- The fiery you,

- The respected you,

- The loyal you,

- The generous you,

- The cook in you.

As you passes 90,

- The quiet you,

- The contented you,

- The forgetful you,

- The yearning you,

- The foodie in you.

As your nineties past you by,

through Owen, Aljunied, Begonia and Upper Thomson

---

At Owen,

a large flat perched on the top floor.

Always big and noisy,

3 boys, 2 girls is not enough to keep you busy.

Grandpa and you made friends from all side

including all shades of black and white,

negotiating to ensure life is safe for all sides.

The house is always open for all to come,

making sure no one is hungry after a fight.

House is always full of characters with interesting names,

Ah Niaow (cat), Ah Kow (dog) and many more.

They each have a story to tell,

their exciting life before an independent Singapore.

They mellowed out and continue to seek out to you,

through their marriage, child and career advice.

Most are grateful for what you had offered,

and stayed loyal friends as everyone grew older.

---

To Aljunied,

a flat build in the 70s with 1 large kitchen keeping you really busy.

Laksa, Rice Dumplings, Nasi Lemak.

Ngoh Hiang is your specialty.

Every weekend is a blast,

with grandchildren coming alongside with friends of the glorious past.

Mahjong, food and company,

keep everyone coming and feeling jolly.

For what is life without family and friends,

for life is richer when it is noisy and messy.

---

To Begonia,

a semi-detached house showing how far your family had come.

While the kitchen is bigger,

the crowd had gone thinner.

Weekend are just not the same,

quieter.

Very soon grandpa passes on,

with you losing your partner whom you fight and love all along.

From Owen, Aljunied and finally Begonia,

the people of Owen is mostly gone.

You got busy with the garden, sunflowers and all,

becoming the garden whom neighbour aspire for.

While life is a lot quieter,

the household slowly grew bigger.

Great grand-children soon came along,

bring much joy and laughter.

For what is life but a series of stories,

a good life well lived is all that matters.

---

To Upper Thomson,

a condominium for easy movement.

For the stairs in Begonia become a hassle,

where the garden no longer matters.

The grandchildren had grown,

needing a space of their own.

A small space with your son and daughter in law,

make the most sense after all.

For this is the place you will live out your life,

enjoying ice cream forever more.

By Ong Wee Hiang Kenneth (Grandson)

22 June 2020

People use the above phrase to justify that it is often more useful to go travelling than reading.

To me, the idiom always sounds like a perfect “modern” excuse for someone

• to travel (which is usually an easy undertaking in modern times)

• than read (which is usually harder given the shorter attention span).

Then just a few weeks back, a friend pointed out that the 不如 is a modern addition2.

Now that sounds more logical.

The idiom is saying that one should grow their learnings through a combination of learning, doing, hearing and seeing as that will give you a full appreciation of the problem and the topic at hand.

This really relate strongly back to my previous posting.

Now that is a idiom that I can subscribe to.

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• It is better to experience doing than just talking about it (口说不如身逢)

• It is better to observe and verify than to only hear and believe (耳闻不如目见)

From 2009 - 2019, I have been a lecturer, teaching the gospel of finance and entrepreneurship.

The common quote is that those who cannot do, teach. While I continue to believe in the value of being a teacher, the “real” learning comes from the doing.

Since 2019, I have been investing and running businesses.

While I cannot claim of any wild successes, the journey has indeed been fun and enriching.