Colour them yellow

Saw this on today's copy of Today



The bedside table is super duper nice. It's a pity that IKEA is unheard of in Thailand. And check out that cute saucepan handle. While watching T-bag talking to the General in his cell 2 days ago (and yes, PB is officially history *sob*), I commented how nice the prison looked (with some walls painted in bright yellow, others in clean pure white). Yellow definitely qualifies as a happy colour. I would love to have anything yellow right in my living space!

I am feeling sunny cos it's fridaaayyyyyyyyyy!

Accessorizing

I told P that I want a chandelier. It started with wanting something that look modern yet somehow classy



Somehow, my ideal chandelier is morphing. I am starting to take a liking for crystals!



We have developed the habit of identifying objects of desire for our imaginary house. Just yesterday, P said out of the blue that he would like a big bookshelf in the living area. In the midst of grocery shopping 2 days ago, he placed some random objects (scotchbrites, mops) on his to-buy list. Crazy it may seem, I am glad to know that we are both looking forward to having our own place.

Next Generation House by Sou Fujimoto Architects

Next Generation House by Sou Fujimoto Architects

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Ideas, ideas and more ideas!

Mdm is trying to better visualize the kitchen space after extending it into the dining area (and hacking a wall). I'm trying to keep away from anything built-in and the posh look. The overall feel should be kept cosy with a pinch of playfulness:

Click to enlarge!



Work


Living


Dining


Planning wayyy in advance. No harm right? =)

PATIENCE is what you need to get what you want

Mdm has been busy lately. First with work, then with Restaurant City and now,



Mdm manage to get hold of the game (full version, pre-launch! All thanks to P aka computer geek). The new Sims has better graphics and is easier to navigate plus playing it on P's desktop is a breeze, everything's super duper fast, details are amazing etc. Our new addiction got us stayed in the whole of last Sunday.

We visited 4-5 development projects and finally had our eyes set on one. The location is fantastic: 1. it's out of town (meaning no jams) and 2. it's only a mere 10 mins drive from my workplace! It's the only developer we know not selling pre-built houses, which to me is a big draw. I need total freedom in choosing the right tiles (colour and size), handrails, space configuration etc. What we do have no choice in is the colour of external walls, roof etc., which is suppose to blend in with the entire project.

Specification & Price
Land Area 280 square metre
Floor Area 181 square metre
Total Price 2,990,000 Baht
Special Price 2,690,000 Baht



These development projects usually come with a clubhouse and security services. For the one that we are eyeing, paying an additional 900 baht/year/person will get us unlimited access to the pool and gym. A single visit to public pools in Chiangmai costs approx. 25-30 baht so this package is worth every penny.

Enough's said, so are we buying it yet? NOT YET. Boo. Unlike other projects, we need to fork out quite a bit of cash (approx. SGD24K) since houses by this developer are not pre-built (I figure they want to secure funds for construction). And we've got to top it up with at least another 25K for furniture/electronics/interior works (which includes my hubby's 50-inch LCD full-HD TV). All in all, we'll need at least SGD50K in cold hard cash!!! You've got to love HDB for what they are doing for home ownership in Singapore. We've figured we'll need till end of the year to reach the mark, and then construction will begin... which means, the house is going to be ready only by next year. OOO... whatever. It's better than having nothing to look forward to.

Visit Thailand

Mdm has been so uber busy for the whole of this week. In record time, we completed and sent off 3 proposals. And next week, aku would be bogged down by the mundane SAR (an audit requirement). Then more reports would be due by end June and everything's going to keep me occupied till then. Woohoo. Is this the busiest period of my work life or what.

Saturday is becoming one of my favorite day of the week. I get to wake up as and when I like, catch up with my beloved TV programs/ shows on Youtube, and still have plenty of time to myself to do whatever I like. Saturday is a day that I get to enjoy lotsa personal space. Being married definitely does not mean losing your personal space (something that I treasure alot since P and I are kinda like a pair of Siamese twins other than the 7 working hours, and no, it's not exactly something that I am proud of).

If everything turns out well, my folks would be making a trip to BKK in July. Air fares to BKK is at an all time low (less than $150 for a return trip) and tonnes of hotels are having promotions of all kind. AND, it's kinda the season for fruits now. Mdm has been having rambutans, lychees, mangoes, mangosteens on a daily basis. Something I really like about Thailand is the availability of fresh fruits. Tell me then, when is the best time to visit Thailand if not now. The tourism board of Thailand has to pay me for this. Anyway, Mdm is thinking of bringing my folks down (or up. whatever) to Pattaya for a night then spend another 2 nights in BKK. My dad is a beach lover!

And by the way, to all folks who mentioned that they would like to come over to Chiang Mai and Mdm asked for you to wait till we get our own place so that you guys would have free accomodation, we are going house hunting tomorrow!

Juggling time in Sg

We are back for a whole 24 hours now. I was on the car, riding on a familiar way to get our dinner for this evening and I told P that everything felt like a dream. Something's missing in this dream though. Our dear dog was found dead in front of our house (with no apparent injury) while we were away in Sg. SIL took some pics of him and I commented to P about how morbid it is to be staring at pics of a dead pet. You definitely won't whip out a cam to take pics of a dead friend/ relative.

Mdm spent a good 8 days back at Singapore and I am thankful to be able to spend some quality time with my folks, MM (and yh), friends and couz. Thank you MM for the yummy japanese food (ok, I am wrong about Suki) and my friends for meeting me at odd hours of weekday nights, in between lunch break rush and in the morning of weekend. Mdm is happy to be meeting my couz over family BBQ and spending time catching up (and talking cock as usual). I conclude that BBQ session at the Chong's IR is the best and we shall from now on not toy with the idea of shifting the location to some poorly located public pits.

Mdm's next trip back home will be in Oct, when another Miss Chong will turn Mdm. I'm still thinking if I should be spending a month back in Sg this year end. I know there's still like a whole 7 months BUT I definitely need to plan in advance!

Philanthropy in Singapore

Mdm has almost forgotten the after thoughts I had after the trip to Bangkok on Tuesday. It seems to me that good things never stay long enough in the head.

Anyway, I am here writing my blog in the office (after office hours), a day before I am flying back to Singapore (stuff yet to be packed). I am usually quite anxious about trips (packing stuff few days beforehand, shopping for thai goodies etc.) but I have somehow lost that anxiety since my trip to Koh Chang few weeks back. Nevermind. I will see my folks tomorrow, then my sis and dear baby on Sunday! (Not forgetting my friends and beloved couz).

I think I have mentioned before that in my line of work I have managed to meet people who are passionate about education (in terms of knowledge, ethics etc., though not all are) and who are contributing to the society and in a broader sense, changing Thailand. On my work trip to Bangkok, we met the Chairman of the Center of Philanthropy and Civil Society (CPSS) and the founder of the Care for HIV Foundation. Both ladies are amazing. They talk passionately about their work, which very much involve strengthening the Thai society. It is my time here in Thailand that had me discovered where my interest lies, not so much about strengthening the Thai society per se, but empowering the underprivileged.

P and I discussed about these quite a bit. We tried to start from doing the least we can, e.g donating stuff regularly to the Lahus hilltribe group (through a friend of mine). We have recently also discussed about the possibility of adopting bbs. It's sad to realize how much the privileged us can do but how little we have done. Philanthropy in Singapore is limited to monkey shows on T.V. (then realizing then the money earned had gone into sponsoring golden taps and extravagant stays in St. Regis). Helping others in S.E.A./globally remains something that is lacking nationwide emphasis and I gotta say that many of us still lack selflessness.