Reward

Who does not like rewards? I think majority of us love rewards especially if it is free. But how often do we get rewarded? I guess it still depends on our hard work, the people who recognized our efforts and the company or school's policies.

Maybe you are wondering why I suddenly talked about rewards. Last Sunday evening when I was at the store, a man came inside and I greeted him by saying, "annyeong" followed by the cashier by saying, "annyeonghaseyo". I guess most of us know what these words mean although mine is in an informal way of greeting. But we really did greet the man with feelings and with all smiles that he even responded by saying, "anong sa'yo? (what is yours in Filipino, it sounds the same with the Korean greeting)". So when he was assisted by the cashier on what he was looking for, we directed him to the soju section. We all know that alcoholic drinks is best paired with chips or any appetizer so the cashier suggested some chips to go with his drink. He asked what chips can we recommend and I pointed at the Wasabi Potato Crisp (if you have read about my Korean chips review, you would be familiar with it). Then he was asking us if it was really good to pair with soju. Not only did I recommended it because the price was a little expensive but because I know that wasabi is perfect with alcohol. I can still remember the first time I tried eating sushi rolls with wasabi as beer accompaniment. I already drank a lot that night and when I ate some wasabi, I felt like it somehow reduce my drunkenness.

Anyhow, the cashier on the other hand recommended Doritos with dip (blue) as for her it was also the perfect match with soju. So the man said that ok, he will buy those 2 and because we suggested it, he said that he will buy it for us. The cashier and I were surprised with what he said and we told him that we were just recommending some chips to go with his soju. Then he said, "it's my treat for the both of you because you deserve a reward for your hard work". It actually made me a little teary-eyed then I instantly thought about the time that I rewarded myself. I also thought about one of the Facebook posts that I saw when one of the cashiers was scrolling her Facebook feed. The post said,

Yung kaka "deserve ko to", naubos pera mo.

Or in other words, everytime I would say to myself that I deserve this, you (referring to myself) get broke.

I literally laughed at that post after I saw that because I felt guilty. I bought a lot of things then and now because I would say that I deserve this or I have to reward myself. How often do you reward yourself? When was the last time that you rewarded yourself? You all know that I did had a lot of spending these past few months but the reward that I can actually think of is when I bought my Huawei smartwatch and all the times that I treated myself and my family to good food. I think those were the times that I rewarded myself because I deserved it.

So when my brother entered the store and asked us about the man who just left, we told him the story behind the free chips and I was teasing him if we also have a reward from him for our hard work that day. LOL. I know he already gave me an allowance but I was just hoping that he will give me some more. LOL. He just laughed when I showed him my palm.

Imagine that the man paid more than for what he really wanted to buy because of our rewards. We only assisted him and suggested some chips and it was already hard work for him. We were so thankful to him that it made me think a lot about giving ourselves some rewards for our hard work. I usually see or hear those "I rewarded myself" from some Youtube influencers when I was still watching their vlogs. They would reward themselves with a brand new car, some luxury item or a travel here or abroad. Honestly, I did get envy by watching them reward themselves. It was one of the reasons why I stopped watching some vlogs because personally I feel like it was taking a toll on my mental health. But when I received the bag of chips from someone I do not know, I feel like that reward was worth more than the rewards that the influencers give for themselves. I still have not eaten it because I said that I want to take a photo of it as a souvenir that someone gave me a reward.

There were also some instances in the past where guests would give me personal tips because they saw how I worked hard. I even kept one of the tips that I got from a regular senior uncle with his senior niece that I had before. That time we were short staff during weekdays but I did not expect that people will be coming in as early as 10AM and I was the only one in the dining area. There was also only one in the kitchen. We were still able to deliver good service and quality food that time and that is when our 2 regular senior guests personally secret handedly gave me a Php100 ($2) and the senior niece said that it was for me because I deserved it. I was almost teary-eyed also that time. So I kept that money the same way how it was folded when she gave it to me.

For sure we all have experienced being rewarded by someone we personally do not know. Just like here on read.cash, we get sponsored, upvoted, commented and mentioned because they have recognized our efforts in producing quality articles the same way in noise.cash. And I would never get tired to all of you who has always been there for me throughout my journey. Just like my previous guests in restaurants and at the grocery store, you all are the reason why I continue to better myself. It is truly rewarding when someone recognizes our hard work. *teary-eyed* Let us not forget to reward other people the same way we reward ourselves.

April 05, 2022

P.S. lead image is the reward that I got from the man who bought from the store.