In Continuum.

Man With The Shovel

Wait a minute man, you mispronounced my name
You didn't wait for all the information, before you turned me away
Wait a minute sir, you kind of hurt my feelings
You see me as a sweet back-loaded puppet, and you've got meal ticket taste

We often hear of the words "Exceeded my expectations", when we speak of somebody's mid term results, a film by a previously under-rated director, or a brand new album by a washed-up artist. Every once in a while, even the worst in the industry can surprise us with their momentary shine, but nobody can predict just how long their stars would remain that way in the skies. I have heard of the same words concerning expectations, used on Britney Spears' new album, which - though however guilty - caused me to be rather tempted to listen to its contents. This is also the case for people, especially when we speak of first impressions. More often than not, the first impressions we make of people are going to be regarded as the basis of our judgments in the days to come. It becomes difficult for somebody to change their opinions about you, no matter how hard you might try to change it. If that certain somebody deemed you as a vile pig, no matter what you do in the future is still going to be seen as acts being committed by a vile pig, perhaps just mildly appalling this time around.

But this entry is not going to be able exceeding someone's expectations, though certainly about a vile pig nonetheless. This time around, we speak of going lower than somebody's already lowered expectation of oneself, and that is exactly the case with this person that we speak of - the man with the shovel. In the beginning, he stood amongst our leagues, like any other person would when our impressions begin at a neutral point. After our numerous encounters, we start to peel this human onion apart to reveal his inner core, as we do with every person we come in contact with really. Seeing his inner self, we have come to a conclusion that this man is not worth anything more than loose change and stale bread, and any expectations for him flew out of the window and fell into an all time low. Personally, I have never had a great impression of him, but viewed him as a form of jester in our group of friends. He's not very bright up in his head academically, though he does possess a certain form of indescribable charm amongst members of the opposite sex. The reason eluded us, and we begin to wonder if stupidity is an attractive personality trait these days. The man cared little for our slanted views and sneers, and continued to dig in deeper into the bedrock of our already impenetrably low expectations.

I see right through you
I know right through you
I feel right through you
I walk right through you

I know I am speaking in riddles, but I don't suppose an account with any more clarity should be suitable for a blog as public as this one. But I guess, as far as the tradition of this blog goes, I suppose it'd be fine to shred any person I wish apart, just as long as no names are being revealed. The man that we speak of - the man with the shovel - plays his part well, but isn't really a man in the strictest sense. My impression of him began in the shady corner of the chalet in May, when my orientation group met up with his as we tried to keep each other awake throughout the dreadful night. He was sitting on top of the small cabinet next to the bed, and his name sounded awfully like the word that we've been using to describe him these days. Hearing that he was from a rather admirable unit in his army days, I created an impression of him that he'd be rather disciplined in his studies, perhaps a potential opponent in terms of my climb to the top of the rankings. Of course, I never thought that far back then as I introduced myself to the rest of the room, and I certainly expected more from the man with the shovel in the days to come. However, I seem to have miscalculated during my initial meeting with him, and his true self was revealed to me.

To see him studying in school would probably be how an ordinary man would feel if he sees a pig flying in the skies. He seldom ever does any studying, and he busies himself with the female population of the school mostly, taking pictures and making sure that everybody finds out about his presences amongst the ladies. It is inevitable to have these individuals amongst our peers, and the male population understood that. He was constantly skipping classes, and the trend has been more predominantly so in this semester alone. In fact, seeing him in school these days would be quite a miracle in itself, altogether. So the impression of him I had in my head went down the drain altogether, but he was still a fun person to be around with. Like I mentioned before, he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but surely a rather entertaining one. There was a quote that I have heard somewhere before that speaks of the dumbest people in the world. It says, that even the dumbest man is not so worthless if he can be set as an example to the others. Slowly, but surely, nobody wanted to be associated with him in terms of academic grades anymore.

You took me for a joke, you took me for a child
You took a long hard look at my ass, and then played golf for a while
Your shake is like a fish, you pat me on the head
You took me out to wine dine 69 me, but didn't hear a damn word I said

We all knew that he was somewhat a Casanova of sorts, though the name hardly fits at all. He likes to flirt, and flirting just seems to be part of his daily diet really. He is somewhat good looking, with his carefully tended hair and dark skin, the build that he trained up during the army days and the million watt smile, any girl would've been struck down. With that kind of looks and the silly way that he speaks, it is not difficult for his targets to miss his stupidity and idiocy in things. Many have fallen for the trap I am sure, but it was until he stepped on the foot of a friend of mine whom I hold dear, did he create this giant sandstorm of hate that he himself can no longer contain. The story behind this mess is a long and dreadful one, one that has been told across dinner tables, canteen tables and coffee tables too many times. But I suppose in the days to come, I'd like to revisit this post all over again and remember just how appalling the acts of a man can be, and at the same time remind myself not to commit the same kind of atrocities this man has done to somebody else.

As far as my definition of love stands, we are all willing victims of its stupidity. You cannot blame the bear being trapped in the bear trap, but rather the hunter that so mercilessly placed them in the bushes. One such bear, a dear friend of mine, was such a victim in his dark scheme of things - though that'd be strangely inappropriate, since he is hardly smart enough to scheme anything more than picking up his fork and knife for dinner. Being on the rocks with her previous lover, the man with the shovel came into play with his fancy words and his so-called charms. It was not difficult for the friend to fall for him, since he was her pillar of support while her old lover was away in an army naval base. It must have been comforting to be in the company of a person such as himself, one that veiled his true self against the outside world. So she fell for him, falling into his traps and broke up with that old lover of hers, thinking that this would be the new beginning that ensues from an end. Of course, that was before she realized just how great a spineless pig he really is.

I see right through you
I know right through you
I feel right through you
I walk right through you

It was like a really unfunny comic book joke for the lot of us that heard it for the first time. A tells B that he likes her, B tells A that she kinda likes him as well. So B asks if A is willing to get into a new relationship. A - contrary to common beliefs - said no. Of course, the answer finally came after many nights of waiting from B, always pressing for an answer even though we all knew how worthless he is as a person. He deserved merely a little more than a random street whore in his life, and I do suppose that living amongst those low-lives would be fitting place for him. Truth to be told, she deserves a whole lot better, but she never saw that until it was too late. The reason he gave so conveniently, was how he likes to flirt around with the other girls, and that he didn't want to be tied down in a relationship. A fitting excuse you might say, though however unfair and cruel. After all, we all know that love is brutal, and it is a game that we are all willing to play and thus, no right and wrong in such matters. But even in a game that draws blood, you can cross the line at times, and he certainly crossed that line with a new love in hand only a week or two after the rejection.

Jonno very aptly described this friend of ours during our dinner over at International Building yesterday evening. After an enjoyable night with a lot of drinks and sushi, we sat around the table and talked about our lives, and the topic inevitably led to the friend of mine I mentioned before, and her plight with the man with the shovel - this is also when the story behind his name was derived. We were speaking of the bad impressions we have had of him as a person even before this whole fiasco started, and how he never fails to surprise the lot of us by dropping to a new low in everything he does. Just when you think his attendance in school can't get any worse, he disappears from school altogether. Just when you think that his grades can't get any worse from last semester, he comes back with big fat zeros for his major papers. And just when you think he can't be any worse of a person to the dear friend of mine, he goes out and get himself attached to a girl whose insides are far worse than her outside, calling this friend of mine a 'swine', amongst other nasty names which must have been uttered under her breaths while hanging out with her other equally vile friends. It is true that you cannot judge a book by its cover, because in this case you can never tell just how repulsive this person can be from her looks - which is not fantastic in the first place. I call her a cross between a giraffe and a hyena, but that was just me being extremely charitable and kind.

Hello Mr. Man, you didn't think I'd come back
You didn't think I'd show up with my army, and this ammunition on my back
Now that I'm Miss Thing; Now that I'm a zillionaire
You scan the credits for your name, and wonder why it's not there

You see, just when you think that this man who is standing on rock bottom in the minds of everybody else around him, he reveals a shovel in his back and begins to dig himself deeper into his world of shame. Somehow, he always manages to do such things every once in a while and surprises us with his utter stupidity. And thus, the name of "Man with the Shovel" was coined by me, and the imagery cannot be further improved with Jonno's befitting description," Dug himself a hole so deep and yet, without any depth to speak of." He is more than a disappointment and a shame, and it would be quite an insult if we were to be associated with him in any way. I don't suppose contacts with him in the future can be avoided, but I - along with a few others - have vowed to keep our distances in order to prevent any of his stupidity to spill into our minds.

The promise of a sustained friendship even after his rejection was not only crude, but tactless as well. It does seem a little confusing why this friend of mine would want to continue any forms of contact with him, even after what he did to her. Perhaps she still holding on to a little light of hope, that chance of starting something anew. But to others - at least for me - we see little sense in treating him as a friend like before, when he certainly isn't treating her the same. After all, when you have been treated like a rag doll, why should the rag doll treat her owner the very same way in return? I feel, that he is merely doing the things he is doing now because of guilt, or this responsibility of still being there as a friend. But then friendships shouldn't involve responsibilities, but a willingness to remain in the company of someone else, because one feels comfortable with another, like I do with this friend of mine. At the end of the day, this man with the shovel is still digging his endless well into the bedrock, and we are just watching from the top with the look of disgust on our faces. I wonder how deep he is doing to go this time, if he is going to spring out and surprise us all over again with his new low. But frankly, like everybody else, I don't give a damn anymore.

I see right through you
I know right through you
I feel right through you
I walk right through you