Housewarming

Housewarming, swiped from williamnyk on Flickr.

Months and months of heartache later, my sister's new house was finally done up and they moved in. Unfortunately, the renovations were actually far from over. Too much unfinished business and loose ends. Due to the chaotic conditions, mum had to go babysit on a Saturday. Similarly, I had to work too. System integration testing was starting and funny enough something that is traditionally internal ended up involving our clients. Hence, we all scrambled to get things up and running. Before going to work, I had Teochew porridge at SK's place. CCC also came. She prepared a yummy spread of steamed pumpkin, fried mackerel steaks, fishballs and french beans, blanched pork belly and salted duck eggs. CCC was his usual self. Heard that he was quitting his job and becoming his own boss. Bought over a friend's business. Kaya-raya that guy.



Drove to the LRT after that. Arrived at Jalan Raja Laut some time before 1:00pm and saw the traffic to be badly backed up. Something that is not seen during work days. Weird. Pre-Ramadhan shopping rush? Or crackdown on the pre-Black 505 Rally flash mob? But luckily I was on foot. The testing didn't go very well. I was the only person there supporting for the whole team. Left at 5:00pm. Supposed to have a family steamboat gathering at my sister's new house. A housewarming of sorts. My tummy couldn't wait until 8:00pm. The porridge had already been digested hours before. Took a short detour to Restoran Chamcha for a bite to eat. Cheap food, but mediocre taste. Watched a weird Malay movie with a gay theme on Astro Ria while eating my fried bihun. Perhaps the scenes of moustached Malay uncles having sex on the beach affected my appetite in some way.



Back at my sister's place, preparations were under way. Someone was setting up the grill, while the steamboat ingredients were being washed and sliced and what not. Helped out with that and also watched the kids. The little monsters teared across the house. Goodness. My BIL's parents and siblings also attended the party. Nothing special about the steamboat and the grill wasn't really productive as well. Just that my BIL went crazy juicing up fresh fruit smoothies-- mango and pineapple. I happily poured vodka into those. And there were several cakes for dessert. For father's day, my nephew's fifth birthday, my BIL's brother's birthday and his mum's birthday. So meriah. Did some cleaning up after that and there was quite a surprise when we used the garbage disposal unit at the sink. The piping couldn't take the load and the clogged the drains causing water to resurface at the wet kitchen. Really a crappy contractor. Hate his workmanship.



Pretty elaborate renovations were done, but the execution was poor. People have commented that it looks more like a showroom. Security doors, big-ass furniture and classy lighting, LED lights, kids playroom, security glass doors, quartz kitchen counters, high-gloss cabinets, Balinese rest area, jacuzzi, 7'X7' bed in the master bedroom (a real monster), crystal chandelier at the stairwell, etc. You either love the style or hate it. As usual, I'll let the pictures do the talking.