(* Ok, for the record, there’s yet any internet connection at our new place. There are some wireless internet connections available – but none unsecured, so I no longer have ‘free’ internet access like it used to be in Gyotoku. I miss having 24/7 internet connections at home – especially now since I’m in the middle of preparing for my graduate school’s entrance exam/interview which insya Allah will be held on June 18th - yup, on a Sunday morning)
I’m still getting used to living on the 5th floor with no elevator available. Previously in Gyotoku, our room was on the third floor and some friends refer to it as “rumah atas bukit”. Now that we are on the fifth floor, some began to call it “rumah atas gunung”. But yes, it’s good exercise. Hubby said that we are saving ourselves the trouble of going to a gym to keep ourselves fit. Personally, I try not to mind too – so long as we never ever forget anything – keys, baby’s bottle, extra diapers, etc - before we leave home. (oh yes, already I had forgotten Huzaifah’s bottle once, with freshly made milk on the dinner table. Previously, I had to pass the kitchen before exiting the house, so I’d never forgotten to pack the bottle – but now we no longer have to pass the kitchen in order to exit the house, so there… Alhamdulillah, Huzaifah is a flexible child, so that day I fed him milk using a glass and spoon.)
If my Mak is here, she would be pleased to witness first hand how industrious hubby has been lately. I must admit that he is doing a whole lot more than me in making the place as comfortable as possible for us – in fact, he did most of the unpacking, leaving only the kitchen and the toilet/bathroom for me to attend to. In the first place, he was the one who did most of the packing too, mostly done when I was away at school, only leaving the final vacuuming and mopping for me to attend to.
We moved to Asakusa on Saturday evening. At first we were told that we would be moving at around 9.00 to 10.00 a.m. Later, we were told that the scheduled had been postponed to around 5.00 to 6.00 p.m.. Hubby and I just agreed to whatever ICOJ arranged because ICOJ paid for the rental truck. Hubby just informed some Malaysian friends about the proposed time for us to move since they had offered to help us.
Thinking it was going to be 5.00 p.m. when we finally moved, we delayed some packing until the very last minute – food in the fridge, some clothes, etc. However, the people from ICOJ arrived at about 3.30 p.m., telling us that we would be moving things downstairs from then on. Kelam kabut we finished the last minute packing and called up friends living nearest to us to engage their help,as well as calling distant friends informing them of the change and advised them not to come.
When I moved from Komaba to Gyotoku, everything could be packed within a small mini truck. This time though, it had to be a 2 tonne truck because hubby had accumulated a lot of stuff in the past three months or so, mostly for Huzaifah – two large boxes of toys, baby car seat, baby walker, baby seat (for feeding him) etc. At one time everybody was worried that we could not fit everything inside the truck, but alhamdulillah, macam ajaib la jugak, the men managed to pack everything inside the truck. By everything, I’m referring to almost 20 boxes of various sizes, about 10 suitcases/bags of different sizes, the big fridge, the 25 inch TV, numerous shelves and drawers, chairs, tables. Yup, it was quite a sight to behold.
By 7.00 p.m, alhamdulillah, we were done with it. We transferred the ownership of our washing machine and gas cooker to Kamarol, since these items were already available at our new place. Actually, there were several other items already available at our new place such as dinner table and chairs as well as sofas, but hubby insisted on bringing everything because disposing large stuff in Japan is not as easy as we can do it in Malaysia. And alhamdulillah, because the helpers were mostly ICOJ people, including the driver of the truck, this time around, although the truck was not equipped with navigator system, the trip from Gyotoku to Asakusa was smooth and steady – no sightseeing tour like I experienced the first time I moved in March.
Hubby and I started unpacking that very night, and hubby went to bed only after solat Subuh, at about 3.30 a.m., after almost 80% of unpacking was done. Though I did not do much carrying, instead, just taking care of Huzaifah while others were moving the stuff (reads: advising others on which boxes is heavy/light, and where to put them upon arrival in Asakusa), I somehow felt a bit drained that night, what with Huzaifah finding difficulty going to sleep, like he usually does in an unfamiliar surrounding. Somehow, I managed to clean the kitchen until it seems functional enough and rasmikan it for the first time by cooking instant noodles as dinner for us that night.
Some friends had advised me in advance on how strict and particular house owners and real estate agents could be upon final inspection of the house. I had arranged to meet both the house owner and real estate agent to nullify the contract at 1.00 p.m. on Sunday. Hubby and I arrived at the house for final clean up at around 11.45 a.m., so just it’s not difficult to imagine our surprise when the real estate agent showed up at 12.00 p.m. I was in the middle of vacuuming while hubby was in the middle of disposing some chair and table (rather illegally because he just took them to a large garbage dump at a public park not far from our home.) There was still some space left to be vacuumed when Huzaifah started crying for my attention. The real estate agent then asked me to pick Huzaifah up and he continued with the vacuuming. As I held Huzaifah in my left arm, I started mopping the kitchen floor, and then the house owner arrived. I have asked a friend who is good in Nihongo to assist us during the final check up, but since we have arranged to meet at 1.00 p.m., he was not there yet. Quickly called him up and he showed up not long after that.
Since it was a last minute arrangement, we still had to pay the rent for June, but we did get some balance from the one-month deposit I paid before. After the real estate agent showed us the uneven spots (caused by spilled food) on two tatami mats which had to be changed (and I had anticipated in advance) and explaining how much I had to pay for water bill in May, I got the 48000 yen balance from the deposit on the spot as I finally returned the house key to the owner. I thanked him and apologized for moving out so soon after he had kindly installed new air-conditioner and hot water supply for the kitchen as per my request. Understandably he’s not happy about me moving because it will take some time to find new tenant, but (so typically Japanese) he did not show any sign of dreariness, instead he congratulated hubby warmly and wished us all the best in our new place.
Honestly, I liked living in Gyotoku. No hassle to change train to go to school, free bicycle parking at Seiyu, really cheap food could be found at various shops (various vegetables for less than 100 yen a pack, 10 eggs for less than 100 yen, etc etc etc), a reliable Malaysian community living not so far away and it was quite easy for hubby to go and teach the Malaysian kids in Ichikawaono. But things change, and often we have to change as situation changes, just like in this instant.
Nevertheless, change is often for the better. And that’s exactly what I’m praying for right now.
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