Taking it to the extreme!

Been real lazy lately in updating my blog but what I witnessed over the weekend compelled me to share this.

I understand that in difficult times like this, we have to be more prudent in our spending and be thrifty. It makes good sense to know how much we have and how much we can afford. It also makes sense to counter check how much the shops or restaurants are charging us so that we do not get short changed. But how far should we go? How far should we control our spending before it touches the realm of extreme or obsession? I must said that there is really no benchmark and it's left largely to individual interpretation. But is the case below, going overboard?

We were having our breakfast on Sunday at a noodle shop at SS2. We were seated fairly near the counter and while we were enjoying our meal, we noticed that a lady patron has been standing at the counter having a conversation with the lady owner for quite awhile. We thought that they were friends and were having a friendly chat but no, the lady customer were actually paying her bill.

She wanted to the owner to break down the bill to individual items for her. Fair enough. Then she wanted the lady owner to go though the menu again to confirm that the items charged were exactly as written on the menu. I really admire the owner who was patiently explaining to her item by item. Once satisfied, the lady customer took over the calculator to add up the bill to ensure that the amount is correct. Finally satisfied, she took out several smaller purses from her larger bag to make payment. We noticed that one purse was dedicated to coins. A this juncture, my opinion of her was purely that she was an extremely careful customer. What happened next shocked both my wife and I.

While she was putting her change of coins back into her purse, they drop! She went after them and picked them up and took one step towards her seat. Then she paused and walked back to the counter. The next she did was POURED all her coins from her purse onto the counter top and started COUNTING! We could see the shock expression on the face of the lady boss. After counting all her coins and apparently satisfied that every sen has been accounted for, she coolly put them all back into her purse and walked back to her table. Is that it?

NO! She took out an book and started writing down. I hope that she was writing her checklist but I haven strong hunch that she was recording how much the meal has just caused her.

Both of us had a good chuckle ourselves. Is this going overboard or purely cautious? Honestly, I don't know.

I dread to imagine what she would have done if she has actually lost 10 sen after recounting the money at the counter. Would she overturned all the counters to look for it? Or would she loose sleep over it?

How many of us remember the exact amount of coins that we have in our pocket or purse at any given point in time. I know I don't or should I from now on? Emmmmmmm ..... Really food for thought ....