Happiness is .....(25)

 

The sumptuous vegetarian set ordered by Jane

 

Attractive Jane Tan with son Eugene, an ex-student of ACS

 

The lovely ambiance at Inagiku at Fairmont Hotel

 

Despite its huge price, the restaurant is quite well patronised!

What a pleasant surprise when my client Jane called to say she wanted to give me a belated birthday treat as well as a get-together with her son to celebrate a happy and successful year in 2009. Eugene is a property agent but now he has to go back to college. I met Eugene when he first called me up regarding a property which I advertised in Mirage Tower. I liked the way he talked, and asked if he was from ACS (Independent).

"How do you know?"? Eugene asked, surprised.

"I can detect an ACS boy when I speak to him", I replied. There is something very special about the way my ex-students in ACS speak and carry themselves. They have a certain style and maturity about them. Most of them are exuberant, knowledgeable and some even very street wise, and most importantly, most of them are spontaneous and entertaining.

Despite Eugene's youth, I was pleasantly surprised by his analysis of properties and wealth management. His mother Jane later confirmed that Eugene is a very intense young man...when something catches his interest, he will go all out for it.
He has been pouring over his computer to learn about properties, stocks and shares.
Kudos to Jane for being a wonderful mother. As a very successful investment banker, Jane must have been a great influence on her young son's entrepreneurial inclination.
Is this why many have been chanting this popular three liners?

RI (Raffles Institution) boys rule the nation;
ACS (Anglo Chinese School) boys own the nation;
St. Andrews go underground!

For the benefit of my readers from overseas, most of the politicians in Singapore come from RI. Many enterprises and businesses are owned by ex-ACS boys. The man who was always associated with our MRT system in the early days was Michael Fam, an ex-student from St. Andrews. Singaporeans are indeed unique people with a sense of humour!

During the course of lunch, we found out that Eugene and I would be attending the same seminar on T3B the following two and a half days. Jane was absolutely delighted because as a wonderful mother, she was worried about whether Eugene was doing the right thing. I shared with Jane that it was my neighbour, Michael, who introduced me to the Seminar, and since I know little about stocks and shares, it is advisable for me to learn from the masters. I am extremely frugal with expenditure and time, but I felt that attending the seminar would be a good investment of money and time.

Wow! The ambiance at Inagiku, a cosy and posh Japanese restaurant at Fairmont Hotel is lovely. The various set lunches are also as posh! Jane ordered a vegetarian set, while I ordered a Business set lunch as I like unagi, the popular Japanese eel. Eugene loves steak and it is interesting how the food is so attractively put in different dishes. The Japanese are such artistic people. I greeted the waitress in Japanese and was surprised she could not utter a word of Japanese. Jane laughed because she said she was was always entertained by the various languages that I could use to break the ice.

Later I went with Jane and her son to look at their lovely home which looks even better now with new wallpapers and furniture. Happiness is when you see your clients enjoying their lovely home and knowing that they have made the right choice. Happiness is when you see others doing even better than you, and you can also bask in their success and wishing they would do even better in the future. I know Jane will continue to shine as she takes good care of her clients' investments. How true when successful people say that if we enjoy what we are doing, and work with sincerity and integrity, wealth will be added!

I wish Jane and Eugene all the very best for the New Year, and may 2010 be an even happier and better year for everyone!