Okay, I'm going to have to be honest here.
Out of all three places I have stayed, this one- ChaletHouse- has been the most difficult to write so far.
It's not because the place itself isn't good.
Neither is it because there's nothing good about the place.
It's just that there've been things going on and which- worrier that I am- find it hard to just push through and push on.
That's always been a problem of mine, by the way- I thought I had it settled late last year- but the first few months of this year have taught me another lesson.
Manna.
Daily Manna.
The days of Wilderness have ended, thank God, and it should not be too long before the Promised Land is beneath my feet.
But still, I haven't had the best of moods to write about ChaletHouse as much as I wish to.
We're four months into our stay here now.
Very soon another four months will swing by and it will be almost time to leave.
So now, I suppose, is a good time to write about our stint thus far here.
To be honest, I have no idea where to begin.
But let's just say it was a great idea that we worked out how our living arrangements would be.
Given how the house is designed, whilst some might have felt it best to stick to the norm- where the bedroom, living room and dining areas be appropriately placed, we had thought it wiser to put the bed in the hall together with the desks, the fridge and the dining table.
Originally in early days we had had the MUJI table placed horizontally alongside the bed, which, as you can see, takes centerstage in the large hall, finally facing the television that in the previous place never saw as much usage as this place now.
But four months in and the the MUJI table plus bench is sold, gone, and in place we have a sort of movable desk for him, plus a chair that makes one stiff to an extent that I've thrown a cushion on it for the back.
I haven't had a picture of that new desk yet though.
If you're wondering about such and such an arrangement, no, it doesn't feel awkward- not when the whole setting reminds one of a serviced apartment- just without the modern furnishings, the partitions, the nicety curtains, or cabinets of the kitchenette against the wall.
One of the greatest charms about this place has to be the balcony.
We have two- one in the hall, one in the room.
I don't go to the room balcony much- it holds some foam left behind by the previous tenant- but the hall balcony I go much more.
I comb my hair there.
It's easier to have it fly out than to have the strands flying around.
What I love very much about the balcony is how from one angle it looks towards East Coast Park, and from where I stand I get to see one side of Parkway Center, and the line of trees beyond it.
Also, the planes.
The planes were one of the things I liked very much about our previous place, and now that I get to see them little red blinking lights at night as they make their descent to Changi Airport, I am thankful.
There's not very much to see the other side of the balcony, but I think I get to see parts of this condo at Eunos somewhere in the distance.
In this home here we each have our own spaces.
The desk where I sit doubles up as a dressing table where I spritz the face mist, the body mist, do the lotion and the contact lens.
It is also where I do a bit of necessary writing and sort through the diary organizer.
On the shelves above are three fiction books (that I don't dare throw away), two little bags that hold random stuff and my camera equipment, and a couple of boxes that hold my jewelry, makeup stuff, more random girly stuff, and barang barang that I don't use but also don't know why I still have.
What's changed here is that I've got the diary propped up under the desk lamp where previously I had had it kept slightly out of sight until necessary.
There is another desk here.
But it's not mine.
The (supposed) writing table- so reminiscent of Gonggong's own writing table at Realty Park- holds the printer and the scanner, with my clothes in the box underneath it.
Yes, I still don't put my clothes in a cupboard. I don't think I have ever hung up my clothes- I can't remember- but for the longest time now they have remained folded- first in a trolley bag that I brought around a lot of places, then afterwards in a box- and since 2023 has been in the very same dark plastic box that holds most of my clothes now.
Much of our life takes place in the hall.
Why not, when the dining table is in the hall, when the fridge is in the hall, when the TV and most of what we use is also in the hall?
We sleep in the hall, we eat in the hall, we watch TV in the hall, we work in the hall, and recent times we have begun cooking in the hall as well.
Don't laugh.
That's how we made it to be.
But it wasn't always like this.
We had actually begun our stint here cooking in the kitchen- induction stove, frying pan, all- but after a few tries the chef said he felt uncomfortable standing over the stove in the kitchen (so close to the bathroom) so we decided we'd shift the cooking out to the hall instead.
Why not?
It's 2026.
We don't have to stick our a** in the kitchen if we don't want to.
We don't have to stand over a stove in a single place if we're uncomfortable.
Especially since now we've got all the tools to help us along.
I have always believed in the strength of portable, easy to use, plug and play style of cooking utensils.
Now, more than ever.
So we've brought out Little Black Grill and Little Blue Pot from their boxes, kept the induction stove back into its box, and put aside the pan. Now whenever we want to cook we simply bring either one from its place next to the sink out to the hall.
So far we've used only Little Black Grill for the shallow fried minced beef and rice.
But I intend to bring out Little Blue Pot for the instant noodles, and the yet to buy char siew paus and siew mais.
I'd like to try ramen with siew mais and cuttlefish balls again.
It's been far too long.
Of course, not being able to cook in the kitchen doesn't mean the kitchen is bad.
It just means that instead of standing there too long, it is a lot of popping in and out. We stay in there long enough to prep the food, stir in a bit of stuff, throw plates into the microwave or the oven, leave, then come back again.
Also, it makes for not too bad a storage space- dim and cool- even if the air be a bit too still sometimes.
On our own shelves we have all our herbs and powders and whatnot.
We have our minimal bowls and plates and cutlery, as well as a bit of canned stuff that I keep in the drawers but hardly take out.
Some of the things we hardly use, and hardly see.
Like the food containers and aluminum foils on top of other people's fridge (which, by the way, I never open).
I think I'll pause here today.
The vibes of Chalethouse ain't finished yet however- there's still the bathroom and the bedroom but I think I'll keep them for another day.
There may be more to write about, and my brain doesn't have the capacity right now.