Moving onshore.

House moving is both an exhausting time and a time of anxiety. Yet it can be an exciting time. I no longer have big bulky furnitures to move as what is on our floating home Micasa is built-in. Beds, dining table, settee, and even the fridge is built into the kitchen cabinet. The kitchen is known as a galley on a boat. When I last sold my condominium unit all the furnitures were given away. No one wanted the washing machine and that ended up on my pontoon alongside Micasa in the marina. It has been there for 2 years now serving my laundry needs. It is a hardy machine being just a foot away from sea water and the sea sprays arising from storms will cover it without doubt. I did make a canvas cover for it to keep it out of the sun. The washing machine will stay where it is as I intend to stay on the boat every now and then.

My clothes, cookware (pots and pans) and crockery, many of which were from my old home were store onboard and these were amongst the first things to be moved onshore. Bit by bit they were moved on each of the trips I have made to the new home. Feeling the weight of what I was carrying to the car gave me a sense of relief to be moving that much weight off Micasa. The waterline on the hull has risen by close to 5 cm. If I have to estimate the total weight offloaded it must be close to one and a half ton. It will make her lighter and faster to sail!

New condominiums in Singapore comes with no lightings although everything else is well equipped. Floorings (marble tiles), built in wardrobes in each of the 3 bedrooms, kitchen with cabinets, bench tops, built in stove top and oven with a exhaust hood over the stove. Lightings are a very personal preference that is why they were not fitted. Not even with the most basic of lightings. Most of what I needed for the new home were bought online. LED lightings from AliExpress, furnitures and electrical appliances from Lazada and even a pre-loved set of outdoor teak table and chairs from Carousell. This last one was a real good buy. The teak wood was looking rather weathered and grey. I now know quite a bit about teak after caring for Micasa’s teak deck and cockpit flooring for the last few years. They will only need a bit of cleaning to remove the surface mould and dirt to bring them back to like new condition. Teak is an oily wood which lasts for a long time even in the harshest of environment. I brought the outdoor furniture set back to the marina pontoon to treat with teak cleaner and brightener. Wow, even I was amazed by the transformation.

The place was only partly furnished when we moved in on 19th January (a Sunday). Sailor dog on a leash, we rode the elevator to the 30th floor to our new home. Sailor dog was both nervous and excited at the same time. She wondered from room to room sniffing the new and old scents. The old scents coming from the belongings we have moved from Micasa. She wondered out onto the balcony while we watch anxiously. She wasn’t frightened at all and even walked to the edge of the tempered glass barrier and looked down. My knees would have gone Jello had it been me but she took it all within her stride. After a while she came to me indicating that she wanted to go back to our floating home. I told her that was our new home where we will be staying. She seemed to digest what I had told her. She was a little distracted by the new environment and didn’t eat much of her dinner that evening, even though it was her favourite. Stewed chicken with rice.

The next day, I brought her back to Micasa before I went off to work on my canvas project in the marina. She was visibly excited to be back and ran towards Micasa. Even before I had parked the car she recognised the place and was whining with excitement, anxious to leap out of the door, once it is opened.

The new home is an average sized 3 bedroom condo unit. It seems very spacious after having lived on a boat for the last three and a half years. So much space to keep and store things. Suddenly the gadget guy in me who had gone into hiding, for the lack of space, re-emerged. Images of relatively large smart TVs, sound systems etc, came flooding in. The Bose multimedia speakers are now mounted onto the forward bulkhead of Micasa and I have no intention of removing them. I will need to get new ones. Hurray! But he has been out of the scene for so long now in today’s fast moving tech world. Much catching up and learning before any buying decision, surely.

I am happy to report that the sailor dog had cope remarkably well to this new home high up in the sky. From zero (sea level) to 30th floor! The fact that she had been able to visit her floating home of the last 3 over years, on each of my working days, helped immensely. There she was fully relaxed and comfortable. Within her comfort zone. Each time when we headed back towards the new home at the end of my working day, she was still visibly excited. A slight bit of nervousness in her but all is better than I could have hoped for. She is still my sweet sailor dog at core. When I was up late, well passed my usual bedtime, tinkering with the new gadgets (TV and sound system), she will come and urge me to go to bed. Coming close and staring at me with her tired watery eyes. She would still refuse to go to sleep by herself.

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Day by day, just as she did when moving onto Micasa from the pound, she will get more used to her new home. She will be just as relaxed and comfortable in it as she was on Micasa.

Sailor dog and the Captain, signing off for now. Thank you for tuning in and we shall be back with more in the near future.

Meanwhile, remember to live life as it is meant to be lived. Cheers!