enjoying the moment

ever heard the phrase 'you have to enjoy what you do, even if things are going tough. you will feel better'?

i just witnessed it came true about fifteen minutes ago. it happened in a cab and the subject is the cabby.

he's an old malay uncle, with white hair covering his head and telling out loud his age. that probably makes him a 'happy-go-lucky' person. he's just like another other cabby who drives to make a living.

he was telling me about being happy, which he thinks matter most. he's enjoying his life (as a cabby). he said, 'for one hour, i have not had any single passenger. once i saw you flagging, i am happy.' indeed, he greeted me with a joke when i boarded his cab ('u want me to take the faster route or the slow one? i still ask despite knowing the answer is pretty obvious').

that's nice.

then he asked 'what does ERP stand for?'

'Electronic Road Pricing', i answered.

'that's the serious way of saying. a lighter way of saying "Everyday Rob People". true or not?'

i though that was good. i reciprocated with a laughter.

'GST does not really make sense. in fact, they were going to name it GCT. however, they didn't. know why?', he continued.

'nope'

'GCT stands for Goods Consumer Tax. if you buy a fridge, it's considered a good, not a service. you don't tax service for goods, right? but GCT also stands for Goh Cheok Tong, the then PM. so, they dropped the name!', the cabby explained.

i thought that was really funny. we chatted about other things like chinese new year, fast cars, cheap cars, ugly cars, etc in the span of thirty minutes.

i feel cabbies should not feel like everyone is making their lives tough, if not, tougher. as passenger, we feel the pinch as well. i see from him the importance of staying happy and not always crying over spilled beans.

'i've booked a bbq pit and i will be enjoying the bbq session while you guys go for the chinese new year holidays', mentioned the cabby

how often do you get such light moment while taking a cab home? i don't know about you, i know i haven't had one for a long time.