mocha-choco-lata ya ya

Friday, September 1

Today let me introduce you to my house.

This is my front garden (which my father transformed from a desert into a semi-oasis).

This is my outside cooking area…

Enter my house from the garden entrance and…

It’s just behind my cooking area even! So misleading eh?

I can just imagine the headlines tomorrow…
HOUSE IN QUIET NEIGHBOURHOOD CATCHES FIRES
Owners were out, no casualties.
(nah, I’m just joking)

But srsly, my ~~house~~ washing machine caught fire today.
Mumsy, bro, sis and I were out having lunch at Alexandra when daddy called us, and told us our house was on fire. I have never seen mum drive so fast; you could like, mistake her for a NASCAR racer. When we got back, the SCDF fire fighters and policemen were there. And behold the bright red fire engine! :D (ooh, I crush the red hot fire engine!)

This brings my fantasies of being a fire fighter! :D (it totally didn’t help that all the fire fighters just now looked so damned hot with their toned bods and chiselled faces. it was :O :O :O and their red hot suits were just…red hot. But they’re people with passion for their jobs, and I admire that)

eww, sludge

toasted washing machine

inside the washing maching

the roof

It totally caused a major uproar among my neighbours. For the first time in my history of living in this estate (which is 15 yrs now), this is the first time I’ve seen my (usually) quiet neighbourhood transform into a wet market (well, almost). And this is the first time I’ve seen my neighbours and my mum talking so excitedly. According to them, the fire was very hot and intense.

The damage isn’t too bad actually, because the fire was isolated and started from inside the machine itself, and there wasn’t very flammable stuff around for it to spread to. You’d be fooled if you stepped into my house because there’s no sign of a fire and there’s no burnt smell either. Surprisingly, even our clothes were intact! (Even though they were inside the washing machine) They weren’t even burned or charred, just wet and stained from the smoke and ash. Haha I lost two sets of uniform and two sets of pe shirts, so yaye I get new uniforms?

But just to clarify, the heroes of the day weren’t the men in uniform, but two wonderful neighbours. They called the fire brigade, but manage to put out the fire even before they came! This is the first time I’ve seen my (rich & “cultured”) neighbours roll up their sleeves (literally!) to put out a fire. Such is the benefits of having friendly neighbourly ties (much unlike the neighbours of Everitt road). I’m glad I have so cool neighbours :D

Mr & Mrs Chan, thank you!

Through all the excitement, I guess it has made me (& especially my siblings) more appreciative of my house. It may not be the biggest, it may not have a swimming pool, it may not be very neat & tidy; but at the end of the day, it’s still home sweet home. I can imagine how I would feel if the fire had devoured my whole house- very empty. It made me even more aware how important it is that neighbours are there for each other, and how vital good neighbourly ties are. Can you imagine? If my neighbours didn’t care, and if they didn’t intervene, I wouldn’t be left with any house. I can’t say I know my neighbours very well, but yeah, they’re people I say “Hi” to on the rare few occasions I meet them, thank goodness my parents are more friendly than I am.

When we first heard that our house caught fire, mumsy and I didn’t panic (My sis did though, she was yelling at mumsy to drive faster, even though normally she’s nagging at my parents not to beat the speed limit). Instead, I laughed upon seeing the remnants of the washing machine.

Again, I appreciate all the skills I’ve learnt from ODAC, and even though ODAC hasn’t met with any major emergencies yet, all the physical and mental preparations and simulations that mr tan and the seniors have put us through has more than adequately prepared us for any real emergencies in life. It’s not just the physical skills, but also the intangible ones, like being level-headed and collected, the ability to rationalise under stress and most importantly, the ability to take care of others well-being before self and to show concern for others. All these aren’t merely lessons of the outdoors, but are lessons of life; and how I wish everyone could learn them.

I’ve seen/ gone through:
1. Someone close get cancer
2. Someone fainted and I had to perform CPR
3. Someone close die
4. A real fire alarm
And I’ve emo-ed/ cried/ moped/ moaned/ bemoaned/ deplored/ lamented about some of the events.

5. and now, a real fire in my very own house.
~~emo/ cry/ mope/ moan/ bemoan/ deplore/ lament~~
But no more of the drama, I’m way over that.

Whatever that might come next, I’ll deal with it when it comes! :P
Haha, some much needed excitement for a dreary afternoon!

Anyway, pictures from teachers’ day!

my presents for my teachers :D

omi croons to a jazz number. “Only you have the magic technique….”

ah omi’s golden pumps which I adore!

ohyeah, I crush colman chua zhener’s laugh.

`wordsofthecynical
4:55 pm

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