not yet gone.

It's less than 1 week till I fly off. But the feeling of both anticipation and apprehension makes for a disconcerting feeling to swallow. The unknown is always a terrible factor to handle, given how much I like to source for as much information as possible, and the uber ulu Jonkoping doesn't offer too much of that.

But then again, it's been a fun affair learning how to put my OCD tendencies to good use. Learning how to pack the right way, source out the good deals, learn cooking and choosing food, as well as the ins and outs of visa bureaucracy.

Anyway, on to lighter stuff. Here's tips that I've amassed from exchange preparation!

1. Money exchanging
Seems like the Arcade at Raffles Place and Mustafa is the way to go. Remember to check online Google rates before you go, and check the rates for multiple changers. Flaws in the free market at the arcade still exist for some reason (possibly a cartel?). Also, a long queue does not always mean great rates.

USD and Euros rates are more or less equivalent to Google rates. Rare currencies such as Swedish Krona has a significant discrepancy, but bo bian. Even rarer ones (such as Czech Krona) is unavailable, even at the airport. Most people will change for USD instead (easily convertible, even in Europe)

When withdrawing money overseas, a good card to use is the UOB Campus Debit Visa. Allows 3 free withdrawals monthly (otherwise it's 5 SGD a pop). Most withdrawals conversion are done by converting the home currency to USD, then from USD to SGD. Thus, you suffer twice.

2. Winterwear
Uniqlo turtle necks are good at ten bucks a pop. Adidas winterwear from Korea can be sought out at Song&Song (with outlets in AMK, TPY, Jurong East, Clementi) at 50 apiece. Timberland winter boots are available at up to 70% off at the Timberland Outlet store.

3. Packing
Vacuum packs work wonders for saving space. That and heat packs of 5 are available at Daiso for 2 apiece.

4. Communication
Phoenix Comms is great for cheap calls from Singapore to abroad numbers.
Voipstunt - Free internet calls from foreign countries to Singapore at a rate of 10 EUR for 120 days!

Hopefully, this will prove to be good information for future Googlers going for exchange. Makes life SOOOO much easier if you have all this information.

gobbledydook.

tik-tock, the clock in the background
(why'd most poems begin with sounds, sighs or frowns)
no matter, it'll get better
or it'll clink-clunk straight to the gutter.

not ruby red, but jaded green
if only things were as it seemed
how many ticks, how many sounds
sixty-seven? nah, i've lost count.

puncture me, dear hyphen-
at least you're something i can discern
from the mish-mash of commas, full-stops,
jumble of half-told tales and flops.

gimme inspiration, something like plaith
nay, not the thrice-damned galbraith
always wanted to write about a rook
all the other pieces, i suppose, you took.

so here it ends
stapled incoherence bends
curse sticky-notes, save the stitch
knowledge is a cold-weathered bitch.

aircon and its perils.

sbs employee #1: eh brudder, how should we go about doing the Jurong Point AIRCON interchange ah?
sbs employee #2: dunno leh, aiya, actually very simple one. just put aircon and sliding doors (that might or might not work) can liao. Singaporeans (and other nationalities) very impressed by those high-tech looking things one.
#1: ya hor, and then i just put somemore land space filled with nothing to make it Singapore's biggest AIRCON interchange! wah lau, sure very popular one.
#2: then we put single entry and exit lanes for the buses, and we rotate some bus services so they do a pointless roundabout the entire Jurong Point and the old interchange! wah lau eh, Singaporeans sure love us for this! Extra 10 minutes in an AIRCON bus for FREE leh! and then and then, so many buses and so little lanes, sure jam, then the interchange sure look damn popular with people!
#1: then the bus services that ply the industrial estates and dormitories how ah? since they're 'different' and create long queues, why not transfer them to the old interchange....
#2: shhhhh! so xenophobic! sure kenna whack one! we transfer the ntu buses la! students only mah. they also always so long queue, make so much noise. we achieve the same effect but with less bad press! AHHHH!
#1: then hor, i noticed that the Boon Lay residents have so many bus services available to them! how can? you heard of tyrannry of the majority a not! wah liew so many choices wait they cannot make any! then they miss bus! then they die!
#2: ya! so let's remove 2 of the 4 existing services ok! let them PASS THROUGH THE ROUTE BUT NOT STOP THERE. then the residents will not take SBS for granted liao. they think Singapore so connected without us meh! Also, then next time gahmen can restore the old services as the elections carrot!
#1: ya ya! budden, we cannot be so unfair, wait people write to forums. so let's just remove the services going to the AIRCON interchange from that bus stop, budden for the opposite bus stop, we DON'T TOUCH! Creative solution right? Wah lau, upper management will surely love us for this!

stop screwing around with 'innovations' and 'service enhancements' and gimme back what worked in the past, SBS.

chinese opera.

from whence did the suona
begin their song
clashing cymbals heralding
the curtain draw?

whereupon did we adopt
roles of sheng and dan
speak in sing-song vernacular
and walk the pretentious gait?

did we roll up our water sleeves
to draw the false rouge red?
or was it to prune
the wretched pheasant feather hat?

if only we could tell
sharp eyebrow from
withered frown.

(but we didn't)
and so we circle the motions,
a linear timeline.
tri-sided relationships
paraded on rectangle stage

how we turn our backs
only to stare at
the once-familiar, once-detested, once-contemptuous,
the once-upon-a-time.

'do i know you?'
cue the endless tragedy of the deja vu.