This will potentially burn any bridges I might have with peers who think I’m talking about them.
Fine.
If the shoe fits.
The beauty of being over 50 now is I don’t care so much what others think anymore. And even if they do (or in my weaker moments, I do), too bad!
Cos it’s hard for me to keep this under wraps as I’m increasingly losing patience with what I call “peacock peers”!
An incident two weeks ago was the last straw on this camel’s back!
But first, you’re probably wondering…
…what are “peacock peers”?
Simply put, they are those in my age bracket who think they can behave like those ten or more years their junior.
You know, the ‘kids’ who posts daily (sometimes multiple times on same day) their OOTDs (outfit of the day), or QQs (quotable quotes), or inspiring rags-to-riches tales, one (more like many) moment-in-time experience/s that have made them richer, wiser, happier, blah blah blah…
Not to mention coveting the media spotlight every chance they get, all in the name of getting their message across (or so they claim)!
Right.
Oh and of course if you can look like these folks, follow their lead, do/read/eat/drink/dress/think/etc exactly like them, then you too can have that kind of TikTok-able life as well. Full of big selfie smiles and rainbow-coloured ribbons.
Phooey!
Guys, listen up.
Do you seriously think you’re still in your swinging 20’s and 30’s, or even fab 40’s? That age is just a number? That you’re only as old as you feel? That keeping up with the Kardashians is what real living is?
Whoever came up with these convenient quips obviously wasn’t over 50, and waking up daily with audible creaks in their joints!
Stop fooling yourselves!
C’mon! Stop fooling yourselves, and the rest of the world.
Gym and diet all you want to get that hot bod look if you wish. Keep dispensing tired, old nuggets of purported sage lines to catch more “likes” and eyeballs on your Facebook account or worse, the ultimate “in-the-name-of-thought-leadership” LinkedIn account!
But the end remains the same: True living my good people, happens in the mundane and insignificant humdrum moments of our daily minutiae.
Now let’s see you Instagram that! Oh wait, you already do! But for all the wrong reasons (*eye roll*)!.
Ok, that was cathartic. I feel calmer now that I’ve gotten those emotions off my chest.
Actually, patience for me has always been in short supply, and a major challenge. So yes I do apologise if I came off too strong.
It’s just that when such behaviour is blatantly seen among peers I just sort of enter into a keyboard warrior frame of mind.
Especially when a recent incident nearly drove me ballistic.
Yes, I’m speaking of that “last-straw-which-broke-the-camel’s-back” moment I mentioned earlier.
The last straw on this camel’s back!
These past few weeks saw lots of local media coverage about the special needs community, triggered by a tragic incident involving two young boys with special needs.
Those who regularly advocate as caregivers in the community spoke actively on this matter, including Mr A, the name-dropper I posted about last year, who seemed almost in a rush to have his views aired.
How do I know? Well he made a point to send e-news clippings of the article he was quoted in two weeks ago to all and sundry, including (unfortunately) a chat group I was in (I almost wanted to remove myself from the group right there and then!).
And, I kid you not, he made sure to say in effect to everyone in the group: “Quick go read because I was quoted in the article…”!
But that wasn’t the last straw for me.
The last straw for me was his audacity to private-message me that night to ask if I could convert the article to a pdf format and post it to everyone. And he chose to ask me just when I was about to go to bed! I took two deep breaths, calmed myself down, deleted his text, and somehow managed to fall asleep.
But the next day when I woke up, the memory returned afresh. I found myself fuming and wondering what on earth made him do it.
First of all, I didn’t even think he knew I existed!
Second of all, he’s NEVER texted me directly before. Ever.
I can only surmise it’s because in this chat group, I occasionally share useful pdf news articles of a local mainstream paper I subscribe to. So Mr A likely thought I was the group secretary, on standby to service his ego whenever he wishes.
Right.
“Mountain out of a molehill, you say? I beg to defer!”
I know what you’re thinking so let me stop you right there.
You’re about to normalise this by saying in effect that I’m making a mountain out of a molehill.
If only.
But I’ve seen upfront the seductive allure of “celebrity-dom” and how it drives people to distraction as they constantly seek that spotlight after the first encounter. Sort of like what a bite on the forbidden fruit must have felt for Adam and Eve the first time.
Heck, I too have had my share of “schoolgirl giddy moments”, though thankfully having lived to 52 now, I’m a little less affected (I think).
But I see many of my peers succumbing, and while I don’t blame them, I do think a number of them need professional help!
They might well have “missed out” from being part of the in-crowd during their younger days in school. Whether falling short in the looks department or socially inept during those pimple-ridden days, these “peacock peers” have since blossomed, albeit late in life, and are desperately playing catch-up now!
Far be it for me to help though, as I too fall prey to such struggles now and then. In my case, thankfully, it helps I don’t have a penny to my name nor any powerhouse job titles or privileged status quo to parade.
So until such time I develop the skills and patience for such peers, I just pray I won’t ever get another text like that one, right before bed time.
Cos the next time, I really might go ballistic!
