EASY RIDERS FOR SENIORS

Talk about coincidence! After writing my previous post on taking my mom around KLCC in a wheelchair, I got a call from Mustapha Kamal of Kuala Lumpur Electric Vehicles Sdn Bhd. It's a company that owns the chain of Ezzyrider retail outlets that sells the imported, locally branded, Ezzyrider mobility products from Taiwan.

I visited their booth at last month's International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition at KLCC. I was completely bowled over by the models of wheelchairs, bicycles and mopeds on display. Just perfect for older adults who may have problems with mobility.

If you are looking for just this type of mobility vehicle for yourself or for a loved one, check out their website at ezzyrider.com. Wide range of models to choose from, and the prices are reasonable. Mention Seniorsaloud, and I'm sure you will get extra special service!

You can check out more mobility products and accessories at their booth at the Golden Years exhibition at MIECC, Level 2 from 19-23 Nov.

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TO KLCC IN A WHEELCHAIR

Last week my uncle suggested taking his elder sister (that's my mom) for an outing to KLCC. My mom is 85 years old. Walking long distances tires her out, but she enjoys outings. So my uncle came up with the idea of bringing along the wheelchair. He parked the car in Ampang Park and we took the LRT to KLCC. My uncle's reasoning: too expensive to park at KLCC, too difficult to locate the car later, and too confusing to know which of the many exits to take.

So off we went. Pushing my mom around the mall in the wheelchair proved to be quite challenging. At the end of the outing, I can say that KLCC isn't exactly wheelchair-friendly. The lift from the LRT platform to the upper level was out of order. My mom had to get up and use the escalator. The LRT exit gate was barely wide enough to push the wheelchair through. To operate the special wheelchair lift (see below), you had to look for the attendant who was nowhere to be found. Not that we bothered - the lift looked like it hadn't been in use for some time.

All in all, my mom had to get off the wheelchair at least a dozen times during our two-hour visit to KLCC. There were shops we had to by-pass because there wasn't enough space inside to manoeuvre the wheelchair around. The same story with the food court where we had lunch, and the toilets. The only place with lots of room to spare was the art gallery. Pushing the wheelchair down the winding ramp to the fountain level proved to be an exercise in strength and stamina.

Passing by Kinokuniya, I took the opportunity to pick up a copy of the November issue of Personal Money. I wanted to show my uncle and my mom the interview with me on page 62 about "Retiring Happily". My uncle insisted I posed for a photo with it. I can't say 'no' to my uncle, right?

The outing has shown that the city needs to be much more people-friendly, and that includes providing easy access to public places and facilities for the elderly and the handicapped in wheelchairs.

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RETIRED? STAY INSPIRED

Seniorsaloud is casting a vote for this powerpoint presentation by Avalok who is competing in the World's Best Presentation 2010 Contest. Maybe you would like to vote for it too. Voting ends 15 Nov.

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BOOKS FOR A HAPPY RETIREMENT

Quite often I come across books that cater specifically to retirees. For many, the transition from employment to retirement isn't as smooth as they would like it to be. How does one fill up those long hours with nothing much to do? Where can one find new friends with common interests? What opportunities are there for re-employment? Where can one find passive sources of income? Questions, questions and more questions confront the newly retired.

Fortunately, there are plenty of books that provide answers to these questions and more. "How to make the rest of your life the best years of your life" is one of my all-time favourites on the subject of retirement. Written by Mark Hansen and Art Linkletter, it offers practical advice on how to manage and enjoy your retirement. I found it very motivating. I got my copy two years ago from Kinokuniya. I'm sure it's still available.

Another book I would recommend is "The Rainbow Years" by Barrie Hopson and Mike Scally. It's actually a workbook that examines the seven major life themes (hence the rainbow) of work, money, relationships, learning, leasure, health and spirituality. There are plenty of exercises and questions to work through, and action plans for each of these themes. My copy came all the way from the UK, through a friend. I am not sure if the book is available here in Malaysia.

The National Library of Singapore has a whole section on retirement topics. I recently spent a pleasant afternoon browsing the shelves of books and finally selected these four below for further reading.

If you think no one here has written a book about the golden years, think again. Here are two that I have in my collection. Both are a joy to read and will certainly put a smile on your face as you recognize all the familiar idiosyncracies of older adults. I bought my copy of "Help! I'm Growing Old" from MPH early this year. The author, Chuah Tong-Ik, is a lecturer and pastor. His book is a delightful read. To order "He Who Laughs, Last", you will have to visit David Tong's website. He is a retired Kirkby-trained teacher and this is his second book.

Support local writers and get a copy of each book.

If you have read any good books on retirement that you would like to share, do let us know. Email us at seniorsaloud@gmail.com

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HAPPY DIWALI

HAPPY DIWALI to friends and blog visitors who are celebrating this Festival of Lights. This YouTube video is specially chosen for you. I love the music and the song even though I don't understand a single word of it. Makes one feel happy just listening to it.

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INTERVIEW WITH GOD

In case you haven't viewed this video....Much to learn from it.

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DO'S AND DON'TS FOR RETIREMENT

This article has been making the rounds on the Internet for some time. I believe it's written by a Singapore retiree. Excellent advice that should be shared.

4 Pre-Conditions for Retirement

I retired in year 2000 at age 52. I am now 61, thus I can claim that I got more experience at retirement than most!

I thought I should share my experience because I have seen too many friends and neighbours who became so bored that they have become a nuisance to their spouse and children and to others!

A few of them have solved the problem by going back to work. They were able to do so because they have a skill/expertise that is still in demand.

The rest (and many are my neighbours) live aimlessly or are waiting to die - a very sad situation, indeed.

You can retire only when you fulfil these 4 pre-conditions:

1) Your children are financially independent (e.g. they got jobs),
2) You have zero liability (all your borrowings are paid up),
3) You have enough savings to support your lifestyle for the rest of your life,
AND most importantly,
4) You know what you would be doing during your retirement.

DO NOT retire till you meet ALL 4 Pre-Conditions.

And of course you should not retire if you enjoy working and are getting paid for it!

The problem cases I know of are those who failed to meet Pre-Condition #4. When asked, "What would you be doing during your retirement?" some replied, "I will travel/cruise and see the World". They did that, some for 3 months and then ran out of ideas....

The golfers replied, "I can golf every day." Most could not because they are no longer fit to play well enough to enjoy the game.

Those who could, need to overcome another hurdle - they need to find the "kakis" to play with them. It's the same with mahjong, bridge, badminton, trekking and karaoke - you need "kakis"!

Most could not find others who share their favourite game and playing/singing alone is no fun. AND when they do find them, a few of them found that they are NOT welcomed like my obnoxious neighbour whom everyone avoids.

Thus if you are into group sports or games, you must form your groups BEFORE you retire. You need to identify your "kakis", play with them and discover whether they "click" with you.

The less sporty "can read all the books bought over the years". I know of one guy who fell asleep after a few pages and ended up napping most of the time! He discovered that he did not like to read after all. We do change and we may not enjoy the hobbies we had.

Routine Activities to Fill Your Week

For most people, your routine work activities are planned for you or dictated by others and circumstances. When you retire, you wake up to a new routine - one that you yourself have to establish as nobody else would do it for you! The routine to establish should keep your body, mind and spirit "sharpened".

A good routine would comprise:

a) One weekly physical sport - you need to keep fit to enjoy your retirement. If you are the non-sporty type, you should fire your maid and clean your home without mechanical aids. Dancing and babysitting are good alternatives.

b) One weekly mind stimulating activity - e.g. writing, studying for a degree, acquiring a new skill, solving problems or puzzles, learn or teach something. You need to stimulate your mind to stay alive because the day you stop using your brain is the day you start to die.

c) One weekly social activity - choose one involving lots of friends/neighbours. Get yourself accepted as a member to at least 3 interests groups. Unless you prefer to be alone, you do need friends more than ever as you get older and less fit to pursue your sport.

d) One weekly community service activity - you need to give to appreciate what you have taken in this life. It's good to leave some kind of legacy.

With 4 weekly activities, you got 4 days out of 7 covered. The remaining 3 days should be devoted to family related activities. In this way, you maintain a balance between amusing yourself and your family members.

Any spare time should remain "spare" so that you can capitalise on opportunities that come your way like responding to an unexpected request to do a job or to take advantage of cheap fares to see places or to visit an exhibition.

Mind stimulating activities

In "Today" paper you would have read of 2 inspiring oldies. One is a granny who learned to play the guitar at age 60 to entertain her grandchildren. She's 70+ today and those grandchildren have grown to play with her.

Another is an Indian radiologist who on retirement, qualified as an acupuncturist. He's age 77 and still offers his services (by appointment only) including free ones to those who have no income. I guarantee you that they are happy people who discovered a "2nd wind" to take them to the sunset with a smile on their faces.

Mind stimulating activities are hard to identify. They require your will to do something useful with the rest of your life, a mindset change and the discipline to carry it through.

Your Bucket List

Despite your busy routine, you will at times be bored. Then it's time to turn to your Bucket List. Your bucket list contains a list of things to do before you kick the bucket. They are not routine and are usually one-off activities.

You need them to have something to look forward to.

These include anniversaries, trips (and pilgrimages), visits to friends and relations abroad, re-doing your home, attending conferences (related to your hobbies), acquiring a new set of expertise.

4 such activities that are spaced out quarterly would be ideal.

Retirement Is A Serious Business

If you can afford to retire and want to, do prepare to live to your fullest. You need to be fit to enjoy it - therefore get into shape now.

You do not want to get up on a Monday and wonder what to do each week. Therefore identify your set of weekly routine activities now and try them out to confirm that they are the activities that you will be looking forward to doing each week, week after week.

Your bucket list of "rewards" or "projects" or "challenges" is needed to help you break away from the routine thereby make life worth living. Start listing what you fancy and refine it as you chug along in your retirement.

You will have so much fun you would wish you were retired since you turned 21!

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