Sixteenth

After four rounds of mopping and four rounds of vacuuming up paint flecks and wood dust from the fix in the ceiling, I was exhausted. I didn't have that much energy to like dress up for a fancy do and have a non-comforting dinner for our wedding anniversary. I don't need that anyway. The husband and I would very much prefer to have Choya with us on this date anyway.

Had to pick up the dog from 'daycare'. Heheheh. Our generous friends kindly took Choya for the day, to have her out of the way of the drilling, dust and cleaning. So sweet lah. The crew came in at 9.10am, and Choya went out with her Daddy, had a pee and a poop, and reached their home at 9.45am. When I was all done and had a hot shower, it was already 5pm. It was time to retrieve the dog.

We had a G&T at the friends'. It was a good way to decompress. When we made no plans except to have a casual makan, the friends didn't mind hanging out some more with us (after seeing the dog for the whole day), we all toddled to Kizuna for a bite. Ahhhh.... comfort food. I couldn't say no to that. Pork jowl and a lovely bowl of steamed Japanese rice. And highballs. It's hilarious how we always spend our wedding anniversary with friends. 

The difference is, this year, everyone knows that October 18 is our wedding anniversary. Hahahaha. Nobody actually knew in the previous years because why would anyone expect others to remember their wedding anniversary. The husband and I don't do gifts. I don't have a habit of mentioning it to people or on social media, and I don't actually bother to 'celebrate' it. This year, I randomly mentioned it because of the 'anniversary dessert' at Charmgang, and the chosen date of injecting PU filler into the ceiling.

It's yet another mundane day. Hectic, but nicely concluded. I felt relieved at the end of it; I felt supported. I wouldn't want to have it any other way. 

Injected PU Fillers Into The Ceiling

I dislike stains on the false ceiling. That means there's water leaking in from somewhere. The stain on the false ceiling in the kitchen first appeared in 2023, then 2024. I know this wouldn't be a leak from the pipe. The rate is too slow. Last year, I had newspapers in the false ceiling that I changed every six months. By this year, it would be the third year that the leak came through. I needed to do something about it. Water leaks can't be wished away. It could only get bigger. I don't want anything to burst and collapse. 

The AC crew took a look and declared it isn't a leak from their pipes. My own plumbers came in to take a look in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, they couldn't really pinpoint where the leak came from. They wrapped up the pipes and see if that would resolve a minor leak. In 2024, we were sure it wasn't the pipes. My plumbers finally diagnosed the issues after many checks and elimination. This is in no way explained by humidity and condensation. There are already stalactites on the raw concrete. LOL The seepage is slow. They could attempt to fix it by injecting a PU filler, but if this involves the discharge pipes and concrete ceiling and waterproofing, then this is under the purview of the developer and Main Contractor (MainCon). 

After much procrastination, I sent a query to the MCST in September. I didn't know if it might involve the unit upstairs (co-payment or something) or minimally what the neighbors might need to observe/check on their part. So I wanted it all to be recorded. The maintenance crew and even their contracted plumbers came in to take a look, and the MainCon's plumbers too. Like five times. They arrived at the same conclusion as my plumbers. Of course lah — they're all professionals and they know what they see. The MainCon's plumbers have seen this play out a billion times. 

I am very fearful of leaks in the home. It's like an obsession and it keeps me up at night. I need to get a full picture and see what's going on. Talking to plumbers and the contractor might not tell me the full picture for the situation, viability of the fix and future issues; if I asked more questions, they might get annoyed. I only have a 'SkillsFuture plumbing maintenance 101' understanding. So I checked in with ChatGPT. I'm somewhat assured that this fix will hold for a bit.

The entire estate is still under the developer's 10-year warranty. I'm just relieved that it happened at this time so that I can get it rectified. At this point, this is indeed a matter for the MainCon to sort out. Water is leaking from the concrete ceiling from the discharge pipes somewhere in the stack or from the upstairs unit. The waterproofing isn't holding up. No payment necessary on my part this round, but I get all the fun of cleaning up.

The false ceiling had to be cut open again. Repair works weren't too messy. It was half a day's work. But still. Ugh. I had to laugh. The suggested Saturday date of injecting concrete fillers was right smack on our wedding anniversary. I sent the dog away to her aunties, sent the husband to the gym, and I got a good workout cleaning up. 

There're so many water issues in this flat. Oh well. It could have been worse, really. Ahhh... the joys of owning a home. 

Protein & Fibre for Everyone

Left tray: For humans. Right tray: For floofs.

It was time to steam up another batch of broccoli, pumpkin and carrots for the floofs. I decided to also steam fish for them. I didn't have time to go to the wet market, so to Meidi-ya it was for pure convenience. 

There were lovely fillets of threadfin (ikan kurau) and sea bream (tai). Got both trays of fish. Humans would settle dinner with these fish too. Tai stands up to being frozen better than kurau. But they would both do. The floofs would enjoy it. They do love fish, and by now, they have rather discerning tastebuds when it comes to fish.

The carrots, pumpkin and broccoli were done super fast and neatly placed into soft silicone trays to cool. They would be frozen. Some of those trays would be going out to a tiny floof. Choya wouldn't take that much broccoli or carrots. Her usual BOMBOM packs of food held enough fibre. For Choya, I mainly steam pumpkin to stock in the fridge. #ImpieCooks2025

For us humans, our steamed fillets were done with spring onions, salted plums, chillies and soy sauce. Ahhhhh.... the fish was gorgeous. Worth eating the skin too. I added a stir-fried kyabetsu with dried shrimps and fish sauce, and oyster mushrooms. We didn't need rice or noodles. So this was a rather filling high-protein low-carb dinner.