being touched
I was thinking about my earlier post ‘cultural differences‘, and would like to expand on that a little…
Memories are like a deep, dark, quiet pool of still water. Then once a while a single drop of water would fall into the pool, and there would be ripples, and certain memories from your younger days awakened. Obviously I paraphrased this from somewhere, as I am not that clever as to come up with this analogy by myself.
Anyway I suddenly remembered that I went through a period when I detested human contact. This must have been during the rebellious teen years. I didn’t like to be touched. Skin to skin was disgusting and loathsome. I think it was brought on by a slight OCD case when I was younger. Yes I just self-diagnosed. But when I think about it now, it doesn’t seem right that I needed to neutralise every action. Think Jack Nicholson in the movie ‘As Good As It Gets’ multiple times of switching the light, locking the door and the importance of equal stepping when you walk. These and other little similar stuff, I am happy that I am off it now.
Back then, the human contact thing was like, if someone touched me, I felt an irrational desire to instantly wash or rub the spot where the skin has been touched. Otherwise I would feel dirty and uncomfortable ( though I was good at hiding it ). I remember how and why I got out of the neutraliser action phase, but not how nor why I got out of the skin touching phase. But I did. No, you still can’t touch me if you are a stranger to me.
It seems that this has nothing to do with cultural differences anymore. I think my initial points are that, I am not a natural touchy-feely person unless I really like you, which means you have to be either a member of my family, or my close friends, or my bf. I know some people have this thing of touching the other person everytime they speak and try to make a point. I understand that it’s their thing, but it’s a bit weird for me lor. Like how some people retreat to a corner when they are in an elevator; they are protecting their personal space as much as they can.
So my very digressed point is, please avoid the two cheek kissing thing with me, unless you have been brought up in an environment where it is the norm, or you really need to fulfill your daily human contact quota.
But if you go ‘lah’ at the end of every sentence and you still do the single or double cheek kissing thing with me, I shall smack you. You just wait and see lah.
Related Posts
- me wants to be a lean machine: day 11
- how do you shake it?
- something about the weekend
- the pursuit of happyness and others who can’t spell
- weekend notes
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
I really really REALLY hate the double cheek air kiss thing. So fucking pretentious and wannabe elite. It fucking PISSES ME OFF. every time it happens to me I really feel fucking awkward because i REALLY REALLY REALLY DONT WANT TO DO IT but i always end up letting them do it to me anyway. SIAN.
-_-
Harro. This is malaysia okay not fucking FRANCE.
handshake leh? can boh…also touching? i dun wan get smack if i bump into u somewhere and offer handshake
Awww, you just sound like you need a big hug. Lah.
FA: same here, heh
chris: handshake ok la… cheek on cheek is a bit more personal
rajulkabir: cometh! I’ll pretend to be justin
lulu wants to meet you
are you going for the nat tan forum at chinese assembly hall tonight?
if you are, i’ll say hi
and promise, i wont touch-touch you
but will shake your hand if you extend your hand
and would probably smack you, if you say something grossly wrong.
u know what… 2 mins ago i was just googling for location map for the thing tonight.
WHERE IS IT OMGG HOW TO GET THERE WITHOUT DRIVING?!?!?!?!?
“Harro. This is malaysia okay not fucking FRANCE” – True. Or Holland (which it is mandatory to kiss 3 sides!!), or Germany, or Italy, or Spain or most of Europe. Also very prominent in South America, where it can get quite out of hand!
So, are you saying that you are *better*? Or just insular?
Just because you Malaysians “might be” culturally or religiously repressed from childhood, and have an aversion to human contact as adults, doesn’t give you a license to judge any other cultures. (Directed mainly at Fireangel, Lah!)
Or become an Eskimo! LOL!
Handshake also cannot??!
i like to air kiss cheeks all the time, especially wif pretty girls
Nothing a cattle prod to face wont fix.
Question of the day is, where can a acquire one. Hmmm.
May have to go low-tech and acquire a shovel instead.
On a side note, hot/cute chicks are more than welcomed to touch my tra la la
*cough*
I
hot chick with a sexy yellow polka dot bikini wearing a g-string giving me cheek to cheek oso can give me an orgasm. so i cant compliant.
FA – i give u double kiss sure you want la. chak! i hv smooth cheeks. kik kik.
so u are a hand slut, not a cheek slut?
In my culture, we drop our pants and do a double groin to groin air kissy thing.
Double cheek air kiss thing is SOOO third world.
grant s: who’s judging other cultures? comment was directed at Malaysians who do that thx.
Grant: eskimos rub noses, kan?
leongsoon: can lah. here, have all the germs from my fingers
delia: does that mean i can air kiss you?
fox: uhuh
difsh: so easily satisfied…
paul: indeed
jamil: what culture is this?
I hate it when people pull my pants down and kiss my cheeks! So rude!!!! Just cause I tell them to kiss my Ass doesn’t mean they have to take it literally. Stupid French and their cheek kissing!!!! [Just kidding all French people who read Suan! The French people who don't read Suan can kiss my ass!!!! Wooops! That'll bring on trouble!]
I am stuck in a place where men are expected to air-kiss each other’s cheeks as a greeting. And it’s right, right, left just to make things extra confusing.
suan next time i see you I’m gonna do that OMG-handsintheair-doublecheeek routine. heh heh….
dabs: you do take everything so literally, heh..
tigerjoe: oh but where you’re at, homosexuality is a given, no?
ahseng: i will kick you, biatch
(simply because i lap u 
)
Although I do not mind the C2C (Cheek 2 Cheek) gesture, it gets rather annoying sometimes when some folks cannot decide if they want to do it one time (only on one cheek), 2 times (both cheeks) or 3 times (right, left, right). Result : Nose-bumping session.
I remember a gal who always insists on 3-times-air-kissy-C2C and if someone stopped at the 2nd kiss, she would go “Woi! One more time lah!” Hillarious!
Next time, just say you take Petai, durian, garlics, Chao-Tofu, salty-fish, belacan, prawn paste, goat cheese. I’m sure it will reject 99% bear hug or cheek touch.
Chinese assembly hall actually quite accessible. You can take monorail, stop at Jalan Maharajalela/Stadium Merderka. Putra LRT, stop at Pasar Seni station, and take 500m walk.