My Mood
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Nov 21, 2020
- 3 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. STUDY - DAY
Phone in hand, PETER is pondering over an answer request.
PETER (V.O.): How do I not let my mood dictate my day and get the work done?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A mood is a state of emotion at a particular time. It could last for several hours or days.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For the past three days, I was in good mood - very happy.
Peter looks at the gloomy weather outside the window.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I like sunshine.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Anyway, I'm driving my wife to pick up a new laptop for our younger daughter.
Art 2
EXT. ROADS - LATER
Inside a moving New Beetle, Peter and his WIFE are looking for roadside parking.
WIFE: There's a car pulling off in front. You can park there.
PETER: Yes.
Driving towards the spot, Peter sees from the rear mirror that there's a white car following closely behind. He stops the car parallel to the parking lot.
PETER: I'm blocking the traffic from behind. You quickly get off first.
As his wife gets off, Peter sees that car behind doesn't pass over.
PETER (V.O.) Oh, it doesn't have room to pull out.
Peter moves the car ahead a bit to provide the space.
PETER (V.O.): Yee? Instead of passing over, it continues to tail behind.
Peter shifts to reverse gear, but the car behind remains stationary.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I see. The driver wants to park where I want to park.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was too considerate. The driver has abused it.
Peter looks unhappy.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'd never do that. But there're others who do that all the time.
From the rear mirror, Peter sees the white car behind taking the parking lot.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've to manage my mood so that it wouldn't dictate my day. It isn't a matter of life or death.
Peter then drive around the area.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There isn't any vacant parking space.
Later, Peter drives past the spot where the white car is parked.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There could have been a row if I was young. But now, I believe the lessons of Game Theory would work.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I took an action. The other driver took an action. Something happened - the other driver parked and I didn't because I was cooperative.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): This something happened depended on what the other driver and I did. This is the basic Game Theory context.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Similarly, whether there would be a row would depend on the conflicting parties' actions.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That I didn't show my social disapproval of the other driver's action might encourage him/her to react the same in similar contexts.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There's no way I can change others. All I can do is to manage my mood. I'm playing the Game Theory knowingly.
Pausing
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe that in the end, the other driver will learn the lesson the hard way - when encountering other uncooperative road users.
Act 3
EXT. ROADS - CONTINUOUS
Phone rings. Peter takes the call.
WIFE (From phone): I've got the laptop and am waiting at the same spot where I got off.
PETER (To phone): So quick.
INT. STUDY - LATER
Peter works on his laptop.
PETER (V.O.): If I was in bad mood, I wouldn't be drafting the synopses for law lectures that I might teach. This is constructive. An intermediary is awaiting my reply.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Self-control is strength. I won't let others control the direction of my day. I've learned to master my mood as time goes by.
Peter takes a look of his phone screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As to the original answer request, my practice has been to stick to my work schedule despite moody.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Getting work done often changes my mood for the better.
Peter looks pleased.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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