what it is to...

It seems like the busier I become, the more things I have that I want to write about.  During the last couple of days, my mother told me a couple of interesting things and I wanted to write it down.

1. What it is to be a professional

I've written before that my mother goes to Curves, a female-only gym where she works out every day.  She isn't happy with the service she gets there, and has complained (politely) about it to the staffs.  But they haven't improved -- they even have a little notice on the wall asking the members to be patient if their service isn't good enough because some staffs are in the process of learning.  My mother thinks their problem is that they lack the sense of pride in what they do.  "They don't understand what it is to be a professional."

I wonder what patients will say if a new doctor asked them to be patient or toloerant if his service wasn't good enough because he was in the process of learning.  It doesn't sound like a good excuse, though I guess patients are called patients because they're supposed to be patient.

It's slightly different but it reminds me of what a famous cram school teacher said to his students.  "It doesn't matter whether you like your job or not.  You're being paid for it, and when someone pays you, they don't care if you like your job.  All that matters is that you take responsibility in what you do.  Having pride in your job doesn't mean you like it; it means you take full responsibility and provide the best service."

2. What it is to find a partner

My mother had a shocking moment when she visited me last autumn.  After taking a shower, she dried her hair and was tidying up the hair-dryer when I came in and took it away from her.  I told her furiously that I hated how she wrapped the twisted electric cord around the dryer.  "Make it straight before you wrap it around."

She thought I had become neurotic because of all the anatomy practice.  She's glad that I've become a bit relaxed now, but she still remembers the incident when she uses the hair-dryer.  The other day, she asked me if I was seeing anyone.  When I said I didn't know what to look for in a man, she only said one thing: "I hope you find someone who cares about getting the electric cord straight before he wraps it around the dryer."

3. What it is to die

My mom was doing the laundry when she found a red disgusting bee-like bug.  It hadn't gotten into the room yet, but she decided to kill it with a spray because it was "so disgusting".  It didn't look like it was going to die so she sprayed a couple of times and watched as the bug eventually suffered to death.  "So I realized even bugs suffer when they die.  It's obvious, but I felt kind of sorry.  The poor thing is still lying on the balcony."

It reminded me of an essay by Naoya Shiga.  It was written during his recuperation after surviving a fatal accident.  He had realized that death and life were not opposites but that death was part of life.  He describes some deaths he witnesses, and one of them is that of a rat with a skewer stuck through its neck.  Some children are making fun of it, but the rat tries to live until the end.  It doesn't give up; it keeps getting up and trying to get out of the ditch.  And Shiga observes that animals are not even allowed to commit suicide.

4. What it is to have a pharmacology test in three days

I have to go back to studying.