Comfort Zones

Remember sometime ago I was posting about comfort zones and risk zones and doing things outside your comfort zone until your comfort zone enlarges and your risk zone becomes smaller? I've had a good few days because I've been trying to do things that lie way outside my comfort zone and as a result I've realised that with God's help nothing is impossible and the thrill of knowing that you are doing something you aren't capable of without Him, is quite an experience.

On Friday the Charles Morris cell group people, some of them, decided to do something to raise money for Red Nose Day. Everyone was supposed to dress up as a superhero and go "busking" - stand stock-still until someone dropped money in your cup and then do some superhero-y thing. But although they were really enthusiastic about the idea when it was first put forward, they dropped out one by one until there were only a few of us left: Susana, Nick, Ed, and *me*. Nick looked a little like Neo from The Matrix and had a Matrix-y coat (you can see the quality of my English is deteriorating) so it was decided he would go as Neo. Ed looked like the Incredible Hulk and me and Susana... didn't know what to go as.

Nick and Ed seemed like quiet and serious people, and Susana and I can be crazy at times but we didn't know Nick and Ed well enough to be crazy with. Ed was half-hearted and I feared that he would pull out. I had my doubts about everything but prayed that it would be ok. When the day came I woke up early and tried to piece a costume together. In the end Susana and I went as "Trinities" dressed all in black.

To be honest I was half-hearted about dressing up because I didn't know how everyone would be looking like, whether they'd be putting in effort into their costumes. Reached Parkinson's early and had a horrible pounding feeling in my heart, and was thinking to myself, "I don't want to do this, this is waaay out of my comfort zone." Hid in Parkinson's building, uncomfortable with the all-black look, until Nick called. Ring ring. Went out to see

Nick and Ed in long cassocks and sunglasses looking SO cool and SO much like Neos and I just exclaimed aloud in surprise! I never expected them to be so sporting! In the end they staged mock fights at Parkinson's steps and Susana and I went around with Red Nose boxes asking people for donations and everyone raised £22.60 in an hour. It was really unbelievable and I didn't expect that I would have enjoyed myself so much!

So doing things outside your comfort zone is so rewarding because when they turn out well you're always surprised... and glad. And you always feel such a sense of God's grace.

Did something else out of my comfort zone today. We went to a Sticks and Stones poetry gathering at Strawberry Fields today but it was slightly different. Compelled by my conscience, I compiled a poem about Singlish in Singlish from bits of poems and jokes I found off the internet (apologies all copywrited material people). As such I don't think I really wrote it, just kind of shaped it. The main part is from a poem by Cornelius Pang, and I put bits of jokes I remembered about Singlish saying things much more succintly than English in it, and the end result was this:

Wah! I hear now that we got big debate.
They said future of proper English is at the stake.
All because this stupid Singlish oready spoil the market.
And if we want to change donno whether it's too late.

Aiyoh! Ang moh hear us talk like this will also want to faint
Even our Uni graduates speak like street Ah Bengs.
Singlish is like rojak, everything throw inside and mix
Got Malay, Chinese, Tamil, English and Hokkein just for kicks.

You want some exampurs? I can give you lor.
Prepare yourself for some assaulting on your eardrums hor.

Aiyah...
In England when they do not have your sizes anymore
They say, "I'm sorry, we don't have this in the store"
In Singapore they would just say, "Solly lah no stock!"

In England when you return a call you say "Hello, who's there?
Did someone call for me before when I was doing my hair?"
In Singapore they would just say, "Ello, who call eh?"

In England when turning someone down they say "I'd prefer not
To do that, sir, if you don't mind. It's a load of tommyrot."
Whereas in Singpaore it would just be "Dowan, lor!"

When asking someone to go out with you you would carefully
Choose your words and say, "Would you go out with me?"
But Singaporeans would concisely say, "Be my steady."

Aiyah, if you write like that exam sure fail liao
The teacher mark your paper will also be kee siao
Basically Singlish got good and got bad.
Actually hor everything in life is like that.

Other people say we all got no culture.
We only got alot of joint business venture.
So we got no culture to glue us together.
End up, we like a big bunch of feathers.

Wind blow abit too strong only we fly away.
Everybody all go their own separate ways.
When other countries' influences all enter,
We sure kena affected, left right and centre.

So what we are we donno, we still very blur
We think in English, speak in Singlish, spell like British - hurh...
We donno what our culture is, because we got alot
Malay and Chinese, Ang Mor and Indian in one melting pot.

So got this kind of problem, like that then aiyah, how?
Either sit and wait or can do something now.
But actually we all got one "culture" in our Singlish.
It is like fried rice lor, it is our common dish.

Maybe this culture is not the best one around.
But we have to tahan until a better one is found.
Not all the time you can marry the best man.
If you got no prawns, bo pian fish also can.

I donno whether you agree with me or not?
I just simply sharing with you my thoughts.
Singlish is just like the little garden weeds
That you pull and pull like crazy and they still refuse to quit.
Aiyah,
Sure got some people like and some do not like,
But Singlish, and English, will still live side by side.

The only thing I feel bad about is that I didn't say that it was compiled off the Internet, so people thought it was all my own work and when they came up to say well done after that, I didn't say that it was mostly from the Internet! So... sorry Cornelius Pang, all the credit should go to you - you are brilliant.

I was surprised that people were laughing and that people actually understood it, and people were so amused at everything... they laughed when I said that I came from Singapore, the land where chewing gum is illegal - and cheered - they laughed at the posh accent bits where English is contrasted with Singlish - they laughed at almost every funny bit and I was too surprised to be as nervous as I was before that.

Thinking back I remember thinking that I'd never have the chance to stand in a smokey pub full of English people and read out poetry about my country and the bane of my country again, ever, in my whole life. And I'd never see most of the people there again. So it didn't really matter, did it, doing something I was uncomfortable about doing and that I'd never done before. Because the worst that could happen was failing - but a few months later people would forget exactly what it was you'd messed up anyway.

So people came up after that and said it was good, and as we were leaving this guy came and gushed in quite a girly way, and I was surprised, and pleased, and thankful.

So I have learnt that things aren't ever as bad as they seem, and doing something for the first time can turn out to be extremely surprising and rewarding.