Quite ironic that we moved away from the neighbor with Great Wall of China to a place where the neighbor has built or rather is still building The Forbidden City for his family and his dog/s. Talk about running away from sickening neighbors. I'd welcome any constructive ideas on how to mitigate this situation....

Good ol' Villa de Kinrara

Moving houses could be a daunting task. No matter how much preparation is done, it will never be enough.

I finally moved out from the house that I had lived in for the past 14 years. I still remember vividly the very first time I stepped into that house. It was November 14, 1994. Just a day after my wedding reception at Century Park Club. I was thrilled at the thought of having a new home, a new life with the man whom I will share the rest of my life with. I remember walking through the house going through every room and creating wonderful dreams together with my husband. It was such a joyous moment. Life was much simpler and preparation for the house like kitchen cabinets, grille works etc was less costly then. Nevertheless, it took us about 9 months to move in from the date of my first visit since we had to wait for the Certificate of Fitness and to complete all the other works. By the time we moved in I was 4 months with my first child.


Settling in with a growing tummy was another challenge. But Alhamdullillah, my husband was very helpful. We made a pact. He cleans the house while I cooked and ironed clothes. Cooking was a breeze but ironing the clothes brought tears to my eyes. I have always and will always hate ironing :(


We took our own time in getting things for the house. Many months passed before we even got our first couch. In fact I remember going couch-shopping with my 40 day old daughter. Changing her diapers in the car and walking in and out of furniture shops. We looked around until we found a set that we both liked. The sales lady told us that the fabric was waterproof (and I challenged her for a demo!). We bought this set. This happened in the first quarter of 1996.


Since then, many things have happened in that house. Many happy moments, sad moments, depressing moments, angry moments, all that emotions etc. We had two more children while in this house. The wailing and fighting of the children. The falling, the rushing to the clinics and hospitals in the middle of the nights with contractions, sick children, husband and myself. The trophies from school. The waiting at the door for the children to walk home from school. My daughter’s accidental somersault down the stairs. The tantrums from all the members of the household. The helpers who were good to us, the helpers who ran away. The helper who put my 4 month old girl in her pram and walked to God knows where, but thankfully came back home. The neighbor who saw this but only informed me after the helper ran away. The neighbors who stole our parking spaces, our sweet mangoes. The neighbor who blasts old Chinese opera songs. The neighbor who replaced the fence between our house and his by placing a replica of the Great Wall of China. Now that was the breaking point. The point that brought the need for us to find a new home. Plus maybe the fact that the house is getting smaller or rather the children are growing, not forgetting the tones of stuffs (unwanted mostly).


For 14 years and 4 months, this house held the breaths, voices and thoughts of my family. January 2, 2010 was a momentous moment for us as we moved out to our new house. That couch that we bought in 1996 followed us despite the wear and tear. And yes, it is still waterproof. What we left behind? Hmmm…..there’s just so much of junk, thanks to my hubby. As I emptied the rooms I couldn’t help but wonder where and when my husband bought or brought the things he had. What is left behind are all his numerous computer peripherals, books, books and more books, electrical gadgets, the list goes on. My stuffs? They were just mostly the kitchenware & clothes. I’m planning to giveaway my books to the libraries. The kids had their share of toys, books, clothes as well. I went through my eldest daughter’s clothes and picked out many items still in excellent condition to be handed down to my youngest. Funny that I used to get Sommerset Bays, East India for my eldest and now I am putting them into family re-cycle bin for my youngest.


Anyway, we now officially carry our new address. At this house. I didn’t have the time to visualize my future as I did with my previous home. We were just all too busy with our work, being year end and needless to say, preparing the new house for occupation which practically took months. What started out as a “within the budget project” exploded along the way. There are just many things that I wished I had done or prepared differently, that could have saved me money. Ironically, despite all that we have done, there is still a long way to go before it can be close to perfect. Just as before, we shall take our own time to get what we need.


Nevertheless, I thank Allah that all is well. I know that this new beginning in a new year at a new home will be an uphill task especially adjustments to the house, the neighbors, the environment, etc. But I shall take it as a challenge. I now visualize that my three children will grow up beautifully and successfully in this new home. I see them getting married and I see my grand children running around. Since they now have rooms and bathrooms of their own, festive seasons will not be a problem, as it is now at my parents. I hope to spend more time cleaning the house instead of leaving it to the helpers and I definitely want to spend more time with my brand new oven. I would also need to teach my children that they need to take care of their own bathrooms ;).


The wailing, fighting, running and falling, laughter and tears have all begun. Indeed, I just love coming to a place called home.


Goodbye Villa de Kinrara (the nickname we had given to our ex-home). I pray that Allah has better plans for us all.