Mike & Jen

Show's Over, Take A Bow

2009-12-20T23:16:00.014+08:00

I had vowed on FB that I would update my blog during this weekend... and I'd better do it now before I sleep and forget about it!

The whole week was indeed the most relieved week "ever"... Now that the traditional ceremony & wedding dinner is officially over, we had time to recuperate from the lack of sleep.. (erm, of course, i didn't really recuperate cos I fell sick after that!)

The night before the wedding day, I had to bunk over at my parent's house. For those who don't know the chinese traditions, details as follow:

The morning session was mostly dedicated to the chinese traditions... the groom has to get his bride from her parent's house and go through a "tea ceremony" with her family... but before that happens, he & his "brothers" have to go through a series of "ragging" (as in the video) by the bride's "sisters". Once all that was done, we went back to his parent's house for another round of "tea ceremony" with his family. Mind you, we had to step foot in his parent's house before 11am!

We all then had to drop by our "home sweet home" for Mike's nephew to jump on our bed.

*Photos by Mun Keat & Radm

*Video editing by Radm (how creative of him!)

So, imagine that day when I woke up at 6am to get ready for make up & hair do, while the groom got up at 7am to get ready for his free ride and "teh tarik"... *sigh*... by the time the morning session was over, it was almost 12:30pm.

We arrived the hotel at about 1:30pm and checked in our suite a.k.a. "Senator Suite" (which James had been teasing when he arrived at 4pm to help us out... but I only found the reason why the next morning!)

I didn't have any rest there as I was busy segregating & labelling the items for my bridesmaids to coordinate later on.

*Photos by Winnie Wong

And how did the wedding dinner go? Smooth & almost perfect to the way we wanted it to be! The few weeks before, we were worried sick. We were worried that the coordination would be bad, worried that major glitches would happen, worried that our guests would turn up super late (yes, "us" Malaysians, are well-known to be late comers.. when the hosts says dinner starts at 7:30pm, the guests would arrive at 8:30pm!). We were basically worried about everything! or maybe it was just me...

We had our "movie premier" wedding titled "Love Actually" at Equatorial KL. Everything happened on time & the whole reception was lovely.. thanks to the hotel staff, our friends & family who made it happen! It was indeed a wonderful experience for all of us and we definitely will cherish the memories!

*Photos by Winnie Wong & Radm

(More photos on FB)

Traditions? What Are They?

2009-12-05T18:12:00.003+08:00

In this modern era, I bet most of our parents generation have not much clue on traditions to its core, what more us?

Not knowing exactly what to do or expect, we find ourselves consulting fortune tellers or "feng shui" masters who now leverages on the opportunity that we all lack on knowledge of traditions & offers everything under one roof. From choosing the best wedding dates to stating precisely the things you need to do on specific dates before the wedding. Apparently it is to bring good luck to the couple. Taboos, myths, whatever you may call it, it certainly is one good business opportunity for them!

When my mother-in-law spoke to us about the wedding traditions that we need to follow, I found it hard to comprehend. Needless to say, I didn't even want to know why. I have, before, a year back, made the biggest mistake by asking someone about a tradition done when we first moved in to our house. We were suppose to scatter rice at corners of the house. The reasons scared the hell out of me! I couldn't sleep for almost 2 weeks! Or, I am really still hoping that my friend is pulling my leg!

Few days back, we had to put some red packaging under our bed and in our cupboards (any extreme red color scares the hell out of me... Probably the effect from watching horror movies in the past!).

We were also told to change to a new bedsheet, not knowing that we were not suppose to sleep on it after that. I felt abit of resentment & awkwardness as I helped. As if it is not enough to the current pressure.

I silently swore that if I was forced to sleep on the sofa, I would rather stay over at my parents house until the wedding is over. Thankfully, everyone came to their senses and found it to be rather ridiculous to follow each and every instructions.

Although I find it really unnecessary to follow the beliefs, I guess abit of it would do no harm. Of course, we still need to maintain our chinese culture/traditions, for example the "Tea Ceremony" for the Chinese or "Akad Nikah" for the Malays and what not. It is the only thing that differentiate our wedding traditions from others.

I guess we are somewhat losing touch and the real meaning to each traditions these days. We are living in a multi-racial country with multi-cultures & traditions. A "fort" we need to hold on to for so many different races.

Meanwhile, good luck to myself and I am really hoping that my wedding day will turn out well.

It's Gonna Be A Tight Fit

2009-09-13T16:36:00.003+08:00

As it is, 3 months before my big day and I've gained a couple of pounds.
Not what I had been hoping for. I had been taking my weight for granted.

My dress had already been altered and I won't pay an additional RM150 just to get it altered again. By the way, that's how bridal shops rip you off.
But like they said in Bride Wars, "You don't alter Vera Wang's, you alter yourself to fit into it".

But in reality, that's how it is in relationships. When you have taken a relationship for granted, you 'd probably find yourself in the worst case scenario. When I say worst case, I mean involving the court & money.

Like Vera Wang's dress, you need to "alter" yourself. Maybe negligance was the root problem to most relationships. Or perhaps even, lack of communication between both parties.
At the end of the day, it takes two to make a relationship last.

And as for "lazy" me, I will be heading to the gym to shed off those pounds!

Back in action!!

2009-07-09T20:26:00.004+08:00

So, it's been like what? 4 months since i last posted in my blog?

yea... i've vowed to my wedding ring that i will post once a month eversince i set up this blog..
note: but i didn't vow to myself or any living species to make me eligible for breaking my vows

Now, i just realised i have been missing a few things i enjoyed most in my life while trying to juggle with everything that i want to do or need to do... which is obviously travelling, taking pictures and blogging them about it.

Wait a sec! this is my wedding blog, not my personal blog!

Oh well, anyway, i'm halfway through the so-called "wedding journey" and it's about 5 months away..
Are we prepared? well, we've gone through our pre-wedding photography, made bookings for a restaurant and now choosing photos to be prepared as our childhood video montage...
we're taking things one at a time while juggling with our daily routines.

Yea, tell me about it.. not much of an easy task to try doing everything you need to get done..

Getting a fish as a pet For Dummies

2009-02-09T16:52:00.005+08:00

Mike recently tried raring goldfishes; which of course ended up in, some would say, a disaster.
No, I wasn't entirely keen in fishes (except for the ones on my plate), but as couples, it's good to give & take.

So, I let him embark on his journey to the aquarium shop and, lo and behold, he bought 3 goldfishes (2 gold and 1 black). In the first week, both the goldies died (due to overdose of food intake, i suppose) and he replaced with another two. The following week later, the black one died (perhaps it was the water).

Before he could even say the word "let's go buy another", I screeched "No MORE!".. but yet, that didn't stop him... he still bought another black goldfish.

You need not have to guess what happened... two weeks later, all three "new" fishes developed weird bumps and were all getting sickly. Found out that it was the cause of ammonia.

Conclusion? Whatever it is, it wasn't easy keeping such sensitive creatures as pets. We had the tank cleaned regularly, fed the fishes on time and made sure the water had anti-bacterial purifying solution.

I wasn't too happy about having "weekly" dying goldfishes in my house. Maybe because I was reading this feng shui book and apparently goldfishes absorb the bad chi's... and maybe the goldfishes had too much of the bad chi's to absorb that they died.. whatever...

Anyway, that still didn't stop him... he ended up buying 3 guppies and 3 tetra-neons.

What I am trying to say is, it isn't easy keeping an updated blog, what more a house together.
I could not imagine the day where we have dogs and children for that matter.

Start everything anew!

2009-01-04T21:11:00.003+08:00

Yes, 2009 is already here and we are all either trying to accomplish our new year resolutions or perhaps trying to get the list started.

As for us, we only had a few on our list and trying to get started on it is not so easy after all.

New Year Resolution #1:
Get a new job - Some of us know that I've joined another company and it's great to start the new year with! Some might oppose to what I've done since it's the economy downturn.

New Year Resolution #2:
Plan the wedding to be a blast - Just getting started on it. Though it may sound easy, it is actually not! We've been cracking our heads on the guests list and this is just only the beginning....

New Year Resolution #3:
Finish Tomb Raider Anniversary - Believe it or not, we're trying to finish it real quick. It definitely involves teamwork... yes, two brains are better than one!

New Year Resolution #4:
To earn more income - Like it or not, this has to be achieve before the second half of 2009

New Year Resolution #5:
To exercise every weekend - No more excuses since I am no longer working on Saturdays.

Happy New Year everyone!

ROM - 3rd December 2008

2008-12-11T09:29:00.006+08:00

It was a pretty tensed day that morning. Woke up at 4am and could not get back to sleep. We had to leave home by 7am in order to reach Putrajaya at 8am.

When we arrived, there were already 2 families in line. We were still feeling tensed and a little confused... there were butterflies in my stomach and at the same time, feeling rather impatient.

By 8:20am, we were next. We took the oath and signed the papers. There is no turning back at this point.

Our registration of marriage ended 5 minutes later and we adjourned for photography session that lasted for 2 hours.

Just Go With The Flow

2008-11-28T22:04:00.002+08:00

Easy as it may sound, but the tendency to worry is undeniable.
Mike's currently in Pangkor attending team-building while I am squeezing out every single second I've got to finish all my work before I go on leave on the 2nd Dec.
I'll be hunting for flowers tomorrow and hopefully will be able to find what I am looking for. Mike will have to collect them on the day before ROM.
It will definitely be a test for us at this moment but I guess everything should fall into place on the registration date itself.

D-Day (3rd December 2008)

2008-11-27T22:04:00.002+08:00

As D-DAY draws nearer, there is a mixed feeling of emotions. The 3rd of Dec is coming, the day where everyone says "there is no turning back".

We just completed our last minute shopping for clothes and accessories for ROM and we still have not really figured out where to get the flowers from since we have to get up at 6 am that day.

What's not helping us is the fact that workload at office is quite heavy since it is coming to a year end.

I still have not yet figured out my makeup color combination.. sigh.... come to think of it, it is pretty nerve-wrecking with such limited time left...

The Significant Number "Three"

2008-11-24T22:19:00.001+08:00

Ever wonder if there was such a thing as "match made in heaven" or "fated to be together" or were they all just simply "coincidental"?

We think of it as a mixture of everything. You can't just have one element or ingredient for it to just happen. It takes effort, time, some emotion and a pinch of luck for two people to come together and fall in love.

We were born on the 3rd of the month, started our love relationship on the 3rd of May 2006 & finally going to tie the knot on 3rd Dec 2008. In between, we moved in together on the 31st July 2007 and the proposal was made on the 30th April 2008 (note that there's a number 3 in both dates). Sometimes when we were in the car going somewhere and notice that the time shows 3:33pm.

All these, were coincidental, fated and made in heaven. No doubt, we just went with the flow and everything just fell into place.. but with a little extra effort from both parties, of course.

That is why the number "THREE" is so significant to us.