purpose

talking long drive and radar detector cropped up in the conversation.

i asked how much one is.

whoa!  kinda pricey!

i go, "why not just not overspeed..."

in reply, the guy sent me a picture of his car.

hahaha...  okay...

what's the point of having a fast car if you cannot go fast?

maximum utility

today i received eleven boxes of my fave See's Awesome Walnut Square Bars ❤️❤️❤️

yes, eleven!

each box has eight 42g squares.  that's a total of 88 chocolate squares! 😃

this is not the first time the giver has sent me so many.  (i am overjoyed and extremely thankful 😊)  this time and last, he had emphatic instructions that the chocs are all for me.  the previous times he sent, i shared with others.  (he sends other chocs for sharing.  it's just the walnut bars he specifies as exclusively mine.)

i totally get it.  the most value for those chocs would be if i'm the one who ate them.

you give them to others, they'd probably view it the same way they'd view any other choc.

me, i love those chocs.  to me they're special.  i take great pleasure and satisfaction in and really appreciate every single bite.

taste is subjective.
value is relative.
don't give a diamond to someone who doesn't appreciate jewelry.
don't give a diamond to someone who doesn't know what a diamond is.
you're not maximizing value.
you could even be negating it.

waste not.

no-lose

went to my mom's place to share ice cream with my sister who i thought was working from home.  turns out she went to the office.

so there i was at the dining table with my food tray when my mom walked in.

me:  'you want ice cream?'

mom:  'no, thanks.'

me:  'hehe...  good...  i've finished it already...'

mom:  'why are you offering me ice cream when there's no more?!'

me:  'in case you say no then good.  there was a 50% chance you'd say no.'

and a hundred percent chance of things turning out well  ->  had she said yes i would have ordered.

twice the ice cream is twice the joy 🍧🍨😋😊

value

technician fixing my mom's internet connection:  'to get this speed you have to connect to the 5G not the 2.4...  but then coverage is small...  it won't reach downstairs...'

me:  'what?!  my mom's house is not a mansion.  her lot's only 200+ square meters.  her house doesn't even occupy the whole space.  are you telling me she has to go upstairs every time she wants to use 5G?  that cannot be!'

technician:  'your walls are not thick?'

me:  'they're regular walls...  concrete but not a fortress...'

technician:  'maybe it would work...'

me:  'it should...  what sort of technology is 5G if it won't even serve an area this small?'

the technician went downstairs and checked near my mom's laptop...  5G good...

he went to the farthest end of the living room...  5G good...

he went to the yard...  no more 5G...

that's ok...  the important thing is that the signal is available where my mom normally uses it...  there's not much value in having something someplace where it isn't needed.

not everything is mandatory.  some are just nice to have.

feeling entitled

garbage is collected in our  street six times a week, monday to saturday.  you're supposed to just put your trash outside for collection.

when my dad was still alive, he used to go out to give the garbage collectors a tip every single time.

when he passed away, my mom continued the 'tradition' but halved the tip 🤭.  she tasked the help with handing out the tips.

this morning my mom's help told me she wasn't around one time the garbage collector came so when he saw her next he told her,
"may utang ka pa sa 'kin."
->  you owe me money (i.e., the tip).

wahaha...  you do a favor for too long, the recipient starts to view it as your obligation.