Friday, July 11, 2008

Huh

“Huh”

That’s how I punctuate every problem that crops up in front of me during my daily life. Be it at work or at home.

And I’ll dot it with an element of surprise.

“Huh?”

Surprised that life has decided to throw another round my way, after I’ve dealt with them countless times before. Surprised that I did not manage to foresee the problem this time round, or that I’d mistimed the occurrence. Surprised that I was surprised that problem’s shown its face.

Then I’ll taint it with a slice of contempt.

“Huh?;”

Contempt that life has decided to throw another round my way, yet again. Contempt at the number of times life has tested my patience and wisdom. Contempt that life still thinks I have not proven myself. Contempt that life would think I don’t have a shoulder big enough to bear the responsibility and consequence when they are due. Contempt that life would think that I’m not strong enough to deal with the emotion of sadness, disappointment, loss, etc. Contempt that life would assume I would put unnecessary weigh on materialism or other people’s opinion, approval or recognition of me. And therefore contempt at the lightness of the problem emerged.

On top of that, I’d add a dose of excitement in it.

“Huh?;!”

Excited at the chance to work my brain to solve another riddle. Excited at the chance to claim another victory over life. I’m one who always believes problem can be solved with our resources on hand plus a little creativity. So, there’s a chance to be creative and squeeze every possible ounce of usefulness from what we have in hand. With a little creativity, 1+1 does not always equal 2.

I’d also mix in a drop of indifference.

“Huh?;!*”

According to Oxford Dictionary, problem means difficult matter requiring a solution. That’s just what it is - a difficult matter. Nothing earth shattering. The sky won’t fall, the sun won’t explode, and the sea won’t rise. It is just a difficult matter.

I rarely, and refuse to, freak out in the face of problem. I’ll probably curse, but I seldom get angry at the untimely occurrence. It’s a waste of time and effort to cry over spilt milk. We don’t have a time machine and there’s no way we can undo the happening. So “Why me?” or “Why now?” is probably the last question to be asked at the immediate moment. I would be quick to look for a solution, and get the job on hand done. Improvement or prevention on the problem could be dealt with later.

“Huh?;!*”

That’s how I’ve been practicing my “Huh” in front of my daily problems. It’s not perfect, yet, but I’m trying very hard.


Oh, one more thing. When you “Huh?;!*”, remember to lift your eyebrow slightly, as slightly as you twist the corner of your mouth, and smile - as if you’re looking at an opponent that’s not even worthy of you lifting your finger. And then deal with the problem.


“Huh?;!*”


7 comments:

Reflections Magazine editor said...

What an excellent post. I have no idea what the problem is but I do know what you mean when you describe the way this new problem makes you feel.

Yet, I have not mastered this spectacular ability of lifting "my eyebrow slightly and twisting the corner of my mouth" as I deal with the problem. It's nice to see you still have a sense of humor in the midst of everything going on around you. I enjoyed this piece very much and even giggled a little at the end.

Johnny Ong said...

good way of handling a problem with that "huh"

Unknown said...

Very interesting your many "huh"s. Well written.

Lin said...

wow, the amazing number of expressions on 'huh', uh huh?

Call me A.S for AkiraSabine said...

Huh? What are you writing about?
All I know is there're lotsa "huh", "huh" and I end up

"HUH?" What do I understand? *LoL*

Harish P I said...

interesting
HUH?

Buzzing J said...

The Fearless Blog:
It's not about any problem in particular, it's about problems in general. But I did write the post on how I always feel after being faced with one problem (can't remember the nature of it now).

You know what would top the "lifting of eyebrows and corner of mouth"? A flick on the nose and a hand signal of "come on" - Bruce Lee style. :)

Johnny Ong, Lian and Harish:
Glad you all agree.

Lena T and Akira:
Actually, it's a lot of Huh's and it's one Huh! Huh?
Well, it's many kinds of huh rolled into one - Huh ?!;*

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