hey PInkpau!
Yes, Aussies smoke too, esp. females. I believe stats show that females age 15-26 are the fastest growing group of smokers (and binge drinkers & drinkers in general too btw).
Sigh.
Honestly gals, if you’re not thinking about your health, then think about your looks.
Do you have any idea what kind of havoc booze + ciggies wreak on the complexion? =(
Cheers!
ps: I’m living in sunny Brisbane atm, but wouldn’t mind relocating to Melbourne/ Sydney if the chance comes up (sooooooooo tempted, you have no idea!) Just thought I’d mention it because I didn’t know if your question abt smokers in Melb was a rhetorical/ general one directed at Aus at large ? =)
31. Sadomasochist | December 17th, 2006 at 12:07 am
lol, abit too late to comment but this post made me feel so immature compared to you albeit we are of the same age. but, it really is an eye opener and it was really brave of u to confront them cos who knows after they harass u or something. hope ur bro is ok..cheers
32. clicker training&hellip | June 19th, 2007 at 2:38 am
clicker training…
shit-happens 529138 clicker training intro…
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