Planning the ROM

Horrors or delights?

Planning a ROM is not as difficult as planning a traditional wedding but when things go wrong, a delightful event can turn into the horrible nightmare of yours! *Gasps!*

Well, my ROM has just passed a week ago. :) Coincidentally, the date is the same marriage date as one of my good friend. :) Talk about being besties, marriage date is the same too. It was not selected on purposes. mr. Bambam and I went to select the good date with a fengshui master :)

So, how did I manage my ROM? The built up of events are as follows:-

1. Make an appointment with the fengshui master on 24 December 2011, 11am to select our marriage dates

2. Research and select a few venues for ROM

• Furama Riverfront
• Changi Village Hotel
• Grand Copthorne

2.1 Check on the availability dates of hotel

2.2 Reccee hotel on an impromptu basis on 6 January 2012, visited Furama and Grand Copthorne

3. mr. Bambam prefers Grand Copthorne for its ambience and stylish outlook as compared to Furama

4. Email the coordinator of Grand Copthorne to arrange for an actual viewing of their venue

We went somewhere in Jan/Feb, there were 2 rooms that is suitable for coordinating ROM but unfortunately, the bigger room was taken (mr. Bambam and I loved the bigger room as the receiption area is very enclosed and belongs to a private area). Therefore, we had to take the Paradiso Room instead which can only seat up to 40pax.

5. Make the downpayment for the hotel

6. Preparing guest lists (only for close relatives)

As there are limited seats, I can't invite my friends already. :'( But good thing that there is the wedding dinner for us to invite them :)

Oh oh! And my ROM hotel coordinator left. So we are stuck with a new guy and he was quite helpful about the whole event :)

7. Prepare invites (design and done by me using powerpoint) :) Printed using canon printer (good quality!) and used hard shiny glossy paper. Got quite good comments on the printing :)

8. Gown and coat

I happily tried my gown in September and have choosen the one I like. It's a little pink fluffly dress and it looks absolutely cute. Totally not a bride style (white and all) but it's the only one that fits me perfectly :) Talking about getting the right dress, I think what matters is the feeling and let your heart decides when you put on the gown.

Coat for guys - G2000 is the safest ^^,

9. Shoes and accessories - Shoes from METRO and accessories from Taobao :)

10. Photographer and make up artist - Friend and he's quite good!! Make up artist from bridal shop

11. Justice of Peace (Solemniser) - Mr. Chia Ti Yu 

11.1 Met and signed the consent form - 2 September 2012

12. Choose march in song - Select one that you can do a grand march in, I choose something instrumental with dynamics :)

10. Apply with ROM and get certificate (File application on 25 Aug 2012) - Applied on 2 September 2012, paid $26

11. Decorations in function room (Fake flower petals / Balloons)
mr. Bambam's close friends did alot of great help by decorating forus, last minute stye :)

12. Ring pillows - free one from Lee Hwa

13. Wedding bands - Lee Hwa

14. Hand bouquet

15. Door gifts - bought from Taobao, swans + sweets.

Actually, it is quite tedious but I am glad everything went smoothly (with some hiccups) but yeah, that's how our ROM is done.  ^_^



Let's walk down the road!

It is nice having a long weekend. Today felt like a Sunday even though it is actually just Saturday!

Well, to cut the story short, I accompanied mr. bambam to his exam today at Roxy hotel.While waiting for him, I pampered myself with a classic mani and pedi. Felt so loved with my self pampering.

As promised to him, we walked from Parkway Parade to the Seafood Lagoon area for some local hawker fare. Ordered stingray, gong gong and the famous Teddy Bear chicken wings :)

Such love on a cool Saturday evening.

Here comes the climax! After dinner, I was suggesting to mr. bambam that we should have a walk. mr. bambam was talking about his commando days whereby he had to walk 72km back and forth east coast, changi and to his camp.

So, being the usual me, I suggested that we should walk to changi village for dimsum! :)

He told me we will reached by 8.30pm (it was 6.30pm then). Boy, it was so damn wrong! We walked all the way from east coast, cross the park connector (which was right beside the airport) and the whole journey is a whopping 16km when we reached the SAF jetty! We spent 3 whole hours walking this tough road.

But, I am extremely happy yet tired throughout this walk. I was commenting to mr. bambam that this walk shows how much love we had for each other. The time we spent walking was marvelous. We talked about plans to travel, life, marriage and what this whole thing means.

mr. bambam is in a very uncomfortable attire (he was dressed in jeans, shirt and working shoes) yet he accompanied me throughout this journey. At many point of time, I am at the peak of giving up but he was always there to cheer me on.

I relate the whole journey to our soon to be married life.

In marriage, we are supposed to walk down the road together and we literally did that today.

In this road, we met with many dangers (me fearing at the slightest noise and grabbing his hand, bicycles almost banging into me) and darkest times (flicking lamps and non-lighted lamps) but he was there to hold on to me when these happen.

At times, when I did silly things like walking too far away, he was there to pull me back and guide me to the correct road. Though he reprimands me now and then, but whatever he does - it is always meant for my own good.

This is how I am sure that mr. bambam will always and definitely be the one for me.

Though I'm not sure if I am the one for him but I will try my best to be.. that very special person :)

Music and the world

As a kid, I used to wonder why my mother always sing the same old hokkien song. Each time she sings, it just keep getting.. well.. kind of boring to hear.

To me, there were way better songs such as Right here waiting.. I'll never stop.. Like a rose.. Swear it again.. Never had a dream come true.. and the list goes on and on.

So I couldn't fathom why she is stuck in her own world. Time has passed, shouldn't she move on with the rest?

Well, now I know why.. The music she was listening to happened in the best memories of her life. Ironically, I am entangled into my own best memories too. Recalling when I was in primary school, I always tuned in to radio station such as 98.7 aka perfect ten station. Great songs accompanied my lonely days at home and has grown to be a part of me.

As I grow older, busy were my days that I have long forgotten how I used to immerse myself in good music, soothing my brain and my soul.

Boy, am I glad I have come to realise this. And.. I have recently found what was missing in my life - the radio station that simply plays just my memories.

I've tumbled into just the right radio station for me - Kiss 92fm. The radio stations that play good music from 80s to 00s with a tinge of new music in 2010s. I'm so immpressed by yhe station. It simply picks all my preloved music.

I can spend the whole night grooving to these :)

Two sides of story, two sides of a coin

I finally woke up from my deep slumber.

After my fun dinner and dance last night, I fell asleep at 1am and finally woke up completely at 2pm today (13 hours of sleep, I must be burned out completely).

As with extended sleep, you will sometimes go into REM sleep whereby your brain actively works and make you dream. I have dreams every now and then. Surprisingly, people say they don't remember dreams. Out of 100 dreams, I remember 75% of them.

And as usual, today, I had one of those weird dreams again. The first dream was pretty normal - I can't remember much details but I just remembered mr. Bambam's family strike 4D and the amount was huge :) Happy dream.

Subsequently, there were some episodes of dreams but they were those forgettable ones.

The last dream I had and the last dream that woke me up completely with tears flowing was about mr. Bambam and me.

In this dream, I remember the song playing "你怎么舍得我难过" at the background. I was asleep in the dream and was supposed to meet mr. Bambam at 9pm. However, I was very tired and woke up at 7.30pm. Flustered and afraid of being late, I rushed to the meeting point. But somehow, I think something happened somewhere.

The next scene, I was looking at mr. Bambam from a third party angle. He looked depressed and he was tearing while walking home. The whole scene breaks my heart - I've never seen him cry before and he looks tragic, like something big happened. I followed him closely and noted that everyone he knows was giving him a pat and saying things to him. He briefly smiled and said "I'm okay."

Then he walked past a television (those big box kind like 90s TVs) and stopped to hear this song again "你怎么舍得我难过". That's when he completely break down and hold on to a matchbox containing 3 matches.

Okay, so sad right? But maybe my brain is thinking what the heck happened, this story has no clear starting and ending. Where's the climax?! What happened exactly?

So, I was transported to another scene whereby I saw these two guys talking. The first smaller size guy was telling the other guy, "His (mr. Bambam) life is so like yours. You two do the same job and your dad left you (died) while his wife left him (died). And both of your loved ones left behind a matchbox containing 3 matches. He (mr. Bambam) has not light the matches yet but you....."

The bigger guy was gritting his teeth and said, "He's more fortunate! He still has something to look at for reminiscing...I finished my."

It was then I understand that I / someone important to mr. Bambam had died. Eventually, mr. Bambam placed the matchbox in a beautifully crafted wooden box and placed it on his table.

As for the other bigger guy who lost his dad, he had immediately lighted the matches while grieving for his dad's death.

I guess missing someone is extremely painful. The bigger guy must have tried to sought some comfort in lighting the matches. But instead, a match will finish burning when it reaches the end. Once it finished its burning, it is resulted to null eventually.

Maybe mr. Bambam understood that logic and refused to light any match because it is the last thing that he can look at and remember the person he lost.

End of dream. So, I woke up crying for both. I think losing someone is an extremely painful thing to go through in life. I've not yet gone through this stage but it will definitely be something that I will go through while I'm still alive.

Especially with grandparents and parents. So what are the things I can remember if they're gone? I seriously have no idea.. Photographs? Gifts they gave?

Okay, and with regards to the song I heard in my dream, I thought very long what it is. After spending 1 hour searching, I finally found it. It's "你怎么舍得我难过" by 黄品源.

When I heard this song, I used to think that it was sung by the singer and the expression of the song is about a girl leaving the guy for someone else. And the singer has loved the girl deeply but the girl didn't appreciate everything he did.

With this dream, it completely changes what I thought the song was about. The song could well have been a song that was for dedicated to a lost loved one who might have unfortunately passed away. And the singer has been missing her, asking her why did she even leave him and if she could appear again for him to look at.. The pain of losing her was unbearable for the singer and he still remains single.

Freaking sad. If the song is put into the context of losing someone you loved :'(

So I guess for every different one, when being presented the same thing, it might have a different meaning.

Give a optimistic person a pile of cow dung as a birthday present and he might think of ways to use it for e.g. fertislisation.
Give a pessimistic person a pile of cow dung as a birthday present and he might think no one cares about him and everyone think he's a shit.

So, two sides of a story, two sides of a coin. Something similar might have different meaning for different people.

Anyway, here's an embedded video of the song that I mentioned:-

If only...

Don't you always find yourself saying "If only I had done....... then....."

There are many instances in life whereby you will always look back and realise that what actions you have taken previously may seems silly or you regret what you have done.

I had one of such 'If only' situation yesterday too. I saw a kitten at my office last evening (8.15pm). It looks like a newborn kitten, eyes barely open yet. While waiting for a taxi, I head soft mews and was curious why would there be a mewing sound in the midst of a CBD area. It is offices everywhere and definitely not a good area for animals to roam.

As such, I followed the sound to find a kitten sitting on stones at the fake garden. It looks hungry and scared, unsure of why it was being there.

The first thought running through my head was what am I supposed to do? No one actually bothers to trace the mewing sound to see where the kitten is.

I felt really bad for it and wanted to go near it. But with another step I took, the kitten dashed its way under a pavement and I was unable to come in touch with it. In my burning heart, I seriously consider taking the kitten home but will any taxi allowed that? How should I carry it?

My taxi took a very long while to arrive (15minutes) and with each seconds ticking by, I keep seeing its little head peeping out of the hole, glancing at me. It looks helpless. To lure it out, I mewed at it. To my surprise, it took little steps to walk out of the hole.

However, I decided against risking to bring it up a taxi and not being able to reach home. I looked at it with guilty eyes and walked towards my taxi as the taxi arrives.

When I reached home, I told my mother the same story and I tried my luck to sound her opinion on having a kitten at home. My mother was all for it. And at the point, I regretted not bringing it back.

So for the whole night, I was wondering "If only I had brought the kitten home, then it would have been happier.."

But nonetheless, it is an action that I regretted not doing. Why is life so full of options.. I wish there is only one road to take and it will be the right one for everyone.

Making choices is definitely a tough decision every now and then because there's always "If only..."

Employment Laws - who is protected?

Another bothering issue on my mind recently - the employment laws in Singapore. By practice, I'm a HR personnel but a small one 'lah'! However, I am attending modules and completing my HR degree soon. One module that I took an extreme interest in is the Employment Laws. Employment Laws cover certain employees earning a certain salary in certain positions. Basically, it usually covered those paid below 2k in Singapore.

But, few knows that laws exists to protect them. One of the few is my parents. Basically, my dad works 365days a year, his only rest day is the 1st day of Chinese New Year. He does have annual leave entitlement but his boss never allowed him to take it. He's a gas delivery man. He belongs to the workmen category and is covered by the employment act in Singapore.

In fact, he should not be overworked and if overtime is required, he needs to be paid overtime payment. But, none of these (overtime payment and annual leave) was given to him at all. He earns just a basic $1,800 / month.

For the baby boomers and some older Gen X people, they tend to be uneducated. The lucky ones get to study all the way to unversity but most people stopped at primary or secondary education, like my parents.

As such, most of them are unsure and unaware of what are certain laws in placed to protect them.

The reach out from Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is very limited. They have websites, call centres and even use social media to reach to employees and employers alike.

However, these new technology are alien to most baby boomers or older Gen X. I feel that MOM should do even more reach out to such people. A flyer, in 4 different languages, or seminars should be given and conducted regularly at community centres respectively.

Another good way is to spread the word by mouth. Educate 1 worker and the worker can then transfer the knowledge to another person.

Even the younger ones like the Gen Z group should be edcated on this. I started working as an admin at the age of 19 and was paid only $1,400 with a diploma. In the event if OT is required, I was not compensated. But according to the employment act then, anyone who earns $1,600 and below should be compensated if overtime has been done (>44 hours).

I was not taught of this employment act module in polytechnic and am not aware of this.

As such, I was more or less 'conned' of hours worked.

Therefore, in view of this, I realise that many people needs to know how much and how are they being protected by the government of Singapore. I hope that every young adult can try their best to understand the law and in return, educate their parents on their rights.

Right now, I'm doing my part to help my own parents :)

Provoking Thoughts

One fine day, while chatting with my colleague, one of them mentioned that we're 25 soon. If we could live to 100, we have spend 1/4 of our lives doing what we are doing right now.

This thought of only having 3/4 of my lives left is intriguing. What am I going to do with the rest of my life? Will I be wasting what precious time I have left?

Well, I left that pondering and didn't think much about it again. However, today, it hit me once more. This time round, I think of it from an angle of my grandparents.

My grandfather is quite old, he had just celebrated his 80th birthday. He's been through WW2. He's there to witness Singapore merging with Malaysia, became independent and the first election that happens.

He, I must say, has gone through 3/4 of his life. So, he has only 1/4 of his time left to do what he wants to do..

And I think he just want someone, his children or grandchildren, to be there for him.

Do you know he has slight dementia? He forgots some things easily. Like how? There was one day when my mum just visited him, the next day, my grandfather was complaining to my grandmother saying that my mum had not visited him for ages!

And he ask about me too, as soon as I left his house. He ask where I was when I just drove him home from an outing.

It's frightening to think that short term memory happens to anyone and they can't remember what they have experience. However, things that he will remember are his children and memories.

Memories of what he had gone through when he was younger.

You know, I use to value photographs importantly because it captures how I look like at that point of time. And if one day I look back, I can admire how I used to look like. Ugly, pretty, cute, weird...

But these days, I'm not very interested in taking photographs anymore. I feel what matters behind photographs are the memories we hold. Imagine if someone else look at a photograph that is meaningful to you. To them, they admire the photograph - how nice it was and imagine what led to you capturing that moment.

However, it could mean a whole meaning to you, perhaps it was a last moment with someone precious or it was a great birthday bash etc.

So I couldn't imagine what kind of memories my grandfather had and what are his deepest thoughts but in all, being his grandchild, the best we could give him are happier memories to live the rest 1/4 of his life...

I will accompany him after my exams :) Promise...

A different stage in life

It's quite funny how life works. You go to school, grow up, know someone, work and get married with someone whom you trust and love.

The love stage is a funny yet heartwarming episode for me. Love happens when you never know it. It is like cupid pick the wrong kind of guy for me, someone that I have never thought of being together with, at my age then.

Yeah, you may say I'm evil to describe mr. Bambam like that but yeah, he's really the kind of person I never notice. Not in my whole 3 years in secodary school but when I knew him, he fell hard for me. And never had once a guy made me felt like a princess ever. (That was then, now I'm his maid.. -.-)

Oh well, but the story goes on how we got closer, was not in contact for a couple of months and met each other again thereafter and happily ever after.

So how do we get to happily ever after? I guess it's the type of we are always acting childlike. He always play with teddy bears to entertain me while I always be like a little girl in front of him. Both of us can be so unpredictable, I can suddenly scream like a little girl in a supermarket saying 'I wanna buy that chocolate!'' and he can suddenly tug my clothes while shopping and say 'He wanna buy teddy bears.' Like who the hell does that now at their twenties.

So, keeping our relationship lasting is to never be ourselves. We're like two actors playing in our own movie, being so cute and not a care for audience.

Oh, but we don't show our affection in public. I'm sorry but I was taught never to be intimate until married. It's not a free show for all you know and I dislike being judged at.

Anyways, at the end of the year, I'll walk down the 'aisle' and take my vows to be with him until time ends.

I'm really overjoyed. This is the man, I never thought of before. This is the man, who listened to me. This is the man, understands me the most. This is the man, no matter how much shit is dumped onto him, he's always there, always fretting about our future and he strives harder than anyone else could to provide me with a life I wish to take. This man, is my everything.

USS again! :)

One of my biggest regret was not having a better camera to capture nice pictures during my USS trip last year in September.

And I was hoping that our department outing will be a trip to USS! Well, a few of my colleagues wished for the same and yes, we had persuade our Director to let us go to USS! Guess what... this trip is planned to be on Friday, 2 March!! :)

I'm a happy girl. The feeling of going out and enjoying the day with my colleague is so intense that I pratically squeal and blabber off about what we should do there every single minute! I'm really so anxious and elated about this!

And I have started a life lesson notrs section for myself on iPhone. Will be posting them here to remind myself of some precious life lessons soon :)

Ciao!

I am getting married :)

It feels so weird to get married but it is part of our life~

When mr. Bambam proposed, it wqs quite an awkward moment because having someone you're so close with kneeling on one bended leg to propose - the feeling is like having butterflies in your tummy and overexcitement!

mr. Bambam is quite a shy guy so I didn't anticipate the proposal to be loud and show off (Sagittarius like me likes to be in the centre of attention :P) but nonetheless, his little story about the watch and ring is so sweet :)

Wedding date: 25 November 2012
Wedding venue: Grand Corpthone Hotel, Singapore
Time: Lunch

So much things to do. Gowns! Decorations! Make up, photographer...JP! Oh my, I'm overwhelmed. Hahas.

Anyways, I posted this in FB and many came to say their congrats :) <3 Sp touched.

But I was particularly upset and had whined to mr. Bambam that one of my closest or I thought was close friend didn't mentioned anything or ask me about it.. Like why?

Quite disappointed. And I thought of inviting her to my ceremony but I don't think she is genuinely happy for us. I seriously doubt it.

I hate to be fake so I really show her that I'm pissed. Shrugs. Not going to harp on it anymore.

Next, my life is getting so excited with me going on braces. Going to have my 2nd tightening this Friday! Yays, straight teeth ftw :)

I wish my life stays as beautiful and eventful forever ;)

Cheers!