Almost there.

You could just imagine my joy when we chanced upon Hong Kong Supermarket @ Allston (heard it just opened! Woohoo!). The building looked Chinese all right and when I entered, I was jumping for joy when I saw the all-so-familiar stuff! So you know that I am a true-blue Chi-na-pok. I told Ken to brace himself as I went down the aisle to pick up all the necessary sauces and condiments for cooking and yes, I could cook at last! The bill came up to a fair bit but for initial start-up, it was ok because in the long run, we would save more from eating out. Things here were definitely not cheap. But, well, we will made do.

Off to Bed Bath & Beyond @ Park Drive and bought our bedsheet and some household products. I wish we had a car then because that would mean that we did not have to make multiple trips here and there. So, at the end of the day, after dinner, I just plonked into bed. Zzzzzz.... Thankfully, Ken was always there to help. Somehow, I feel he could make a good house-husband. kekekeke.

Random pics from yesterday's shopping. We are almost done with our home!

Donuts, anyone?

Before...

After...

Cosy corner

The rather stocked-up kitchen

Can you see some familiar bottles? Yes, I can!

I have conquered the cabinet in the bathroom. Well, I'm afterall... woman! =p

Initial start-up

We were up at 3 plus in the AM, couldn't sleep no longer and went to do online research...for a bed. The management had earlier emailed Ken that they would not be supplying the additional twin (looks more like a single) bed and thus we had to go buy a decent-sized one for us.

So to Craigslist, Target and Ikea we went. The first two were recommended by friends who told us that we could really find good deals in there and of course, it's always good old Ikea we go to if we lack any furniture. Problem was the transportation. As we currently had no car, we could not transport the bed or any purchase back home. Of course the solution is to pay for movers but that cost a lot. Ikea was way too far away for us and we eventually struck it off.

We were on this mission for a good 3 to 4 hours until the hubs gave up and suggested a morning jog around the reservoir. Might as well. I felt the more we fussed over it, the more uptight we became. We decided that we could just go back to BC and asked the representatives for advice.

Saying a prayer, we left for BC to tidy up all the admin stuff that Ken had to do, including his health report submission, student card (hey, I've got one myself!), opening a bank account and the registration of the courses. It was tiring walking around the campus and having to look for the different people. I don't recall my going to grad school as so confusing! But of course, we are talking about international students now and definitely more procedures to be made. It was fun though and as we entered the Lynch School of Education, I could feel myself wanting very much to study too! Oh, btw, I would be going for the Orientation too! (me am very kaypoh =p).

After settling most of the stuff (phew!), we decided to do some shopping at Coolidge Corner as recommended by Meghan, the rep at the International Students Office. We wanted to go there primarily to look for beds as she hinted that we could find good bargain there. However, one store captured my eyes and we basically stocked up on kitchen stuff. Now, at least we have kettle, pans (I've got pink ones!) and bowls and in no time at all, the kitchen would clearly be stocked up and I could cook! I am getting sick of those food out there (for the record, we only had one meal today).

And you know what? When we opened the door to our apartment, we were overjoyed! An extra bed was placed next to the previous one! They have given us another bed! We could save a lot from it! Ken later revealed that it could be the email that he wrote to them. Whatever it was, we were thankful. Thankful that we did not go ahead and purchase online in the morning. Thankful that we were distracted to buy kitchenware. Thankful to the Lord mostly for his provision. =)

Our abode for the next 1.5 years.

Backdated Beginning... by... the Beng

So I was supposed to inaugurate this blog, but as usual, dear wife got off to a quicker start. I can never get myself to blog for very long. This is quite possibly my fourth blog ever and I doubt if I've even hit a total of 10 posts in all.

Take heart however. Since wife is in on this with me, we can all expect it to last substantially longer...

It's been only slightly more than a day since we've touched down at Boston and a little more than 48 hours since we left Changi Airport, so there really isn't all that much to report on.

I guess all I can give you is my perspective on what the wife has already shared. Have no doubt however that it will be unique, witty, entertaining, and most of all... extremely quotable. It will, in a pinch, also cure cancer. Possibly.

So my take on what has happened over the past 48 hours is this.

I agree with my wife. Completely. Unreservedly. Wholeheartedly.
She isn't even threatening me in any way while I'm typing this. Seriously.
(She probably will once she reads this though... =p)

In summary.
We arrived safely in Boston despite a rather frightful start to the flight process at Changi.
We caught ALL our connecting flights despite the first flight leaving more than an hour behind schedule, and later having to stand in line for more than an hour to clear customs in Chicago. (For every connecting flight, the gate closed within a few minutes of us getting on board the plane...)
All our luggage arrived with little incident (some spilled shampoo) despite having 3 out of the 4 bags that we checked in separated from us on the final flight. Yes, it did take longer than they initially promised, but they thankfully got it to us before we checked out of the hotel.
We managed to get a late check-out, and thus had the opportunity for ample rest between our two trips lugging our bags from the hotel down to our new place.
We met friendly people along the way who helped to point us in the right directions.
We got a room facing the back, which meant less breeze because of the other houses behind, but also quite a bit less noise since it isn't facing the road.
Through all the challenges, wife has helped me see the positive side of things.

So right now, we've been told that we're not getting an extra bed, so we have a couple of options:
1) Starve ourselves so we can better fit the two of us into a single twin bed. (Why is it called a twin when there's only one of it?!)
2) Learn to sleep sideways. Which would leave our legs hanging over the side, but at least there'll be ample space for the both of us. And about 4-5 other visiting friends when you all come to see us.
3) Buy a new bed.

I'm sure something good will come out of this. =D