Home Affairs

I've been too busy to update this blog. June is a busy month and I foresee in July, I'll be playing catch-up with many things.

During the school holidays, we spent three nights in Singapore. We went to Universal Studios in Sentosa Island and Gardens by the Bay in Marina. We enjoyed ourselves in the short time we had there. I hope to be able to write more in detail about these places when I have the time.

This week and next, my brother and his family from overseas are visiting. So for the past one week, I was busy cleaning the house from top to bottom to make sure everything is in order for our guests so that there are clean rooms and beds for everyone, including my parents who also stayed over. Imagine cleaning, dusting and tidying a three-storey home, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, without the help of a maid or part-time cleaners and you can get an idea of how much time it takes. I didn't even do any windows or doors.

I realised that it takes an entire week to vacuum, mop, tidy up clutter, wipe dust off, and wash bathrooms for the entire house by doing all these bit by bit each day since there are other routine stuff like cooking, watering plants, grocery shopping, paying bills, writing, sending and fetching C, to attend to within a day. 

Since Saturday, ACE had a busy time enjoying the company of parents, siblings and cousins, catching up after quite a few years of not meeting up, and ensuring breakfast, lunch and dinner are taken care of.

Today I have a little breather as they have gone out of town. However, there are other stuff to attend to. I wish time could stand still. I'm behind in my writing and there's always unexpected 'problems' to attend to.

Yesterday morning the aircon technician finally came. Our living room aircon broke down on Saturday, the day my brother arrived. And it was very bad timing because of the haze. All our doors and window were shut tight to minimise the foul air from entering and we had to rely on just one aircon in the dining room to ventilate both the living and dining area. Thankfully, the other aircons in the bedrooms were ok and we could sleep comfortably at night.

After the aircon was fixed, there was a fuse for the circuit powering my fridge and washing machine. So I had to make a frantic call to the electrician to come and fix it. Luckily he made it by mid-afternoon and power was restored to the all-important fridge.

Maintaining a house is hard work and time consuming. Besides keeping it clean, tidy and comfortable, you have to keep attending to other physical problems like roof leakages, cracks on walls, electrical malfunctions of appliances and wiring, plumbing, security, gardening and pets, if you have any.

A "home minister's" job never ends.....

With the recent spate of fixes to various parts and things in the house, some of which were due to inferior materials and shoddy workmanship by the property developer, C asked if we could sue them. She jokingly said she'd be the lawyer. E suggested we sell the house and live in a tent. As for me, it would be nice if I could resign as home minister and go on a luxurious Mediterranean cruise.

Dre-e-e-am, dream, dream, dream...(you know that old song by the Everly Brothers?)

House Repairs

This week, I've been busy attending to various repairs required around the house. We have lived in this present house for a little over four years. The wear and tear has started showing. Is it normal for houses to start giving problems so soon? I'm not sure as this is the first house we own that we are living in. Before this, we lived in an apartment, and another house which E owned had been rented out and subsequently sold. Could it be that the construction quality is bad and materials and fittings provided inferior? Or are we just unfortunate? I believe it is a combination of both.

So far, we have fixed an internal waterpipe leak in one of the bathrooms, replaced a tap and pipe fittings for a sink, rectified the waterproofing of our car porch roof, replaced several door knobs (three incidents of being locked in), exterminated and treated the house for termites, and unclogged a few toilet bowls.

On Monday, we got a so-called roofing specialist to fix our roof which had been leaking when it rained, creating wet patches on our top floor ceiling, and if the rain was heavy, water dripped onto the floor.  Hopefully the problem has been rectified. It has not rained heavily these few days for me to find out.

Last Sunday, while I was showering, the water pump that creates the pressure to distribute water within the house short circuited. It tripped our power supply so we had no choice but to switch it off.  For the past few days, we had to shower with low water pressure until today, when I went out to purchase a brand new pump, and called the plumber to install it.

Next, we will need to fix or rebuild the dividing wall outside that we share with our next-door neighbour. Our driveway has a slight incline and I believe the foundation had not properly set when they built the wall. So over time, the lower part of the inclined shifted further downwards, causing cracks on the wall.

Another item that needed attention was our outdoor water filter. During the recent service, the technician discovered that both the pressure gauges were faulty. As he didn't have spare ones with him that time, he had to come back another time to replace them. A week later, I noticed that one of it was not functioning, despite it being new. I had to call them and get it replaced again.

All these calling and making appointments and juggling my schedule to accommodate the various service providers has kept me busy this week. It's a good thing that C's football practice at school has taken a temporary break as the mid-year exams are looming. This means I don't have to go to school to supply her with an afternoon snack and change of clothes and fetch her home later than usual.

Tomorrow, the plumber is returning and this time, to fix a problem with a leaky cistern for one of the toilet bowls. He couldn't do it today as he didn't have the spare parts and it was too late in the evening by the time he finished installing the water pump upstairs.

Within these three days, we have spent over RM4,000, mainly to fix the roof and replace the water pump.

Sigh, in such times I wish I have Handy Manny around -- a friendly, trustworthy, reasonable handyman who can fix everything with a smile and a kind and generous spirit. The ones we usually meet have dollar signs in their eyes, blow a lot of hot air, promise the sky and moon but deliver (unmentionable)...

Speaking of Handy Manny, I remember when C was younger, we used to enjoy watching his cartoons, singing and dancing along to the catchy theme song.

Post-move Update

We moved to our new house on March 7th. It's our 11th day there today. The house is still cluttered with boxes, some half opened, some yet to be opened. Stuff are tucked away in corners, and strewn in some places, waiting for their turn to know where they'll end up in. Wish I had taken pictures to document our move. We did take a few on moving day but now I wish I took more and also the days following....But we didn't have time.

We estimated having moved all our stuff in a total of about 60 reasonably big boxes, excluding the bulky items like furniture and appliances. We've unpacked about 40. We still have power drills, hardware etc lying around the house as all the nitty gritty stuff like hooks and holders, shelves, blinds, etc to install. My new oven is still sitting pretty in its original box packaging in the tiny storeroom under the staircase, waiting to roast its first chicken...Needless to say, my cooking has been rather minimal these two weeks.

Also, it was because my new hob had a minor defect on one of its burners. It could light up but the flame could not sustain. Got it fixed two days ago. We got our autogate fixed today. Still waiting for phone and Internet line (see post below). Caitlin's teacher will be coming over tomorrow to help tune her drum set. I've yet to call the tuner to tune the piano.

Our living room aircond unit is currently unusable. Nothing wrong with it actually. But my ST*PID contractor who tiled my front porch and re-routed the drain underground did not notice the outlet of my aircond water there and covered it up with concrete. So if I switch on my aircond, I will eventually see wet patches on the wall beneath it where the concealed piping runs. Water can't get out where it's supposed to so it'll get out somewhere else lah... Now, another waiting game for the contractor to hack up a row of tiles from the floor of my porch to allow drainage of the water....

I spent six hours (yes, that long) sorting Caitlin toys out of seven boxes today. Some are going to charity while the others were re-categorised and arranged in her new play room. She's at my parents' home today so I could do it in peace. I only hope she'll maintain a semblance of what I've organised for her once she starts enjoying that room!

I've arranged Eugene's and my books in our new big book shelf unit upstairs. Took two days to carry piles and piles of books (they are sooo heavy) almost non-stop up four flights of stairs numerous times a day. I've been getting very good workouts these few days climbing stairs (it's a three-storey house... yes, only three people in the family and we need such a big house because you wouldn't believe how much toys and books both Eugene and Caitlin have. I only have books!)

Caitlin's four boxes of books are still untouched. We need to get more bookcases to organise her books as they can't all fit into the one Eugene and I are sharing....

I have to stop here. Time to leave this computer alone again and head home...

Almost moving...

After three hours of packing, the things are now being gradually loaded into the truck. I'm glad we decide to use movers... can't imagine Eugene and me doing all this ourselves. Six men took three hours to pack and wrap and they are still at it since 9.30am. Two of us wouldn't have been able to do it if we had decided to really move on our own today.

'Live' update

As I'm sitting here, the movers are already halfway through packing up our stuff. It's a strange feeling that we are not really doing any hard labour right now, other than supervising and answering questions about what is to be packed and moved and what will be left behind etc....

Obviously, the computer is not being moved yet as we'll still be coming back to this old place for intermittent use of the Internet (until we get the Internet line up at the new place), and sorting out some minor stuff left behind...

Tomorrow!

After all these months of planning, considering, managing and frustrating over everything related to our new house and the move, it's finally coming to a point where the real thing is happening. And it's in less than 24 hours' time...and I don't feel ready.

This is mainly because I look around and I still see this computer desk laden with stuff, wardrobes still with clothes hanging inside, kitchen cabinets still packed with dry groceries, cupboards still filled with pots and pans, Caitlin's desk still cluttered with her stationery, toys, junk, book shelves still with books inside....

Come 9.00 am tomorrow, the movers will invade our home with their boxes and wrapping materials. Being professionals, they will surely be able to sort out the mess and pack them up nicely for us. I am however nervous that I won't be able to find the stuff that I need to use on a daily and immediate basis once those boxes arrive at the new house....

We had moved many boxes of stuff on our own earlier but they contain mostly stuff that we've kept in storage for years, stuff that we think we need but have hardly used, stuff that serve no immediate, daily need.

Being a control freak, trusting stuff that are considered somewhat important in strangers' hands is something new to me. The many, many times that I've moved homes, rooms, dorms, apartments, I've always done it myself - sorted, packed, dismantled stuff on my own and only getting transporters to load them onto their lorry/truck and unload them at the destination.

Tomorrow, these people are not just transporters. They are movers. They pack, dismantle and move your stuff. My experience with movers prior to this was only in my working life when my company hired movers to help us move office. Even then, I was given the boxes and packed all my own stuff in my cubicle and department.

This morning, the cleaners I got spent 4.5 hours cleaning the new house. It is still not entirely spotless but at least cleaner with less dust and debris. Like all new houses, it'll have to go through several rounds of thorough cleaning before it gets to a lived-in level of cleanliness.

There's still lots to do at the new house besides unpacking. There are curtains to put up (luckily the curtain maker is doing that tomorrow evening), blinds, water filter, autogate, a few more light fixtures, one sink and minor items like mirrors, towel rods, hooks, laundry rack to install, some DIY wardrobes to build and some touch-up painting to do....

So getting the house ready to move in was one milestone. After tomorrow, there's another one to conquer - settling in.

Caitlin was excited when we told her she'll be sleeping in the new house tomorrow night onwards. However, she also voiced sadness that we're leaving this current place. She said she'll miss it. I don't doubt her. She's lived here since the day she was born. And when we told her we'd be renting out this place, she said she doesn't want other people living in it. Eugene explained to her that all our belongings will no longer be here when other people move in. She felt better then so I guess she was more concerned about her things.

Moving

We're moving to our new place this Saturday. Packing-wise, we still have lots of odds and ends to put into boxes. Some are stuff we are still using on a daily basis, others are stuff we've simply chucked at 'hidden' corners over the years because we either don't know where to put them or because we thought we'd have use for them someday or because they have some perceived sentimental value. Eugene has lots of those in the last category.

Moving house is a good way to give away old but usable stuff -- clothes, old furniture, bags, etc -- to those who need them more. It's a good way to declutter and simplify -- do we really need those shoes which we once thought looked cool but wore only once? It's an opportunity to remember and reminisce -- get a laugh looking at old nerdy pics, read old letters (I still have those written to me when I was a teenager)and autographs.

This brings to mind scenes of police detectives in TV shows sifting through victims' or suspects' garbage cans. You can tell a lot about a person and his daily life by looking at what is thrown out!

What a racket!

The strip of green between my balcony and the golf course it faces is now a 'hell hole'. It's dusty and noisy and pollutes the already-tainted air. The land was cleared some months back to make way for an access road leading to a new condominium development neighbouring mine. Yesterday, they started piling work.



This is the view from my balcony now.




















I keep the sliding doors to my balcony closed and only open them at night. Other windows facing that direction are also closed or just slightly open. Caitlin asked about the 'loud sound' yesterday when she returned from school and wondered if it was a lion dance going on. I told her what it was. This morning, when the piling started, she joked that there was a lion dance again.

Moving to a new home

Sometime in the middle of this year, we plan to move into our new home and I can foresee the work involved once we receive the keys from the developer: checking for defects, rectification if any, shopping and installing the necessary fittings, packing, moving and unpacking. We do not plan to do any renovation since the house is brand new and we are pleased with the design. We might just need to paint a few walls to the colours of our choice and definitely Caitlin's room which she has already specified to be pink in colour....

The house should be ready by end of this month so I guess we should start making a checklist of things we need to look into and set the budget. I shall be surfing the Internet once again for checklists and tips. I used to be quite a 'pro' when it came to moving, especially during my campus days, when we had to move our stuff out every semester break. Then in my early working days of renting rooms and apartments, moving was still pretty easy since I had only myself and my own things. It's been nine years since I last moved. And in those nine years, I've accummulated lots of stuff, one husband (and lots more of HIS stuff!) plus one kid (and lots, lots more of HER stuff!!).

House hunting

I think we may be getting somewhere, finally, in our house hunting efforts. We have been house hunting on and off the past two years, checking various locations in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. Some houses we saw were really nice but we felt they were overpriced. Location is the main determinant of house prices in the Klang Valley, regardless of the condition of the house in most cases.

Just when I thought we were heading nowhere in our hunt for our 'dream' home, I chanced upon a print ad a few days ago for a new development not too far from where we are currently living. The price plus specs for the house seemed good value so I decided to visit the show house and came home pretty impressed and tempted.


Eugene came with me today to check it out again and he seemed to like it too, so it sure looks like we're about to take the plunge. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we've not overlooked anything negative about that place.

Committing to a new house is a giant step, financially and emotionally. Since we are not millionaires (yet?!), forking out tens of thousands for initial payments and subsequently being 'chained' to the bank probably for the rest of our lives is deathly daunting. And after being in our comfortable niche in our current location for the past eight years, I think it would take some emotional adjustment (for me at least) having to grope my way around again in search of amenities. But I guess once I've grown used to the new place, it would be alright.

And the thought of having lots more space (provided my dear husband and daughter don't continue with their hoarding habit :)....), plus a carpark and small patch of grass at my doorstep, and a larger kitchen is consolation enough.

As you can tell, I'm a worrier and think too much ahead sometimes! Please pray with us that the house we have set our eyes on is the right one for us.

And in case you're wondering if this picture is the house we are eyeing, it is actually Caitlin's dream home. She helped me pick this picture for this post. She said she likes this house because it has a swimming pool!