Year-end Bonus (2)

(The title of this entry should really be "Do You Lend Money to Friends?", an entry I thought to write a few days ago. You will understand the "year-end bonus" part when I finish the story.)

A few days ago a very good friend - a sister - called me for an urgent request. She needed X amount of RMB to increase her chances to buy a house. I agreed that I could help. Later that night she called again; this time she needed more, 3X amount of RMB. I told her that I had to think about it.

Do you lend money to friends? (By "friends" I mean people that you can trust.) I guess in most cases the answer is "of course." But over time I have formed a rule not to lend money to friends. If a friend really needs help, I would give him or her an amount based on my capability and the prompting from within.

There are of course exceptions. 1) If it's a small amount, and a friend happens to forget his or her wallet, for instance, then it wouldn't be a big deal. 2) If he or she insists to return the amount one day, it would be a lent amount - but, I would still be lending an amount as if I was giving him or her that much.

Thus, I replied the sister the next day, telling her that I had wired X amount of RMB to her bank account as a donation. I also explained that while I probably could lend her 3X amount of RMB, I could not afford to give her that much, thus I would only donate X amount this time.

This rule has worked well for me. It frees me from getting into lender/debtor relationships, and it keeps my money management simple. I am also sending signals to my friends not to get into debt easily. And if some of them are believers of a Creator, I encourage them to have faith that He will provide in due time, and they shouldn't rush into borrowing money.

Of course, I wouldn't be too rigid when dealing with friends. They think that they borrowed money from me, while I treat it as if I gave it to them. In almost all the cases they eventually returned the money; to me, those were bonuses. I manage my finance without thinking at all the amount that might be owed to me - and of course I make sure that I don't owe others.

So, today, I went to a couple's place to have lunch. They told me that they just wired an amount to my bank account and thanked me for helping them out a few months ago. Did I remember that they borrowed money from me before? Yes and no. I knew, but I seriously didn't think about it afterwards. So this returned money was my year-end bonus. :-)

It happened to be X amount of RMB, exactly the same amount I donated to that sister friend a few days ago.

Year-end Bonus (1)

With today's economic situation, people probably should be content with having a job. Still, naturally, people want more than what they have or given. The Chinese New Year is right around the corner, and it's time for year-end bonus...or do we have one at all this year?

Yesterday was the last day at work. A coworker began to chat with me through IM. She was not from the same department, but we had served the company together for a number of years now. She complained about her year-end bonus being too low (a certain percentage of her salary). I said, well, maybe everyone gets the same amount (percentage) this year. She said, no! The management is fooling themselves - of course we know (that it's different for everyone). Uh oh, I thought, this is dangerous territory. You are not supposed to discuss salaries and bonuses privately, but this is China.

I tried my best to comfort and encourage her, but she still couldn't calm down. She was supposed to reply an email to her management, and she was worried that she would sound too angry. :-) So she asked me to draft a few sentences. I complied and said that I would like to buy her a meal. She said, no, she should treat me; she had asked me a favor many times.

Then, as I was wondering how come I hadn't received an email from the upper management, one of the top engineers on the team came to my seat and asked about the year-end bonus. The money was already put in our bank accounts (I didn't know that), and he felt that his was unexpectedly low. I said that I had no idea and that I didn't control these things.

After he walked away, I checked online my bank account. Indeed an amount was put in a day earlier, and it was not big. In fact, it was a lower percentage than the girl's, who complained to me just half an hour ago.

Now this is a real test, isn't it? It is one thing to hear from others and even show sympathy; it is another when you feel that you've been treated unfairly. Suddenly I realized that I had work to do. Most of the team members probably didn't get a big bonus this year. Although they could feel lucky for still having a job, but they deserved better. I would make a few phone calls to wish them a happy New Year. And I need to put aside my petty feelings. :-)

Actually here is a funny thing. I had thought about "giving away" my bonus. I felt that whatever bonus I would get, the team should have it since they did the real work. Especially during the second half of the year, with all my traveling and other matters, I didn't put my whole mind and heart to managing the team. Now with the "unexpectedly low" bonus, perhaps it's easier for me to give it away? Haha.

I Won! ... Not Really

Monday night was our company's annual Chinese New Year banquet. Good food, good performances (by different departments). The biggest draw, of course, was the prize drawing. Each person submitted his or her shuffle drawing ticket, and one of the executives or managers would do the drawing.

This was my fourth year in a row to attend the event, and once again, I came away with winning none of the top prizes; I would again get the "consolation prize" like most others. Of course, I never really cared for it. In fact, last year when I was busy doing the MC, I even forgot to submit my shuffle drawing ticket.

Nonetheless, I got pretty nervous when the #1 prize was announced. It was a Fujitsu laptop computer. I almost forgot my pre-event promise to myself that if I won the top prize, I would in some way donate it to the cause of the NW. I have always used a Fujitsu laptop, and it's almost time to get a new one. Could this be the one? My project team had "performed" pretty well this night, with about 1/3 of them winning a prize. Could it be that their manager would claim the crown prize?

But, of course, it didn't happen. :-) In case you are curious, here is my shuffle drawing ticket:

I had hoped to win a prize with it, but it wasn't meant to be. I should be content with the consolation prize. I should even be glad. :-)

New Habit

(I am still in office at this minute, just past midnight. Our software has a release tonight, and we are doing a final round of testing before the official release. Meanwhile, I make a visit to this space...)

Some say that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. For the past 21 days (started just before the New Year), I have been reading 2 chapters from the Old Testament, 1 chapter from the New Testament, and 1 Psalm every day. There has been no lagging or jumping ahead. Every day the same amount. By this rate, I should go through the whole Book in a year.

I figure that I have perhaps read every book in the Book, but I cannot be sure since I have never successfully read from cover to cover in a year (or any period of time). But this year, 2009, so far it has been quite good. I am not pushing it, and I find it enjoyable, even memorizing quite a few verses (e.g. the entire Psalm 13). Perhaps this is the year that I will finally do it!

(Now back to work...)

Little Children

I attended a closing ceremony of a private "school" run by a good friend this morning. It's not an official school since my friend runs it quite differently from the public schools. It was a very special event, with the children singing praise songs and reciting Psalms (in both Chinese and English) as a way of showing what they've learned during this past semester.

The headmaster - my friend - did a PowerPoint presentation on school's teaching and children's growth. The teaching is centered on one verse, Luke 2:52, thus the education focuses on 4 areas:

• ...grew in wisdom... (learning various subjects)
  
• ...and stature... (physical education, including healthy habits)
  
• ...in favor with G... (spiritual growth)
  
• ...and men. (social skills and team work)
  

Among these, the 3rd area is the most emphasized. The grading was also unique. Instead of giving just a score (like based on a test), the students' attitudes were figured in. Thus, if the attitude had a grade of A, B, or C, and the score was 1, 2, or 3, then the final grade would be A1, B1, C2, etc., with more emphasis on the attitude.

I was invited to give a brief talk to the children as an encouragement. I quoted Matthew 19:14, where JC said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." I often wondered what kind of little children JC was pointing at when He spoke so, and now, this morning, I had a better idea.