Give Me Da Money!

Ever since the landlord raised our home rental and I am sick of walking the distance to the nearest MRT to and from work, I had been eyeing this new condo (still under construction) situated right smack beside the MRT station further down where I live.

Mr. Gecko and I went to check out the showroom yesterday for curiosity's sake. We had helped a friend to check out a condo apartment while holidaying in KL a few weeks' ago; and were vaguely impressed with not only the communal facilities but more on how contemporary and comfortable the interior of the private apartment can be... of course we all know the interior is all nicely done up because it is THE showroom. But that is an afterthought.

I was suitably impressed with what I checked out yesterday too, especially when I knew the apartment comes intact with a built-in microwave and oven. MMmm... I can already smell the chocolate cake baking nicely. But Mr. Gecko and I agreed that the kitchen / laundry area was too narrow and cramped for our liking. Both of us also do not like to be greeted by the sight of the dining room upon entering the front door. We noticed this had been a trend in most home interiors these days, even the layout of the new HDB flats in Seng Kang area is as such. Not to our taste though, we like to have doorway-living room-dining room nearer to the kitchen. :)

We also realised that where we are living in currently (Old HDB 5 Rooms Flat) seems to have a bigger space area than what the condo can offer for the same number of bedrooms. In comparison, our kitchen is at least 3 times more spacious. Ah... but we are paying for a yuppie lifestyle yeah? Think: Tennis courts, swimming pool, gym and a suana - all for me to enjoy with Mr. Gecko just by going down the lift literally.

Sigh~~ of course this is all but an empty dream - unless we win the sweepstakes. A 3-bedroom apartment costs at least $600k! How long will we take to pay off all the installments? It was good enough to dream for a while.

Just as I told Mr. Gecko after viewing the apartments, home to me is wherever Mr. Gecko will be. And I mean it truly.

My Toys' Pic Again

At Home

Just want to be more familiar with posting pictures on my blog as I am thinking of creating one other new and more ambitious blog (if this test works out fine). Some pet project I wanted to do yonks ago.

This pic happened to catch my attention. I love it - totally reflected how I love being at home with Mr. Gecko :)

Superficial?? Me??! Maybe....

Your Heart is Pink


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Mr. Gecko Gets Some Real Compliments

Mr. Gecko came home yesterday and beamingly related the following to me with his faux shy face:

"I've got an email from my boss today hoh, she forwarded to me an email from one of the company's most hard-to-pleased trader who had sent an email to the MD stating that I am VERY VERY efficient and good and the colleague mentioned that I probably should be doing something more challenging at some point!"
Note: In the email, the words "VERY VERY" is really in CAPS.

So happy for my Mr. Gecko!!! :) *do 3 backflips*

Well, Mr. Gecko truly deserved the compliment. He just started on this current job *read KILLJOY entry* and his probation period is not even over. But this is Mr. Gecko. He has this special quality that even if one puts him in any nondescript job, he will be able to perform above par; and make people notice and like his work performance.

He's definitely no bootlicker and a very humble guy by nature. Anyone, well I am, will be impressed with the kind of dedication and responsibility he puts into any roles he takes on in life. Be it as a son, a boyfriend, a brother, a friend, an employee, or even just as a passer-by (过客). Those who know him well will agree.

I say, I am going to work hard too. Not for the need of just anyone's compliments, just Mr. Gecko's will do!

Rental Alone, Can Sink A Business

I read in yesterday's Straits Times's WORLD section headlined 'Rent Sinks HK Bakery' about one famous egg tarts and pastries stall in Hong Kong throwing in the towel and closing their operations for good by the end of this month. The reason? The shop lot's landlord increased the rental by a whopping 110%! This means the bakery have to allocate SGD$16,800.00 per month from their take-ins just to continue their operations! To me, a 110% increment is equivalent to daylight robbery! The landlord might as well hand over the land title-deed to the bakery. Although I never try the egg tarts in the famous store and do not know how tasty the pastries are, it's obvious they must be good! Or how else do you explain the survival of a simple pastries' store for half a decade? I see their closure as a country's loss of a breed of vintage local brands synonymous with the history and growth of HK's prosperity.

I personally do not understand the mind mechanisms of these so-call landlords, especially for this case. If the shop lot is located in the prime belt and businesses are highly dependable on the traffic volume the location provides, I understand the need to increase the rental within a REASONABLE range. But for this case, I can only say the landlord is in a classic lose-lose situation. Not only is he losing for good a stable income, he may not find another shop to fill in the space, not with that rocket-high rental fees packaged along. Not that anyone should care for this stupid landlord anyway.

Some of my friends will know I am taking baby steps in entreprenuship since the start of this year, pawing my way through the business world like a country bumpkin's virgin trip to a neon-lit city with naive hopes to stike gold someday. Like all other start-ups, I hope to find a place to call my working space and for practical reasons like putting the address on my namecards and to receive correspondences. As I scoured through the list of office spaces for rental in some certain areas I considered suitable, there is none I can afford! Not in my current pauper position.

A cramped space for two with zero facilities in an old building sets me back by $500 per month at least, not taking into account your other various overheads expenditure. What really gets into me is I can also foresee landlords who will always try to increase your rental once your contract expires. In such cases whereby the company deems the rental unaffordable, they are forced to move their operations elsewhere, get slapped with the hassles of movement and the cost of changing their contact details. Or in the case of the HK bakery, wave the white flag.

Though I am eager for my own space, I am determine not to fall into this rental black hole as I've yet to see real moolah. I really wish there are more affordable, readily available spaces for start-ups like mine. I do not see how some old buildings especially those with perpetually vacant lots cannot be flexible and work out a short-term rental clause for ambitious people like me but with empty pockets for the time being...

Drop me a note if you are one such flexible landlord and see the potential in me.

Post Note: Came home and was informed by Mr. Gecko our house landlord raised our rental by another $200 today... what a day...