15 June 2007 – Back in the RV (River Valley, our secondary school) days, as you do when you are 15, we formed a clique of 10 girls. Over the years, several of us had gotten married and many have already become mummies of a kid, or two. A few years ago, a few tied the knot all within the same year, a bit taxing for the wallet with all that angbao giving… so imagine this year, haha, as another 3 of us held our weddings, not just in the same year, but all in May! Yes, isn’t it wild?!! Peiling & Fukky’s on 6 May, ours on 26th, and on the 27th, Peishi’s and Ken’s! I couldn’t believe my good luck, being able to attend both their weddings. It was so much fun! An entire month of merry-making from beginning to end!

It all began in Bali. Fukky’s family resides in Jakarta, so as a compromise on both sides, Peiling got her wish to have her wedding in Bali at the Conrad. She chose it namely for the Infinity Chapel, and boy, what a choice! The location was absolutely gorgeous!

The day itself began with the usual round of torture and torment the groom had to endure to prove his love…

…all worth it of course.

Just look at how beautiful Peiling is.
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15 June 2007 – My first off day since I’ve been back in exile, not counting the day I arrived of course… And geez I just realized you haven’t heard from me in like almost TWO FREAKIN MONTHS, which needless to say have been nothing short of being downright CRAZY!!!! Oh My Gawd… this whole wedding has DEFINITELY got to be the biggest endeavor I have undertaken, I think even worse than writing my Honours Thesis or moving to Australia then to Thailand then to Maldives! At one point, I was so dead-tired I told Ah Bi, “Can I go and sleep, and you just wake me up when the whole thing is over?!?” Really, we were so sleep/rest-deprived it wasn’t funny.

And don’t get me wrong, we had so many offerings of help, and indeed lots of family members and friends chipped in their precious time and energy, but there was also a ton of stuff that we had no choice but to do ourselves. How I WISHED I could have told someone, “Go do my gown-fitting for me” or “Go get my mani/pedi done for me” or better yet, “Go lose the weight for me” or “Go diet for me (whilst I pig out on ALL my favourite foods!!!)” but cannot right?… Sigh… some things still have to ga gi zou…

And of course the night of the 25th, there was just no way José that I could sleep lor… tossing and turning for the entire night. Meanwhile at 3am, William was still at Mustafa trying to find an outfit for his mum… and on that morning of the 26th, there were still so many things left undone!!!! Speeches unwritten, overnight bag not packed, guest seating plan incomplete, march-in music unprepared… Argh!!!! How we ever managed to pull the whole thing off is nothing short of a miracle, and Wil and I certainly could not have done it if not for the generous outpouring of warmth and loving support from those family and friends who lent a hand that day. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You know who you are. Eva, our videographer asked us towards the end of the evening which was our most memorable moment for the day, and yep, Billie and I agreed that it was the moment we first marched into the ballroom, seeing all our family and friends gathered together to celebrate with us. Actually at that point, I already wanted to cry, and prolly would have if vanity had not stood in the way… no, no, mascara running down my cheeks, so tak-glam… cannot cannot, must 忍…

All in all though, the day turned out to be truly enjoyable! The weather was fine, we had so many good laughs and certainly love was in the air! I have such wonderful memories of it, ones that would last a lifetime. The banquet especially, it was a BLAST! For those who weren’t there, our theme was 花样年华 (think Shanghai in the 1930s) and it was just REMARKABLE how everything came together in perfect unison. The floral decorations were stunning, the guests in good spirit partook by dressing up in their Chinoiserie best, the food was reportedly (since we hardly got to eat any of it) very tasty and thankfully sufficient, the songstress and live band we hired to perform Chinese oldies ala 周璇 and 白光 entertained and livened up the occasion, Sean and Sanchia were brilliant as MCs especially since we left them with no instructions nor program list, the banquet team deserved a standing ovation for their professionalism and prompt service, Elbson made me feel gorgeous and glamorous, William was charismatic and simply dashing, and the very best part was that everyone was just in such good and high spirits. It was perfect! Perfect!

And you know what else is great? To see the beam of pride and joy in our parents’ eyes. Other than perhaps the two of us, our parents must have been the happiest people alive. To see the look of pure delight on their faces that day… man… it was absolutely priceless.

Ok, without further ado, I know, I know, pictures, pictures! So here are just a few of William and myself in our different costume changes for the day…

The groom brings the bride to his home… accompanied by a shower of rice

Us in our traditional gear for the tea ceremony where we receive blessings from our elders

The white numbers again, but this is the evening look where I literally let my hair down

And here we are in our evening attire. That’s Elbson, the “magician” who completely transformed us!

There are much more pictures of course. For the full-length version, please click on the link below:

Tiffany & William’s Wedding

For those of you who have previously received the earlier link in an email from me, this is actually a more complete version with TONS more photos. And unlike the first link which were pictures chosen by the photographer, these ones were chosen by us – the day as we remembered it. So yep, if you’re still suffering from wedding-fever or would just like to relive the day, please feel free to browse through the album.

Once again! Thank you so kindly everyone for all your love, support and well-wishes. William and I are truly blessed to have you in our lives.

22 Apr 2007 — Strange how easily one’s perspective of things can change when you are cooped up, deprived and desperate. Remember how a few months ago, I completely dissed the Molton Brown shower gel we had in the gym showers? Well, having long ran out of my favourite natural bar soaps and having gone through several bottles of sodium laureth sulphate-laden, tuckshop-acquired Lux bodywash, last night after a long day at work, I thought I’d treat myself. And instead of tucking into a pack of cookies or chomping down on a bag of chips, I popped down to Secrets & Dreams and surprised myself with a bottle of Molton Brown’s “Heavenly Gingerlily Moisture Bath & Shower Gel”. A mix of Tahitian gingerlily, Indian tuberose, ginger and cardamom — I was completely seduced. Oh, and take my word for it, that night in the shower, I WAS in paradise. Sigh… the simple pleasures of life’s little luxuries. Artificial fragrances and colouring? Bring it on! And sure it costs me US$17.50 with staff discount, but you know, I felt like a princess and I TOTALLY deserved it.

11 Apr 2007 — One of our Thai spa receptionists, Jeab, just came back to the resort after a month. Other than the mangers who got mini elephant statuettes, the rest of us were each given a keychain. “Typical” you’d think. Well, there’s nothing typical about this keychain. In fact, I’ve not seen anything like it…

…and don’t think I would be using it anytime soon. Erm, yeah. I’d probably get one too many questions and/or stares. And I was thinking to myself, “Really Jeab, of all things out there, you really thought the tamarind fruit was the most appropriate thing you could give us as a keychain?!?” Why not a harmless apple or an innocent strawberry or even a banana? A tamarind. Really.

And then…

Wow, it really looks like the real thing. As it turns out, Jeab has tons of tamarind growing in the garden in her house. She brought lots back for the other girls – apparently, it’s a favourite Thai snack. They were shocked I’ve not had it before. I had to explain that no, tamarind does not grow rampantly in Singaporean backyards. In fact, most of us do not stay in houses with backyards. So they nudged me on, “Try, try.” Erh, tamarind? Isn’t it supposed to be real sour? Eeew… doesn’t sound appetizing ley. But ok, I’ll hazard a go, not the whole thing, just one teeny segment will do.

For all of you who are as suaku as I am, this is how it’s done:

Hmm… well, it wasn’t half as sour as I had thought. In fact, it was quite sweet, and actually very tasty! Ok, I’ve changed my mind. I will have the whole thing after all. In fact, pass me another two, or three. Fantastic, another au natural healthy snack. Lesson learnt — get out of your comfort zone, there’s loads of good stuff waiting to be discovered!

6 Apr 2007 — The mood has been kinda heavy around here recently, so I thought I’d lighten things up a bit by blogging about Hiromi’s birthday which actually happened couple of weeks back. Cause you know, birthdays always involves food, and food always makes for a happy, lighthearted occasion. On this particular night, we managed to get reservations for yet another restaurant — Vilu! First time for all of us again… yipee!

So before we went over to the other island, we gathered next door in Hiromi’s room. Opening a mystery gift from an anonymous sender — can you tell that the girls were filled with slight trepidation even as they unwrapped the present. Well, these days anything unlabelled is rather suspect, isn’t it? But it’s ok, it turned out to be a harmless little clock.

Moving on to more important things… like getting your mascara done just right. Heather at 18 needed some coaching from us lao zha-bor.

So as mentioned, Vilu is situated on Rangali island, the smaller one, so since we were dressed so prettily, we took the dhoni instead of walking. Oh well, 10 minutes on the dhoni, what to do leh?…

Take pictures of course!

Me too! Me too! Oh by the way, it was only 4 of us tonight. Yukiko had to work late, and Yukari so sad, she went to Male in the day to visit the dentist, and was meant to take the last flight back, but kena bumped off! Somemore she went shopping in the Italian boutique and specially bought a dress for tonight! So sayang…
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30 Mar 2007 — One thing I really really miss with working in places like these is all the exciting arty-farty stuff out there — art fests, film fests, exhibitions, galleries. Heck! For that matter, I’ve not been to a cinema in ages… ooh, a dimly lit theatre, plush velvety seat covers, butter popcorn and a icy-cold Choc Top….

And damn, recently a dear old friend sent me an invite to watch his play and AGAIN, I have to miss out. But you don’t! So for those of you who are in Singapore in April, go check out Short & Sweet. It is the biggest short play festival in the world. And I was pleasantly surprised to find out this festival was first produced at the Newtown Theatre back in Sydney, Australia in 2002. Aww… Sydney… Aww… Newtown… boy do I miss that place…

Ten 10-minute plays packed with comedy, murder, betrayal, romance and a dollop of sex — sounds like the recipe for an exhilarating night out! Better yet, catch all 40 of them! And yes, do keep a lookout for Yeo Hon Beng’s “What If It’s Bad News?” featured in the Top 20, I’m sure it’ll be awesome! And if you see Beng, give him a big fat hug for me. He’s such a sweetheart. Aww… wish I was there.

25 Mar 2007 – No matter how old I am, my love of all things Japanese and adorable never falters. And very recently, I was thrilled to bits to receive the following items! Especially so here where anything that is NOT from any of the boutiques or the tuckshop is so very very rare and precious.

First of all, another care-pack from Billie…

This time filled with lots and lots of yummy Japanese snacks and sweets. And yes, I did check, all real Nippon stuff – none of those Chinese or Korean imitations. What more can a girl ask for…

Oh, and see how progressive the Japs are? They SO get the concept that life doesn’t stop just cause you’re handicapped…

Yes, even the blind should enjoy a bag of chestnuts if that’s what they’re after!
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24 Mar 2007 — Seriously, magic is all around us if only we take notice.

You see, there’s this little Frangipani plant that’s growing in a pot outside my room. When I first came, it looked really dismal.

Thing is, my roommate Rachael’s been using it as an ashtray. You think this is bad?!? This is after I’ve already emptied half of the butts! So in my mind, I’ve always thought, “Man… probably won’t be too long till we say sayonara frangipani.”

But days passed, and weeks passed and still it hung on… and today, it just BLEW MY MIND AWAY!

For this little plant, not only did it lived…

It is actually flowering! FLOWERING!!! Isn’t it gorgeous?!! And the flowers are sooo sweet-smelling too! My gawd, so touching can cry. In its quiet little way, this little plant has shown me that beauty and sweetness can emerge amidst adversity. When there’s a will, there IS a way. Lesson learnt — no matter how bad the situation looks, just hang in there and have faith, great things can be accomplished yet. And yes, I WILL SURVIVE!

24 Mar 2007 — I promised and I will deliver. So yep, after all the craziness of the week, let’s take a trip to Male to clear my head a little, take my mind off work for a teeny while. So where did we left off? Oh yep, we had just reached Male island itself after a pretty grueling journey.

And this is where we come to after we get off the dhoni. You can still see them on the right.

Another common sight along the jetty are these private boats — afterall, the Maldives is a destination for the rich and famous.

Sharing the waterfront, the Coast Guards.

As we start walking a little more inland, we come to this square. In the foreground, the Maldivian flag, and in the background, the Shaheedh Hussain Adam Building, headquarters to the Maldives Police Service.

This part of Male still looks pretty lush, lots of greenery. Erm, but not for long…
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22 March 2007 — Man… I’ve had such a tough week. Hefty workload aside, it feels as if I’ve been attacked from every direction possible — backstabbed by my two-faced monster of a roommate, betrayed by receptionists, sacrificed by my boss, you name it…

Yukie asked me last night, “How are you?”
I replied, “Not so good.”
And she asked, “Why?”
And I replied, “I’m too tired to talk about it.”

I thought about calling Billie. I really wished he was here.
But if I call him, I had to explain the whole situation from scratch. And I’m just too damn tired.

I ended up walking to the beach. I sat down and faced the ocean.
God replied, “You don’t have to talk about it. You don’t have to say a word.
I already know, and I am here for you.”
I cried and cried and cried.