Remember what I said about taking the easy way out of life first. Always take the easy way out, if you have a choice. I know some experts say that we should not take the easy way out because we are just avoiding the problem, but I still think that I am right. Why? First and foremost, life is tough enough without you biting your nose to spite your face. I don’t see why you should deliberately ‘challenge’ yourself and take the hard way out in the first instance.

Feng Shui for peace and happiness ranks high in many ordinary people’s mind.  I know this is true. You see, we work, we play and we rest. This is the most basic life that ordinary people should have. We demand it! This noisy water pipe is already causing ‘lack of sleep’ stress to my husband and me, and because of the incident back in 2008 that resulted in ‘backlash’ from my next door neighbour, we are really concerned whether this time, there will be a miscommunication again. The uncertainty in the situation itself is also very stressful to us. Double whammy! I don’t want to quarrel with my next door neighbour over some stupid misunderstanding again!!! That’s so ‘small circle‘!

You know, these chaps at the Town Council (and HDB) don’t have enviable jobs. If you don’t believe me, then go ask any ex-‘Estate Officer’ (people who handle matters that have to do with your residential property). It is a tough job because they end up being punching bags for both the ‘feedback provider’ as well as the ‘culprit’. Do also kenna (get whacked), don’t do also kenna. 😅 It takes a special kind of character to do this ‘Estate Management’ job, I have seen staff who work for only a few months, and I have also seen staff who have worked for more than 19 years! Wow, salute to the latter!

Because I empathise with them, I don’t want to start off by being a meanie. The worst thing I can do now, even though I am very frustrated with the situation, is to ‘bite the hand that feeds (helps) me’. I need to help the Town Council staff and the HDB staff, so they can help me! This is why I have to consciously tell myself not to over-react, even though they are shifting the work to one another. Never mind, let them dilly-dally. How long can they stay idle about the situation anyway? They would have to do something about it eventually, because I have sent them emails of the issue, sound recordings of the noise, as well as the timing of the noises. They will need to do something because everything is in black-and-white. Gotcha! 🍻 See? I have learnt from my previous lesson of Year 2008, and this time I am armoured and well-prepared for any ‘battle’ to come. Let’s hope it does not come to this, though! 🤞

But I am no sitting duck. I am not just going to sit idle whilst the Town Council sorts this out. I understand that they have to deal with the public, and it’s probable that they have 100 such cases to handle concurrently. In any case, my dealing with them in Year 2008 has taught me a big lesson. Preparedness is everything when you need to deal with the Town Council staff or the HDB staff. It seems that this is the only way they function, so I have to ‘play along’. But you see how crazy the situation is? If you stand from afar and look in, this is a very small matter of either a neighbour’s faulty water tap (which can be easily replaced by a plumber), or the wear-and-tear of the roof top water pipes (which can be easily replaced by the Town Council contractors). No wonder people often say  ‘it is useless to complain’. 😂