This year while totally clueless and walking
aimlessly around Causeway Point after completing volunteer
work, an insurance agent popped across my eyes amidst the crowd
enquiring about the charity that was represented by the collar
shirt donned on my torso. Her accent felt Taiwanese, although I
later clarified that she was from PRC. My aunt later commented that
these days, only insurance agents are good to us, i.e. make friends
with us ordinary blokes. I agreed partially.
This lady was almost a decade my junior, same religion as I
am, she had studied a fair bit about my charitable organisation and
wanted to exchange some views with me about what she felt -
basically in her words she was a participant of this charity's
youth group while she was in National University of Singapore, and
since this is a charity and she probably needed a higher income,
she joined the financial industry after graduation with double
degrees instead of a working at a non-profit. Still, my point is,
she is a decent friend, although she is probably an acquaintance or
lesser. In an economic viewpoint, because there is an absence of
any competitive interest, I was from an industry and discipline
other than what she was trained and working as, and there is a
common background that both of us came from. Perhaps, more so,
because the train station was also where I once spoke
aimlessly with my first crush during university.
Without talking money and sex upfront, there was a friend found,
probably a friendship felt. And since I work with non-profits,
if you tell me that I am going to die really soon and therefore I
have to upgrade some medishield coverage, basically
such 'friendships' excite me even more when I imagine
about cross-selling coffins and undertaking services to the
financial consultant.
I will probably leave this reply as 'this is', since over the
past week all the People's Action Party candidates had presented
themselves as everybody's best friend, i.e. everybody has a best
friend, and this time of the year, 69% of adult Singaporeans voted
their 89 best friends and more than 80 wore white shirts which I am
also agreeable with.
At an age of 33 when Jesus did without any friends other than
pieces of wood that made Him a roasted delicacy for an 'opponent',
I don't ask the Good Lord or Lordess for friendships, although
making enemies are what I am not exactly lousy at.
As an ex-deputy corporate director, imho personal best friend,
and life mentor once taught me at a Japanese MNC, 'Keep your
enemies close to you', I never worked in the same corporate team as
her again since she joined IBM and I joined practically any company
but IBM.