Wednesday, June 01, 2005
The Pragmatism Conundrum, and London Cabs
She thought that all Singaporean men were wimps.
He asked her what she meant. It was about needing emotional support, she said. About being clingy.
He flirted with the idea of disagreeing, then caved in and conceded the point. For one, she wasn't Singaporean by a long shot. Or even South East Asian. And for another... he agreed. The women, too.
On a whim, he asked her if he was a wimp.
She said No, you're not. She paused for a moment, then added You're pragmatic and sensible.
It brought back shades of a memory from another lifetime.
A very different woman, different in every way. Expressing her disbelief at something he'd just done... But you're the practical one. You were always so sensible!
Her voice held a tinge of bewilderment... and perhaps something more?
*****
I've noticed a lot of london taxicabs cropping up on the roads recently. They remind me a little of London, and how much I miss it.
But the cabbies who drive them haven't got a clue, chugging along at sixty kmh in the extreme right lane. That's not how a london black cab is driven. It's meant to be driven with wild abandon at breakneck speeds, weaving in and out of traffic like a drunken kung-fu exponent cleaving through hordes of murderous villains. (Kung Fu Hustle, anyone?)
*****
They were discussing the concept of casual relationships; she asked him what he thought about them.
He said he didn't believe in them once, but as time wore on he wasn't so sure anymore.
She said that she couldn't see him in one; he was too practical. She, she needed intimacy.
How strange. Too practical... for casual intimacy. Surely casual intimacy is the epitomy of pragmatism, and romantic lifelong love the realms of the romantics?
He puzzled over this in silence. She had a point too. Why enter a casual relationship if the endpoint is near-certain failure?
And he wondered whether intimacy was important to him at all. Perhaps she was right, and it wasn't. Or perhaps... as he'd like to believe... intimacy was important.
But only with the right person.
Without, it would be... somehow trivial. And very much unnecessary.
*****
Anyone remember the good old days when computer games were more than just fancy graphic fluff and storylines cheesier than a gouda wheel? When games (and, for that matter, movies) were about compelling stories and carefully thought out teasers to keep you enthralled and wondering what would happen to you next... aside from the ubiquitous bad guy with the BFG?
I do.
Based loosely on the ultima series, this modern-day massively multiplayer remake may not be true to the spirit of the original (pah, making potions be damned) but it's free, and it's actually pretty engrossing.
Well people my age would probably think so, anyhow.
God. I sound so old.
He asked her what she meant. It was about needing emotional support, she said. About being clingy.
He flirted with the idea of disagreeing, then caved in and conceded the point. For one, she wasn't Singaporean by a long shot. Or even South East Asian. And for another... he agreed. The women, too.
On a whim, he asked her if he was a wimp.
She said No, you're not. She paused for a moment, then added You're pragmatic and sensible.
It brought back shades of a memory from another lifetime.
A very different woman, different in every way. Expressing her disbelief at something he'd just done... But you're the practical one. You were always so sensible!
Her voice held a tinge of bewilderment... and perhaps something more?
*****
I've noticed a lot of london taxicabs cropping up on the roads recently. They remind me a little of London, and how much I miss it.
But the cabbies who drive them haven't got a clue, chugging along at sixty kmh in the extreme right lane. That's not how a london black cab is driven. It's meant to be driven with wild abandon at breakneck speeds, weaving in and out of traffic like a drunken kung-fu exponent cleaving through hordes of murderous villains. (Kung Fu Hustle, anyone?)
*****
They were discussing the concept of casual relationships; she asked him what he thought about them.
He said he didn't believe in them once, but as time wore on he wasn't so sure anymore.
She said that she couldn't see him in one; he was too practical. She, she needed intimacy.
How strange. Too practical... for casual intimacy. Surely casual intimacy is the epitomy of pragmatism, and romantic lifelong love the realms of the romantics?
He puzzled over this in silence. She had a point too. Why enter a casual relationship if the endpoint is near-certain failure?
And he wondered whether intimacy was important to him at all. Perhaps she was right, and it wasn't. Or perhaps... as he'd like to believe... intimacy was important.
But only with the right person.
Without, it would be... somehow trivial. And very much unnecessary.
*****
Anyone remember the good old days when computer games were more than just fancy graphic fluff and storylines cheesier than a gouda wheel? When games (and, for that matter, movies) were about compelling stories and carefully thought out teasers to keep you enthralled and wondering what would happen to you next... aside from the ubiquitous bad guy with the BFG?
I do.
Based loosely on the ultima series, this modern-day massively multiplayer remake may not be true to the spirit of the original (pah, making potions be damned) but it's free, and it's actually pretty engrossing.
Well people my age would probably think so, anyhow.
God. I sound so old.
