Online at last!

Thumbs up to PLDT. I paid the installation fee last Saturday and their contractor came to my place on Monday afternoon. The only problem is I was at work. The guy came back early yesterday and got the phone and the DSL line installed. Now to see if the service is as horrible as its rumored to be.

One month into the adventure

It's been one month since I moved in and a few things I've learned and realised:

• I should have delayed buying a washing machine and pay for laundry services instead. In the end, it will end up being cheaper if I factored in the soap, water, electricity and my time and effort.
• I should have taken care of internet connectivity ASAP so I can blog about my experience regularly.
• I should have bought a more advanced induction cooker specifically something with very accurate temperature controls. The one I have does not have settings for temperatures below 140 degrees celsius.

I now know how to prepare a few dishes like:

• sunny side up egg
• omelet
• longganisa
• hotdog
• ulam burger
• pancake
• chicken nuggets
• pansit canton
• noodles
• tinolang manok
• nilagang baboy

I finally moved

I finally moved in to the unit last Saturday. I still don't have a phone line and an internet connection so the updates to this blog might come slower especially during the weekend. I got to the unit around noon and was disappointed when the guard told me that a delivery truck left just a few minutes before I arrived. I had no choice but to wait for them to return. All the items I was waiting for arrived late in the afternoon:the bed from Mandaue Foam, the Samsung refrigerator, washing machine and airconditioner. Images to follow.

The long awaited pictures

Furnishing the unit: Day 2

In order for the unit to be livable, we really need to decide on what queen sized mattress to get. Here are our options:

• 6" Uratex Orthocare @ 14,000.00
• 6" Senso Memory Foam Mattress @18,000.00
• 6" Flex/Memory Foam with cotton cover @ 7600.00
• 6" Flex/Memory Foam with quilted spring cover @ 9,000.00
• 14" Memory Foam/Gala Spring Mattress @ 13,900.00

We believe that the 14" Memory Foam/Gala Spring Mattress @ 13,900.00 offered the best value for money at this point even though I could not find any reviews on the internet. We went back to the Mandaue Foam showroom to place our order. The staff who handled our purchase was very accomodating. We even took the bed sheet we got the day before and tried it on the sample mattresses. We also found some nice pillows to go with the new mattress. All in all, the items we purchased added to a total of 15,080.00 which already includes deliver charges. It also includes the 10% discount since I opted to pay in cash via EPS. The discount would have been lower (5%) had I used my credit card to pay. I hope to provide more feedback on the mattress and pillows once they deliver it on Saturday. We went to visit the unit primarily to take measurements and to take some pictures. Will upload them soon.

• Refrigerator - L:21 W:27 H:67
• Washing Machine - L:24 W:24
• Small bedroom window - L:77 W:35
• Big bedroom window - L:77 W:71
• Living room window - L:47 W:47
• Front door - W:36
• Airconditioner - W:23.5 H:15.5
• Planned Counter - L:48 W:24 H:40
• Planned Shower Glass - W:72 H:56
• Planned Bathroom Cabinet - L:10 W:18
• Planned Bathroom Mirror - W:40 H:30

And the buying begins

Our first stop for the day is the Uratex outlet located in QC. We are considering getting the Orthopedic Mattress(14k@7yrs warranty) and the Senso Memory Mattress(18k@10 yrs warranty)
We next went to Mandaue Foam located at the corner of Quezon Avenue and BMA Avenue. They also had a spring mattress with a memory foam topper which in my opinion provides more value for money. After looking around the store, we took a quick lunch in the nearby Chowking outlet.
We then proceeded to Ortigas Home Depot where we were almost convinced to buy overpriced appliances we don't really need at this point. The details of the story can be found here. We looked around the facility but we didn't find anything we liked except some high stools which we could use for the planned meal counter.
We then went to SM Megamall where there was an ongoing sale of appliances. Most of the items aren't exactly on sale. Instead, they can be purchased on installment. After checking out all the booths, we settled on the following:

• Refrigerator: Samsung no frost 7 cubic feet
• Washing Machine: Samsung 8kg Fully automatic
• Airconditioner: Samsung 3/4 HP with timer and remote

We didn't purchase anything yet as we had to make sure the appliances would fit the planned spaces. I'll probably pay for them late monday evening. Next, we went to the department store's home section where we bought:

• Water dipper(tabo)
• Pail
• Laundry Basket
• Hangers(2 dozen)
• Basin
• Ironing Board
• Toilet Brush
• Bath Towel
• Soft Slippers
• Sanitized Bed Sheet and Pillow Case

All of the items above adds up to 3,727.00. We also got a teflon coated dry iron at the appliance section for 900.00. We also bought 2 units of Dehumidifier and a unit of Glade scented gel from Blade to improve the smell of the unit although to be honest, I don't mind that the unit smells like brand new.
All in all, we spent a total of 4,902.25 for the first day of purchases. More purchases to come.