12.00 Advice

Woke up late and took a cab down to EG today. On the ride there, the taxi uncle pretty much counselled me on the current concerns I have despite me not mentioning them. Indeed, the universe does seem to conspire to help you get what you want; you just have to listen. (He also thought I was still schooling heh.)

"Keep learning; keep learning anything at all, as long as you are interested in it."

"Work on growing and getting better skilled, and the money will follow."

"Youth is your best currency now."

Even up till the last part of the ride when he entered the condo, a offhand remark about the security guards had him dishing out pertinent advice: Security is a big industry and more all-encompassing than what we see with "security guards". Even as we stopped at the destination, he continued telling me about security consultants, the security industry, apparently a role called hijack consultant. It was only midway that I told him I actually started a role that had to do with security six months ago, and it was really interesting that I was actually considering delving further into this industry. The taxi uncle was all for it and he continued sharing. It was all so heartening and certainly worth more than the 12.00 fare.

Sometimes, our biggest cheerleaders and guides come from out of the blue.

Thank you, uncle. 

Un-kindness and other bytes

"If you don't sit down right now, I am going to smack you!"

"I hate that song, shut up!"

Overheard on the bus within a minute or so... Even though I get that the mother with a heavy bag of groceries wanted to get her young son seated as quickly as possible for safety reasons, is there really no better way to express that? And while some of the silliest songs/tunes go viral and you get sick of hearing it, isn't it concerning the ease with which the word "hate" leaves our mouths? On some level, doesn't that make it easier to transition from the word to actions?

Deep thoughts on a Saturday afternoon on the way to squash, but sometimes I can't help but feel a sense of sadness for the world and the kinds (human, animal, others) that inhibit it.

But then... right across from where I sit, kindness unfolds in the most mundane 3 minutes ever and that leaves me smiling. An elderly Chinese lady asks the Malay youth next to her about where the bus is headed and they have a conversation about where she needs to get off. There is hope after all, and everything ebbs and flows in kind. What a wonderful world and what a humbling reminder... :)
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The other day, while debriefing with my boss after an interview for the upcoming rotation, he mentioned that he likes hiring "ambitious people" and that's why he chose me. I was incredulous, saying "Am I ambitious?! Remember I don't even have career goals?!?" And he added one other line saying, in a slightly joking tone, "You're meant for greater things, J". I responded with "Why do people keep saying that!? What does it mean??", and quickly steered the conversation back to the interviewee's performance. Unspoken though was a joking line that went "Is that why you won't hire me?", but I kept that to myself since I knew that was out of his control.

Honestly though, I am determined to find out why I give off that imptession since it is not the firsr time I've heard both and I have nfi why.