Of trips and bibs

In its entirety, Hong Kong is a truly boring travel destination for a Singaporean. Whatever we're trying to escape from by travelling out only magnifies itself in Hong Kong. Crowded commuter trains, rude drivers, rowdy FTs, impatient eatery assistants, claustrophobic sidewalks, brisk-walking OLs, towering skyscrapers... The saving grace, IMO, is the lip-smacking cuisine, chachanteng style or not.

... And I'm done with my runs for the year! From being abhorrent of all strenuous physical activities to signing up actively for runs, I felt that I outdid my old self once again. Come 2014, there will be more boundaries to push, more causes to run for and more milestones to reach.

The gift of giving

I think Mark is one gorgeous boy.

I meant Mark the retired racehorse.

Despite often telling people in a patronising manner that I work for the sake of earning a keep, I've sought another perspective - to change people's lives for the better, be it during or after office hours. Thank you to all the people who gave me the wings (and horses) with which I can deliver smiles to faces. Despite some disappointments and the misses, I'm more than grateful for this opportunity to give and learn. And thank you to Gallop Stable for making all this possible. :)

The new education

Before you think I've lost my way while basking in the rosy glow of post-coital post-marital bliss, I have to do justice to married life and clarify matters. My life as a Missus did not change drastically, fortunately or unfortunately. Being married, however, opened up a whole new paradigm, an uncharted path ahead.

But we're still behaving crazy, all the same. We bicker, throw words at each other like imbeciles and boil our little cauldrons of jealousy every now and then. It takes two sane minds to get married, and two insane minds to stay married. It's through some of our exchanges that I learn more about myself - the double standards, the foolhardiness and other bad habits I should be quitting.

Life will never be the same, though. I said this with the understanding that life should never remain the same as it was before "I do". Instead, it should mean taking even more leaps of faith, be it with each other or with life. Married life has urged me to proactively explore many more priceless experiences - conducting a food blogging workshop to share my interest with students from my alma mater, completing another run as a Missus, speed-travelling, and sharing my love for photography. And I'm guessing it won't stop there.

I'm just getting warmed up here.

And we wed

It's surreal, but we're now Mr. and Mrs. :)

No matter how much we tried to establish plans and draw up detailed schedules, none of us were prepared for the moment I step out onto the balcony with all eyes on me, including those of the man who is now my husband.

Both of us agree that marriage is a challenging new phrase of life; no one will lay the bricks of this road of marriage for us, and no one prepared us for this uncharted path ahead of us. Until death do us part, it will a continuous learning journey for us, as we proceed from this moment on.

To everyone who gave our beautiful union your blessings, thank you. :)

9 days

We're down to the final countdown of 9 days to our solemnisation. I've never had feelings so absurdly confounding before. A large part of me yearns to marry this amazing man and be his amazing wife immediately, while the other iota of me wishes it hadn't been so soon because there are a thousand things that we could perfect for our wedding solemnisation if it had just a few more months later. This isn't pre-marital depression or any similar shit. It's just my inner Virgoan trying to be an arse. The Husband-To-Be would probably roll his eyes a million times over while reading this.

Anyway, out of boredom on a Saturday afternoon (without the inclination to get work done), I thought I should share some acronyms that I've learnt as a Bride-To-Be:

AD: Actual Day (Wedding)
BTB: Bride-To-Be
ER: Engagement Ring
HTB: Husband-To-Be
MUA: Make-up Artist
PG: Photographer
VG: Videographer
WR: Wedding Ring

... As well as the other set that I will have to learn after 17 June 2013:

FIL: Father-in-law
MIL: Mother-in-law
SIL: Sister-in-law

:)

It's been some time

Initially, I wanted to start off with an apology for not posting religiously. Then again, it's not like I'm living off the viewership of this blog, so screw the apology.

Been up to a dozen different things over the past 2 months, with the main bulk of non-office hours spent on the race against time to prepare for our wedding solemnisation and striking stuff off my bucket list before marriage life takes over. But then again, it isn't like anything is going change apart from the new ring on my finger, is it?

Bucket List Item: To the land of cosmetic shops

To be honest, I had agreed to go on my maiden trip to Korea with the besties only because I thought that it would be cool if all of us could go on an overseas trip together before we got married. The one of us chose to drop out of the idea because she had but just 9 months to prepare for her entire wedding. That crushed half my enthusiasm for the trip, and I would have dropped out too if it hadn't been for the fact that I had splashed a good amount of money on the airfare and accommodation. Plus it wouldn't be nice to go back on your promise, right?

But the trip was a true eye-opener, no less. Shall reserve my raving and ranting in a separate post, lest I choke up page.

Bucket List Item: Hail the Blue Moon

Please let me live this fangirl moment before I become too old for this.

I got the wind knocked out of me when my K-pop junkie sis told me that CNBlue was heading to Singapore as part of their Blue Moon World Tour. I've never looked at CNBlue the same way as the other Korean music groups, for the simple reason that they live off their own individual musical talent, and come together as a group to create beautiful music. I didn't know a single word of Korean prior to knowing CNBlue, but their music flowed through to me like it knew no boundaries. It was a truly beautiful night to remember this lifetime, because I got to watch these amazing boys work their magic at the Indoor Stadium. 고마워요. :)

(Credits: Lee Jong Hyun)

Bucket List Item: Murder on the Dance Floor

So... I'm currently into this thing called Zumba, which is a brave feat for someone who has two left feet. It sounds somewhat frivolous, but every session never fails to leave me breathless but dying for more. So apparently I've taken up K-pop dance lessons, but my two left feet and goldfish memory does not seem to agree with me on this, especially after struggling through the first session. We shall see how the next 8 lessons progress (if any).

Bucket List Item: Run Unleashed

The Nike Women's Run was a timely reason for me to drag myself out for regular runs in view of the ROM. With my colleagues and 8,000 other brave women, we conquered the whole 5 km, stretching from Gardens By The Bay East to the Marina Barrage to the Gardens West and back. I managed to shave 10 minutes off my previous run record, though the timing I clocked was still short of ideal. Oh well, there's always next year. :)

David Choi Live in Singapore @ Hard Rock Cafe

I got tired of gifting boring Valentine's Day presents - flowers, chocolates, self-made photo frames, jewelry, exorbitantly priced meals, so on and so forth. By a stroke of good luck, Youtube darling David Choi did me a huge favour by gigging in Singapore again. Since Hubby digs WongFu and gang, I just had to bring us one step closer - to David Choi's gig at Hard Rock Cafe last night.

Every vocalist loves nothing less than a full band, an enthusiastic audience and a cosy venue for their gig. I would die a happy person if I had a gig like David's. The crowd last night was beautiful, and echoed just about every lyric to every song. And thank you for bringing your CDs to us, because I need your beautiful songs to accompany my wedding march. :)

I just wanna hold you

I just wanna kiss you

I just wanna love you all my life

I normally wouldn't say this

But I just can't contain it

I want you here forever right here

By my side

Five

And we are five. :)

I'm often rendered breathless whenever I attempt to jog my memory through our past 60 months together and the days leading up to the beginning our our courtship and finally engagement; each figment of memory runs as deep and wide as the other, no matter how long ago they have been. Just like how I sidelined you the day we first met, how you had won my attention over with your persistence and love for music, how you first asked me to be with you, how you got down on one knee exactly one year ago and promised an eternity to us... the memories never seem to fade with time, even after having come so far.

And with this being our last anniversary before we become lawful man and wife, I gave some good thought to the gift I wanted to present to us. The promise of eternity should be the fundamental value of the gift, with everything else being secondary. I wanted it to be something we would still treasure when we're 80 going 90 and hobbling around hand-in-hand. I wanted something that will never grow old and crumble away with time, just like this love. And I wanted something we'll both be able to hold close to heart at times when we're not around each other. And so I got what I got for us.

For the Math is simple - You and I are one.

For you I will

This past week at work, I'm glad to have fought some tough battles with valour and escaped relatively unscathed. It's an unspoken fact among all that the going will only get tougher with each passing day, and the heat is coming on fast. Despite having all the odds against us, Le Boss never fails to find means and ways to boasts the entire team's morale, be it lunch treats out of his own pocket or little words of motivation - it all means a lot to a junior management staff like me. While it is inevitable for some of the support staff to be at odds with each other for whatever reason, I learnt that it is the management team that sets the attitude right for them to emulate.

I'm breathing a little easier now that my sis is helming the planning of my solemnisation ceremony and doing most of the liaising with the vendors and the MUA. I've thought it through and rationalised that this wouldn't be the time to splurge on a costly made-to-measure or branded gown, given the tight timeline and our budget. Instead, a huge part of the cost will go to the setup, right down to the minute details. I'm hoping to sit down with the florist to firm up plans within the next month, so that we'll be able to draw up a clearer budget sheet for the event, and hopefully be able to free up a small portion for a bridal shower. Who knows?

And it's only you who can tear down these walls of animosity I build up with your teddybear-hugs and and little laughbites throughout the week. To listen to my ranting and is actually able to fully empathise with me, to pick me up after my dance classes for a short dinner date, to send me random IMs throughout the day to sober me up from my regular mid-work stupors, to take me into your arms during those cold nights and shield me from the dark.... I'm willing to bite the bullet for all this with you.

As the sun sets on Valentine's Day

Yes I broke the rules again, because I told you our gift budget for each other is $1, when I'm obviously inept with spending within my limits. I could say the same for you, too. :)

Compared to last year's wine and dine, this year's Valentine's Day was much more laid back - all we want to do after a hectic day of phone calls and meeting demanding nutcases is to kick our shoes off our weary feet and just feed our lovelorn souls and healthy appetites. A simple meal at one of our regular hangouts, a good cuppa at Starbucks, window shopping for a handsome suit for our solemnisation and fiddling with your new camera - I'm nothing short of thankful for every single moment spent together. AND you've been a good boy by stopping at a single rose - Daddy Lee has probably scored you 99/100 points. The 1 point is for that one rose. Hahaha okay I'm just joking, because Daddy and Mummy Lee love you like their own son already.

To our first and last Valentine's Day before we bid farewell to our engaged status and welcome married life with arms and hearts open. But until then, I thank you for giving me so much more than I truly deserve...


... for you will always be the best Valentine's Day gift to me this lifetime, forever and always.

Up and away: Kaohsiung and Taipei, 2012-2013

Oh gosh I'm finally done with all the photos from our Taiwan trip.

It hasn't been an easy feat planning this trip, especially when it's all about going all out to impress the Fiancé on our 59th month together. It'd been his maiden trip to Taiwan, so I wanted to make sure we covered most of the sights and sounds Formosa Island has to offer as the tour guide. Unfortunately, the unfriendly weather heralded us with frequent bouts of showers and chilly winds half the trip, especially in the outskirts of Taipei.

I liken Kaohsiung City's beauty to that of a country girl - incredibly simple, yet so easy to fall in love with because she's got everything Singapore doesn't. I could go on and on about the impeccable service attitude, the lip-smacking street eats or the helpful passer-by, and it still wouldn't do enough justice to the city and its lights and sounds.

... though I'll like to say I'm more of a Taipei girl. It's more cosmopolitan and its brilliant, down-to-the-second MRT system is unlike anything I've seen (well, I've to say that before I go to Japan). Plus I could probably navigate around Taipei without a map and speak their local lingo flawlessly like a pro. Looks like I've found my retirement retreat.

The last time I came to Fisherman's Wharf at Danshui, Taipei in 2011, I swore to myself that I'll return with the love of my life. I'm glad I got to do just that.

I remembered silently choking back tears while leading the Fiancé across the bridge; there is something magical about this place that I've always wanted to share but haven't found the right one to do so with during my first visit in 2005. The light drizzle pelting our coats, the raging wind, the bridge that spans across the harbour in a tight embrace, the numerous couples strolling hand in hand while walking their toy poodles, the handful of couples who huddle together on the steps to keep each other warm... Every emotion hit strongly like a torrid love scene, so surreal yet so comforting. To me, the apex and its spanning arm of lights will always be the symbol of everlasting love.

And then there were the hotels I give my thumbs-up to in Kaohsiung. The hotels in Kaohsiung and Taipei bore signs of differentiation between the two cities. The hotel staff further down south stopped at nothing to make your day - we've had personalised greeting cards placed in our rooms, complimentary upgrade to a suite, complimentary minibar and fruits, staff recommending hidden foodie spots and complimentary breakfast. They sure know how to make kiasu Singaporeans like us smile. On the other hand, our Taipei hotels were sterile and boring, even though they're located at some of the busiest spots in the city. The staff treated us just as what we were - tourists who needed nothing but a bed and bathroom.

Of course, we'll be insane to miss out on the chomp spots.

It is almost impossible for a Singaporean to reject Taiwanese fare - our hawker fare is comparable to their street eats. After having visited the major night markets in Kaohsiung and Taipei, I confess to being a night market junkie - that evil place turns me into a eat-everything monster. Rao He and Shi Lin in Taipei were, without a doubt, my favourite night markets. In addition to being a good place to people-watch, they had a good variety of stalls hawking epicurean delights and clothing. Apart from the food, the Fiancé enjoyed the little game stalls as well, never forgetting to pop by a game stall to try his hand at the air guns. It got pretty out of hand when we were at Liou He Night Market that I abandoned him at the game stall to go shopping for gifts alone. Lesson learnt: now I know why men enjoy night markets as well.

Thank you, Taiwan, you've been a wonderful host to our maiden couple trip.

Movie: Hansel and Gretel

 He isn't quite the dreamboat kind of guy, but there's something about Jeremy Renner that brings the girls to the cinema.

To be entirely frank, I loved Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. The dark twist to the Grimm brothers' fairytale added a punch to the supposed box office reject (the film's release date was pushed back to after Christmas to make way for the more "marketable" films). The plot was intriguing, the lovey dovey segments peppered the film generously and the gory parts were still palatable. And then there's Jeremy Renner. I'd rather watch Hansel and Gretel a million times over than to sit through the Twilight trailer.

2012

It has been a truly beautiful year. One year ago, I subjected myself to the laborious chore of condensing 2011 into a blurb of 500 words. I don't think 500 words will suffice this time round.

Warrior at work

As a student, I yearned to step out of my readings and into the workforce. A year on, I've broken free of the pneumatic cycle of mugging and projects and accumulated fresh battle scars from this strange world I never got to know within the safe haven of a lecture hall. I am truly lucky to be flanked with fellow warriors in my line who have fought more than enough battles to nudge me through when I get into a tight corner.

I have been asked the same question over countless conversations: why didn't you pick a job with more relevance to your degree? After crafting and editing my lines from talking to so many people, the standard answer is, "I like to apply the skills I learn in the course of my study instead of living straight off the book". Most often than not, I would receive weird furrows of eyebrows and exclamations, questioning the link between what they perceive I do at the office everyday and what they perceive I study. But again, if only people truly understood what my job encompasses, perhaps they would be a tad nicer to us. One can dream, can't I?

"Yes I do."

I don't mean to misread anyone, but there are people of my age who crave no-strings-attached, non-committing relationships. This is my first relationship, one I pored over for several weeks before making the decision to delve into something entirely strange yet exciting. From school and now into the working world, we're both changed, matured and learnt to grow with each other as a permanent feature in our lives. There was no doubt that I would say yes when you got down on one knee; there's an endless stream of memories that I'm waiting to create with you in this lifetime. Yes, I do.

The love abode

And this is just the beginning. I've dreamt for so long about the day I'll move into my new home with my loved one and build everything within from scratch. The wallpaper, the lighting, the furniture, the utensils, the cutlery... Most importantly, our very own love abode. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll be able to get it next year, so that the renovation works will be completed by the time we're ready to move in.


Graduation

Apparently I enjoy getting things done in reverse order. Found work, bought flat, got engaged, GRADUATED. The lapse between my last school day and graduation has diluted the excitement, but it was a great day to play catch up with my fellow CNM alumni. Been there, done it.