Across the “pond”, this is the Labor Day long weekend that signifies the end of the summer in the U.S. The children are going back to school and a different routine will set in for them and their families. Well, I think an extra day off to come to terms with it and/or adjust to it is definitively justified.
For all the school children out there (yes, that includes my lovely nieces – Cameron and Jocelyn :>), good luck and have a great new school term!

I spoke to a few people in the past few days and one common theme came up: “Do we see our world as binary?” Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinions, but let us ponder on the following questions as food for thought.
1) In your circle of people, are there only 2 types: Friends and non-friends? Nothing in between?
2) Do you behave like a completely different person at work vs. at home?
3) When you make a judgement, would it be right or left rather than right or wrong?

Last night I went for a drink with a friend to catch up after work in South Kensington, a posh neighborhood. After discussing for 15 minutes where to go, I finally put my foot down and declared “Excuse me. Do you think I am common? I don’t want to go to a local pub at the street corner.” I strongly suggested (and started leading the way) a trendy wine bar a few blocks away instead.

When we walked into this upscale wine bar, the manager was not particularly welcoming because my friend came from the gym and was not dressed properly. The moment that he heard that we actually wanted to sit outside, he was relieved. He handed over the cocktail menus to us and the cocktails were unsurprisingly over-priced. I turned around and saw 2 other customers read the full drink menu.

To make the long story short, we ended up talking to a more friendly waitress. She told us that the wine bar is going to open a club next weekend and taught us how to get free admission.

The moral of the story is “Don’t let one mistreatment ruin your mood and always try to make the best out of situation.”

The arrival of August Bank holiday marked the end of the summer in the U.K. We had an average summer this year with fewer than 3 weeks of hot weather. In a way, it is not bad as most of the U.K. residence has no air-conditioning. I was not complaining when the 2 weeks of high 20 degrees were finally over last month. Well, shall we say, sometimes blessings come in disguise.

Sometimes I hear other people (and myself as well) say something like “I survived!” or “I am a survivor!”.
It sounds alright on the outset. However, on second thoughts, there is an element of passivity in those statements.
Perhaps a more positive way of describing the mind-set is “rising above the tide” or “making the best out of it”.
Though easier said than done, in particular in the midst of a different situation, try to distance yourself and think out of the box to find alternatives of “better than a survivor”.

Another personal example arrived last Sunday at church. The speaker was in his late twenties and from a much younger generation than me. He used his own experience, mostly his university years, to illustrate his points in his sermon. Well, university years are actually quite a distant past in my long “memory lane”. However, instead of switching off from the sermon, I tried to relate to his “young” examples and connect to similar experience of my own. I appreciated the fact that he made an effort to prepare for the sermon and lack of life experience due to his age was not his fault (I have been there, not so long ago).

I think sometimes we (more mature people with me included) may be a bit too harsh on younger people (or people with less experience). Take my very self as an example: My regular Pilates instructor was absent yesterday morning and the replacement, shall we say, was less inspiring. One student walked out. Instead of criticizing her in my mind, I decided to appreciate the fact that the class was not cancelled (could have been worse) and it was probably tough for her to stand in as a replacement. I used the opportunity to tap my experience (8 years with the same instructor who was absent) to adjust for the different style and pace.
At the end of the class, she asked me how the class went. When I was about to provide her with my 10-minute plus in-depth feedback, she “conveniently” changed the subject and promptly said “Have a good weekend!”. Well, it goes to show that I still need to differentiate a genuine request for feedback and a typical case of British “politeness”.

According to the survey by Time Out London magazine:
1) 48% commuters take the tube, 16% by train, 10% by bus, 10% walk, 9% by bicycle and 7% by car.
2) The longer your commute, the worse you feel.
3) You hate people sneezing on the Underground.
4) Walking is the nicest way to go.
5) Cyclists hate motorists more than motorists hate cyclists.

The Time Out London Magazine published the results of their City Living Survey of 12,350 Londoners this week. Here are some of the interesting statistics:
1) You get seven hours and 43 seconds of sleep a night (when you’re not worrying about work).
2) You set your alarm for 6:50am.
3) You take the tube to work and get there for 8.49am which is 38 minutes and 53 seconds after leaving the house
4) You can’t get through the day without checking emails.

Interesting facts and I love their precision (up to the second)!

It is not uncommon for us to OVER-compensate in certain situations and ended up to the other end of the spectrum.
For example, a man growing up in a family with a weak father may over-compensate his experience and become too dominant in his own family.
A worker who had an overbearing and controlling boss previously may become aggressive and over-confident marking his “territory” at his/her new job. It is quite natural for us to do so but we should avoid swinging to the other end of the spectrum which may not be desirable neither. In short, reflection and moderation will help the transition.