Monday, March 31, 2008

The Story of Terence and Amanda

When I first got to know of Terence, he was at the peak of his life. Soon to be the heir of a very large public listed company in Malaysia, he had his life cut out for him.

Whether he was going to work or not, he was going to live a comfortable life.

He drove the flashiest BMWs, frequented the VIP areas of the coolest clubs and being a guy, spent money on every gadget his heart desired. Terence knew how to enjoy money.Guys like that appear on the radar quite quickly for some of the hottest girls in the night life circuit.

One girl took notice, her name was Amanda and she was by any means one of the hottest girls that any guy would ever lay their eyes on.

She could walk from the South Court to the North Court of MidValley and at least 10 guys to turn their heads and look at her... she was as hot as this.
Amanda was ambitious.

She knew exactly what she wanted in life and it wasn't a flourishing career up the corporate ladder, it was security... financial security to be exact and she saw that in Terence.

Terence wasn't perfect and as a person had his own set of flaws like any other man, but it didn't matter... the bank account that his family came with was enough to make up for it and to be fair... there's no cry no foul for Amanda liking that part of him.

Donald Trump's beautiful wife was one asked if she would have fallen for Donald Trump if he wasn't rich.

She replied
"Do you think Donald would fall for me if I weren't beautiful?"Which hit the point exactly.

Amanda whether with her beauty or charm or personality managed to eventually hook Terence.

Months into the relationship, Amanda got pregnant.


Terence's high profile family struggled to deal with the problem.

They at one point considered having an abortion but Amanda would refuse anything less than a marriage so that the baby had a proper home to stay with.

Tied with Terence's mistake, Terence decided to go ahead with the marriage and eventually got the support of his parents. Some people wonder whether it was Amanda's plan all along to get Terence to marry her to tie him down.... but that is a question nobody but Amanda will know how to answer.

A few years later into the marriage, a crisis hit Terence's family business.... the 1997 financial crisis to be exact. Just before 1997, many Malaysian companies were on an expansion path with the KLSE being one of the highest traded markets in the world in terms of volume.

To expand, you need money and when you're a huge public listed company, getting banks to lend you money isn't too much of a problem.Now once you've decided that you want to borrow money to grow your business, the next question lies on the Cost of Borrowing or simply... the interest rate.

The interest rate in Malaysia is relatively higher than the interest rate from the many developed countries overseas so many local companies borrowed in USD from overseas banks, Terence's family business was no different.

When the financial crisis hit, the ringgit depreciated from RM2.5 to USD1.00 to something like RM5-6 to USD1.00.

That means if you borrowed RM100,000,000 before the crisis, that figure inflated to RM200,000,000 after the crisis. Terence's family business tanked overnight and his father was declared a bankrupt.Terence's life was quick to change. He no longer spent as much as he did and he went out to find a job. Amanda too had to find one.

Fortunately for Terence, he was smart and he went to a good university so finding a job wasn't too much of a problem for him. Amanda too had graduated with a degree but working wasn't really quite her thing, she found herself in a bit of a fix.

Just two years later, Terence caught Amanda cheating on him with an older man. He was dumbfounded and depressed.

What the hell was going on that this woman he had a baby boy with had to be cheating on him with an older man.

Some say... it was because of the financial security that wealthier older man had... some say... love is blind.

They eventually filed for divorce. Terence kept the only child they had and Amanda went on to marry the older man to live the life of a socialite.

The story of Terence and Amanda got me thinking about one thing... about the ups and downs of life.

It is inevitable that in anyone's life, especially where business is involved, there will be ups, there will be downs. Richard Branson's successful Virgin Atlantic airlines had almost failed once but today stands tall with a fleet of aircraft and a brand name to die for.

Closer to home, I have met many rich businessmen with wealth in the millions. Many of which have told me how they had succeeded, then failed... then picked themselves up to succeed again.

People will always have their ups and downs (and don't get me wrong.. ups and downs need not be measured simply with dollar signs).

I feel that right now I may perhaps on a small scale be experiencing my 'UP' or at least on the way "UP". One day... I may very well face my down. Things can and will go wrong.

Hence, the girl I will eventually end up with need not be really pretty.

She need not be cute. She need not be hot. She need not be sexy.

The one thing she needs to be though is strong and committed.

Strong enough to give me her strength when I am down... and committed enough to sit with me through the storm.

52 comments:

Pookyma said...

GREAT POST BOSS!!!

I've always thought like that..

slacker said...

nicely said.

electronicfly said...

Sam ah, boss hinting eh!

unnamed said...

very profound statement...

ZB said...

i cannot agree more towards your last statement :)

Observer said...

Was the intention of the post telling the Amanda story or as a means to bring out the final statement ?

Marilyn said...

Sam is strong wut...

Unknown said...

boss, may u find your other half whoever it may be ;)

this time i shall not speculate. you'll let us know when the time is right ;)

J-son said...

Hey... There is one besides you which strong, cute and most importantly available!!! HAHAHA... give you a hint.. The one who go with you the the Malaysian Dreamgirls's home... And her name start with "S" and ended up with "A" or "I" if you want to.. Still no idea? come visit my blog and you will find the ans. PEACE...

Bursa Daily Trade Statistics said...

i like the answer replied by Melania. She not only pretty but smart too. Well, i hope she is not a gold digger like Amanda do. But this is reality world.

J-son said...

Oh yeah... Forget something... it's about nuffnang webpage... Er.. I looked like and alien when I put my picture inside... Is there any optimal size for that? I hate being alien... Makes ppl run away...

Bursa Daily Trade Statistics said...

its not easy to find a soulmate tat she will be with u no matter wat happen.

boss, hope u will get a soulmate be with u 4ever.

Terrence Cheang said...

Very well written Timmy :).

DeViLisH Est said...

always be humble and not flaunting that u're rich will make the trick.. Gals will naturally attracted to the real u when the times come.. that's wad i believe.. >.@
Good Luck!!
Sam juz around.. haha

Genova said...

what happened boss ?

peggy said...

you will find her. you just gotta believe in yourself. when the going gets tough and the one sticking with you through thick and thin is/will be the one.

p.s. whats with you and all these hints lately ah, boss? you are close to 'closing the deal' is it? thats why you are preparing us for the announcement? :P all the best!

JacJac said...

touching.

:)

good one boss...

Unknown said...

hehe... ET! i do so hope that you find that girl who would stand by you through thick and thin but remember, as a guy, you must remember to cherish her when she comes toodling along. *hint* *hint* :D

cheers mate!

immi said...

very well said. :)
i hope u find that gal of ur dreams n that she'll make u happy. life is tough enough as it is. so i hope u'll have a smooth one.
cheers tim.

PienTai Yoda Sensei said...

Tim, you have make someone pregnant as well, ah?

Don't worry la, if a girl really love you for who you are and not for the bling bling, she will embrace watever up or down wave together with you all your life. Cheers

P/S: I can't agree more with your last statement :P

chocolat-latte' said...

it's not just all about the woman. sometimes it's the men.

i totally agree with what you said but based on my experience..

I stood right next to my man back then.. to have go through the toughest time.. family issues, money. work.. everything.. until he got right back into track after almost 1.5 years.. and i was being left unappreciated.. and left me for another woman.. the daughter of a listed company and someone 10 years his senior..

it works the other way round too..

I guess end of the day.. trust is the key but really.. who doesn't fall in love with money.. it's always the money 1st then the man.. (that's if the man has money and everyone knows it..)

to fall in love with someone who has no money.. is probably love then. I don't know. anymore.

fact is.. is that realistic..

Boon said...

to find a great girl when u r rich, head on to become a toilet cleaner, if somebody loves u, that's true love! lolz! (as if tat'll happen)

anyway, girls need security from guys, guys too need security from girls and boss, have the same thought as u man ;)

Twinkle said...

Ehh wat happen to your fren terence eh?

TO Amanda.. may u have herpes... hehehehe

Kimberly Low said...

no lah..u need a blur one...just like wwq!

Mike Lai said...

Hey Tim, remember me... Dr Mike. Hey hows it goin? I still follow ur blog although as a guy of few words i hardly give my 2 cents worth. For this insightful post i must give u my 2 thumbs up. Well written. I hope Terence(if thats his real name) doesn't get pissed off by it.

Cheng Chun said...

Good post Boss.

There are always ups and downs in life and we are in the quarter of our lives. I'm sure there are more to come.

But most of all, we must live life to the fullest too. :)

Huei said...

a story well told.

well on the bright side, at least terrence can get rid of a girl not worthy of his love

true love will find it's way to him, to you, to everybody, and the best way to maintain a relationship..is to be greatful with what you have, treat the special things you receive as a bonus, and don't expect, because expectations comes with disappointment. the bigger the expectation is, the harsher the disappointment will be.

=)

ur requirements seems to be simple, and i'm sure you will find her in no time! =)

Unknown said...

My thoughts exactly boss. I have nothing to say becos I agree with eveything you said in this post

joshuaongys said...

i wan part 2 of this story can arh?? =)

KY said...

Give me all your money, Tim, then you can find your true love!! :D

Leon said...

Terrence should have used condoms! XD

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

wah y suddenly so deep..lets hope ur run in success continues la ar!

Anonymous said...

HAHAHAHAHA "She need not be cute. She need not be hot. She need not be sexy."

DON'T LIE, TIMOTHY TIAH!!!!!!!!

Lightning strike you then you know.

Terence said...

i am offended!! *perasan* lol

Nine3 Nine3 said...

Follow your hearts
My favorite tag line

Wingz said...

Wuah ... boss its about time huh?

Zephyr said...

Give me 5 man!!!

I'm thinking abt the same way too

you're the man

THE ONE \(^.^)/ said...

*nods head frantically!!!*

michelle said...

i believe in fate.
do you?

Anonymous said...

it's a classic setup. see it's a fair share of greed between these two people. the woman wanted money and status. the man wanted a lady who he could show off as his pride and fantasy sex i suppose. no one's to be blamed.

Simon Seow said...

Good thing you found Wenqi. Hey I heard NUF is trading at $4.30 this morning on SGX. Mr. Lim must be desperate in over taking Nuffnang.

Wilson J Q Quah said...

Oh boss, my sources also tell me that Google is considering a hostile takeover on NUF to secure their status in Asia. Very reliable 1, from the asian trading desk of a bank.

yr rival looking to make instant profit leh like that how?

p.s. looks like roast duck 1 year supply is on you this time.

Falcon said...

Very Very Sweet...

Pam Song said...

Wow. So profound. Didn't see the ending coming after the way you started but... wow.

It's true. The people who stand by you during your worst times of your life are the people you should invest in. The people you know you can 'afford' to love. Cos the price of these kind of 'shares' can never go down.

Hmmm. Wrote about this once before. Will write about this again soon. You've sparked off another series of thoughts. Thanks, Tim. =)

§pinzer said...

you've matured baby :)

Tim said...

Why so emo boss

Nary's treasures said...

lol. the end is emo. but i love your post! very nice

Anonymous said...

salute boss!!

Anna T said...

love yo post.

davienne said...

"She need not be cute. She need not be hot. She need not be sexy."

sorry boss.. i not eligible :(

.:Baby Gin:. said...

*o*

luxen said...

I feel that way too. When ever things are going fine, I think what would happen if I lost it all?

Who will stand with me when I have nothing? The people I know, will they still see me the same way?

Thats why it's better not to be attached to material things. Buddha says all component things are not permanent. It means that everything is not permanent, don't get attach to what you have now.

Find happiness in the moment.