Our new home - Moved in

Finally!

We have moved into our new home. After a month of running around, getting the renovation done, applying for electricity, water and gas, getting the phone and broadband set-up, choosing curtains, moving our stuff into the new place, we have moved in today!

Now, time to enjoy the new home! Am I excited about having a place of our own.

Our new home (part 5)

After all the work (actually, most of it was my wife's) getting the new place ready, we are now in the final stages of moving in. Most of the furniture is there, our belongings too. Just some more boxes of stuff that needs to be moved. But they are too heavy (most of them are my books) so we are getting some professional movers to help. The problem with our phoneline and Internet was solved too, after repeated calling the telco. Renovation is done, except for a bit of touching up on the paintwork which they will do tomorrow.

Looks like we are all set to move in as planned.

Our new home (part 4)

Those staying in Singapore know that there is a 3-in-1 package by one of the telecommunications companies here. And that was what I got for my new home, considering that the 3-in-1 package comes with residential land line (using VoIP technology), broadband Internet connection, and a mobile phone subscription.

The problem comes when installing the setup in a new home. First, while the line was supposed to have been activated since Saturday, till today, I am still not getting any connection. When the person from the company came to install the setup at my new place, he couldn't get the DSL modem to connect. After checking with the company, it seems that it could be because "the connection hasn't been activated yet." And apparently, even when activated, it may take up to 24 hours before connection is available.

So today, I went to check, and still no connection. So after calling their tech support, I was told that the line was actually activated already. So it could actually be because of my phone socket that is causing connection problem.

Huh? So who should I be listening to? One says my line wasn't activated yet, another says that my line was activated already, as per the agreement to activate on Saturday. Nevermind, we shall see when they send their tech support guy over tomorrow, and hopefully, this big company is able to solve my little problem.

Our new home (part 3)

Moving into a new place is a lot of work.

I have been to IKEA every day for the past 3 days. Each day, I came back with loads of stuff. And they are going to send over some of the stuff that I couldn't carry in my Honda Airwave.

And buying at IKEA means having to assemble the furniture... so I have spent the last two days fixing up furniture, while my wife was busy unpacking our stuff into the new wardrobe and cupboards. If I thought taiji was tiring, doing my own renovation (some of it, that is) can be even more tiring.

To think I still have shelves of books still yet to move... I think I can hear my back breaking...

Eye of the Beholder

I have fond memories of this game, because it was the first computer AD&D game that was different from the traditional Gold Box series released by SSI. While the Gold Box series had turn-based combat, with a third-party view of the battle, this is the first game of the Black Box series, with combat taking place in the same 3D dungeon screen, and no distinctive turns. Basically, you swing your sword when you click on it, and cast spells when you manage to open up your spellbook and select a spell. Of course, there are shortcut keys that allow you to do some of these faster, but your reaction is still crucial to winning encounters.

The story is simple enough, there is trouble brewing under the sewers of Waterdeep, and you and your party have been formed to go check out what is the cause. And as the name suggests, the nemesis is actually a beholder, which is a big floating ball of flesh, with a central eye capable of negating magic, and ten eyestalks that are capable of casting a different spell each.

Eye of the Beholder departs from the traditional Gold Box series in that there is actually some form of puzzle solving involved in the game. Gold Box series games attempt to incorporate puzzle solving into them, but most of them are feeble attempts and the games still hinge heavily on hack-and-slash. But Eye of the Beholder (aka EOB) actually managed to put in some puzzles that challenge people to think.

The hint book actually provides maps and events for each level, and also hints for the special quest found on each level. The teleportals found on each level can also provide a challenge (they can be confusing) or a quick method of getting from place to place.

So while this game may not be that great now, compared to 3D games like Neverwinter's Night and Oblivion, it did break new ground back in the old days by allowing real-time combat in the 3D dungeon screen. And that, in those days, was a big break from the norm.

Wikipedia's entry
A fan site with walkthroughs and maps
Another fan site with all three games in the series
Eye of the Beholder module for Neverwinter's Night

Calligraphy piece

For those who do not know, Formidable's name in Chinese is "威武". On the special occasion of her commissioning, I have written her name in Chinese, as well as used her name to write a short verse showing her spirit of being triumphant at sea.

A new frontier

Yesterday, on the 5th of May 2007, which marks the 40th anniversary of the Republic of Singapore Navy, Singapore's first stealth frigate, RSS Formidable, was commissioned. It marks the start of my country's venture into a new frontier.

Our new home (part 2)

I never knew getting a new home is so troublesome.

First, there are forms to fill, just so to get gas, electricity and water. Without these, guess what happens? I will have to dig a well and light candles... maybe even collect logs to start a fire. And register to get a car park lot for my car.

And of course, visit a nearby police post and get your address changed. And the good thing in Singapore is that this process automatically updates your address information with certain agencies. But of course, it doesn't update every one, so you still have to update that information with the various companies that you deal with, such as banks, telephone companies, magazine subscriptions, etc.

There is also subscription for a new residential phone line, and broadband (yes, I do need access to the Internet). And cable TV too, though I have yet to do this since we haven't decided on what channels we actually want to subscribe to.

Then there is the BIG matter of renovation. We wanted down lights, so that means we first have to get someone to do up the ceiling and the electrical cabling. Then find someone to install the lights (after buying the lights that we want). Hunt around for curtains and somehow get it up.

And visit all the furniture shops in the neighbourhood and spend hours in IKEA. And find out at the end of four hours at IKEA that they only keep your furniture with them for 7 days before they start to charge you for storage, which means you can't shop for furniture too early. They charge 5% of the furniture price for assembly (if you don't want to do it yourself) but that may be better than having an amateur try fix up a huge wardrobe.

Yes, shifting to that new home is going to need a lot of work, which means driving around looking for deals. But no matter how tiring it may be, I am sure the reward of moving into a new home will be worth it.

Our new home (part 1)

You can see this same picture here. This is taken from my new home, which we just got the keys to today. Getting the key is the first step, I never knew that there were so many things that need to be done before I can move into a place. Now I have to fill up forms for property tax, apply for utilities, change my address on my identification card (and all other addresses officially registered), apply for a phone line, etc.

And that is even before doing any renovations and getting the necessary furniture. I am quite lost, let's see if I can figure it all out soon.

Watch this space for updates.