Runaway Bride-to-Be

Life doesn’t have to be 2 sides of a coin. Why can’t I have it good without being weighted down by juggling the overwhelming bad side? I’m a pessimist. To me, everything works against me. But I’m also a dreamer. I fantasize living in an ideal world (you may blame it on the fiction books I read but I rather go sleep than reading motivational books.. bleh..).

Thus, it is no secret that I love to go travelling. More like to runaway from my daily life and to emerge at the other end of the world. A new world with no deadlines! haha.. (except maybe missing the opening hours of a museum or most drastically missing a flight). I’m not saying travel experiences are all dreamy sweet and dainty – I have had nightmare moments of missed flight, lost endless time in strange cities, left penniless by pickpocket; but looking back, the sky is still always bluer than here.

I’m flying off tomorrow.



Yes, I have packed.

Besides leaving fiancé behind..



I'm leaving my engagement ring too.



P/S : Everything is fine. I’m just taking a break from the ring..

I Need A Break!

Apparently, while trying to put a bit more efforts into moving things along in the wedding plans, I’m complicating things further. Was told that options should be kept within boundaries, thus not waste time looking beyond affordability to enable a quick decision-making. Full stop.

While that sounds perfectly rational, it goes against everything I believe in. I’d like to have alternatives and be informed irregardless of the final decision. I supposed it’s for self-satisfaction and reassurance that I would have explored all options and took into consideration the possible alternatives before making an informed decision. Yes, to adhere to a budget is important, but the contents that make up the final figure should be flexible. An item may be sacrificed for another greater idea (yes, I hear you, you are thinking that I sound exactly like one of those clients you dread to encounter.. ).

Anyway, barely 4 days after I vowed to tick off more items on my wedding checklist, I have decided to take a break. What better way than to literally run away and take a break? I’m going to start packing my bag in eagerness the moment I posted this…



Paradise awaits..

(Photo from http://bpstorybook.blogspot.com/search/label/Vietnam - stumbled upon his blog and loved it while searching for a photo from ‘real traveller’ rather than some misleading, heavily touched-up photos from one of those travel websites)

Wedding Checklist

(Photo from http://junebugweddings.com/blogs/what_junebug_loves/)
I’m in love with this photo – it looked like a perfect blue sky day for a perfect shoot! Makes me want to put on a veil and get married now too.. haha..

Time to get my mind back to (attempting) my wedding planning, now that most festivals are (almost) over. If you are wondering how the planning is getting along, here’s an update on my to-do list (of which I borrowed from Diary of a Mad Bride that I’ve read recently.. with some (heavy) modifications of my own, and I foresee the list growing from here).

LY EVIL AND ENDLESS
Official/\THINGS TO DO List

1. Choose wedding date *check*
2. Decide on honeymoon - doubt will happen (no budget)
3. Arrange for registration of marriage - no time to go inquire (only open during office hours)
4. Choose reception venue
5. Make guest list - tentative no. of pax decided, will cut accordingly! (sorry if you didn't end up in the list)
6. Find wedding gown - still constructing one in my mind
7. Decide on groom’s attire - his preference : casual wear
8. Choose maid-of-honor *check*
9. Choose best man - his comment : do I need one?
10. Buy wedding rings
11. Order wedding cake - not in budget priority
12. Choose florist and set appointment to discuss details
13. Buy shoes
14. Buy other accessories
15. Interview photographers & hire one
16. Schedule pre-wedding shoot
17. Hire videographer - do we need one?
18. Draft ceremony/reception program
19. Finalize invitation wording
20. Order invitations
21. Decide on make-up artist/hair stylist and make appointment for trial
22. Make budget *check*
23. Divide expenses - what is his is mine, no?
24. Decide on menu
25. Reserve vegetarian meals
26. Decide on bridal car - what do you think of my ’s ride?
27. Buy guest book for reception
28. Decide on wine selection
29. Choose processional music
30. Choose reception music
31. Decide on reception décor - hmm.. maybe leave the venue (if we found one) as it is?
32. Decide on dress code
33. Draw up wedding day schedule (timing, details & persons-in-charge)
34. Find out cultural traditions and decide what to incorporate into ceremony - yup, huge rows with groom-to-be over this
35. Schedule spa session! (manicure/pedicure/body massage)
*love last item the best! hehe..

Well, shall I say 3.5 items checked or 10% of the list, after 4 months since engagement. Is that acceptable? Or is it time to push panic button yet?

Celebration of Love

Shall I be wishing you Happy Valentine’s Day? This blog is turning into a platform for me to greet you on every occasion :)

A snippet of news on radio caught my attention while driving to work this morning. It was reported that religious police in Saudi Arabia are enforcing a ban on Valentine’s Day gifts sale including red roses, causing black market prices for roses to rise. Valentine’s Day named after a Christian patron saint, apart from being un-Islamic, is considered to be encouraging relations between men and women outside wedlock. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help laughing out loud upon hearing that.

What does Valentine’s Day mean to you? I am indeed ignorant for I have no idea who Saint Valentine was and can never remember the many legends behind the history of celebrating Valentine’s Day. Today, we all have to admit that the celebration is highly over-rated and commercialized. Prices soar on flowers and Valentine’s dinner everywhere just so businesses can take this opportunity to make more profits.

Every year nearing Feb 14, I always repeat to bf that I really don’t mind not receiving flowers on that day (and I really meant it). But every year, he never bothered listening. It’s not that I don’t like flowers. I love them! But on top of paying exorbitant prices for them, the flowers on Valentine’s Day are usually not as nice or fresh. And what is it with red roses?? I know, I know, red signifies love especially on this day, but I don’t like dark red roses. I love roses, just not dark red ones. Yes, I’m such a bitch for complaining but I much rather receive a bunch of unique fresh flowers, any type of flowers, with packaging that you know your florist has spent time and effort on if it was ordered on a different day and not one of the mass-produced bouquets on the same day.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the florist he has been going to all these years. Loved every bouquet I’ve ever received so far. For all my whining, my Valentine’s flowers I can tell you are by far, way nicer than most flowers I have seen other poor girls getting..


For comparison, some of the flowers I received over the years
Spot the red roses! Those were from Valentine’s Day

I have no idea if dearest bf has ordered a bouquet to be sent to me this year or if he finally heeds my words. If he did and it turns out to be another bunch of dark red roses, I will still appreciate it. Or even if I don’t receive anything at all, what really matters on this day is to spend it with your loved ones. Indeed it sounds cheesy, but hey, it’s a once a year celebration
– so Happy Valentine’s Day!

Kung Hei Fatt Choy!

Today is the 1^st day of Chinese New Year. After all the hard work yesterday (and all the house cleaning on the weekends leading to that), and the reunion dinner with the plates of food we put away last night, I decided that I shall do nothing but eat, sleep and play for the next few days.


The plum blossom tree we put up together yesterday –
Daddy and mummy who picked up the branches over the weeks during their evening walks and later bought some flowers.
Daddy who helped saw-off the branches to the height/shape we wanted and collected stones to fill-up the pot .
Sis & I with the ‘help’ of our 7-year-old niece & 5-year-old nephew decorated the tree.
Brother who lifted up the pot to the exact placement the tree is right now.

Been keeping myself busy this morning taking pictures of niece & nephew. Here are some that I like..


They had no idea where to look because all of us - bro, sis & I were snapping away


Sis showed them how to scribble little hearts on her camera


My nephew eyeing all the goodies and sweet candies

I’m not a very traditional girl, but Lunar New Year holds a special place in my heart because of the activities we indulge in as a family. We don’t usually get together that way on normal days. This is also the last year I’m staying home for the new year and also the last year of collecting ang pows (as most of you have been reminding me of).

So for anyone else celebrating, Sun Nin Fai Lok! (Happy New Year)

An Unusual Date Night

Can I date you tomorrow after work?
Ya, sure
Pick you up at 7pm then
Ok. Where to?
Don’t know yet. Where do you want to go?
Anywhere, doesn’t matter
KL is so boring
Ya, let’s go outstation then
Ok

We ended our conversation there. I was thinking, was pretty sure actually, that he’d bring me to Alamanda, Putrajaya. No, that’s not outstation but it’s further than our usual hang-out places and he has this obsession with Alamanda, don’t ask me why. He thinks Putrajaya is well-structured, people are friendlier and generally more relax.. and it's like being in another country all together!

Comes Friday evening, I made him wait for at least 20 mins in the car as I had work to finish off before leaving the office. Ya, what’s new right? But it’s a big deal when it comes to making my fiancé wait, as a minute is consider late and irresponsible of you. But he took it rather nicely without the usual fuss.

So, guess where he had in mind?







Yup, a drive up to Genting Highlands for a cuppa coffee.



All’s well and wonderful except for a slight problem..


He didn’t anticipate me wearing this to work that day!

Needless to say, we stayed indoor the whole night, but the car was parked outdoor. Reluctantly left Starbucks after finishing my café latte and made a run to the car after midnight.


View of First World Hotel's reception from inside cozy Starbucks


View of misty Starbucks from outside

It was freezing cold!

An unusual date for us as being spontaneous is not a virtue my bf possesses. Even if he did plan after putting down the phone the night before, I still call it spur-of-the-moment decision for him to make.

And the day after, we did end up at Alamanda, Putrajaya :)

Books.. and More Books

Last week, on the bonus public holiday, I finally managed to find time to re-arrange my bookshelves at home. Ok, I had to put a stop to my procrastination after this little incident of purchasing a book I already owned, lying somewhere in my room.

And so, I have created a list of all my books and re-arranged them by author (it’ll only be a matter of time before the arrangement goes out of control again). In total, the booklist of my collection reaches 200+ now.. and growing.

A little side note : If one of my books is with you, will you please let me know so I could update my list? I’m not rushing you to return it if you have not finished reading. For I realized that I have lost a couple of my books (only taking into consideration the ones I remember I have).. and I’m extremely heart-broken over this.

It was when I was climbing up and down arranging them onto the shelves, books covering the whole floor, hair flying all over my face and me sweating profusely, that bf made an appearance in my room. A quick estimation later, he announced that I have spent at least RM 8,000 in buying all these books. And that was a very conservative under-estimate. Wow, I could have made a trip to Europe with RM 8K!

So what do I plan to do with my ever-growing books? Er.. never thought of that. I think he finds it alarming to think that he has to find space at home to store all my books, you know, when I eventually move in.. me and my baggage.

Any idea what I shall do with them? Continue to find space to store them when it grows? Get rid of them? But they are in pristine condition (I have this book fetish of wrapping my books before reading them) - Sell them all? Donate them? Rent them out for some side income? Help!!