Random Thoughts by Pauline

February 7 2014, Friday                               

          Decisions

Every day, we make decisions, both minor and major, for ourselves and for others.

In the morning, we have to choose what to wear, what to eat for breakfast and whether we should quicken our steps or there is still time to linger. Then as the day progresses, we have to prioritize our tasks or to whom the tasks are to be allocated etc. Come lunch break, we have to decide whether we should stick to a healthy diet or to indulge ourselves in some oily and fatty but absolutely tasty food.

“Should I finish this task? Oh! The deadline is next week! Well, I can leave at 5! Now it’s 4:45. Time to tidy up! Let me go to the washroom first!”

“Should I go home for dinner? Well, I better join my colleagues! Boss is going. I don’t want him to think that I am a loner!”

Other decisions such as which person to talk to are made sub-consciously because we are already conditioned.

At different phases of our life, there are major decisions to be made. Some are made by our parents while other decisions are in our own hands. There might be situations in our adult life that fate seems to have taken control and we are helpless. We might be fired or abandoned! And we cry out “Why me? Why now?” But in fact, it is at moments like these that we have to take things in our own hands! We decide how we are to move on!

A good friend once gave me these two lines which I find very useful:

Choose what you love. Love what you choose.

Random Thoughts by Pauline

February 6 2014, Thursday 

Last Back Garden

 As my mother ages, she announces that she is not taking overseas trips with me anymore, afraid that she will be my burden. Well, I can understand that. So instead, when it is school holiday but not public holiday to avoid the crowd, I will coax my mother to leave her comfy sofa and venture out to the countryside. The itinerary is I drive around, park the car, dine and then go home. Simple as it sounds, it is a good enough break from her routine of “eat, sleep and watch television”. So late this afternoon, I drove to Sai Kung with my mom without any particular destination in mind.

 

When I drive, I have this habit of not turning on the air-conditioner unless it is really hot or I am stuck in traffic. It was the same this afternoon. When I drove down Sai Sa Road, I rolled down the window pane a little bit to enjoy the soothing breeze with the Platters singing in the background. We got off as we came to a roadside parking lot in Nai Chung. Slowly we walked down a flight of steps and found ourselves in a charming seclusion with tiny bungalows, shallow sandy beach and trees. Families were there fishing, flying kites or simply enjoying each other’s company! We sat down on the embankment and watched the sunset – not stunning but heartwarming! First time for my mom!

 

Then we walked back to the parking lot. It was already six and so we crossed the road to the bungalows opposite. These are all residences turned restaurants offering fusion menus and outdoor dining. My mom preferred indoors and so we sat down next to the fireplace, not a real one of course. Though the food was too salty, the relaxing ambience more than made it up. For a moment or two, I thought that I was in a pub in Edinburgh!

 

What a great way to spend an afternoon! I have to do this more often! There are so many places in Hong Kong that I have not yet explored! What a shame!

 

Random Thoughts by Pauline

February 5 2014, Wednesday   

          Expectation

 If you bump into super star Chow Yun-fat in the Kowloon City wet market, you would be pleasantly surprised. Why? The reason is simple – you don’t expect him to be doing his own shopping! We regard these celebrities as “extraordinary” and therefore should not be doing anything “ordinary”. This is societal expectation working!

 

Anybody with a mouth and has heard of foul language would be able to reproduce it. We can hear people screaming in such language over the phone while commuting on MTR. All we do is we walk away! But when a teacher yelled out one such phrase at a police, the whole society of Hong Kong was shaken. Some people can tolerate deviance while others can’t. Or some deviance can be tolerated while others can’t be! To me, a teacher in whatever kind of situation should never utter any vulgar language. There is a fine line drawn and we have to observe it. This doesn’t make us “pretentious” or less cool.

 

Very often, the “extraordinary” people choose to do something “ordinary”. A president can be picking up a baby from the crowd and holding him or kissing him! In his Lunar New Year video message, the Chief Executive and wife are both working in the kitchen and sharing a meal with “ordinary” people. They condescend so as to appear more human. We can be pleasantly amused but we should remain cool. These are only acts!

 

Random Thoughts by Pauline

February 4 2014, Tuesday

Fortune Telling

It is still the first week of the New Year and many people like going to temples to burn incense, pray for favours and have their fortune in the coming year revealed to them.

There are many ways of fortune telling but throwing the bamboo sticks is the most usual method. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, local celebrities do that for Hong Kong even though I for one have not given them the permission to do so.

When people are at a loss or stuck in a situation, instead of confiding in someone, they go to a temple, get the bamboo stickers container, kneel down and ask the question like "Should I sell my stocks?" The next step is to shake the container and pray for an answer. One stick with a number will fall out and the person will then go and get a slip of paper with that number on it. The paper gives a poem which is to be interpreted in the context of the question asked. The poem may sometimes be too difficult to understand and help from the experts will be needed. Usually there is one if not more in the temple or the neighbourhood.

Though brought up as a Catholic, I think there is no harm in going to temples and praying to whichever deity chosen because all deities are to help and not harm humans. And this is a big part of Chinese tradition that we have to honour. But all fortune telling, whether Chinese or Western, is not to be taken too seriously. At most, it is to be used as reference or warning.

 

Random Thoughts by Pauline

February 3 2014, Monday

Couch potato

 There is a quote that goes something like this: Working hard pays off in the future. Being lazy pays off now.

This is so true. Sometimes, after exhausting myself for a week, there is nothing I want except to collapse into the sofa and stay there - a couch potato! I could be all sharp and alert attending hours of meetings but once settle down in my sofa, I could fall into a coma right away for at least 30 minutes with my full work suit on! I am afriad that if I clean up or get changed, I would lose the drowsiness and become awake again.

Sometimes, I can stay awake until I finish dinner. But it would be absolutely disasterous if I sit down. I would be fast asleep for hours and wake up at midnight not able to sleep again. So I have started a new plan - not to sit down but remain standing, clean up and go downstairs to take a walk. Unfortunately, the plan doesn't work every day.

 

Random Thoughts by Pauline

February 2 2014, Sunday 

Lipstick

This morning, as I came to the last step of my daily skin care routine, I picked up a lipstick. Then I realised that I had for a long time given up on pink or red! What I wear is only lip balm or gloss close to nude. Well, one has to cultivate age-appropriateness in all aspects of life. There is societal expectation we have to satisfy.

Talking about lipstick, a man came up to my mind. It was more than four decades ago. He was a senior teacher, a big man with a loud voice. At the Staff Meeting before the school year started, he presented a talk on "what makes a good teacher". He pointed out that teachers who wanted to succeed must possess the qualities of successful artists - voice (聲), looks (色), art or skills ( 藝) adding that ladies should wear light coloured lipstick because students were looking at the teachers' lips all the time. I was so impressed by this simple recipe that I have abided by it throughout my career. Teachers need to have a clear and loud voice. They have to be neatly dressed and of course, they must keep polishing their professional know-how.

Random Thoughts by Pauline

February 1 2014, Saturday 

Fireworks

There is going to be firework  display this evening. Thousands of people would be gathered at the water front cheering when the sky is all lit up with dazzling lights.

On two different occasions, I watched firework display at close range. One was in Hokkaido along the beach in front of the hotel. It was very small scale like a private gathering but I enjoyed that cozy moment. And there was not much smoke.

The other time I was amidst the crowd in Nanjing Road, Shanghai. I was in the city for a training workshop. And Shanghai was hosting the Summit Conference. I was nowhere near the waterfront but the fireworks seemed to be exploding right in front of me. It was a splendid dance of lights. We were standing there in awe but were soon overwhelmed by suffocating smoke!

I wonder how the residents living near Disneyland are faring when there is daily firework display!