I did not know how and why in the first place i decided to say 'yes' when i was invited to speak to resurrect the dead (White Coffin campaign). Things got a little bumpy at first because i think i'm receiving a lot of calls and about a lot of things which i think is petty. But coming to think about it, they would do that because they have complete no idea who and what are they dealing with (they got my name through their colleague who happens to heard about me before).
Some of the agitation got me disturbed is perhaps they are treating me like a 'kid' or perhaps student who they unsure whether can handle himself or not (Does people really have that low confidence on our students nowadays?).When i met them, i asked them sharply: If the speaker u invited is my lecturer LikMeng, will he get the same treatment? Guess what the answer: erm...(pause)....NO. A laugh and smile was my immediate answer. I wonder what is the difference between me and a lecturer...oh ya...i don't have a title Dr. in front... (if i ever get a PhD, i promise myself not to use it anyway in my name!)
They run through my slides, several times i guess. First scan: OK! Then D-day, in the morning i receive a call: "..we want to talk about ur talk today and hope u can do some adjustments or else we might need to call the talk off..". WHAT? Talking about efficiency, one hour before the talk the say wanne call it off. Got all the trouble to their office earlier explaining wat am i gonna talk..geezzzz.. some issues about attacking plastics cause is part of their biz.
Did i manage to deliver eventually? I soldiered on and stand firm on what i'm gonna deliver. Are they still worried, i guess they do till i deliver it. Any alterations done? nop! Toning down? nop...is all the same as i wanted to deliver. Feedback? Some are happy to get plastic-tupperware tumbler and some cloth bags courtesy of Kampus Sejahtera USM.
How do i measure success/lessons (failure by most common terms)? I guess we need to see in a ..couple of months ahead. They promised to give me updates. Till date, no email, no pictures sent...nothing. Perhaps ill bug them sometime soon! Lesson learned. People are aware a little bit. They just need more supporting information to judge it. They sometimes havent got a clue what is going out there and issues involved. Plastic-man Mr Lim (Malaysian Plastic Manufacturer Association boss) told them a week before my talk tat plastic is OK and safe even recyclable. So is up to them to judge and weigh which kind of life they wan to lead, at least im sure of my stand. What about u?
Overall i still love talking about it although is already 3-years-old. I think the title White Coffin never fails or yet to fail to attract attention. So anyone still game on listening?
abe
