This is Ann

I received the keys to the new apartment today.

The landlord had arranged to meet at 11 am to do an inventory check. I had to go without the hubby as he couldn’t make it (his superior refused to let him go off early from his teambuilding seminar in Luzern). But Rina kept me company in case I needed a second opinion (Alesha tagged along of course). Mr. Th30, the previous tenant was also there for the purpose of handing over.

The so-called inventory check lasted three hours. The landlord noted down every single miniscule detail from a stain mark on the floor to a loose handle on the door. Which is good really, so we know what we should and should not replace when it’s our turn to move out. She wasn’t quite happy with the bedroom floors though –not clean enough — and requested the professional cleaners to do another round of cleaning. Mr Th30 paid the cleaning company CHF1500 for its service. I guess for that amount, you should expect nothing less than a polished and shining floor. I reckon we’ll probably have to hire a professional cleaner too, when we move out. This is definitely one fussy landlord.

Nonetheless, it’s good that we have everything noted down. In a way, I like the fact that the Swiss are quite thorough in their procedures. At the end of the day, the protocols are in place mainly to protect both sides from future conflicts. 

Anyway, after getting the keys, I’ve managed to move quite a bit of our stuff into the new house. Had to start with the kitchen cuz the bedrooms are off limit until Thursday (the cleaners have to do another round of cleaning, remember?)

Hopefully we can get everything moved by the weekend cuz we need to start cleaning this apartment asap!

This is the kitchen. It’s an open plan. I’m quite happy with the storage I have although the working area could be bigger. The fridge is built-in (next to the oven)

The ceramic stove. Same as the one in the old apartment.

    
Bedroom 2, Bedroom 1 and the living room .. belum furnished lagi

I have been feeling a bit guilty that I haven’t been taking care of myself as well I did when I was pregnant for the first time.

I know I should, especially with the type of food I’ve been taking in lately. (Too much instant noodles). I really don’t have a valid excuse. I’m just plain lazy and all I want to do is lie down and hibernate. It’s the summer sale now and I really should be out shopping.

Fortunately (or rather unfortunately for me), I have Alesha to keep me on my feet. Well, when she’s become too bored playing on her own, that is. It’s the only exercise I’m willing to partake, and only under duress (i.e. when I can’t stand her making a scene or I rasa kesian sgt dia main sorang-sorang, haha).

I am so not enjoying this stage of pregnancy. Bukan tak larat, tapi takda mood!

Hopefully my baby is growing healthily inside me despite the junk food I’ve been feeding him/her.

We had an invitation to a formal lunch do at the Embassy proper yesterday. I had been looking forward to it for weeks now, or to be more accurate, looking forward to the food especially rendang and local kuihs. Memang tengah craving these two.

Alas, on Friday, the hubby called from the office to tell me that we might not go. I was so disappointed, I threw a major tantrum. Haha. Not so majorlah tapi ada orang tu terpaksalah masak sendiri malam tu and tidur kat living room (his choice, hehe). Well, blame it on the pregnancy hormones. 

Anyway, the reason we had to skip the lunch do was because Mr Hubby had to go look around for the cars he liked. Oh yeah, we’ve decided to lease not buy. And for obvious reasons, we are only looking at family cars.

The hubby has now whittled it down to a Toyota Verso and an Opel Zafira. Both can accommodate up to seven passengers. If it were up to me I’d go for the Verso because it’s from a reliable name (obviously I relate anything Japanese to be a reliable product). The hubby however prefers the European make, cuz it’s more, er .. comfortable.  The Verso runs on petrol whereas the Zafira on diesel. That should make our choice obvious but guess what, here in Switzerland, diesel costs more than petrol. CHF2.20 per litre to petrol’s CHF1.94, and still going up!!

Hubby is keeping his options open until Tuesday. Until then, I’ll keep you guys guessing too. You reckon he will go for comfort or reliability??

After spending the morning at a couple of garage, we headed to Ikea to do a bit of pre-moving shopping. Got ourselves a new set of sofa but we’ll only get it in four weeks’ time!! Blahdy el, lambat gila. We’re getting our keys next week and we’re set to move.

Ooh, a new car and a new apartment. Life don’t get much exciting for this boring hausfrau.

Due to the recent fuel price hike, some people have had to take up a second job to keep the household running. It’s quite sad really how RM3,000 a month can no longer give you a comfortable life unless you’re single and live with your parents. I can only imagine how those earning much, much less are coping.

From the regular online newsfeeds I read, this is pretty much the same situation in many other developing nations that have been hit bad by inflation.  In Egypt, kids have had to miss school so they could queue up for four hours at the local bakery for subsidized breads. Families have had to give up meats and savoury food, not because of food shortage but because they just can’t afford them anymore.

In some parts of Africa, mothers with their babies have to trek a few miles a day just so they could get food aids. It’s the same story. Cooking oil and their staple food have become too expensive although stocks at the local stores are aplenty.

I’m not going anywhere with this. I’m simply venting my frustration and sadness at seeing those little malnourished bodies of the children.

Who do we blame really? 

Ah, sad, sad.

On the homefront, Alesha is still not herself but she’s feeling much, much better after I took her to the clinic this afternoon. She’s got a bacterial infection and has been prescribed an antibiotic for 10 days. Hopefully it clears up soon and she’ll start eating normally again. Sedih tengok she’s so listless and takda selera.

And looks like we’ll be getting the keys to the new apartment either this week or next. Hopefully sooner. The professional cleaners finally came today to clear the apartment. I saw them on the way back with a big truck and several heavy industry-type cleaning equipment.  The previous tenant just called to confirm this (they moved out a week ago).

I wonder how much they paid those cleaners. But they did stay there for eight years and with three kids, I suppose you need a professional cleaner to clean up all that leftovers. And we did request a new paint on the wall. Well, the hubby did, not me. 

I sure hope we don’t have to hire them. Those professional cleaners, I mean.

Sorry about the title. Saja letak. Hehe.

Baked a small cheesecake for the hubby today as a Father’s Day gift. M@rwan and Lis came for tea and we had a good short catching up. Also managed to do some packing today but only a bit as Alesha has suddenly taken ill. She threw up a few times and wasn’t her cheery self. It could either be the pasta I gave her for lunch or something she ate in the morning. She’s taking a nap now and I’m hoping she gets better after this.