the ross syndrome

my sister is a huge follower of f.r.i.e.n.d.s. i think her addiction does a lot of good in giving her the de-stressing she needs, a well-deserved retreat when she comes home from work. so i end up watching episode after episodes of season 1 to 9 (i wish i can give you the tenth season for christmas, amen. hehe) with her every time she starts the marathon.

in one of the episodes (after chandler and monica's wedding i think), ross, always wanting to get his money's worth, won't check out of their suite until the last minute. in another episode, chandler tags ross along instead to spend a weekend in a room he reserved for him and monica (after chandler learns monica had to work and he can't get a refund). feeling short-changed. ross and chandler try to take enough hotel amenities to make the money back.

these two episodes demonstrate the ross-syndrome. how many occasions did you catch yourself doing the same? try checking your tukador, how many bottles of lotion from the different hotels you stayed in do you have? did you ever use them? how about the shampoos? the sugar packets and tea bags?(ahem)

how about when using the restrooms in certain establishments where you have to pay ten pesos? did you think about using all the hand soap, lotion and paper towel you can have to get your ten pesos' worth?

it is probably second-nature that we do not like the idea of being short-changed. during times when nothing comes easy for the ordinary man, every centavo counts. then again, we should learn to draw the line between taking one's fair share and being shameless and embarrassing altogether.