Maybe we men should NOT give Singaporean Women what they want...

The biggest incident I experience last week shows the multi-stage nature of the COVID-19 virus outbreak.

First the markets reacted when people started falling sick in Asia. Now markets are reacting when everyone around the world started falling sick. I think the next wave is when the economic fallout starts to hit the main street in Singapore. This can take place even when the outbreak is under control.

Last week, a friend was let go and I spent the day panicking about his future. I visited a head-hunter's home for a social event hoping that I find a way out for my friend only to find the headhunter out of a job himself.

A week's deeper reflection confirmed that I was deeply wrong about who needs help.

My friend is intimately familiar with my investing methods. I pointedly asked him how long his money would last to which the reply was easily 3 years. He is also very gritty and has even lined up for himself a job that pays an hourly rate. He has no expectations to get a better job amidst the virus outbreak. My friend is young and can take quite a decent amount of punishment.

On the other hand, the headhunter seemed "confident" that he can last another 6 months without employment, after which all he had to do is to "sell his home". Like me, the headhunter is not a spring chicken anymore and has to contend with a tougher job market. How he can get employed amidst the virus outbreak is a mystery to me because I'm pretty sure he has more headhunter friends to seek help from !

So it is highly likely that my young friend will survive. My headhunter friend may be in serious trouble and I have no idea what he will do to get out of this mess.

There may also be a fundamental difference with the way my friends see life :

• My young friend is tough and willing (even eager) to eat shit. Like me, he does not have much a sense of style. He spends a lot of time gaming. His was a life of instability and struggle.
• My headhunter friend is the opposite and was my go-to source of great food recommendations. He's cool and have a great sense for music his era - A product of decades of job security and career success.  

So here's the thing. If we build a male avatar out of my friend and the headhunter, I think Singapore women will probably dump my friend and go after the headhunter equivalent in his 20s. 

When Singaporean women were asked what is the biggest turn-off in their dating profiles, they roundly condemned men who have an affinity for gaming and anime. If I were dating in my 20s today, I would have settled for becoming a BBFA. In the world of gaming and anime, Dungeons and Dragons and Magic players are even more alienated from the main stream.  

Singaporean women are subtly telling everyone that they despise introverted men.

In fact, Singaporean Women also betrayed their preferences when they said that they loved men who ski. I am familiar with this because one of the reasons I did not like lunching with colleagues in my mid-20s because Gen X women love to hijack the conversation to talk about scuba diving - the "skiing" of my Generation.   

As we need to get out of Singapore to ski, perhaps women want men who are sporty, extroverted and outgoing. They may also prefer men with openness to new experiences. But to enjoy skiing, men would first need to be willing to spend money - I googled a 7 day trip to Hokkaido and it costs about $3000+ per person. If someone skis as a hobby, I expect several such trips a year to the Swiss Alps or even Aspen Colorado.

Here's the thing, while hypergamy is normal for women, a willingness to spend does not imply actual wealth. Millenial women should be smart to observe what happened to the men of my generation : some of the dashing, debonair and cool dudes end up being betrayed by their corporate masters and end up bitterly complaining about the unfairness of the capitalist system. 

Younger guys need to wake up to the idea that just giving what these women on online portals is a recipe for a lifetime of pain. 

Just ask yourselves, what happened to the "fly" dudes of Generation X. 

Some dudes in my generation had to be cool in their 20s, playing guitars and riding a motorcycle - where are they now? Are they living lives of "perpetual job search" like the Kims in the movie Parasite ?

• Save 50% of your salary. Own the means of production.
• Ignore women who hate anime fans. You can even get fitness tips from One Punch Man. 
• Don't pick up skiing. Each trip is worth at least a decent position in a good REIT of your choosing.