touchdown
Good news from J, just as The Bun and I left Geneva: our application for Apartment 1 was approved! Now for the rest of the paperwork (reviewing the lease - in French - and signing it), getting some minor repairs done, paying for the furniture and working out delivery dates, so on and so forth. Moving is really exhausting. Some people change postings every couple of years, and I can't imagine how they do it.
Last Friday the three of us returned to the apartment for a second viewing. The first time round, we were too busy being awed by its size and the view to notice the details much. It was also the first apartment we saw so our brains hadn't warmed up yet and we kind of just sleepwalked through the viewing. This time round, the concierge (aka the superintendent) let us in and we spent almost an hour and a half in it, taking measurements and photos of all the fittings in the place. J and I joked that we had better get this apartment, what with all the time and effort we were pouring into it. And with that second viewing, I knew for sure that, even with its price, this was the place for us. The kitchen was quite recently renovated with lots and lots of cabinetry, and there were built-in wardrobes and cabinets in every bedroom and bathroom, which saves us money because we don't need to buy wardrobes or dressers. There are a total of four bedrooms and four bathrooms, which will no doubt mean that I will be cleaning or dusting a set of rooms on any given day. 230m² of space to clean and declutter, one room at a time.
The Bun, drawing at the partition between the living and dining areas.
J and I were holding our breaths pretty much for all of last week, waiting in anticipation for the good news to come. There's a disclaimer on the lease application form that the regie (realtor) is not obliged to provide any reason for rejecting an application, so if we were turned down, it would not only be disappointing, but baffling. We were even in the process of setting up more appointments for other places that were mostly what we considered third-rate, but all our other choices had either been taken or had other issues, so if this apartment hadn't come through, J would be going through another set of viewings all over again, and rushing through things so that he could get it all settled before he comes back to Singapore.
I'm quite glad J and I also managed to settle on some furniture before I left. He was a bit stressed because he didn't want to pick the 'wrong' designs and then get nagged by me for the next three years, haha, but we're mostly in agreement about the furnishings so I don't envision too many 'wtf were you thinking?' scenarios. Hopefully. The one thing nagging at us are the mysterious lighting points that simply emerge out of the middle of the wall, not the ceilings. We've asked around about doing some rewiring to the ceiling but it seems improbable, so we may have to settle for some wall lamps (?!) and standing lamps, which worries me because if Bao at seven months is capable of opening the oven door, one wonders what she could possibly do at eighteen months - scale the lamp in the living room?
On another note, The Bun did pretty well on our return journey, better than I expected. Maybe it's best to go with very low expectations when traveling with small children. He had to wake at 5.45am so that we could catch the train to Zürich, and although waking him that early was a pain, it worked out in our favour in the end because he slept a bit on the three-hour train journey, and then napped four to five hours on the plane later on, tired out by the inflight entertainment system. When we got home it was 7.45am and I just put the both of us to bed and we slept till 1.30pm. I'm not sure how he'll sleep tonight - hopefully no dawn wakings for him, because Bao's back home and she'll be the one waking at dawn.
Speaking of Bao, when my mother brought her home in the afternoon she simply stared and stared at her brother and I with an air of skepticism - 'hmmm, do I know you?' After about an hour she warmed up and was smiling and leaning towards me to be carried. I only left her for twelve days and she seemed to grow so much - crawling now like a pro, pulling up to stand on anything that will stay still long enough for her to grab, and even attempting to cruise when she's standing in her crib. According to my mother, she is also much better at swallowing her purees now. How fast they grow. I couldn't stop cuddling her tonight.
It's probably going to be a bumpy night ahead since Bao is readjusting to being back in her old crib (she cried at bedtime because she couldn't settle) and The Bun is jetlagged and a bit sniffly. I'm feeling pretty buoyant about the apartment though, so that will see me through the night.
Last Friday the three of us returned to the apartment for a second viewing. The first time round, we were too busy being awed by its size and the view to notice the details much. It was also the first apartment we saw so our brains hadn't warmed up yet and we kind of just sleepwalked through the viewing. This time round, the concierge (aka the superintendent) let us in and we spent almost an hour and a half in it, taking measurements and photos of all the fittings in the place. J and I joked that we had better get this apartment, what with all the time and effort we were pouring into it. And with that second viewing, I knew for sure that, even with its price, this was the place for us. The kitchen was quite recently renovated with lots and lots of cabinetry, and there were built-in wardrobes and cabinets in every bedroom and bathroom, which saves us money because we don't need to buy wardrobes or dressers. There are a total of four bedrooms and four bathrooms, which will no doubt mean that I will be cleaning or dusting a set of rooms on any given day. 230m² of space to clean and declutter, one room at a time.
The Bun, drawing at the partition between the living and dining areas.
J and I were holding our breaths pretty much for all of last week, waiting in anticipation for the good news to come. There's a disclaimer on the lease application form that the regie (realtor) is not obliged to provide any reason for rejecting an application, so if we were turned down, it would not only be disappointing, but baffling. We were even in the process of setting up more appointments for other places that were mostly what we considered third-rate, but all our other choices had either been taken or had other issues, so if this apartment hadn't come through, J would be going through another set of viewings all over again, and rushing through things so that he could get it all settled before he comes back to Singapore.
I'm quite glad J and I also managed to settle on some furniture before I left. He was a bit stressed because he didn't want to pick the 'wrong' designs and then get nagged by me for the next three years, haha, but we're mostly in agreement about the furnishings so I don't envision too many 'wtf were you thinking?' scenarios. Hopefully. The one thing nagging at us are the mysterious lighting points that simply emerge out of the middle of the wall, not the ceilings. We've asked around about doing some rewiring to the ceiling but it seems improbable, so we may have to settle for some wall lamps (?!) and standing lamps, which worries me because if Bao at seven months is capable of opening the oven door, one wonders what she could possibly do at eighteen months - scale the lamp in the living room?
On another note, The Bun did pretty well on our return journey, better than I expected. Maybe it's best to go with very low expectations when traveling with small children. He had to wake at 5.45am so that we could catch the train to Zürich, and although waking him that early was a pain, it worked out in our favour in the end because he slept a bit on the three-hour train journey, and then napped four to five hours on the plane later on, tired out by the inflight entertainment system. When we got home it was 7.45am and I just put the both of us to bed and we slept till 1.30pm. I'm not sure how he'll sleep tonight - hopefully no dawn wakings for him, because Bao's back home and she'll be the one waking at dawn.
Speaking of Bao, when my mother brought her home in the afternoon she simply stared and stared at her brother and I with an air of skepticism - 'hmmm, do I know you?' After about an hour she warmed up and was smiling and leaning towards me to be carried. I only left her for twelve days and she seemed to grow so much - crawling now like a pro, pulling up to stand on anything that will stay still long enough for her to grab, and even attempting to cruise when she's standing in her crib. According to my mother, she is also much better at swallowing her purees now. How fast they grow. I couldn't stop cuddling her tonight.
It's probably going to be a bumpy night ahead since Bao is readjusting to being back in her old crib (she cried at bedtime because she couldn't settle) and The Bun is jetlagged and a bit sniffly. I'm feeling pretty buoyant about the apartment though, so that will see me through the night.