Friday, August 14, 2009

Whose perspective is it anyway?


Funny how skewed perspectives can get. I say this with particular reference to the insensitive but widely-held notion in these local parts that spinsters are mostly either all pathetic or desperate specimens of humanity, and that, to put it delicately, once you're past the first flush of youth, you're supposed to meekly accept you're now fair game to being the butt of crude public jokes about old maids etc. My fellow blogger Aduhi vented on all of that here so I don't plan to tread into that territory now.

What I'm more focused on is that having being a netizen for several years now and the Mizo online circle being primarily dominated by people below 30 years of age, I've pretty much resigned myself to being thought of as something of a senior citizen. Even with these handles/nicknames/online personaes we all create, I still get the oh so respectful U attached to my online names. Helloo, that's quite unnecessary since I don't even know you personally and probably never will.

A senior citizen online and an old maid in daily life, little wonder I've been deluded into thinking I must have one foot in the grave. Last evening shattered that idea. Another fellow blogger wanted a picture of an old Mizo woman reading a book and asked if I had one. I said no, being busy harvesting pineapples and other virtual produce. The incorrigible fellow persisted, saying I could take one of myself and he'd blacken out my face. (yes, indeedy, I have the chat log right here, thanks to gmail's dinky little chat log feature) Being the obliging kind, I did as requested and duly sent the picture - all within half an hour, at the very least I'm sure. He examined the picture carefully, said he'd have to edit it a lot and finally said something that brings us all to the point of this post: "ure not old enuff though :( but ill take care of that too." I quickly ran a critical eye over the picture and aha, even to my tired, bleary eyes I certainly didn't exactly qualify for an Old Woman prototype. Anything but.

Thanks, Amos, I owe you one :D

15 comments:

  1. Hahaha, too hilarious! Whoever in their right sense imagined you'd qualify for an old woman!!! Must thank the joker for providing such a good laugh.

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  2. Old woman reading a book - that is sooo not you. Old women are those above 70 years old. We really need to redefine who is "old".

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  3. i hate the fact that our society tags spinsters to be those who have no chance with the guys..well, nowadays, i know that most spinsters make it their choice not to get married. there may be numerous reasons for this but, mostly because guys are jerks in the first place..secondly, they are jerks..you get the picture..

    when it comes to 'old' as an issue, we are all going to look ugly when we get old. so, it's like the pot calling the kettle black..only years apart..

    miss Z, you are not old. not even close. you know what's old? "guys"..hehe

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  4. Yeah mesjay and ambkins, it was a blessing in disguise really. I realised I'm really only just a lil' old and not actually old old hehe.

    Lol GK, thanks a ton for the thumbs up. And it's true that not all spinsters never had anyone to pop them the question. Some of us just prefer to stay this way or personal circumstances forced the decision on us. Hihi you sound a bit anti-men, btw. They're not really all jerks, you know :)

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  5. told you you are just a youngster.....

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  6. It would be odd and awkward for me not to call you with the prefix "U" even before your online nick, because thats the way most of us were brought up. Even when it comes to so called senior netizens (of which you definitely aren't) I call people like mzvision as Pu mzvision because I know him personally and even his sons are older than me. I don't think I can ever bring myself to calling him just mzvision, same way I can't call you just J. Respect runs deep in our society.

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  7. I still remember once you'd told me to erase K'u that i am using to address your nick in one online community site:)

    never mind, we(421) still thinking of you as "sweet sixteen!"

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  8. I'm as young as you are then, John.

    Illusionaire, you remind me of NRIs who choose to live abroad and then fail to keep up with what's what in the old country. Let me assure you that no Mizo nula worth her salt wants to be called U today, never mind the respect or upbringing of her would-be callers. Min zah tak tak tu te chuan kan zah an hlauh zawk vangin min mawl biak fo zawk. Online nick te nen ngat phei hi chuan in U hi a in tuha lo best ber om e.

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  9. zarzar, i phone kalsanin ka blog te i lo leng lut ve hi lawm avangin ka biangah mittui a luang :P

    fonzc, van fel si. A lehpekah ka sermon anga i lo chhiar leh dap don nia :)

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  10. i referred to you as U-Ji in my latest blog. what you gonna do about it now woman? :D
    i done with my blawg now. Im honored that i inspired you to write this blog etc. etc.

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  11. U Mos, I believe you meant to say you're honoured. Be a good boy and write out I'm an Indian and we use British English in India fifty times. Regret to inform you btw that you didn't inspire me to write this blog, just this blog post. Ees beeg deeferens, no?

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  12. Heyy, I totally get you, amen, amen. I mean, what is this whole U business anyway? With due respect to Illusionaire, I think most of those who U us nowadays don't really do it out of respect... it's just another way of telling the world how very young they are! Good job!

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  13. I think "U" is totally unnecessary...i prefer PI ...from peeps...maybe cuz im married..but hey i used to find it so weird when "U" was used among colleagues when i was working in mizoram...i felt it was more of an embarassment for both sides....that im talking about in real life...among netizens..i think its moronic to call others "u" ..as for our nula senior jokes...Its high time we improved our sense of humour...and laughed at real jokes like loser guys getting a wife and feeding her with his dad`s money....ka thin a ti rim thin alom J thats why so much venom..:)))

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  14. You're so right, DDB, it's not always a show of respect but a simpering oh you're so old and I'm so young sly, snide mentality.

    jes, I know, and I couldn't agree more. And netizens who U you, online nick and all, are just infantile idiots.

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