Alright! So I have been busy!

Half reno'ed flat.

Am physically in Arizona right now, on business and vacation. House reno, put aside for a month.

On site office setup.

This is where we stopped. A bit of cleaning and alot of putting things away. Wire still hanging from the ceiling… still a mess.

tiles being delivered

This is where we are…. and I had hoped that we be all done before this trip… HA!

This roll of polycarbonate is going to be my new roof over the kitchen

Far from it! But, its okay. MamaCat, Smudge and Snooze are staying in there with daily cat care giver… Our junk have a home… thats all that matters eh ..?

Some pix from the reno. Tiles being delivered and look at that crane! One man show! … Poor tilers, they had to go carry it up… no lifts to 2nd floor…

New roof material came in a large roll. It was so difficult to get into the flat… so we let it sit outside for a few days…

Its confirmed. We are moving… in about 5 weeks.

2 weeks have past since we did the 1st appointment thingy at HDB, and now we know for sure, that we be moving around 24th Sept.

1st appointment at HDB is a big thing…. and I feel in people that they might be somewhat fearful of the day… Its the day that an officer would meet the buyers and sellers of the properties (note pural because 2 properties may be involved in 1 transaction), to resolve matters with eligibility of buying or selling, to discuss financing for the buyers and make arrangements with other government agencies to ensure smooth transition of monies, set behavious for sellers , etc.

My new flat has 2 levels...

It is scary to me too, and I hope that my diligence in preparing photocopies of numerous documents will allow us to pass without major hiccups that stall the entire process. I mean, stalling the entire process by weeks is the biggest scare to me… but it will still go thru, I am sure of it. .. Part of my worry, is that I do not have agents to help me with solving problems if I run into any… my study of HDB regulations suggest that there will be no problem… but agents will always give you the scary details about what happen to so and so … … I decided to be brave and see it for myself. Afterall, given my education, exposure, financial situation, if I cant work this out on my own, then I suppose DIY transactions at HDB is pure fiction. … thats my very arrogant thinking… its like knowing that there is nothing I cant fix. 

Okie okie. So on the day at HDB, we were served by a very efficient fast talking officer. Everything pass on her desk was like a blur to me… opps, we were missing death certs of my grandparents who were previous owners of the flat that I was selling… okie we’ll submit in the next few days. .. that was a minor hiccup.. The sellers agent for the flat that I am buying screwed up more than I did. They didnt get my witness to sign in the right columns, so I had to go get that fixed too. Then they had other missing documents that had to come from the sellers who were overseas. That was a major hiccup, that cost us 1 week! … Even the officer commented that I seem to represent myself better than the agents would have!! Yeah!

Now its just waiting for the completion and planning renovation… so what would you do with this new flat? Its big…. and does have many exciting options… I am going to have fun, thats for sure!

BTW, if you are still thinking that HDB is run by a bunch of rude, slow-moving cows,  you are probably living with the dinosaurs. We were impressed by the efficiency and knowledge of the staff.. altho we think that the completion process of 7 weeks is too long. I have used the hotline extensively and find that to be very helpful in my preparation work… I have nothing against HDB staff… but I wonder why there are many others who feel they are unhelpful and unfriendly. …?

Changing Life..

Not abandoning my blog…. but I have been so distracted with life. Just sold my flat and looking for another. Left my old job with lots of hussles with the crappy management and moving onto a new job which I think would be exciting. .. IMO, sometimes crappy management are hard to avoid but I hardly notice it when the job is exciting… thats my take on life in the corporate world… after 16 years… I think I know..

On the subject of “public” housing in Singapore… I think the market is crazy.. I cant believe my tiny little very old 82sqm flat sold so quickly for $40K COV (cash above valuation)! … but then, I am turning around to find that whatever I am liking is asking for $60-$100K COV! even tho they are on the low floor and has no view! .. opps… did I sellout too soon…?

Well… enough is enough… time will come when the speculation cools off and people with money are all settled down… then that be the time for me to look again.. but in the meantime we’ll move onto Calliste, our barang barang move to storage … kitties will have to stay in little condos that I will be making just for them…

My 1st level 10 dish on restaurant city!

In celebration mood! VSOP on the rocks. me and my 'puter rocks!

After 3 weeks of playing Restaurant city on FB, I finally made it! Celebrating my 1st level 10 dish with a glass of VSOP Medallion on the rocks while typing this blogpost. Everybody, cheers!

My 1st level 10 dish!

And a picture of my “Royal Pork and Apple Chops” served on golden dish.

MamaCat on the 'puter..

Plus I am probably gonna get my 2nd level 10 dish tonight… only need 1 lousy Bayleaf! MamaCat, I am counting on yer! .. Alright alright.. <Ahem> .. introducing my very intelligent entreprenuel cat, BlackMama.. <tada>

<Applause> Speech: On receiving this award, I have to thank my cat, BlackMama for her support and her efforts in operating “Black Market” swap services. I could not have done it so quickly if not for her… <Applause> ..   Remember to check out her services. http://blackmama.wordpress.com !

This arrangement works for me.

Moving on.. layout. Finally, I have a layout that I am happy with. Having tried many other configurations, this layout seems to be the most optimum.. to me it is. Have checked out some 2 islands kinda layout, they are more efficient, but… for me its not just about scoring points, I like my restaurant to look nice too. Ya, I got to make somebody clean those loos more regularly… sigh..

Fatboy Smudgey

Smudgey at his new hangout.

Look at this fat cat! He all so cosy. Doesnt look like MamaCat is gonna have a chance to use this post at all.

Smudgey is a really big boy. Weighing almost 10kg, he is too much to carry around… but he is such a pushover for Snoozy.

I am just happy that I have a no.1 fan in this scratching post that I made..

Side effects of Wifi!

We have just installed Wifi in the home last week, and look at what crazy ideas I have now! It must be the Wifi, it causes normal people to have strange abnormal ideas!

Today, I created a Yahoo! email account for each of my cats, with the specific plan to put them on Twitter and facebook! So u see, isnt that crazy!? Guess what..! I discover that I am not alone in this craziness, there are many cats who are on Twitter and FB already! The most popular twitting cat has over 7000 followers!! See! Hence my conclusion, Wifi has side effects. Overexposure damages the sanity of people!

So anyway, watch out for my cats! They are coming to you ONLINE!

Snoozy

Connect to Snoozy http://www.twitter.com/catsnoozy

Mamacat

Connect to MamaCat

Smudgeyboy

 http://www.twitter.com/blackmamacat

Connect to Smudgey http://www.twitter.com/catsmudgey

Just another weekend project

Simple scratching post for hanging on door knob

Building a cat scratching post for my kitties. Been wanting to do this for a long time, aint it surprising how long it takes to actually getting around to doing something..? Well, so.. here it is.

This one is meant to be hang from a door knob. Very simple, easy to make. I think Snoozy will like this one. Snoozy has a room to herself.. lucky girl. She is the queen of the house.

Measuring 18″ x 6″ wide. Carpet is tacked in with nails. We did not use any glue, and glue wouldnt hold for very long…

Deluxe model. .. cutting the plywood to size

A more plush looking cat scratching post for the living. I think all my cats will love this one. Hope they will share… will they..? Hoping.. fingers crossed. Post is 24″ tall, mounted on a 18″x12″ base. I design this post after many year of observing my kitties and they scratching habits. They love to stretching and give it a go.

Here is a picture of the sacrificial chest of pinewood drawers in the living room. Well used by all 3 kitties.

Sacrificial chest of drawers showing its marks

MamaCat having a go at it.

cutting the plywood to size

Just for the fun of it, here are some pictures of us working on the cat furniture.

Langs nailing it in

The carpet material that we use were given to us. They are job excesses that were too small for anything else. I am happy that we could have some good use out of it. If anybody wants a cat scratching post, let me know. We will build it for ya, for just a small fee to cover the plywood and other materials.

Pretty Mama Cat

Pretty Mama in the living room store

My pretty girl. Finally a good pose to share, pardon the messy surrounding objects. 

Cats like finding spots around the house and make themselves comfy. This is Mama’s regular hangout spot.

I just love Mama’s gentle pale green eyes.

My kitties

Alright! I am a cat person…. slave ..? Here are my 3 kitties that rule my household. They certainly get the most use out of my house than I do.

SnooZy. Dont be fooled by her appearance.

Queen SnooZy, the sofa is her throne, and so is everywhere else that she demands. It will be given to her instantly.

She was 1st adopted by my sis. According to her, SnooZy’s mum left her unattended for quite awhile when she was a kitten. Concerned that shes not going to be able to feed/fend for herself, sister took her home. Spoilt her ever since.

Life change for sis and Snoozy needs a new home. So here she is, my 1st cat, and she used to sleep at my feet. I quite enjoy that life with a companion that is so attached to me.

aka Sooty, but she never responded to that name

Mama Cat, aka Sooty. Its a long story. Mama was a pretty stray cat in my block when I was living at my aunt’s. Sometimes, I leave bits of food and water for kitties around the block during my evening walks, and I would make a “clok clok” sound to let them cats know that dinner is served. It was a daily routine and I would see Mama, my regular. 

I missed her for a week, and I wondered what happen to her. I searched for her in the neighbourhood for 7 days, almost giving up, but hoping that somebody has adopted her. When I did find her again, she was sick, sitting on the steps at the lobby. I brought her home (much to SnooZy’s displeasure), saw the vet the next day, fed her med and food. Let her go when she was well again, and the daily routine repeats. Soon, however, she was finding her way up to my apt and took to waiting outside the door, meowing gently was her way of knocking. Thats okay for me, but SnooZy is not happy at all. Shortly after, I notice Mama was expecting.. and was trying to get into the house as it was a safe place for her kittens. So I took her in, house her in the kitchen as it had a door separating the living room, such that the rest of the house belong to Snoozy. Oct 2001, 2 cute little kittens were born in a box in the kitchen.. … One of them died after 2 weeks, which was sad… He was the cuter of them 2.

Smudgey, a chip of the old block

Anyway, Smudgey the fat boy was a handful since birth. He is a greedy little thing and always had a full round tummy. He has surpirisingly strong genes and was never sick. A pity that he had a deformed tail since birth.. Well, he’s black, just like Mama. Although, Mama has prettier green eyes and nice long tail..

I moved from my aunt’s big apt into my own smaller apt in 2001. The door that separates the kitchen from the rest of the house is gone. And just how do my cats get along without the separation? Hah, they dont. One time, in the middle of the night, Smudge was being naughty, Snoozy pounced on him, Mama to his rescue and I got hurt. 2 trips to the doctor in the 1st yr of housing them. Now they have their routine, they stay out of each others way and I stay out of their fights.. which is not that regular anyway. ..