In what turned out to be the first good thing to come out from the whole resiting-paper-for-exemption thing, I managed to change my air ticket back to London without having to pay the supposed $50 penalty.
I'm booked to fly on August 14; much earlier than the planned September 20. It was evidently good cause to be upset so I'd been consoling myself with the fact that I could go back to nice cool weather (as opposed to Malaysia's eternal summer) sooner until it struck me that it's summer too in London! And the house I'm renting doesn't even have a fan! Guess I would have to loose the top to fend off the heat.
The only good thing I could see come out of this situation is that the girl next door might fancy me after laying eyes on my half-naked self and say, in her drunken stupor, "Oh my, what chiseled body he has!" and proceed to ring the bell, only to find the door unlocked and dutifully let herself in and join me for a game of chess.
Yes, I enjoy indulging in fantasies to cheer myself up. Do share some of yours.