Unpacking Feb29


I just need to post an entry on this date that only comes by every four years. Tomorrow's the big day, after 'suffering' for four long months, the day has come where commute to work takes only 30 minutes instead of the usual 60.

Come to think of it, I've been here 4 and a half months which totals to about a hundred working days, two hours of commute each day - that's 200 hours, almost 10 days!!!

Jeez I don't even get 10 days straight vacation.....

Cheers for a great experience living in the new place!


Le Honour List

So it's almost been 5 years I've been blogging! What started as a ranting ground for me to whine is now my pride - like a huge piece of scrapbook that I've painstakingly pieced together, year after year.

So without shame, I decided to write and honour my reader(s) LOL! (let me float on my own cloud can or not?)

But frankly, I don't have a lot of readers, but I don't care. I don't publicize my blog, choosing to only let a select few aware of its existence. It's a little like a platform I can share my thoughts and views, what's up and happening. Then a few years (sometimes just months) later, look back at these with fondness ;)

I do have a couple of really loyal readers though ;) So here's a little surprise.... a visual award for them!! (like cheapskate nia kekekeke)

First runner up!!

Someone I've known for as long as I've lived - Fought like boys, bonded by blood... Su Jen!!! Kakakakka

('Winners' chosen based on participation LOLOL - this is kind of fun)

Kakak, proud or not???? 

Nah, your visual award .....

 The best nasi lemak I've had in Singapore!!! Wrapped in banana leaf, with sambal, ikan bilis and fried egg - it's the closest nasi lemak to home. Can almost tear up eating this! Good thing though it's just nearby my office :D

(Sorry ah Su Jen, motivate you to use the nasi lemak paste la noh).

And now, the WINNER!!

(drumroll please)

Is no other than Teen Yuen!! Yeay!

The only person who constantly bugs me to blog more often (yea you other suckers out there never encourage oso. screw u :x)

And your visual prize is.....

The omfgawesome Nasi Goreng Kampung @ Spize Tiong Bahru!! Can you believe that I actually have craving for this just soon after finishing the last of its rice! It's the usual nasi goreng with fried anchovies and some vegs with crispy keropok and fried egg sides. But it's the awesome sambal that makes all the difference... Only slightly spicy and sour ... mmm mmm!!

Don't hate me ah..... I'm hating myself coz now feel hungry again.... Contemplating to tapao 2 packets terus tomorrow... keep in fridge and reheat for later ;)

Kekekek ok end of this extremely mou liu post :D

The Pain of Searching

...Is a pain in the ass.............. 

Of not knowing when you will obtain what you wish....

Of the uncertainty whether you made the right choice....

I am therefore, very, very thankful that the search is over! HUGE RELIEF! 

Over the past couple of months, I've been combing over property websites in search of a new place. It's not easy I tell you! Ok, maybe I should rephrase. It's not easy if you're as picky as me T_T

So anyway, initially we were supposed to look for a whole unit sort of place, as our current housemates want to move out with us, days turned into weeks searching for the right location and the budget to fit.

Unit #1 we went to was really basic, and way overcrowded. Three room mates in a common room, can you believe it! A little run down I must say but I loved the location - it was in Toa Payoh and the surrounding was really clean, well kept and convenient because there's kopitiam, shops and all. 

Unit #2 was way out of budget, though it was a really nice place!

Beautiful, to say the least. A family used to stay in the area, hence it looks very live-able... kitchen also really nice, but the whole unit is $400 above our budget... Really sad.... Also the problem with renting with a number of people... usually not everyone will be able to attend the viewing, so you have to take pictures, get back, discuss, and by the time an agreement is reached, the unit is already taken :S

 Unit #3 was very average while lacking in the aesthetic department (told you I am picky).

Then, it was close to CNY already so we had to put the whole searching on hold, BUT the other two housemates decided they want to stay on in the current place.... so it's just down to me and Suen... the search for rooms is on!

Room #1, there was way too many occupants in that small place (well, which HDB in Singapore isn't small anyway?) plus, a part of the living area was partitioned off to make space for an additional room. 

Room #2 was out of the area that we were targetting, and we will be living with the owners if we decide to take the place. BUT!! they have a dog!!! Called Puffy!!! She's really adorable,  and she's really suspicious of us and would bark, and when she does that, she will be trotting with her body arched  while glaring at us LOL.... Anyways, we were kinda close to getting the place, but we're still in a not-quite-sure kinda mode and so we had to put it on hold.... Area was nice  (had a large park just behind the building) and all but living with owners is usually not very pleasant... A lot of restrictions imposed.

Room #3 has a family living in the unit. The place was huge for Singapore standards and the owner wanted to rent out the master bedroom with toilet attached. Some more the owner said we have to refrain from turning on the air-conditioning cause the noise bothers her husband! Got ridiculous or not??? Quite a lot restrictions also....  sigh....

Room #4 - was the room that I thought to be the room of my dreams!! It was perfect, with an owner around Ah Ma's age, and she seems like a swell kinda lady! She even cooks Penang food and with that, I was sold. I called the agent up immediately after but the grandma said she has to discuss with her daughter before proceeding with the agreement. I was all nerves, I badly wanted the place! The room is completely within budget, and sits right across the MRT. The grandma kept us waiting... for almost 24 hours....  By then my spirits were somehow dampened... Then the agent called me to say that the deal is off cos the grandma's crazy daughter just came up with additional restrictions and she said she doesn't want to rent out to two people! I was soooo mad and upset that I cried if you could believe it. I think it was the exhaustion and pressure of looking for a place that finally got to me.....

Bitter and absolutely disappointed, we had to continue our search... Room #5 also with owner... I was not entirely pleased with the place (cos the bar was raised by Room #4) and the area was around Braddell and somehow doesn't quite possess the charm that Toa Payoh has.... Some more this owner said we can't even invite our parents over! She said mum ok, but not father. I was like wtf?? Why not?? And you know what she said? She said not comfortable la.... u know we ladies wear shorts etc etc. I was like, double WTF!! You think my dad pervert meh??? And that was it, I know this type of owner is going to be hell-ish to live with and I just wanted to get outta there.

Room #6... we met with the owner (staying with parents) and they are really nice people! The owner even told us that sometimes her parents will cook and normally there's extra and it's always okay for us to have some etc etc. It's only a small room though and Suen and I were thinking, if possible we want to avoid living with owners, but this could probably be an exception... so we kept the place under KIV.

Room #7 .... is the lucky number. The viewing came directly after viewing Room #6.  As soon as we saw the place, both Suen and I, we just know that we want the place!! It's really funny and we even high-fived each other lol... It's a quaint little place, but we will be sharing the whole unit with another lady.  I'm really excited about the new place... it's even better than the so-called Dream Room #4!! Staying at this new place will drastically cut down my commuting time from an hour to half! Also ironically, it's  located at the same block as the first ever unit I'd viewed, together with Suen. So it kinda seems fitting to end the search where we started....

As much as I don't believe in God's will and all that, I have never been so inclined to think otherwise.  If the whole chain of process hadn't been so difficult, we would have settled for the first few units, with the possibility of some of the housemates pulling out at the last minute, or we could have settled for something so much less than what we could have gotten if we hadn't tried a little harder, and waited a little longer...

 Having said that, as much as I want to get out of Tiong Bahru, I am going to miss this place as well. It has served me pretty good over the past four months... I will miss the park just across the road where I usually run... A little shortcut that brings you to Orchard Road within 30-40mins walk... The spontaneous late night movies we could catch because the cinema is so blardy near! A quaint place and supposedly well known for the numerous good food it has to offer. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to try them yet but just because I'm no longer staying in the area, doesn't mean I won't have the opportunity to try the food there right?

Eat, Drink, Gamble Dragon III

First day CNY! Every single first day of the CNY I get awakened rudely by the loud beating of the lion dance troupe drums... lol. Dashed through shower, changed and all, Mum made tomyam beehoon :D

The old gang already up and halfway through breakfast when I got ready. Cis.

 Simple and yummy! Though Mum said didn't put in chili sauce or whatever lah, still tastes great.

 All those assorted kitchen-y items ... well, much better than the previous table heheheh. There's a corner in the shelf with all Pickles' things also kekeke.

 I sweat, Su En has like the strongest camera sensor ever! Each and every single time I discreetly pick up the camera like she has an internal sensor then she starts posing! Cis. annoying.

 Here onwards, you are henceforth taken unwillingly through a quick tour through the house...

 The same deco every CNY hehehe. Okla gotta give Mum credit (though I'm not positively sure if she's the one who actually made those angpow fishes or she somehowly made a young kiddo make for her)

 Look at the size of the long fireworks! Deafeningly loud, and an accident waiting to happen, lol.

 I really liked this shot, all these lau langs (Su En included), lagi want to stay in the house, lagi kepo want to see what's going on then all senget to one corner kakakkaka.

 Su En torturing Pickes.

 The piano that I utilized for a grand total of half a year maybe? 

The others went to Baling while I stayed back on in SP to help Dad out with some chores.... and they returned with fresh young coconuts! Poor Dad, being the singular male around the house, even he's all dressed up, he has to get down and dirty.

 Respect for Dad... kampung boy at heart kekekek. Single-handedly chopped all six coconuts (no easy task). Coconut flesh was very good, young and tender!

 Gave Pickles a treat. First day CNY mah, she's quite traumatized by the fireworks (scaredy cat). It was enough to keep her occupied for a good hour (which easily beats that handphone toy I gave Isabel, that lasted for a lame 10 minutes).

 Malay laksa on 2nd day of CNY! All subcon one lah.... no more self production d ... Still, tastes good, but I must say that assam laksa still wins hands down ;) Everything else is a poor imitation of the real thing...

 The big CNY dinner! The number this year doubled from last year! Hmm.... well actually last year's CNY eve reunion dinner was a sad affair, only one table lol.

 Papa looking great in his new shirt I got for him ;) Nice eh?

 A huge group photo finally... Missing Su Jen and Sien cc. Decent picture for a lifetime of memories. 

 The old people lou sang... lol.... The young people side lou until 50% ingredients are all over the table. 


And the female grandchildren!

Okla, that pretty much wraps up the biggest family event of the year... Angpow accumulation this year has dwindled too... lol... according to the lau langs, already started work, no need to give so much ang pow. hmmpff.

Eat, Drink, Gamble Dragon II

Took a few days off work so I got a total of 9 days off from work for Chinese New Year. But after deducting the number of hours traveling and early return to Singapore, I'm actually in SP for only about 6 days! But then again, it's never enough days to spend in SP...

Pickles is hogging a lot of space in my blog now. At least she's cute :D Tham ciak face before I chop off her fan-like fur covering her eyes. When I reached, it was already the night before the Reunion dinner.

Had to post this up again, my favourite soup! Le tu tor th'ng! The tu tor is best taken with chopped chilis and dipped in soy sauce OMG! Next morning, got up early for breakfast, took some shots of little eggplants that Dad planted in front of the house!

Mum complained that Dad didn't want to do proper gardening like dirt beds (or whatever you call it)... lol. Ah well, like they say, anything goes! I think they're getting warmed up to the whole idea of planting their own veg now, which is great! Well, great until a random dog/bird chews up a portion of it..........

A few snaps later then it's off to Tua Ee's place to prepare for the night's feast!

 
Ee Poh, the expert cook has got tons of recipes up her sleeves. She made this stuffed mushroom from scratch and it tastes really great on steamboat! But a bit mafan la... need to steam some more... Mum only helped to poke the carrot bits on the stuffed mushrooms hehehe...

 Cheap labours! I was wearing batik 'muas' because for some unknown reason, Tua Ee's place is infested with mosquitoes!! And those damn insects just wouldn't leave me alone (some say B+ is like a mozzie magnet). It was a lot comfier than wearing shorts, really, but air flow not so good lah ;)

It's a small dinner so there wasn't much to do except to wash this and chop that... Reunion dinner shots :D


That huge fan behind Dad is like an industry-level fan that again, with reasons that none of us could comprehend, someone bought it to be used in a family house -.- Granted, this thing could blow a 3kg baby some 10 meters away LOL. So we had to chuck it way out in front - some 6-7 metres away from the dining table hehehhe.

Nom nom nom.........

Family photo! Dad looks like a Jap uncle hehehehhe.

Females outnumbering male like 10:1 LOL!!! Yum sengz session over steamboat.

Everyone boh eng at the back eating their way to a brand new lunar year but Pickles' nowhere to be found?

 At her usual hiding spot from the fireworks lol...

The Georgian Adventure - Hike to Chalaadi Glacier

Our third, and last hike in Svaneti. There are so many more places to hike and explore around Georgia, it was a hard decision to premature...