Facing up to the task

Some people are just not cut out to be the bad person. They will continuously plod along, fully aware of the cracks or holes even - and jump over it, when required, without the thought to fill it up with cement.
At the end of the journey, when they look back, they will see, perforated pavements and wonder why the view isn't so great.
Then they hire an architect to try to fix the basic problem - pay tons of money in contribution to the architects' education (hence his certification), without batting an eyelid.
Most times, we cause our own problems. It's a cause and effect situation. Our personal life is like that, and it goes the same way for our work.
When faced with a tough challenge, we should take it head on, minus our emotions and deal with it, using our limited resources.
Bottom line : Face up to our responsibilities and take the challenge. Listen, observe and react accordingly.

The number 3

Some people do not like the number 4, because in some Chinese dialects, it sounds like 'die'. Dying is not viewed as a 'positive' term - although for christians, dying is supposed to be 'going back to our Maker', so it's not that bad. I'm Chinese, so it does bother me sometimes, this number 4. What I'm beginning to concern myself is the number 3.
In marriages/relationships, 3 is not a good indication of a healthy union, it raises alarm bells. In the famous phrase, it's said "TWO'S A COMPANY, THREE'S A CROWD". Again, 3 is viewed as the extra.
In real estate co-broking, 3 is also a bad word because it implies three agents doing a deal, therefore the fees are split 3 ways and not 2. Perhaps, I should be more wary of the number 3.
I always practise fee-sharing, but not when one calls me to ask if she could offer my unit to her friend who has a genuine buyer. That is the lowest of the lowest! And she had the cheek to sound like she was doing her friend and myself a favour. If she really wanted to be helpful, she could have given my contact to her friend instead. Ah, but I guess for these people, being helpful, sincere, and doing a good job for the buyer meant, it must amount up to dollars, if only to introduce the property.
So, 3 is bad news for me - whichever industry I am in, 3 is the number to watch out for - because it always brings me to giving one party a talking to, about priorities.

common decency

What's up with people who walk into another person's dwelling, thinking it's their home? I am referring to tenants who view apartments for rent ; apartments which are not vacant, meaning, either the owners are still living in it, OR the current tenants are. To make it worse, I informed them, on the way up to the apartment that the owner is still living there, but is away.
The whole troup went into the apartment, and within 10mins, I heard TWO bathroom doors slam shut. No one asked me if they could use the bathroom - isn't asking when you're not in your own home the polite thing to do? After all, this apartment is in our prime district and the rent is about 10K per month.
I'm back to the one liner : GOT MONEY, NO BREEDING.
This got me all flustered the rest of the day - I cannot help it, if an entire family is just obnoxious, uncultured and have no social graces - but when I have to wash down the toilet after they leave, it's another matter altogether.
Using the toilet is one thing, leaving the bowl with urine spray is another. I don't want to imagine what their home toilet must be looking like - perhaps they can live like that and perhaps they don't care if the dog kennel is more hygenic than their living quarters. BUT to expect that other people have their same standards is pushing it way too far.

Crossroads again

I have been in a nasty cycle lately - not sure of which road to take. Believe or not, I'm at THE crossroads again. What does it mean to always arrive at this junction?
It could mean that I'm not sure if I'm at the correct place and the correct time. But it could also mean I'm in dire need of a change. But I wouldn't put it past me to say, I prefer a more sedentary job either.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to stay put. The saying as I know it goes "A rolling stone gathers no moss". BUT to be in a perpetual state of motion is really tiring! I have tried pivoting, spinning on my own axis, but gather moss I do. Perhaps the saying is right - I just need to roll away....
Then I wonder - is being covered in moss really all that bad? In the sunshine, the colour is quite remarkable and it soothes our tired eyes. With moss all over, I could actually photosynthesise and make my own food - on top of it, minutely contribute some O2 to the suffocating world.
Until I sneak across this crossroad, clarity is just a figment of my imagination.

The End Result

There are times when we are on the fence, not sure of which side to fall. It takes a lot, to decide - to be a person that is not afraid to make a call. Decide wrongly, and the consequences could be drastic, not a comfortable result.
When do we put our foot down and make an unpopular decision? I guess, when all our nerve endings are tingling and we just have to take that plunge with the confidence that it's the right decision.
Whether the environment is within our social context or work, we have to be in sync with our surroundings. Once we are, then things move like clockwork with the least glitches. I work, live and play that way. I'm a creature of comfort, in every sense of the word.
Bottom line: The end result.
I am positive that the decision I made today, will give me the calculated outcome - and I am prepared to dirty my hands to get the job done. I'm in a common economic fix - excessive supply and limited demand. Therefore, to ensure a healthier economy, I will need to create an artificial equation that makes more sense until it really does.

Do We or Don't We?

We make decisions, which change the course of our life. BUT we never really are satisfied because there will always be the 'what ifs'. Point: We will never know what the other end-result will be, because we cannot go back. Life was not designed that way.
My rule of thumb is easy - live life with the least of regrets - that way, moving on becomes easier - acceptance is the start of maturity.
A colleague told me yesterday that listening to me giving the bottom line to another, petrified her! I thought I actually scared the living daylights out of her, but she went on to say that it was a good eye-opener and she would like learn how to put her foot down like that.
It was a sweet thing to say, because I have never, had a chit-chat conversation with her - When we're in the business we are in, Clarity is crucial. For example, if an email message says "AVAILABLE UNITS" it means that the units on the list are available for lease or sale. However, I have learnt a new meaning for that word - AVAILABLE also means, "a deposit has been accepted but the Agreement hasn't been signed".
What is my decision, check or not?
Usually I would, but I wouldn't for this person.
Because, if she ever learnt anything from growing up, is to never patronise, never be prude and never, ever think you know everything - the flaws are so glaring, that everytime she opens her mouth, something silly gets ejected.
So I would rather just be an audience to this entertainment. My choice - my decision - and you know what - at the end of this exercise, it will be the result that I have wanted to achieve - no regrets!

Barking up the wrong tree

When faced with an inevitable result, some would 'still hope for the best', others would 'keep re-tracing the steps, just in case' and some others would 'just wait for the inevitable' to happen.
For me, I'm a solutions person. Until there is a solution - the problem is not solved - whatever it takes.
I don't see the point of shaking an apple tree, when not a single fruit is on the branch. Worse still, if the tree is not an apple tree to begin with.
A lot of people go through life, without real observation. They love to chat, gossip, exchange fluids and gas - believing that nothing is more important than being in tune with popular culture.
My brand of popular culture is not to garner votes - it's to keep my conscience clear. If I know the end result, rest assured, I will not go on the same route - I would create an alternative route - one that will give a different result -
It's not a style I am about to spend hours selling - for me, that's being responsible.
So, next time there is no solution, find one before it's too late. For those who think, it's not important because the result doesn't affect them - well, today it may not, but it only means that it may, in one of their tomorrows.
After so many years of life, and many dissections, I can honestly say, Life is Unfair, yet, it is Fair.

Burning weekends

I'm back at the showflat weekends. Been a long time. I don't mind really, except that there is nothing much to do - sure, there is chit chat; papers; oxygen breaks - This would be the first time, I would have to skew my thinking towards 99-year leasehold property. Tough call for me - I've always been a freehold believer - and it has nothing to do with handing down the property to the next generation!
When we purchase cars, we are prepared for it to depreciate - but property has always been classified as an investment - and why do the investment if there is almost a guarantee of it depreciating?
Unless of course, we are buying it for a roof over our heads, which doesn't make sense because we could get something larger, at half the price, minus the pool & gym. I'm still having this tug of war - because my next task is to find people to believe in an investment I personally do not!
There is no flip side to this situation - either way, doesn't change the fact that it's a here-and-now kind of investment - almost like trading coffee beans except that the end result is a warehouse full of beans.
So until I find another plantation, I'm pretty much stuck roasting beans in an open fire every saturday and sunday.

41st National Day

I opted to go for a dinner cruise this year - do something different - Although I am not a fan of the sea, I took a chance. The first thing that caught my eye, moving away from the jetty, were the helicopters, 3, suspending our Flag - they were hovering around the Southern Anchorage - I didn't think it was an easy task, as the winds were flapping the Flags pretty wildly. Then, when I looked over the other side, I saw the sky, a hue of red and orange - the setting sun - it was beautiful - I haven't seen a sunset like that in a long long time. When I turned another side, there was this hint of light in the sky, amongst dark clouds. I couldn't make it out...it was like a firelight, just barely visible but becoming so, as minutes ticked by.
IT was then that our state flag made it's way straight towards the National Stadium, followed by flecks of black, moving fast from the east, heading for the same target...it was the jets. And as the fly-past was completing, the winds carried the voices of thousands from the stadium, screaming....I could hear them from way out at sea....and then when I looked up again, I realised the flicker of light was the full moon....
The fireworks display was short, but it was real - I was there, actually watching.
That said, next year, I'll opt to soak in the celebration from a hotel window - drifting in the sea is just not my cuppa.

Day of Reckoning

We have to figure life out all the time. The questions 'why' can never be answered without it leading to another 'why'.
I heard from my colleague that there was a dispute at the showflat yesterday - it would have been her last weekend at duty there.
In life, we are subjected to system of work or at least an agreement of conduct - this forms the core of our very existence because as with everything else in the world.
The sun rises, before it sets...OR the sun sets before it rises.....There will not be a day the sun suddenly decides to go on leave and jump the system!

Although we are people, subjected to emotional outbursts, weather changes and reactions of our peers (so that we can respond according to how they reacted), we must always remember that systems(rules) are put in place so that we lessen the misunderstandings that may occur. Systems also help us be better organised as friends, colleagues or spouses - enabling us to meet with the main objective.

For some, life is about take, take and take....
For these people, I say to them - the day of reckoning will arrive whilst you're on a taking spree and enjoy it whilst it lasts, because for whatever you have taken that doesn't belong to you, will have to be returned at a far greater cost.

Moving on

I am back in my previous department - I need to stay positive and not look upon this as going backwards, because if this is a loop i'm in, the end result is not very promising.
I only agreed because my colleague is definately leaving - it would not be easy to jump right into the project she's managing and fit in - yet leaving the project open-ended is not the corporate thing to do.
I know I have genuine people in this department, something the other department can never achieve - because each of them has a bottom line, which screams personal gain first! Although they inwardly have qualms about each other, outwardly, they share the same hypocracy that becomes their common ground.
Instead of a binding corporate culture, they have created their own culture of biting, clawing for their personal gain and comfort at the expense of everyone else.
Sincerity and honesty is so lacking, yet it's a wonder they are existing - but let's not pass judgement for what is a worthless cause.
We should move on, work for goals with a code of ethics, have consideration for our fellow colleagues and share a common culture. That is the difference between a rogue and a professional.

Do you believe in angels?

This is the month of the Hungry Ghost, and for the believers, it's a time for offerings to the wandering spirits. Whilst on this topic yesterday, I realised that the lady I was having a conversation with is 'born with a veil'.
I was never really curious about the other world, simply because I felt that my present life is complicated enough. The few that I have encountered have been mean although most have just left me alone. I have not been blessed with this vision, but I was born, with an access code.
I have never 'seen' angels - although I know of their peaceful presence. She told me, that they are here, when someone passes away - and they look like everything I thought them to be.
Perhaps that's how script writers get their inspiration from - these special people who have this gifted vision - most are serious about religion - for a good reason too.
Prayers should be offered, not just for our loved ones, but also for those who have gone with no one left here. It's important that we do this, so that the souls will be freed from purgatory. In the spiritual world, that is the law - prayers would buy freedom.
As for angels, next time you put an ornament on the tree, take a good look and remember, that the moulds man have made, are so because 'special' people have seen and have shared the news.

Labels with intent to insult

My son had an incident in school yesterday. One of his classmates called him a BANGLAH. Actually, the word itself means, coming from Bangladesh - except that, in the context that it was used, the term was meant to denote skin colour - this remark came from a local chinese boy. From my understanding, it has been happening all year.
Question: So what if my son's father is from Bangladesh.
Schools promote racial harmony day annually - and from the last racial harmony day press report, children seem to be getting it i.e. we are all people and respect for all is required for a peaceful world. Yet, this boy in my son's class, apparently missed 6 years of racial harmony in primary school, and the most recent one this year!
To make things worse, the teacher present DID NOTHING. She has let this go by for 7 months during her language class. I think it's not just the children that need to be educated, it's the teachers and parents as well. Children go by example and if not checked at the first point of occurance, then we have silently consented and are in agreement.
I'm waiting for the school to respond and I will take up this matter, because it's not injustice done to my son alone, but the entire campaign of equality for all.

Devil vs the Deep Blue Sea

Whenever we are faced with a choice to make, we do our utmost in gathering pros and cons for both sides of the fence. Having a choice means all's not lost - yet, most times it's a decision between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. I'm working with the Devil now, having been swimming in the deep blue sea just 90 days ago. To fit into hell, one must be just as devilish lest be the square peg in a bottomless round hole. Yet, to dive back into the deep blue sea means, I would have to sign up for a water distress course - deep and blue, would suggest, either I find shore without a compass, or be a meal for the killer whales and great whites.
Given the circumstances, neither is appealing.
This particular black hole is just amazing. It sucks up rules of ethical behaviour, corporate ethics and everything it needs to ensure it's existance - and that may include me - considering, I'm pretty much anchored to my responsibilities.
I'll probably would have to find a rainbow that begins at the tip of the ocean and ends way up above the atmosphere into the darkness of space. The rainbow could be my leverage - perish in style!