A Moment of Thought - Chinese New Year 2017

Around this period every year, jovial songs in Mandarin play in shopping malls, supermarkets and retail outlets. This year is, of course, no exception.

This year, I noticed fewer 'traditional' Chinese New Year songs being played. In their place are songs that are wholly unfamiliar or songs that are modern renditions of the 'classics'. It does feel that the introduction of too many new things is tamping the festive mood down a little.

Chinese New Year is a traditional festival. Let's not over-modernise it, lest it lose its charm and original meaning, as so many other festivals have.

That aside, I am looking forward to a fairly relaxed Chinese New Year. There will be a few visits but, generally, nothing too hectic. Just the way I like it. There isn't much point in exhausting yourself during over the next few days, is there? You'd just go back to work in a less-than-positive mood.

I am intending to be mindful of a couple of things over this Chinese New Year:

1) Be more willing to participate

Normally, I prefer to withdraw from most activities during this period, especially when crowds and noise are involved. This time, though, I'll be more purposeful in participating.

2) Be more observant of customs and behaviours

Never having much bothered with traditional customs in past years, I thought that it would be good to observe them a little more starting from this year. As a teacher, it's always good to add a little more material to my repertoire of examples and anecdotes.

All in all, I am thankful for being able to celebrate CNY here in Singapore and for the people with whom I will be celebrating it.

Here's to an un-stressful Chinese New Year and a great 2017 ahead!

The Inauguration of the 45th President of the USA - What's Going to Happen Next?

A little tidbit I learned some time ago is that Barack Obama held the title of the 44th President of the USA, but he is actually only the 43rd person to hold office as the President of the USA.

This is because Grover Cleveland was president for two terms but his terms were non-consecutive. He was president from 1884 - 1888 and from 1892 - 1896, having lost the 1888 elections, and was therefore the 22nd and the 24th president.

That would make Donald Trump the 44th person to be president, but still holding the title of 45th President of the USA based on their numbering system.

A minor discrepancy but a discrepancy nonetheless.

So now that President Trump is in the White House, what's going to happen next?

The angered naysayers and up-in-arms protesters may disagree, but, practically speaking, it's very unlikely that much is going to change in our typical daily lives in the first year or so. 

A little further down the road, we'll see financial markets rock, though they've always been a house of cards anyway.

We'll see a lot of nitpicking on as-yet-unfulfilled campaign promises and over-analysis of President Trump's speeches and interviews.

We'll see unease in numerous nations across the world as they grapple with this new reality.

We'll get reports of more unrest, disasters and violence.

We'll experience a rise in complaints and uncivilised conduct on social media platforms.

We'll also witness changes in relations between countries.

Essentially, the exact same things that have already been happening in the past decades.

There are many unseen forces and players at work in this world we live in. There are huge arrays of factors in play. There are events already set in motion that will continue to advance.

Why do we think that a single human being is going to be solely responsible for things happening and things to come? 

He is going to be a fairly large factor, no doubt, but he isn't going to be the only one.

So let's all calm down and let things take their course. Give the man a chance.

We can always berate him later if he deserves it.

Who knows? He may earn our respect and accolades instead.

Official Portrait of President Donald Trump

A Motto I Live By

Bangkok is always an enjoyable city. The people, the culture and, of course, the food are all wonderful.

While there, I became acutely aware of being part of an ever-connected world. There were a number of work-related communication attempts that I had to turn away. There was also a lot of information being exchanged that I would have liked to digest but simply didn't. I was, after all, on holiday and I wanted to be fully present with my travelling companions.

Now that I have returned to Singapore, I have done the necessary replies and correspondence.

What struck me was how little it mattered that it took a few days longer to get these seemingly-urgent-at-the-time things done. Nobody lost their minds or their jobs, neither did anything become irreparably damaged.

This made me realise how odd it is that many today refuse to leave their work behind for a while or perhaps it is a reluctance to delegate the decisions to someone else or to be seen as 'relaxing' while others are working.

Maybe it is a combination of all the above factors or some others that I have not yet considered.

Of course, If I had known beforehand that an important business deal that had been years in the making would occur during my holiday period, that would have been a different story. I would have set time aside during my trip specifically to get what I had to do done and I would have informed my travelling companions that I would be unavailable for that hour or so. I feel that it is the only right (and polite) thing to do.

Granted, we all live in a world that is constantly connected and last-minute things occur all the time. Despite this, I do think that it is just as important to take time off work to unwind and enjoy being in the place and moment, if only for a few days.

One of my mottos when I first started working was this:

Work never ends. Lives do.

I work by this motto. I believe that I always will.

Applying Lessons From My Past Travels to My First Trip Overseas in 2017

It’s always nice to go away for a while, even if it’s only a few days. I’ll be travelling to the Land of Smiles from 14 – 18 Jan. It’ll be a short holiday, a sourcing trip for household items and I’ll also be fulfilling some gem requests by some local customers, as well as visiting some of Thai locals that I’ve befriended.
 
One thing that I’ve learned about travelling is to always inoculate your system with some of the local bacteria when you go to a foreign land.
 
1) The best way to do this is to drink some local yoghurt or have some local fermented products. Since I started doing this, I’ve stopped getting gastrointestinal problems while overseas – something that I used to suffer from rather frequently (and rather severely) in the past.
 
2) Another thing I’ve learned is to move with purpose even in an unfamiliar area. Stopping and/or looking around with a ‘lost look’ on your face makes you a target for unsavoury characters.
 
3) Finally, I’ve learned to build rapport with the locals. I do this by spending time observing their customs (especially trading customs) and behaviours. I’ve also found that trying to use a few phrases in the local language helps, as does asking questions and being willing to try the local cuisine (and complimenting appropriately).
 
Building rapport with the locals makes future travels to their country more fun, because they will be more than willing to shower you in their hospitality, not to mention the friendlier prices that they’ll give you when you buy from them.
 
Here’s to a great trip and many more in the future!