Selection of wedding pictures

We went to Stareast one week later after our outdoor shooting to select the photos..altogether we took 176 poses and we are allowed to choose 50 poses...

The indoor shooting was good but I prefer the outdoor shooting..especially the way the photographer captured all poses..We shortlisted 96 poses and had to say NO to many poses..finally we managed to select the top 50 poses and we were satisfied..

The final artwork will be ready by end of October..

1 day outing to Tg Sepat

Date: 1.9.08 (Mon)
Venue: Tg Sepat (dragon fruit farm, longan farm, beach, mushroom farm etc)

This is my first outing with my church Sunday School teachers..My mum and cousin's sons also tagged along..It was a good trip..

You may click here for more pictures.

Wedding shooting-Outdoor

Date: 29.8.08 (Fri)

Venue: StarEast Garden Studio, Prai
Time: 9am-12pm

Because of this shooting, I had to take 1.5 days annual leave and flew to Penang on 28.8.08, 4.30pm flight. As usual, Mark will pick me from the Penang International airport. We went shopping at the Sunshine Carnival Mall and Queensbay Mall. We had dinner at this Indo-China cruisine restaurant called Golden Triangle inside Queensbay Mall. The food was alright but the service was bad...we ordered 2 dishes and drinks. By the time we finished our food, the drinks were yet to come..we waited for awhile but the drinks were not here, even we had reminded the waiter..so, we were so unhappy and decided to cancel the drinks..what made us more angry was that the waitress did not even apologise for the delay..bad service and we had blacklisted this restaurant..

As we were ready to leave the mall, suddenly Mark received a call from StarEast, reminding us of our shooting tomorrow..(StarEast had called us more than 3 times to remind us of tomorrow shooting..this is what we called good customer service)..During their conversation, I was wondering why StarEast did not call me but Mark (coz usually they will call me)..Then, I thought probably they called me but I missed their call..so I wanted to check my mobile phone was there any missed call from them..but I was panic to see that my mobile phone was not inside my bag!!! I searched thoroughly and confirmed my mobile phone had lost! (No wonder StarEast had to call Mark) Luckily, I remembered where I left my phone - at the Golden Triangle Restaurant! Mark tried to calm me down and we quickly rushed to the restaurant..Before we entered the restaurant, the waiter saw us and approached us with my phone! phew...another lost and found case! (I almost lost my phone 2 weeks ago during CG time)..Really thank God and StarEast for their call..and Mark jokingly told me that if there is another 3rd time of lost and found case, he will swipe his phone with mine! hehe

The next day, we reached the studio at 9am sharp..Our photographer and make-up artist were late..Praise God for good weather..We really enjoyed the whole shooting session especially the photographer, Ah Yong, she was very professional and always made us laugh..

After the shooting, we went to the newly opened Jusco at Seberang Prai and had lunch there..at night, we rested at home and played scrabble..long time didnt play this game already and donno why, I always lost to Mark..darn!

We drove back to Klang the next morning..journey was long and tiring..

We had scheduled to select our wedding photos 1 week later..here is the only picture we managed to snap with my mobile phone..

Wedding shooting-Indoor

Date: 16.8.08 (Sat)

Venue: StarEast Bridal Studio, Sunway
Time: 11am-6pm

Wow..finally this day has come! Our wedding photo shooting day. We had booked the wedding shooting package in February and decided to separate the shooting into 2 sessions-indoor (16/8) and outdoor (29/8). The gown selection was on 2/8.

One day before the shooting, I went for manicure. It was nice but then had brought me some inconvenience especially in dealing with contact lens. Kinda regret. :p

It was a long day! We had 6 shots with 6 sets of gowns-2 bridal gown, 2 evening gown and 2 costumes. Our photographer was Lucas and make-up artist was C.Ling. I had changed 6 different styles of hairstyles, to match my gown. Very tiring as I had to change 6 gowns and Mark is relatively free as compared to me. During my make-up time, he got to take short nap while waiting for me and just need to change his hairstyle as and when needed. Perhaps because we were so busy with the shooting, we actually skipped lunch and do not feel hungry at all..hehe.

The photographer was basically directing our shots..showing us our poses, reminding us to smile and relax..We chose the Korean and Chinese ancient costumes as our last 2 shots. The whole shooting session was really fun, despite the tiredness. Our outdoor shooting would be in Prai in another 2 weeks time. Gonna be another long day and hopefully the weather will be good!

After the shooting, we had dinner with Mark’s friends at the opposite restaurant-Buffet steamboat. The business was so good that you can see people queuing up patiently to be seated. Luckily WT came earlier and managed to get a place. I guessed the main attraction of this restaurant is their chicken wings. We sort of counted that they served chicken wings every 20 minutes and you would be surprised that people actually rushing to grab the chicken wings. If you are slow in action, then sorry, you gotta wait for another 20 minutes and better be fast during the next attempt.

We went home around 8.30pm. Mark twisted his ankle 2 days before during his badmin

ton game. His ankle was swollen after a day long of shooting. Hopefully he will get enough of rest and his ankle will get better before our next shooting.

I liked this gown with the hairstyles..made me looked like the Disney princess..hehe..and
Mark looked smart!

1 day outing to Lanchang, Pahang

Date: 10.8.08 (Sunday)
Time: 7am-7.30pm
Venue: Lanchang, Pahang

About a month ago, my boss, TC, discussed with me that she wanted to organize a family outing within her department (Accounts/QA/IT/Admin) and appointed me to be the organizer, together with 3 other secretaries. After gathering feedbacks from my colleagues, we had decided to go to Lanchang, Pahang on 10.8.08.

Our main destinations were the Elephant Sanctuary, Kuala Gandah and the Deerland. I was in-charged of the logistics matter. I managed to engage the bus drier that I have known and he also suggested to me to visit two more places, Sempalit groundnut factory and Taofu factory at Raub.

I have included my mum, sis and my cousin’s sons to join me for this outing. On that day, we departed from my office at around 7.20am. The journey was pretty smooth. About an hour later, we met up with TC and family at the Genting Sempah R&R before continuing our journey to the first destination – Sempalit groundnut factory. This is a famous groundnut factory in Raub. Each of us bought packets of groundnut. Next we went to this Taofu factory, which is famous of the ‘Taofu pok’. The owner let us tested the taufu pok. Most of the ‘aunties’ enjoyed their ‘shopping’ there.

We stopped by for lunch at Raub. Then, it took us about 1.5 hours to reach the Elephant Sanctuary. It was so crowded. Elephant Sanctuary and Deerland were the main tourist spots in Lanchang. The entrance fee to Elephant Sanctuary is free, however, if you wish to participate in the elephant feeding, riding, bathing, you need to pay for it.

We spent about 2 hours there. We saw how the workers bathed the elephant, we had the chance to feed the elephant and also had a ride with elephant. It was fun.

Deerland is located nearby the Elephant Sanctuary. The entrance fee is RM5 for adult and RM3 for child. The main attraction was to feed the deer. They are so cute and tame. We fed them potatoes. Besides the deer, there are animals like ostrich, porcupine, sun bear, chicken, birds and monkeys. The sun bear is being treated like the king. When we were there, the near was basically lying down on the ground, eating nuts and we are allowed to take pictures with the bear.

After a long day, finally we departed from Lanchang at around 5.30pm. Most of us were so tired and slept in the bus. Two hours later, ended our 1 day outing. Thank God the weather was good, journey was smooth and everyone had an enjoyable day.

Click here for more pictures.

婚姻存摺

我的'婚姻存摺'是出嫁那天，媽媽遞到我手上的，

當時,我以為會是一大筆錢，打開一看發現只有1000元，

我用失望的眼神看著媽媽，媽媽卻笑著說:'這是我特意為你們辦理的'婚姻存摺'，

'以後每逢值得紀念的日子，都可以存一筆錢，

等到老的時候,裡面除了錢,還有無限的幸福…'。

當時,我對母親這份心思不以為然,倒是丈夫記在了心上。

婚後沒多久!，他就先後存了兩個500元，

一個是因為他升職了，第二個是因為我手術治愈出院。

當時我嘴上笑他無聊，其實心裡甜蜜無比，

畢竟他把我的健康也當作一件讓他感到幸福的事。

沒過多久,我懷孕了,這一次,我足足往裡面存了2000元。

但很快，我們開始有了爭吵和冷漠﹔

孩子出生帶來的快樂是短暫的，洗不完的尿布、喂不完的奶，

進一步加劇了我們感情的惡化而那本婚姻存摺像被遺忘了，

寂寞地躺在抽屜角落，上面的數字久未見漲。

我們鬧離婚的時候，媽媽說:你們先把存摺上面的錢花光了再離吧，

雖然錢不多，但是你們共同的財產。

於是，我第一次取了1000元，然後拎著幾件心儀已久的衣服離開商場時，

我又回去對售貨小姐說:'對不起,我不買了!請你退回我剛才付給你的錢。'

也許當時的局面窘迫極了，

但我腦海裡想到的是那1000元婚姻積蓄的來源:

他是個害羞的男人，但曾在街頭大聲地對我說'我愛你'，我為此存下100元，

他記得我的生日、鞋號、密碼及最怕的事，我為此在生日那天存下300元，

他對女人有風度,也有距離，不給暗戀他的女下屬任何機會，我為此存下500元...

啊，這1000元裡就有這麼多的幸福積累，

再看看婚姻存摺上的兩萬多元，我的眼睛忽然就有些濕潤起來。

晚上回到家，我把存摺交給他，說:'趕緊花吧，花光了好離婚。

第二天晚上，他把存摺遞到我手上，我打開一看，發現反而多了1000元。

他說:'那上面的每一元錢都記錄著我們走過的歷程。'

我第一次發覺原來是這樣的愛你，索性又存進了1000元，

我們從此又和好如初了。

還是媽媽說得對，以愛情的名義為婚姻開個戶口，

把夫妻間所有快樂的、幸福的、浪漫的事，通通存進銀行！

有了這本日積月累的婚姻存摺，即使是再貧窮的婚姻，也決不害怕透支。

這一生，你可能會遇到許多喜歡你的人。

但是，你可能永遠都遇不到一個你真正愛的人。

所以，一但遇到了，一定要好好的把握。

很多事情，錯過了就沒有了，錯過了就是會變的，緣份也是。

關 於 榮辱觀的小故事 十二生肖

有一次，我有機會和歐洲貴族聚餐。 可能酒喝多了，一位德國貴族站了起來， 諷刺說 ：你們中國人都是屬什麼豬啊！狗啊！老鼠啊！ 不像我們，都是金牛座、獅子座、仙女座 ……真不知道你們祖先怎麼想的？ 當時這些貴族聽完哈哈大笑，還互相碰杯，先前的優雅完全不 見了。 按理說，人家在罵你祖宗了，你即使沒有話說，起碼可以掀桌子啊！ 但所有人都坐著不吭聲，也可能是還沒反應過來， 我當時只好平和地告訴在場所有外賓： 中國人的祖先是很實在的，我們十二生肖，兩兩相對，六道輪迴， 體現了我們祖先對中國人全部的期望跟要求。
這時 ，現場氣氛雖然從嬉鬧轉為安靜 ，但是他們臉上還是一副不屑的樣子。

我說 ：

第一組是老鼠和 牛。老鼠代表智慧，牛代表勤奮。 智慧和勤奮一定要緊緊結合在一起。 如果光有智慧不勤奮，那就變成小聰明；而光是勤奮，不動腦筋，那就變成愚蠢。 所以這兩者一定要結合，這是我們祖先對中國人的第一組期望和要求，也是最重要的一組。

第二 組是老虎和兔子。老虎代表勇猛，兔子代表謹慎。 勇猛和謹慎一定要緊緊結合在一起，才能做到所謂的膽大心細。 如果勇猛離開了謹慎，就變成了魯莽，而你沒有勇猛，一味的謹慎，謹慎就變成膽怯。 這一組也非常重要，所以放在第二組。 我看著這些貴族，補上一句： 所以當我們表現出謹慎的時候，千萬不要以為我們中國人沒有勇猛的一面。 實際上，我們祖先追求的是一種和諧的智慧和圓融，從來不會單獨給一個要求和任務。 看著大家陷入沉思，我繼續往下說 。

第三組是龍和 蛇。龍代表剛猛，蛇代表柔韌。 所謂剛者易折，太剛了容易折斷，但是如果只有柔的一面， 就易失去主見， 所以剛柔並濟是我們歷代的祖訓。

接下來是馬和羊。馬代表勇往直前，直 奔目標，羊代表和順 。 如果一個人只顧自己直奔目標，不顧周圍，必然會和周圍不斷磕碰，最後不見得能達到目標。 但是一個人如果光顧著和周圍和順，之後他連方向都沒有了，目標也失去了。 所以一往無前的秉性一定要與和順緊緊結合在一起，這是我們祖先對中國 人的第四組期望。

再接下來是猴子和雞。猴子代表靈活， 至於雞呢，以前的年代沒有鐘，都是聽雞鳴聲決定一天的開始， 所以雞定時打鳴，代表穩定。 靈活和穩定一定要緊緊結合起來。 如果你光靈活，沒有穩定，再好的政策最後也得不到收穫。但如果說你光是穩定，一潭死水、一塊鐵板， 那就不會有我們今天的改革開放了。 只有它們之間非常圓融的結合，一方面具有穩定性，保持整體的和諧和秩序， 另一方面又能不斷變通地前進，這才是最根本的要旨。

最後是狗和豬 。狗是代表忠誠，豬是 代表隨和。 一個人如果太忠誠，不懂得隨和，就會排斥他人。 而反過來， 一個人太隨和，沒有忠誠，這個人就失去原則。 所以無論是對一個民族國家的忠誠、對團隊的忠誠，還是自己理想的 忠誠， 一定要與隨和緊緊結合在一起，這樣才容易真正保持內心深處的忠誠。

這就是我們 中國 人一直堅持的外圓內方，君子和而不同。 中國人每個 人都有屬於自己的生肖，有的人屬豬，有的人屬狗，這意義何在？實際上，我們的祖先期望我們要圓融，不能偏頗，要求我們懂得到對應面切入。比如屬豬的人能夠 在他的隨和本性中，也去追求忠誠；而屬狗的人則在忠誠的本性中，去做到隨和。

解釋完十二生肖，我說：不知道你們那些寶瓶座啊、射手座啊、公羊座啊，體現了你們祖先哪些期望和要求？ 希望不吝賜教。 結果呢，這些貴族老爺們很長時間都沒說話，全場鴉雀無聲，一根針掉在地上都能聽見。 最後貴族們紛紛由衷地表示對中國人和中國人的祖先非常敬佩：

沒有想 到中國的十二生肖有這麼深刻而實在的意義。

My weekend

This weekend was pretty busy..

Sat Morning - Noon
As usual, it's a working day for me..but usually Saturday is pretty relaxing..Hence, time passed fast..zoomm....1pm! On my way home, my cousin in KL, Fong Fong, called me, informing that her dad is now in Sri Kota Hospital for his radiotheraphy..My uncle would like us to visit him if possible.. Actually that afternoon, I have YM Committee meeting at 3pm and there was a gospel event at 3pm in church too..So, we decided to visit him before we went for these events.

My uncle (my dad's younger brother) looked very pale, sick and tired..He suffered from cancer. Really felt very sad to see him in such painful condition..Prayed that God will give him strength to overcome all these pain.

YM Committee meeting started late but ended punctually..Next mission is to write my minutes..but I think I will do it next week..lazy..hehe

Sat Evening - Night
After meeting, I drove to Mark's place to meet him, before going to Donny & Rita's house in Batu Belah, to attend their baby girl, Rachel's 1 yr old birthday party..I still remembered a year ago, we went to their house to see their new born child and now...1 year had passed..gosh..

Rita has a very big family..all her siblings were all married and as a result, Rachel has many cousins..looked at the pictures and you will know what I meant..Baby Rachel is a happy baby, she likes to smile. Met Eng Wah, Chin Suan and Paul too...

After the party, Mark & I went to watch "Dark Knight", ie Batman..2.5 hours movie..quite nice..especially Heath Ledger played the Joker very well and really brings out the characteristic of the Joker..so evil and bad! another interesting scene is, you will see Edison Chen! haha..but only for few seconds ( I think)..

Sun Morning - Noon
Woke up at 6am. My CG is in-charged of ushering for 1st service and myself involved in Praise and Worship as backup..Then, 930am, I had to attend Sunday School Teacher's meeting..after that, 1130am-1pm, Sunday School. Today, I scolded one of my student..really naughty..usually after the class, I will give goodies to them and they are excited about it..this particular boy, his concentration in the class is very short. But when come to goodies, he will be the first to grab it..today, in order to be the first, he banged another boy and caused him to fell..so I was a lil angry and scolded him. I told him " the first will be the last, go and line up behind"..wah..I think he got offended and humiliated..unwillingly, he sat back in his place. When all these students left, I spoke to him and he started to cry..I explained to him what had he done wrong and he kinda understand it..(hopefully). I think from my 9 years of teaching experience, this is the first student that cried in my class.. :p

Sun Evening - Night
Had 3 hours of afternoon nap..:)

Then met up with my sis for shopping spree at Giant..it's time for me to refill my office drawer..food is running low..haha

Another new week is starting..hopefully it will be a good one.

Handmade cards - Part 2

These are the 3 news cards that I made..Personally I liked the Christmas series card.

Matreshka

Yesterday, Mark passed me the souvenirs he bought from his US trip - Adidas shoe, Nike shirt, chocolate and refrigerator magnet.

美中不足的是 the size of the shoe and shirt is slightly big. Before he went to US, I told him that my shoe size is 5. He assumed that I am referring to UK shoe size. Hence, he bought a UK size 6 for me..Unfortunately, it is a bit big for me..I had to wear thick sock. The shirt is size M and I think it is meant for the Westerners. So I give it to my sister. Do you know what is the price difference, to get a Adidas shoe in US as compared to Malaysia? Mark bought the shoe for USD42.20 (after 15%), about RM140.00. Yesterday, we dropped by the Adidas shop, Sunway Pyramid and for the same pair of shoe, it was selling at RM300+. Unbelievable!

Mark also passed to me the souvenirs that his mum bought from her China (upper North) trip. I was attracted to this special souvenir, from Russia. It is called the Matreshka. Let me show you the picture..very unique.

Handmade cards - Part 1

(These are my TOP 4 cards)

For the past 2 weeks, I had been staying at home and do something that I always had interest on - card making!

Why suddenly I had this thought in mind? One day, after gym class at Fitness First, JJ AEON, Bukit Tinggi, I went jalan-jalan at Popular bookshop. I saw this book "便利卡片DIY" and I liked it so much. But then, it is a bit pricy. I didn't know whether I should buy it? Is it worthy? Another reason was that I forgotten to bring my Popular card which entitle me for discount. So, I decided to hide that book, ie to keep the book at the lower rack, thinking that no one will find the book and bought it..hehe..how naive I am right..and then I will return back the next day to buy it with my Popular card.. The next day, I forgotten to bring the Popular card (later I found out from my sister that our Popular card had expired)...Without much hesitation, I decided to grab that book and made payment coz I really 对这本书太爱不释手了！

On that night onwards, I started making cards with the limited resources I have. Basically, I was just following the pattern of the cards shown in the book and duplicate it. My sister asked me what am I going to do with all the cards that I made? Will I sell it? Give away? Well, I don't think I will sell it. It's my hard work! Probably I will give the card to my friends on special occasion. My mum even suggested me to frame them up and hang it on the wall as decorations..hehe..Let me show you some of my masterpiece which I am so proud of..Welcome all comments from you so that I can improve myself further.

(Note: These cards are 90% completed as I had not printed any words in them yet, for eg "Happy Birthday", "I Love You", "Merry Christmas", "Welcome You", "Good Day" etc.

A Mayonnaise Jar and Two Cups of Coffee - by Laura Bankston

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when
24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2
cups of coffee. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had
some items in front of him.

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and
empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then
asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The
professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.
He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between
the golf balls .

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They
agreed it was. ! The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it
into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked
once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous
'yes.' The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the
table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling
the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed. 'Now,' said the professor as the laughter
subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children,
your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything
else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The
pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and
your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there
is no room for the pebb! les or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If
you spend all you r time and energy on the small stuff you will never
have room for the things that are important to you. 'Pay attention to
the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children.
Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play
another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the
disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really
matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee
represented. The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked. It just goes to
show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room
for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Primary Friends Gathering @ Manhattan Fish Market, 14.6.08

Date: 14.6.08 (Saturday)
Venue: Manhanttan Fish Market, JJ AEON Bukit Tinggi
Time: 7pm
Attendees: (Standing, from left to right) Aik Yong, Chee Khuen, Kin Keong, Brian, Hang Khume, Jin Seong, Chia Chee, Chee Seng, Wah Fong
(Sitting, from left to right) Boon Eng, Mei Chin, Ei Lin, Ai Leng, Edel, Ai May, Sze Ping, Bei Li, Swee Keng
Project Manager: Edel

Weeks ago, I received an email regarding the gathering on 14.6.08. Actually the planning started months ago, when Edel posted an announcement in Friendster, informing all class of '92 that there will be a Primary friends reunion going on..Initially, I was reluctant to join, why? I havent been seeing most of them for more than 15 years..I am actually a bit worry and nervous to meeting them again, especially after so many years, things had changed..I did not continue my Standard 6 in Hin Hua school..in fact, I changed school without telling them, even my closest friend, Boon Eng. I guessed they must be really surprised, not seeing me on the first day of school. But I am glad I decided to attend this gathering, it was so happy to see 17 of my long lost friends that night, catching up with each other.

I met up with Boon Eng first, coz I didnt want to walk into the restaurant alone..hehe..As I was walking towards Lavender bakery shop, I saw this guy, chatting on handphone and at the same time, smiled at me..I roughly guessed that he must be one of my primary friend but I couldnt remember his name.. So I just smiled back at him and told him I am on my way to meet Boon Eng first. Boon Eng was waiting for me, together with Wah Fong & Swee Keng. (I was a lil surprised to know that both of them are couple a year ago..guessed I must have missed alot of things during Std 6 moments)

Together, we walked to Manhattan Fish Market. Edel had booked a long table, able to cater 20+ people..She managed to negotiate with the Manager and managed to get 10% off too..good job! There I met Edel, Bei Li, Sze Ping, Ai May, Chee Khuen & Chee Seng (that guy that I met earlier) Then slowly, one by one, more and more familiar faces walked in..Some even came all the way from Singapore and Kulai..wow. Among the 18 of us, 3 had married and 2 of them had kid. Aik Yong, who is getting married on 5/7/08, even brought his "red bomb" to the gathering, grab hold of this opportunity to invite us to witness and share his Big day. I didnt really has the chance to chat with everyone but overall..I can say that this gathering has been a successful one..and everyone seem to be able to click with each other again..I guessed the next time when we have this gathering again, there will be more members, including their children..then it will be so much fun and exciting!

Please click here for more pictures.

Let's wait for that day to come.