This morning wasn't fun at all
| Earnings YTD | HP | HELIOS | GLD Owed | GLD Held | Off Chain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 23 | 120 | 2.155 | 740 | 571 | 0 |
| Day 22 | 113 | 1.625 | 685 | 532 | 0 |
| Day 21 | 105.201 | 1.401 | 630 | 481 | 0 |
| Day 20 | 81.198 | 0.918 | 580 | 430.429 | 0 |
| Day 19 | 80.958 | 0.708 | 525.9 | 428.856 | 0 |
| Day 18 | 65.378 | 0.538 | 470.9 | 330.014 | 0 |
| Day 17 | 43.154 | 0.307 | 412.3 | 273.156 | 0 |
| Day 16 | 35.645 | 0.235 | 365.1635 | 227.204 | 0 |
| Day 15 | 25.957 | 0.122 | 323.3945 | 163.979 | 0 |
| Day 14 | 20.761 | 0.07 | 323.3945 | 155.63 | 0 |
| (Day 13) | 12.523 | 0.043 | -178.88 | 0 |
Today I wanted to do a tour of South Korea
A couple of hours ago I was not a happy person.
That statement doesn't really sound unusual to most people. Things go wrong and they ruin your day. Gas prices go up and that ruins your day. Your flight gets cancelled because of a war you had nothing to do with. Or the elevator from your hotel isn't working and you have to go down 6 flights of stairs with a bad knee. Or..... I'm sure that any adult could make a new line to back the idea that things go wrong and ruin your day.
However, I try very hard to keep a positive attitude. I see it as a personal failure when I let the world "Win" and succeed in taking my happiness away. So, let me tell you what went wrong and how the world got under my skin.
If you read my Actifit post yesterday you would know that I had a very long day. From a hotel that was booked up and a long walk across town to a hotel that charged me 50% extra to let me book in 3 hours early. An airline booking system that wouldn't let anyone do online check-in so I had to stand in a line for 50 minutes getting a ticket that I would usually just download at home in 5 minutes. Then sitting in a waiting room at the airport until 1am and when feeling exhausted boarding a plane where all I want to do is sleep. Then being woken up 20 minutes into the flight as I have to put my seat upright to allow dinner to be served on the plane. (ugh)
Four hours later? I awaken and the airplane is about to land, I get off the plane and hurry to immigration so I can enter the country to catch a 6 hour city tour. When I get in line I find I need an e-arrival to be done. I open the app and work to get it filled out. First the passport won't register then later I find out that I need a physical address or I cannot use the online form..20 minutes in and I'm almost near the front and I see people being turned away. I ask airport staff and they say that for people going out the same day they need to fill out a physical paper slip. I go to fill it out and the pen doesn't work. Then the next pen doesn't work. I dig through my own luggage to get out my own pen.
I go in the lineup again and get to the officer, things go smoothly, so I head to the "Free Tour Bus" kiosk but it is too early and they aren't open yet.
40 minutes later I'm wondering where they are and I'm bored so I wander the airport...then I find a second "Free Tour Bus" kiosk but this one is working.
Great, I get in line. I wait about 30 minutes and a line is forming behind me is getting longer. Finally I'm second in line to deal with the agent. Then the agent gets up to inform everyone "All seats are filled". I stare in disbelief. No bus tour of Korea, my whole plan for the day. Poof. Gone.
Dejected I try to find the screening section so I can go airside and find the gate. I find it and the lineup seems to go on forever. I find the other screening lineups and they just seem to get longer and longer. I find a line, join it, and 40 minutes later I get through screening only to see another equally long line for immigration. Well, I'm really tired and feeling bummed so I go online and go to redeem my Skypass lounge pass so I can get a sleeping pod and get some much needed rest. Then I find out that lounge is being renovated and the alternative lounge does not have a resting area.
I'm tired.
.....I'm hungry.
..........I'm grumpy.
...............and I have every right to be!
Except.
.....I am totally missing the point.
A different point of view
What if I look at that whole sequence of events a different way? What if I count my blessings and see things through a different lens.
It all started off with a hotel that was busy and only had expensive rooms left. That event gave me the push needed to go on a walk through Manila. I go to see how locals lived. I found four new hotels I never would have seen otherwise. It felt like rain but I got barely a droplet on me. I saw how some people live rough or even on the streets and that me thankful for the money in my pocket. Sure my next destination turned out to be no longer operational but that's good information to have for next time and as I had time to kill what better time to learn? I got to wander through small, densely lined streets, and even got a high five from some kids playing basketball as I wandered through.
When I arrived at the Red Doorz hotel? For an additional fee I was allowed in 3 hours earlier than usual to a room which was clean, bright and had a working AC. Being here made it much easier for me to buy gifts to bring home and made it easier for me to get to the airport at night. There was a long lineup but there was a cheerful young woman who struck up a conversation that made the line move quickly. Getting through screening was a breeze and in the airport I found a few more items to bring home as gifts. The plane was on time and I got an excellent seat all by myself. I guess my bright smile and cheerful request for a seat that "wasn't the middle" if there was anything left was heard by the airline staff and I'm so grateful for a good seat.
I dozed off fairly easily and when the food came I was able to get the chicken and it was very tasty. Soon after I heard they ran out of chicken and only had fish left. Wow. Luck was with me. Shortly after that I dozed off and before I knew it we were landing. It was a long way to the immigration but they had those really cool moving sidewalks which sped things along. Immigration isn't fun but it was efficient. The free bus tour would have been nice to be sure but when things are free they tend to get full quickly. Heading back into the airport meant the typical lineups and in this case even longer ones but the staff were working hard to get everyone though.
When I got airside? I was able to take advantage of the airline points I got for free on my trip to Asia and now I got a free lounge visit. Even better, it is good for my entire layover .. 12 hours! Free food. Quiet music. Showers, arcade, sparkling clean restroom and even storage lockers. Honestly I'm living better than any king of old. Right now I'm sitting on a comfy couch making money from posting using wifi provided by the airport and electricity provided by the lounge staff.
In a world where many people have war threatening their security. In aa world where security isn't a given I'm in a secure comfortable environment. In a world where many don't have enough money to make ends meet? I'm making money by typing and I get to post about it in a daily blog. All while sitting on a comfy couch and listening to piano music in the background.
Sometimes its hard to see
I'll be the first to admit that when challenging times come it is really easy to focus on what you don't have. It is easy to focus on what went wrong or how inconvenient things are. I also know that focusing on the negative just makes the person negative. The negative steals joy and makes the person (in this case me) forget just how lucky there are, I try to focus on the positive to keep a better mood. Today started off rough but looking back on it now? I just got to meet a cool guy in the lounge, an artist who has seen people, done things and had really interesting stories. Focus on the positive and that 3 hours of lineups to be denied a bus tour is the best thing that happened to me all day.
It's hard but focusing on the positive really can change a day.