Dear baobei,

our time together has come to a somewhat premature end. believe me, if it was feasible, i would hold on to you until i absolutely had to let you go...which in a way, did happen. it wouldn't be practical to ship you to japan, after all. and i can't place you in deep-freeze until i get back.

as your next (well, current, by now) owner said, i could have done much worse for a first car. i remember being amazed at your condition during the initial viewing; you looked really good for a 6 year-old car. although your mileage was a little high when i took over (125000km), you still handled well and required minimal maintenance. over the 7 years i've had you, we've added another 90000km or so to the total, and you still run amazingly despite that. although we didn't get off to the best start in the initial days; i remember scraping the passenger side of your bumper on day 2! that was when i was still getting used to your dimensions and turning radius. nevertheless, we got better at working together, and you've served me well.

i learnt so much with you. practical skills, like how to deal with a flat tyre and put on the spare, how to find cheap/free parking (a vital skill in singapore!), how to do simple tasks, like check the oil levels, tyre pressure, top up wiper fluid; as well as an important life lesson - take care of your things and they'll take care of you. you've demonstrated that to the highest level. also, it's sometimes worth spending a little extra money for a better quality of life, like when i upgraded your stereo system to be able to interface with my phone. it wasn't strictly necessary, but i enjoyed singing my heart out to songs of my choice while we were on the road.

while i feel sad to let you go, i am thankful for the privilege of having had you. i cannot even begin to count all the times you've sent me back home after late nights in the lab, gone with me to out of the way places for some errand or another, sent my friends back after we stayed out a little too late, drove my cousins, their spouses, and their kids (if any) around, helping my guildmate move house, all without complaint or fuss. i've never had any difficulty starting you up, even after you've been idle for a week or two during my overseas trips. i'm also thankful that you took the brunt of the damage during that bad accident in 2018, protecting me so that i came away with just a few minor scrapes. most of all, i'm grateful that you've given me the opportunity to build my confidence and skill in driving, which will serve me well in the future. a small measure of comfort to me is that your new owner's been taking care of you for the past few years, and he'll continue to look after you until the end, aka. COE expiry.

it may seem stupid to people reading this, but i've always said that there's an emotional connection between us...notwithstanding the fact that cars can't feel emotion. there's no scientific basis whatsoever, but i've got a better read on people when they're my passengers, based on your reaction to them. that's how we averted disaster with the navy guy. could have used a heads-up regarding the ex sooner, though...i'm joking. i do feel bad for making you cover the distance between bishan (later, sengkang!) and bukit batok so often. in hindsight, he wasn't worth it.

part of the reason that i feel this emotional connection might be because you've been with me through many significant events in life. the grad school journey, my first relationship, and first 2 jobs. 50% of those things didn't end well, but it's not your fault. in fact, i'm grateful that you were a constant presence at my low points. it was so reassuring to just grip the steering wheel and drive mindlessly.

this picture is not my favourite picture of you (i don't really have a favourite, actually), but i feel that it represents you the best - you're number 1 to me. and if the cars that i own in the future all perform to your standard, i would consider myself tremendously blessed.

goodbye, baobei. i love you and i'll sorely miss you.

-random thought of the day: That stabby feeling got worse.-

There are times when things don't go according to plan/expectations. for example, when my mechanic called this morning to arrange to take over the car tomorrow morning. despite it being my last day in singapore, it's still sooner than i was hoping for. but since he's willing to come all the way to my place, it wouldn't be nice of me to refuse. i'm trying not to think too much about it now, because doing so produces that weird stabby feeling in my chest, aka. heartache. on a more practical level, i can't find the car's spare key. it's not in the drawer that i thought that it was in. but no matter what, it should be in my room, or at least within the house.

packing is almost done; i really rallied my effort today and finished most of bag 2. right now, bag 1 weighs about 22.8kg, while bag 2 weighs 20.5kg. still got to get a few more things into bag 2, but i think i'll come in within the weight limit. mildly worried about the domestic flight, though. not sure if bag 1 can fit another 3-5kg's worth of stuff inside so that bag 2 can make the weight for checked baggage then. it's not so much of a weight problem than it is a volume/space problem...i might have to shift some things to the carry-on after all, or wear my heavy shoes. well, that's for future me in japan to worry about.

the last 2 of my farewell meals (quite impromptu-ly scheduled) were lunch with my mentor figure from the cat high alumni, and dinner with scary JC friend, her boyfriend, and our mutual friend. it sounds weird to describe it as such, but lunch was productive. i got to satisfy 2 of my food cravings at once, for laksa and oyster omelette. i don't regularly crave laksa, so it was a little surprising. ok, if i'm honest, it was mainly for the soup and cockles. we had the famous sungei road laksa just behind jalan berseh food centre, which i'm familiar with, thanks to judo training nearby a few years ago. the laksa costs $3 a bowl, which is pretty cheap. granted, it's a pretty small bowl, but it's definitely worth the price. while i couldn't have the famous oyster omelette at jalan berseh itself (they only open from 6pm), the one i had at the coffee shop was an acceptable replacement. something about beggars and choosers.

dinner was KBBQ, at our mutual friend's friend's restaurant. it is not somewhere i'd ordinarily choose to eat. for one, cooking was done on a hotplate on top of a gas burner, instead of something recessed into the table. some KBBQ places will have the hotplate at an angle, or grill grates, so that excess oil isn't in contact with the food. in the absence of those systems, what this meant is that as we were cooking the food, the oil in the hotplate increased in volume due to oil rendering from the meat. and in turn, splatters were correspondingly larger and more dangerous over time. in fact, i got splattered on the face twice, and hot oil would have gotten into my eyes on one of those times if i wasn't wearing glasses. to be fair, the price was very reasonable, and there was a free-flow beer option. but all things considered, i won't eat there again if i can help it. that sentiment might also be because my stomach acted up midway through the meal, so the impression dropped a few points.

as i'm writing this post, there are anywhere between 33 to 36 hours before i have to be at the airport. the countdown timer is wrong, by the way. i used 12 midnight on 26 november when setting it up, because i didn't have flight details at that time. i feel...nervous. like, i've been more aware of my heart beating since waking up this morning. it probably isn't helped by people reminding me to do things that i've already done. for instance, today, less than 2 days before i fly, my aunt whatsapped to remind me, of all things, of my flight date and to make sure that my passport wasn't expired. you'd think that if my passport had expired or was due to expire, i would have caught it on any number of prior occasions, like when i first applied, or when i was asked to send a soft copy of my passport biodata page to the embassy, or when applying for the japan visa, right!? even if i was mega blind and didn't notice, i'm sure the people who were responsible for processing my documents at the various stages would have alerted me to that fact. really, the absolute last thing i need now is a kancheong presence. as if i'm not feeling the nerves enough already. but yes, i know she means well, which is why i've held my tongue and am trying to approach this from a perspective of gratitude. between you and me, it's not easy.

what else can i do tonight? settle most of the packing. i realize that i might have to reshuffle some clothes to fit more stuff into my baggage. i am also disproportionately annoyed, as i cannot for the life of me remember where i put an adapter. my current hypotheses are that i threw it out accidentally, or that i left it behind in NUS. not a big issue, just frustrating. i'll survive without it.

-random thought of the day: Still feeling weird.-

Leaving one's home country for an extended period counts as a special occasion. of course, this assumes that one is leaving the country voluntarily for something good, and not being forced to leave due to civil unrest, war, or anything like that. and in view of this special occasion happening(?) to me, i've been the recipient of a lot of kindness over the past week. somehow, i don't feel fully deserving of the kindness that i've been shown. so many people bought me dinner, like E and N, my cousin, guildmates, the chemistry guys. and just today, scary JC friend gave me a bottle of fragrance from the shop she works at. if you know where she works, you'll also know that those bottles don't come cheap. i don't exactly regret my decision on the exact fragrance, but she let me try a few others, the scent of one of which is still lingering on my forearm. it's odd...i like how it smells now, after a shower and 2 hours, but it comes across to me as too strong when it's just freshly-sprayed. also, it was quite funny. i was telling her that i liked smelling certain scents, but i didn't like those same scents when they were sprayed on me. probably due to them changing after some reaction with my skin and/or something on it. she said that i might like smelling it on another guy, which made me laugh. maybe i'll ask her to pick out something for my future partner, if/when it happens.

today was a super productive day. but perhaps i should link it to yesterday first. so gatherings with the guildmates tend to end late/early in the morning, so the host suggested i sleep over at their place. considering that we're not related, and have known each other for maybe a year and a half, it made me feel like we're pretty close friends. not bad for people who met via an online game. so i did, and that saved me so much time this morning! one, because their place is closer to novena, and two, because i feel bad/awkward to laze in bed in someone else's house for too long. tuition was nearly a disaster, but i think i did quite well to salvage it. so what happened is that we have to teach on zoom for the students who choose to learn from home. as i went to open zoom, i accidentally clicked the button below it, which was "uninstall zoom". and despite my best efforts to cancel the procedure, zoom uninstalled. there was no confirmation, either! i was all ready to grovel, apologize, and call in the biggest-ever SOS i would have ever had to call in my time with the tuition centre, but then i remembered that zoom has a web version. unfortunately, the web version doesn't support annotations, which i use to teach. so, i turned it into a live class by projecting the questions onto the board, and using the laptop webcam to show my written solutions. it was for the better, actually, since today's topic was lenses, and ray diagrams had to be drawn. way to go me! quite proud of that burst of quick thinking.

handing over the laptop was easy enough, the IT guy was very nice (and kind of cute!). he even offered to help me return my staff pass. that was the other thing i was worried about, by the way, that the HR person might want to personally collect the pass from me and ask me to go back again. i'm happy that i didn't have to fight that battle. so that's the end of my time there for now. while i wouldn't mind going back there in future, it's not exactly something that i'd jump at. we'll see if other/better opportunities come along.

went to return a singapore flag to a judo elder, and got a book from him, along with some advice. he used to live in japan, so he knows a thing or two. granted, that it was almost 20 years ago, some info might be outdated. but i'm grateful when people are willing to spend time with me. unfortunately, he's getting old. it's not me being mean; it's a fact of life. i've known him for close to 10 years, and i've noticed that he's become less sharp as he ages. he's by no means senile, but it's like, he's more forgetful and gets information mixed up sometimes. so, i always double-check any news he gives me.

the next major task was to apply for my international driver's permit. the sub-task there was to get a haircut, to look decent for the photo that would be taken as part of the permit. i went to EC house at junction 8, and the hairdresser there did something interesting to my fringe. i don't know how to describe it - like, she layered it a bit, so that the front strands are shorter and they prop up the longer strands that are slightly behind. so there's kind of a peak-ish look. i'm sure that i'll need some form of hair product to really bring that look out, and i'm also sure that i won't be bothered to use any hair product...so oh well. my next brainwave was remembering that there was a popular at J8, so i got another sub-task done (buy tape to fasten plastic sheets). the application for the permit was easier than i'd thought. for one, i was lucky and got a good parking spot. second, i was the only applicant, so i was in and out in like, 10 minutes. third, the guy who processed my application was pretty cute too!

and if all that wasn't enough, i also went to scary JC friend's shop. as she helped me choose a scent that i'd like, i got to see her at work. i was suitably impressed! also, it made me wonder if i could learn all that stuff. it does sound interesting! unfortunately, my current knowledge lies more towards making the individual molecules, as opposed to knowing and matching their scent properties. also, the side strap of my slipper suddenly broke. if you're chinese and superstitious, something like that happening is a sign that a greater misfortune has been warded off by the minor misfortune of the thing breaking. or, you know, it could just be wear and tear. anyway, i've got a spare pair of slippers on standby (more durable and less comfortable), so i'm not worried there. 

so...that was my day. all in all, very productive and fulfilling. very tiring too, considering i didn't get much sleep last night. first night sleeping in an unfamiliar place, after all. i should put some clothes to soak tonight, then into the wash tomorrow. falling quite far behind as far as packing is concerned, but i think i should have no problem to finish packing in time. have to really work at it tomorrow, though.

-random thought of the day: Charge electronics!-

Rainy day today. while i welcome the cooler weather, it's also made it more inconvenient for me to go about my errands. the current plan is to do 2 things in the evening, before going to a guildmate's place for dinner. that should also be the last farewell dinner i have lined up, which is good because my stomach needs a break.

no progress on packing since the last post, and that's due to a combination of laziness and some inability. things like chargers and other electronics can only be packed at the last minute, not to mention the clothes that i'll be wearing for tuition tomorrow, which will have to go through the wash too. i guess bag 2 will only be fully packed on the day itself, or at the earliest, on the night before.

the tuition handover issue was settled; thank goodness that someone from the IT department was either already working on the weekend, or willing to come back. it further reinforces the feedback that i gave them - that while the support rendered is great, the support would not be needed in many occasions if more/better planning was done. there's one more potential snag that i've spotted that could potentially not go well during the handover, but i'll deal with it if and when necessary. i'm hoping that this part of the company culture will have changed for the better if i have the opportunity to rejoin them after JET.

yesterday evening was spent with my cousin and his family. i don't think his daughter is fully aware that that was the last time she'll see me in person for several months at the minimum. but to be fair, there have been instances where i didn't visit for upwards of 6 months, so maybe it's not all that different? well, at least there's video calling now, so that helps to bridge the distance somewhat. it got me thinking a little, actually. i have friends and relatives who have moved overseas for extended periods of time, be it for study, work, or migration. how did they cope? i suppose it might be easier at a very young age, when strong social bonds haven't been formed yet. but for people who moved countries in their teens (like chemical engineer cousin, multiple times, at that), i don't know how it must have been. well, one way i'm looking at it is to not think so much about what i'll be leaving behind, but what awaits me in japan. and there's the added comfort of knowing that i'm able to visit singapore during my stint abroad, and will most probably be back permanently in the future. unfortunately, some people don't have that ability, like people who've been exiled, voluntarily or not. but that's a topic for another time.

discussing this topic made me remember a classmate in primary school. i think we were in the same class in primary 1 and 2. sometime in primary 2, he left the school. i forget why...but it was either to change schools within singapore, or to migrate overseas. i don't know why that memory stuck in my head. might be because i remember him crying in class when the topic was brought up, or because his name was very easy for me to remember - we have the same last name, and his chinese name is a combination of mine and my cousin's. i just googled his name, and it seems that someone with that exact name, and who appears to be my age, is currently working in a government body. that person looks different from how i remember my friend, but i suppose people will be different after 25 years. assuming that it's him, that is.

i just saw that someone shared a facebook post about another NUS student who alleges that he was the victim of sexual grooming by a TA in a class that he took. will it never end!!?? before i go further, the usual disclaimers apply - i don't have any privileged information about the case, everything i know can be found in the public domain, i don't have legal training, and this is all my personal opinion. so, from the get-go, my opinion is that the TA is at fault. because there's a certain standard of behaviour that a person with power over another is expected to uphold in dealings between them. for a TA to send suggestive messages to a student under his/her care is a violation of that standard (a few exceptions apply, but it's still generally not an excuse). not only that, i believe that the victim claimed that the TA marked him unfairly, which would definitely be an abuse of power. furthermore, the victim claims that NUS hasn't been very sympathetic to his plight. might it be because that society in general doesn't view males as being capable of suffering from sexual abuse?

on the other hand, the victim describes himself as a victim of sexual grooming. i find that to be...odd. i guess it's because i'm used to hearing sexual grooming being used in cases between an adult and a child/minor, ie. someone who is deemed not to be able to make sound decisions. in this case, both the accused and the victim are in their twenties, and above the legal age. so i would think that the victim should have the ability to stand up for himself, and therefore the allegation of sexual grooming doesn't feel right to me. i'm not saying that no wrong was done, but i'd have called it something like harassment, abuse of power, or trading grades for sex.

what annoyed me a bit was that because the accused and the victim are both male in this case, there are people online saying that the accused was trying to "turn/convert" the victim gay. for the record, the victim has said that he's straight. when will people learn that a person's sexuality can't be changed!? i suppose it's these people who also think that there's a clear division - you're either straight, or gay. the current thought is that sexuality exists on a spectrum, and that people may express varying degrees of same-sex attraction - from totally unattracted to totally attracted. honestly, it seems to me that people who believe that someone can "turn" gay haven't really thought their stand through. if switching orientations is that easy, why don't they be gay for a day? after all, if one can turn gay, one can turn straight again too, right? and again, i don't think that anyone in their right mind would choose to be gay and be subject to the discrimination, hatred, bullying, prejudice which accompanies that "choice". so far, i haven't found a single convincing argument why someone should be discouraged from embracing their orientation, whatever it may be. in fact, it's more harmful to force someone to be what they're not. i actually have tremendous respect for a friend who told me that he tried being intimate with a guy, just to ascertain that he didn't like it. jedi master has said that the loudest homophobes are usually the biggest closet cases, and they take out their self-hatred on people who they perceive to be weaker than them. perhaps this is a good argument for all LGBT people to take up some form of self-defense training, so as not to appear weak and/or to have the ability to defend themselves if push comes to shove.

going back to the start and to my to-do list for this weekend, i have to cut my hair and collect my second batch of uniqlo stuff today. my guildmate offered to let me stay over because of the early class tomorrow, so i might just take up that offer. there's tuition tomorrow morning, followed by going to ang mo kio to apply for my international driver's permit. then, i'm going to look for scary JC friend at her workplace, because she wants to give me a gift. after that...i think i'm free? should probably stop by the cathay to use up the remaining $20 worth of vouchers, though i don't know what to spend it on yet. shouldn't stay out too late, since i have to throw my work clothes in the wash so that they have sufficient time to dry and be packed. as for the remaining weekdays, i guess it'll be more packing, tidying up, and settling last-minute things.

-random thought of the day: If I forget something, it probably isn't that essential.-

Since the last post, bag 1 has been settled. it weighs about 20.3kg out of the 23kg maximum, so i think we're in a good place. can probably stuff something else in there (my keyboard comes to mind), but we'll see how bag 2 goes. i think coming in at just below the limit would be good, considering that i'll have to move stuff from bag 2 to bag 1 for the domestic leg of the trip. the worst case would be having to overload my carry-on, but i'd like to avoid that if possible. bag 2 also seems like it'll be more difficult to pack, considering that there are more categories of things, and things that i can't pack until the last minute.

also, i've met up with some more friends. had dinner with the usual chemistry guys yesterday, at suntec city's shi jian hotpot. since i was there, i took the opportunity to visit the giant there and buy some local stuff to take to japan (find space in luggage for them). considering that they're all working adults, 2 of them are married, and 1 of them is a father, i'm really grateful that they took time out to catch me before i fly. we're looking to meet up in japan when travel becomes a bit less restricted. as for the hotpot itself, it was typical, i guess. service was below average in my opinion, because it felt like the staff weren't attentive enough. or it might be that haidilao set such a high standard that normal levels of service appear unsatisfactory.

having some minor disagreements with tuition again. long story short, they're asking me to come in after my last day to return my company laptop, and i don't think that it's fair. considering how clearly they've drawn lines in the sand, i don't think i'm being unreasonable by telling them that i'm not obligated to sacrifice my personal time for work matters, especially when i'll no longer be a member of the staff by that time. i get the feeling that the HR officer i spoke to is inexperienced...she didn't seem to be actively listening during our conversation. i'm hoping that a compromise can be reached.

that's just about all for now i think. meeting some of the guildmates later. they'll be having dinner, but i don't think i'll be eating. i've really overindulged these past few days. but hey - it's not every day that i move countries, right?

-random thought of the day: I wonder how the handover will be resolved.-

Making some headway in packing, but i'm probably going to have to rethink what clothes i should be bringing. so far, the packing philosophy has been based on what i think i'll wear when i'm in japan. that's led to me including several t-shirts that haven't seen the light of day for literal years. perhaps i need to modify my filter to exclude things i've never/rarely worn.

just for a clearer picture, here's the current organization of my 4 bags:

suitcase 1 (larger): things that i won't need immediately - clothes, stationery, souvenirs, teaching aids

suitcase 2 (smaller): things that i might need in quarantine - comfortable clothes, chargers, adapters, masks

laptop bag: laptop, tablet, maybe documents

carry-on: warm clothes for layering, water bottle(s), hand sanitizer, moisturizer

it seems so simple, and yet i'm having difficulty. WHY!!?? guess i've never packed on this scale before. what i think will end up happening is that i'll finish packing, then go through 1 or 2 rounds of optimization to redistribute or cut weight and/or space. what sucks a bit more is that i think i might need to get more clothes (hello again, uniqlo), so there's still a bit of uncertainty. i did some comparison of the sizing charts between uniqlo singapore and uniqlo japan, and found that there are some small differences in the measurements for a given size. nothing significant, but i think i should get a bit more stuff in singapore first. the first shipment of clothes came, and i did a fairly good estimation of size. could probably have gone a size smaller, but it's good as it is.

yesterday's tuition class was meh. online classes make it hard to ensure that kids are participating. and even if i call them out, there's nothing i can do if they don't respond. if i had my way, i'd pause the class until the kid i called on answered, but that would be unfair to everyone else. well...it won't be my business soon. after tuition, i met my JC classmates (N and E) for dinner at waterway point, where we ate at gyu-kaku. the literal translation of that is "cow horn", so you might not be surprised to learn that it was a beef-centric restaurant, where you had to grill the meat yourself. we opted for the japanese wagyu buffet, which, while expensive, meant that we got more atas meat. i hesitate to say that it was value-for-money, because the price was quite steep, and we had to eat on a 90-minute timer. although i will say that i enjoyed myself, ate a ton, and that i can't eat like that too frequently. guess i made up for it somewhat today, since my first and only meal was at night.

over dinner and a subsequent drink at the koufu, N and E caught me up on recent developments in their lives. gosh, when was the last time we met? might be that time at novena square, early this year. N has bought a place with his girlfriend, and is planning to propose soon, while E has moved out into a place of his own. don't think i'm spoiling anything, since i'm fairly certain N's girlfriend doesn't know of this blog's existence. i was just telling N that i feel so behind compared to them. while there's no good way to measure overall achievement in life, there are tangible indicators, like the amount of money in one's bank account, or the monthly salary that one is being paid. having said that, i still don't regret applying for and accepting JET. grad studies, on the other hand...my feelings towards it fluctuate, so i don't know. N was saying that he was envious of me being able to just up and leave like that. grass is always greener, maybe. but would i trade places with him? it's a tough question, but my answer is no for now. maybe it would be different a few years earlier or later.

perhaps it's better if i do a round of optimization now. after all, it's getting late, and i probably won't have the mental capacity for things more complex than simple decision-making. as a reminder, here are my engagements for the next few days:

tomorrow - nothing, so get most of the packing done

wednesday - dinner with chemistry guys

thursday - lunch with colleague, exit interview for tuition

friday - time with cousin and family

saturday - dinner with guild people

sunday - tuition, international driving permit, maybe scary JC friend

that's probably all that i can forecast at this point in time. by next sunday, i'll have 3 days left to get things done (because morning flight on thursday). have to fit in a haircut sometime this week too, probably on saturday. got to look good for my international driving permit application, after all. of course, there's the not-so little issue of handing the car over. coordinating the logistics aside, there's the emotional hurdle which i must cross as well. but that's still a week away.

-random thought of the day: Still have to tidy and clean up.-

Have about 2 hours of free time before i have to get ready for tuition (thank goodness it's a late class today), so i thought i'd do a quick post about the goings-on over the past few days.

friday was pretty productive; i got most of my shopping done. went to this old-school toy shop to pick up some props for teaching in japan, and got an educational puzzle thing for my niece at the same time. it was really a blast from the past. there were toys there that i don't think i've seen in years, maybe decades! i got some stickers, stamps, and country erasers to bring over. was contemplating getting those liquid balloons too, but decided against it because organic solvents. in case you don't know what i'm referring to, the liquid balloon comes in a small tube of viscous liquid (probably some sort of polymer in a solvent), along with a short straw. you put some liquid on one end of the straw, and blow through the other end to make a balloon. no, i'm not talking about blowing soap bubbles. the balloons are actually pretty hardy. i don't remember how exactly we played with them, or decided who "won"...maybe size of balloon? shape? well...as with most kids' games, the rules are kind of arbitrary anyway, so i'm sure new rules can be thought up.

some of the other JETs are bringing old-school toys/games along. and i'm talking like "before my time" levels of old-school. things like five stones, chapteh, pick-up sticks, which i'm sure even the previous generation can identify with. i'm not sure how relevant it is to introduce those things to the kids in japan. with the internet and advanced technology today, do present-day kids even know of those games any more? well, in fairness, country erasers may be a thing of the past as well, but somehow i feel it's closer to the present than the other games mentioned above.

next, i went to the stationery shop. for a shop named "overjoyed", the shopping experience certainly doesn't live up to its name. if they're going for accuracy, i'd recommend that they rename to "sorely disappointed". some shelves were literally empty, and multiple products advertised as being in stock on their website were actually sold out. so far, i've shopped there thrice, and the experience has been negative 2 out of 3 times. it's not like it's a one-off thing, either. i've provided feedback on this issue at least a year ago, and nothing's improved. the only reason i went there this time was because the mall that they're housed in (the cathay) has a 40% off promotion on vouchers, so things there are going for almost half-price. i regret buying so many vouchers. still got $20 worth of vouchers left to use, so i may go down to the mall again, but will probably spend the vouchers somewhere else.

last shopping stop of the day was at plaza singapura, where i got foam tips for the wireless earphones. they're supposed to fit better than the default silicone ones, but apparently they don't last as long? well, i've never used foam tips before, so i'm hoping the quality of life increase is worth the extra money spent. the earphones themselves work great; i took public transport that day and brought them along to test them out. i'm impressed by the transparent hearing function, as well as by both the active and passive noise cancelling. as i was in the train, i could hear the announcements through the earphones, but i couldn't clearly hear which station's name was being announced. when i turned on active noise cancelling, it was total silence. and conversely, transparent hearing let me hear not only the announcements, but the conversations of some people near me.

there was also dinner with some guildmates, probably the first of several. we had thai kway chap, which is basically the regular kway chap that we're used to, but in a different broth. they also had deep frying as an alternative cooking method to the more traditional braising. i was impressed that their fried stuff wasn't overly oily, but i also know that it's still not healthy. my favourites were the fish sausage and the large intestines, although i wish the braised version of the latter dish was available. we then had gelato for dessert at a nearby cafe. apparently it's pretty popular, but i'm not much of a cafe person if i'm eating solo, so i didn't know about it. the gelato was good though, i liked the belgian chocolate and the coconut.

moving on to future events, there's tuition later, as you know. the forecast says i've got a morning class next week. how sad, that i should have a morning class on my last day of work! well, it gives me more time to settle the handover procedures, and frees up the second half of my day so i can apply for my international driver's permit. so far, i'm scheduled to meet with friends tonight, wednesday night, and thursday night. might want to drop in on my cousin on tuesday or friday. other than that, most of the time should be occupied by packing and tidying up. yes, the 10 november deadline was far too optimistic. i'll be happy as long as i can get it done before the departure date.

-random thought of the day: Need to get ziplock bags!-

Additional details came through in yesterday's travel briefing. it's confirmed - we have a morning flight over to japan, and we'll be quarantined in a hotel for 2 weeks before moving on to our actual placement destinations. true enough, the domestic flights have a lower baggage allowance, so i'll definitely have to shuffle things between suitcases in the hotel. just as a reminder to myself, i have 2 X 23kg allowance from singapore to tokyo, but only 1 X 20kg from tokyo to kochi. that also means that i'll have to send a bag off in advance.

somehow, the impression i got from attending the briefing was that there is very poor coordination between the travel company, the embassy, and the JET people. a lot of the questions that the other participants asked, regarding excess baggage, quarantine food, accommodations, all received the same response of "we'll check and get back to you". i'd have expected them to have the answers before this briefing! not to mention the quarantine plan appears not all that thought through. we're under quarantine, but have to go down to the service desk to have our temperature taken daily, and are allowed access to the convenience store within the hotel...but we can't visit each others' rooms. if the point of quarantine is to minimize contact, then everything should be done room service style! what's worse, the hosts did something which i thought was pretty unprofessional, and booted all of us out of the chat due to "time being up", despite people being in the midst of asking questions. well...at least we have enough information to move forward for now. and reacting to new/different information in japan will just be a test of adaptability.

my energy levels have been kind of low recently. not sure if it's because i'm tired out after all the previous stuff, or if my body's trying to conserve energy for the move. if it's the second thing, it's too early! and i still have packing to do. sent my pants and jeans through the wash yesterday, so those should be ready by tonight. so, while that's the clothes basically settled, i still have to think about all the other categories (tech, essentials, teaching aids, stationery). not forgetting the most annoying task of all - making sure nothing is left exposed on my desk or on any other surfaces in the room.

had a couple of weird dreams last night. i fell asleep while watching a video on someone reviewing the capless LS, and as most pen review videos do, they include a writing sample. as i was asleep, my brain interpreted the scratching sound of the pen on paper as something terrifying scratching against my door, and i woke up in a panic. even after realizing what the sound actually was, it took a while for my heart rate to return to normal. after falling asleep again, i dreamt that i was late for class in JC, and had to SMS my home tutor to inform him about it. there was some factual basis to this dream, in that my home tutor did tell us to message him if we were running late. he'd mark our attendance as present, because it would be less hassle as opposed to changing it later or something. if you know the location of CJC, you'll know how bad the traffic situation there can be in the mornings, so i think a few of my classmates did that before.

right, i think that's it for now. my nose is feeling a little stuffy, which makes me think that a flu shot might be a good idea. although it might just be allergies. the schedule today suddenly filled up, with some shopping and dinner with some guildmates. still deciding if i should drive or take public transport for the shopping part. maybe i'll split my shopping trips into 2, for today and tomorrow. still taking it kind of easy for now, because there appears to be sufficient time. i just hope that i'm right.

-random thought of the day: Maybe I should walk in to the clinic instead...-

Fourteen days to go! the timer was started with close to forty days, so it's evidence that a significant amount of time has passed. i'll just talk about some updates on things mentioned in the last post, and probably give a more certain forecast of future events.

the credit card issue has been resolved. i reported it on monday, my card details were automatically updated on samsung pay yesterday (how did they do that!?), and a new physical card came in the mail this afternoon. the old card has been cut up and disposed of, so i think we're all good. i'm slightly happier with the new card, because the first and last 4 digits of the card number are less similar. i've been unnecessarily delayed at the checkout pages of several websites on several occasions because i got the order of the numbers wrong.

porting my number was relatively painless. it's not the first time i've done it; that was in 2017 when i jumped from starhub to m1. i was surprised that i didn't blog about it in detail at that time; my archived post just had the briefest mention of it. i suppose m1 took care of everything for me back then, because i went down to their shop to sign for a new line and submit the porting request. also, there might be less need to document the process, now that number porting has become so common. it's easy to do and errors happen less frequently. but for the sake of people who do run into issues, especially with the newer telcos, i think i'll just share what to expect. this is based on my experience with transferring from m1 to circles.life, so your experience will likely differ if you're using different telcos.

so it started with me signing up for circles.life. their application page gives you two options: to get a new number, or transfer your existing number over. the second option gave me an error message despite me having fulfilled all the requirements of (1) not being under contract with my existing telco, (2) having the phone number registered in my name, and (3) the number being a postpaid number. so, i opted to sign up for a new number first, and perform the number transfer later. although the plan is advertised as being $5 per month, there are some hidden costs like a registration/activation fee ($38), and a delivery fee (from $2 to $6) for your new SIM card. the $38 is kind of standard in singapore, by the way. just in case anyone is doing research for an impending move here. for new subscribers to circles.life specifically, you have to upload soft copies of your identification document for verification. in my case, it was my IC, both front and back, but many other forms of identification are accepted.

after getting the SIM card (delivery was pretty punctual, have your original identification document ready for the delivery person to verify again), you have to insert it into your phone. i quite like that SIM cards in singapore are cut in a way that allows you to pop out the size of SIM card that you need (regular, micro, or nano). for my phone, i needed the nano SIM, which is basically just the chip itself. at this point, i was not able to make calls or receive SMSes yet, because the SIM card had not been activated. that took about 20 minutes after it was inserted into my phone, and i was informed of the activation by SMS. then, you have to log in to the circles.life app and request for a number transfer. they'll ask you for a few details, like phone number to be transferred, the originating (donor) telco, and when you'd like the transfer to be done. the earliest you can schedule it for is the next day. the transfer happens at night (around midnight), and you'll be informed to expect some minor service disruption. because my phone is dual-SIM, i had both SIM cards inserted and didn't experience any service disruption at all. i was getting messages consistently on whatsapp web even during the supposed transfer window. you'll get an SMS after it's complete, at which point you can remove your old SIM card and use your new one. if your phone is single-SIM, you'll probably notice that you don't have reception any more, and/or your phone may say that the SIM card is invalid. those are other indicators that the transfer has taken place.

some more JET updates came, and i have some pictures of my new house! it's quite charming, in a rustic sort of way. there's a wooden floor living room, tatami mat rooms, and a modern-ish kitchen. well, i say "modern", but that's relative - more like 1980s design. but i'm not complaining! my supervisor also said that there's a fibre connection, which means fast internet speed! have to figure out which ISP to use though. i was also informed that the weather would be cold, like below 10 degrees. have i actually ever experienced that? i think the closest i've come to that was in new zealand. but that was only for a few weeks, and not long-term. which reminds me! i need to make my preliminary uniqlo purchase. the irony is that i ended up getting mostly regular clothes, because the thermal wear stuff is cheaper in japan!

washed a lot of shirts yesterday, and they've dried by now. my first thought when taking them off the laundry rack was that they're disproportionately heavy. looks like i'll have to be a bit more judicious with my packing. the best strategy might be to pack for this and next seasons, ie. winter and spring. pity that typical clothes worn in singapore are better suited for summer. today's mission is to get the shirts packed, and maybe give the pants a run through the washing machine, considering how long some of them have been in storage. should probably update my to-do list again, although at this point, everything new will be in the "needs immediate attention/next 2 weeks" category. all that aside, there are some dinners scheduled with the JC friends, the chemistry guys, my cousin, and my colleague who was previously on the program. looks like it's going to be a busy 2 weeks until departure.

-random thought of the day: My professor replied positively!-

Lack of motivation is real! i'd thought that i'd be able to get a load of clothes washed and hung up today, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. on the bright side, i did manage to get my circles.life SIM card, and request for number porting over the app. if all goes well, the number should be transferred by wednesday morning. just hoping that i won't face any issues, like whatsapp not working or anything like that. there's already been a worrying sign, in that SMSes take quite long to be delivered. so, that might affect OTPs or other things that i may still be using before flying to japan.

i somehow got an unauthorized transaction on my credit card. it's the card that i use the most often, so the possibilities of how my details got leaked are correspondingly larger in number. still, i played it safe and called the bank to get a replacement. i think i've been watching too many scambaiting videos, because i was suspicious of the person who answered my call. but she was able to tell me some of my transaction history, so i think it's genuine. either that, or scammers' methods have really got advanced. the interesting thing was that the transaction was for USD 0.72, or SGD 1, and it was from a company called TOY SHOP. how's that for a generic name? i think most people would weigh the pros and cons of losing such a small amount of money vs having to call the bank, cancel their card, wait for a new card...and just choose to let it go. unfortunately for the people behind this operation, i'm not like that. sure, i'm easygoing with people i care about, but i'm extremely calculative otherwise. i think they were counting on it being such a small transaction that most victims wouldn't care. but then, $1 from a thousand people becomes $1000. not to mention they may feel emboldened to take larger sums of money if this small amount goes through. well, at least they won't be earning money from me.

all that aside, i really REALLY have to get started on packing. i think let's try to do something small by tonight, like throwing some stuff into my carry-on. there are things that i can't pack in advance, since i'll be using them right up till the last moment. chargers, for example, or my keyboard. i can probably do casual clothes, books, maybe socks and other assorted stuff. we'll see.

-random thought of the day: Uniqlo will have to wait until my new card gets here.-

Outstanding items on my to-do list are now in the minority, so that's a load off my mind. got a lot of stuff done over the past week, but i don't feel inclined to write about them in too much detail. instead, i'll do like key points for each thing.

sublingual immunotherapy: walked in, they were full. made an appointment for the subsequent day. medicine cost $1800 a year, not $900, and must be kept cold. too expensive and troublesome for me. doctor advised to practise prevention strategies instead. doctor also said temperate climates don't have dust mite issues, so here's hoping it gets better in japan.

selling my laptop: removed the HDD due to sensitive information (lab data) present within. got quoted $30 based on my description. i truthfully declared a screen issue, but it didn't show up when they tested the system. makes me think that i should have kept my big mouth shut, but honesty is the best policy...right? well, $30 is on the low end (the laptop was bought for $1495 or so, 8 years ago), but it's still better than $0, so i got that going for me.

wireless earphones: met a super nice carousell seller who was open to negotiation, and even gave me a further $5 discount because he was late. he was selling the limited edition ones too, so i got a steal. considering reselling it for a profit, but it's not nice because the receipt (that i have to pass on for warranty purposes) has his address on it. oh well. and just when i bought it, people are selling the regular ones for even cheaper. mildly annoying, but i'm not too upset, all things considered.

import of medicine certificate: turns out it's not required, because the supplements that i wanted to bring along don't have a pharmacological effect. the japanese bureau responsible were quite efficient; they replied my email enquiry within a few hours.

road tax: finally got it renewed after much pushing and reminding. i'll acknowledge that the good thing about governmental boards in singapore is that they're usually reasonable, provided you can prove that you've done your part as well. like, i remember there was once i got a summons for parking in a season parking lot without season parking. i actually did have season parking, but the car that i borrowed from my mechanic at that time (due to the accident) had had its number plate changed. i showed them that there was no way for me to update the new license plate number, and they waived the summons. so now, i'm covered until december, which is way more time than i'll need.

switching telcos: the circles life $5 plan appears to be the cheapest way to maintain my phone number as active. line suspension also costs about that amount, with an additional $10 activation fee and a maximum period of 6 months. i ended up signing up for the plan earlier than intended due to a mild kiasu attack when i couldn't locate the sign up link on the website. i was afraid that they'd pulled it, but it's still there. well...in the grand scheme of things, the difference of a week or so doesn't really matter. the automated system couldn't handle my request to port my number over, so that's something i'll have to do separately when i get my SIM card.

today: went to my aunt's house to pick up a suitcase and some yen that she changed, and played with my eldest niece (who was visiting as well) for a few hours. she's getting more articulate, and can extrapolate ideas. i'm impressed! but taking care of a child is truly tiring. i feel wiped out after those 3-4 hours; i have no idea how parents do it on a full-time basis, especially during the times when domestic helpers weren't that common. also, now that i have 2 suitcases, there's no excuse for me to procrastinate on packing.

upcoming week: must really get a start on packing, and visit the stationery shop. i don't have a detailed shopping list, but i do know that i at least want to get inks, a few small writing pads, and a notebook. those vouchers should serve me well. and if i have enough left over, i MAY consider a pen. unlikely, but you never know. it's tempting to get a nice pen for cheap just to resell it, but i'm not too inclined to do that due to the time constraint. well...we'll see. also, i have to consider getting foam tips for the earphones (the current silicone ones don't fit all that well), some preliminary winter wear from uniqlo, and maybe a flu shot. more spending!

further future: have to meet up with a few groups of friends, as well as my cousin and his family, but those are all flexible. was thinking of emailing my professor to just update him, but i'm a little reluctant because this is really super far removed from science. based on what i know about him, he should be supportive, so i'm probably overthinking here. at any rate, it would be nice to hear about how the lab is doing too. i think we had another 2 students graduate this year? although i think 4 of them came in at the same time. another sign of time passing by is that i don't know successive generations of my juniors any more. but that's to be expected.

so...yes. we're now less than 20 days away from flying, and i don't have a good game plan yet. the general idea is simple - pack and tidy up. it's the specifics that get me. like, should i pack souvenirs for people i'll be working with? how about prizes/rewards for the students? maybe there's not point in thinking too much. knowing myself and my working style, i'll find something that makes sense. the key is just to get started first. things will fall into place.

-random thought of the day: Remember to place Uniqlo order!-

Big update came through last night, and i finally have a confirmed flight time and number. it's a morning flight (8:00am or so), which means that (1) i have to get to the airport super early, and (2) i can't sleep on the plane. the second thing i can deal with, because it's a full-service flight, meaning that there will be in-flight entertainment. the flight timing though...i have to get to the airport at 6:00am-ish, which means waking up an hour before that at the minimum, which then means sleeping super early the night before. not even sure if i'll be able to fall asleep, with all the excitement. but i'll worry about that on the day itself.

although i made some progress and threw out 3 bags' worth of junk, my room is more cluttered than before because i cleared out the car (save for some essentials) and brought everything up. there was really A LOT of junk in there. what's more, some things in the boot seem to have suffered from water damage. i don't know how or when either. so, the objective for the next 2 days is to throw out even more stuff, and hopefully have an empty desk except for my computer. that will be taken care of closer to departure.

it's weird...i feel energetic, yet tired. probably because there's so much to do and i don't know where to get started. i was going to say that i didn't want to do a packing list because i'm not much of a list person, but the to-do list in the sidebar kind of disproves that. perhaps it would be more accurate to say that i don't like relying excessively on lists, or having lists that are too long (as i'm sure the packing list is bound to be). good thing that JAL gives us a total of 46kg worth of checked baggage, though i also have to remember that the allowance will be less for domestic flights. i think what will end up happening is that i'll repack in the hotel and send a bag off in advance, while the other bag and carry-on goes on the plane with me for the domestic flight.

in official business to settle, the LTA hasn't responded to my application to renew my road tax for a month. so i called in to their hotline, and had a pretty frustrating conversation with their customer service people. maybe it was the choice of words or something, but i had the feeling that the guy i spoke to didn't understand my problem. i said my issue was that "i wrote in to request for short-term renewal of road tax, but didn't receive any confirmation on whether my road tax had been renewed". his follow up question to that was "so when did you receive confirmation?" i could have screamed! only after some back and forth did we establish that he was asking for acknowledgement that my request had been submitted, instead of confirmation that my road tax had been renewed. you'd think that it would be common sense to use a different word to refer to something other than the subject matter at hand, right? anyway, i think i've gone above and beyond to make sure that my road tax can be renewed on time. i just hope they resolve this before the due date, which is saturday.

checking my to-do list, it seems that the biggest arrow right now is getting packed. facing a couple of difficulties in that regard, not the least of which being inertia. think i need to increase productivity by doing a couple of small things, which will hopefully snowball and lead to more motivation to tackle bigger things. seems like the deadlines that i'd previously set for myself can still be met, so that's good. at the same time, i can't shake the feeling that i've forgotten something crucial. but then, me having that feeling isn't anything new. from past experience, i've managed well enough despite having this feeling in the past, so i'm hoping this time won't be the exception.

-random thought of the day: Am I worrying too much?-

While today didn't start off super well, it wasn't a bad day overall. for i think only the second time in 2 years, i woke up late for tuition. what's more annoying is that i actually woke up at 5:30am, went back to sleep, woke up in time for my 7:00am alarm, dozed off again, and finally woke up for real at 7:50am for a 9:00am class.  left the house at about 8:10am, and by some miracle, the road was clear-ish, which allowed me to reach the classroom at 8:45am. in my rush, i had to park at united square itself (slightly more expensive parking fees), and i forgot to bring my shred pile along for shredding. well...no biggie. the shred pile will now become the burn pile. the last time i burned papers was after O-levels, where i burned my history (and A maths too, i think) notes and worksheets. it was cathartic, to see materials for the 2 subjects that i had the biggest issues with just go up in smoke. i should have burned everything from the first IP firm, come to think of it. that might have helped my healing process.

another thing to be thankful for is that i only had one class today, so that mitigated my parking fee somewhat. i was in and out of united square in just over 2 hours. that cost me $3.20, compared to $1.60 per entry if i parked at my usual spot. well, it's a small price to pay for being punctual even after 50 minutes' more sleep. incidentally, i realize that i only have 2 more weekends at tuition. i had the presence of mind to use up my remaining annual leave, so i don't have class next week. deepavali is on the weekend of the 14th/15th, so i might not have class then as well if i'm lucky. that leaves the 22nd, which is my official last day and therefore can't be skipped due to handing stuff over and paperwork. all in all, it should be quite a relaxed month as far as work is concerned.

did some cleaning and packing yesterday, which triggered my dust allergy. sublingual immunotherapy is becoming a more serious consideration. problem is, it's more expensive than i'd thought - about $900 per year for the "medicine" alone. "medicine" is in quotes because it's not really a drug, just a preparation of the allergen that the patient has to deliberately expose him/herself to in order to get the immune system used to it. if you look at it on a per-day basis, though, it's less than $2.50 a dose. that's a thought that i've had for a while, but never really found the opportunity to write about. maybe we can look at how much things cost over the time for which we use them. say, a phone. i got my phone for $1000 or so in 2018. it's been almost 3 years now, which means that my average cost is about a dollar a day. or my computer,  which cost about $1800 all in, and which i've been using for 5 years now. for me at least, looking at things from this kind of perspective makes it easier to dissuade myself from "upgrading" as and when i feel like it (aka. spending unnecessarily).

guess that's it for now. need to do some clothes washing and packing next week, as well as maybe going down to the stationery store. will find time to start moving stuff out of the car, and maybe meet people as and when. still feeling a little bummed out about the whole lawyer guy situation, but i've done all i possibly can without appearing creepy/desperate. so...nothing more i can or should do there.

-random thought of the day: Sleepy.-