My old notepad!

Found this draft post dated 14 Sep 2014! I add a much more recent photo from last week that reminds me of a scene in my JC scribbles - see the Milo tin right under the banner?

*** *** ***

Found my old notepad from JC while clearing stuff recently. Only a couple of pages left. The cover was filled with words - see, mf-ism has taken root back in 1998!

I took precious time out of watching drama to type this out ok.. Haha!

Line at the top of the cover:

花开花自落，世事有定数，糊涂心自然，得而又复散

Next line, in green, with reference to the Leonid meteor shower in 1998 which was supposedly a spectacular one that wouldn't repeat itself for another 66 years but which I missed - I used to really like astronomy:

遗憾⋯⋯希望66年后我还在

The rest of the cover - super kiddish writing and lots of 错别字 written during what must have been a super boring lecture very near to "A" levels:

若说我喜欢新的东西，是啊，没错。
新衣服，新鞋子，新书，新书包，新发夹，新耳机，新电视，新橱柜，新床，新唇膏⋯⋯我喜欢。
也许是因为新事物带给我新鲜感吧，还有那种能够拥有新东西的欲望在推动。
有了新鲜物，旧的东西放哪里呢？
所谓旧的不去，新的不来。
旧衣服破了，旧耳机坏了，扔吧！
新的马上到！
“旧”
我想起小时候和奶奶到传统咖啡店－那种只卖kopi，面包涂kaya的，桌面是marble的－喝咖啡；她带我到露天理发院剪头发，还记得曾经过一间间简陋的小店。
印象是有些模糊了。
都十多年了。
但我对这些所谓“旧”的街景还存有浓浓的依恋。
爱吃的kway chap，鸡饭，kaya面包（用火烘烤的！），倒在碟中的kopi，我怀念。
还有CD的老祖宗－唱碟。
那个深红色的旧唱机，细细的针，黑黑的唱碟播着我听不懂的歌。
现在有多少年轻人在这水泥钢骨中尝过路边摊烹煮的街边小食？（不包括 Clarke Quay area 的）
虽然不是很谓[sic]生，我也不是这样子成长的！
外公的旧式杂货店租了出去，成了美容院、验药室。
我已经不知道要到哪里才能找到类似帮顾客拿东西的杂货店了。
没有收银机的杂货店，没有XXX的杂货。
有两个 Milo 桶从屋 ding3 hang [sic] 下，桶里装的是钱。
店屋的二楼有两个小房间，一个装满了玩具和别的东西，另一间都装满了一箱箱的货物。
还有一个小洋[sic]台，让我们几个瓜在那儿玩。
暗暗的厨房是大伙儿享用午餐的地方。
小客厅是小孩子庆祝生日的地方。
店屋后种满了花，记得“五点花”，旁[sic]晚五点才开花。
其实，旧，也是值得怀念，值得保存的。
051198

Saying goodbye

I found this draft from April 2022! Finally posting this after adding on point 16 onwards:

*** *** ***

18 years of education; 18 years in civil service including breaks. Excluding breaks, I clocked in at 15 years - just heard that I got my long service award, ha!

Looking back at the past 18 years, I am glad to say that I have done meaningful and fulfilling things in my 15 years of work. Most memorable were the years of 2004-2009 and 2015-2021.

Fresh out of school in end 2003, I wanted to do family work but there was no vacancy. I took on what was available then but that somehow led lucky me to marriage and parenthood work three years later - I liked it a lot! I didn't enjoy my portfolio after Evanston so I found my way back to the family sector again, this time dealing with (potential) family conflicts - I liked this a lot too! 

Even though I liked my job, I had been feeling the heat for some time, having to manage demanding work and demanding kids. When part-time didn't cut it anymore, it was time to go. It is very clear to me which one to choose. 

So on Friday, 7 Jan 2022, I returned my laptop and PS card. Not the first time returning these two things that identify me as a civil servant - MCYS to NPS; no-pay leave in Evanston; NPTD to MSF. But this time, it's different; the chances of me returning to work are way slimmer...

My first office - bye after de-kit!

My last office desk at Enabling Village - before packing

After packing - the mirror was from 2003, for us to remember to smile when picking up phone!!

Returning to office aka second home the following Wednesday to bring back stuff

There were happy times, frustrating times and even boring times. I have been lucky to meet mostly (gotta be honest) nice colleagues and some remain friends. 

Let me reminisce about some memorable things...

1. Playing Scrabble during lunch time in my first posting. Back then, things were less hectic. Even though we packed lunch to eat in the pantry, there was time for chatter and games. None of us logged off at 5.30 pm anyway! And I didn't have kids yet :p
2. Getting my first laptop a few months into the job. Yes, I started with only a desktop! At one point, I had both a desktop and a laptop, which made it much easier to go party after work coz no need to worry about losing the laptop haha! (Always brought laptop home to OT after partying!)
3. Feeling scared, alone in the office on a Saturday or PH afternoon, coz desktop. Stories of printer starting on its own. Sounds of chairs moving. Help!
4. Dialling in to log on while sitting on the floor in AMK, before the HDB upgrading was completed in 2007. No broadband at home *.* Once, wrote two papers in TPY Macs coz I was hungry - couldn't remain in office - and there was wifi in Macs.
5. Chitchatting with the canteen staff who knew some of us very well coz we always bought from them. Unfortunately, I missed their last day as I was on an overseas work trip.
6. Being part of a "secretariat" - more than arranging meetings. Learnt so much and got to know so many people in this role which I held from 2004 to 2010.
7. My first COS in 2007, of many many to come *.* But none could beat that first one in terms of camaraderie.
8. The first Singapore Day in 2007, of a few more to come. But again, none could beat this first one!
9. Hearing discussions at high-level meetings in 2008 - just shiok, haha! But it was a lot of work. Missed the highest level though, even though I put in a lot of work. But it was for a dancing competition with Sito so ok :p
10. Major announcement in 2008 and attending NDR to hear it live. From policy to public comms. I was also emcee at the media conference. Pulled on a nice suit, ha! Nothing ever beat this piece of work. Ever. 
11. Going through hundreds of feedback, queries and appeals following the announcement.
12. Having two dinners during super peak in 2008 - one in the evening and one at any time between midnight and 3 am on my way home. Better to manage the tummy and mind than image.
13. Getting a shock when I heard a shout in the staircase area while waiting for the lift in the middle of the night. This office had always felt very "safe". No issue staying there on my own at 2 am type. But who shouted?! Still a mystery...
14. Mid week Zouk. Enough said :p
15. Running a "clinic" at my desk in MSF at EV. Stole an Ikea chair from a meeting room to put it next to my desk so that people who came to find me could have a seat instead of sitting on the floor! Eventually, it was known as the clinic and I was the doc of course!
16. Working with social service agencies who are very, very nice people. Learnt so much about their work and from their experience as my team planned for new services.
17. Suicide case was quite an experience! Got a call from an agency after dinner. Thankfully, I had just this one emergency to deal with in the course of my work in service management. Other incidents were relatively minor data cases. 
18. Mad MS Excel days and nights with three of us discussing in the day, and then taking turns to log on to check etc. I logged in just past 9 pm, then RT at 10 pm, then DL past midnight. I slept by midnight but I started before 8 am and could go through stuff before they got in.
19. Enjoying part-time work for the first year. Thanks to the team then, it worked. 
20. Launching new services just before I left. It's an islandwide initiative with phased rollout so the team continued with the rollout after me. 

Now, I'm more than a year into my no-pay leave. Two weeks after moving in, I got a call from HR to say a director asked for my number - she texted me and I declined politely for now. Also had a chat with my DD a couple of days later - director thought I could go back to work now so um, no... But it's inevitable. I need to think about whether or not to go back!

Wait, this is goodbye post! Haha! Ok, bye!

More independence

We wanted to do this for some time but never got down to it. Finally, it's time.

Carrying their own bag with water bottle and books

Yes, we finally retired our baby bag! But we'll probably fish it out on holidays. Easier for the kids to run about in Legoland without a bag.

We also want them to bring a book out so they have something to do on the train or bus or while waiting for food. So useful.

I also fished out their bottle holders which they used just once before. Perfect for them to carry their own bottles to go to AhMa's place across the road. But when we go downstairs to play, I would just chuck the bottles in a reusable bag - but I'll throw back to them when I need the bag for groceries :p

At home, I also started a new routine for folding clothes. They're now used to folding their own home clothes though they still complain - more clothes to fold? Again?! :p

In BP, I put everything on two beds in one room. Here, I had to put their stuff in two rooms. Um, nope. I shall just sort them out in the laundry room. So I got a set of three baskets. They can grab the baskets, empty it onto their bed and return the basket. No fear that they won't get the baskets coz there are limited home clothes haha!!

Need to think about what to "outsource" next...

Dizzy spells

We have had two scary dizzy spells in the past couple of months.

In the first week of moving in, I hurt my second toe when opening our gate - the corner is just above floor level and I stood too close. Hurt madly but otherwise ok. 

On our second Thursday, Sito hurt his big toe similarly but it bled. I came home from dinner earlier that day; probably needed the toilet or something. I saw him standing in the corridor with a grimace when I came out of the shower, holding up one leg.

Then I saw blood dripping! Told him to sit down on our bench outside while I grabbed tissue. When I went back to the door, I saw him sliding slowly down the bench with a weak "ahhh..." 😱

Dashed out to see him bee bee and barely realising he had slid off the bench. Think he fainted momentarily! Luckily he didn't fall hurt; he slid into a sitting position on the floor with his legs stretched out. He lied down on the corridor for a bit before going in to lie down on the floor in the foyer. 

Wa liao, 吓死我...

He scraped his arm as he slid down. That and the cut on his toe took a few days to heal. He hurt his back from sliding down the bench too. Somewhat like a bruise. It improved over the weeks but it still hurts a bit now.

Sigh, now he had experienced vasavagal syncope like me too :(

After that, I pasted a thick kitchen sticker over the corner while waiting for corner guards to be delivered. Our existing corner guards could not be used and they would prevent the gate from closing. Managed to find some with shorter width. Working well so far - I pulled the corner against my foot again a couple of days back but the corner guard protected me, phew!

Then last Saturday, I had a tummy ache after dinner at Vivocity and went to the toilet, leaving Sito with the kids and a basket of stock concentrate in the supermarket. I expected diarrhoea but didn't expect the tummy ache to persist until I felt dizzy and nausea. 

I thought it would pass but it didn't. I had to call Sito for help but his phone was on flight mode as the kids were playing games on his phone. So I shouted for help. 

Eventually, the cleaner came by but didn't know what to do. I asked her to get mall staff to bring in a wheelchair. A staff came by first. I forgot what she said but she helped to call Sito. Took a few times before the call got through - he checked his phone periodically thank goodness! By the time the wheelchair arrived, Sito was waiting outside the toilet. 

I waited at the lift lobby near the taxi stand while Sito grabbed the kids who were nicely waiting for him at the supermarket eating area. 

Kai and Yang were quiet, looking at me curiously, but Yu called out, "Why are you sick? Are you ok?" :)

The kids had to pee so Sito brought them in again while I remained in the wheelchair. While waiting for them, I remembered I had a bottle of peppermint oil in my bag - for Yu as he sometimes feels bad on the bus. I dabbed some on my nose and it helped so much!

I also remembered the basket of stock concentrate. We finally found this brand after six supermarkets and we couldn't finish our shopping! So sad!

By the time they returned, I felt better and could get up. I felt even better when I saw a bag on Sito's arms - he bought the stock concentrate! Later, he told me he had abandoned the basket which had more stuff he added while I was in the toilet. But he decided to grab the stock concentrate on their way back from the toilet coz I wanted them, never mind if the mall staff should find it odd!!

Priorities. I like. Haha!

Anyway, we thanked the mall staff - too blur to get her name! - and waited for the taxi to bring us home. Kai helped watch out for the taxi; Yang helped carry my bag; Yu sat with me to sayang me.

Took some baojiwan and put on some ruyi oil. Sent the kids to bed but not before answering Yang and Yu's questions on what happened. Kai and Yang were not scared - just curious - but Yu was scared when he saw me in the wheelchair. Knowing the details helped.

Sito and I discussed the whys. Lekor with chilli on Tuesday? Um, my system is slow that way... Or dinner on Friday? Could be the plate which was already on the table before we sat down. Saturday dinner was too soon.. When I mentioned food poisoning to the kids yesterday, Yu said he read about it in Young Scientist and proceeded to pull down the series to look for it. But think he forgot; he just read on :p

Exam fever!

Kai came back with dismal results for a weighted assessment (WA) a while back: 20/40 for English compo. I read his compo - still like last year's, all my comments forgotten, sighs... But he's P5 now, just one year away from PSLE! So Sito started drilling him on English compo while I took Chinese compo. In Term 3, he improved by four marks!

During the recent term break, we also signed him up for an intensive course for PSLE English. Unlike Maths and Science, he can start preparing for English now. And he wasn't the only P5 kid in the three-day online course. Sito sat with him throughout; I was in and out often for the brothers and lunch. We thought it was very useful - Kai learnt from it, Sito and I learnt from it, and best of all, our notes (coz we are good students) can benefit Yang and Yu eventually!

Kai also had his first Chinese tuition class last Tuesday. We wanted to sign him up at Bukit Timah before moving but no vacancies. We went to Clementi after moving only to find all vacancies taken up. So we started at Jurong East. Each lesson takes three hours! The teacher spoke with us after the lesson to share her observations and how to do tuition homework at home. 

Yang is also having exams starting from this year. While Kai is competitive, Yang is happy to just pass; in fact, he said it's ok to fail since it doesn't affect PSLE!!! I want to faint ah...

But I read his compo - the content is better than Kai's but he gets a lot of spelling wrong which would cost him marks so I still need to continue with phonics which I stopped amid all the renovation and moving stuff. I also just finished putting together over 500 commonly used Chinese phrases using the word list from the MOE syllabus for P1 to P3. Yes, 500! With hanyu pinyin and meaning!

Being kiasu parents, we also bought past year papers and started both Kai and Yang on them the week before term break - four papers each every week!

Kai has been conscientious in doing his work so we can bear the complaints

Oops, caught my Robot-kun in action, cleaning around his desk... Anyway, this is a 140cm Ikea lovingly assembled by Papa :) Bought new chairs with cushion - we all prefer this to our old dining chairs.

Papa going through his work

Sito marks most of Kai's stuff and some of Yang's stuff. I usually take more of Yang's and all the Chinese. Their Chinese makes me cry la...

Yang also has his own desk

This boy prefers me to go through his work. As I had to wait for Kai to finish his tuition last week, I alerted him that Papa would help him with tingxie. He said Papa would make him write many many times! Eh, means I should have been more strict?? He couldn't remember his times tables with me but with Sito, the "many many times" made him remember so much more!

As for Yu who has no exams, we let him do some very old test papers for his level. He did quite well, which is comforting! He could do more than one a day so there isn't much for him to do already. Sito got him a maths IQ book. When left on his own to do, he copied from the answer sheets! Naughty boy!

Doing his work at the dining table even though he also has his own desk

Yang had his first oral exam yesterday. He'll have his English one this afternoon. I went through the oral structure only once. Hope all goes well... Kai's will be tmr and next Tuesday, followed by a break before the written papers. Can't wait for this to end!

眼镜找到朋友了

Sighs. Inevitably and statistically, at least one of our kids must wear glasses.

Yang had his annual health screening in school in late July and came back telling me he might need glasses :( But he didn't fish out the referral letter until just before we moved or even after?! I also didn't ask amid the moving hassle *.*

On the second Saturday after moving in, we went to Clementi to get specs for him. It was straightforward enough. Had dinner at Swensen's before collecting his glasses.

So cute!

So studious!

It's only 25 degrees in one eye and none the other but his astigmatism is apparently high. He also finds himself seeing better with the glasses. But since it's not serious, he wears only in school.

We're supposed to go back to check his eyes six months later. Hope it doesn't worsen...

Regular bits amid the busy move

Despite all the moving hassle, we still had some family time. Some pictures in about one month before and one after.

Found while packing: Sito's secondary school music project work - Zelda!

We didn't have time to go through everything we packed but those we eventually dumped, we took pictures. A lot of memorabilia that we brought with us are still in their own boxes hiding above wardrobes...

His toy is taller than him!

Ok, now dissemble and pack them into a box! I think their toys took up as many boxes as our books...

Our last time at this playground :(

It's near the coffeeshop at Gangsa/Petir. We walked there with much complaints from Kai. But he got use to it after a while. The prata there was nice even though the maths was weird - five pratas for $5.10?!

Chanced upon BPP mall event - the kids had some fun :)

We miss this mall! So convenient to get to the library and Popular and Redman etc. But I'm ok to not have Ichiban every week haha!

Yang on his way to release his beetle that he raised from a mealworm from school

Kai brought mealworms back from school but they all died... At least this time, one survived. I'm not a fan of beetles but it was a happy moment for Yang and for me to see him so happy :)

Don't ask me why we have so many ice cream sticks!

They wanted details on the parts so we labelled the picture together on Meitu. 

Sito convinced them to try kaiten sushi while I was away cleaning...

And they liked it! All those years staying right above one and we had this just once! Now no more easily accessible kaiten sushi....

Let's see how the ice melts...

We must have Captain Kim one more time before we left BP. We said this was our farewell dinner... But they kids are now still asking for it. Well, there's I Am Kim at Clementi... Celebrate end of exams then!

On another cleaning day, I found them enjoying ramen and karaage

Another place we miss - yummy and such good value. Yang and Yu also like the free flow hardboiled eggs. Yang had three one time; I had to stop him from getting a fourth!

Back at Yee Cheong Yuen

Kai was chatting with Papa while Yang and Yu were chatting away. I was the camera mama as usual, and probably still nursing an ulcer. This time, I had ulcers lasting over a month! Sito figured it was moving stress.

We mostly ate at places within walking distance, as far as Star Vista. When we finally cleared most of the stuff, we started going further out on weekends. First was Clementi - to check out a tuition centre and get specs. Then it was Bishan - for the library. 

What's he laughing at?

Kai's funny expression!

We decided to try Tan Jai Sam Gor. The portions were huge! While we found it yummy, the kids didn't like it as much. But we promised ice cream if they finished as much as they could. We didn't expect that Kai could finish the bowl. Yang was quite ok with the food but he couldn't finish. Yu was whining throughout *.*

The kids found Monopoly Deal while unpacking

I was reading on the sofa when a head popped up!

Now they have their own sofa - no more less fighting!

For some reason, Kai ferried his brothers around one day...

So strong!

Yang is not light anymore. They're all growing so fast... But we haven't got down to getting a new wall decal to measure their height.. Should get that one day soon...

There was a family gathering to mark my Ah Ma's death anniversary so we all went; we missed the one for Ah Gong as we were in Legoland. I realised they were the only kids in their generation that day. 

This time, they were in the house for a long time as it was raining and the playground was wet. They even got familiar with another "uncle" - had to teach them the proper address *.*

Reading while waiting for lunch

Arm wrestling with LY 表舅

Then it became thumb wrestling...

After the first month, we managed to settle down more as the dust settled and the term break ended. Gosh, term break was hard! But more on that later...

It's a rare day that I could sit here with Sito to just write. I shall write more :)

Exploring food options in the hood

This term break passed by so quickly.

We left the kids home alone on 1 Sep to go back to BP to vote for president, as our registered address for elections was as of June; we changed our address only in July. They were happily playing phone games while we were happily eating and shopping, as we were in and out of the polling station within five minutes. 

Took the chance to buy things we couldn't find in HV - cheap snacks from value shop, cheap toiletries from Venus, and even a particular brand of salami from Fairprice @ Hillion! I looked high and low for the salami in the four supermarkets in our neighbourhood and couldn't find it. 

In fact, I couldn't find a number of things we usually buy - budget brand vegetables (super high value for money), Woh Hup stock concentrate and even super lean pork mince (healthier). On Saturday 2 Sep, I cooked our first proper meal - porridge with "lean" mince which wasn't very lean at all :( 

That Friday evening, we also went to the huge Sheng Siong at Commonwealth and bought a lot of frozen food - we usually get our beef and bacon from Sheng Siong. And last Friday afternoon, we went to the Fairprice at Ghim Moh Link which seems to carry more house brand products. There's also a Sheng Siong there so can hit two birds with one stone. 

Groceries aside, food options are good here. We are near two hawker centres! Can still get the kids' prata fix. And there are so much more for parents - latest find was crispy youtiao at $1 :) But we have been having one too many fried beehoon haha!

We didn't have much roast options in BP but here, so much and so yummy! Besides the ones in the coffeeshops and hawker centre, two supermarkets also carry roast. Yang even got to compare char siew noodles at two stalls and decided which was better :)

What I need now is a Swee Heng bakery :p I don't fancy the bakery at the MRT station much though their buns are ok especially after 6 pm - 10 for $10! Looking forward to the new mall opening - I saw at least two bakeries on their way :)

The kids are happy that there's still a Yakun downstairs. But we gotta walk a bit for Macs. The nearer fast food is BK but not their fave. I guess we'll be having less fast food?

After a month of packing and eating out for dinner, I finally started cooking dinner with soup yesterday. But only Kai had hot food - Sito was finishing up maths with Yang, Yu was playing, I was cleaning up cooking stuff *.* And then Yu puked on the floor coz the soup was not to his liking - he's a confirmed merlion; puke every time he doesn't like something!!!

Still happy we're slowly going back to regular programming. There's mess hidden in cabinets but I guess we'll sort them out over time..

The big move (back)

It has finally happened - we moved from block 12 in BP to block 12 in HV on Monday, 14 August!

In fact, we also moved from block 12 in HV to block 12 in BP in 2018 :p

First photo was taken in 2012; second on 16 August when I went back to pick up loose ends; third on 15 August after dinner.

After we completed the resale, we approached our old ID who did up our first two homes. It took three meetings spanning over four weeks in February-March to get a quote, which was beyond our expectations. It happened to be March school holidays right after so we arranged meetings with some seven IDs from Qanvast and HL's recommendation - online and F2F, and some twice - to get more quotes. 

Most quotes were about 60-70% of the original quote! Within two weeks of returning from Legoland, we decided on an ID who gave us a design totally different from the others and from our expectations. Went to his studio only twice in total, which was good coz it was in Tampines!

Next was handover of keys. Seller asked for an extension and moved out on 30 April. I went over on 1 May with Yu after lunch with the grands. The seller simply left the doors unlocked and placed the keys on the kitchen counters! As the seller did not knock down the wall in between, we went in and out of both sides. I put transparent table leg covers over the bamboo pole holders to prevent rainwater pooling inside while Yu pottered about on his own. Later on, he would tell his brothers that there were two houses :)

Renovation started on 3 May, woohoo! We went down on 11 May to discuss aircon and electrical wiring on site. But we changed the electrician later to someone in EMA's list coz kiasi. Later I found the original guy was also in charge of tiling *.*

Sito said I looked like a boss :p

In the following three months, we went to the house every fortnight when we visited the grands and whenever there was a delivery. We started checking things for rectification early - when the pipes were up, when the windows were up, when the grilles were up, when the electrical end points were up, when the carpentry was up.

And good thing we did! We adjusted the position of the washer drain pipe, found wobbly grilles which could not lock, and worst was the horrid electrical job which we found out on 21 Jul, 10 days before handover:

What is this?!

And the other set is different while being equally ugly?!

We had to get the electricians back to reposition the wiring, and even adjust the positions of the lights and remove extra wiring (!), which took one whole day. The position of the sockets for the TV was off centre from our bed position but we let it go and adjusted our headboard instead as it was to close to the wardrobe.

Later on when I was cleaning on the eve of National Day, I found this in Yang's room

Luckily, I could fix this easily just by unscrewing the cover and pushing in the wires into the back box. But I had to get the electrician back to fix the back box in Yu's room which had a hole at the bottom - in the previous rectification, they inverted the back box when we asked them to shift the wiring instead of using a new back box! 

Anyway, the original handover date of 31 July did not happen smoothly coz some things were still pending, e.g. study room door, vanity mirrors, quartz backing etc. But it was ok enough for us to go in to check, start cleaning and bring in blinds and washer etc.

And check we did! Had to replace one cracked tile and one hollow tile. The rectification happened fast enough but the house had to be cleaned again. 

The surprise was carpentry. Our drawers and frame had unfinished sides - raw wood. I can imagine moisture especially in the kitchen eating away at the wood over time. ID and later the carpenter said this was industry standard; if we wanted finished sides, we had to specify. Huh? We were not even aware of this option! And we certainly had finished sides in our past two homes. Got them in to stick PVC all over. Took one whole day. 

The quartz installation was interesting. The central backing had a chip at a corner. We were asking supplier via ID how long it would take to get a replacement (from Malaysia) when the installer took things into his own hands - he saw 1cm off a side and install it, and used the box-up backing to cover the gap perfectly. Someone give him a bonus please!

Also found lots of renovation dirt in two toilet drains. The plumber came in to clean and pulled up one plastic bag full of debris! He was very nice and checked all the drains.  

Summary of renovations: 

• Great design but the ID had not been a good project manager. 
• There was obvious lack of supervision for the electrical work. 
• The timeline was also badly managed - not much work was done in June. 
• We were also not kept informed of the kitchen carpentry layout after the first discussion on carpentry. 
• Then there was no proper thinking to link carpentry and plumbing - the kitchen floor trap is behind drawers instead of shelves. If we need serious plumbing work in future, we probably have to saw off the horizontal bars of the drawer frame!!
• Painter told me he didn't get a response from ID about the type of paint to use for the door frames so he used the wall paint. When we moved in, we had to get the painter back to paint the frames glossy else the bottom would become back after a few mops!
• Main door did not follow my design so they had to replace it.
• The gate curiously does not have a "tongue" to keep it closed. Apparently coz I said I didn't want a key lock *.* Digital lock installer said the gate could not close properly and would strain the digital lock so we're now still waiting for the ID to install a roller to keep it closed.

Anyway, we had only 11-13 August to clean - again, coz we started cleaning up from 3 August! - after the carpentry work before the big move on 14 August. It was so crazy! At first, Sito and I cleaned together. Then he went on to assemble Ikea stuff while I cleaned. Then he stayed back in our old place to pack and dismantle stuff, and settle the kids after school.

3 August when I used Magiclean to sweep the inside of cabinets *.*

I think I stopped cooking two or three weeks before the move. The week before moving, I got home only at dinner time. More than three weeks in, I haven't started cooking dinner yet as this happens to be term break.

Happily using our new drill set!

Emptied Kai's room to put boxes - can spot his bed frame and mattress near window?

That was like halfway done. By the time we were all packed, we had boxes in front of our bookshelf. I think we had close to 50 boxes. We also moved a lot of things with big bags and suitcases in the two weeks before moving. Yes, we have a lot of things!

My hub with his toolbox :)

Dismantled all the beds on Friday, 11 August - all on floor mattresses!

All the frames and boards in our room

We flipped the bedsheets to protect the mattresses from the dusty floor, and slept on mattress protectors instead. Very OCD of me :p

I wasn't there but Sito said the kids were keen to help, including laundry - so sweet :)

Sweet to each other too? :p

On Saturday night, Sito removed the wall-mounted TV which had green lines across the bottom of the screen

We broke a stand while fixing it, oops... But we had two sets thanks to the bedroom TV so we were able to stand the TV on the console. The kids didn't seem to have realised the change on Sunday :p We left the bedroom TV for the buyer as requested.

Sunday, 13 August, was the day before the physical move but also our ceremonious moving day. I had meant for this day to be light but we ended up doing siong work too, sighs.

Made the kids help carry stuff

Kai carried the drill set, Yang a bag of food from our fridge to store in Mum's fridge, and Yu carried water bottles - his bag was behind him in the photo.

We dropped stuff at our place before going to Mum's place for lunch. Sito and I left after lunch to work hard - I cleaned while Sito assembled more Ikea.

And we cooked and had black sesame glutinous riceballs! :)

Finally, we were as ready as possible! One hiccup - Yu lost his student card on the way home on Sunday *.* He said it was still on him at Botanic Gardens but it was not on him when we left the train at BP. We went back into the train to find but nope. So the kids went home first while Sito and I went to the kiosk to make a new card for him.

That wasn't the end. Yang damaged his card somehow on Monday! He couldn't tap when coming home on Monday but no one said a word *.* I only discovered this on Thursday morning as we went to school *.*

Anyway, Monday morning, Sito sent the kids to school while I settled the final packing.

Waiting for the movers

It took two trips to move everything. We left right after the movers so we could open the door for them, and left the access card and door pin with them for the second trip. After the morning trip, Sito went to fetch the kids and sent them to Mum's place before returning to assemble the kids' beds and unpack some stuff.

The second trip was somehow delayed. By the time they got here, it was raining so they waited for quite a while before moving up. We don't have an adjoining carpark so they had to unload at the bus stop.

Then the fridge could not come in *.* More time was spent dismantling and assembling the two left doors. But the three movers were nice - after all these, they even helped put the fridge on my rollers. We took the chance to assemble our bed.

By the time the fridge was in position, it was 6 pm! We had to let the fridge settle for two hours before we could turn it on. So Sito cleaned the fridge. Somehow, the left door did not close nicely. After some adjustment, he sorted it out and fixed a longstanding problem in the process, yeah!

Due to a miscomm, we told Mum not to cook for us. So Sito fetched the kids while I packed dinner. When the fridge was cold enough, Sito bought some water and milk to stock up a bit. I almost forgot to put our cold stuff into the fridge - Mum brought them over in the morning so they were at room temperature already but ok, no strange smell.

Then we couldn't take it and went to bed.

The next few days, we unpacked madly. Also did laundry madly. By Friday, we were done. But the movers only came to collect the boxes on Monday afternoon, just nice coz our study sideboard arrived on Saturday and we laid pieces of it on the cardboard while assembling it. Our sofa, TV console, dining sideboard, dining table and dining chairs also arrived during the week. 

Kids unpacking their box of stuff from their books cabinets

Found Sito's big toy!

Yang helped to assemble too!

Almost done with the study sideboard

The first week was busy but we were pleased with our new house. Except for the water pressure. Since day one, kids had been unhappy with the shower. We removed a mesh inside the shower head. Very slight improvement. We used a different shower head which I brought back from our old place on Wednesday when I went to pick up loose ends - it was a new one which we never used; can't remember why. It was marginally better.

We were thinking of calling the town council but didn't get down to it. Then, MP visited on Saturday. We took the chance to ask about this and woah, the town council sent three guys down within the hour and tested the water pressure. Their conclusion was that it was only the shower as the rest was fine. Sighs.

That evening, we went to Star Vista and found shower heads at Japan Home. Bought one to try and what do you know?! The next day, I bought another one while Sito was assembling the study sideboard :) But our Grohe shower heads have been cold-storaged :(

With the boxes gone, I could map Robot-kun! I had developed a callus on my right index finger after sweeping and mopping with the Magiclean for days :(

The area is now 50% more than before!

And I need two full charges to mop the whole house. So now, I mop the bedrooms when I sit down for coffee and the rest after Sito leaves to fetch the kids. Weekends, I can close an eye and mop just the more used areas.

So we're moved in and more or less settled down. Still need to tidy stuff - Lego sets are still in plastic bags, books are overflowing, some clothes and bedsheets are scattered with no proper home, bamboo pole holders need some paint work to cover up old paint, etc. But yes, we're moved in :) I started cooking lunch last week. Next week, I'll start to cook dinner.

Happy! :)