Sunday, March 16, 2008

Moving Our Home, March 2008

During the course of construction we would all take time out to visit the house and see how the work was going. Progress was sometimes slow and frustrating, but being in the design and construction industry I know what to expect. Anticipating the inevitable has allowed me some peace of mind in all this... although that hasn't really helped relax my wife, Kanittha.

So, we would visit the house and see for ourselves and do whatever we can to help things along.

Khao Niew

On one visit to the house construction, while waiting for the kitchen installation team to finish, we discovered that Little Nio loves eating grilled chicken and sticky rice.

Cart A

Cart B

We picked up an inexpensive fold away cart that's usually used for dragging groceries to the car, but in this case Little Nio has decided that it is just the right size for him, both sitting down or standing up it works perfectly.

Bread

After a big lunch of chicken and sticky rice, Little Nio thinks that it's now time to eat some bread. He really makes a big mess of things, but he enjoys his food. We're very lucky that Little Nio is not picky with food and that he's got a very healthy diet. Let's hope that he stays this way as far as eating is concerned.

iPod

After eating, Little Nio puts on a bit of music. He enjoys "dancing" and will move to the rhythm of a good beat.

Our move is going to be a major production. I've asked my friend, Khun Sathit, who owns a computer hardware supply company Multi Solution Management, to help migrate my computer system first. I've known him for years and years and years. He was introduced to me by Lolo Mon, and we've always gotten along. Through the years, I have purchased 99% of all my computer equipment from him.

Workspace

Here's a view of my current system set-up. I'm planning to move the entire system on Wednesday, March 19th.

On Thursday, March 20th, the moving company, Asian Tigers Transpo, will be delivering the empty boxes to our apartment and begin packing. The final stage of our migration will be on Friday, March 21st, which is supposed to be a very fortuitous day, even more so because it will be a full moon, and a Good Friday as well.

One of the reasons I'm confident that the move will go without a hitch is because the movers are professionals and their teams are extremely good. I've used them once before when I moved back from Pattaya to Bangkok, and because of my work I've seen them on a number of office migration jobs as well. There's a premium to be paid, but at the end of the day it's all worth it.

We'd like to share a few progress photographs of our future home. It won't really be ours until we've finished off the payments, but that's a technicality we're happy to overlook.

Kitchen A

The unit originally allocated a really small space for a kitchen and if we followed what the developers had planned for us, this is all we might be getting. Here's my wife, Kanittha, standing in the "Hot" part of the kitchen where we'll be doing all of the cooking. The glass door on the right side leads to the "Wet" part of our kitchen, with a nice sink.

Kitchen B

This is supposed to be the "Cold" part of the kitchen. My wife is standing in the little niche designed for our refrigerator. The additional counter space on the right of that photo is more of a general work counter.

Water Tank

Out back in the laundry area, here's my wife standing with our oversized 1,000 liter water tank and our over specified 3,000W water pump. Note the fancy pipes and the filtration system.

Sofa

Freshly delivered, (it's still got the plastic on) here's our sofa on the second floor Family Room. We thought about getting a nice heavy fabric with some really rich colors but in the context of the space and having a little child around the house as a realistic consideration, we opted on a light colored leather finish.

Nio's Bed

Exhausted from all the stuff she's had to help coordinate, my wife, Kanittha, takes a quick break on Little Nio's bed. We decided to get him a trundle bed that he can share with his aunt Pa Kut. It's a practical solution that we hope will work for the future.

Removing the Stitches, March 2008

Nearly a week after his accident, Little Nio is ready to go back to the hospital and have his stitches removed. Actually, since we live so close to the hospital, his Mommy has been taking him to the hospital every single day to have the wound cleaned and the bandages changed.

Aside from the concerns we have from a medical standpoint, it also helps to take him to the hospital frequently so that he can disassociate any traumas he might have from the actual place — the hospital. We're hoping that the familiarity with such a place will prevent him from developing any silly phobias.

With Mommy

Here he is with his Mommy, just before we left to go to the hospital.

OR-A

OR-B

Getting our money's worth by having a doctor, a male orderly and three nurses all working together to help remove six tiny stitches off Little Nio's face.

Scarred

All done. Here's Little Nio showing off his scar proudly. Let's hope that there won't be anymore of those.

Vichaiyut-01

There's a small play area on the 12th floor of the new Vichaiyut Medical Center. Little Nio is waiting for his appointment with his pediatrician, Doctor Wanasiri.

Vichaiyut-02

Vichaiyut-03

Vichaiyut-04

Checking out the rocking toys at the play area.

Urbanion

Little Nio and Mommy camping out on the floor of our new house, which is still under construction. This room will later become our Master Bedroom, but right now it's a picnic spot. He's even brought along a new xylophone.