How we survive without a car

Today's Straits Times had an article about how some families make do without a car. Some of these families have 2 young children and yet, are able to do without a car even if they can afford one.

We do not have a car too, although Hub used to drive his family car before he went to London for his studies; and I used to drive my mom's car when I first started working. Yes, many many many years ago.

And both of us decided that owning a car in Singapore simply does not make sense. Especially if our offices are in the CBD area where the monthly ERP and season parking charges can pay for a short getaway for 2 adults every month.

Now that we have Beanie, we still do not own a car and do not foresee a need to get one. At least not for the near future.

So, I'm here to share some tips on how we survive without a car.

Tip 1: Join a Car-share program. There are quite a few of them in the market and most them charge reasonable prices on an hourly basis. We use Car Club and as long as we plan our weekends in advance, we can just book the car for a day and whizz around. The advantages of car-shares: petrol is included in the hourly charges (ie: topping up of petrol is "free"), no maintenance, no road tax, no car insurance. Heck... you do not even need to wash or clean the car!

Tip 2:  Book a cab via the App or SMS. You can  easily book a cab via an App or SMS. No more being put on hold while calling for a cab. In fact, you can even track the location of your booked taxi via the App.
Some people reckon that during peak hours, there will be difficulty in getting a taxi. Yes, that's true and that's part and parcel of life. So, do a little planning to avoid peak hours.

Tip 3: Stay close to your parents, parents-in-law. When we were looking for an apartment, we ensured that the intended apartment, be it HDB or condo had to be near-by to our parents. We foresee that we would need a lot of family support when our kids come along. So although as a young couple, we dreamed about staying at Robertson Quay, Tiong Bahru or Tanjong Rhu, we eventually decided to be practical and chose a multi-generation HDB flat in Bishan instead. So now, my parents-in-law are just walking distance away and it is very convenient for them to come over to take care of Beanie when I need to be away.

Tip 4: MRT and public buses aren't so bad during off-peak hours. Ok, I work flexi-hours, so I can schedule to bring Beanie out during non-peak hours. And Beanie loves taking the MRT and buses, in fact, she is so much more cooperative and well-behaved whenever she takes public transport. She will usually make faces at fellow commuters (at times, they are the ones making faces at her!)and there are just so much for her to see and observe!

In all honesty, I think being a semi-work-from-home-mom gives us some leeway for not owning a car. But the main motivation is the amount of money that we can save. Especially now that we are on a single income.

So, it is possible to survive without a car, even with young children in tow. ;)

Jewel Cafe at 129 Rangoon Road

Beanie and I checked out Jewel Cafe at 129 Rangoon Road yesterday. There are so many of these artisan cafes nowadays that they are bringing such a vibrant cafe buzz to Singapore. I love it!

In fact, for the past few weeks, we have been to a few establishments, e.g.: The Coastal Settlements at Changi Village, Piccotin at Turf City, The Orange Thimble and Tiong Bahru Bakery at Tiong Bahru, Omakase Burger at Turf City, Da Paolo at Rochester ... etc.

And so far, my favorite: Jewel Cafe at Rangoon Road.

This cafe serves really GOOD coffee. I must say that I have not had such a good cup of cappuccino for a very long time. Food was very decent for a cafe too, and not too pricey.

So for good, solid coffee, Jewel Cafe will definitely satisfy the inner coffee connoisseur in you.

As for Beanie, she was busy acting cute in front of the camera. My friend, M was totally smitten by Beanie that she was kind enough to babysit Beanie while I was sipping my coffee. Ahhh... bliss for 5 mins.

Beanie is at a very "enjoyable" age now, I can usually just let her loose in a cafe and she will then go around socialize with fellow patrons and leave me alone to drink my coffee or eat my breakfast. However, not everyone is into kids, so if i detect a frown somewhere or at times, Beanie can simply be overbearing, then I will cull Beanie over and strap her to a baby chair.

Thankfully, most of the times, Beanie can get away by acting cute and I can get away by pretending that Beanie is not my child and I'll go hide in one corner to drink my coffee in peace. ;)

A piece of sad news

Just gotta know about a piece of sad news. Someone I know, had passed away.

He committed suicide, leaving his beautiful wife and 3 young children.

Not that we are close friends, in fact, we had only met once when I went to France about 3 years ago. He and his pretty wife hosted us, we hanged out, we visited vineyards; we had dinners and lunches. They were great hosts and I had loads of fun.

The lovely couple brought their eldest son along on one of the outings, I remembered he was about 7 years old. Very cute and because the couple was half french and half Japanese, the little boy was so handsome!

Why would a man choose to end his life? Was he depressed? Was there absolutely no hope for him to hang on to? Was there no love or support from his family?

What could have happen within 3 years to drive a man to take his own life? He was at the prime of his life, only in his 30s. He was good-looking, he had a pretty wife, 3 beautiful kids, a thriving business. What had gone wrong?

Sigh.

This piece of news left me in a pensive mood for the whole day.

Death on its own, is not scary. It is the void and emptiness that the living has to endure, is scary.

I pray for peace and closure for his family. I sincerely hope for the best for the little ones.