Know when to hurry and when to slow down

It is New Year’s Eve, and the holiday has arrived almost abruptly for me. I have felt little of the usual bustle this year. There have been few firecrackers, the streets have been quiet, and even the familiar New Year songs by Andy Lau have hardly played.

By custom, we go home to put up couplets and lanterns. I took my younger brother with me and helped the family shovel snow and clean. I bought some fireworks to give the day more of a festive feeling. Yet as I grow older, I no longer enjoy the celebrations the way I did as a child.

Perhaps I have just changed what I count as fun. I used to think those older pleasures were a waste of time. Now that seems too narrow. Half a day chatting nonsense with an old friend is time spent keeping a friendship alive. Seeing someone merely to tick off a visit may itself be a warning sign. An old friend came to see me after lunch, but I was about to leave and treated our time together as something to rush through. I gave him only half my attention. The longer we talked, the more embarrassed I felt. Not everything needs to be hurried along; with some things, hurrying does real damage.

I did make progress on tasks that deserved it. I changed the region of my Google Play account from Hong Kong to the US, found two alternatives to a US virtual bank card, and built a Python script with an agent to search for specified information.

Those tasks did need a push. The skill is knowing which things do, and which things need time and attention instead.

And finally, on New Year’s Eve, mantou wishes everyone a happy new year!