It was my boss's birthday a few months back so we bought her a pack of dried scallops. Don't get me wrong, they were good quality dried scallops. But, let's face it, they were still dried scallops. True, it's a very practical gift, if you're into that kind of thing. Still, it's pretty much at odds with everything I've felt about present giving. Maybe as you get older it's less of a priority but I still like the element of surprise - whether getting something that you yourself have always wanted but felt too guilty to buy, or the gifts that were either unwanted or inappropriate. It's par for the course. Christmas gifts that end up behind the sofa long before the tinsel comes down is what it's meant to be about. So practical dried scallops don't do it for me.
But there's a pattern here to this practicality thing. At our company offsite the bosses decided to do a lucky dip for all the employees. The original first prize was meant to be a free weekend away for two with business class flights to anywhere in Asia. Sounded like a damn fine prize if you ask me. Not so for some. When staff members heard rumblings about the prize, there was a minor mutiny. "We want cash," was the simple response. Show us the money and let us spend it on Gucci, Hello Kitty, chicken feet, whatever.
Money isn't as dirty a concept to me now as it was in my more formulative years on a South London council estate. I'm not sure why it was in those days; maybe I bought into the idea of wealth and worthiness not going hand in hand. Perhaps, I didn't want to be tarnished with the trappings of those soulless yuppies I'd heard so much about. By the time I'd thrown off the sackcloth and discovered the innate beauty of labels, it didn't take long for me to see the benefits of cash I didn't have. Yet fast forward a couple of decades, I'm still a bit wary about getting carried away.
So when a met a British guy here who brought up in idle conversation the issue of money and quality of life, I found myself intrigued by his take. He'd spent five years working for a bank in "the best place in the world", Sydney. He loved the weather, the women and the lifestyle. What was less loveable was the tax. In fact, he hated the tax so much he was considering finding a high-paid job in Asia to make up for it, even though he didn't seem to have much affinity for the region. He seemed like a reasonably down-to-earth east-end guy; that was until he started adding colour to his views on money. Apparently, you can't live reasonably in London "for anything less than a hundred, a hundred and fifty grand. And that's not even living well." Quite... "Tenner for lunch, 60 quid dinner at the end of the day, a few beers...", and so it went on. Maybe my champagne socialist collar needs to be loosened a tad but this world can distort what an average single guy needs for a "reasonable" lifestyle.
In fairness, part of the reason that locals have a mini obsession with money reflects the lack of a proper safety net to protect you in later life, be it for pensions or medical costs. When it's in your hands to ensure the quality of your care in the future you're bound to be a bit more focused on where the cash comes from and goes to. Mind you, I don't quite remember the same shape of fixation in the US, where your destiny's also pretty much down to your own hard graft. Here there's a bit more of a no-nonsense, unemotional approach.
At the same time there is a hell of a lot of conspicuous consumption. As we throw ourselves head-long into the holiday period, looking for the reason for the season, you can't help admire the lavishness of the efforts of every shop to get you to spend, spend, spend. The huge Christmas tree in the central square, the Chinese Santa Claus, the 24-7 Shakin Stevens in the shopping malls, the real plastic snow. It makes Christmas....special. And there was me thinking that Chinese New Year was meant to be more important here.
Still, in keeping with most waste-friendly cultures, this time of year allows people to over-indulge on gifts. Locals love labels, which seems kind of at odds with what I'm trying to say about being money conscious and practical. I wouldn't go as far as suggesting that it's an outward expression of inner contentment but when you've made a bit of money it seems to be your civic duty to show it off. And the status thing means that branded and brand new are what it's all about. There's a lot of people with a lot of cash to splash as well, in no small part due to soaring property prices, enterprises in China, and big bonuses. It's boom time Asia. Then again, many have seen it all before. The packed hotels, the corks popping, the generous expense accounts. Everything seems to be on the up. Then you get another SARs moment or the economy falls off the cliff. That's when you realise those dried scallops might not seem so pointless after all.
