Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Baa Baa Black Sheep

'Have you any wool?'

Turns out his parents aren't giving him any. Proverbial bags of wool - or money, in this case.

As always, Chinese New Year is a great time to catch up with friends and family, spinning sensational stories new and old over mountains of kuaci and rivers of oolong tea. Though tales of triumph are always welcome, we all know it's the salacious scandals that always get our ear; from ludicrous adultery to the occasional blacksheepisms.

Said the Black Sheep... 'Now how should I most infuriate my parents today?' 

Yes, I just made up a word but when it comes to the black sheep in the family, Richie Runt, we'd need an entire chapter devoted to his peculiar anachronisms. Rather than reveal a new shining coat of wool with the coming of spring, Richie has instead returned with his usual dour black.

Paul : I heard Richie's taken a job. 
Lori : Yeah, as a sales promoter. 
Paul : That isn't code for ah long, right?
Lori : God I hope not!
Paul : That's a relief. Guess we don't have to bail him out anytime soon yet. Why isn't he attending college then? 
Lori : His parents refused to send him since he only wants to be a deejay. And Richie refuses to study anything else. 
Paul : He wants to be a deejay? That's certainly new!

Okay. It's not the deejay bit that has annoyed me.

Look, lots of talented musicians become extremely successful disc jockeys. But I am pretty sure they worked very hard to perfect their craft; collected records, sampled tunes, mixed their own music etc. With the wonders of sound technology and the various nifty applications these days, amateur deejays can practically do everything on their own - even up to publishing their own songs on public platforms such as Youtube and Soundcloud.

Isn't that what you do when you have such a dream? Back in school when I dreamt of taking up graphic design; I sketched, I drew, I painted, I took part in competitions, I did posters for schools plays and musicals etc. Not a day went by when I didn't have a pencil in hand waiting for a quick doodle.

Unlike what little effort Richie has made to achieve that hypothetical dream of his. When questioned further, he didn't seem all that enthused about his sudden decision either. Not only were his disinterested grunts particularly lacklustre, he didn't even know much about the skills needed to be a proficient disc jockey.

It's like Richie suddenly woke up one morning with a petulant childish whim most guaranteed to drive his conservative parents up the wall. Is it any wonder Bo Peep didn't give in to her black sheep?


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

sometimes it doesn't occur to people we need to make an effort to achieve..and "the youth is wasted on the young"