I finally got to watch Matrix Revolutions today. I was thinking of catching the movie in KL during the Raya break but I suppose the time would be better spent doing something else. We were doing some shopping in Chukai, Kemaman and stopped in one of the many VCD shops inside The Store shopping complex. Upon enquiries at the counter for new VCDs or DVDs, the lady at the counter produced a folder of VCD covers, those with ring binders. I'm sure ALL of you have come across such folders, either at the side of the road, at a night hawker stall or the weekly pasar malam. Saw the cover for Revolutions, asked whether I can preview it before buying. However, she didn't allow it so in a sort of a gamble for my hard earned RM6, I decided to buy it. Apologies to the Tan Sri Minister for Local Trade and Consumer Affairs as he had been working so hard to stop all these pirate VCDs but hey, the supply is there, so might as well, provide the demand, right?
So, I've done watching the film, understood what the Matrix is all about and bla bla bla. I came to think about something else after watching it. I remember my pre-fatherhood days when I would drag Awi to watch any new films at the Kuantan Megamall. She had to come against her will to watch movies such as Matrix Reloaded (which she fell asleep right through), Spiderman, Star Wars and other action films. I don't consider myself to be a movie buff but I just love watching a film inside a cinema hall, enjoying the Dolby Digital sound system and be mesmerised (or bored) for a couple of hours. Now, it's not so easy anymore. My other friends who became parents earlier that I did had warned me about this. Gone are the days of watching movies at the cinemas. It will be another 5 more years until I step into GSC or TGV. And many more warnings. Now, it is becoming a reality for me. I am going through what they went through early on.
But you know what? I don't really mind the change. Some people might say I am losing something. I suppose they are right. But I am looking from another angle, from the point of view of Third Newton's Law of Physics which states an action in one direction will result in a similar action in the other direction. Applying the same logic, I lose something, I will gain another thing. So what if I cannot go to a cinema again? I can always get a VCD/DVD and watch it at home. I won't substitute having a child of my own for just a couple of hours experience inside a cinemaplex. It's like what you learn in economics, about opportunity cost. So, the opportunity cost of having a child is I cannot so freely watch a movie at a cinema? That's not such a big thing to lose, don't you agree?
Life, in a way is like that as well. You lose some, you gain some. It's about finding the balance, the compromise. You ask any married couple, compromise is what ensures a marriage to work. You cannot be so selfish to just getting your own way, it just won't last for long. Life is all about compromise and the choices we make based on that compromise. If you just want things to go according to your requirements then nobody would want to have anything to do with you. You want to get some, then you must be ready to give some as well.