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No longer 2.4m x 0.9m
posted : Sunday, June 25, 2017
Coined this title wayyyyy back in McNair when the space that was only mine measures 2.4m by 0.9m. It consists of a bunk bed with the bottom bed removed and a study desk inserted, plus a chair and two bookshelves, one of which I snuck out from a vacant room. Plus the fact that I am at the end of the room meant I had a bit of extra space to for a wardrobe, too.
Fast forward to today the space is obviously no longer that, compact. But for memories sake I shall keep that title, haha.
Circumstances forced me to act on the idea of moving out by myself and I decided not to be too fixated about the location - anywhere near an MRT station is fine. Obviously not too far like Jurong or Pasir Ris, decided to be guided by budget instead.
Quite a number of units in Serangoon/Kovan area, none that are within good walking distance to an MRT actually, and some at Beauty World caught my eye. Since Downtown Line opened this area has became really accessible and it's a direct line to work, and some viable options too though it isn't exactly the usual residential neighborhood I have grown accustomed to. Ended up only viewing three units too, coz, for whatever reason I felt obliged to give a quick answer. All in Beauty World area.
First one is the cheapest of the lot, though I kind of don't like that it is on low floor and balcony opens out to the main road, and facilities are really half-assed, though proximity to station is a plus. Second unit had the feel - although quite a bit of walk from station. Third one was in the same building, different floor, unfurnished and facing another residential development, quite close to it also so there's a bit of privacy issue.
Wanted to arrange for more actually but agent #2 was kind of persistent and called me the next day to ask if she could start negotiating with owner - I asked previously if price can be lowered and she agreed to help talk to the owner only if there's more certainty from my end. And somehow I agreed and literally within an hour she replied and told me owner has agreed. Thinking back it could be a tactic of hers coz for all i know, owner may have already told her this is the range she can accept. Oh well.
And went down and signed the Letter of Intent the next day. I guess part of me also wanted this settled as soon as possible. Even though there are a few things I didn't see during the viewing and realized that I may not entirely be satisfied with, e.g. no overhead fan, and the bigger problem of no store room. Decided to just live with it considering that these are not entirely unsolvable issues.
Signed the agreement a week later, even then I had to be the one that initiated it because agent don't seem all that interested now that 鱼上钩了 zzzz. Same thing happened for handing over. I didn't even see my new landlady - everything is to be handled by the agent. Well at least I am happy about the place.
Throughout the entire one month plus the current landlady asked me nothing about my plans - when am I gonna move out, where am I gonna move to. Everything was perfectly normal - which is just what I wanted, actually.
Idea was not to engage mover but instead I would rely on my trusty Tribecar to shift on my own. Tenancy starts on 1st June and I took leave and booked an MPV for 5 hours. Apparently, though, 28 May is a good date for shifting in so I ended up booking another 4 hours on Sunday too. Shifted majority of my stuff over on Sunday and did the house shifting rituals, rolling in pineapple and boiling a pot of water to signify that I have moved in (even though I am not exactly spending my nights there yet.
4 years of living in the same place somehow meant that I have gained a lot in terms of possession and I left with significantly more boxes than when I moved in. 1st June came, and I returned the room to landlady in the same state as when I moved in - same set of bedsheets though the only difference is that the walls looked to be in a worse state than when I moved in - I never really cleaned them and they never appeared to be very dirty until I emptied my room, somehow. She asked me to visit often, frankly speaking I only planned to visit during CNY. And reiterated that she didn't want to let me go but circumstances forced her to so she apologized again - and I didn't bothered clarifying that I meant to move out anyway. So that marks an end to my 3 years 11 month stay in Toa Payoh.
  
Before (left) and after (right). Same right.
 
One last look at Toa Payoh!
Thanks to MPV I only needed one trip to shift my remaining stuff over so made use of the remaining 3.5 hours to do shopping. Drove to IMM which is really nearby, and I didn't think I will enjoy it but I had fun going aisle by aisle at Daiso and Giant picking up stuff that I need, which is a lot more than what I imagined. Still had to add on an additional one hour so that I can drive back to Toa Payoh to return car, and changed my address legally at the Neighbouhood Police Centre. Then it's back to my new home for the next two years at least to unpack.
Also had more trips to Ikea in the subsequent week to pick up some furniture and to be honest had a blast assembling them.
Fast forward again and nearing the end of my first month in the place - discovered more things that I like about the neighborhood, and a couple of other issues cropped up. Bad news - ceiling cracks appeared and one weekend when it was raining really heavily - not sure if it is related - I am convinced I saw the cracks spread out which prompted me to contact the agent and all she did was to inform management. And the whole thing moved really slowly that I am not even sure if her heart is in it at all. Took a lot of chasing to finally get something done - at least according to her condo management has arranged for repair works next weekend. I wanted everything to be settled before end of the month actually - which was the duration I had to make sure everything is ok and get owner to rectify if not.
Issue number two is the west sun which means it gets really warm in the afternoon. But I am not home all that often so I suppose I can live with it. Issue number three (which I never understood and kept wondering until Chris visited yesterday) is that the cooking hood is totally unhelpful coz it disperses back to the kitchen itself which is the most stupid design ever but Chris says most condos have this issue. Which kinda affects my big plans to cook often.
Living room
I am somehow very proud of the book shelf hahah.
Kitchenette
Bedroom
Cabinet is very much smaller than the previous version.
Bathroom
Furniture building!
View from my balcony!
Things I like so far:
So yep. Hoping for two good years!
Labels: Beauty World, milestones, updates |
