Limpeh's list of 10 things every Singaporean should have done by 35

I picked up on this on Facebook: this is a post entitled 5 Things Every Singaporean Should Have by 35 - and it's a pretty shit article, poorly researched, probably put together in a hurry and the comments left on that website were very scathing about the article. So I decided to do a tongue and cheek version about 10 things you should've done by the time you're 35. I have just turned 36 in April this year, so obviously, a lot of these things are based on my own experiences. I will try to make it a mix of serious stuff and fun stuff okay?

This is a big milestone in one's life. 

1. Have a career by 35

Now some people know what they want to do with their lives and they have a very clear ambition about what their future career should be. Whilst others need the freedom of adulthood to explore the options available to them. I do encourage you all to try different things and be bold enough to embrace new opportunities that come your way as an adult but by 35 you should really have an idea what you want to do.

Why 35? Well there are two factors - firstly, when you try new things, there is always a steep learning curve and those learning curves get harder to climb as you get older and these learning curves take time to master. If you start climbing one at 35, then how many years do you have left in that industry before you retire? Let's get realistic here.

What kind of job do you want to have by the age of 35?

And here's the other reason: you're not young any more at 35. I am a part time job as a translator as part of the London 2012 Olympics - I wanted to get involved with my languages and managed to get some paid work (when my attempt to apply as a volunteer didn't work out). I got to know this guy Ricky who was also working as a translator and we clicked instantly - this guy is freaking amazing, he speaks French, German, Italian, Turkish, Hindi, Punjabi, Japanese and English fluently and gets by in another ten. We would have these conversations where we drift from one language to another and those around us would look totally puzzled like, "what language are those two speaking in?"

We had this manager who was this fat, bald middle aged monolingual English guy who showed so little enthusiasm for the Olympics - for him it was just a job. Let's call him Mr Tubby for he was quite tubby. How ironic it was for them to get a monolingual manager to organize the interpreters! Ricky didn't like Mr Tubby at all, he so didn't get along with Mr Tubby. He said to me (in a mixture of so many languages but I shall write this in English), "You're so much more capable and intelligent than Mr Tubby, you've done so much more in your life than Mr Tubby - how can you stand the fact that he is your manager and not the other way around? Doesn't it just drive you nuts?"

I just shrugged my shoulders and said, "Je le sais, tu le sais, et ça y est, ça suffit pour moi." (I know that, you know that and that's it, that's enough for me.) "In any case, I am here for the Olympics, I am here to say I did get involved. Besides, Mr Tubby stays in the office and does the paperwork whilst people like you and I are working with the international Olympians, isn't this so much more fun?" I suppose I gave Ricky the reply that made sense to me, the reply that made sense of the situation but then I thought, I am still younger than Mr Tubby and I do look a lot younger than 36 (you be the judge from the photo below) - will I be able to shrug my shoulders and work for someone who is less capable than me when I am 50?

Limpeh working as a translator at the 2012 Olympics.

I wouldn't want to. I'm not young any more and it's not a question of my ego or pride - but when one gets to my age, you do wonder how you would look to everyone else if you were to work alongside young people who are half your age?

2. Work abroad for at least a year

For my non-Singaporean readers (about 70% of my readers are in Singapore) - let me explain how small Singapore is. North to south, Singapore measures about 22 km, east to west about 40 km. It may have a population of over 5 million but in terms of area, it is tiny compared to most countries. Even for our neighbours in Malaysia, they live in a much bigger country and are so much more used to the concept of moving to another city for a better job or education prospects.

Even if you are happy in Singapore, you are missing out on a great opportunity to experience life in another country and all the wonderful new experiences comes with it.

A photo from the days I was living and working in Dubai

3. Learn a foreign language after the age of 30

Now I have talked a lot about the benefits of speaking foreign languages, but I would like to raise a new benefit. My mother used to say that it was impossible to learn a foreign language as an adult as children pick up languages quickly but adults are too old to learn. This is completely untrue as I am living prove that it is completely possible to learn new languages as an adult. The latest language I have become fluent in is Welsh and I have only started learning Welsh at the ripe old age of 34 and now that I am 36, I have an impressive command of this ancient Celtic language. The key reason why you should learn a foreign language as an adult is to jolt your adult brain out of its comfort zone - by the time we get into our 30s, we are usually quite set in our ways, we have a job we can do competently and many of us simply forget what it is like to be at the bottom of a learning curve.

Now some of you would say, "yeah and thank goodness for that, it's tough being at the bottom of a learning curve!" Of course it is, but it is when your brain is most active, when you have to use your brain to think really hard and figure out new concepts. I look at so many adults playing stupid inane games like Angry Birds on their smart phones and I'm like, dude, your brain is slowly turning into mush. Angry Birds mush. It's a slippery slope, the next thing you know you won't be remember where you left your house keys or why you went into the kitchen. Keep learning, keep your brain active always - as the saying goes: 活到老学到老!

Go on... pick one - which language would you like to learn?

4. Check out an alternate career path - take a hiatus

Now this was something crazy I did - I had a mid-life crisis and I tried a different career. You can read the full story here - but I did second guess my original choice of career: would I have been happier if I went down the media path instead? I wouldn't know if I didn't give it a chance and I am so glad I did. I have now returned to finance knowing that media would've been very fun, very difficult and I would be a lot poorer had I gone down that path instead. But heck, all I wanted to do was to jump over the fence and see what the grass was like over there. I'm glad I gave myself that chance to do so for it gave me great perspective about my choices ahead.

Do you know if you've made the right choices in life?

5. Study something you like as an adult, for the love of the subject, not because you have to

Now this can relate to point 3 above about studying the foreign languages - but it doesn't have to. The education system in Singapore really takes the joy out of learning, given the endless pressures for the exams. How many of us have forgotten about the joys of learning, simply for the purpose of knowledge without caring about taking an exam? Pick something you like, it could be anything - it may be useful, it may not, but just throw yourself into it, learn something for the fun of it and enjoy the learning. It could be music, it could be dancing, a foreign language, a new sport - anything, learn it without caring how good you become and do it because you like it.

6. Plan for your retirement and set aside a nest egg

Sorry, I am going to have to talk about something boring but important - planning for your retirement.

What is the state of your finances?

At 35, you probably have about 30 odd productive years left in your life and it is time to think about your retirement. I have talked about the squeezed generation - working adults who find themselves financially liable for both their aged parents and their young children along with possibly a spouse who isn't working. That means that even if you are doing a reasonably good job earning decent money, there are at least four or five people with outstretched hands asking you for money all the time and never mind trying to save for your own retirement, how about paying your own bills?

I have no magic solution here apart from encouraging you to exercise caution. You should sit down and indulge in some serious financial planning - what are you liable for? How much money do you earn? What do you need? What can you realistically afford? A lot of it is common sense really - so if you know you are liable for your parents' medical bills, then you're in no position to buy a new car without getting yourself into a lot of debt. A lot of it is about saying no to many things that you would like but can't have - a new car, a bigger house, another child - and that's when people are going to give me grief and say, "oh it's our right to a family life, even if we are poor!" Tough shit, that's when you're being a terrible parent. It's one thing to subject yourself to poverty if you are an adult, but why are you bringing a child into this world when you are in no position to provide for the child? Why punish the innocent child for your lack of financial planning?

7. Ski - and I don't mean Jurong Snow City

If you haven't skied by the age of 35, you so have to. It's not just because it is an incredibly fun sport, skiing is really the best way to appreciate beautiful mountain scenery - it is just one of those wonderful experiences that you totally need to do. I love skiing so much.  It really isn't all that expensive or difficult - so there is no reason for anyone not to have done it by the age of 35.

Limpeh skiing in Croatia earlier this year.

8. Wear a tuxedo, or white tie with tails or if you're a woman, a full Princess Diana ball gown

This is a frivolous one but I shall include anyway. I think everyone should have the experience of dressing up to the nines and feeling special - it doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman - this is the kind of experience that everyone should enjoy. It's sad that everyone is so dressed down these days and few people can be asked to make any effort to look formal these days. Like skiing or any other pleasurable experience, it's just one of those indulgences that we should allow ourselves to enjoy. I used to take this for granted (you should see the amount of formal clothes I have) - but I suppose not many people are as vain as I am when it comes to clothes. And of course, to have a reason to dress so formally, you need somewhere special to go. Well where do you want to go? Maybe a film premier? An award ceremony? Or even the Epsom Derby festival?

9. Stand up for something you believe in

Now I am not here to tell you what you should believe in - everyone has issues close to their hearts be it women's rights, civil rights, gay rights, freedom of speech or the environment. If by the age of 35 you haven't stood up and actively done something about exercising your beliefs, then get off your ass and do something. There are so many things you can do - take part in a political protest, write to your MP or an ambassador, inform your friends about your concerns via social media, donate your money to a worthy cause fighting for justice and support these worthy charities.

What do you believe in? Will you stand up for your ideals?

10. Figuring out your future goals

Your 35th birthday is but a mile stone, it is probably not even the halfway mark in your life and there is still a long way to go. At the age of 35, you should already have clear goals about what you want to achieve in the next 25 year and know where you want to be by the age of 60. Surely the last 35 years would have given you enough time and perspective to think about what you want to do with the next 35? Have you figured it out yet?

So there you go, that's my list of 10 things - some serious, some frivolous but I am proud to say that I have done them all, apart from the last one. I kinda know where I wanna go in the next 35 years, but hey, if a good opportunity comes along in the future, I'm the kinda guy who will say "why not?", grab the opportunity and take a chance with it. But that's just the person I am. What do you think of my list? How many things have you done on my check list? Leave a comment, let's talk about it, you know how this works. :)