Category: Thoughts

Sitting at a Starbucks in Charlotte Douglas International Airport, waiting for my next flight out.

Today marks the end of my first week on a very long buying trip. I haven’t written anything substantial on this blog in ages so I figured I’d just launch notepad, drink some coffee and see what comes up.

In the grand scheme of things, one week isn’t a very long time. But the duration of my trip is probably going to be the longest I’ve spent in a single stretch out of the country. Not that it matters. Personal milestone. Not really. I mean, it’s part of work, so it’s not really an achievement. Speaking of work, whenever people find out I get to travel for work, they think I have a dream job. I mean, sure it is great. You get to go to nice places, you get to eat fancy food, you get to see the world (albeit mostly through airplane and car windows), but that’s it for ‘fun’.

Besides the rare downtime (like I have now, which I should actually be using to get some other work done but I can’t be fucked because I’m exhausted getting up at 5 today) – our schedules are full. No days off, even on public holidays or weekends – after all, time is money and we’re here to work, not play.

So all I’ve been doing for the past week is buy books. Going through sales history of books. Going through our suppliers’ inventories in showrooms and warehouses to look for books. Suggesting how much books should be priced, and how many copies we need to take. It’s not difficult, but when you do it all day, every day, it does get tiring.

I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m complaining about work, because I’m not. I have a good job. It’s not my dream job, but it is very interesting, and it pays the bills. Also, I love books, so I can’t complain about being surrounded by books all the time. Like every job, it has its ups and downs.

Again, I don’t know why I typed out a whole essay about my job but I did.

Waiting at Charlotte Douglas International Airport is kinda annoying. To smoke, you have to exit the airport and go through security checks again just to reenter. I’m probably going to smoke 2 sticks when I land.

My flight leaves at 8pm. It is currently 5pm. I’ve got 2 and a half hours to kill before I head to the boarding gate.

This trip I noticed I’ve been listening to a lot less post-hardcore and pop punk. I’ve been listening to a lot of Birdy and Tegan And Sara. And Oasis. Catfish and the Bottlemen. And more Kavinsky. All great artists. I’m still a fan of palm mutes, chugs, power chords and breakdowns. But I guess I’ve just been feeling more mellow and chill. Lil Dicky is still on constant rotation though. That guy is too good to get rid from my playlist.

Last month I created a Spotify account for the first time. It’s pretty cool, but I don’t find myself going back to use it. Somehow I’m still a fan of locally stored music. Also, Spotify player is pretty ass. Foobar 2000 is life, don’t think I’ll ever replace it. However, access to brand new albums the day of release and easy way to share tracks with friends is great. Also, it’s nice to see what the people I follow are listening to on it. I noticed a lot of surprising scrobbles.

This airport is bustling. People just walking up and down past Starbucks nonstop since I sat down.

Yesterday, while having a smoke, I met a veteran. He was in the area for his son or grandson’s graduation. He told me he was stationed in Korea and Vietnam in the past. He told me about his injuries (apparently he had broken his legs, arms, fingers before). He told me that he was trapped in his hotel room last night because for some reason their door was stuck from the inside. He said his wife almost passed out due to her claustrophobia(?). He told me that in his spare time, he went camping alone with his two knives and an AK-47. He hunted snakes and sold them. He was an interesting old man who smoked orange Pall Malls.

This morning on my flight to Charlotte, the guy next to me started talking to me when the plane landed. He told me he was on a business trip and that he and his colleague were flying their wives in for the week to stay at their hotels as well. Get this, I wasn’t even smoking on the plane! He just opened up to me. Maybe I have a face that signals ‘I care’. If I didn’t write this down, I probably wouldn’t remember all this in a week’s time.

Anyway, I think I’ve rambled enough on my blog for now. Maybe I’ll write again sometime this week. Maybe not.

I miss Snuggles. Hope she’s doing okay without me. She deserves a better friend.

So today, I was linked to an article about some folks in China shaming a rat – literally. They strung up a dead rat, hung a sign on it saying “Is that all you’ve got? You can kill me and I still won’t admit it was me who stole your rice!”

While I was amused by the picture, I found it cruel at the same time. I mean, if they had done the same thing to a dog, I would have been outraged. Which got me thinking – is it wrong to favor an animal over another? Like, let’s say a dog stole some rice, or maybe it killed a child. Then it was slaughtered and hung out to be shamed. How would I feel about that? I don’t know.

But then again, China gives no shits about what kind of animal you are when it comes to punishment.

We gave ourselves the right to put down animals without any fear of retribution. Imagine if animals could band together to avenge their fallen ones? Would we reconsider how we treated them then?

Sometimes pets are treated better than human beings.

Is owning a pet equivalent to keeping a child in captivity?

I’ve read a quote saying something like “if you claim you love dogs but you eat meat, you’re a hypocrite”. Would that mean someone saying they love eating carrots but hate potatoes is a hypocrite? Where do you draw the line?

If animals like dogs and cats were bred to be slaughtered for food (like chickens and cows), would that be any better? What makes eating one animal versus another frowned upon (assuming that neither of them are endangered)?

I enjoy eating meat. I also love dogs a lot and would probably never eat their meat under any circumstance. I love most vegetables except bitter gourd (that isn’t deep-fried), lady fingers, and other slimy vegetables. I don’t mind people who are vegans. However, I don’t like people who feel the need to shove their beliefs down the throats of others (though this isn’t limited to just dietary habits *cough*religion*cough* sorry, I used to be one of those people). Also, eating meat isn’t such a bad thing.

Being away from home makes me appreciate home more. You miss the convenience of having your own car and being able to go anywhere you like. You miss the convenience of calling up your friends to meet up for a drink just because you feel like it. You miss not having to wear a jacket every time you want to go out for a smoke. Oh wait, you’d be able to smoke indoors if you were in Malaysia.

I experienced snow for the first time in my life. Mines Wonderland when I was a kid doesn’t count. So, yay! I never thought it’d be so mushy to step on. Maybe it wasn’t cold enough. I smoked my first cigarette in the snow. I put my first cigarette out in the snow. I didn’t open my mouth to catch snow flakes in my mouth though. Didn’t feel like it. Don’t think I’ll be making a snow angel either, I have a feeling it’ll just soak my clothes.

Even though I’m not traveling alone, I do get my own room wherever we stay, which has been pretty good (not that I don’t miss you, Sherman, leave the army and come back dammit). I don’t have to wait to use the toilet. I don’t have to decide which bed I want. There’s no shortage of power sockets. I can throw my shit all over the floor and bed. I can walk around naked ( ?° ?? ?°) I can put on whatever music or shows I want to fall asleep without worrying about having to wake anybody.

I’m gonna be here for another week. I’m looking forward to the Ciana Book Fair. It’s going to be my first time.

My jam for the night: