Challenging Times for everyone

Are you having a difficult time making ends meet? Most Malaysians are experiencing this...in fact the whole world is having a bad time. If you think that here in Malaysia, we having a bad time, (made worst by our political situation and all those ridiculous accusations from one party to another), others elsewhere are having 10 times our problems! Imagine that 2 of the world's biggest financial institutions have gone into receivership after losing USD 3 Trillion!!!! I can't begin to picture how much 3 trillion is! Can you? Did you know that the summer Olympics are only 2 weeks away and hotels in that part of China are not yet fully booked?

Locally, even hawker businesses have been affected by this domino effect - my favourite chicken rice stall has always been so busy during lunch time that I usually cannot find parking space. So, smart me got a hold of their mobile number and I used to call-in to place my order for take-away. Then all I had to do was to give them a honk for them to deliver to my car window. On several past occasions, they have not answered my calls because they were just too busy. Last week, I did not call but drove straight there to buy my lunch and surprise surprise; there were several parking bays empty and all the 5 staff who work the stall were so free that they were just standing around chatting!!!

Then there is my favourite bak kut teh stall in their own coffee shop - 10.30 pm prime supper time (dinner time for us over-worked retailers) - only 2 tables were occupied. The owner told me that for the first time in 20 years, she has had unsold food!

Last night - We went to yet another favourite - a western fare stall in THE most popular and one of the biggest eating shops in Kuantan at 10.00pm -This place has ALWAYS been full for the past 4 years I have been patronising, (Don't know about the years before but I am sure I am the late bloomer cos the owners are filthy rich!) and viola! Only 5 tables (+ mine) were occupied.

Since May (or if you like, since after the elections and the petrol hike), the mall where I work has been like a 'ghost town'. We see only shop keepers and their staff visiting each other or on weekends, whole families window shopping just to enjoy free air conditioning! Looks like nobody is buying unnecessarily. Currently, the whole of Malaysia is on sale with the Annual Mega Sale that is on at this time of the year but nobody is buying - sale or not.

Our shop? THANK GOD FOR TOURISTS & THE US MARINES! Our currency is still very low compared to theirs, so they have been coming in everyday to make purchases. Did you know that many foreigners believe in feng shui or have a wife or a loved one who practises feng shui? So, right here in a small city on the east coast of Malaysia, they go crazy over all the available feng shui products that we carry.

I think our boutique is able to survive these trying times because it had been designed professionally by a feng shui designer supplied by our head office and laid out according to my personal auspicious directions. I am sure too that my self-analysis, diagnosis and feng shui correction of my shop and office contributed a lot to our subsistence. I can't say we are roaring with business like we did in December last year or the great sales carried on way past the 1st quarter of this year BUT we are surviving. Enough to cover costs with less profits but at least we still have profits! I must monitor my feng shui so that this will last until most of the worldly problems financial problems have been resolved.

As my master said in the beginning of this year - 2008 is a year of clashing elements. She had calculated this from the chart of the year - Strong water and weak earth - and these have come to fore in many places - in the Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmmar and in Szechuan in China. The year is only half over in the Chinese calendar - is the worst over or will there be more disasters to come?

This I do know - I have taken all precautions and installed all cures in my shop, my home and the homes of my immediate family. I carry all the amulets needed to ensure my safety and to clear obstacles in my path - for I am a Horse-born which is singlehandedly, THE worst off animal sign amongst all the 12 animals of the Chinese Horoscope. When bad things are meant to happen, you cannot completely prevent it but you can reduce its effects to so little that the damage done is minimal.

I am not greedy, I know I am having a tough year and 2008 is a difficult year for everyone. I just want to survive till the good times roll again. That should be everyone's best bet this year. Doesn't matter if you own an empire - the higher you are, the faster you drop.

Thank you feng shui for teaching me what to do and when to do it so that all our afflictions are reduced.

I end this post with an invitation to anyone who finds it hard to survive these terrible times - Write in your problem in my comments box and I will offer you some feng shui tips. Short, sweet and to the point please.