Two years and 4 months down the road of retirement, Yours Sincerely ( Y S ) has still been bombarded with the exclamatory questions in the Chinese Hokkien dialect : " Bor Choe kang ?" ( Are you not working? ), " Bo kang choe? " ( No work ? ) , " Mai choe kang ? " (Don't want to work? ), and " Mien Choe Kang? " ( No need to work? ) To the China man, life is work. And if you turn the other round, work is life! Both sides of the same coin. And also both words are 4-lettered !
When you are confronted with "Are you not working?" the questioner sort of expects you to work and not laze around or rather you are still too young to retire.
If you are asked " No work ?", the inquirer seems to be sympathetic with you that the economic downturn has caused so many to be unemployed and that includes you !
"Don't want to work?" implies that you are a lazy bone and refuse to work !!!
In fact, " No need to work ! " is Y S usual answer and you can readily expect the next very bold and odd question which any westerner would NEVER dare ask, " How much pension do you draw???" To this Y S would answer, if I don't have enough I will borrow from you !!!
Many more good meaning friends would also volunteer advice. These are among the many Y S received :-
" Ai yo,.... you have to do something. It is very boring sitting at home."
" You MUST do something to keep your brain active or else you get Alzheimer ( This is a dirty word among retirees.) !.
" You are still young, don't waste your time ! "
" My uncle retired several years ago, did nothing and died at 60 from a stroke ."
" Keep your brain active, play mahjong, or else your brain cells will die."
And the list goes on.
There are a few local private schools which pay retirees a stipend, thinking that these people are already receiving their pension. Many a retired teacher would make a beeline to such schools begging to be taken in as if there is no life in their retirement
Enjoy life. There's plenty of time to be dead. Retirement could be the best thing that happens to you. Live on.
2 comments:
most our brain cells start to die when we are 20 something
hanes, it is Not true. The brain cells start to die when we stop living but merely existing.
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