A goal without a plan...

It is said that whatever you wish for at the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple will come true. But it is also said that if your wish comes true you must return and make an offering. Despite that hedge, it must work. A lot of people were there wishing -- and making offerings. 

I wished for success getting started on an idea for a best-selling mystery thriller. Wishing for world peace would have been more altruistic. And wishing for a winning lottery ticket might have been smarter. But "best seller" is what jumped in my head.

 

It's pretty easy. Just light several joss sticks, bow a few times in no particular direction and make your wish. But wait, there's more. 

 

Next, go inside and stop at the counter near the altar to pick up one of the cylindrical containers filled with numbered sticks.

Take off your shoes and kneel on the red carpet. Shake the container until one of sticks pops up above the others and take it back to the counter for your fortune, which may hold a clue about your wish. (If you get caught taking pictures inside the main hall by a guard or two ... or three, just keep moving until you get something useable. They aren't as mean as the guy at the bank who made me show him I had deleted the photo I took there. But that's another story.) 

Since this is your lucky day, you not only get a picture, but you also get an English translation and an interpretation on the back of your fortune.

 

The honey bee gathers honey with great labour. When the rain comes, or when there are no flowers, there will be no honey.

Interpretation: Bad 
When it shines, all is well. But comes the rain, and it never stops raining, forget what one is doing and revert back.

My interpretation: Come up with a more compelling plot. 

Margaret's interpretation: Find a job.