'I envy not in any moods the captive void of noble rage' Alfred, Lord Tennyson 'You can't always get what you want' Mick Jagger IN a stress-fuelled city in a mad, mad world, it is worth paying heed to the musings of the ancient bard. And Tennyson probably had a point, too. Such pearls of wisdom, however, may be of scant consolation when the irritations, vagaries and vicissitudes of modern life have massed ranks against you; when you're being peppered by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
Rage, you see, has become all the rage. And in Hong Kong, perhaps more than in most cities, keeping one's cool can prove a daily struggle.
Worldwide, the ascendancy of the irate is such that the more common ways to blow a fuse are neatly categorised: Road rage, Air rage, Desk rage, not to mention Train rage, Hotel rage and even Surf rage, when a surfer pinches your wave.
And then there are the less glamorous, more localised reasons to get mad, that have not yet earned a catchy media tag - such as trying to hail a cab at rush hour (Meter rage?), watching your lunch break rapidly evaporate as you stand behind some haggling miser in a bank (Queue rage?), or the viscid squish of just-shined shoe piercing the meniscus of a freshly hawked pavement oyster (Phlegm rage?).
Anyone who has spent time in the simmering cauldron of ire and angst that is the SAR knows there are times when taking a deep breath and counting to 10 just won't cut it.
Be honest. When was the last time you fought down (or gave into) an overwhelming urge to punch someone in the face, kick their shins or at least tweak their nose and call them names? Chances are it was not in the dim, distant past.
Rats thrown into crowded confinement are known to rip each other to shreds within hours. With humans, it takes somewhat longer - although anyone who has suffered a shredding from the scything elbows of little old ladies on the MTR may dispute this.