On the auspicious day and time, it is the Door Opening ceremony! Armed with a fat pineapple, some fruits, a bag of 5kg white rice, salt, Chinese tea leaves, we opened the main gate and door together, and rolled the pineapple across the living room with a “Huat Ah”!
It is the first time we entered our new flat, the hollowness of the place sent echoes when we talked. Super dusty on the cement floor, and smell of cigarette smoke everywhere. It was an unpleasant sight for my kids, as they asked “Why is the floor like that?” We had not opted for the Optional Component Scheme (OCS) items, due to my skepticism of poor jobs when assigned by HDB.
Why bring fruits, this is because my husband wanted to burn some incense. He also mixed the white rice, salt and tea leaves, and sprinkled all over the flat, as a way to cleanse the flat of any negative presences. This seems to be a standard Chinese practice, from google.
Anyway, it was good to open the windows and let air circulate. I brought along a tower fan, thank god, as it was way too stuffy and hot. Extra advice: this tower fan is gonna undergo tough renovation conditions, hence you should bring one which you are prepared to throw away later. Next up was 动土 (groundbreaking) followed by tiles-laying. I shall skip elaborations on the 动土 rituals, since this blog is supposed to be about renovation planning.
Planning for my Bidadari 3Gen BTO 