three house-warmings in as many weeks

i have attended three house-warmings in as many weeks. the first was the 4-room hdb flat of my monk's hill colleague, norwita. the second was the 5-storey cluster house of mr wang syo nan and his daughter elsie, my present colleagues in admiralty. the third, which i attended this evening was a 3-storey semi-detached house of james and sabrina, lay bee's church friends.

at nor's place in tampines, i stayed for nearly three hours because i had to wait for soo chin, another former monk's hill colleague, to turn up. i left elsie's place after 15 minutes when i realised that i had parked my car in somebody's else compound. there were insufficient lots for visitors.

at james and sabrina's place near siglap, we were there for dinner at about 7 p.m. we had spaghetti with meat balls, salad, chicken and potatoes. after the bible study session, supper was served. we had tiramisu and sea-coconut with longan and jelly. we left the place with choi chin and stella at nearly 11 p.m.

james installed a china-made jacuzzi, which cost him $7000 (an australian one would have cost $13 000), in his backyard. the water in his jacuzzi is solar heated. he also has an upright spa in his bathroom on the third level. another interesting item he has in his house is a wine cooler. but the thing that was a talking point is the reverse clock, a clock that goes anti-clockwise. i did not realise it is a backward clock until the children said: "uncle james, your clock tells the right time but in a different way."