We Had a Very SPECIAL Visitor!

Skip & Cheese Lobster at River Quay Seafood in Boat Quay

Remember those big-ass storms in the Midwest the week before last? Well, those stupid storms kept my favorite brother-in-law, Skip, from making his flight to Newark! Stupid storms. He was able to make it the next day, cutting his visit short by one day.

There's something you need to know... no matter how much my BIL is like his dad, he was not born a travellin' man! This is a big trip for anyone, but for someone who's not a "travellin' man"? Ummm, it's a very scary proposition!

However, he arrived safely from Singapore Airlines (he was impressed with the "care" bestowed upon passengers). Once he got to our place, we proceeded to ply him with several Stella Artois' and he ate the snacks that he 'stole' from SIA (HAH!)

He slept a while and then we took him out for a walk along Orchard Road. I'm not sure (I wasn't keeping notes -- he was), but I think we all needed a shower after that. GAH! It's humid here, but it's so good for the skin!

Mike & Skip at Ngee Ann City

We decided on dinner at our fav place, River Quay Seafood, in Boat Quay. As we were walking "The Gauntlet", we could hear drummers up ahead...

We watched and listened, and then we ate...



There's more to come, because I'm pretty sure I serenaded WHH and BIL for several hours one night with my broken saxophone! Yeah, we had quite a good time!

OMG! I've Got Stuff to Write About!

First off, I must apologize to my fellow bloggers for my belatedness in reading your blogs. There are thousands of posts in my Google Reader! Some people do the "Mark all as read" thing, but I just can't bring myself to do it. To me, it feels as if I'm killing someone. If someone felt strongly enough to write, then should I really destroy it? Yeah, I'm goofy that way.

It's been very quiet around here since last Wednesday, but not in a good way. I should have blogged about it then, but I was too lazy or whatever. Around 6 in the evening, I heard a big boom, but that's not unusual with demolition. After the big boom, there was a lot of screaming and shouting. A few minutes later, I heard SIRENS!

Singapore is quiet as far as emergency vehicles are concerned, unlike the U.S. In the 3 years I've lived here, I've heard two vehicles with sirens and it was when Bush was here for a visit. It only happened once while he was here, and I'm not sure why (I'd like to say something snarky here, but it wouldn't be prudent at this juncture).

The siren caught my attention and I went to the kitchen window to see what was happening. I saw a big red vehicle (not like our fire trucks) marked "Civil Defence" and it stopped just past our building. I really thought that maybe someone had been run over by a taxi or something and decided I didn't want to pursue it further since emergency personnel were on the scene (and I don't need to see another dead body).

By Friday, it was still quiet next door. As I was perusing the morning paper, I saw a headline "3 deaths at demolition worksites in past 6 months". I scanned it at first, but then I saw Ardmore Point condo, and I had to go back to the beginning. I was planning to link this, but The Straits Times is being stubborn about "free" articles online. In a nutshell, a "49-year old foreman was crushed to death by a 30kg concrete slab". A stop-work order was issued until a complete investigation can be completed. Wednesday is Chinese New Year's Eve, so I don't see much demolition going on until after the 16th when the New Year's celebration is completed.

Chinese New Year is akin to our Christmahanukwanzakaakah, so this man's family will not be having a "happy new year". All of the men who work for that company will not be earning $$$ for their families either. It is deadly quiet next door, and I feel terrible about it.

A "Screw" is Loose, but it isn't mine for a change!

This is really more of an update on my last post The Times They Are A-changin', but I wanted to give you an idea as to why we have some trouble sleeping. I've been saying I'm going to bed for the last 2 hours. No can do. Still, it's kind of funny, even though the jack-hammer dudes will be at work promptly at 9 a.m. this morning.

The Shangri-La Hotel is very good about keeping their neighbors happy. Just as I typed the previous paragraph, I realized that the noise is gone. They must've gotten the part they needed. Thank you Shangri-La Hotel! I can get some sleep now; as long as I don't go Facebooking and Scrabulizing. Those would be completely different issues.

The direct link is here

The Times They Are A-changin'...

The WHH came to Singapore to work temporarily back in September 2004. By December, the MNC decided that he was the man for the job and offered him a 3-year contract starting January 1, 2005. To be honest, I freaked out at first. It was one thing for him to travel over here every 6 months or so, but live in Singapore? Then, there was the issue of our "stuff" and the house. There was no time to have a big garage sale and then sell the house. We gave a lot of stuff away, sold the cars to CarMax, put stuff in storage, and brought the rest with us (bad idea).

The original contract ended December 31, 2007, but it was extended until the end of 2008. The guy who'd hired him for this assignment retired earlier last year, so there was a new boss and a lot of changes. Then about a month ago, we learned that there were even more changes... BIG changes -- we will be repatriating in April (or thereabouts). He's fairly certain of his new position, but we don't know where that will be. A lot of things still need to be ironed out. Mainly the "where and when" of it all, but that will come in time.

I am ambivalent, yet again. I miss our boys and our family and friends terribly, and it'll be nice to at least be on the same continent (even though air travel in the U.S. sucks ASS and I cannot say enough bad things about it, really!).

Beyond being closer to family and friends... the only thing I'm looking forward to is the possibility of me going to TequilaCon '08! Yes kids, if Geeky Tai-Tai is going to be on U.S. soil, she is going to get herself to TequilaCon '08 come hell or high water! This year it is going to be in Philadelphia. I've never been to Philly, so this is another "learning opportunity" for me. Another cool thing? You don't even have to be a blogger to attend! So, my sisters and my BFF's can join me there for a fun-filled weekend in Philly. I have every confidence that they will do their very best to do that because they've missed their Geeky Tai-Tai so much! (heh).

A lot of other bloggers have decided that they will have a theme for the year. I've decided that I will focus more on what new American expats can expect (not that I know very much, but I have actually lived here). I've also been working on a couple of lists: the good and the bad things for Americans living in Singapore. I may wait to publish it until after I've repatriated :D

I also want to get input from my blogging friends about what to do with this blog once I've repatriated. I'm not a writer (where my blogging friends are), so the freebiness of Blogger is a good thing to me, and it's been mucho improved in the last year. I can link to my pics on Flickr; I'm not a photographer, either, although I did pay for the pro account because I wanted a second back-up for them. They are priceless memories to us.

So, "the times they are-a changin'" and I'm in a state of flux. Not that that's bad or anything.

PEE-ESS -- The Shangri-La's aircon system has lost another bearing or something. That sucker has been yelping and squealing all day long. I could tell that they tried to fix it, but the bearing probably needs to be replaced. I'll be hearing that all night long, only to wake up (if I can actually sleep) to more stupid-ass jack-hammers in the morning. Nighty-night! ;-)

I Wanna Go Home... Kinda...Maybe After The Police & Santana's Concert?

Preface: I am not a construction engineer. This means that I really do not care if I ever learn the correct terminology for the equipment used at construction sites. I prefer the terminology that my sons used when they were little. These terms would be "digger trucks" and "jack-hammer trucks". Their terminology is simpler and you get the idea.

Big-ass Crane

Construction Equipment

Another Angle

A few nights ago, as we were walking to get some dinner we saw that heavy equipment brought a huge-ass crane to the demolition site next door. For about the last month, we've heard stuff being thrown out windows, as well as clanging and banging of the "pipes" that were used to erect a shield around the building. This crane then raised a "jack-hammer truck" to the roof of the building next door. By the time we returned home from dinner, the jack-hammers had already been placed atop the building. There could be two of them up there. There were on the Habitat I building. Habitat II is currently being jack-hammered to death. I think you might be able to see a bit of it in this short video I made this afternoon.





All of this construction/demolition is taking place directly across the street from the Shangri-La Hotel and Shangri-La Serviced Apartments. Dave2 recently did a post about his hotel room being so noisy that he took all of his bedding into the bathroom and tried to sleep in the tub! He will never stay at that hotel again (he hopes).

As is most often the case, when one arrives in Singapore, they've been on at least a 12-hour flight and have bad jet-lag. This means that when a businessperson or tourist arrives, they need to sleep at least a few hours.

The WHH figured out a game plan early on:

• Arrive at Changi Airport (one of the best airports in the world). Then stop at the Duty-Free booze joint there (because you'll be sorry if you don't). Booze, beer, and wine are very costly here.
  
• Take a taxi to destination.
• Eat another light meal because even though Sing Air excels at almost everything, that "breakfast" just before arrival in Singapore sucks ass! Nothing about it is good -- ever, because I've tried it several times!
• Singapore Airlines tends to time their flights to alleviate jet-lag as much as possible. I promise you, Singapore Airlines has all of this down to a science (except for that "breakfast" whateverthef*ck that's supposed to be).
• After eating a sandwich, some chips, and several alcoholic beverages (if that's you're thing), then it's time for a nap (or other entertainment -- my favorite part).
  
• Upon awaking around 2 or 3 in the afternoon -- go for a walk. It's always warm here, and the sunlight lasts until 7 pm. This does not mean that there won't be a big-ass thunderstorm. Be prepared with your umbrella.
  
• Singapore is a beautifully clean and safe city. Go with your umbrella and enjoy!

Now, if one has paid as much money as it costs to stay in the Valley Wing or the Serviced Apartments, Then, I would scour the city for the quietest hotel I could find!

How much longer do I have to live here? They're down to the 24th floor already! Someone please calculate the approximate date that they will have made it down 20 more floors. I don't do math either (only when absolutely necessary). Kthnx?

I'm in a Mood... but not the right kind!

I should probably be bullet'n, but I just don't feel like getting out my Geeky gun and shootin' the shit. So, please, just hang in there for a very disjointed post.

I just discovered two comments that had not been published from last week's Another Blonde Moment post! I'm very sorry Cristina and Curiosity Killer. WTH? Google is supposed to send me an email when I have comments! I don't understand how this could've happened. Maybe Google's gettin' too big for their britches (again)?

SJ invited me to join the "This Is Today" group on Flickr. I did ok for... what??? three days? Such is life, but then again, my life has been the picture below for the last couple of weeks!

As much as I love living in Singapore, I also HATE these dreary, rainy days. The mold is starting to make me sick (sinusitis), just the same as I would have bad allergy attacks in the early fall in TN, NY, and GA. When we lived in SoCal, the only time the boys and I ever got sick was during the Santa Ana winds. I'd put the boys down for a nap, and Jimbo would wake up 2 hours later with his eyes swollen shut! This isn't that bad, but I can feel some nastiness coming on.

So, tonight, I was out in the "maid's room" (no, I don't have one, but most people do) reading and smoking (no commentary is needed on that bad habit, kthnx!). So, anyway, I'm out there and then I hear this stupid horn beeping "beep----beep-beep-beep-----beep----beep-beep-beep!" This was happening every 15 minutes. I wanted to shout out my "window" (there is no actual glass) like the guy in "Network", "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!!!" Actually, I wanted to shout much worse obscenities, but I refrained because, uh, you know, I'm 50 and all. I'm supposed to be a nice lady. Anyway, this went on for what seemed like forfu&*ingever (see, I'm being ladylikekinda?), then it stopped.

That's when I heard...

The Singapore mice in the rubbish bin!!!!

I couldn't believe that I could hear them over the usual outdoor noises that go with living in this area. The Shangri-La has humongous aircons directly across from our building that run continuously in addition to the beeping buses and the garbage trucks.

Before this building sold en-bloc, the rubbish chute was washed weekly, and the water tank was cleaned regularly. The new management may still be doing those things, but maybe the mice needed to relocate?

OK, that's part of city living, and country living too. The problem is that these mice here are big, scary, and loud! Same as the gecko who lives in the crack of our bedroom window. He's getting bigger and fatter. I only know that because of his regular "deposits" on the window ledge.

Geeky's Shootin' Real Bullet'ns -- Again!

• Did you notice the new widget at the top of my sidebar? It seems to make the page load slowly, but I wanna' show off a little bit! My "Chez Patrick" photo in Brussels was included in the newly released fourth edition of the Schmap Brussels Guide. No, I don't win any prizes or money, but that's OK. I get to put the widget on my blog and you get to go over there and click until you see my photo. heh!

• This pool is on the property next to our building (that's going to be jack-hammered to death very soon). The green nastiness just got me to thinking that jillions of mosquitoes could be breeding in there. I saw a sign on a bus with the Dengue Hotline phone number (1800-333-7777) and decided to report it. Dengue is a big problem here, and the government is very serious about minimizing the risks. A really nice guy answered my phone call and said that someone would call me to follow-up. One man called me and I couldn't understand a word he said. I asked him to please repeat himself more slowly, and still I couldn't understand him. Finally, I understood the words "how long symptoms, lah?" I started to tell him, "I'm not sick. I just wanted to rep..or.." and CLICK. He hung up on me! Later though, another man called me from the Ministry of Environment to tell me that they had checked out the pool, and confirmed that there is insecticide in the water to prevent mosquitoes from breeding there. He also asked if I'd seen any in this area (I haven't). I feel better now.

• We had a wing-ding to attend this evening, and whilst we were preparing, the WHH put on the "Best of U2". He had that BOSE-a-blastin', I'm tellin' ya. It's always good to get the dust off the speakers. So, we're all cleaned up. He calls a cab, and he tells him where we need to go. As we're riding along, my WHH says, "Hey, there's going to be a U2 tribute band playing at Molly Malone's in Boat Quay next week." I said, "Hey, that's cool. Maybe we should go check them out." Silence... except for the cab driver's radio and then... Bono's wail, "In the name of love. In the name of lo--o---ove". That's just really strange, don't you think?
  

• Just an FYI... we saw U2 at the 2002 Super Bowl in New Orleans at the SuperDome along with Paul McCartney who performed that suck-ass song that I wish someone would've had the balls to tell him that it actually sucked. (Whew! Sorry for the run-on sentence, but not really). Honestly, I've loved The Beatles since I was a little girl. Paul was "cute", but really, George was my favorite, Ringo was cool, but John was the best singer/songwriter, IMO. My Mom bought their first album and I kissed George's picture so much that his face ended up being just a smudgy mess on the back of the album cover. Still, I was excited to actually be in the same arena as a Beatle, but OMG, that song was just awful! Whaddya' gonna do, uh?

• Now a question, is the SuperDome all cleaned up now? What about the rest of New Orleans? Just wondering. Please leave a comment, just not something hateful because I'll delete it... because I can. Thank you!

• I'm likin' these bullet-thingies.
  

International American Thanksgiving

WHH carving Tommy under the watchful eye of Joerg

My scarcity around here has been due to planning and preparing for our International American Thanksgiving party and my compulsive Scrabulous-playing with friends and family online: Alex, Curisoity Killer, Jeremy, Kentucky Gurl, NYC Watchdog, Patrick (who had a damn good blog going and deleted it), Shelli, and Shyanne. I love that game, even though I mostly suck at it -- especially playing against KG and Jeremy! Damn, those two never cut me any slack, and it's making my stats look really bad.

We had our International American Thanksgiving Saturday. We called it that because we had African, American, Dutch, Filipino, German, and Romanian friends with us to share some Tommy Turkey and we're in Singapore. Some of our friends had never eaten a turkey fresh from the oven (bag), and I think most everyone liked it. You just can't go wrong using an oven bag for roasting a turkey. They cook in half the time -- even over-stuffed the way I do mine.

Cristina said that my dressing was the best I've made in the last three years. I thought it was good, but that's just me. The secret is: the sausage and my MIL's recipe (mother-in-law for all of you non-geeks). I got me some fresh spicy Italian from a Brazilian (there we go with the international thing, see?) butchery in Great World City, Espirito Santo. It's a small shop, but they were so nice and very helpful. The sausage was perfect -- spicy, but not so much so that it would do any gastrointestinal damage, if you know what I mean. I will definitely go back there again.

While my MIL is not renown for her culinary skills, she is the first person to actually show me how to roast a turkey. My mom will cook some meats, but there's no way she's going to even touch a raw turkey, let alone stuff that bad boy! LOL! If you're interested in trying the stuffing, you can get a 4 x 6 recipe card here (I must have my recipes on 4 x 6 card(s) and alphabetized in my special recipe box).

Seeing as how I grew up in a family of 8 and the fact that we have two sons, I've never really learned how to cook small amounts of anything. We had a lot of left-overs and sent some home with anybody who wanted some. I gave the guards some cherry tarts and an apple pie too. We packed a cooler full of food for the family of the drowning victim. The guards told me that the husband and the adult children were spending the entire day with her in the hospital -- not coming home until very late. I know I get tired of eating out or getting take-away. It was the only thing I could think of that might be of help to them.

We had a great time with everyone, but there wasn't much time to take pictures because we were hosting the party. Alex took this one of me and the one of my WHH and Joerg above.

We are very thankful for our family and friends... who are our chosen family!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I got a call this morning from the husband of the woman who drowned thanking me for the food. He said that a lot of people are coming and going from his place, and it really helped out. I felt good about that. Then, after a pause, he told me that she passed away Sunday, two weeks after the accident. May she rest in peace and bless her family and friends who loved her so much.

Asean Symposium

Last week the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Symposium was held here at a few different venues, but the Shangri-La was where most of the action was. The security was even tighter than when President Bush was here last year.

As I was walking to the grocery store one day to get large quantities of food and alcohol for our International American Thanksgiving on Saturday, police and scary dudes with even scarier guns were stationed every few meters along the way. When I reached the corner of Orange Grove and Orchard Road I saw a "crowd" dressed in red t-shirts . It is highly unusual to see a large number of people congregating here because groups must get prior approval for peaceful demonstrations.

The demonstrators were Myanmar activists attempting to deliver a petition (the large card in the 2nd bad camera phone picture) directly to the ASEAN leaders asking that they pressure the junta to free the Burmese people. The police stopped them before they got to the Shangri-La, but then they arranged for Mr. Lee to come and receive it.

I believe that the demonstrators were breaking the law because the police took down the their particulars and were planning an investigation of possible offences.

Out With The Old... In With The New???

Yesterday we got a "Memo From Management"

To all Residents

Dear Sir/Mdm

SMELL PROBLEM AT BASEMENT LOBBY 1

For the past couple of weeks, there had been a smell problem at Lobby 1 basement lift lobby. Upon investigation, we have spotted rodents activities on top of the false ceiling. Active measures had since been in place to eradicate all rodents and the number and frequency of rodents captured has decreased. Visual inspection of the area above the false ceiling had also yielded no sightings of dead rodents.

Nevertheless, the smell problem still persisted. The next steps that we are going to take are to remove parts of the false ceilings to check thoroughly the areas that are not easily visible and to check the arcon ducting itself.

At the same time, we will also need the help of all residents to bag up any food refuse before throwing them down the refuse chute. This will in turn reduce the food source for the rodents.

We will like to reassure all residents that while no efforts will be spared in solving this problem, we nevertheless need the co-operation of all residents to do their part.

Yours faithfully,
Management of your building

Earlier this year, we had a BBQ down by the pool, and as the evening wore on, we noticed a bunch of mice scavenging for food -- while we were still sitting there! They weren't the least bit scared of us. They're big too! Not like a rat, but they're a whole lot bigger than field mice. We speculated that they were "relocating" because their homes were being torn down.

The building next to ours is being gutted now to get it ready for the jack-hammers that will be brought in to tear it down. Where will those mice relocate? This is gonna' get ugly and loud. I am not looking forward to it!

(Buildings with red X will be razed)

This video can also be viewed here

Another Meme That I Copied From "The Inimitable Avitable"!

As I post this meme that I've copied, again, from the Inimitable Avitable, whom my nephew, "E", should check out because he has a few things in common with Avi. Oh wait, I only mean about the cartoon collectibles, not about Avi's other "collectibles". GAH!

BTW, there are some big-ass earthquakes happening in Indonesia that are also being felt here in Singapore. So far, we haven't felt a thing, but whaddo we know?

So, the meme is... feature your home using Google Maps. Our place is below -- the brown building labeled "Geeky Tai-Tai's Place". :D

Before we had to move to the "Floor of Death" (4th floor), we were fortunate enough to live on the 24th floor of this same building where I witnessed all sorts of "goofiness". Namely, "Mr. Masturbator" on the 6th Floor of the Shangri-La Valley Wing "entertaining" himself. He "entertained" two Sundays in a row. I watched with partially covered eyes, all the while yelling, "WHH, you've gotta check this guy out! Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Yeah, I guess I'm pervy too in that I even noticed him from my kitchen window?

Living here has been an eye-opening experience for us. It's too bad they're going to raze the building next year.

Let's Talk About Customer Service, Part I

Most places here in Singapore will deliver the items you've bought for free if you spend at least $150. Seeing as booze is very expensive here, it doesn't take much to run up $150. I think that's a very nice customer service -- especially since we don't own a car. It can be very painful to walk home with those nasty plastic bags cutting into your wrists.

Usually on Tuesdays I go to my favorite market to make the weekly beer and wine run. I don't like to go on Mondays or weekends because the place is a madhouse with all these snooty people pushing their children around in those big-ass strollers that hog up 3/4 of the aisle. You've got to remember, the markets here aren't monstrous like Super Wally World or Super Targee (I don't know how to do the accent mark). The aisles here are tiny alleys compared to those places. On top of that, they've also brought along their maids, all the while ordering them to pick up this brand or the other. I hate that shit.

I digress (it's a bad habit, sorry)... As long as I'm in the queue to pay for my groceries by 3:30, it's not a problem. I have to be finished by 4:00 or the delivery-guy is gone for the day.

My first order of business is to find a $1 coin to "rent-a-cart".. Then, I head directly to the cases of Tiger Beer stacked up at the front of the store. Next stop, get the wine. After that, I pick up the huge packs of Kleenex toilet tissue. I always used to get Charmin, but I got tired of the "dust" that it leaves in my bathroom. Kleenex is much cleaner, and they've made it softer these days. Still NOT available is the Cottonelle Fresh Wipes. They've actually had the Huggies that were flushable, but not lately. This is not a good thing.

After I've picked up those things, I get the "usual" -- meat, veggies, milk, bread, eggs, some of those frozen Amy's vegetarian meals (for my lunch) and ALWAYS, ALWAYS Swiss Miss Ultimate Indulgence Chocolate Pudding for my WHH's bedtime snack. Then, I scramble to get into the queue before the onslaught of moms with kids-that-drive me batty. I'm usually just a bit too slow.

Last week, while waiting in the queue, the deliveryman spotted me and asked, "Will you be going directly home? You are always my first stop."

Me thinking, "Holy crap, the deliveryman has a "thing" for me. Yeah, baby, you've still got it! You're HOT just like your Momma!" (Yes, she is HOT, but beyond that I'm making this shit up as I go along -- heh!)

Then Me Out Loud -- for real, "Yes, I was going to walk home, but if you're going there now, I'll take a taxi."

Mr. Deliveryman, "I need to box these orders here and then I will be making deliveries. Would you like a ride home?"

I was astounded, "Are you serious?"

Mr. Deliveryman, "Yes, madam, I'll be going to your place just after I box these up."

Me, still flabbergasted, "Well, OK, sure!"

Once he got his orders boxed up, he escorted me through the "bowels" of the shopping center to the car park. He cleared the passenger seat for me (I'm still not used to sitting on the "wrong" side). As we left the car park, it started to rain. It would've taken me forever to get a taxi!

As he drove me and my groceries home, I asked him his name (Mr. "S") and he explained that it's easier for him to go to our condo first because it's a one-way street. Then, he can head on over to Ardmore Park. Most days, he makes 15 or more stops to that condo -- it's a big place.

Mr. "S" Deliveryman gets a big GOLD STAR for his wonderful customer service and big heart!**

Would I dare trust a "deliveryman" in the U.S.? I don't think so!

Stay tuned... Tomorrow's episode will be "Customer Service That Sucks Ass!"

**Yes, I did give him a tip and a cold bottle of water.

Li'l Screamer Girl and The Landlady

Li'l Screamer Girl is starting to piss me off. She woke WHH up at about 6, but then she quieted down for a while. Then, around 7:30 she started screaming and did NOT stop for at least an hour. She is SCREAMING her lungs out! She is relentless and she is pissed.

After having a cup of coffee I began pondering the matter with my aching AIRHEAD. Where are the parents? We know that they take turns working out in the mornings during the week. She swims for miles and he works out in the gym. There is no screaming. Weekends are different. I think Mom of Li'l Screamer Girl goes down to swim, and I think Dad is reading the paper on the terrace or something -- completely oblivious to his daughter's tirade. Most dads are rather adept at tuning kids out if they're busy or just don't want to deal with them. They're better at selective hearing than moms. LSG has two older brothers, but they probably don't want her to bug them so they tune her out too.

I've decided that I'll just have to turn Li'l Screamer Girl over to The Landlady to handle the matter. I think Pearl could out-scream her any day.

Anderson 18 owners to get $6.75m each from condo sale

My friend, Helaine, alerted me to this article in the Straits-Times that our building has sold.

The sale of Anderson 18 is likely to make it the second most expensive residential site in Singapore, after The Parisian in Angullia Park, which carried a price tag of $1,735 psf of potential gross floor area.

Knight Frank said a new development of up to 36 storeys on the Anderson 18 site will offer unobstructed views of low-rise developments from Shangri-La Hotel to Bukit Timah Hill.

The site's break-even cost is projected at about $2,300 psf.

It would be aimed at wealthy individuals looking to use Singapore as a base. This is because high-end residential prices here still look attractive compared with such cities as Hong Kong, London and New York, said Knight Frank managing director Tan Tiong Cheng.

Helaine also told me that nobody has moved into our old place yet (she can see it from her dining room window). Serves that greedy old hag landlady right! heh! I hope it sits empty till they tear this place down.

In other news at 18 Anderson...A new family moved in above us last weekend, and they have a high-pitched-screaming little girl. Thank GOD I did not have girls! She is throwing tantrums -- several times a day. I can hear her little feet running all over the place too; I'm talking the master bedroom area. Why are they allowing her to run all around in THEIR bedroom which is directly above OUR bedroom? They're all about slamming doors too! pisses me off