as I was happily celebrating ...

tempting - behave v2 - alternative
pet peeves Monday 016 & misc list 052

If you are doing the rounds just like I did yesterday, you might be visiting close relatives in your vicinity. There are certain situations that might be quite a handful that you need to be aware of:

#043: filling in the 'void'

First of all, be wary of how you bounce back from a month of fasting, food-wise. Having the restriction of eating during the day finally being lifted, I know the temptation to celebrate it is by eating to your heart's content but remember the health reason we went through that self-inflicted ban on food: to regulate the food intake and lessen its impact on the body. It was made for us to empathize with others who are less fortunate than us, those who couldn't afford to eat daily let alone thrice a day. I know it is tempting to stuff your face since I feel the same temptation yesterday, but this is how you know whether your learn from your experience or not. Compared before Ramadhan and after Ramadhan, are you a better eater as in a more responsible eater? You'll know by the end of this week.

#044: basic common courtesy

Speaking of which, how do you act when you visit someone's house? I usually just start going in the same pace as my parents, starting with pleasantries and moving on to ask for the going-ons in their lives, with this conversation going on when we start eating the biscuits until we finish the main dishes being served (that was for some close relatives only, not every household would offer a whole course for every visitor). You can tell whether you will be staying for the long haul or just casual ten minute visits from how the conversation is going, from a slow and steady pace to a more upbeat and fast tempo, between settling in and getting a natural conversation going to a faster one by trying to end it as soon as possible. If you're the one leading the visit, you should know which direction you are going before you are stepping through that door. 

#045: the road less traveled

When the day was done and you have to go back home, if you're in the semi-rural areas, you are in for a 'festive treat' as in a typical traffic jam going as far as kilometers long (or miles as well, they are that long), going to the same direction in a two lane road with the dreaded traffic lights being the one at fault the most. There were actually a couple of traffic officers working at one of the lights which I greatly appreciate since they're spending the holiday working for us. It was the most ideal option to control the traffic since human can properly estimate the heavy traffic coming from all direction but it isn't sustainable, you should know alternative routes to go back home. Are you willing to slowly move in a pile of cars or are you willing to use alternative route that would get you to the desired destination albeit causing you to go a bit further than usual? Between spending time in the traffic or going that extra miles, I would prefer to be on the move rather than sticking to the same patch of road for dozens of minutes. What about you?  

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Well, that's all folks! Thank you for your time and please do come back for my future posts! :-)