the final 24 hours (IV)

Dead tired after packing and running around the whole day.


@ 9.30pm, battery flat

Pretty dramatic day. It began "normal" enough if you'll consider moving house normal. Anyway, as I was walking across the carpark of the old place in the morning, the property agent spotted me and shouted out my name. Now, this person is a very prim and proper lady who's also eight months+ pregnant, like Wifey. So it was rather uncharacteristic for her to shout my name from across the carpark. And why would a property agent know me by name? Well, this old place is going under the hammer. The whole estate, I mean. Most of the residents have been trying to sell this place collectively (en bloc) since before the economic crash of 1997. I believe at one stage we were hoping for over 2 mil per unit, before the Thai baht took a beating. There had been many attempts since then and I'm pretty tired of another attempt now for the en bloc sale.


the main door, with the shoe area

Anyway, here's the conversation between me and the agent...

Agent: Andrew!

Me: Oh hi! (groaning inside...argh...not again)

Agent: How have you been?

Me: ok lor, moving house tomorrow.

Agent: Wow, already? All set for the sale huh?

Me: What sale?

Agent: Oh I forgot to call you. The en bloc sale went through with 80% agreement.

Me: ....

Agent: Oh yeah, and we got X million more, which translates to Y million more per unit.

Me: ....

Agent: And one more thing, the court order will probably be issued soon and you'll be expected to move out & get the cash by next Christmas.

Me: ....

Agent: So you don't actually need to move that soon.

Me: er, ok...so when's your baby due?

*

Well, that's about all I can recall.

Talk about serendipity.

This is a weight taken off my shoulder, having looked after this place for everyone else for the past 2+ decades. Having said that, I will still miss this place. Yes, it is going to be a trauma moving away. It will probably linger in my memory for a long, long while. I might even look back with nostalgia and regret in future, leaving this place. I will miss having Botanic Gardens at 10 minutes' jog away and walking through its quiet grounds whenever I feel like it. Whatever it is, time to move on.

Take care, my old friendly dragon. You will always be the fairy tale of my teenage years.


view from the balcony