Tip for getting a restaurant when it's packed in Singapore

Ask for a table outside.

For some reasons that I can't understand people prefer to have a table inside, where there is air conditioning.
I came to this country so I would not be cold anymore, which sadly I have to face each time I am inside a building. So when I go out for dinner, I want to enjoy the warmth of the terrace in the evening with the little breeze. No eating inside with goose bumps and purple fingers.
As it turns out, this helps when making a reservation because most restaurant will still have space outside while they are fully booked inside.
Something I will remember for the future.

Two forks, two spoons

Yesterday after a smooth flight from Paris we arrived in Singapore. We were picked up from the airport to go to Pan Pacific Serviced Suites, the service apartment where we will live for the next two months, until we find an apartment and our container arrives.
Pan Pacific is located on Orchard road, i.e. we will spend the coming two months in the middle of all the shopping centers.
The apartment is small (especially compare to what we are used to) but manageable. There is a hallway where all our shoes are nicely lined up. A walk through kitchen followed by a small living room and a bedroom. The place reminds me of the apartment Alice and some other colleagues had at Somerset in Beijing. Style is overall modern but I find that there could be more light in the place. I guess light has been designed dim to create a lounge feeling.
Breakfast is included in the hugely expensive rent for the month so we tried it out this morning. It was ok with some fruits, toasts, cereals and possibility to eggs or omelette prepared upon your wish. The only negative is that breakfast is not open on Sundays, which paradoxically would be one of the two days of the week we could enjoy a long breakfast.
The funny story of the day, or shall I call it the Asia moment of the day, is the following.
As my mom pointed out the place is designed thinking that people will eat out, i.e. not much cooking involved. As a consequence the kitchen is equipped with the minimum kitchen appliances and two forks, two spoons, two knives, two glasses, two plates, etc. Two pieces of the basics needed in a kitchen.
This morning one of the first things I did was to ask for more cutlery and dishes. Even one person cannot survive the day with two forks or two glasses. When I mentioned it at the reception, I asked for more cutlery because two forks and two spoons are not enough. They said they would bring some more.
And they did. Now we have four forks, fours spoons, two knives, two teaspoons. It seems I should have been either more or less specific in my request to ensure we would get more cutlery (read all of them) as well as more dishes.
At least I had a good laugh when I opened the drawer.
Tomorrow, let's see whether we can get everything doubled.

Traveling light

2 large suitcases
1 medium suitcase
3 trolleys
2 backpacks
That's it. I'm sure I had more when I left for China.

Bye bye Meise

Apartment is empty, container is full and sealed.
We gave the keys back and signed all the papers.
We unregistered at the town hall.
We officially no longer live in Belgium.

One last look at the cows in the field behind the house and we left.

Bye bye Meise.

Packing time

Today is second day of packing.
Today the movers came with two extra guys.
Right now as I write those lines, four men are busy in the apartment finishing packing everything we have. Well almost everything as a big part of it is in our numerous suitcases and backpacks. We have to keep the most important close to us.
It is a bit surreal to see one's life being pack so quickly.
It is impressive how cat hair really get everywhere. Each time they lift a piece of furniture, half a Mokka is coming from behind :) which reminds me how much I miss my kitty-cats.
It's fascinating to see the container outside and think that all our belongings will fit in there by the end of the day.

PS: Wolfram has plenty of spare time for pictures, thus I leave it to him. I still have a couple of reports to read before I close things in Belgium.

Ecole du Dos - Done!

Today was my last session at the Ecole du Dos.
It's been four months since I started, three with the practical sessions.
While I still have back pain and some days (like now) are worse than others, overall it did help and if I keep on doing the exercises at home, it should keep on helping.
I've done the final test showing great improvement. If I had stayed in Belgium they would have recommended another 12 sessions to get all my muscles at 100%. Right now some of them are still a bit behind but overall great progress. They were pleased and so was I.
It was worth the investment in time and effort.

Tonight I feel relieved that I won't have to bike twice 30 minutes per week, every week, ever. Gosh, I hate biking!

Good-byes

This week and the few more days we have in Belgium are full of good-byes. Family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, the list is long of people we are saying good-bye to.
Hopefully we'll manage to keep in touch despite the distance and we'll see many in December for the wedding.
Still, it's hard to leave behind so many people...

Last dinner, last night, last...

As of tonight we will be sleeping at the hotel as the apartment is now really anymore in a functioning state.
Without sofa, TV or freezer we could survive.
Without washing machine or wardrobe, it's more difficult. On top with the packing on Monday I want to make sure everything is sorted and clean. In other words ready to pack.
This week we've been eating creatively based on what was left in the cupboards and last night was the last dinner in this apartment followed by our last night. It does feel sad to leave this place we've spent so much time building as our nest. But a new chapter of our lives is waiting for us.

Wedding invitations

The wedding invitations are ready.
We received them last night and spent 3 hours preparing the envelops. Today I'm going to the post office and I expect a funny face from the person behind the counter when she/he will see the pile of envelops.
Look for one in your mailbox.

I hope we haven't fogotten anyone.

Something is missing

We drove back from Brittany today without the cats.
Those lucky cats will now live at my parents'. While this means for them a big house to explore and with it a big garden not to mention what's beyond the garden, it also means that we came home to an empty house.
No kitty-cats running up and down the stairs or crying for food. No cats following up as we unpacked.
As much as I know it was the right thing to do and they will be very happy in Brittany, the apartment without the cats is simply empty.
Mokka, Muffin, we miss you!!!

The weather is clearly disturbed

One day it's nice and sunny.
One day it rains like it's November.
One day it rains like it's the end of the world.
One day it's sunny and so warm people fear the worst.

It supposed to August and summer. Clearly the weather is confused.
They say it's global warming, is it?

Ouessant

For a while now I wanted to take Wolfram to the island Ouessant. Unfortunately so far all our trips to Brittany were too short or dedicated to something else.
But not this time.
After careful analysis of the weather forecast I decided for Wednesday as it seemed to be the day with the highest chances of good weather. How wrong could they be for the next two day?
We woke up under the rain, very heavy rain. So bad it made us doubt our choice. But we embarked hoping for the microclimate on the island.
The rain stopped eventually but the strong wind stayed which made the boat trip interesting and shaky, testing our stomach around the Pointe Saint-Mathieu. Painfully, at least for me, we survived.
The rest of the day was simply incredible. Windy but sunny which made it the perfect combination for pictures of waves breaking on the rocks of the island coast.

What I like about Ouessant is that it is still quite wild. It has not been invaded by tourists and only few hikers will walk the small trail along the coast. In other words, one can walk for hours without meeting anyone.

We only covered about a quarter of the island before we had to take the boat back for an even shakier ride, but it was even better than I remembered. Next time we'll come for two days so Wolfram gets to see the other parts of the island.

Meeting the neighbors

When moving to a new place it's important to meet your new neighbors.
That's what Mokka tried to do with Samia, the neighbors' dog.
I had no idea Mokka could sing like that.

Habituating the cats to their new house

Yesterday we drove all the way to Brittany.
Wolfram had bet that Mokka would poop in her box within 50 km from departure and I just before the border.
He won. He even won twice.
Not even 20 km after we left the house, Muffin pooped. That was unusual and actually the first time ever he pooped in a car. We stopped, we cleaned, we left again.
Another 20 km and the smell of poop was back. This time it was Mokka. We stopped again, we cleaned again, and we left again.
This one for good. Apart from those two emergency stops at the very beginning, the rest of the drive was pretty smooth.
The rental car is a Peugeot 3008, which I have to say was big enough to accommodate the two cats and their baskets, the two cat loos, the four smart packs, the cat food, the cat tree, our suitcase and a few boxes of things. Impressive.
Even better, it drives high which I like and is better for my back. Unlike with the Mercedes where everything is far away from my reach, this one fits perfectly. Accordingly I drove the biggest part of the drive because Wolfram struggles to have space for his long legs.

Cats are now exploring my parents' house. It's much bigger than our apartment and there are plants everywhere. In other words plenty of opportunity explore the pots.
Once they are used to the house, next step is to let them go explore the garden (and beyond). That's going to be interesting.

Walking up the aisle

Last night we met with the organist who will play at our wedding. She advised us on what music to play for the different moments of the ceremony.
Then she asked us to go down in the church just to practice the "walking up the aisle".

How hard can this be?

Well, harder than we thought because the aisle is not very long in the church and apparently this is THE moment that needs to be perfect. In other words, the bride has to enter the church at the right moment on the music.
First time, too fast.
Second time, too slow.
Third time, getting there but still had to rush the last steps.
Fourth time, I arrived on the last notes but it didn't feel right.
Fifth time, the organist suggested to repeat one passage of the music so fits better. And it did.
Sixth time, just to confirm the repetition of the passage works well.

Something tells me we need to plan a practise run the day before with all the people who have to walk up the aisle to make sure we all enter and arrive at the altar on the right notes, especially me and my dad.

To-do list

Lately between the move, the wedding and work I feel my life is one long to-do list. Each time I complete one task another 300 are waiting for me.
We'll get there, I know. We'll tell stories about this in the years to come. Until then, I'm focusing on priorities and droping anything not on the list.

Note for the future: do not plan a move and a wedding the same year, even more when those events are located in different countries.

34

34 pairs of shoes, that's the official number for the inventory... and I cannot help thinking I should get one more pair to make the number round.
Just need to find a bit of time for shopping...

Inventory

In preparation of the move, we need to provide the inventory of our belongings. Should our container fall from the boat, we need to know what was inside and more importantly the financial value of it.
Writing an inventory is a tedious activity. Every single item that we own from furniture to pencils, from bike to plates, has to be recorded and put a value against. And that takes a long time, especially if you take the opportunity to do some sorting at the same time.
While I'm curious to see how much everything we own represents, I'll be happy when we are done with the inventory.