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Have we heard this before?
"There's a sucker born every minute".
I've been that sucker on more than one occasion. Not this time.
After dinner this evening, I walked back to my hotel via the Montréal underground. Just after the VIA train station, I walked by some public telephones. I was about to take the escalator down to the subway level when a woman in her late 30's or early 40's asked if I spoke English. When I said "Yes", she started to tell me she's from out of town and her luggage had been stolen. She's been trying to call her friend on the phone and couldn't get hold of that person. Her mother was expecting her arrival at her home train station. She probably told me which city but my mind was "alerting me" about something and I wasn't listening. She told me she had spent some money, and was short about $8 plus change to buy a train ticket home which would cost $70.
I'm not sure what hit me. In the past I probably would've handed over $10, accepted the appreciation and felt good that I helped someone in need. Alas, not this time. I said to her: "Tell you what; let's go to the train station. You give me your cash, and I will charge the ticket on my credit card". Interestingly, she said the ticket office was probably closed. But I suggested that we should go and check. When we got there, sure enough, the ticket office was closed. Now what? Give her $10 so she could buy the ticket in the morning? Not so fast! I noticed some self-service kiosks that accept credit cards for train tickets. So I said to her, "why not use the machine?". That's when she decided that her had better try to call her mother again, to wire her some money via Western Union. She needed her money for the evening anyway. I said, "Fine, do as you wish."
As we walked back to where we started, she began to apologize about how embarrassing it was for her to ask for money. I said, "It's OK. I'm sorry but as much as I'd like to help you, I just can't seem to trust stranger in general. It's nothing against you, but I've been had before, and I'm not going to let it happen again." So, I wished her luck and left her to make her phone calls. I didn't hang around to see if she manage to get hold of her mother, friends or family.
You know, I'd be willing to accept $40 cash and charge her $70 train ticket on my credit card. So I can give away $8 but it is a matter of trust. I might have denied myself a chance to assist someone that was truly in need. I don't know. All I know is, I am not a sucker this time. The sad part for me is that I suddenly realize that I have difficulty trusting strangers who ask for help. Without trust, there is no human interaction that would allow us to assist others who are in need.
Did her story add up? Was she trying to rip off another person by cooking up a story to take advantage of their kindness? I haven't heard this one before. So I will let you be the judge.
Posted by Ba on Monday 29 March 2010 - 03:46:37
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Here we go again!
I'm delighted to be back in Montréal for project work, and staying at my favourite hotel, the Marriott Château Champlain. Well, some things never changed. Last April, I wrote my blog about some hotel guests who lack the courtesy to shower and change after a gym session, and just show up at the hotel concierge lounge.
OK. This time, there is one guy with this disgusting behaviour. Who knows if there will be more, but I've only seen one so far. But it's enough for me to say: do they have any pride at all? What the hell is wrong with these people? Do they have any common sense, or is it simply not "common"?
Perhaps there should be a city by-law to ban this type of behaviour like no smoking in public places. Do it like they do in Singapore. When their government wants to change behaviour, they simply make a law, and impose a fine for violating the law. Sometimes, the only way to change behaviour is to impose a fine. Hence the saying: "Singapore is a fine country"!
Posted by Ba on Thursday 11 February 2010 - 05:52:14
Just catching up ...
First it was my busy work schedule, and then I became just plain lazy to write any update. Well, 3 years in a roll I have managed to make a homecoming trip to Malaysia. Only this time it was more exciting as my daughter Michelle came along for the 3 weeks visit beginning in late Nov '09.
We landed in Singapore, then made our way to Malaysia. Couldn't get by without a visit to my hometown! After a few days of homecoming visit, it was time for a trip to Kuala Lumpur or better known as K.L. Then, it was off to Penang. It wouldn't be a visit to Penang without a trip to the temple with the famous pagoda! From Penang, we took the ferry to beautiful Langkawi and got a chance to watch the sunset, and of course, the popular eagle feeding off the island. Lucky for us, my sister, Lin arranged our visits to Penang and Langkawi. We had a great time, thanks to her friend Mrs. Tong from Penang, and Albert our tour guide in Langkawi where we took our group picture.
After our visits in Malaysia, it was back to Singapore. Once again, I had the privilege of having dinner with my good friend, Nicky, who kindly arranged the attendance of a few high school mates that I haven't seen for 30+ years. Actually, Nicky said the dinner was for Michelle, while the rest of us just tagged along ... 
Unfortunately, I didn't take any picture at the dinner. But I could tell Michelle was very impressed!
Well, it wouldn't be a visit to Singapore for Michelle unless I got her picture taken at the Merlion Park. The highlight of our visit was the Singapore Flyer where we got an excellent bird's eye view of the city. Time flies when you are having fun! Soon it was time for our folks to give us a sendoff and unfortunately we had to get ready to go home to face the winter in Canada!
We had a fantastic trip! More importantly, it was an experience for Michelle being the first time in that part of the world. She got a chance to see where her dad was born and grew up, and met a lot of family members. She even heard some stories about her dad; things she didn't know and had sworn to secrecy not to tell.
For more pictures of my homecoming trip, see my gallery of places we visited and family and friends.
Well, there goes another trip. Perhaps another one at the same time in 2010!
Posted by Ba on Saturday 02 January 2010 - 05:28:43
I did it!
Well, it wasn't my typical run on the sidewalk around the neighbourhood where I knew the exact distance by driving once to plot my route. The local community Terry Fox Run was on a parks and recreation trail. I arrived at the local community centre shortly after 8 am. After registration I hung around a bit, thinking I should join the crowd in case I get lost on my own! Then I decided that I wasn't going to wait for the official 9 am start. I looked at the map of the running trail and thought well I couldn't possibly get lost. I was told the entire run was 10 km.
So off I started, among some early birds. Soon I found that I was running by myself, following the directions put up by the organizers. Having lived in the area for over 20 years, you'd think I knew where I was. Wrong! The truth is, I've never walked far along these park trails never mind running. 28 minutes later, I found myself at the finish line. I thought no way I was that fast! So I kept running and along the way I seemed to be in a loop as the trail looked familiar. Well I thought the heck with the route. Just used my stop watch that I initiated when I began my run. Then I saw some unfamiliar path and I thought OK I finally broke out from the loop. An hour of non-stop running and there I was in a loop again. Fearing that I could run out of energy, I decided to look for a way out. I ended up on Copenhagen Road (off the route map!). My sense of direction, as if I had any, took me to Derry Road; then I saw Glen Erin Drive where the Community Centre was. Shortly after, I found my destination. OK, so I arrived at the other side of the finish line.
My stop watch showed that I ran non-stop for 1 hour and 25 minutes. At my average running speed of 7.5 km an hour, I figured I covered my 10 km run and then some. I was quite pleased with my accomplishment, as much as I'd liked to do better. More importantly, throughout my run I felt that I was doing it for a worthy cause. This was not a routine run for me.
My heartfelt thanks to my family, friends and colleagues who donated generously to support the Terry Fox Foundation. You made me feel good about my effort. From now on I hope to participate in the annual Terry Fox Run!
Click here for a map of the route.
Posted by Ba on Tuesday 15 September 2009 - 04:16:35
My first Terry Fox Run
Better late than never ...
I have never participated in any public running event for any purpose. Somehow, I have made it an "obsession" to run 6 km every morning, 7 days a week for the last 2 years (missing only the odd days when I'm on a plane). Well, I thought for once why not run for something, rather than just do it for myself.
So, on Sunday, September 13, 2009, I am participating in the annual Terry Fox Run for the first time, to support The Terry Fox Foundation in its ongoing work to fund innovative and progressive cancer research programs..
I very much hope you will consider making a donation in support of my effort, confident in the knowledge that your kindness will impact the lives of so many people living with cancer. Let me share the following message with you, as I believe it reflects the core philosophy of this organization and one of the many reasons I choose to support it:
The Terry Fox Foundation firmly believes in its obligation to be fully transparent in all matters relating to fiscal reporting. With only 3 cents of every dollar raised going towards administration, and ten cents going towards fundraising costs, the Foundation is an industry leader in fundraising accountability.
You can donate directly and securely by accessing my personal fundraising page.
Thank you in advance for your generosity and support.
Posted by Ba on Sunday 06 September 2009 - 16:09:47
