I had a contractor help with the renovation. I didn’t want to spend extra on an interior designer since what I want is not that complicated–Japandi feel kind of home.
In the video, I talk about the biggest change I made–tearing down the store room and pushing the space in so I have a bigger living room space.
The walls still need to be painted and the floor needs to be vinyled (is that a word?)
I hope to film more of the house renovation progress. And also make more videos after moving in.
The YQ(travelling) then feels so distant from the YQ(magic) now.
Who am I today?
At this point, I’m in a state of limbo when it comes to actively living off my life.
I’m at a cruising point–doing the same thing again and again without making any changes.
I have the excuse that I will start living more consciously after I move into my new house. (Oh, I became a Singaporean in late 2021 so I could buy a house on my own.)
I am working as an e-commerce operations person at a local supplements wholesaler. But I never use this identity when I meet people–my job is just not as exciting for me to use an identifier.
I had major surgeries in 2021 to remove a tumour in my jaw. I now have braces which I might be able to remove in a year’s time.
Who am I?
Hello, this is me in a dress.
As you can see, I don’t exactly have a coherent identity. I have too many things I like to do.
All of them are me. But each one of them alone is not the whole me.
I sometimes wonder if I’m being deceptive about my identity. But I can honestly say I am not so that’s not true.
I wasn’t so sure what I wanted to say with the post but I want to say “Hi” to anyone who drops by. I hope to write more here but it wouldn’t be coming from the point of YQtravelling who travels to different countries.
Maybe YQtravelling means “moving”–which at this point I’m not but I hope to get back to it.
I’m unfortunately in the C-word era so many flats developments are stalled and the ones available for OBF for singles haven’t been finished yet.
The leftover flats have lower floors and a very tight ethnic quota. So the houses that I can buy are not very ideal.
But I did manage to look around and found one in Yishun that I would consider.
The worst part was that even the earliest I could get my keys was late 2022. (And that’s being optimistic.)
You can filter the houses according to race and time.
But the flats are definitely very cheap. The one I looked at was only about $110,000–but prices can change depending on the location.
On the day of Open Booking of Flats, you want to have your Singpass app and PayNow payment ready because you’ll need them.
I was already camping at the website at 11.50pm. I think many people had the same idea since the computer hung for many minutes.
When midnight came, I tried logging in my desktop and it didn’t move. I hopped on to my phone but it was very difficult to navigate. So I went back to my computer and by that time, it was 12.06am when I logged in.
Most of the details you need to fill in are those that were from the HLE letter application. You can also use an easy “Retrieve my Info with Singpass” to fill in parts of the form.
I did finally get a queue number and I heaved a sigh of relief.
It was 00195 and the queue was for the next day at 3.45pm.
Before going to HDB to pick your flat
You will need to track which flats are sold out before heading over.
Have a list of which flat units you are ok with so you can actually pick when you’re there.
I knew that I was only considering Yishun Glen (and I didn’t want it that much neither.)
Documents to prepare
Here are the items they require:
Identity card(s) of all person(s) listed in your application (bring a copy too)
Income documents for latest 3 or 6 months (depending on your nature of employment) — bring 12 months of payslip and CPF contributions
Option Fee (payable by NETS)
It’s C-vid season now so don’t bring too many people to HDB with you.
Wait for your queue number and put your option feed down for the flat.
My final decision
At first I planned to put $500 option fee down to “book” a unit while I hunted for resale flats.
Then the HDB lady said that should I decide to pull out, I won’t be able to buy a new house for a whole year.
So I decided not to take the flat this time.
I still have a choice of Sale of Balance of Flats in November, and also looking for a resale unit.
A reporter from local broadsheet Straits Times found me through my most popular post and wanted to ask for my comments on the new service. Thankfully, I caught his e-mail in time as my e-mail notification pinged while I was staring at my phone.
I prepared for the interview by reading on the background of the new service. I even jotted down “juicy” quotes that would make me look slightly unhinged but endearingly colorful to the audience.
The reporter called and we had a 12-minute chat during which I sounded bipolar. I was totally against the service at one point, talking passionately about its cons but at another point, I discovered its merits. I couldn’t make up my mind.
Still, the reporter summed it up in two sentences and made me look like a very practical traveller (which I am).
I did request that he use “travel blogger” as my job title as “marketing exec” seems like a totally irrelevant commenter on this subject. He obliged. Thank you, good sir.
My sister sent this this morning.
The report came out on Page A2 on Straits Times and also on My Paper. I can now officially say that I was on the news as a travel blogger.
Prompt #2: When, where, what, and with who is the story of your travel origin?
I used to hate travelling when I was a kid. I didn’t like that I couldn’t sleep in my bed. I didn’t like having to meet strange new adults whom my mother seem to know.
I rarely went for any sleepovers while I grew up so I ended up terribly homesick in the first year in university. Almost every evening, I would secretly cry in my room.
It was a tough time. Then I decided to end it. Enough was enough. Crying is a tiring business and I really need to stop.
So I did. I stopped crying for home and decided to enjoy life.
My very first solo trip was when I was on student exchange in the second half of my second year at university. I was studying in the south of China…
Besides reminiscing my travels with my mother, I also share tips on how to survive a trip with your mother (as in the plural “you”). You should also check out the previous guest blogger on Pamela’s website, Agnes, who has really good tips on how to travel with your mother.
Prompt #16: What city in Europe would you like to visit the most?
Having visited Paris in 2011, I can’t really think of any other European city that I would like to visit. I think my imagination has been eroded from too much travelling.
Although I don’t have a a particular city in Europe that I’m dying to visit, if I were dying, I would choose to go to the fictional land of Westeros in Game of Thrones (which is kind of in Europe and filmed in Europe).
Credit: Robert whose handsome face I’ve cropped out
Compared to my current life, Westeros has 1000 times more swords and an infinity times more shadows dragons. Those are good enough reasons to go.
I would love have been a part of the storyline but based on my karma, I’d probably end up as Character Who Crosses The Road in the books or the film. Plus, I wouldn’t have survived a day in Flea Bottom.
Actually, come to think of it, I don’t feel like dying that soon. The one reason I want to be in Westeros is so that I can wear fantastic braids all year long (which I have been doing in a mini scale these days).
Prompt #15: If you could pick any country in Asia to go to, which one would you pick and why?
I haven’t been to all parts of Asia but I don’t seem to find the motivation to explore all corners.
I guess living in this continent gives a false sense that it would be easy to travel around so I wouldn’t need to hit all the countries any time soon.
So for today’s choice, I would love to head back to Japan and see the other parts of it that I hadn’t been.
I’ve heard a lot about Hokkaido. It’s supposed to be a land where all seasons are beautiful.
I would love to heard there when lavender season is in. (I wanted to do that even back in 2011’s indie30.) I would love to be there when the King Crabs are fleshy.
The only period I wouldn’t want to be in Hokkaido is winter. I dread the cold. Thank goodness the onsen-loving Japanese macaques don’t live there or else it’s a very tempting visit.
Other Asia to-visit list
But if it’s for going to somewhere I’ve not been, South Korea would be my top choice since it is the land of skincare products.
I’m not particularly fond of spicy food which Koreans love. But if it’s spicy fried chicken, I’m up for it. The marinade is so so good.
I would also love to visit the cafes in South Korean and drink lattes until I am jittery from caffeine.
Is there any place in Asia that’s on your list? Share it in the comments below.
YQtravelling 