Define "Spouse"
My company is holding its annual dinner next week. The RSVP list has been circulated round the department and thoughtfully, spouses are invited too.I was surprised to learn that a lot of the young clerks in the department were married, as evidenced by the numerous ticks in the column for spouse on the RSVP list...I never knew...had always thought they were happily single and available....
...till, I discovered from a fleeting comment that the definition of "spouse" was stretched beyond belief.
Not only was "spouse" construed as that defined by the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary :
Main Entry: spouse
Pronunciation: 'spaus also 'spauz
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French espous (masculine) & espouse (feminine), from Latin sponsus betrothed man, groom & sponsa betrothed woman, bride, both from sponsus, past participle of spondEre to promise, betroth; akin to Greek spendein to pour a libation, Hittite sipant-: married person : HUSBAND, WIFE
- spou·sal /'spau-z&l, -s&l/ adjective
...apparently it is also interpreted to include brothers/ sisters/ mothers/ fathers/ friends/ ex-colleagues & their husbands!!!!
Pure exploitation...but apparently this practice has been rampant in the past few years...not only at clerk level (where, I suppose, it could be entirely possible that the term "spouse" was merely misunderstood and never corrected) but at manager level too!!!!
Gosh....this is daylight robbery....where is the conscience? How can anyone stoop so low and sleep restfully at night??
The company treats you and your spouse to dinner in a 5-star hotel...and you want to bring your whole kampung with you too? ...Raised eyebrows? How you ask? - well, I actually heard some really thick-skinned individuals openly soliciting/ cajoling others for "unutilised" dinner seats allocated to "spouses" - the request was whether they could please bring in stranger A/B/C as their "spouse"...and if you are shocked at that, your jaws will drop when you hear some dimwits actually giving their consent too!!
Recognise this as a privilege generously offered by the company...not a right! If you do not have a spouse, you just do not have a spouse! period!
Dear, dear, dear...re-education of the term "spouse" is in order.
I used to laugh at my previous work-place, whereby spouses were also invited to annual dinners but tickets were only collectible upon presentation of a marriage certificate - a little extreme perhaps but after what i've seen and heard today...i don't blame my ex-company.
Maybe someone should suggest this practice be adopted in next year's RSVP list.
munsta ramblings @ 10:31 pm
2 Comments:
What can I say, freeloading, the malaysian way :D
*sigh. That's how low people will stoop to these days unfortunately. ONe of my friends' RELATIVE paid only RM30 in total and brought her family of SEVEN to her wedding dinner.
Malaysians!!!
sigh...the ugly side of Malaysians (in general)i suppose
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