Not Just Yak Yak Yak…

I watched the movie Before Sunset this afternoon. The film touched me so much that I felt writing down what’s on my mind is somewhat an obligation. And since Uncle Stevie advised that one of the Great Commandments of becoming a good writer is to practice it, I figured this short and impulsive entry would do no harm.

I like to talk. If you know me well, I’m that kind of person who always feels the need to come out with something to say during a nice lunch gathering or even a supposedly quiet dinner at home. I don’t have much trouble talking to new people either. Being in a large (figuratively, not literally) melting pot, for example, I can always throw in a “Oh, I’ve never met a Srilankan (or Bruneian, or Pakistani, you choose) before” whenever I meet a stranger. (In fact that’s exactly what I said when I met a male nurse on the bus from Gleneagles hospital sometime last week!) The conversation can go from there. Why, in my humble home country small talks are like oxygen; you can’t live without them.

This makes me wonder, though. If I am that good in talking to people, why was communication a factor causing my previous relationship to fail? Sorry, I was lying. It didn’t really make me wonder. It’s easy. Because I can’t stand talking crap. Ooo, that sounds harsh… But it’s true. One or two occasions talking about how dreadful your roommate’s hygiene is is fine, but continuously? You better find a cleaning lady as a girlfriend, mister.

Of course one’s poison is another’s medicine. Many girls, for instance, would be more than joyful to listen to their boyfriends talking about the details on how the glorious volleyball game went, how they scored most for the team, or how difficult the final exams were, and how proud they are to get A for all of them. Many girls would gladly cheer “Oh, that’s so cool… You are the best!”, but that’s certainly not me. For one thing, I can’t respect people who glorify educational transcripts. Secondly, all the details about such trivial matters such as a sport game bore me to death. If only they say, “The game went well, we won. But you know, sometimes I wonder why we focus so much on winning. If people just try to concentrate a little more on the process, not the outcome, I think the world would not be in such a mess.” I can guarantee they will not sleep on the couch that night.

So you get the clue. To many, my ideas of stimulating conversations will seem absurd or even pointless. “Why the heck does this girl have to go on and on about whether or not humans are really granted free will? Does it help to pay the bill? Come on girl, just tell me how your day was like any normal people or just shut the fuck up.” Hahah… I can imagine some guys really had those lines in their mind when they talked to me. And guess what, I’m not sad at all. Because I have found one or two that find my traits entertaining. Probably this is what they meant by connection. Or chemistry.

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ps: If you have no idea what’s the relevance of Before Sunset to this yak, go watch it!
pss: To my beloved Raine, I have to apologize for degrading Before Sunrise in one of my comments before (if you remember). It IS a nice and believable movie