Cogito ergo scribo

The time is 10pm+ now in UK... Yes, I am still in UK even though i am supposed to be on my way back to SG now.

I need to extend my stay here for another week because of an important meeting that will be held next week. This is an unexpected meeting that was only planned at the end of last week and hence they were not in time to inform me about it. Since i do not have anything important to do back in SG and MY for the coming week, i have no problem in extending my trip. There is however a minor problem - i did not pack enough for two weeks!

Ok, for undergarments and socks, i can always wash them myself in the hotel room. The problem is with my working attire and contact lenses.

I do not like to wear the same outfits to office repeatedly. I would always pack enough clothing to make sure i wear different outfit to work everyday. This can be resolved if i go shopping over the weekend. It's just that I am rather lazy and tired to go out. Furthermore, i have more than 10 documents to review and am supposed to work over weekend. If i don't get any new outfit over the weekend, then i'll just have to send the clothing for laundry in the hotel.

The other problem about contact lenses is more difficult to resolve. I wear daily disposable contact lenses and had only brought along 5 pairs for this trip. Now i am only left with one pair. I can go to work in the same outfit but i wouldn't be caught dead in my nerdy thick glasses, especially at our corporate HQ - for sure i wanna look my best!

You may be asking why don't i just go and get some from the shops. Well, in UK, you can't just walk into an optical shop and buy contact lenses off the shelf. It is by law that the person must have a prescription from an optometrist before being allowed to get the contact lenses. I had called a few shops and explain my situation. I asked them if they could make an exception since i am a foreigner but they said they can't do so. I must have my eyes tested (which is chargeable) before they can sell any contact lenses to me. How I miss the convenience in Singapore and Malaysia!

So what i did yesterday was to buy the contact lenses online and paid for the next day delivery charge. But then, i made two mistakes in my rush to purchase it online last evening - firstly, i didn't notice that i gotta place order before 4pm in order to get it delivered on the next working day. So i waited and waited today and didn't see the parcel. I then called the customer service and was informed that it will only be delivered tomorrow. I then asked her to change the address to the hotel since the office will be closed tomorrow, but she couldn't do so because the parcel has already been dispatched

Then, just as i was contemplating if i should go into office tomorrow (since i gotta finish up my work anyway), the customer service lady noticed that i selected the product wrongly - instead of choosing minus degree (for myopia), i actually chose positive degree (for hyperopia). How careless of me! She was smart enough to know that it was a mistake (probably i sounded too young to have such high degree of farsightedness) and alerted me about it. She said in any case, it would be wrong contact lenses for me and hence i will have to place a new order and will only get the lenses next week anyway. So, i had no choice but to place a new order; fortunately she told me that the product can be returned and i will get a refund for it.

As a contingency plan, i went to the pharmacy and bought the contact lens solution (which comes with contact lens case). Instead of throwing away the disposable lens i wore today, i carefully removed it, cleaned it and soaked it in the case for reuse. I know we are not supposed to reuse the daily disposable lenses, but this is a just-in-case measure. I hope i can receive the parcel in time next week.

Anyway, I will only be flying back on next Friday night, but then will have to fly to KL again from JB on Monday morning. Yet once again, I am travelling for three consecutive weeks. I am really not enjoying a life like this - it drains all my energy!

Labels: travel, work