I was walking to Starbucks on my break when I spotted a couple of those charitable organization donation gatherers. Ugh, the familiar dread. I always feel compelled to come up with some lame excuse for not stopping to talk instead of being callous enough to ignore them. This time it was, "I have to be somewhere (pointing down the street), but good luck!" Of course they're still there when I walk back half an hour later, coffee in hand. I was shielding my eyes from the sun with my folded newspaper, and one of them says, "Hey, baby, you need an umbrella for that! I lived in Asia for three years so I know. You don't want that dark skin." Uh, what? I still have no idea what he was trying to convey with that one. Was he trying to be funny? Helpful in a really strange and awkward way? Or maybe it was supposed to be a snide comment about Asians' obsession with skincare?
What is it with White people who've lived in Asia for a few years, think they're suddenly an expert in all things Asian, and then feel a need to announce it to everyone? I'm not the politically-correct police here, but it still annoyed me. I just glanced back at him and said, "Don't you mean parasol?" I was walking briskly, as usual, so I didn't hear any response. If only I had had a more barbed and disdainful comment to shoot back...
I hate when they ask if I have "time to save the environment." Yes, I do have time, plenty of it, and I'm willing to give them time. But they only want money. See, they should be more honest with their solicitation.
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