.::. The Haze .::.

All people talk about is the haze these days. And it's truly the bane of my existence for someone who has allergy rhinitis (and all things allergy) plus asthma.

My windows has been closed since last Monday till this weekend. I've been feeling it since Monday, although the PSI was in the 100 range. I feel it once I step outdoors, my eyes start watering, nose start running, wind pipes start to shrink. It's instantaneous, and I really dislike feeling that way.

We stayed in on Tuesday to celebrate our anniversary. The husband suddenly told me that he bought tickets for STOMP the musical on Wednesday. It was a pleasant surprise really, although all I want to do is to run home and hide from this horrid haze.

Going to MBS wasn't that bad since it's train and indoors all the way. The haze seemed to worsen as the day went.







Thank you darling. It was a great musical by the way - entertaining, interactive and really impressive rhythms! We missed it years back, and the husband has been wanting to watch it.

And by the time we were done with the musical, we came out with news that PSI has hit 290. Horrors. The haze was seen and felt even indoors - it was hazy inside. I feel all my allergy symptoms immediately, and the husband had to queue outside for the taxi while I hid inside.

It went above 300 by the time we were home. I didn't feel well, and there's no way I'm making my way to work in that haze. I ended up with 2 days MC and inhalers, all sort of allergy medicine and steroids just in case I really couldn't breathe.

So I hid at home, shut all my windows and on-off my air-con periodically to save on electrical cost. I bought groceries enough to last me for the weekend and just hibernated.  Looking outside made me depressed, and it really felt like the world was going to end. I was so thankful to be indoors.

Thursday was bad, but Friday was worse. It was hazy on Thursday but all brown by Friday.





It was so horrible, we decided to stay-in. It was our friend's birthday and I spent Friday cooking for everyone. It's comforting to gather inside during days like that.



Although the PSI on Saturday was alright, the PM2.5 readings were still way high and I still didn't feel well. Sunday was better though my nose never quite got over the haze till now.

We did go out for dinner in the evenings, but spent most of the day at home, catching up with some sleep and household chores.







Chikey must be the happiest, since I'm home with him for the past few days.

Although we've some brief respite from the haze, I'm all prepared and expecting it to be back. There's ample 'liang teh' in the fridge perpetually, I've stocked my kitchen up, my brother has got us some N95 masks and my air-purifier will arrive early next week. If need be, I'm going to hide at home and work from home when the haze worsens.

*sigh*

Haze, please be gone.

And on another note, really pissed off with the Indonesian's 'tahu diri' comment and somewhat disappointed with what has (or has not) been done, plus all the manipulating of information. Singaporeans complain, and there's the profiteering and all. But what makes me saddest is perhaps knowing that we're a product of our society and upbringing. When crisis occur, some think of making money out of selling masks at higher prices (demand vs supply) while our government starts telling us how much GDP and productivity will be sacrificed due to the haze. Who knows if those 'Singaporeans' are 'new' or 'old' or if the rising standard of living has really driven some to desperation in a bid for survival and some income. *big sigh*

.::. Going Keyless! .::.

We went keyless some weeks back. Finally!

We have been very tempted after visiting one of the homes that Mr K did. They had these digital locks, both fingerprint operated and did not need any keys. It was so cool and so convenient, but cost was a deterrent.

Few months after moving in, I find myself hating those keys. I'm very forgetful. I always leave my keys  on my door lock and close the doors. It happened too often. I would open my gate then my main door and dash in with my groceries. Then somehow, I will simply close the main door and forget that the keys are still there. We go over to our neighbor's place often and always leave our keys at peoples' homes. There was once that the husband played board games at the neighbor's till past midnight and left his keys at the neighbor's place. I stayed in to study and was already asleep when he tried to call me. He had no choice but to head back for his keys.



We're using the Gateman F10 and Samsung 6020, and got them from Interlock (an online shop). The gate is fingerprint operated while the door is card/pin operated. The gate unlocks with a button from the remote on the inside.

I'm loving it so much now. I never have to bother about brining keys nor digging my bag to locate the keys anymore. The gates and doors are now automatically locked when closed, don't even need to turn and turn the locks and keys.

Yay to going keyless. I think the convenience and peace of mind is really worth it!

.::. The lived-in home .::.

Don't you ever wonder if lived-in homes look as good as they were as compared to right after renovation? I used to think about this a lot when looking at people's renovation pictures. I tried to imagine how my home would look like after really moving in and took extra care in adding more storage space and keeping things practical. Things that were unpractical were things I loved and willingly put in the extra effort to keep it clean - things like the brick wall that needs to be vacuumed now and then, and the white solid top that I wipe everyday.



This is how the home look like now. Clutter here and there, unpacked stuff in the bomb shelter. Daily routine work is already tedious enough for 2 working adults! I hate ironing the husband's shirts the most, it takes an hour every week and I don't even iron my own clothes.













We'll also be getting some work done these few weeks. The husband says it's our 'second' renovation, and I suppose that the home will truly be complete after this round. =)

.::. Short Red Bob .::.

Went to trim my bob and colored it red again. I still love my brown hair, but I know the red would go back to my brown very soon. It's really red now!



My hairstylist whom I've been seeing for the past 7 years or so commented that most of his customers do not go back to long hair after cutting it short. It's indeed so much more convenient and cooling, especially as I swim these days.

I may go back to long hair again after this grows out. The husband said he prefers me in long hair, and I kind of do miss my long hair.

.::, Happy 102nd Monthsary .::.

It was our 102nd month anniversary, and I whipped up a good meal for both of us.



Steak with pan-seared scallops, rosemary garlic roasted potatoes and ceasar salad. Both of us love beef steak and Morton's our favorite. It's too expensive to have it often though, and this was a pretty good substitution.

It's an hour meal. No early preparation needed.

I dropped by NTUC after work. Grabbed the steak and some seasoning/herbs.



Seasoning I used for the steak - it was pretty good! It says 30 minute marinate, I probably let it sit for almost an hour. I suppose meat cuts are a preference, and I had very limited choices at NTUC. I got the rump (about $10 for 2 pieces), and it was good!

Ingredients needed: Steak, marinate, pepper, potatoes, garlic, rosemary herbs, chives, butter, olive oil, scallops, lettuce, ceasar sauce, bacon bits.

Cooking within a limited time frame takes planning, what is done first makes a big difference.

(1) Fill a pot with water and let it boil
(2) Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut it into cubes
(3) The water would have boiled, parboil the potatoes for 6-7 minutes
(4) Season the steak with Lawry's seasoning and pepper after rinsing it and patting it dry. Leave it aside or the fridge.
(5) Strain the potatoes
(6) Chop some garlic while the potatoes drip dry
(7) In a bowl, add some garlic, olive oil, rosemary herbs, pepper and mix it with potatoes
(8) Put it into the oven at 190 degrees, 30 minutes.
(9) Wash the lettuce and spin it dry.
(10) Season salad with caesar sauce and some pepper. Plate the salad and top with with some bacon.
(11) Set the table and bring out the drinks.
(12) Heat up a pan, melt some butter and add some herbs like Chives.
(13) Pat dry the scallops before putting it into the pan
(14) Let it stay each side for about 2 minutes
(15) Plate the scallops and continue to heat the pan
(16) Add some olive oil and put in the steak
(17) After about 2 minutes each side (for medium steak), plate it!
(18) The potatoes should be ready by now!

The husband gave a 8/10 for this meal - I usually get 7, so 8 is supposed to be good. I love cooking, especially for people I love. It's not difficult, no need for fancy restaurants. This whole meal barely cost $30. Cook for someone you love now!

Happy anniversary my dearest. To many more happy months ahead!

.::. Renovation – Lets Start! .::.

It's amazing how this space has become somewhat a renovation blog with people e-mailing me about all sorts of renovation questions and contacts. Everyone is just interested in renovation. =(

It really started with my own excitement and passion in beautifying my own home since having my own home has been my dream for as long as I remember. I spent years day-dreaming of my own home, of how it would look like and what I would do in there. And when we finally got our own place, I spent all my free time looking at magazines, pinterest and reading forums and surfing the net to make the ‘most informed decision’. I had spreadsheets to compare different quotes and noting down market rates for all items, spreadsheets of many possible furniture and home-ware shops that I may like to visit, spreadsheets to track all costs and budgeting when to get what. I had plans for everything. Yes, it’s a work hazard – I’m an analyst.

I’ve started writing about my renovation journey when I got keys and started out. From choosing IDs/contractors right down to choosing materials and furniture – I look at the ups and downs and photos throughout the journey and feel really accomplished and somewhat incredible.

I started out knowing nothing about renovation too, but I knew exactly what I liked and wanted. I didn’t want an ID, I wanted someone who could make my vision a reality. IDs are great, if you do not know what you want and do not want to spend time thinking and researching – oh and if you’ve deep pockets. IDs are mostly a hazard when you already know what you want and do not give them a chance to display their design preferences or justify their prices. There are good IDs around who will work with you to improve on what you want, giving you great suggestions and space planning, but those IDs are way out of budget.

Where to start?

Renovation may seem like a daunting task with so much to do. Many start with getting IDs/contractors contacts and meet up with them. I myself have been to those Expo fairs and wasted spent so much time sitting with them and getting quotes. Most, like me, have a budget in mind, though most don’t necessarily know what’s the market rates nor have an idea what they want done.

I would say start looking at magazines, photos and visualize how you want your home to look like first. Think of your lifestyle, storage needs, whether or not you intend to have children, what styles/colors/designs/textures do you like. Think about living in it, the amount of maintenance and cleaning needed. Without thinking through these, it’s easy to be swayed by the IDs you meet. Some may suggest certain designs (some run-in-the-mill type) which may look nice but isn’t practical with children around and most would give you a contemporary modern look with black/whites or neutral colors.

Budgeting

Many ask, how much does renovation generally cost.  Honestly, there’s no such thing as ‘generally’ since there’s so many factors involved. Materials chosen makes a big difference to the final prices. That said, on very extremely general terms, renovating a 4 room flat that does not come with flooring and little carpentry work would cost a minimum of about 30k to make the place comfortable. Renovating a 5-room flat would probably cost at least about 40k. Resale flats would cost more, easily 10k more unless you’re going to keep the flooring and kitchen carpentry. And yes, prices differ a lot between different IDs and contractors, but this is probably the minimal amount you’ll have to fork out for a decent renovation. Electrical works can be substantial ($1k-$3k) too especially for resale flats that require rewiring. Surprisingly (to me), hacking does not cost as much as I imagined (from few hundreds to thousand or two for resale). Painting cost more than I thought, around $1.2-$1.8k. Haulage and cleaning comes up to another thousand or so.

The bulk of the cost would go into carpentry and flooring (or tiling). By cutting down on in-built carpentry and using cheaper alternatives such as laminates would bring down the cost. All materials used would cause a differential in prices – solid tops (korea or china?), soft-close hinges (Blum or Excel or China/India imported), flooring (homogenous tiles or laminates or marble?). And of course, the labor used makes a big difference to prices too – bangala or PRC or Malaysian or Singaporean makes a difference to the workmanship too.

IDs or Contractors?

I wrote about this here.

Timeline and expectations

This has to be communicated and aligned before signing on the dotted line and paying the downpayment. Ask as much questions as you like, clarify all your doubts, especially on materials used. What brands of laminates and hinges are included, what brands of solid tops and price ranges of tiles can be chosen. Some may realize that their choices are very limited only after it’s too late and expanding their choices involves additional costs or compromising on their expectations. Some companies import full-container loads of things like hinges and laminates and accessories from China/India and rename it under their own unheard-of- atas-european-sounding brand which may or may not be as good as commonly known brand names in the market with more stringent quality control (and probably higher cost that comes with quality). Try to include all your requirements in the quote as additional items usually cost more when added after the project starts and would end up being an excuse when there’re delays. Renovation usually takes about 8 weeks, discuss possible delays and consequences.

Word of caution.

If you care about your home and your hard-earned money and would like to avoid trouble, spend some time to do research online and in forums and ask around. Forums like Renotalk is very active and has a wealth of knowledge but be careful of businesses that pose as consumers to promote themselves and solicit for business. It’s good to get someone by referral, better even if you’ve seen their workmanship and know that they’re reliable. Ask to visit actual sites, talk to their customers when they’re not around or search for reviews online. Google their company name and director or ID names to check if there are any complaints. Communicate and discuss the timeline and expectations, preferably in black-and-white or some sort of proof to protect yourself. HDB license may or may not be of top priority as there’s no guarantee that those with license are good and going through complaints to HDB or CASE or other venues are cumbersome and time-consuming.

I would also suggest avoid getting friends or relatives to do renovation unless you are very sure of their workmanship and professionalism. I’ve known so many cases which end up badly (including my own). Friends/relatives may think that they’re doing you a favor without earning as much while you are unable to actually be straightforward when things are delayed or go wrong. You simply can’t hold them accountable when things are not up to expectations.  Some may trust friends too much and end up with sub-par work, delays and many add-ons to be paid.

Beware of freebies. Do not be swayed by free things like most Singaporeans do. Things like free air-con and accessories or vouchers are paid by you and ain’t actually free!

Lastly, follow your heart and make an informed choice.  Most of the time, price is not the only deciding factor (just like looks is not the only factor when you choose your spouse). There’s the ease of communication, working together and trust in the working relationship. If in doubt, do not take the risk unless you can take the worse-case-scenario.  If there are already delays and miscommunications even before starting, it may be good to re-evaluate your options or even forgo your deposit.

And even after choosing a seemingly reliable ID/contractor that you think you can trust, monitor and keep track of progress and visit your home often! Take pictures of the workmanship if rectifications are needed. Constantly remind and reaffirm things to be done and don’t assume that paying more for an ID can save you this trouble. IDs often have bad communication links with the actual workers who does the work and many end up with work that was not what they wanted. Till then, it may be too late or costly to change or go through the trouble to insist that your reluctant ID bear the cost.

After deciding on who to use for the renovation actually brings you to the start and not the end of the renovation.  There are still many choices to be made, many more things to learn, and it’s finally time to visualize and imagine your home.  It’s an exciting time, a huge project that will bring you so much satisfaction and a safe haven to retreat after a long day out.

I truly hope less people get cheated of their hard-earned money or endure horrible renovation and attitude. Please do your due diligence people and not regret when things go awry.

Good luck!

.::. Pre-wedding - Behind the scenes .::.

Initially, I didn't want to take any pre-wedding photos.  It just didn't seem meaningful to me to take pictures in a studio or typical places.  My dream place is that beach near where I stayed in Sweden, where I thought of him constantly and took videos and sang him birthday songs.  There are so many places in Sweden which would have made beautiful pictures - why hasn't anyone taken pictures there?!





It's self-evident why Sweden is my top choice really, plus it's cooling even in summer. Obviously we couldn't afford that, and there's no place where it's truly meaningful for us in Singapore.  We've been to so many places, share so many memories everywhere!

It was till the husband suggested taking pictures in the home that really got me into planning a pre-wedding photoshoot.  Taking pictures in the home where we planned and designed from scratch, where we will start a new journey together felt right. Then, we decided to go ahead and take some photos for our pre-wedding.

Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures taken by our entourage:





I love these pictures, they were taken at our estate - Casa Clementi's garden and from a neighbor's place upstairs!































I personally dislike those typical pose-y wedding photo shoots, especially those in studios or Taiwanese style. I'm a fan of Lightedpixels but we really couldn't afford that 8 grand to get them. I think we had fun, and I was satisfied with the pictures, although not that impressed.

I'm so glad that the husband suggested our home for the photoshoot. That honestly didn't cross my mind!

Shall leave the actual pre-wedding shots from our photographer into another post. =)

.::. Exams are over! .::.

The exam was over yesterday! One of the rare papers that feels like a confirmed pass despite the sub-stardard revision that i've done. I'm indeed a theory/writing person.

Have got a weekend or two free before tuition starts again. Going swimming tonight and perhaps hot yoga this weekend, some baking, some cooking, some cleaning and packing and getting some pictures uploaded, blog posts scheduled.

Exams are great, they make you feel so free after them. And you know what? I secretly like studying. 3 more papers left! =O

.::. Sale of Balance Flats - May’2013 .::.

HDB has launched yet another ‘Sale of balance flat’ this year. It seems really frequent in the recent years, with the last one in September 2012.

Prices are generally higher than BTO since the waiting time is so much shorter - we got our keys in March 2012 for the SOBF in September 2011.

Yet again, there are still some units from Casa Clementi.  Home-hunters are coming to the estate to view the units again, some even ask to view the interior. Most of them weren't available during the September 2011 exercise, none of them were offered during September 2012. Prices, while higher than September 2011, did not seem to increase since September 2012.

I was looking at the prices and realized that in the September 2012 SOBF exercise, they simply added 66k to all prices! Lower levels would have lost out.

This was the comparison between September 2011 and 2012.

And this is the comparison between September 2011 and May 2013. Prices are up by about 13% since we bought our place. The biggest unit at the 40th level has broken the 600k mark (more than 600k even when you buy direct from HDB!!!. But then, the view is spectacular and very windy really, and I'm somewhat envious every time I drop by the neighbor's place. This unit was never offered during the past 3 SOBF exercise.

Despite some complaints about the neighborhood, I love how we've a 24-hour supermarket just downstairs, 2 clinics and a bakery, good bus connections to everywhere, the hawker and market nearby and swimming pool 5-minutes away.

Good luck people! Choosing your love nest has got to be one of the most exciting thing one can do. The other would be renovating your dream home.

.::. Strangers in a marriage? .::.

I was asking the husband randomly that day – what do we do if we become strangers someday, living separate lives?  It happens, it always happens. I see it around me so much. Married couples are simply married on paper, living under the same roof, perhaps the sleeping on the same bed, yet not much different from being strangers and living separate lives. Some simply sleep in different beds or rooms and turn up for family gatherings out of obligation or to put up a front in the name of responsibility.

Some people tell me that things change after marriage, especially after you have kids. Some tell me that they lose their girlfriend and lover after the wife becomes a mother and resent how things change as they take up motherly duties. Some find commitment and marriage restrictive and suffocating. Some simply drift apart and do not put in the effort to communicate anymore. Sometimes, one party puts in too much effort without it being reciprocated.

Many stay in the marriage just because – just because there’s no reason to be divorced or go through all the trouble, just because of the children or the shame and gossip that it might bring, just because their religion frowns upon divorce, just because the woman has lost her (financial) independence and confidence to walk out on the marriage.

I asked the husband, what if we become strangers someday? Will he still stay married to me? He asked, isn’t that very ‘kan kor’ (unbearable)? I told him that given my character, I wouldn’t be able to take it and would divorce him then. I simply can’t stay in a marriage where both parties ain’t happy!

I wonder if my perspective would change as I grow older. Many stay married for their children. It may be important when they’re really young. But after a certain age, doesn’t it boil down to what values you would like to impart to them? Children are sensitive creatures, they know even when you think that they don’t and a bad marriage affects your child in so many ways. What signals do you give them by staying in a loveless marriage where both parties are unhappy? It takes courage to be truthful to yourself.

There’s simply no easy answers as you grow up. Everyone is looking for their own set of answers, trying in their own ways, fighting their own battles.

Times like this, I count my blessing to have had a loving relationship and a strong foundation with the husband over the past 10 years. When the going gets tough, I look through pictures of our happy times and remind myself how difficult is it to meet someone and fall in love. How difficult it was to get to know each other, go through everything and finally got married. To me, one day of happiness is one day less sadness in life. Who knows if it'll be me going through this in the years to come.

Don’t forget why you fell in love and what you love about each other!

Not sure how people who do not love each other in the first place get through marriage when it's so difficult even for people in love. But perhaps its easier and that’s a post for another day.