Me: Errr...ya I also think so, but I'm not from China leh. (I purposely added the 'leh' to show my singaporean-ness)

(I think he sensed my eagerness to prove my singaporean-ness, gave me the eh-what-so-bad-about-being-a-china-girl look and said this...)

Patient: I think it's the water, or maybe the atmosphere, 'cos China got four seasons. My father also from China, wah you see he's so healthy until today, never even enter hospital.

(He was really eager to prove that he's not looking down on me because I'm from China but why can't he see the bloody point? I AM NOT FROM CHINA LA!)

At last I had no choice but to tell him firmly and not forgetting, politely that I'm not from China, heck I'm not even pure Chinese la! I think I just enlightened him. Singapore has more than just Chinese, Indian, Malays or Eurasians. There are a bunch of people called rojak i.e. with mixed parentage. Well, technically Eurasians best fit this description. Maybe they should just put Eurasians and all the confused bunch of people into the category of 'others' instead of forcing them to adopt their grandfather's race.

Because it's just cruel to make a child explain to so many people why she has an almost chinese face with a funny surname.

It's even more cruel to go, 'huh? You Indian meh? But you don't even speak Tamil or like Indian food very much!'

*flashes IC and points to the Race section.*

What you want me to do ar? I was just a wailing baby then. The government refused to classify me under 'Others' what you want me to do?

Heck, I think we should scrape the race section out entirely. What's the point of it? One day we'll just end up with a Bala Tan Ah Gou, who looks like a typical Indian, can't speak a word of Mandarin but is classified 'Chinese.'

You see the whole irony?

And these poor kids will have to go around explaining their whole life stories to complete strangers. Whatever happened to those don't-tell-strangers-so-much-about-yourself teachings?

Can already see it happening, with so many mixed marriages these days...

I swear, if I marry a Chinese and he wants to call my son Bala or Muthu or whatever funny Indian names to 'celebrate' my oh-so-unique heritage, I'll kick him all the way to Timbatu. My children must have normal names! NORMAL, BORING NAMES!

I AM NOT ASHAMED OF MY RACE! I JUST HATE THE IDEA OF GIVING YOUR CHILDREN FUNNY NAMES TO MAKE THEM STICK OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB.

Like for me, I don't have much choice. They couldn't possibly change my surname back then right? But at least they gave me a proper, normal name!

I mean, I don't get it! What is so bad about being normal? What is so good about calling your child Apple? Or Blanket? Or Pookie-Woochie?

Ok, your turn to speak...