Weirdly interesting kind of day or The nature of humans

Can’t decide on a title for this post. It is a tug of war between these 2.

It is weirdly interesting because all the weird people who I have not been in touch for quite a while, have decided to call within the same 24 hours. And every call makes me wonder about the nature of us human.  

Incident 1: Received 2 missed calls from this loser of a guy. An ex-client who tried to put a fast one on me under the guise of catching up over dinner while his wife to be was out partying. Did not bother picking up the calls. Can’t understand how he has the cheek to call again. Really si feng ri xia! (loosely defined as morality of society down the drain.) 

Incident 2: Received a phone call from this ex-client whom I have not been in touch for two years. She is calling to catch up. Turned up that her husband just filed for divorce and she is looking a listening ear. Amazing that she thinks of me, who she has not been in contact for 2 years. I obligingly listened. I hmm and haw at the right pauses. I asked questions and listened some more. After I put down the phone, I wonder if she thought of me because she thinks I am a good listener or because she has no friends to talk to. Then, I shrugged and decided that it doesn’t matter, all I have to do is to listen. After all, we all have down time. I believe there is 2 sides to every coin. I do not believe that it is all the husband’s fault. But, under the circumstance, there is no harm in just offering a little sympathetic listening.

Once I put down the phone, my colleague next to me commented wryly “our job is often the job of a counselor too, isn’t it?” My reply “Yes, but we have to constantly remind ourselves not to expect any reciprocation from clients. We need to be constantly very conscious of the line between friends and clients. People can turn nasty very fast.” I swear this career is turning me into a cynic. In a way, it is good too cos being a realist is the best line of defence in most situations.

Incident 3: Phonecall from J who needs a listening ear to vent his frustration about his mum. I am used to this. We are constantly downloading our frustrations with our respective mums to each other. It is the fellowship of cousins. After all, it is easier for us to understand and feel each other’s frustration since we already know the family so well. In this case, I can really empathise and sympathise. I did tried to offer some suggestions but not likely to solve the problem. I wish I can help more but all I can do is to just listen. Poor J. Things are not easy for him.