I Just Can't Wait To Be A ........

Senior Citizen! The dreaded words for some.....but for me, like music to my ears!

Why? At the magic number of 55, a person becomes specially pampered by many an organisation in Singapore! Senior citizens get special discounts for many of the shows at the Esplanade. The other day I was browsing through the catalogue of forthcoming concert programmes, and looked longingly at the words, "Special discounts for students and senior citizens". In Malaysia, a senior citizen gets huge rebates for airline tickets with Malaysian Airways System, and my friends in Australia get many perks for having greyer hairs on their heads.

I must say that now, I am a lot happier, contented and more peaceful than when I was younger. The most trying time for me was when I was a teenager. I had so many questions and so few answers. I was often bewildered and had many questions to which I had so few answers. Why? Why? Why?

This is probably why when I became a teacher, I was able to understand the adolescents in my class. I could identify with their perplexities, confusion, rebellion, etc. as they searched for understanding and meaning in life. I related very well with the students, for I was once a teenager too.

I am glad that as I go through the journey of life, I begin to understand and with understanding comes acceptance, and with acceptance comes peace and contentment. I guess that is why Allen William White had said, "I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today".

One day, our Company's President, Dr. Dennis Wee, in his usual cordial way, hollered to me when he saw me in the company, "Choo Choo, now you are a millionaire". "No, Dr. Wee, I am only a quarter air". Dr. Wee laughed. I am now quite well known in the company as a humourist, having won the Humorous Speech Contest in our Toastmasters' Area U3 Contest. I guess with a flat that has been fully paid up and worth about $300,000/-, it qualifies me to be a "quarter air". More importantly a happy "quarter air".

I am not one of those who likes to hoard a lot. Since young, I have always been one who prefers to release whatever little I can afford to release. Even as a student in Canada, some people thought I was the daughter of a millionaire! Yet interestingly, even as I empty my pockets, God has always filled them up! Like the Sea of Galilea, I remain fresh and sufficient with fishes even as I release the water. I do not wish to become like the Dead Sea which does not release water and hence remains really dead, because nothing can grow and thrive.

The government has advocated companies to employ senior citizens. I guess for me I will always continue to be work till I go six feet under for inactivity makes me sick. I thank God for my versatility in being able to handle different types of work....teaching, cooking, selling, writing, cleaning, etc. Work is never mundane or seems like work when one enjoys what one is doing. Sometimes, I toy with the idea that when I really retire from my real estate work, it would be fun to try out different things, eg. be a cook for 6 months; a cashier at a supermarket for 6 months, a parking attendant for 6 months, a cleaner for 6 months, an administrative officer for 6 months, a tour guide for 6 months, a lecturer overseas for 6 months and a missionary for 6 months, etc.

I have often told my nieces and nephews that I do not like to give them fish but would teach them to fish instead. Hence, I would not be able to be like the late Nina Wang, leaving behind billions of dollars. Instead, I would be leaving behind billions of words. My nieces, Yann and Tyng, often complain that their parents do not tell them much of history or what had taken place during their younger days. Yann and Tyng are glad that their Aunty Choo's blog can be passed on to their children and grandchildren. Blessed with an elephant memory, I still can remember all the things that my beloved papa had shared with me and I have written them in my blog. What a rich legacy!

Time is my most precious commodity. All these years, I would never spend any time lining up for freebies given by magazines or newspapers. Or lining up when Sim Wong Hoo generously bought up all the goods from Nanz Chong and offered them to the public to pay at any amount they wished. Getting the freebies and goods at discounted price do not make me richer. An ounce of gold cannot buy me even one minute of precious time!

Ah! 11 months and 7 days more to go before I turn 55 on 12 December 2008 and earn the coveted title of "SENIOR CITIZEN"!

Gan Chau