erwin and sheryl's story

HongKong Trip 2 - 5 Aug 2008

2008-09-02T00:49:00.010+08:00

not sure why the new format is newest photo above and oldest photo below... so please read backwards... haa...

on our way to airport... home sweet home... it cost an average of 500HKD for a taxi to airport...

this is how hongkong looks like in the streets

a tram in hongkong island...

yumyum desserts... must eat desserts in Hongkong!!! this is papaya with white fungus

black sesame...

mango sago

ermmm,... forgot what is this...

this is a popular dessert shop.... so cute rite?

yum... another must eat... roasted goose... ohhhh they taste so good....

thier culture? notice the whole family reading newspapers? we are having dim sum in a restaurant on a sunday morning...

another must eat again!!!! beancurd... they taste so good in hongkong... so soft... it melts in ur mouth...

Must try! steam milk...

Must Try! mango sago with pomelo sacs

roasted goose... best to eat the drumstick...

char siew and vege...

police on patrol... u can see them quite often here... so safe...

wanton noodles....

drinking from a urinal...

our food stink or what??? food serve in a toilet bowl

united colours of toilet bowl...

can tell what their lights are made of? so cute rite?

sitting on toilet bowl

Mordern toilet restaurantits about different kinds of shit represents the status of ur health...

Sentosa Beach on 20 July 2008

2008-09-01T22:24:00.000+08:00

Fulvia, Valerie and me... at Sentosa

guess what they are doing????? Removing their nail colour with nail polish remover... while at the beach...

food from cafe del mar... have to packet... cos to use their day bed... need minimum spending of $100...

Sentosa Beach! on 29 June 2008

2008-08-02T02:33:00.000+08:00

Parked our car at the beach car park!

walking to cafe del mar

cheers!!! Enjoying the Sun, Babes, Beach and Beer! Erwin trying to act cool...hee...

at the pool overlooking the beach!
playing poker on the day bed

after our bath...

GirlGirl's Bday 28 May 2008

2008-08-02T01:55:00.000+08:00

It's GirlGirl's 10th Birthday! She is my beloved BaoBei... She is the cutest dog in the whole wide world... I would like thank her for being with us for 10 years... For welcoming me home without fail everyday... For accompanying me to study, watch tv, eat, sleep... haa... Thank you for always being there with me... Making me happy whenever im sad... For your birthday wish... I wish that you stay healthy always... And live as long as you can...

Her birthday cake... special recipe for Dogs...

Thank you kaizhen, weiming and alan... for celebrating girlgirl's birthday with us!
and thank you for buying her presents too!!!
girlgirl cutting cake...

girlgirl is so greedy...
and since we cannot eat her cake... we also have our cake to eat...

Bangkok Trip 22 - 25 May 2008

2008-08-01T00:57:00.001+08:00

Second Bangkok Trip this year, supposedly florence, fulvia and I planned to travel together. but florence REALLY put our aeroplane!!! she told us that she is not going to bangkok with us on the very day that we are scheduled to fly to bangkok... Fulvia and I were so shock...

But we can't really blame florence, as she fell sick.. Thus, it was jus me and fulvia... Actually i got quite tired of posting pictures of me going to bangkok...The pictures are actually about the same... since i keep going to bangkok... Bangkok is my Orchard Road... I love shopping in Bangkok!

Me and Fulvia on Swiss Air.. As there wasnt any promo on the budget tickets... We decided to pay alittle more for full service airling... SwissAir... It was a scary flight though... i think i would never take SwissAir again.. The pilots seemed to used to be jetfighters... they change altitude very fast... the fluctuation was soooo huge... i almost didnt want to fly back to singapore on swissair... i started thinking if i should take a train back to singapore or sumthing... sobsob...
Our pathetic meal... worse than i thought...
Rise and shine... our first full day in bangkok... picture taken at baiyoke suite top floor after we had our breakfast...

our hotel room pratunam market... im so surprised... since the last time i came was jus march'08... pratunam market change so fast.. they renovated... u see all the chandeliers? so beautiful... please bear in mind its a market... wholesale market... we arent expecting all these...

this is yummy, although we din know what it is called... i guess it is made of starch...
jus a tube top, there are more than 100 different clothes for you to choose... this picture is taken for florence who din come with us to bangkok... becos tube top is her favourite... xb...
a shop in platinum mall
shark's fin and birds' nest - a must eat when u come to bangkok...
after our dinner, all the shops closed... its just 7pm...
Singaporeans favourite shopping mall - Platinum fashion mall...
our buys on the first day in Bangkok... how satisfying it is... if u nv take a tuk-tuk in bangkok, then u have nv come to bangkok...
the toilet... haa... we are going to RCA - Route 66...

Day 2 - In Bangkok.... at their train station... taking a train to Chatuchak

its so hot at chatuchak... u must come to chatutak, if you come to bangkok during the weekends... they are only open during the weekends... if you can take the heat... it can get extremely hot in here...
our purchases over the two days in bangkok...

our last day in bangkok...
so happening... can you see the fire engine? i think a fire broke out in the shopping centre...

home sweet home... with our buys.... wahaha...
can i buy this lollipop???
Fulvia got nothing better to do... and only realise this farnie tag after owning this jacket for a few years... It states "Wash this when dirty".... I guess Puma thinks that ppl dun wash their clothes when its dirty... ewww... it still tickles me till now...
Home sweet home...

Ho Chi Minh Vietnam Trip 30 April to 03 May 2008

2008-07-21T20:36:00.013+08:00

Finally, I'm posting my photos on Vietnam... which was 3 to 4 months ago... Cos i jus changed my internet service provider to Singnet... Hope its faster... Easier for me to update...

Early morning 6am, on the flight to ho chi minh vietnam... takes about 1hr 30mins to reach vietnam... nearer than Bangkok...
Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City...
at the small hotel lift...
spot the difference! this billard table doesnt have holes...

Vietnam has one of the worst traffics in the world... i cant understand how it works.. there are no traffic lights at T-junctions.. no pedestrian crossings... u jus cross if u think its safe... motorcycles are their main transport... it is very difficult to drive around in a car...
our couple polo tee from our march bangkok trip.
this is the cao dai temple... it is a temple of all religions... this came about as there was social unrest amongst the vietnamese due to difference in their religion. Thus this temple was meant to unit the vietnamese as cao dai is a religion that consist of all religion, e.g. budhistim, taoism, christianity, muslim, etc...

they do prayers every 6am, 12noon, 6pm and 12midnite... if i nv remember wrongly...

when did LV produce motorcycles? wahaha...
their buildings are all slim and narrow... thats my hotel... most buildings are like that... influenced by french as they used to be under french colonial...
a BBQ dinner...
their "popiah" i feel that im eating plastic... ewww...
this is the cu chi tunnel... the tour guide is telling us about the history of cu chi tunnel before we head to the actual tunnel... this place give me a very eerie feeling...
this was how small the tunnel is... the tunnels that the cu chi ppl hide underground during the vietnam war period... they not only hide in it, but they live in the tunnel during the years of the vietnam war...

this is a kind of trap that they will build all over the place in the jungle... this is one of the tunnels...
can u spot the millipede... ewww... they are so big in size... crawling all over the place...
one of the military tank left behind...
these are all kinds of traps that the cu chi ppl building to injure the invaders...

during the war time, they used tyres to make shoes out of it... wat a clever idea...
this is a bomb crater... its quite huge a size... but not very obvious in the photo...
bombshells that was found after the war...
these are flowers i eat for steamboat... surprisingly, they are sweet and yummy.... i miss it...
at Mekong River...
there are still alot of villages...

transporting rice out to sell...
they are preparing our lunch...
our lunch... the seafood are so fresh and yummy...
rest and relax...
do you know what is this??? its their toilet!!!
a small rice field...
a small fish pond...
their cows are so thin...
the vietnam hat...
their market...

their goldsmith shops...
our group that went to vietnam...

home sweet home!

13 - 16 Mar 2008 Bangkok Trip

2008-06-15T14:58:00.008+08:00

It has been a long time since i last updated my blog. actually got lots of things to update , alot of pictures to show... went for too many trips in a short time le... was fun but cost me a whole in my wallet. guess i gotta cut down on it...

Here goes, photos of my bangkok trip from 13 -16 mar 2008.

my brothers and sister was so nice to send us off... we had dinner at popeye's chicken and biscuits... the mashed potato was really nice! yum yum...

arrived bangkok...
morning breakfast... with a good view of the city...

baiyoke suite and baiyoke sky...
sharks' fin and birds' nest at yaowarat...

clubbing at route 66... i would say that the environment, atmosphere, decor, etc... are better than singapore's clubs... free entry and live band in ladies toilet!!!

a picture with the beer lady...

at chatuchak.... so hot!!!!
men at shopping...
the bangkok jam...

the thai ronald mcdonald... haaa...
at airport... 2 hours delay of the flight...

wedding outdoor photos

2008-03-21T20:08:00.008+08:00

one of my favourite

nice angle

dun ask me where the bicycle come from... a passerby wanted us to take photos using his bike... haaa...

my favourite photo among all

another nice one..

Valentine's 2008

2008-02-22T23:06:00.009+08:00

too near singapore flyer to take the full picture of the wheel
the capsule
from what i know, the difference between singapore flyer and other observation wheel is that it uses cables instead of spooks(not sure how to spell)
the capsule from the yakult rainforest discovery...
rose posy for all ladies

the queue was so long... that everyone start to get frustrated...

Actual Day Photos are Up!!!

2008-02-16T14:01:00.029+08:00

calligraphy by my 2nd uncle... Thank you!
early morning, im so tired... yawnz...

the wedding gown... a breakaway from traditional..
wasabi in collen biscuit (annie's idea)
bitter gourd with bitter powder(i guess) (kelly's idea)

the sisters

the nails (done by my sister)

my heels, took the trouble to stick those pearls and crystals

simple and nice
sisters wearing the flower corsages
all sisters are so pretty and sweet
sisters at gatecrash meeting

my "BaoBei", she's just so loveable

thank you all sisters for helping me out, sparing the whole saturday for me, really appreciate all your efforts... All of you have been of great help...

my mummy is so cute...
a nice picture of the sky...

borthers play cheat... booo....

angbao! angbao! angbao!

contract signed and sealed with a kiss...
the final angbao...

on the road

nice photos of peony jade

1st march-in

dry ice overloaded...

i jus like this pic... its so nice...

2nd march-in

liting and handsome leong

erwin's sister, ping

Our Pre-Wedding Photos

2008-01-25T19:25:00.000+08:00

Weekly Update: Nov 2007 - 2nd Dec2007

2007-12-03T20:38:00.000+08:00

went for food tasting on 22nd Nov, our menu is called Senerade 3 ( Tian Chang Di Jiu)...

First Dish, Lobster Combination.
Consist of Salad Lobster with fruits(melon, papaya, etc)
Deep-fried Seafood Roll
Sauteed Scallops with vegetables
Jelly Fish & Octopus(Idako)
BBQ Duck
I would say that the presentation is nice and the food taste good too... be sure to try it..

2nd Dish, Braised Shark Fin with Shredded Dried Scallop & Crabmeat, If you notice, you can actually see the shark's fin... not the usual kind where you dun even know whether you are eating shark's fin or not...
3rd Dish, steamed garoupa in Cantonese Style, dun look very presentable... but the fish is really fresh...

4th Dish is Barbeque Suckling Pig (Whole Pig)

5th Dish, Ying Yang Prawns (de-shell) if you notice there are two different flavours of prawns... On the left is spicy prawns, on the left is mango prawns... The spicy one is really spicy, and the mango one taste special... sounds weird but it actually tastes good and special... you will even get to eat bits of mango on the prawn...
6th Dish, the usual stuff i guess, Braised Sea cucumber with black mushroom & vegetable

7th Dish, Baked Chicken in Home made style, but you wouldn't get to eat it on the actual day. Becos we finf that we got sick of eating too many "saucy" food.. thus, we chose sumthing more "dry", We changed to Crispy Roast chicken with hot sesame sauce... their signature dish...

8th Dish, Fried Empress Noodle, cantonese style...

9th Dish, Chilled Mango Sago with Pomelo Sacs, this is also their signature dessert... its really nice... not very sweet, very refreshing... no matter how full you are, you will definitely be able to finish the dessert... SO, Do not leave before this last dish of dessert...

We chose this keychain as our wedding favour, dun like the usual cake or chocolates( *yucks*)... Hope you will like the key-chain instead...
We chose this as our guest book...
Went to JB, Plaza Pelangi, RedBox to sing K... long time no sing liao... in JB, their K is abit different... they provide free buffet of supper at 12.30am... they got quite a nice variety... we ate lots of porridge though... haa... but before we went to sing K, we stopped at coffee bean for some nice fruit tea and ice blended first...
Wonder what is annie doing??? discussing about out plans to go Bangkok... anyway, we've booked our trip to bangkok on the 13th - 16th mar 2007 already.... so bangkok, here i come!!! Time really flies, in less than 2 months time, my big day will come... spent the sunday, doing my wedding shoes.... took a photo of it... nice??? when i bought it, its jus white lace only... i find it too plain,... thus i went to buy pearls and crystals... and glued it to the shoe... i like my work!!!

Now i start to feel the stress... cos i haven do the photo montage, plan the details for the actual day, choose music for the actual day, etc...

Work is so stress... everyday got tonnes of things to do, never ending... and alots of deadline, last min things.... felt under paid.... sobs...

Weekly Update: 5th Nov 2007 to 11th Nov 2007

2007-11-12T20:21:00.000+08:00

Went for Spa at Citispa at AMKhub, a surprise for erwin... i brought a "LycheeLittle" cake from Breadtalk and IceWine from Inniskillin, Gold Reserve, 2004.

After that we went shopping at AMKhub and Orchard. And then we head for dinner at One Rochester. The ambience was nice, environment was relaxing... Actually a nice place to meet up with friends and chit-chat through the night... They have sevaral rooms for you to choose, i.e. Living Room, PlayRoom, Library, Garden, Balcony, etc... The garden is very nice, provided that it doesn't rain...

Fine Dining at One Rochester
the menu... 68+++ for our set dinner... sobsob...
the appetizer their bread... unlimited serving...
the olive oil.. notice a heart shape in it???
the soup...
2 wine pairings for $16+++, sparkling water with lemon and fresh roses...
my main course... cod fish with baby spinach...
beef tenderlion and a heap of grass... haa... erwin's main course
a raspberry sorbet for us, on the house, while waiting for our dessert... so nice of them...
the actual dessert... hot chocolate on the right... bailey's ice cream on the left...

Weekly Update: 29th Oct 2007 to 4th Nov 2007

2007-11-06T20:05:00.000+08:00

had a bazaar at SMU called Weekends.. On fri, sat and sun... business not so good there... generally, there is no crowd... so its quite hard to survive there... i think that of all the bazaars that we hold... Lime bazaar is the best, at least there is enough crowd to cover our costs... and after holding at Lime Bazaar twice.. i start to realise that the same ppl are shopping at lime bazaar and alot of the vendors are also the same ppl... our stuffs...
Behind the scene... Us at work... Evidence of who was there(at work)...

The good thing at Weekends is that the vendors there are very friendly unlike those at Lime bazaar... vendors who shop at other vendors' stall will get more discounts than customers. and vendors help out each other alot... although din earn much at Weekends, but got to know two friends... one is erwin's primary school friend, angeline, she is very nice... she shared alot about her upcoming wedding, a coincidence that she also holding her banquet at peony jade... then i complained to her about how expensive peony jade was... hope that we can break-even for the banquet... really appreciate angeline's helpfulness, she showed me alot of things and detailed list of things required for the actual day...

then got to know an ex-colleague of mine... actually we were from the same company(IMH) but i nv actually spoke to her or work with her before... so was surprised that she actually know who am i... Christine is very nice, on the last day of the event, she brought a corsage for my wedding... and before we left, she even gave us little gifts that she was selling... and we even played monopoly together while tending to the stall... haa... planning to get a stall at Lime bazaar together...

us playing monopoly.. oppss... who is working????

the spongebob squarepants monopoly!

Everybody makes mistakes, its okay, but nv makethe same mistake again, must learn from mistakes... this is life... The road of life is never a smooth one, everyone goes through rough patches at a certain stage.. It is more of how u face it... Only when there are bad times, then u will learn to appreciate the good times... and also realise that simplicity is also happiness...

Things that i bought for wedding ceremony

2007-10-29T22:47:00.000+08:00

tea set... comes with four cups actually... bought RM 39.90

bedside lamps... bought the traditional kind... but not those using oil de... is battery operated de... S$15
wedding bear, gift from friends at ROM ceremony
coasters, gift from friends at ROM ceremony
the staple for wedding... buckets of offspring.... and in this picture i also put in the umbrella... all the buckets cost a total of RM48... umbrella i forgot the price... about RM30 ba... i forgot le...

comb, RM2.90
embroidery of double joy, $15
colourful sticker of double joy with yuanyang...
sewing kit with double joy
dragon and phoenix candles, two pairs... exchange the candles within the 2 pairs... make it one pair of dragon, one pair of phoenix... and give the phoenix to the groom and the dragon to the bride... used for "bai tian di", RM8.90 per pair

this is one of the nicest sovenir that i received... kaizhen bought it when she went to taiwan recently... going to hang it at my door...
handkerchief with double joy sewings, RM4.80
Angbao for giving "Bride Price"
some angbaos for weddings...
lots of double joy stickers....

more to come....

Weekly Update: 22th Oct 2007 to 28th Oct 2007

2007-10-29T22:15:00.000+08:00

celebrated erwin's father's birthday at east coast park, fisherman's village seafood restaurant...

Bought a special looking cake.... also taste good too... the cake is actually made up of chocolate sponge cake with blueberry, and to make up the shape and the "ingredients", white chocolates, agar agar are used... the chopstick is made of biscuit... everything u see in the birthday cake is edible... even the chinese spoon is made of white chocolate.... when we are busy lighting the cake... the cake attracted alot of attention... many people purposely walk pass our table to catch a glimpse of the cake... haa...

the "eggs" are actually agar-agar... the vegetables and prawns are made of white chocolates... as for the "noodles" they are made of fresh cream... ohh.... now im craving for cakes again...

kelly told me that she went to see the fortune teller that she had made a appointment at year ago... it cost $128... i wondering if wanna go or not... cos appointment is one year later... so is like quite pointless by then... actually i also dunno what i want to find out... jus feel like going for fortune telling...

went to ikea with liting on saturday... bought a cushion pillow and a "blanket" to put in my office... cos office too cold liao.... also bought alot of foodstuff from ikea... alot of the foodstuff are expiring in a few months thats why they are selling so cheaply...

on saturday nite, went to the cathay to catch a movie called "SuperBad"... long time nv watch movie with my dear already... long time nv go "dating" together le... haa... shopped around the cathay... our movie start at 11.30pm... but quite a number of shops at first and second floor are still open.... got the temptation to buy things.... but lucky that i din buy anything.... i saw a bag at the first floor that was nice... i forgot the shop name already... and at the second floor... i saw a necklace that is nice too... its a mini kaleidoscope pendant as the necklace... it cost $80... maybe when i go back again... i will consider buying it ba...

as for the "superbad", its a lame movie.... talking about two guys who have been together since elementary school... now they are in high school or college... not very sure... then one guy keep talking about sexuality, RA, girls, etc... then the other guy is like the typical nerd kind.... as the legal age to get alcohol is 21, its talking about how they going to get alcohol for the party which was organised by the girls which they liked.... the most funny part is actually about another guy whom they asked him to buy the alcohol as he made a fake ID... then there was a robbery while he was purchasing the alcohol... then the police offered to give him a lift home... alot of things happen... and so on... lame story but farnie though... not really worth $9.50... SuperBad has mature content, for 18 and above only... mainly becos they talk about what guys talk about when they are in high school... so ladies who want to know what guys talk about or do together when they were in secondary school... this movie gives you an idea of that... haa....

Weekly Update: 15th Oct 2007 to 21th Oct 2007

2007-10-22T20:54:00.000+08:00

monday was a public holiday for my company... so din have to work... went to JB to shop for wedding stuff... bought alot of angbaos, double joy stickers(big, medium, small), dragon and phoenix candles(2 pairs), handkerchief, lace umbrella, etc...

met up with hanni at compass point on wednesday... long time no see le... she still look the same... cos i can still recognise her even after so many years that we din meet up... we had dinner at MOS burger... and chatted about chinese dance ppl, our secondary school frens... and how she is doing now... she is still very spoke spoken and sweet... we shall meet up again when siew kheng is free from her projects, etc...

seems like a catching up session, i met up with diana at compass point on thursday... long time no see also... diana also looked the same... diana is still diana... hee... still so adorable, sweet and farnie... she say that when we met, she felt like strangers... but i dun think so... when i first saw diana... i din feel that we haven met for long... we ate at pizza hut... and diana was so sweet to buy something for me... (i will use it at work, okay?) winkz* Diana, we must meet up often okay? remember to sms me or call me wor...

went for a trial make up at yourwishwedding, kelly chong was the make up artist... she was very nice, felt comfortable with her... she even offered to FOC the ampoules and fake eyelashes... thus, i decided to go ahead to book her... yea!!! my mission of searching VDOgrapher, photographer and make up artist has accomplished... now im left with those foodstuff, catering, invitation, food tasting, montage, plan for the actual wedding day... gosh... still sounds alot...

i have confirmed with the designs of the wedding photos... and they will proceed to print out the photos... hope it comes out nice... they are saying that end of nov, i can get the photos le...

upcoming week, gonna celebrating erwin's father's birthday on wednesday at east coast park.. going to buy a special cake... will show a picture of the cake next week... its very cute... probably if free, have to start writing details of what are the things that are required to do for the actual day...

i really hope that nothing goes wrong on that day... i hope that the make up is nice, the video is nice and the photos are also nice... i hope to have good memories to keep for life... after all, its a once in a lifetime thing... ohhh... and one important thing... have to lose weight... i dunno when can i start to have the determination to lose some weight... plan to lose about 4kg... i hope can...

Weekly Update: 1st Oct 2007 to 14th Oct 2007

2007-10-15T21:05:00.000+08:00

I have confirmed my videographer, i chose Sam Tan from Vocare. He is quite good... capture the moments... gave us good advices... he even have a sample of a couple's video at peony jade...

6th Oct, went to royal hotel to attend erwin's colleagues (ben and cindy) wedding... hope that they have a blissful marriage.. the wedding was a simple one... no games no nothing... just the basic yum send, cake cutting, champagne pouring, and 2 march-ins....

7th Oct, i had a fondue party at my house... the chocolate was really nice...

12th Oct, today we celebrated my boss's bday... his actual bday is on the 15th oct... but becos his bday falls on our company's public holiday, thus, we celebrated on on friday... we surprised him with gifts, cakes and dinner after work... hard work wor... the cake was really nice.. it was an enjoyable day and in fact brought our relationship among my colleagues closer...

13th Oct, we had a stall at lime bazaar... its was really bad... the ppl in-charge of the lime bazaar... din have my name in the list... and have to make another stall somewhere for us... and it rained in the middle of the afternoon also... thus, it probably affected our business... sales was good... total takings was $250.50... today sujuan, jinny, szemin came over to my stall to pay me a visit... really appreciated it... esp. sujuan... helped me out abit here and there... and even stand in the rain also... hugs and kisses for sujuan... then after we closed... we went over to pasta mania for dinner.. so qiao... saw jinny and szemin again... but along with cindy,jackson and their friend... chatted with them awhile before we left for mustafa... at mustafa, we bought victoria secret's body splash... the smell was nice... what i earned during the bazaar was spent on two bottles of victoria secrets... sobsobs...

14th oct, at last, can go bridal shop to see my photos liao... i have posted some photos of the album... haven officially get the photos yet...

then also have to choose the actual day gown le... end up i chose an unconventional kind... hopes its nice... do give me some of ur comments...

was considering this.. but end up din choose it...this is the gown that i will be wearing for my actual day... it has black ribbons and embroideries...
this is the back of the gown... actually i dun like the two black ribbons there... if anyone got any idea what i can do to make the gown better... do let me know also...

here are some of the album's photos... do give me ur comments too... alittle out of propotion though.... not sure if i save it wrongly....

this is the wall picture "chuang tou zhao"...

coming week, nothing much on the agenda... jus a shorter working week for me.. cos 15th Oct no need to work and 17th Oct im on afternoon leave.. yea!!!

Weekly Update: 24th Sep 2007 to 30th Sep 2007

2007-10-03T20:49:00.000+08:00

24th Sep is the first day of work at Bilcare, my new company. a coincidence that its also the first day of Bilcare's new CEO. thus, was slightly neglected by HR... haa... this first week i would say i have a cultural shock ba... a new environment thus, the working style,environment and culture is something that i have to get used to. the major difference, i would say is the lunch thing... becos of the lack of public transport access to the place.. lunch is a problem... the nearest place where things are edible would be at simei, eastpoint... and if u wan to go there, you are only left with 30mins due to the time taken to travel to and fro and the allocated time slots that the shuttle bus will arrive... thus, the result is that i brought home cooked food to work... In a way, im saving money... as i wun have the opportunity to shop, or even spend on food and drinks while at work... jus this one week at my new workplace, caused me to gain 1kg, which i haven figured out why... maybe becos i dun get to eat lunch outside, thus, not much of walking...

met up with ray and kelly on saturday, we finally decided to meet up at esplanade, ichiban boshi.. we ate quite alot of things... the total bill cost us about $97. when we first saw ray, it din feel like we have not met for long... it felt like we have already met yesterday... i think its good to feel that way... otherwise, we would feel like strangers instead...

this week din do much on preparing my wedding... jus looked up some make up artist's webby but haven come to a conclusion on who to use.. cos we saw one quite nice de... but on the singaporebrides forum, there were a number of ppl commenting about her being late and showing her attitude... thus, i was quite concerned... now still on a lookout for makeup artist and videographer...

hmmm... on sunday, i was packing my things, looking for things that i dun wan so that i can sell them off during the 13th oct lime bazaar... after that, suddenly felt like painting my living room's wall... thus, asked my brother to help out... then i was sweat, dizzy and tired while trying to tape the aircon, ceiling,etc before i start painting the wall... it took us about 2hours to paint one wall... all of us were sweating profusely, which i dunno why... we actually run out of paint when we were finishing soon.. the top part of the wall where the aircon is... we din paint as we thought that no one would be able to see it... but we were wrong... after washing the brushes, rollers, etc... when we are standing at the main door, we could obviously see that part which is supposed to be painted is not painted... haiz... no choice.. cos we seriously run out of paint...

next week, gonna meet up a videographer to see their works, gonna attend a wedding on sat and having fondue on sunday... as i bought the fondue fountain which i always wanted...

Weekly Update: 10th Sep 2007 to 23rd Sep 2007

2007-09-24T21:59:00.000+08:00

gosh... din have the time to update... as was busy working and handing over to the temp staff who is taking over me... I was supposed to teach a new staff, however, she is only able to join in Nov'2007... then there was farewell dinner at serangoon garden at cafe cartel... i had a sirloin steak... it was the first time that i had medium rare steak... it was so bloody... i wun wanna try medium rare again... medium is jus nice for me... perhaps will post some of the photos of my colleagues soon... i miss working at IMH... sobsobs.. somehow, have a tinge of regret that i resigned from IMH... everyone is so nice.. the work environment is also nice.. haiz... Hope that it is not a wrong choice to join Bilcare... hope i get the opportunity to learn more things... hope i can learn and adapt soon... Im really in no mood to talk much about what happen during the week... but during my last month at IMH, i was feeling both happy and sad... happy that i have nice colleagues, sad that im leaving them...

Update about my wedding preparation... im in the midst of looking for my actual day makeup artist.. i have rented a "Kua" for my wedding day... to wear during tea ceremony and also when i thank guests for attending the banquet... i also rented a "kua" for my mother.. to wear during the tea ceremony and the banquet...

Had a Lime Bazaar on Sep22, we were late for the set up of the stall... we actually started setting up the stall at 1pm... business was brisk... we were busy but happy with the sales... at least this is the best sales among our previous bazaar sales... we raked up to $395 of sales at the end of the day... we have so many customers until we were the last stall to close shop.. even the workers who are keeping the tables, chairs and umbrella, had to chase us away... A good start... Luckily we managed to get a stall at the Lime Bazaar on the Oct13 also... hope we get back the same spot also... if you are free, do come down and look for us also... =)

Installing the chinese bridal bed

2007-09-11T22:01:00.000+08:00

Information also taken from chinese-wedding-guide.com

Chinese Bridal Bed Taboos

Except for children who are thought to bless the couple with fertility, no other adult should sit or rest on the bridal bed after its installation and before the chinese wedding.

It is also taboo for the bride to lie on the bridal bed before the chinese wedding. It is believed that this will lead to her poor health.

If the groom has to sleep on the installed bridal bed before the chinese wedding, he should be accompanied by a young boy.

It is considered extremely unlucky to leave one side of the bed empty while the groom sleeps on the other side. The Taiwan chinese has a saying; [睏空舖，不死尪，亦死某] which means leaving one side of the bed empty is to curse death on either half of the new couple.

When to install the bridal bed?

Some chinese believe that it is important to choose an auspicious date and time to install the bridal bed, as a new branch of the family is starting on it!

As most prefer not to disturb the bed after it has been “installed”, the auspicious date chosen is usually during the week before the chinese wedding.

Who to install the bridal bed?

A good fortune woman, one whose husband and children are all alive and has grandchildren, may install the bridal bed.

How to install the bridal bed?

The bridal bed is moved slightly to symbolize its installation. The good fortune woman will make the bed with the new set of bridal bed linen.

After making the bed, the good fortune woman will leave on it a plate with

even number of tangerines or oranges,
dried longans,
dried red dates,
dried persimmons,
pak hup (dried magnolia petals),
dried lotus seeds,
sprigs of pomegranate leaves, and
two red packets.

The dried longans, dried red dates and dried persimmons are sweet and will bless the marriage with sweetness.

Pak hup [百合] stands for [百年好合], hundred years of harmony in the marriage. The lotus seeds [莲子] and pomegranate [番石榴/红花] leaves bless the union with fertility.

Chinese also believe that pomegranate leaves have the power to ward off evil. The oranges and red packets are for good fortune.

Bedside lamps

She will then light a pair of bedside lamps. In chinese, lamp [灯 “deng”] has the similar sound as son [丁 “ding”]. So lighting the lamps, [添灯] is symbolic of adding sons [添丁] to the family.

These lamps are not to be turned off until wedding night. If they are batteries operated, it is not necessary to replace the batteries when they run out, even before wedding night.

Immediately after installing the bridal bed or on the wedding day, little children are invited to roll on the bed to bless the couple with fertility. To encourage them to get on the bed, they are allowed to eat the sweet stuff on that plate the good fortune woman has left on the bed.

This is referred to as [压床] ”ya chuang” or [翻床] “fan chuang”.
Remember to give red packets to the good fortune woman and children for their help.

Betrothal gifts and Dowry

2007-09-11T13:30:00.000+08:00

Some information to share, information are taken from chinese-wedding-guide.com.

Betrothal gifts 娉礼

The betrothal gifts are packed in a multi-tiered wedding basket that is borrowed from a chinese wedding cake shop and typically include:

western and chinese wedding cakes,
two bottles of brandy,
even numbered of tangerines or oranges,
rice candies for a hokkien bride,
at least six tins of canned pork legs or a whole roast pig for cantonese bride,
two pairs of dragon and phoenix candles 龙凤烛,
betrothal gifts from the groom’s parents to the bride.

Bride’s price 娉金

pre-agreed during the wedding negotiations or the bride’s parents may leave it to the groom’s side to decide
It is usually presented in a red packet or wrapped in a special red cloth
Even amounts are presented
For average income families, $600 to $2,000 are commonly given
The groom’s side will usually prepare slightly more than the pre-agreed amount.
A portion is expected to be returned to indicate that
- the groom’s family is overly generous,
- the bride’s family is not greedy, and
- the two families will share their good fortune.

Some will include the bride’s price with the betrothal gifts whereas some will only present it when the groom fetches the bride on the wedding day.

Return gifts 回礼

In the return gifts, the bride’s parents will

replace the 2 bottles of brandy with 2 bottles of orange syrup
An even numbered portion of all the other gifts are returned to the groom’s family together with the 2 phoenix candles
The bride’s side will light the 2 dragon candles and the groom’s side the phoenix candles on the morning of the wedding day
Some hokkien family will also request for a bunch of bananas and red dates to be included in the return gifts
A red packet for the groom’s parents to buy shoes is required
The bride will also present towels to the parents, grandparents, aunt, uncles and groom’s siblings
Decorate all packaging of betrothal and return gifts with red double joy stickers

Deliver the chinese dowry 送嫁妆

The chinese dowry may be delivered with the return gifts on the day of betrothal or delivered a few days before the wedding.

Some people have the impression that chinese weddings are expensive affair for the groom’s parents since they have to pay for the betrothal gifts, bride price and wedding banquet.

However, it may not be so, as the bride’s parents also have a long long list of items to prepare for the bride's dowry and may also co-pay for the wedding banquet.

The dowry typically include personal items for the bride and household or electrical appliances for the couple’s new home, such as

tea set,
beddings,
bedroom furniture and bathroom items,
set of washbasins and buckets called "子孙桶",
electrical household appliances,
clothing,
gold jewellery, etc.

Tea set for wedding tea ceremony 茶具

A tea set for the wedding tea ceremony must be included. After the wedding, the tea set is kept and used once again when the bride’s and groom’s daughter serve her parents tea when she gets married.

It is a chinese tradition for daughter-in-law to greet her parents-in-law with tea (敬茶）every morning. However, in modern society, such traditions are no longer followed.

The bride will only serve her parents-in-law tea during the wedding ceremony and perhaps during certain festive events, such as the in-law's birthdays and chinese new year.

Beddings

The bride’s parents will provide a new set of bedsheet for the couple to install the bridal bed(will post on how to install the bridal bed).
The beddings may include a new set of pillows, bolsters, comforter set, blankets, bed sheets, etc. all tied with red ribbons.

Bedroom furniture and bathroom items

In the past, the bride’s parent might provide bedroom furniture such as vanity table, wardrobe, basin stand and washbasin, bath tub, spittoon, etc. Some would give wooden chinese wedding chests instead of wardrobes.

Instead of providing the couple with the bedroom furniture, parents are now giving a sum of money to for the couple to buy their own furniture. These days, the wardrobes or wedding chests are usually replaced with traveling suitcases.

Small item including toiletries such as comb and mirror, toothpaste and toothbrushes, tumblers, perfume and lotions, are also packaged with little red or pink ribbons and delivered to the groom’s home as part of the chinese dowry.

Buckets of off-spring! 子孙桶

A set of baby bathtubs, pails, face washbasin, in red and with chinese wedding designs and the famous chinese spittoon collectively referred to as 子孙桶 is included in the dowry. 子孙桶 is literally "buckets of off-spring"

Why? Because in the past when women gave birth at home, these bathtubs and buckets were necessary items to be used for childbirth.

From a practical aspect, the spittoon was also necessary gift from the bride's parents. The toilets of chinese household were not easily accessible from the bedrooms in the past as they were usually built as out-houses for sanitation purposes. Hence chinese used spittoons for passing urine in the bedrooms at night and clear them in the morning.

Bathrooms are now build in-door in modern chinese housing. Therefore spittoons for the chinese dowry are now usually replaced with cutesy baby potties instead of the adult version.

A Hokkien's special tradition for the 子孙桶

The hokkiens will seal red dates, dried longans, dried lotus seeds, sweets etc into the spittoon/baby potty 子孙桶 with a piece of red paper.

When the dowry is delivered to the groom's side, the red paper and all the sweet goodies inside are removed and distributed to children. A young boy, preferably born in the year of the dragon, will be invited to pass urine into the spittoon. This ritual wishes for a boy child for the couple!

Electrical household appliances

Most modern young chinese prefer to set up their own household when they get married. It became popular for parents to give the bride electrical household appliances as part of her dowry. These may include refrigerator, microwaves, washing machines, televisions, etc.

In the 60s and 70s it was popular to give sewing machines as part of the dowry as sewing was considered a wifely virtue. Many housewives made clothes for their own family and supplemented their husbands' income with tailoring.

However, by the 80s hardly anyone wanted to sew their own clothes when manufactured ones were affordable and easily available. More women became better educated and entered the workforce and shifted their attention to acquiring workplace skills rather than domestic skills.

A simple sewing basket meant only for the occasional patching and mending job is included in the dowry.

This is usually a double joy sewing basket with even numbered rolls of colourful thread, needles, pincushion, scissors, and sewing wax with auspicious words on it.

Gold jewellery

Gold jewellery given by the bride’s parents or owned by the bride is included as part of the bridal dowry. Sometimes these are brought over only on the wedding day itself.

Theoretically, the gold jewellery included as part of the bride’s dowry belongs to the groom’s family and may be apportioned according to the parent-in-law’s wishes. Hence it is common that a “sister” of the bride will make sure the groom’s parents are aware of the riches brought over by the bride.

Chinese prefer pure gold (99.9%) or 916 gold (equivalent to 24K gold). Anything below that, such as 18K gold commonly used in fashionable gold jewellery, is not considered “real” gold to chinese.

Some brides will even get gold jewellery sets known as four items of gold 四点金 as bride dowry from their parents although these are normally given by the groom’s parents to brides as betrothal jewellery.

Weekly Updates: 3rd Sep - 9th Sep

2007-09-09T23:32:00.000+08:00

This week, i started to look out for my Actual Day(AD) photographer. It suddenly came to me that i have to start looking for one. On Monday, i spent my nite after work looking through the wedding forums like Style wedding, SGbrides for recommendations.

On Tuesday, i spotted a particular thread, recommending their own AD photographer and it attracted alot of positive comments from other people also. Thus, i decided to email the photographer to look at his works. He then gave me his website showing a few of his works. Then, i asked kelly, adrian, annie and of course erwin to view it, see whether it is good or not... kelly and adrian said that the pictures are normal. But annie thinks that its not bad.. i came across another website that is taken by professionals... and i was comparing between the both of them... I was thinking of choosing one between the two... after one day of picture viewing and discussion on the photos with annie and erwin... i decided to meet up with desmond ho (email:wedding_photog@yahoo.com.sg) We think that his photos captured are fun and natural... it is the kind of photos that i would want to take for my wedding...

On wednesday, after work, erwin asked me to go Zouk... It has been a long time since i last went to Zouk. I think i haven been to Zouk for more than a year already... after some persuasion by him, i decided to go... So i quickly changed a top and off we go... we reached at about 10pm... xiaoqi said that she would only reach at about 11+pm. Thus, we went over to Grand Corpthrone Hotel's "The Piano Bar".. The atmosphere is not bad... we sat on a comfy sofa, the lights are dim orange. We then order a bucket of 5 bottles "erdinger white" which cost $40 before GST and service charge...

Their peanuts so high class.. their ikan bilis are so big size and they use cashew nuts... not those cheap kind of peanuts that you get in those pubs... in the bowl, there is also lemongrass leaves?, and dried chilli... the dried chilli is so damn hot that my right ear was in pain...

while drinking, we were enjoying the live band... the female singer is good, her voice is so power... she is those kind who has those "shi li"... she asked us to dedicate songs for her to sing... they are so friendly.. after their live band finished at 11.30pm... they came over to our tables to say "hi" and introduced themselves.. and wished us a "good nite"... so nice of them...

after that, xiaoqi came over... then we went to Zouk... it was so fun... the music is still the same though... i enjoyed it.. might consider going to zouk during mambo nite "again"...

On thurs, i have difficulty waking up... i seem to have a hangover... gosh... i was so tired while at work... I was like a zombie... sobsob... felt like i regret clubbing on wednesday even though i had fun and enjoyed...

On fri, erwin, me, kelly and adrian are supposed to meet up at IMH at 7pm to play badminton.. however, kelly has work commitments and only managed to finish her work at 8pm... thus when she arrived at IMH, it was already 8.30pm... our booking is from 7 - 9pm... but we played until about 10pm.. after that, we went for supper... while on our way to boat quay to fetch liting and huiping... we saw fireworks... not sure what it is about.. below is photo taken at SMU traffic light..

On sat, annie ask if i wanna go out... after quite alot of sms exchanges... i wanna go bugis... cos last week din manage to finish shopping there... we met at 4pm... I parked at raffles hospital... their charges there are not expensive... the first 3 hours cost me $1.83 only... cheaper as compared to $3 for 3 hours at public carparks.. while shopping, i guess joseph got quite bored... i think he got tired of waiting for us... haa... so sorry joseph... i managed to chance upon a pair of white lacy heels... which i can use for my Actual Day... it only cost me $29...

On sun, i meet up with kelly and adrian to go to their office to help them with their emcee casting.. there were about 7 ppl who came... i was supposed to rate them based on some criteria... to see if they are suitable to be emcee or not... it ended at about 3pm... we proceed to have lunch and went over to tanjong pagar to finish the bridal shops that they have not visited.. We first went to milan... they were okay onli... but i did saw a gown thats nice... it those princess kind, with crystals on the gown... not quite sure how to explain it.. another one is feline... i also liked a wedding gown there! i like it so much, that i even ask them how much they charging for rental... she then told me that for that kind of design she would have to charge me $2500.. but suggest that i buy a package which also cost $2500, which includes one wedding gown, one evening gown and actual day make up, etc... i also went over to a few other bridal shops.. but i dun wish to mention them, as there is also nuthhin special about them... one more to mention is "house of etiquette".. they sell those necessities required for chinese traditions... and of cos, they dun sell gowns... but they sell "kua"... there is one that i like.. the assistant said that it is called "kua wang"... it is sliverish, gold in colour.. it takes about one year to make it... i think even for rental... it also cost $1000+... the below picture is the normal red "kua" that i wanna rent... it has embroidery of the dragon and phoenix.. quite nice... so i decided to give it a try... i dunno why i seem to look farnie or weird in the "kua"... i maybe renting it... it will cost me $298 for rental... and before i take the "kua" out... i have to pay a security deposit of $500... thats alot.. sobsob..

after seeing another few stores, like di gio and thomson... we then proceed to a chinese restaurant for dinner... will download the pictures when im free...

gosh... coming week will be a hectic week for me too... I'll be meeting the AD photographer to discuss about the details and price, i'll also be going for "photoshoot" and blood donation... probably this week, i'll start to find the AD make-up artist or prepare our budget to see what is required to buy...

Photos of my dog, GirlGirl

2007-09-09T23:23:00.000+08:00

Here are some photos of my dog, Girlgirl... =)

GirlGirl in sunglasses... so cute!
GirlGirl in graduation robe and mortarboard... soo cute...
the robe and the mortarboard, is taken from the graduation bear that my mummy bought...
taken while she was asleep...
her 9th birthday on 28th May 2007

Weekly Update: 27/08/07 - 02/09/07

2007-09-03T13:01:00.000+08:00

During the week, my days are quite packed. On tuesday, 28/08, i met up with william and kelly. supposedly we were supposed to meet up at minds cafe in boat quay. but william took mc so end up we met up at AMK instead.. we arrived at NEBO, another concept similar to minds cafe.. but no one served us, and we were wondering what games to play... then we order the food.. after that the waiter told william that they are closing at 10pm, so most likely we wun get to play a full 2 hours of the game.. so we walked out and end up at pizza hut.. P.S. Pizza hut also close at 10pm.. i was like =_="... while eating, we also update each other.. then realise that it is our two year aniversary knowing each other since we started out part time studies at PSB...

On friday, 31/08, was my graduation ceremony, at first, i was so worried because i do not have enough tickets for my family. after that then realise that they not so strict after all... so my whole family manage to get seats and also have dinner at the reception.. the robe rental cost SGD70, and i only get to wear it for like 3hours only... i also took a individual, group and family photo package which cost SGD170.. But will only be mailed to me in one or two months time... hope it will come out nice... We took alot of photos... almost like we are the "stars"... while taking the group photos... so many flashes... that i see alot of stars...

Sat, 01/09, Annie and I arrange to meet up to shop at Bugis... But Joseph fall sick.. so we let him rest for two hours before we came out... Jason also went along with us... cos he long time nv come out le... onli work work work... then while on the way walking to bugis village, i saw jinny and sze min... so qiao... this is the second time i saw them when i come out le.. haa.. we update each other abit and i continue to go shopping with annie le... annie came to buy skinny jeans... she was wondering whether to buy black or grey or both... actually the grey one is quite nice... i also wanted to buy... but i also dun have much chance to wear it... mon to friday have to go to work... then onli can wear during weekends... and i dun always go out during the weekends... Now i making the effort to meet up with my frens cos i dun wan to lose contact with them... Today was the start... After that, we walked another street. then annie showed me the cardigan that she bought... then its quite cute... its got a dog shape printed with burberry's signature pattern... i chose a grey one... actually annie wanna buy a yellow colour de.. but dun have, so she also bought a grey one... at this point in time, joseph was really sick already... so no choice annie and joseph have to go home le... so left me and jason.. thus we went to ikea... but before there we went to eat dim sum near changi village hotel... then he show me around changi village hotel.. the place is not bad... and the scenery at level 8 restaurant is quite nice, you can see the sea... but cannot go at nite.. cos at nite cannot see anything le... solemnisation there would also be very nice... too bad no chance le... haa... after that, we went to ikea, walk around to get ideas for my future home... but still no idea... very confused... i dunno what kind of concept i want.. and i dun wan to pay so much jus to let a designer do it..

Sun,02/09, I slacked at home the whole day... i sleep alot...!! then i met up with sujuan at compass pt... we ate dessert at delifrance... Sujuan mentioned to me that she want go on short trip.. i also want!!! she interested to go genting... i also dun mind... i wanna go also... while eating, we looked thru the pictures (ROM, my phuket trip in july, our Bangkok trip in may, my genting trip in july, graduation on sat) then i also gave her the photos that she wants... my lap top is so heavy!!! i wanna change my laptop!! but i got no money to change... anyway, it is a want not a need... so it can wait... after we settled the bill, btw, thank you sujuan for the treat!! We went to metro, see what we can buy. Metro is having big sale... it really is big discount... i bought three tops.. that i wanted, it is those kind of knitted wear, cardigan material.. after 70% discount.. it onli cost me $5.97 per top... so cheap that i bought three...

Thats all for the week... upcoming week, most likely will be meeting up with jinny and szemin or be doing bazaar at Lime *scape, cineleisure there... and on sunday, i will be helping out with the casting for emcee.. anyone interested to be emcee for wedding can let me know...

31st August 2007 Loughborough University

2007-08-31T22:47:00.000+08:00

Finally, the long waited graduation ceremony... after so much sacrifices, hard work, burnt weekdays nite and weekends... we finally see the fruit that we beared...
Me, in the process of robing...
Mummy gave me a bouquet of sunflower... with a graduation bear also... nice...
me in graduation robe...
while studying, we were project members... yeah!! my family... me and kelly
phototaking with one of our favourite tutor...
me and my twin bros... suddenly i feel so short...
me and my bros and sis...
the three musketeers (LU de)

before the graduation ceremony gonna start... everyone waiting for the academic procession.. spot my head...
me on stage...
me and dear
me and our classmates.. congrats to everyone...
our lecturer.. alistair... he is a very nice guy... very joker... and of cos... stuart west... another very nice guy... also joker while teaching us... enjoyed his lessons also...
this photo is nice...
throwing our mortarboard...
jumping elated-ly...
me jumping alone...

my mummy wearing my hat...
we are family...

the group photo... class of 2007... can spot where am i??
close up... can spot? must be obvious already...

throwing our hats.. haa..
erwin wearing the mortarboard...
another family photo
me n erwin

50 promises for Marriage/Relationships

2007-08-30T20:13:00.000+08:00

Some reminders for everyone... dun take ur relationship for granted...
Love is a teacher, a friend and always a gift...

1. start each day with a kiss
2. wear your wedding rings at all times
3. date once a week
4. accept differences
5. be polite
6. be gentle
7. give gifts
8. smile often
9. touch
10. talk about dreams
11. select a song that can be “our song”
12. give backrubs
13. laugh together
14. send a card for no reason
15. do what the other person wants before he/she asks
16. listen
17. encourage
18. do it his or her way
19. know his or her needs
20. fix other person’s breakfast
21. compliment twice a day
22. call during the day
23. slow down
24. hold hands
25. cuddle
26. ask for each other’s opinion
27. show respect
28. welcome the other person home
29. look your best
30. wink at each other
31. celebrate birthdays in a big way
32. apologize
33. forgive
34. setup a romantic getaway
35. ask “what can I do to make you happier?”
36. be positive
37. be kind
38. be vulnerable
39. respond quickly to the other person’s request
40. talk about love
41. reminisce about your favorite times together
42. treat each other’s friends and relatives with courtesy
43. send flowers every valentine’s day and anniversary
44. admit when wrong
45. be sensitive to each other’s sexual desires
46. pray for each other daily
47. watch sunsets together
48. say “I love you” frequently
49. end the day with a hug
50. seek outside help when needed

Someone Help me!!! Dilemma!!!

2007-08-27T21:47:00.000+08:00

Going to get my Bsc (honours) in business studies on 31st August 2007... will post my graduation ceremony photos after 31st August 2007... yea!!!

I found a new job in a US MNC, selling pharmaceutical packaging to pharmaceutical companies..
My first day at work is 24th Sep... Hope I din make a wrong choice... Pray for me that my new colleagues and boss will be very nice people... And yes, of course, I tender my resignation at IMH on 24th August... I will miss the people there... they are very nice people.. so i was both sad and happy when i resigned... sobsob...

Now considering to become a certified public accountant - singapore... but i dunno which way to go... sobsob... can someone advise me??? I want a fast, short, easy way out!!! hee... who doesnt want?

Now i dunno if i should go ACCA, CPA Australia or CIMA... which one is easier and fastest???
If i choose ACCA, annie can "pei" me... we can become classmates again... but i think ACCA is the hardest of all... so i was hoping to study CPA Australia.. but I'm not sure of the exemptions that i would get.. Guess one of the days i have to go down to starhub centre le...

If anyone of u can advise me... please let me know k???

23rd August 2007 Marina South Steamboat

2007-08-25T16:39:00.000+08:00

I dunno for what reason, we end up at marina south eating steamboat... now its $13 per person.. hmmm... not so worth it liao... not sure if it is becos we go during the weekdays... the food dun look, smell, taste that fresh...

live crabs... live prawns

18th August 2007 NDP celebration Fireworks

2007-08-25T15:46:00.000+08:00

Erwin and I went to see the fireworks at the Esplanade... Knowing that it would be congested, we parked at bugis and took a train to city hall... we meet kelly and adrian at suntec food republic and walk over to millenia walk @ kelly's office level 38 to watch the fireworks... gosh, we were so tired having to walk such long distance jus to watch the fireworks.. SOme pictures for those who missed the fireworks... my picture quality not that good.. dunno how to take photo of fireworks... this year's fireworks are really nice, different from other years... this year's are really colourful...

me and kelly while waiting for the fireworks... we were watching fireworks at her office pantry... alot of kids were there... and they were going "woah""woahhh""woooaaahhhhhh" whenever they see the fireworks... me and erwin
the place where the fire works will start...

what a smoky event!
after the fireworks, we took photos at the water fall features jus outside the building...

Game: Air Force Test

2007-08-24T14:00:00.000+08:00

My colleague email this website to me...
Its quite fun... It is said to be an air force test.. the ppl in the air force, have to tahan for two mins. if u can tahan 18secs, u are good enuff already... i tried, i got 27secs...
P.S Its quite addictive... Aim for 2mins ba...
http://members.iinet.net.au/~pontipak/redsquare.html

How well do you know ShanHong?

2007-08-23T13:58:00.000+08:00

Dear all,

Please try and do the test... I wanna see how well you guys know me??? have fun... dun be afraid that you fail... at most i just knock your head only... cos got alot of give away questions...

Create your own Friend Test here

The Montage

2007-08-17T18:53:00.000+08:00

Liting have done a montage to summarise the ROM..
For your viewing pleasure... Abit lengthy though... its about 10mins plus...
Hope you enjoy...

Genting Trip 2007

2007-08-10T21:38:00.000+08:00

We went to genting from the 3rd august to 5th august... with annie and joseph...
The weather was fine, its not so cold... there isnt much fog... the view is very clear...

Went there to go casino for the first time... didnt play much... haa...

there are alot of jackpot machines... but i dun find them fun, thus i did not try... as they are all computerised... thus, to me, i think its very hard to win..

we tried KENO, bigsmall and roulette...

KENO is actually a "toto" game, there are 80 numbers... there are two games u can play under KENO... one is the usual one... you can choose 1 - 15 numbers... each has different pay-outs... the other game you can play is heads, even or tails... that means every game, KENO will be drawing 20numbers... out of this 20 numbers... majority is heads, tails or even? heads means that most of the numbers come from 1 - 40, tails means that most of the numbers come from 41 - 80... and of course, even means that there is an equal no. of heads and tails...

joseph and annie in the lift...
me and erwin...
we stayed at first world hotel tower 2, second floor, room no. 2803...
a view of genting... very clear rite?
at the theme park...

singing K at "Be a star"...
my "Blue Sky" and erwin's ice chocolate...
joseph and annie... they drink "blue sky" and "white sky"... haa...
a photo in between songs... a picture with the four of us...

we share walk our future road together...
we are singing K!
who is singing?

joseph and annie
you can tell how windy it is... its almost impossible for me to take a proper photo...

erwin dear posing...
an overview of genting...
the car is so lonely...
the men...
the ladies...

getting down from genting...
we reached Melaka! Their Historical sites... when portugese are there in the past...

famous chicken rice ball shop...
annie looking at the newspaper cuttings and awards of chicken rice ball
while waiting...
this is the chicken rice ball... looks like sotong ball instead.. haa...
the dumplings are really nice...
while eating chendol... the shop owner loves collecting coke things...

Wedding photoshoot

2007-08-09T17:44:00.000+08:00

We took our wedding photoshoot at Johor, Skudai.

Here are some of the photos taken while preparing for the photoshoots..
Hope that the wedding photos come out good...

I get to wear three white gowns, four night gowns and one traditional costume...
A picture of me after the basic make up... the gown is not so white huh..
back view of the gown
erwin in suit

make up in process...
Another not so white gown..
erwin in white suit
me, after hair do
a photo of us, before we go up for the shoot...
actually trying to show my nails...
full view of the gown
me n my mummy...
me n liting (my sister)
a photo of us, before i change my hairstyle and makeup
changing hairstyle and makeup in progress...
i like the hair piece... simple and elegant...

me with my own accessories... if you like, can go sweetattraction.blogspot.com and find it....
us, posing before we go up for photo shoot...

erwin posing in black suit
me in a black gown...
i think i look like a witch

hair styling in process...
the hairstyle that i dun like
getting ready for outdoor photoshoot at desaru...

the desaru trip was tiring... it took about an hour plus to reach desaru... and it was torturous having to sit on the ground, climb trees, lie down on the rocks, get mosquitoes bites, having to face the strong afternoon sun... i hope its all worth it...

More photos of ROM

2007-08-09T17:08:00.000+08:00

Here are more photos of the ROM, due to special requests...

Would like to thank everyone once again for attending and accompanying us... thanks for the sweat... =)

my family

my "ah yi" and cousin

joseph and annie "my primary school, childhood friend, best friend, darling" weiming, kaizhen, liting(my sister), sujuan, siew kheng and alan
adrian and kelly(best friend, poly fren, dear)

thank you for helping me out on my ROM and next year's actual day and wedding dinner..

they are from corazon events management, event planners

william (LU classmate)

Pang, vivian, david, derrick

sisters - li ting, kelly, sujuan, hui ping, joney, annie, kai zhen, siew kheng

erwin's Team A's colleagues

brothers till the end

the couple who catch the bouquet... they are next... haa...

Phuket Trip July 2007

2007-08-06T21:40:00.000+08:00

We went to Phuket on 12th July 2007, for a mini honeymoon...

although u can't tell from the photo... we actually have to check in at changi airport T1 at 5am...
On the plane, cos its a short trip, we took jetstar... the leather seats feels like u are riding on a car instead... we reached phuket at 7am local time, at the same time singapore time is 8am already... so we actually keep feeling that its still early no matter what we are doing...

as it is still early, the taxi actually stop us at his office which is a tour agency... not so good as they were trying to sell us tour packages before we head to hotel and look for other agents to book a phi phi island tour... the stupid thing is that we eventually bought the package from them... we are so stupid.. we paid THB2100 per pax for the phiphi island tour... after that, as it is still early, the taxi driver was kind enough to bring us around phuket town... i wanted to try shooting... so he drove us to phuket shooting range...
abit disappointed with the range of guns that they have... they only had basic things like caliber, rifle, pistol... so i chose a .38caliber as it is the gun that singapore police force is currently using...

it was actually quite expensive... i paid for THB890 to shoot 10 bullets... argh...

me in action, erwin told me that i would recoil... thus, i held on to the caliber super tightly to prevent it from recoiling... xb... the gun shoot was actually quite loud... but i expected it as erwin keep telling me about it when we were on the way to the shooting range... thus, it was okay... quite enjoyable and a good experience actually... i would be a better shooter the next time round... as i managed to hit within the black circle twice... given that its my first time, i think its a good try... haaa...
after the shooting, the taxi driver then fetch us to the hotel... we chose to stay at patong bay garden resort as it was on the phuket's most popular beach (patong Beach) and the hotel is actually right on the beach... once u walk out... u are on the beach already...

the above picture is the hotel room, its quite nice isn't it? it also comes with a balcony which is also very nice... but we din get to enjoy it as there were alot of mosquitoes... thus, we do not wish to open the balcony door... the cute part of the room is that there is a window where u can see into the toilet from the bed...

we are eating lunch at a beach restaurant...
a picture of part of what patong beach looks like... the sand is so soft and fine... sand further away from the seaside seem to have diamonds all over... some of the sand are so shiny that they look like diamond...
me!!! we had to pay THB150 to rent an umbrella and two beach chairs for a day... phuket is a tourist carrot city... if i din make myself clear.. i was actually trying to say that in phuket, tourist are carrots... on the beach, one ice-cream cone actually cost THB65 which is about SGD3!!!
A picture of us, just after we rented the umbrella and chairs... A shot of sumone para-sailing... looks fun... but im afraid of heights!!!
Enjoying the beach... although its looks quite calm... it is actually quite strong... u could get swept out into the sea... scary... never judge a book by its cover...

i like this pic... so nice that the pic background has someone para-sailing... and it looks like a yellow heart shape... and im sure that u can tell that, it really is sunny... i almost couldnt open my eyes...

while sunbathing, saw three dogs walking across the beach... so cute...

early in the morning, we are waiting to board the speedboat to phiphi island... we are instructed by the tour guide to consume the sea sick pill that they provided... to prevent us from getting seasick while on the boat... the speedboat ride was a real scary one... i would not say that its a small boat as there were about 20 - 30 ppl on the boat... i later learnt that it was the monsoon season thus the trip will be a bumpy one... its true... 15mins later, i start to feel seasick... i got so afraid as the boat was bumping against the waves... the boat went up and down which i feel that its more than a metre of fluctuation... everytime when the waves hit the boat, i would feel that at one point in time, the boat and the sea does not come into contact... thus, it was like a roller coaster... i feel that i almost fainted... when we reach phiphi island's shore... i felt like i came back from hell...
they brought us to the beach, where we relax, learn how to snorkel so as to prepare us to snorkel later in the deeper sea... it is actually quite hard for me to master... as i had difficulty changing the way i breathe... i had to use my mouth to breathe instead of my nose... sumtimes i cant control, i will use my nose to breathe... however the mask covers up to the nose and it is airtight to prevent water from going it... then if i use my nose to exhale the air that i breathe in, i would introduce water into the mask... then i would feel like im drowning... and the seawater is so salty...

this is the speedboat that we took from phuket to phiphi island... the boat's name is called timmie... it is for us to recognise the boat when we are snorkelling... anyway, the boat throughout was a bumpy ride... on my way to khai island... i actually vomited... i used countless of plastics bags that the tour guide provided us... i think i expelled all the lunch that i ate at phi phi don island... btw, the lunch is also inclusive in the package...
this is the viking cave, the thai ppl actually have to climb on the silts inside to retrieve those swallow's nest to sell to restaurants... those bird's nest that you are consuming in thailand, comes from here... if you notice, the sea is super blue... the blue is so fake... but no matter what... i think its much better than singapore's sea/beach...
this is the Pi Leh Lagoon, where everyone snorkels here... it is about 4metres deep... from the pic, you can see some dark spots... those are actually corals... although u cant see from the pic... there are actually alot of fishes swimming around... the tour guide will provide bread for you to attract the fishes... all equipments for snorkelling are provided... however, you have to pay an extra THB100 to use their flippers...
this is the monkey beach... there are alot of monkeys on this beach... but i think its bad... becos it became a tourist attraction spot... i think all the monkeys have become reliant on what the human brought to feed them... those bananas that i have, are also provided by the tour guide... its for the tourist to feed the monkeys...
this is a pic of us at khai island, its windy there...

as you can see behind, there are shops... selling tidbits, drinks and tourist gifts... but are all expensive... so not so worth it.. u dun have to buy from them.. the tour guide will cut watermelon and pineapple for ur pleasure... its inclusive in the package already... and you dun have to buy drinks at the island... you can jus take it at the speedboat... free flow of pepsi and mineral water... also included in the package already...
at about 4pm thai time, we are back at phuket... when u are reaching the dock.. they will say that they hope you enjoy the trip... if u enjoyed, please give them some tips... not compulsory though... but they treated us very well and was patient to every request... thus, we did gave a little tip...
as its still early, we decided to watch the sunset at patong beach... while waiting... we actually saw sumone who was being saved by a lifeguard... the person will lying motionless and the lifeguard didnt seem to have given him any CPR... then came a pickup from another side at very high speed... it is their "ambulance"... the guy was later carried on to the pickup... while they are carrying him... he looked so motionless... in my heart, i prayed hard that he would survive... the red flag on the picture is the spot where the guy was lying motionless... we actually saw this flag on day1... it is to warn ppl not to swim as it is not safe... i wonder if the person fail to heed the warnings... when we came back to singapore... we saw "the new paper" saying that a singaporean actually drowned at phuket, patong beach... it was the same day that we saw the guy being pulled back from the sea by the lifeguard... not sure whether it is the same guy or not...
a picture of the sun"setting"...

its dinner time!!! along the road, a few restaurant sells seafood... the prawn that im holding is a super big size tiger prawn... but it doesnt taste as good as it seems... conclusion is not to eat it... we ordered it by BBQing it, with butter and garlic... phuket's seafood is also quite expensive...
i forgot what drink is that.. but its a cocktail... quite nice in taste and aesthetics...
i did a manicure at phuket, at a nite spot... called bangla road... it has a stretch of pubs which thai girls in uniforms, bikini, sexy wear, transexual,etc... and also tourist shops selling bikinis, local products, fake brandeds like sunglasses, watches... there is also a thai boxing stadium at the other end of the road... if u are lucky, on the day if there is a match, you can go n watch it... the manicure that i did cost me THB250 which is about SGD12...
this is the last day, while waiting for the gate to open... home sweet home...

Thank You everyone! who has attended the ROM

2007-08-05T23:22:00.000+08:00

Dear all,

I would like to thank everyone who has spared their precious time to join us on the 7th July 2007 to witness our solemnisation... thank you for your presence as we said our vows and commit our hearts as we begin the story of our lives together...

really appreciated it!!! thank you for all your blessings/best wishes and gifts....

here is a photo of those who attended the ROM.. here is the evidence... u might not be able to see urself inside... as some of u are hiding behind ppl's back!!! haa...

07/07/07 My ROM

2007-08-05T22:47:00.000+08:00

Gosh! it has been almost a month since i ROMed on the 7th July...

Here are some of the photos on the ROM day... i guess pictures would speak louder than words... no need to say so much here... hee..

The walk-in for solemnisation at masonic garden @ love that binds... feels like a church wedding.. haa..
The part where the solemnisation ends with " you may kiss the bride"...

Our promise... to love, to respect, to protect, to cherish and be faithful to each other as long as we both shall live..

The flowers nice??? self made, with the help from my mother, my "ah yi" and my cousin... you cant buy any where else... xb

me and my sister...

what would our future be like?

this is the fun part!!! the jumping part... we jumped so high... haa...

2007-08-05T22:40:00.000+08:00

today onwards, i will do my best to update my blog... so that i can share with my friends whom we haven got the time to meet up, to know what's going on with me...

i've always wanted to start writing my blog but i didnt have the time or was lazy to spare the time to do it...

actually it was kind of weird, on how the world has changed... where ppl used to write on their diaries... and what they wrote was considered "private and confidential"... Now, everyone is eager to share and want the whole world to know "about themselves"...

not sure if i am considered one of them? haa...