More than just moving...

"Survived" my first week at the new house. I used that word because it was with much reluctance that I came to terms with the fact that yes indeed I had moved out of my parents' house. I had a shock when Mr. Jang told me last Sunday that we would not be going back, when I had thought that the move was only temporary. I felt that I was suddenly yanked out of my home, and I didn't have time to say my goodbyes.

I still miss everything terribly. I only pulled through the first week because I can still see Sis and BIL regularly especially when I go to work cos Sis will swing by to pick me up and when I go home to get my stuff. This and the fantastic surprise birthday party that the gang gave me two days ago. Totally made my day.

I miss my little buddy. No matter how hard Mr. Jang tried to tell me that Almonn is no longer my dog (I don't believe it for a single moment) and that he cannot come cos he will scratch the furniture and dirty the place if he comes, I am still very attached to him and I miss him every single day. I think what Mr. Jang doesn't realise is that I can always earn back the money used to refurbish the house or buy back the furniture if there is any damage. But the feelings you have for your pet is something that can never be replaced. I appreciate the efforts that he has made to make the transition less painful and I probably sound selfish when I say this, I will not remember how nice my first house is or how beautiful the furniture is, but I will remember that I miss Almonn every single day that I moved in and that I am forbidden to bring him here with me. :(



First night at new place

The last item on the list i.e. the Internet connection, is finally up. I have officially moved in!

After close to nine months of dragging our feets and then getting a contractor to work on the house and finally moving some of the essential stuff over, I can now say that WE HAVE OFFICIALLY MOVED IN!

To be honest, we are far from staying here on a permanent basis. Not yet, at least. We are only here because we need to vacate the study room at Dad and Mom's place for Uncle Chris and Aunt Jessie. They are visiting us from Canada and will be here until Monday.

Nonetheless, this is still an exciting development. We will be spending our first night at the new house in the new four-poster bed. I have just tested the water pressure and water temperature at the bathroom and it was amazing.

I am going to miss Sis, BIL and Almonn so much once I start staying here on a more regular basis and when the novelty wears off. Mr. Jang has a lot of entertainment at night and I will probably be spending loads of evenings alone at our new home.

 

Perhaps I can sneak back to Mom's place as and when possible. Or, I can always bring my security blanket over so that I can still have the smell of home.

This is our washing machine! :)

The first piece of essential furniture (official) for our new house: Fisher & Paykel Smart Drive GWC12. A fully featured autowasher powered by the unique Smart Drive System. It is designed to preserve natural resources, offering auto water level, two water saver options and a favourite cycle for the ultimate in customisation... oh who cares, I bought it cos I think the design is nice.

the complain culture?

Many peeps are complaining about the house after they have received their keys. Cracked ceilings, cracked toilet bowls, gaps in the tiles etc. Ok lah. Maybe there are really defects in the house. The developer would have to fix them.

To complain about the wardrobe, the inward swinging grill, the colour of the tiles though... erm... peeps, didn't you already know that at the time when you purchased the house? I mean, if you don't like them in the first place, then don't buy the house, or make plans to change them after you get your house loh. No need to complain now mah. Unless, complaining has really become a bad national habit, like what they say?

For me, I am just thankful to be able to have a decent enough house, in a decent enough area. Many people our age in other countries probably couldn't afford a place that they could call their own. Most are just renting flats at exorbitant prices.

So my fellow young countrymen, don't complain anymore. If there are defects in the house, just point them out and be patient while the developer fixes them. For the rest of the items that are not done to your liking, just change them when you do the renovation.

Let's learn to cope with imperfections and find concrete solutions to them instead of complaining. It'll certainly make the country (and the world) a better place to live in.

Aaaaaaand the house has FINALLY ARRIVED!!!!

Went sniffing around the house like a puppy once Mr. Jang opened the door to our very first house. It wasn't fantastic (some of the finishing need to be touched up and the master bedroom was a tad too small for my liking) but hey, its OUR HOUSE!!!!! This is where we are gonna be for the next 5-8 years at least, I suppose?

Omg... What are we going to do? It's like being brought in front of a big white canvas and being asked to crack your brains to draw something that you would have to stare at for the next 5-8 years. Where should we start? What should we do? How are we going to visualise what it's gonna look like? What if we make bad decisions and live to regret it later on?

This whole process of design and renovation has been put on the back burner because we always say "wait for the house to come first" or "we must see how it looks like first". Now that it is here, right before our eyes, what should our next step be?

To be continued (soon I hope)...

(P/S: Tried using my body to measure the size of the bed. Have been eyeing the canopy bed in Ikea for some time now. Think it might hit the ceiling?)

A very enjoyable Saturday

Had a wonderful Saturday R&R-ing with Mr. Jang. Woke up at 11.30am and after taking my own sweet time to wash up, we headed to Orchard 313 in search of The Pink Dress for Sis' wedding in May. But alas, no such luck. Not even after shifting our operation to Takashimaya. Now I realised now much my own jiemeis had gone through to find That Royal Purple Dress for my own wedding earlier this year. (Sorry, ladies!)

On a separate note, JOOP at 313 was having a sale and I bought 4 tops and a mini skirt for a total price of $50 within 30 mins. I love a good sale, especially when there was a big sign at the door that said "nothing above $19.90". :D

Mr. Jang and I also officially started our mattress hunting today. The current love of our lives is this super comfy mattress at Sealy (Posturepedic/Grand Pinnacle) but it came at a whopping price of $12,000 after discount (original price is $16,000). Looks like we'd have to work real hard if we want to buy this, unless we don't get a car so soon, or my next job could give me a 25% increase from my current pay. Haha... but yes, time to really start doing up the budget and saving up again.

Simei DBSS - done deal!

MR. JANG AND I FINALLY BOUGHT THE SIMEI DBSS FLAT (PARC LUMIERE) TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gosh. It's the most expensive thing I've ever ever ever paid for in my life and to be honest, I am not sure if I understood the full impact of this.

We were quite lucky cos we were supposed to rejoin the queue at 1pm today but apparently some people did not turn up so we were called to go there and wait around 11 plus. After another four more hours of waiting, monitoring the no. of units sold (like stock market), and trying to calculate our budget etc etc, we finally decided on this 5-room flat at one of the inner blocks because all the good 4-room flats were sold out. The unit isn't located at the ideal floor but it's within our budget and we like the unit no. Plus, my current place will only be 10 minutes away by car. And Sis said that we can take TPE to her place next time.

And so, here's to ticking one more item off our to-do list!

Simei DBSS - my first attempt at queueing for a flat

I spent the entire day queuing up for the Simei DBSS. Mr. Jang and I knew that people were already queuing up since yesterday but we didn't expect the crowd to be this big. By the time we got there at around 11.30am, our queue no. was 500 plus. The procedures were really quite confusing with the staff dishing out contradicting instructions. And then it was a long, long wait. At around 7 plus, the staff just announced that we should come back tomorrow. Argh! In the meantime, the good units were all being taken up! I wonder if it's worth going back tomorrow.

Sigh. It's my first time queuing up for a flat and already I'm thinking that it's quite a hassle. But then, it's part and parcel of the Singaporean life, hein?

Phew...

The last day of the course finally came. After a round of project presentations in the morning, we were allowed some time off to do our own stuff before waiting for Big Big Big Boss to come and present us our certificates. So the girls from Table 1 (A X 2, MJ and I) went off to Borders + Marks & Spencer to buy some thank you gifts for the sweet organisers - a card and some nicely packed soap.

And then came the brief ceremony. In his closing speech, Big Big Big Boss said we must all be "winged octopus" (...) I think he meant someone with the ability to (1) multitask, (2) handle pressure from multiple fronts and (3) keep his/her eyes on the big picture somewhere up in the skies.

(I am already trying very hard. I hope my tentacles don't get tangled up in the midst of trying.)

Shopped with MJ for a while at Far East Plaza after the course while A X 2 went to cut their hair . Bought two dresses and a pair of earrings within 20 minutes. No joke but retail therapy really works.

Flew back home to grab my laptop before meeting S for project discussion at Siglap Mac. Thank God we managed to lay a decent egg for Monday's presentation. It had felt like a difficult pregnancy + long and painful labour. Maybe I am just getting too old and rusty for term papers.

And then Mum and Sis packed dinner for me while we went up to the old house to do some last minute cleaning before the big handover tomorrow. I finally said goodbye to my good old faithful bicycle of 10 years. It will be henceforth "donated" to an unknown trainee pilot who needs to navigate his way around the run down Seletar camp.

Phew... a bit exhausted... I think I have accomplished quite a fair bit on this last day.