I wanted to squeeze in a quick update. I promised myself I’ll write a blog before the weekend ends. Even with a pandemic… much is happening at home.

Since my last post, I’ve relocated to Pasir Ris together with PJ and my flatmates. We moved to a town that most commuters read and hear as the last MRT station on the East-West Line. Pasir Ris is a quiet coastal and recreation town that I wrote about in my previous post.

That’s the biggest news. It anchors the rest of what’s happening:

• Getting settled into our new home – paying house and PUB deposits, paying stamping fees, fixing cleaning and laundry schedules, shopping for room and household storage solutions
• Acquainting ourselves with the new neighborhood – finding the better grocery and convenience stores, locating bus stops, learning new bus routes, walkways, shortcuts to get to the MRT station
• Trying out new jogging routes in the vicinity – exploring Sungei Api-Api, Pasir Ris Town Park, Pasir Ris Beach, condo jogging paths

I’m happy that I’m now able to settle in. When I moved to Tampines in April, I couldn’t really unpack all my things because we were anticipating this move in August or September. Now that we’ve found a nice place to call home, I feel like we can invest in some new things to help tidy up our home.

I’ll write more about our move and our setup soon. In the meantime, here are some other updates…

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Work

Briefly mentioning that I’m diving into full work mode by engaging and interviewing journalists, running verification work, and improving accuracy scores. I’m enjoying the new role because I’m challenged by it. I can really see myself growing in unexpected ways.

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The pandemic

Singapore saw its lowest daily total of pandemic cases in recent months with around 11 reported the other day. Honestly at this stage… it feels like the country is back to normal. Except that everyone out in public has a mask on. I panicked a bit at Daiso earlier when the store didn’t seem to have social distancing in place (it was packed with shoppers)… where Uniqlo one level down had a queue outside their store because the store only allowed X amount of people inside. Kind of inconsistent!

PJ and I have been in and out of malls and public spaces recently because we’re buying things for the new rental condo we’re staying at. I still prefer to avoid malls and crowded places altogether. Even with the total daily cases reported… this pandemic isn’t ending anytime soon. The temptation to shop is back. But I have to pinch myself. People are losing their jobs because of this pandemic. This pandemic will close more businesses when the economic losses start to ripple across other industries. It’s wise to penny-pinch. SAVE NOT SPEND.

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New routines

I’ve signed up for a workout programme that my friend U was recommending. This new programme has two coaches that will train you via Zoom from Monday to Saturday. Currently, I can squeeze in Monday, Thursday, and Friday. I already have yoga on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I’m freeing up weekends for running and visiting parks in Singapore. Also, this condo rental has a swimming pool. A large lap pool downstairs. I’ll make time for that too.

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Going digital first

Earlier I suggested to PJ that we take this pandemic as an opportunity to force ourselves to be more ‘digital first’. This means forgoing cash altogether and even cards.

• Using Apple Pay, PayLah, PayNow… and other apps to make payments at stores and restaurants. Scan a QR code and you’re done.
• Making use of Singapore’s apps that carry a digital version of your IC. Instead of carrying around a physical IC all the time.
• Using apps to top-up your EZ-Link card. No more visiting an EZ-Link machine.
• Using apps on an Apple Watch to direct you to your location – dropping the need to use ‘traditional’ maps (like my fave ‘Street Directory’ which has dated UI) / also using same apps to indicate if a bus or an MRT train is leaving at a certain time.
• Automated backups of photos and files.
• Getting more devices to sync with each other.
• Smart home, using voice technology more, etc.

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Cutting it there. It’s late. 🙂