Moving woes

Ok, it must be me. My I-20 form has finally been settled only after 4 weeks. Now I’m stuck at the SEVIS I-901 fee payment, which I paid very early on 16th June, and after 13 days, it still has not been processed. Hey, I paid electronically, not via cheque sent by slow regular mail. What is wrong with the efficiency of the US immigration? Or maybe it is just me.

And so, I cannot proceed onto the ACTUAL visa application. There are 4 forms - DS-156, DS-157, DS-158 and SGP V-4 - to fill in which should not be a problem since this process only involves me. Then, I need to get a cashier’s order from the bank for the visa fee (another fee!!!), since the embassy accepts no other forms of payment, not even debit or credit card or even cash. What is wrong with them?

And then I realise I need to retake my passport photos, since the US immigration only accepts photos that are exactly 2 inches by 2 inches. What the hell.

And so, without the US visa, my 2 boxes to the US are stuck at the UK depot, and so I cannot settle all payment for the shipment and so I cannot close my UK bank accounts before I leave the UK. My 3 boxes to Singapore are already on their way home, and I sent all 5 boxes at the same time. What the fuck.

And to top it all up, my toothache is coming back.

What a great summer!

And what a great way to say goodbye to London!

整理三年

整理收拾了一个星期还没整理收拾完，三年内累积的东西比想象中的还要多。

已经不忍心丢了很多，也送了很多，还是剩下一大堆。

没办法，三年的点点滴滴怎么能在几天内就草草收拾完毕呢？

所以，我得忍着牙痛（和心痛）把回家的日期再度延迟。

明天不回岛国了。

Packing Pangs

Packing pangs have officially set in. I am truly amazed by how much stuff I’ve accumulated in three years. I had 4 big boxes (120 kg) at the end of year 1, and 6 boxes (180 kg) by the end of year 2. I’m definite I have more rubbish than last year, maybe 8 boxes (240 kg) now?

I cannot afford to keep everything and ship everything home or to America, though I want to. It’s either throwing into bins, or giving to friends, or donating to charity. Hopefully I’ll end up with just 4 boxes.

I know I’ll eventually get through all these packing woes. I just need time. And patience.


*By the way, we queued for 50 minutes to get crepes just now and the creperie boss unexpectedly said to me, “It’s you again! You come everyday!” In actual fact, I haven’t been to eat crepes for 3 weeks. I’ll miss the crepes. I’m 101% sure I can’t find any other crepes in the world better than Hampstead’s. :(

离开

我真的不想离开，也不知道如何离开。三年一晃而过，时光怎么荏苒也无须多说，大家都心知肚明。只希望在伦敦的最后几天，能好好和大家说再见。

我知道我离开以后，我会再回来，这或许就足够了。

Only my tooth can decide.

There are pros and cons in life. One cannot expect to be lucky all the time.

Provisional results were out, and I was just a few thousandths of a percentage less than the first and second positions and could have done *just* slightly better to get the prize of 200 pounds. But I’m happy nevertheless to come third in the cohort. =)

Switzerland was awesome, Madrid was not bad either. But I had to cancel my 8-days Scotland trip starting tomorrow, because of an excruciating toothache (so much more painful than the wisdom teeth) which has been put under control with a strong dose of antibiotics, forfeiting the train tickets and hostel reservation charges (which thankfully did not exceed 40 pounds in total). I had to choose to part with 450 pounds to have my nerve at the root of my tooth removed in London, or to go back home earlier to get the ache sorted out at a much cheaper price. So, I might be back in humid Singapore as early as next week, currently booked on the flight SQ319 on 24th June, next Saturday. Hopefully, I can endure the pain and extend my stay in London and leave on 7th July as initially planned, but I seriously doubt so.

Stella said I can stay as long as I want. Yes I want to, but I have no choice. I don’t want to leave London. Only my tooth can decide now.