Is 4 really that bad?

Chinese people do not like the number 4.  In the Chinese language, 4 means death, regardless of whether it is said in Mandarin, Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien or whatever Chinese dialect.  In Feng Shui, 4 is a no no. In some buildings in Asia, you will often see that there is no 4 in the lift buttons or 4th floor.  It is most often replaced with a 3A or 13A, etc. 

I was once told of a story of a rich businessman who had some reading done on his life and he was told that 4 is his lucky number. The guy drove a car with the plate number '4'.  Not exactly bad luck now is it?

I wouldn't say that I don't believe that the number 4 is no good but I also don't believe that numbers dictate whether you have good fortune or not. I don't like 4 simply because of how it sounds when spoken in Chinese. Just 4 alone.  I'm fine if it's 14, 24, 54, 94, etc. 

I'm trying to sell my house and a few agents who offer their services have asked what is my house number. They are pleased when I gave them the reply. Mind you, I have a very auspicious house number -- 18. In Feng shui, this is like striking gold.  Anything that ends with 8 is good. I do have to admit that when I first bought the property at that time, I chose this number simply because 8 is considered a good number. 

Well, 10 plus years of staying here and this so called auspicious number has not brought me any ounce of luck. I am still not rich. I have not have any luck selling the place despite the prosperous number.  Hell, my house was broken into twice. It's not like I didn't believe that eight is good.  You know the whole Secret thingy, the "you must believe in order for it to happen" yada yada. Anyway, I smile in amusement when property agents tell me my house number is good, that their Chinese clients are very particular about numbers, bla bla bla. Yeah ok, promote the house number however they wish but just close the sale!

I'm done believing that 4 is always bad.  Yeah...new apartment is on the 24th floor, number 24. Take that! I can tell you right now, I am more excited about No.24 than I am when I first bought No. 18.

I guess I don't know my English

Despite encountering this word many times during the course of my work, I only found out today the actual meaning of  it

...and all these while I thought it means a short sentence, a blurb.......OMG, quite the total opposite...dang! I just made a fool of myself in an email sent.

Reno - Wallpaper



My first purchase for the new apartment...Wallpaper! I've been contemplating whether to fix wallpaper or simply to just paint.  Decided to go ahead with using wallpaper as Korea Wallpaper is having their promo of free wallpaper, just pay for installation. GST absorbed! I went to their Puchong branch yesterday. It was my second visit to their shop actually.  Went there first time last Wed but didn't have enough time to go through all their catalogs.  Reached there at about 2pm  yesterday and targetted to stay for about 3 hours. I have an appointment at 6pm so need to make sure I leave before then. As it was a public holiday (Wesak Day) there were lots of people in the shop but their showroom is big and has plenty of catalogs. No need to wait.  All designs in their sample books that are on promotion are not readily available on stock so customers need to place bookings first. The stocks will be coming in July only.  For me, no issue since my home are not ready now anyway.

One of the many wallpapers on display. Nice ambience too. Quite cold so bring a sweater along.

I grabbed a few of the sample books and looked through. So many designs..all so nice. It would have been awesome to fix wallpaper for the entire apartment but I only have a limited budget :( Decided to just wallpaper 2 walls - one wall each in the living room and bedroom respectively. In the midst of choosing the designs, I got an msg saying that my 6pm appt was cancelled.  No problem! That gave me more time to spend at the showroom.

 

After close to 5 hours (yes, it took me that long to choose and decide), I finally made the purchase. Here are my designs..in shades of gray..haha.  I didn't want to go too dark because I intend to get my sofa and maybe curtains in shades of darker gray too. Rest assured not everything in the house will be gray.

This is for one side of the living room wall. I hope it won't turn out too light but I like the texture of the paper

This is for one of the wall in the bedroom. I die die wanted this design...I don't know

Both items chosen are from the InnoSense series which is the latest design.  One roll can cover up to 11' (H) x 13' or 15' (W) surface...depending on whether the wallpaper is solid or with designs. In another word, 50 sq ft for solid and 130 sq ft for those with designs. I needed 2-rolls for the living room since the wall is long. I took a gamble with the bedroom wall and only purchased 1-roll.  My bedroom wall is 15' in total width but that's before I minus the bathroom door width and depth of wardrobe size. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that 1-roll will be enough.

 

Installation charges is RM150/roll so my total purchase is RM450 for 3 rolls.  I decided to take up the additonal warranty (against bubbles or peeling) at RM30/roll which will cover up to 5-years of warranty. So, I can be rest assured that my wallpaper will last me for the next 5 years. Uber excited after making payment. I did not make installation appointment on the spot as I wasn't sure when my apt will be ready for installation.  The clerk said that I must make appointment 2 months prior to my intended installation date cos they will be super busy.  Once an appt is made, customers cannot cancel or else there will be penalty imposed. No joke on this shit.

 

Quite pleased with my outing. So now I wait patiently to call them back to fix an installation date.

Yes, I'm going to blog again

8 months came and went. I didn't blog as I said I would.  And since it has been a long long while since I last wrote anything, I actually forget how to log in or what was the email ID I was supposed to use.

In the past I focused a lot of my blog on gym stories..and then after a while I got bored of gym so there was no more interesting stories to write about. I guess I could blog about my travel trips to Siem Reap or Turkey but then I got lazy uploading photos and remembering what I did where.  Of course in between there was work.  When there's no work, I just want to plonk my lazy ass in front of the TV. Even if it means watching reruns of tv programs.

This time I'm going to write about my home renovations.  Yep, got myself a new studio apartment...a 735sq ft 1-bedroom apartment to be exact.  Properties ain't cheap these days. Mine cost me a bomb despite it's small size. The location is a stealer though but I just pray that no stupid Tom, Dick and Harry will be renting those available units.  VP is projected to be done mid of this year so I am starting to do some homework for the renovations. Budget is a constraint so reno will be done in stages. 

Just like my current place, I am going all out on neutral tones for the new abode. This time I'm aiming for more gray tones.  I've always like gray and will incorporate it into the style and decor.  Have a bunch of ideas in my head what needs to be done, what to buy, etc. etc. but it was just planning.  Visited a couple of home fairs but came out not booking anything or buying anything from the vendors. Going to all these exhibitions is great to get ideas and knowing what new stuff is available in the market but I feel even more confused looking at the vast amount of items out there.  Getting contractor contacts is already a headache by itself.

So, I'm all ready to document my reno journey with this new place.  Had my first purchase yesterday which I will blog about next.