Found something out today - items shipped to singapore are liable for GST, even if they're a gift! so scary JC friend's facial machine got held up at customs for GST to be processed. i don't see the purpose of taxing personal shipments, but from what i gathered, it's to prevent people from asking their friends and relatives to ship stuff in from overseas and thus bypass the GST that they would have to pay if they bought the item locally. i don't think that should be the practice, though. i mean, how many people have such contacts overseas? the reason for charging GST on all overseas imports is for local stores to remain competitive...or so the government says. wouldn't lowering GST achieve the same thing? there's a whole argument about how GST actually hurts the lower income group, but being the hard-headed people that they are, the government still pushed forward with it. makes me wonder if we're really that short of money, and by extension, the state of our reserves. but that's a topic for another time and for people more qualified than me to discuss.

as a result, i came to the realization that if i were to ship my clothes etc back in advance, GST might be levied on them too! i'll pay GST (albeit unwillingly) if the goods are taxable, but i will absolutely not pay GST on my own used belongings! after some reading, i saw that i can submit a declaration for a GST waiver. will look into that. the other alternative is paying extra for additional checked baggage. the fees probably work out to be the same, but shipping means i have to wrangle fewer bags at the airport, not to mention less possibility of a bag getting lost in transit. well, that's something i'll have to think about soon.

plan UK isn't going as well as i'd hoped. 2 other IP firms have sent me kindly-phrased rejections, so that's a grand total of 3 rejected applications, 1 pending application, and 1 application not sent out because the firm hasn't put the job ad up yet. i'm somewhat hopeful still, because the people that sent those 2 most recent emails took the initiative to say that they'd keep my application on file in case their plans changed in the future. while they could be saying that just to be nice, i will take it as face value. never hurt to think better of people. nothing heard from the singapore side either, where i've made contact with 3 firms so far. hoping the australian firm will go through. i have to send them a copy of my paper anyway, so i have an excuse to contact them next week.

taking all this into consideration, i can conclude that it's not going to be as seamless as i'd imagined. in my head, the timeline would have gone something like: leave japan in end-november, spend about a month in singapore to meet friends and settle admin stuff, leave for the UK in late december or early january, spend about a week getting set up there, start work around early february at the latest. realistically, i'm looking at entering the UK earliest in march, maybe even june or july next year. while i admit to having a stab of panic and being tempted to apply to more UK firms to widen my proverbial net, i think that it's just a knee-jerk reaction from the rejections. more vacancies will come up in the next few months; applying when they appear would be better, in a way.

quick hypothetical: let's say i were hired by a firm in singapore, and i started work in december or january. if a UK firm were to make me an offer after i'd started work, and if my UK visa application were to go through, would i quit the job in singapore to move overseas? it's hard to say anything for certain without actually being in the situation, but my current thought is 60% yes, 40% no. of course, this is assuming everything else remaining constant, like equivalent pay, working hours, workload, etc. or i might hate the environment in singapore and choose to go regardless of the difficulty and risk. to look at it from the other viewpoint, maybe i'm diving in headfirst with no safety net. and while it wouldn't be impossible to recover, it would waste a whole lot of time and money. well, that's something else i can think about in the meantime.

-random thought of the day: Getting a lot of blackouts recently.-

Pie thoughts:

- should roll the crust out thinner. the pastry is stronger than i thought!

- the filling is good enough to eat on its own. think i hit the jackpot here, the addition of wagyu trimmings is a genius move.

- need to do a better job crimping and sealing.

- can probably reduce the bake time by 5 to 10 minutes. related to the previous point, a lot of juice leaked out and burned.

- consider adding the peas, carrots, corn frozen vegetable combo for a more balanced meal.

- stock/gravy injection is unnecessary, but would be a nice bonus, i think.

going to try a different filling with the remaining crust that i have! i was just reminded of this creamy chicken filling that came in the mini pies from some food business in singapore. i'm tempted to say polar puffs and cakes, but i could be wrong. the thing that stands out in my memory is how short/crumbly the crust was. one more thing to add to my list of "things to eat in singapore"!

Made a meat pie today. it's chilling in the fridge now, and i'm quite excited to get a taste of it later! figured that i should record the recipe down, just in case it ends up tasting good and i want to recreate it.

crust

100g fat (butter would work, but i used beef fat)

200g water

400g bread flour

add water and fat to a pan, bring to boil

add flour to a bowl

pour boiling mixture into flour, stir with a spatula until it cools enough to handle

knead with hands for 3 to 5 minutes, until surface is smooth-ish

wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge until ready to use

filling

one large onion, diced fine-ish

~95g (1 pack) enoki mushrooms, cut into short sections

~350g beef chunks (i used beef for curry, aka. stew beef. nothing too expensive)

sweat the onions in a little oil until they become light brown and let them cool

cut beef into small cubes (i left some in larger pieces for texture)

mix onions, mushrooms and beef, season with salt and pepper (add other seasonings if you want)

leave in the fridge for about 4 hours to overnight

to assemble, use a third of the dough for the base and a sixth for the top

roll the base out and line a suitably-sized ovenproof dish with it

spoon in about half the filling and level it off

roll out the top, cover, and crimp together with the base

cut a small hole for ventilation

bake at 200 °C for 10 minutes, then 190 °C for 40 minutes

allow to cool, then put in the fridge

recommended to eat cold

disclaimer: the baking temperature and duration need some fine-tuning. it wasn't as difficult as i thought it'd be. the filling tastes great on its own; i think the cooked onion gives the meat a flavour boost. you can substitute with other fillings, of course. this is, as one of the cooking channels i watch on youtube often says, more of a technique than a recipe. my secret move here is that i used some wagyu trimmings to increase the fat percentage. that makes it more juicy overall. of course, this isn't the traditional english pie with the jellified stock inside...maybe i'll make that if i end up in the UK!

pretty sure that i've checked most items off my to-make/cook list, the last one i can think of being cream puffs. i've already successfully made pastry cream, so it's just the choux pastry that i want to try. doesn't look too difficult...the plan is to make a batch for the office before i leave. looking at my fridge reminded me that i want to do shio koji-marinated oven-baked ribs. should work on that too.

just had an odd thought. in singapore, i often felt reflective only towards the end of the year. that happens in japan as well, but there's an additional reflective/melancholy period towards the end of summer, so like september-ish. i don't know why that might be, honestly. if i had to guess, i'd say it's because for most people, summer = fun due to the long school holiday, and summer being over means that it's back to school/the fun times are ending...things that singaporean kids feel at the end of december! or it could be that the weather is becoming colder, and cold = miserable? one or the other...maybe both. personally, i'm happy that summer's ending, since i hate the heat and humidity. but the fact that it's my last summer in japan does make me a tiny bit sad. well...we all have to move forward, right? and it's not like it's goodbye forever...japan will still be available as a tourist destination, and the people i know will be around. whether they choose to keep in touch or not is a separate issue, but let's be positive about it.

speaking about people being around, i read that a couple of WWE wrestlers passed away recently. one of them was 79, and if i'm not mistaken, his last match was in 2017, when he was 73! i'd be happy to be able to cycle at the age of 73, let alone wrestle or do sports. still, his passing wasn't much of a shock, considering his age. the other guy, however, was born in 1987. that makes him just about 18 months older than me (counting by birthdays), and only 36 when he passed. how do you even wrap your head around that? i guess that because we don't hear many instances of people passing away in their teens or twenties, and those that we hear of are usually because of freak accidents or terminal illness, ie. things that are unlikely to happen to us. so, we tend to feel immortal/invincible at that age. but as we get into the 30s, causes of death become more probable to us, like heart disease, infections, whatever else have you. not to mention not being able to recover as quickly as before and generally feeling more fragile than 10 years ago. it also made me think that it would be a lot more convenient if i were to simply kick the bucket right now due to circumstances beyond my control. again, i'm not suicidal, nor would i think of taking my own life, but yes. way more convenient. it would also eliminate any stress i have about what to do in the future!

took quite a diversion there, considering this post started off as sharing a recipe. nothing much to update on the timeline, except that i'll send in an application to another UK firm. they said that their position has a flexible start date from spring to autumn 2024, so i'm hoping for the best there. reminder to self, tomorrow is a public holiday in the UK, so i shouldn't hold my breath for any replies.

-random thought of the day: School starts in 2 days!-

Banking in japan is highly frustrating, especially if you're singaporean and used to almost everything being instant and doable online. transferring money between accounts, for instance. even if the sending and receiving banks are different, it takes literally not even 3 seconds from the sender getting the confirmation screen to the money showing up in the receiver's account. compare that to japan, where i tried transferring money to my other account, and got told that it would only go through on monday. my initial plan was to transfer about 2 million yen, but then i chickened out in case any complications came up. so i ended up transferring a small amount first, just to see if it would go through ok. good thing that the bank reduced transfer fees from 330 yen per transaction to 110 yen! assuming that goes well, i'll do a bigger transfer next week.

and here comes problem 2. the bank required me to get a security token to register payees for overseas remittance. so i did. when i tried to register my singapore bank account as a payee earlier today, they then gave me a notice that i needed to register my "my number" (a form of identification, kind of like IC number) with them first. and as usual, they don't accept online registrations. so i have to mail the relevant form to them. good thing i'm looking into all these processes early! i'd hate to be caught off guard by all these surprise stumbling blocks while on a tight schedule.

the UK visa application is kind of stalled, because they need to verify my degree. again, i'm so thankful i thought ahead and had soft copies handy! it seems that the earliest they'll be able to get back to me is in october (30 working days later), so again, can't do much during the wait. as mentioned before, the UK firms typically have start dates in september, and offers go out at the end of the year. so, if i am offered a position, there is a chance that i'll only be able to start in september next year...which means about 9 months of limbo in singapore. this affects my visa application because there's an "expected date of entry" field i have to fill in.

in retrospect, i should have applied at this time last year. had i gotten an offer, i would have applied for the UK visa earlier this year, and be on my way to the UK now. at the same time, last year's me didn't consider the UK a viable destination, and was more focused on australia. not forgetting that my thinking at that time was that i wanted to stay in japan longer for the kids. so, while i am the very tiniest bit regretful, i don't think it's my fault, due to circumstances and thoughts changing. nothing wrong with that, just that a part of me can't help but feel worried about "wasting" more time doing nothing.

ideally, i'd ask the UK firms for an earlier start date, and they would agree. but in the event that the UK offers stated that i could only start next september, would i accept? i reckon yes, if nothing comes from any singapore firm. but if a singapore firm allows me to start in december or january, i would probably take it up, because what am i going to do for 9 months!? i've had enough of tuition, honestly. unless i can find contract work that lasts 6-8 months? the best-case scenario is getting an early start in the UK...let's hope for that outcome. i suppose i could do some other work in the UK while waiting for the start date, maybe something simple to help with rent and whatever, though that'd eat into my visa duration. or in the case where no offers come through, i will still apply for the visa anyway, because of the cut-off according to my degree obtained date. then, i'll make decisions based on the circumstances at that time. i mean, it might end up being a waste of time, effort, and money, but getting the visa doesn't mean that i have to use it.

updated timeline/action plan, in order from closest to furthest:

by 5 sep - hear back from local IP firm, send reminder if necessary

6 oct - get results of degree assessment, continue with visa application

meantime - get in touch with other singapore firms

late november or mid-december (depending on local IP firm's response) - departure from japan

*this affects visa application because contact address and number

around nov/dec(?) - hear from UK IP firms

by 31 dec (sooner is better) send in UK visa application

i guess that's the best i can do? will probably poke around the singapore firms again in september-ish, that way we have all of october and a bit of november as buffer. the annoying thing is that the firm who told me that they're not hiring at the moment had job ads up within like a week of telling me that. maybe they're just looking for candidates on a rolling basis? here's hoping the vacancy won't be filled yet, so that i have a shot at it.

something annoying happened yesterday. after transferring the money and sending off my vote for the presidential election (the politics of which i don't want to discuss now), i decided to take a bike ride around town. somehow, i ended up at a short but steep slope - think 50 to 60 degree incline, and maybe a metre long at most. i stupidly decided to climb it. made it up maybe a third of the way or so, and felt the bicycle tipping backwards. planted my feet on the ground to prevent toppling over, and got dragged down to the bottom of the slope. in the process, the piece that goes between the toes on my left slipper ripped free from the sole. no injuries, thankfully, just that i have to replace my slippers. guess it's time, since it's been more than 2 years. the damage can be fixed, but it's not worth the trouble to me. a chunk of the sole came out too, meaning that the hole is now too big for the piece, and i'd need to fiddle around with glue and other things to fix it. the replacement should get here on wednesday, so guess it's going to be shoes if i need to go out this weekend.

update: one of the UK firms i applied to emailed me back with a rejection. it's a little disheartening, but not the end of the world yet. at least they were polite enough to let me know the outcome! still have 3-4 other UK firms i've applied to, so hoping for a hit somewhere there. 

-random thought of the day: Feeling worried.-

On my one thousandth day in japan, google gave to me - one locked account and a detected hacking attempt...

don't really have much to say, but wanted to have something on record for the occasion. my account is currently locked, and they'll send me a login link in 2 days. that's hell of a long, but there's nothing else i can do. just when i was about to proceed with my visa application after scanning my passport, too!

-random thought of the day: 130 days to go.-

Upon a scale of 1 to 10, i'd say today's talk placed about a 5. it went decently, but i think i could have spoken better. the good news is that they seemed interested in me and my work, and were nice throughout. have to say though, it felt a little interview-y. less good news, they were very non-committal about taking me on. but i suppose that's to be expected at this early stage. they did mention wanting a psychometric (IQ) test, which makes me think it's something about the australian IP firms' hiring practices. on a side note, i wonder if they will get in touch with the accursed IP firm to ask about me? one of the people i spoke to today has connections there. as you might guess from my choice of codename, we didn't exactly part on the best of terms. but well...whether they get in touch, and whatever people say about me are out of my control. preemptive reminder, a rejection here would be a slight inconvenience, but it definitely isn't the end of the world. might work out for the better, for all i know.

nothing heard yet from the UK side. then again, it's only been a day. the talk earlier made me want to work harder at finding a position in the UK...but that's because of my own perception of how it went. regardless, i will continue the visa application and job hunt there. oh, i should mention my stroke of genius. call it being kiasu or whatever, but i had saved a copy of my degree certificate and transcript on a thumbdrive, and brought it to japan. guess what the visa application requires!? so yes, i'm pleased with myself for that. still need a scan of my new passport though, which i can do in the office tomorrow.

to ground myself and more importantly, to prevent myself from dissolving into a nervous wreck, here's the timeline that i should expect. for the local firm, they said they'd get back to me within 2 weeks, failing which i should follow up with them. the UK side is a little trickier. my #1 choice there says that their new hires generally start in september, i assume to tie in to the academic year. hoping other firms will be more flexible with their start dates. the absolute last day i can send my visa application in is 31 december, but i will probably aim to send everything in by mid-october at the latest, just to have some buffer time. despite writing it out, i still find myself checking my inbox way too often. STOP!

in planning for the singapore route, i looked up the feasibility of getting a HDB flat. there was news in the national day rally on sunday that the locations in which singles could buy flats would be broadened, but that only comes into effect next year. one of the JETs who's working towards real estate agent certification advised me to look at sale-of-balance flats, because they tend to be cheaper, and in a best-case scenario, some may already be built! as far as size goes, i'm looking for a 2-room flat, 3-room at most, but furnished well. something like quality over quantity? i went as far as to look up HDB design ideas on some interior designers' websites. i quite like the idea of an integrated living/working area with the sleeping area separated off a bit, kind of what i'm doing in my japan place at the moment. my other idea is to make the kitchen bigger. not longer, but bigger. everything still within easy reach, yet with plenty of counter space. maybe a kitchen island or cart as well. oh, and a bathtub. something like the bathroom of this house would be nice. the next thing will probably sound ridiculous, but i want a tap installed near my desk - think something like the hot water dispensers at conveyor sushi places, only with room-temperature water instead of hot. would save me from having to get up and go to the kitchen/toilet to refill my water bottle. it's a little putting the cart before the horse at this point, considering i'm thinking about design ideas when i haven't even secured a place yet!

school is due to resume next week, and i'm really looking forward to it. it's also my last term in japan, so there's a kind of bittersweet feeling as well. i'm supposed to finalize my leave and departure date by this week...that hasn't happened due to schedules not lining up. by the end of the month would technically be ok too, but i want to appease my kancheong self. the worry is timing it wrong, so that i'm either too early or too late. the thing to remind myself is i'm making the best decisions i can, based on knowledge available to me at the time.

small reminder to self: over the next 2 months, i need to use up all the food in the house, and buy a bit more prudently. no more bulk purchases or exotic ingredients. should settle all the things i want to buy online too, and arrange a shipment of clothes and other things back to singapore. that'll lighten up my luggage. the bicycle isn't selling yet, which makes me worry a little bit. should probably list the car soon, so that people can react. lots of things to do!

-random thought of the day: Tired.-

Suddenly, my list of firms just got a whole lot longer. reason being i contacted the UK main office of one of the firms which has a branch in singapore, and the nice HR person told me about a website where IP jobs in the UK are advertised. so i'm going to try my luck there as well. in the order of which firm i thought of first, and with no deliberate correlation to the earlier version, the latest list (correct as of this post) is:

firm A and A': the firm that has offices in both the UK and singapore. keeping an eye on their website. my second choice for singapore, unknown for UK. the HR person i spoke to mentioned that they usually open recruitment around year-end, so there's still some time.

firm B: the oldest(?) IP law firm in singapore. despite a partner telling me that they weren't hiring, job ads went up as recently as 2 weeks ago. will contact them again in november. my first choice for singapore.

firm C: the singapore office of the australian IP firm. they've been the most responsive to me so far, which really boosts their standing in my mind. i have a video call with the chemistry lead in the singapore office tomorrow, so depending on how it goes, i might end up here.

firm D: another australian company with a singapore office. while the chemistry lead i spoke to here was nice, my impression is that she's not based in singapore, and that kind of knocks it down a couple of ranks because of the decreased proximity. still, the principal in the singapore office seems like a nice guy, although his background is engineering so i don't think i'll be working with him that often.

firm E: the oldest IP firm in the UK. it's quite intimidating, because their staff profiles show a lot of oxford and cambridge graduates. plus, the number of professional staff is easily double or triple that of any IP firm in singapore. while i think ending up here and being able to survive would skyrocket my career, there's a nagging fear that i won't be able to keep up. if plan UK is a go, i'd like to end up here.

firm F: another UK firm which (for now) has sent me a generic "we have received your application" templated reply. they have a cambridge office, which i understand to be less crowded and cheaper than london. we'll see.

firm G: a singapore firm where someone from my cohort is working now. still a good impression, although it strikes me as a little small. at least there's a chemically-trained attorney working here.

firm H: a small singapore firm. the glassdoor review says "no upward mobility". more worrying than that, there doesn't appear to be a pure chemist to learn from here. might approach them if desperate.

firm I: a singapore firm that used to be associated with the accursed IP firm. they strike me as being lawyer-first, so probably not a good place to learn from.

so if i were to strike out H and I, that still gives me 7 possibilities, plus other firms on the job board. biggest reminder to self: while there is a deadline for visa application, there is wiggle room. don't be anxious to get everything done super fast. for all i know, singapore may be the only route forward. that's also why it's prudent to try advancing along both routes at once, so that the groundwork is laid once one route becomes more feasible/attractive. as scary JC friend reaffirmed for me today, the best route is waiting for me to discover it (her words).

it's getting late, so i'll talk about the experience of sending a parcel overseas next time...maybe. i do want to mention what i've found out about getting a HDB flat, plus my thoughts and ideas on the matter. next post, i guess!

-random thought of the day: The outer corner of my left eyelid has been twitching for a few days now.-

Randomly browsing the internet brought my attention to the existence of another door. this one leads to the UK. funny how i didn't notice it earlier! or maybe i did, and didn't think it was worth considering. so anyway, there's this thing called the "high potential individual" visa, and it's aimed towards university grads or higher degree holders. no company sponsorship or work experience requirements, either! what really made me think that it was a sign to apply was that the eligibility cut-off is 5 years after a potential applicant receives the degree. guess who's at 4 years and 8 months now!?? so, i decided that i'd give it a shot. unfortunately, it's not free, and i'll need to spend some money even before knowing whether i'll be approved or not. the good thing is, it's not as much of a money grab as australia....but it's still going to cost me over a thousand SGD before even factoring the air tickets in. well...you know the singaporean saying more commonly used with 4D, "有买有希望" - "there is hope (only) when you buy". i've got a better chance of getting the prize here, i think.

separately, the singapore branch of the australian IP firm got in touch, arranging for a chat. things tend to happen all at once, don't they? still, it's too early to favour one over the other. they set the session for 30 minutes, which isn't enough for a comprehensive interview, but yet more time and effort than necessary for a simple "sorry, we're not hiring now". i wonder what it's going to be? best case, they offer me a position when i get back to singapore. worst case, they tell me not to bother any more. intermediate case, we set up for a formal interview in the future.

indulge me for a moment again. if i could pick any of my choices now, i don't think the UK would be first. the main issue is distance, and hence, reaction time. for example, let's say someone important to me in singapore dies, or suddenly becomes critically ill with bleak odds of survival. i'd only be able to make it back 14 hours later, and that's under optimal conditions such as being able to secure a ticket for a nonstop flight that's departing soon, no delays, negligible travelling time to the airport. realistically, we're looking at reaching singapore anywhere from 20-24 hours after first receiving the news. as far as these things go, that could be the difference between getting to say goodbye, and only making it for the funeral. 20-24 hours seems like an eternity when compared to the case where i'm in singapore. i'd need 30 minutes, 60 tops, to go from anywhere to anywhere in the country. in a less grave (see what i did there?) consideration, there are also all the occasions/events for which attendance isn't mandatory, but would be good. things like graduation ceremonies, birthday parties, new children being born. i would also not get to meet my friends as often, and i'd be even further away from singaporean food!

on the flipside though, living in the UK would be way more interesting than living in singapore. i imagine it wouldn't be as crowded, and the quality of life would go up too. LGBT acceptance, anyone? the amazing exchange rate is also a huge pull factor! but i know it's not going to be a bed of roses either. violence, drugs, guns, and a whole other host of problems that don't even come into consideration when talking about singapore, exist in the UK. not to mention the usual inconveniences of living overseas...culture shock, inability to receive SMS OTPs from my singapore number, being a minority and thus susceptible to race-based discrimination and violence. there are still too many unknowns, so i'll only feel good about making a decision after more information becomes certain.

thankfully, scary JC friend's facial machine arrived today, after a whole bunch of obstacles. first, they didn't deliver by the date i'd requested, and it was only when i wrote in that the company said they were delayed because there wasn't any stock. then, they somehow found one. then, they gave me a tracking number that didn't work. after i wrote an angry (well, more like cold than angry) email, they then updated me and gave me a new tracking number with a different company. to top all that off, the shipment was delayed by a day because of the typhoon! even nature seemed determined to put up a fight. at least it's here now. going to test to see if it works, then ship it to singapore on monday. good thing the company shipped it in a bigger box; i'm planning to stuff some other things in and ship them off first to save on my baggage space when it's time for me to leave.

-random thought of the day: Weekend!-

Prices have gone up again. petrol is now 182 yen/L, up from 177 a couple of weeks ago, and 173 about a month back. not too happy about it, but i guess i should be grateful it's not $2.85 like singapore. i'm pretty sure i won't be getting a car when i go back. good thing i got the bicycle!

while deskwarming, i've been thinking about what i should do with my future. the 2 main paths now are work in singapore, or master's in australia. at this point, i have to confess that i'm not too keen about more studying without any practical experience. the nice principal got back to me a couple of days ago, confirming that australian immigration laws don't allow sponsorship in my particular case. i'm thinking that i should send out more enquiries, but a part of me also thinks now is too early. i figure i'll give it a go...nothing to lose, right? now that i've narrowed the location down to singapore, i can come up with a new list of firms. that will be for another post. off the top of my head, i need to make first contact with another 3 or 4 firms, and check back with another 4 or so firms. out of these 8, i just need an offer from one of them. hoping i don't jinx myself, but a 12.5% success rate isn't too much to ask for, is it? ideally it would be from my first choice. not saying that i'm a beggar in this instance, but i think if really only one firm on the list were to make me an offer, i'd take it. after all, they've all been screened somewhat. that was a mistake i made the first time round, not doing adequate research on the accursed IP firm.

i realize that i'm more easily influenced by present circumstances. back during term time, i was leaning heavily towards going back ASAP. but now, after a summer removed from the stress of the kids not picking up english, plus a few nice smaller interactions, i'm thinking that december might work after all. of course, that also has to be balanced with whether a job offer will come through, along with my fear of getting too old. my friend tells me that she's trying to get tickets to the final fantasy fan festival, so i might try my luck, and extend my stay if i get it. problem is, they don't go on sale until an unknown future date. well, it's not big deal if i miss the event. back to the point...i think that i should remember the bigger picture, and think longer-term especially when things aren't going as i'd like.

this past week, i managed to sign up for the my number campaign. basically they offer a reward if you link your my number to your national health insurance, and do some other things. is my personal information worth $200? i don't know about other people, but i'll be leaving soon, so whatever. i plan to use the additional funds to tank my grocery bills, and maybe get myself a power bank. which reminds me...i should do the "things to get" list soon, so i can budget better.

-random thought of the day: Rain!-

The original plan for today included driving an hour each way to get a gift for my friend's in-laws. i wanted to get them bonito sticks, that you add soy sauce to and it enhances the flavour. despite being here for almost 3 years, the reason i know about them is because of scary JC friend! she asked me to get her some, which i will ship to her together with the facial machine.

as i was getting ready to leave the house, i suddenly decided to check if shipping the stuff to me would be cheaper. turns out that it is! when i went down to meet my JET friend for dinner that time, i picked up a set of a bottle and a refill. that came up to 1080 + 790 = 1870 yen. petrol costs for driving back and forth would be approximately 2000 yen. with rakuten shipping, i paid slightly more in terms of price (1188 and 1000 yen respectively), but got free shipping and zero transport costs. the shop had a small discount coupon and i got to use rakuten points to further reduce the price. the drawback is that it will only arrive a week from now, instead of immediately had i gone down to get it. but no big deal, i can wait.

got a couple of postcards in the mail, with my PIN numbers for the new bank account. i very nearly threw a fit, because i opened the postcards, to find only safety advisories and no PINs in sight. i was almost about to call the bank to complain, when i realized that one side was thicker than the other, and that it was actually a duo-fold postcard, ie. the fully-open shape resembles a Z (or N, whichever you like) when the postcard is stood up and viewed from the top. good thing i didn't make a fool out of myself! i also requested for a security token, which is required for overseas transactions, to be mailed to me. the remaining step i have to do is to transfer money between bank accounts. the annoying thing here is that inter-bank transfers incur an admin fee, even if both accounts are yours! japan may have singapore beat on a few things, but singapore is decades ahead in terms of banking convenience. whoever heard of ATMs not being 24-hour? so i figured i'll be cheapskate and transfer the money by hand, ie. by withdrawing from one side and depositing in the other manually. because the other bank doesn't have an ATM here, i have to use the ATM in the convenience store, and pay admin fees again. good thing i went to read the fine print, because admin fees for deposits and withdrawals are waived on the 25th and 26th of each month. seems kind of arbitrary, but well. after that, i'll try a test transfer with a smaller sum before sending the bulk of it over. hopefully it'll go well, and i'll only be paying the equivalent of $30 to move many times that.

2 more weeks until school reopens. i'm thoroughly bored of deskwarming! the office computer is so slow that i can't even load too many chrome tabs on it. i've also done most of the little summer holiday work i have - mainly a powerpoint for english class, and writing birthday letters. still have a talk with my supervisor and superintendent, to pin down my last day and other admin matters. i should probably come up with a timeline for what to do and the associated deadlines. made some progress by putting my grocery bike up on facebook marketplace already. hope there'll be some buyers. the worst case i suppose is i'll be stuck with it, but let's see how things go. 

-random thought of the day: It's so humid!-

Last night, i had an extremely strange dream. it was a military setting, but i don't remember the context, or what i was doing. the best i can say is that it was a neutral dream - no strong feelings in either direction. i do remember that throughout the dream, various people kept repeating the same phrase/sentence to me. when i woke up, i realized that just before i passed out (or possibly shortly after), i must have tapped on a youtube short on my phone. if you know how shorts work, you'll know that they play on loop endlessly. at the time when i'd just woken up, i was able to recognize the phrase/sentence from my dreams as it appeared in the short. but now, almost 14 hours later, i'm not even certain what the phrase was, let alone which short it was in my watch history! so, i learnt that i can be influenced from the outside while i'm sleeping. and to that particular youtuber (whoever it was), you're welcome for the (~6 hours X 60 minutes X ~1 view per minute) approximately 360 views. i hope they help you.

remember the beauty/facial machine that scary JC friend asked me to help buy? i was positive that i set the delivery date for 4 or 5 august, ie. this past friday or saturday. those 2 days came and went, with nothing arriving at my doorstep. let me remind you that the thing cost about $1500, and you might understand why i was mildly concerned. so i ended up emailing the company, and they replied within 24 hours to tell me that the stock was low, and that they'd do their best to get one to me by this week. while i do feel slightly reassured, i'm still not 100% convinced that this isn't a scam. after all, it's the first time any japanese company hasn't made my requested delivery date. worse, they didn't show it on the order summary, so i was left doubting myself, wondering if i'd put the wrong date down. i guess a large part of my paranoia stems from this being a much larger-than-usual purchase, and that the company didn't get in touch to inform me that the delivery would be delayed. well, i'm not going to rest easy until i have the box in my hands, opened, and its contents checked. i'm thinking that if i don't receive it by friday, i'll ask for an update on monday and depending on how that goes, for a refund. i'm sure she'll understand.

so far this week, i've been feeling sleepy earlier despite having non-active days at work. thinking it might be the weather, or just my overall energy levels dipping. well, i can afford it now, since it's the slow period. 

-random thought of the day: New plans this Sunday!-

3 weeks of deskwarming to go, as this week ends. wouldn't say that i was super productive, but i managed to do the things that i wanted to. i'm realizing that i have to split what little of a workload i have up, so that i have things to do throughout the break. on the plus side, nothing is time-sensitive except for the WIPO courses, so no stress. i should probably get around to doing them though.

as of this past tuesday, i'm a fourth-year JET! should see a slight bump in pay, but i think my residence tax gets higher too. people say that JET year 3 is the sweet spot, where you earn the most after factoring in taxes. i'll probably know the final amount when i see my payslip next month. i think i've said it many times here, albeit in different words, but the message is that i'm ready to move on. 3 years might have been a little too long, actually. if i'd set stricter deadlines for myself and worked harder at accomplishing some of my goals, i could have left this july, or even last december. i should remind myself that i'm exactly where i'm supposed to be.

recently, i was looking for a solution regarding how to transfer my savings here back to singapore. i've looked at 3 ways so far - traditional bank transfer (including conversion to SGD), using wise, and new and improved bank transfer. traditional bank transfer is out due to the sucky exchange rate, as well as the high fees. wise offers a few more advantages, in that they can hold the money in JPY for me until such a time when exchanging it to SGD makes more financial sense. the drawback is they charge a percentage-based fee, which, although low, still hurts because of the large sum i have to transfer. right now, the best bet is probably interbank JPY transfer using an account that charges a flat fee for sending money, and to a singapore-based multi-currency account that doesn't charge to receive money. my JET friend recommended SMBC as they charge a flat 2000 yen fee to transfer money out, and i'm using DBS to receive the money as they charge a flat SGD 10 handling fee for that. once the money is in my singapore account, i can convert it at my leisure with zero conversion fees. the uncertain part is whether i have to pay fees to any intermediaries. but since it's a JPY to JPY transfer, i'm hoping not. will probably call in to ask. for completeness, i suppose i should mention the old-fashioned method - carrying cash back and changing it at a money changer. don't! it's not worth the hassle (customs declaration) and the money changers generally give bad rates anyway.

the biggest event of my week would have to be the zoom call with the principal in one of the IP firms. we had a fun conversation, and he shared several important things with me, including the likelihood of getting an australian work visa (probably no go) and more importantly, what makes a good patent attorney. seems like his firm also makes potential employees do an IQ test! might be an australian thing, i don't know. anyway, he shared that it was this thing called "abstract reasoning", which is tested for by those questions that show you a sequence of shapes, and then asks "what comes next?" the trick is to identify the rule(s), whether it's something being reflected, rotated, translated, or a change in size, number, and to what object a particular rule applies. he also said that successful patent attorneys are typically INTJ people. that got me curious, so i went to take the test again. from the first time i took it in secondary school, and all the way up till midway through undergrad (if memory serves), i've been INFP. today, my result was ISTJ. the last 3 letters changed!! i attribute it to the science education and having to think critically/analytically throughout undergrad and grad school. it's not a bad thing, i don't think...just different. it does make me wonder if i should try to regain? sharpen? my intuition. i feel that the thing i need to work on the most is out of the box thinking, and to not see things in black and white only. funny, i remember i used to be better at that.

good news is that my back pain is almost gone; just small stabs in the morning as i'm getting out of bed. it's annoying how even sitting still and doing nothing can hurt a person. i suppose it can be interpreted as a metaphor for my life right now...being stagnant in japan is hurting me. not physically, but financially. and mentally too, to a certain extent. i managed to have a quick chat with my supervisor and he told me that i'd get the full 20 days' leave allocation for JET year 4 at first, subject to change after talking with the superintendent the week after. that brings my total to 40 days maximum! i'd be fine if they give me 6 or 7 days out of the 20. if they gave me the full 20, i'd probably ask to encash some of it due to the schedules of the schools. failing that, 2 months' leave, let's go!

next week is a 4-day week, due to friday being a public holiday. my main goal for the week is to write and send a letter to my friend's in-laws, who i didn't get to visit this year. might call in on them before leaving japan, if time and money allow. apart from that, i want to air my carpet out and potentially give it a beating and/or a hose-down. it's feeling gritty under my feet. side-quests include using a 5% off coupon that i got from the supermarket, and continuing operation konnyaku.

last thing. i sent my car in for a quick repair on thursday, because the air-con wasn't cold. it was a quick job, so i waited at the workshop. the lady boss there engaged me in conversation, which was nice because i got to practise conversational japanese with someone who primarily uses the local dialect. the thing that really shocked me was that she asked how singaporeans felt about japanese people due to the occupation and the war. it was the first time anyone here asked me that, and it made me feel...happy? no, that's not the right word. touched or heartened might be closer. well, i guess i was happy because a japanese person was willing to talk about it, instead of the usual focus on the atomic bombings only. no doubt it was tragic, but it doesn't erase the atrocities committed by them. anyway, my response was that the older generation (those alive during the war) might still feel some animosity, but by far and large, the younger generations don't bear the japanese any ill will. it's my personal view, too. i wasn't affected by the war, and to the best of my knowledge, nobody i know was in the imperial army. it seems pointless to carry a grudge after all these years, especially since i wasn't directly involved. having said that, i do get upset when people who don't know better say insensitive things. thankfully everything i've heard in that regard has been through other sources. if confronted, i think it wouldn't be very pleasant for everyone.

-random thought of the day: Where is my delivery!?-