As you know, i'm not religious. but the way things have fallen/are falling so nicely into place is really making me wonder if a higher power has been looking out for me throughout this entire process. the bicycle move went smoothly, with the biggest obstacle being that i had to endure the barest hint of a drizzle while riding it over. i think with that, any remaining connection i have to the ex's place has been cut. sure, there are still things in the house that i bought for him, but i'm writing that off as rent expenses i would have incurred if i rented a room. i believe i don't have anything of sentimental value left there, and that's good enough. if i don't recall it, it's probably not that important.

after the bicycle transportation mission, i went to rivervale mall to consider dinner options. ended up not eating anything, since i was still quite full from the tea break provided during the team bonding. tried to catch a grab back, but it was past 6pm by that time, which meant surge pricing. not having any more items on my agenda for the day, i decided to wait for surge pricing to end. it was about 8pm when that happened, so waiting for about 1.5 hours saved me $20+. doesn't seem like much when put like that, but you know, penny saved = penny earned.

like i mentioned in the last post, i went to pick my friend up from the airport on wednesday night. since it was quite late by the time they reached home, he kindly drove me back afterwards. during the drive, he mentioned that he has another overseas trip coming up in december, and i might have car access again. tell me that that isn't some insanely divine level of timing! based on the info that i have now, it seems that the way things are going, the big move is likely to happen over the weekend of 20-21 december. if i manage to get the car, i might even try moving the things in marine parade over by myself! i reckon it'll take a maximum of 4 trips, probably less if i tetris all the boxes in for optimal space usage.

while i'm not a big fan of tracking every single thing, i acknowledge that it's necessary for big projects so that things fall nicely into place. here are the important events leading up to when i'll be able to start living in the new flat, plus their dates if i know them:

2 dec - completion appointment (bring cashier's order and IC)

unknown date - air-con installation

7 dec - go to tampines to see condition of fridge and washing machine

15 dec (?) - total flat handover (ideally, but flexible on the exact date)

18 dec - computer chair delivery and setup

20-21 dec - move everything in

20-25 dec - bed frame delivery and installation

24 dec - electronic lock installation (10am-1pm)

25 dec (?) - move fridge and washing machine in

26 dec - laundry rack installation (11am onwards)

outstanding issues:

lights, power strip, sofa, and one fan - settling tomorrow in JB

mattress - consider the display set or buy a new one from another brand, decide by the coming week

standing computer desk - arrange with friend, preferably 21 dec

other assorted purchases (computer stuff, oven, robot vacuum, etc.) - as and when

that should cover at least everything i need to begin living in the new place. i'm a little nervous, but mostly excited! i've visited the flat a couple more times in the past 2 weeks, and had some interactions with the neighbours. the malay uncle living in the corner unit seems to be the leader figure of the block, and he's mentioned multiple times that it's a peaceful neighbourhood. my approach is going to be the same as when i was living alone during JET - build good relationships with the neighbours, and attempt to find mutually beneficial solutions to any conflicts. that last thing hasn't been tested yet, because i didn't have any conflicts with my neighbours in japan! or at least, i was not aware of any conflicts - might have been my neighbours being japanese and just putting up with me, but i'd like to think that i was a good (or at least, not a bad) neighbour.

the next topic i wanted to sort out my thoughts towards is finances. i think that we should do some financial optimization now and then, especially in the face of big changes by banks, etc. i previously blogged about how UOB is lowering its interest rates to the point where it's becoming unattractive to leave my money there. the plan is to migrate to OCBC, which has the highest interest rate based on my banking needs. DBS has the absolute highest interest rate that i could realistically get, but that's only if i invest and insure with them...which i don't. so OCBC it is! i've applied for (and got) a couple of OCBC credit cards, and i plan to open a 360 account with them soon. my salary is currently credited with DBS (they have a promotion where if you credit your salary with them for at least 3 months, you get $300 cash), and i will switch it over after completing the promotion requirements. the way i plan for my finances to be structured, OCBC will be my main savings account, UOB will be for bills/other GIRO payments, and DBS is there as a backup, or in case i need to send/receive foreign currencies. i'll also need to start shifting my spending more towards my OCBC cards, to meet the bonus interest requirements. that should be easy enough.

last thing on my mind. i am so grateful that i don't have to commute to work by train. higher risk of breakdowns/service interruptions aside, i don't understand why people try to squeeze on board the train when others are still getting off! it's not like the train is going to leave without them, right!? just today, i had 2 different old men try to board while people were still alighting. i think the next time, i'm just going to barrel out of the train, and it's their own damned fault if they get hurt. i really have no sympathy for idiots who don't think about their actions, and still have the temerity to be offended when they're in the wrong! i believe that older people should be respected. but i also believe that they have to show that they deserve the respect. like, if a senior citizen politely asked me to give my seat up for them, i would with no hesitation. on the other hand, if they demanded it or were passive-aggressive about it, they can continue standing.

what's the root cause of inconsiderate behaviour, actually? entitlement, i suppose. jedi master says that it's a form of bullying when the person doesn't stop when asked to. i also think education plays a part. see, most of the inconsiderate people i've encountered tend to be old. like boomer old, ie. they were born in the 50s or 60s, maybe. at that time, singapore was recovering from the war and fighting for independence, so i guess education took a back seat for most people. it makes me wonder if the problem will die with that generation of people. assuming education is the key factor, people born in the 70s and 80s should be better educated, so we should know better than to be that idiotic when we're at that age. i'll probably blog about it if i live that long, so look out for updates around 2040/2050. i will say this, though. if i become an inconsiderate moron, just kill me and be done with it. it would be hypocritical of me to engage in such behaviour after denouncing it. 

back to happier things...JB trip tomorrow! i'm expecting it to be pretty much the same as last time, except more focused since we know exactly what to get now. scary JC friend also has an errand to run, so that means i can see more of the place. despite how easy it is to go over, i've spent shockingly little time in malaysia. not sure if increasing that time is a goal for me, but i suppose it never hurt to know more about another country, especially the food and things i can save on by buying them over there!

-random thought of the day: Just a few more weeks!-

Especially grateful for my company's work from home policy during this period, as i'm still finding myself overwhelmed. i didn't do much work today, also partially because my boss told me that 3 cases i'd planned to work on next were put on hold pending a client decision. it's good as well i guess, since those cases didn't appear to be so straightforward. well, i asked for more cases to fill the void, and hopefully i will be able to breeze through the ones i get.

i realize my mind is all over the place from trying to coordinate deliveries and installations. right now, i have to liaise with the respective companies for the computer chair, bed frame, laundry rack, and electronic lock. separately, i have to talk to ID friend about the computer table, and make arrangements for the move. that last one's going to be painful in itself, because i have to move things from 3 locations. sengkang and marine parade (my aunt's contact should be able to handle it), plus tampines (at least the washing machine and fridge). i just want to take a week off work to get everything done and have a bit of a break...but that's not exactly feasible right now. maybe in 2-3 more weeks, because that's when it's likely to be the busiest time in terms of getting everything done for the flat.

there's a promotion going on right now, $6 a month for a myrepublic phone line. it's a dollar more than my circles life monthly rate of $5, but it comes with twice the talktime, SMS, and a whole bunch more data - 150gb vs. the 2 that i'm getting now. i don't really have any loyalty to circles; the main reason i chose them back then was that they were the cheapest telco for parking my number while i was on JET. and honestly, their deal is quite bad. $12 more a year is definitely within my means. the logical thing to do would be to switch, right? it's just the inertia and other more pressing things relegating it to the backburner now. i'll do it before the end of november, or before the promo ends.

have to go pick my friend up from the airport soon. reminder to self: bring ATM card to top up his cashcard. it's also my last drive with the car until he next goes overseas, so i guess i should enjoy the experience. not to mention use it to pick up an empty box from sengkang - i think i may need it when i pack marine parade up. i'm targeting a hand/take-over date in week 2 or 3 of december. ideally the week before christmas, or latest within this year. just hoping everything goes smoothly, especially for the stuff which i bought on shopee.

-random thought of the day: Can't wait for this year to be over!-

Crazy proud of myself today! managed to finish off packing the whole room, which i have condensed into 7 or 8 boxes. bear in mind, this is after throwing out half or more of my books, toys/gadgets, sentimental things that have lost their sentiment, etc. it felt cleansing/therapeutic, in a way! one example i'll highlight is that i had a carved stone seal of my chinese name in the intelligible seal script. that was given to me in sec 3 by my best friend at the time. i've told this story before, but long story short is we drifted apart and he wouldn't even make time to meet me for a meal. don't get me wrong, i'm happy/grateful that he was in my life, especially when i didn't have many friends in sec 3. but you know the chinese saying, 旧的不去，新的不来. that's not to say i'm going to throw all my friends away...at the end of the day, i'm all about reciprocity/the newton's third law thing. besides, i actually brought the seal on JET but never used it, so that's a further sign to bin it!

i actually think that i still have a bit too many things. well, this is only round 1 of culling. round 2 will be when i move into the new flat. the criteria at that time will be "if i can't find a place for it, out it goes". i foresee a further decrease of 20-35% of the current volume. that'll be for (nearer-than-expected) future me to settle. by that, i mean 3 weeks to a month-later me. in case you didn't catch it, that's my roundabout way of saying that we're expecting the renovations to be done around mid-december. i will still stick to my official deadline/target of mid-january, just in case something goes awry and more time is needed. hope for the best, plan for the worst, right?

part of decluttering involved me giving away (almost) all of my judo stuff. the only thing i kept was the black belt that i used during regular training - still unwashed as per tradition. i did feel a tiny bit of heart pain when looking at it all, especially since some pieces of equipment were as good as brand new, save any damage from storage - i hadn't used them at all! but i figured that since i didn't plan to go back into the judo world, they'd be better off with people who would actually use and appreciate them. the heart pain was also mitigated because i chose who to give it to - i know this judo elder is still doing his best to promote the sport, and some of the kids he teaches are financially disadvantaged. it made me wonder, if i could have all my frivolous/unnecessary purchases refunded, how much money would i get back? definitely wouldn't be surprised if it was in the 4-digit or maybe even low 5-digit range, but hopefully not more than $20000. well...one can wonder.

a few important things are happening in the near future, and my goal is to stay on top of everything. list time!

collect cashier's order and email lawyer - monday evening or tuesday afternoon

decide on bed frame and toilet fixtures - preferably by tomorrow

deliver stuff to friend's house - tomorrow or tuesday

get measurements for door - same time as above

pick friend and family up from airport - wednesday night

company team bonding - friday

completion - next tuesday

oh! i should mention the amazing brainwave i had today. i even impressed myself! so this came about because my bicycle is still parked at the ex's place. there are several options on how i can get it to my new place, some of which include: cycling it there myself, asking my aunt's contact who's helping me move to make an additional stop, or separately engaging a moving company to take care of it. i decided to cycle it back to the sengkang place, so that my aunt's contact wouldn't have to waste time and petrol on one more stop. and if you read what i said about it some posts ago, i was worried that the tyres wouldn't be inflated enough for cycling. my contingency was actually to bring a bicycle pump when i went to collect the bike! but it would be so unwieldy to cycle while holding a pump. so here's the brainwave. since i was already going to the sengkang-ish area to pack today, i brought the pump along with me in the car, stopped by to pump the tyres up, then went to do packing! so in theory, the tyres should be ok, as long as the pickup date is within the next week or two. and here's smart idea #2. my company team bonding is in yishun. i remembered that there's a direct bus from yishun to the ex's place. so the plan for friday is to catch the bus after team bonding, bring the bike over, maybe have dinner at rivervale mall, then make my way back home (probably via grab). that means i must bring the bicycle key on friday. would suck to forget that. side note: the pump's still in the car. i actually forgot about it.

in the interim, there are still the usual case submissions and reviews. i think i should be ok, especially since i found a very good document for one of the cases i'm going to submit in the first half of next week. with a spontaneous japan trip possibly on the horizon in december, i have to make sure i hit my target for the year in time!

-random thought of the day: Less (possessions) is more.-

With everything going on, it seems like i'm beginning to get a bit overwhelmed. the clearest sign of that is the fact that i've been feeling directionless and my attention span hasn't been all that great. worse, the desire to curl up in bed and just forget about the outside world for a while is growing stronger...not exactly good at this time! so instead of giving in to my impulse to run away from my problems, i figured i'd blog about them and split the entire mountain into movable chunks. knowing what has to be done now and what has to/can be done later, and more importantly, having actionable things to do should help.

HDB sale process

nothing much to do here, except to prepare the cashier's order in time for the completion appointment. it's really just a waiting game. the most important things i have to ensure are that the amount on the cashier's order is correct, and that i don't miss the completion appointment. i don't foresee much chance of things going wrong here.

renovations

things are proceeding in good time, even slightly ahead of schedule. i've set aside enough money to pay the contractors, and i'm staggering my purchases so that salary can come in to absorb some of the impact. the main frustration here is not having a super clear timeline, which is also because some decisions (what fixtures to get, where to get them, delivery dates) haven't been finalized yet. the current plan is that we're going to go into JB again the following sunday to order things and maybe bring some back. for reasons unknown even to myself, i've been dragging my feet on buying the smart laundry rack in particular. i'll commit to reaching out to some companies tomorrow.

packing/moving

this is by far my biggest headache. i'd planned to go back on some weekdays this week to at least pack more things and do more rubbish disposal, but that hasn't happened. it's equal parts due to other obligations and me trying to avoid the issue, actually. the current plan is to spend the whole of this coming sunday to hopefully finish the task, which would be ideal since i still have the car to take me there...but let's see how that goes. there are 3 main areas left to sort out - overhead cabinets, desk plus drawers, and kitchen. well, closer to 2.5 since there isn't much to do in the kitchen. i can get at least 2/3 of those areas done in one day. then, depending on whether i'll need another half or full day to tie up loose ends, i might plan another trip on a subsequent weekend.

work

my mentor is on leave for the next 10 days or so, and my group lead has taken over mentoring duties. i'll have to adjust to her style of doing things, which does take some getting used to as (1) it's quite different from my mentor, and (2) i've been sticking exclusively with my mentor for the past 3-4 months. the thing that unsettles me a little is that my group lead doesn't look at my cases that closely as compared to my mentor, so there's a little bit of extra self-doubt now. yes, i know that i shouldn't expect to be babysat, and that this is a natural progression to the eventual goal/outcome of me working more or less independently. i've submitted 2 cases to her so far, and the feedback has not been bad. like, no serious errors highlighted. that should give me some encouragement! it's looking likely that i'll hit my target this year at this current pace. in fact, i may be able to slow down a little in december, which would be just nice if renovations finish early. i'm just going to take things as they come, in the belief that things happen at the right time. that's how it's been so far for the HDB purchase!

some other unexpected news, E messaged out of the blue to check in, and the subsequent conversation resulted in us (N, E and me) planning to meet for dinner the week after next. i'll admit that i've not been as diligent as i should have been in maintaining this friendship. at least we can still contact each other without feeling too awkward. i wonder how they've been since the last time i saw them in...december last year, maybe? gosh, it's been too long.

planning to end the week strong, by submitting another case tomorrow and hopefully getting the first draft of another case or two done. tuition on saturday, followed by going to see toilet fixtures. then the big packing exercise on sunday. i'm suddenly tempted to just take a week off, or to do something for myself towards the end of the year. but the feasibility of that will be dictated by what resources i still have available then. and by "resources", i mainly mean "money". well, here's hoping my bank account won't be completely empty!

-random thought of the day: Stress sucks.-

Realized a few things over this weekend. some good, others less so. you know about saturday already, so let me tell you about yesterday and today.

as planned, i went to pick my friend up and send him to the airport. i realized i took a wrong turn, and ended up on the PIE, instead of the ECP which i needed to take to go back to marine parade. here's proof that everything happens for a reason. while i was on the PIE, my friend called to ask me to go back to his place and pick up a camera that he'd forgotten. and his house is more easily accessed by the PIE, so i saved a few minutes and got the camera to him well in time. i then went to collect moving boxes from my colleague's place as she'd just finished a move too. she had boxes at both her old and new places, so we went to both locations. first new, then old. it was only when we were at the parking lot of her old place that she realized she forgot to bring the keys! must have been an absent-mindedness bug going around that day. we made another round trip and i ended up with 10 really solid boxes. i used one of them to return about 35-40kg's worth of books and other things to a judo elder, and the box held up just fine. considering that their original purpose was for shipping silicon wafers, i'm not surprised!

on that topic, i also went back to sengkang to clear out my room. over about 3-4 hours, i managed to clear half the room. that's in terms of volume of the room only. in terms of actual clutter/things, that figure's probably closer to 15%, considering i barely started on the cupboards and drawers. good thing i decided to go back yesterday; i now have an idea of how much of a pain it's going to be to pack and move. seems like i need to be a bit more hard-hearted in deciding what to throw away, to make the move easier for future me. i already started with clothes - anything that i haven't worn since coming back from JET went into the textiles recycling bin. ok, that's technically not 100% true - i did keep some exercise gear and t-shirts that i liked the design of. but i did throw out about 60% of clothes that were still there, so that's an achievement, i think.

i also realized that because i'd been away for basically 5 years, so many of my things have deteriorated in condition from lack of use. my knife rusted, plastic degraded and/or tackified, mould grew on some of my leather goods, metal tarnished and touching them transferred the "old thing" smell to my hands. my immersion circulator and hand blender might still be working, but i've decided to just heck it and throw them out to avoid bringing the contamination over. new place, new(-ish) start. that will incur some additional cost, but i figure that appliances can be bought at a later date. i kind of want to start giving away/selling things more aggressively. because i realize even for stuff that i do have now, i don't use some things enough to justify having bought them. and letting them (sometimes literally) rot in storage without ever seeing the light of day is as good as not having them at all. not to mention that it will help cushion the blow of my renovation expenses a little. to what extent i don't know, but every little bit helps, i guess...considering i just paid $5000 as a deposit for tiling and plumbing works today.

went down to the place earlier to meet with ID friend. he's just started a new job, and is still coming down to check on the progress of renovation. i should do something for him at the end. we spoke about timelines and things to do, and as i understand it, things are proceeding according to schedule. the tilers are coming in tomorrow or wednesday to do the toilet floor. after that is plastering, electrical works round 1, plumbing, electrical works round 2, and finally flooring. we need to buy the fixtures soon, in time for the plumber and electrician to install them. in between, there'll also be other installations - air-con, smart lock, clothes rack (which i still need to get), etc. between ID friend and i, we should be able to coordinate everything.

currently feeling a little stretched thin. a popular analogy in the mental health community is to refer to your mental capacity as "spoons", example phrase - "i don't have enough spoons to handle this". i think it's whimsical and some people may relate to it better, but i don't see any issues with expressing mental capacity in percentages. maybe it's because i'm science-trained? anyway, that manifested in being unable to focus on cases today. need to pull it together!

-random thought of the day: Perhaps going for a longer break might be good.-

Knowing myself, i do not function well with too many things on my plate. having to juggle an additional huge ball, which is renovations and settling various services/appliances/fixtures, explains why i've been a bit more forgetful recently, like forgetting to update my boss about what snacks i'd buy for the division meeting next tuesday (it's a division tradition for people who've been promoted or achieved some career milestone - passing probation in my case - to buy snacks for the next division meeting). thankfully, i remembered and sent him a message earlier this evening. not the most professional thing to do, contacting your boss on a weekend...but i figured that this was small and removed enough to not really be considered "work", so it should be ok.

i think being preoccupied with all the various things might have caused me to make a small calculation error. i'd been getting quotes for an air-con system, and i might have missed out on securing the cheapest price. not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, probably a couple hundred dollars' difference (yes, i realize how privileged i am to be able to say that), but it's just a bit annoying. well...it's only money (more privilege); i'll just take it as buying an experience/lesson.

so apart from tuition, today was spent settling the air con and the computer chair. i decided to go with the ergonomic mesh one in the end, because i plan to use it in the living room. while i will be installing an air con there as well, i'm not going to have it on regularly - perhaps just for the hottest of days. maybe i'll be crazy (and rich) enough to buy a high-end massage chair for my subsequent place. considering the price hovers around the low 5 digits, i'm going to have to save a lot, or get lucky in the stock market. but really though, i recognize that it's a want, and a frivolous one to boot. the massage computer chair i could push a more convincing argument for, seeing as it would be something i regularly use and it costs about the same as the ergonomic one anyway. not the case for the high-end one. i'd probably spend less going for actual massages every so often!

the stress/worry/anxiety/something has manifested in another way - i'm not sleeping well. by that, i mean both my quality and duration of sleep have taken a hit. i'm averaging about 5-6 hours a night, which i know is not optimal for me. i actually caught a glimpse of my face in the mirror while showering, and the word "haggard" sprung to mind. can't imagine how my ID friend is running about and doing things for my place in his downtime. then again, i suppose it works the reverse way - he'd be disproportionately stressed out in my company, doing my job. well, at least i'm only expecting it to last for another 2 months, tops. i can handle that without falling to pieces.

another busy day tomorrow - dropping my friend and his family off at the airport, taking over the car, going to my colleague's place to pick up some boxes, going to sengkang to organize things and pack up some stuff to return to a judo elder, and depending on how late it is, possibly meeting the judo elder for dinner and returning him the stuff. still have to confirm the clothes rack by tomorrow, i think that's the last major thing outstanding during the promotional period. other things can be done as and when. as long as i have a bed (mattress only is fine, but preferably the full thing), air-con, lights, toilet fixtures, and running water/electricity by the move-in date, i should be able to make things work. there was one more thing i wanted to do, right? it escapes me for some reason. i'm sure it'll come to me. and if not, i have 1.5 weeks with car access, so i'll be able to do things more efficiently in this period.

slightly further into the future, there's the completion appointment, which i'll need to prepare a cashier's order for. i also signed up for the annual JET 忘年会 (year-end party) which is in late december, i believe? will need to find time to settle the bicycle and pack as well. in between all that, i also need to submit this round of cases, which should just nice bring me to my year-end target. i will aim to do a bit more if i can, to give myself a head start on the push for promotion, but we'll see how things work out. i'm ok with just hitting the target this year and pushing the whole of next year as well. it all depends on whether i'll have extra brain space in december.

-random thought of the day: Hoping for better sleep tonight.-

Productive day today! in between submitting a case to my mentor (last one before she goes on leave), i also went to quite a few locations and got more info on various things. let's see, how should i organize this post? i know - i'll group based on the thing that i settled. i'll try for no more than 10 sentences per point, except maybe for the chair. that one might need more.

digital lock

decided to revisit the more expensive shop with slightly poorer service. in a stunning redemption, the staff member who attended to me today was friendlier. after going a couple of rounds around the store, i settled on the marvel collaboration door and gate lock set, spiderman version. the marvel thing is a bit gimmicky, but whatever. price was reasonable - $999. and because i asked for the display set for the gate lock which had black trim and marvel branding, she threw in a few more free RFID tags. considering the plan is to only occupy the flat for 5 years, i figured something basic-ish would be good enough. mechanical key, RFID, fingerprint, PIN, and remote unlocking via wi-fi should be plenty.

computer chair

i went to a showroom that was near the lock place. the guy was not the best salesperson in terms of the human touch part, but he knew his stuff about the chairs. didn't like the quality, so don't think i'll be getting it from him. later in the day, i went to the smart home tech show in suntec, which was indeed open today. saw a few other companies which didn't have anything that matched my needs. then, i saw 2 chairs which i'm now seriously considering.

chair #1 is an ergonomic mesh chair with a footrest, very adjustable and with the most ridiculously overengineered armrests i've ever seen. they're advertised as having 9 dimensions of adjustability (the next lower number i know of is 6D). each armrest is split into two, and each part rotates on its own axis. plus, they can be inclined vertically as well! i was (still am, actually) ridiculously impressed. only drawback is the price - $1388 normally, but reduced to $888 for the show. i asked about buying their display set (seems to be a trend today, doesn't it?) and was quoted $738. $888 is too steep for me, let alone $1388...but $738 brings it into "worth considering" territory. i had all but made up my mind to get it already, but then i asked them to hold it for me so that i could leave the scene and think about it more rationally - a good practice to help avoid impulse buys. i'll have to confirm it by noon tomorrow, which should give me time to (literally) sleep on it.

just a few minutes later, my resolve was swayed when i walked past the osim booth. the salesperson there introduced me to chair #2. given that it's made by osim, can you guess what's special about it? it's an office chair with massage functions!! it even uses a battery pack, which means no wires running across the floor. downside is that the battery will have to be charged, and i understand it takes about 3 hours to charge from zero to full. but i can accept that. my biggest issue with the chair is that it's a typical full back and seat pleather construction (understandable, because of the massage hardware). i was looking for a mesh chair because mesh retains heat less. but i must admit, it's sorely tempting. at $799 with some freebies thrown in, it seems like better value than the chair above, where $738 gets me the chair alone. i did consider getting both for a brief crazy moment, but scary JC friend shot that idea down when i floated it past her. good thing i have her to keep me grounded.

electricity

this experience showed me how much difference the salesperson can make in my decision to get something or not. so i was casually strolling by the senoko energy booth, when a salesperson approached me and started talking to me. he was telling me about how their promotional rate for this show was the lowest, and how only one other company (geneco) came close. now, i was intending to go with geneco already, but senoko's sign-up bonus (bill rebate) was better, so i ended up signing with them. throughout the process, he never pushed me, and was even ok with me fact-checking on the spot. i think that recent experiences with salespeople also tell me a bit more about my buying style - i have an idea of what i want already, and i see the salesperson as a kind of guide to lead me to what suits me best. i've been pretty good at resisting upselling so far, and i hope that keeps up.

clothes rack

bumped into the cute salesperson again as he was doing exhibition duty. coincidentally, he'd sent me a message earlier in the afternoon to follow up on whether i'd made a decision. seems that his products are on the expensive end, but he's offering an extended warranty. think i might end up getting from him.

air-con

walked past the daikin booth, and the salesperson there told me about their promos. $3699 + $150 for the bracket to hold the compressor. they're giving a lot of freebies, but not all of them are relevant to me. sofa voucher, for one, since i already decided to get mine from JB! the plan here is to visit harvey norman again tomorrow to reach a decision either way. i think i should settle the air-con by this weekend. might as well casually glance at fridges and washing machines while i'm there!

that about wraps it up. renovation works are also progressing apace; the place looks unrecognizable now. nowhere near habitable yet, but it should improve in the coming weeks once the bare concrete is covered up. one more example of things going well, my japan pension refund came in! $7500-ish, which should cover the air-con with a bit to spare. the timing is amazing, too - just when i needed more money! reminder to self, still have to file a tax return to get the remaining 20%(?) that they're holding on to. should be in time even if i do it next year. yay for more money (that rightfully belongs to me anyway, but still)!

-random thought of the day: Plan to settle fixtures!-

Bunch of stuff to update you on! the last post was on sunday, and things have progressed by leaps and bounds in the 3 days since. well, maybe not monday. it was a routine day at work. on tuesday (yesterday), i went down to the flat to meet the contractors to confirm the scope of works. lucky my interior designer friend was there; i found myself asking him a lot of questions and confirming things with him. so grateful that i didn't try to be smart and forego the ID. as it is, i can barely handle the influx of information, and that's after having him filter superfluous stuff out for me and help in the decision-making process! i would be finished if i attempted to go at it solo, especially having to divide my attention between everything flat-related and work.

an interesting thing that happened was that some of the contractors thought that scary JC friend (who was there to liaise with the seller's agent and provide a third opinion for renovation decisions) was my wife! my reflex thought was 'you blind ah? how could a guy like me get a girl like her?'...which upon reflection, is quite a self-belittling, toxic, unhealthy thought. i think that i should address this thought pattern more in the relationship post that i plan to write eventually. the condensed version is that i need to stop putting others on pedestals (not saying that scary JC friend isn't deserving of it) and raise myself up more.

today was one of those days where the one important thing went well, but all the side quests bombed. i suppose i shouldn't complain, since the one important thing was going to the lawyer's office to prepare for the completion appointment. i have an idea of what to expect and it seems fairly straightforward (barring any hiccups or unexpected monkey wrenches, of course). the side quest for completion day is to go to bishan for chicken rice and a dental appointment. that should work out, since i gave about an hour's buffer between the completion appointment and the side quests.

as for the side quests that didn't go well, first was my quest to get a computer chair. the place i wanted to go check out suddenly announced that their showroom was closed due to this smart home show at suntec. so i thought ok, let's go to suntec! i might be able to see more vendors in one place. plus, it wasn't super far from the lawyer's office at clarke quay. went there, only to find out that today was only setting up, ie. the venue wasn't open to the public, and nobody was exhibiting yet anyway. so that was a bit of a wasted trip. i then decided to go to audio house, which is this place that sells home appliances. bonus: it's super near the new place! in the process, i got lost looking for promenade MRT station, and ended up walking 2 diameters and half a circumference of the whole place. finally found it and took the MRT from there, only to realize that it was 11 stops. what i should have done was to take the circle line to macpherson, then change to the downtown line for ubi - 7 stops only. well, at least i'm finding this out now when i don't have time pressure, instead of on a day when i'm rushing for something.

things didn't improve at audio house. the prices were generally higher, the staff seemed less helpful (except for martin the mattress salesman, who was attentive and not pushy), and they separated their delivery/installation charges from the appliance (air-con), while best denki and harvey norman had theirs bundled in...and are still cheaper! i'll probably need to go down to the harvey norman again to confirm the purchase. that's something to do this weekend, i think. after the audio house trip, i went to the coffee shop under the new place for dinner. the staff were so nice, and the vibe just felt so good. really makes me think i made the right choice in choosing this estate.

took the bus back after that, showered, and here i am blogging. my nose started to get blocked up, which was weird. as with previous occurrences, my eyes also started itching, which made it more likely to be my dust allergy than a cold. i spent some time vacuuming and poking around the place before discovering the issue. see, i use a fan in conjunction with the air-con because the air-con is set to turn off at 6:30am. the back of the fan has a thick layer of dust, meaning that dust has been blowing at me! explains why my allergy was set off. one task for tomorrow is to clean the fan, or find another one to use.

remember how i said that things that could go well have gone well? another example of this is that one of the chemistry guys is going overseas, and he's offered to lend me his car. it seems to have become a routine. he offers to lend me his car when he goes overseas, and the only thing he asks for in return is that i help to run some errand - send the car for washing, drop it off at the mechanic, whatever it is, i'm happy to do it. after all, the benefits far outweigh the costs for me. with the car, i was planning to move my stuff from sengkang to marine parade, so that the movers would only have to make one trip. my aunt told me that it would be a waste of petrol, and her recommended mover could make an additional stop. i don't know...part of me wants to solo it and save on the movers' fee. but if i'm going to ask them to move things anyway, might as well ask them to move everything, right?

which reminds me, i should go back to sengkang to pack stuff in advance. need to get boxes and thick masking tape. based on the stuff in existing boxes, plus the stuff in the drawers and cupboards, i expect that i'll need maybe 6 more boxes, for a total of 10-ish? the other thing i need to figure out is the bicycle, which should still be parked on the bicycle rack at the void deck of the ex's place. going to get the bicycle will be my first time going back there. and if all continues to go well, i won't see him or his dad. the initial plan was to cycle it to marine parade or the new place, but i think it would make more sense (and be easier on me) to cycle it to sengkang and park it there for the movers to move everything over in one shot. even then, i don't know if i can cycle for that relatively short distance. the last time i pumped the tyres up was...july? and considering it's been 3+ months since then, i'm not expecting the tyres to be as inflated as they were. i might bring a pump, or worst case just wheel the bike over. i've done it before, after all. only this time, i'll be doing it alone. and that's ok. better be alone than have someone toxic with me.

-random thought of the day: Early morning call with group lead tomorrow.-

Suddenly, things are speeding up quite significantly. we applied for the HDB renovation permits on tuesday, and approval came on friday. considering i was forewarned that waiting time could be a week to a month, 3 days is amazing! the downside is that we have to plan the renovation works quickly, because HDB only gives a limited timeframe for noisy works. i think we have only 3 days to get all the hacking done, and about a month or two total for the entire renovation. i don't want to promise anything yet, but it seems like completing renovation by the end of the year is possible. officially though, i'm still going with the mid-january moving date. if i manage to move earlier, it'll be a bonus.

due to the accelerated timeline, i have to make several decisions fast. to that end, my interior designer friend brought me to choose vinyl flooring laminates for the entire flat, and tiles for the toilet. we didn't commit to a particular colour yet, but we got samples to bring to the flat and actually lay down, so that i can visualize it better. i realize that i don't really have the ability to visualize colour combinations in my head - i have to physically lay the colours out side by side to be the most accurate. good thing the house layout designer in final fantasy allows previews before committing to design changes; goodness knows i'd have spent more money in-game if i couldn't preview things.

just to remind myself, the significant events for flat-related stuff next week are:

tuesday - meeting with contractors (evening), prepare drinks for contractors and gifts for neighbours

wednesday - renovation (hacking) starts, meeting with lawyer (afternoon)

thursday - SP meter reading/account opening (no need to be physically present)

looking back on the house purchase journey so far, it seems that everything that could have went well, actually did. i lost out on getting the nicer but more expensive flat, which worked out in my favour because the $45 000 price difference is enough to cover my renovations, additional furniture, and fixtures while still leaving me with a little bit extra. if i had gotten the other flat, i would only be able to take over the flat as-is (no renovations) and have enough money left over to get one to two pieces of furniture, maximum. at least now, i have enough money to furnish the flat to what i consider a comfortable level, including my home office set-up, which is going to be important due to my hybrid work schedule.

additional reminders - i still have to settle:

- air-con purchase (by this coming week)

- changing of electricity provider (after official account opening)

- internet sign-up and activation (towards end of renovation)

- fridge and washing machine purchase (less urgent)

- smart locks and clothes rack (within renovation period)

- other miscellaneous purchases (as and when)

- change of address (after completion appointment at the earliest)

one thing that kind of annoyed me was that UOB revised their interest rates down again (second time this year), to the point where i don't think it's worth it to keep my money there any more. i figured that it might be a good time to reorganize my finances, perhaps get rid of some superfluous credit cards and consolidate my spending. i'm planning to credit my salary with DBS for the next 3 months due to a promotion they have, then move to OCBC after that. to that end, i'm going down to the OCBC branch near my office to set up ibanking. i used to have an internet banking account with them, many years ago, but i don't know if it's still active. can find out tomorrow, i guess.

while thinking of financial decisions, it came to mind that instead of buying a name-brand ergonomic chair, perhaps it's better to buy a knock-off/lookalike from shopee which is also advertised as ergonomic. see, my thought is that if each knock-off chair lasts for 2 years and the name-brand one lasts for 10 years, buying knock-offs at $150 each comes up to $750, whereas the name-brand chair costs over $1000. i still come out ahead by going with the knock-offs! assuming they last 2 years minimum, that is, and not forgetting the hassle of placing the order, waiting for delivery, etc. and there's no guarantee that the name brand chair lasts 10 years either - the model i have in mind has a 3-year warranty for the mesh seat and back, 5 years for the mechanism, and 12 years for the structure/frame. assuming i need to replace parts (or worse, get a new one) after 5 years, it makes the cost/risk less justifiable. getting several lower-cost chairs will also allow me to spread the total cost out over a longer period of time, and even try different models of chair if/when i need to change them. at present, i'm looking to get the name-brand one second-hand off carousell for half the price, which i think is a good compromise. problem here is that the seller hasn't been online in 6 weeks, so i don't know if he'll even see my message, let alone reply. well, there's still time, and with luck, other listings for the same chair model will come up.

not sure why, but i was feeling a bit of reluctance to go back to work. could be because the cases i was just assigned appear to be a little tricky, but it's not that bad. at least the subject matter appears straightforward this time (except for one little but annoying issue), and the cases are interrelated, so i'm getting 3X the points for my efforts. or maybe it's just pre-monday blues. whatever it is, it should dispel itself when i step into the office.

-random thought of the day: Weirdly excited!-

Vaccine side-effects always seem to hit me hard. the type of vaccine doesn't seem to matter either - it has been the same for the mRNA COVID vaccines and the inactivated virus flu vaccine that i got earlier this week. this time, the side effects are a mild headache, lethargy, sinus pressure, running nose, and sneezing. i'd thought the headache yesterday would be the worst of it, but everything hit me full-force this afternoon. i'll probably head down to the polyclinic tomorrow for medicine and a day's MC. figure i can afford some downtime, as i seem to be on track in the work realm.

several big pieces of news to report! most will be HDB-related, so skip this section if that doesn't interest you. (1) the housing grant was credited to my CPF account, (2) the renovation permits might be approved, (3) i asked for utilities to be turned on at the flat, (4) we're due to meet with the contractors to discuss renovation plans and timelines next week, (5) i have to go down to the lawyer's office to do some paperwork and prepare for the completion appointment. i'm so happy with the visible signs that things are moving forward! makes the wait feel less dreary, you know?

going to keep it short today, because i've been looking at screens for most of my waking hours, and it's taxing my eyes. they feel a little bulgier than usual, if that makes sense. probably due to the sinus pressure. and they're itching for some reason. itchy eyes weren't listed as a side effect, so maybe it's something else...like my dust allergy flaring up. should vacuum the room, but tomorrow. i feel dead enough as it is.

-random thought of the day: Sleep early, then polyclinic visit tomorrow.-

Inspiration (the artistic kind, at least) rarely visits me. but it did yesterday. so if you're living in singapore, you'd know how hot it was this weekend. the metaphor that i thought of was that the country came down with a fever, and the heavy rain yesterday afternoon and night (possibly into this early morning as well) felt like the fever breaking. i could take it further and say how the pathogens (humans) are causing the country/planet to fall ill, but let's not go too far down the hippie route.

i think i was quite successful in my air-con information-gathering mission. visited best denki, gain city, and harvey norman (in that order) over 2 days, and got a better idea of what i want. i'm planning to go for an air-con system that's outfitted with wi-fi, as it will help in energy monitoring and scheduling on/off times. prices seem to be under $4000, and i'm trying to keep a $3500 maximum on it. the plan now is to message the salespeople and see who can give me a lower quote. as far as reputation goes, i don't think there'll be an issue because all 3 places i went to are big brands. my aunt's also going to help me check with her go-to company, so i'll see if they can do any better.

another thing i did on saturday was to spend the evening with my cousin and his family at this trick-or-treating event. it was...crowded. unlike the usual simmering hostility when a large group of people gathers, the atmosphere there was friendly. guess it was the festivities, and/or an east side thing. my cousin and his family dressed up, and got a lot of compliments on their costumes! me being me, and it being after tuition, i didn't dress up or do anything special. but i'm happy that i got to spend time with them, including going out for ice cream at the end!

had a mildly unpleasant food experience yesterday. i took the bus to and from the harvey norman store, and it stopped near the famous katong laksa place. so i decided to go in for a bowl. paid $9.30 + $3 for added cockles. on the expensive side, but i figured it was ok since that was my only meal for the day. the laksa was great - flavourful soup, plenty of cockles, not too spicy. 2 things brought my rating down. 1) the noodles were too hard, and 2) there were bits of cockle shell in the soup. i found that out by biting down on a piece. when i showed it to the staff, there was no service recovery at all. looks like i'll be trying other katong laksa places. also, i found it weird that a singaporean brand was being staffed by people from china. while i'm not indiscriminately anti-immigration, it feels like singapore is losing what little of its soul that i remember.

got my flu vaccine in the office today, and i'm kind of feeling the effects now. i've had a headache that's been ongoing for the last 3 hours or so, and i should really just crawl into bed and try to sleep it off. with luck, i'll feel better tomorrow. and the biggest piece of news today - HDB approved the purchase! now all that's left to go are completion and renovation, hopefully not in that order. unfortunately, it also means that things will be quiet on the official house purchase front for the next month. behind the scenes though, i've got to start placing deposits for appliances, schedule deliveries, and work closely with scary JC friend and the interior designer to make sure things proceed smoothly. i'm sure things will be fine.

-random thought of the day: Too headache-y to feel properly excited.-