[IOTD][#11] Today I choose my commute

Originally published on Medium on October 4, 2018 · Written by hand, Pre-AI era.

My morning commute is horrible, today I made it not so much…

Morning commute in Saigon — trick question: how much CO2 can this photo capture ;)

Everyone living in Saigon, Vietnam knows that it is a constant struggle to deal with peak hour traffic, occasionally made worse by weather like today.

There is no denying that this is not the ideal condition to live in. Maybe 99% wants to get out, wants to live in another country. But not for me, I chose to be in this city, I chose to be the 1% that returned to ‘home’ after nearly 2 decades away from where I wanted to be.

It’s different today, it’s foggy, slight chill, and of course it comes with tons of CO2 in the air, evidently.

It’s also different since I re-discovered something that I missed completely along the way. This breath taking view:

Breathtaking view from bridge — taken on an iPhone SE #nofilter #noeffect #noenhancements

Neither it was taken by a fancy dSLR nor a cutting-edge iPhone XS, it is merely my ‘new’ iPhone SE that I downgraded to last week, with #nofilter #noeffect #noenhancements.

Everyday, I pass by this bridge, technically in 2 seconds at my usual speed. And I have never noticed such a scence! Today is different, today I chose to notice, I chose to extend that 2 seconds into several tick.

Apple Watch Breathe reminder — Apple’s breathing reminder

Then on my wrist, this new guy reminded me another important thing in life: breathing.

When was the last time someone ever taugh you how to breath? Never? If you don’t know how to breath, you wouldn’t be reading this! I hope I’m right!

I have yet done my research and I’m pretty sure I’m late into this whole healthy-living-deep-breath-every-hour game but it’s ok, I take life as my own pace.

Making a turn to a parallel street, things changed, only for the better.

Yes, the horrible traffic jam is still there, tens of meters away from this long small street. It’s not first time I picked this alternate route, in fact, I’ve lived in this area in the last 3–4 years already. Today it’s different, I choose to #pauseandfeel.

Maybe life has always been too fast, thinking about the next task on TODO list, worrying about the next paycheck, preparing for a new career shift, trying to make the next $M dollars, etc… we forgot what we really enjoy doing, the person we’re supposed to be…

It’s ok now, today is different. I made my commute a little better, I chose #positivethinking.

And here’s the end of my ride-hailing trip. Costing 28k VND, almost double the usual rate, mehhhhh…

I do tech, I solve difficult tech situation for businesses, strategic and tactical. Advises on organisation building, team culture. Connecting people for free coffee and dinners. But I’m not that crazy.

Thanks for reading! and perhaps, join me in Saigon?!