The Planter Box Saga…

So I went to World Farm, a nursery at Yishun, 2 weeks back, hoping that I could buy some plants on the cheap and engage replanting services from its staff at a reasonable price.

World Farm has a very different feel from the nurseries situated along Thomson Road. World Farm, is literally a farm… it feels very kampong and people just leave you alone to touch, smell the plants. Those along Thomson Road are more commercialized and the nurseries are always busy, busy, busy with other customers that it seems to me, nobody ever slows down to REALLY appreciate the beauty of these plants.

Anyway, I really enjoyed my trip at World Farm, despite leaving empty handed. As World farm is busy preparing for the up and coming Garden Show at Suntec, the Manager said that they were really short-handed at the moment, and suggested that I contact a landscaper to help me on my planter boxes instead.

“Eh… ok, but I’m on a budget, y’know” I said.

“It’s ok, this guy is good and cheap” said, the Manager.

“So, agar-agar how much do you think the 2 planters will cost?” I asked.

“Aiyah, should be a couple of hundreds lah. Max of the max, 1K” he claimed.

Alright then, I contacted this landscaper, he came over the next day to check out my planter boxes and said that he would provide me with a quotation in about 2 days time.

2 days later, he quoted me $2XXX. I was like WTF….?

This guy is trying to skin me alive man. Hub, being the Forever Mr. Robert said “wah, ok what… very cheap. Half price from what our ID quoted us originally”

NO way! I can do everything at HALF THE PRICE.

That was it. I went down to Thomson Road yesterday (Sunday), since it was only 5 mins drive away. Drove past JM Flowers, saw the huge “50% SALE”, parked at its car park and all ready to start buying plants and the necessary equipments to do up the planter boxes.

Yesterday was the last day of sale; sadly, many of the good stuff were sold out. Nonetheless, I made my choices and picked the best looking ones available and caught one of the sales managers to sit down and discuss the charges required for delivery of plants and soil, as well as replanting.

It turns out that JM does not provide landscaping services, meaning that I’ll have to do all the “groundwork” of the planters myself, and JM can then take-over by laying the soil and replanting.

Ok, although I’ve never done anything like that before but I have done my research, I know all about the geotextile, the drainage cells and the type of soil that is suitable for my plants. All theory, of course.

Nonetheless, I’ve bought most of the hardware required and will start working on the planters soon.

The total bill: $700-$800 or so, since the soil will be charged as-per-use during replanting. Heh, luckily for the Monster Fern that we picked up earlier, will help us save quite a lot since the huge fern practically covers the entire planter that’s along the corridor.

Bleah. $2XXX, MY FOOT!

Impulse buys over the weekend… *argh!*

Between Hub and I, I am the frugal one.

No doubt, Hub has a good eye for esthetics, as you can easily tell from his dressing and the way he carries himself. In fact, many people have suspected that he…. hrm, belongs to the “happy” people, but rest assured, he’s just what we call a “metrosexual”.

As for me, I just try to look presentable and not disgrace my husband when we are out. I’ll put just enough make-up in order not to scare people; I make sure I smell clean, look clean and smart, and basically no-frills.

So, when it comes to buying furniture, Hub looks out for exquisite items that come in exquisite prices. I’m the practical one, if we were to buy anything expansive, it better be in a strategic location in the house where everyone can admire. That’s the whole point right? Or else, Ikea sells very decent looking furniture that can be quite chic, and at definitely more affordable prices as well!

So, during the weekend, Hub wants to buy this bedside table that I thought was ridiculously expensive. It’s a bedside table, for goodness sake, and who will notice a bedside table??? Guests will most probably spend 5 seconds touring the master bedroom and after that, just mingle around at the living/dinning area. Why spend such money on a bedside table that nobody will notice??? And the icing on the cake is that he intends to put it at MY side of the bed ‘cos he thinks it will fit better?!?!

I was stomping on my foot insisting that he shall not buy a useless piece of furniture until I saw the most beautiful “designer” planter box that is made of old teak. I basically went gaga over it and after stroking the planter box for the 2397th time, I decided that Hub should buy the planter box instead.

O, did I mention that I already have TWO build-in planter boxes in my new place…? But, but, but, that old-teak planter was SPEAKING to me!! I simply couldn’t resist…

And the planter box cost as much as the bedside table.

Eventually, instead of buying only one piece of furniture that we were supposed to, two happy people bought two silly pieces of furniture and made the furniture shop owner even happier.

Damn. What happened to the practical, frugal, old me?! Well, at least my beautiful planter box will be displayed right at the front door area, and not next to my bed!

Maybe I should get this picture, blow it up several times and hang it somewhere at my new place. ;)

Me and my “picky” mouth…

I’m not picky about food, in fact, I eat EVERYTHING. I choose not to eat certain items like shark’s fins, bird nests, blue fin tuna … etc due to environmental concerns. But technically, nothing really disgusts me and I’ve tried cooked bugs or even some raw stuff that normal human beings do not usually eat…

However, it really upsets me when I have to eat bad quality hawker food. Guess I’m spoilt by my mum’s home-cooked dinner since young and now that I’m married and camping with the in-laws, dinners are usually take-aways since my in-laws do not cook.

And I am SO SICK of hawker food! They are either too oily, salty, or at the other extreme end, tasteless and bland. So, whenever I can, I’ll cook my dinner. Be it a steak, pasta or sometimes, a complete Chinese meal of 3 dishes and 1 soup.

And since I stay with the in-laws, it can be a bit tricky if I only cook for myself and Hub, and leave them out. So, I’ll have to be the dutiful daughter-in-law, and rush home to cook dinner on a weekday to feed myself, Hub and the 2 elderly.

It’s not that I’m complaining. Since I’m the itchy backside that wana cook dinner. Nobody is forcing me to do so.

It’s just that I’m picky and want to eat some, wholesome, home-cooked dinner after a long day in office. Although cooking is a hobby for me and I do find it therapeutic, There are times that I do wish, FOR ONCE, I can come home to a home-cooked dinner, instead of being the mad woman who has to hustle around in the kitchen after work.

Now that I’ll be moving to my new place very soon, I’m thinking of buying a slow-cooker to enjoy stews or Chinese soups when I’m back from work. No more yucky hawker food for dinner!

But that will mean that I’ll have to prepare for dinner, on the night before. Haiz, Still no free meals anyway!

We’re finally moving in!

Next Thursday, 17 June 2010, is supposedly an auspicious date for us to move into our new place and thus, by hook or by crook, Mr. Contractor gotta pull it together and hand over the keys, latest by Wednesday.

Our new place is almost ready, but as usual, there are still tons of stuff that needed some touch-ups. Some re-plastering/repainting of walls need to be done, our wet kitchen’s back splash hasn’t been installed yet, wine fridge’s socket is still not working, some of the cabinets’ hinges have to be changed … … etc.

Other than these nitties and gritties, we are almost ready to move in! Yeah!

So, being typical Chinese, we must, of course, consult a Fenghui Master to pick an auspicious date. Then prepare a basket of auspicious items, such as 4 – 8 Mandarin oranges, 1 pineapple, 6 bamboo shoots (I’m just going to get the canned equivalents), rice, sugar, salt, cooking oil, charcoal, a red packet with money, red dates, peanuts and …. Some other random items that I cannot remember for now.

But the most anticipated moment is when both Hub and I will roll the pineapple into the flat and shout “HUAT AH!!!”

That will be so hilarious but fun!

To be frank, I’m not so bothered whether we’ll “huat” or not in our new place, I just ask for peace, health and love. Money, to me, is not a big deal…

Living below my means

Do you realize how easily one can be trapped into living according to a perceived expectation of society? Seems that because both Hub and I are working in the finance sector and in our early 30s would mean that both of us should live in a condominium. It also seems that many have begun to feel entitled to a certain lifestyle and a certain amount of luxuries.

What about living below or within our means? What about living a more enriched life but with less tied to material things? What about pursuing what you wanted instead of what others expect of you?

Of course, Hub and I were previously looking for a swanky condo as our very first love nest but due to the recent property craze, there was no way that we could afford one without taking a three-generation type of mortgage (doubt the banks would approve anyway, this is not Japan in the 1980s). So, we settled for a resale HDB instead.

After Hub and I made that decision, a tremendous weight was lifted from our shoulders and we could afford to renovate our place to exactly what we wanted. We could hack everything away and basically reconfigure the whole space. We could custom-make some furniture that reflects our characters and beliefs.

Although renovation cost us a bomb, it was still within our budget. I did not have to sell one of my kidneys or bags of blood. But if we were to get a condo, that would stretch us a little beyond where we wanted to be, not that we couldn’t afford it. But why must we afford it?

I like to live simply in my simple world and enjoy my simple joys.

Like having sunshine on my face during my morning runs, like having Cookie (my sort-of adopted cat) happily purring at my feet, like preparing dinner for my family while blasting my favorite CDs.

I think I’m a simple girl at heart… very low maintenance and it really doesn’t take a lot to make me happy and contented.

How much do you give?

When I was younger, I was more concerned about how much I'm taking, how much I'm entitled to and how much I'm receiving. It was always about me, me and me, and how much I did NOT have, did NOT take and did NOT receive.

Never once, did I think about how much I should have given nor have given any in the first place.

All the thoughts about wanting, taking and not getting what I wanted made me a rather angsty and unhappy teenager and subsequently, a young adult.

A few years ago, out of the blue, a thought of giving dawned upon me. I just wanted to give my time, my energy, and MYSELF to a purpose, and for a change, I wanted nothing in return. This "nothing in return" was a new concept to me. I've always wanted something in return. It's not that I'm calculating, but I've always believed that nothing is for free, so if I've given something, be it time, energy or money, I expected something in return.

But now, I've learnt that when I give wholeheartedly, and not expecting anything, I will end up receiving the most. Now, I'm more concerned about how much I can give and to who. I'm more conscious of my actions and the impact that I'll create by giving.

Give back to our society, give our aging parents our listening ear, our love and concern. Give our spouse, siblings and friends our support and faith. And for once, expect nothing in return.

By giving, I've become a happier person, and hopefully a better person as well. I hope you can be as well.

Do you talk to strangers?

When I was a kid, I used to talk to strangers ALL THE TIME. Totally shameless, I could say and ask the darnest things ever. Like "can you take my baby brother home and never lets him out ever" to a complete stranger when I had to take care of my baby brother at a hawker centre while my mum was buying food for us.

It seems to me that all kids talk to strangers, kids aren't so concern about whether they will be deem as crazy or stupid by talking to strangers. Being cute and fluffy helps as well I guess. Strangers wouldn't think that a cute kid would be an insurance agent or something...

Now if a stranger suddenly approaches, I would immediately be on my guard. Although most of the times, they were just asking for directions. Or else, they were trying to sell/promote me something. No big deal, not as if they were going to stick out a knief and hack me to death. I would then remind myself that I shouldnt be so defensive and should just chill...

I still remember that many years ago when I visited Hub while he was still a student in London and there was this day when I was wondering around Hyde Park alone. Suddenly there was a gust of wind and some grits got into my eyes, that caused me to tear non-stop.

There I was, standing beside the lake, wiping aways the tears and blinking hard, when suddenly I felt a pair of warm hands around my shoulders. Then some tissues were stuffed into my hands, and a kind voice that said, "there, there, everything will work out fine. It's ok..." then a little squeeze of my hand.

This kind, old lady with a head of white short hair held my hands for another 10 seconds or so... looked at me in the eye with kindness and hope, she gave me a smile, then she walked away. All I could do was to mumble "thank you so much" and then started to tear for real...

Such kindness and such warmth to a stranger. I'll always remember that.