Sunday, March 17, 2019

Bad things and good things

The wait and worry is over and now replaced with anger. I finally received an answer about the renewal of my re-entry permit. I only get one year and the reason (as well as the reason my application was delayed) is because I am screwed over by MOE system. I am considered as having not fulfilled my tuition grant bond obligation. I submitted all evidence in 2016 and in their system the status was 'acknowledged'. Now then I learnt that 'acknowledge' does not mean 'approved'. The documentation that they want is a letter stating an end date of my employment and how was it possible to have such a letter when I was still under employment in 2016. Monday and Tuesday were so frustrating for me to deal with inflexible civil servants who did not pick up phone calls (whether at 830am, 1000am, 230pm, 330pm, 430pm), replied email rudely, and had "that is not my department issue" or "refer to online" attitude. I was considering to escalate this with a feedback (read: complaint) through their websites since I know how public sector functions but in the end I decided that I should not waste my energy with these lowly executives. Life must go on and I trust that karma will eventually serve justice.

Disney dropped two surprises this week with the latest trailers for live action Aladdin and the Avengers: Endgame. I think it is official that my childhood is ruined after seeing the latest trailer for Aladdin. It feels like a Bollywood movie rather than a movie set in Arabia. Agrabah is a fictional city so to avoid all the debate where it is located, we should just follow the official OST Arabian Nights. The design of the city is amazing. It reminds me of Arabian Coast at the Tokyo Disneysea so I believe after the release of this movie, that part of Disneysea may become more crowded. I hope there is higher chance for Aladdin characters to appear more regularly there for photos as well. Hmm I am rambling. Back to the trailer, I am quite happy that some elements of the cartoon are kept such as the iconic "Do you trust me?" and the magic carpet ride while singing A Whole New World. I don't know if the actors are really singing the song so I shall say that the male voice sounds so similar to the 1992 Aladdin but the female voice is just too screechy compared to the 1992 Aladdin. It feels that she is performing instead of singing a lovely duet on a date. So not romantic.
Nevertheless, as I mentioned during the previous trailers, I WILL STILL WATCH THIS.

The latest Avengers: Endgame trailer is boring. Lol. With mostly scenes from the previous movies, there is very little in the trailer pertaining to the upcoming movie. I think Marvel is keeping their cards very closely to minimise any spoilers. Marvel is doing a complete opposite of the Infinity War trailers that showed many exciting parts of the movie and hyped the audience up with the promise of amazing fight scenes. Endgame trailer is all about talk and very little action. It does not mean a bad thing though as it is also hyping the audience up as with very little being known, we will be eager to find out what will happen and that means yes we will watch the movie.
The music!! The Avengers theme song is just chilling every time...

I finally borrowed wine uncorker from my friend and I tried the mead that I actually planned to drink for CNY. Seriously I am just not meant to drink. I only drank 50-100ml and I was knocked out for few hours. Although I did not get rashes on the body, I had palpitations o_0 As usual my face was as red as a lobster and until today I feel that the flushing causes my face to itch and my pimples to flare up. Interestingly, I found myself to be quite clear headed upon waking up yesterday. Hmm.. is this why usually people like to drink?

In about one month time, I will be in Japan for holiday and I decide that I should start looking for a new pair of shoes instead of procrastinating until closer to the departure date. I want to find a green colour one but I want the price to be less than $100. On Friday I checked out Takashimaya and on the way home I realised that Royal Sporting House at Junction 8 had more options. I should not wasted my time at Orchard. I checked out that Royal Sporting House has a branch at ION and at Lucky Plaza so I went to check out this morning. I gave up visiting Lucky Plaza as it was already crowded like siao at 11am. In terms of the items, I think I can get from Junction 8 if I am getting from Royal Sporting House. However, the pair that really caught my eyes is at JD Sports ION. There is a leaf green Reebok shoes discounted at $80. Hehe.. I was not wearing socks today so I have to come another day. I hope my size will be available.

I also went to Uniqlo thinking to replace my old jeans. Currently there is no discount for the pants but wow.. there are so many green tops. I love spring :) I am so stingy when it comes to clothes so even though they are tempting, I ended up only buying from the sale section. LOL. I bought a lime green heat tech tank top that I have no idea when I will be wearing :p It is only $7.90 and it bears Alexander Wang brand so yeah, maybe that is a reason to plan another trip this autumn or winter. I also bought an olive t-shirt for $4.90. I find M is a bit tight while L is too big but in the end, since the leftovers for sale were only the M, I just bought it. Haha.. I actually prefer the current season green colour but I shall wait until it is on sale too.

I managed to sell one of the Doraemon x Uniqlo plush that I bought from Jakarta last year. I am so thankful because I do not have high hopes with so many listings (including the pirated ones) at carousell. In addition, initially the buyer wanted to get it on Wednesday or Thursday but suddenly I heard nothing. Suddenly this morning he asked again if I was free for meet up today. Even better, he actually drove to my place to pick it up. Wow!! I am so glad that he is happy with the plush and finds the condition is as good as new. I am actually quite worried if the white parts already shows signs of aging (yellowing or black) or if the white colour is already like that since I bought it. One more to go so I am crossing my fingers. Hehe...

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