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Ely1

The Best Journey Always Leads Us Home

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Aye, I agree RB. These real audiophiles have much higher expectations of their systems and would find something rather sufficient for us as simply intolerable to them. So far, I don't want to get into that stage, ever. I know if I'm obsessed about something, I'd find means to get them so no more poisoning (though would kill for projector~). I used to dream about gaming on a 100" screen and my tiny kobold avatar would be like 1m high on the screen - RAWR! Can't wait to try the WoW hack on X-Box Kinect - omfg imagine really roleplaying all the spell moves :lol:! Uber cool! Keke, that's how geeky I am~

Haha, yeah I am playing Dragon Age II at the moment. My sons love playing Joy Ride Kinect on the projector. My 3 yo keeps asking for 'Car game'. Same for me. No more Hifi for a while now although the Antimode looks nice at only S$450 ;).

If yours is only entry- to mid-level, I don't know what mine is, or how soundbars would be classified. There's a lot of tuning to do when watching movies and switching to music so I need to get the hang of that and learn what's the best setting for everything. I bought HD Basics as advised and also use Stars Wars THX to help with the calibration.

I would put yours at entry /mid and mine a bit more mid. I usually just put the amp on direct mode for music so it does no processing and only stereo as I prefer to hear it as intended rather than surround sound processed. For movies, again, I just put it on 'straight' mode and so get what is on the soundtrack without the amp 'amending' it. One of the BluRays I bough recently had the THX calibration on it although these calibrations are mainly for that movie rather than for movies as a whole. The calibration I did was for the projector rather than for audio as to do it properly you need a sound pressure level (SPL) meter or a PC with a decent microphone. I defenately don't wnat to have to micromanage my av stuff for each movie. I have enough problems trying to manage my movie/music/TV archive which is currently at around 3TB. Need more hard disks..... :D.

Revenge is sweet! Now Cocker upstairs is competing with my next door's moggie. I simply turned on Avatar loudly. I'd hate to always be scolding Maxey (or God forbid, spanking that little cute bottom) if he naturally joins in the howling match.

Haha, I put on the light cycle battle on Tron again last night and that is my reference BluRay, especially for bass. Avatar is also great and War of the Worlds. Whilst I dislike the Disney corporate machine (they are the Sony of movies - i.e. charge a premium for the brand) they do make some stunning movies at least technically.

Well, when you come over, let's see your (brutally) honest take on our system. I find that it's simply OK. Not particularly mind-blowing but it does beat chocolate ice cream in my books.

I would hate to think I am 'brutal' in my honesty :(. Honest certainly with my opinions and I don't tend to pretty them up as a lot of people here do but I would like to think I am at least a little considerate of the others position / feelings. Considering the squeeling your husband has let on about coming from you, I would hope your HT is better than just 'ok'. I think you should have a very nice system there that is likely to give you much pleasure for a long time to come. When it comes down to it.... my opinion really doesn't matter as it is you who live with and must love it for your selection to have been a success. If you feel it is not that great, go demo a all-in-one system again and see the difference that most people are living with.

Oh, how I look at the spectacle of the renovation process and laugh to myself sardonically.

I imagine all the reno stress is taking some of the enjoyment away from your new purchases so maybe it is better to assess after everything is complete. I am still in the same position with stuff left to do.

Keep pushing and it will be completed. I have had the same experiences with two renovations in the last 4 years. After the second big payment has been made and there is very little cash left to pay, it seems hard to get anything arranged.

Chase your ID everyday. It is not your fault he is stressed. It is up to him to manage the work timetable and deal with troublesome companies. We moved in as they were painting our place. Literally boxes were being brought upstairs as they were painting the walls and ceilings downstairs. We also had to wait for months to get our bathroom mirrors. I suspect we are going to have a big struggle to get any sort of finish to the light box on the stairs as well. My point being that you are not alone or unique in your frustration as many people end up going thought this 'almost finished' period where it seems you just cannot get the job finished. Chase, chase, chase and it will get done.

Good luck, there are obviously many her routing for you and your hubby at this time. If nothing else, because they all want to come over and see your 'nothing special' :rofl: reno.

RB

 

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even my Sony 3D glasses are missing!!

hihi, have you found your 3D glasses yet? I have a piece which I bought from Hong Kong, a bit cheapo but you can have it if you need it. :rolleyes:

Feel free to PM me if you need it.

 

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Ely,

Big Hug to you! Guess u can only keep pushing... Hope everything will be fine within the next 2 weeks. The waiting game to HO is agonizing. I experienced it myself as I have specific move-in date and I kept calling the site supervisor every hr for the last 3 days...

Looking at the discussion with RB on soundbar was indeed enriching. But I'm someone who didn't even own a single pc of DVD so I guess it's a waste of money to invest in one. Hubby also prefers going to cinema for movie.. A good excuse to throw our baby with inlaws once in a while. Going out for a nice dinner before movie, just like going back to our courting days...

So don't be shocked to see a $25 LG DVD when u come over this sat hor... I bought it so that I may need it to play Barney VCDs when my son reaches 1 year old.

 

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Really sorry to hear about your reno completion delays. I'm the last person to normally suggest this as I believe in giving people the full benefit of the doubt, but it seems from your posts that your ID is a bit incompetent. Your ID is paid to coordinate the project (and handle any associated stress related). Time to turn up the heat maybe? Can you go further up the chain or is this a one man outfit you've contracted? You should not be in the position of a mediator, that's the ID's role. Apologies from the ID without a clear forward plan with firm dates is just a form of excuse for non-performance. Hope this farce ends soon and you get to enjoy your place. Have really enjoyed your posts/pics and am very sorry you're going through this. Time to take off the gloves and get rough imo.

RMG

 

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sorry to hear about your troubles ely. :drunk:

Thanks sleek :) /reaches for another beer

Still so many problems? Why it's so bad?

Cool down.... Sure can move in soon. Won't be Christmas.... All these should be done within days.

Not sure May Dream. Small mistakes keep piling up, and delays escalate to some insane rubberband timeline. I ask myself why everyday too :dunno: Even my ID mentioned that this is one of his most troublesome projects.

oh gosh ... wat is the problem? really too much hiccups .. :(

granite refit coz wrong??

tiles hacked and re-tiled ??

i hear i also sians for u. :((

perhaps those that do not need to fit for reno, place in a room and keep it closed ba.

else missing items/parts again ...

Can't lock anything in - Common bedroom has access because no doors to bathroom. Work still needs to be done in the Master. Storeroom too small. Also, was asked to leave specific bathroom items in each respective bathroom so the plumbers would know which fittings for which bath, but things still got missing somehow. Probably threw away by mistake. Flush button of WC was missing, shower arm bracket missing, rainshower arm wrong, shelf broken, hole not drilled for tap, and on and on it goes.

hey Ely, sorry to hear you're having issues with reno.

Hope things will be sorted for you soon!

Thanks Patsy. I hope so too :)

Ely,

Big Hug to you! Guess u can only keep pushing... Hope everything will be fine within the next 2 weeks. The waiting game to HO is agonizing. I experienced it myself as I have specific move-in date and I kept calling the site supervisor every hr for the last 3 days...

Looking at the discussion with RB on soundbar was indeed enriching. But I'm someone who didn't even own a single pc of DVD so I guess it's a waste of money to invest in one. Hubby also prefers going to cinema for movie.. A good excuse to throw our baby with inlaws once in a while. Going out for a nice dinner before movie, just like going back to our courting days...

So don't be shocked to see a $25 LG DVD when u come over this sat hor... I bought it so that I may need it to play Barney VCDs when my son reaches 1 year old.

Aww, definitely needed that hug.

Don't be silly about your DVD player! I was also contemplating getting one for the bedroom but decided we'll get more use from my existing WD media player. Everyone has their own interests - for us, we like tech stuff. I agree with you though - nice to go for movie nights without the kids. We're so boring (and cheapskate) and simply download stuff :lol: ! I only started buying and collecting blu-rays DVDs after we got our player, and it has probably exceeded 6 months' worth of movie tickets!! :bangwall:

Perhaps I need to be more proactive? My reaction is always a huge heaving of shoulders then a pitiful squeak of "okay...". I definitely don't "chase" my ID, or call every day, much lest every hour. Because I'm female, I think the contractors hate working with me, thinking I don't understand certain things etc. They often sound irritated or tell me stuff like "Talk is easy, Mam, but it's not so easy to do! You think so easy?? You say, say, say but you don't know how we need to do it!" etc. I'd simply say "I'm calling the ID" and walk out, and leave them to deal with the ID because it's obvious they won't listen to me. After a phonecall with the ID, they say it can be done and explain to me how it'd look like. :furious:

Some of the previous contractors also made me uneasy as they stare at me longer than socially polite periods, so I tend to retreat to the balcony. I could also be "too nice" - buying them lunch, drinks, or providing ashtrays even after we told them no more smoking in the house (since the furniture is in). They walk around with their cigarettes so I just follow them with an ashtray... or pick up their butts from the floor and just throw them away without saying anything.

Doormat much?

- Ely

 

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ely my dear ..

u are just too nice to them.

tell them no smoking means no smoking. full-stop.

its true, let your ID handle, coz it shouldnt be your job.

But you cant be too "overly-kind" on ur ID.

need to set down some expectations.

telling them, i dun care, by 1st June, things are supposed to be up!

frankly .. reno should be ease-free.. and not so headache like yours. :(

 

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I would put yours at entry /mid and mine a bit more mid. I usually just put the amp on direct mode for music so it does no processing and only stereo as I prefer to hear it as intended rather than surround sound processed. For movies, again, I just put it on 'straight' mode and so get what is on the soundtrack without the amp 'amending' it. One of the BluRays I bough recently had the THX calibration on it although these calibrations are mainly for that movie rather than for movies as a whole. The calibration I did was for the projector rather than for audio as to do it properly you need a sound pressure level (SPL) meter or a PC with a decent microphone. I defenately don't wnat to have to micromanage my av stuff for each movie. I have enough problems trying to manage my movie/music/TV archive which is currently at around 3TB. Need more hard disks..... :D.

I would hate to think I am 'brutal' in my honesty :(. Honest certainly with my opinions and I don't tend to pretty them up as a lot of people here do but I would like to think I am at least a little considerate of the others position / feelings. Considering the squeeling your husband has let on about coming from you, I would hope your HT is better than just 'ok'. I think you should have a very nice system there that is likely to give you much pleasure for a long time to come. When it comes down to it.... my opinion really doesn't matter as it is you who live with and must love it for your selection to have been a success. If you feel it is not that great, go demo a all-in-one system again and see the difference that most people are living with.

I imagine all the reno stress is taking some of the enjoyment away from your new purchases so maybe it is better to assess after everything is complete. I am still in the same position with stuff left to do.

Keep pushing and it will be completed. I have had the same experiences with two renovations in the last 4 years. After the second big payment has been made and there is very little cash left to pay, it seems hard to get anything arranged.

Chase your ID everyday. It is not your fault he is stressed. It is up to him to manage the work timetable and deal with troublesome companies. We moved in as they were painting our place. Literally boxes were being brought upstairs as they were painting the walls and ceilings downstairs. We also had to wait for months to get our bathroom mirrors. I suspect we are going to have a big struggle to get any sort of finish to the light box on the stairs as well. My point being that you are not alone or unique in your frustration as many people end up going thought this 'almost finished' period where it seems you just cannot get the job finished. Chase, chase, chase and it will get done.

Good luck, there are obviously many her routing for you and your hubby at this time. If nothing else, because they all want to come over and see your 'nothing special' :rofl: reno.

RB

Thanks for everything RB. Yeah, same thoughts - Need more hard disks!! Thanks to you, we saved quite a bit on the cables - these $30/4 work great, along with the 3 free HDMI cables that came with the TVs and AC Ryan.

We already specified a date for moving. We had a lorry arranged to move all our crap! We've moved quite a substantial stuff already - even The Husband's clothes are in the wardrobes but we realise we need to stop putting stuff in the house due to things going missing, and more exposed stuff means more to clean. There is always some form of plastering, sealing, drilling done and the cleaning is endless! I'm just going to keep a hawk's eye when they do touch up painting - Don't want my ceiling mounted speakers marred!!

I actually appreciate brutal honesty so it's no reflection on you :) I do enjoy your insightful input, and I believe many RT-ers have gained so much knowledge and guidance from someone so well-versed in the area of HTS, and being open about your opinions, even going the extra mile by providing links to unbiased reviews and such. You've always been so considerate in your comments (except to f******nuts - but that troll is simply annoying and I'm certain many are glad you're ballsy enough to repudiate his ridiculous remarks, or else we would all be buying hugely expensive anti-Brit systems with $200 cables). You're a joy to have around, and I'm sure you can teach me more than a thing or two about our system, and definitely about not having to change settings with every song/movie!

I hear you about the ID. Somehow I really don't feel it's *all* his fault? The Husband thinks differently and is getting too irked by his lack of coordination and communication problems with the different sub-cons. Everyone blames someone else so I don't know where things go wrong.

Thanks for the encouragement - it REALLY is not special! Perhaps the problems have dampened my enthusiasm for the home, but the more I look at it, the more cookie-cutter it seems. It's so... normal, and there's no false modesty here! (Afterall, no Queen is humble) :P

- Ely

 

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If initially have mistakes here and there, I understand maybe not ID's fault. After so much delays, he has to be responsible somehow.

You can be nice to them but have to be sure you are not too nice until they are bullying you.

Ya lah, pretty girls sure get to look at. Hehe.....you better protect yourself while you are there. Too many men around...

The more I look at mine flat, I also think it's cookie cutter too. Nothing special..... After looking at it for a while, everything looks the same, nothing special! But knowing you, I don't believe it's really nothing special! You already so special, queen of shopping!

Edited by May_dream1
 

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Really sorry to hear about your reno completion delays. I'm the last person to normally suggest this as I believe in giving people the full benefit of the doubt, but it seems from your posts that your ID is a bit incompetent. Your ID is paid to coordinate the project (and handle any associated stress related). Time to turn up the heat maybe? Can you go further up the chain or is this a one man outfit you've contracted? You should not be in the position of a mediator, that's the ID's role. Apologies from the ID without a clear forward plan with firm dates is just a form of excuse for non-performance. Hope this farce ends soon and you get to enjoy your place. Have really enjoyed your posts/pics and am very sorry you're going through this. Time to take off the gloves and get rough imo.

RMG

Hey RMG,

Thank you for your kind words. Really nice to hear how people are sympathetic and it makes me feel less isolated in my frustration and helplessness.

The ID is simply one in larger, popular firm on RT. I believe the company uses the same contractors, and the ID mentioned that this is the reason why he's leaving the company. Simply because he doesn't believe in working with certain sub-cons that the company exclusively use. Would feel like I'm betraying my ID should I try to go speak to someone higher in the chain. He has been nice to us so far, but I could just be a softie and he's exploiting that. :dunno:

You're right though - apologies without a forward plan isn't enough. I'll try to be more assertive and demand a firm date. When I'm speaking on the phone with The Husband and giving him updates, and I ask to let him speak to the ID direct, the ID goes through the whole "nononono" waving hands motion. The ID doesn't dare to deal with The Husband anymore so it's just me. :(

Am glad you enjoyed my silly posts and pics - never imagined anyone would be interested in pics of throw rugs :lol:! Now I'm a little worried as the ID is most likely going to do my parents' A&A project and I would hate to see my parents go through the same thing. My father is ex-military and can be extremely difficult to deal with, if there's such hiccups! Oh man, I cannot imagine how my father would react. :o

/gloves off

- Ely

 

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ely my dear ..

u are just too nice to them.

tell them no smoking means no smoking. full-stop.

its true, let your ID handle, coz it shouldnt be your job.

But you cant be too "overly-kind" on ur ID.

need to set down some expectations.

telling them, i dun care, by 1st June, things are supposed to be up!

frankly .. reno should be ease-free.. and not so headache like yours. :(

Some of the guys are really nice and hardworking though, so when they smoke, I just let them. I feel they're working so hard already and if they need a smoke, I should be understanding. Now I place ashtrays in the balcony and outside the house as a hint to indicate designated smoking areas haha!

Dunno how to enforce a deadline because we did - it was 14 May. We literally moved our stuff in, but it hasn't made a difference. I currently estimate the most feasible date as first week of June.

Actually, I've never heard of renos that are ease-free :lol:! Thought this was a common occurence.

- Ely

 

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If initially have mistakes here and there, I understand maybe not ID's fault. After so much delays, he has to be responsible somehow.

You can be nice to them but have to be sure you are not too nice until they are bullying you.

Ya lah, pretty girls sure get to look at. Hehe.....you better protect yourself while you are there. Too many men around...

The more I look at mine flat, I also think it's cookie cutter too. Nothing special..... After looking at it for a while, everything looks the same, nothing special! But knowing you, I don't believe it's really nothing special! You already so special, queen of shopping!

Well, you're the Deh Queen - that has got to be a lot more special since it requires mad skillz! And hello, you have the largest island, the biggest WIW and 2 king beds! How can that be cookie-cutter?! /smack

Um, no pretty to look at here. Seriously. I think it's only because I'm female - it beats looking at the carpenter or granite guy?

- Ely

 

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Well, you're the Deh Queen - that has got to be a lot more special since it requires mad skillz! And hello, you have the largest island, the biggest WIW and 2 king beds! How can that be cookie-cutter?! /smack

Um, no pretty to look at here. Seriously. I think it's only because I'm female - it beats looking at the carpenter or granite guy?

- Ely

Aiyah, that's what you all called me for fun. I didn't have any mad skills.... Or powerful skills....

Yours have special corners too, just that you didn't say much abt it nor pic to show. We will know when we go have a look.

As for mine, a lot of island, 2king mattresses are at the moment stacked together, instead of side by side and WIW is not big enough for real usage. So it become a cookie-cutter loh. Haha....

 

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Meanwhile, the updates will take longer than promised. We can only move in next week. Too many mistakes - the taps are not working, the glass doors are not up, the entire granite top has to be redone and refitted, mirrored vanities are not up, holes were not cut for the master bath's tap, BLUM system for dishrack is not here yet, things have gone missing and needed replacing - backsplash broke upon installation, shower shelf broke during installation, shower arm brackets were missing, light bulbs missing, switches were missing/miscalulated, T5 lights were wrongly calculated and needed to be replaced by some 2ft ones, even my Sony 3D glasses are missing!! The furniture from Hommage is wrongly made, and one side table needs major fixing. :angry:

I think I've now gone to a place where I'm completely ambivalent. The carpenter blames the ID, the ID blames the granite guy, the plumber blames the granite guy, the granite guy blames the carpenter. Everytime I'm told of a new mistake, I just nod and say "Okay". The Husband has become passive-aggressive so the ID doesn't dare to deal with him. We took leave yesterday for nothing as we couldn't do anything. Once I started on a cupboard, the island hood had to be installed, so I move to the dry kitchen, and the granite guy is there. The whole house is just filled with stuff we cannot unpack and assemble. Once we start cleaning, someone is drilling and whole mess is made. :bangwall:

I guess I'm also a lot more understanding. I feel that it's natural mistakes are made, and it's not *all* the ID's fault. He tries his best but there is only so much he can control. I was there when he insisted the granite guy installed the tops on Tuesday, but they simply didn't turn up till Thursday. :dunno: All that scurrilous phone call exchanges I overhear doesn't help anything or speed anything up. I simply just sigh and say my acquiescent "Okay".

So, another week. :huh: More than a month's delay. Did I mention the sub-title for my T-Blog is "A Fraught Adventure"? :lol: Oh, the irony!

THE POSITIVE THINGS

- Island hood was installed (though I had to pay for it)

- KEC came by as promised and set up the HTS properly. It was the highlight of my day :)

- New couch to arrive May 24, wallpaper to be installed next Friday.

- Still winning that bid on the art piece!! :P

- Ely

Sis Ely, very sorry to hear that, but there are definately positives too.... enjoy the process although sometimes the process do gets a little annoying.. .....

cool cool ok.... just think of the beautiful finish product - your beautiful home.... :yamseng: and I'm sure you'll feel great :)

 

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Hey RMG,

Thank you for your kind words. Really nice to hear how people are sympathetic and it makes me feel less isolated in my frustration and helplessness.

The ID is simply one in larger, popular firm on RT. I believe the company uses the same contractors, and the ID mentioned that this is the reason why he's leaving the company. Simply because he doesn't believe in working with certain sub-cons that the company exclusively use. Would feel like I'm betraying my ID should I try to go speak to someone higher in the chain. He has been nice to us so far, but I could just be a softie and he's exploiting that. :dunno:

You're right though - apologies without a forward plan isn't enough. I'll try to be more assertive and demand a firm date. When I'm speaking on the phone with The Husband and giving him updates, and I ask to let him speak to the ID direct, the ID goes through the whole "nononono" waving hands motion. The ID doesn't dare to deal with The Husband anymore so it's just me. :(

Am glad you enjoyed my silly posts and pics - never imagined anyone would be interested in pics of throw rugs :lol:! Now I'm a little worried as the ID is most likely going to do my parents' A&A project and I would hate to see my parents go through the same thing. My father is ex-military and can be extremely difficult to deal with, if there's such hiccups! Oh man, I cannot imagine how my father would react. :o

/gloves off

- Ely

Advice for what it's worth. It's your house and anyone including guests (much less employees) should behave with respect when they're in it...I think it not setting the bar too high to insist on discipline in the worksite. If you say no smoking that's what it should mean. This is your ID's responsibilty.

With all respect to your obviously kind nature, get your husband involved directly with the ID and light a fire under his butt. The "hand wringing" from the ID is not a solution. If the ID is incompetent the firm employing the ID is responsible and needs to take action to make rapid rectification. The ID is not your friend doing you a favour, he is providing a service for which you are paying handsomely.

From what you say, if I were your Dad I'd be well Pi**ed if someone so incompetent was given a personal referal to me! At the very least use this contract as a lever with your ID i.e. "either you deliver by XXXX or kiss the future opportunity goodbye" .

I am totally in awe that you maintain your sense of depreciating humour in the midst of all this...kudos to you.

Get your husband or ex-military Dad to take up the current unacceptable situation with the general management of your ID's firm; this is when family support counts and we all have different skills'strengths.

Hang in there! RMG

 

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