Boomer Corner

BOOMER CORNER BOOMER CORNER Since there are few resources or media in Bali that cater to the Boomer generation, it seems like a smashing idea to dedicate a regular column to this segment of Bali’s expat community that is growing ever larger by the year. Many Boomers are retiring to Bali for very obvious reasons like the balmy climate, the cheerful and welcoming disposition of the local population, the availability of coveted amenities and services and the preponderance of the modern day equivalents of the baker, butcher and candlestick maker. Other attractive elements that draw us here are the exotic culture, the natural attractions, the yoga havens and the palpable spiritual vortex of the place. Boomers and retired expats already make up a sizeable block of Bali’s expat community and that creates a need for a platform that can function as a focal point for sharing practical information about retired life here. The Boomer Corner is to be a column about issues and concerns that touch upon senior life in Bali and you will fi nd a myriad of topics handled and discussed in this space. To make it even more of a level playing fi eld and cover as many bases as possible, it was decided to present viewpoints from different people, male and female, with varying opinions, origins, backgrounds, experiences and interests. Ergo, this blog will be penned by a team of rotating authors. All of us are Boomers, originating from countries with their very own retirement peculiarities. We are long-term expats living the still working or retired Boomer life and we aim to cover a variety of topics relating to senior life in Bali, growing older with its attendant issues, expat concerns, etc. Some of us have a certain niche we feel comfortable with, like health insurance, geriatric health care, maintaining poise and grace while growing older, legal and technical matters pertaining to retirement, etc. Others have interests that are rather eclectic and far-ranging. But whatever angle we’re coming from, you’ll be sure to fi nd something to your liking and worthy of your interest. What’s more, we are also inviting participation on the part of our readers so you can contact us with topic suggestions relating to our subject matter and mandate at the email address noted below. We want this to be a platform that deals with issues you care about; a place where you fi nd useful information, a spot to pull together all info relevant to aging Boomers. This, in a nutshell is our mission. The topics we intend to cover will extend over many areas and subjects. So far we have identifi ed a list that will undoubtedly grow as we explore the many nooks and crannies of what it means to live a Boomer life in Bali. Here is a sampling of what you may see covered in future columns: • Heath care and physical well-being as we grow older • Living/coping with disabilities and chronic conditions • Retirement communities in Bali • Focusing on the most important things at an advancing age • Social and other important resources for aging expats • Fear of dying • Dealing with the mechanics of dying, burial or cremation, repatriation of remains • Importance of wills, living will, last rites and instructions • Dealing with local staff • Villa/property care & maintenance • Finding reliable and quality contractors and ‘tukangs’ • Voting & taxes • Financial survival & money matters • Visa & option/desirability of citizenship • Relationships with the ‘old’ country, relatives & friends • Dealing with local culture, politics • Language issues • Personal essays on our experiences • Finding kindred groups or buddies to practice yoga, dance, play chess, read books, knit or go sailing. • Continuing to work rather than retire. • Etc. Etc. We hope you like our ideas and will help us spice up our blog with your suggestions, opinions and experiences. While our mandate is to cover topics relating to Boomer life in Bali, we realise that the very act of living here will engender the inevitable bumps and scrapes that accompany a life in a country that is not our own, with its many idiosyncrasies, inevitable misunderstandings and

Living the Senior Life in Bali by Ines Wynn shortcomings. While we will help where we can, we don’t have the resources to address all your practical problems or legal issues; neither can we function as an ombudsman service. But we will try and cover a broad spectrum of topics so that most of the puzzle pieces about Boomer life in Bali will fall into place. So read on and come along with us on an exciting voyage of discovery. For starters the next few blogs of the Boomer Corner will deal with affordable medical insurance options for foreign seniors, caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, memory issues versus the normal aging process, and how to stay fi t and supple in a mature body. As one of my centenarian relatives told me once, growing old is nothing. It’s being old that’s the challenge. Since we all probably want to live out our twilight years in the most pleasant and stress-free way possible, we hope that with this dedicated Boomer Corner, we can help make the challenges of growing older just a wee bit less onerous.

If not Immortality what about The 120 Club? Planning for the End of Your Life

Who will end up with your books and your tchotskes, My good friend Alexander Everett died in 2005 aged your gadgets and your garden tools when you change 85 on his ranch in Oregon. It wasn’t really a ranch, your cosmic address at the end of your life? more like an Ark. Alexander just liked to hang out

with animals, certainly not eat them. Hewas an It’s probably the easiest and least onerous part of your educationalist and an English eccentric much estate planning to make a list of all your possessions and influenced by Rudolf Steiner and Huxley’s Perennial Philosophy, who decamped to Oregon in the 1960s becoming a leading figure in the personal development movement that became popular at that decide who will get the stuff you have accumulated all these years. Will Junior get your porno movie collection? Your daughter might like some jewellery or family heirlooms; time. As a young man he had been crippled by polio maybe your best friend would appreciate your gadgets or but claimed to have cured himself. He was, he told garden tools. You have made your Last Will and Testament? me a member of the 120 Club, all of whom committed Good. That takes care of your estate, your possessions and themselves to live to be over 120 years old. Alas, financial accounts and settles your preferences. Or does it?

Alexander didn’t make it. He died 35 years short aged 85, which is respectable. Estate Planning

Somewhere around the age of 18 or 19 our bodies cease Planning for the dissolution and distribution of your estate is developing and from that moment on the various body not that cumbersome but you need to take a few things into clocks that comprise what is us, start their remoseless account, especially if you have property or a foot in two countdown to our eventual demise. How countries. Besides the bequests and provisions your last long we last from that point on depends on will and testament should appoint an executor who will take good luck, our genes, our lifestyle and how care of administrative and financial matters such as much money we have. The process doesn’t liquidating bank and investment accounts, your pension or usually start to manifest visibly until our mid-30s or so and, given good genes, psychologically we don’t usually start to feel old until our early 70s. retirement accounts, ensuring your assets go to the proper beneficiaries, paying any debts or taxes. It could also include selling your home or terminating your lease. And with foreign property rights restricted in Indonesia, be sure Here’s what we’re all up against: you don’t leave behind a can of worms your executor will have to deal with. Even if you have little in the way of assets or possessions, you should have a simple will because if you die intestate the legal system in your location will decide who gets your assets, no matter how massive or meager. Things are more complicated if you are the parent or guardian of a minor child, have an informally adopted or sponsored child and there’s no document stating what you want to bequeath them or who will care for them after your demise. By the same token, are you making some provisions for your faithful staff who may lose their jobs and probably have no retirement or financial cushion to fall back on? Another thing to consider is to make sure that your will does not contradict the account beneficiaries named on your retirement accounts, life insurance policies and the like. The person listed as the beneficiary on each of those policies will get the money even if your will says otherwise. Make sure your beneficiary designations are up to date and sync with any other legal provisions you have made. It pays to review the beneficiaries on all your accounts. You may not be ready to die and in fact may yet have a long bout of life ahead of you but remember that things change, people come and go in your life and situations alter. Be sure these changes are updated in your will. Including your will, make a list of critical documents that the will’s executor will need to settle your estate like your insurance policies, bank and investment account statements, credit and debit cards, pension and tax documents and pertinent information like your Social Security or National Insurance numbers and make sure you tell your family or carers where to find them. This includes passwords so your online accounts can be accessed. Other practical directives should address the paying of any taxes due, utility bills, recurring payments or donations. Any time a major change occurs in your life, make sure your will and last directives reflect it.

Chronic Inflammation

Aging people suffer an epidemic of outward inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, but chronic inflammation also damages brain cells, arterial walls, heart valves and other structures in the body. Heart attack, stroke, heart valve failure, and Alzheimer’s have all been linked to the chronic inflammatory cascade.

Glycosylation Hormone Imbalance

Trillions of cells in the human body are synchronised to function by chemical signals called hormones. Aging creates hormonal imbalance that can lead to depression, End-of-life preferences osteoporosis, coronary heart disease and loss of libido.

Now that the estate portion of your bounty is settled, have Excess Calcification you given a thought to the other end-of-life decisions you need to make while still, as they say, of sound and competent Calcium ions are transported into and out of cells through mind? What about drawing up a Living Will that will instruct calcium channels into the membrane. Aging disrupts this your nearest and dearest how you want to be cared for process and the result is excess calcium in the cells of the when you are no longer in a position to verbalise coherent brain, heart valves and arterial walls that can lead to thoughts? Remember there are very important instructions arteriosclerosis and Alzheimer’s. in regards to your end of life preferences that simply do not belong in a Last Will and Testament since that document will not be read until after your death.

The western way to do that is to draw up an Advance

Directive, a legal and binding document that outlines your wishes if you become incapacitated due to illness or injury.

It sets forth the specific life- supporting or prolonging measures you would like applied -or not- like resuscitation or CPR, or whether to end all life-saving measures. Your wishes should be written down and the document given to the people most likely to be close at the time of your demise.

You should not leave these agonizing decisions to others.

These instructions should include the type of care you wish to have, the medical team and the hospital you want to end up in. If you wish to be an organ donor here in Indonesia you can register with Komite Transplantasi National (the

National Transplant Committee) or the Eye Bank (Bank

Mata Indonesia) ahead of time and stipulate that in your directive.

Fatty Acid Imbalance

Diabetics age prematurely, but even non-diabetics suffer from this chemical reaction, where protein molecules bind to glucose molecules forming non-functioning structures. Glycosylation is most evident in senile dementia, stiffening of the arteries, and degenerative diseases of the eye.

Methylation Deficit

Our cellular DNA requires constant enzymatic action for maintenance and repair. Aging cripples methylation metabolism causing DNA damage that can manifest as cancer, liver damage and brain cell degeneration.

Mitochondrial Energy Depletion

The cellular energy powerhouse, the mitochondria, requires a complex series of chemicals to maintain critical functions such as transporting nutrients through the cell membrane and purging the cell of toxic debris. Mitochondrial depletion lead to congestive heart failure, muscle weakness, fatigue and neurological disease.

The body requires essential fatty acids to maintain cell energy output. Aging causes alterations in the enzymes required to convert dietary fats into specific fatty acids the body requires. The effect of fatty acid imbalance manifests as irregular heartbeat, joint degeneration, low energy, hyper-coagulation, dry skin and a host of other conditions.

DNA Mutation

Numerous synthetic and natural compounds mutate cellular DNA and cause cancer cells to form. Aging cells lose their DNA gene repair mechanisms and the result is DNA genetic damage causes cells to proliferate out of control, i.e., turn into cancer cells.

Immune Dysfunction

For a variety of reasons, the aging immune system loses its ability to attack bacteria, viruses and cancer cells. In aging humans, excessive levels of dangerous cytokines are produced that cause the immune system to turn on its host and create auto-immune diseases,, such as allergies, lupus, anemia, rheumatoid heart disease and arthritis.

Your instructions should also indicate your wishes for preferred last rites, burial, cremation or repatriation preferences, appoint a funeral service and a trusted relative or friend who agrees to take care of all that. Also don’t forget to leave behind a list of family and friends you want notified. ‘Next of kin’ may not be near if you have Non-Digestive Enzyme Imbalance family in another country. Indonesian Immigration and Internal cellular functions depend on multiple enzymatic your consulate also need to be informed. reactions occurring with precise timing. Aging causes enzyme disturbances in the brain and liver, which result in And now for the big caveat: Remember that every country severe neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s or has its own norms and regulations when it comes to persistent memory loss. Impaired liver function results in durable health care and appointing a health care proxy. If toxic damage to every cell in the body. you plan to die in Indonesia you are well advised to inform yourself of the practices here. In fact, a quick survey Digestive Enzyme Deficit among a few Bali lawyers reveals that unfortunately, the

Indonesian law system does not recognise a Living Will. The aging pancreas often fails to secrete enough digestive However, you can draw up a private statement letter enzymes, while the aging liver does not secrete enough regarding your medical directives and wishes on how bile acids. The results are the chronic digestive problems medical personnel should treat you in case of a lethal many face as they age. condition. This statement letter only indicates your wishes and does not have the strong enforcement capacity like a

Excitotoxicity will. It behoves you to discuss these matters with your private physician now and see where you stand. The aging brain loses control of its release of neurotransmitters such as glutamate and dopamine, and this results In the end it doesn’t really matter - or does it to you? in devastating brain cell damage and destruction. Statistics claim that nearly half of people age 55 and older don’t have a will. I bet the percentage is even higher for

Circulatory Deficit not having a Living Will. Yet it is important to document your end-of-life preferences and communicate those to

Microcapillary flow of blood to the brain, your family and/or the people that are likely to be near you eye and skin is impaired as a part of at that crucial time. Putting a plan in place for things like normal aging. The result is that disorders medical care and funeral arrangements helps ensure that of the eye (such as cataract, macular upon your death, your wishes are carried out and that degeneration, glaucoma) are the No.1 family squabbles are avoided over your dead body. In age-related degenerative disease. Major terms of funeral arrangements, you can leave the and mini-strokes are common problems arrangements to a competent service like Antara Bangsa associated with circulatory deficit to the Funeral Services. Expats in Bali concur they are very brain. good and take care of the details.

Don’t wait to put your affairs in order. Now, while you are still hale and healthy and still have control of your belongings and the execution of your last wishes, is the best time to put some order in your end of life preferences.

Don’t wait until life’s inevitable loops throw you a curve and beat you to it.

Oxidative Stress

Free radicals are unstable molecules that have been implicated in most diseases associated with aging. Antioxidants have become popular supplements to protect against free-radical-induced cell damage, but few people take the proper combination of antioxidant supplements needed to do any good.

The Boomer Corner is a column dedicated to people over 60 living in Bali. Its mandate is to cover topics, The Boomer Corner is a column dedicated to people over 60 living in Bali. Its mandate is to cover topics, practicalities, activities, issues, concerns and events related to senior life in Bali. We welcome suggestions from readers. E-mail us at : Baliboomers@gmail.com By Adrian The Boomer Corner is a column dedicated to people over 60 living in Bali. Its mandate is to cover topics, practicalities, activities, issues, concerns and events related to senior life in Bali. We welcome suggestions from readers. E-mail us at : Baliboomers@gmail.com By Shari The Boomer Corner is a column dedicated to people over 60 living in Bali. Its mandate is to cover topics, practicalities, activities, issues, concerns and events related to senior life in Bali. We welcome suggestions from readers. E-mail us at : Baliboomers@gmail.com By Ines Wynn The Boomer Corner is a column dedicated to people over 60 living in Bali. Its mandate is to cover topics, practicalities, activities, issues, concerns and events related to senior life in Bali. We welcome suggestions from readers. E-mail us at : Baliboomers@gmail.com By Sharipracticalities, activities, issues, concerns and events related to senior life in Bali. We welcome suggestions from readers. Email us at Baliboomers@gmail.com boomer corner Copyright © 2019 Boomer Corner You can read all past articles of Boomer Corner at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz Copyright © 2019 Boomer Corner You can read all past articles of Boomer Corner at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz Copyright © 2020 Boomer Corner You can read all past articles of Boomer Corner at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz Copyright © 2019 Boomer Corner You can read all past articles of Boomer Corner at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz

Copyright © 2018 Boomer Corner

You can read all past articles of Boomer Corner at www.BaliAdvertiser.biz