downtown east - romance

黄宾虹( huang bin-hong ) a chinese artist in chinese painting lived to the ripe old age of 92. and like many other chinese artists, and unlike many scientists whose quality of works after their twenties and thirties would slide to mediocre, day-to-day chores, had toiled all his life to achieve perfection in his arts. he made his turn-about in his painting style from the "pale" sin-ann style to the "dark" style in his sixties when most of us when reaching that age would have just let things be, not bothering to change any of our habits or style, be it in work or life.

you can see if you are into arts, like music, like painting, sculpturing, writing..... your production comes from your life. ie, whatever you experience, that's what's going to give you the inspiration and motivation to keep on doing what you like the most. to them, their work is their retirement, and vice versa.

what does that tell us?

for any working people, who is not in the artistic, or creative fields, retirement means getting away from what he has been doing all his life and into something that can keep him occupied. and what's more enriching and fulfilling than to indulge oneself in the artistic fields.... take up a pen, take up a brush, take up a guitar, a piano, take up a chisel......

you could be doing something that keeps your mind working in a progressive fashion whereby you feel the positive feedback of doing something that only you can claim the credit of doing it. that's in fact a very comforting advice.

the two older frens of marathon man were discussing their retirement stuff when 3 of them were taking their jog in the downtown east area...

marathon man's fren ah cheng, who has been retiring for almost a year now, said, "golf, not for me..... i have to find something that my wife is also willing to do.... like playing the guitar. we have to have common interest in our retirement."

another fren of marathon man ah mong who is going to retire soon, said, "i am still single. i used to have a gal fren in my younger days, since i parted from her, she has been single all this time..... i would look her up and tell her that, it's a mistake to part with her, and if she doesn't feel so much offended, we could resume our affair, and that would occupy all my time after i retire...."

"doing what?"

"romancing."

- like painting, music, dancing..... romance is an art, you can do it your whole life.