Popagandhi

While sleeping one afternoon, as I usually do these days, my bank called to check if I received a new credit card they’d issued me — the one they upgrade all university debit card accounts to when we leave university. She did the customary checks: did I also get the letter with my PIN, have I activated it, et cetera.

Quite stunningly, she decided she would try to ‘interest’ me in a new product.

“We have this insurance plan, only $28 a month…”

“Yes… I’m not…”

“WHEN YOU DIE AH YOU GET TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.“

Though I was in the stupor of sleep, every alarm in my head went off. What kind of sales pitch is this? Before I could say anything to reflect my staunch disinterest, she continued.

“Excuse me may I know what is your preoccupation.”

I guess she meant occupation. I told her a couple of half truths, but was generally truthful in how… I… work as a photographer and journalist in… you know, places like India. Bangladesh. That sort of place lah.

“THEN SORRY AH I CANNOT OFFER YOU THIS INSURANCE SORRY BYE BYE.“

Who said anything about wanting it? You lost a customer starting a sales pitch like that anyway, though I did wonder whether she disqualified me immediately from the program because of how I’m not… employed (yet), in the regular Singaporean understanding of employed, or because I claim to spend most of my time in those countries. Guess I’ll never find out because I was thinking of closing that bank account anyway, and this hasn’t helped at all.

While walking to the Bar and Billards Room to meet my future employers, who were in town for the Asian Publishing Conference, my sandals broke in the corridors of the Raffles Hotel. Hobbling around madly to a casual job interview/meeting, someone working at the hotel noticed my broken sandals and… offered to mend it for me. And mend it he did, with a fairly ingenious contraption (a pin bent into shape to keep the straps of my sandals together). Although I wasn’t a guest of the rooms at the Raffles, it didn’t stop him from carrying out the exceptionally high levels of service one expects from a legendary hotel like that.

A little gesture like that goes a long, long way.