one week

only one week left to go. but there doesn’t seem to be this sense of urgency. should there be? i’ll leave the packing to the last minute so that i can re-live the panic of things not fitting, bag too heavy, the usual..

the weekend was spent with family. saturday with my mom’s side of the family, cause it was my cousin’s 21st birthday. sunday with my dad’s side of the family, cause we had a popiah party.

popiah is like a spring roll. kinda like that. the filling includes turnip, carrots, belly pork, shrimps, small squares of fried beancurd. you have to roll the popiah yourself. my favourite one is the one that’s cooked by my paternal grandma. she even does the skin(the stuff you roll the filling in) herself. yumness!

asides from all the food related activites, i also tried on the various sarongs (bottom) and kebayas (top) my grandma, aunty had. i am now in possession of a sarong that is older (27yrs) than me. this sarong wrapping/tying business is not as easy as it looks. trust me. mine drops after i take a few steps, and it’s measured steps, not my usual big strides. more practice, and there might be hope yet.

cooking 101

today i tried my hand at cooking one of my favourite dishes that my grandma cooks.

needless to say, it wasn’t very successful.

it’s edible. but not as good as my grandma’s.

i consoled myself by watching one of the mid-afternoon chinese/taiwanese soap operas that my grandma watches.

there is no logical flow in the above four sentences.

i called my grandma to tell her about it and offered to bring some over to her tomorrow.

she wisely declined and said i should eat it, let my mom try my cooking.

it seems that i might have overcooked the noodles and that my timing should’ve been tighter.

oh well. more excuses to ask my grandma to cook more yummy things :D

randomness #153

yesterday, i came back from the post office holding the trolley we have at home. it’s a small foldable trolley that we use to move boxes or heavy things. i was putting it back into the storeroom when my dad saw me.

dad: eh, where you go?

me: holiday lor.

dad: *silence*

then after that, i took the rubbish out to throw.

dad: where you go?

me: shopping!

dad: *silence*

yeah. sometimes, i can be so childish. it’s usually for my amusement, and if you can take it, then, our amusement.

last day to gym

today was my last day to gym. so off to the gym it was. that last burst of energy before everything fades to black (not quite as dramatic as that though). said bye to mr trainer. had a friend confirm that mr trainer is indeed straight, not gay as i keep thinking him to be. hrm.

anyway, now that gym’s over. it’d be running/jogging/exercising at the reservoir and swimming at the public pool. hopefully to get fit, and look toned before leaving. who knows, i might turn into a giant onigiri (riceball) upon reaching japan and suffer the same fate as george in metamorphosis. i hope that won’t happen.

the move

i’m slowly packing for the big move.

the house search is maddening. i chose apartment #2 and got back to the girl i’m in contact with, who then got back to the teacher-in-charge. it’s a lovely place, there’s a river beside it, the mall’s across it, great security. but a tiny tiny place. so when she finally got back to me with the price and all, i had to re-think my decision.

the landlord’s asking for close to 5700SGD upfront. of the 5700SGD, a portion goes into her pocket (1 or 2 months rent), 2 months rent, deposit (2 or 3 months rent), and the rest for insurance and what nots. at 5700SGD just to move in, it’s a tad too expensive for me. a tad is an understatement. it’s waaayyyyyy too expensive for me. so i have to reconsider. i’ll update when it’s all settled and if the price is right.

i’ve been putting stuff in boxes, sealing it up. there seems to be so many things and not enough space. i need some anti-matter. throw everything in and board the plane with the anti-matter in my pocket. when i arrive to my permanent accommadation, i’ll reverse the whole process and fill the apartment. that’d be really useful. just like doraemon, with everything and anything in his front pocket.

three more weeks! we’re taking SQ and flying off on the 5th.

that day at ikea

that day, mom went for a haircut.

dad and i decided to head over to the tampines ikea to jalan jalan* whilst waiting for her. mom’s haircut and treatment packages usually take about 2-3hrs.

so we were at ikea, just looking, following the specified ‘trail’. we walk into the section that sells racks for the kitchen, dish racks, bars to hook things on, you get the idea. so my dad picked up a rack, turned to me with a cheeky smile and said “eh look, i’m playing the harp.” he then proceeded to ‘play’ the rack. it was quite funny. i laughed for abit because it was so silly.

at ikea, they have this rotating light that displayed words on the floor and kids being kids would be intrigued by moving words and try to step on it. so there i was, jumping to step on the words. of course i got scolded by my dad. some kid saw what i was doing and copied me. hehe… they got scolded too. not my fault what…….

we moved on, and i started sliding. you know how when the floor’s really smooth, you can run and slide? i was doing just that. this time, getting nagged at didn’t stop me. it’s great fun! wearing lampshades as hats and sliding around. so, the inevitable had to happen – i slipped – yep. there was this bit of the floor that was extra slippery. so i slid, and slid even further, nearly landing on my butt.

the old lady behind my dad just looked at me curiously while i couldn’t stop laughing at the silliness of it all. my dad gave me the “see i told you not to do this already. walk properly.” and so i did. i walked properly, and did little slides every now and then only to test the floor out.

so yeah. i was behaving like a kid, the worst kind you can bring out except i won’t cry incessantly. i can play quietly.

i didn’t start it. my dad started it first!

*jalan jalan = walk walk

warabi mochi, warabi mochi

ever since chihiro and justin left, i’m left with this ’song’ in my head. warabi mochi, warabi mochi it’s the mobile ice cream vendor’s call song. if there’s such a term, a call song. when you hear it, you’ll know that the ice cream dude is nearby. so get your money ready for some ice cream.

warabi mochis aside, i’ve informed the girl i’m in contact with my decision to rent apartment #2. the tiny apartment in the good location. i also managed a chat with her via skype whch was good. we chatted, i learnt more about the school, living in japan and stuff. speaking to her was like listening to american tv. i heard stuff like the innernet, and like, words were like spoken with that upward inflexion? almost becoming like a question mark?. yep. speaking of skype. for those who read this and have skype, email/message me your skype name or ask me for mine. we can even do video calls via skype. that should be stacks of fun.

in other news. i’ve updated my flickr page and until i get myself a pro account on flickr, i won’t be updating more pictures.

[Edit: i've upgraded my flickr account to a pro one.]

dilemma

so i’ve got a dilemma.

it’s quite a hard choice for me to make and i’m undecided.

#1. do i want the big apartment that is 2mins away from the local train line in a residential area?

or,

#2. do i want the small apartment that right smack in the city, a short walk away from the main train line?

pros of taking apartment #1.
- it’s cheaper than apartment #2. by cheaper, we’re talking about 10,000 yen difference.
- it’s bigger at 52 square metres. (compared to the 35-ish square metres of apartment #2.)
- more cupboard space
- i get one month’s free rent. yay!

cons of taking apartment #1.
- it’s in a residential area, going to the shops require a bicycle or walking a short distance
- it’s the furthest from school.
- going out and missing connecting trains would be a bitch.
- it seems pretty quiet out there.

pros of taking apartment #2.
- like i said, it’s right smack in the middle of the city. good location
- it’s super safe with a security system
- i can walk to school
- amenities are within walking distance
- i can wander in the city and walk back home
- it’s relatively close to the main train line

cons of taking apartment #2.
- it’s really small. (but why do i need so much space being a single person?)
- it’s kinda expensive
- isn’t the safest place the most dangerous place?

at first, i was leaning towards apartment #1. cause it was big, cheaper, nice. if friends come over, they can have a place to bunk in and all. i didn’t think about grocery shopping or winter time, or a combination of both. then i saw apartment #2. and it starts to grow on you. i’m just one person afterall. a big place would be a pain to heat up in winter. how often would friends come over anyway? there’d be enough space for 3 friends to come over and stay. we’d just all be very cosy.

apartment #2. is really safe with all the security system (so hopefully no underwear thieves!). it is also in town (so it wouldn’t be too quiet and boring.) and it being in town, internet infrastructure should be better. the big mall is just across the apartment. cheap food at closing time, here i come. the bigger room would be my bedroom. the smaller room would be my living/dining room. the kitchen’s really tiny, but hey, i’m no chef. the size of the kitchen would be similar to the size of the kitchen in tassie.

after this soliloquy, i’m pretty convinced to choose apartment #2. it seems to be the better choice despite the cost and the size.

the feuding couple

as quickly as they arrived, they’re now on their way to melaka (malacca).

lots of laughs along the way, chatting about silly stuff, walking lots, sweating lots, eating lots! the last time we met like that was in adelaide. i stayed there for about 3 days, there abouts. this time, it’s in singapore. the next time (sometime next year), we’ll be in japan at chihiro’s place.

photos in my camera. i should get around uploading soon.

i miss them already. but it’ll soon pass. like all things.

4 more weeks till japan, and i’m still unpacked, homeless (in japan), wondering about what i should bring and do. i hope i won’t forget about the orientation next wednesday. i’d be in big shite if i do. i’ve got a stack of things in my room to ship to japan and it’s growing slowly but steadily.

4 more weeks till japan and i still short of money. there’s the apartment deposit, rent, key money to pay for. there’s furnishing the apartment with whitegoods, furniture, and that ain’t free. there’s commuting between schools whilst i’m there. i hope i get a big travel subsidy (if there’s any to begin with).

4 more weeks.

they’re here, they’re here!

[edit: i typed this out on tuesday morning. but pressed on save button instead of the publish button. so everything is slightly backdated in this one]

they’re here, they’re here, they’re here!!!!

miss hirota and justin are here! they called me monday morning and we met up. firs tday went well. lots and lots of walking. 1pm now, and chihiro is still sleeping. we’re the kinds that would wake up, do some stuff, go back to bed. hehe

today, we’ll head to the museum to check an exhibit out, to the good ol’ merlion park, a walk to the esplanade (depending on how we go for time). dinner will be at changi hawker for chilli and pepper crabs, sambal stingray (this is for steve irwin), maybe fried baby squids, a dish of vegetables. yummness!!

in other news, the boss is always right. no matter what, the boss is always right. 

i was saying the other time, that my boss mentioned that it would take about 2hrs to travel to tokyo while the girl there now mentioned it was 30mins. i mis-understood the girl. 30mins from the end of the tokyo line to where i was. i confirmed this with another friend who used to live in the next town from where i’ll be. he said two hours to central tokyo. i say that’s pretty good. not too far.

in other other news, the search for an apartment is now on! it all looks very nice, clean. in both apartments you can set the water temperature and level for the bath electronically! and for one of the apartments, the control is located just by the main door. so you can set it, do your other stuff, then shower, saving time. quite cool right?

but it seems the school i’m at is infamous for it’s stingyness. so as most rented apartments arrive empty, i’ll have to start sourcing for my whitegoods (fridge, stove, washing machine), basically, stuff to furnish the apartment. but we’ll see yeah? the girl i’ve been emailing seems really nice. looking for the apartment, contacting me, answering my questions, whilst my predecessor hasn’t even emailed me!