Saving with Scalpers?

Merriam-Webster: scalp - to buy and sell so as to make small quick profits ; especially : to resell at greatly increased prices

It's the assumptions that are the bane of travelers and expats; continually getting in the way of enjoying the best that life has to offer. In this case, it was in enjoying shows at a local price.

I read the paper just about every day, and make sure to scan the section dealing with upcoming events. Shanghai is a city of roughly 20 million people, so there should be interesting events happening all of the time. I just don’t seem to always find them. Part of my problem is that I am stuck in the mode of needing to plan ahead. If you don’t plan ahead in the US or Europe, you’re not likely to get tickets, will have to pay a fortune for tickets or will have a choice of only the worst seating - assumption. Just because that’s the case in most of the world, doesn’t make it the case in Shanghai.

Events are frequently not scheduled until the close to the time of the event. For our latest event, a stunt show by the Filmska team, the announcement came in Friday’s paper for the event on Saturday at 2 PM. I’ll have to say that most events are announced a bit earlier than that, but less than a week is not uncommon.

Not having tickets, did we need to leave early? Our driver assured us that “no”, leaving so we would be there 15 minutes before the show was more than adequate.

He dropped us at a gate. No ticket office in sight. The guards turned us away – we had no tickets. The scalpers descended. Buying tickets written in a foreign language from people who can’t speak your language, well, that’s just not something we’re comfortable with. Flagging down the driver, he comes back to help us. More scalpers descend. Tickets presented, tickets rejected. Scalpers rush off, come back with more tickets. We’re going to get scalped - assumption.

The outcome? We bought 4 tickets with a face value of 588 ¥ ($75) that had us seated centerfield, one row behind the VIP seats – there were few better seats in the stadium. At what greatly increased price did we pay? After all, we were scalped, right?! We bought the tickets for 150 ¥ ($20). Let me clarify, we bought the FOUR tickets for $20 – we paid less than 7% of the original ticket price.

Jaws dropped as we found our seats, as we watched the show (not worth $75, but more than $5), and again later as we calculated what I would have paid at the box office versus what our driver paid for the tickets.

As I head off to spend untold US dollars on Eric Clapton tickets, I can only wonder what would happen if we just waited and bought tickets outside the gate the night of the event. Well, that will be a future experiment – I really do want to see Eric Clapton in a small venue in Shanghai!



...assumptions can be problems in expatriation and repatriation. Visit Expatriate Solutions for resources on getting the most of being an expat or repatriating.

Water Jugs and Perspective

Living in Shanghai, our drinking water comes in 18.9L jugs, delivered by bike. These plastic jugs are returned for refill. While they are delivered wrapped in plastic with new seals, you might imagine that they get quite scratched.

Much to my amazement, this week we had a very clear, almost new jug. I’d never seen one before. It had a nice even blue tone. You could see clearly through both sides of the jug.

I noticed myself thinking “wow, that water looks good”. And then, caught myself; it’s the same old distilled water we have every day. But it still looked much more inviting!

The clear jug is analogous to a positive perspective. How we “see” a situation determines much about how we will experience it. If I look at the jug and see clear, fresh water, my mind is expecting clear, fresh water. If I look at the jug and see regular water, I probably won’t even notice the water when I drink it. If I look at the jug and see all of the bicycles it has been on and the roads of Shanghai it has traveled down, I might not even want to drink the water.

Perspectives are judgments we bring to a situation. Often they can be disempowering – “this will be hard”, “I just need to get through this”, “I can’t stand dealing with ...”, and the outcome will generally meet expectations.

Shifting your perspective might mean thinking about how it could be enjoyable, where the learning or accomplishment could come from, how responsibility could be taken for success.

Next time you raise your water glass, notice how the glass affects the water inside. Next time you face a challenging situation, think about what perspective you can take to ensure a positive outcome.

Voice of Perfection

Most of us carry an internal voice demanding perfection – alternately asking requiring us to do it all and criticizing the outcomes. The voice is loud in some, easily stilled in others. The holiday season, with its parties, holiday cards, shopping, gatherings with family, traditions and travel, creates the perfect acoustics, yet also the perfect opportunity to train the voice. The voice of perfection is neither good nor bad. When trained to play its part in the chorus of ourselves, it can move us forward and enable positive change.

Following are a couple of tips that will enable you, the choral director, to train and modulate the voice of perfection.

Ground your action in your values

• Take a few moments (yes, I know you don’t have a few moments, but it will pay off) to look across the elements of your life; elements such as work, immediate family, extended family, social relationships, finances, health, spiritual life and self.
  
• Make some trade-offs amongst these for the next few weeks. For example, winding up the year at work is critical, so I’ll give myself permission to reduce exercising. Or family and spirituality are key, so I’ll schedule a few ½ days as vacation.
  
• In addition to the trade-offs, identify any limits that should be established to support your values. For example, I won’t work on New Year’s Day. I won’t increase my debt. I will get to bed on time.
  
• With a basis created for decision-making, listen to the voice of perfection ask it to look at your to-do items to evaluate whether the party, the cards, the cookies, the trip, etc. provide strong support, limited support or no support to your values for the next few weeks.

Find another way

• Despite the voice saying you should do it all, when the to-do item provides limited or no support to your values, learn to say “no”, “later” or let me find another way. Can you skip the party? Can you send a short holiday note via email and a longer one later? Can you buy the holiday goodies rather than making them?

The voice of perfection encourages us to do our very best, and helps us evaluate where to get better. When the voice rings above the chorus, it may push us to do more, yet accomplish less. By finding your values, you can train the voice to focus on perfection in those areas that strongly support your values. Know and accept that your trade-offs and limits may be different during the hectic holiday season, so that you have the ability to tailor the voice to the holiday chorus.

I'll Try to Be There

Through the busy holiday season, I wonder how many times we hear, or say, “I’ll try to be there”.

The listener might think, “oh good, I’ll see them there”, especially if the listener is your child. The speaker may think, “I really want to be there, BUT I have to [fill in the blank].” Odds are that the person who will “try”, won’t be there. Perhaps the answer was an avoidance of saying no, of rejecting, or of creating disappointment. However, the listener is ultimately left with the no, the rejection and the disappointment, AND no explanation.

Sometimes the answer is a way to keep options open; as in, I’ll show up if nothing better comes up. The listener then gets to guess on what basis they have for being rejected when the speaker doesn’t show up.

Another approach is making “time” accountable for showing up or not – “If I can find time, I’ll be there”. Unfortunately, time is what it is; there can be neither more, nor less of it. The person who learns to “find time” has a secret worth millions. Well, maybe he meant, if he can “make time”. Oops, same problem, no magic formula for making time.

Instead, we might want to consider how the speaker will use the time he or she has. What are they committed to? Over work? Achievement? Accomplishment? Appearing overbooked? Avoiding parties? Avoiding confrontation? or just plain Commitment.

The reality is that we are committed to something every moment of every day. Even while taking a nap, we are committed to something. It could be resting, self-care, avoiding work, avoiding people, or preparing for the party ahead. We are committed to something.

The next time you catch yourself “trying”, take a moment to consider what your commitment might be.

"This is Your Life"

This is your life, are you who you want to
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose

Switchfoot, “This is Your Life”,
The Beautiful Letdown
Release date: February 25, 2003.

When did you last revisit the dreams of your youth? How far have you drifted from your dreams?

Take this challenge.

Give yourself permission to dream as though you were a child and the world was younger. Trust that there are no constraints on what you can do. Your height doesn’t matter if you want to be a basketball player. Your risk aversion doesn’t matter if you want to fly to distant stars. You can be or do anything you want. When you are in that space, answer the question.

If you could be or do anything you want what would you be or do?

Sit with your answer. Keep your judgment on hold. Remember, right now, there are no constraints.

After sitting with your answer, add details. When you are being or doing what you want, picture your surroundings, identify the people (or type of people) around you, and name the actions that fill your time. If possible, construct a representation of this world; this can be in the form of a mind-map, collage, journal entries, drawings, or whatever works best for you.

In your mind, take yourself to that place of being or doing. What do you feel? What are the benefits that you gain? How do you feel about them? If possible, find ways to add the feelings to your representation.

Study your picture for a time. Add more depth of the details, explore the feelings and try to make the benefits more concrete.

What part of your dream could you bring into your life?

What steps could you take that would allow you to test the possibilities in that dream?

In the beginning verse of the song, we hear “This is your life, and today is all you’ve got now.” If your life is not what you dreamed it would be, you have the choices of today to make. What choice could you make today that brings you closer to that dream?

Copyright 2006 Sherry L. Read, All Rights Reserved

Top Prohibitions

The Chinese have a phrase gaoyaxian (高压线) which literally means a high-voltage line. In the fast paced, economically oriented climate of Shanghai, the phrase is more often translated to “top prohibition”, the rules that one should never break, as it could be as lethal as touching a high-tension wire.

In an earlier posting, we discussed Office Politics, and the need to develop an understanding of politics to enable you, as an employee or manager, to get things. Another part of the oft-called “secret handshake” of office politics is learning the rules, and most importantly the gaoyaxian.

All cultures have defined rules of behavior. We normally learn them through normal socialization – family life, religious education, school and media. Orientation programs and employee handbooks give us our first clues to the rules of behavior at most companies. Some companies continue the socialization with training programs, ethics posters, communication meetings and newsletters. Have you ever noticed, however, that when you change divisions or bosses, new rules seem to appear? Rules on when to show up, how to dress, acceptable forms of conflict, how decisions are made, who is allowed to make a decision, and so forth.

When you are in a new position due to a company change, a merger, or a promotion, invest in building organizational awareness. Be curious, listen to others talk about how to get things done, explore comments like “I would never try that”, watch actions, discern patterns of behavior. Especially try to determine the gaoyaxian – top prohibitions. You may want to try what others are afraid to try, but know whether you are breaking a lethal rule or bringing fresh air to a stale organization.


高压线 (gaoyaxian)
top prohibitions
The term literally means a high-voltage line. It is often used to refer to rules that one should never break because it will prove to be as lethal as touching the high-tension wire.

Shanghai Daily Buzzwords 20 November 2006

What are the gaoyaxian in your company?