Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Rules of Life II

Man, I'm failing my resolutions even less than a week into the new year. The constant pounding of my office walls for toilet renovations is making work impossible. And I failed to finish even 10 of the rules.

11 Be the last to raise your voice
- This one is easy for me. I am never the shouty type. However, it did triggered a frightening experience for me. The West Coast Plaza had a kiddy train ride during the pre-Christmas season. The stupid thing about this was that it closed at 8pm, where most families barely finished their shopping or dinner. And this was not really clear to anyone, no signs, nothing. I myself learned it the hard way missing the ride by 10 min, well, my kids missed it to be exact. So one night, one family missed the ride by a few minutes. Apparently, they purposely spent more than $120 in order to enjoy the benefits which include the train ride. That was quite a common mentality, because I had just done the same 2 nights before. Guess what, the mother went on a howling rage on the service staff at the service counter. 3 receptionists and later 2 train operators stood there trying to calm down the lady while she shouted at the top of her voice at them at the stupidity of the system and the disappointment that her boy had to face. I am deeply fearful of crazy women, and so I quickly brought my family home.
- My thoughts are: What's the point? It is not like those low level staff can do anything about it. It is the management's decision which probably goes somewhere to some rotting brain at the higher levels of Far East. I don't understand it either. The empty shop spaces, the lousy 1 hour free parking system at only specific times, and the badly managed Christmas cheer. Why can't they just learn from Capitaland?
12 Be your own adviser
- This one talks about listening to your intuitions and conscience. It's like Blink. I am not sure about the wisdom of this one.
13 No fear, no surprise, no hesitation, no doubt
This one is important. I need to cultivate this more. I admire courage in a person.
14 I wish I’d done that – and I will
No regrets, just do it. This one is hard for me. Somehow, I always have regrets. It goes back to Rule 3: Accept what is done is done. The only consolation is that I am deeply mindful of this matter. I just always wish I had not done some stuff, or that I had done some things better.
15 Count to ten – or recite ‘Baa baa black sheep’
- Extremely good discipline. This one controls impulsiveness. I will try this out more often. I think I can do it.

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