Cadence

abandonment issues

2012-01-31T23:23:00.002+08:00

last night, i went home to sleep at my old place. it was real nice, like a retreat into my old life which i relished like a vacation. i gave the cats extra food before i left, and then told them it won't be too long before i'm home again, meow-meows!

the next day i came home well-rested... to 2 cats who seemed to have gone a little nuts. it seems like they get stressed when we're not around, and upon return they become incredibly manja. Joey's been winding around my legs 50% of the day, while Jay runs away and then comes back meowing at the top of his voice.

he even sat on my lap for 15 minutes so i could rub him. whut.

now they're waiting for me to sleep so they can cuddle. wassup man, why so cute one! maybe deep down inside, after being abandoned once, they're really afraid of being abandoned a second time. poor things. :(

---

alvin thinks they're just spoilt. hahaha.

Jay knows to bring his ball to me if he wants to play, and Joey has also learned something new! she squeaks really cutely when she wants to go watch the rain in the master bedroom's glass panel. she squeaks so i can open the door for her. then she'll bound in, sit at the glass panel and play with the water droplets rolling down the pane... then she curls up and sleeps on the bed.

aww.

memories (and getting fatter as we go along)

2012-01-12T17:23:00.032+08:00

angel and i are having SUCH. A. GOOD. TIME going through our old photos.

good grief, i've known my 3 besties for 12 years now. it's mind-boggling. massive photoshare now!!!

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check it out, this is us in JC.

xinwei, mel & i with our matching colored rulers (gift from xinwei), Pioneer JC, year 2000. not sure where angel was with her purple colored one.

here's where i met angel & xinwei - the first student's council of PJC where we played all day and partied all night.

3 of us made it to Uni, 1 didn't - me. it was terrible to get left behind, but i thank God, for if it didn't happen i wouldn't have met alvin.

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2002 - right before everyone started uni:

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2003: we grew up... and celebrated our 20th birthdays (xw's always the last).

this was our first & last pajama party. coz xw couldn't stand her makeup-less face. that zha bor.

we reveled in our new found freedom and clubbed...

(the wu-bar? da wu bar? dunno la. xw and i were just laughing about that club while we were at Butter last week.)

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2004:

... and clubbed...

coco latte - xinwei's 21st birthday.

First road trip!!!

... and clubbed all the way to KL.

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2005: xinwei's 22nd, at sentosa. crap, i need to find that stupid photo of xinwei again!!!

AHH HERE IT IS:

it's just one of those photos you NEVER forget.

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2006: 23 years old.

gallery hotel, so we could club at coco latte. this was also the year i met alvin - i can tell because i'm wearing my favorite Franz Ferdinand shirt that he bought me!! woohoo!!

angel's birthday at the Marmalade Pantry (back when it was at Palais)

xinwei's 23rd - at copthorne waterfront. where did we go after all those drinks? TO ZOUK OF COURSE.

i also had the most haircuts in 2006 after suffering a devastating breakup AND THEN finding love again. upheavaaaaaaaaal...

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2007: 24. this might've been the year xinwei & angel learned how to straighten their hair. mel was flying at this time with SIA, so we saw very little of her. shot below taken after my pomelo haircut, at the corner at PS before Tea Cosy took over. also, GRADUATION FOR MEEEE

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2008 was the advent of Facebook SO there're photos a-plenty!

council gathering at david's - we are utterly shocked at this point we've been friends for so long. 'good grief, i'm still hanging out with YOU?!'

we took a wristwatch shot here, didn't we? but well, Ben & Jerry's at Dempsey.

we even went to the zoo, where xinwei was horrified by a mousedeer. she screamed and ran away. -_-

at our first wedding together. :)

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2009:

2nd wedding!

road trip to malacca! see the bibik faces? wait, it's only me COZ THE REST PANG SEH.

OH OH I ALSO GOT ENGAGED HAHA ALMOST FORGOT

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2010:

how on EARTH did we not do anything in 2010?? is it because i was too busy planning for the wedding? can't be what - everything was left to the last minute! oh well...

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2011:

YOU GUYS ARE MY BRIDESMAIDS. i look at you also feel like crying lor. sorry for making you girls sob while i was at the altar. :D

mel got hitched shortly after. we have no photos together though. i am sad.

this is the most radiant i've ever seen mel. :O

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2012: NYE & NYD! it's hilarious how we're standing in front of my canvas of Manhattan. ON NYE.

yeah, we'll be here for a very long time. it's scary how much we've been through - even at one point we all almost went our separate ways but we stuck together. all the smoking, drinking, break ups, pregnancy scares, breakups, miscommunication and mistrust... it's probably not over but there is so much respect here, and we know how to beat the shit out of each of us especially when one is behaving stupidly. you girls are my therapy group, really.

also, we grand old ladies will making more memories in the third road trip this weekend! YEAH BABY - BIKINIS ON!

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edit: wait i found the wristwatch photo!

tsk, tsk, xinwei...

Just Dance vs Dance Central

2012-01-11T13:06:00.003+08:00

there is no fight. Dance Central beats the shit out of Just Dance. Just compare the two songs below:

SO DIFFERENT. Just Dance has too many repetitive moves but, man, they have such good songs! and why is it their dancers always look so... unkempt. their hair's all over the place and they look like they're wearing clothes from This Fashion. geez.

also, for Just Dance's version there's more of a full song experience (though they cut out the bridge for Only Girl - why ah? too much choreo?) while Dance Central shortens the song - but it's so freaking fast paced that if you do everything correctly and throw yourself into it the cardio workout is pretty intense.

and then there's this:

i love this song, and the choreo is... OKAY. i like the parts where you can face your partner to dance, that's a plus point, but there's so little of it. also, the female dancer is a poorer in performance as compared to the guy. she stumbles a little when she slides back in position.

WHYWHYWHY

there're other JD/DC overlaps like, Lena's 'Satellite', Britney's 'Toxic' (both covers, but the JD one is pretty annoying), Justice's 'D.A.N.C.E.', Benny Benassi's 'Satisfaction', and Bananarama's 'Venus'.

One thing's for sure - i wouldn't subject a gatecrashing bridegroom to Just Dance 3*.

*my friend's husband was made to do 'Venus' on DC during his gatecrash in a straw skirt. awesome.

---

GOOD GRIEF THIS ONE'S THE HARDEST TO WATCH T_T

the good ones that i can stomach are Tik Tok, American Boy & ... no more. sigh.

The trials of a first time gamer

2012-01-08T22:47:00.011+08:00

i have never gamed before in my entire 28 (nearing 29) years of life.

so this morning when i told alvin, yeah sure get me on SWTOR (Star Wars The Old Republic), i wasn't really sure what I was thinking. i might have turned to SWTOR as a rebound from a very sad and disappointing installation of The Sims 3 (gawd, that poor resolution!).

disc 1, disc 2, disc 3 - dude, will my non-gamer friendly laptop be able to take this much pretty? got lightsaber fights, u know?

roughly an hour later, alvin came out from his shell (the master bedroom MASTER COMPUTERRR), logged into his swtor account on my laptop, and gave me his alternate character to 'play-play, have a feel'.

i watched the intro again. the full thing. and not as a wife watching over her husband's shoulder,

THIS INTRO IS FOR ME.

i felt invincible. omg, i was gonna be like Satele Shan and be all fiesty etc, and smack. the. shit. out of all those Siths. double lightsaber - GET!

i created my character. i knew i wanted someone hot, but didn't know i had a penchant for blindfolds. but the way they described her... using the Force to feel her way around; i don't know - it called out to me. and being a noob, i'd also like a handicap i guess...

'why did you run into that tree for?!'
'dude, i'm BLIND.'

ok character customization - done. intro for Jedi Knight - done. loading... loading...

loading...

i got distracted staring at the glowing blue bar and turned around to talk to alvin. minutes later, i realized i've been staring at the same blue bar - at the bottom it said 'press spacebar to continue'.

mildly embarrassed, i went, 'OH SHIT I'M SUCH AN IDIOT IT'S BEEN READY FOR LIKE, 10 MINUTES HARHAR' and hit the spacebar.

this is it guys. i'm going in.

i land on some planet and speak to some dude. man, he sounds holier than thou. maybe i should've been Sith. *grumble*

then he sends me on a mission.

A MISSION!!! what?! the conversation is over?

PANIC LEVEL SHOOTS FROM 0 TO 10. WHAT DO I DO. WHERE DO I GO. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY BUTTONS ON THE SCREEN WHERE ARE THE INSTRUCTIONS. I AM HYPERVENTILATING. MY CHARACTER IS GOING TO GET KILLED THE MOMENT SHE MOVES, I JUST KNOW IT.

alvin must have been watching me because he runs over from the sofa and presses WASD for directions, and shows me how to use the map. i panic a little less. panic level 7.

WHEE SO FUN WE FLY IN A SPEED RIDER THINGIE! to the battlefield. where we're getting attacked by Fleshraiders (WHAT ARE THEY?! WHERE ARE THE EWOKS??) panic level back to 10. possibly 11.

'what do i do dear?! how to hit - can i shoot from far far away plsplsplsplsplspls i scared he BITE ME OMG'

at this point, alvin is really biting back his mirth as he coos & tries to explain how to attack. he killed 7 out of 10 Fleshraiders for me to gain XP. left 3 behind for me to try my hand on.

i put my fingers on my EXTREMELY foreign feeling laptop and tried to run.

i ran straight into a wall. 'u mean i can't climb?? OI WHAT IS THIS.'

i went near to a Fleshraider and he it spots me. i whacked him one time on the head with my lightsaber AND THEN IT STARTS SHOOTING AT ME OMG WHERE IS MY HEALTH BAR WHERE AM I GOING WILL I DIE GO AWAY GO AWAY

i found myself running away from the attack screaming in real life (ARGH ARGH) while alvin finally lost composure and outright laughed at me.

totally reminds me of the time i got attacked by pigs in New Zealand, screaming for alvin to help me while he just doubled over in laughter.

hatez.

ALVIN STOP LAUGHING YOU SHITHEAD WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO. i ran back into the fight and killed that freaking Fleshraider because it embarrassed me in front of the love of my life, and then i killed another 2 more using my second attack (alvin kept shouting 'press 2! press 2!' 'YAR I AM TRYING ARGH ARGH')

after some flurry, XP GAINED!

my Sith master (alvin's an in-game Sith) gave me a few more pointers (you can bind here. you can sell things here. you get new quests here. can buy medical supplies here. *point*point*)

then i shooed him away. I AM INVINCIBLE NOW I JUST KILLED 3 FLESHRAIDERS HAHAH

I'M ON MY OWN NOW.

i get on with my quest (whee! i have two!) and followed the first arrow leading me to main mission.

30 seconds later, i got killed. :(((((((((((((

i should probably avoid the hordes, yo. back to base. try again!

along the way:

'ALVINNNNNN CAN I PICK THE - '
'no.'
'- MUSHrooms... eh how you know. then why are they glowing?'

i tried to interact with the mushrooms anyway. nothing. me has a sad.

'ALVINNN CAN I CLIMB TREES'
'no.'
'buuuuuuu.'

'bebbie i'm lost. T_T i cannot find the people i am supposed to look forrrrr...'
'sigh.'

i alvin found Satele Shan and i was rude to her. :D

then i went to nap for 2 hours (IRL) because i was tired out from the fear of Fleshraider hordes and what. a. steep. learning. curve! MAN!

i am getting my own account now. be sociable again in a few months, guys.

i've misjudged your character.

2011-11-28T14:24:00.011+08:00

(i know it's been a month since Halloween but this story HAS to be shared!)

so for quite a number of years on the 31st of October, we've been participating in Trick-or-Treat at Woodgrove as we have a friend who stays there (one of the HereBeGeeks guys). It's always fun, never dull as we dress up for kicks and give away candy to the throngs of children.

we've been pirates, Kill Bill assassins, carnies, Scott Pilgrim characters & this year we paid homage to our favorite Kinect game - Dance Central!! (*excited!!* although nobody recognized us.)

so as usual, we got dressed up and lugged our giant gold boombox filled with treats to the gate and hollered, 'HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!' we even started dancing to DC songs - it was pretty LOL.

the mayhem began. children crowded around us, some really cute and dressed up, some incredibly gruesome... and there was a Dr Who and a creepily accurate Michael Jackson. we gave el cheapo sweets to those kids who didn't put in any effort (e.g. NO COSTUME, HOLDING A PLASTIC BAG) - like, hey don't degrade this ok? we're not here just to donate sweets leh.

the thing about Halloween at Woodgrove is that you get a whole range of people dressing up, from babies to toddlers, teens and even adults. family costumes are always amazing. we had a Batman (father) & Robin (son) duo - that was great!

BEST COSTUME had to go to this young dude who came around smiling benignly and shook everyone's hands. omg he was so in character, i knew what he was immediately - with all the General Elections that just took place this year it's not hard to guess - HE'S ACTING AS A YOUNG PAP MEMBER. he even gathered his friends to behave as his minders, WOW. WOW WOW WOW.

that, ladies and gentleman, is EFFING BRILLIANT.

i just gaped at him and told the others to check his mind-blowing act & 'costume' (light short sleeved shirt tucked into chinos; that is elegant execution - he doesn't even need to buy a costume!). even the rest noted how awesome his character was and we all agreed he should get more treats. yay, we finally have someone really deserving of our Reeses pieces!

he finally came around and i was so excited i yelled, 'HEY YOU LOOK GREAT MAN!! so who are you supposed to be?'

he shook my hand - well, all of our hands, actually, and said a name which i didn't catch. well, no matter, must be somebody in GRC or parliament that he resembles with his crew cut hairstyle. SO COOL LA, WAH LAU.

the rest of my pals were smiling and keeping up with the hoity-toity act and since i was the candy-giver, i offered him our best candy.

'here, have some! eh? where's your bag? hmm... it's ok i'll put them in your pocket. this is so awesome!!'

i stuffed the sweets into his chest pocket. his "minder" friend even tried to calm me down and restore a little decorum in my behavior. i loved it!!

but he politely dug his pocket and returned my sweets which made me genuinely confused. well... maybe he's really just like, cosplaying for kicks & not for the sweets, like us? looks around our age too... ah, no matter. HEY LOOK HE'S GIVING OUT NAME CARDS SHIT THIS IS AMAZINGLY INTO CHARACTER -

alarm bells started ringing. i could see the rest of my friends pause too, but in my excitement i ignored the bells and shouted, 'GOOD GRIEF YOU EVEN PRINTED NAME CARDS, you're damn into it la. respect man! ... HEY, YOU LOOK REALLY REALLY GREAT THIS EVENING! WOO! BEST COSTUME I'VE EVER SEEN!! :D' to his retreating back.

i turned back to my friends smiling. they looked stunned and confused.

me: what?

them: er, i think he was a real MP or a member of the GRC.

me: WHAT!! wai, you stay here. do you know him?! ... OH GOD WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME?!?!??!?! i hate you all.

them: we don't know who he is!!!!

me: wah lau eh! who goes around and shakes hands on Halloween, what the heck?! omg, guys, KILL ME NOW. PLEASE. oh shit, i was being a total IDIOT! OH MY GOD.

thinking about what happened still makes me giggle real bad. and i still don't know who that guy was.

WHO ARE YOU?!?!

---

well, at least we had fun with some Dance Central and the hilarious moves on Fire Burning - never imagined I'd enjoy Sean Kingston so much.

the rest of Halloween here: HereBeGeeks

Halloween Madness

2011-11-07T22:20:00.002+08:00

i'm not going to do my own post... because the article on Here Be Geeks is pretty darn awesome.

Here you go folks; check out the gif where i fall off the step while we dance to Informer, Miss Aubrey vs Miss Aubrey and laughing at the ridiculous fan step in Fire Burning.

WOOT!

HereBeGeeks’ Halloween Wrap-Up: Now Featuring Dance Central 2!

this is how we do it

2011-11-02T15:25:00.003+08:00

Ladies & gentlemen, this is how Dance Central should be done! WOW.

Jailbreak Joey and Cat-Shark Jay

2011-11-02T13:11:00.004+08:00

i had hung out clothes out to dry in the sun, and settled down to do some work when i suddenly realized - the house is pretty quiet. i turned around to see Jay snoozing at his curtain corner...

is Joey with him? nope. on her cat tree...? nope. kitchen? bar counter? corridor window? NEGATIVE.

i shouted for her, and even shook the food container coz it's a surefire way to get her running out from wherever she's hiding. only Jay came bounding into the kitchen with excited nom-meows. crap.

'Joey? Joeeyyyyy??'

i thought i heard her typical squeak, so i went to check the parapet where i open the windows whenever i dry our clothes.

there she was, squashed between the outdoor aircon units and batting cement bits around. she looked up to see me, and squeaked as if saying 'hi mom, having a ball of a time - NOT COMING BACK YAY.'

Jay came running and mewed back at Joey, but she ignored him. she also ignored my attempts to lure her in with kibble, her favorite cat treat and the laser pointer.

the aircon man repairing the units diagonally upstairs was pretty amused as i climbed out, stepped on that dirty parapet and grabbed the unrepentant cat. she seemed pleased to be back at home but i had to wash her paws so she was quite indignant about that. i brought the clothes in and closed the windows.

and i thought that was that, eh?

NO.

it started raining - thank goodness i brought the clothes in and saved Joey before the storm.

after 2 minutes Joey came running out of the kitchen with her back wet. i found that really weird, coz i washed her paws, not her body. but i brushed it off; maybe she rolled in the leftover water in the toilet? she kinda likes playing with water, more than Jay at least.

she went back into the kitchen and i continued with my work.

in 5 minutes, Jay came up to me and mewed. it was different. i started to look for Joey and OF COURSE she was nowhere to be found again. i combed the area 3 times before i decided to go back to the parapet - BUT HOW CAN IT BE? THE WINDOW IS CLOSED!!!

there she was. she actually found the soft spot in the corner of the wire mesh that we just couldn't reinforce with cable ties and broke out through there. we usually use the litter scoop to block it, but when i found it askew i knew she'd discovered the escape route.

without hesitation i climbed out (in the rain, too) and grabbed that mangy cat. what the heck - she'd been sitting on the aircon unit and enjoying the rain drops. -_-"'

once i got back into the house i decided it was bath time. poor Jay - i wasn't gonna go through all that torture just for ONE cat. i dumped them both in the shower stall and sprayed away! thank goodness i didn't get scratched - the cats were probably too shocked by the deluge of water drowning them.

the kitchen door will be closed until we can do something about the plastic mesh. meanwhile, Jay has gotten over his shock and is circling my chair while making threatening meows and attempting to bite my feet. he's probably annoyed that he was the whistle-blower and yet he got punished for it.

on the upside - the cats' fur look great. le sigh.

bi-annual checkup

2011-10-19T11:54:00.005+08:00

brought the cats to our local vet (only one bus stop away!) for their 6 monthly check-up... i wanted to tweet, but i realized i forgot my phone. so clever.

so Jay was meowing non-stop as i lugged both of them in the carrier. DUDE, HE IS SO HEAVY. i was so worried the carrier handle would snap off and when the carrier hits the tarmac the door will spring open and both will run away. but thank God that didn't happen.

Jay is 3.8kg now! our vet was like, 'ooh his fur is nice! healthy coat, and looks good... but er... think he's a bit large ah, maybe must watch out abit.'

'yar we call him pui kia now.'

she laughs.

apparently both cats are still teething and will continue having bad breath for awhile, until all their tiny teeth in the front drop out. SO KEWT THE TINY TEETH. heehee.

Joey's super tiny next to Jay. a lot of pedestrians were coming over to see what i had in the carrier... and all they saw was one cat.

'i have another one inside there? but abit small.'

'really?! *peers in again* OHHH!'

while we were at the vet's Jay refused to come out of the cage while Joey was the brave girl again. she's amazing - she just survived an operation at the same place and she's completely fearless. within 5 minutes she was sniffing around the vet's steel table (you know how creepy those are, right?) and pawing the vet's arm and making her laugh.

Jay just cowered in the carrier and refused to come out, so we had to dismantle the carrier. -_-

vet: 'you can't hide forever... muahahaha.'

so all in all, cat stats are now 2.5kg and 3.8kg each, Jay's getting kinda fat (oh, don't we all know it - just needed a confirmation) and Joey's seriously teething, which is why she's biting everything. she's also got some inflammation on her hind leg where it's suspected they used to put anaesthetic into, so she's got some anti-inflammatory medicine for that.

but otherwise they're healthy! YAY!

dance dance!

2011-10-05T10:40:00.003+08:00

i'm definitely more excited over Dance Central 2 than the launch of the iPhone 5 - which has turned out to only be a 4S. boo.

when we went out for dinner/movie yesterday, there was a booth at Cine for free gameplay! alas, i was late so i was only regaled with tales (from the rest of the movie-going bunch) on how exciting it was to be dancing IN PUBLIC, sometimes with backup dancers (strangers) too!

thinking about it, with DC2 and their new crews... the same movie-going bunch IS my dance crew.

in fact, we're so serious about DC, we're all dressing up as DC characters for Halloween.

guess who i'm going as? (hint: i'm missing red suspenders)

so the iphone 4S is out 28th Oct, we have a wedding on 30th Oct, and heading out for Halloween on the 31st. Dance Central 2 is also coming out around that time - Alvin's guessing we might spend Halloween cooped up in Wai's place playing DC2 instead of trick or treating. heh heh.

anyway! i'm really darn excited! i'm seriously psyched about these songs!!

"Baby Got Back (Mix Mix)" Sir Mix-a-Lot
"This Is How We Do It" Montell Jordan
"Venus" Bananarama
"Right Thurr" Chingy
"DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" Usher ft. Pitbull
"Yeah!" Usher ft. Lil' Jon & Ludacris
(TWO USHER SONGS!! FINALLY!!! AND THE BEST ONES TOO! @_@)

AND MOST OF ALL:
"Get Ur Freak On" Missy Elliot

check those moves out!!! I HAVE SERIOUS SHUDDERS RIGHT NOW CAN.

and of course this is still my favorite. i am slightly ashamed to say that i've already practiced AND memorized it. not really cheating exactly, but... well, you'll find out next week.

edit skillz!

2011-09-30T16:17:00.001+08:00

wow alvin just did an absolutely amazing job editing Usher's Dj Got Us Fallin' In Love so that it sounds just like DC2's version.

*applause*

My favorite color? Pink... No, wait! Blu-arghhhhhhh!!

2011-09-22T15:21:00.002+08:00

i need to share this real life Monty Python sketch.

a few days ago, at alvin's new workplace, he was having a casual conversation with an editor who's a HUGE cat person. apparently she has quite a number of cats and she's part of a team called the Save the Caldecatts... check them out on FB!

wait... how did he find out about all that?

alvin: oh, coz she asked me if i was a cat or dog person. so i said cat.
me: orh.
alvin: and immediately i was like, WAIT! NO! I'M A DOG PERSON! ARGH!!!
me: HAHAHAHAHA oh yar! you ARE! i totally forgot that... and so did u! this is very lol.
alvin: *sad face*

nah, pretty sure he's a cat person now. hehe.

---

actually, the scene from Monty Python & The Holy Grail is different. i believe alvin remembered it wrongly... and has just been etched in his memory as true. the knight actually says blue. *smug*

...wait no, YELLOWWWWWW!!!

oh well! in case you're interested.

husband random

2011-09-20T14:36:00.000+08:00

direcow says
ha idear
haI DEAR
hai dear

Vivien L says
HAI
hahahahaha
wassup with your typing

direcow says
what is the song greased lightning about?

Vivien L says
wth?!
it's a car.

direcow says
that's all?
hmz

---

how bizarre.

Jay the unknown mixed breed

2011-09-19T12:48:00.013+08:00

Jay is huge. looks like an old man here, thanks to his super long whiskers. and i say that because he's twice the size of Joey now (but what Jay has in size, Joey makes up for it in nippy-ness and claws).

so i was watching him a few weeks ago and looking at his shape. ever since we came back from NZ his ass is like, WOAH. but... i like big butts and i cannot lie! it's super cute! whenever he sits on the floor i laugh and grab his butt (needs 2 hands!). we've taken to calling him 'ah pui' and 'ah fat'... and it seems like he doesn't wanna be friendly with us anymore. heehee.

one day while watching him, i had a revelation which i told alvin once he got home from work.

'babe! Jay's a ragdoll mix! i'm certain he's not a persian mix... look at his shape! he's got the muscular body type, large cat with medium-long hair and extra ruff. plus extra long neck (we constantly tease Jay about his long neck, especially when he stretches it out of curiosity) and masked eyes. i really think so, you know? i think he's from a family of breeders but the ragdoll probably got jiggy with a regular tomcat so they threw Jay out. SO SAD! ALVIN!!!'

with a sad face i grabbed jay and held him close...

but he struggled and used his paws to push me away.

*REJECTED* that's like, the least ragdoll-y characteristic ever. -_-

so last weekend, someone posted on twitter to @luvkuching a picture of his ragdolls - a white one and a bicolour. THE BICOLOUR LOOKED JUST LIKE JAY! excitedly i showed alvin while he was trying to edit his photos and he was all, 'yes, excitable wife, good for you. *pats head* now, run along now...'

:(

it's ok, i will show u guys. :D it's the one on the right.

from wiki & cfa:

'it is best known for its docile and placid temperament and affectionate nature.'
Jay meows incessantly in the mornings when he's not been human-ly rubbed in more than 8 hours. also, he's not claw-y at all unless if you're a piece of furniture or if he's in pain. Joey on the other hand is a claw-y bite-y machine. sometimes i'm afraid to play with her. this is also why i'd offer him for Jojo to pet instead of joey.

'The name "Ragdoll" is derived from the tendency of individuals from the original breeding stock to go limp and relaxed when picked up.'
er... not Jay. he'll meow in protest and then wriggle away while constantly protesting. neh neh. if you don't wanna be huggled then why u grow so fat and furry and look like a cute cushion?

'Ragdolls are slow-maturing, reaching full coat color at two years, and full size and weight at four.'
his coat colour's still changing, but man - at 8 months he's already 3kg. ragdoll males can go up to 5.4kg. i will really dread bathing him at 4 years old then.

'The Ragdoll is a pointed breed, which means that the body is lighter in color than the points (the face, legs, tail and ears).' 'A bi-color Ragdoll has a white inverted 'V' on the face, with a white abdomen and sometimes white patches on the back.'
his coat's pointed except for his legs which are white, although he has the inverted 'v' giving him a bandit-like appearance, and a white abdomen.

'Ragdoll cats tend to be more interested in humans than some breeds of cats. They are known to run to greet you at the door, follow you from room to room, flop on you, sleep with you, and generally choose to be where you are. Many Ragdolls have been taught to come when called and play fetch. They are gentle cats, and usually play without extending their claws.'
all true! except sleeping with us... he prefers alvin's computer chair. alvin can get up for one minute and see his chair being taken up by a pile of fur the next. but if he feels cold, he will occasionally pounce onto the bed and stuff his head into the blanket.

HE'S SUCH A CUTIE. sometimes noisy, but mostly cute. pretty sure he's mixed ragdoll now!

what happens to the cats when we have children?

2011-09-15T16:11:00.005+08:00

NOTHING. NOTHING WILL HAPPEN TO THE CATS.

i appreciate the concern but i didn't get my degree for nothing. only 10% of an entire population of PEOPLE are allergic to pets, cats in this instance. and of that 10%, an even smaller proportion are babies.

please stop asking us. everytime someone asks us this question and we say 'we're keeping the cats la of course', they get all gaspy and shocked and say, 'then your baby how?!'

WHY?? WHAT HAS THE CAT GOT TO DO WITH THE BABY? mind you, our cats are freaking clean and i know as i personally clean them, and when i don't, they SMELL thanks to saliva because they groom themselves the whole day. also, they're amazing creatures who KNOW to go to the litter box for all their crappy business, just like how we KNOW to go to a bathroom. these are cats, not dogs.

and we have housecats that aren't allowed to roam out of the house so they don't bring back fleas and soil etc. i cannot stress how clean they are compared to most cats, plus the general population of cats are very much cleaner than almost all dogs.

an early exposure to allergens creates early resistance. i really suspect kids are so weak nowadays because they've been sheltered for too long.

if our cats really cause our child to break out in hives or have breathing problems (which i SERIOUSLY doubt) then something needs to be done, for sure. but even if that day comes, i'll never just abandon the cats.

i just get annoyed when people assume that having pets at home means your baby will surely suffer. what on earth, man?

that being said... i'm not even pregnant guys!

whale, whale, whale...

2011-09-08T19:55:00.003+08:00

the hyperactive tubby cats

2011-09-05T09:43:00.000+08:00

(this post is really late, by about 2 months - not sure why i didn't post this earlier. oh well.)

it's been slightly more than a month since we've adopted Jay and Joey!! (this post was supposed to come out on the 28th of June, exactly one month in but blogger was having issues... and i was waiting for the cat supplies to take a proper picture.)

while all the couples around us are giving birth, there we are also learning how to care for lives who are pretty much also ours to look after. and all i can say is - i never want to have twins.

getting 2 cats at once has rendered me unable to work on my business plan for a month but oh, THE JOY OF HAVING THE KITTIES. we're still learning more about them and here're the kitty chronicles so far.

jay is growing like a monster. we believe he's actually much older than joey and a trip to the vet confirmed our suspicions. he's 1.75kg (and still growing) while joey's only 1kg. but joey has grown under our care, i'm proud to say. her rump is rounding really nicely and her big beautiful eyes are still sparkling. she's a clear favorite among our friends because she's got such a sweet personality. she will play with ANYONE, lie on ANYONE (even on the skinniest thighs - as long as it's thigh she will nap on it), and rub herself all over ANYONE'S legs.

also, she is smaller so she doesn't look as terrifying as jay. but try giving her some ear drops... i've stopped holding her because i wear shorts at home and my thighs are HORRIBLY exposed. i let alvin do it after he comes home from work since he's still got his 3/4s on. she's got an yeast infection in her ear, the poor baby.

jay is much larger - carrying him is an exertion now. i can actually feel my arm muscles do some work. but man, i love this boy so much. contrary to what our friends think, jay extends his claws very rarely while joey will swipe you if she gets the chance. he's got a mask over his eyes, and alvin's aunty calls him 'bandit' (i totally agree) and he's got a squirrelly tail. big cats also mean larger paws and JAY'S PAWS ARE SO FLUFFY AND SOFT; he's incredibly manja and meows A LOT (joey doesn't meow - she squeaks and only when in pain)... and clumsy. he keeps falling over his feet, leaping and not making it, or running so fast across the marble floor that he skids and crashes against various furniture.

they're both fascinated by fluffy cat toys, sparkly things, and... housework. it's a pain trying to sweep up their mess in the kitchen because they will BOTH attack the broom, or when i try to hang out the clothes to dry and they're forever in my path so i always scream and fall over trying not to step on joey, or get freaked out by jay's crazy I-WANT-TO-PLAY eyes when he's on the top of his scratching post and aiming for that sock just hanging out of his reach.

but good grief they HATE the vacuum cleaner. we don't have one yet (the electrolux is on its way) so i've been sweeping and mopping the floor until last week when we did some serious spring cleaning, so we decided to bring the Chong family's Rainbow Cleaner over.

the moment we turned it on both cats darted out of sight. joey ran into the back of our washing machine which was fine, as compared to jay who completely flipped out and kept trying to escape the sound by climbing to the highest spot he could find. his fright gave US a fright when the top of the scratching post was not enough and he leapt unto his litter box, to the window ledge (i tried to stop him by grabbing him and cuddling him - the stripes i have from that terrible day are still healing as i type, my wrists, my chest, my arm)... and started climbing the mesh that was placed over the window grill. and that mesh did not go all the way up the grill. and SHIT jay is still clawing his way to the top with no signs of stopping.

he reached the top and stuck half his body out into the open night air, then looked back to see where the vacuum cleaner was, and if he needed to escape even further. that was also when i started screaming because i was so scared... then the screaming drowned out and i just walked over to the vacuum cleaner, turned it off and asked alvin to bring the ladder in.

then i took the treat that jay loved so much and dangled it out to him. but he was so damn high up he couldn't come down again and he just gripped the mesh looking scared and meowed. omg i was going to cry until alvin brought out the ladder and climbed up to disengage jay from the mesh.

only after that i realized my emergency response had kicked in like a MOTHER. exact same kind of robotic calmness i had when i created a fireball of gas in the chem lab. THAT IS VERY COOL.

but the rest of the night we placed them in the bathroom so they couldn't go berserk and the vacuum noise was muted. and for the rest of the night i kept seeing jay's terrified face in my mind. which is probably why i didn't punish him too badly after he scratched and bit the curtains... then cowered in alvin's shirt on the sofa and gave me his puss-in-boots eyes coz he knew i was upset.

i am putty in their hands. DIE LA.

this is the 1000th post!

2011-08-22T10:52:00.002+08:00

and we're off to New Zealand to celebrate! :D

no. i'm kidding. we're going to NZ for holiday, the 1000th post is just a coincidence. man, this blog has been through many chapters of my not very exciting life - BUT IT'S GETTING EXCITING NOW! all the traveling, our cats, our marriage. this is bliss. and i love alvin very, very much.

time to go traipsing around sheep wonderland! our flight leaves in... 8 hours. ;)

LAYER UP!

Dance Central 2

2011-08-08T10:59:00.002+08:00

i thnk the song we're all waiting for is this one. time to practice so can dance together with alvin - there's a 2 player mode coming uppppp!! :D:D:D

with a clap and a shout, peace returns to the kitchen

2011-07-05T11:02:00.001+08:00

the adventures of cheeky Joey.

Vivien Loon says to Alvin Chong:
hey dear dear
tell you stg funny
i let them have the cat grass
and they don't nom on it, they pull it out from the soil
so there're blades of grass all over the floor
i gathered them and put them into the blue food bowl and walked out of the kitchen
next thing i know, i had a tummy ache so i walked to the toilet, past the kitchen
AND JOEY PUT HER PAWS INTO THE FOOD BOWL AGAIN - kibble everywhere!
my stomach really hurt so i yelled at her from the bar counter and then strode off after saying a very loud and ominous 'LATER.'
after i was done, i was prepared to clean up and walked into the kitchen...
but the kibble was all gone from the floor
i started laughing then i pet her head and said 'good girl'
teehee

---

it's impossible to be angry with them for too long, really.

wait a minute!

2011-06-03T19:24:00.005+08:00

i was searching for X-Men: First Class showtimes and i thought i clicked on a link that led me to Lido, but it was inSing's website instead.

hmm wrong site. oh well.

i clicked back, but something caught my eye.

WAIT A MINUTE. i went back to inSing's page.

there it is!

MAGNATO!

magnato? sounds yummy.

the adventures of Joey & Jay! - day 2, and their food

2011-05-30T13:47:00.002+08:00

the day after the durian party, we got up pretty late, having slept at 4am - we actually finished watching the sound of music GOOD GRIEF.

incredible on blu-ray. probably also the reason why i managed to stay up through the entire movie without falling asleep for the first time.

---

with bleary eyes i walked into the kitchen to check on J&J - it's the first thing i do now, even before brushing my teeth. oh good they are both accounted for, none missing.

but ok this is weird. jay is mewing. A LOT. AND HE IS INCREDIBLY MANJA. WHY. he kept rubbing his head on my ankles, looking up at me to see if i was looking and rubbing, purring, putting his kitty eyes on me.

suspicious. how is this aloof cat so cutesy now?

i shrugged it off and walked to check on the food & water dishes.

GOOD GRIEF THE KIBBLE IS ALL OVER THE FLOOR.

i looked at both of them and yelled. jay flinched, and then...

mewww? he looks at me.

kns, must be him. i turned to joey. 'joey did you do this?!' she stares at jay reproachfully from her corner.

LOL. I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT FACE, HAHAHA.

mew? mew? MEW? MEW? mew? - Jay

as i was sweeping everything up by hand, jay came around to see what i was doing and kept manja-ing me. I KNOW YOUR TRICKS MAN. U GO SIT AT YOUR CORNER, YOU.

aiyah, but he's damn cute la, buay tahan. :D:D:D

---

joey has been pretty quiet since she's been here, while jay is getting more and more active. i'm glad about jay, but worried about joey. will be keeping tabs on her and make sure she's ok.

*worried frown*

the adventures of Joey & Jay! - day 1 in Homie

2011-05-29T10:17:00.001+08:00

say hi to the two kitties we adopted!

the larger of the two is Jay, a half Persian male, with a mixed white/blue coat. when we met him at Ubi, he was so dao! but with the incredibly pretty coat i was sold. i didn't want him to be a loner and sit on his own, so we picked another kitten - Joey! she's a sweet little thing, a bit of a runt (they're born only 1 week apart but Jay is huge compared to Joey. his head is twice Joey's size!) Joey's a girl, and she is the cutest little thing. she looks a little like yoda/a gremlin/a sphinx, but her sweet personality won us over. she also likes to play with Jay and pounced on every moving thing (nearby cats, playmate kitties, daiso toys, feet - you name it) so she was a great fit for the profile we wanted.

i really hope she grows up to be a big girl.

side note: when we went to ubi, the foster home's cats were HUGE. seriously huge. i was a bit stunned by how large and sleek they were, but apparently that's the normal size of cats when they get proper nutrition.

wow.

when Andy of the Love Kuching Project brought out the box to transport the kittens, all the cats perked up and started to gather around the box, sniffing it, going in, coming out, fighting with the flaps. MAYHEM. poor andy needed to punch holes into the box but could hardly get anything done coz there'd always be a cat sitting inside and peering straight at the penknife. hahaha!

well, alvin was being a dear and helped me bring the kittens home before running off to simlim to get his computer parts. thank goodness we had a straight bus home, as there were no cabs in sight at all and the sun was really beating down on us.

apparently, there's also a pretty solid pet supplies shop at parkway parade (yay so near!) and the vet that's been seeing Jay and Joey is only located 1 street away, near the Garden Slug.

staying at Homie/marine parade is the awesomest.

once we opened up the box we expected them to pounce out and bolt. but they actually sat inside for a very long while. Jay was freaked out, you could tell. he moved like a snail, extremely tentative and looked at us like he was saying, 'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, HUMANS. WHERE IS THIS GOD FORSAKEN PLACE AND WHERE ARE MY FRIENDS.' omg i felt so bad. T_T

but joey, being a little trooper, broke out from her trance and started to sniff around. then she explored. *applause*

as Joey went out, Jay followed along.

right now they are being kept in the kitchen coz the litter box and food are there, and it's the only place that was more cat proof - which was what we thought at first.

we had to leave for church so we gave them a pat, prepared the kitchen with food and litter box and then left.

---

on the same day we had planned a durian party at 10pm.

it was a mad rush as alvin and i split ways to church and to simlim to gather computer parts. amazingly, we managed to meet back at parkway to start buying some pet necessities like shampoo, conditioner, toys toys toys, a pet carrier and a scratching post - thank goodness for free delivery since we don't have a car.

most of the people coming over for durian were cat lovers... except xinwei. when everyone arrived, i let the cats out to roam... oh did they roam! after letting them run through the living room i realized just how much cat proofing we need to stop them from chewing on the wires and running under the TV console.

so hard to get Jay out once he finds a hiding spot. T_T

it also seemed like Joey smelt xinwei's fear (hehe) so she jumped up on the couch and made xinwei scream. LOL. after Joey was shouted at and brought down, xinwei quickly built a cushion fort around her. hehe.

by about 1am, joey was falling asleep on wai liong's lap and jay was snuggling into my shoes (out of reach), and about 10,000 photos were taken by then, thanks to yun. she was just sitting in the corner squealing/snapping/squealing/arghhh-ing/snapping.

after mel, chwan, hanbin, xinwei, david, wai and yun left, it was only alvin, jack, pete and i watching the Sound of Music on blu-ray. we dug jay out (he was not happy) and placed the curled up joey both into the kitchen and unwound in the living room.

after some time, alvin got up and went into the kitchen to get a cup of water. when he came out he said, hey i can't find jay.

well, he must be squashed in a corner, so i went into the kitchen and checked all his usual spots. not there.

HE WAS NOT THERE OMG. PANIC ATTACK PANIC ATTACK.

i looked at the kitchen window grill and my heart dropped. did he jump out of the window? but Jay's not a jumper - Joey yes, but Jay climbs and he can't leap that high... but what if i was wrong??

alvin saw the look in my face and opened the window grill and climbed out without a word, while pete watched and made sure he didn't fall.

not there, not there. what if he fell off the parapet, oh my goodness................ dreeeeeaaaaadddddd..................... argh.

jack paused the movie and stood up from the sofa. 'maybe he's under the fridge?'

'can't be, the opening is really small!' (it's only about 1.5 inches)

but it didn't harm to look, so i crawled on all fours and peered.

one pink nose and a pair of green eyes stared straight back at me.

OMG JAY!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!! i yelled for alvin in relief and he climbed back into the house. 'ARGHHHH STUPID CAT!' he laughed and facepalmed in relief. we used a stick to get jay out and sealed the gap with our rock band guitar box immediately. jay came out with so much dirt - i must have wiped him 5 times in one night. -_-

meanwhile, joey was quite nonplussed about the whole thing and she went back to sleep.

bundle of trouble. i'm totally enjoying this! :D

backlog

2011-05-24T10:25:00.007+08:00

i was going to blog during the wedding weekend but blogger was undergoing a facelift during that same period.

pfft. i will shift my blog soon. rarrrr.

man, so many things to say about
1. the week before the wedding
2. the wedding itself (a success in many areas!!)
3. the honeymoon
4. living with alvin
5. quitting my job
6. getting a kitty

because getting a kitty is the most recent with the least to say, i shall start there.

----

alvin and i are looking to adopt a cat instead of buying one because alvin is a really sweet animal saver.

i originally wanted to buy one instead and maybe import a somali cat (shattered dreams) coz they're so pretty!

but then again, i was proven wrong after spending a day trawling through adoption boards.

here're a few:

-JAY-

Link to his blogspot concerning his adoption.

-KIT-

Link to her blogspot post concerning her adoption.

-SWEET CORN-

Alvin likes Sweet Corn. if we get him, we might call him 'wisecat'.

Link to his adoption page.

we will update next when we actually muster up the courage and get a kitty. so much responsibility!

------------

27th May:

i've noticed something regarding all these pet adoptions. on one hand, there are tons of kittens waiting for adoption and there's a bit of an overcrowding issue in some foster homes. but on the other hand, a lot of these foster homes are really unwilling to send the kittens to anyone unless the homes are deemed to be equal or better than the foster home itself.

so for a first time pet owner like myself i'll probably need to buy a cat, and i'm not allowed to help any abandoned kittens? i'm a little put off by the 'first time owner = sure to fail and return the cat' attitude.

balls.

dance central

2011-04-28T11:24:00.002+08:00

if you've been invited to the banquet, you might wanna brush up on your dance central skillz.

just sayin'.

============

edit: HEY THERE ARE NEW SONGS HOW COME I DIDN'T KNOW! ALVINNNNN WE BE DANCING SOON!!

church invites

2011-04-26T12:55:00.002+08:00

Homie - 98% complete

2011-04-26T10:23:00.024+08:00

yesterday as i ran through our ID contract... i realized we really did a lot to Homie the past 1 year.

and we're not even done. we're just gonna tweak the living room a little more, and then it's time to scrub Homie clean, wash the bedsheets and prepare to move in.

HUGE STEP IN LIFE. O_O

as quite a number of our friends are going through their home reno/design now, i thought it'd be good to go through what we've done over the past 1.5 years (we met our designers in Nov 2009), especially what went wrong.

also, been planning a blog post for Homie, since i promised Jade one and it hasn't happened yet hahaha. :p

so here goes.

Renovations: $46,500 for now, will end up around $48,000 after the variation order.
Furniture: $10,000
Electronics: $2,500 (missing: vacuum cleaner)
Home Theatre: $8,300

========================

KITCHEN:

the bulk of works done was in the kitchen, where we rearranged the stove and installed a hood, tore out a wall, added a bar counter, shifted a giant cabinet, re-tiled the floor with ceramic planks and made good everything we yanked out of the walls (extension of cabinets and what not).

before:

after:

here's the light fixture we got our inspiration from:

and the ones we did at our bar counter:

we also removed the toilet and converted it into a clothes wash area - a kerb was built to raise our washing machine above water level in the washing area.

what we did wrong:
the barstools from the now-condemned I Wanna Go Home as the seat tore the first time we sat on them. they also gave us the wrong set of screws and it took me 4 months and a lot of screaming to get them to come down to fix it.

we also assumed that our designers will have the measurements done correctly - but mistakes can still be made. we had to shift our giant larder a few cm to the right to accommodate our fridge, and build an extra false wall to hang our glass door from. there was also something wrong with the bar counter at the start, but i have thankfully forgotten what it was that made me mad.

========================

DINING ROOM:

hardly any works done, except for a long settee-cum-shoe drawer which extended to a display shelf which aided the impression of dividing our giant main room into the living and dining areas, which then led to the TV console. I really love this piece of design.

also, a giant framed mirror was built to look like the dining table extended out from its base. the main draw in this area were the dining set and pendant lamp.

Here're the original pictures taken from their websites/shops:

i was drawn to the table because of its legs. not to mention the original price was 5k which dropped to 3k, and the glass is thick and solid. also, it's extendable to a 10 seater. awesome!

the chairs that originally came with the Italian Luigi table were $800 each. er. no thx.

so we went for the Louis ghost chairs from Kartell instead. buy the originals! the replicas suck. sit on them and you'll feel the difference.

oh, and what luck - we found a pendant lamp similar to the one in the Luigi ad! :D

here's how it turned out:

========================

LIVING ROOM:

TV console was the only thing we designed for. we also chose curtains, and the type of lighting. opted for a ceiling fan (get the kdk one, it's small and powerful). then we went mad with the buying of furniture hehe.

here're the originals from OM (sofa & sidetable):

and here's how it turned out - here's the settee leading to the console.

and the living room.

what we did wrong: the tv console was SO HARD TO DESIGN. we needed measurements for the amp and space needs to be allocated for shifting the amp into the console, neatening the wires and opening enough slots for wires. it was a nightmare. we redid our console twice.

========================

BALCONY:

this is my favorite part of Homie. the balcony was huge, spanning across the master bedroom to the living room, which meant it had 2 entrances. so our fantastic designer read my mind and built us a picket fence to divide the area! we also designed the planter area to have flowering plants (i actually wanted something gearing towards english fields, but got tropical flowers instead. sigh.), and added a water feature.

what we did wrong: the balcony turned out to be the most complicated to get right. the water feature breaks down constantly, and we also have a fungal, ant, snail, spider and mosquito population now. the plants also require watering every 2 days - poor alvin.

it also took us a very tiring 2 months to find outdoor furniture that was right. although we managed to get everything down in the end, i never want to do this again.

========================

MASTER BEDROOM:

most of the carpentry was done here - we made a writing desk, more cabinets, a king sized bed, a false wall and false ceiling niche, bookshelves and a new wardrobe for alvin. we also have wallpaper! :)

the MBR side of the balcony:

what we did wrong: mainly there was miscommunication between the designers left behind in SG and my main designer who had to fly off to Oman. so everything was done wrong, spacial concepts were all weird and the bed was off centre away from the TV niche. we put our foot down and got them to re-do everything. took some pushing, but it got done in the end.

========================

ACCESSORIES:

all our accessories were found in Ikea ($1,600 wth) like the coffee table, giant canvas of the Flatiron Building, vases, cushions, tea-light lamps, wraps and table runner (which was re-used in the MBR, hehe). we also bought our cushions from Muji, and those green apples and flowers just for the shoot.

time for housewarming soon (although almost all of you have already been here to Rock Band/Dance Central/have cell meetings.) heehee.

========================

other photos of Homie -

TOILET:

CORRIDOR:

a blank mind.

2011-04-14T16:57:00.003+08:00

i was filling in our church invitation cards when i stopped.

i'm near the bottom of the pile.

oh crap we don't have enough cards, AND I WROTE MY COLLEAGUES' CARDS FIRST OH CRAP DIEEEEEEEEEE

die la, must print more cards. better count my pile now, see how many i have missing.

'1, 2, 3, 4, ... 137 (odd the pile is ending), ... 145...'

OMG I GAVE ALVIN HALF LA WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME.

---

inadvertently i'd given alvin a mild heart attack when i scared him with the possibility of not having enough cards. hee!

sorry babe!

buybuybuy

2011-04-13T12:42:00.003+08:00

i has my cake!! it's gorgeous!!!

let's welcome my newest (last minute) vendor... CRUMMB!!!!!!!

she is utterly amazing. great pricing and enthusiasm.

*bliss*

last year i contacted her through her blog (largely thanks to alvin's sister :D) when i saw her fondant cake; OMG IT WAS SO GORGEOUS. i was still planning on having a real 2 tiered cake but after calculations and weighing the pros and cons, we decided against it.

BUT I COULD NEVER FORGET HER AND HER CAKES.

so now, since the dessert table is coming along really well, thanks to aunty aileen and her MARVELOUS cupcakes, i have the opportunity to get a 9" decorative cake! i quickly contacted Crummb this morning and by lunch time we've gotten the details down.

i'm just waiting for downpayment details.

it's a lemon cake with cream cheese buttercream. i am so hungry right now. :(

---

in other decor news... i have totally found my ang bao box and it is INSANE. gosh i love the ideas i find online so much. amazon is my new best friend.

---

photobooth: i... think we are ready. hmm. i don't know - it's a little messy. but we have chalkboards! whee!!!

---

i have also found my day shoes AND my night shoes.

---

alvin has put in his order for a tailored suit. done by none other than OXFORD TAILORS. (we love them)

also, he's got frickin' awesome cufflinks! O_O

oh hey... DO YOU NEED SHOES DEAR? OMG AND A TIE. sigh, details... details...

---

we've chosen 40 photos from Bryan & Jean's pre-wedding set!! the photos are not glamorous nor elegant nor anything that's not us.

IT IS CUTE. WE LOOK CUTE. AND I LOVE IT.

---

i now have one bridal gown with peach details, one poofy evening gown, and i have set my eyes on a monique lhuillier gown. never thought i'd own an ML (in my opinion she's only one tier away from Vera Wang) SO THIS IS INCREDIBLY EXCITING INDEED! AND IT'S NAVYYYY

---

my flower teens' dresses are almost confirmed. yay to the highly concentrated number of blogshops in singapore, and that every dress design has a colour in navy/peach! hehehe.

---

i also have other plans instead of getting a usual ring pillow (bleh). but Paloma's Nest has failed us! IT WILL COST MORE THAN USD100 TO GET THE DISH IN BY 14 MAY. so here i am looking at other options... and i've got 3. hooRAY! time to present options to alvin.

---

OUR CHURCH FAVORS ARE ON THE WAY TO US AND WE NEED TO PACKAGE THEM SOON.

---

also, nothing to purchase here, but our cards are in! the printing wasn't great, so if you would just close one eye ;|

it's getting out to you soon!!!! :D

everything's changing

2011-03-31T09:23:00.003+08:00

in 6 weeks, i will be getting a husband.

that is a very important thing.

but at the back of my mind, i am also squee-ing about something else. something that also makes my heart sing.

in 6 weeks (or maybe 7), we will get a cat. and i will have time to spend with the cat!!!

its name, will be Anpan.

catcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcatcat

the HILARIOUS husband to be

2011-03-25T18:13:00.002+08:00

context: we're looking at possible resorts to stay in Bali, and we're down to two - Kupu Kupu Barong and Kamandalu.

and here's alvin's sudden input.

direcow says:

DEAR

The resort was named Kupu Kupu Barong because of the many beautiful
butterflies seen fluttering from one plan to another around the resort.
Kupu Kupu means butterfly and Barong means giant.

ARGH

ARGH ARGH ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

he's deathly afraid of butterflies, not to mention GIANT butterflies.

hahaha, I LOVE THIS BOY!!!

nostalgia

2011-03-24T23:43:00.004+08:00

i'm trying to recall when i heard this last... seems to have been pretty recent but for the life of me i just can't remember when.

=====

Jars of Clay - tea & sympathy

Fare thee well
Trade in all our words for tea and sympathy
Wonder why we tried, for things that could never be
Play our hearts lament, like an unrehearsed symphony

Not intent
To leave this castle full of empty rooms
Our love the captive in the tower never rescued
And all the victory songs
Seem to be playing out of tune

But it's not the way
That it has to be
Don't trade our love for tea and sympathy, no
'Cause it's not the way
That it has to be

You begin
And all your words fall to the floor and break like china cups
And the waitress grabs a broom and tries to sweep them up
I reach for my tea and slowly drink in

'Cause it's not the way
That it has to be
Don't trade our love for tea and sympathy, no
'Cause it's not the way
That it has to be
Don't trade our love for tea and sympathy

So fare thee well
Words the bag of leaves that fill my head
I could taste the bitterness and call the waitress instead
She holds the answer
Smiles and asks one teaspoon or two

Don't trade us for tea and sympathy
Don't trade us for tea and sympathy
We can work it out
Don't trade us for tea and sympathy
Don't trade us for tea and sympathy
We can work it out
Don't trade us for tea and sympathy
We can work it out

=====

YES IT WAS AT THAT CHRISTIAN CAFE AT MARINA SQ! pretty sure.

everything is said in silence

2011-03-14T15:12:00.003+08:00

so yesterday, alvin and i went down to the wedding studio. it was time to pick our outfits.

3 weeks ago i called to reserve a gown which i had my eye on but didn't try because i had no time. i was also advised to try my gowns 1.5 months from my wedding date because 'there was no rush', said my coordinator.

that was complete BS. the gown was reserved by someone else already (reserved for the 15th of May; that customer tried on the gown 4 months before her wedding date!) and i was really upset. i was irritated and felt so cheated that i shifted my gown fitting 3 weeks ahead. the coordinator tried to cancel at the last minute but i stood my ground. which led to yesterday afternoon.

we met angel first; xinwei would come around after she was done with work. mel also had something on (haha bet she's busy with planning as well :D) so she couldn't come. the plan was for alvin to find a nice jacket, then he would go off while i tried my gown with just the girls.

nope, he's not allowed to see my gown until the wedding day. i really like the whole first look idea. it's the same as sex - the longer you wait, the more you appreciate it when it happens. it sounds gross, but i'm not trying to be!

really.

so anyway!! alvin found 2 suits and the one we wanted was also OUT because it was reserved by someone else getting married on the same day as us. this is not happening again, no. i looked straight at my coordinator (who happened to be around - i was being helped by her assistant that day) and told her, 'YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. you tell me to come in late for my fitting and everything that i want is out. are you serious?!'

so they scrambled around looking for another piece... apparently there was one more which was out on rental so they tried tracing it down. while that was happening, alvin just stood there wearing his 2nd piece... which just started to grow on us. so in the end we took that one.

then they said, 'oh this doesn't come with pants.' what?!' ARGH WHATEVER! we'll tailor our own.

my goodness, i really hate wedding studios sometimes. but alright, alvin's done!! he popped me a kiss and left.

i trust xinwei and angel's taste with all my heart, and i was so glad they were there with me. the studio was split into 3 floors, of which the gowns (a really small range) were on the 1st (new gowns of this season) and 3rd (older gowns) floors.

while we scanned the first floor, the girls rejected everything except one gown. i tried it on and i looked like a mess, so that was abandoned. moving on to the 3rd floor...

the first row we encountered were all rejected. xinwei outright laughed at the designs or rolled her eyes. it's damn cheena, i have to agree. all those pretty dresses i saw when i signed were all gone! we picked out a lot of dresses still, just to try and average out our picks. we all had our choices - xinwei was hogging the long gowns with elaborate skirts, angel picked those with great cutting for showing off the shoulders, while i spent all my time at one particular rack because it was the simple dresses rack. one really caught my eye and xw had to stretch all the way in just to grab that.

and then we also saw the dress that was never meant to be. funny thing was when we walked up the staircase there was a picture of the dress but xw waved it off. but the moment we saw it on the rack she was like, 'OOOH THIS IS PRETTY...'

woman. srsly.

i tried it on for kicks, and it was real pretty... if i was a size 6 (i'm a 10). meh. love the crosshatched lace skirt though! sigh.

the first dress i tried was one with one of those cake skirts... it was nice. and the girls loved it - but honestly i had reservations about it. i never really loved wedding dresses with those skirts... i don't know, it just wasn't calling out to me. but we KIV-ed it coz the girls were so sure every other dress would pale in comparison.

HAHAHA WE SHALL SEE.

dress after dress i kept trying. cupcake skirts, flouncy, super tight, super loose, chests that were only 0.75 times mine (i had half a boob squashed into the side of the bodice. i came out so we all could have a good laugh.)

then it was THE DRESS. the moment amber the assistant zipped it up, i gasped. but amber said no, it's not nice.

no way! in disbelief, i pulled the curtain back and hopped out (it's kinda hard to walk in) and the girls yelled, 'THAT'S IT! THIS IS IT! NO NEED TO TRY ANYMORE!'

shortie me stood on the platform and spread the skirt out. the front was so simple and elegant, then the back really surprised me with its detail which i missed the first time. man, it looked like this dress just came out from a fashion mag. and its details are in peach, which is the wedding color!

that's just amazing. this is also the same dress that caught my eye, and this dress turned out to be incredibly flattering! it's a cut which i never thought i'd ever wear. shocking man.

i tried on a few more very quickly because all i wanted was to wear that gorgeous dress for the whole day. at the end of the parade, i confirmed the dress and hence we were allowed to take some pictures so i can remember the details. then amber asked, 'would you like to see it with a veil?'

cue overexcited starry-eyed girls.

when she put it on, i could see angel and xinwei in my peripheral vision while i looked straight at the mirror. we were all stunned - xinwei had a blissful smile while holding on to a possible evening gown, angel was a little choked up and just reeling from the moment, and i just stood there, a little overwhelmed and teary-eyed. that moment was profound man.

it's like those brides + bridesmaids movies you see!!

when the moment passed, angel whipped out her camera and took pictures from about 10 different angles. hahaha. then we moved on to evening gowns.

i was not hopeful. i tried about 10 dresses before i sat down on the floor, tired out and exasperated. the colors were terrible, or the cutting was really really weird, stupid xinwei kept laughing her head off at how ge-tai some of them were. it seemed fruitless and futile, and we were nearing the end of their range.

finally, xinwei decided to pick a gown in a color which she really didn't love. but the moment i put it on the effect was marvelous. and it made me look striking even without the sash because the gown color was so complementary. we all called it the Cinderella dress for obvious reasons (in case not obvious, it's the color). :D

even the girls were amazed by how terrible it looked on the rack, but completely gorgeous when worn. i might decide to wear a blue sash in my hair for the banquet to match the Cinderella outfit. so funnn!!!

so this concludes my dreaded wedding dress search, and this is all the description i'm giving alvin hehe. also, the pre-wedding gown was done and altered beautifully!! that one damn chio too.

i'm just really glad this nightmare is over. time to clear catering and invites now.

God, i need strength. *rolls around*

woes of a loopy mind

2011-03-14T00:10:00.002+08:00

there are so many things to take care of. so many.

i was suddenly reminded of why i wanted to start planning earlier - so that when the time comes for me to deal with people i will not go crazy on them.

but it has all come to naught, and everything is late, late, late. God is wonderful as always, making sure we get the best deals but it's so hard to sit down and spend time to consider everyone's feelings.

if i have offended or slighted you, please forgive me. :(

did i forget to invite anyone?? i can't recall!!! *head-desk*

weirdest wedding verse (prolly ever)

2011-03-10T17:35:00.002+08:00

while i was looking through Bible Gateway for our wedding verse, i found this:

Proverbs 15:17
Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred.

man, that is so us. i really identify with it! there's food, and the word love and it just sounds so... healthy in body and soul.

it's nice. :D

---

alvin's response when he saw it:

direcow says:
HAHAHAHAHAHA

direcow says:

BEEEEF

The year-long Duet

2011-03-10T13:23:00.003+08:00

In June 2010, alvin and i headed down to Amara Sanctuary for our first (and last) wedding show. There, we met the passionate BryanJean team, and signed with them their pre-wedding package. As you know, we've been so pleased with their work that we've also booked them to cover our actual day.

On that same day, Ling Jewellery also had a showcase and omg I LOVE THEIR WEDDING RINGS. i really hate going into Soo Kee, Lee Hwa, Tianpo and other standard jewellery shops because MY GOODNESS their salespeople can be so pushy to sell their designs that aren't any inspiring. bleh.

DO NOT LIKE.

so when Nicole, the saleslady, offered us some time at their booth (they were crowded), immediately i sat down. after a few rings which i was quite blasé about, she thought for a bit and said, 'ok... you seem to like classic designs. i have one which i absolutely love. hold on...'

she came back with a rose gold, half eternity (2 rows of belgium diamonds on each side!) band. i was quite meh... until i put it on - IT WAS A PERFECT FIT. it slid in so comfortably and it was so pretty with the bits of glitter at the sides of the band - elegant and not garish like some bands i see with diamonds. the sides of the band where the diamonds are were slanted about 45degrees so from the top of the ring you can see a little bit of the diamond... so it looks like a thin gold band trimmed with lace.

omg i love it so much. i didn't want to take it off my finger. it was also the only gold shade that looked good with my skin tone. alvin also tried on the saint maurice band and gosh that italian gold was so elegant and simple. his hands still looked manly, which was great. he tried one on which was so metro that i guffawed. i love that Ling makes such simple and yet expensive looking rings!

but the total price was WAY over our heads. so with a depressed sigh we left. even after nicole offered us a better price, i just couldn't justify the cost. we left!!! BOOHOO!!!

fast forward to yesterday and a whole load of rejected wedding band possibilities later, we decided to go down to Ling's shop at Orchard Hotel. before that i dropped them a note saying we met at Amara and was keen on one pair we saw that time. guess what - nicole replied and she remembered us! hurray!

i do love personable service.

when we got there, lots of smiles and 'HEY IT'S YOU!!' were exchanged. we went through the shop again, picking out new designs to try on although i've already had my heart set on the Duet (yes that's its name). even after all the other rings were tried on, none of them did it for us except for the Duet and a pair of geeky rings.

truth be told, i really like the geeky rings. and alvin ADORES the male version. its finish was like tarnished metal, and the look was.. so... medieval (alvin's words). we didn't get that in the end, and i'll explain why.

i was telling alvin before we stepped into the shop, 'let's not overstep our budget' - if they can't bring it down any further we'd just take it as it's not affordable and we just have to pick simple rings at the local shops.

nicole calculated the price for us as a pair. hmm ok best price is still about $350 off. so i asked again... and in the midst of that nicole mentioned the Duet rings that they create now were flat top instead of a slightly curved top like the one i had on my finger. the difference is there but not jarring... i did prefer the curved one though. so as i sat there and considered between the Duet and the medieval rings, i thought about the fit of the Duet... its weight, its comfort fit...

WAIT, THE FIT! IT FITS!!! as in, the one i had on my finger was the perfect size for me. and how awesome is that - it's the exact same ring i tried and fell in love with in Amara S. it's like, it's just been there... and waiting for me! oh man!

i've gotta get you now!

so we asked for the showpiece (i really can't believe how well it fits) plus alvin's italian gold band. we spoke to Colleen - the awesome owner of the shop, and well, she agreed to give it to us at a certain price. which was exactly the budget i had in mind.

YAY OUR WEDDING BAND WOES ARE OVER!!! so very glad we prayed too. such peace. :D

maybe i'll get my dowry set from here too - she's got new stock for peranakan inspired pieces. beautiful lace designs, i like!! :D:D:D

---

i may go back and get those medieval rings for 'rough-wear'. hmm. after the wedding i suppose.

Drugstore

2011-03-04T18:20:00.001+08:00

Ok guys i need to replenish my face cream. Anybody need anything from drugstore.com? drop me a note!

sneak peek

2011-02-24T22:38:00.004+08:00

our lovely photographers put up 2 more pictures!

and how i found out was through Melvin who smsed me while i was at work... (this is our bukit timah saddle club photog; he also refers to us as 'the bukit timah saddle club clients'; he says we're famous hahaha!)

M: i'm sooooo proud and happyyy that you guys print and framed my picturesss :))) hiks... *Happy tearrrss

V: How did you see them?!?! Hahaha

M: Bryan's images :)

V: Where?!?!

M: Fb he upload 2 of 'em...

but i was already there.

hey! these were also my top 2 picks of the day! (can't really say on the behalf of alvin whether these were his favs.)

===

This first one was taken at the corridor. It was about 11am when Bryan saw the light streaming through the little niche and inspiration struck. he posed us a few times and while shooting he kept gushing, 'if i stayed here i'll be at that spot THE WHOLE DAY.' this was actually the last pose, and he grabbed his wide angle lens, pulled his pants in (it was sticking out into the picture frame; his harried action made us laugh) and pressed himself into the niche. thank goodness he's skinny and didn't blot out the sunlight.

here's the end result.

i really flipping LOVE THIS. if we had to pick our free canvas print from part 1, this would be my choice. but it's a little stupid to print a distinct picture of Homie to hang in Homie, so our wedding canvas will probably come from part 2.

also, on the wall are photos of alvin and i, PLUS CONCERTS WE'VE BEEN TO! which is why there's stephen christian from anberlin, and somewhere there's a picture of gwen stefani. in fb, Bryan Jean posted this shot and named it 'underneath it all'.

they are so our generation man. *LIKE*

===

now this... this i know aileen will love.

this was the first shot where Bryan thought about how to pose us... and laughed to himself, which we found out to a warning sign of crazy shots about to get DONE. i don't know what inspired him to open our fridge which is essentially a party fridge - bits of cheese, table water, cheetos, nachos, dips, and beer contributed by xinwei, david, pei ching, munmun... and i don't know where the stella artois came from. while bryan rummaged he pulled open the veggie chiller AND LOLed. he found a keg which alvin and i were shocked like, wth we have a KEG of beer? what the heck?!?!

so he got us in our positions while constantly laughing to himself and posing the beer in alvin's arms/floor/my hands. and snap - it was done.

i found out later that Bryan and Jean have a fridge full of ALCOHOL!!

NO WONDER HE CHECKED OUR FRIDGE!!! haha! we're really not alcoholics though. guys, please come and take your party liquor baaaaaaaack.

well, other than this, check out the kitchen it's damn clean! also, it showcases perfectly my favorite feature of the kitchen which is the ceramic tiles THAT LOOK LIKE PLANKS.

the kitchen is so cute. T_T

RB: @purplepanties

2011-02-23T19:04:00.001+08:00

i really like this so i am reblogging it.

also, side note to angel: EH TOO MANY COFFEE BEANS LA

===

Making room

I'm a huge fan of social media, I really am. Except after a breakup.

All these push notifications about whattheyredoingwheretheyarewhattheyreeatingshittingsmokingsnortingetc hurt at first, then start to grate, and finally you're just numb to it. Today, when I scan my friends' updates on various social networks Ex'sName never registers in my mind, and my eyes just sweep past it like nothing ever happened.

Because that's what it feels like, strangely. Like it never happened.

(Also because seriously, who the hell cares?)

So I never really gotten around to doing the whole "clean sweep" people around me are quite fond of doing. (Read: Erasing exes off every network possible.) That has worked fine for me so far because like I said, it hardly registers in my mind anymore anyway.

That was the case until a few days ago when my phone was with a significant other. We were looking at pictures stored in the phone and laughing when an update flashed, telling us where Ex was. I think it was the first time I had noticed it in yonks, and it was only because someone else was looking at it.

Someone very important. Who might not have liked knowing that I still get these updates.

It was fine. The whole thing passed with no trouble at all, and neither of us deemed it important enough to say anything about it.

But it got me thinking:

1. If I were Significant Other, would I have liked to have a good time marred by an update by Ex? Probably not.

2. If I were Significant Other, would I start to wonder if Ex and I still keep in contact? SigO might not, but I probably would because I am neurotic. And:

3. Why on God's green earth am I still subscribed to shit I don't even look at?! THAT IS JUST E-CLUTTER AND E-CLUTTER IS E-VIL (I know Vick agrees with me on this one).

This is an extremely long-winded way to say I've started the process of cleaning things up. I've already unsubscribed to the Google Calendar (which wasn't getting updated anyway), and next on my list is foursquare (which I hardly use except to get mayorship of the fishsoup place near work WHY AM I NOT ALREADY MAYOR I EAT THERE ALL THE DAMNED TIME).

I'm cleaning things up not because there's hate in my heart, or because I'm closing some sort of chapter in my book. I've done that already.

I'm cleaning things up because I'm making room for something else. Something bigger, more exciting. Something that feels real right now and looks to feel real for awhile yet. Something that deserves all the room it needs because well, it is just deserving like that.

Here goes! :)

===

end.

Pre-wedding Photoshoot with BryanJean, Part 1 (Friday: 18 Feb)

2011-02-20T13:35:00.012+08:00

i got up bright and early at 6am.

and promptly fell asleep again coz my eyes refused to listen to me. it was a restless 1hr before my body responded and dragged me out of bed. i was excited and also nervous as heck. what if Bryan and Jean don't work well with us? what if the cakes are all spoilt? WHAT IF OUR CLOTHES SUCK!

i was all queasy as i left simei for Homie and waited for the pump repair guys to come. omg it was so warm that when i arrived at Homie my heart dropped. my hair was so frizzy, i looked like Monica of friends when they took that trip to Barbados. :(

no time to think about that, i need to clean the floor and the balcony and water the flowers! halfway through my chores the pump guys came. and then they stared at the canvas and i could tell, it boggled their mind for a bit. one of them was talking to me about how their job at a home in sentosa cove yesterday had a 40k painting... but ours was nicer. so he asked me how much and i said it was from ikea, $330.

he was stunned. then he took a picture of it.

me = extremely happy girl

ok for sure Homie is really done up nicely but her owners were in a mess. AND ALVIN IS NOT HERE YET WHERE IS HE??!?!

after the pump guys left, i sprung into action. air-con was up, everything Homie related was clean/neat/set up. then i changed... and stared at my hair. omg i am STICKY ughhhh. i was really panicking, it was already 9:40am and the shoot was scheduled for 10am. i knew i didn't have the awesome hands of a hairstylist... so i prayed. and guess what - somehow whatever i did gave me neat tresses. as in nice tousled hair and u could see loose waves. here, here.

this was taken at the end of the day. and they were still intact! hallelujah. the one time i needed my hair to come through and it did. and i haven't seen them since, haha.

then i stared at my makeup bags. people who know me will know i tend to get a little too enthusiastic and hence heavy handed with the brush sometimes. so i breathed and told myself - get a flawless face first. everything else is not important. and then i begun.

slowly, i primed, concealed, and rubbed my face in. good, there's a glow coming along nicely. now the eyes. i covered the lids with a shimmery nude and then tried to line them thinly BUT MY DAMN HANDS SHOOK so i had a slightly thicker line. chill, i gotta chill.

then i put on one layer of mascara. and a bit of glow under the eyes, and a bit of coral blusher.

i stood back from the mirror and checked my progress. yes. tousled hair with tresses and a clear face. ok. GOOD. some loose powder, then a bit of lipgloss. IT'S WORKING!!!

that was the marvelous start to my day.

then the doorbell rang and they were here!! alvin arrived shortly after and changed in the blessed air-conditioned home and then we were ready.

we had so much fun. bryan's really great at planning his shots, especially using natural lighting. without edits, his composition of the shot which we saw through his image viewer was already quite breathtaking. we started off on the couch, then moved on to the corridor - which was probably the favorite spot of all 4 of us there that day. those shots there were absolutely amazing with his wide angle lens and i really can't wait to see those processed.

we then headed into our bedroom and had some pictures taken there. cue pillowfight. i must say - we were not posing. stupid alvin kept throwing the pillow into my made up face and i was pissed so i kept pummeling him. i won, of course (you might see that later).

by then we were all having fun and were pretty relaxed with each other... we took the weirdest shots in the kitchen HAHAHA.

i won't spoil the surprise yet, but aileen will love it. and we had so much xxx thanks to all the leftovers from the rock band/dance central, christmas and NYE parties. man, a whole entire keg. unbelievable. but ok, it showcases our gorgeous ceramic tiles, so yay!

also from that point on, everytime Bryan sat down and thought about how to compose the shot and burst out laughing mid-thought... we'd get a little worried.

from here we moved on to the bar counter - wow this was a little difficult to set up. i was also wilting a little already coz my dress was so tight. and then we ate our 'breakfast' (i was famished).

we also gave alvin a little heart-shaped creamed nose. how adorable. :D

love that diao face, you're totally working it dear! HAHAHAHA

and then we moved on to our favorite spot, the balcony. :D

and with that, it was already 2plus in the afternoon OMG SO TIRED I TELL YOU. bryan was working hard to help my eyes look larger coz they were beginning to get really tired.

then he laughed again, and this transpired.

ass grab!!!

and i think this was one of the last few shots we had for the day, or so i thought coz we changed out after this and went back to our comfy clothes.

BUT THEY REMEMBERED. and we had some shots of us on Rock Band yay!! i didn't get to see the previews so i'm totally clueless as to how they look like. but throughout the day, Bryan kept shaking his head and saying wow you guys are going to have a hard time choosing man. and then alvin reminded us we still had one more outdoor shoot in march.

SIAO LIAO.

also throughout the whole day, Jean had been taking photos!! i was so happy to get home and see all those hipstamatic prints up on their wall!! yay!!

another funny thing that happened was when bryan said, 'ok you just keep playing RB and i'll take the shots, then we should be done. then er, after that...' he trailed off.

alvin and i laughed. 'yar we can all start playing rock band right? love how you left that so open ended HAHAHA.'

and we did! from about 245pm to 6pm we just dropped everything and rocked out. we're close in age and have the same music influences so it was great coz we just played songs from the 90s like blink 182, green day (they went for the concert too!!), switchfoot and jimmy eat world. and the cranberries. haha.

they recently bought RB3 and alvin shared with bryan & jean how he exported the songs (we have 500+ songs @_@), how we managed to get RB2, and the import of our pro-drums & pro-guitar. they were also pretty excited at all the songs available for download coz when it was bryan's turn to choose a song to sing he just kept scrolling through the list and grinning while shooting 'let's get this' looks at jean. we suspect they left at 6pm to get more xbox points. HAHAHA.

can't wait for shoot 2. we're in great hands!!!!!!!!!!!

played out by my own kind

2011-02-20T01:19:00.003+08:00

i cannot believe it.

the church which we had originally chosen is currently trying to weasel their way out of the arrangement.

i am beyond angry about this because it is unfair and low. i'm not sure if they are doing this because we haven't sent our cheque in (not our fault) or their members get preferential treatment but a promise is a promise. you can't call me at 9am in the morning and expect me to be bright and chirpy to the sound of 'we might have to put you in the later slot' and 'i called last night but nobody called me back'. yes, you called at 10plus and i was so sleepy that i thought you were my colleague who had the same name. i decided to go to bed instead.

i'm not sure whether i want to deal with them anymore. obviously this is just about money and there's some weird bias. who's to confirm now that i can trust that they won't come back with this 2 weeks before the wedding? when vendors do this to me i make it a point never to contact them again.

we'll see if you end up on the black list. the fact that you're a CHURCH makes this even worse.

============

throughout all this, alvin has been a total zen-master. and i was totally charmed by the wedding coordinator of our backup church (he sounds handsome and is really well-spoken! haha). it's still good. not worried.

:D

Pre-wedding Photoshoot with BryanJean, Part 1 (Thursday: Prep)

2011-02-19T14:27:00.015+08:00

the week after the ID photoshoot, it was part 1 with Bryan and Jean, our wedding photographers. it's official, they're also our AD guys now WOOHOO!!!!

i'm very very very excited about working with them because we love the same style - southern cali!! when i spoke to Jean for the first time, her eyes started shining when she talked about Green Wedding Shoes!!

i love doing weird things, as my colleagues put it. like the Bukit Timah Saddle Club one, location was very important. it just so happened that the ID shoot was planned for the 12th, and BryanJean suggested the 18th for the bridal so it completely worked out that we should just take pictures at Homie! i still remember the happiness that flowed when i looked at how timely everything was. oh man, it felt so great to know that God is in control the whole time.

we still had a few things to get right - we hadn't cleaned up Homie from the last shoot because we were so dead tired that when we tried on sunday, we fell dead asleep on the couch for 3 hours straight. we only woke up when alvin's family came over.

then the inevitable happened.

the canvas fell off and alvin's dad who was standing at the corner probably got shocked and knocked into our curtain tie back which also fell off. the canvas really wasn't done well so we had it coming. and thank goodness i had already prepared to take leave on thursday because we also had the pump to repair again. oh well. busy week ahead again i guess.

i also received fantastic news on saturday in the midst of our ID shoot - the cupcake stands were ready!!! just in time! i love u geraldine, i really do. because you promised and you delivered, and you let me have first pick. and u made it so easy for us to collect the stands.

on monday it was valentine's day - i was meeting alvin for dinner anyway AND HE WAS SO CUTE. he went home to change after reservist and came all dressed up. *squeal* then we went to eat at ambush (it has reappeared in taka, but isn't as great as before) and then set out for Tangs after grabbing some blackforest ice cream (u gotta try, corner shop next to the donuts at taka basement). initially alvin was worried that it'd be incredibly crowded since it's valentine's day but Tangs was empty as i'd expected. i mean, all the couples will be stuck in restaurant queues/at home - department stores will surely be empty. hohoho.

then we found our cake stand with dome. it was the last piece, and came with a surprise 20% discount! btw, the rocker bench and outdoor set from Lalu were also the last piece (really, i even tested the shop assistants to check if they were bluffing. they weren't.) so we were lucky in a sense. (we get discounts because of that, yay, hehe). i must announce: the cake dome was purchased by way of Tangs vouchers that were expiring, bequeathed to us by a certain Ms. Angel Yeo two christmases ago.

so now u know what i bought using your vouchers, angel! A VERY PRETTY CENTREPIECE (and 2 forks and 4 spoons to make up $50+).

this being the 2nd consecutive week with major plans, i was quite zonked from cleaning Homie over and over. even on Thursday i cleaned a little in the morning and set the table (oh, so prettyyy), but after the curtain tie-back was repaired i was stuck. should i go for a manicure and try to rush back by 4pm for the repair of the pump, or let alvin handle it and go get all the cakes for display?

the cakes won out in the end; i knew the cakes were more important and i had about 3 hours to get everything done, so off i went - screw the manicure, i'll do it on my own.

i had an amazing trip. once i reached the bus stop, 48 came and brought me to Bugis' doorstep. then i managed to find all that i needed at bugis junction (nail polish and foot peel), then bugis village (dorky glasses), then middle road which brought me to the bus stop for 64 to liang court.

again, i ran just in time to hop unto the bus which brought me to the doorstep of liang court. so i popped into tampopo deli but ALAS, no cream puffs nor pont neuf! T_T

i bought some tarts and scoop cake, then i was stuck. where on earth to go next? this bunch of little cakes won't be enough! then i remembered taka basement - home of pastries and... strawberry shortcake. yes, one japanese store to another. the bus to taka was quite a distance away and i had... crap, 3 min!!

i didn't dare run (i have cakes pls don't fall down pls) so i just kept praying while i brisk walked, and i made it. it's really very far away so thank God!! can't believe i made it with time to spare too. :D

and then 143 dropped me right outside taka. wow is this awesome public transport day or WHAT?!

and of course, taka has everything. i bought Post cereal and strawberries for a whole $3 cheaper than what was being sold at Meidi-Ya, bought some sausages, got beard papa's cream puffs instead (rather nostalgic, considering alvin and i used to share that as a cute snack), got taiyaki for alvin and i found PERLA'S and they had the chantilly cake for sale! top 50 cakes in sg, gotta try right? and er, i love their box.

i also got macarons (no tea setting is pretty without them) from Bakerzin and then mini donuts from the shop that used to be auntie anne's pretzels. and all these were paid for by daddy dearest, thanks to the fat ang bao i got after he struck 4D. :D

i was pretty amazed i managed to hit 3 areas and get everything done in 2.5 hours on public transport. also, none of the cakes were destroyed at all and the pump repair was shifted to friday morning, just before the shoot.

when i got to Homie, alvin arrived too and repaired our wall mount for the canvas! at first i was skeptical but he did a great job! yay for the development of a handy husband! :D

i cleaned up the mess, of course. ugh all the sand and dust. eech. we were late for cell thanks to this clean up portion but well at least most of it was done.

here're some photos taken before i ran out of the house to run my errands.

table set-up! (i love our little tower lamp next to the sofa.)

those paper doily placemats actually came from the boxes used to pack the cake stands. perfect size, so why not? in this table set-up it's a mish-mash of $2 daiso plates, free placemats, ikea finishings (vase, table runner and fake flowers) and dinnerware, wmf cutlery and a very expensive italian dining table plus kartell chairs.

i love the difference. hahaha.

and here's the fuuud :D:D:D

if you notice, i totally forgot to get some strawberry shortcake. I'M AN IDIOT. T_T

btw my nails turned out fantastic (by my standards).

it was an incredibly fruitful day! tomorrow - the pump repair, the makeup, the dresses and the shoot.

Interior Design shoot with Interior Affairs & Johnston

2011-02-19T12:53:00.013+08:00

ok, i know this is rather confusing to everyone because of the sheer number of photography sessions we have, so let's give u some background first.

the shoot we did at Bukit Timah Saddle Club was done by Melvin Gilbert Photography - this set was not planned, but it was a great deal PLUS Melvin's trained in the Southern Californian style which i absolutely adore (thanks to Jade, heh). so we took some fun shots with him, in case we needed to use some photos to print our cards or something.

last week our interior designers came and took pictures of Homie! i think that was the worst week, we had so many last minute things to purchase but somehow, just somehow... we managed to gather everything in one single day. here are the documented changes (and the heartpain of spending so much money, and 4 hours in Ikea):

1. our corridor is now lined with black frames of ourselves/concert photos - this was supposed to be our concert wall but we have less awesome pictures than we'd thought... or it could be that the corridor is just too long. the frames from Ikea set us back by quite some. sigh. also not to mention we had all of one day to choose, edit and get our photos printed.

2. our living room - we bought a huge canvas print of a street view of New York featuring the Flatiron (pronounced Flat Iron. and yes i called it Flati-ron before alvin laughed at me. T_T) Building. set us back by $300+ but it looks so freaking amazing because it's the exact right size. everytime i look at it i get a little mind-boggled coz it's as if there's a HUGE window in our living room that looks out into New York.

(heh heh, this is such a teaser - u can only see 30% of the loving room!)

3. our living room - we also got a coffee table with castor wheels which is so important for our frequent xbox parties... we need furniture that can be easily rearranged! also, the glass top was the same good glass on our dining table and so they match! set us back by $179. very cheap for a coffee table with good acid treated glass and smooth wheels.

4. various accessories like vases, fake flowers, plant pots, fake plants, real plants, diningware, kitchenware, stools, throw cushions, our pretend table-runner (just a piece of folded cloth, actually), and a small side table for the balcony...

TOTAL WAS 1.3K FROM IKEA ALEXANDRA ALONE. besides the expenditure of money that gave me a headache, carrying the items back almost killed us but thank God for 3 things...

1. my 2 designers who were incredibly enthusiastic and passionate - Faith was really sick but she was a trooper and went around everywhere with us. they also helped us carry everything back to Homie and set up some items before leaving. incredibly, we also got a maxi cab from the taxi queue. WOW.

2. alvin who came all the way from his reservist to come and help us at the other end of the island. this also made us skip cell coz we were stranded at ikea with no vehicle. :(

2. also my dad who's located at The Anchorage with his VAN. I WAS SO HAPPY AND RELIEVED. I LOVE U DADDY. and then on Friday he brought everything to us in his van and even offered to help us with our things but i chased him off so he could have dinner with my family. that same weekend he struck 4D. hahahahaha

we also managed to get the outdoor furniture people to lend us their existing set for the photoshoot while we waited for the new rocking bench. we brought it in, cleaned it up and set it up in our balcony. it's perfect. they even delivered that to Homie and left it outside for us to receive the next day as we were stranded thanks to the heavy downpour.

on that saturday itself things got a little crazy. we had to set up the canvas, all the photo frames, coffee table and make our bed presentable in the span of 3 hours. before that, the landscaping guys also came to repair our pump (it failed to work again once we turned it off after the shoot) and after all this, we still had to clean up the entire house and make it presentable. this meant that everything unsightly had to be hidden from view, so things were unceremoniously stuffed into the TV console drawers, kitchen cabinets, plastic bags and boxes relegated to bedrooms 2 & 3 etc.

we had such a hard time finding our things after the photoshoot. -_-"'

but Homie was completely transformed. it looked like a boutique apartment and actually a little hipster, a little arty farty thanks to the canvas, feature lights and vintage wall mounted phone. suddenly, only the balcony was kept whimsical but oh, how much i love the balcony with all the blooming flowers (YES THEY ARE ALL BLOOMING, YAY), running water and cute cute cute outdoor furniture.

i really want to show you pictures but they're not ready yet and i can't really capture the essence nor have the correct angle. but here're a few shots of what we have.

the balcony before everything came in

flowers!! they are thriving!!

the outdoor set outside the master bedroom, from Lalu. we even bought the tablecloths that accompanied the table.

our rocking bench from Candy Floricuture (sharon was great - look for her!)

our vinyl clock, can you see 2 cats? :)

there was so much more craziness that i didn't go into detail, like alvin running about the whole day just to get all the last minute things (apples! paper! blutac! more photos! cakes! lunch! bulbs!), how the canvas was put up impromptu without the correct wall mounts, 10 of our bulbs blew, and how i thought the quilt cover was the bedsheet (er let's not go there.)

but it was so fulfilling at the end of the day. i really thank God for His showers of blessing.

i love u, Homie.

St Jerome's Laneway Festival (Singapore)

2011-02-02T22:37:00.011+08:00

last saturday, alvin and i braved the winds and rain and headed down to fort canning park for singapore's inaugural Laneway Festival.

the skies were overcast and it'd been raining the entire day before so we were prepared in our slippers and dark clothing. we completely missed Warpaint because we were really taking our time to get to Laneway - we hardly know any of the bands so it wasn't like we were fighting to stand in the front row of the mosh pit. in fact, we were so chill we had our $2 SKP table cover (to double up as a picnic mat) and were prepared to sit right at the top of the hill, just watch the bands from afar, let the music waft past and simply check out new bands.

lovely plan... except that it started raining. it was odd, everytime a band was ending the rain will increase in intensity. at the end of Ladyhawke's set the rain was coming down steadily and at first alvin and i were fine hiding under my cupcake umbrella, but the water started pooling around our butts. we had a good laugh and took turns in yelling, 'oh, oh wet underpants!' but somehow we just refused to stand up until alvin completely lost the feeling in his right leg.

and still we sat happy. through Beach House (did not like then, but loved them only when i got home and heard the entire album), Deerhunter (meh), Holy F**k (they are really good but i'm just not into the music. funny how they couldn't say their name so they intro-ed themselves as other bands like Arcade Fire, haha)... and then we got to !!! !

they were funnnn to say the least. by then alvin and i were on our feet and having met xinwei, she left us with a giant golf brolly while she, birthday girl jacq and gang left for dinner. i was quite delighted with !!!'s front man coz he's really quite nutty and was prancing all over the stage. when he got to a cover of Prince's, alvin and i were dry and so pleased with the whole day plus we had a huge brolly so we started bopping together. like, side to side, back and forward, bopbop.

ALL SMILES! :D

then this bunch of girls (they looked quite hipster with their men's hairstyles) turned around and i thought they were laughing at us... so i gave them a quizzical look. one of them squealed 'OMG YOU LOOK SO CUTE... DOESN'T SHE LOOK SO CUTE GUYS!! can i hug you??'

*stutter*

she just hugged me. then they all left.

what the..............

it was so fast alvin didn't even have time to react. after it was over he asked, 'what the? how come she hugged you??'

'i don't know man.'

after !!!, Yeasayers came and left. not much of an impression except that their vocals are amazing. but again not my kinda thing. by the end of Yeasayers the rain had been pouring for quite a bit and the mud was beginning to pile and people were getting drunk. when the set ended, the girls were back - a mud slide competition had also started right next to us. while we were watching the drunk ang mohs strip down and slide down the mud (avoid! avoid!) alvin and i were singing at the top of our lungs to Black Kids, MGMT and Franz Ferdinand (filler music in between the sets, love the DJs playing all the crowd favorites hehe).

then it was Foals, and it's as if the whole day was just leading up to their performance. my, my. it was incredible. not a dull moment at all. i just stopped and stared slack jawed under the umbrella. as a band, they're just amazing, everyone is really talented. but the one that caught my ears was the drummer Jack Bevan (yeah i googled him). i can't even gush enough about how much i love frenzied/staccato beats and he had it all under control. i remember grabbing alvin's arm mid-way and i whispered fiercely, 'what if i never watch them again?? what if??? i'd be so sad - they're so amazing!! also FYI i am in love with that michael cera lookalike drummer.'

that's probably when alvin gave up talking to me, oops. BUT YEAH I AM NOW A FAN.

oh btw The Temper Trap were pretty great live, and i enjoy their album a lot more after hearing them live, but THAT IS NOT THE POINT.

FOALS IS THE POINT. and Spanish Sahara is a beautiful song.

check out the rain. it was really pouring during Foals' set. sorry Alanna, no good vids for Cassius (i love it too!!!) coz it was pouring so there aren't many vids at all.

*sadface*

'supplies!!!'

2011-01-27T17:59:00.002+08:00

so alvin and i headed down to One Degree 15 to check out our selection of wedding invitations (turns out only 2 colors, and miscommunication with our coordinator meant bringing home 240 cards and envelopes w/o a car) ...

only to be treated to a surprise buffet!! :DDD

we had alaskan king crabs and durian pangat. super awesome, but jogging this morning was... barf-worthy. especially while i was running and burping overnight durian pong.

mmmf.

===

we saw our selection of wedding favors AND THEY WERE SO GREAT OMG. well, they have the usual salt and pepper shakers & letter openers (yawn)... AND THEN SOME.

i had two themes i was planning for, and i can't decide between them so i was hoping that they only had suitable favors for one theme.

but no.

their two most awesome favors were perfect for each theme. which is making it so much harder to decide!! but on the other hand, alvin and i no longer have to worry about having to buy favors to fit our theme.

dude i am so excited i'm having difficulty breathing. next 3 weeks will be packed full of planning. and i RELISH it.

COME TO MUMMY. *embrace*

sob they grow up so fast!

2011-01-25T13:33:00.003+08:00

CONGRATULATIONS HEREBEGEEKS!

you are (sometimes) the reason why i don't blog as much anymore coz i'm so busy reading your updates!

right, gonna go get my copy of 8 Days now.

love,
a fan (not unlike mel from FOTC)

Identity.

2011-01-17T21:33:00.000+08:00

I know who I am
Once I was nameless, alone and You found me
You formed my knees to bend
You called me beloved
I am perfection

All my failures won't condemn me
Or leave me paralyzed and bound
And when I'm at my worst
Your love, it finds me first
By You I can run in the night
For by You I can run in the night

For I am such a man
Seized by the power of a great affection
No matter where I am
Peace spreads below me in every direction

When evil sets the war upon me
I won't stumble, I won't fall
And though they do their worst
Your love has found me first
For by You I can run in the night

this is how i'm going to lose weight.

2010-11-17T22:05:00.004+08:00

so alvin went out and bought Microsoft's Kinect today at its pre-launch. and along with it came...

DANCE CENTRAL.

this has got to be the awesomest idea because it detects you with motion sensors. it is said that when you turn off the lights in your room and put on some IR shades, you can see thousands of IR dots all over your room.

cool.

the moment alvin found out about it he showed me the gameplay and man! i was so excited for months! it's definitely not like DDR or Para-para or wii's Raving Rabbits. that's not dancing! and i keep bonking my head while holding on to the wii-mote. -_-"'

after we calibrated the set we jumped right into it. it felt so good to slide your hand in front of you to get the song started. YOU ARE THE CONTROLLER. :D

so we tried songs from different genres like Sean Paul's Temperature (omg the reggae is fantastic), Neyo's Because of You (only got 2 stars. sadness.), Rihanna's Pon de Replay (5 stars!!!)...

and most importantly, Kylie's Can't Get You Out Of My Head. this was the first song i did on Dance Central.

after we were done with the songs we recognized, we tried the ones that we didn't. when we came across Benny Benassi's Satisfaction, i laughed because it was the rave song for the black dude in White Chicks.

alvin was interested so he tried it. me? nah, no techno thank you!

man, i was so wrong. Satisfaction has super solid moves. check out the gameplay dancer. it's done so well! i was watching the gameplay with my mouth slack.

note: you dance, then there's a freestyle section, then you continue. you actually get to see yourself freestyling, so that gamer there is the actual dude dancing in his gamer room.

on easy it's not too difficult, since all the moves are repeated at least 4 times, but by the time you hit medium you're suddenly doing the robot and jumping side to side. don't even talk about hard; it got me jumping all over the room in a frenzy. T_T

ok, here's Satisfaction on Medium mode because it was the one i had the most fun with.

it's so awesome!!! :D

2 songs that i've been really diggin'

2010-11-14T01:37:00.002+08:00

Dig - Incubus

i've actually been enjoying this song for a whole month already - and i'm still not tired of it.

'... at least we dig each other.'

-----

When You Thought You'd Never Stand Out - Copeland

i don't listen to the cd from start to end; if the song sounds boring i'd just skip it. yeah terrible, especially when i love copeland so much. that day it just so happened that i let my music player run while i was doing something else, and i plugged back into the music just as it hit the mid point of the song - my goodness the mood of the song totally changed and it was so very fantastic. the whole song has changed for me now... just get past the mid-point. it really gets better. :)

'they're gonna come to life tonight...'

testest

2010-11-03T23:41:00.006+08:00

haven't seen the answers so i'm gonna try!!

From Neatorama: This illustration contains the names of 48 musical groups rendered as icons. Can you figure out the names of the bands? Click on the image at El Espíritu de los Cínicos to see the answers.

1. Beatles, Radiohead, Queen, ?!

2. Kiss, The Who, ?!, Chemical Brothers(?), ?!

3. Gorillaz, The Sex Pistols (hahaha nice one), The Rolling Stones, Smashing Pumpkins, ?! (omg why so familiar!!)

4. The White Stripes, The Flaming Lips, ?!, ?!, ?!

5. ?!, Spoon, ?!, ?!, The Hive

(omg it's so hard now...)

6. ?!, ?!, ?!, ?!, Deep Purple (finally)

7. ?!, ?!, ?!, RHCP, ?!

8. ?!, Nine Inch Nails(?), ?!, ?!, ?!

9. ?!, ?!, ?!, ?!, ?! ARGH!!!

10. ?!, The Scorpions

T_T

:(

2010-11-03T13:10:00.002+08:00

from xkcd:

finally, some real MEN.

2010-10-29T23:20:00.002+08:00

---

also, speaking of men, here's a first look at Captain America. ;)

Bras for Sale

2010-10-28T10:01:00.000+08:00

Btw, i have a 15% off Maidenform orders made before the 30th of October. their bras are comfy, and shapewear's pretty darn awesome.

and the best thing - they're available at tangs! so you can try on your size and fit before ordering. email me privately if you want anything k? :)

FYI, their bras selling for SGD80 here, are only USD20 online. hee!

==========

hey guys i'm ordering this saturday! let me know asap!!

Creationary

2010-10-27T01:11:00.005+08:00

Creationary is a great game that alvin has recently acquired. It's like charades, except that you use LEGO to get people to guess your card on hand.

you also have a die that shows you which category to use in the card.

i totally forgot how much i loved LEGO until i tore open a new bag of LEGO parts that came along with the game. we went rabid over it.

alvin was painstakingly reading out the rules of play to me but i was far far away in my own little LEGO world, imagining 10,000 different things with all the nifty things i... i mean, we now have.

then we started to play - 30 minutes, see how many we are able to guess. it was then i realized that imagination is one thing, doing awesome permutations with what you have on hand is another. plus, it was a lazy sunday afternoon, and alvin and i were zonked from the night before (he had a scott pilgrim game party, i was at a teenage sleepover - SRSLY NOT HEALTHY FOR ADULTS).

well, here are our creations. try your hand at guessing what they are! hehehe.

1. Vivien (Nature)

2. Alvin (Thing)

3. Vivien (Vehicles)

4. Alvin (Vehicles)

5. Vivien (Buildings)

6. Alvin (Nature)

7. Vivien (Vehicles)

8. Alvin (Thing)

9. Vivien (Vehicles)

Completely zonked were we.

but we pressed on!!!

10. Vivien (Thing)

11. Alvin (Thing)

12. Vivien (Nature)

13. Alvin (Thing)

14. Vivien (Thing)

15. Alvin (Nature)

that's all, and have fun guessing! alvin got quite a number of hard ones, plus my brain was mush so we spent much time laughing at what he was trying to create.

i love creationary!!!

back in business

2010-10-27T00:45:00.002+08:00

*ahem*

sorry about overblogging (3 posts at a go! wow!) and then doing the disappearing act. i was not gone, just holed up in the new home sans internet, now christened Homie because of alvin's inane manner of naming his possessions (bearie, penguiny, tigerie, wifey etc).

the house is incredible. it's brought out my neat/clean freak by 110%, and i can safely say that i have surpassed my mom in being anal about cleanliness. 2 saturdays in a row i have gotten down to scrubbing/wiping/tidying/mopping Homie. I WANT YOU FLOORS TO SHINE, DAMMIT.

and couldn't have made the floors shine without the Rainbow cleaner, which is a vacuum cleaner alvin's mom brought over. dude, that cleaner means business man. it's really powerful. i love it.

so the past two weekends or any weekday we end work early, we'll go down to Homie to test the sound system, tweak our electronics and what-not.

like last week, we just spent an entire sunday evening sitting on the couch, both of us squashed together to share the sweet spot... of MUSIC. if you're following me on Twitter, this is a repeat - we put on 3eb's Misfits as the litmus test for the subwoofer and IT PASSED WITH EXPLOSIVE COLORS.

the moment the bass part i was waiting for rumbled towards me, i sat there stunned for 2 seconds. then i started yelling, 'OH MY GOODNESS THAT IS SO SWEET. DEAR DID YOU HEAR THAT IT'S SO SWEEEEEEEEET OH GAWD.'

i cried coz i was so happy. i said 2 things following the happy tears -

1. "this is my kobe beef." (referring to alvin who was so happy he cried when he had kobe beef... in kobe. at an onsen. you can't get more authentic than that.)

2. "this (pointing at our speakers) is our best investment, even better than the dining table."

actually i still don't understand why the dining table is such a hot topic. it's nice what. but well yes, our entertainment system costs about the same as the dining table.

i don't know how long we sat there on the couch listening to the few albums alvin brought over. note to self: the yeah yeah yeahs' album is not mastered very well, and should remain in my media player, but 3eb and phoenix pass the amp test.

well, the HD works, Blu-ray hurts my eyes coz it's so pretty and the blacks on our TV are BLACK BLACK, none of that grainy nonsense... and Rock Band on this sweet rig?

IT'S SWEET, ALRIGHT. thanks to the 5.1 surround sound you can hear the crowd cheering you on from behind. the 5.1 unsettles me sometimes though... especially when i was watching movies alone. all that whispering... where is it coming from??!?!

but my ears are happy. happy happy! *claps*

it's so hard to leave the house once we get there. 7 more months!

A hot blooded email

2010-10-14T09:05:00.003+08:00

out of the blue, i got a really passionate email from the fiance.

so i replied.

rawwwwk.

here's Maria reporting to cleaning duty

2010-10-12T13:01:00.000+08:00

Woahhh busy week ahead! Gotta finish my work in 4 days – then fun times kick off on Thursday night!

… to go and buy house cleaning appliances/mops/dustpans/brooms/rags/detergent. Yes we are cleaning the new place from Thursday evening onwards!! I cannot imagine how the place will look like with everything in, the lights, lamps, curtains, entertainment system all put up. *shudder* I can’t wait.

And then on Friday I’ll continue cleaning without Alvin (if you would like to lend me a hand, that’ll be lovely! But I expect there will be no takers. *sadface*) if I’m done early I may even pop down to town to get more things for the house since I’ve gotten so many vouchers since my birthday/leaving SMART-Malaria. Ooh… an espresso machine… and blankets. And down pillows. I may love the new place too much to leave. Hmm.

I think the best part about Friday is receiving our furniture. I love our furniture. Every single piece was painstakingly searched high and low for and it’s pretty incredible how they’re all the same theme – modern fairytale. I don’t think they were made with that theme in mind since they’re all from different designers but YAY WE HAVE KARTELL CHAIRS. We went back to check the price at Lifestorey and they cost $600 each. Can’t believe we managed to get them at almost 40% off. And our sofa has Muji cushions and covers! Plus it comes with a giant square where Alvin and I can curl up on, instead of the usual single chaise types.

Oddly, I am imagining a cat on the square chaise instead of us now.

(IWANTMESOMECATS. ZOMG. Our plan is to put dutch bells on them coz it’d be hilarious. Imagine them gamboling around the house in those.

CLANGCLANGCLANG)

Also, there’s the $3000 dining table. Honestly, it was not the smartest purchasing decision (thank goodness we bought that before I came into my current job – otherwise it’d be rather ironic) but it’s probably my favorite piece and hello!! It was discounted from $5000!!! The mechanics are fantastic (it’s super extendable) and sturdy (metal frame). The table top is also treated-glass (it’s frosted almost white, none of that blue-green colour). So very beautiful. The moment we found it, we knew how the house should be themed. The table is THAT critical to our design, imagine that!

On Friday we may have family and a few ladies coming over to share our excitement regarding the house, maybe break in the new entertainment system (omg Rock Band on Anthony Gallos *shudder*). Also, it’s almost time to get our vinyl player. ^^

Oh yes, we’ll also be donning our archeology gear to go combing through the catacombs of… I forget where. But yes, we shall be explorers on Sunday! How exciting, this week! :D

october is a great month

2010-10-09T12:29:00.002+08:00

got quite a number of things to thank God for within this week - it's like alvin and i just somehow sprung out of the dry spell into a lush Eden!

:D

i finally have news from the credit card company that they will be sending me my card soon, which means i can finally go down to the bridal studio and show my face. and possibly try a few dresses, which is the whole aim. i've been waiting for the darn card for a month now.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN THE DELAY, MAN??!

anyway, getting the sms was like lifting a burden off my back.

and then... the house is almost done. if things go well, we will be furnishing our new home next friday! yippee! our designers have also confirmed that they would like to showcase our home for the magazine in march, which means the photoshoot + styling will be in jan.

does this mean we can use their props for our official pre-wedding shoot at home, which is also scheduled in jan? I HOPE SO!

the biggest news really floored me - it made me want to squeal at work when i checked my mail. stupid alvin made me think it was bad news by sounding so sombre over the phone. pig. but i won't announce until everything is drafted and deposited for. shh. soon to come.

whatever it is, it's one of the reasons why i'm grinning despite having a terrible week at work! life is handing me chocolates! YAY!

the final reason is that after two weeks, we have finally received our photos via facebook. i know the viewing quality's not great, but melvin has been working very hard to get everything out just so we could take a look. he's such a sweet guy and very flexible to our requirements. i'm not sure how many times i hounded him for the photos - alvin had to step in and hold me back, haha.

i couldn't help it, anticipation is the fastest way for me to go nuts.

well here're my favorites:

totally looks like we're eloping with nothing much our Rock Band guitar and a luggage carrying our headphones.

i found this incredible hat at muji just a week before the shoot. i've been looking for one for so long and i was tempted to just get other hats but thank goodness i didn't because this was just perfect. i put it on my head and immediately alvin and i sighed. perfect.

i don't know how it happened but our album gives everyone the notion that it's unfolding like a storybook. we definitely didn't plan it, but thanks to melvin who pictured it first!

i like how melvin doesn't photoshop people... like how stubby my fingers look. haha! but i love blurred out alvin and his suspenders. :)

classic.

shoe shot!! :D

no, pls.

ur sweaty.

by the time i was done with alvin, his hair was standing.

cap, bow-tie, suspenders - the same day i found the hat at muji, alvin grabbed all these at topman. and then the big-spender got invited to a topshop fashion show.

wah rao.

"with our headphones on... with our headphones on..." - Jars of Clay

love the background - rickety old fence which used to be part of the racing turf

shoe shot #2!

this is a classic shot of alvin laughing at me.

recognize any covers?

unfortunately we're still the midst of editing/discussing with melvin how we want our favorite shot so i won't put it up yet.

man, i'm so happy right now i feel like i could burst.

*pop*

personal taste

2010-10-03T19:58:00.002+08:00

the title above has nothing to do with the k-drama i'm totally addicted to right now.

it actually refers to me and alvin's taste in music.

as we were heading towards his place after teens' cell, we talked about our wedding theme --> the music we want to use for the powerpoint slide show --> R+J --> Shakespeare in Love --> Lene Marlin's Shakespeare in Love.

i've never really admitted this to anyone, but i really hate that song.

alvin, being the annoying person he is, SAW THE LOOK ON MY FACE AND STARTED SINGING THE DARN SONG LINE FOR LINE.

gah! what does the song even mean??!?! i hate it. RAAAAAARR!!!

so we started to dig up old songs from our secondary school/jc era on the spot and we did a love/loathe test. the results were hilarious. we were laughing so damn hard on the bus ride home but we didn't care coz it was so fun.

we love - swirl 360's candy in the sun, david usher's black black heart, mono's life in mono... and a few guilty pleasures songs which i will NEVER admit to liking. *eyeballs you* never.

i really loathe - lene marlin's shakespeare in love (alvin is pretty blase about that song) and

UGH! k-ci & jojo's stupid song which i don't know the title too. GAH.

'babybabybabybabybabybaby...' *STOMP ON THEIR FACE*

but alvin really likes it coz he says he truly is a huge sap under erm, his many layers. i looked at him in dismay and said dejectedly, 'i don't think... i can marry you...'

alvin laughed his head off: 'WHAT?? it's a nice song!'

please don't get the wrong idea, we love each other and cannot wait to start our life together. but it is so funny to use it when we laugh about our differences. how can he love all my favorite songs but also love the ones i absolutely abhor?!

it perplexes me.

---

we also had an awesome moment in the car last night. i love it when alvin drives me home on saturdays because power 98 plays the best alternative/rock songs from 10pm onwards.

they played franz ferdinand's take me out last night. you know how it's different when you hear your favorite song on the radio right? it makes me even more elated since the song is really old - and it's THE guitar hero song, oh man.

both of us shouted WOAH!!!, went nuts and sang at the top of our lungs while alvin hit the expressway and i tapped all the beats on my thighs with gusto. and then we switched over to 98.7 and they had NEWWW YORRRRRRRK! CONCRETE JUNGLE WHERE DREAMS ARE MAAAAAAADE OFFF!

NEWWW YORRRK! NEWWW YORRRK! NEWWW YORRRK!!!

can't wait for ktv night.

---

when we got home we started rummaging through his impossible list of songs for more of those from what we call 'the golden age of alt/rock'. man, he had everything i was looking for. but he also had weird surprises like moonlight shadow.

youtube it if you don't know what song it is.

at first i was like, 'eh i don't know this one.' then alvin's eyes bulged and said no way, you will surely know it. and damn, i did. wow, this boy has such a huge underlying ah beng streak it's quite alarming sometimes (because it's so contradictory to his indie/alt/punk/sap/emo songs).

and every single time it hit the techno portion he started doing his 'diu diu diu' moves and he was really into it, which was scary.

and then... i realized he had more than one copy of that song.

me: again?! why is there another copy??
alvin: /ignores me and does his moves

...

me: wts one more. why do you have so many copies, omg, hahahaha... can't... breathe...
alvin: what?! i need the right remix!
me: FOR WHAT??!
alvin: oh oh, here it comes. *pause*

DIU DIU!!!

-_-"'

by the end of it we came across that blasted song about 10 times. it's crazy.

he's crazy.

hello, hello

2010-09-24T15:39:00.010+08:00

oh good grief, i haven't posted in almost 3 months.

HAS IT BEEN THAT LONG?!

recently life is like this:
Monday to Friday - work my ass off and occasionally slip in a few meetups with friends and wedding/house matters
Saturday to Sunday - this is when i read my 1000+ feeds and try to catch up with the world

but today is different!!! i have a day off and i am now reading every single feed (except for Neatorama and CNN, they have too many darn updates. -_- *mark all as read*)

so... do you know Neil Gaiman is going to try stealing the Tardis?

I DO! because i managed to READ MY FEEDS instead of MARKING THEM AS READ!

*pats self on back* life is good (today).

:D

anyways, i'm on leave because we just took our pre-wedding pictures this morning. this is not our official pre-wedding photographer, just someone we found who was going for cheap in order to build up his portfolio in Singapore.

and! he hails from LA, the land of awesome wedding photography. :DDD

his name's Melvin and he's pretty quick, we've already got 2 shots up on facebook! here, here:

not sure how the rest will turn out but i really want to thank God for many many things.

1. amazing lighting.
at mimolette we had a nice soft morning glow, and then it got cloudy near the horses' holding pen (while we were out in the sun) so there was one type of light, and then 20 minutes later, the sun burst through so all the colours popped! almost blinded alvin and i though... both of us were lying there and melting together into a puddle.

2. there was no rain.
it was threatening to rain all morning but i really kept trusting that it would hold up. i also remembered someone went to taiwan and prayed it wouldn't rain so in the end the sun was scorching. hahaha. i learnt to tailor my prayers then - 'please hold the rain and let there be sun! but bring in a few thunderclouds so it will be shady and still pretty. also, that the weather will be nice and cool. amen.'

totally worked. amazing!

3. we had great company
melvin and his fiancee cindy are really nice and accommodating. they let us relax and take our time with things while we fussed about with our clothes and er, hats. they're also not pushy, and we were totally relaxed while him and cindy scooted about taking shots from various angles. very tough on them.

also, wai liong came in time to see our final shot.

digress: this is SUCH a great fall scene. alvin and i have loved this tree since the last time we came here to scout. melvin was looking for a TREE and so we pointed to this one. immediately he yelped 'YES THAT ONE.'

and then we went for a really good lunch at Rider's Cafe (did you know they wanted to charge me $100 per hour if i was going to take pictures in there?!)

4. our props were all used, and then some!
yes, we managed to get a pictures with all of our props (yay! last minute vintage suitcase was used. a lot.) and and and... we have a picture with a horse.

i will probably have a scared look on my face because the horse kept whipping me (by accident) with his tail. *pain* and i was afraid he'd step on me.

... ...

THESE ARE SERIOUS FEARS! stop laughing at me. :(

anyway the horses were everywhere and my goodness they're all so sleek. the hills where we were on originally had 3 horses in the holding pen but by the time wai liong came along they were in hiding in their stables. they were so gorgeous in the morning, when they were all out for walks with the owners.

---

alvin's cousin also had her photos taken by Melvin yesterday...

AT ANN SIANG HILL!!!

i'm so darn glad i recommended the place to them because it's gorgeous! it really really helps to find good spots for wedding pictures. ^^

here, here:

doesn't it look like freaking paris?! and i'm actually glad alvin and i decided on bukit timah saddle club in the end, although ann siang was our back up. it's nice to have two different looks in the family wedding photos...

also, i think my loud clothes won't fit in ann siang where there's a lot of color. to the fields it was!

and man, it was good. can't wait to receive the edited photos now. gimme gimme! :D

community

2010-07-31T03:14:00.003+08:00

i have to say it.

community is an awesome, awesome series.

MAN. so hard to pick which one i like more this year - Modern Family, or that! there're so many inside jokes, sexual tension is hilarious and each character is written so damn well. i love the last few minutes of the show best. abed + troy = 'they're just jealous'.

sigh, they remind me of phil and lem. :(

and yes it has been renewed! great scriptwriting, ftw!

it's sad; i'm excited coz it's hard to find cleverness in the shows available now...

alright, back to finishing up Community.

=====

in my attempt to wiki their inside jokes (i might have missed a few references) i found out that they were JUST at Comic-Con!

ALVIN ARE YOU SEEING THIS??!?!

Urban Outfitters: comparing actual and website

2010-07-25T22:27:00.007+08:00

here's the loot! yeah both batches came in together coz i bought them one week apart.

this package was so filthy that i just needed to take a picture of it, and throw it away quickly.

er, batch 1 completely filled this box. :$

batch 1 (preopened)

batch 2! (thank goodness they were all sealed up... i'm still thinking about that filthy, filthy package UGH)

more pictures after the 'jump', and a disclaimer: i am not a hot chick. neither am i stick skinny like the models on UO. so if you have a huge aversion to flabby arms and a trunk-like body shape, you might want to skip the rest of the post.

:D

====================================

actually, if you spend time reading through each review and mousing over every detail to blow it up, you will not suffer any unexpected (almost always bad) surprises.

so in summary, i was happy with this purchase, though i feel a bit sick thinking about how much money i'd spent.

$500.

mostly birthday money... but still.

well, probably time to start looking for a flea market to get rid of my old goods STAT.

...

alright let's not cry over spilt milk. i did amass quite a bit of a fashion overhaul.

with reference to this post:

this head band is seriously pretty. look at the details.

if you are taller than me, this is how it will look like:

it's amazing how it looks like lace... but it's really not!

and if you're short like me...

this necklace was a little larger than expected when i held it in my hand.

but looks perfectly sized on my neck!

conclusion: i have a large neck.

this top was very very bleh.

meh! material was thin and shapeless. i will keep this but it will be funny if 2 weeks down the road i declare it as a staple in my wardrobe coz omg-it-goes-with-everything etc.

this popcorn striped top was also quite meh... i don't know man. i think the color made it look cheap.

this lace top was quite breathtaking...-ly sheer. i need to get a camisole with this. also, it's super delicate because it's so thin.

look at the pretty little details!

the pretty blue skirt - it was really wrinkled when i first pulled it out but it settled down after a while. also, it's pretty much completely opaque!

i was also wearing the bree top:

oh my goodness i knew the side panel was transparent but... this is a very large side panel.

and the jacket of the year goes to...

i am so glad i bought this. i still have my second piece - does anyone want it?

i missed out a picture on the trousers... which were... mmm... well, they FIT. :D *shrug*

the low back dress is not in yet since it's on backorder. besides, i will not put it up on the blog if i plan to use it for the pre-wedding shoot.

aaaaand with reference to this post:

the poof skirt that was not really poofy on me. -_-"'

the structure was nice though, especially the side view. it was also the right size for my waist, which made it SO HARD to pull over my hips.

an enthusiastic word by mr. geren ford:

the out of stock grey lace top (also transparent, GAH!)

the back is completely transparent with swiss dots, so it is really very pretty on bareback but then... sluttiness in the front becomes an issue.

*anguish!*

this dress is super cute, but also tells me the model was probably 2 whole sizes away from me.

i love, love, LOVE the panel collar.

this next dress is definitely my favorite, but i just could not get a flattering picture of me in it because it means i need to put both arms down. drat.

it's really very nice! and i got it for a steal at 29.99 coz it's shot up to 39.99 now.

and finally.

INSANE PANTYHOSE.

PSYCHEDELIC! FLORALS!

and here concludes $500 of expenditure. goodnight. :)

balcony updates

2010-07-05T13:40:00.003+08:00

mid last week, after dinner at the garden slug, alvin and i decided to walk over to the new place and see if anything new was up. at that point i was still pretty sulky about the fact that the designers had botched up quite a number of items and quite a bit of it had to be redone. but thank God for alvin who constantly keeps me sane and prevents me from biting peoples' heads off.

*bares teeth*

anyway, it was a pretty perilous journey within the condo area as i kicked a few snails (big and small, all on accident) on the way to our block. so i was kinda looking with bulging eyes at the floor all the way until we turned the corner - AHH THE SWIMMING POOL. that's when i looked up at our block and spotted this absolutely gorgeous balcony my neighbor had. there were plants in the planter, with yucca trees and they must have a lit up water feature because you could see the light being reflected unto the balcony ceiling.

i got incredibly excited and smacked alvin's arm really hard, "wow dear! THAT'S EXACTLY HOW I WANT OUR BALCONY TO LOOK LIKE"

but i only got to, "wow dear! THAT'S..." when it hit me (and him at the same time coz we were stunned by the revelation.)

"OH SHIT THAT'S OUR HOUSE."

you must know, we identify our balcony by looking for a tiny lamp post and a picket fence, not lush greenery. this was the old:

and then of course, i was so excited to go upstairs and take a look that i didn't realize i was trying to use my Muji card to access the apartment.

so clever. well, at least alvin had a good laugh. -_-

batch #2

2010-07-04T12:05:00.009+08:00

so a few days after the first batch, i went through the UO site again and found a 15% discount coupon! and the best thing of all, 2 of the items that went out of stock CAME BACK IN STOCK.

the elusive grey version of the lace panel tee. SGD24

this went out of stock twice! nude floral tights! SGD16

eyeing these three items for awhile now... time to get! a structured skirt, and two dresses that suddenly went on sale yesterday!

SGD36

SGD48

SGD48

and then i made a huge mistake and ordered the black peplum jacket AGAIN, forgetting it was already in my last order.

does anyone want a piece of this? i bought it in black, size M.

link to the site here.

let me know if you want it, i'm selling it at $58. no takers means i ship it back to USA for a refund, no problem! this is why i love urban outfitters - free returns! :)

a belated present to myself

2010-07-04T10:39:00.020+08:00

a few days after my birthday, Urban Outfitters had a 20% discount coupon.

immediately, i went mad. i started adding so many clothes to my cart, and then assessing them by price and reviews and available colours/sizes, then removing some, and then i realized during my exhaustive and methodical processes... some items went out of stock.

curses! *shakes fist*

oh well, these are what i bought :D

-accessories-

This could go into my bridal accessories folder. SGD11

So vintage and pretty - also, great reviews. SGD20

-tops-

I like the lace panel on the sides of this top; just a little bit of feminine grunge. SGD23

this is just too cute to pass up. SGD23

i had wanted the grey one, but it was sadly out of stock by the time the discount came around. i wanted the ivory version as well, so i bought this first. SGD23

will look super cute tucked in. or with shorts, like what the model has on. SGD34

-bottoms-

this skirt is really cheap... and such a pretty blue! SGD23

alternative trousers for work - SGD23

-dresses-

this is also filed under the wedding ideas folder. i love the elegant/saucy back! SGD78

-outerwear-

cute jacket, and cheap. i bought this after my futile search for a nice jacket in sg. SGD55

i guess i wouldn't say it's cheap, but the prices are cheaper than clothes in sg of the same quality! i likey.

Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship

2010-07-04T10:14:00.003+08:00

it's nice how my new found hair mask (i love u so much) is named like one of my mini-BGR sessions for cell.

man, it has done wonders for my hair! the ends are a lot less frizzy and my hair doesn't tangle up badly anymore. so so soft... and smells great too! everytime i wash my hair it's easy to imagine taffy and bubblegum oozing into my hair and straightening it.

i know that's weird, but i love it.

---

on other news, i'm sick again. i think it started from the point where i got caught in the rain on the way to work, and some inconsiderate car sped by and soaked my denim encased legs.

denim (hard to dry) + work (chilly environment) = SICK

:(

i have lost my voice!

going apeshit

2010-06-13T22:59:00.004+08:00

June is very painful.

1. we're really caught up with booking our banquet venue and getting everything right in the contract
2. tying up other loose ends concerning the wedding (at least we've confirmed our pre-wedding photographer)
3. i am very, very, very fat - but there's hardly any time to exercise
4. on the job front everything has geared up for me, and i'm beginning to realize this is NORMAL workload
5. i've taken over kids cell and am training my girls
6. i am halfway through a 6 week session on BGR for youth cell
7. i'm doing word for tomorrow's cell (which i hardly have time to prep for)
8. i'm really behind with meeting my girl friends (3 groups of them), my cousins, and the 2=1 folks
9. the house is not done... it's been 8 months.

of course amidst all that i have my duties as a daughter, and as a girlfriend. i don't know how to, when my schedule is like this:

M - cell
T - meet a friend/florist/banquet planner
W - OT
T - OT
F - cell
S - wedding stuff, date, plan for various cells
S - church, cell

there is no rest in there, which means if i take a nap i am immediately behind schedule. or dates with alvin are to go meet some planner/a wedding show/plan for youth cell/have dinner at his place. i can't even wake up in time to clean my room on saturdays.

zzz.

i'm going to take quite a bit of leave around my birthday to hide at home and do pleasurable things in my time.

IN MY TIME. RARRRRRRR

---

my friends!! i am not neglecting you!! i really have no time!! T_T

edit: wow. i know what to talk about tomorrow at cell - Matt 6:25. :D yeah, constantly taking my obstacles to be shining points. oh yeah!!

bubbling over

2010-06-10T00:37:00.003+08:00

another teaser:

when our original venue fell through, i was pretty down but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise coz we found a place that could really bring out our personalities!

it's also gorgeous to boot.

what remains is whether they can give us the same value we're getting from our backup plan which is almost 30% cheaper. we shall see.

-----

also, also! may is the month for anemones. jade, you know what i mean right??? WE HAVE THEM IN SINGAPORE!! AND THEY GO WITH MY COLOR THEME!!!

man, where did all this favor come from... *grin*