Note of the Week

I've just come back from Damin's farewell function. Damien, is the French Manager for the Billiard Room in the Raffles Hotel and over the last few months we had become good friends as I became a fan of his team and the excellent buffet dinner that they served. As part of his farewell, I took him to have Chinese mutton soup (he was impressed by the freshness of the meat) and momos. In return, I ended up at his function, which was organised by his staff. Like all good Frenchmen, he made sure that there was plenty of champagne to keep the spirits lifted.

Anyway, the week has been fairly unspectacular. My recently started hi-fi trading business has just started life and hopefully it will be able to grow into a source of passive income for me. I'm touching base with people and hopping to be able to grow my life. Was on the phone to my mother who had to remind me that I'm going to be 35 and I have nothing set aside for the day I'm turned into an invalid.

Well, ok, I guess one of the beautiful things about being a writer is the fact that I can still write into my old age. But writing actually pays very badly, so the trick is to make sure that the consultancy business gives me enough of a cash cushin to build some passive income that will last me into my twilight years.

Life is quite tough for most of us these days. I think most of us are still trying to get over the national idea of the "Iron Rice Bowl." Its becomming more and more common for jobs to be short term. Everyone is either an intern or on a 2-year project if they are on anything at all. Singapore also seems to retire people quite early. And this is in a climate of low unemployment.

Looks pretty grim? Well, I suppose it is if you are bread to believe in the idea of secure employment. In this day and age that we live in, you need to become multi-talented and have all sorts of things you can do to generate a few pennies here and there.

Ironically, Singapore, a work market that's often cruel to the elderly, is run by a genious of an old Man. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew is rightfully respected for having dragged Singapore into becoming a modern, developed nation, with a world class infrastructure. He has however, not been given enough credit for reinventing old age.

He's kept active and even if his body has become frail with age, his mind is exceedingly sharp. He's invented jobs for himself (First Senior Minister, now Minister Mentor) that would give him plenty of power but prevent him from doing too much damage to the country with advancing years. He checks his own email, continues to write his own speeches and gets plenty of foreign travel. Of course, he's not exactly a nice and cuddly person. By his own admission, he does not seem to have much time for his grandchildren.

Compare that with his contemporaries. Rajaratnam died pretty forgotten by the general public, while Goh Keng Swee is pretty close to senile. Across the causeway, Mahatire needs to slam his successor to get a bit of attention and in Indonesia, Suharto needs to hit the odd coma here and there. Margaret Thatcher in the UK is now consigned to the dutsbins of history and Ronald Regan died not realising he was once President of the USA. So when you think about it, Old Man Lee in Singapore is onto something here.

Now, that's something to think about.