“The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.”
- Kakuzo Okakura
Let's talk about a light-hearted topic today.
After coming to Singapore, there were still many inconveniences. My colleague Wuna in Beijing is very capable and basically took care of all the big and small matters outside of my basic responsibilities as CEO; besides, my life structure is relatively simple. I rented a studio near the company, with only one bed at home and just one cup in the kitchen. There wasn't much to do, and domestic and international food delivery and door-to-door services were very convenient. Therefore, the energy spent outside of work was basically zero.
At the beginning of the year, I came to Singapore, and Wuna stayed in China. With her having more things on hand recently, I decided to handle as much as possible myself. I found it quite energy-consuming, with many situations where I felt powerless. Moreover, I realized that apart from working, I was practically good for nothing.
After moving into the newly rented apartment, I discovered the shower heater was broken. The efficiency here is low, and the landlord isn’t very helpful either. So, I silently endured cold showers for 10 days before finally waiting for the repairman to come. When I tearfully welcomed him in my house, he obviously seemed a bit awkward. Of course, during this time, communicating with the intermediary, the administrator, and the water heater company consumed a lot of time, which made me somewhat irritable.
In Beijing, I basically ordered takeout or ate meals provided by the company. Since I wake up early, around 5 am when I'm already hungry, Beijing has plenty of 24-hour takeout options. There’s also a 24-hour convenience store downstairs, and breakfast stalls open at 6 am. In Singapore, however, the choices are fewer. Around 5 am, there aren't many takeout options, and the few available ones charge expensive delivery fees. Cafes don't open until at least 7:30 am.
So, I decided to break away from my previous minimalist tradition and bought a pot on Lazada to cook some dishes myself. I also bought a vegetable set, but when the delivery arrived the next day, I found that the pot was only as big as my palm, barely enough to hold two eggs. Helplessly, I went downstairs to the supermarket and picked out a slightly larger pot. This morning, I woke up determined to give it a try.
I got up at around 4:30 am and started preparing. First, I filled the pot with water, but later forgot to turn off the tap, almost flooding my workstation. (My workstation is right next to the kitchen sink.) Fortunately, I was smart enough to notice and stop the loss in time. Then, I started fiddling with the stove, causing two power outages and one circuit breaker trip, and even burned out the fuse. I had no choice but to call the building manager to come and replace the fuse. After the power was restored, I found that the stove was still broken. (I sincerely don't think it was my fault; it must have been problematic when handed over.) During the day, I still need to contact the stove repair company... Damn, I don't know if the vegetable platter I bought will go bad before the stove is fixed.
Then, I decided to follow Uncle Peng's suggestion and have chia seeds with milk for breakfast. Thus, I began Plan B for breakfast preparation, and the result is as follows:
During last week's psychological counseling session, I discussed adaptability issues with the psychologist. In familiar environments,manysurvival skills become instinctive and unconscious;but when circumstances change,, such as arriving ina new environment, orchanges occurring in the original environment (like friends in Shanghai), we feel a lot of discomfort,and theunconsciousmanyhabits become ineffective,while accepting reality, various emotions accompany us, and a lot of extra effort is required, including cognitive adjustment. People with high mental health will gradually choose appropriate attitudes and allow themselves to emerge from their emotions, facing the real world more peacefully.