Say it loud: I'm old and I'm proud

Perks for senior citizens abound. But first, you have to admit that you're old.

- Lim Ai Leen

When I made restaurant reservations a few weeks ago, the booking form stated that all parties of two would be seated at the bar.

This diktat irked me. It was meant to be my birthday brunch, and the prospect of having to crane my neck to speak to my husband, while perching precariously on a barstool, was not my idea of a fun day out.

I considered cancelling and going elsewhere, voting with my dollar as an empowered consumer. But this felt like defeat.

Not to mention that the place would hardly miss my custom, as it's popular with sprightly twenty-somethings happy to take those terms sitting down.

Instead, I decided to try wielding a different sort of power.

In the comments section I wrote: We're aged 55 and 66, so would appreciate table seats. Hope you can help.

My reasoning? With the restaurant put on notice that we might be old and frail, they'd think twice about upping our chances of fracturing a hip.

On the day, we were ushered to the only table for two in the room. One point for auntie and uncle. While the food was great, the music was too loud and the lighting too dim for our tastes. But we won't let those elder grouses cloud our little victory.

I'll admit, you could repeat the same experiment with anyone of any age, and the result might be the same. After all, accommodating a customer's request is a mark of good service in the hospitality industry. Plus there's that mantra: Don't ask, don't get.

But it still feels like a win in my book, for several reasons.

First off, it made me get over the embarrassment of being labelled old or senior by the world at large.

It wasn't that long ago that I was aghast and stupefied when a FairPrice cashier asked if I qualified for a senior discount.