October 1999 Archives

There are certain types of questions that bother (or just stomp) me. One of those are "Do you like ...?" or "Do you hate ...?" I just felt uneasy, not knowing why, whenever asked those questions. I think I figured it out (yeah, I am not that bright nor do I have a quick brain).

I realized that, in a way, I can classify things in the world in three categories, not two. Two of them are obvious: the things I like (love, passionate about, etc.) and the things I hate (don't like, detest, etc.). I think if I asked questions on such things of those categories, my answers would come out pretty quickly.

The third is the things that I don't care. Obvious, isn't it? It turns out that there are only handful of things that I either love or hate, where as there are a lot of (or most of) other things that I don't give a damn about. I get really bothered whenever I get asked about my preference on those things. When such a question is asked, usually the questioner wants either a "yes" or a "no". I mean, the intent of the questioner implies that s/he wants either two. If I say "I don't care", s/he would not be satisfied. And it would sound as if I was a mindless, stupid drone or something... And that's what's been bothering me.

I realized that as I experience more of the world and interact with diverse group of people, the size of my "love" and "hate" lists grows, albeit slowly. However, I'd rather be passionate about a few things than spreading too much of my painfully limited enthusiasm over too many things. Also, I'd hope that I would end up with a much longer "love" list than the "hate" list.

Oh, well, I guess I should be more comfortable saying "I don't know" or just shrugging my shoulders. :)