Barely slept. The Airbus that whisked me away to Singapore was narrow, ergo, the seat was small and uncomfortable. 😥

But I was given a beautiful sunrise before I slept in an upright position. It made the ordeal less intense. The real thing mimicked the PAL logo 😂

I lingered for a while at the Jewel a.k.a. Changi Airport mall to see what the brouhaha was about. For 8 years that I have been coming in and out of Singapore, this is the first time I bothered to check the place out. Well, I was forced to because I was looking for a convenience store that was selling a Starhub prepaid SIM. The ones being sold at the airport were expensive. SGD 32 for something that I wouldn’t be able to maximize because I would often be indoors i.e. have wifi access. I didn’t find a 7-Eleven or Cheers—the outlets that sell SGD 12 Starhub SIMs. I remember a few years ago I wanted to kick myself for succumbing to laziness by buying that SGD 32 from the OCBC kiosk when SGD 12 is available outside the airport. I didn’t even consume half of the allotted 100GB data from that SGD 32 prepaid and it just went to waste.

While I was looking for the convenience stores, I found Song Fa at the basement of Jewel. I was hungry and I was going to a Song Fa branch anyway, so there. Happy 😊

Checked in at my hotel to drop off my bags. Then off I went to fix some stuff as a transient Singapore-headquartered worker.

Among the other Singapore things that expired because I wasn’t able to visit for more than 2 years is my Netspay. It still had SGD 11 in it and I was told at the ticket booth at the airport there was no way I can transfer the amount because I don’t have a local bank account.

I was asking my colleague-friend if I can just transfer the amount to her account instead of letting it go to waste but she said she doesn’t use Netspay but instead other e-wallet that I haven’t heard of. Now it makes me think how many e-wallets are operating here and it seems like there is little interoperability among them 🤔

Anyway, I tried the ticket station at Bugis and ask the personnel there if she can transfer my expired amount to my Grabpay. She said she would just give me cash 👀

Wow, talk about consistency.

I went to Bugis to buy the prepaid SIM from the Starhub kiosk there. They were out of stock. Went around and saw a 7-Eleven and hoped for the best.

Wohoo! Got my new number now.

I shopped a bit for my girls. The usual stop is Lovisa because Twin I is obsessed now with earrings, the fancy ones.

Went to Orchard to pay homage to my home away from home in SG: Kinokuniya Books.

I wasn’t really there for the books but for the Japanese stationery. I love their writing stuff like pens and notebooks. I took after my father in that aspect. I remember he always used a Parker pen and ordinary pens just wouldn’t do for signing docs or just for notes. For me, it’s Pilot Pens.

However, Kinokuniya didn’t have refills for Dr. Grip and Acroball. 😢 Not the ball size that I want.

Of course, just like everything else in this country, the price is too much. I didn’t succumb to temptation.

Went for drinks with colleagues as my ex-boss, who is transferring to the data team, will be leaving for London for good on Wednesday.

I didn’t take my antidepressant because I will be having a lot of alcohol this week. I was already booked by the conference team to have drinks with clients on Wednesday, so help me, God, that I will still be sober after this week.