Home Acquisition

Perhaps it's part of getting older, I'm feeling more inertia to post details of my life and to share it with absolute strangers. But at the same time, it's all useless if I decide to limit access. That's what blogs are for... So...

In an effort to record the journey of our home ownership...

Some time in May this year, we participated in the balloting of a development. And given the crappy luck that we both have at ironically named lucky draws, we thought we were never gonna get what we want so we plotted out our 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th choices etc. While having taken time away from work, I was in the midst of closing a transaction so my inbox needed my undivided attention.

The ballot started with a total of 3 VIPs, drawing 5 numbers each. I wasn't quite bothered because I was working on my laptop and considering my luck, it wasn't gonna happen soon anyway. The first VIP started drawing the numbers and they weren't even close to our number. We saw ecstatic future homeowners of this development whose enthusiasm we couldn't relate.

When the second VIP went up, she decided to shake the box of ballot tickets. Softly, I nudged Watziznehm to stop all the Facebooking and I was all prepared to shut my laptop. As I was shifting focus from my laptop to my Blackberry, I heard a familiar number being called out. It didn't quite register that my number could actually be called out. So I turned to my better half and asked in disbelief, "is that our number?" Together, we decided to uncover the truth by stomping to the front and checking out if we indeed brought Lady Luck with us that morning. As it turned out, she was there when we needed her the most. And hey, that just meant that we could pick almost ANY unit in that development. While being overwhelmed by the choices, we needed to make a practical choice. Watziznehm really wanted the penthouse unit but I wasn't too keen on the idea. I love the higher ceiling and the space and given the 10% premuim, it was still affordable and a darn good deal. But we knew it wasn't a practical choice because as bare top floor would mean alot more work required and that the house itself would be alot warmer from the evening sun. And if I'm to go on regarding the maintenance and cleaning up, you will hear no end from me although I doubt I'll be the one cleaning up the place. Clearly, having a green, cool chillout spot would be great. But we needed a sound decision quickly so...

We settled for the 4 bedroom unit that is just below the penthouse unit. At a grand total of 1335 sqft, we will have the VAST space that Watziznehm needed and for any future needs. Ok, it's not huge but considering the size of the houses now, I'm more than thankful. For now, my brain is lost in the abyst of having a WALK IN WARDROBE that is the size of a full bedroom. Location wise, this isn't the best spot but given our currently financial status, this is a fantastic compromise.

Option completed in May/June and we're now proud owners of this house!

Tentatively,

Bedroom 2 will be converted to be part of the Master bedroom, encompassing the WIW.
Bedroom 3 is our junior master bedroom that will be kept for future use and before the actual use for the room comes into play, it will be the mahjong room.
Bedroom 4 will be the study for him.

The HUGE balcony will be the designated oxygen spot. Standing on such high floor, the air has gotta be decent.

I have some concerns regarding the space constraints within linen room/dining room and unlike a flat, we can't possibly hang the clothes out.

But well, that's something to worry in 2014. Now, I'll just bask in the shiokness of anticipation and I'd better start making some decent money to pimp up the place when it's being delivered.

Arren Quek, you rock!

SEA Games Singapore hauls 4 more gold from pool - Channel NewsAsia

To me, you're the cute little nephew who never fails to make me laugh.

To swimming, you're a true contributor with your body and soul.

To Singapore, you're a hero and a star.

I am so proud of you as an aunt, a spectator and a true Singaporean. We love you!

Lao Ban Soya Beancurd @ Old Airport Road Food Centre

I rarely write food reviews but here's one...

After an incredibly satisfying dinner at Akashabu @ Kallang Leisure Dome, we proceeded to Old Airport Road Food Centre to pack food for BluePotatoes' parents. When we got there, I remembered someone mentioned some famous beancurd there but we didn't know which one it was. Then I saw a lady with 10 boxes of this Lao Ban Soya Beancurd and then I saw bags and bags of them carried by everyone around me. I was thinking, "it's gotta be quite good then..."

The queue was not very long with about 4-5 people before us and we got the loot quite easily. Within the queue, there were these teenagers (years of faint memory to me...) and you would bet your last dollar that they will not allow themselves to suffer to eat bad food, let alone queue for it.

If you're looking for HOT tau huey, you've come to the wrong place. It's all cold and after eating it, I knew why.

The Taste


Texture was awesome, really smooth but to be fair, there are some tao huey that are even softer and smoother as I slide my spoon in. The moment the tao huey went into my mouth, I was thrown off. It tasted so rich in soya bean milk, almost like I'm drinking from a box of Vitasoy. It wasn't too sweet. The surprise is in the state of the tao huey. It was jelly/pudding-like with that familiar hardened top look from any dessert with gelatin in it. But the very moment the blob of tao huey settles in your mouth, it disintegrates into soya bean milk instead. I needed to eat mouthful after mouthful of tao huey to just be able to vaguely describe the feeling. It was a rather pleasant experience.

However, it was not something I want to particularly shout about. I would recommend anyone to try it if they are at Old Airport Road for dinner but personally, I wouldn't go out of the way to get it. I'm also being unfair as I have special preference for hot hot tao huey.

I would say... Give it a try, you'll never know if you might fall in love with it.

Location: Picture taken from Google Maps