Confessions of a Drama Mama

I hitch a ride with Jo every morning. I enjoy the nice walk from my lovely new home to Tiong Bahru mrt station, take the train BACKWARDS, in the opposite direction of my office, to go to Commonwealth to meet Jo. But my sense of direction is not the topic for today.

Every morning I see husbands dropping wives off, parents dropping kids off, colleagues picking colleagues up etc but what really disturbs me is that there are so so many people (passengers) who just get out of the cars without even saying thank you or goodbye. Just open door, one leg out after another, arse out, slam door. No backward glance even.

With my family, we kiss or at least hug every time we part (with parents at least), and we stand and wave until the car drives off.

Not like Japanese fellers who keep bowing la, but just to see the car drive safely off. And the driver’d keep waving his/her hand like ‘ok shoo, enough already, I’m ok!’. And we always say ‘drive safely’ and ‘call me when you get home.

I can understand the shock on people’s faces when I say that I kissed my parents goodnight every night until I left home, but come on, when you get a lift from someone, the least you can do is to say thank you.

Your parents don’t HAVE to get up early to send you to school, your husband does not HAVE to drop you off at work. OK fine, you pay for half of the car’s installments etc etc so you’re entitled to the lift. Fine. But will it absolutely kill you to wipe that horrible black face off in the morning?

Sadly, I’ve only seen one couple kiss goodbye. And angmoh one. And they looked happy. What does that say, Singaporeans? That your life is rich and good because you’ve got the 5Cs? Good for you if you believe so. Good for you. Have a nice life.

2 things that have made me think recently.

1. Last Tuesday was my last French class (yes, with the handsome teacher. That my husband knows about too), and Diego (the handsome teacher. That my husband knows about) was explaining something to 2 boys, a question they had posed to him the week before and that he couldn’t answer then. But he explained it to the whole class and guess who were the only 2 sleeping in class? The very 2 boys.

I remember a time when sleeping in class was cool. Now I think it’s a waste of money. I guess it’s because they didn’t pay for the lessons and maybe they didn’t even want to take the classes, and I guess also because they’re not really into French men, even if they are really good looking. But that’s beside the point.

Verdict: People act mostly the same at the same age

2. Was browsing through some Friendster pages. Of friends of course. And thinking wow, so and so has been to Spain/Taiwan/Greece/Switzerland. I also want. I’m so envious. But basket, even at this point in my life, when I think I’m comfortable, and I’m moving into a nice new house with my loving husband, and I have a cool job, a great boss and travel a fair bit too, how come I can still be envious?

Verdict: People are never satisfied with what they have

PS Now that we’re going to Paris (in 2 weeks!), I suddenly realise that SO MANY PEOPLE have been to Paris. Basket. Now I feel like part of a herd.

Well we’ve got the bulk of our things in Tiong Bahru but we can’t really move in yet cos it’s still got to be cleaned a bit more, and also the shower panel hasn’t been installed yet
(plus other small touch ups).

The contractor was supposed to have this all done by 19 May but today he says that the shower glass can only be in on the 28th. So what are we going to do? Ask him for compensation of course. Hey, we didn’t pay for ’site supervision and project management’ just to have every single contractor calling us. And on top of that, having the main coordinator (the irony of that word) telling us that our house is ok to live in now.

Sure we can move in, but we shouldn’t have to move into a semi finished house because of someone else’s bad coordination and time management.

But anyway I’m on MC today cos of indigestion. Thought maybe I could go by the house in the afternoon to clean up abit but man, the medicine really knocked me out! Was in deep sleep from 2 to 6pm.

Since our pots and pans were already at Tiong Bahru, I couldn’t cook my dinner. And since most of our clothes were over at Tiong Bahru, I had a choice of either wearing my work clothes (that Max so thoughtfully packed for me, just in case we had to stay longer at Ghim Moh), or my sleep clothes to go down to buy dinner. So I ended up winning best dressed award for kopi tiam dinner.

Sigh. I also want to move soon. Hopefully we can move by this coming weekend la. Well, we have to, cos our lease at Ghim Moh is till end of the month. Lucky I extended it ah. But till then, we’ll be in limbo, with 2 homes but none to really call home

No, I’m not typing this from Tiong Bahru as I thought I’d be. The house really looks rather lived in now, and Ghim Moh looks rather pathetic actually.

Because we thought we would stay there tonight, we packed almost all our clothes. So we have to do with what’s hanging to dry to wear to sleep tonight. We’ll try to move over soon as we can because living out of a suitcase isn’t my favourite thing to do.

After nights of packathons and sleeping at 1-2am (then waking up again at 7), we managed to pack quite alot of stuff, and move quite alot over. The bulk of it at least. Thanks to Gerard and Cass and my parents and Dylan.

Then we fixed up alot of stuff (I don’t really want to see another IKEA allen key for a long time) and cleared alot of stuff. And now we just have to mop the place a few more times and we’ll be able to move in within the next few days.

Sooooo shiok to shower!!!

All our lights were fixed up yesterday. They also touched up on painting and installed our toilet bowl and bathroom accessories.

Now just have to balance the ceiling fan (the shop’s phone keeps ringing, maybe they are crooks and have run off with our money?) and install the aircon and we’re good to move in!

So it seems like we’ll be on target to move in on Sunday. Except that shower screen will be late.

Looking at the almost completed flat yesterday with all the junk cleared out I thought: "Worth all the pain and frustration? Yes. Would I go through it all again? Probably not"

Yeah it’s looking good. Our flooring is up and it’s very nice. BUT laid the wrong way.

Well it’s not that it looks bad but we’re super pissed cos we told the ID over and over how it was to be done and when he was on the phone describing it to the laminate flooring people, we could tell that he was having some difficulty so we DREW IT OUT for him. Still wrong.

We also realised very quickly that no painting was done. And so we were stuck in a situation with the aircon guys and the ceiling fan guy at our house asking if they should still put the stuff up.

Ceiling fan got installed but we couldn’t test it because there was no electricity. And there was no electricity because electrician couldn’t fix it because painting wasn’t done.

When asked about why painting wasn’t done, the answer was "Oh, my
painters are like that one, got attitude problem". And I didn’t let him
finish making his excuse. I said "That’s not OUR problem." Then he diam
diam. Said definitely definitely it will be completed by Tuesday. Hmpf.
We’ve heard that before. So many times we’ve arranged for things only to postpone cos of his empty promises.

Anyway.

So we told the aircon guys very sorry, have to come back another day. Another thing that we’re apologising for that’s not our fault (first one was the downstairs toilet. "sorry it’s taking so long, uncle, sorry hor"). But the aircon guys were so nice, said never mind, no need to pay for their next trip. But come on la, would that be right? Of course not. So we’ll pay $100 for their time. But should WE pay? No no, of course it will be charged to our ID. It’s his fault that this is happening.

What, we’re being mean? Please. Spare me. Why did we go through him? So that we can give him a commission to co-ordinate everything for us, right? But who’s getting all the calls from aircon man, ceiling fan man, aircon man, tiler, plumber, kitchen guy, painter, sink guy, hood guy, hob guy, toilet bowl guy?

ME. Adora Tan Jun-Liat. I’m the one who should be getting paid ok?

Basket.

So tomorrow Max (who’s now the designated bad guy) will tell him that we want a discount for the floor.

Really, I say again, the ID is a nice guy, but super super forgetful. Or bochup. Either way, it’s his attitude that has caused us ALOT of distress and stress.

But we’re kinda used to it. So that’s why, today, even though things weren’t on schedule and we were pissed, we still enjoyed a morning of having breakfast at our new house (as Max calls it, American junk), sitting on cardboard on our newly laid floor.

I so cannot wait for the whole thing to be over and move into our new home

Yesterday for the first time I felt that the house was in livable conditions. No more earthquake. Even though there was still plenty of junk around (btw contractors charge you for clearing the debris from your house).

But the walls are now plastered and maybe it’s cos plaster is white, so whiteness + smoothness makes the house look nice and new. And today, the flooring’s supposed to be laid. So now can walk without having to worry we’ll step on nails anymore

Yesterday we realised that one of the kitchen wall tiles had chipped cos the plasterer must have hit it. Technically don’t need to change la, if we can be chin chye about it, cos it’s going to be hidden behind the cabinet anyway. But if you buy a blouse and there are dirt spots on the inside, would you still ask for a new one? Precisely.

So we asked our ID to change the tile. We also thought while he’s at it, might as well lay one more row of tiles on top so that our kitchen cabinet so that the cabinet can rest fully on tiles instead of half on tiles and half on wall. Then it will fit nicely and not be goyang goyang right?

But ID says ‘oh, now I have to charge you double’. WHAT THE HELL. Why double? Since we already paid for the kitchen tiles, and since your tiler is going to be there to change ONE tile, what’s the difference? Even if the tiler charges per hour, changing one tile won’t take the whole hour so might as well make full use of his time right?

So forget it. He’ll change one tile for us, but we better check again once he’s done. In case changing one tile causes the rest to fall apart.

Sigh….

Oh, so many things have happened since the last time I talked about our new house! Which was only a couple days ago but trust me, in reno-land, ALOT of things can happen in a few days.

Today I went to the new place at 10 (considering I woke up at 9.30, that’s really not bad. That’s cos Max didn’t wake me up. He knew I had to go to the new house but he still didn’t wake me. And no, Max, just talking to me doesn’t count. You actually have to shake me and/or say the two words "Wake Up").

So I was at the new house. On the agenda were:

1. Wait for new toilet bowl
2. Wait for bathroom sink
3. Tell electrician to move a few light points around and the TV point (which was supposed to be Max’s job. Actually he did tell the electrician, who called ME in the morning while I was rushing out of the house to tell me that he couldn’t be there but his colleagues would, so would I be so kind as to tell them what Max told him. Kwa kwa kwa)
4. Re-measure the kitchen with Peter, Mr Kitchen
5. Flirt with any of the old uncles who were there to fix our tiles or whatever

2 days ago got a bit of drama. The tiler calls me and says the rectangular tiles we chose for our kitchen cannot make it. They would bulge in the middle and we’d have a bumpy floor for our kitchen. At least that’s what I thought he said. It was in Chinese. My Chinese already cannot make it. To make it more challenging, it was Malaysian Chinese accent.

So anyway I was pissed cos I already went through with the ID and we decided that we would go ahead with the tiles and we could accept that bit of bumpyness. But he said no no, if he did it, I would surely reject it. So after a whole morning of me talking to tiler, ID, trying to reach Max (teaching), complaining to Marnie (who used the same ID), we finally decided to go for square tiles. Everybody happy.

Today I also happy cos square tiles turned out nice also. So kitchen flooring done. Fridge base also done. And thanks to Peter, it’s now the right size. ID made it too small. If not my fridge got to do balancing act every day. Or must put my food all on one side only.

Remember the toilet story? So when I walked past the neighbour’s house I waved at him. And I asked ‘So how, your toilet? Finish doing already?’ And he said "You come and see". Uh oh…..

So I went to see and it seemed to me that they hadn’t done anything yet but actually they already cemented it and next step is to plaster then paint. But it’s taking much more than the one week they had promised my neighbour and I’m super embarrassed. It makes ME look bad you know. I think they should have told him. Sigh, these CONtractors ah….

So anyway now the house is being plastered, and that will be finished on Monday, then painted, then laminate flooring arrives, then a chemical wash and then fix up toilet bowl and shower screen and other bathroom accessories and lights, ceiling fan and aircon then TA DA! Formally hand over to me as my house liao.

Towards the end of it, my IKEA stuff will arrive. All $5,000 worth. What, did I hear you gasp? Alot of money ah? Well, it includes my kitchen you know. OK what. No? Your house leh? How much, all the furniture, including kitchen? I think my place only the sofa is not from IKEA hehe. And toilet bowl.

PS Confirm I cannot be in construction line. One day in the presence of that much dust I already cannot tahan.

This is an appeal to those of you who have my phone number. As you know, my name is spelt A-D-O-R-A. And for many of you, I have the pleasure of being the first name in your mobile phone’s address book (unless you know an Aaron). Because of that, I’ve been the recipient of many phone weird phone calls (like sometimes I hear YOUR POCKET) at weird times (4am) because your phone is not locked and you accidentally pressed a button and voila, it dials the first name on the list.

So please, can you just take 30 seconds to do the following:

Type "AA Empty" in your phone, and save the entry without a phone number. That way, you save money because you don’t pay for an outgoing call you don’t intend to make, and I get to sleep through the night.

Fair deal?

See la. After the first toilet bowl episode (of having my toilet bowl sticking into the downstairs neighbour’s house, and I have to pay to re-do his ceiling), now the contractor tells me that I have to get another toilet bowl cos apparently this one is now too small.

What, my backside very big is it? Not that we’re cows (i.e. and crap cow dung) and need a very big bowl right?

So now I have to call Uncle Toilet Bowl and ask if we can change for a bigger one. Of course we’ll have to top up the difference. And then go down to choose a new one of course. And since it’s not very cool to be carrying a toiletbowl around town, we’ll have to re-arrange for delivery. So pay more money.

That bill, I will pass on to my contractor.