Tummy in hiding

No. 3 is different from my other children in that he has fatty genes from my side of the family. (Two of my brothers like to compare whose tummy is bigger at family get-togethers.) The other three have skinny genes from my husband’s side but thankfully, the older two have filled up nicely. The only one in the family who looks like a stick is no. 4.

As a baby, no. 3 was adorably chubby but when his girth kept expanding in his primary school years, his profile looked like that of a tub. This year he suddenly shot up. The additional height gives him a slimmer profile, though he is still  on the fleshy side (bearing in mind that he is a meatarian.) However, his tummy still protrudes a little. Whenever we tease him about his “spare tyre”, he would suck in his stomach and pretend that he is super fit. If I reach out to pinch his chubby cheeks, he would suck in his cheeks so that I can’t pinch them.

My mother-in-law likes to comment on no. 3′s rotundness each time she sees him. So much so he has now taken to sucking in his stomach whenever he sees her. The last time we had dinner with MIL, she said he looks more proportionate now that he is taller. I’m sure the camouflaged tummy has something to do with it.

No, thank you

Giant opened at Setia Alam on 12 August 2010.  The layout is rather like nearby Tesco’s. You have to take the escalator to the first floor where the hypermarket is located.  Giant’s entrance is located on the far left after you get off the escalator. You have to pass by many hazards before you get to buy your groceries in peace.

The hazards come in the form of sales people who want to entice you to buy anything from induction cooker hobs to perfumes to water heaters to children’s encyclopaedia. I don’t want to sound rude, so I usually just brush them off with a “No, thanks.” But some people can be really persistent, especially if they spot you with a full trolley. A loaded trolley seems to be a magnet for these sales people, shouting out, “Hey! I’m loaded with lots of money and stuff!  Come sell me more goods!”

So there I was, trying to avoid the eagle eyes of the sales promoter after I’d done my shopping.  (Never lock eyes with them, that’s an invitation for them to approach you.) From the corner of my eye, I saw one young woman striding purposefully in the same direction I was heading. I know where she was headed : me.

Excuse me, dkdkkek lwketcmdkk  ekeke e iiieiekk dkellwlsekkee k kkekk ueuoeoie llskeke, free recycling bag. Her elevator speech was gibberish to my ears, honest.  I don’t know what she was peddling and I don’t want a free recycling bag. I think a better method to get customers’ attention is to carry a small card, about A5, with big bullet points for the main selling points of the product. They can still babble their elevator speech but for those who aren’t really listening, at least the card can be shoved at them, politely of course.

Then there are the credit card canvassers (CCC) lying in wait at the check out counters. Again, a loaded trolley is a big magnet to the CCCs.

Do you have a Giant-xx card? No? Very easy to apply.

You say, Sorry but I’m in a hurry.

But it will only take one minute to sign up.

Haha, right, if you can do things at fast-forward mode of 20X.

I’ve been on the other side before. I was an encyclopaedia sales rep about twenty years ago. I was one of those fellas who would hang around the mall trying to entice you into my stall so that I can show you my books. I know how hard it can be. I know how demoralizing the situation can get when everyone just pushes you away with a No, Thanks or when they just plain ignore you. That’s why I always try to be as courteous as I can to these people. They’re just earning an honest living.

So it’s “No, thanks” for me.

If this doesn’t work, the line which always does is : I’VE GOT IT ALREADY.

See you 22 Aug at One U