Gem Hunting Season

The Singapore Jewellery and Gem Fair arrives on our shores on 22 Oct til 25 Oct! 4 days of sparkle at Marina Bay Sands.

It'll be a great opportunity to meet and catch up with some of my gem dealing friends from around the region. Hopefully, I'll be able to make a few good deals with them.

On my trips to gem-selling countries, I've met other gem buyers who drive prices down to ridiculously low points, refusing to budge even on a five-dollar difference. Personally, I feel this to be very unnecessary. The seller is trying to earn a living, and five dollars isn't going to make or break the bank for the buyer, so why not let the seller have it?

A number of these buyers are re-sellers, who, after paying rock-bottom prices, jack the prices up tremendously before selling them in their home markets. Of course, it is perfectly normal business practice to increase prices when you re-sell, but it needs to be a reasonable margin.

I have found that gem-buying requires patience and tact. Once you build a good rapport with the seller, the prices automatically come down. I rarely try to drive prices too much lower than the asking price. Of course, I need to know the rough value of the gem I'm looking at, and that takes experience.

True, I may end up paying slightly higher prices than the hard-bargaining buyer at the next stall, but I believe that we live in a world of abundance, and not one of lack. I believe that both buyer and seller can mutually benefit, and one cannot succeed without the other.

Teaching Break is Over

Yesterday, I officially ended my daytime teaching break.

It was a conscious decision (and effort) to stop daytime teaching for the duration that it took me to write my book. Now that I'm done, I can get back to it!

Of course, I still have to revamp certain headings in the book, but since the major stuff (writing and self-editing) is completed, it won't take that much effort.

It was a pretty cool stint at one of the secondary schools in the northwest of Singapore (really far from home, though), and the topic was, I felt, rather more advanced that is usual for their level. Nevertheless, they did grasp the concepts quite quickly.

It's always a pleasure to teach eager students.

Hazy Thoughts

Well, the haze is still floating around, though its severity has dramatically decreased. It seems that, in a way, Singaporeans have started to come to terms with this problem. There are far fewer publicly-made complaints and there is a slight feeling of "grin and bear it", which is, admittedly, hard to see under a N95 mask.

Of course, we should continue to fight the issue, despite the scathing comments of a certain person in a prominent leadership position in the government of a Southern neighbour. 

With a little time to think about it, though, it may be this person's words that brought everyone together. The thought of having someone with so little sensitivity and decision-making ability, such a large ego, and little to no sense of responsibility in a position of leadership makes us scratch our heads. It also causes us to feel compassion for the citizens under that brand of leadership.

Certainly, we hope that both our nations can work together to bring the problem to a stop. This does seem difficult due to political differences and a certain degree of mistrust.

It seems that good intentions are simply insufficient. More work needs to be done to repair relationships, and soon.

Another Book Update

The Introvert Teacher is written and self-edited! All except for the Quotes chapter, which I'm still working on.

Nevertheless, it's been quite a journey, and I look forward to completing the marketing materials and finalising the launch dates and launch event once it's printed.

Thank you for your support! I hope to see you at the event!