Mood: Slightly Stressed 
Vaping: Vozol 12000 Watermelon Bubblegum
Weather: 27°C, Cloudy
Location: Mont Fleuri, Mahe, Seychelles
There was a rainstorm with thunder and lightning about an hour ago but it has stopped for a bit.
Today has been a hectic day to say the least! As soon as I woke up I checked on the Fedex parcel the tracking went from “package available for clearance” to “paperwork available for non-Fedex broker”. My sister called Fedex who informed her that the package has been flagged for customs clearance. They said the total cost of the goods and the freight surpassed the SCR 3000 allowance. It had an “Air Seychelles” letterhead:
The last time we had a similar issue, the SRC staff told me that the updated allowance was SCR 5000 total for the cost of goods and freight. Our personal box totaled to around SCR 3900. The SRC website states that non-commercial consignments have an allowance of SCR 5000.
My sister was on the phone practically begging them to clear the box, and I could hear the person on the other line telling her that SRC was convinced that the items were for commercial use. This is Seychelles, they are aware we have a business as we clear regularly. It’s ridiculous for us to be discriminated against for the sole reason that we have a business. Are business owners not allowed to import items for personal use without being heavily scrutinized by SRC? My sister insisted that they open the box to check its contents if they are not convinced. We had to provide them with more documentation, they requested a copy of her ID, Whatsapp phone number, commercial invoice, freight invoice, and the confirmation order. The lady at Fedex promised to try her best to convince SRC that it’s a personal box. After hours of calls and emails, they called us 30 minutes before close of business and told us to come collect the box but that we would have to pay VAT. We rushed to the car and practically flew to the airport. We paid SCR 192 VAT fees and get this – they didn’t even give us a receipt. What’s up with that? My sister was so stressed out and didn’t want to push the wrong buttons by asking them for a receipt (we need it for when we file our taxes each year) so she just got out of there after clearing the payment. We realized that they actually did open the box. Here are my highlighted purchases from the package:
Waterproof phone case for scuba diving, it’s supposed to be able to sustain a depth of 40 meters. I have no plans to ever go that deep but hopefully it will survive a few dives. It came with a vacuum pump (diving to a depth below 10m will require vacuuming). This case is so heavy, it’s possibly 1Kg:
My most important purchase in this box was the automatic feeder for Thyl. The feeder I had before worked great, I bought one that looks and works exactly the same way but I think the brand and packaging was made to cater for the Western market:
I purchased a camera stand that I will be needing for some videos I want to create that will help market my next venture, it’s made of metal and the base is quite heavy. I already tested it with my phone, it’s very stable and I’m sure it will fit in well with my plans for it:
I then purchased a desk flag as a background prop for the videos that I will be creating, I’m also thinking of selling this locally, it might make a nice gift to patriotic people with office jobs. I must admit though, the packaging was terrible:
I have other purchases but I’ll spare this page. I’ve already bookmarked a number of items that I’ll need for my next business venture, but for now I’ll need to shift my focus to my upcoming holiday and really take the time to take a break and also to recalibrate.
I weighed myself earlier today and I hit 49.65Kgs. I know that will fluctuate a bit but I’m determined to persevere. I asked an ex-colleague to find out more about having a personal trainer at the gym that he goes to. I want to start building muscle and work on abs. It’s not going to be easy but I want to at least try. It will also be one way I can get out there and socialize a bit more. Staying at home all day, every day is negatively impacting my mental health and my social life. Now that I’m closer to reaching my target weight, I can see heads turning again and it really helps boost my confidence, which is especially important when anyone’s ageing!
My sister’s sore throat has progressed into a full blown cold/flu. My sore throat is gone. I’m not really trying to avoid contamination from her though, I’m convinced my body has been and still is fighting something. I remember feeling feverish a few days ago, I even communicated that with her. I had runny nose the other day and I’m still sneezing. I don’t know if I will also end up getting the flu/cold.
Tomorrow night I’ll be traveling so I don’t think I’ll have time to submit an entry. I’m going to spend the day cleaning the place and sorting out a few things. We’re going to the store as well to work for a bit. So I’ll update this blog as soon as it is possible.