The saga of the lock

So we didn't get around to getting a new padlock till today, and naturally, we managed to buy a padlock that doesn't fit our gate. Fortunately, it was a two-for-one package, and the second padlock that came with it (of a less user-friendly variety) does fit. I then set about trying to find out if we could somehow exchange the two-for-one package for a cheaper just-one-lock-that-fits deal. But no, it's clearly printed on our receipt: "No refund." Exchanges are permitted within a 7-day period, but that still means we'd have to buy about another $70-80 worth of hardware store stuff to make up the difference.

So we now have a new padlock, new keys and an extra padlock. We can't sell or give the extra padlock away because it shares the same keys as the one we're using. It sounded convenient when we bought it, but now I suspect the extra padlock will be one of those things we pick up five years from now, when we're moving out of the apartment or something, and go, "Why the hell do we have an extra lock?"

(This is why blogging is useful. So that after your Swiss cheese memory totally disintegrates, you can do a quick search for "lock" and see if anything turns up.)

Now that we have a new lock, we're not getting a new door. We toyed with the idea on Thursday after T lost his keys, since when we renovated the apartment, we redid everything except the front door, but I quite like having an old, worn, original HDB door, that sits completely at odds with the rest of our relatively modern-decor apartment. It looks even more desperately in need of a coat of paint now that they've given our entire block a whitewashing. The staircase banisters are powder blue instead of the old, dirty beige and the void deck pillars are two-toned white and orange. Everything looks sparkling white and pristine, which I know won't last long, but hey, I'll enjoy it while it does. It's the closest thing to whiteness I'll get this Xmas.