Renting Out

Today I went to see the law office at lunch time to work on the power of attorney (poa). I granted poa to my friend who would be renting the flat. I was thinking about selling it but I am reluctant to do so as we may return. I don't want to burn all my bridges when I move. The real estate assessor will also go to my flat tomorrow to assess the value in case I plan to sell it. I paid quite a lot to get these things done. S$ 200 for the poa and S$ 190 for real estate valuation. I hope I could get that back from the one month miscellaneous expense the company would be giving me for the move. After I get the approved poa, I still have to apply for sub-letting. It's a good thing that most government transactions can be done online in the Internet.

We had lunch yesterday at Jerry's in Jalan Kayu. We had toasted mushroom, pulled pork and barbecued ribs. Afterwards we had dessert of banana roti and ice cream roti. The famous roti prata place will close until the end of March for renovations. I thought that I would use these Sunday lunches as a way to have family discussions on the transfer. But it looks like the kids have settled to the idea of moving and not much opposition than I expected. I guess the high emotions have settled and a realistic view has been reached. I can't help but feel that I need more attention from the overseas office for the move. Sometime I feel that I am working on the move alone but such hand holding is not appropriate since I really should be the one driving the transfer.

I called my brother last night and spoke about my relocation. He seems very paranoid especially recently since there seems to be some new regulations in getting a driver's license. But I think his imagination is getting the better of him and he is like me in seeing the economic crises as a harbinger of dire tidings to our personal fortunes. I guess that is the fate if one does not follow the rules. So I need to make sure that my kid's future is not affected in case they decide to come back. My cousin also called last night and said he will be here at the end of April. But I told him that I will be away already at my new assignment by then. So he plans to get a room in the city beside the river. His son - my nephew, has a soccer match here and they plan to visit for 2 days here. It's a pity I won't be seeing them.

I am listening to Larry McMurthy's work 'Books' about his experiences as a book seller. It's an interesting work because it tells about the antiquarian book trade in the US as well as some insights on writing. A short interesting work that is highly entertaining. I watched an excellent movie 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.' It's a wonderful story, nicely done with good images of New Orleans. It's a strange work originally by F.Scott Fitzgerald. Last Saturday morning, I attended an Exco meeting of my Toastmaster club. I get to mention that I am moving next month, something that I often have difficulty doing, like it's still something that I do not accept. Or maybe something that I don't think will happen. But it's like events are just moving along with out my control and I am just a participant in my life. Just like Benjamin Button. But I felt that the movie and Mcmurthy's work have familiarized me on some aspects of Americana
that will help me later on.

Maybe that is what makes people great or achieve great things. To allow events to sweep them along, but playing the role assigned to them, excelling in a tactical way until one can master the events to control their destiny. I think finally I will be able to write there because of the slower pace of life. There is too much temptation here that I am hopelessly distracted. But I have prepared myself by reading and attending things like Toastmaster but I think I have reached a stage where I could just live and be. It's a tall order with too much expectations. I borrowed a book called 'Writing the Natural Way' and I think it's a good book to end my reading on the craft of writing here. I have already spent too much time learning and exploring and now comes the time to do. I also find that I have lost some interest in reading and I am glad that I could borrow audio books where I can just listen to books instead of reading them.