Eat meat for boy, eat veggie for girls

Had lunch with friends on Thursday and the issue of diet came up. Not the normal diet discussion that you will expect such as 'what kind of food stuff is healthy' but rather something more....sexist.

You see, the discussion was about what kinds of food to eat should you prefer a baby of a specific gender.

They say meat if you want a boy and veggies, if, you want a baby girl.

Luckily, I like veggies.

And it rained...

Today is the first time that I had experience rain as I was leaving work for home.

The sky was grey.

The rain falling mercilessly onto the concrete pavement.

The smell of freshly cut grass.

My wet pair of shoes.

People running, seeking shelter.

People walking under colorful umbrellas.

Cars zoomed by, making water splashes as they went along.

The leaves of trees dances with the pelting of rain.

I didn't know rain is interesting. The first time I saw rain as I left work for home.

A stab in the dark

SINGAPORE: The teenage Taoist medium who organised a suicide pact had been upset over his parents' divorce.

The coroner's court heard this as the brother and friends of 16-year-old medium Ku Witaya took the stand in court on Tuesday.

(a) Witaya had convinced seven other teenagers to take part in the suicide pact last year.

Witaya and Sia Chan Hong fell nine storeys to their death, while the others backed out at the last minute.

The tragedy happened at Block 667, Jalan Damai in Kaki Bukit in the wee hours of August 23 last year.

Witaya had told them the world is coming to an end and they would be resurrected as slayers of demons.

(b)On Tuesday, Witaya's friends testified that he seemed troubled and stressed over his parents' divorce and financial problems. One said Witaya had previously mentioned that death will solve all his problems.

(c)A diary entry by one of the witnesses was also read in court. The entry said he was now going to be a slayer and that he cannot be a doctor or a lawyer when he grows up.

- CNA/ir

From this article, I would like to draw your attention to the following phrases:

(a) Witaya had convinced seven other teenagers to take part in the suicide pact last year.

Teenagers need to belong to feel that they are wanted/needed/accepted and being part of a group actually raises their self esteem. Further, peers are of greater importance to these teenagers as they seek to break away from parental influences, values and controls.

(b)On Tuesday, Witaya's friends testified that he seemed troubled and stressed over his parents' divorce and financial problems. One said Witaya had previously mentioned that death will solve all his problems.

Suicide is a classic tool used by some teenagers to run away from problems. Some of these young people attempt to withdraw by taking their own lives. Acts of suicide often indicate a real desire to die, but it also indicates that the young person is also crying for help.

(c)A diary entry by one of the witnesses was also read in court. The entry said he was now going to be a slayer and that he cannot be a doctor or a lawyer when he grows up.

Did he really wanted to be a lawyer or doctor when he grew up? Or was it due to parental pressure?

Piecing together the puzzle...A feable attempt at psychoanalysis

I think there were several cumulating factors that resulted in this tragedy. However, as there was not much information available in the article, much can only be extrapolated from whatever is available.

Based on the above 4 points, it is apparent that the teenager was running away from some sort of problem. The reported case of parental and financial problems may only be the straw that broke the camel's back. He has some form of escapisim, in his medium world where he can be useful and needed. This is depicted by his conviction that he can be resurrected as slayer of devils. Further, it is interesting to note that he is convienced that the world will come to an end and demons will rule the world. He had a fatalistic view that the world is all bad and nothing can be done to save it. This seemed to suggest that he had seen the ugly truth of the woes of adult lifes (perhaps from his parents divorce, financial woes and untold miseries that he might have) and decided that he wanted no part in this evil world. This is a real pity, as nobody is able to guide him, to offer him a more balanced view of this world(that the world is not all bad). And to extrapolate on this further, perhaps his resentment of his own impending adult life pushed him into believing that by committing suicide, he is able to avoid the path into adulthood.

Whichever the case, it was also unfortunate that he was charismatic enough to convience his peers in believing his inner world and form followers out of them (even 18 years old). A pity, considering that someone as charismatic as him may someday grow up to be a good leader, if he was given the chance to be shown the proper way...

MBTI confusion

I've talked to alot of people who had taken the MBTI type indicator test before (may be online, secondary school etc etc) and I've noticed most people have some confusion over the meaning of the word Introversion / Extraversion.

According to Wikipedia, the definitions are as follows:

"The preferences for extraversion (thus spelled in Myers-Briggs jargon) and introversion are sometimes referred to as attitudes. Briggs and Myers recognized that each of the cognitive functions can operate in the external world of behavior, action, people and things (extraverted attitude) or the internal world of ideas and reflection (introverted attitude). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator sorts for an overall preference for one or the other of these."

What this paragraph is saying that extraversion are NOT people who likes to be around people and introversion are NOT people who prefer to be left alone. Extraversion in MBTI context can comprise of people who are extrovered and introvered and vice versa.

Then what does Extraversion and Introversion really mean in MBTI?

It means that if you are of type Introversion, you gain your energy from being alone. You can be talking to people and attend parties but doing all these will leave you drained. You have to spend some quiet time alone to recharge yourself.

For extraversion, you are the complete opposite. Being with people recharges your energy and being alone will drain you of your energy. You need to talk to people, be with people to feel recharged and all happy.

Remember, the Extraversion/Introversion aspect of the MBTI is talking about how an individual recharges oneself (whether he/she is inward facing or outward facing) and not based on his/her preference of liking better to be with people or being alone.