Rules I Live By

March 15, 2009

1. What goes around comes around.
   
   I strongly believe in karma. As the saying goes, "Do upon others as you wish others to do upon you", or something like that.
   
   
2. Say "Thank you" and "Please" often.
   
   A lot of people forget about this. Remember when you were growing up, your parents would scold you for not asking "Please" and saying "Thank You"?
   
   
3. Be helpful.
   
   If you think someone needs help, ask them if they need help. But always survey the environment or situation first. Sometimes people don't want you to feel sorry for them, so they might take your asking as an insult.
   
   
4. Always be pessimistic. Expect the Worse.
   
   This is just me. I always anticipate the worse because it prepares me mentally for the worse. Some of you might not agree with this attitude, but it has always work for me.
   
   
5. When driving, wave often when someone does something nice to you.
   
   I appreciate it when somebody waves at me for letting them go, or a pedestrian waves when they are crossing at the crosswalk. I ALWAYS wave when a car lets me cross, either at a crosswalk or jay-walking. Look at the driver, say "thank-you" and give them a wave. It is just a small sign that you appreciate them. Even if I cut a car off, I'll give them a wave, it's not a thank-you, but rather an apology.
   
   
6. Think things through.
   
   Think twice before saying something or doing something. What are the consequences when I do this or if I say this. Some things are just better left unsaid.
   
   
7. Be humble.
   
   Remember "Charlotte's Web"? One of the word that Charlotte created for Wilbur was "humble". I hate people who are cocky or full of themselves. There is a difference between someone who is self confident and one who is cocky. When I first met hubby, I thought he was cocky. I confused, cocky with self confident. I learnt over time that he was not cocky, but rather self confident. Being humble does not mean you have to be submissive. Just don't flaunt what you have, even worse, flaunting something that you don't have is just stupidity.
   
   
8. Don't be scared in sharing your two cents with somebody.
   
   Oh.... when somebody cuts me off or does not yield when they clearly have a yield sign, I'll give them my two cents. If it is a red light, I'll park the car and get out and talk to the person.
   
   In this story I was making a right turn and the light was red. There were oncoming cars from the left, and a pedestrian waiting to cross.
   
   The lady behind me honked at me. The first honk was fine, I just let it go. The second honk, I parked the car and got out of the car.
   
   I give her credit for opening her window to actually talk to me. Some people, especially men, do not dare to open the window. They'll be screaming from the comfort of their closed window. Hey come on, I'm a 105 pound, 5 foot 3 lady, how intimidating can I look?
   
   Getting back to the story, she said that I should go right on red. I told her that I did not want to go right on red because there was oncoming traffic. She went on to say, "Here in America, we can go right on red".
   
   My response to that was the middle finger.
   
   Now I drive around with a "driver's manual" specifically for yielding and turning right on red. I have not had the opporunity to hand one out yet... but the day will come.
   
   
9. Be generous.
   
   Generous does not necesarily mean money. You can be generous in many ways. It can be a talent you have and you make something for someone, driving someone somewhere if they do not have transportation, visiting somebody in the hospital and spend a few hours with them, or bake something that you know somebody likes.
   
   
10. Try everything.
    
    This is not only true for food but life. Try something that you never think of trying. I would one day love to try car racing on a track. I would love to fly in an air balloon. I would love to para glide. Some things scare me, but if you think about it, you only live once (well kinda, I believe in reincarnation, so I wonder how many lifetime it will take to be reincarnated back as a human). :)
    

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