One thing I realize I RARELY give. That's it-compliments. I don't know why, I guess it's the ego in me not wanting to see the satisfaction on someone's face when they are praised. But actually, every deserves to be complimented once in a while.
Today, Dad went to buy an iPhone protecting sticker. The woman who was helping us out at the time seemed really grumpy, you could feel it from the way she talked to her partner. And then my Dad decided to do something about it. The people who ran the store were Foochow (like us!! :D don't know why, I'm always glad to see a Foochow no matter how grumpy they are!) So my Dad saw this as a chance to shift the energy. He started talking to them in that dialect. In most of the cases I've encountered, the other Foochow in discovering that we speak their dialect, would be considerably cheered up. But this woman somehow persisted on using Chinese to talk to us. But slowly, the ice melted...and Dad was admiring the skills she had in putting on the iPhone protector, she did it like a real pro!! And then the couple started laughing!!! And then Dad told them about Nana's (my sister, BTW) performance tomorrow night, and they actually responded really enthusiastically when they heard the song she was going to sing!!
It really made me smile inside, the way my Daddy can make people smile just by talking with sincerity. So...compliment people(don't forget yourself) more, and while you're at it, be SINCERE!! :)
