getting used to what you're not used to.

ever so often, i am reminded of a scene from a show quite many years back. i don't even remember what show it was, or who the actors were, but what i remember as clear as day was the matter-of-fact statement "喝苦就惯了". you get used to the bitterness. it gripped me then, it still grips me now. it's true. i used to think i could not possibly get used to the bitterness of kopi, but then one day i tried kopi siew dai, and hey it wasn't as bad as i thought. so i've been ordering kopi siew dai from this regular stall, and sometimes it comes out still quite sweet. sometimes i wonder if my tolerance for sweetness has decreased, or is it just that kopi is just too sweet. but just recently, my kopi siew dai turned extremely unsweetened. i wondered if i have been drinking normal kopi all this while, or if my tolerance suddenly increased? but anyway, as i was drinking this cup of kopi siew dai, it got better and more bearable. in fact, i found it quite nice after awhile. 喝苦 indeed 会惯.

of course, i could do the cliche of drawing the parallel to life. i'm a firm believer that splurging is an unnecessary consumption, very much like sugar. it gives a good feeling but actually does you no good, and you're better off without it. you get used to a little discipline, to scrimp for a better cause. it's hard for me to say, since i'm really hardly much of a spender. i do have big ticket items, which i also end up using it's worth. having some earning power does make me feel a bit more generous to myself sometimes, particularly for needs, like when i needed a new pair of shoes for work. i still waver when it comes to wants, because it doesn't justify another dress, or a new ipod because i miss plugging into soothing music. i hold off, wait for good deals, convince myself i don't need it; sometimes i succeed, sometimes i succumb. in all honesty, it's not actually a necessity if you can get used to not having it.

 but some things just take a longer getting used to.