A Senior Citizen at 53?

When I sent a copy of my advertisement, calling myself an ex-teacher and senior citizen, my Canadian buddy, James Dunlap, who is now practising law in Hong Kong was appalled. "You call yourself a senior citizen?!!! "Why, in Canada, nobody is a senior citizen until he is aged 65", argued James. Of course, this topic started a furore of excitement and a string of debates amongst my 3 buddies from the University of Alberta. They are Mo Shin from Taiwan, currently working in the States, (Lau Ta), Richard from Hongkong, currently working in the States (Lau Erh) and James Dunlap from Canada (Lau San.) I am the youngest of the three and the only lady. We call ourselves "The Gang of Four". Although we are all living in different parts of the world, we still email one another. Since young, I have always been a tomboy and get better along with guys. Sorry, ladies, but I find guys are more easy going and less petty lah. That could probably be because they have thicker skin.

"Yes, James, Dr. Chiang was asked to set up a centre for seniors and he is targeting at people above 50!" At 53, I fall into the category of people Dr. Chiang is eyeing. Guess, if I ever join the centre, I will want to start a toastmasters' club for the senior citizens!" I explained.

I thought that the government is expecting people to retire at age 65, and hence logically speaking, banks should grant housing loans till the maximum of 65 years old. However, I was surprised, when a banker from UOB, Jason Chong, told me that UOB only gives loans for up to the age of 50 for HDB applicants.! Some banks don't even grant loans for HDB purchases. I wonder if they deem it not worth their while as HDB flats are cheaper than private properties. Fortunately I have enough in my CPF and some cash to settle the purchase of the 3 room HDB flat in full. It is best to do so before the age of 55. People say that age is only a number, but in Singapore the number is very crucial to determine what you can or can not do!

I guess with the recent announcement by the government that senior citizens will get some kind of financial benefit from the GST offset, I can imagine people are now more eager to fall under this category of senior citizenship.! Alas! I miss it by 1 year, 7 months and 25 days!

Of course in sharp contrast, there is nothing that great to be a senior citizen in Singapore as compared to the senior citizens in countries like Canada, Australia and America just to name a few. There they enjoy benefits that would be too long for me to enumerate here.

As I have said in my earlier blog, I enjoy growing older, for it implies I can see Jesus faster! I once heard a preacher, Pastor Ang, while I was attending the Evangelical Chinese Church in Melbourne. He said, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." If heaven truly is such a beautiful place where the roads are paved with gold, why be afraid to go there.?

Seriously, let us all make the best use of our precious little time on earth. Do not waste our time over unimportant things. Do not let our hearts burn and seeth with anger even for a few minutes. Let us always forgive and forget and move on with life. Let us maximise our life to the fullest and live each day as if it were our last. If we have to tell someone, "I love you", just say it or it may be too late. If we have to forgive someone, just do it or it may be too late.

Someone said when a child is born, he cries and everyone around him rejoices. When a person is dead, he rejoices while everyone around him weeps. For me, I would prefer relatives and friends to rejoice and celebrate when I am gone, for as a Christian, death has no sting.