Being screwed

I’ll let it be known that I don’t take kindly to being cheated/screwed, especially if I have put in tons of effort, time and devotion.

Incident 1:

I help a cousin of mine apply for a place at Melbourne Uni. I travel to OAL (Overseas Academic Link), submit her results, help her in her interview, show her formalities and encourage her. On top of that, I paid for her application to uni ($300). She isn’t poor mind you, and it’s really not about the money I’m talking about here.

What happens is that she doesn’t make it to Melbourne Uni. Her mum (my aunt) calls me at work and yells at me. I mean like Hello? Is it my fault your daughter didn’t make it to uni? Is it my fault your daughter did badly for her As? And it escalates; she has the cheek to tell my mum that it is because of me, my cousin now has her “whole future ruined”.

Let’s face it. If you’ve got nothing good to say, just shut up. If you can’t even bring yourself to say thank you for the effort/sacrifice people put in for you. The very least you could do is shut up.

Solution: Bridle your tongue and shut up – a skill not many possess.

Incident 2:

I leave work early to meet a client. Picture me, already seething from what happened just now. I’m looking forward to collecting my professional fees which is due already. It’s the first payment for preliminary design/concept. $4000. So you can imagine, I’m pretty excited.

I enter the office at Tanjong Pagar and present my design. AFTER I have presented everything, this piece of dung tells me sweetly “Oh, actually, I have already chosen someone else to design my place”. I am shell-shocked and not at all pleased. I had a good mind to lambaste this scum in front of his own workers. I honestly was under the impression I had already won the commission. When I called him yesterday, he assured me that he would pay me today and that the presentation was simply a “formality”. Well, I didn’t shout nor rant. I just left my drawings there and said “Here’s your $4000” and I walked off. I couldn’t be bothered about him chasing me all the way to the lift. And I refuse to answer his calls.

Lessons learnt:

1. There will always be unreasonable assholes in this God-forsaken world. Don’t bother about them. They blame you for everything that happens.

2. Get your client to sign on the dotted line ASAP so they don’t cheat your money.

3. Maintain your dignity and pride. Always. Never relent on your actions or bargain for an outcome. They will pounce on your moment of weakness with a smile and go “A-Ha, I told you so”. Unless of course, it means a lot to you and humility is absolutely compulsory.

I’m going to exile myself for a little while. I need money and time to myself.