Lucky and carefree?

These days I find that I am quite easily contented with little. Maybe it has to do with wanting less from people and also from life.  

I also know that choices have something to do with this new attitude and philosophy.  I practise being good to me and it's becoming a nice habit.  

If the world views this as being lucky and carefree then I agree.  It's a blessing, indeed.

A bowl of mutton curry

A couple of days ago, I felt like eating a curry.  I know most people say that there's nothing more satisfying than making your own and that it would be better.  

But I am not like most people.  I love going out and looking at something that I want to eat and then buying it.  In the process of doing this, I have found many lovely places that serve food I enjoy.

This bowl of mutton curry cost S$3.50 (enough for two people).  It was absolutely delicious.  The meat was tender.  The spice level was just perfect for me. All it took was a 5 minute walk to the shop and a 2 second wait to pack it.

I wouldn't know if I could reproduce the same curry and, frankly, I wouldn't even want to try. Well, maybe one day.  LOL

Stephen and I were doing the costing for how much it would be for us to make it on our own and we gave up.  I can't even begin to name the ingredients that we would need for this curry.

Someone who lives in the US once told me that if she had food readily available she wouldn't bother to cook. This revelation made me feel a whole lot better because it's exactly how I feel. 

She, on the other hand, doesn't have much choice because eating out is expensive and it is difficult to find authentic Asian food.

Of course, there are days when we just don't feel like eating outside and those are they days when we whip up something at home.  It's all about having a choice that makes it great.  

Convenience, for me, always beats slaving in the kitchen. 

Then and Now...

THEN

When I was younger, I used to feel bad and sad if everyone didn't get along.  I always wanted peace and harmony in everything and everyone.  I didn't understand when people fought.  I worried about it.

I believed especially that family should always love each other.  It was a difficult lesson to master and in the end, I realised that it was an impossible one.

NOW

I know that not everyone I love will love me back.  But I also know that it is never a mistake to want the best but I have to be willing to accept that what I want is not always what I get.  So I've learnt to love the ones who are always there for me no matter what.  This  has made my life easier.

It has really been the only way to be happy.  Forget those that don't matter and love those that do.  As simple as that...

(pic from FB)

The Difference between Efficient and Effective

Years ago, I used to teach typewriting.  It is a skill that has proven to be still useful today despite all the advances in technology.  

I know there's swyping and the touch screens but the majority of people are still opting for the keyboard because the touch typing speed is, I think, second to none.  I wonder if there has been any speed competition between swyping and typing!

I swype with my Samsung Galaxy because the keypad is too small for touch typing.  In all other instances, I find that the simple act of tapping away on a keyboard helps to inspire me.  I don't know if I could write via swyping or tapping one letter at a time with a stylus pen.

Now back to typewriting and what I wanted to impress on my students was that everyone should be both efficient and effective (at least for exam purposes).

Being efficient means typing a letter in less than the required time and later discovering one or two typo errors.

Being effective means typing a letter in over the required time and having no errors.

The secret to achieving a distinction is to be both efficient and effective.  This means typing a letter within the required time and discovering no errors.