Moving … Again
Today, R and I moved most of my personal belongings out of Aquarius. I can’t believe it’s been three years since I moved here. It almost seemed like yesterday that Papa, Mummy, Dominic and I painted the apartment. And it only took three trips on a Vios to move my things to Cavenagh.
I remember the first few months here, where I spent alternate days between a semi-furnished apartment and Yishun. I didn’t have a car then, so it took a little getting used to travelling to Bedok Reservoir. Then, GN was still located in Martin Road.
I started with a vision of a home in my own image where I could make a living space that had the things I considered important around me - my books and music. I pored over design magazines and read books on home furnishing, even the encyclopedic A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander which described how various living spaces could be designed to fulfill a desired function. I enlisted the help of Ikea’s home designing service to put everything together, and in the end, I was very pleased with how it turned out.
My first night in the apartment, I took a walk around the swimming pool, sat down and gave thanks for the blessings that I have been granted. It was almost unimaginable when I started working that I would one day own my own home, especially in expensive Singapore.
Yet, a home was always an ongoing project. There were plans that were never completed - for example I left a space for an audio system in the spare room, which I never filled. The small mini-compo in the living room served well enough and I could not find the time to or inclination to spend on an audiophile system. And to be honest, I don’t miss it either.
And I did not cook or entertain as much as I would have wanted. My limited kitchen served only meagre meals that I cooked for myself, and the small living room could only accomodate five guests at best. But when I was dating R, it served us well - it allowed us to share a private space away from the crowded cityscape. I still remember how she started to make plans (”nesting” she said) for moving into Bedok, before I was called to California.
Now, I’m renting out the apartment next weekend and leaving much of the furniture and utensils behind. Tonight may be the last night that I spend here and I will always remember it well.