The "JCPHQ"

John 'Constantine' Pang

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Farrer Court Farewell

The verdict is out - farrer court will be en-bloced. The 80% quota has been met. Not surprising, after a previous update showed that only 4 more sigatures were required. Obviously those 4 places couldnt hold out much longer. Many residents were in a hurry to clinch the deal and sell the units before the price should fall. Although the 'bubble' isnt expected to burst soon, ppl r just being kiasu because we were given a very good price. well in a situation like this, u can only be either kiasu or greedy. but actually yeah.. the price is alr so good, so i wun expect it to rise much more. better to be kiasu.

But i objected to the en-bloc not cos im greedy for a higher price, but cause i dont wanna move out of farrer court. I once even wanted to use farrer court as a heirloom, some time before the en-bloc idea came out. (now i noe it cant cos the lease is 99 yrs) It holds sentimental value more than any other place. I been living here since the day i was born, and since im not sum1 who goes out alot, i spend most of my time here. Although most memorable events happen outside, my home is like my shelter and refuge from the whatever hustle and bustle going on; a safe haven. A place i can find peace and quiet.

I like this place. the location, the position, and the view. im on the 8th level, and thats just nice, the same level as the canopy of that big angsana tree a few meteres away, so theres a nice view of the canopy, and shades from direct sun. around that tree there are also a lot of artificially planted bushes and short plants of diffrent colours and with flowers, and the rest of the area covered with a field of grass, making the view all natural and nice. A big old tree another several metres away would be covered in bright yellow flowers during a part of the year. Birds would frequently rest in these trees. sometimes there would be interesting birds, like some kind of white parrot, small blue or yellow birds and some pigeons not like the ones found pecking crumbs at some neighbourhood void decks in swarms. There would also be some animal visitors one in awhile, including a giant big-beak bird on my ledge when i was a small kid, praying mantis, a pigeon that made a nest among the aircon cables and recently a group of minahs coming into the kitchen, eating our apples and leaving shit on the table.
On the other side of a wall nearby, i can see a big bungalow which belongs to a series of really expensive houses along leedon road. this bungalow is only rented not owned. when theres no occupants, a guard would be patrolling the compound day and night. when there is, the whole place including the plants there would be lighted up and there would be some festivity going on.Outside the windows of the other side, the view is of leedon heights, which is separated from my block by just a small field, leedon road, and after a drop downwards, a small canal, and the footpath. The occasional passing of cars on leedon road as well as the people jogging or walking dogs along the sides of leedon rd and the footpath adds life to the area, making it not seem like a secluded place, yet not making it a busy place disturbing the peace. (the recent tunneling project very nearby has added a great amount of disturbance.) the view In between the leedon towers as seen from my window, is of a whole forested area, which i found out, is owned privately, with a nice big house in the compound. Farrer court is somehow mainly resided by midage workers or elderly. hardly see bunches of kids playing around. some buildings like mera saga, holland hill mansions, holland close HDB flats and the MOE building can be seen from my window. at a slightly higher storey, the ulu pandan CC, which is very near my former school, a singtel tower which is just adjacent to SP and chimneys of the jurong industries sprouting fire can also be seen. sometimes at night, the fire can get real big and lights up the sky with an orange tint. if i would like the taste of a busy main road from the window, a small portion of farrer road is also visible. the absence of tall buildings nearby other than the leedon towers and block G allows me a good view of the vast blue sky and its clouds.

i dont know if i can find and get another place like this or better. Today i went with my dad and uncle who is an estate agent to look around at some condos and view 2 units up for sale at pine grove and the sterling. The pine grove unit is on the 16th floor, good wide view, but when the sun is up it heats up the living room. The location is good.. very near my school and the mrt and rather accessible. the place is rather cosy if its enclosed and airconned, but if not it will be stuffy. the ceiling is very low and some parts have no ventilation, others quite poor. The rooms are quite small but theres 4 bedrooms and some extra spaces around. but in total shd be smaller area than my current unit. Since we wont agree to bear the hefty cost of aircon all day long, i guess we have to reject it. As for the sterling, its much worse. on the 8th storey. hardly any view. the windows are all in 1 direction only. 2 of them looks out into some junkyard beside the malaysian railway and a trek of wild vegetation. when the train passes its sure to create a din. the 3rd one looks out to a wall and the neighbour's kitchen window. eew. the study room is extremely small and only got 4 rooms in total. the facilities doesnt look good either. and the swimming pool environment is so plain. we also went to view the marbella and cavendish park.. quite nice but may not have units on sale, and even if there is it may be too expensive. But wherever we may finally move to and settle in, i know for sure, things will never be the same as before.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home