Today, I did something small but significant. It felt like removing a thorn from my consciousness.
You don’t get what I mean? Let me explain.
People of Chinese and Japanese descent are known by their surname, followed by their first name. So far so good.
My son was born in Japan.
But Japan follows the American style when it comes to naming people in English. So, when I went to the Embassy of Japan in Singapore to get my son’s birth certificate translated into English, the staff there wrote down his first name and then his last name.
Which means that when I registered his birth in Singapore to obtain a citizenship certificate, my son’s surname was documented after his first name. Basically a reversal of names.
My wife was not amused.
And as all good husbands know, when the wife is grossly unhappy, the family mood generally suffers.
My wife wanted to get his name changed. So, I wrote to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority last November. However, because the entire family went back to Japan last December, I shelved the plan for the time being.
Last week, I picked up the slack and obtained an appointment that was scheduled today. That’s why I immediately left school after dismissal to visit ICA.
To cut a long story short, I waited for an hour before I received an amended copy of his citizenship certificate - with his name in the correct order.
Normally, I would have been quite annoyed by how this administrative task abducted time from my me time. But I must have grown more Zen, because I was consuming The Little Book of Ikigai and trying to tease out more philosophical insights from it. Sensei can be at ease everywhere.
You know what I think? When I prepare myself mentally to deal with the interruptions that form the ebb and flow of quotidian life, I will feel more Stoic & less frazzled.
Of course, knowing that I have scored some brownie points with my wife contributed to my delight. At least now I have points in the ledger so that she will grant me some mercy and grace for my next transgression haha.