[Wednesday, 14 February, 2007]

Even though I had to get up early, I did not try to catch more sleep again. I tried to improve on the property website as usual. Then, I was staring at the screen, looking at my own typing of the Lonestar story. Blogging took me some time and I went off at around 4.30am finally. I seemed to be so lost the entire morning.

I had to wake up as early as 8.30am to prepare everything. I sorted out some documents and then started working on my brother’s computer. The biggest task was to burn some software for Suimin, who I might get to meet her soon, and I wanted to bring it along with me. However, I was a nerd in burning CD and it took me so long to give up trying as I was getting late. So, I typed into a notepad to ask my brother to help me in case I needed to come home to get it any time.

As usual, people were blocking my way as they really did not bother about occupying the whole space whether at the stairs or a narrow road. Perhaps, I was expecting too much for I had always tried to look around so that I would not obstruct anyone on the road if I were taking a stroll. I missed a bus 196 and I almost thought it was end of the world. As some drops of sweat started to drip, bus 167 came instead.

I was in fact a few minutes earlier and the meeting started late. I was not used to seeing so many people in the company and thus I tried to hang around the receptionist area but everyone was busy. Peixian’s mum, Irene, reached and gave me heart-warming smile. Then, she started to question about my well-being.

The meeting started at the working areas instead of the meeting room. I felt it was quite pathetic. I wanted to raise some doubts but held back since I did not have enough sleep and would probably not able to debate well with them. I wanted to point out the fact about the training but was worried that it might affect Louis.

There were broadcast of many things but I had many doubts in them because I was not the naïve newbie who was there for the first day anymore. There were interruption over the phone and I started to drift away from the announcements. Lincoln was asking to view some flats at Ang Mo Kio urgently and I knew I had to cancel the appointment to learn from Jolee at the HDB hub.

Some rental’s lobangs were out but before Kelly and I could coordinate well to book the flats, they had been snatched. Some news could be leaked out somewhere, somehow, to somebody earlier.

Anyway, I got the keys from Louis and then waited for very long time to see another guy in the administration team. I truly believed that not everyone was as helpful and friendly as Louis and that was really terrible.

Then, I rushed off to the HDB branch office to get some OTP forms, got a bun from the cake shop below and proceeded to Redhill MRT station. I was blocked by many blind and deaf tortoises on the way. After reaching Ang Mo Kio MRT, I started to walk so briskly and at paths where few people were around, I started running in my full formal attire and heavy sling bag.

I arrived at the flat in time. I received Lincoln in sweat ten minutes later. Then, we proceeded from block 114 to 117. Lincoln was very nice and respectful all along and he reminded me of Denis. Then, he drove me to Toa Payoh but on the way, I got to know that his client had viewed three units before mine and she was considering the earlier ones only, which meant that my trip down was a wasted one. It was very disappointing for I did not expect them to have viewed so many units already. At least, he was a nice guy and I would not mind.

I started calling Yaozhong but he was at Marina Square. I messaged Shengli and he did not want to come down to accompany me. I went into the pathetic small arcade and came out soon. Then, I remembered that I had not taken my lunch and thus I went to Long John Silver’s. After that, I camped there to pen things down and surprisingly none of the staffs came over to clear my table.

There were a few groups of “bengs” and “lians”. There were also this weird couple sitting at another corner. The girl was either from Raffles Girls’ School or Raffles Junior College and she seemed to be so sick or unhappy but both of them still behaved quite intimately, lying on each other’s shoulder that I could not make out what was wrong. I almost dozed off many times.

It was before 5pm and Kelly had arrived at block 171. She started to contact Cherylyn to ask about the second viewing. Cherylyn told Kelly that she was still waiting to keep in touch with her clients and therefore we continued to wait. After some time, Kelly called me and told me to go home as Cherylyn’s clients did not want the flat anymore.

We were played. Cherylyn had called me the day before in the afternoon that her clients wanted a second viewing. We were kept waiting for the date and time until this evening she told us the clients did not want it anymore due to the low level.

We started to recall how many times we had entertain that company’s agents down to Ang Mo Kio, Tampiness and Bedok, but none of them had helped us to close any deal, wasting so much of our time, energy and money. Kelly told me not to deal with that batch of people anymore.

It was a dull journey home. Jolee told me I had to attend seminars in order to avoid similar problems in future but I was too moody and tired to do anything. I spent the stupid evening alone. I realised my elder brother had helped me to burn the CD but since Suimin did not reply my greeting message, I did not bother to tell her about it.

I was somehow born to experience darkness and thus I had to learn how to indulge in suffering.