One thousand dollars buys the Option to Purchase (OTP) a resale flat. We met the seller with our agent, and with a few signatures and a cheque of exactly that amount we have bought ourselves 14 days to secure a bank loan to finance our latest purchase. It's pretty much certain that we're moving out within the year.

I dread the idea of packing up all the stuff we've accumulated since we turned our once pristine, empty apartment into the home I've grown so comfortable in. Today, there's junk everywhere -- it's like a rat's nest, padded all over with debris and detritus that gives a place that "lived-in" look.

But because we have to sell off our current place, we're facing quite the daunting task of bringing sterile order back into the chaos we've allowed our place to settle into. And this has to be done quickly before we start inviting prospective buyers in to appraise our humble abode. No one's gonna be tempted to buy a pig-sty.

Oh well, guess how I'll be occupied this weekend?

We've taken our first steps towards changing our residential address. Just met with our agent who helped us work out our finances and, yes, it looks like our second-choice unit is just barely within our means. But for the forseeable future, we're going to be seriously cash poor 'cos forking out the downpayments and legal fees will just about wipe us out.

But the place we'll be moving to will be much closer to decent public transport, shopping amenities, and M-i-L. By moving up north, the Wong colony will have achieved reunification.

Most of all, we're moving to cut our losses on our current place. That's us and our business logic: buy high, sell low. Somehow, I don't think we've quite got the hang of the property game. But if we delay selling now, our valuation is most likely to dip to a point where we'll never be able to sell and we'll just have to grow old and die here. What a cheery thought.

Anyway, I'll probably keep a record of our transactions here in case anyone wants a blow-by-blow account of the processes involved in both purchasing and selling an HDB unit on the open-market. Who knows? Someone might find this info useful.

Meantime, what have I been doing this past week? Nothing much, really. I cycled about 20 km in a single sitting, having found the park connector from ECP to Changi Beach park. Been bowling a couple of times, and euthanized the effectively brain-dead Boyz once and for all while I was at it. Completed Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect on Cirrus, my new Athlon X2 based workhorse, who has replaced the still-comatose Mr L33t (who for some reson I haven't been able to revive as yet). And I watched Kung Fu Panda which I'd like to comment on if I had the energy.

And I still have a few days of vacation left to enjoy. Yes.