20th May 2022
I had talked with Mary about having a lunch of charcoal-boiled soup together since Chinese New Year 2021. It was difficult to fix a time, despite both of us being fully retired. We have always preferred to keep events spontaneous. However, charcoal-boiled soup requires time.
This brings to mind Mr Shah, my 2009 Financial Planning lecturer's question to the class - "Which is more important in investment planning - time or timing?" The one year course was sponsored by Citigroup, and there were sixteen teachers attending. His question on how to retire comfortably triggered a heated discussion among us.
Upon reflection, aren't most things in life about time and/or timing?
The timing of our cooking session determined our friends who could come over - it was an overnight decision for my retired buddies Mary, Siew Lay, Soo Hoon and Bee Ling. Because of the ridiculously short notice, we agreed to keep it a come with tangan dan perut kosong lunch. That was the most serious part of the plan to keep the event stress free for everyone.
Charcoal-boiled soup requires time, and the longer the cooking time, the better. To fill the gap, we had poached Macao chicken and Choon Lian's yam khaubak, that I had been saving for the occasion. It was certainly a lot of fun to have food for the soul, while playing with fire with good friends. We ate and chatted till late afternoon.
Although we could not have more friends joining us, I feel so thankful to have this event on my calendar of life. By the way, Mr Shah leaned towards time rather than timing for retirement wealth.
