Farewells

I love my friends and my friends love me.
This, I know, by the number of farewell meals I've had in the past week alone. For all that, your friendship, and great company, thank you.

Now, it's back to feeling fat and lethargic.
Bouts of insomnia mean little sleep.
Little sleep means no energy for runs or rides or any physical activity I miss and crave.

A big box and some paper bags of junk I've accumulated at work in the past 2.5 years sit in the living room, waiting for my attention.

Sigh.
I think I'll allow myself one more day of laziness.
As of Monday, I'm officially unemployed. But there's still much to do, and not much time. This is gonna be fun. Not.

18 days to go

My last day is on Friday. I'm really gonna miss this place and the people who are my dearest friends. Even if I don't leave, it wouldn't be the same anyway. YL is leaving for HK. JH is leaving for another place. TL and RK have left. Now I'm just sad to leave the rest of them. I should start packing my workstation.

I'm collecting my visa tomorrow. Income tax clearance done, so I won't be deprived of my final salary. Some freelance moolah has come in, and I've cashed out some of my unit trust, so I'm not surviving on a near empty bank account. I've vaccinated my girl and renewed her overdue doggy license.

My To-Do list is considerably shorter now, but it still feels like a lot to cover in less than 3 weeks! At this time last week, I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I'm just glad the worse is over, and all the crucial things like the visa and income tax stuff are settled.

Post Edit as of 4.6.08

• Collect my visa tomorrow Done!
• Confirm flight and collect ticket Done!
• Clean up my room (again) - sort out To Bring, To Ship, To Throw
  
• Start packing
• Get my bike stuff sorted out (JW, I'll be calling you soon about the trainer!)
• Call my insurance agent to check on my coverage Done!
• Consolidate all my bills Done!
• Do up a Sunshine Manual for my parents and her dogma Done!
• Spend some quality time with people I love
• Catch up with friends
  
• Check if I can get the keys to my apartment soon and how to manage it while I'm gone Done!
• Get shipping quote
• Get my own domain and put together a China-friendly blog
• Get a freaking hair cut!
  

Anything else I should remember?

To Do List (as of now)

Week: 12-18 May
- Settle 2008 Income Tax declaration (Jan - May).
- Contact UOB. Find out how to dump EPF Acct2 into Home Loan.

Week: 19-25 May
- Apply for Working (Z) Visa.
- Meet up with insurance agent.

Week: 26 May -1 June
- Collect Work Visa.
- Book air ticket.
- Pay off debts!

Week: 2 - 7 June
- Check Saffron status.
- Take Sunshine for annual vaccination and renew doggy licence.
- Start packing. Consolidate banking accounts.
- Talk to HSBC, find out easiest fund transfer method for China-Malaysia.
- Get a new domain for my blog.

Week: 9 - 14 June
- Change enough Renminbi to live on for 2 weeks, misc. permit fees, and 2 months rent deposit. Gulp.
- Plan for enough contingency money for family (June + July).
- Final packing.
- Pack bike, and put together stuff for shipping and get cost estimate.
- OMG, time to fly! :O


Things I'm planning to buy:

The Crumpler Sinking Barge.
It will carry my laptop, the camera-I-will-buy-when-I-can-finally-afford-it and space for lots of other stuff. Kakakaka. At RM469, it's pretty steep, but it's a very good bag that carries everything and then some, while providing good protection and support . This I will get before I go.


The camera I will buy when I can finally afford it.
The Canon EOS 450D or the Nikon D40x. Maybe a Christmas present to myself end of this year. Kekeke.

Bike Trainer
Buying over JW's Minoura AC Pro second hand, so I can train on my bike indoors when I can't cycle outdoors. Costs a lot less than a gym membership in Shanghai (ridiculously expensive at about RM500 a month!)

A new pair of 'crocs'.
Went over to my Bata client's office yesterday for a meeting, and fell in love with a pair of Primavera Mock Croc heels. That's right. HEELS. Maroon-ish bronze-ish colour. Pointy-toed. About 2.5 inches high. Looks great with jeans. YOU? WEAR HEELS? Hey, you can stop laughing now. It's going for RM129 though, so I'll really think about it. It's not something I can wear every day and anywhere. Not like my REAL trusty Crocs.

*chants to self*
I am broke. I am broke. I am broke.

Alien Dilemma

My HR person in Shanghai told me a few weeks ago that the Working (Z) Visa is valid for 3 months once I get it. At the Chinese Embassy this morning, I was told it would only be valid for 1 month.

The problem: One of the documents sent to me from Shanghai ALSO has a due date. I was told it would expire one month from its issuing date, which makes my deadline to apply for the visa, May 13.

I plan to fly off on June 14. But if I apply for the Visa before May 13, it would mean I have to get into Shanghai BEFORE June 13 before it expires.

I'm waiting for Shanghai to tell me what to do next.
Bloody confusing and frustrating! I went all the way to town this morning for nothing.

Sigh. At least I managed to collect my medical report, so my next trip to the embassy is just one direct LRT trip to Ampang Park from Kelana Jaya. I had to make a detour stop at Masjid Jamek to collect my medical report from Tung Shin hospital today. The walk there from the station was very unpleasant. The smell of old urine on the pavement near the Maybank building made me retch. The bus fumes were horrendous. And some asshole tried to brush up against me but I avoided him just in time. Took a cab to the embassy on Jalan Ampang and then the LRT back to Kelana Jaya.

Post Edit: Just found out it was the HR person who got it wrong! The Work Visa Notice document is valid for 3 months, not 1 month. And the visa is now valid for 1 month, not 3 months. So I can apply for my visa 2 weeks from now. Phew.

I'm an alien

It's bloody troublesome to get a Chinese visa right now, what with the Olympics and all. But to get a work visa, OMG, it's a freaking headache.

Before entry into China, I must first get a “Working (Z) Visa” at the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia. Here's the To-Do list:

STEP 1
Provide the following documents to my new employer in Shanghai.

1. Chinese resume（your last degree obtained and your complete working experience）
2. Original or faxed copy letter from former employer to prove the working experience
3. Copy of the passport
4. Chinese name

Done. This part was easy.


STEP 2
Employer in Shanghai applies for the “Alien Employment License” and “Working (Z) Visa Notice”.

I received these documents 2 weeks ago. The first, a laminated document stating I'm an alien seeking employment, the other a photocopied form requesting the Chinese Embassy here to process my visa.


STEP 3
Take the “Alien Employment License”, “Working (Z) Visa Notice”, my passport and other documents required by the local Chinese Embassy to apply for Working (Z) Visa.

Now how helpful was that. What other documents?
Thinking a travel agent would know the requirements, I called up Reliance Travel. They knew jack-shit and were not helpful at all. So I called up Holiday Tours and Travel and I was very impressed. The service was not only friendly and prompt, but the person I spoke to went out of her way to help me out. She even gave me her mobile number and email in case I needed to contact her with any questions. She called up the Chinese embassy and told me I would also need to submit a medical report from Tungshin Hospital, along with my application. If it wasn't for her, I would have wasted time at the embassy as the HR person in China said the medical was to be done in Shanghai itself.

I have done my medical check up (ECG, X-Ray, blood work) and should be going to the embassy on Friday. The documents sent to me from Shanghai expire next week (talk about a small time window!) so it has to be done ASAP.


After Entry into China, timing is also very crucial. There are not one, not two but three permits to apply for within the first 30 days of my arrival. Yup. In the To-Do list, the HR person warned that "Any delay will cause severe loss and a lot of trouble."

Scary.

1. Apply for the Registration Form of Temporary Residence （临时住宿登记表）within 48 hours of arrival in Shanghai. This has to be done at the District Public Safety Bureau and takes 1 working day. If I stay in a hotel, the hotel will help to get the form. But if I'm staying in an apartment, I have to visit the District Public Safety Bureau in person with a leasing contract and my passport.

2. Apply for a Working Permit （外国人就业证） within 15 days of arrival. The Working Permit is issued at the Shanghai Labor Bureau and takes 5 working days.

Documents needed from me:
- Original passport and one copy (I get back my passport on the same day)
- Original Registration Form of Temporary Residence
- Original Alien Employment License
- 3 passport size photos

Documents to be prepared by Shanghai employer:
- 2 application forms
- Copy of the Chinese employment contract
- Copy of the Certificate of Verification
- Copy of company business license

To get the Certificate of Verification, a full physical examination is necessary to prove I am in good health and free from any disease, communicable ailment, or sexually transmitted disease. I wonder if this is still necessary now that I've done my medical check up in KL to apply for the visa in the first place.

The examination must apparently be completed in Shanghai at the Shanghai Health & Quarantine Verification Office. I have to bring my passport and a copy of it, 3 passport size photographs, copy of the company business license and an examination fee of 702 RMB. The examination has to be reserved around 5 working days in advance and it takes another 5 working days to get the Health Certification.

If your head is not spinning yet (mine is), there is one more step.

3. Apply for the Residence Permit (外国人居留许可） in person within 30 days after obtaining the working permit. Issued at the Shanghai Public Safety Bureau, it takes 5 working days.

Documents to be prepared by me:
- Original passport (The government will keep your passport for 5 working days)
- 1 passport size photo
- Original Registration Form of Temporary Residence and one copy

Documents prepared by Shanghai employer:
- Application Form
- Application letter from company
- Original Certificate of Verification
- Original Working Permit (The government will keep the Permit for 5 working days)
- Copy of the company business license/Certification of Approval/Company Code Certificate

This is oh, so very stressful.
With all this red tape, it's no wonder they are known as the 'red' country.

So much to do :(

Things I must do by this week and next week:
1. Renew passport done
2. Go for a medical at Tung Shin done
3. Go to the Chinese embassy with medical report, documents and passport to obtain work visa
4. Book air-ticket
5. Repay debts
6. Clear 2008 Income Tax :P
7. Copy stuff from old laptop into new laptop done, then reformat old laptop
8. Decide to fix or not fix wonky camera. If not, figure out how to afford a new one :P

Before the month is out:
1. Catch up with insurance agent
2. Renew Sunshine's doggy license
3. Draw up a Sunshine Dogma Manual for SM

I'm now also very, very broke.
The holiday. Buying stuff for my impending move. Weddings. Credit card bills that seem to accumulate (I always paid in full, but I haven't been able to over the past few months).

I decided to give my A Famosa triathlon debut a miss.
Didn't train at all while on holiday in Bangkok. Spent more money than I intended to while I was there (and going down to Melaka would cost me more moolah). Going unprepared mentally and physically is a bad idea and I want my first time to be enjoyable. Maybe I'll just resume training in Shanghai and aim for the Half IM in Haikou next year. Hahaha!

Bangkok 2008 holiday report coming next.

B.U.S.Y.

Been busy, busy, busy.
Was helping out on a pitch. Then I had a really interesting shoot for Mamee instant noodle over the weekend, with the most decent storyboards I've had in ages. No lame local celebrities. No lame hard-sell scripts. And the icing on the cake was having some Thai talents, a Thai director and his team on the shoot. Needless to say, they brought the boards to life. We even had pyrotechnics for one of the boards - no need for fire effects in post! Looking forward to the online and offline next week. The commercials should be out end of the month, about the same time as another animated commercial for Mamee Monster. That one is no biggie, but compared to the 2D el-cheapo spots they use to have, this one is better by leaps and bounds. Think Cars. Sort of.

Been lazy, lazy, lazy.
Haven't gone riding. Haven't gone for a run since KLIM. Managed to squeeze in only a swim and a session of RPM in the past week. Not to mention my left foot has been hurting on and off along the 5th metatarsal (the bone along the side of the foot connecting to the last toe). Now I'm seriously thinking of giving the A Famosa Triathlon a miss.

Annual lezzer trip pilgrimage
My annual holiday with LY, my itchy chaboh, is yet again, to one of our favourite places in the world. Bangkok. This time, we are bringing our significant others along. Kinda like a double-date holiday. It'd be a first time for us, though we're kinda wondering if this counts as our annual trip. We're bringing the boys to an island, then to the city to eat and shop. Nut and Itchy style.

Here's a very rough itinerary:

25 April (Friday night)
2130: Check in at LCCT
2230: Depart for BKK
2335: Arrive in BKK

26 April (Saturday morning)
0000: Take cab to Sawasdee Inn at Sukhumvit.
0030: Check in. Sleep.
0800: Wake up, have breakfast.
0830: Check out. Take cab/walk to Ekamai Bus Terminal nearby.
0930: Take Bus to Trat Province.
1430: Arrive in Trat. Have quick lunch. Take songteaw to
Ao Thammarachat Pier.
1530: Ferry to Ao Sapporos Pier, Koh Chang.
1600: Arrive on island. Get a cab or tuk-tuk to Siam Bay Hotel.
Check in. Wash up. Rest. Hang out at the beach.
1900: Dinner. SEAFOOD?
2000: Free & Easy – Explore Koh Chang nightlife?
Drinks on the beach? Sleep whenever.

27 April (Sunday)
0900: Breakfast! Bum at the beach or pool! Free & Easy!
Lunch whenever. Bum some more. Dinner whenever. Sleep.

28 April (Monday)
0900: Breakfast! Bum at the beach or pool!
1200: Check out of Siam Bay. Get cab/tuktuk to Pier.
1230: Ferry to Ao Thammachat Pier. Take songtheaw to Trat.
1330: Have lunch in Trat.
1400: Take bus back to Bangkok.
1900: Arrive at Ekamai Bus Station. Take BTS to Rachetewi BTS.
1915: Check in to Asia Hotel. Rest and wash up.
2000: Dinner at Siam House (next door) – our favourite place.
2100: Massage!

29 April (Tuesday)
0900: Breakfast. Platinum for shopping! Lunch at Platinum Food Court. More shopping. Look for tailor?
2000: Take BTS to Asok. Take cab to Chokchai Steakhouse.
2200: Nightlife?

30 April (Wednesday) – Makan Day
0830: Wake up, get ready, have light breakfast.
0900: Take BTS to Saphan Taksin for River Ferry Ride to old Bangkok.
0930: Eat our way around Bangkok. Soi Polo Fried Chicken. Streetside Duck Noodles. Pad Thai Tu Pee in Old Bangkok (recommended by my Thai producer).
1800: Dinner at ChoteChitr in Phraeng Phuton
2100: Take BTS back to hotel to shower and dress up.
2200: BTS to Saphan Taksin. Go for drinks at Sirocco.

1 May (Thursday)
0900: Have breakfast. Last minute shopping..
1300: Take BTS to Mo Chit for Aw Taw Kaw Food Court.
1600: LY and FH to check in at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
1900: LY + FH fly home. WN + D explore and eat in MBK.
2205: LY and FH arrive at LCCT.

2 May (Friday)
0900: Have light breakfast. Take BTS to Mochit BTS. Visit Chatuchak Market. Eat at Aw Taw Kaw Market.
1300: Go to Amaltery for alcoholic ice cream. Or go for massage.
1600: Depart for Suvarnabhumi Airport.
1900: WN and D fly home.
2205: Arrive at LLCT.

Getting ready for Shanghai.
Yet to cross off things from my To Do List. It's still over 2 months away. No news about my visa from HR at the moment. So I guess the idea of leaving won't sink in until the visa is ready and I can book my one-way air ticket. Then I gotta plan what I want to bring over there. Organise the shipping. Etc Etc Etc. Arrrrgghh. Stressful.

Daylight robbery.
It's that time of the year when my hard earned money will go into coffers that send smiling himbos into space, children of well-connected politicians to universities abroad and the PM to his holiday home in Perth.

I didn't pay them what I 'owed' for 2006 last year (sent in the form but forgot to go to the bank, haha), so I went to the LHDN office this morning to find out if I should include it in this year's payment. I waited one and a half hours only for them to tell me that I didn't have to pay for last year after all. They owe me almost RM500 in tax returns for previous years. Bad enough I didn't get my money back. I didn't even know I had credit! Imagine if I never asked. It seems I can deduct the amount from this year's payment. You bet I'm gonna!

Things to do before I go

It's been confirmed. I start work in Shanghai on June 16th.
Things I need to do, in no order of importance, from now till then.

1. Clean up the mess that is my room, go through my wardrobe, chuck clothes I don't wear anymore, figure out what I'll need for Shanghai, decide what I should buy here before I go, and what I should buy when I get there.

2. Sort out my bills, filing and tax forms (gawd, how I hate doing this every year).

3. Collect debts, pay off debts (the ones I can anyway).

4. Pay for the airconds for my Saffron apartment before the month is out.

5. Plan how to consolidate my unit trust investment and find out from insurance agent how far my policy covers me abroad (call both unit trust and insurance agents).

6. Go to EPF, withdraw from Account 2 and dump money in housing loan to reduce monthly payments. Check EPF beneficiary names, just in case.

7. Train for A Formosa Triathlon.

8. Plan how to ship my stuff over to Shanghai - books, bike et al.

9. Set up my own domain name, get a webhost and transfer my blog to www.wandernut.com, because all free blogsites are blocked in China.

10. Get air ticket.

11. Try to do a last ditch decent campaign in current agency before I go.

12. Plan for Sunshine's well-being while I'm away.

13. Catch up with friends.

14. Put all utility bills at home on auto debit to credit card.

15. Arrange for auto debit for car loan and home loan.

16. Go for trip to Bangkok with D, LY and FH.

17. A long weekend with D and another with LY.

18. Spend more time at home with folks and Sunshine.

19. Get a new smaller laptop and configure current laptop to make it more user-friendly for folks (and teach them how to Skype).

20. Do homework on new agency (check out their current and past work)

21. Fix my camera.

22. Find out when I'll be getting the keys for Saffron, appoint real estate agent to rent out apartment.

23. Get broadband sorted out for the pouting rooster.

24. Make sure car is in decent condition (car is at the workshop to replace all my balding tyres as I type), get mom used to driving my car, and hopefully clear her of road phobia by the time I go.

25. Claim all my credit card reward points before they expire (yes, I kiasu hahaha)

26. Brief brother what to do in A, B and C scenarios.


Things to buy before I go:

1. A new pair of jeans (I have a comfy pair that makes me look like slob, and a one that's too tight I can't wear them anymore).

2. A decent jacket for cooler weather in autumn. I'll get winter wear when I get there.

3. A portable hard-disk.

4. A good suitcase (I usually travel with a backpack or a cheap roller suitcase that has since fallen apart).

5. Some OTC medicines like Panadol, flu meds, tummy meds etc (they say in China, you never know if the stuff you get are genuine)

6. Spices, belacan, stuff that will help me feel less homesick, food wise.

7. My skincare stuff, and toiletries to last me for the first couple of weeks.

8. New laptop. Thinking of the Dell XPS 13.3" (2G HD). For the same price I could get a Sony Vaio (1G HD). Hmmmm. Shucks.

9. A Chinese - English dictionary.

10. Some decent clothes. Apparently in Shanghai, appearances matter and I can't go to work looking like a slob anymore. Dammmit!!!! DAMMMMMMMIITTTT!!!

Big changes ahead

It started out as a phone call from a headhunter, CY, who's a friend of AW in Shanghai. I wasn't really thinking about working abroad at that time. Not in China anyway. I was more keen on Hong Kong - I could at least speak the language.

A potential offer from HK did come my way, and after a few days of agonising if I should take it up, I decided yes, I should do this while I'm still young, if only for the experience. It's my small window of opportunity before fear or commitments come my way, the kind that increases exponentially with age. Right now, I'm neither too junior to earn pittance, nor too senior to be unaffordable. And while I'm happy where I am, a decent job with lovely colleagues and a great boss, I'm too comfortable. It's now or never.

But of course, I could only go with a clear conscience if D and LY, my two favourite people, were okay with my temporary abandonment. It was difficult at first. But they both love me enough to know how important it is to me. They tried to understand my constant need to 'escape' from here, if only for awhile. Because of this, I love them even more. Especially D. If this whole going away thing didn't come about, I probably wouldn't realise how much shit he was willing to take to make me happy. Being supportive and unconditional with his love were the best things he could ever do for me. So we compromised - 2 years, at most.

However, the HK offer didn't follow through and it went to a good friend instead. I was really disappointed, but happy for her. Then I thought, if I've made up my mind to go somewhere anyway, why not open my mind to Shanghai. CY has been calling about a potential offer for quite some time, though I never really gave it a lot of thought. So when she called again to ask if I'd be interested to talk to the CD in Shanghai, I did.

I've never been to Shanghai, but it sounded pretty interesting. The work would be on a much bigger scale for an international soft drink brand. I'm Chinese illiterate and probably speak just enough Mandarin for daily survival, so I don't really understand in what manner I could contribute as an English writer in this part of the world. But the prospect of being in a new city, in a new agency and in a new culture all by myself excites me to death.

And now that the offer has been confirmed, it scares me half to death.

After much agonising, I bit the bullet and handed in my resignation today. My boss was really sweet about it. Supportive even, despite his pained expression. He had been a good boss and friend, and I felt as if I let him down. But he was cool. And I'm glad I got that over and done with.

If all goes well, I should be there by mid June. They want me in earlier, but with so many writers leaving the agency right now, my boss will have a hard time finding replacements. So 3 months notice it shall be.

This of course throws a spanner in my triathlon plan for this year, though I would be able to do the first one in May. But I plan to train as much as I can when I'm there. As much as time and work permits anyway. Hahaha. Maybe join a tri-club if I can find one. Then maybe the 70.3 Half Ironman China in Haikou, 2009. Talk about being over ambitious! :P

Right now, I'm brimming with excitement. A whole mix of emotions. Happy that I can finally 'run away'. Sad that I'm leaving loved ones behind. And SUNSHINE! I'll miss Sunshine soooooo much! But she's in good hands with my folks, who now spoil her rotten. And also her newly appointed 'dogma', as opposed to godma, SM (she's an atheist, you see).

Yep, it'll be an exciting year ahead.
I have no clue what the future will bring, apart from some really good xiao long baos and la mian.

As scary as it seems right now, I think I'll enjoy the ride.
I would tell you all about it as I go along, but not here on Blogspot. The Chinese government has a weird Internet censorship policy, which includes banning and censoring websites such as BBC, Blogger and even some parts of Google and Wikipedia! I really should get my own domain before I go.

And, dammit. I haven't done my own laundry since university.
*uhuk*