gadgetman

Hi Alvin, I wish you all the best to your selection excercise I am going to make a bold statement here: Getting a unit at Blk79 here is definitely a dream come true, but even this is nothing compared to the great community you can expect when you have moved in here! Thanks largely to this forum, Blk79ers are able to know their neighbors well even before they move in. We have since shared so many fun moments together. As a matter of fact, some of us had even helped out at another neighbor's wedding recently and attended the wedding dinner of another couple too! Last week, some neighbours even went for a movie screening together - how often have you heard that happening in a neighbourhood these days? Other regular activites such as outings, housewarmings, xmas parties, funiture-shopping, house-hoppings etc are also very common. The sense of identity and pride of being a Blk79 resident is just so apparent. Even my colleagues are surprised whenever I tell them that I am going to attend another event held by the neighbors! It is really interesting to see how things are developing at Blk79. Perhaps the government should even consider studying this as a model of success to promote more interaction and harmony among residents. This is so important in today's context when the kampong spirit is almost gone and people tend to stay in their own silos in the form of high rise flats...

Cannot resist posting this photo too! Another unofficial gathering of forumners at this ice-cream joint at Serene Centre along Bukit Timah Road. They serve very unique and great tasting ice-cream by the way...How's this for flavors selections? Teh Tarik, Horlicks (Yes Horlicks!), Nutella, Kahlua Latte...etc, etc?The shop's name is Island Creamery. We took and printed this photo there and the shop is supposed to putit up on the wall along with many other photos. Do keep a look out for it if you are going there!

Dear Neighbours, Thank you for the wonderful gathering yesterday at the Sky Garden! This is the first-ever meeting we have at the Sky Garden by the Blk79 Forumners and I am sure this will be a very memorable event for all of us - especially 30 years down the road! Look at all our happy faces! Now, can you just imagine the three little boys reaction when you show them this photo 30 years down the road? Priceless....

Totally agree, we are completely dependent on the dryer now to dry our clothes. What to do? There is almost zero sunlight and wind in the kitchen due to the rubbish chute and the space to hang our cloths are so limited. Not to mention also that we also risk our clothes to be dirtied by the ongoing renovation works if we hang them on the outdoor rack. Crossing my finger that my electircity bill will normalise and go down significantly in the coming months...

Ha! You've probably hit the spot when you mention "space management and discipline!" Think that is the real issue!

Hi Ptro, I must say that that's quite a refreshing way to do up the kitchen. Most of us would have gone for a full kitchen layout. Nice job there! But I guess this solution may not work for my 5-room unit in any case. Our kitchens, for some reasons, are much shorter and would not fit both the dining table and the fridge without crushing up something in the process! Even with a full kitchen, I am already facing a space crunch now. That's because our already-small kitchen is supposed to double-up as a wash area as well! Put in the washing machine, dryer, laundry basket, pails, rubbish bin etc. etc. and we are already out of space!

Oh..that couple dun have to chase lah...I think they are quite "automatic" already! But seriously, its good to have kids earlier, dun be like uncle gadgetman..so old then have a kid...now no energy to play with him!

Hey Ms White and Shay_d CONGRATULATIONS! Just so you know that there is a ready support-group for new parents in the neighbourhood! We will be around when you are ready for little shay-ds!

Yours first lah! Already 70% done!

Just to add that this will be the first-ever gathering for fellow forumners at the Sky Gardens! The pioneer batch who had gathered the first time last year did it at the MSCP Roof-top Garden. This is the first-ever at the Sky Garden. Don't miss out on this momentous occasion!

QUOTE(zanie98 @ Mar 9 2008, 04:07 PM) Dear All The sky garden has offically opened! (The gates were taken down already). Was thinking of a gathering for forummers of Blk 79 since most of us have either: taken keys, started reno/ moved in. I'm suggesting next Sunday (16 March 2008) at 5pm @ the skygarden. It will be a potluck, like wat we did when we met for the 1st time. Then we'll finally get to meet each other and can exchange ideas face to face! What do you guys think? (^_^) Anyways, interested parties: 1) zanie98: Bringing packet drinks 2) jaCKY777 : Old Chang Kee curry puff & others - min. 1 each for final confirm attendance (mi wil confirm again near date, scared got work appt) 3) Gadgetman : Tiong Bahru Paos from TPY Central (Pls add on to the list......) (^_^)

Waaaah....so good deal! But I suppose it's no point comparing how much more we've paid for our TVs earlier ... Saw my model selling at the IT fair at the Samsung booth. Was going for only $2199, but when enquired further, salesman said that first 100 sets going for only $1799! Almost fainted....

Ha! I should have thought of checking with you directly in the first place. Forgot that you are staying there... This is really good news, it will be a shame to tear down those buildings. Toa Payoh will never be the same without them...as in the case for the Seafood Restaurant building and the famous tower in the TPY garden. About the restaurant, my mum's said that she read in the Wan Bao that a Taiwan Porridge Restaurant will be operating there soon. Anyone can confirm? Here's a nostalgic moment...that's the library under construction and the shophouses in the background. Photo must be taken around the late 1960s

Is she good and reliable? Any minimum hours required and which days/time are available?

You probably seen many of such photos of Selamat already...but this one simply tops it all!

Hi Tweakmax, As reported earlier, the increase could simply be due to unrealistic estimated meter readings for the earlier months. When the actual reading comes in, the bill will naturally shoot up due to the necessary adjustments to reflect the actual usage. You will probably want to stick to your normal usage pattern and wait out for the next 1 - 2 months to have a more realistic picture. I jumped when i saw my $300 bill in February and immediately stopped using the dryer! But then I realised that this will only skew the readings for the next month...so now back to normal usage...

Hmmm..then how about those neighbours who already had hooked up to the Starhub cable network much earlier on? I recall that Strawberry_Pear had moved her cable points and the technician was able to activate their signal FOC, and this was back in December last year! If they want us to pay for such petty items, I will skip cable TV altogether! Why can't they just be more flexible on the charges? Afterall, are they already not making tonnes of money from our monthly subscriptions???

Before I moved in, I heard many rumors that the heartland shops in front of Blk79 (or shall we start to call it Central Horizon now...) will be demolished in 5 years time to make way for new developments - among which is a pedestrian mall where the main road used to be. The source for these rumours came from housing agents and even from some of the operators of the heartland shops. I was quite concerned then as it would mean noise and air pollution in the years ahead. However, this morning as I was having breakfast at the Food Park, I suddenly took notice of the big Upgrading notice in front of the Blk177 Goreng Pisang Coffeshop. It must have been there for a while already, but for some reason, I have never paid much attention to it. The big signage listed several blocks slated for the upgrading, but the polling date is still left empty. Has anyone seen this before? Does this means that the shops won't be torn down anymore???

Nope...my $300 bill in Feb does not show any deposit amount...but I think I have come to a more sensisble conclusion after going through some of my bills from September 07 to Feb 08. I am just concentrating on the Electricity bill as this is the main item on my utilities bill so far: Bill as at 20 Sept, Opening and Actual reading: 5 Bill as at 20 Nov, Estimated: 13 Bill as at 20 Jan, Estimated: 50 Bill as at 20 Feb: Actual: 1033!! My check on the meter yesterday: 1152 Although the records above may not be complete, you can tell easily that from the opening of the account to the bill in 20 Jan, there was no actual reading taken at all by SP Services - all are unrealistic estimates! This means to say that all the power consumption during the course of my renovation from September to December are not truly reflected. The same goes from the consumption after my move in from late December till 20 Jan. The bill in 20 Feb is therefore basically an accumulation of all my electricity consumption for the past few months! Soudezne: Avartar updated as requested!

Can I ask how many times you will use the dryer each month and how long does it take to complete a run? Thanks!

Talking about power consumption of electrical appliances....I just got the shock of my life yesterday when I got my Feb utilities bill! The bill was only a mere $17 in Jan, but it BALLOONED to $300 in Feb! Don't know the exact cause of it now although electricity is the main contibutor at about $200 of the bill. Not sure, if it is due to under-reading of the meter in Jan and Feb is an accumulative sum or whatever. But my suspicion naturally draw to the two main culprits: The Dryer and the Water Heater! Aircon is innocent cause we hardly need to on it for the whole month.Will continue to monitor but people who wants to get heavy duty appliances powered by electricity: BEWARE!

Sorry for not being clearer in my post...the "agar-agaring" is done by HDB. The red and blue tapes are fixed on by them...not the ID! Please correct me if I am wrong, but I think it works a bit differently for the gas pipes. There is a main outlet at the top corner of the kitchen. Additional piping are then run from there upon confirmation of the positions of the gas outlets (such as the Hob, water heater point and the dryer point for example). So there is very little risk of bursting the gas pipe. In any case, when Citygas come to perform the gas turn on at the final stage, the technician will test for leaks in the pipe to ensure that everything is OK.... I think in the case above, the reno could have been done on a resale unit whose gas pipes may be concealed by existing fittings. But for our new units, the pipings are only run externally in accordance to our interior design plans....

The red and blue markings are very deceiving...it is really just "agar-agar" one. The actual pipes could be quite a distance from the markings. Some contractors have a portable metal detector to locate the pipes, but I understand that even this is not foolproof because don't forget that there are also other metellic things like the iron beams hidden in the wall. It is really a "heng suay" situation. The installation guys for my dryer wanted me to absolved them of all responsibility if I like them to proceed with the mounting - and this is even after they have scanned the area with a detector and have cleared it! My aircon installers also kenna my water pipe and had to weld it back...so it really depends on your luck. But what is more important is that the ID should be transparent and let the owner know if such a thing has indeed happened. I personally cannot stand cover-ups and lies - I would be even more furious when I find out the truth later on!

Went to the FoodPlace just now and met an old neighbour from Blk32...the feeling is quite good. We thought that we will miss all the nice people in the old neighbourhood once we've move...but thanks to the FoodPlace, we now have a common place to bump into many familar faces again

Better still...You can now check out the final products of the various IDs from our posts and then make a more-informed decision HaHa...that's the realities of actually staying in our new homes! Mine also got unsightly laundry hanging all over the place. So sometimes when we have unannounced visitors, we will take a while to open the door...cos got to scramble and hide everything!