Delivery & Broadband

I went to the new house after lunch with my mum. She was free in the afternoon and I asked her over to watch my brother's wedding videos while I wait for the delivery. There were still some boxes in the living room and I threw them away. I tidied up the living room and storeroom before I began to vacuum the floor.

The delivery from Kong Tai Electrical Trading came sharply at 2pm. One of the deliverymen tested the washing machine using the washing powder that comes FOC and explained to me the functions of the washing machine. Indeed, the front-load washing machine saves more water than a typical top-load washing machine!

I finished vacuuming and started to mop the floor. The water was not as dirty like before which was a relief. The effort of weekly cleaning of the floor really paid off. The floor is not dusty as it was after renovation.

I finished mopping the floor and quickly went home. I was meeting Jer at City Hall MRT station to go to Sitex together. I had asked her to buy a laptop for herself so that we will not need to fight for the use of my laptop in future.

By the time we reached Sitex, it was already around 6pm. I brought Jer around to view the laptops on sale and she took a fancy to the pink Sony Vaio. Yesterday, I had accompanied Jer's brother to buy a similar laptop from a salesperson from Harvey Norman booth. Hence we went back to the same salesperson to bargain for more freebies. I did not haggle much and got an additional 4GB Toshiba thumbdrive for Jer. However the pink and gold colour version were sold out and Jer had no choice but to select the red colour one. I personally preferred the red colour one as it looks more striking hee!

After the purchase, we went to Starhub to sign up for cable broadband for our new house. There was a 25% off subscription promotion for 8Mbps plan and it offers free digital voice service till 31 December 2010. We decided to sign up for it and the waiting time was horrible. Starhub has a counter for registration, one for sales, another for collections and the last counter for payment. The salesperson at the sales counter made some errors on the application form and had to rewrite everything. But she still made some mistakes. After that, we were asked to wait for the collection of the free voice-enable modem and other stuff. While we were waiting, the salesperson returned to us and informed that she had omitted the application for the digital voice and I was required to complete the application. We had no choice but to return and we got to choose a telephone number for our new house. We chose a number which is easy to remember and recite. I told the salesperson to expedite our application as I had enough of waiting.

Our queue number was called shortly and we collected the modem and stuff. On top of that, we were given $30 Robinsons voucher for signing up a new service with Starhub. In total, we spent about 1 hour just to complete the application.

It was already the closing time of the exhibition and we quickly went to D-Link to buy a router for wireless access for the new house. I was surprised that a normal router only cost $39 and I bought it without any hesitation.

Next we went to the lucky draw booth. Sitex has a Ladies Go Tech Lucky Dip which a $200 spend entitles a female shopper to have a lucky dip for a prize. Most of the prizes were already fully redeemed... Jer tried her luck but she did not win anything. So she filled up the lucky draw coupons and dropped them into the two boxes provided.

We went back to Jer's house by train. As I was carrying all the purchases in a big bag, we deposited the bag at Jer's house before going down to the coffeeshop to have our deserved dinner. Jer had no appetite and we shared a big plate of carrot cake.

Right now, we still need a dining table and a study table for our new house. I guess we have to start looking around soon. Ganbatte dear!

Wedding Inserts & Curtains

In the evening, I went to collect the wedding inserts. I reached Paya Lebar MRT station and tried finding the bus stop for bus no: 58. I had remember clearly that one of the bus stops was opposite the MRT station but I just couldn't locate it after walking all over the place. So I ended up taking a cab again. What a remote place...

I reached the JSP Art Industries at around 6.10pm. I knocked on the door but there was no response. I tried again but in vain. I was thinking why no one opened the door when I was asked to collect the inserts between 6pm to 6.30pm. So I took out my phone and start calling the office. Shiryen answered the call and I told her that I was waiting outside.

Shiryen opened the door for me and showed me the wedding inserts. It was printed nicely with no error for once. The previous previews were disappointing as there were errors. I paid her $94 for all the wedding inserts and strings and left.

I took bus no: 58 to Serangoon MRT station and transferred to Bt Gombak MRT station. Jer and I were meeting the curtains uncle, who is my mum's friend's husband, at our new house for quotation of curtains. By the time I reached Bt Gombak MRT station, the time was already 7.50pm. I spent about 1.5hrs on travelling... Sian...

I called Jer and we went up to the new house together. The uncle was not there yet and I took the free time to sweep up whatever dirt I could see on the floor. The uncle came with his assistant and we began looking at the curtain material samples to match the walls.

After an hour plus, we were finally done and got our quotation. I told Jer the quote was cheaper than outside as the uncle had known me since I was a baby. We then went for dinner at the nearby coffeeshop before going back to Jer's house.

We need to finalize the curtain material and colour for the roller blinds and master bedroom another day as the uncle had assumed we wanted to make normal curtains.

Printing of card insert

I met Jer at Tiong Bahru MRT station to go to the printing company, JSP Art Industries Pte Ltd, located at Blk 3007 Ubi Road 1 #06-406. We will need to alight at Paya Lebar MRT station and transferred to bus no: 58, opposite the station, to go there.

But when we arrived at Paya Lebar MRT station, the time was almost closed to 7pm. So we took a cab there. To make matters worse, while we were looking for the block, we followed a signboard that showed Blk 3007-3014 and made a wasted trip. The cab driver turned left at the junction and finally we managed to locate the block from the other side.

We went up to the unit and the Marketing Manager Jackson was there waiting for us. He showed us a few samples of wedding insert they had printed before and it almost matches the sample given by M Hotel. The previous couple must have printed from JSP Art too.

We selected the colour of the paper and ink and the design of the picture in the insert. Jackson told us that he will try his best to ask his staff to do up a draft and send it to us asap for confirmation. We printed 300 pcs of insert which cost $85 excluding the price for the strings. After confirmation, we can expect to get the inserts earliest by this Friday or the coming Monday.

After everything, we left and took the only bus available (bus no: 58) but we missed Paya Lebar MRT station. I was looking for it but just couldn't see it at all. We ended alighting at Serangoon MRT station and went to Plaza Singapura for dinner. We had dinner at KFC before we went around shopping. We went home after some time.

Hopefully, we can get the inserts on this Friday.

Si Dian Jin

I woke up at 6pm by my alarm. The first night shift after 2 weeks had taken the toll out of me and furthermore I was out the whole day yesterday. Later, my sister, my brother and sister-in-law and my mum will be going to Jer's brother's shop at Lot 1 to buy the "si dian jin" for Jer. The "si dian jin" were supposed to be given to Jer on the wedding day when Jer offered tea to my sister, my brother and my parents.

I had my dinner and left the house with my mum at 7.15pm. We reached there at 7.35pm and surprisingly, we had taken the same MRT with Jer although we were not in the same cabin. My sister had taken her kids to the food court for dinner and we went to Lot 1 basement to buy some snacks for Jer as she had not eaten her dinner yet.

Everyone met at the shop and Jer began looking at the jewelleries. After a while, Jer picked a bracelet, a ring, a pair of earrings and a pendant. My sister paid for the ring, my sister-in-law paid for the pendant while the rest was paid by me on behalf of my parents. The bracelet needs to be adjusted and it was passed to Jer's brother while everyone else kept their prize.

After that, we shopped for a while and my brother sent us home.

Photos Selection

Jer woke me up in the morning and told me that she was doing her housework and the programmes for the day. We will go to our house to "an chuang", go to Ikea after lunch and meet Yen at his studio in mid-noon before I go for my night shift.

I got up and did my weekly routine of sweeping and mopping the floor. I took a bath and went to Jer's house with the shopping bags which I got back from OG yesterday. Jer's mum was going out and went with us to see our renovated house.

When we got to the new house, the first sight that greeted us was a clean white ceiling and walls. The contractor engaged by the Town Council had finally re-painted the black charred walls and ceiling! But only the corridor on our side was painted haha! We went into the house with all the shopping bags and began to "an chuang". We removed the two layers of plastic covers from the mattress and placed the mattress on the bed. The mattress fitted nicely onto the bed and our mission was accomplished!

We left the house and parted ways with Jer's mum. We went for lunch at the coffeeshop before heading to the MRT station to go to Ikea. We were going there to see if there is any suitable dining table and study table and if there is any good buys.

We reached Ikea at around 1pm and began our hunt. We walked around and saw a few tables but we did not like any of them. We left Ikea and there was still some time. So we went to Queensway Shopping Centre to take a look. There was nothing much there and we left shortly.

We took a bus to Chinatown and it was drizzling when we reached there. We went to Giodano within OG and bought an umbrella. We went to Yen's studio and they were waiting for us. Yen gave us a stack of about 300 photos and told us to choose.

We started the tedious process of eliminating the unwanted photos. Some of the shots were taken very nicely while some did not meet our expectations. Prior to coming to Yen's studio, Jer and I had come up with a formula to select the photos in order not to exceed the quota; to choose only 7 photos for each outfit.

Two and a half hours passed and we were finally done with the selection. We had exceeded 1 photo and need to top up $60. Yen told us about a package which allows us to keep all the soft and hard copies of the photos and increase the pages in the album. But it will cost another $1k or more. Jer was slightly tempted but I managed to convince her that the package was redundant and we could spend the money elsewhere.

In the end, Jer removed a photo from the stack and I was not required to pay any extras haha! Yen told us to return in mid-Dec for a preview of the album and Sattine staff will call us to confirm the date when it is nearer.

We thanked Yen and left the studio. As there was still some time, I brought Jer to the famous Mount Faber Nasi Lemak to have dinner. After dinner, Jer went home while I went back to my station to report for work.

Next to-do item on my list is to engage a videographer for the actual day. Hopefully I can find one soon...

More Shopping!!

Today is my second off but I was asked to go back to my station for an audit. As my mum was going to Chinatown to shop for a rice cooker and kettle for me, I arranged to meet her there after the audit.

I met my mum at Chinatown at around 1140am. We went to have Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Foo again as it was my mum's favourite. After lunch, we went to OG @ People's Park Complex to shop. We found the identical rice cooker which my mum is currently using at home and the price had gone up by $10 since the last time my mum bought it. We then went to select a electrical kettle and a thermos flask. We went to pay for the items and received some coupons and vouchers. One of the coupons allows the bearer to purchase Tefal cooking pans and pots at a discounted price. So I went to buy 1 frying pan and a wooden spatula. I also received 3 coupons to exchange for free oyster pearls at a nearby counter. We went over and handed over the coupons to the staff. He opened up 3 oysters and took out 3 pearls. Another staff then asked my mum whether she would like to attach the pearls to a pendant and the price for 1 is around $100. My mum doesn't want the pendant and we went home after getting the 3 pearls.

In the evening, my mum and I met up with Jer's mum to go to Jurong West to shop for a washing machine and fridge. Jer was coming from her office and we met her at Lakeside MRT station. We took a bus to Blk 504 Jurong West St 51 and went to Kong Tai Electric Trading. The staff recommended to us a Bosch front-loading washing machine which saves more water per wash than a normal top-loading washing machine. The price was slightly more than 2 times of a normal washing machine. Next, we were shown to a Mitsubishi fridge. It has 3 doors and the size is just right for our house. We also take a look at fans and the staff also recommended Mitsubishi ones to us. We selected a model and ordered 3. Jer and I initially intended to buy tower fans but we were advised by the staff that tower fans are weaker and difficult to maintain. So we spent a total of $1900 on the washing machine, fridge and 3 fans. The delivery date was set on next Saturday between 2pm to 5pm. Jer's mum offered to sponsor the 3 fans as a gift to us. Thanks mum-in-law-to-be haa!

Jer and her mum had their dinner at the nearby coffeeshop and we went home after that. Now the house is more complete although we still need a dining table and study table with chairs.

Delivery of the Mattress

At 8.14a.m, I was awaken by my phone. Reluctantly, I looked at my phone and the caller ID reflected "Hong Kah Town Council". I answered the call and it was Christina Ong, the manager in-charge of my block. She informed me that the contractor will be painting the corridor along my unit either today or tomorrow. At last, it was going to be done. I thanked her for the help and went back to sleep.

I accompanied my mother to the polyclinic for her regular check-up in the late morning and returned home at around 2p.m. The SeaHorse delivery has been scheduled between 3p.m to 7p.m and I decided to go to the new house earlier to clean up.

Once I stepped into the house, I began to sweep the floor and at the same time, armed with a scraper to remove the paint which had landed on the floor. Whenever Jer and I have finished sweeping and mopping the floor, we will still feel that the floor is still dirty as if there is dust. So I opened the new vacuum cleaner and vacuumed the whole house. After that, I began mopping.

The deliverymen came close to 5p.m and left a few footprints on my floor... I mopped away the prints and went to wash the floor for the toilets. After doing all that labour work, I went home feeling exhausted. The windows and other things will come another day.

Final painting Touch-Up

I just stepped into my home when Sebasten called me. He asked me whether his painters can come to my new house now to do some painting touch-up which I had requested. I agreed to his request and went straight to the new house.

The painters came half an hour later and asked me what was needed to be done. I told them about the gap that can be seen in the study room. I was still looking around when I discovered that the paint on ceiling of the kitchen was peeling off again. Hence I asked them to touch up. When everything was done, I went to the study room to check and felt something wet on my soles of my foot. I checked and to my horror, I found paint on my foot!

I tactfully informed the painters and checked around the room while I try to spot for traces of wet paint. The painters then removed the paint on the floor by using his hand to wipe it away... I gave up and went to wash my feet.

When they were done, I asked for some spare paint from them in the event that I need paint to touch-up. They left me some paint in the storeroom and left the house. I had wanted to mop the floor but was hungry and went home after that.

I guess the mopping can wait another day haha!

Food Tasting @ M Hotel

In less than 2 months, it'll be our big day! The highlight of the wedding is no other than the wedding dinner. Hence in preparation of the dinner, Colette Seah from M Hotel had arranged for us to go for our food tasting in the evening.

Today I was on course again. Immediately after my course had ended, there was still some time and I decided to borrow Jer's brother's car to send my parents, Jer's mum and Jer to the hotel. I rushed back and went to Jer's house to pick up the car key. After that, I went to start the car and drove it to my block before going home to change my clothes.

We arrived at M Hotel and everyone was already there waiting for us. We started the dinner and we were displeased with the service of the waiter who was assigned to our table. He wasn't attentive enough even though he was only serving our table.

The first dish, which is the standard cold dish, came and the waiter showed me the presentation. It looked okay to me and he went to distribute the food at a corner. Everyone was famished by the time the waiter started to distribute the food portion. We were quite disappointed with the prawns and spring rolls as their tastes did not appeal to us. I asked for everyone's comments and wrote everything down on the feedback form.

The other dishes came one after another. The waiter repeated the same procedures until we got fed up with his WOLS service and I asked to self-service. I guess the phrase "hungry people are angry people" is true to some extent haha!

The last dish is Yam Paste with Ginko Nuts. The waiter made a terrible mistake which my brother-in-law could not hold it longer but to question him. The waiter did not stir the dessert before serving us and everyone got either too much soup and too little yam, or too little soup and too much yam... My brother-in-law asked the waiter whether he knows that he should have stirred the dessert before serving and it seems that he does not know.

After the last dish, the manager and chief cook came out to meet us. We gave our feedback on all the dishes and asked the manager to brief and train their staff as it will affect the dinner and the reputation of the hotel.

We were supposed to collect the wedding cards from Colette but apparently, she had already left the hotel. Hence I asked my brother and his wife, my brother-in-law and the two children to go back first. The manager said he will see what he can do for us and we waited. After waiting for around 15 mins, a waitress informed us that the office was locked and we need to wait another 15 mins for someone to open the office. We were tired of waiting and decided to collect the cards tomorrow.

Overall, the food is still okay but we feel that the waiter's service could be better.

Shopping for Wedding stuff

I woke up at 9am to prepare for an outing with my mum, Jer and her mum. We had arranged to go to Chinatown to buy the Chinese wedding necessities.

My mum and I went over to Jer's house to meet up. On the way, we met Jer's brother who was going to the car park to get his car to send his wife to work. He had wanted to go to Chinatown too but we were too late to go with him.

We took the MRT to Chinatown. We went to the shop which my mum brought us to and there were a lot of Chinese wedding stuff in the shop. My mum asked for the items to "shang tou" for both Jer and myself. Jer and I bought some red packets and stickers to paste on our doors.

Although we were buying the minimum, but we still spent almost an hour in the shop. We had Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Foo at the food centre and queued for about half an hour... After we had our fill, we went to Suntec Convention Hall for the Home Electronics Fair.

When we reached Suntec, there were many people moving around as there are other fairs going on. We walked for a while but nothing caught our eyes. So we decided to go to Bukit Panjang Plaza Harvey Norman to take a look.

Once we reached there, my mum began looking around the store. We shortlisted a few fridges and washing machines. Then Jer's mum suggested to go to Jurong West where it is cheaper to buy electrical appliances. Jer called her uncle to ask for the shop's number and address. But when she called the shop, the shop was already about to close as it ended operation early on Sundays.

So we went home instead. We had dinner at the coffeeshop after we had put the things we bought earlier at our homes. Of cos, it's my treat haa!

Delivery of Furniture & TV

I was awaken in the morning by Jer to have breakfast with her before she goes to Suntec Convention Hall for her company's exhibition. So I got up and went to her house. But Jer was not ready yet. No choice but to wait. When it was time to go for breakfast, there was exactly not enough time for us without Jer being late for work. I ended up buying a bread and milk for Jer and accompanied her to the MRT station.

After seeing Jer off, I went back home. I had wanted to sweep and mop my house which is a weekly routine but I was so tired that I went back to sleep. I woke up an hour later and started doing my chore. My mum did not cook lunch and I went to buy up.

We had lunch and my mum followed me to the new house. I had bought along the vacuum cleaner and other things to the new house and we were carrying big and small bags. Besides that, I was again having a cold and kept sneezing non-stop. The delivery time for the TV and home theatre system was between 12pm to 5pm while the delivery time for the furniture was between 2pm to 6pm.

Once we set foot in the new house, I took the vacuum cleaner and began cleaning the house again. However, the vacuum cleaner was old and the head was worn out. So it did not do a good job. Nevertheless, I tried my best and then mopped the floor while waiting for the deliveries to arrive.

The coffee table was delivered first. Next, the TV and home theatre system came and shortly followed by the LG installation agents. While they were assembling the parts, the delivery of the bed came. So I got to keep moving around to make sure everything was okay. When everything was finished, the floor was very dirty again and I had to sweep and mop the 2nd time. My mum wanted to go home and left me alone. Sebasten came shortly to take a look and he was saying everything looked good and nice. The sofa delivery came and the living room is still spacious even with the sofa being situated in the center. We talked for a while and I paid Sebasten the 3rd instalment of the renovation cost and the payment for the electricians. I also asked him to send his painters back to touch-up some areas. A while later, Sebasten left for his appointment.

Jer came back from work and bought me some food. Thanks dear! Jer was very pleased with the furniture and we continued cleaning the house while we are waiting for the last delivery which is the shoe cabinet. It arrived close to 6pm. After the deliverymen had left, Jer discovered that one of the doors was noisy. I ran down the stairs and managed to contact the deliverymen who were already seated in their lorry. I explained to them what was wrong and one of them followed me back to the house. He just loosened one of the screws on the hinges of the door and it was quiet already. We were impressed by him and thanked him.

After a long day, we went back to Jer's house where her mum cooked dinner for us. We recounted on the day and were surprised that Sincere Furniture Centre had actually sent 4 different deliverymen for all 4 different pieces of furniture. Such a waste of manpower haa!

Clearing up of Renovation's mess

Tomorrow, the TV and furniture will all be delivered to the new house. But we have not started cleaning the house yet after the renovation has been completed. So, we decided to do some cleaning especially on the floor and featured wall before everything comes.

I had finished a course and reached home at around 6.30pm. I had my dinner at home and went alone to the new house. Jer had not leave her office but would come later.

I began cleaning the wardrobes and the progress was slow as I had physical training during my course and was tired from waking up early in the morning for the past 3 days. When Jer came, I was only cleaning the 2nd wardrobe... I asked Jer to wipe the featured wall and to sweep the floor while I continued on my task.

I finished my task and went to help Jer. We took turns to mop the floor as I was really very tired. After we mopped the floor, we still feel that the floor is still dusty. It must be the finer dust that we were unable to sweep and mop away.

We went home after securing the door. Our house is finally clean and ready yippee!

SeaHorse Promotion

I met Jer at Tiong Bahru Plaza at around 7.30pm. Jer was late again as she had work to complete in office.

We went straight to the SeaHorse store and discovered that everything was going at 50% store-wide! We tested the available mattresses and chose the diamond mattress for our queen-size bed. Then the salesman told us that there will be delivery charge for the mattress as our purchase did not qualify for free delivery. In order to get the free delivery, we need to chalk up the total amount to $699.50. We were a hundred dollars short and the salesman recommended pillows, bolster, quilt and protection covers to us. We chose 1 each from the recommendations and the total amount adds up nicely to $700. So we paid for the items and arranged the delivery to be made on next Thursday. Jer was saying that the salesman had an easy time serving us because the things he was selling were essential to us haa!

We had dinner at Sakae Sushi before heading home. Finally we can "an chuang" next week hee!

Completion of Renovation

In the afternoon, I was on course when I got a call from Sebasten. He told me that I could remove the dismantled wardrobe already or else I can't move in my bed. Sigh, I thought he would have ask his workers to do it for me since they had dismantled it. :(

A few days ago, I had already seen the dismantled wardrobe and I concluded that I will not be able to move it alone like what I did to the living room platform. So I began smsing my close friends for help but no one seems to be available. In the end, blood is still thicker than water! I called up my cousin (Desheng) who offered to help without any second thoughts. Thanks bro!

After my course, I went home and called my cousin to come to my house. He was having dinner outside and told me he will come after he had finished his food. I waited for an hour plus before he turned up at my house. I was watching TV for a while and he asked me to turn on my PS2 for him. Hearing that, I immediately picked up the tools I need and walked to the door. If I had turned on the PS2 for him, I doubt we will never stop playing haha!

So we left for my new house. We reached my new house shortly. The moment I opened the main door, I was surprised that the featured wall for the living room was up! I went to the bedrooms and got more surprises! The 2 new wardrobes were also completed! The lights for the living room and kitchen were also installed. Sebasten actually managed to complete the entire renovation in just 3 days!!! My cousin, on the other hand, exclaimed that the house is very big. I showed him around the house and of cos the wardrobe that stands in our way haha! We spent the next hour removing the wardrobe as it was not a simple task. But somehow, we managed to accomplish the mission! We went to the 7-11 to get a drink and we chit-chatted at void deck of Blk 338.

While we were relaxing there, Sebasten called me and told me that he was going to my new house to take a look. He said his guys told him everything was completed but he had yet to check the quality of work. I tried calling Jer but she did not answer her phone...

We met Sebasten at my new house and he explained to me what he had asked his guys to do for the cupboards and featured wall. He was pleased with the work done but nevertheless, he will still ask his guys to touch-up slightly. I called Jer again and she finally answered. She was still having dinner with her friends elsewhere... I told her the good news and since she was still outside, I would let Sebasten go off as he had another appointment. Jer asked me to wait for her as she wanted to take a look at the renovation.

Sebasten left and Jer came about half an hour later. She was delighted that everything was done beautifully and was very excited. She also thanked my cousin for the help he rendered to us. We left the house shortly and my cousin went home.

Finally the renovation for the house has been completed! Now, we can focus on the furniture and other matters.

The lights at long last!

I returned from night shift and bought breakfast for Jer. While we were having our breakfast, our dear Sebasten called me. He asked me whether we were free to shop for lights with him in the morning as he will not be free in the evening. I had planned to shop for lights in the evening cos I need my deserving sleep in the morning to noon. But since we want to settle the renovation asap, we decided to oblige to his invitation.

So I went home first to wash up and returned to Jer's house. We had arranged to meet Sebasten at our new house. When we reached the block, Sebasten's car was already parked in the car park. However, he had already gone up and asked us to go up to take a look as his painters were there. We went up and the whole house was covered in plastic sheets on the floor. 1 of the painters was painting in the house and Sebasten explained to us what his painters were going to do.

We left the house shortly and went to Chelsea Lighting. This time, a young guy served us. He showed us some new lights but we were concerned that the lights will be hanging low cos the living room ceiling is abnormally low. In the end, we chose a much simpler light for the living room and two also simple lights for the kitchen. We spent $230 for the 3 lights and Sebasten said he will help us to receive the delivery of the lights on the coming Tuesday.

Next, we suggested to Sebasten to take a look at the store which we had bought our furniture from. He drove us to the place and looked at the some of the furniture that we had chosen. He said the furniture will match the theme of the living room but suggested that we should buy our dining table maybe at Ikea as it has more choices and price ranges. We also made our final payment of the furniture.

Sebasten then sent us back to our new house. We went up and there were 3 painters (including the 1st one whom we met earlier). After a while, we bid Sebasten farewell and we went back.

I'm so sleepy and tired... *yawn* zzz..

Photo Shoot with Yen

I woke up at 7am and went to wash up after lazing on the bed for a little. The sky looked bright and it seemed to be a nice weather for our photo shoot yeah!

I dressed up and went over to Jer's house. I had planned for us to leave Jer's house at 8am but Jer was not ready yet. So no choice but to wait for her... my little princess. =p

We left her house at 8.25am and we managed to squeeze into the MRT train. It was not an easy feat as I was holding onto my No. 1 uniform and carrying a haversack bag. We were running late and furthermore I wanted to return to my office to take my peak cap which I had forgotten to bring home yesterday...

We reached Outram MRT station at 9am. I rushed off to collect my peak cap while Jer waited for me in the station. I returned shortly and we quickly walked over to Blk 334 Kreta Ayer Road #03-09. We could not find the unit as there is no unit number on the doors. We were searching around when Jessie opened the door for us. She was waiting alone inside. Without further delay, she began her art on Jer's face.

After an hour, Yen's assistant, Candy, came into the studio. She introduced herself to us and chatted with us for a bit. Then it was my turn to beautify my face. This is the first time of my entire life that I have ever put on make-up!!! Jessie also helped to style my hair and she did a great job! Jer kept saying that the hairstyle was very nice and she was surprised when I told her Jessie had used wax on my hair instead of gel. Last time I had used wax to style my hair but Jer claimed that my hair was dull and she preferred my hair to have a wet look. So I switched to gel permanently. But she had a different opinion today, thanks to Jessie haha!

Suddenly, we could hear raindrops falling on the roof. We looked out and were dismayed by the view. It was raining cats and dogs and we were worried about the outdoors photo shoot in the afternoon... :(

Next, entered the most important person of the day! He was no other person but Yen! Yen was smaller in build than I had imagined him to be. He was very humorous and could joke about anything under the sun haha. He explained to us how he would take the photos later and told us umpteen times to be natural for the photos to turn out nice. Mandy came a while later with Jer's gowns and the hand bouquet.

We changed into our outfits and began our photo shoot. At first, we were very stiff and did not know what to do for the first few shots. Yen took pains to explain to us in details and I kindda understand what he was looking for. He would ask us to look here and there to make us move our bodies naturally and he would snap once the opportunity strikes. He showed us a few photos and we both agreed that the photos were beautifully taken. Full marks for Yen yeah!

We continued our photo shoot with another set of outfits. Jer's made-to-measure evening gown is very elegant and she looks stunning in it! Even Yen praised the design of the evening gown, and not forgetting Jer for showing the best out of the gown! That's my pretty lil gal hee! But Jer did not really know what Yen wanted and was constantly guided by Yen to pose naturally. Yen's favourite phrase is "heng jia lor" which means very fake in Mandarin. I tried to guide Jer along but I could see that she was quite tense.

Time passed without a trace and it's lunchtime already. Candy offered to buy lunch for us. I passed her a $50 note and offered to treat them lunch. Candy left and returned with our food and returned me the change. We had our lunch and Jer did not finish her food as she feared that she would not look nice in the photo shoot. Don't worry dear, no matter how you look like, you are still the dear I love most hee!

With a filled stomach, we began the second round of the photo shoot. While Yen was reviewing the photos he had taken, he commented that there was no reflection from my glasses. He got a surprise when I told him that I had removed the lens from the glasses as advised by Mandy. He had only noticed it until now haha! We continued with our photo shoot and we find that most of the poses are almost similar and Yen is trying to capture the best shots out of those poses. As it was raining heavily, we could feel that Yen was taking his time to take the shots to wait for the rain to stop.

But after he was done with our last indoor outfit, he discussed with us on what to do next. Yen was suggesting to us to come another day for the outdoors photo shoot cos the photos would look dull and gloomy without sunlight. We were pondering on the decision when Jer decided to go for it. Jer was thinking that it may also rain even on "another day" and it would be more tiring for us to return.

So we embarked on our adventurous journey to battle the rain. Deep down in our hearts, we were praying that the rain and dark clouds would go away. Rain rain go away, come again another day...

First, we went to the Singapore Arts Museum located along Bras Basah Road. Jer told me that this is the place that she had wanted to tell me about but she does not know its name and location. So Yen coincidentally chose the place which Jer likes. Just as if heaven was on our side, the rain stopped and there was some sunlight. We quickly took some photos at the place and not before long it started to rain again. Sigh...

Our next location is Sentosa. I had gotten 4 Sentosa Islander passes from my station which each pass allows free entry into Sentosa for the holder. I could have gotten another pass but I did not expect there is an additional person who is the driver. But at least, I saved some money which is better than nothing.

We went to Tanjong Beach but the sky is still gloomy and tearing away. Out of boredom, I took some pictures of Jer with my digital camera. A few minutes later, the sun was smiling down at us again and the rain also stopped abruptly. We quickly continued with our photo shoot and it ended in half an hour.

We went back to the studio to change and Yen arranged with us the appointment to select the photos. He also told us not to bring other people along as it will hinder the photos selection. So we set the date to next Sunday which is 16 Nov at 11.30am. We left the studio and I went back to my station to keep the uniform and peak cap.

After a tiring and fun day, we went home to rest. Who says photo shoot is not tough? Haa!

Electricians @ Work

I woke up in the morning and went to the new house to open the mailbox. It has been ages since I have done so cos I don't always bring the key out.

I opened the mailbox and it was full of pamphlets and papers... If I don't clear the mailbox, I doubt anyone can stuff in anymore junk mail into my mailbox haa. I dumped everything in the mailbox into the rubbish bin and went up to the house to take a look.

I was surprised to find the door to be wide open. I went in and saw two persons in the house. They were the electricians whom Sebasten assisted us to engage. The ceiling fan in the living room was already dismantled and placed neatly on the floor. The uncle asked me whether I was on leave and I replied him that I will be working night shift later. The uncle then guessed that I'm from the police as he presumed only police work shift and he claimed that I got the "police" face... Do I really look that fierce? The uncle also helped to change my master bedroom toilet's light cover with the storeroom's as it has already cracked. Luckily, both light covers are of the same size and model.

Sebasten came shortly and told the uncle what to do. Without any hassle, they completed everything in 10 mins or so. They also helped to remove the kitchen lights as Jer wanted to change both since one of it has a broken cover and burnt tube.

Sebasten took some dimensions of the living room featured wall and left. Before he left, he told me to remove all the aircon remote controllers for fear that his workers might use them. That was my intention after his aircon guys had come to wash the aircons haha!

The task on hand now is that we need to settle the lights fast or the electricians will need to wait. This will delay the renovation of the living room too. Sigh...

Gown Trying @ Satt|ne Part III

We have been so busy with our house for the past few weeks that it is almost near to the day of our photoshoot. Jer has made arrangement with Mandy to go to Sattine to try out her made-to-measure gown and I need to bring some shirts to match her gowns.

So I met Jer at Tiong Bahru Plaza after her half-day work. I had brought along 6 different colours shirts kept in a uniform carrier and carried them around. Jer had her lunch at the food court and we decided to go to Sattine earlier as we had nothing to do.

We were supposed to meet Mandy at 4pm but we reached there at 2.30pm and Mandy was busy with another customer. Nevertheless, she took out Jer's gown and Jer was very pleased with it. Mandy tried to make some time for us and let Jer try her other gowns. Mandy also took out 3 suits with pants and asked me to try on. The first suit and pants were very fitting and I thought Mandy had taken the effort to find or alter the sizes for me. But the other 2 suits and pants were slightly off. If someone is to pull my pants down, I believe it will drop off without any problem... (-_-;)

We had arranged to meet up with David and Mindy for dinner at 6pm at IMM but we only finished our business at Sattine at 6.30pm. Luckily, David and Mindy were still on the road. But they went out of their way to pick us up at Queensway. So kind of them!

We went to IMM and had dinner at Ajisen Ramen. Jer and Mindy wanted to eat less to prepare for photoshoot (Jer) and wedding (Mindy), and they shared a bowl of ramen. But they did not stop at that and gave some noodles to David too! I never knew they were that serious... The power of looking good really works haha!

David treated us for the dinner as he said he wanted to thank me for the help I had rendered to him on our Project Management course. Well, what are brothers for haa? We thanked him for the meal and went up. They had wanted to look for aircons but I received a call from Sebasten on our way up. He told me that his client had cancelled his appointment and he was free to bring us to see lights for the living room. Before that, we went to Best Denki to get the dimensions of the home theatre system which Sebasten had wanted. We met Sebasten in his car outside IMM and went to Chelsea Lighting located at Blk 353 Jurong East St 31 #01-117.

Inside the shop, we were amazed by the amount of lights that were affixed on the ceiling and on the walls. There were many designs and prices vary from budget to high-end. The shop owner told us that there is a new shipment coming on Monday and told us to come. But, I'm working on Monday... So I told Jer to decide on the matter as I am not so particular on the light.

We left the shop and Sebasten sent us back to IMM. We met up with David and Mindy and we went to their new house. Their house is still undergoing renovation works but some of the works have been completed. There was no light in the house and David had to turn on the temporary 1 metre tall portable lamp for us. He was carrying the lamp around the house and we browsed around in the available limited light. We can foresee that their house will be an eye-catcher once the renovation works are done.

Next, we went to our house to let David and Mindy take a look. David was saying that the floor was very well-done and the whole house was well-maintained. We chit-chat until 12.30am and David sent us home.

In another 4 hours or so, I will be waking up to report for work... *Yawn*