You Give Love A Bad Name!!!

I have been blog-hopping quite a bit in recent days (that explains why I havnt been blogging myself) and I'm tickled by what I've read in relation to marriage & couplehood. Its funny how people perceive marriage. Especially people who are still single and unattached. Some can't wait to be married while some try to stay away for as long as possible. Some see marriage as the answer to all their problems while others see marriage as TROUBLE!!!

A fellow blogger said in her blog that she thinks marriage is over-rated. She said the trials and tribulations is much much higher in proportion than the roses and the romance. And she questions why then do we still want to get married when being single is so much less burdensome.

I do not, for a single second, profess to be an expert in the workings of marriage. After all it's only been 3 months for me and The Don. And as they say, it's still the honeymoon period for us. So everything's still rose-tinted. I guess if you go into a marriage thinking that everything will be all and sundry then you will definitely be left high and dry. If you think marriage is the beginning of the end of troubles then you'd be sorely dissapointed.

I discussed this with The Don and he brought up a very valid point, I think. He said if one's perception in life is such that you want things to always go smoothly then perhaps marriage isn't for you. Because in marriage, just like life in general, there will always be ups and downs. The only difference is your ups are higher and your downs are lower. But at least you have someone by your side all the time. Someone to share your laughter with and someone to wipe away your tears. After all, you could never appreciate true happiness until you have experienced sorrow. And indeed, how boring life would be if it was all a plateau all the way???

Personally for me, these 3 months have been shown me that marriage life is far greater than I could have ever imagine. Sure, my chores have tripled. Now I rush home from the office to cook dinner, my knees are sore from kneeling to mop the floor and I can feel myself retch when I see the pile of laundry but the perks have far surpassed any inconveniences of married life. For one, I never have to worry about my bills. I hardly even see my bills now. Everything is handled (superbly, I must add) by him.

And contrary to how marriage is perceived, I do not feel that I have lost my freedom. I have more responsibilities Yes, and so less of my time is for leisure but I am not shackled nor fettered. I still meet my girlfriends and I still throng glitzy Orchard Rd for shopping haunts. If anything, my social circle has expanded now, what with new neighbours and his friends' other halves.

And the best part of it all is the constant soundboard. Its fantastic having someone to share your thoughts with and always knowing that he will never judge you or your opinions. And its the little things that to me matters most. In the past if I forget to switch on my alarm clock then HELP ME GOD! but now every night, before we tuck in, He makes sure my alarm is switched on and my mobile batteries are plugged into the charger. And my friends will testify that I am absolutely not a cash carrier. I usually make purchases by NETS and if thats not available then I'll just charge it. This also usually means that during lunch time, if I happen not to have cash on me, I'd rather not have lunch than walk 5 mins to the ATM and queue. (The kedai makcik near my office doesn't have any cards facilities!!) But since I've been married, I've never been caught in such situation. And scatter-brained me never knew it was him who always puts money in my wallet until I saw him doing it one evening.

Again, contrary to what marriage is perceived, I do not get flowers every day. In fact, since the wedding I haven't received any. And yes, we have had a few bickers (and more on the way I'm sure) But do I mind, NO. And do I regret giving up my singlehood, NO. Because at the end of the day, marriage has given me someone to snuggle up to at night when I get cold.

10th - 13th March 2004
Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre
( Suntec City )
Levels 3 & 4
Opening Hours :
12 noon to 9pm
Free Admission


We're gonna check it out today. Maybe you should too....

Calling It A Truce!!

If you've been reading this blog long enough, you'll know that The Don absolutely abhors shopping !!! He will willingly do a myriad of things for me in the name of love (and that includes driving me to Temerloh, Pahang and returning to Singapore in the same day in a 12hr driving marathon) but shopping's simply not one of them. Especially with me coz he says I can drive a sane man crazy with my going to every aisle of every shop of every floor of every shopping centre along Orchard Rd. (He's exaggerating!!)

Well anyway, that's why I was very surprised when The Don agreed to go shopping with me last Sunday. I had a $50 Tangs voucher to use up before the end of March and I thought I'd like to spend it on him to partially pay for a new pair of business trousers. Since he agreed, I tried my luck in asking if he would like to go to Ikea with me to get bedside lamps for our room and a few other items. Surprise, surprise.. he actually said YES. Either there lingers traces of our honeymoon euphoria still or just my damn lucky day!!

But of course, I had to orally list down all the things we needed to buy and I had to give a verbal agreement to not linger unnecessarily. We zoomed in straight to the Men's Dept first, got his pants and then zoomed off to the ladies' dept where I got my stuff. We didn't even stop by the household dept (my current craze). Well..its a small sacrifice compared to the rewards waiting for me. When we got to Tangs, he got his pants which was covered in entirety by the voucher while I got for myself items totalling 4 times the voucher amount, courtesy of my generous hubby. Hey if all I need to do is be fast and then all my purchases will be borne by him then FAST I shall be!!!! After all I can always wander aisle by aisle when I go shopping with my best pal, M.

And then we got to Ikea. Due to the layout of the place, we had to follow the route (Let's not mention the existence of shortcuts, shall we!) so I managed to feast my eyes and pick out quite a trolley full. And everything whizzed past the cashier and into plastic bags without even a hint of disapproval from him. *phew*


I think I'm enjoying shopping with The Don even if it means I have to grab and go. (like supermarket sweep, remember that tv game show!)I guess its all about compromise huh? After all shopping is exhilarating but shopping without taking out my wallet from my handbag is FANTABULOUS!!! hehehehe

Despite having known each other for 8 years before marriage, we still have a lot to learn about each other. His hate for shopping has always been a point of contention for me. Especially since I am such a shopaholic. After a while I guessed I made my peace with it by leaving him out of it and choosing to go shopping with my girlfriends instead. That way I can trawl all the shops I want. But now....maybe.. just maybe..... we might have reached a truce.

Next weekend shopping again darling ????

LEZERVIS BBQ

The Don and his reservist kakis had sooo much fun during their ICT reservist last January, they decided to have a BBQ to reminisce their good times. This time with wives (and wives-2b) in tow.....


The JK8 reservist kakis. (kenapa hubby aku pakai sanggul???)


The JK8 Reservist Wives Club. {c'est moi flanked by Jariah (Mrs Din) & Dayana (Soon-2B-Mrs Rahman)}

While the guys bbq-ed and tried the shoot a special-effects movie with Din's vidcam, we gals & Hans yakked and yakked the night away. It was great meeting them, especially Jariah & Dayana.

The Don's reservist kakis are a crazy lot. There's a nigger-wannabe, there's a graphics designer cum make-up-artist, there's a potential movie director and of course many comedians and clowns.

The girls and I hit it off really well especially since the topic of the season was weddings. It was fun seeing them planning their weddings. Especially Jariah who will have her sanding ceremony in June. (her nikah was in Dec, the week just after mine) Hey girl Cet!! tak aci eh? Mana boleh kahwin 2 kali ???!!!

We finally left the BBQ pit at 3.30am even then it was because it had started to rain. Otherwise, we'd probably be there till Subuh, still yakking away.

Anyhow, glad I made some great friends. Looking forward to more great times with Jariah n Dayana in the near future.....

"Noodles? ...No Thanks"

If there is one thing about my childhood that I would really like to leave behind is my eating style. (or rather lack of style!!) I can't help but make a mess when I eat. A morsel of food will inadvertently land on either the corner of my lips or worse, on my tudung. Every single time!!!

It's a real irritating situation especially when I'm at a formal reception and when I have a few places to go in a day. And especially so when its a light-coloured tudung!!!

Did you know that for the first two years I went out with The Don, whenever we dine out I will choose either bread or rice on the menu, never noodles. Noodles are my No. 1 disaster food. There was no way I could have managed to place the noodles nicely into my mouth (despite rolling it around my fork many many times) without the gravy ending up on my clothing. It was to such an extent, the ever-observant Don even enquired if I had an adverse reaction to noodles. hehehe

It seems despite all my efforts to make sure The Don do not see this side of me in the first few years of our blossoming romance, it was a furtile attempt. He somehow saw right through me when out of the blue he said he shall call me by the nickname "Comot". Imagine my embarassment!!! This was a guy to whom I have been trying my darndest to project a good impression upon and even sacrificed eating noodles in front of and then suddenly he showed that he knew all along what I have been hiding all this while. At that moment, I really felt like giving myself a good kick for not being more successful at hiding my faults. But at least now that it was in the open I could eat noodles whenever I felt like it again. And besides how long could I possibly hide it anyway.

I suppose you can guess the amount of jibes I have had to take from the Don and my family members. Especially when we go out with my nephew, Muhd Idris, someone without fail will offer me his bib. It has been offered so often it's almost a cliche by now.

But it does have its worthwhile points. Till today, whenever we eat out, The Don will arm himself with a tissue paper. Very subtly, before we leave the restaurant he will wipe off any excess from the corners of my mouth. And he does it so gently that I almost look forward to it. Its such a loving gesture I guess it's every bit worth the embarassment. And every single time, he plants a lingering smile on my lips.

But I still err on the side of caution.... Hardly will you ever catch me with a bowl of mee rebus, mee siam or anything with thick, coloured gravy. I avoid those like the plague!!!!

Marriage Poem Of Sorts

I got this in my mailbox and I havn't stopped laughing since.

Masa bercinta
u suka,i pun suka
kemana pergi pun takpe
yg penting jln berdua
naik bas pun takpe
jln tengah panas pun takpa
sampai melecet ketiak jadinya
semua suka tiada duka...

masa u suka,i pun suka
tapai yg u suka, i pun suka
walaupun sebenarnya tak berapa suka
petai yg u suka
i pun telan juga
walaupun nak terjegil biji mata
kita sama-sama ketawa..

masa u suka,i pun suka
tempe yg i makan,jadi kegemaran u juga
walaupun u tak pernah makan sebelumnya..

masa u suka,i pun suka
pakai apa pun takpe
baju merah tudung biru pun takpa
tudung senget, u kata takpa
gigi kena lipstik, u tak kisah juga
"u tetap cantik jelita"...u kata.....

masa u suka, i pun suka
u pakai apa pun takpa
lupa pakai tali pinggang pun takpa
t-shirt koyak kat ketiak pun takpa
lupa cukur misai pun takpa
u tetap handsome seadanya...

Baru kahwin,
i suka..u lagilah suka
macam dunia kita yg punya
2 minggu terperap dlm bilik je
sampai makan pun selalu terlupa...

u sangat suka,i lagilah suka
tiga empat papan petai sehari, i tak penah lupa

u sangat suka, i lagilah suka
hari-hari tiga empat tempe u gorengkan khas untuk i saje

Bila anak dua lain pulak jadinya
u suka,i tak suka
i suka, u tak suka
sebab petai yg u suka, sangat i tak suka
mana taknya,bilik air jadi hancing jadinya
mungkin salah i juga, manjakan u sangat dengan petai sahaja......

u suka, i tak suka
i suka, u tak suka
sebab hari-hari i nak tempe je
sampai u komplen,i ni anak jawa agaknya
sendawa pun bau tempe aje.......

Hmm...sampai sekarang ni,i pun tertanya-tanya

Movie Date With Hubby

"Never lie, steal, cheat or drink. But if you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love. If you must steal, steal away from bad company. If you must cheat, cheat death. And if you must drink, drink in the moments that take your breath away. - Will Smith a.k.a Alex "Hitch", the Date-Doctor.

In what must be the most overdue item in our "Things To Do After Marriage List" is the midnight movie which we have been wanting to catch since the first day I got my wedding ring. With our hectic schedules and our endless pengantin visits, we finally got down to doing it last night. And what better movie than a romantic-comedy to re-light those flames


And we did it real "date" style. I had my usual weekly girl's night out with my best pal and had our monthly shopping frenzy. I got me this lovely pair of "work" shoes at a steal and after a hearty dinner at Eatz19 with her, I met The Don just in time for the movie.
It was a great movie!!! Definitely not one for the cynics. Or the "realist masquerading as a cynic, who is really an optimist" - whatever!!! Witty dialogue, eye-candy stars (Wow! Eva Mendes look terrific!!!) and a funny storyline, it has all the ingredients for a great movie. The ending's a bit of a rush and a teeny weeny bit haphazard but we loved it anyway. Read the review here.


As we walked out of the cinema hand-in-hand as the credits loomed, I couldn't help but notice how the gals in the crowd kept checking their watches. It wasn't too long ago when I would have done the same. (Not that I ever got the chance to catch a movie later than 9pm!!!!) I couldn't help smiling as I contemplated my new status and how much I'm lovin it. Even The Don noticed and teased me by offering his handphone for me to make my then-obligatory call to my mom to "report strength". Hehehehe.

It was truly a lovely movie date. Now who says married couples are boring ???!!!!

The Wheels On The Bus Go Round & Round .....

This Thursday night The Don and I are leaving again. This time to KL and Perak to visit my aunts and uncles and go on the last leg of the "jalan pengantin". I am seriously getting sick of this jalan2 pegantin bit. Its been so long since the wedding it kinda defeats the whole purpose but we dun really get to put in our say in this coz they have been waiting for us to come. If we had it our way, we'd go to KL but on a holiday!!!! There are so many places I wanna go in KL with The Don in tow but this time we won't get a chance since the itinerary's all packed. I'm dreaming of the time when all this obligations are over and then we could just drive up, and perhaps stay at the Marriott and then go siteseeing all around KL. Ok ok I've been to almost everywhere in KL and there won't be many new sights for me (having being born there and coming back every few months) but it's gonna be different visiting all these places again with my hubby. I wanna take the slow boat ride at the Mines, take the daredevil rides at Genting, have dinner at one of the bistros along Bangsar and of course shop at my all time fav mall Midvalley Megamall. (I dun think The Don will fancy this one though!)

Well... like The Don said, we'll have a whole lifetime to do all these things but right now we'll have to fulfill our obligations first. After all.... considering all the money, energy and effort spent by my relatives to make our wedding the huge success it was, this is the very least we could do in return.

Anyway this time we will be travelling sans our beloved Lancerlot. The Don has always been intrigue to hitch a ride on the executive bus so this time we're gonna go PUBLIC. It'll be a refreshing change for him I guess, considering how he has been driving everywhere since he was 19. I dun remember the last time The Don has been onboard a bus and I suspect neither does he. (We didn't even take the bus in Paris, just the Metro.)So we've got tix for the executive bus to KL for Thursday evening. I figured although he wanted to go public this time, he'd still appreciate travelling in ultra comfort and with a steward onboard (I'm sure he wishes it were a stewardess instead!!) and food provided it's the next best thing to a flight.


While in KL, my cousins have offered to play host and has promised to drive us around to all our destinations. So far we have nothing planned yet for Sunday. Maybe...just maybe, we'd be able to catch some couple time in KL before we board the bus home.

Food Tastes Soooo Much Better

It was a pleasant & an uneventful road trip to Temerloh, Pahang. We left immediately after work but the heavy congestion at Singapore checkpoint caused us to reach at exactly 2 am in morning.

The roads leading to Temerloh is very different from say to KL. We only take the North-South-Highway a quarter of the journey up to Yong Peng and then from there its narrow winding road all the way, especially at Triang. The roads there are what are termed "high risk and accident prone" as the roads are snaky and the bends are acute. It takes a skilled driver to maneuver these roads and even then at a slow speed.


We spent most of our time there visiting the elderly members of the family, basically "jalan pengantin". As expected they were very pleased to see us and they love the photos. Now we have a whole list of names and the corresponding photos they want a copy of. And of course the vcd.... we already made 4 copies of it to give to my close uncles and aunts. And now we have to make at least 4 more.

And we went to see my uncle's lovely lovely just purchased bungalow. The house is in its final stages, merely touch-ups and lighting fixtures and then they will be ready to move in. Its HUGE!!!! with an even bigger compound. The rooms are fairly large too and together with my uncle and aunt we sat down to discuss how to furnish the rooms. Oooh I feel like an interior designer!!! They really like the colour of the walls in our house and they found the exact shade to paint theirs. In fact the layout of their house is almost similiar to ours too except of course their house is way much bigger and hell of a lot cheaper!!!! Its just slightly more than half the cost of our house and its in RINGGIT MALAYSIA!!! (so technically it costs a quarter of our home!!) OOOhhh The Don and I would give an arm and a leg to have such a house in Malaysia. But we'll have to wait for 5 more years before the house can be sold. The Don took lotsa pics of their new house with his SLR but the film is yet to be developed.


And then on Saturday afternoon, my cousin arrived from KL and they brought 2 huge boxes with them. Apparently when my mother was in KL recently she purchased a whole 64 piece Luminarc Dinnerware set for me. It was really a huge surprise. I've always fancied Luminarc dinnerware instead of the oh-so-common Corelle collection. And I've been looing around for it forever but only Cargo Courts carry this brand and even then in loose pieces only. I've talked to the Courts Manager and he has promised to enquire if they could order the whole set just for me but to-date I have still not heard from him. I had half a mind to import directly the whole set from France this month and bear the shipping costs if I had to. And then came the surprise......

Ain't it lovely? The plates and saucers are made reflective glass ie. there's a extra layer of clear glass over the design and the plates are unscratchable, unbreakable, heat resistant and yet not heavy. OOhh I'm absolutely in love with 'em!!!! And I soooo love my UMI for knowing exactly what I want and getting it for me. Suddenly food tastes sooo much better on these plates... hehehehe

We arrived home just after Maghrib on Sunday night and proceeded to go to my PIL's for a kenduri tahlil in honour of The Don's maternal late grandfather. the event was actually after Zuhr but since we could not make it then, we came as soon as we could. If not for anything else, to help clean up. We know it means a lot to her that her sons and daughters-in-law turn up for her event no matter how late so we still made it a point to show up despite being exhausted from the long trip. And we were very quickly rewarded with Nasi Ambeng

Never in my life have I ever ate rice in such a manner, from a tray no-less and sharing with other people. (lucky I knew fairly well the other people sharing the tray with me, if not, NO WAY JOSE!!!) It was definitely a new experience for me. I'll just have to remember to chose who sits next to me the next time such food is served. hehehe

By the time we got home, all that was left of the weekend was for us to sleep.

It's A Holi.... Holiday ....!!!

Ok people .. we're off to Temerloh Pahang.



See ya on Monday ....