I’ve been staying in my AMK flat for 5 years. Honestly, can’t believe it’s been that long, but warning signs in various parts of the house have suddenly pop up, and brought us to the knowledge that our place is not so new anymore.

Last year, it was the bathroom drainage, which leaked and eroded our neighbour’s bathroom ceiling below us. They were an old couple who kept quiet for 6 months before telling us, for reasons unknown. My parents called HDB, who did the observations and sent in the contractors. After hacking the bathroom floor tiles, and repairing the damage, we had a brand new bathroom floor and toilet bowl. My parents agreed to foot the bill, whatever the cost, much to the old couple’s delight. Imagine having to live with a leaky ceiling for 6 months. Oh dear.

Then in the midst of a heat-wave which came upon Singapore, our air-con unit broke down. We took the opportunity and downsized our air con to just 2 units for the hall, as it was such a waste to have 2 more units in the rooms when we hardly used them. Saved us a whole lot on electricity bills.

After that, the fridge went on strike and shut down, making Mum upset that it spoiled the food she stored inside. We downsized too, to a smaller fridge a little shorter than me, and with a freezer below, instead of the usual eye-level compartment. Then the dryer caused the power in our place to short-circuit, so new repairs for new switches were needed. Less usage of dryer, needless to say.

Recently, while taking a bath, my shower head broke off from the hose. I was actually contented with just bathing with the hose, but Mum insisted on repairs as she was afraid I would be electrocuted if I was not careful. Then our bathroom doors almost locked us in, so Mum again insisted on changing both doors. New ones arriving tomorrow, pronto.

Wow. The cost of living is certainly high, and the cost of repairing all these things also burns a hole in your pocket. Mum wisely said that every house, after a period of 5 years, will give you all these problems. Well, they’re right smack in our face now.

Recession? Sorry, gotta repair first.