Year End Shopping

You realise that the year-end school holiday has started when you open the morning newspaper these few days.  In the newspapers for the last few days there were countless one pager advertisements from retail shops in Singapore.

Someone commented that shopping nowadays is like car racing. You rush for it during the starting of the shopping season to make sure you get what you want before someone else takes it away. In some cases someone may get hurt in the commotion. I see this only in comic books but just actually last year in the US many people were injured in the mad rush when a store was opened during the Annual Sales.

Last weekend, a major electrical appliance store at Vivo City collaborated with a bank to offer special discount to the bank card members. The store was opened for 2 nights only for the bank card members starting at 7pm each night. I was near the store entrance on the first night before 7pm and saw a crowd of about 50 people standing around waiting for the door to open. There was a man, probably the Store Manager, standing at the entrance pleading with the crowd. He was shouting at the crowd, not to push or rush and asked everyone to keep calm. He was all the while waving his arms with gestures to prevent the crowd from trying to enter the store, before opening time. The whole episode was even recorded by other staff members in photos and videos, of the so called grand commotion outside the store.

The amusing thing was the only person who was not calm or cool was the Manager. The people in the crowd were actually lingering outside waiting for the door to open. There was no one pushing or fighting to be in front. When the door opened everyone strolled into the store. No rush and no one was hurt.

My wife and I went in 10 mins later and bought a Netbook and we got a 5% discount with the bank card. Surprisingly we were one of the earliest to pay at the cashier that night. How do I know? There was no one in front of us and when we paid, the cashier tore the first few pages of the lucky draw coupon for us. No one rushed to buy!

The next day we read in the papers and found another store offering about 20% discount for the same Netbook. Well you cannot win all the time.

Filial Daughter

An ex-colleague informed me a few days ago that her father just passed away. The father, bless his sole, was over 90 years old. Many of us will be glad to live up to that age and deep in our hearts we will consider that there is no great loss in the passing of a person of this age. This case is no different; however there is an interesting tale behind the relationship between the father and daughter.


The daughter was devoted to her father to such extend we can never imagine. They were poor in the past and could not afford most luxuries we now take for granted. She told me that they could only afford to eat chicken during the Chinese New Year dinner. There were not even enough meat to be shared by the big family and the father would always give up his share for his children. This daughter in question had all along appreciated what her father did for the family. She in turn took care of her father in his final years, almost all by herself, with the help of 2 maids. No big deal, you may think. Read on.

The father had a massive stroke about 10 years ago and he could not walk or talk. His condition deteriorated year by year. He apparently lost not only the ability to take care of himself he also lost his senses like most stroke victims do. He had to be fed by tube and cleaned every now and then. Being a big size man, it took more than one person to handle him. Hence 2 maids were employed. Apparently he was rejected by Hospices in Singapore due to his condition.

To make matter worse, he had stomach bleeding due to cancer a few years ago. His cancer could not be operated on because of his stroke. There was no choice but to stop the bleeding by other invasive methods, administered with expensive drugs and blood transfusion. He would be rushed to hospital and stayed in the Intensive Care Ward for several days whenever he bled. This would be as frequent as once a month or even more.

I had to travel with this colleague for business trip to the neighbouring countries and many a time the trips were cancelled at the last moment because her father had to be admitted to the hospital. Whenever she was at home, she would bring her father out for car ride almost every night without fail. She had to forsake most of the other night appointments, when in Singapore, just to be with her father. When on business trips she would call back home for constant updating on her father’s condition. She had to live away from her father as the old man would scream and shout at night due to his condition, and she had to report for work the next morning. In spite of this, she would stay to help take care of her father till after midnight before leaving for home. Imagine doing this for 10 years! She not only devoted 10 years of her life taking care of her father, I believe she used up all her life savings.

Now her father has passed away. Initially, she told me that she could not accept the fact that her father was no more around. What I told her was to reflect on what she did for her father throughout his illness. For most of us, even if we have half her devotion, we will consider that we have done way beyond our duties to our parents. I am glad that when I visited her during the wake, she was not in low spirit. I am sure her father is looking down from above and is extremely glad to have such a daughter.