In the blink of an eye it's now the end of August. The past week and a half had been a hectic one, took some time to settle stuff, now taking a breather before the next round of rushing. It will happen soon. Am taking advantage of the long weekend to do some housework and other things at home.
Opportunities do not come by very often. When it comes, it's just there for a brief moment and you better be in a position to catch it before it's gone forever. Preparation, anticipation, timing.
Human relations need not be complicated but reality does not always make things easy. No matter how much I strive for simplicity, there will be times when complicated situations will be encountered. Just have to learn to deal with it.
Looking back at the past half year I'm glad to have gotten plenty of travel opportunities, and if all goes well there's a couple more in the pipeline before year-end. Some places I wanted to go I didn't manage to go, but other places popped up unexpectedly and so far they have been pleasant.
If there's one thing that I'm really happy about in the past one year, it's gymming. That's so far the main positive thing that happened. A better toned body, stronger arms, longer endurance. Healthy habits and exercise routine do make a lot of difference. Just have to keep going at it, at least to maintain what I've achieved. Starting was painful and tiring but after a month or two my body got used to it.
Yet I feel a tinge of sadness at times. The loss of two friendships, though it can be mitigated due to the premise that those two never really considered me a friend the way I considered them a friend. One did not know how to appreciate me and the other only wanted to use me. Call me sentimental, call me straightforward, but I consider friendship a serious matter. Unappreciative users and cunning manipulators need not apply.
To me, if the person doesn't know how to appreciate me, I'd keep a distance. Don't get involved whether romantically or otherwise. And I'd repeat what I read in a book some years ago: "People like to help but hate being used." Though I can't remember the book title, it's the meaning of that sentence that matters.
I really cannot understand why a person would screw up a friendship just to save money on some things. Is it worth doing so? Either that person has a warped, distorted view of friendship or I was merely a person to be used in the first place, and that means that person never considered me a friend all this while. Perhaps some things I can't comprehend because my mind is not as devious as theirs. You do not inconvenience your friend for the sake of your own convenience unless you have no conscience or a warped sense of ethics.
Nor can I comprehend why a person would become so blind and unable to appreciate someone who genuinely cared. Only to realize the mistake when it's too late, but the damage has been done, and I never forget what people did to me. Just too bad that you lost me, you just have to find another person because you are nothing but a stranger to me now.
Not everyone can be a friend, and fewer are those with potential to be a life partner. One friend is too few, one enemy is too many. Whether we like it or not we have to strive for harmony in our dealings with other people, as what we say or do is going to come back to us sooner or later.