Any Brides whose HTB is 'Ang Mo'?

[spiderbaby]

Hi bride,
yea, let's hope that everything is really on track! lol ...yeap, we are also doing the traditional bits like the tea ceremony..coming fr a rather chinese traditional family...that's quite a must, i think! ..but we may do it away with the gate crashing thingy...coz Daniel's can be quite shy with strangers & esp when he's supposed to be in the "limelight" & most importantly of all, he doesnt hv "xiong di" or rather frds in SG...would be kinda weird if he merely turns up alone...that's why i thought it's better to do without it?!

hey thanxs much for the link ..some gfs of mine recommended Pine Garden as well...juz made a call & they said they will email me. Did you hv a wedding cake as well? Who did you order it fr ultimately?? Was it rather ex?? hmm, looks like i hv to go kaypoh over at yr site soon...kekeke...yr wedding was on the 07.07.07 hor?? was supposed to be ours too but we couldnt make it in time! :-/ ...did you hv yr wedding pics over at yr multiply?? the last time i kaypoh, dont hv leh??! :,(

Yeap, we did asked our hotel but they didnt hv a bakery themselves juz the dummy cake ...was a good thing that they aient charging us should we be bringing our own cake in ...or else i might really scream their head off ..lol



Hey NISA,
It's been a long time since i last saw you around on the forum...was still ab to ask has anyone seen Nisa around...lol ...hmm, or was it i havent been around the forum for a while?? kekeke ...oh well, i didnt quite get to see u over at multiply either??! But i reckon u must be busy, now that u are expecting a 2nd one ...i hv congratulated you, am sure?!! If not, here goes again CONGRATULATIONS =)...It's a girl? Lovely =) ..Am sure Elias wont mind..afterall, no matter boy or girl...it's definitely a blessing! Besides as he said, you guys can hv a 3rd one anytime.. ;o) ...just ask him to give you some rest first...lol

Sofi must hv really grown since the last time i saw her & she even pops back her pacifier nowadays??! oooh soooo sweet! ...Definitely deserves to be the mummy's gril ;o) ... Glad that everything's running well & fine over at yr end ...dont overtire yourself now that u are expecting ya ..Look aftery rself well & pls do send my regards to Elias & the little ones ;o)

thanxs much for the well wishes =) & our wedding webbie is at http://daniellisa.weddingannouncer.com/



Hi Emi,
lol ..that's how i can earn 5 stars huh?? Looks like i can only earn those stars after Oct then ;o) ... my make up good?! err, u may wanna wait till you see the whole face before you comment on that..LOL...really wasnt much of a make up lah ...i juz wayang my eyes & that's it..

Think we can start shaking hands...coz heavy make up sure is not our thing...was ab to tell that MUA that the make up looks wayang when i stopped myself in time...coz she being a German, i would hv a hard time explaining what is "wayang"! lol

As for the simplycupcakes..i email her a couple of times but i didnt get any reply hence i gave up...she's really busy it seems! :-/

Speaking ab suits...i dont know much ab in SG ...coz my hubby tailor his in HK ..but if my memory's serving me well, i think bride's hubby had his done in SG...u may wanna ask bride instead =)

Do you need any Actual day photographer?? I could recommend you mine, if you would like ...though i havent had the AD done yet in SG but i was happy with his past work ...shall send you his link over at multiply ya...you can take a look =)

 

[christie79]

hey Nikki you can try 'www dotvcheryl shuen dot com' actually i wanted to have her cakes but it's a bit ex cos fourseasons charges a 'cake slicing fee' per 'outside' cake served to guests. So in the end we found that it's more 'pocket friendly' to have the cake done by the hotel itself instead. And you can also try www.thepatissier.com

happy searching for the cakes!

Wah just looking at the cakes make me feel like planning for an anniversary cake now already hahaha!

Told hubby that we can try to get a different one every year

Congrats again Nisa! Ever tot of getting an apartment instead of renting?

 

[christie79]

opps sorry it's 'www dot cheryl shuen dot com'

 

[just_another_bride]

Nikki,

Any of your husband's male relatives coming for the wedding? Maybe they can be the 'xiong di'? I was worried that my husband wouldn't be too spontaneous and take part in the 'fun' (he can be a little impatient at times) but we talked about it and felt it might be weird if he just came and rang the door bell, maccham no fanfare and celebrations. So, we got his bros and another friend (sg) to help out. I also negotiated with my 'sisters' beforehand and ask them to be merciful. Yes, i am the first bride in Sg (apparently) to ask her sisters to be lenient! lol.

I have a link to my wedding photos on multiply. Too lazy to upload it onto the site lah. Search under 'links' i think. Heehee, or i can forward the link to you on multiply.

Emi,
Nikki's right, my husband had his wedding suit tailored in Singapore. Did it in 3 weeks but his tailor rushed his brothers (2 suits) in 2 weeks for them. She prefers to have more time but it can be done. His cost about S$600, but it really depends on what material is selected, etc. I'll pass on the details to you if you like. There are a few places in Peninsula Plaza that does suits, one that is quite popular with grooms as well but I am not sure what they charge. Anyway, husband was happy with his suit, which is great coz he also gets to wear it to work.

I've also got a list of wedding photographers somewhere, if you like, i can send that to you too! haha. Alternatively, there's a photography forum (clubsnap) you can look at which many of the singapore wedding photographers post at and you can see their work etc.

How exciting to be planning a wedding!

 

[just_another_bride]

Nikki,

oops, sorry, forgot to answer your question about the cake. We had cupcakes (from c cup) instead of the traditional wedding cake. We also used that as our wedding favours, and killed two birds with one stone. hehe.

 

[eminozy]

hello bride² and Nikki, thanks so much for the recommendation. Yes please , would love to get the contact. I have one as well, that i went to alter my suit pants a few years back called BALI tailor at peninsular.... will try calling her as well i think ...gna go ask around first but i think chris thinks your tailor sounds reasonable!

talk to u guys soon!

ps: i am having my wedding cake cupcake and giving away as favours too! yalah..so much easier! hehhehahah

 

[georginat]

hi nikki, welcome to the Mrs. Club !! you have promoted to become "tai tai Behnke' !! hows the feeling? ;-)

I knew a girl from another forum, she is getting marrie too and she just bought a 3 tier cake (7 kg lychee martini cake) from Pine Garden. It costs her $300 but you cannot tell them its wedding cake, if not, they will charge you higher. Most cake shops will charge higher for wedding cakes. But maybe you have to provide your own caketopper.

there is this cake shop called blue magnolia near my place @ macpherson road,think they are quite famous for their cupcakes too?

http://www.bluemag.net/orderform.htm. It has the contact number there.

 

[georginat]

managed to get the right website http://www.bluemag.net/

 

[liz4jeroen]

Hi EJ,

Sorry was in school and busy so only now I'm able to reply. Would u give me yr email so that I can email u my friend's contact? Do you need her to bring the keyboard as well? Or there's a piano there liao. I will tell her abt it. But I don't know what is her charges.

I also have a friend who bakes cupcakes too. But not nice to put her website here as there's rules here if they've not registered with them. Have to be careful, kena suspended b4. And if you want the photographer, I can reccommend you also, he's registered here, website is www.lyricalmoments.com. His name is Stephen Loh. You can also quote my name.

Nikki, I will email u her website and you can tell her that Elizabeth Ng from Church in Netherlands reccommended. But not sure whether she bakes 3 tier cakes, you've to ask her on that.

Ladies, got to go market liao. Till then.

 

[eminozy]

serious aahhh..can get suspended one? heheh. hmm i thought this is a place for brides to chit chat and tok kok. kekekek. just kidding. no worries... okiely dokiely . email is [email protected]

thanks eliz! really appreciate it!

 

[liz4jeroen]

hi ej m niki, I've emailed u the website and my friend's contact.

Ja I got suspended b4 lor. I think someone in the forum reported or complained. Well what to do! Just my luck. Have to explain to the administrator that it's non commerical, then I can get back my account. Dun dare to do it anymore liao. Doesn''t pay to help!

 

[cuclainne]

EJ: yah he knows - he jokingly said it's because he's in touch with his feminine side, that's why we're getting girls only .. hahaha ..

yah Elias loves children - he still stops other parents on the streets so he could say hello to their little ones. Sometimes it's embarrassing but I've gotten somewhat used to it ..

Having a car is sooooo convenient but it's also sooooo expensive! It cost us almost $80 to fill up the tank and it's already half-empty after a week ..

Nikki: wah you look so gorgeous in your gown and with curls .. will you be doing the same hairstyle for your Sg wedding?

Chrisl: we're trying to rectify the issue we're having with my money being tied up in my parents' flat (i co-own with my sister). in order to take my name out from that asset, my sister has to repay me all the money HDB has taken so far from my CPF - Elias and I have decided that we were going to fork out this amount because the money would go back into my CPF so we can purchase our own HDB when the time comes but with the property prices skyrocketing at the moment, we've decided to just continue renting and wait for the prices to go back down.

We found 2 lovely apartments. One is a 12th floor unit with private lift, unblocked view (can see skyline and Singapore Flyer in distance) - modern, contemporary apartment near my mom's place. The other is a 10th floor apartment at Compass Heights, above Sengkang MRT station, attached to Compass Point Mall - view of the pool. We've placed a bid for the first apartment and the agent has informed us today that we've gotten the apartment but Elias is apparently having second thoughts. I told him it's still not too late as we've not inked any deal yet so we can still change our minds but he said it's because both apartments are equally good so he's having difficulty choosing. Sigh!

 

[spiderbaby]

hi Gina,
thanxs for the link & the input ...will check it out ...btw if she didnt say it's a wedding cake, what did she say then?? esp with a 3 tier cake, it's usually for wedding, no??

as for how's the feeling of being Mrs Behnke?? ..lol ..pretty much still the same as before ...didnt quite think Mrs is for me...but oh well...it's all good ;-D


Hi Christine,
thanxs for the link..i called her but she said she's busy cooking??! ...would hv to call her again ...btw u do u by chance know how much she'sapproximately charging??


Hi Eliz,
thanxs for the input ...but err, i didnt seems to get the mail somehow ...where did u email it to again huh??


hey Nisa,
thank you for the kind compliment...now, i pai sai lah ;-D ...dont think i would be doing the same hairstyle for SG ...though if truth be told, i hv no idea what i wanna do with my hair as yet ...so hv to see how when i get back...any ideas?? ; )

so, hv u guys decided on which apartment to choose as yet?? the one attached to the Mall sounds pretty good, no?? you guys could go shopping, eat or jalan jalan as & when u like ...& the min u guys are tired, could juz pop back upstairs ...easy peasy ...NICE! ;-D ...

 

[cuclainne]

Nikki: I'm sure you'll think of something nice for your big day yah. Elias was just asking the other day how come we have not been to any weddings lately - he misses being able to gorge himself!

Well, we've put the bid on the apartment with the view but Elias continued having 2nd thoughts till the day we were supposed to sign the contract !!!!! Crazy! He even called the other agent to find out if the other apartment is still available but alas, it was already taken - we were outbid by $100. So he's taken it as a sign that we were not meant to take that apartment as he couldn't make his mind up fast enough and now someone else has beaten us to it. So to put his mind at ease, I asked if it would help if we took a 2nd look at the apartment before signing an agreement and we took my mom and Sofi along (he said Sofi must like the unit too - sigh!) .. anyways, when my mom saw the apartment, she was like, when are you guys moving in .. hahaha, she loves it too! So we've issued some cheques and signed the tenancy agreement and able to move in on the 10th. Now I just have to break the news to the agent and landlady on our current place ..

Now we're just renting and already he is sooo indecisive - i don't know how it'll be when we finally decide to purchase our first home .. i told him to think positively - after all it's only for one year and then if he wants a place at the condo near the mall, then we can always source for one again ..

 

[georginat]

nisa, now rent apt also need to bid?? wow!! rental prices must be high at the moment. Here also need to bid which i think its ridiculous...

nikki, i am not sure what she told the cake shop assistant, maybe she said its for birthday with 50 + friends rather than wedding? she is at 'advice on LDR" thread under 'matter of heart'.

me too, till now, noone calls me mrs. diez coz i always use my maiden name....i also didnt change names on I/C or passport, lazy lor...also troublesome...Luckily for spain, married women dont have to change their surnames to hubby's one, coz in spain, the kids will carry both father's and mother's surnames.

 

[cuclainne]

Gina: I didn't face this when i was out looking for apartments to rent two years ago .. wah, so difficult and expensive nowadays .. go for viewings until sianz .. somemore the owners ask for exorbitant prices for their places when a) it's out of the way and b) clearly needs reno. we viewed this ground floor unit at Chuan Park - owner was asking for $4K and they don't even have a working kitchen .. the kitchen doesn't even have a wall, the owner just put up a wire fence and there is a construction site at the back. so dangerous - i think if wind blows only, the wire fence will fall off .. plus i saw a lot of dead cockroaches .. aiyoh - no wall to separate the indoors from outdoors! Elias took one look and told the agent to tell the owner to reno the apartment properly if he even thinks someone is going to give $4K in rent per month.

 

[eminozy]

thats insane nisa. goodness. 4k for a place a month. i think its daylite robbery. i think if u have a chance of buying, it would be more worth it.
Good luck!


Question, How does one get your husband to get a long term visa even if the husband has no intention of working in Singapore? issit a difficult procedure? i heard its $40 only.
Coz we've been thinking of owning a HDB flat in Singapore! Who knows we might end up there for a few years and my folks have retired to Malacca so we have no where to stay when we go back. hehehehhaha. Why not, right?

 

[fruitchick]

Hi Chrisl, I am going back to Singapore this Friday and was wondering if you have the contact for the photographer who did your wedding reception photographs at Four Seasons? I know you had a package deal but my husband liked the photos that you had and I was hoping to get in touch with a few photographers to find out more when I'm back in Singapore. Am hoping to be able to finalise the photographer and then I will be sorted.

Anyone has a good recommendation for a makeup artist?

Nikki, I hope you don't mind me visiting your website. I see that you're living in Germany and speak fluent German. How did you pick that up? I have been trying to learn German for the past few years and to no avail! Any tips to share?

 

[fruitchick]

Ladies, I am reading Gina's comments on change of surname. Here in the UK, I have adopted my husband's family name as I was afraid that I would not get my indefinite leave to remain if I did not take his family name on. But I have kept my maiden name in my Singapore passport. Is anyone in the same position as me? Not sure the legality of this.

 

[liz4jeroen]

Hi Fruitchick,

U can try Stephen Loh from lyrical moments who is registered here. He did my photos.

I had a make-up artist who did my engagement but not sure is she free. If u like i can show u some of my photos n I can give u her email n u can check with her. You can tell her I reccommended u for both the make-up artist n photographer. She is v gd with eye brows.

Got to study, tomorrow another test. Ciao!

 

[liz4jeroen]

EJ, u can buy n rent it out to earn some money. Hee hee... we thought of that if we've the money.

 

[eminozy]

hehehehhhaha. Eliz, why u think we wanna buy a flat? hehehahahahhehe. u got it right spot on!

for name change, i am thinking of just adding his sirname in my passport without doing a legal name change.

fruitchick, try lettherebelight.com.sg
a friend of mine

 

[mrs_n]

Cuclainne $4K rent for an apartment!! The floor made of gold or what!!!

Anyway good that you have found a place that your Mum & Sofi likes! Looks like elias has been outnumbered by the women!

Anyway your new apartment sounds like a nice place with nice views. Also its going to be handy to be close to your mum now with pumpkin along the way. Happy moving.

Fruitchick there's no need to change name. Anyway singapore gov won't let you do it without a deed poll. I just added my married name to my passport and IC (all you need to do is bring your marriage cert to ICA. No need to do a deedpoll). I have both maiden (name given at birth) and married name on my IC and passport. I think its cool that I choose to travel in either my married or maiden name.

Like you I've adopted my hubby's name in the UK as it makes things so much easier. But my driving license is still in my maiden name. Too lazy to go and change it. Anyway with both names on my passport don't think it really matters. I tend to use my maiden name for S'pore matters. Anyway CPF when I told them about the name addition told me to just stick to using my maiden name because all the extra characters from the name addition was causing them computer problems!

Same for banks, insurance etc they couldn't care less about the married name addition so long as my original name was still on my IC.

Yeah Liz's photographer Stephen is really good. He's got real artistic flair. Worth checking him out.

Ha! Ha! Gina I think that's a common practise in Spanish speaking countries. My Mexican flatmate also had her mum's and dad's surnames. But she said for a girl, they will lose their mum's name and replace it with their husband's when they are married. Wonder why its always the ladies name that gets lost!!! They still retain their dad's surname though.

Wow Liz thought you just started school! So fast got test??

 

[christie79]

Hi ladies!

Nisa~Good for you! Found a nice place after all that tiring searches! Seems nice as near your mum's place so sometimes either you&Elias can go for makan or she can pop by

Wah $4k! Tell him to fly kite!!

EJ~ Im also thinking of getting an HDB with my hubby(yeah! it's good to be able to have a place to stay when visiting home right? hehe) but not sure of the procedure. But i heard as HB not local, can't get 1st hand apartments only 2nd hand ones..anyone more sure of this?

Fruitchick~You mean the AD reception's photos? Then it's not in the bridal package..I'll PM /email you more details!

A mth before getting married, i got my name changed (added a christian name and took away 'han yu pin yin' name) by doing a deedpoll, then after married, i used this deedpoll and marriage cert to the ICA to do up my new passport and IC cos expiring soon and as of my IC, the photo didn look like me anymore..

So i have 3 names in my IC&passport
1) name in chinese characters
2) name in english & christian name
3) married name (Mrs christine *original surname* *husband's surname*)

so as what Mrs n said, i can travel with any of my names..easy lah this way i think..

 

[christie79]

Nikki~huh?? Cooking? hahahah! Looks like her business grew so much that she boh chap new businesses anymore! ...hmm The other time i called her she quoted me around $400-500 for a 2 tier cake.

 

[margiel]

Hi ladies, im back in Melbourne now after my long break in Sg. Boxes of my belongings had arrived and are lying around in the house together with my still-unpack lugguages Havent really got time to organize them. Btw has anyone signed up mobtv? We just did so for a month to try, so far not too bad, just that u need to download ur episode/show b4 watching.

Cuclainne, happing moving to ur new apt. Ye $4K is too much, the owner can go fly kite oredi!!!

Fruitchick, i got recommendation for make up artist, more on natural and elegant look. Will PM u the details. Enjoy ur trip and eat more

Nikki, once again another congratulations here

Have fun on ur coming Sg Wedding!!

Hey Chrisl, I did the similar deed poll as urs except that i remove my chinese character name. So it is like one line (English/surname/dialet name) on my IC & passport. After reading so many of u with married name included in ur passport, hmmmm i'm having 2nd tots to do so too

Good Luck on ur test Eliz!!!

 

[georginat]

Hi mrs. N, ya, u r right..my hubby's surname is Diez Gomez, mine is Thang so next time our kids' surname will be Diez Thang..Gomez is his mother's surname..by the way, we have decided to give our kids chinese names !! of course will use my chinese surname !!

 

[mrs_n]

Hey EJ maybe you can check out this thread about applying for PR for foreign husbands on the Overseas Singaporean Portal. Looks like you can apply for PR for your hubby even if you don't live in SG! Dosen't allow me to put up the link here though.

Chrisl if you look on the HDB website on eligibility. It states that to buy a new flat from HDB the applicant has to be a Singapore Citizen and at least one member of your family nucleus must be a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident. So I guess your HB has to be a PR either that or wait until you have kids and then register them as Singapore Citizens. You'll be eligibile for a new flat then.

Hee! Hee! 3 names! I thought 2 was already bad enough. But then my original name was very long.

I didn't have my original surname on the 'Mrs' though. The lady at ICA just suggested that I be plain Mrs XXX XXX 'married name'. Hee! Hee! Thank goodness my hubby's surname is a short one. At least I can save on ink in that way.

Gina so how you going to call your kids next time? Your hubby use spanish name and you use Chinese name?

Margiel I have been procrastinating about MOBTV since I heard about it ages ago. But wasn't sure how it worked. Do you pay the subscription just once and you can download as much as you like? Or do you have to pay each time you download? I was reading their 'instructions' but wasn't very clear about what they meant.

About the married name addition. You can add it to your IC but its optional for it to be added onto your passport. You can choose not to. But as it doesn't cost you any more, might as well yah? When you renew your passport again you will still have that option to choose whether to have it in or not.

 

[eminozy]

hello... wah.today this thread is on bullet train speed!hehehehha.

I went to hdb the last time i was in spore, found out it's simple procedure wise with many options. If u go onto the website they will tell u step by step on what to do.

In my situation as I unfortuantely do not have a Sporean or PR husband. I am only eligible to buy a 2nd hand flat. Also, I may be granted half the grant for a start in order to buy my flat, and will only get the other half anytime my husband turned PR or Sporean OR i have a kid. I think the grant is about 30k, so halfed is 15k, which i think is still oklah... whatever i can get, i will not refused.

So, apparently for us to apply for the unit and grant, Chris have to have the long stay visa, and I am not sure if that means he have to find a job in Singapore as we have no intention of that for now. Both of us have to be working and more than 18 years old! hehehehahah

I am worried if we apply for a Spore PR for Chris, it would be harder for him to get an Ozie PR, or can we have both? Yup, am already a PR, for 3 years!

Gina, Chris is so bochap he dun care about names, he told me a few nites ago that he dun even mind changing his sirname to my dad's name- JOHARI. he said it sounds cute.... i went..what da..... u must be kidding! hehehhahaheh. hes a little wonder, my husband.

Margie.... of course ur boxes are still lying around, u went to the spring carnival yesterday! heheh go, go unpack! hehehehhaha

 

[cuclainne]

EJ, in order to buy a flat, HDB will only grant a housing loan if both income comes to less than $8K per month. If it exceeds this amount, then you have to borrow money from bank. Elias also found out that the bank will only allow the loan if he is a PR.

It should not be a problem for Chris to be a PR on both sides - I know someone whose husband is an Aussie PR and this year became a Singapore PR.

 

[eminozy]

aaaaaaaaaahhhhh..thanks about the bankloan....will get back to this thread later...

 

[cuclainne]

oh, another thing you should note about the bankloan is that the bank only loans 80% of the payment (price of apartment/ house) - the other 20% you have to pay from CPF and top-up with cash if CPF not enough.

 

[margiel]

Mrs N, for mobtv u need to subscribe to them before u can download. We did the 1 mth subscription to test it out 1st (S$29.90 per mth). Afterwhich u can acess to the prog menu and select which show from which chanel that u would like to download. Eventually u have to watch it from ur PC unless ur PC is linked to ur TV. It's quite easy and the quality is quite good

Emi, ya lah, we did do some organization of boxes. Guess what? They are shifted from the lounge room to study room for now ehheheeee.... at least better than nothng done right *lol*

 

[christie79]

Mrs N ~ thanks! Will do my 'homework' then closer to the time when we decide to have it ;P The lady at ICA took a look at my names and wonder if they could all fit in on one side of the card..she immediately was in doubt and sure enough! My name's on both sides of the IC haha but im happy with how it looks ;P. Have to make my $60 worth! ;-) Hey! it's always 'Pay and Pay' leh! keekkek so have to make my $ go the extra mile!

Margiel~wow seems like you're in the same mood i was in the other time when i reached norway, so much things to do and pack but in the mood to just 'stone' right? heheeehe luckily you got no MIL there cos my MIl came over to 'spot check' what i did periodically. kekekekke..;-)

 

[de_luxe]

Hello all!

Been busy cleaning up the appt after our vacation… our dryer has broken down and been repaired twice… it’s still not working!!! So it’s virtually impossible to get bedsheets washed cuz there’s no place to hang dry large items like these… contemplating sending them to the laundry instead… I think I need another holiday again… sigh… guess getting pretty xian with work and having to deal with clients’ politics…

Ohh… btw, our wedding photos will be published in the next issue of Female Brides. Think it’ll be out mid-Oct… can’t wait to get my hands on a copy… they are supposed to send me a complimentary one!!

nikki congrats on becoming Frau Behnke… it takes time to get used to the “Frauâ€. I’m definitely not used to it at all even now!! Where will you two eventually live after your S’pore wedding?

Chris1 How’s your classes coming along? Too bad your holiday got cancelled… couldn’t you travel during non-school hols period? Would probably be cheaper too… we usually can only travel during school hols since the HB is an academic…

Eliz your courses sound really interesting, albeit a little cheem… have you figured out any new business to replace your ring pillow one?

Margiel don’t think I’ve ever chatted with you before? Have you been living in Melbourne for long? I’ve only spent 4 days there abt 3 yrs ago, so not really familiar with it. We are considering moving to Melbourne tho still not sure if we’ll really do it cuz there are some other factors to consider. The visa application seems to be really complicated and I’m not sure what’s needed. Can you share more info abt Melbourne, e.g. income tax rates, employment (for me), housing… etc…

cuclainne good to know that you’ve finally found a suitable place… it sounds nice, guess it’s in the Tanjong Rhu area? When will you be moving?

Since we might be moving, we’ll have to give notice to the landlord… not sure if there’ll be any penalty as we have a 2-yr contract and it’s only coming to a yr now…

 

[cuclainne]

deluxe: hey .. me too! there is no place to dry the sheets in the apartment so we've resorted to sending them to the cleaners' ..

hehehe .. no la, we don't have the moolah to rent an apartment in tanjong rhu. it's actually near my parents' place (only 3 bus stops away) and within walking distance to serangoon mrt. we get the view cos we're located on the 12th floor and most the buildings in the vicinity are only about 3-4 floors high. it's great cos i don't have to change trains in the morning to get to work - even though we have the car now, elias doesn't want to use it unless we absolutely have to so it seems that i will still be pushing the stroller with the babes to and from work. imagine how horrible it is with a pram in rush-hour and having to change trains .. i remember that sometimes i have to squeeze just myself in and even then, there is no space to manoeuver.

we're going to start packing our things from today cos elias just came back from work trip to mumbai. our new lease begins on 10 Oct and we've just paid rent on the current apartment so we're just letting it overlap for a month while we sort out the moving. what does it say in your contract? i only signed a year's lease but we've stayed closer to 2 years .. this year, we didn't have a contract at all so the owner can't penalise us for moving out at short notice plus i think she's already made money from us cos we've paid her the higher rent (1K increase) for 2 months already.

where are you heading to? how's the job situation with your DH?

 

[christie79]

Heheh Deluxe im a little bored with my lesson ... well up and downs lah..like today it's ok..cos all turned up no absentees and as for last friday i was the only one! Read my rantings on my blog...hahaha

yeah another thing is the holiday we thought of going initally but the airticket's fully booked for that week. But the good news is the airline is having promotion again and this time we're making sure that we're going to do our homework quick..it'll be a few days away to marseille during another weekend in November (i have some days off school that week too) Yea!

Wow! Cool! You're featured in the bridal magazine! I had somewhat gotton a habit of getting copies of bridal magazines to read ever since i started planned my wedding last year. heheh it is so nice to read about other couples and their weddings and not to mention the tips and ideas...And now i have all those thick mags on my cupboard just for memories..heheh..

Nisa think the rents really are up so much these days, i remember once i rented a furnished service apartment in fort Rd which has private lift to the living room + 2 bedrooms cost about $1500 a month when Gaute's here (that was about 2 years ago) but now it has increased to double the amt now recently! wah..

 

[eminozy]

hey hey!

heheh. Nisa, i think i will not work to get the bankloan! hehehahhahahehe, if that helps. I am so cialat. Happy October everyone.
Last night I said to Chris, U wanna know something funny? Will be married for 6 mths in 2 days time! hehehahhahaheheh.Funny thing is we only been physically together since married for 2 months. Talk about sacrifices! Surreal!

Wow Deluxe, congrats on having ur fotos in Female. How does one gets such gigs? Will we be able to see it online as well?

Chrisl, $1500 for an apartment like urs 2 years is non-existent now in Singapore. Cruel world it is! Fort Road is so nice.

heheh. THANKS MARGIE! After the husband-wife tag team interrogated my site, my german cupcake site is at last launched. hehehe . its on multiply!

 

[de_luxe]

cuclainne think i know which condo you're referring to... the area is pretty convenient with all the neighbourhood shops within walking distance...

things still uncertain on my end... just waiting for news and then see how... the most likely possibility is melbourne but we're not sure yet, depends if any other opportunities arise in the meantime i guess.

There are 2 clauses in the contract. One says if it's terminated prematurely, we are liable for the agent's fees. And another one says that after 1 yr, 2 months notice is required if the tenant's employment in SG has ceased, but nothing mentioned abt penalty in this clause so have no idea if this is to be read in conjunction with the earlier clause or not. But i guess it will benefit the landlord if we were to move cuz she definately be able to get higher rents now.

chris good to hear that you will get your holiday... eat lots of boullabaise and steak frites in marseille...

EJ dun think the pics are available online.. i guess it's gonna be featured in their real weddings section.. all you gotta do is to send a CD rom of your pics to them for consideration. They take a really long time to review tho... think i sent mine in almost a yr ago and completely forgotten about it till they emailed me recently.. maybe u can try ur luck too!

 

[margiel]

Chrisl, pretty true, good thing i dun have in laws staying near me or else i think i might freak out having being staying on my own for 10 over yrs ever since parents passed on. ;P
Hey got holiday to look forward? Dats great! At least can compensate ur boredom at language class hehee..

Hi Deluxe, me oso dun think have spoken to u before *Hello hug*

Am currently in Melbourne since July but went back to Sg in Aug and now back again. So Melb is on ur list? Quite a nice place to leave in. Property prices are still increasing, unemployment rate is low i supposed as jobs are everywhere if you are not particular. As for income tax, im not so sure. If u are talking abt living in Melbourne, i would say it has a combination of a metropolitan and multi-racial city with beautiful scenic outskirts.
Are we able to see ur pic on the coming Female Brides? Scan and post here?

Cuclainne, are u doing the moving on ur own or by some professional movers? I got a contact for moving house, very professional as they will give u brand new boxes of 3 sizes, rolls of bubble sheets, tapes and wardrobe boxes!! yes u can hang ur dresses into those wardrobe boxes. My friend used them last month moving out from a maisonette flat and it cost her abt $400 including the moving services. They oso do the packing for u if u just want to sit back and relax but additional charges i think. Happy House Moving!

Emi, hope ur cakes sell well. Have u started pasting up ur posters? My hubby seems more excited for ur new site, probably it's written in his mother tongue lah heheee...

Btw i have posted the link to my Melbourne wedding pics over my Multiply. We are still looking at dates for next yr Sg wedding, guess the preparation has to start soon again.

 

[georginat]

hi mrs.N, ya, our kid will have 'rojak 'name !! i mean let the kid has chinese character name..

Deluxe..tax in oz is high , at least 25% (for $70,000 a year)depending how much u earn,, the more you earn the
higher the tax, up to 45% i guess. I heard from my sis (she is a professor in NUS), the pay for academic in oz is not as high as in sg. 3 mths ago, i saw from the newspaper ads, ANU (the best uni in oz) looking for a lecturer and the pay is about A$68,000 - 75,000 (they advertised the pay range too)and should have PHD degree..to me, its low pay (taking the high tax into consideration)the pay should be more than A$85,000 coz need to consider the tax, the rental, the airtickets to go back sg every year..the cost of living is high here. But if both of u working, then should not be a problem ( each party earns at least $60,000 to $80,000 a year is good enough)the bonus is 41.5% tax, so for eg, if you have year end bonus, it will tax at 41.5% instead of usual income tax...

 

[cuclainne]

Christine: Those were the days when rental were quite cheap. I remember seeing a two bedroom apartment, recently renovated, at Cairnhill going for $1.9K and another 4-room apartment behind Four Seasons Hotel going for $2K. Now you can't find apartments in or near Orchard Road for that price .. it's usually $4K and up.

EJ: I wish I didn't have to either .. hahaha .. when Elias went to the banks to check it out, the calculations made for the loan amounts were on the basis that I would stop working but I don't think I can do it leh ..

Deluxe: Yeah I think after one year, it should be ok as long as you give ample notice .. if it's written in your contract then it should be fine. I've written to our current agent and the landlady - waiting for their replies ..

Margiel: could you give me the contact for the movers? Elias reckons we could do it on our own .. he has a few boxes left over from his relocation and told me that we could pack some things, move them to the new place, unpack and then bring the boxes back to the old place to pack more things .. argh! I would have much preferred to do the moving at one go .. we're getting the keys on the 10th and Hari Raya is on the 13th, the packing/moving is driving me completely bonkers!

 

[margiel]

Hi Cuclainne, have PM you the mover's details

 

[cuclainne]

Received, THANKS!

 

[liz4jeroen]

Hi ladies, the thread is like a speed train! Ha ha ha...

Gina, it's like that. Over here is the same. Ever since they have converted to euro, the salary got slice by half. It's according to the exchange rate, it doesn't matter whether the standard of living is higher. I was like geezzz... that is not fair. Crazy! Well... like Jeroen said when u go to sg, the exchange rate is double, and when sg comes here, it's slice by half. True the currency rate is stronger. but still...this is how the economy is... sigh! Plus the inflation!

Deluxe, so cool! ja must post yr photo here! Other biz...hmmmm... recently i saw this lady makes her own natural soap... i joke with my hubby maybe we can also do that and sell them in sg hahaha... if i have the time.... must say ebay n amazon charge such high commission only can sell in holland where it's free. SIGH! SIGH! SIGH! biz is super slow...

Mrs N, about the test. This is just being offered by the examiner board where I just try the higher level exam. I made a lot of grammar error and structure and spelling. O well! As for reading, it's the same except a few questions and the last text. I doubt I make it to that level.

Has anyone done a critical literature review paper here? Need some tips on it! Assignment due on 12 oct.

Talking abt hse. I heard from my mum that everything in sg, the prices have gone up and things r getting more expensive.

I have to get back to my readings. Lots of research n readings to be done!

 

[cuclainne]

EJ: look at this .. http://perfectfairycakes.blogspot.com/

 

[just_another_bride]

Hi Elizabeth,

I might be able to help, but be warned, my writing and ability to think critically is a bit rubbish at the moment. I've got you on multiply right, drop me a line there?

 

[liz4jeroen]

hi bride bride,

hahaha... if found out i do have multiply today. Blur blur! But I still dun know how it works yet. How do i drop u a line he? Thks.

 

[eminozy]

Oh my god nissa.. this is paradise.. i hate all those garish cupcake.. this is definitely a beautiful collection to my taste... wahhhhhhhhh so pretty. i like.. thank u.thank u..thank u...

 

[de_luxe]

Just attended one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve ever been to in SG… very simple church ceremony but very nicely done. The church had a stained glass cross at the front so when the couple was getting blessed after exchanging rings, the sun shining through on them just made the scene so other-worldly and beautiful. The bride gave an extremely moving speech and I had tears in my eyes when she finished. I still kick myself for chickening out of my dinner speech… grrr… didn’t have time to write one and then got too nervous to go impromptu… of cuz the HB’s speech had to leave out pple I needed to thank. *ouch!*

cuclainne dryer has gone to the workshop again… hope it works properly when it’s returned. Otherwise… grrrrr…. Dun understand why developers can’t build a decent service yard or drying area in condos as it’s such a waste of energy to use dryers in countries in S’pore. My in-laws dun even own a dryer in Germany cuz they’ve got plenty of space in the attic to air-dry…. Talk abt global warming!!! The condo mgmt keeps sending notices to residents not to display their drying stuff in public areas but what to do??!? They shld have provided one of those retractable indoor hanging systems from the beginning… since they could provide ovens and such, what’s a couple of hundreds more for such a hanging system?!?!?!

Suggest using a mover instead… esp since you are pregnant and with a child in tow, not good to bend up and down, else you may overexert urself…

Can still do a partial move first if Elias wants, like the not so bulky stuff and stuff that you guys dun use often. Then all the big and troublesome items can be left to the movers to do after Hari Raya… is this a workable solution?

margiel yeah Melb is on the list… also have other places but no firm offers from these places yet… Are rents high in Melb? We’re fine with living outside the city as long as it is convenient w shops within walking distance… I heard from a colleague that rented homes are usually unfurnished – true or not? We’ve some furnishings now but wouldn’t mind buying some there if the landlord wants to take over some of the items here. The same colleague told me income tax is approx 28-35% for the salary bracket that we’re looking at but we can claim lots of rebates. He said he had more money in the pocket back there compared to in SG!

Hmm… since unemployment rate is so low, might have to think of working for myself as a potential alternative – own time own target is always better. I’m not particularly fussy abt work, tho I do have certain expectations e.g. must be something that involves brain work not something like data entry – I will die of boredom!! Think worse to worse I take courses to occupy myself

think positive!!

Do you often encounter racism? I’ve had my fair share of it back in France and I’m not looking forward to another round of such nonsense…

Will try to scan and post the article. It’s the limited uploadable file size that’s a problem usually. Have no idea what they wrote abt me! Hahaha!

Wah.. ur mover rate very good leh… similar to KC Dat’s services but like 25% of the cost!! KC Dat is $2K plus and they help you pack but not worth it if you dun have much cuz their packages are not flexi.

How big/small is ur wedding in SG? Need any help?

georgina thanks for the tax tip… the 41.5% on bonus is astonishing and very painful… ah yo yo!!

The HB has a PhD so qualifications not an issue… it’s true that academics earn more in Asia than in western countries, same in Europe. They also command less public respect – dunno why leh.

Have to work out our sums based on only 1 income in case I can’t find a job. You’ll never know right? Or if we have kids there I wouldn’t be able to work cuz we definitely can’t afford and dun want to have a maid taking care of our kids. I heard from a fren that Australia is a lot more child friendly than Germany. She has 2 kids and lived in Melb for 2 yrs, returning recently to Hamburg. She was telling me how amazed and disturbed she is by the general German attitude to kids: their presence is tolerated, but they are to be seen and not heard… which is quite disturbing for me too… would certainly prefer a family-friendly environment.

liz you can subscribe to the weekly newsletter from www.springwise.com. It’s a trend spotting site and has lotsa biz ideas you could implement

Sorry can’t help re your lit review assignment… I can write but not review! Hehehe!

Oh yah.. everything is more ex these days… even Starbucks doesn’t sell “Short†hot drinks anymore, only Tall, Grande and Venti. Wat to do the govt keep saying that economy is gd, rise GST and focus on bringing in all these high-end developments… I’ll be surprised if things dun get more ex. I’ve heard more than enough abt the next new high-end shopping mall… isn’t paragon enough? Who has all the money to buy branded stuff all the time??? And I still disagree with the 2 stupid IRs… They will only add to the labour crunch in the hospitality industry…