Messages At Midnight

Grace Under Fire

2012-01-10T02:38:00.000-08:00

** This post is going to be a rant, so brace yourself.

The Wedding Planners

In my decade-long wedding career, I've only had one wedding experience that was extremely unpleasant. After last month, I now can add one more to that figure. But I guess, it takes nasty experiences to help us grow and learn.

I was glad to have my partners fly in to give support for the wedding because I could see things not going right and I was very sure I needed the extra experienced reinforcement. Of course, given a better circumstance, I would have liked them to fly in for a nicer, more pleasant experience. But well, that wasn't the case. In any case, 3 days from the aftermath, I am still thankful they were here and they got my back. Thanks, L & TH !!!

Well, I was very clear on what my deliverables were to the clients and whilst the planning process was totally unenjoyable, the clients weren't nasty. However, I have not known a more disorganized couple and their families and add to that, a bride who haven't even selected her HMU artist a day before the wedding - to name a few unconfirmed items - we can all spell the word C-H-A-O-S. Despite my best advise previously, they didn't want to listen and what happens when it's your big day and you suddenly realise you have ten thousand things not done yet? You freak out, tempers flare, you forget things and your time schedule runs out of whack. Let me do a run-down of what went wrong.

Nevermind that the table decoration was only confirmed 2 days before the wedding day, or the fact that the confirmed caterers were suddenly thrown our way - even though this wasn't a part of the workscope, and nevermind also that she couldn't confirm who she wanted for hair & make-up (even after a hundred trials), or what was the chosen walk-in music despite the fact that 10 over songs were played for them ..... right up to the morning of the wedding day, we had no guest list or seating plan - the max capacity of the hotel was 30 tables and late night on the eve of the wedding, she told me that there are guests who might turn up with additional people, etc,... etc..... And they wanted to do place card seating!!! Without a seating plan, that was totally impossible. And whilst we were instructed to serve wines - the red wines were nowhere to be found and not delivered to the hotel till the very last hour. And the approval of itinerary seemed to mean shit to the clients because the schedule kept changing... from hour to hour. Even at 5.15pm on wedding day, the itinerary was changed. The bridesmaid who was so particular about mixing the special cocktail (enough for 200 pax) showed up at 5.15pm and said "I didn't have time to do this. YOU DO IT. I will give you the recipe now. " No please, no thank yous. We are hired slaves. But guess what? We got it done. And we have a new mixologist in da house, y'all!

Since we had come all this way throughout the planning process, myself and the team worked on trouble-shooting. Every minute was spent implementing what was agreed in conjunction with managing last minute requests and changes. And it totally didn't help when the clients decide to get petty - eg... Car on standby - "Why did you ask the car to be on standby so early? I will call you when I need it! Who will pay for the additional hours?!!!" First of all, the car does not magically appear when I snap my fingers. Second of all, the additional hours costs a total of USD20. I knew that if the car was late to "appear", she would also throw a tantrum. So, I told her I'd absorb the USD20 if it so makes her happy. Mind you, these were wealthy people we were dealing with. But if that USD20 contributes to someone's happiness - hey, why not.

Aside from the couple themselves and the families, we had all these high-flying overseas guests who thought they were all one-head above us and looked at us with disdain and disgust. Well, I handled RSVPs also and despite ten thousand emails telling them what to do, what to expect, etc.... the guests seem to be hell-bent on making life difficult. Not all, but most. I mean, hey - what's up with the "I Am Better Than Thou" attitude. Give me a break. Last I checked, we all have two eyes, one nose, one mouth, hands, legs, one heart, one stomach, etc. Oh, you mean your better financial status means you are better than me? Oh.. puh-lease. There was even a celebrity amongst them who thought he was the God of all things and started instigating other guests on the bus to throw tantrums too because the schedule was so delayed - yet again! As mentioned, the clients kept changing their schedules and it ended up with guests having to wait long. Guests throwing tantrums, picking fights and then telling tales to the clients about "your wedding planner shouted at me" are all just displaying one fact to me - despite your monies, you are so terribly brought up. In Chinese, we say MO KAR KAO. I mean, if you were so "rich" and you didn't want to wait, why not arrange for your own private transfer?? Nevertheless, we all bit the bullet, grinned and beared with all these nonsense. I even beared the brunt of the bride screaming and crying at me, telling me she wanted me to get rid of my team member who shouted at her and her guests. (To those of you who knows TH - tell me if he is capable of shouting at a pissy guest? Didn't think so.)

Without a correct guest list and seating plan, it was obviously chaos when it was time to get into the ballroom. When I had to check this with a family member of the bride, she sarcastically told me "I have done it all perfectly already, ok? Doing your job!" Again.... errr,..... with all due respect, these are your guests. Unless you don't mind me seating your guests wherever I please. I mean, seriously! Do you really expect me to seat your VIP guests when I don't know who they are and I don't know which table they are seated at??! Nevermind. I said Thank You, smiled and walked off.

Because the bride had to get her hair done at a salon somewhere else (couldn't decide on a HMU, remember??), she was delayed by 3 hours, and everything ran an hour late for the reception. As per confirmed itinerary, food to be served after the bride's grand entrance. She specifically wanted a Western-style reception, as opposed to the Cambodian-style of serving every table of 10, whether or not the bride existed. Before I even got a chance to check with the bride if we could do that instead of keeping the guests waiting - guess what? The families started making a fuss. And here was where all hell broke loose - when two of the family members came up to me and started screaming and shouting degradingly at me - in front of all the other guests. I kept my composure and I tried to explain in an even tone that this was the bride's wishes, nevertheless, I have made the call to serve food. But more screaming and shouting and bitching ensued, so I walked off.

Add to the mix - a totally ball-less hotel management team who had no qualms of screwing you over.... it all spells N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E. See right, the hotel was so quick at pointing fingers the moment they sensed something wrong. The first thing they did when they saw the guests expressing hunger was to go up to the family and say "Actually, all our food is ready but the wedding planner isn't allowing us to serve." Good one. Before that, they reminded me over ten times that the ice bar display would be removed after pre-dinner cocktails because it would melt. But when the client complained about the ice melting - what did they do? They gathered their service staff and tried to salvage the ice bar. Let it be known - it was the wedding planning team who helped their service staff try to salvage the ice bar. And they reminded, also a thousand times before the wedding that the poolside closes at 11pm sharp. But again, when the push came to shove, they said "We'll let it run all night long, it's fine." That's fucking ball-less, if I ever met any. And I have worked with the hotel's sister company before in another country. They don't behave this way. However, I have to say kudos to the banquet and service team. They really provided the much needed support to cater to all the last minute changes and guests requests, etc. I have always enjoyed working with the banquet service team of this hotel. It is only the management that gives all sort of pompous problems. Now, I need to add ball-less to the equation.

When I was screamed at in a public display of rudeness, I could've chosen to walk off and bring my entire team with me. I did not. In fact, hahaha, I'm so proud of myself for achieving some sort of "zen" level in my journey towards having a calm mind. I did not walk out even though I have every right to do so. Say what? Even my Mother does not scream at me that way! Who the fuck do you think you are? But, I didn't create a scene because I don't like creating scenes in public. Furthermore, I think these people have publicly shown how badly they were brought up despite their richess and what-nots. Just because they behave like uneducated fools in public, does not mean I need to stoop to their level. I have class. My parents brought me up really well.

But most importantly was the fact that I really felt sorry for the bride. I mean, this was her wedding day. She had two days of displeasure, irritation, annoyance, screaming, crying, shouting, anger..... I really didn't want to be yet another person who physically added to the black spots of her wedding day. It's all karma at the end of the day. I was blessed with a fab, fab, fab wedding filled with laughter. I always wish the same for every couple because it is after all, a once-in-a-lifetime event. So, I stayed on. And we worked the floor and despite all the setbacks and glitches, we finally finished the 13 hours + 20 hours, 2 day-event.

I still haven't been paid nor has the other vendors. To be honest, if they paid, they paid. If they didn't, I couldn't care less. I'm not going to beg for my balance payment. Don't get me wrong, it would be great to be paid for the heartaches and pain but then again, the amount they are paying isn't worth it at all. In fact, no amount of money can pay off being humiliated in public for something that wasn't even my fault to begin with. If they want to be petty, etc... I don't think I would have the patience to deal with it. If they really don't pay, I will always remember that Karma's A Bitch. Fingers and toes crossed, so far, the client had been a good paymaster. Again, don't get me wrong - the bride had been ok. She wasn't nasty. I understand also that her temper on wedding day was just the torrents of emotions she was going through. But for the families and guests..... that's a different story.

Not to mention, after the event was over, I received Thank You emails from 3 guests. And they said that even though it was all so disorganized, they knew it wasn't my fault because they "knew the couple well." Even if it was only 3 guests out of the 300, I take that as a good sign. If I had screamed back at the family that day, I wouldn't be getting these words of encouragements.

I suppose trying to practise keeping calm is ..... hard. I've been reading this book about pretending your mind is a lake and let nothing ripple the calmness of the water. Well, I've had pebbles and rocks and God knows what else threw into it over that 2-day event, and it all rippled. Keeping it calm is hard, man. And then there's this thing about being the bigger person. After the wedding was over, I still had last minute requests coming from the bride. I honestly didn't feel like entertaining all these requests - which were out of my workscope by the way. In fact, my local team said "We really do not want to see them or any of their families again." This coming from a group of boys who are so dociled and mild-manner, it drives me crazy. They could stand me - Gordon Ramsey The Second for 4 years, but they just can't take the couple or their families for one more day, after two days. That says a lot. Well, I made the necessary arrangements for them but I also made some excuses not to show up. I mean, I had a date with the kids at the orphanage. Really didn't think I was gonna ditch them kids and choose to handle more rudeness!!!

Not letting things ripple that lake and being the bigger person...... these are all still work-in-progress for myself. Seriously, if I can do that, I might be the Buddha himself! :P But so far as I have seen, I am Grace Under Fire.

p/s : I highly commend my team who stepped up above so much and the great teamwork is what every business needs to make things successful despite the adversities. I salute all of you. And it was also nice to have experienced partners come here to watch my back for once :) I am thankful. I am blessed.

Eating, Praying & Loving... well into 2012

2011-12-27T01:45:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for the love that surrounds me everyday, for the opportunities that come my way, for the great experiences I can learn from. I am thankful for the food on my table, clothes on my back and roofs over my head.

In a flash of a flash, it is almost time to bid farewell to 2011. When they say time flies, they weren't kidding. And the end of the year would mark my full year of embracing a new positive attitude, glass-full and all..... For those who just stepped in, do read Part 1 & Part 2 of my Eating, Praying & Loving journey :)

Well, the year wasn't without its ups and downs for me. And definitely not short of dramas either. What with broken partnerships, crazeeee clients, set-backs after set-backs, and busting my knees too. There had been times that were really challenging, tearful times when I saw my glass bloody half-empty - again! In fact, my whole training regime took a dive because even as I pushed, my timing was getting slower and slower and my body was constantly coming up with pain at places I didn't know existed! And I just felt like the powers out there were really rocking my boat. I remembered a chat I was having with my Mom over G-Talk and I told her "Whoever I am praying to, they have abandoned me!!"

I learnt to have unwavering faith. OMG! Who knew that keeping faith was so bloody hard? But I preservered. I chose to "spiral up" (as Eminem says) instead of spiralling down. Why choose your glass half-empty when you can choose to see it as half-full, right? Hard as it may be some days, many days, especially during PMS :P, I soldiered on. And I continued praying. 31st December 2011 would also mark 402 days of me praying. I am keeping faith indeed :)

2011 had been a rather interesting journey for me actually. There had been several learning curves, both on the work and business front as well as on the personal front. But eversince I tried to synchronize my mind and my heartbeats with that of the Universe, I have been presented with "signs" and "words of wisdoms" that seemed to be really useful at times. I'm not really sure how this works. It could be the fact that I am no longer "blinded" by my negativities that I see the signs around me or it could really be the miracles of the universe at work. Who knows.

The last few months were actually the most trying. But why focus on the crap of 2011, right? :) When things were not going according to plan and in fact, there are many things still up in the air for me right now, my best friend said this to me : "Why don't you just go with the flow and enjoy the adventure?" Yes, agreed. I just hope she forgives me when I once again do a no-show in NZ to see her and new-born baby girl..... (Honest! I was THIS close to booking the tickets!!) At the end of the day, I think a lot of things happen for a reason. Whether the reason is simply just a learning experience, or aligning you towards your future..... they're all reasons.

A 'gang' of us were talking about regrets recently. Of course, I have regrets. So many. For one - I should've taken up criminal studies more seriously instead of the glam world of advertising. Two - I should've taken up competitive sports more seriously when I was in school instead of seeing it as free periods meant for playing. That is just to name a couple. BUT - as I said, I think things happen for a reason. Why am I here? Why am I not there? What made me make this decision? Was it wrong? Was it right? Or was the decision leading to something I did not know? - are you still following me right now? :) End of the day, what is the use of crying over spilt milk? I am not part of the BAU. I'll live with that :P I'll just engage in my fantasies watching Criminal Minds / CSI on TV. And who's to say, I would be happy doing criminal forensics as my career? Right? Right? Right.

Having done away with dwelling in my "regrets", I have learnt to accept failure as a grand learning experience. Just because something didn't work out, it does not mean I am blacklisted for life. All I need to know is that I gave it my best effort. And it didn't work out because there are bigger things out there waiting for me. It's just the way the universe aligns itself apparently. And with that too - I've come to a high point in my life where I feel I no longer need or want to prove anything to anyone. I don't need to be driving around in a Lexus to show people I am successful. In fact, I go around town riding pillion on a Honda kap-chai on weekends here. I used to feel 'embarassed', and I think "OMG, I don't want clients seeing me on this beaten-down motodop!!" But you know what? Clients hire us for our brains. Not for the cars we drive or the expensive bags we carry or whatever. Like I said, at the end of the day, people are free to say and think what they like. I don't have to prove to anyone that I am wherever I am. And it feeeeels grrreeeeat !! :) *and cue song : Lighters by Bad Meets Evil :)

I've had a fair few really great and nice clients this year and also a handful of - "crazeees" for my wedding business. I think the 'crazees' were there for a reason. What was the reason? Do, read on. I guess, the final straw was when a client wanted a free-tasting session for USD8 champagnes (I'll never let this go) and there they sat, opening bottles after bottles of "affordable" champagnes and commenting about bubbles and textures and taste. Now, see, I am not a connoisseur of champagnes, but even I know what to expect from bloody USD8 champers. I was praying so hard for the strength to not pour the bottle of champagne down their heads. I wanted to scream "You stupid bi-a-tch! There are people with no food and you are here bitching about USD8 champagnes??!" Whilst I kept my cool and professionalism (and damn proud of it), I couldn't sleep that night because I was raging internally. And therefore, my belief that money doesn't buy us happiness had been reinforced.

On the other hand, together with my local team, I've taken on more "charitable" work stuff, mostly for those which causes I support. The latest being the MTV Exit Campaign which fights human trafficking in this region. I remember the first meeting with World Vision and all involved, when we were presented with the harsh truth about human trafficking, I was.... shocked, appalled and ashamed. So, just like that - I decided on doing the job even if there was no profit to be made. And here's the catch - these "free work" that I do - so enjoyable! It gives me a buzz even though I'm poorer !! It gives me new experiences and also new learning curves for my local team too. Although, poor local team of mind - it's Hell's Kitchen everyday for them as well. LOL! New Year's resolution - I promise to try to be more patient and less Gordon Ramsey-like with them. Truth is, they ARE a good team. But things are just harder in Cambodia. Period.

Anyway, as such, whilst there are still a few things that are up-in-the-air for me (and I am still learning to let it be and not worry about it), I have made a partial decision to scale back on my time spent on work / business stuff and I am increasing my personal time spent on voluntary work for the new year. To start with, I am going to be more involved with the kids at the orphanage and will be planning music lessons, English lesson, fitness lessons, art lessons and other recreational activities for them. Apparently, recreational activities are good for children who are HIV+. Where I am unable to teach (like art - because I cannot draw to save my life), I will try to enlist help from other kind-hearted souls. For the elder kids, I will be sitting down with them to talk about their future as well. Bottomline is - I am going to do ALL I CAN to make things happen for them and help them become inspiring people. With the blessings from all the powers out there, I'll pull through and I'll pull them through. Of course, I am looking for guidance from the staff at the orphanage as well as this is a totally new area for me. And you know what they say about laws of attraction? I am attracting so many kind-hearted people! To all of you who have helped me helped these kids - they are great kids - I am truly grateful. To my NS team back in KL - thank you for your support too :)

On the flight back from KL recently, I had the 'good luck' of sitting surrounded by Cambodian maids returning to Cambodia. One of them was in tears and relating her story of hardship as a maid in Malaysia. I tried not to eavesdrop, but since I can comprehend the language a little, I couldn't help it. I felt really sorry for her. Looking back, I've really had a privileged life. Nope, I didn't have maids or nannies or chauffeurs. I walked to school and we had to wash our own uniforms and help with the household chores, etc. But my middle-class parents have struggled to provide for my brother and I and I wasn't shipped away for economic reasons to god-forsaken countries to be maids or whatever else people are trafficked for. In fact, I've had piano lessons, taekwondo lessons, I went to the Outward Bound School, and if not for the rotan-rotan-rotan for every 'A' that I did not produce in my report card, I don't think I would be where I am today. Again, as with all families, we've had our dramas and I've had my teenage rebellion spell too (running away and all, hahahha!). But I am thankful for the upbringing I had. We're not rich, but we're rich in so many other ways. And because I have led such a privileged life, I think it's high time I helped those who need it. I have also set my sights on several other NGOs supporting the vulnerable groups and have made appointments to see them soon. I am humbled to think that in this instance - these NGOs will consider whether I am suited for the voluntary work and it's not about me just saying yes, I'll do it. In fact, wherever I may be, Timbaktoo for all I care, this is my plan. THIS IS my next step.

As for paying clients,...... I will check whether our hearts are beating in synch or not before I sign on the dotted line :P I am good at my job. No, I am DAMN GOOD at my job. But I don't think I want to feel miserable doing the work. I don't want to do a half-ass job for the client just because I'm frustrated or my heart's not in it (and our hearts are not beating as one :P) or I am forced to be calculative with the clients. I will give clients a great event or a great wedding - provided they give me a great planning experience in return. Money? Let's make it worth both our whiles. Fair deal, I say.

I may see a dip in my income..... BUT..... I know I will always have food on my table, clothes on my back and roofs over my head. A friend posted this on her FB status a couple weeks ago : -

"The more I give away to others - my possessions, my money, my time, myself - the more fulfilled I am and the less I lack because there is always, ALWAYS, Divine Providence. Sometimes it's just what I need, but mostly it's over and above."

... and when I read that, I was like "BINGO!" Something clicked! See, what did I tell you about reading signs? All these signs are flashing in front of my face everywhere I looked, be it on FB, on TV, or simply a banner across the street. Used to be, they zoomed right past me. But now, I see them. I see them all!

I have new clothes all the way till CNY 2030 - (private joke only a few are privy of. LOL!). If you look through my photos - I am someone who don't have a large range of wardrobe. I can wear the same stuff over and over again every week and it doesn't bother me. MasterChef MOH will always know what to do with spicing up my meals - leftovers or not. And come what may, I know I have a room back in my parents' home. So, therefore, I'm grand :) Over and above that, I am truly blessed with so much love in my life. And laughter too :) I am thankful for the dosage of laughter MOH provides me everyday :)

"You may think you have challenges, but you have so many blessings. Sometimes it takes only a moment of conscious effort to recognize those blessings. Once you focus on the gifts instead of the problems, your whole perspective will change and you will see blessings everywhere."

As I usher into the new year, full of anticipation and a sense of adventure (hopefully, I'll also regain my racing fitness and sign up for another tri-race soon), I promise that I will continue Eating, Praying and Loving well into 2012.

So,...... to ALL - have a blast on New Year's Day! Happy 2012! May it be Money Come! Money Come! and All Good Things Come too! :)

p/s : For my friends, or anyone for that matter, who may have had a rough ride in 2011, it's time you buckled up. 2012 is going to be a super-awesome ride!

Karma's A Bitch

2011-11-23T01:46:00.000-08:00

* This post is a special dedication to all who felt like they had been cheated or taken for a ride.

I remember a wedding I planned years ago, where I met the stingiest, most cheapskate couple and both their families ever in my entire life. The five-day wedding was a nightmare for the crew and every single vendor who were part of the wedding - from the hotel right down to the hired van drivers. The funny thing was - the entire wedding, from Day 1 till Day 5 went perfectly well. Not even a single glitch - even with the Skpye-In speech by the groom's cousin. You'd think the internet would've created some havoc at least! But nope, weather was perfect, the food was great, the prayer ceremonies and traditional ceremonies went like clockwork beautifully. And still, at the end of the day, the client refused to pay everyone in full. By then, we were all so tired and couldn't wait to get out of there, we just left. (The sound system guy went as far as telling the client that the balance payment shall be "donated" to them).

On the way back, we had the pleasure of being on the same flight as the groom family's priest who presided over all the traditional ceremonies. Funny thing was, all of us on that flight got to talking and found out that the priest too was equally unhappy about the way everyone was treated by the family. Here's what the priest had to say to us and I will remember this forever :

"There is no need to be upset about your payment, ya. You see, the family is cheating money from here, there and everywhere only to have to use those monies to pay for the groom's medicine."

You see, the groom had a long-term illness.

So, my friends, they say Karma's A Bitch. You better believe it.

** cartoon taken from cheezadiddle.deviantart.com

Weddings Are Meant To Be Beautiful

2011-10-28T01:57:00.000-07:00

** I am so tardy with my blog these days, I fear cobwebs are growing around it

Over the course of my career, I have met quite a few "crazies" in terms of clientele. You know, clients who want it fast, cheap and good, clients who kick up a dramatized fuss about changing the copy from "a" to "the", clients who decide you are supposed to finance their business because they are a popular brand, etc. Then I expanded into planning weddings. Brides are a whole different breed really. Over the years and with many steep learning curves climbed, I have learnt to manage these clients, these crazies, the best way possible. I have had my finer moments and I have had my not-so-fine moments where if given a chance, I would push the person off the cliff. Or myself.

When it comes to bridal "crazies", I have realized that my patience can be stretched pretty far, even though patience is not my virtue. At the end of the day, it is about understanding the psyche of a bride. Or even a groom for that matter. I mean, after all, it is their big day and who ever thinks about "Oh, if this doesn't go well, we'll do it again?" for a wedding, right? So, I can deal with the "I want it and I want it NOW!" or the 6am calls on Sunday mornings or the 8pm calls at nights. I have even learnt to deal with brides who expect me to snap my fingers and stop rain - like I am God or something.

Therefore, having established myself and my name in this business - not without the help of my partners and a strong network of great industry vendors of course, I am more cautious when choosing my clients. But yet again, I sometimes have my not-so-fine-moments when making such a decision. And recently, this "un-fine" moment surfaced.

You see, I'm a sucker for weddings and all things romantic. I still cry at weddings - even though they are not mine. (Yes, this Eminem fan has a soft side too). So therefore, when this particular groom looked me up out of desperation, I took on the job. In all honesty, the fee wasn't that fantastic. I laid out my terms and these terms had to be customized because there was only 30 days left to the wedding and zero had been accomplished. We agreed and signed-off. And then in waltzed his TV star bride. And this was when things became a nightmare. Sensing that things aren't going to go down well, I had twice asked the groom to please take back his deposit - even though under contract, I am not liable to return his deposit. But twice, the groom, sounded desperately apologetic and said it will all be sorted out. I don't even know where my sense of "kindness" was coming from!! I even offered to help him on a "friendship basis" but he insisted I get paid for my work. But the whole drama escalated to a climax yesterday evening. Within a span of half an hour, the bride had called 4 times, changing her decision from cancel to limited production to cancel again to "Fine, I'll take the whole lot, but it must be delivered NOW." She knows that there was no way production of 1,000pcs of favours will be completed within one week. Yet.... She even threatened that if we don't do as she wants, she would "use her mouth to ruin our reputation."

Ah, you see.... I can take alot of nonsense. But I don't sit down to being threatened. I have to say this again because I enjoy saying it - last I checked, she was no Angelina Jolie. Sorry, to burst your bubbles, babe. Reality hurts, huh? I have a rock-solid career and credentials and if you think a local 'celebrity' can ruin me, I would've been ruined long time ago. I am so happy that I am such an anal-freak when it comes to black & white documentation. I can easily ruin her too by going to the press with all these. But I choose to take the high road. Meanwhile, where was the groom? Nowhere to be found. (Until this morning, when he called and apologized yet again and said let's move on. I say what??!) We're counting 18 days and still zero accomplished except for the favours drama.

That's the thing I don't get. Weddings are meant to be beautiful. A day where you celebrate LOVE with all those near and dear to you. A day that is filled with laughter and love permeating the very air that we breathe. Because it is such an enjoyable day, filled with blessings from loved ones, friends, acquaintances and sometimes, even passing-strangers, the lead-up to it should be an enjoyable one too. Isn't it? So why then do some people insist on making it a stressful and dramatized journey?

If you have hired a professional wedding planner or any professional wedding vendors, trust them to do their job. They've been doing this for years and they have credentials and portfolios to show for it. Do you walk into A Cut Above and pay the Creative Director 500 bucks to style your hair, but instead, you are teaching her how to cut your hair? Then why bother paying? If you have a budget, stick to it. But manage your expectations. Everyone has a budget. Even myself for my own wedding. Money don't grow on trees. I GET THAT and I understand that. But use reason and common sense to manage your expectations. You do not buy gold for the price of iron. It simply doesn't happen. As planners, we will strive to get you the best deals with the best quality possible matching the price paid. But remember this always - you pay peanuts, you get monkies. And ANY professional vendor will NEVER want to make monkies out of your wedding. If you are getting peanuts, I advise you to double and triple check your deal. Of course, there are rare occasions where a really good deal is offered.

Above all, treat your vendors with respect. We are not your butlers or your slaves. I have no issues helping you carry your gown, your bags, your shoes or helping your guests get a SIM card. But that is only because I LIKE YOU as a person and you respect me as a professional. If you were unkind and disrespectful, I will tell you that carrying your shoes and what-nots are not part of my jobscope. However much you are paying me at that point is irrelevant. Period. When a client calls me during lunch hour and asks "Eileen, is it ok to talk now? I know it is your lunch hour but I need to check on something..." I feel I want to do more for this client. But when a client calls me at 6am on a Sunday morning and then lambast me for not answering my phone because I am supposed to be available to her 24 hours of the day - I feel I need to memorize the contract and only perform according to my jobscope. There you go! The truth. I am pretty sure many of my industry friends share these feelings too.

Over and above that - never resort to threaten your hired professional. Sure, throw your bridal tantrums if you must. I know it gets stressful towards the big day. But don't ever, ever threaten to put your hired vendor out of business ESPECIALLY if you are the one being unreasonable. Because, let me tell you another secret - any vendors worth their salt DO NOT NEED your fees to survive. We are simply established enough to just move on. Many of us, we are in this business because we love and enjoy our jobs (aside from being suckers for pain :P) and for sure, we want to share the happiest moment of your lives with you. We want to see you laugh like there is no tomorrow and cry with joy (I will cry together with you for sure!). Bottomline - we love our jobs. We don't do this to survive. Sure, it pays for my triathlon training, and if I don't do your job, perhaps, I do one race less. Big deal. Always remember that.

Like I said, weddings are meant to be beautiful. You want blessings from loved ones, family, friends and all those who know you and share your day. Another secret - vendors do complain and do bitch about unreasonable and crazy clients. We are professionals and we smile and perform and make sure you have a great wedding and we may not bitch out loud and neither will we bitch to other people about it, but when we get back to the office, amongst ourselves, we might bitch, we might swear, we might curse. It is only natural simply because we need to release our frustrations too. We are after all, only humans. Do you want blessings or curses on your wedding day?

Because weddings are meant to be beautiful and the memory of that wedding day is meant to carry your love through for the rest of your lives together. When all your guests and all those who have worked on your wedding share the same joy and laughter, it is a truly, truly remarkable experience. Everytime you think about your wedding, you smile - even on the toughest, bleakest day. I say this because this is my experience with my own wedding. Let the small things slide and enjoy the day. Because perspective-wise - I think it is more important to have the right man standing next to me when exchanging my vows instead of worrying about the damn glasses being set on the table in a perfectly straight line.

I would have happily traipsed down the aisle even if I had a hole in my gown (would've still prefered the sarong though :P) simply because I was walking towards the man I truly love. This is what a wedding is to me. What about you?

Lighters

2011-10-12T03:26:00.000-07:00

I am one who collects song lyrics. I have a very large collection of lyrics simply because I love words. I wish I could write songs too. But I don't think I'm creative enough. I think songs can really lift your spirits sometimes, particularly when the lyrics hold meaning.

I am a huge fan of Eminem eversince his Slim Shady LP - and not forgetting "Stan", his most critically-acclaimed song. I feel the pent-up anger in his lyrics. But his tunes and rap are good. Bloody good. And don't you think he is genius with his words and rhyme? Though he says he "shouldn't have to rhyme these words in the rhythm for you to know it's a rap." More recently, his lyrics after his "come-back" (Recovery) had been more angry-inspirational, if you know what I mean. It fires you up.

I was a little down yesterday. Ok, maybe for the past couple of weeks due to so many reasons. I guess, yesterday had been a built-up. I felt defeated and deflated - for the first time, in a long time, after staying positive, I nearly let myself spiralled back to "glass EMPTY".

And then, I heard Eminem (Bad Meets Evil) on my iPod (thank you for downloading the song for me, Love!).

Lighters
Bad Meets Evil ft. Bruno Mars

[Bruno Mars:]
This one's for you and me, living out our dreams
We're all right where we should be
With my arms out wide I open my eyes
And now all I wanna see
Is a sky full of lighters
A sky full of lighters

[Eminem:]
By the time you hear this I will have already spiralled up
I would never do nothing to let you cowards fuck my world up
If I was you, I would duck, or get struck like lightening,
Fighters keep fighting, put your lighters up, point em' skyward uh
Had a dream I was king, I woke up, still king...
This rap game's nipple is mine for the milking,
Till nobody else even fucking feels me, till' it kills me
I swear to god I'll be the fucking illest in this music
There is or there ever will be, disagree?
Feel free, but from now on I'm refusing to ever give up
The only thing I ever gave up's using no more excuses
Excuse me if my head is too big for this building
And pardon me if I'm a cocky prick but you cocks are slick
Poppin shit on how you flipped ya life around, crock-o-shit
Who you dicks try to kid, flipped dick, you did the opposite
You stayed the same, cause cock backwards is still cock you pricks
I love it when I tell em shove it
Cause it wasn't that long ago when Marshall sat, flustered, lack lustered
Cause he couldn't cut mustard, muster up nothing
Brain fuzzy, cause he's buzzin', woke up from that buzz
Now you wonder why he does it, how he does it
Wasn't cause he had buzzards circlin' around his head
Waiting for him to drop dead, was it?
Or was it, cause them bitches wrote him off
Little hussy ass, scuzzes, fuck it, guess it doesn't matter now, does it
What difference it make?
What it take to get it through your thick skulls
That this ain't some bullshit
People don't usually come back this way
From a place that was dark as I was in
Just to get to this place
Now let these words be like a switch blade to a haters rib cage
And let it be known from this day forward
I wanna just say thanks cause your hate is what gave me the strength
So let em bic's raise cause I came with 5'9′ but I feel like I'm 6'8″

[Bruno Mars:]
This one's for you and me, living out our dreams
We're all right where we should be
With my arms out wide I open my eyes
And now all I wanna see
Is a sky full of lighters
A sky full of lighters

[Royce Da 5'9":]
By the time you hear this I'll probably already be outtie
I advance like going from toting iron to going and buying 4 or 5 of the homies the iron man Audi
My daddy told me slow down, boy, you goin to blow it
And I ain't gotta stop the beat a minute
To tell Shady I love him the same way that he did Dr Dre on the Chronic
Tell him how real he is or how high I am
Or how I would kill for him for him to know it
I cried plenty tears, my daddy got a bad back
So it's only right that I write till he can march right into that post office and tell em to hang it up
Now his career's Lebron's jersey in 20 years
I'll stop when I'm at the very top
You shitted on me on your way up
It's 'bout to be a scary drop
Cause what goes up must come down
You going down on something you don't wanna see like a hairy box
Every hour, happy hour now
Life is wacky now
Used to have to eat the cat to get the pussy
Now I'm just the cats meooww, ow
Classic cow, always down for the catch weight like Pacquiao
Ya'll are doomed
I remember when T-Pain ain't wanna work with me
My car starts itself, parks itself and autotunes
Cause now I'm in the Aston
I went from having my city locked up
To getting treated like Kwame Kilpatrick
And now I'm fantastic
Compared to a weed high
And y'all niggas just gossipin' like bitches on a radio and TV
See me, we fly
Y'all buggin out like Wendy Williams staring at a bee-hive
And how real is that
I remember signing my first deal and now I'm the second best I can deal with that
Now Bruno can show his ass, without the MTV awards gag

[Bruno Mars:]
You and I know what it's like to be kicked down
Forced to fight
But tonight we're alright
So hold up your light
Let it shine
Cause this one's for you and me, living out our dreams
We're all right where we should be
With my arms out wide I open my eyes
And now all I wanna see
Is a sky full of lighters
A sky full of lighters

Particularly the last bit......
And just like that, I am inspired to "hold up my light, let it shine" .

Thank you for the song. Thank you for the lyrics Marshall !

* lyrics pulled from AZlyrics.com
* image from Eminemrx.com

Battambang : The Real Cambodia

2011-09-30T01:46:00.000-07:00

Fallen in love with the charms of Battambang

When MOH decided to whisk me away on a trip to Battambang over the Pchum Ben holidays, I was not the wee bit excited, actually. For one, I thought perhaps the long break would be a good time to get out of Cambodia (think flight home :P). Secondly, I wasn't too keen on breaking my work momentum as things were getting a little crazy busy for me. But the day arrived and like my China trip, I told myself, let's go with an open-mind.

I was glad MOH made the choice though, for I fell in love with this little "lost" province of Cambodia. The 5 hour journey in torrential rains and floods was well worth it for when I arrived, I was totally caught by the 'old world charms' the city oozes. Of course, first of all, the hotel in which MOH booked us in was super beautiful. Bambu Hotel is a boutique hotel nestled in a colonial-style mansion. After checking-in (and oohing-ah-ing about the size of the bathroom), we immediately set out for town to satisfy our hunger.

The town was small and easily managed on foot. Braving the rains, we made our way to Khmer Delight for lunch. The food was good, and after lunch, we explored the town. The town reminded me of so many of the places that I love - Luang Prabang, Hoi An, Seremban, Melaka, Tanjung Tualang..... and I love all the colonial architecture of the buildings here. The best part was - the entire place was clean! No urine smell permeating the air. In fact, throughout the trip, I saw not a single soul peeing on the streets. No rubbish and muck everywhere. Even though it rained and flooded, rubbish wasn't floating about. The roads were wide and the parks were simply gorgeous. I was beginning to wonder - what happened to Phnom Penh? MOH theorized it to be the fact that in PP, all the people came from the provinces such as Battambang and they don't call it their home. As such, they have no qualms dirtying the place and peeing all over. Over time, PP is one huge pile of.... dirt. Truly very sad. I remember 10 years ago in PP, it still had its charms.

Anyway, with the map from the hotel, we walked and walked and explored the markets as well. I told myself, I wasn't living in Cambodia. I am a tourist in Battambang :) There were lots of interesting discoveries - one being the fact that Chinese roots seem to be prevalent here in Battambang. On the map, there was this "San Long Sugarless Bread Bakery" and I was so curious about it that we went on a hunt for it. With the rain stopped, the weather was perfect for a 'treasure hunt' in town on foot :) When we finally found the place, I couldn't stop laughing at the really interesting POP they used at the front. Well, I was all too happy to have found the place because they have old-fashioned carrot cake and the Chinese Kong Sou Peng that were to-die-for. I went back the next day to stock up. Haha!

Not only was I taken in by the sights and the buildings, I was taken in by the Khmer warmth too. The Battambang folks seem to exude a sincerity about them - which one may be hard pressed to find in da Penh. I'm not saying PP is so bad and I meet kind people everyday here too. But I guess the lifestyle in Battambang was different and laid-back. In fact, I think everyone knows everyone here in town simply because there were no name of streets. The streets were identified as Street 1, 2, 3.... I wonder how the postman looked for addresses!

As we walked, I began to notice again - that Khmer trait of staring..... I guess, it isn't often that they see a girl in shorts and singlet with tattoos all over her. The folks in da Penh are used to me by now (hahaha) but here in Battambang, I am strange to them. We seemed to be the only Asian tourists in town. I think that whilst they find the gwai los strange, it is a given. But they find us Asians stranger still, especially when we gawk at chickens being grilled on the roadside same as what the gwai los are doing and snap photos of outdoor cooking - because to them, it's strange that as an Asian - you are still getting excited about these things! I bet in their minds, they are saying "Never see before is it?!" But of course, this is just my theory to the staring *smile*.

We had a really enjoyable walk in town and along the riverside and later in the evening, we went over to the food stalls market to see if we can score some local delights. Weather was gloomy again and right after I bought my "Grilled Special Eggs", (I really like this snack and have had it before in Sihanoukville but never got around to it when in PP...) it poured cats and dogs. We made our way in the rain to Gecko Cafe for dinner. This is one of those community service joint to create a self-sustaining environment for the locals to fend for themselves. MOH and I make it a point to support these type of outfits whenever and wherever we travel. Dinner was really good too and after dinner, we called it a night since it was a long journey today and MOH said his legs were cramping up due to too much walking (it was the start of him harrassing me about getting massages!).

I was already falling in love with Battambang on day one itself. I would so hate to leave when the time comes!

The next day, I woke up bright and early to a perfectly sunny day! Super awesome indeed for we planned to go for the Norry ride - the Bamboo Trains of Cambodia. We heard that they may ban these trains soon and thus, I was adamant to catch it while it was still around - rain, shine or snow. But luckily, it was shine :) It was a grand experience. I say grand because it was a totally new experience and a very interesting one indeed. If you read the link above about these bamboo trains, you will know why the experience was bloody interesting. Especially when the problem of on-coming traffic was easily solved via disassembling the trains off the rails. LOL! We tipped the driver extra for this because on the way back, he had to do this disassembling thing about 5 times. Back-breaking, I assumed. I had a great time at the countryside too, chatting with the locals - who spoke great English, by the way. I was truly impressed. Sure, perhaps, some of these stalls were tourist traps as they try to sell you straw hats and the Khmer kromas..... but at 3,000 riels per hat, I wasn't keen on bargaining, I didn't think it was a trap in any way and we bought two of those straw hats. Not because we needed them, but.... you know, they were just trying to make a living after all. (Some say my kindness will backfire on me one day, but I'd like to think otherwise!)

The Norry was so fun, I wanted to go on it again. But then again, at USD10 per ride and with the driver having to do the arduous task (as it got busier, I can only assume that per journey, the driver possibly does maybe 10 times of the carry-up-carry-down of the train job), we thought going into town for our fruit shakes would be a better idea.

On board the Norry :)

White Rose Restaurant was well-known for its myriad of fruit shakes - any flavour you can conjure - as long as the fruit was in season, you'd get your shake. This was so typically Vietnamese, though. I am reminded of my favourite fruit shakes while living in Vietnam. Anyway, we had lunch here too before heading back to the hotel for the pool there beckoned.

Later in the evening, we walked to Nary's Kitchen for dinner. She was known to serve the best Fish Amok in Cambodia and for us - this is a call to "must-try". It was good, doubtless. And because there was not much else to do except mini-market shopping (the shops here stock up on a lot of Thai products due to the close proximity to the Thai border) it was back to the hotel early for another good night's rest.

The next day was the start of the Pchum Ben (Cambodian Cheng Beng)... and I thought it was apt to make today a day we visited temples and prayed. There were a few temples in town, each with its own history and Angkor Wat resemblance. The temples were crowded but not overly and we finally settled to pray at Wat Sangker just off the Hen Sen bridge. It was another really hot day but inside the temples, it was cooling. I was in awe of the wall and ceiling murals of Wat Sangker. They were done really well. There was a monk and a caretaker in one of the buildings who invited us in to pray. He even gestured for us to kneel down to say our prayers. And so, I did. And as always, I prayed for all good things for all my family, loved ones and friends. The key being - to have unwavering faith :)

Oh, did I mention that MOH rented bikes for us today? Not mountain bikes. But the grandpapa-type bikes with no gear, a basket and a bell that goes ring-ring-ring! It was hilarious but I had actually loved the bike. No, I was actually very taken in by the bell. I couldn't stop playing with it! LOL! After the temples, we cycled around town before relaxing back at the pool. And then we cycled out into town again for our lunch at the Smokin' Pot. The menu was a riot indeed. The place is totally worth checking out, if not for the food, for a good laugh reading the menu. :) We had one order of the Pork Lok Lak here - finally, I could try the Lok Lak in a non-beef way..... and then we found this Chinese shop opposite the Smokin' Pot and went over there for our second lunch. The Chinese noodles were the best ever, really. And I am a noodle person, ok! I wish there was room in my stomach for more because one bowl just wan't enough! (And the next day, everyone was officially closed for the real Pchum Ben ceremonies).

After lunch, MOH went for his massage while I relaxed back at the pool. I was already excited about the night's programme - we were going to go to the circus! Yay! I haven't been to a circus in ages and eversince Enid Blyton's Mr. Galliano's Circus and the entire circus collection, I had always loved a good circus show - with the big top and the popcorns and candy floss. Oh, and the trapeze artists and elephants and lions that roar. So, I was rightfully excited about the Phare Ponleu Selpak troupe. I had seen them perform before in da Penh but that was just like a five minute performance and on another occassion - a street parade. But here - here was in the big top and all! Ok, admittedly, it wasn't a real, real circus. A big top, yes. But no animal shows, no trapeze, no popcorn and no candy floss. BUT - I still gave a bloody big round of applause because PPS is yet another NGO outfit that helps children and youth self-sustain in the community through education and arts. I'd say any outfit that helps children and youth help themselves is high on my "To Support" list. Maybe I could move to Battambang and volunteer with PPS :) In actual fact, it made me reflect on my voluntary work with the orphanage. On how little I am doing and how small my effort was as compared to these people who are truly helping in such a big way too. ........ (pondering what can I do to improve the lives of the children at Happy Tree.....)

After the show and all, we made our way to town for dinner. Town was deserted and quiet since everyone's closed for the Pchum Ben - or getting ready to close for the official ceremonies the next day. We had not much choice but to settle for White Rose again for dinner. Still, not a bad choice. Great food :)

On our final day...... the skies were crying on my behalf too. It started raining again. We had 2 great weather days and just before we leave, it rains again. Oh, that certainly didn't stop us from donning our raincoats and cycling into town for one last time. I just wanted to play with the bell :) Not much was happening in town because most everything was closed, except for some fruit stalls and sundry shops. We did stop at an old Chinese temple to have a quick look and a quick prayer too. Again, the caretaker was very kind and spoke to us in Mandarin. But alas, I could hardly pick out what he said because he was mumbling. With the rain not letting up, we made our way back to the hotel.........

And then it was time to say bye-bye........ to a piece of Cambodia that I had fallen in love with.

Dinner with Cambodian MasterChef Luu Meng

2011-09-16T01:49:00.000-07:00

With Cambodian MasterChef Luu Meng

Everytime I sit down for dinner with Luu Meng, I am not only humbled, but I am inspired by this man. I had previously written about my dinner with Luu Meng before here. And today, I have yet another story to tell.

Last week, I met up with Luu Meng at one of his restaurants in town - the new Yi Sang on the riverside. Needless to say, Yi Sang at the Almond Hotel (also owned by none other than the man himself) is one of the best Chinese restaurants in town. The one on the riverside serves dim sums and lighter meals as it also functions as a Tourist Information Centre (again, managed by none other than the man himself).

Always the gracious host, Luu Meng ordered too much food! Later, when he told me that his family hailed from Guangzhou, China, I understood. In my last trip to China, I learnt that in the southern parts of China, you are deemed a good host when you 'over-feed' your guests. The culture changes as you travel to different parts of China.

Anyway, yes, over baskets and baskets of dim sums, I caught up with the busy, busy, busy man. What I've always admired about Luu Meng and I respect him for it is how humble he is as a person. We got to talking about his involvement with the ATF, his various restaurants and hotel businesses and I am excited to know that there is a great franchise that he is bringing into Cambodia (of which I am not at liberty to disclose at this point).

And it was here that he spoke about the failure of Studio 182. Although he did not go very much into details about why the venture closed, he spoke about it with jest and without shame. I remembered his words : "That was a very, very big lesson for me, for all of us because we spent so much energy in that business." To sum it up, closing Studio 182 was a wise decision and instead of crying over spilt milk and spent-energies, he moved on to other greater things. Learning to accept when something is doomed, learning to learn from it and embrace it with grace and using all the learnings to move on and ahead - I think sitting down with Luu Meng, this is a great reminder for me as well. I hate failures. Of course, I have failed before and I have learnt from it. But still, sometimes, I think in my blindness of trying so hard not to fail, I refuse to accept when something is doomed. Luu Meng said "If you succeed all the time, how can you learn?" Again - true. Again, I know. But I guess, once in awhile, we just need to be reminded that it is OK to fall. Get up and move on.

I have some serious streamlining to plan for my businesses the coming year..... indeed. But I am actually excited. I'm not going to look at it as a 'red mark' on my report card. In fact, it is about the adventure, yes?

Our conversations moved on to less serious stuff, like Gordon Ramsey and his constant yelling and TV chefs (since yours truly is an ardent fan of all cooking shows), to which Luu Meng agreed that in a real kitchen, no staff will stay to work if they were constantly being yelled at like that. Well, at least he agreed with me. *laugh* By the way, Ramsey apparently lost one of his Michelin stars! I never knew that could happen. Well, there you go. You learn something new everyday.

Another thing I admire about Luu Meng is the fact that despite his numerous businesses, meetings and what-nots, he still makes it a point to cook once a week. This is to facilitate new menu creation for his restaurants and to bond with his crew. He goes to the market with them to get fresh produce, meat, fish (he's not happy about a fish issue, but I shall leave this to another reporter to write *smile*) and etc. He is still very passionate about cooking. One day, I hope to see him at work in the kitchen. I'm sure it'll be as inspiring even as it is as educational.

Dinner ended with plenty of leftovers - to which Luu Meng arranged for them to be packed for me to take home with me. The Chinese say "Also eat, also take"..... Malu-nya! So, once again, unashamedly, I told Luu Meng that the next time I am cooking at home, I shall invite him and his wife over.

Before that can happen, I need to make sure I perfect ONE dish at least for I know Chef Luu Meng's tastebuds are of superior standards. Till then, I shall just enjoy eating at his restaurants. Thank you again for dinner, Luu Meng!

p/s : I was so engrossed in my conversation with Luu Meng that once again, I forgot to take photos of the food!!

Lost in Translation : 14th Asian Bridal Summit / Asian Wedding Cultural Festival in Haiyang, Qingdao, China (Part 2)

2011-08-31T00:17:00.000-07:00

Handing over of flag from Japan to Myanmar

Day 4 : 28th August 2011 | Haiyang City Promotion & Closing Ceremony

I was actually expecting a Chinese friend of mine the previous night. He got in late to Haiyang and unfortunately for me, my splitting migraine had me crashing out for the night earlier so I didn't wait up for Heawin.

Heawin hails from Guangzhou and our friendship goes back 8 years. We first met when we worked on the Mild Seven Outdoor Quest in Sabah. Seeing that I missed him the night before, I made plans to meet him for breakfast before keeping to the day's summit schedules. Unfortunately, the timing didn't go as planned either. Being the last day of the summit and all, our mounting frustration with our translator was about to peak. None of the schedules for the day was kept to and nobody, literally nobody knew what was going on. And then there seemed to have surprise meetings which are compulsory for us to attend without prior information. Basically, it was one entire pot of mass confusion. Between my anticipation of meeting with Heawin, the screwed up itinerary and making sure we didn't embarass Malaysia further by missing out important activities or being seen as "not giving face" to Chinese government, my migraine creeped back. Aaargh.

I haven't met Heawin in the last 8 years and we had lots of catching up to do. Just as fate would have it, I bumped into him at the lift - he was coming down and I was going up! What were the odds of that really, given that the hotel was fully booked??! A quick hello indeed and I had to rush into the lift. Hmmm... really not how I would've expected to greet an old friend. No hugs. Haha. I wasn't sure if I should be mindful of "cultural differences" here or do I do my usual "banana-world" Western-style hugs when I see an old friend *smile* Anyway.... I had more things to worry about like "fishes" who couldn't get a proper time schedule for us.

The first activity for the day was our travels up to Zhaohu Mountain Park. The weather wasn't really on our side. Over-cast, drizzling... but nevertheless, we went on the bus and it was a police-convoy all the way, even with police stopping traffic. Ok, how grand is that? :) The Zhaohu Mountain lies 549.7m above sea levels and on there is a Buddhist temple is situated at one of the hills. The temple is also a deep meditation institution. The day being cloudy and over-casted actually created a very surreal and peaceful atmosphere. I had felt a moment of deep peace, in both my mind and my heart when I was at the temple and I prayed. Hmmm... again, it was one of those "strange but good" things that I experienced in my China trip.

After the trip to the mountains, we were ushered back to lunch. Instead of lunch at the hotel, we met up with Heawin who took us to Jade Palace Restaurant at the Sand Sculpture Park for lunch. It was good, doing a quick catch-up with him.
The afternoon, was a compulsory meeting at the Shineland Yacht Club so after lunch, Heawin dropped us off. Now, nobody told us it was a media event and guess what these two silly Malaysians were dressed in? Travel gear since we just only came back from the mountains :P OMG indeed when we walked into the room. Ms. President was obviously fuming. I was luckier. I didn't have to sit at the head table. She did. Hahaha! But still, I took out my sweater to cover up my "touristy" T-shirt and tried to keep a low-profile. But when our translator showed up, he was well-dressed in formal attire and I asked him - why weren't we informed that it was a formal meeting? Because earlier on, they only said it was an informal tourism presentation. OMG. OMG. OMG. Even in her speech, the Mayor said "I'm sorry for over-dressing, but it is only because I have another important meeting to attend." Either she caught sight of Leticia's dressing and tried to let us down easy or she was being honest. We will never know. But we survived. In fact, people wanted our autographs too. Again, strange and bizzare. Autograph? Oh, because our faces were in the Official Book for the 14th Asian Bridal Summit.

After the media presentation, we went back to the hotel and met up with Heawin again. I felt bad because he traveled all the way and I didn't have a correct schedule to keep to. Anyway, we went to the beach for ice cream and chatted about events and weddings in our respective countries before we had to go back to get dressed for the Closing Ceremony. This time, Leticia and I were gonna make sure we looked the best for Malaysia. Haha.

Due to inclement weather, the closing ceremony was held indoors although a set was set-up for outdoors. At the Gold Coast Hotel again, when we arrived, nobody seemed to know what was going on and what to do with us. We spoke to fishes who insisted on speaking to us in Japanese and we were just plain frustrated. Finally, they told us that the President had to sit at the Judging Table. Funny, funny... there was a Top Model Contest taking place during the Closing Ceremony and they were to be judged. The judging form was in Chinese. My President couldn't read a single word. I was happy to be at my delegation seat. *laughs*. And last-minute like, I was told she had to present prizes to the winners of the contest. So I related the information to her and told her I would signal her when she needs to go on stage since she couldn't understand Chinese and nobody did any translation of any sort! OMG..... ! Another lost in translation moment happened when a simple question of "what time does it all end?" was misintepreted as "we want to leave now!". When the translator went to inform my President that she can now leave, OMG, was she fuming mad. I mean, how the hell do you expect her, sandwiched in between all the Chinese government officials to first of all walk out of there? And second of all, how bad would it look for Malaysia? Whether we liked it or not, we represented the country and we didn't want to be known as the delegation who misbehaved! I decided to look up the organizers right there and then and explained the entire situation to them. The last thing we wanted was to let the Chinese team think that we were being so bloody difficult. We weren't! OMG indeed. Luckily, they understand. They also understood that our assigned delegation's person-in-charge was more interested in drooling over swimsuits than to ensure that we were well looked after.

I certainly wish them all the best in organizing the Asian Beach Games next year. But I'm pretty sure China will prevail in organizing a world-class event.

After the whole thing ended, we met up with Heawin for supper. The only thing available in Haiyang at that time was their local BBQ shops. Cool. Heawin is in the event business as well and when we complained to him all about the mass confusion that happened everyday, he was shaking his head in disbelief.

Yet another long day and finally, the summit has come to an end. It was a good learning experience for us and of course a great networking event as well, expanding our horizons and wings into China, Korea, Japan, Myanmar. Not to mention, making new friends as well. Sometimes, we never know when these contacts would come in handy anyway. Agree?
____

Day 5 : 29th August 2011 | My Short Travels
So, today, was goodbyes. Even though we arranged for transportation for Leticia the day before, they still managed to screw-up the plan. The bus to airport came late. Anyway, after checking and making sure that they are getting it right and she was going to be at the airport on time, I ditched her :) Heawin, my tour guide for the day was going to take me to Qingdao!

The 2-hour ride from Haiyang to Qingdao gave Heawin and I an opportunity to catch up and pick-up from where we left off. This is what great friendships are all about. The gaps in between does not make a difference actually. Before you know it, we were catching up and joking and laughing - me in my broken Chinese and him in his broken English.

First on the itinerary was for me to see the World's Longest Bridge - the Jiazhou Bridge which spans a distance of 42km and links Qingdao to an offshore island called Huangdao. The only thing I could think about was the fact that we could do a full marathon from end-to-end on the bridge. That would be super. I told Heawin to plan the race. *laugh* Ok, honestly, I was impressed by the bridge. 4-lanes on both sides. And with the mist and over-casted skies, it looked like a highway to heaven. Once again, China Boleh, huh? When we exited at Huangdao, my brilliant tour guide got lost for awhile before we found our way to the ferry terminal to take the ferry back to Qingdao. And my tour guide also proved to me why Haiyang cannot be the largest city in China. *laughs* I learnt that one should not argue with a local :P
He put me up at this boutique hotel called The Castle. I can tell, this hotel was specifically made for weddings when the description said "The Green Castle and Red Castle are linked together like a couple standing hand-in-hand". It was a really cutesy, art-decor hotel and definitely looks like a place for a lot of the Chinese to do their pre-wedding shoot. They also have a wedding field for garden ceremonies. At the conference, I learnt that the Chinese people are also westernizing their wedding customs.

Anyway, the scenery from the hotel was beautiful. It was atop a small hill and overlooks most of Qingdao's skylines. Qingdao was an ex-German base in 1899 when the Imperial German Concession was signed. Now, the colonial architecture of the town is what is left of this part of history in Qingdao. But Qingdao was full of people. Tourists, both from abroad and locally. But to my surprise, I only saw 3 gwai los for the 2 days that I was in Qingdao. I had expected this beach side resort to have more. But then again, the International Beer Festival just ended and perhaps, they had all left in their drunken stupor. Too bad, I missed that too. It would've been great to see it.

After checking-in, we went for lunch. Knowing my tastebud for spicy food, he took me for home-cooked Sichuan food. Ok, the setback about doing a documentation of my China travels is that - I am unable to put down the names of the shops I've eaten at. Why? Because me no read Chinese! But this place, was really good food. It was home-cooked style and we had a Chicken, Lamb, Soup and Cabbage dish - all SPICY :) The lamb was apparently the signature dish and has been showcased in the media too. So, good find, Heawin! This was arguably the best full meal that I had since arriving in China :)

Heawin and I at lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall shop :)

We spent most of the afternoon chatting away and before you know it, it was time for our goodbyes too. Again, we said bye-bye in the form of a formal handshake. What?? No goodbye hugs? *laughs*. The handshake seems a bit strange to me. *grin*. Anyway, thanks for your hospitality, Heawin :)

Heawin dropped me off at the hotel and thus began my solo adventure in Qingdao. For the first time in a long time, I was traveling alone. I had actually missed this - traveling solo.
Because I didn't have much time, I decided to only look in at a few places and therefore, I took a walk out to get to Zhanqiao Bridge - the iconic symbol of Qingdao. This was near to the hotel, but me being terrible with maps, I got lost for a good one hour! I ended up asking strangers on the streets for directions. Again, call me lucky, but nice people directed me. One of them, when he found out I wasn't local, he said "Welcome to China." And so, in a country supposedly full of obnoxious and selfish Chinese, again, I was blessed with meeting only the nicer ones :)

I finally made it to Zhanqiao and it was so crowded! I like Chinese architecture, which was the building that was at the end of the bridge. More so than the colonial ones. It's quite funny because despite my very westernized ways, I do like a lot of things Chinese. Anyhoo.. from Zhanqiao, I made my way to the Taidong Bu Xing Jie - the "world famous pedestrian walkway" where supposedly, is a great place for night market shopping and also to see the wall mural paintings. OMG, when I arrived - it was "people mountain, people sea" but because the place was so crazy big and spacious, you don't get that claustrophobic feeling. I was actually in awe of the wall murals. They were really good and I was wondering how did they get it done and how long it must've taken them to do it.

The night market, though was only 3 lanes and the rest were all branded fashion and upscale shops. The night market was rather uninspiring. I was looking for a bag and a magnet for my Mom and found none. What? No souvenir magnets?? Oh no. I spent 2 hours here at Taidong and didn't manage to walk the whole place. It was too overwhelmingly large for me. I ended up having a look inside Walmart. Hey, after all, I'm in civilization as compared to PP, so why not, right? Oh... I also managed to sample some "Smelly Tofu". Hahaha. I smelt those delicious snacks from miles away and had to get them. But it was again, strange. They serve it in a type of broth here. Still tasted good anyway :)

The impressive wall murals at Taidong Buxingjie that I'm in awe of

After the walk and all, I wanted to go look for dumplings to eat. Wow, Qingdao was so huge in itself and not everywhere was within walking distances. But - the taxi drivers were nice. Except, one of them scolded me for not being able to read Chinese. He, was apparently too old to see the signboards clearly. So, I said even if he scolded me, I still cannot read. So how? He laughed at me after that! *slaps forehead*. Anyway, I finally found one local looking shop and had my Jiaozhi before heading back to the hotel and calling it a night.
____

Day 6 : 30th August 2011 | Last Day in China

I woke up bright and early and went out for a walk around the hotel before having my breakfast. Now, breakfast was rich indeed as compared to breakfast for the last few days. I decided to skip the Western breakfast and had Jiaozhi (again!), porridge and Siew Loong Bao for breakfast.

Then, I made my way to the Qingdao Beer Musuem. If not because MOH wanted a Tsingtao Beer T-shirt and I couldn't find any at the night market last night, I wouldn't have gone. I thought I'd make it quick and just give it a short look around. My main objective was really to get the souvenir! Hopefully, a magnet for my Mom too. I ended up touring the place for an hour plus. Yes, I did. It was interesting. Plus, they gave visitors free beer. So, 9am in the morning, I had a small cup of beer. And I don't even drink beer!! Finally, I found the T-shirts and bless me, I found magnets too. Woohoooo!!!

Next, I went to the Badaguan Scenic Area and last day for me to take in the sea breeze and ocean. Badaguan Scenic area houses a lot of the colonial buildings and also upscale resorts. Qingdao is not flat and it's a lot of uphill, downhill - so perfect for running :) They should do an international triathlon here!

After enjoying my ice cream by the beach, I headed back to the hotel. It was time to leave and time to say goodbye to Qingdao China. I wasn't particularly looking forward to the 8-hour traveling back to PP from Qingdao. If only the Harry Potter portkey was real. I'd zapped myself back. We'd all save a lot of time too.

So, my trip to my Mother Land has come to a great end. For some reason, I am missing China already. That is strange. I didn't expect to miss China !! Hah, too many "strange but nice" things that I experienced this trip. The trip was definitely made nicer because I met nice Chinese people. I suppose, maybe people's perception about China's Chinese need to change? Or I'm being too idealistic? Yes, they are still loud and oblivious to the world, but so far, I only had the pleasure of meeting the nice ones. As I mentioned, in a country, supposedly full of cunning, obnoxious folks, I met only the nice honest ones. I'm either very lucky or I'm starting to build an affinity with my Mother Land. But then again, I also prefer to see the good in people first. This might one day be my downfall but.... oh well.....

I was also a bit strange for me because they all seem to find me strange. "How come you speak Chinese? | How come you speak but you cannot read? | How come you look so dark? So you speak Chinese in Malaysia?? | etc... etc...."

So am I actually Chinese? Of course I am Chinese!! I just don't come from China!

I'm also happy to have the chance to catch up with my friend too. Now, I can say I have been on the longest bridge in the world. One day, I shall run the marathon on it :) So all in all, the trip was really great.
Now, perhaps, is time for me to brush up my Chinese and not let it rot since I seem to have gotten a hang of it in my last few days in China *laugh*

Lost in Translation : 14th Asian Bridal Summit / Asian Wedding Cultural Festival in Haiyang, Qingdao, China (Part 1)

2011-08-30T23:48:00.000-07:00

President & Vice President AWP Malaysia at the 14th
Asian Bridal Summit 2011

So, I was traveling back to China, my Mother Land for the second time in my life. I just realized that both times were for work. First time being the Mild Seven Outdoor Quest in Lijiang, Kunming and now for the 14th Asian Bridal Summit in Haiyang, Qingdao.

I was both excited and apprehensive at the same time. First of all, my mother tongue isn't really my mother tongue. I don't speak much of it back home and definitely no reason to speak it in Cambodia therefore, I think it is a bit rusty. Second of all, I was wary of people warning me to be careful of the Chinese people and people telling me "welcome to the country of loud-ness"... of how obnoxious and rude the Chinese people are, etc, etc. Following the Laws of Attraction, I thought that it might be better if I went with an open-mind. So I did.

Day 1 : 25th August 2011 | Arrival

The traveling was, OMG long and tiring - 11 hours in total!! From PP to Guangzhou was a 3 hour flight and then I had to transit in Guangzhou for 3 hours, waiting for my President to show up. She was late and I thought she had decided to ditch me at the last minute (apparently, she was stopped at the Baiyun airport security check for carrying a bomb in her bag!! This was hilarious when she explained it to me). And then the flight from Guangzhou to Qingdao was another 3 hours. From Qingdao to Haiyang was a 2 hour journey by car. So, just imagine that.

Guangzhou Baiyun airport was huge. Totally huge. Took me 2 hours to navigate myself to the right counters and all. Ok, granted, my sense of direction isn't my strong point. But when I asked for directions, the airport staff were friendly and guided me to where I needed to go. Most couldn't speak English, and I thought it being Guangzhou, Cantonese would've been fine. Great misconception. Mandarin it was, all the way. But still, yes, they stare at me strangely as I tried to speak in my broken Mandarin and I strained my ears to catch what they are saying in their heavily accented Mandarin. This is my mother tongue? Oh God. Sounds foreign to me.

At the Qingdao airport, upon our arrival, we were given a rather pompous greeting. We had about 15 crew members and the chief of Malaysian delegation welcome us with flowers and fanfare and media too! My only thought was "OMG. After 11 hours, I look like shit and they wanna take photos??!" My President was even better. She thought that it was embarassing that the Malaysian delegation only showed up with 2 people and yet, the welcome committee was large. Nevertheless, we took photos and we were promptly escorted to our car and driven to Enjoy Sea Hotel in Haiyang. Yes, that's the name of the hotel (and there was internet, just not WiFi!) Our delegation's person-in-charge cum translator was even funnier. He spoke to us in Japanese and speaks very little English. Shaking my head, I thought, ok, this was going to be really fun.

Because it was such a late arrival for us, the hotel prepared dinner separately for us. Too tired for anything else after dinner, we called it a night.
_____

Day 2 : 26th August 2011 | Opening Ceremony & Rehearsals

Now, you see, during the planning process of the summit, we were communicating with Japan and again, it was a lot of chicken & duck talk too. We had about 5 different versions of the schedule and itinerary, none of which were in English. One of them was even in half-Chinese and half-Japanese! Bizzare. The best part was, the itinerary was somewhat different from what was printed in our programme booklet. My President shook her head in dismay. And surprise, surprise - on the programme booklet, there was a "Malaysian Delegation Fashion Show" printed. This was all too funny. It was like a mass chicken, duck and fish talk, between China & Japan and the other delegations. Besides China & Japan, the other delegations were Korea, Myanmar, Malaysia, China Taiwan and China HK. We realized very early on that Japanese seemed to be the "main communication language" for the Bridal Summit which was truly strange. FYI - even the Myanmar team leader spoke Japanese fluently. *slaps forehead*

The day started early with a 7am wake-up call and an 8am departure from the lobby for the Opening Ceremony at the Sand Sculpture Park. At the lobby, we realized that the smallest delegation was Malaysia with only 2 representatives. Even Myanmar, a supposedly "poorer" nation than us came in a 26-strong delegation. They were subsidized by their own tourism ministry and eventually, we found out most of the delegations were also subsidized by their own respective tourism ministries and wedding association (Japan came with 75 pax!) because it was a cultural event showcasing their country's culture and tradition. For the first time in my life, at an international conference, I was DEEPLY EMBARRASSED to be a Malaysian. I wanted to switch teams. Was wondering if the Chinese delegation would accept me :P Some of the delegations brought their own media and also every delegation had a tourism rep from a travel agency - obviously to promote their country. Honestly, I didn't know where I wanted to hide my face when asked "How come Malaysia only 2 people?" Shall I be honest and say our Tourism Ministry does not support us? And also that AWP was very poor? Between Leticia and myself, we decided that since we represent the country, we better bite the bullet and wing it.

The Opening Ceremony was quite grand and was hosted by China. Unfortunately, I felt that the event organizers could've done better because all the delegations were confused as to where we were supposed to sit and what we were supposed to do. Our delegation's person-in-charge was not much of a help (our nickname for him was "Fish") and in fact, none of these "fishes" seem to know what was going on either. We were pretty much left to our own devices. In the middle of Haiyang Mayor's speech, my President was quickly ushered and pushed to sit at the head table. Best part - her name was even labeled wrongly on the table and media was all over the place. Same goes for the Myanmar's team leader too. Anyhow, the show went on despite all these chaos going on. I was surprised. I had fully expected that a China-organized event would go on without a hitch, granted that my experience and what I heard about events in China were that they had always been spot-on.

The Opening Ceremony was held on the beach under the bright hot sun. I was melting under the sun and promptly got a burn. After the opening ceremony, we were shown around the Sand Sculpture Park before being ushered back to the hotel for lunch. And oh, as if I needed that, my one and only pair of "nice shoes" BROKE. Like, un-fixable broke. Haiyang, whilst going to be hosting the Asian Beach Games in 2012, is like rather empty. We were not staying anywhere near town either so no shops nearby. So, oh-dear-factor indeed. (I also found out later that we were hoodwinked into thinking that Haiyang was gearing to be the "largest city in China". Either that or there was a problem with the translation!!")

For lunch, we were hosted to a VIP lunch by Yumi Katsura, the President of the Asia Pacific Federation of Bridal Association and Chen Fumi, Chief of Wedding Service Industries China Association of Social Workers. It seemed that banquet meals in China never stops at 10-courses. We had 20 dishes. Every delegation, only the President / Team Leaders and VPs were invited to lunch. Since Malaysia was only the two of us, it was fine. Thinking about it - in a way, had more of our AWP members come, this might be a sore bitching point. Anyway, that's what I think. I mean, how unfair is it that only two people get to go for a VIP lunch? Would you think, honestly, that this would sit well with others? Anyway, after lunch, there was a short meeting with Yumi Katsura and the Organizing Committee of the AP Bridal Summit. This was definitely not good for my migraine. Between the Chinese - Japanese - to English translation, I felt my head splitting into two. By the time anything got translated three times over, everything was lost in translation. OMG. Why can't they have made English the official language??

After lunch, we were ushered to the Gold Coast Hotel where the Live Performances (and the mysterious Fashion Show which nobody told us about) were going to be held. Today was all about rehearsals for each delegation of their performances. The Malaysian delegation brought a DVD to showcase our cultural weddings instead of a live performance. Once again, Tourism didn't give us the required support and no members were going to fork out their own pocket money to get their asses over to China. So, a DVD will have to do. Wait till you hear how we "winged" this and won the people's heart (read about Day 4 *smile*)

After rehearsals, it was actually free time so we took that opportunity to go downtown. I was in dire need of a pair of presentable shoes for the activities for Day 3! We asked our translator to write down "shoe shop" in Chinese which we could just show people or taxi drivers. Leticia got a business card of the hotel and we were off on our adventures in downtown Haiyang. When we arrived at the Jin Hai Luo Shopping Complex, I was excited to see that there was a night market happening. I love night markets and glad I didn't miss this one. Anyway, shoe shopping first - and without a translator around, I had to force myself to do the speaking of the language. Ahhh,..... suddenly, my mother tongue was all coming back to me. Woohoooo! Ok, now, I wasn't one for shopping especially when I am forced to shop without inspiration! I don't do shoe shopping for leisure nor clothes shopping. So, Leticia accompanied me to about 10 shoe shops to look for that "desirable" pair of shoe before she wanted to slap me and I settled for the first pair I saw. Then, mission accomplished, we walked around, taking in the sights and snacks at the local street market. We even went to check out a local grocery shop which was interesting. You know what they say about China-made goods, yes? Anyway... after that, we settled for dinner at a noodle shop. Interestingly, they were selling what looked like "Pan Mee" and Oh My God... these were the best noodles I had in a long, long time. Super good texture and taste! I'm a fan of noodles. One day, I would like to take the China tour - touring the entire China, eating all their different types of noodles.

And also, I was surprised. Three times in the day, I over-paid for something I purchased. And all three times, the Chinese vendor called me back to give me my change. What are the odds, really, in a country where I was told to beware of conniving Chinese people, out of billions of them, I meet 3 honest ones? So there you go. Perhaps, our perception of people should change.

Satisifed with my dinner, we made our way back to the hotel. Before we started work for the night, we took a walk along the beach. The weather in Haiyang was great. Not too hot and it gets cold at night. Then, it was back to the Secretariat at the hotel to do some work. We had to prepare our conference presentation and these were required by the official interpretor of the summit as it was all going to be like a "UN Meeting" the next day with headphones for immediate translations. And then, we still had to figure out how to wing our DVD presentation and the "Malaysian Delegation Fashion Show". Even though Tourism Malaysia ditched us, I was hell-bent NOT to let that take us all down embarassingly. We were the under-dogs, surely, but we were going to put on a great show. The other delegations even had hair & make-up artist, special cheorographers, musicians and they flew in their equipments and props as well. Errr... all Malaysia had was a DVD, Leticia and myself. And oh - our traditional costumes. And mine wasn't even traditional-traditional to begin with. BUT, we were going to wing it, I swear.

After finishing our work, it was time for us to say good night. Tomorrow is going to be a long, long day.
____

Day 4 : 27th August 2011 | Actual Summit Day

Wake-up call was at 6.30am today and by 7am, we were madly rushed to Aloft Hotel, a Starwood property for the Conference. I say a "mad rush" because it all seemed so disorganized. Again, our translator had no clue what was happening and his only objective was to get us on the bus at 7am sharp. We got into the bus only to realize, we still had to wait another 20 minutes for the Korean delegation. Alamak! As all these were taking place, we had been making notes ourselves. When Malaysia hosts the summit, hopefully in 2013, there won't be these things taking place. And why aren't we hosting this in 2012? Because Myanmar had already received the green light from the Federation. They came as observors only, still they brought a 26-pax strong team. Myanmar is preparing for bigger things in the international arena. Malaysia is continuing its downward spiral. How sad.

The summit's conference was on the main topic of "How do you preserve culture and tradition in today's modernized world?" So my 'thesis paper' :P of "Preserving Wedding Culture and Tradition In Today's Modernized Malaysia" was spot-on. (Here, I would like to say Thank You to Joanna & Suan Bee for your pointers!! Xie Xie!). Myanmar had it even worse. They had to wing the whole presentation overnight because they were not informed prior of this. Thomas, the delegation leader was not a happy camper, I tell you. But despite, they put up a good presentation too about Myanmar and its culture and traditions. About 200 pax from the wedding industry in China and media attended the conference. When the floor was opened for questions, everyone was looking at Malaysia since we presented the most comprehensive presentation. I was literally sweating in my arse answering their questions. At the same time, I hoped the interpretor had it translated correctly. Otherwise, it is all another lost in translation communication. All the members of the delegation had our own discussion and questions as well. We were just a little disappointed because as mentioned, Japanese was like the "official language" of the Summit and we understood ZERO. And there was no interpretor for Japanese to English despite all the very canggih UN-looking headphones for immediate translations! So whenever something was spoken in Japanese, we were left to pretend to look interested. Our translator? Forget it. We found out that even his Japanese was half-past six! Thomas from Myanmar actually did the translation for us. Thank God.

After the Conference ended, we were taken back to Enjoy Sea Hotel for our lunch. We only had a half-hour time frame for our lunch before rushing off to Gold Coast Hotel for the afternoon session of the Summit. It was all so rush-rush, I almost choked on my brocolli!!

Now, our afternoon session was Da Bomb, I tell you. We were second to do our presentation. The thing with Leticia and myself is that we were not hung-up about being in the limelight. For me, it was absolutely perfect that she being the President had to always be the one sitting at the head table or being on stage, etc.. etc... but for our presentation, we thought it was better that we showed how "big" our delegation was (LMAO) by having both of us on stage. Furthermore, we needed to wing the fashion show too! (LMFAO).

I was shaking from neck down. I hate public-speaking. And now, it includes sashaying down the bloody catwalk too. I was going to try to block-out the 600-pax crowd attending the presentation!!!

Do you want to know how we turned the whole thing around for ourselves? From being ditched by Tourism Malaysia and looking like a cheapskate country presenting only a DVD to a Malaysia Boleh pride? Here's our introduction speech :

Lucky thing the skirt was long and covered
the obvious shaking in our legs... !

(E) : Zhun Jing De Xian Seng Men, Nu Shi Men, Xia Wu Hao. Wo shi Lu Jia Li
(L) : Salam Sejahtera. Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen, I am Leticia Hsu

(L) : We are the Association of Wedding Professionals Malaysia and today, we would like to showcase Malaysia's unique blend of culture. In Malaysia, we are blessed with many different types of culture and religion. The main ones being Malay, Chinese and Indians.

(E) : We had been asked to showcase one culture from Malaysia. But this is an impossible task because Malaysia will not be Malaysia without the melting pot of different cultures. Our respect and tolerance for each other's culture and traditions in our country is what makes us Malaysians and what makes us truly unique.

(L) : Like today, I am wearing a "Baju Kebaya" which is a Malay traditional costume which is made of Batik material - one of Malaysia's pride in terms of traditional fabric.

(E) : And I am wearing a Chinese traditional costume - a modernized version - which is also where Malaysia is heading in terms of the wedding trends. We are a nation looking to
move forward in our trends and styles, but we are at the same time proud of our heritage, culture and traditions and we would like to preserve this.

So, right now, sit back and enjoy the unique multi-cultural weddings brought to you all the way from Malaysia, Truly Asia

(Catwalk down the runway....)
Now, that was something, huh? Nevermind that both of us up there on stage were literally shaking (you could see the paper we were holding shaking!!), but when I spoke in Mandarin to introduce myself, my God, did the crowd cheer! Ok, I got the order wrong. Should be ladies first then gentlemen. Who cares? And when our DVD was presented,.... we could see, literally see everyone of the 600-strong crowd sitting at the edge of their seats! When the Chinese weddings came on, there were both excitement and surprise. People were looking at us and smiling and giving us the thumbs-up sign. I said a prayer of Thanks. Even though my country let me down, I didn't let my country down. We did it. We winged it.

The MC for the ceremony spoke a little Cantonese. So when asked where were the rest of our delegation, we told him there was only 2 of us from Malaysia. Please support us. We said it jokingly, but he went out to announce this point after our presentation!! OMG. Asking the 600-pax crowd to give us their support - to give "the two ladies, despite being a small delegation, put up a strong show" a huge round of applause for our presentation. The MC's introduction broke the ice for the crowd to come up to us to speak to us, to take photos and for a moment, it felt strange and bizzare. They even complimented us on or traditional attire saying that these were their favourites as it looked "simple and clean". Media interviews and photo ops flurried over us. It was dizzying actually. My migraine wasn't helping at all. In fact, the Mayor came up to us to say "You two ladies were very courageous!" Huh?? OMG. We must've looked so silly going down the catwalk with just the two of us! By the way, the Mayor spoke fluent English. The only other person we knew who spoke good English, besides the official summit translator.

Obviously, we were strange to the Chinese folks. Perhaps, like an alien specimen. I guess, some people, judging from their questions were not aware that there was a very big Chinese community in Malaysia who practised Chinese culture, customs and traditions in their weddings. Stranger still was me, who looked tanned, wore a Chinese costume and spoke some Chinese whereas Leticia, who looked more Chinese than I was, spoke zero Chinese and wore a Malay costume. So they were all excited too when they found out I could speak and understand Mandarin. At the end of the day, I take it that we were just strange to them.

The presentation finished around dinner time and once again, while the rest of the delegations were ushered back to hotel for dinner, 2 reps from each country were hosted to dinner with the Mayor and the Haiyang Tourism Director. Tonight's dinner was a 25-course meal dinner. So, a friend of mine told me that actually, in this part of China, the culture was more about making sure there are leftover food when hosting guests rather than just having enough to eat. Interesting.

After dinner, we attended the Yumi Katsura Fashion Show. She was really good with her Kimono designs.

So, after ending the day's Summit on a high, I have to say, "Phew!"
At the end of the day, I can't say "Malaysia Boleh". I mean, this is an event to promote each country's culture and tradition. What if we went there promoting "gothic-themed" weddings as Malaysia's new culture trend? Right? Point made.

I can't even say "AWP Boleh." Because even our DVD was done by a non-member, despite the fact that we have photographer and videographers on our membership list. Guess showing off their logos in an international arena isn't quite worth the effort. By the way, all media were given a copy of our DVD. They loved it, they asked for it. And I caught a glimpse of it on China TV too.

But I guess, I can say Leticia & Eileen BOLEH indeed.

And again - thank you to Joanna, Suan Bee and also to Eddie for doing the DVD for the presentation. As you can tell - the crowd went crazy over it :)

(Read on for Part 2's Lost In Translation) .....

With the Chinese delegation

Me & You. Just Us Two : Conversations with MOH

2011-08-24T00:03:00.000-07:00

**this post may not be suitable for children below the age of 18yrs old. Read at your own risk :P

At the start of the month, a friend on FB changed his profile photo to one that was taken at our wedding in Bali and he had this to say : "It's August. It's the time of the year. Happy anniv guys! From the Villenas." Awww.... How sweet, Jojo. Thanks for the very early greetings :)

Indeed, yet another year had flown by and we are now in August, going on to September and October which means, it is 3 months straight of lots of celebratory dates for MOH and myself :) Starting of course.... with our wedding anniversary... kisseversary.... sexerversary..... and the list goes on and throw into that mix - my birthday too :) .... This year, however, I would be away from MOH during our 2nd year anniversary. Oh well, we have plenty of our dates to choose from......
_____

About our anniversary...

MOH : What do you want to do? How shall we celebrate?
Me     : I will be in China
MOH : Darn. Ok. We can celebrate earlier or later
Me     : Oh yeah... we have so many dates to choose from. Hahahahahaha!
MOH : You can choose only two.
Me     : What do you mean only two???!
MOH : Yes, so for the rest of the other dates, YOU plan and YOU celebrate for me. Hahaha back.
Me     : No !
MOH : Yes. Quickly. Choose your dates.
(the conversation ends with a lot of pinching and wrestling........)

I've learnt that as a Me & You, Just Us Two couple, (otherwise known as DINK and for those unfamiliar with the term - DINK = Double Income No Kids. Yes, we are a marketing term), everyday is a celebration. Well, every other day can be a celebration *grin*. There's only the two of us and because we work in the same field, we don't exactly want to bore each other to death talking about work. So we find ways to entertain each other and entertain ourselves. That itself is a celebration :) Celebrating a night of instant noodles. Celebrating the success of our version of MasterChef competition. Celebrating a new way of tricking the other person or making the other person laugh incessantly. Laughter, the best medicine they say. And I so agree. The one most important ingredient in our relationship is the laughs. One thing that stood out at our wedding was the laughter. And 2 years down the road, we think that laughter helped us grow. Some may call it cheap thrills especially when I throw ice water at MOH while he showers (ok, this does end up being one-sided. Hahahaha!). But most of the time, we laugh together, laugh at one enother and the laughter is what helps us get through some of the toughest days around. Sometimes, on down days, I would reflect on a certain conversations (it may even be a repeated one) and I would find myself grinning like the bloody Cheshire Cat.
___

About household chores...

Me     : You have to wake up early tomorrow morning to sweep & mop
MOH : No!
Me     : Say again? (hand gesturing to start pinching....)
MOH : *pulls long face*
___

Me     : The floor feels dusty!
MOH : No, it still feels clean (takes off slippers and starts doing the shuffle on the floor)
Me     : I can see the dust !!
MOH : Look up. Don't look down!
(conversation ends with wrestling and slapping and pinching....)
___

Me     : How come you don't sweep everything into a corner then only you clear it into the dustpan?
MOH : Ssshhh! I'm sweeping or you are sweeping?
Me     : *silent mocking mimic of "I'm sweeping or you are sweeping?" but is stopped midway from a killer stare
___

MOH : Next time, for my shirts, I want it ironed like this, like this, and then after that, you button the collar before you hang it up, ok? Don't iron the collar flat down.
Me     : Ah-zhi-ah-zho - you iron yourself la!
MOH : *pulls puppy dog face*

To be fair, MOH did recite in his wedding vows that he will do all the household chores and he will cook for me too. And yet, we've been sharing cleaning duties :) It's a chore, but annoying each other while doing it makes it a little bit more fun :) I'm laughing as I write this, remembering all the conversations :)
___

About taking care of each other...

MOH : *via post-it note* PLEASE NOTE!!! Please take care and take it easy! Rest now! Let it heal before it gets worse! Love you!!
Me     : Awww... so sweet. What's up with all the exclamation marks? Hahaha! *limps straight out the door for usual morning training*
___

MOH : *limps into the apartment* Lou Por !!!!! I sprained my ankle!! Oww, oww... owww...
Me     : *in fake concern voice* Awww... poor baby, poor, poor baby....... Does not mean you get to escape the household chores for today *sticks tongue out*
MOH : *pulls puppy dog face*
___

Me     : *feeling awfully in pain and feeling extremely ill from 7 days of food poisoning*
MOH : What can I do? Do you want me to run downstairs and get you a "happy cigarette"??
Me     : *too weak to even say WTF??! Where is that coming from??* *too painful to laugh*
___

MOH : What soup is this?
Me     : Pat Zhan
MOH : Isn't this a women's soup?
Me     : Ah Por said you can also drink it
MOH : Will I grow breasts?
Me     : Just drink the soup!!
___

Me     : *coughing fit*
MOH : Stop Coughing
Me     : *choking on my cough trying to respond* If I can really stop coughing because you asked me to, then you can become a Witch Doctor !!

I have to admit, MOH is pretty good at taking care of me :) Kris, in my Surprise Wedding Video in Bali, when asked if he thought I would make a good wife, he answered : "I think Richard will make a good husband" (and this was repeated twice in the editing). But I do try!! Look, MOH has grown round and prosperous and cholesterol level has dropped significantly thanks to my TLC daily menu :) Although, admittedly, I don't make it any easier for MOH to take care of me since I am supposedly "the most stubborn person he has ever known." But you know what? I agree with Kris :) To that end,... Thanks, Love... for the TLC all the time :) (but you could skip the nagging bit :P *mischevious grin*)
___

About sharing of the bed...

Me     : Stop warming up my side of the bed.
MOH : This is my side of the bed!
Me     : *kicks violently*
MOH : Wei! The line is here. This is my side!
Me     : *starts poking and pinching*
MOH : Stop it! You have so much space over on your side! I'm about to fall off!!
Me     : *fake snore*
___

Me     : Did you just fart??!!
MOH : *laughs*
Me     : Under the blanket??!! Eweeeee!!!!
MOH : Wooohoo!!
___

Me     : Stop stealing my bolster and Stinky
MOH : I hate Stinky
Me     : Stinky hates you too. And stop getting your smell on Stinky
MOH : *slaps Stinky*
(conversation ends with a wrestling match in bed)
___

MOH : *parks his leg on top of mine*
Me     : No! *kicks leg away*
MOH : This is my position!
Me     : I was here first!
MOH : See? Now with your leg here, you are so far away.... !
Me     : *fake concern voice* Awww.. poor baby.. poor, poor baby..... *fake snore*

Most of the time, getting into bed is a rather fun routine. Even better when there's 'bedminton' involved. Hahahaha. More often than not, it ends with a wrestling match in bed before it leads to the real game ;) While we enjoy annoying each other prior to going to bed, I also know that one of the most romantic thing that MOH does every night is to Hold My Hands (hence, one of our wedding songs) when we sleep. Such a simple gesture! Even in the middle of the night, if we don't end up cuddling, he'll search for my hands while half-asleep and hold it. It's something I really love :) And how can I ever forget that crazy Cambodian night, where there was no electricity, in the middle of summer's heat, MOH sat up in bed, fanning me with the blanket. Now, that is love. And I am lucky.
___

About playing tricks on one another...

Me     : Do you like your non-matching socks?
MOH : Idiot! I already knew it.
Me     : How did you know?!
MOH : Normally, you don't roll up my socks. When I saw the socks all rolled up, already suspicion level naik
Me     : So cle-ver. Darn it!
___

Me     : *hiding at the balcony in the dark - but too slow to turn off TV*
MOH : Lou Por! I'm home! *searches in every room and peeks out at the balcony. Does not see me*
Me     : *stifling laugh*
MOH : *goes out to balcony again* Idiot!!!
___

MOH : You put chilli powder in my instant noodles!!
Me     : No. *innocent face*
MOH : It's spicy!!
Me     : It comes with the pack. How I know? *trying to keep a straight face*
MOH : You're bluffing. I know!
___

Me     : *preparing ice water and grinning mischeviously*
MOH : *showering, not knowong what hit him when the ice water splashed onto him*
Me     : *laughing deliriously* Gotcha!!!
MOH : Idiot! You better sleep with your eyes open!

Needless to say, there's only the two of us to entertain one another. Ok, usually, it is me trying to entertain myself at the expense of MOH. And I know he lets me because he loves seeing me laugh. Also because, that is the whole reason why in my wedding vows, I said "I promise to play with you always." I'm keeping my promise ;) It's the same as when he imitates MJ's dance moves or when he tries to dance like Britney Spears or Rain - he does that because it makes me laugh and laughing makes my day :) Every morning, without fail, I get a dance routine of sorts. Thanks, Love for all the laughs.
___

About putting up with my anal-retention borderline OCD...

Me     : Why is the soft drinks on the second shelf???
MOH : Why?? What's wrong it??
Me     : It's disturbing my chi.
___

MOH : Where is new tube of toothpaste?
Me     : Why do you not know where anything is in this house??
MOH : Because you don't allow me to keep anything.
Me     : *slaps forehead*
___

Me     : This is the wrong floor mat for the balcony!!!
MOH : What?! They are the same colours!!
Me     : NO. This one is brighter - it is meant for the toilet! The one for the balcony is faded!
MOH : What difference does it make???
Me     : It disturbs my chi
___

Me     : Why can't you put everything back to the same place after you use it?
MOH : *silent mocking mimic of what I just said* It's still on the table! What's your problem?
Me     : It needs to be exactly 5cm from the left edge and 10cm from the top edge otherwise it disturbs my chi!
MOH : You've got serious issues.
Me     : *sticks tongue out*

I know myself that I am not an easy person to live with or to share a space with. I like things to be in exact compartmentalized locations, shelves, drawers, etc. Ok, I don't admit to being OCD :P I don't exactly arrange my DVDS in alphabetical order, although I do sort them out in categories :P I think I'm just anal. I like to know that soft drinks are in one section of the fridge, dairy beverages on another shelf, snacks and junk food yet another shelf and so on. I like knowing that I can memorize the arrangement on my dressing table without looking at it. So you see, it isn't easy to live with me. Especially when faded floor mats make a big differences in my life :P I honestly don't know why! And I am NOT OCD :P But anyway, MOH has made living together so easy. Unexplainable :) I love him for letting me be whatever way I want to be. For putting up with me and all my anal-retentiveness and eccentric behaviours and characteristics. I also love him for knowing exactly how to deal with me when I go "crazy". He doesn't fight fire with fire. He lets me go ballistic and ignores me. He knows I will come around later. It reminds me of a "Monica & Chandler" situation - "in sickness and in health...." ... well, consider this my sickness then :)
___

About the more serious stuff...

MOH : You cannot expect everyone to work at your speed. Ok, to how I see it, this is only a side business for all of you. XXX may have other businesses making bigger money. This small time money and you still chase for deadlines and all... to XXX, you are like a fly buzzing around the head.
Me     : Are you calling me a fly???
MOH : I'm just saying....
Me     : Yes, it is a side business. But I still put in a lot of effort and heart into it!
MOH : Like I said, not everyone thinks the same. Everyone has their own way of thinking.
___

Me     : I don't want to work anymore!!
MOH : That's ok too if you really don't want to work.
Me     : Really? You're not kidding?
MOH : Not kidding. I can support you. But that would mean you will be a housewife. You can do all the household chores!
Me     : What??!
___

MOH : I want to quit my job!!
Me     : Ok. Calm down. What happened?
MOH : I can't stand the stupid clients anymore!! They now want a cheaper quote!
Me     : *thinking that it is pointless to fuel the situation by going ballistic about the re-quote* Ok. No problem. I'll get you a cheaper quote then. Ok? Just stay calm.
___

Me     : I just want to let you know that there's two of us. We have an educated background, we have two hands, two feet and some brains. We will survive.
MOH : Might be a tough life?
Me     : If you eat porridge, I eat porridge. If you eat rice, I eat rice la! *smile* Plus I don't eat much. Low maintenance :)
___

Me     : What if we both just ditch everything, sell everything and we go and become volunteers at places where we're needed?
MOH : Yes, that can be considered...
Me     : Who knows, we might even find doing this more fulfilling than chasing the rich man's dream!
MOH : *nods*
Me     : I mean, it's not like we'll have children to pass our inheritance down to :P

When I said that MOH is my pillar of strength in life during our wedding ceremony, I wasn't kidding. In many ways, I think his unbiased perspective means a lot to me. I don't necessarily want someone who gets on my side simply by default. I need someone to look at things in an unbiased manner and is willing to tell me I'm an idiot in that particular situation instead of sticking up for me blindly. Sure, in other types of situation, I'd like MOH to be my protector and someone who sticks up for me but when it comes down to work and business, I think it is smarter to have a more objective insight, considering that I am pretty emotional about things :) To that, I appreciate his sanity in the midst of my insanity. I know I am in safe hands too :)

To my beloved MOH, you are my world. I cannot say thank you enough for all the love you have shown me and I cannot say thank you enough to the powers up there for allowing us to cross paths and eventually fall in love after 13 years of friendship and then granting us this lifelong adventure of being a married couple. The best years are still to come!
___

To my beloved MOH too..

When I miss you or when I am down, all I need to do is read your wedding vows tattooed onto me and I am reminded of the love I am so lucky to have in my life :

"I believe you have renewed my life. Our miracle lies in the path we have chosen together.
The true magic of love is not to avoid changes but to steer them successfully.
I commit to the miracle of making each day work and I promise to live a life that will honour the vows I made.
I promise to grow old with you, to hold your hands wherever we go, to face life's challenges together and keep our relationship alive and electrifying.
May our lives be ever intertwined, our love keeping us together... completely and forever."

I hope you do the same. :)

p/s : I shall be missing you while in China as I always do when we are apart. And not to worry, I WILL take care :)

Living Vicariously : Criminal Minds / CSI

2011-08-05T03:04:00.000-07:00

I should've been led down the correct path, following my love for crime-solving adventure and forensic-thriller reading materials since I graduated from my Enid Blytons. In fact, it took me a long while to expand my reading materials to cover other genres because I really do enjoy the suspense, the thrill and the crime-solving journey. Each blood-splatter pattern comes alive in my head.

As a kid, when asked what was my cita-cita, I would say "Police CID". A bit further down the road, "FBI" replaced "CID". And then, I don't know what happened, I got into advertising and events. Even in uni, I took an additional course in Criminal Psychology. I remembered the first day of lecture, I walked into the hall and was extremely intimidated by the fact that out of the hundreds of students, I was the only Asian. Talk about standing out. Nevertheless, I made it to each and every one of my lecture and tutorials and I devoured the textbooks within the first week, getting intimate with serial killers and case studies and all that mystery. I aced my course, and I had loved every minute of it.

But then, I still steered down the career path of being in the 'glam' ad world. Firstly, I was on scholarship to finish my BA in Communications and secondly, to switch totally to Criminal Justice would've required a whole different set of foundation. Time I had. Money, nada. So, the closest I got to doing anything BAU-like while in the midst of my ad career was studying Consumer Behaviour! :P

To say that I am a fan of the both Criminal Minds and CSI is understating it a little. I'm a huge, huge, huge fan. I'd like to think that had these series been on air back in the 80s and 90s, I would right now be staring into the eyes of a serial killer instead of a bridezilla. The only difference would be instead of asking "What gives you the thrill of the kill?", I would be asking "Why are you crying over menu selection??!" Hah!

Reality bites, though. I know my limitations and it all stops at analyzing people's character and behaviour. Ok, I do know that what's on TV is as exciting as it gets because I think in real life, crime-techs don't kick open doors and wield guns at a potentially armed-and-dangerous suspect. I also think in real-life, crime techs with long hair tie their hair back neatly too. And on TV, all the crime techs seem to be geniuses who remember their periodic table by heart. I'm not an idiot, but I enjoy my own fantasies.

First of all, I dislike science to begin with. I remembered when I was in Form 1 - the first year I was introduced to Science as a subject by itself, my Dad told my Mom this after a screaming session in trying to make me understand the "logic" behind a science concept (and I believed I was close to giving him a stroke when I kept arguing with some illogical argument based on nothing scientific) : "She just doesn't have it in her to do Science." My Dad was a Science & Math teacher. I believed him. From henceforth, he stopped torturing me with Science and I was left to my own devices. I still aced all my Science & Math subjects, mind you. I had extremely good memory. I memorized everything - including the bloody periodic table and mathematic formulas, etc. (My Dad still doesn't understand how I could've scored A1s for all my Science subjects).

Secondly, I'm afraid of the dark!! Can you imagine if I was in pursuit of a suspect who decides to hide in a house, which conveniently does not have power at said time and all I have to rely on was my standard-issue LED 7438 Lenser Torch?? I'd be shooting at the direction of every noise I hear, imagined or otherwise! And I doubt the outcome of that would be good. IA would be all over me!

An extension of being afraid of the dark, I am also afraid of things non-human. If I was assigned to a 419 at some creepy location - ESPECIALLY if it was after sunset hours, I might have to call in sick. And what about visits to the morgue? I wouldn't be able to share a space with a DB and I dunno, God forbid if I was left alone in the morgue. If the DB so much as twitches - which CAN happen because of so many various natural reasons (yea right, keep telling yourself that), I would die of a heart-attack. Then again, I think anybody would.

I am also squirmish about blood and body parts not being attached to a body. Whilst I don't faint at the sight of blood or lots of it, I don't think seeing a head without a body or a body without a head would sit well with me. I would imagine, just checking on a DB with a head that is totally bashed in and COD is blunt-forced trauma would be enough to make my dinner come out in the reverse. Ok, don't even have to go so far. A few months back, I had a nasty fall and from there, an infected wound the size of a tiny crater on my knee. I had to clean the wound myself and dress it with some antibiotic cream. Now, this is my own blood, my own yucky-goo stuff and still, when my finger went into that crater, my entire body became jelly-like. I'm pretty sure Detective Mac Taylor or SSA Agent Hotchner wouldn't be impressed with my jello-ed body.

Though, I would think that all the above is about 'getting-used-to' and going through sufficient training (surely they wouldn't allow some rookie who would shoot at 'ghosts' to run loose and protect civil society??!) and of course same goes for rattling off some scientific formulas to recover smudged prints from greasy surfaces. Therefore, it is actually not too late for me to do a career make-over. Right? I'll probably have to start from the bottom - like, I dunno, crime scene clean-up? OMG. More yucky-goo that does not belong to me. And maybe even an ear or a finger which the crime techs failed to see? But then again, I think there is hope for me in the BAU - as long as they keep me out of dark, creepy places and the morgue, I should be ok. It's never too late to dream and chase it ;)

But for now, I'd be happy living vicariously through drooling at Hotch's and Mac's perpetual frowns that make them look so super sexy and macho while they lead their respective teams into solving serial crimes and such. I've watched all seasons, all episodes repeatedly that I know the crimes by heart. Just this morning, MOH remarked that "We have watched this episode 6 times already!" - referring to CSY : NY 6 playing on AXN this morning while we had breakfast. I still hid the TV remote from him :P

It's my 45 minute of de-stressing fantasy for the day. Repeated or not, it reminds me that I still have dreams to chase after :)
____

And just for fun - I did this CM personality test online and here's the result of it! Revelatory? Perhaps. Haha.

A tad too close to the truth for me too!!!

5th Year : Journeys For Two 2011 / 2012

2011-07-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Editor's Letter in JFT 2011 / 2012 Issue

Without realising it, Journeys For Two : Destination Weddings For The Stylish & Chic is in its 5th year. I still remember that faithful morning 5 years ago, sitting at Old Town Kopitiam in Sri Hartamas with Kris where we decided, yes, this was something we would do and see where it took us (just as long as I do not have to deal with any numbers was my only criteria. Haha!) and in a flash of a flash, it had taken us into our 5th issue.

For the last 5 issues, every year was a learning curve for us - well, I can't say I speak on behalf of the team. It was definitely a learning curve for me. How do we do better for the next issue? How can we hit more sales? How can we make the content more relevant? More interesting? What sales strategy do we deploy in closing the sales? How do we expand our reach? Etc.... Etc...... For me, every year saw me getting more and more organized and focused with the targets and working on newer angles for contents..... but still, this is a team effort and decisions are largely based on how the team feels (err,... the team here would mean my boss - Kris Wong. Haha.) since most of the time, I come up with some brilliant idea that is just not executable :P

For me, part of the learning curve was also about putting one's ego aside while doing the editorial work. It's OK to have your articles edited by the Managing Editor :) "How come it is different from what I wrote??!" is usually my first question - but no hissy fit, please. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing - a great magazine and brand out there in the market which will continue selling itself every year...... (and thus paying for some of my holidays, and most recently, my tri race participation!). The real kudos of course, goes to the team from Weddings Malaysia that works on the magazine too!

And after a year's work to get the last issue out (and it IS out now, sold at major bookstores - woohoo!), we are starting to work on our 6th issue already and I'm keeping my fingers crossed to be able to clinch this new content deal across the borders - since already gotten the green light from Da Boss Man :) So, with some luck, we'd have yet another exciting issue serving up! Who knows where this issue will take us then, since we had been trawling exotic beaches and beautiful highlands, embracing different cultures, appreciating history and heritage and keeping up with growing trends thus far.

p/s : Despite the perception of Kris Wong being anal and whose virtue really isn't patience, it has been a breeze working with him. We just both have to answer each other's emails on time. ROFL. Here's to another GREAT issue, Kris!

(for photo credit of the above picture - go get your copy of JFT now!)

I Am Stinky. And There Is Only ONE In The World

2011-07-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

A Recent Photo Of Me... Notice my baju?

My date of birth is a little vague, actually. Although, in the whole family, it is generally an accepted fact that I was born somewhere in the year 1981 and I was a gift to my Mistress from her beloved Grandmama. Ever since, I have been by Mistress’ side and I AM indispensable. Woots! Her “most prized possession” – that’s what she says. A “never leave home without it” possession. Woots!

Well, for those of you who know Mistress would more or less know of my existence. For those of you who have had the honour (I say “honour” because… indeed, it is!) of living under the same roof as Mistress, you would be well acquainted with me somehow, because Mistress, she had never been embarrassed by me. Not when she was five, not when she was a teen and not when she ventured into adulthood.

The name…. Geez, I dunno. Some nincompoop coined the name for me and for some reason, Mistress thought it was cute and the name stuck. Previously, I went by the name Busuk Pao…. I guess, for more of an international feel, Stinky stuck as my new name. I don’t know who the nincompoop was to come up with that name! I am “the best smelling thing in the world” as according to Mistress. I smell “like a baby” – also according to Mistress. Now, why would you call me Stinky?? But hey, if Mistress thinks it’s cute, then so be it. Her wish is my command. But just so all of you know – I have my yearly spa session – usually during the CNY period, where Grandmama carefully opens me up and my naked insides are given a long tanning session and then I’m put together again – of course, not before feeding me more, to make me all fat and chubby so that there is more of me to love *grins*. So…, I am CLEAN and I don’t SMELL contrary to what you folks believe! :P

I had been with Mistress through her growth, from child to an angry teenager, through her trials and tribulations, through her heartbreaks and joys and I’ve known almost every tear she had shed. Not many of you can claim the same you know, so NAH! When she was living abroad alone all those years, guess who kept her company? ME, ME, ME!!! I’ve always traveled wherever she has traveled – so I think I’m one blady lucky paupau since not many paupaus get to see the world like I did and still do. By the way – to show the importance of my status as a VERY VALUABLE item when flying, I am always hand-carried. Jealous or not? :P

When Mistress went abroad to study in Australia, I traveled with her and for the first time, it was just Mistress and I – no adults, no Mama and no Papa. Rubbing hands in glee, we went for our great adventure into the journey of life. And what a journey it was! Oh, the dramas, the scandals, the.. the… well, ok, I don’t kiss-and-tell. :P Of course, it was at this time that her flatmates got pretty well-acquainted with me too. I think it was one of them who gave me my name. Idiot. They were not very kind people. Well, but of course, they were Mistress’ great friends. What can I do? I’m a helpless little paupau who is hell-bent on serving my Mistress come what may! So, I sucked it up. Why do I think these are bad, bad people? Oh, I tell you – one of my life’s darkest moments happened during my time in this flat Down Under.

One weekend, when Mistress totally forgot to pack me into her overnight bag before leaving town for the long weekend hols, I was stuck in the flat with these mean people. And what did they do? In their drug-induced drunken stupor, they kidnapped me from the safe enclosure of my bed and tied me with this UGLY, absolutely UGLY old red necktie that wasn’t even my colour to begin with and hung me from the ceiling. Oh, as if that was not torturous enough, they stuck clothes pegs all over my poor, soft, chubby body. The pain! It was indescribable! Oh, I can still remember it and I can still feel the pinchy, bitey pain of those damn pegs! But these mean, mean, bad, bad people just stood there and laughed and discussed ways to get ransom out of Mistress, took numerous photos of my tortured conditions... I swear, they were like crazy-high-on-drugs, laughing and sneering. I saw fangs and horns grow out of them! I was left hanging from that ceiling, with all these things pinching me till I was numb for days…. before Mistress finally came back to my rescue. She was not pleased, I tell you. There was some yelling, I can’t remember very well because I was in so much pain… and I was traumatized.. what was it those CSI people call it again? PSTD, that’s right. Post traumatic stress disorder..... But revenge was duly taken. Haha. Served them right! What did I ever do to them? Geez! But still, Mistress is too, too kind. She remains good friends with these bad people till today. Geez. But poor, poor Mistress. I wasn’t the only one who was traumatized by this whole thing, you know. Needless to say, when trying to make a decision on whether to bring me along anywhere now, this episode always comes back to haunt poor Mistress.

The bad, bad people....

See right, being such an invaluable possession has led to me being a weak-link for Mistress’ life. I am always being held as a threat to get Mistress to do things she doesn’t want to do. Particularly, from Mistress’ Mama during the early years. “I will throw Busuk Pau into the garbage bin if you don’t do this,… or if you don’t do that….” And Mistress, in order to protect my existence, will meekly do as told. But still, she had her way of rebelling. What a feisty little samseng! And in recent years, it is her beloved hubby or her MOH (I cringe saying this word) who does the threatening. “I will throw Stinky out of the balcony if you don’t do this…. or if you don’t do that…” or “When you come back, you won’t find Stinky anywhere…” Lucky for me, Mistress somehow, somehow, always gets her way with him though. Phew!

I traveled to Bali numerous times with Mistress and was there when she first fell in love with… him. (No way I’m calling him Master!!) And of course, coming full circle again in Bali, I was there when she got married too. Grandmama had predicted that Mistress would get married with me in tow since we were inseparable. She was right. I was just a little disappointed that I wasn’t a part of the ceremony. Mistress’ Mama would’ve screamed murder. Really. And not just her Mama. But all her industry friends will go “OMG. Pai seh la lu…!” I beg to differ. I think I would look most handsome in a chic white satin jacket, carrying the couple’s beautiful wedding bands. But alas…. I had to be left out, and also since SOME people had already prepared a boring, so-called ring pillow for her. Whatever. But I am the ever loyal friend. I didn’t get pissy at Mistress and did not throw a hissy-fit. I wished her all the joys and happiness too. I saw her get ready, transformed into a glowing bride, even though marriage was never something she planned for in her life…. I saw her looking all pretty and having fun and laughing with her best friends and taking photos. She forgot to take one with me. But it’s ok. As long as she's happy, I'm happy. While the party was going on, I waited patiently in her villa, err… next to her best friend’s baby – who was also left out of the party too. Sooooo glad I wasn’t the only one :P

Whilst I am happy for Mistress for “marrying a really good man”, I’m not so happy about having to share the bed with someone else. Hrrrumph! Oh, I would kiss-and-tell some about this “good man” of hers. You see, I kinda have this love-hate relationship for him. I love him because he makes Mistress happy and he makes Mistress laugh. I hate him because he bullies me and sometimes, he bullies Mistress too and makes her cry and I have to clean up after him. See? Sometimes, I want to punch him! Sometimes, he hides me and Mistress will get all frantic trying to search for me. What an idiot! He puts me in closets, under the bed, under pile of clothes, inside luggage bags… you name it! And while Mistress is frantically searching, he sits there like a sack of potatoes on the couch watching football with an innocent –looking face too. I know what he is up to. He just wants to distract Mistress for awhile so he can enjoy watching his stupid football. Who watches 22 grown men chasing after one stupid ball anyways?

When Mistress is in bed together with me, she at least tries to protect me. By the way, I’m still what she hugs to sleep. Just that now, I have to be squeezed in between him and Mistress otherwise he would throw a hissy-fit about “Why you always hug Stinky and you don’t hug me?” Geez. Gimme a break! I was there first, Mr. Whiny! And him….! I really don’t like sleeping with him! Aargh!

Nevermind the incessant snoring and the drooling and I’ll be damned if he ever drools on me!…. Most nights, he would steal me away from Mistress. Sometimes, he would throw me on to the floor. Sometimes, he would undress me – so ham sap! – and I would be cold and naked, always a good thing that I have an extra layer of skin… but still! Geez! But Mistress, she would come to my rescue. She would pinch, pinch, pinch him to make him return me to her, or kick him and make him pick me up from the floor – all these done while eyes still closed, mind you… But the worse of all is when he kepit me in between his legs! Aaargh!!! Hot and suffocating man!! And then he farts in my face! What the hell! Sometimes, the fart doesn’t stop at one. Idiot!! Mistress would slap him when she finds me in that hellish position. Whack! Whack! On his ass. Hahaha. Serves him right. He usually does this nonsense when Mistress wakes up early in the morning to go for her training, leaving me alone in bed with him. And that is when he will be up to extreme no-goods.

You think I don’t know what he is up to? He is adamant about getting his “smell” on me so that when Mistress takes a whiff of me, it is HIM that she is smelling and not so much her beloved paupau anymore. Such a sneaky bugger, I tell you. Oh, I know his tricks. See right, Mistress is very particular about how I smell and as such, she doesn’t use any other cream or lotion when she goes to bed – except Johnson’s Baby Lotion. That is the only smell allowed in bed. But this, this…. silly fellow is like the ambassador for Minyak Cap Kapak. Cold, minyak cap kapak. Headache, minyak cap kapak. Cough, minyak cap kapak. I know it drives Mistress nuts and she hides every single bottle that he buys. I’m not revealing their hidey hole. Uh-uh. No way. And he has learnt his lesson – no getting into bed with the smell of Minyak Cap Kapak or whatever yucky smells. Hahaha.

Sometimes, Mistress helps me take revenge by letting me sock him one or two times in the head. Damn, it feels good when I get to sock him! As it is, lately, Mistress is complaining that I am starting to smell a bit like him already. Aaargh! That stupid idiot has ruined me! I need to get an emergency spa session right away! Grandmama, WHERE ARE YOU?

Yet, I will continue enduring all of his nonsense or any other nonsense for that matter. Because why? I love Mistress. I have known Mistress all her life and am confident that nothing can come between us (as I can already prove by the fact that I am the first thing Mistress hugs when she goes to bed and the first thing she is hugging when she wakes up – unless SOME moron steals me away or starts doing the whiny attention-seeking thing) – our relationship is rock-solid. I know it will break Mistress’ heart if she ever loses me so I am definitely gonna make sure I am right there always. Hmmm… actually I am the ONE who is truly there, in sickness and in health, till death do us part. In fact – I will be buried right there with Mistress holding on to me (it is in her last will and testament :P). So NAH to all of you again for giving me a hard time or for laughing at me, or laughing at Mistress for having me around all the time :P

p/s : Do not try to psychoanalyse all of these as Mistress being someone with a lot of baggage or whatever. There’s nothing to analyse. She is a hoarder and when she grows attached to things, she doesn’t give up on them. She doesn’t ditch old things for new ones. She is just as loyal to me as I am to her. There is actually a new version of me – sitting somewhere in the cupboard. But she chooses to mend me over and over again, rather than use a new one because she is a kind and sentimental person (some call her a fool but I beg to differ)… and because, as I said….

I Am Stinky.
And There Is Only One In The World.

He was laughing hysterically, high on drugs!

Weddings : A Learning Curve in Cambodia

2011-07-12T02:47:00.000-07:00

Chris & Pisey's Monk Blessing Ceremony

Over the last weekend, The Wedding Planners in Cambodia planned the first "trend-setting" wedding here in Cambodia. Whilst the traditional Khmer ceremonies and rituals carried on as per usual, the wedding reception style was changed to something more in-tune with what you and I are used to - in other words - westernized. We had the pre-dinner cocktails, place cards seating arrangements, bridal grand walk-in and minimalistic decor of a chosen colour theme. And these were all on top of the Church Ceremony which was held a day before the reception.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the settings of a Cambodian wedding, it is actually a colourful affair - from the traditional ceremonies to the wedding reception. Actually, we ought to be familiar with it as it is almost similar to a "kenduri-style" wedding back home. But instead of the bride and groom sitting quietly on the dais, the Cambodian couple stands at the entrance to greet all their guests - starting from perhaps 4pm till 7pm before they head in to carry out some of the wedding formalities like speeches, cake-feeding and the dancing. Usually, guests are invited to come by the dozens - neighbours, distant neighbours, friends, acquaintances and they come and go from the hours of 4pm - 9pm. You can have 50 tables at the reception, but you may well invite over 2,000 guests! That is because as soon as a table of 10 is filled, they serve dinner and once dinner is finished, the guests leave and the table is re-set for the next set of 10. Doesn't it remind you of our "kenduris" in the kampung?

The wedding over the weekend was held at The Raffles here in da Penh and aside from the westernized arrangements of the reception, the guest list was trimmed to a mere 150 - another unusual encounter for Cambodian weddings - this is actually to facilitate everyone showing up at the same time, eating at the same time and leaving at the same time - again, something which you and I are more familiar with but not for the locals :)

Well, the wedding planning process which took place over a period of 6 months was an absolute blast, actually. The clients, Chris & Pisey (Chris being American facilitated to changing the trend a lot easier) were a real joy to work with and left their trust in me and my team to ensure that a great wedding was brought to live. With clients like these, I am reminded of how much I lurve my job as a wedding planner *smile*.

However, working in Cambodia proves to be a tad more challenging than normal. Especially for weddings. For those who don't know, my main bread and butter here in da Penh isn't the wedding planning business but my advertising and events business. For weddings, whilst I am established in Malaysia, I am merely making tiny first steps here in Cambodia. After a year-long "educational" process, finally, some of the 5-star hotels are starting to look at making weddings a unique and personalized showcase here in Cambodia too and thus 2 wedding fairs in the first half of the year (had the wedding biz been my bread and butter, I would've starved :P). As mentioned, another sure-thing about Cambodian weddings is that one wedding is the same as the next, and the next, and the next - you get my drift. Same colours, same flowers, same arches, etc. ! I have both locals and expat tell me that after awhile, you do not remember whose wedding was whose even from looking at the photos! Very true indeed.

Anyway, as I was saying, given the growing middle-class over the last couple of years, we are starting to see the locals becoming more open-minded and a little - just a little more receptive towards new wedding styles and ideas. But it is this in-between period that is also challenging because it meant that wedding planners the likes of me - have to really convince the client into trying out something different and most importantly - convincing them of personalizing their weddings. We have to convince them that natural-looking make-up is the way to go so that they look absolutely stunning on their wedding day. We have to convince them that hiring a photography team outside of Malaysia would offer them different styling to their wedding album. We have to convince them that doing a grand walk-in / wedding march-in would be a memorable experience. We have to convince them that the price is worth every penny that they are paying. (eg. local photographers can go for USD600 for the full day from 3am to 11pm!) The list goes on.

If they bought into the whole trend-setting idea of changing their wedding style, it wasn't the end of story for us. We have to now convince the local wedding vendors - from the venue to the florist to even the photographer or videographer if they were hired locally, that the 'concept' of the wedding has changed and these are the adjustments we need to do - whether in terms of make-up, photos or decorations. Even hotels the likes of Raffles would need to be taught to give a ballroom lay-out plan which takes into account the bridal walk-in on the red carpet! Sound system is a whole other issue in Cambodia. The quality of sound system is often gauged by how LOUD the music can be blasted even in a small ballroom. But say what you like, the vendor refused to tone down the decibels. So you just visualize this very elegant setting vs ear drums-breaking sound. You could not hear yourself think even! After convincing these vendors, there is that "Cambodia Challenge" that we have to go through - which is professionally-delivered service and product. Unfortunately, as mentioned in a previous post, most often in Cambodia, what you ask for, you may not get. Over the years of working here, I've realized this "It's ok" attitude amongst the local Cambodians. For example, my stage backdrop was chipped and had holes - likely damaged when they were transporting the thing - and of course, I wasn't happy about it, being anal and all. But the local guy would tell me "It's ok. It looks fine still. Nobody can see." You just want to smack him one, but you can't. Or when the vendor shows up with an arrangement that is different from what was agreed prior, it's also the "It's ok. It still looks fine." argument. The thing is, the Cambodian clients understand this working culture. And hopefully, the non-Cambodian client also understands the so called "culture" here. But I don't - and it sometimes baffles me as to why do the vendors think they can get away with something like that? Even the venue could spring a surprise on you on the event day itself by telling you they do not have red carpet in the entire hotel. OMG. (So people need to understand that last-minute changes, etc... does not really work-out well in Cambodia)....

After convincing the clients, followed by the vendors, I realized we also had to brace ourselves in convincing the locals who attend the wedding. It can be an endless process of the following : "What is pre-dinner cocktail?" / "Why do I have to sign the Wish Tree cards and hang it?" / "I want to take back the Wish Tree cards." / "Why can't I eat now?" / "What time do we leave?" / "I brought 4 more people and I want to sit together" / "What are place cards?" and whilst all these were going on, they were stepping all over my lovely, lovely aisle petals. :\ Big lesson learnt - never-ever do place card arrangements again in Cambodia, no matter how small the wedding guest list might be :P At least, not for the next couple of years!

Overall, I had a great time with this particular wedding, having done a few in Cambodia already. I was also pleased that I managed to convince the client to hire a team of photographers from Malaysia to capture their memorable moments - 1am Studio - who did a GREAT JOB and helped rush a fast-edit for a surprise slideshow for the clients too. I'm happy some of my Malaysian comrades have witnessed first-hand what it's like at a Cambodian wedding (the most tiring wedding shoot they had done, apparently!) I am pleased with how the entire wedding turned out and definitely brimming with pride when the couple and both their families came up to me to give words of gratitude and encouragements. Even the GM at the Raffles was impressed and now wish to work closer with us at TWP. Of course, I only stood around and looked pretty :P My team was the real doers and they deserve a pat on the back. Make it two.

During a PR interview recently, when the reporter asked if bringing in international vendors meant that we are better than the local vendors, my answer was as follows : "No, it does not mean that we are better than the local vendors. We are just offering a different style and we should learn from one another to grow the business and grow the industry. This is what we call exchange of knowledge, skills and culture between one another. I could teach you about delivering professional service and you could teach me about your local culture and customs or the photographer could teach you about different techniques and you could teach them about your local styles and concepts. In this world, there is no such thing as you are better or I am better. We need to share in order to grow."

As I sit and reflect on some of the 'unseen' chaos during the wedding which took place, I realized that doing weddings in Cambodia is going to be a bitch of a climb up the learning curve - both for myself, for potential clients, for vendors and for local guests. But everyone has to start somewhere and I welcome the challenge. I had almost forgotten - we all started out the same back home - from somewhere too, taking that first step. I just need to work on my zen habits and try to stay calm and patient :P

Some of the vendors who came over for the launch of TWP back in 2009 have questioned why they haven't been asked to do anything more for Cambodia and why some other vendors are given the jobs instead. If you had read all the above, you would find your explanation. Given the "educational" process that we still have to go through with every job (not just weddings, mind you), convincing and convincing clients to engage more professional service providers and products at a 300% higher fee... it IS an uphill climb indeed. You may have invested your time and money once to take a look at Cambodia. I have invested not just money, but my time here in Cambodia - and I am STILL learning. I am in this for the long haul in order for me to reap the rewards of my efforts and passion. Are you willing to be in it for the long-haul here?

Because, I definitely would welcome all local & international industry friends to help me fight a good fight here and grow the industry in Cambodia :) For those who have believed and supported me - whether physically or morally from near and far - I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

For more great photos - you will have to wait for the awesome ones from 1am Studio! :)

Church Ceremony decor

Simple & Elegant look for the Wedding Reception decor

Me and my boys

Bali Triathlon : An Abysmal Performance

2011-06-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

Team Weddings Malaysia & Team JFT

For those of you who have been following my blog would know that I was in pretty ill-shape for the Bali Triathlon. Nevertheless, my stubbornness ensured that I was right there at the starting line on the cloudy morning of 26^th June 2011, together with my wedding industry friends and MOH who formed the relay team of Team Weddings Malaysia and our official cheerleaders : Shirley Hoo, Mama & Papa Lui. The damn cough and the damn pain in my left ribs were the major issues and I had been trying to ‘hide’ this for the past couple of days after we all met up in Bali – for fear that, you know, I might be curbed from taking part in the competition.
Having Kris, Lee Kuen, Shirley and my parents around really took my mind off the stress I was going through – imagining that I will not complete the race. Aaargh! I definitely do not want a DNF in my record! Kris was particularly funny, cracking jokes about racing, teaching us how to pose for the camera (“gaya mesti ada”) and making us all laugh like KKC (not helping the pain in my ribs though).

Oh – oh! I also had the honour of meeting Richard Sambera – the ex-national swimming champ for Indonesia! I got his autograph, a photo with him and his V-shaped bod (very impressive for a retired sportsman) and a few good tips from him about swimming in the open-water. Most of the Indon national team and most of the top athletes from Australia were competing too. Well, not so bad, right? Team Weddings Malaysia and Team Journeys For Two were competing amongst the best-of-the-best!
Bali in June is chilly. I looked at the choppy waves forlornly and say a silent prayer. I was not going to kid myself – I prayed that I completed the race safely and I prayed for Team Weddings Malaysia to complete the race safely too. We all know that in races like these, as well-organized as they may be, anything can happen (and obviously, it did). There was a bit of a panic during my prep-time since my Mom was holding my prep bag and she was at the swim start instead of the bike transition area. They had to do a power walk in the dark to deliver the bag to me so I could lay-out my stuff. Not funny then, but funny now :)

When the Bali governor sounded the horn for the start, it was a “here we go again” moment for me. I jumped into the water, along with two hundred over other athletes competing for top places, prize money and personal glory (Team Weddings Malaysia had a later start since they were doing the Sprint Distance). The swim in the freezing waters of Jimbaran Bay was particularly enjoyable, except for the choppy waters. Although I started at the back of the pack, I kept good pace and the cold numbed the pain in my ribs. One mantra remained in my head while I kept my pace and rhythm – “please don’t let me finish last, please don’t let me finish last..” I thought I was doing well as I overtook a number of swimmers, and then I touched the shore at 44mins. This was particularly de-motivating since my worse timing previously in the open waters was 38mins. Eeesh. (Later, I found out that we swam more than 1.5km since the bloody buoy shifted position!!) I ran the 800m to the transition area (again, a first for any tri I’ve been in) to get into my bike gear and head on out. Of course, Mommy dearest was cheering at the swim finish and Shirley was snapping away on the camera – therefore, must perk-up and smile for the camera, not look like half-dead (although she promised the photos of me coughing and dying were not going to be posted on FB!)

The bike route was a whole different monster, I tell you. It was an arduous uphill cycle for most of 25km – and not just that, we had to maneuver potholes and sit in heavy ‘macet’. OMG. While the chilly water had numbed my pain, the constant uphill climb had brought it all back. It didn’t help that I was coughing and having a running nose. I had snot all over me by the 10^th click. Nevermind the fact that I was on a rented bike and was just not used to it (decided not to lug my bike around when I holiday in Bali). The first three hills, I was still motivating myself and I was trying to sing Rihanna and Eminem in-between to take my mind off. By the sixth hill, I was ready to cry. I could hear my knees creaking and my ribs felt inflamed. When I hit more hills and saw some other cyclists getting off their bikes and pushing instead, I decided that was the smarter thing to do and did the same. It was faster! And then it rained. OMG. The phrase “slippery when wet” was very much real in this race. Lots of bikers lost control and crashed. I myself nearly crashed into a traffic police. Good thing he managed to stop the traffic since I had gone over to the wrong lane as I wobbled to avoid falling! I had never in my life, lost my cool during any race. But at the Bali Tri, I did. You just imagine, you are trying to gather your momentum downhill to climb the damn hill only to find that there is a bloody traffic jam in the middle of the hill and you have to stop! Aaargh! I was cursing and swearing and I wanted to punch people. It was extremely NOT enjoyable. During the race briefing, Robb Strom said “Enjoy the scenic route and suck in the very soul of Bali.” I was sucking in alright – the smog and pollution. And there was definitely nothing scenic about my route. If I did not know better, I would think I was PMS-ing :P

No, don’t get me wrong. I love Bali. I fell in love with MOH here and we made it full circle by having our wedding in Bali. But racing in the macet and avoiding potholes was a whole other matter. Besides, Bali is really overly congested and might be losing some of its charm. I’m digressing. The point is, the organizers should at least work on closing the traffic – at least one lane. It’s the 5^th year this has been organized, there should be a way!

I finally finished my 40km uphill bike battle in an unfashionable time of 1:57 – totally aargh, aargh and double aargh! I cursed all the way to the dismount area, cursed all the way as I walked in – MOH met me at the transition area (he obviously finished his 20km sprint distance earlier than I did and was spared most of the hills :P) and I was telling him how much I hated the bike leg. He told me I wasn’t the only one. Apparently, every biker who came in was cursing and swearing too.

I went ahead with my run and at this point, I just told myself to finish the race. I was in so much pain that I honestly didn’t think I remembered my own name (btw – I couldn’t even find where I parked my bike because they don’t mark the transition areas – hence, some athletes found their bikes missing when they came in from their swim!). I was coughing almost non-stop at this point and at the 4km mark, I thought I was having an asthma attack! Still, I pushed on. And then, as if wanting to challenge me further, there was no water available at the water stations. Just the Hydro Coconut Water thingy – while not too bad in taste, was not what my cough needed!! The running route was not any better. Still stuck in traffic, avoiding motorbikes and potholes. Come to think of it, it reminded me of why I do not train outdoors in da Penh :P I finally, finally finished the run leg in 1:02 – again, horrible timing – and crossed the finished line in an abysmal 3:54. My worse ever race timing clocked. My Dad – poor dude – was waiting for me at the finish line and I don’t think I will ever live down the “I waited for 3 hours, you know!!” On one hand, I was touched that both my parents cheered me on and definitely touched that my Dad stood around waiting patiently for 3 hours for me to show up. Of course, he complained afterwards, but I knew that when I didn't show up in the 2nd hour, he was worried that I might have fainted somewhere! Haha. On the other hand, I felt bad. I felt like I had let them down. I should’ve made it back faster. I could’ve. Just that the body ‘mogok’ – I couldn’t help it. MOH, however, scored a “SHUT UP” from me since the last thing I needed to hear was “I told you so.” :P :P :P

Kris offered a good consolation – he said I cannot compare this race with my other previous races because the route was tougher. Comparatively, the Top finisher finished in 3:05, so I wasn’t that ‘far’ behind. OK, admittedly, what he said did make sense. But it didn’t quite make me feel any better finishing 3 effin’ 54. Another consoling point – which MOH pointed out – was I was still Top 10 – I have yet to break that record. But yes, Top 10 out of 11 :P :P Aaargh! Fine, so Team Journeys For Two Solo didn’t do too well if you looked at overall timing (I will now need some time to get over this sore point :P).

However, Team Weddings Malaysia finished very well. Kris was super fast in the swim (12^th out of the water), super funny in his 800m transition run (a length longer than his swim – which he constantly reminded us about throughout our trip together thereafter), MOH finished his bike pretty damn fast as well (16^th finisher on the bike) and Lee Kuen completed the race in fashionable manner (20^th to come in from the run). Lee Kuen – another funny one – everyone looked worn-out after the race but she still looked posh and glamourous – like not a hair out of place! How the hell? Anyway, a BIG kudos to Team Weddings Malaysia for a great virgin race J - finishing Top 16 in a time of 1:47 ahead of many other teams J I am happy that my industry friends are starting to pick-up on my passion too and here’s to more teams forming and more races in which we can all enjoy together J

There had been many lessons learnt in the run-up to the Bali race and even while racing itself for me. I’m not going to talk about the “I told you so” lessons :P At the very least, I know that my “Never Say Die” attitude is embedded strongly and I am not a quitter. I say this easily now because I completed the race, pain and all. But I think the one thing that was going for me on race day was the fact that the sun was hiding pretty much throughout the race. If the heat was on – I am not sure I would’ve made it. I am also very happy that my parents have come to cheer me on and support me and knowing that they were standing and waiting at the finish line kept me going. Of course, thanks to Kris, Shirley, Lee Kuen and MOH too for all the laughs and jokes and mutual team support. These are all the enjoyable part of it all J An experience – nobody can give or take away from me.

And now, I shall start on writing a strongly-worded letter to the organizers because, nevermind that the route was terrible, nevermind that we had to climb uphill on the bike in traffic, nevermind that there was no water BUT what I do mind is that they didn’t have enough finisher’s medal and as such – I didn’t even get mine! C’mon, people! For the effin’ climb and the smog and all the sweat and tears – I should at least get a medal, right? Right? Right.

Personal Cheer Troupe :) Mama & Papa Lui

Over-Trained = Plans Shattered :\

2011-06-20T01:15:00.000-07:00

I am right now looking at my assortment of drugs and I feel rather sorry for myself. By the way, I was literally hoodwinked, taken by surprise, kidnapped and bundled into the doctor's clinic against my will over the weekend. In fact, I was too stunned to even run out of the clinic for my dear life after that.

Yes, going back to feeling rather sorry for myself..... looking at my array of medication - cough syrup, cough tablets, antibiotics (and the effin' strong dosage that makes your lips and tongue go dry and numb), painkillers for the damn pain in my ribs, day flu, night flu, dizziness, ... and what is this? A pill for stubborness? :P

With the Bali race in less than a week, I sure am feeling extremely sorry for myself and how I got to where I am today. I think the word we're looking for is "over-training". When JFT first offered me the sponsorship last year in October, I was of course elated. I had been training hard before and with the sponsorship confirmed, I trained harder. In fact, I trained damn blady hard for the race. I was at my peak 6 months ago. I was doing 27km - 30km long runs every weekends (30km in 2:30) and my idea of a Monday recovery run was doing an 18km run in 2:20. I was clocking up an average of 60 clicks per week on runs, and also spent time on the bike and in the pool. These are all on top of my weight training and my circuit training. I was getting one day of rest in between and I kept pushing every week. I felt I was at the top of my game and fitness level. I was so ready to take on Bali and do better than my Miri Tri PB of 2:57 in the Olympic Distant.

And what do you know? The higher one is, the faster they roll down the hill :P By the middle of March, my body seemed to be starting a protest campaign, starting with my knees acting up. Then, in the last week of March, my "great fall" took its toll on my knees and the "rolling downhill" just picked up its momentum from here on. For some reason, I also developed a cough at about the same time which never went away, and I am still coughing violently. So prolonged was the coughing that I injured my ribs. Or pulled a muscle there - which makes pushing my swim rather painful.

Despite all the above, I continued to train. I continued to push. I don't know if it was sheer stupidity or the prevailing of my "never say die" attitude (some might say - STUBBORNESS), I never stopped training. I may slack off, I may do junk miles, I may have even let my timing slip and slide a little, but I never stopped. There's always this very thin, grey line in which I can't make clear of. People always tell you, "Listen To Your Body"... but as endurance athletes, you're meant to push the boundaries. I mean, how do you train for the Ironman if you're going to give up at the slightest hint of pain? I kept on pushing for better time, or at least get back the timing I was doing 6 months ago. Some days, I get there. Most days, I couldn't.

It was very frustrating for me because the more I couldn't get back to my peak, the harder I pushed. And the final straw came when last Friday, I woke up with fever, sore throat, running nose - the whole works. I was sneezing all morning, and with this, in addition to the cough, my rib was in sheer pain. I was in pain even though I wasn't moving my body. And I knew right then that my dream of at least gunning for Top 5 finish in Bali was shattered. I couldn't even look Top 10 in the face. To be honest, I was in tears. MOH of course, had no idea what to do with me, although I knew it was at the tip of his tongue to say "I told you so!".

I think, after a weekend of trying to recuperate and finally taking some proper medication (and not some googled home-remedies), I'm finally coming to terms with my participation as a non-competitor in Bali. Well, at least, in my head, I think I have come to terms with it. If you race competitively, you would surely understand the frustration of changing your race goals from Top 5 finish + new PB to just finishing the race and try not to crawl to the finish line.

BUT, I also think, any athlete - even the top ones must surely have their time in the mud. And any athlete worth their salt would surely find a way to claw their way back to the top. I mean, a friend of mine told me once that the reason why the great endurance athletes are in the older age group is because they are smarter about it and they accept defeat with grace and fight their way back to the top when the right moment comes by. Perhaps, it is time for me to accept a first round defeat in the battle against my body's rioting :P Hey - if I could make a come back after a 3-year hiatus, I'm sure there's always the next race in which I could be racing strongly. The idea is to be able to race for a long, long time and not be a one-hit wonder, right?

So, I shall spend the next few days coming to terms with my shift in race goals and really, if you look at it, since the trip and all have been paid anyway, I might as well go there to have fun rather than sulk and cry. Right? Right? Right.

p/s : (It all make sense as I am writing this, and I am assuming this is part of my process of coming to terms with my goal shifts...... :\ )

Sofitel Luxury Wedding Fair - Running For Lifeboats

2011-06-07T02:44:00.000-07:00

"When the Titanic is sinking, you don't stand there and scream at the iceberg. You run for the lifeboats." - Debra Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond

International & Local Vendors Group Shot (LiveStudios)

The 1st Luxury Wedding Fair - The Art Of Celebrating Weddings At The Sofitel Phnom Penh Pokeethra has come to an end. Whilst the days pre-fair were rather chaotic and disastrous, the fair was successfully held and finally closed on a very high note. A romantic one at that. This blogpost is going to be a long one, but rather personal and I hope inspiring to all.

On the 2nd June 2011, all the international vendors - Beauty Haven, Carven Ong Couture, La Flaire Malaysia, LiveStudios, Marsio Timeless Productions, Kid Chan Photography, Janet Lee and Acadia Cards were scheduled to arrive and have a relaxing lunch and welcome briefing before the press conference takes place. Unfortunately, it being Cambodia and all, there was a big issue with the customs clearance of the decor products from La Flaire and ended up with the group being delayed for 2 whole hours. What a welcome, eh?

Nevertheless, they all arrived safely - minus the decor items - and we had a really great press conference. (Marsio - I apologize again for missing you out in the intro! OMG! How could I have missed such a big man??) The media had strings of questions and none were taken from the pre-planned guided media Q&As. It was good to see my industry friends from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia again and it was also great to connect with wedding vendors from Cambodia, some we've worked with and some we haven't - Artworx Studio, iFriend Studio, Silk & Pepper (who supported us at our TWP launch too), Water Lily (Christine is a really funny and fun woman!), Romyda Keth, Khmer Angkor Jewellery (From grandpa Kim Seng to the grandchild, the entire family was super-nice), Bite Production, LiveWire and Royal Jazz Band - who were all very supportive and excited right from the start with the fair and have been darlings to work with throughout the preparation stages.

The workshops scheduled on the 3rd June were also great successes. Starting with the hair & beauty workshop by Beauty Haven for the local models who will be donning Carven's new collection and also Romyda Keth's bridal collection which had all the models learning the art of natural-looking make-up and they were eating right off Cindy's hands throughout the workshop. The photography and videography workshops were more of an informal coffee-table discussion between the international vendors with the local vendors - more of a skills-sharing and cultural exchange session - which was the whole idea of the workshop. We were not here to show them we are better than them. We are here to learn from them and vice-versa. This question was actually raised during the PC :)

The no-show of the decor items was nerve-wrecking all through the night and the day and even as myself and my local team kept chasing for the updates, there was little that we can do. I think one thing people need to understand when working in Cambodia is to know that sometimes, even the staff at a luxury hotel can have its set-backs. A lot of times, instructions are lost in translation and we don't get what we want, when we want it. What we need to do is to be flexible and find other means and ways to get what we want. A very good example was the fact that the hotel was reminded 6 times to make sure the flowers were brought to the ballroom before 12noon, but the flowers never showed till 4pm. Of course, many an hour were wasted from the wait. And it's not like Yaku from the hotel (who is another absolute darling to work with and I am grateful for his support) didn't crack his whip. He did. But what can you do? You can stand there and scream and shout but it doesn't solve the problem. I've learnt this many times the hard way, having been here for 3 years now.

Friday was fire-fighting all through the day and I was hell-bent on running for the lifeboats. I sure as hell ain't sinking with the damn ship and I sure as hell will not stand there screaming at the bloody icebergs. I am the "Cambodian" here. I regrouped my boys - Udom, Samneang & Sovann and launched a new plan of attack. My boys have been with me since Day 1 and while they have a long way to go, they have come a long way too. We engaged all of the Mango Rain's BAs to standby for the set-up - anticipating the late arrival of the decor items from customs. I am glad that my other business here in Cambodia gives me a pool of manpower to steal from at my whim and fancy for emergencies like these :P My BAs, they came at a moment's notice. I may be the fierce mother of a biatch with them when training them, but they are willing to stand alongside me in battle and I know gratitude where gratitude is needed. But the credit of the bond between management and these BAs have to be given to my local team. Basically, I am proud of all of them. They are now skilled florists - according to Bryan from O'hara.

For me, I was also grateful and touched to see all the other international vendors lending a helping hand to ensure the event turns out as spectacular as it can be. I am of course absolutely thankful that aside from my local team, my Nupts & Such team was here too - in the form of Cindy & Carolyn who were supposed to represent Beauty Haven. They were rock solid throughout - and even when they lost their luggage (since the hotel van decided to tour the town with their luggage!) - they didn't bother me with it. And they were there, cleaning flowers in the ballroom since 2pm right till after midnight. Another person I am eternally grateful to is Bryan. He came - supposedly on a holiday, but ended up working on the flowers despite the one-arm set-back. He was the man of the hour - when there were not enough flowers for him, he was flexible enough to change his floral designs. When we couldn't find ribbons, he made do with some straws. My utmost respect for him. And has to be made known - he had no logo up anywhere at all. Yet, he fought alongside. And then of course, there were my brother, Sue Yee (his now fiance as you all know) and Keam Hong who worked the hardest. NOW - in what capacity were they attending the fair? They are actually La Flaire's business investors. There was no need for them to lift a finger even. But in support of his sister, they all became overnight florists.

I am also thankful to Janet Lee who also helped with the floral arrangements and missed a night out with the rest, Keet from Carven Ong Couture who also stayed past midnight to help "poke" flowers as she put it. And then there was Marsio - the award-wining photographer and videographer from Indonesia who came to help as well. Well, not exactly him, but his wife, Mimi - who helped with folding of napkins and the flowers too. Aunty Debra helped too in the afternoon with the cleaning of roses. To all of you who helped, who came in to the ballroom to give moral support, I am truly grateful to each and everyone of you. If there be another time where you will need my helping hand, if it is within my powers and capabilities, I will be there.

As a result of so many people jumping onto lifeboats and rescuing the situation, the set-up was almost all ready by 4am in the morning and by 11am - we were absolutely ready for the Grand Opening. I cannot thank all of you enough. First - for your support in coming for the wedding fair, and secondly, for coming to the rescue. Orkun Charan!

The crowd for both days were more than expected and there were genuine enquiries. I hope for all partner-vendors that this is a good sign for businesses coming your way from Cambodia. On a selfish note - it is because I would of course like to see you back in Cambodia too! Janet Lee, as always, charmed her way into the Cambodian's hearts (and has an extremely big photo coverage in the Phnom Penh Post on the 6th June!) Everyone had fun, I would say, despite fatigue. Carven Ong was ill but managed to join us on the 2nd day. It was also a good avenue for networking - as I saw the photogs very busy promoting their FB pages :) But overall, I'm glad it all went well. I am happy to also have connected with some new local vendors that we have never worked with before. Mr. Kim Seng from Khmer Angkor Wat Jewellery made me the loveliest handmade brooch and he gave it to me hot from the oven. It was so sweet of him. The brooch is truly one-of-a-kind and I absolutely love it. Overall, the jive and vibe throughout with everyone, both local and international vendors alike were great. There were some photogs who came in as part of the crowd and tried to get a tip or two from the photographers at the fair and most of them were only too happy to share. THESE are exactly the type of things to see and be inspired from.

And then, we ended on a very high and romantic note - a wedding proposal. Of course, this wasn't impromptu. It was pre-planned since the 'proposer' was my bro. Everyone of the vendors had a downright good laugh and made fun of his nerves and jittery trembles. On behalf of my brother, Ernie, for all who were involved in the conspiracy, I thank you all. (Crikey! I am chalking up a favour-debt!!). Marsio, Willy, Kid - for documenting the moment. Bryan - ONCE AGAIN - who created the very meaningful bouquet : 3 pink roses for I Love You, 9 white roses for eternal love, purple eustomas surrounding the bouquet to symbolize giving the girl an entire lifetime of romance. Bryan even brought the 3 diamantes all the way from Penang. Thank you to Janet too for doing the Opening Song - all a part of the entire "act". When Ernie sang "What Are Words" by Chris Medina - it brought almost everyone to tears - even the big, big Marsio :) A true romantic wedding videographer, perhaps. I'm happy to be a part of the first step in my brother's once-in-a-lifetime moment. It had been fun as I recall the times I helped him sort out the ring, the words, the plans - all the way from here in Cambodia. Well, that was a pretty high note, I would say. :)

Once again, I would like to thank ALL for their support of me and The Wedding Planners to put together one of the best wedding fairs in Cambodia - Artworx Studio, iFriend Studio, Romyda Keth, Khmer Angkor Jewellery, Water Lily, Silk & Pepper, Royal Jazz Band, Bite Production, Livewire, Beauty Haven, Janet Lee, La Flaire, Kid Chan Photography, LiveStudios, Marsio Timeless Production, Carven Ong Couture and Acadia Cards. Together, we CAN.

I am also thankful to the powers out there for answering my prayers :) And very nearly forgot to thank MOH for helping out too!!

Cindy Chang at work with the flowers

Bryan giving yet another crash course to Janet and Ah Kai

My Mango Rain team hard at work

Another crash course for Ernie & Sue by Bryan

Boys who are into flowers :)

Mimi & Marsio having fun too :)

The adorable Wai Keet "poking" them flowers

Bryan giving Carolyn instructions...

Enjoy more photos here : Sofitel Wedding Fair & The Big Proposal :)

1st Half : Eating, Praying, Loving

2011-05-24T02:36:00.000-07:00

In a flash of a flash, it's already first half of the year gone (well, almost anyway). Anticipating that my schedule would only get crazier, I'm posting my thoughts now before cobwebs start growing on my blog. It felt like not too long ago that I posted this inspiring piece 2011 : Eating, Praying & Loving. Well, where are we at with that so far?

For starters, I've been praying for 181 days - and proud to say that I haven't missed a single day of prayers since I started. What do I pray for? *smile* All good things and guidance, I guess and at times, some sort of divine intervention, not just for me, but for all of my loved ones too. And I shall continue praying everyday, and smiling thankfully as I see and feel my prayers being answered.

To be honest, staying positive and culminating an all-around positive attitude hasn't been that easy. Especially since my health has taken quite a blow for the past couple of months, starting with a great fall, hurting my knees and I have this cough which, no matter how much I pray, just will not go away! It's 2 months now, this bloody cough. Some days, I wake up feeling awful and tired, but I still try to stay disciplined and drag my body over to the gym for some training (nevermind the few thousand slaps I will get from making this statement) and because I don't make good time in my training, I feel even more awful afterwards. But no, honestly, I think I am getting better :) I am! I am! *brings fingers to both sides of the temples, channeling positive energy to make the cough go away*

Eversince I have decided to look at my glass half-full again after the turbulent negativities of 2010, I've seen with my own eyes, the amazing-ness a change of attitude can do. I've been meeting the nicest people, the kindest people, the nicest clients, the nicest vendors - you know, from the security guards to my landlady, to the hotel personnels I work with right down to the girl at the check-out counter when I do my groceries. My landlady's house-boy cleans my car for me every week - although, I think it is more so because the dirty state of my car is an embarassment since it is parked right in front of the apartment block :P The hotels that I work with - they send their chauffeur-driven limo rides to pick me up for a meeting or a site recce with them - now THAT is what I call service. My clients bring me gifts and snacks from overseas and tells me to remember to take my vitamins so that I stay strong and healthy planning their wedding. Well, these people didn't magically appear in my life. I'm not delusional. I had been so negative for the most of 2010 that I failed to see the goodness and the kindness in people. There ARE people in this world who would clean your car simply because they like seeing you smile and not because they want to get paid (and don't want you to embarass them :P). There ARE people in this world who genuinely respect you for your experience and role and treat you as a partner. There ARE people in this world who smile at you simply because you smiled at them too. All we need to do is open our eyes. Slap me should I ever forget this again.

But as I mentioned - there are the not-so-perky days. Days where aside from the body failing to achieve personal best times, there's also a lot of work-stress and drama. Days where there are just those amongst us who choose to behave like morons on the fearless streets of da Penh and there are just those amongst us who choose to be annoyingly irritating when it comes to work-related stuff. Oh, don't get me wrong. Whilst I pray for patience everyday, I do realize it is something that I seriously need to work on. My number one pet peeve is missed deadlines. Simple - if I can meet my deadlines, why can't you meet yours? (I also pray for understanding everyday :P). But I know these are part and parcel of work and because I work with so many different people, I have to understand that everyone has their own style of work (I will TRY to understand why being tardy and disorganized is a chosen style :P). These are nothing compared to those who strive on dramas and negativities in everything that they do. Even though you try to spread the positivity to them, they prefer to pour cold water on you. What gets me really is to sometimes feel or realize that even your own partner isn't giving you the support required. In fact, at times, they are the ones creating more drama for you at work. Having to walk on egg-shells with your partners ain't fun. It is at times like these that I pray for divine intervention. What I have learnt to do is to deal with it the best way I know how and change my frequency. Of course, at times, I do snap. Like I said, patience is not yet my virtue. And thinking on the positive side, quoting Herm Albright : "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." So, hah!

But then again, there are also partners that I do really enjoy working with. Sometimes, it is not about bringing in the fat of the bacon. A tiny lean bit is fine too, as long as we're all happy doing it. Right? To these partners, I am thankful that you are my partner and I am happy to have the opportunity to work with you - all of you :)

Overall though, things have been going fairly well, cough and all. I mean, hey - it could be worse, yes? *grin* I look around me and I know my life has been truly blessed thus far. I have good food on the table (part of the "Eating") whenever I wish, nice clothes on my back (my limited wardrobe is something of my own choosing - I'm not a wardrobe person and as MOH says - I only shop for clothes when I am on a holiday at the beach :P) and many roofs over my head - yes - how many people get to say that? I have a few different houses to choose to stay in whenever I am back in KL *grin*. Over and above that - I have so much love surrounding me, from my family, MOH and my friends. Especially MOH. I was reminded recently by Kris Wong of his answer to the following question : "Will Eileen be a good wife?" and his response was "I know Richard will be a good husband." (Kris Wong : Thanks for the show of support :P)

Anyway, also, all my businesses are going well, being busy is good and I still make time to do what I love doing - training, teaching, going to the orphanage, cooking and definitely catching up on CSI (all 3 series) and Criminal Minds (Thomas Gibson is da bombs!!). I have time because I wake up at 3.50am every morning :P And when I need to - I wake up earlier than that. Those who need a wake-up call, just buzz me :P

With the second half of the year approaching, I strive to give lots of love and put a smile on people's faces - even if they are strangers, and be a kinder and more compassionate person. I have to mention this - this is serious divine intervention - I've been praying for the children at the orphanage everyday too, for them to always be surrounded by love, joy and happiness (your heart would break to know that nobody wants to adopt any of these kids because of their HIV condition). I smile knowing my prayers have been answered because recently, there has been a lot more groups of volunteers going to the orphanage, bringing with them love and joy for the kids. It's great to see kind and compassionate people everywhere *smile*

I also strive to continue staying positive and looking at my glass as blady full. I want to enjoy the journey because I know this is one helluva ride. Even better is the fact that I've got a terrible sense of direction. So, if I get lost, it's gonna be one helluva adventure *LOL*

Love Grass

2011-05-04T03:50:00.000-07:00

I had a sudden flashback to my days as a kid. Specifically, to a certain boy at school. No, no, nothing of THAT sort. This was in primary school. And I didn't like this boy. Because he was annoying and a Bully. I actually remember his name - but shall not post it up here.

Well, I remember one incident where Bully tricked me into walking across the school padang where apparently, there were some 'buried treasures'. Ok. Yes, I was gullible. Reading all those loads of Enid Blytons did not help my wish to see fantasy come true :P Well, what Bully was trying to do was get love grass sticking all over my pinafore and my socks. He actually pushed me so that I fell on them.

And boy, did they stick. I wanted to kick his balls so hard afterwards (because I knew even then that kicking them nuts would hurt him like hell) but he was stronger and faster than I was.

For some reason, this flashback came to me today and I must remember to give thanks to Bully. Because on the bright side of things, who would've thought - I had 'love' stuck all over me! 20 plus years later, here I am, still thankful for the love that constantly surrounds me - from my family, my friends and my doting MOH.

I am blessed.

p/s : I never thought too that I could write such a short post for my blog. I usually get rather long-winded :P

Photo of Love Grass from www.illinoiswildflowers.info

Healing Wounds

2011-04-28T01:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a month since Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall. Ok, not HD himself. Just me. Looking back, I think it was so uncool to have fallen via running! The extent of the damage just didn't seem to match up! Nevertheless, I am healing. I still need to clean my "lake-like" wound every mornings and evenings and apply the antibiotic cream given by my doc in KL (No! No more International SOS from henceforth! To be fair, I wasn't upset with the paediatrician who treated me. She was just assigned to me and I believed she did what she could to the best of her abilities!)

Good news is, despite the inconveniences of the wound, I have resumed my training in full force. I have started my running and biking 2 weeks ago and as of yesterday, had my first official swim training after exactly 1 month away from the pool. And you know what? I was told today - I look a lot happier. Of course I am happier! I am not limping - finding it painful to even do something as simple as sit down and stand up and having to sleep in just one position! Major difference from right after the fall, where I was in pain all over.

Yet, even a couple of days after the fall, I sneaked out to the gym in the mornings to try to put in some training time at least. Instead of cycling to the gym like usual, I drove out - luckily, car is automatic gear. Haha! Much to MOH's chagrin and of course to the disapproval of my parents and a lot of my concerned friends (I love you guys too!). All those FB-slapping that I got. My goodness!

But you see, my dear friends - I am one-of-a-kind. I need to explain a little bit about my passion for the endurance sports. I've been doing it since I started going to the gym (more than 10 years now) and then by chance, I got hooked onto the races, which further motivated me to train even harder. I loved every second of my training and racing. Moving to Cambodia, I stopped training seriously and watched with eyes-wide-opened at my fitness level sliding dramatically - from marathon running to dying doing a mere 4km run. I was actually quite depressed! When I decided to make a so-called comeback after a 3-year hiatus, it took me forever to regain the glories of the past. But finally, after a lot of pain and determination, I was back on track and haven't looked back since. The 8 long months I took to regain my fitness level was a big haunting factor in my life. It was mentally challenging because several times throughout, I just wanted to call it quits and coupled with the fact that I had no training buddies with me at that time, it really took a lot for me to put in the gruelling hours. As such - I have this thing about not training. I fear the sliding motion of my fitness level.

Ok, I know that if you get off training for a couple of weeks or a month, it doesn't really quite affect your performance. But refer to above paragraph. Fear of the slide :P So, despite the slappings and threats of being tied to the bed and locks being changed and car keys being hidden, etc... and most of all, in spite of the pain, I went ahead with my training. I had to stay positive and not think about the bleeding wound. Furthermore, I had a race in June and was really quite worried about that. We always say - we race for fun and it's all about completing the race, etc, etc. It never is the case for me. You see, I am always in the Top Ten region in my category. So, true to form, I keep chasing the next best time. I am not a professional athlete and I accept that fact. I don't put in 5 hours of training time (IF I have the time, I would so do it!) but still - pride and glory at stake here!! Not to mention, for the June race, my parents will be watching me race for the first time ever and I am sponsored by JFT :) I definitely don't want to come in last!! There's also this psychological block in my head which tells me - if I don't put in the time to train, I will not get the desired results. So, like clockwork every morning, I wake up at 3.50am and I am hitting the machines by 4.15am so that I at least put in a good 3 hours before work starts for the day.

I am stubborn. But I should be given points for my sheer determination, isn't it? (As an employer, I prefer to hire those who are into endurance sports as I know what kind of mental prowess they have :P) I know my knees are not as good as they used to be. The "great fall" had seriously knocked them out and I have no choice but to wear a knee guard everytime I train now (which I actually dislike) and after a long run or bike, I just feel like they would give way at any moment! The injuries have certainly slowed me down quite a bit but despite the pain, I am still going to push it with my training. I have just 2 months to go before the Bali Tri.

With a lot of positive feeling and energy, I believe in time, the "lake" in my knee would stop needing my care and attention and the pain in my knees would go away. Because people say - all wounds heal. They are never forever.

Traxx FM Interview

2011-04-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

Chatting with Kong Eu live on-air

When Traxx FM invited me for an interview coinciding with my last trip back to KL, I was thrilled. But also anxious. I wasn't so sure about all these 'live' sessions because I have the tendency to either freeze or get my tongue all twisted. Then, when I proudly announced my interview to my parents, MOH, my partners and some friends - I got these responses : "What is Traxx FM?" | "Who the hell listens to Traxx FM these days??" | "Is it a new radio station?" - I was more at ease. Hahaha. So, even if I screwed up big time, the chances of people hearing it were quite low (people I know, that is). So great. And just for everyone's information, Traxx FM is on the 100.1 frequency. Start tuning in. They've got Justin Bieber on it since the Bieber Fever has practically overtaken the nation :P

Of course, I was reminded numerous time to make sure I do not wear anything that "menjolok mata" lest I get shoo-ed away by the guards. After all, we were entering RTM - government building, you know. Well, I wore my Double Happiness uniform. That should do the trick, yes? :P (Not according to my partners :P)

Anyway, well, I was pretty excited actually and Linda, the producer was extremely chirpy and bubbly that she put me right at ease. I was told the DJ - Kong Eu was new and in fact, only about a week-old on the job at the station and as a DJ. Shamefully, I was even more at ease with the fact. Why? Because it meant that if I screwed up, he will not look at me like an idiot :P This is all 'pasal jaga muka la'.... :)

This was actually my second interview with Traxx - the first one way back in ..... 2005, arranged by Kris Wong (who reads the news on Traxx!). Kong Eu was superb. He put me right at ease and it almost turned out as if I was speaking to a client who were asking questions. My interview topic was on destination weddings, something Nupts & Such specializes in. I answered general questions like
Why destination weddings (because it is oh-so-romantic!!),
How much it cost (can you really put a price tag on romance??),
My favourite locations (Bali - cos I fell in love and got married there and Langkawi),
Social norms for destination weddings (can't please everyone now, can we?)
Previous experiences with groups traveling for destination weddings (all great cos everyone was on their own holiday... !)
Destinations outside of Malaysia (Cambodia - but of course since it is a hidden gem)
and etc.. etc.....

The slot was for half and hour with songs in-between. And here's the real thrill for me - Traxx is one of the only radio stations where the music is not programmed in a playlist. SO, while we were on the discussion of my wedding in Bali, I requested for Kong Eu to play my walk-out music - MJ & Akon's Hold My Hand - since I used this song BEFORE it was even made popular commercially (and proudly announced this fact live on-air too!). And my wish was granted!!

The thirty minutes passed by too soon. I was only starting to get warmed up! One of my secret dream was to become a radio DJ. I did a small stint at the university - the Bathurst station (can't even remember what it's called) where I took the graveyard shift - for reason being that most people were asleep! - and I had been guest DJ on Mix FM before. My ... err.... DJ-ing career never took off, I guess. I even sent in an audition / demo tape to Red FM before - signing off as DJ T-Bones. (*slaps forehead and LMAO). And these types of radio interviews / shows are possibly the closest I'll ever get to becoming a DJ :P (I do sound good on air, you know!!)

Anyway, I had much fun and thank you, once again to Sal for putting me in touch with Linda and to Kong Eu for having me (by the way - I believe the myth that radio DJ's are ugly is really just that since I once had a huge crush on a DJ before and Kong Eu is cuuute!). Oh, and also - thank you to my parents who tuned in via the very old alarm clock radio at home and my partners who recorded my interview on their BBs. Woohoohoo!

So.... when can I be on-air again??

Here with Kong Eu

Posing.... !

Tumble, Stitches and Coming Out One Lucky Gal

2011-03-26T22:30:00.000-07:00

The PP Runners - missing is Robin!!

What a morning indeed! As usual - woke up for my Sunday morning runs with the PP Runners. Ok, there was nothing usual about it since I am still recovering from a viral infection and I took flu meds yesterday and got knocked out. I jumped out of bed late, but was lucky enough to catch Robin & Clem at the start of the run.

You know what? I thought I was doing quite well and I didn't even feel tired, except the cough was annoying me some. But between the talking and the pacing, I was actually feeling grrreat! And then, between being chased by dogs and avoiding cows and all, I took a huge tumble and I don't even know how, but I managed to slide across the dirt road.... and well, my knees took the brunt of it all. Left knee felt like it may have cracked (but no, no,... I don't think it did) and the right knee had a piece of flesh hanging out. When I first saw the gaping wound with all the mud and the dirt, my first thought was - HOLY F***! And I could feel the on-set of a hyperventilation :P Luckily, Robin was there (Clem had ran ahead) and she was super solid! She was so calm and so knew what to do despite being fairly new to Cambodia. We were across the Japanese Bridge in the local village and me being in denial - I suggested running back. Of course, Robin said NO. We walked for a fair bit to get to the main bridge before being able to flag down a tuk-tuk who took us to the International SOS. Best part - neither of us carried enough money to pay the tuk-tuk. But once Robin got me settled in, she took care of that and went home to bring some stuff out for me - clean clothes, snacks and water.

Of course, while lying in the clinic bed, that's when I felt so much in pain, it wasn't funny. And my gaping wound was still bleeding and I just about fainted looking at it (now, there's a reason why I never pursued forensic science :P). I was dirty and stinky and I just wanted a shower! Then, the nurse came in with this hi-tech looking device (later, I found out it was the blady blood pressure monitor :P) and that sent me into panic-frenzy. She was great though. She said "Keep calm, keep calm. This is to take your blood pressure." In between tears, I kept asking her - how bad is it? How bad is it? She said I would have to wait for the doctor to look at it. Well, she went about cleaning up all of my wounds and they were all effin' painful. She kept apologizing though and I felt bad for her! She did say I could scream all I want. Just imagine - she had to lift the flesh to clean the insides. Aaargh!!! The image of her doing that was enough to make me feel nauseated! But nope, Robin came back and I had to look cool and all that.... :P But seriously, Robin's presence made so much difference! She joked and chatted with me - I knew the deal - take my mind off the pain while the "lifting and cleaning" was being done. And then doc said I needed stitches. Haha. Tattoos, I can take. Stitches make me cry! :P Go figure. The local anesthetic - I can tell you - was REALLY MILD. And nothing was numb when the stitches started. Meanwhile, Robin was still chatting animatedly to me.

Before I knew it, stitches were all done and I was good to go. Being a stubborn-headed pig, my first question to the doctor was "Can I start training tomorrow??" Oh, so typical of any athlete! Doctor calmly smiled and said "If you can bear with the pain, sure!" Robin and Clem (who rushed over to see me with fruits and fruit juices) translated that for me - "REST YOUR BODY!!" Ok. Ok. I guess this is finally God's way of making me rest. Migraine didn't. Injured knees didn't. Flu didn't. Viral infection didn't. I guess HE thought HE had to do something far worse to get my attention :P

Ah, you may wonder - where was MOH (for the benefit of new readers : MOH = My Other Half) throughout it all? SNORING - despite the numerous phone calls Robin made to his mobile! He finally woke up and showed up in time to pick up the bill :P

Despite this tumble and the pain I am in right now - arms, fingers, palms, knees, hips... OMG - I am feeling good. Because I was lucky - NOTHING broken. How lucky is that, right? And you know what? I always pray to meet kind and compassionate people and to meet nice people in my life. Well - I found them in Robin & Clem - my running mates. You think they have nothing better to do on a beautiful Sunday morning than to see me screaming like a baby at the sight of the blood? Sure they do! But nope - they were there - right there next to me while the sutures were done (I just saw the bill and it said a 4cm suture!!!! *faint again*) - and for that - I am grateful. Look, honestly, if Robin just dumped me at the clinic - I would've been grateful too - just that, the nurse would have to deal with this cry-baby. But she came back and she has a great sense of humour. Me like. It got me through. I'm lucky too because the nurse was the kindest, the doctor was the kindest and I know they both did a great job. So, so grateful. (You know, I've had previous nightmarish stories with the International SOS!!).

And that is not all! I now escape doing any household chores!!! Wooohooohoooooo!!! MOH said I am to do nothing but rest. No sweeping, mopping, wiping, cleaning toilets, etc, etc.. (YES! I am still having problems finding a maid!!!)
So you tell me - am I lucky or not? :) So damn lucky :)

Splendour of Nature : A Heartfelt Gratitude

2011-03-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Team (photo courtesy of Nell Ng / Janet Lee)

When we first coined the idea for Splendour of Nature, we were not sure of whether any of our industry comrades would buy into the idea for something where the ROI wasn’t guaranteed. But things quite easily fell in place and I am personally very grateful to the following sponsors for your show of support and responding in record speed with a “Yes” to our emails. Without any of the below sponsors – there would’ve been no splendour of anything.

Clearwater Sanctuary Resort for the main sponsorship of the 3D/2N full board and lodging for all the wedding guests and as well as the working crew and organizing committee. Master Chef Ricky Parlanti was so hands-on with all the arrangements and making sure that on the resort’s side, they got it right for us as the organizers. His jovial character certainly helped ease the tension and stress :) Whatever it was, the generous sponsorship was absolutely much appreciated.

Weddings Malaysia, our main online media sponsor who have been featuring stories of all our sponsors as well as the wedding planning process on weddingsmalaysia.com. Kris Wong who was supposed to have attended the event had to cancel his trip at the last minute – but you were definitely much talked-about and much missed :) (Cindy and I were playing trampoline on your bed).

Events Wizard and Nupts & Such for the absolutely perfect wedding planning and wedding co-ordination to ensure that the couple, their guests and also the members of the media had a great time. Sure, there were some kinks we needed to work out during the planning stages, but that was only because we all had different work-styles – not to mention the fact that I am all the way in Timbaktoo. No, Cambodia. Specifically to my NS partners – I’d like to do more of such projects whereby I come back just to “show-face” :) :) :) (kena slap).

Playfolio for managing and designing our contest website. Jeffrey – you are a gem – because you had been so patient with this “technology-idiot”- ME.

Beauty Haven for making the bride look absolutely gorgeous and accompanying her for her photo sessions, her meals and doing everything possible to ensure she was calm and at ease. Not just the bride – the groom too! As well as for Janet Lee – because Connie got enthralled by Janet’s ‘bodek-ing’ and helped with Janet’s look for the evening.

Sunday Photography (aka 1am Studios) for the pre-wedding portraitures for the couple and really working them very hard – I heard. Not just the bride and groom are excited about their photos – we are super-excited to see them too. Under the hot sun, in the drizzle of the rain and a few kilos hanging around the neck – my hats off indeed.

Kid Chan Photography for documenting the happiest day of the couple’s lives. Kid – ever so busy, made the time to get over to Clearwater, took the photos, rushed some photos out for release to the media immediately after the event ended and took off again at 5am in the morning. This is what I call dedication and professionalism. By the way, Kid – the couple and the family were mouth-wide-opened seeing some of the photos – they were impressed into silence. Thank you, thank you.

La Flaire Malaysia for the absolutely gorgeous theme décor – Happy Turquoise for the ceremony and a Romantic Lilac for the reception dinner – and coming guns-ablazing in a lorry loaded to the brim with chiavari chairs, linens, décor props and all, showed your passion in the creative work that you do. The guests were too in awe of your linens and décor to even spill a drop of sauce onto the linens!

O’Hara Florist for complementing the beautiful linens with equally beautiful floral arrangements. Also another sponsor who came in fully-loaded – this one with an Avanza packed to the brim with flowers (and thankfully no police stop!!). Special thanks to Bryan for the Naked Chilli Dance – thus the absolutely great weather :) (yes, yes, no photos on FB. Promise. Unless you are slow in responding to my emails :P)

Cave & Cellar for the wines – the lovely, lovely wines – so fantastic them wines that most of the sponsors were drunk before the show started and I was slurring during my speech :P Can-dy Maaaah (must be pronounced the way Kid Chan does it), you are absolutely hilarious!!

Janet Lee whose sultry voice and “gorgeous body” (according to MC Lilian) was so captivating that even I myself was stunned with her performance. I am a big fan. French would be good *wink! wink!* And between Janet and Candy Mah, I’ve laughed myself off a few calories!

CROSSROAD PRODUCTIONS who backed up the wedding entertainment with their STATE-OF-THE-ART sound system – and the CAPS is because Edwin was very ‘bitchy’ about being mentioned as much as possible :P Jokes aside – Thank you, thank you, thank you, Edwin for agreeing to do this as well. Much appreciated!

Acadia Cards for the beautiful splendour of nature themed wedding stationeries. I can’t remember which, but one of the guests went home with either Faith, Hope, Love, Heart, Trust, Respect or Dreams. Either one, they are blessed.

Truly Scrumptious for the nature-inspired wedding cake – Aniza – Chef Ricky Parlanti said that your cake was fabulous – guess what? He packed some home for his wife and kids! Says a lot, eh?

That Special Occasion and Fit & Match for the couple’s wedding attire. It was hot and humid and the groom, coming in from cold weather was sweating buckets. But he loved his attire. The bride – looked absolutely so gorgeous in her gown – but the real head turner was the cheongsam. Kris Wong – the cheongsam was much talked about that night and the morning after too! :) (but the buttons… hmmm…)

The Bubble Beads for the bride’s accessories which looked so pretty, pretty, pretty. I want them too and I promise I will know how to put them on :P

Wicked Wax for the media gifts as well as the Wedding Favours. Ivy – the fans – such a life-saver indeed!!!! Great thinking on that!

Aunty Lilian and Uncle Lui aka Mom & Dad for sponsoring your time in being involved in the event. Much, much, much appreciated :) :) And Mom – you were fantastic as an MC. NS is signing up as your booking agent.

Our work hasn’t ended. We are sending out post-media releases to the media who didn’t turn up. We have definitely tried our level best to arrange for one-to-one interviews with some of the sponsors while on site and some of you do have the interviews scheduled in KL instead. But please bear with us – we do wedding planning. We are not a specialized PR or publicity outfit.

And finally - Kisses and Kisses to all of you – and thank you once again from the bottom of my heart.

The End of my “Oscar-like” speech. I lurved doing it. :)

Splendour Of Nature : A Splendid Finale

2011-03-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

The Simple Ceremony for Sam & Gavin

After 2 months of contest period, 3 months of preparation and planning for the winning couple and a lot of co-ordination (no less the drama either) for the organizing committee, the Splendour of Nature project finally came to an end with a splendid wedding ceremony reception for Samantha and Gavin Clarke at the Clearwater Sanctuary Resort in Batu Gajah, Perak. I had written just last month – about the 1st International Wedding Fair in Cambodia and how the wedding industry in Malaysia has its fair share of divas and the high-noses especially when you are working with some of the crème de la crème of the wedding business. But when the push comes to shove, all differences and dramas are put aside to put up a great, great, great show – and in this case – a memorably beautiful wedding for the bride and groom.

For that, as part of the organizing committee, I am grateful and thankful to all our sponsors who believed in the idea when I first tabled this out to them and for their generous sponsorship in kind and time to put this whole project together cohesively. I think I need to write a different blogpost to thank the sponsors individually (If you are a sponsor and would like to read my “Thank You Speech” – click here)

Our vision of ‘beautiful’ could not have turned out more perfectly than what went on for the past 3 days at the Clearwater Sanctuary Resort. We could not have asked for a better bride and groom – AND their respective families. Right from the get-go, they were easy, they were courteous, they were absolute darlings. Had they been paying clients, we would still have gone out of our way to ensure that they get a perfect dream wedding. And I am pretty sure I am speaking on behalf of all the vendors too! Sam & Gavin were sweet and in love and they definitely had a very interesting tale to “how it all started” (talk about an online love affair!). The best part of it was that they were utterly and obviously appreciative of every single vendor and thanked each one personally – we all got ang pows from them. I’m rich! I’m rich!

Rich not because of the sum of money in the red packet – rich from yet another great experience being a part of someone’s wedding (notice I did not say “planning” the wedding as I was not directly involved in the daily grind!). And as I said, our joy in doing what we do is much derived, not just from seeing our ideas come to life, but also in seeing the joy and pleasure on the couple’s faces. This is a thankless profession most of the time so when clients do come up to say thanks or express their gratitude – we get a high :) At least, I do and still do.

The weather had not been great in Perak for the past week. In fact, on the morning of the wedding day, it was raining since 6am in the morning. At 11am, the entire crew was still refusing to do a Plan B set-up, rooting for the bride and groom to have their beautiful outdoor wedding amidst the backdrop of nature and the serenity of the gorgeous lake (not to mention, everyone had planned their best for an outdoor showcase!). We stayed positive, we prayed together – by 11.30am, the skies cleared and by 4pm, it was blue skies. A little hot – but we were happy hot. Even Candy Mah from Cave & Cellar said, “All of us sponsors are not stingy – sure it won’t rain!” That was a hilarious moment.

The poolside ceremony was simple and a little strange for me because the celebrant was my Mom. Since I did not do the planning of the wedding, I can safely assume that my partners had a big part to play in getting her on board as a “sponsorship” of her time. I also did not realize that the NS team had hired a ‘part-time operations person’ until my Dad started arranging place cards and did a final check on all the set-up off the checklist. OK – way too strange. But when one is not ‘in-charged’ – it is best not to meddle (remember – do not be a part of the problem if you are not a part of the solution!).

Anyway, the best of the best moment for me was during the bride & groom’s speech after their ceremony. The groom cried!! And so did I. Hah – exteriorly tough as I look, I’m very much a big sucker for things like these. You can so, so, so feel the love from the bottom of his heart for the woman he is marrying. Oh-so-romantic!!! The day I get stone cold at a wedding we plan is the day I know the time is up for me in this business.

For the reception after the ceremony, we had Master Chef Ricky Parlanti – newly onboard at the resort customize a nature-inspired menu for the wedding – which included a whole roasted lamb on the spit. Whilst I have to admit that the guests were a little ‘boring’ – I have to say that they were very nice and very “well-behaved”. Absolutely no complains, requests, treating any of the vendors as their servants (since we were ALL staying at the Clearwater Sanctuary the entire duration) and even the young kids were so well-behaved! The team from La Flaire was even more surprised to find that their table linens were still spotlessly clean after the function ended. Wow – definitely a different kind of guests!

They were no doubt enthralled by the sultry and very sexy Janet Lee – and since I had been holed up in Cambodia, this was my first time watching her perform live – and I too was enthralled. She was not just good. She was damn good. She got the crowd to sing together with her, cracked jokes, dance – she was just that – blady good. I am a big fan.

The media too – came in full force – The Star, Berita Harian, China Press, NST and Malay Mail – something which we were also very, very grateful for because it at least gave our sponsors the mileage in return for their sponsorship. And guess what? Even the media were friendly, polite and un-demanding. Of course our press kits were absolutely so complete that Berita Harian commented, “Wah, you orang, betul-betul sudah prepare semua. ‘Cam in, kita tak payah nak tanya-tanya lagi!” I suppose being a little kia-su pays off sometimes :)

The vendors too – had been absolutely great. I was imagining cat-fights and all that jazz, being holed up in an enclosed environment like that and having to sit-down together for meals. (You know, kinda made me imagine college cafeteria – which table do you join? Hmm..) But nope, we all had a great time laughing, talking c*** - although I must say, much of the entertainment came from Janet, Candy, Aunty Lilian and Uncle Lui. How superficial it was or how sincere it all was – who cares? What I knew and saw at the event was how we helped each other out as vendors to put up a great wedding. No one was being calculative or catty. Those who needed extra flowers got extra flowers. Those who needed additional vases got vases. Those who needed make-up got make-up. I wish the entire industry was like that everyday. You can still bitch, you can still have your dramas and divas – but at the same time, we’ve also got each other’s back when required to work together. You see, sometimes, we don’t get to choose who we work with.

Well, the 3 days were a little tiring (also plus the fact that I still dragged myself out of bed before dawn to go for a run in the nature, followed by a kayak session in the serene lake) – but it was enjoyable. And I find myself wishing it hasn’t ended.

Kudos to all! Certainly another big applause for such an absolutely splendid end to the grand finale of this project and we are looking forward to more opportunities to work together again. Of course, congratulations once more to Sam & Gavin – first for winning the contest and then for their dreamy, nature-inspired wedding. You have been so adorable to work with.

Wedding Industry : It's Not All About Dramas and Cat-Fights.....

2011-03-01T03:22:00.000-08:00

All The Vendors
Photo Courtesy of LiveStudios Singapore

When I was in the ad industry, I had thought that no other industry could be bitchier than this. Enter the world of weddings. I've certainly had my fair share of dramas and what-nots. There are plenty of divas in the industry - yours truly included :P and believe you me, I can most definitely be a queen bitch if I wanted to.

Over the last weekend, the 1st International Wedding Soiree in Phnom Penh, Cambodia finally materialized. Jointly organized by The Wedding Planners and Nagaworld Hotel, it was the first time ever a 5-star hotel hosted a Wedding Fair of such a scale. And we are proud to have been working with the team at Naga on this. I would first of all like to say a BIG BIG BIG Thank You to Romyr Libo-on from the Naga team for his unwavering patience throughout. The sweetest gay I've ever known in my life, he has my full respect just based on his level of patience :) Romyr and I often found ourselves sandwiched in between - him from the Naga's side and me from the vendors' side. Hahaha! Needless to say, we bitched about it to each other too! :P

It was no easy feat, co-ordinating between all these vendors from all over the region. Point-to-note : First Paragraph of this blogpost :P After a lot of chasing and screaming (Jason said I chased worse than Kris Wong. That is NOT POSSIBLE :P) and of course, some head-on collision with the team at Naga due to differences in viewpoints and ideas (the differences were not personal, merely that both parties were particularly passionate about their own POV! ), it all took place. The international vendors were all hosted to a full board 4D/3N stay at Nagaworld in exchange for their full support in putting up a fabulous show for the Soiree.

In support of me, my brother made it to Cambodia for the first time and offered himself at my beck and call. He was of course given a general overview of Weddings 101 : Of Dramas and Cat-Fights :) We had from Malaysia : Carven Ong Couture, Mohan Executive Custom Suits, Jason Victor Photography, Andy Wang Cinematography, La Flaire & Wishing Tree Couture Decorations, Hanna Liew Hair & Make-Up; from Singapore : Truly Harmony, Dazza Pictures, LiveStudios, Ichiro Films, Moomedia and Amanda Lee Weddings; from Vietnam : Hil & Jas Foto Concept, B&D Florist; from Indonesia : Dekko Photography, Marsio Timeless Productions and Rusly Tjohnardi Atelier. Our Thai friends pulled out at the last possible minute due to the on-going Thai-Cambodia border war. But we did have one rep from Thailand : Acadia Cards

I was eagerly awaiting everyone's arrival. Catching up with the old friends from the industry, meeting up with new ones and simply putting faces to the names after months of back-and-forth emailing :) And as it turned out - the wedding industry in Malaysia and beyond, isn't all about dramas and cat-fights :) When the push comes to shove, we are all able to put our differences aside and look at the bigger picture - in this case - to showcase ourselves at our best and put up a damn good show to WOW the local market. And they were WOW-ed indeed. So were the media who turned up in full force.

When the vendors arrived on Friday, it was a bit of a stretch for me when everyone seemed to be needing something from me - and I would not have been able to do this without my local team's support (I'm so, so, so proud of them) but overall, the vendors were all gracious and handled themselves very well. Jason Victor lost his luggage and with it - his stands, posters, cables, etc. Rather than sulking about it, he improvised with whatever he had and my team assisted in whatever ways we could. There was a slight issue with steam irons too initially, and instead of creating drama about it, Carven coolly said he will use the hot-water-in-the-bathroom technique. The vendors just basically went about doing what needed to be done and everyone made friends and in a crude and vulgar way - TCSS :) with each other. Of course, did I mention too that the moment I stepped away from Naga, my phone rang non-stop? :P

I personally had a great time with all of the vendors - especially my comrades from Malaysia. I took them out to dinner at a local BBQ joint and they were promptly introduced to the world of grilled snakes and crispy bugs. I never knew Jason could scream like a girl. I also took the Singapore team to visit the orphanage where I volunteer - upon their request - which was extremely big-hearted and kind-hearted of them. All in all, it was great that I was able to "welcome" them to Cambodia and introduced them to my life here in da Penh. This is part of my world and this is what I have to deal with. So, on certain days where I may sound extremely insane - they should now know why :P

The one thing which touched me the most was all the goodies that I got from all the vendors. Whilst some actually took the time to ask me if I would like anything (and I shamefully replied junk food to all who asked), some just came right up with a bag of goodies for me. I had really not expected this at all (I mean, "junk food" was really rather vague, no?? Except Uncle Mohan actually gave me a bag of Twisties and Nachos *LOL*) and what was even more noteworthy was the fact that they all had excess baggages, yet they still endeavoured to carry my "junk food" over. Aunty Debra said they were spoiling me silly. This stash of ration from everyone is precious and I shall take my time eating them :) Thank you, thank you, thank you to all!!

And so you see.......... no dramas, no cat-fights...... just gracious and appreciative vendors who know their Ps and Qs. And we certainly showed the locals how weddings are done our way!

I would like to express my humble appreciation once again to the show of support from all the vendors for me and for TWP, to the designers and HMU artists for bringing it on for the bridal shows, to the photographers and videographers who were sweating buckets while attempting to document the entire historical wedding soiree (1st ever in Cambodia!!) and to the florists and decorators who went all out creating new trends and styles for the Cambodians to see. On behalf of the vendors too - I would also like to thank Nagaworld for graciously hosting the international vendors to full board and lodging and offering the best you had to all of us.

I hope the vendors had a great time here in Cambodia - despite being stuck indoors for the most part and I hope to see all of them back again soon!!!

p/s : Withdrawal symptoms haven't tapered off much since the gang left.......

My goodies from industry friends. THANK YOU!!

Am I Making A Difference Or Not?

2011-02-18T02:09:00.000-08:00

The Three Love Of My Life

Last weekend, aside from giving ang pows to over a hundred of the kids from the orphanage that MOH & I volunteer at, we were also finally granted permission to bring the kids out for a couple hours every week. I was elated, of course! It would mean so much for the kids to be able to experience at least some form of living - outside of the Home.

We had been volunteering for close to 2 years now at the orphanage. Hmmm.... to those who know me well, would find this side of me rather contradictary. I do not wish to have kids of my own. In fact, I am annoyed at parents who bring their kids to the pool and think it is sooo cute that they swim in the adult pool. I am annoyed at parents who cannot keep their kid quiet in an aeroplane or in a restaurant. And if friends wish to catch up with me - having a kid around isn't going to help with no catching, trust me on that one. I am so disapproving of kids being a nuisance that I had it printed in my wedding invitation : "Strictly No Children Under 12 Allowed".

But you see, these kids are different. They are first of all, HIV+ kids and mostly abandoned. Some do have parents but because the parents cannot afford the medication for the kids therefore they had been sent to the Home. These kids are so deprived of love and affection. I could tell - from the moment I first started at the orphanage - how they yearned to be hugged and carried all the time and they cling on to you any which way possible. It was overwhelming for me initially. I almost gave up - because I did not know if I really have all that much love to give!

A year on, I have grown to love these kids. I adore them and I miss them when I don't get to see them. When I do see them, the time seem to pass very quickly. Of course, I have my favourites, MOH has his favourites. The kids too, have their favourites. I'm sure some of the other kids who don't get much of me feels sidelined, but I try. I'll tell you one thing though - being able to put even the tiniest smile on their faces - makes you want to cry.

So when I had the opportunity to take them out for lunch, I was delighted. We took Peuv, Samnang and Yuth out to Sam Doo. It's not a fancy place. I don't think I can afford fancy every weekend and I certainly do not think fancy is what is required here to make the kids happy. We ordered Wanton Noodles, some dim sums and Fried Rice as well as Porridge for them to try. There was a point, as soon as they got into the car, I watched as Peuv smiled - her smile was so, so, so genuine and so sweet, it reflected her heart - it reflected how happy she was to be given this chance to be taken outside - I just teared. I had a blessed childhood. I used to think that my parents not allowing me my chocolates and my storybooks was abuse. Shame on me.

Anyway, they had a great time and they ate all the food on the table. They were also a handful, though and we were glad that one of the caretakers came along (which in all sense - they should have a caretaker follow ANYONE wishing to take the kids out. Who knows what other people might be up to, right?). Afterwards, we took them to Nagaworld as I knew there was the Lion Dance performance there. They were so in awe at the lion dance performances and they took in the sights and sounds. But they were also very well-behaved, I must say :)

Before you knew it, it was time to head back. I didn't know what were their thoughts. Were they sad to get back? Were they careful to be polite and smile instead of throwing a tantrum at having to return? Were they just grateful they had been given the opportunity?

For me, I just wanted to be able to give the kids a chance at normal childhood - even if just for a couple of hours. I had seen them with their meals and all year round, it is the exact same food everyday and every meal. I wish they had the childhood I had. I wish they had as blessed a life as I had.

I question though, what fair advantages do they have at growing up and making it on their own? They are not getting a proper education. As it is, the education system in Cambodia sucks. I had seen some of the kids' schoolwork - it is almost as if the teacher marks the homework blindly - a star for a page full of spelling errors? And unfortunately, kind as the caretakers are, most of them are not literate themselves. And it is one caretaker to about 40 kids! How will these kids even make it in life? What chances are there for them? And that is - IF they battle HIV itself. Sometimes, I feel very, very sad. I feel I am not making any difference in their lives. I feel powerless. I can only make them smile for awhile. But what about their future? What about in the long run?

Sometimes, I beat myself up thinking about them. I am always torn - wondering - do I really make a difference in their lives? You see, they are stuck to the Home. I am not. If I am not free, I don't go in. If I am out of the country, I don't go in. Worse of all, if I pack up and leave Cambodia - they too, will be left behind. (I think I just heard my heart break at this thought!). Sure, I donate food and rice and the occasional goodies. What's after?

I have a bigger dream now. I am going to work hard and smart and I am going to make lots of money and I will rescue these kids - one kid at a time.

I pray for these kids to always find love and happiness surrounding them and I pray that they grow up to be wonderful and inspiring people.

p/s : To those who think this experience might change my mind about Motherhood - you are unfortunately, VERY WRONG :P

Yuth chowing down his Fish Porridge...

Peuv laughing gleefully

Samnang 'manja-ing' with MOH

Samnang, Yuth and Peuv at Nagaworld Park

Counting Down 338 days to CNY 2012

2011-02-18T01:03:00.000-08:00

Can you see my Prawns??? :)

In a flash of a flash, CNY 2011 is over. Unfortunately for me, this year, seemed a lot shorter than usual because my trip home to KL was short. Nevertheless, I am thankful for yet another awesome CNY celebration with my family back in the kampung. And it was also rather fabulous for me this year in Cambodia too - celebrating with the kids at the orphanage.

CNY is a big thing for my family - seeing as we don't celebrate Christmas - at all. It always start off with the escalating spring cleaning and the buying of new attire - top, bottom, inside, outside, right down to slippers and shoes. Over the years, I had learnt to 'stock up' on new clothings - something MOH finds extremely bizarre. He would buy a new top for me and I'd say "Great! I'll keep this for CNY." I think I might have successfully stocked up on new clothes for the next twenty CNYs! Each year, there is always only new clothes needed for the 1st Day and the 2nd Day. Ok. Ok. I'll admit - I am a hoarder! There's also this thing in my family with new slippers every year and new towels too! Needless to say - I have a collection of these too!

When I was going through my teenage rebellion streak - I always smirked ridiculously at this superstitious ritual. In fact, I ridiculed all the superstitions in the house (no sweeping, no reading books, no washing hair, no uttering the word "die", no cursing, no sewing, etc.. etc..). I claimed myself to be the "modernized and westernized Gen X" and hell, I'll wear black on the 1st day of CNY if I want to! The year I was in Australia, the ONE and ONLY year I celebrated CNY far away from family, I cried and cried. Finally, I understood what it all meant. It meant me, being Chinese. It meant me, having a family. It meant me, understanding my own roots, tradition and culture.

CNY is the one time the entire clan get-together in the family home (an old, battered kampung house) and we all reunite to catch up and poke fun at one another. We set aside our differences and live with each other harmoniously for a few days. There'll be a lot of laughing and joking and of course, wit and sarcasm as well which are all taken well. I wouldn't vouch for the harmony to last beyond 2 weeks though! You know how every family has their own dramas :P

I think it being a Chinese village and all, the CNY atmosphere and ambience seem to be oozing in the air. Every household is busy and buzzing with families coming home too. Cars with outstation plates would be parked on any empty space available. And of course, when 12.00 midnight strikes, the entire village sounds like a battle zone - giant fireworks and firecrackers!!! You see - you don't get this much in KL, let alone in tiny uni-town, Bathurst, Australia!! THIS is what CNY should be like - not the shopping malls and the sales - but really, the ching-chong-ching-chong CNY music, the loud lion dance drumming, the smuggled and illegal firecrackers that are 3-storeys tall, the shameless receiving of ang pows (of course, I no longer pocket that much, but I still do!! And I'll shamelessley receive it in glee) and of course - who can forget the FOOD?

The other thing about why I love going back to my kampung is the fact that Tanjung Tualang is also endearingly known as the Pekan Udang Galah - and I am a big fat lover of these freshwater prawns (in fact, all seafood, except fish!!). Because I have my Uncles all twirled around my fingertips (yes, despite being married and all, I'm still the favourite :P), I'd always place an order of the prawns because if you don't place orders at the market, you might not get any since everyone wants some of those prawns! I make my orders - to make sure we have them for the reunion dinner and for the Hoi Nien lunch and dinner. I'd place an order with my Sam Suk. And then, as a back-up, I'd place an order with my Yee Suk too! Yee Suk would usually bring these fabulous seafood back from Sabah and one box of prawns would have my name written on it. YET, I crave for the Tanjung Tualang prawns, and as such - I make my demands! :) And I do get them! Every year, they would still fall for the same trick - I would order with Sam Suk, and with Yee Suk, and they'd both come back with the prawns and be surprised that they BOTH bought them - which means, I have extra. Hahahahaha! But yet, they still do it for me every year. What gives? Me :)

Of course, not to mention Ah Por cooks up a storm too. Well, back in the day at least when she was less fragile, back in the day where cholesterol wasn't a problem with anyone, back in the day where people weren't watching their diets. These days, we have some who doesn't want to eat too much meat, some who doesn't eat white rice, some who cannot take too much high-cholesterol food, etc. The dishes for CNY now are much simpler and healthier. But always - the Steamed White Chicken - which is another must on the table (besides my Steamed Prawns). The chicken is to cater to my Dad :) Back in the day too, my brother and I would get the drumstick - one each. But it's not so much fun "booking" your drumstick as adults. "I put my saliva on this one. This is mine!" You know, that sort of thing :P

And then, sure as hell as the big feasting for main meals, there are also a myriad of CNY goodies and snacks spread out in the living room area for munching. Ohhhh..... these are my favourites. Sometimes, I'd just have my prawns for dinner and save room for all these junk food! The arrowroot chips, pistachios, crabstick chips, cookies - like a dozen different types, dried meat - and occassionally, if I do ask my Ah Por, she would steam Nin Gao for me as well - eaten with coconut shavings. Ooh La La! Yummy, yummy. Diets and all, promptly forgotten at the sight of these little containers with the red covers :)

Ultimately for me, it is spending time with my Ah Por (back in the day too, also spending time with my Ah Kung). I am very close to her since young and would help her do all the prayers in the house, from the CNY eve prayers right to the Hoi Nien prayers. She is a very staunch Taoist. I'm not sure my faith is as strong as hers, but I think these are all just a part of our Chinese culture and if you do really look it up in history, you'd learn about it. I'll get to it someday, I guess. Anyway, yes, so for me - it is about spending time with Ah Por and catching up with her and eating her cooking and getting some "manja-me" time from her. Each year, I can tell she is getting more and more frail. I pray she lives a long, long, long and prosperous life.

Selfishly, it is because I do not wish anything to change for my CNY celebrations. I wish that every year, it would be the same - family reunion with great food in the tiny, kampung house (which I plan to renovate one day to make it... more comfy) and listening to stories from Ah Por and all my aunties and uncles. I know that deep down, the rest of my family does not feel the same way as me with the traveling back to the kampung. It is currently, a yearly ritual for all to ensure Ah Por is happy. In a way, I am thankful that they know how to think of it that way. I am happy that Ah Por is happy to see everyone back home for the CNY. She is as Chinese as Chinese New Year itself.

I am also thankful that MOH lets me come back home to my side of the family for the CNY celebrations. I can tell you that I wouldn't have it any other way (and yes, this was negotiated before I agreed to get married!). Well, he told me CNY wasn't celebrated in a big way with his side of the family, so we're ok. In fact, one year before we got married, my Mother-In-Law came to celebrate CNY with my family - without my Father-In-Law. The one year my Mom did not come home for CNY with us, the entire village thought my parents had divorced!

Well, the feasting has ended (at least the gluttony part of it), the trips have been made, but my family remains in my heart - always.

Here's counting down to January 23rd, 2012 - to yet another year of abundance in wealth, prosperity and joy. Happy CNY in advance to all!

Seek Fortune, Not Vengeance. Seek Life, Not Death.

2011-01-25T00:19:00.000-08:00

Whilst there is a whole lot of work waiting for me to clear at the moment, I'm taking a time-out to re-channel my energies. It is called recollecting my 'zen' :P

Partnerships, as I had written earlier here, is about effort. Alot of it. Sometimes, marriage seems to be an easier partnership. At least, the chances of knowing who you are sleeping with are a lot higher! Almost five months after my last posting about partnership, I am still learning. Yea, yea... I call it work-in-progress. This learning curve, will never end.

I think I'm just a little cranky today. I think the flu congestion in my nose has now spread to my brains!

But today, I'm tired of people who aren't part of the solution, yet they want to be a part of the problem. I cannot for the life of me figure that one out. All I know is that partnerships are not meant to be this way! Right or wrong? Partnerships are also about team work and team support. Ok, this area is lacking, I fill up there. That area is lacking, he fills up that one. When a mistake happens, what's the point in highlighting the mistake over and over again? As a team - I think the right way to do it should be finding solutions. You keep stoking the problem, it ain't gonna help the situation now, would it?

And what's up with all the drama and 'I-don't-friend-you-She-don't-friend-me' nonsense? Business is not child's play, my friend. Business is about setting targets, goals, objectives and meeting them. Meeting them the right way, of course. And the "right way" may be subjective. But I would say - choose your battles. Sure, you lose some battles - so what? Your aim is really to win the war, no? Not asking you to lose so many battles that it is an imminent defeat for you in the war! Choose your battles! Look at the Big Picture! There are some clients which I don't particularly like, but hell, I have to make it work the best way I can sometimes, right? True, given the fact that I am now in a position to sometimes choose my clients, I'll weed out those who are a bit .... too much, as they say (0.70 per day for my fee, the client can certainly terbang wau). But it doesn't mean I get to choose each and every time. Certain months, sales target is low, and we just have to grit our teeth and bear it, isn't it? And certains vendors - maybe you just plain don't like her face. But she's the best in town and you know your client loves her work. What do you do? I mean, we all tend to get personal and emotional because hey - this is after all, our own business. If it's not personal, then what is it, right? Again - choose your battles.

Sometimes, I feel I haven't been giving my numerous teams much support. Sometimes, I feel I haven't been given much support too. And with me stuck halfway through Timbaktoo, it ain't that fun either. Sometimes, even with your own partners, you need to explain your situation, your problems, your troubles and trash things out with each other. You never know, maybe there is a solution when you put another brain into the issue! I mean, if you suddenly tell me you have to leave early from an event and you don't tell me why - of course I would jump! And it'll just be too selfish of you to say "I want to leave, I leave!". All these child's play - Very The Tiring. And when you can't meet deadlines or you can't cope or whatever it may be - isn't it just common courtesy to voice this out rather than keeping the other party waiting.... and waiting.... and waiting..... and waiting....... and waiting some more? I'm not married to you! I don't know when you will fart, I don't know what it means when you keep quiet. Hell, I don't even know what it means when MOH does that! What more a partner that I don't exactly sleep with literally?? We are all learning. We are all learning about each other and hopefully how to work with each other better. Not how to kill each other better!

There is a Chinese saying - it goes like this : "Seek Fortune, Not Vengeance. Seek Life, Not Death."

To all my partners - whether you are client, industry vendor, team member, affliates, associates, business partner - no matter how unorthodoxed my methods may be, I've always got your backs.

My question is - have you got mine?

The Young & The Naked - Slammed

2011-01-10T03:06:00.000-08:00

One of our Nude Portraits by
Yeh Poh Chung

Wow.. what a debate there is, eh? On the 2nd of January 2011, New Sunday Times published a story on nude photography and yours truly was featured in it here. Of course, a week later, it was time for slamming the press for being irresponsible, etc, etc.

As with every issues, sensitive or otherwise, in this whole wide world, everyone has their own opinion and they are entitled to it. Of course, that does not mean you are judge and jury. You just have an opinion, period. And as such - so do I.

I read some of the "hate-mails" with much jest. Some of their remarks were honestly, quite funny. Yea, sure, they had their own opinion but as I said - so do I. It is so easy to pass judgement and passionately voice how morally supreme they are (and by they - I meant those who had written their letters to the editor).

There was one who said, and I quote, "Their children will learn of their values and expose their bodies, too. Don't blame them should they pose for Playboy." OMG. Are you insinuating that my parents did a very bad job raising me? That was uncalled for and way below the belt. You don't even know me, nor my parents! Hang on, hang on. Does it also mean that by choosing to do wedding nudes, my husband and I will eventually decide to do a career make-over and go into modeling for porn magazine instead? Gee, I wonder how much our buttocks would actually fetch!

And then, she continued with : "And how can husbands allow the bodies of their wives to be seen in the nude by other men, even if it's the photographer? If this is the case, the wife must allow her husband to view other women's bodies, too. They shouldn't get jealous if their husbands lust after another woman's body." First of all, you don't know me, you don't know my husband, and you certainly don't seem to be acquainted with the photographer either. Just as a piece of information - Yeh Poh Chung's assistant in the same room with us was his wife. And here's another piece of information - my husband is welcomed to drool over another woman's body. How we lead our lives and what sort of understanding we have as a couple in a relationship has nothing to do with anyone else. But that's my opinion. You're welcomed to condemn me. But again - you don't know me. Just as I don't know you - from the way you said it - it sounded as though you had never ever seen another naked body, not even on screen. But see - that is me, passing judgement.

Another guy wrote to say this : "If such exhibitionism is allowed to flourish, then what's to stop married couples from making blue films and disseminating them to the public?" This got me laughing. Like, honestly laughing. I can so picture hubby now burning copies of DVDs for sale in the black market just so we can earn additional income to sustain our Woodstock lifestyle. Is this guy for real or what? This is the same as saying that a girl got raped because she was wearing a mini-skirt! Oh, I will not stand for that, I tell you. I was NEVER brought up to stand for these types of nonsense - by my parents and my family alike. I am of the opinion that you respect each other's bodies, whether they are naked or fully-clothed. Period. You can have your fantasies, but it stays there. That is called respect. Can we be a bit real for a moment? People fantasize, don't they? Unless they're not normal.

This guy went as far as to bring religion into the picture. OMG. I think we have enough religion and race-play in the political arena as it is. And then he said (or could've been a "she", how should I know?) - "Don't adulterate morality in the name of art." With all due respect, Sir - nudity as an art form is far from what is immoral in today's society.

Immoral are the rich who steal from the poor. Immoral are those who preach to others to do moral things, but abuse underaged children behind closed-doors. Immoral are those who push drugs on the street. Immoral are those who condone to child-trafficking. Immoral are those who fight to legalize child-marriage. Immoral are those who are corrupted through and through in broad daylight. Immoral are those who take another human life. Immoral are those who scream for high morality when in fact, they do little, if at all anything, to help society in better ways. But then again, hey, I don't know these people and what compelled them to do the immoral stuff they do. I am not judge or jury. Only the powers up there will do so.

Last I checked - no animal was harmed in the course of our nude photo session. No human blood was shed in the course of our nude photo session. No drugs or alcohol was consumed in the course of our nude photo session. No child was harmed in the course of our nude photo session. So best you put your "moral preachings" into better avenues.

I stand by the fact that my husband and I have no regrets taking this plunge and doing what WE BOTH felt was meaningful for OUR relationship (nothing to do with anyone else). I stand by the fact that there will always be those who would like it and there will be those who would hate it. But if you do not know me, your judgemental statements are a truer laughing stock than my nude collection.

And lastly, I stand by my photographer, Yeh Poh Chung. I trust him 100%. Because I know him. You don't.

One Hit Wonder

2011-01-10T01:50:00.000-08:00

Collateral Damage by Silverfish
where Chewing Gum Boy was first
published

I have definitely rolled into 2011 with lots of positivity for me and with that, came a bagful of positive and exciting news. Eating, Praying & Loving is working its magic and I'm constantly doing the jiggy. Refreshing indeed to be focused on "glass-damn-full" *grin*

One of the jiggy-worthy news I received was a fan-mail from a reader who read Chewing Gum Boy (for those who haven't read it - do and I welcome any critique.... ) In it, she told me of how she had enjoyed the story and also shared that UNISEL Shah Alam had picked this short story of mine for the Malaysian Literature subject for one of the bachelor degree courses. Wow.

Last year, I received a mail from Cambridge International Examinations wanting to use an excerpt from Chewing Gum Boy for one of their literature examinations. And I received also another fan mail for Chewing Gum Boy, with comments of "I like the story very much... It is interesting and a very touching story..." Wow again.

As such, I am proud of this short story of mine. And then I realized - OMG, like Dexy's Midnight Runners, I am a one-hit wonder! None of my other short stories, whilst published have garnered this much "fame". And plenty other short stories that haven't been published or selected for publication.

Truth is - Chewing Gum Boy touched on a subject matter that was very dear to my heart. I was both curious and familiar with the lives and plight of street kids in Vietnam while I was living there. The part in my story where the protagonist went under the bridge and came face-to-face with the street kids - that was me in real-life. That was me, trying to get them to go to school, go to an orphanage, do something with their lives. And that was me, trying to get them to tell me their story too.

Unlike my other short stories, I actually spent 4 months crafting this piece. Story ideas are always swimming about in my head. As such, churning a story out is no problem. I can write a short story in less than 2 hours. It is the crafting of the story that takes up a lot of time and patience. Well, back then, every free time I had, I would look at the story, again and again and again until I could memorize the story word-for-word (I should, shouldn't I? I wrote it! :P). I visualized each sentence, each paragraph, each section. Basically, I wanted to tell a story and I wanted to tell the world of their plight.

I haven't spent this much time crafting another story after Chewing Gum Boy. I was still under employment then and as such, had slightly more time to look into my hobbies. But since I started my own businesses, crafting stories seem to be the least of my priorities. No wonder I've been a one-hit wonder!

There's another story, dear to my heart, that is waiting for me to craft. And I am extremely thankful to Sharon Bakar, my editor, for sitting down with me on this piece and going through it para-by-para (shamefully, 6 months ago) so as I know what I need to focus on when I start crafting. I am also extremely thankful to Sharon for NOT condemning me as a "fluke" writer. I know she is a big fan of Chewing Gum Boy as found here and here and also a small fan of mine (perasan-nya!) as found here :) With an editor who is hell-bent on seeing me produce another brilliant story, then I am hell-bent on crafting one!

Now, to clear some time on my schedule and go chase Maxime Richer for the screenplay of Chewing Gum Boy..... :)
___________________________________________

Other mentions of Chewing Gum Boy are found here and here.

Messages At Midnight: 2011 : Eating, Praying & Loving

2010-12-23T23:45:00.000-08:00

Messages At Midnight: 2011 : Eating, Praying & Loving

2011 : Eating, Praying & Loving

2010-12-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

What d'ya know? 2010 is drawing to a close. The year had been a mixed bag for me. In fact, I think 10 out of the 12 months were rather down in the dumps, right from the first day itself (waking up with a hangover - not a good way to start the new year!).

The year was good, with me shaping up and getting back to my race-fit physique and I eventually went for my first tri after a 3-yr hiatus in Hoi An, Vietnam. I did not bad, considering. It wasn't my personal best time, but that only means I can keep improving (fingers crossed!). The year was good too with a really awesome trip to Bali - for Leticia & Tjun Hong's wedding as well as my own little honeymoon with MOH, venturing back into the realms of wedding bliss at Kayumanis Nusa Dua and retracing our entire wedding journey a year ago :)

Other than that, I've taken a huge beating this year - got screwed over by a partner, got sandwiched by yet other partners (and I don't mean in bed - which would've been welcomed), got screwed over too - by a friend because he sold his integrity to the devil, saddened because there are now some people's faces in my wedding album which I wish to delete, got robbed, got indoor waterfalls going on in the apartment here in PP, ....... the list could go on. Basically - nothing was going 'smooth' and mentally and emotionally, I was deflated. I was angry and frustrated. In the face of the adversities, I had to put up a strong front to face the world. I had to continue motivating others to carry on, to be 'zen-like' for others who needed my emotional support or mental support or whatever support. Most people who had to deal with me may not know I am on the verge of a mental & emotional collapse - except perhaps thinking (and bitching about :P) that I was perpetually having my PMS daily. This led to more anger, more frustration and it was such a continuous vicious cycle! Everything was a big "WTF?!" and going through this continually almost without a break for the year wasn't my idea of a "good year". With the state of mental and emotional health I had, I thought going for the Bali honeymoon and coming back to reality was going to be the end of me!

It got to a point where I was actually seeking divine intervention and I asked Ah Por to pray for me. I asked my Mom to pray for me. I even asked Aunty Debra to pray for me. Things were still bleak and it was just a matter of getting my work done for the day and calling it a day. It got to a point where my head did me in and I wanted to run away. Particularly after watching "Eat, Pray, Love" - the movie. One day, in my frustration, I asked my Mom to 'up the ante' with the prayers for me. She said this to me in return, "Why don't you start praying yourself? Asking people to pray for you - that is insincere." Hmmm.... I had lost faith in prayers the day my Kung Kung passed away. I do pray during festive occasions - but that is more to keep to rituals and traditions which my Ah Por pratices. I didn't particularly want to start praying because I thought it would confirm how despairing my situation was. But I did think long and hard about what my Mom said - especially the sincerity part.

And so, I started praying. I prayed the best way I knew how - I wrote. It was my own conversation with the 'powers that be'. When I did pray for the first time, I felt compelled to start off with an apology. You know, for not having done this in a long time. And I felt compelled to be 'polite' and thanked the 'powers that be' for my life. This was a shocker. Having a "conversation" with, you know, the 'powers that be' out there can be quite a humbling experience. Why? Because it made me realize that - as I complained and complained about things not going my way, I had forgotten about ALL the things that WERE going my way. Because I had felt compelled to be polite and give my thanks in my 1st prayers, I've come to realize - Oh my f***ing God. I have been a bloody lucky bitch after all! Suddenly, what I was complaining about didn't make much sense! I can't believe how calm I felt for the rest of the day actually. It's been exactly 30 days now and I haven't missed a single day :)

Around the same time when I started praying, I started reading this book Kris lent me - it's called "The Secret". Now, I got the book way back in October and brought it back with me to PP but just couldn't be bothered reading it, thinking I'll just return it unread to Kris in my next trip back. One night, I opened my bookshelf with the intention of choosing a book to read and guess what? That book, with its hard cover and all fell out just like that! Well, it fell on top of my toe and it was effin' painful! Instead of hurling the book out of the balcony (because it wasn't my book!), I just said "Fine. I'll read this then!"

I have to say, reading the book couldn't have come at more apt a timing (talk about the book looking for me yes? Falling onto my toe like that!). The realizations of the concepts of the "law of attraction" was greatly in tune with what I had been going through the last year. The vicious cycle of things just going bad to worse and worst, nothing going smoothly, etc..... was too much of a spot-on for me. I understand the basic underlying concept of the law of attraction - positive-thinking and a positive attitude! I've been so engrossed with the bad things going on in my life that everything was depressing and I couldn't see things any other way! I've lost some of myself in the whole year! I've always been a "glass-half-full" person. In the last 10 months or so, I had been "glass-f***ing-empty" instead. And you know what? All it took was to change my "frequency". Tune myself into the positive channel - as in for real. None of those "trying to be strong / trying to motivate others" type of "false positive". The prayers had calmed me and made me find some peace. Reading this book had slapped me into coming out of my blady empty glass.

And before I knew it - things ARE going smoothly. Just because TSO cannot make it to the February fair, does not mean "glass empty"! It meant that I had an opportunity to get in touch with other people. Like CO for example, who might be joining us instead. I cannot explain to you how amazing it had felt for me, in the last few weeks. I'm no longer looking at a door closing as someone slamming the door in my face. I'm looking at it as another door opening in its place. Even if not a door, a window. I can still climb through that - I'm agile :)

"Eat, Pray, Love" found a new meaning in my life. It is not about running away. Sheesh.
So for 2011, I will continue Eating, Praying and Loving.

I will continue "Eating" - fueling my body for the next race in Bali (which JFT is sponsoring!) with healthy food AND my favourite junk food on my 'bad eat days', feeding my brains with positive thoughts and ideas and execution plans as well as exit strategies, enriching my soul with kindness and compassion. I think I am still very much a work-in-progress and can definitely do better by being more patient, less anal (although, as Kris Wong says - these actually work for us, not against us in the line of duty - and emails should still be replied within 48hrs :P). Don't get me wrong - I'm not turning into an angel overnight :P I am still allowed to be a bitch when I want to and when I need to - don't screw with me, I'll bark and I'll bite but I'll take the high-road and walk away because you are obviously not on the same frequency as I am.... and I will still be cursing at the moron on the road who is endangering my life :P Not to mention, I AM still going to have my PMS-days :P

I will continue "Praying" - praying for my family and loved ones, praying for my friends and praying for world peace. I am hopeful one day, the world WILL be at peace with no war, hunger and poverty. Also giving thanks - I will never, ever again forget to give thanks for my life. Even just as simple as being alive with a near-perfect body (not perfect because nobody is) - I can see and read, listen and hear, think and feel. The one thing I am truly, truly grateful for is the love that I am enveloped in so deeply - from my family, my husband, my friends (to KM and MK, I'm so glad to know that if I ever, ever were to really run away, you have both offered me your abode as my refuge). Life's a bitch sometimes, but love keeps you going.

And finally, I will continue "Loving" - loving the life that I choose to live, loving myself, loving my family to bits, loving my husband till no end - and continue striving to be a good wife (however, the sofa will still be comfy for him if he annoys me) and doing so lovingly, from my heart and not as a chore - although I honestly dislike the household chores (if I be less anal, maybe someone else can do it!! :P) and will strive not to burn the ironing board or re-colour the laundry again :P (Some may say - hahaha! Finally, this day has dawned upon Eileen Lui - especially my Mom) I will continue loving the kids at the orphanage which I have come to adore so dearly - they are in my prayers too.

To this end, despite 2010 being a year I rate at the bottom-most rank of my 'had-this-been-a-good-year-chart', I am happy and thankful that I am ending the year with so much love surrounding me. Life is good. I will indulge ever so often in that.

And you betcha ass - 2011 will be an absolute blast. Believe me ;) So have a swell one and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

"All That We Are Is A Result Of What We Have Thought" - Buddha

In-Laws & 'Out-Laws' :)

2010-12-14T23:17:00.000-08:00

My parents and us at Khmer Surin for dinner

Over the last 3 weeks, we had been slightly thrown off our usual weekend routine here in the Penh with both our parents taking turns to visit. We were both excited and happy that they were coming in to stay simply because we lived away from home and it was nice to have them around for a bit.

My in-laws were here only for a few days. I was of course a little bit anxious as I was welcoming them into my home for the first time and there was a little bit of pressure on me to strive to be a 'star' daughter-in-law.

Now, I am actually very anal about the cleanliness of my living space. We got rid of the maid because I just couldn't be bothered paying her and then doing her job all over again. So, I might as well just do it myself. Of course, MOH helps - as per his wedding vows (although, I did think when he vowed to do the household chores, it meant that I wouldn't need to lift a finger!) - but then again, as I said, I am pretty anal. Anyway, in anticipation of both parents' arrival, I cleaned and cleaned some more. Not that it wasn't clean before, but just getting rid of the cobwebs and stuff like that.

And finally, my in-laws arrived. I did really want them to enjoy their visit - their first in Cambodia. We had planned a big trip to Siem Reap for them to see Angkor Wat but unfortunately, a couple of weeks before the trip, my mother-in-law had a big fall and thus, climbing the Angkor Wat was out of the question. As such, I revised the itinerary and packed it with activities for Phnom Penh instead. And in Phnom Penh, there is generally nothing much to do except to eat :) My in-laws were not very adventurous folks and most of the time, they stayed in the apartment watching TV, unless we took them out. I think overall, they had quite an experience in Cambodia - with the food, with the sights and with the living conditions. They couldn't believe how people could live on the streets and of course, the dirt, dust and grime of the city got to them a bit too. But they did enjoy their meals :) Over and above that, it gave me a chance to bond with them as well. Eversince I got married, I haven't lived in MOH's home, I haven't been in KL for that matter and most trips back to KL were so short and packed with activities, there was hardly any time to bond.

After my in-laws left, I cleaned and cleaned again, awaiting the arrival of my parents. I think my "anal-ness" with the cleanliness of my living space is an "illness" i got from my Mom. I don't know how she does it, but she kept our home in KL spotless - on a daily basis (eversince I can remember as a kid, our feet remained clean walking throughout the house so much so that this has become very important to me!!) I try, but maybe Phnom Penh is just dusty!! No matter how much I sweep and mop the damn floor, my feet seems to get dirty if I don't wear the house-slippers! Now that I don't have a maid, I can't blame the maid if the apartment wasn't "up to cleanliness standard" :P My Mom can be very particular about, you know, clean stuff :) Well - I don't know if she was being nice or polite, but she didn't complain a single bit. So, I hope it was because I did keep a clean house :)

"Entertaining" my in-laws were generally very much different from "entertaining" my parents. Don't get me wrong. They were not difficult guests. It has more to do with the fact that I didn't know my in-laws that well. And vice-versa. Whereas with my parents, they are after all my parents and we know each other pretty well. As Mom would say in Chinese, directly translated : "When you lift up your tail, I would know whether you want to pee or you want to shit."

Well, with my in-laws, I couldn't really sit on the sofa and lift my legs on the coffee table! What would they think? This siao char bor so rude! But with my parents, I could. Mom would dagger-stare me but Dad does it too, so it was perfectly fine. If not, it would just be so much more fun for Dad and I to annoy Mom! Hahahahha! And then, one morning, I came back from my morning run and to my horror, I saw my mother-in-law mopping the floor. I was so horrified that I rushed into the room and woke MOH up. I certainly didn't want my mother-in-law cleaning my apartment! MOH merely grunted in his sleep and said to leave her be. OMG. Whereas, when my Mom was here, she swept and mopped almost all the time. And I did leave her be. She probably couldn't stand that the floor felt "dusty" and she wouldn't be able to sit still if she didn't clean something. She even ironed MOH's boxer shorts!! (Ok, admittedly, I do suck at the ironing bit - and I definitely do not iron undergarments!!) And as per my itinerary (yes, I even planned this) - Mom cooked up a storm in my tiny kitchen. And she made enough to last the whole week so that I could still taste home-cooked food when she left (as of right now, finishing the last of the Low Gee Yuk...). And talk about "princess treatment" - when I snacked, she would bring me a plate so that the crumbs do not fall everywhere and as soon as I finish, she would take the plate away for washing - I did not have to get out of my chair one bit. Hahahaha! It had been too, too long since I had this treatment. Dad, of course, always had his "King's treatment" from Mom all the time. Now, would I allow my mother-in-law to do that for me? Hell, no! Again - what would she think?? "Siao Char Bor thinks she is the Queen??" OMG. (*point to note : it's not that my mother-in-law calls me siao char bor. At least not to my face :P)

Whilst my in-laws needed a little more 'baby-sitting' in terms of to-do activities, my parents could be left to their own devices. Especially my Dad. Like me, he just cannot sit still and when my itinerary calls for "Rest & Relax In Apartment" - he would be in the apartment sighing "So boring! So boring!". My parents would venture out on their own and walked around (to my Dad's delight, there was a market down the block from where I lived - he loves markets and so do I), take photos, etc. During their 10-day stay in Cambodia, they even ventured over to Saigon and stayed an additional day in Saigon (mentioning something about there being "too many rules in the apartment" :P) and had a great time there - as per the photo evidences.

It's been great having them around and I definitely hope they had a ball of a time here (and my itineraries for both sets of parents were well-thought and well-planned). Of course, it did test my patience at some point. Like I said - I am very anal. I have a "Monk-ish" side to me. I don't like my things being re-arranged. If the tissue box is placed on the top right corner of the coffee table, it needs to be right there. If it was moved slightly away from its spot, it gives me a ticking :P Yes, yes, I am OCD. My refrigerator is organized meticulously too. Dairy drinks, soft drinks, juices, water, dairy products, sauces, etc... are all 'compartmentalized' and again - if sometimes a product is moved, I will KNOW and I will start 'ticking'. MOH has suffered through some of my 'ticking' :P (he's smarter now - after grocery shopping, he lets ME put the stuff away). With my guests - I just had to try very hard to close an eye. It doesn't help that my Dad threatened to re-arrange EVERYTHING before he leaves to help "cure my disease" :P I couldn't sleep thinking he wasn't joking! Can you just imagine how 'crazy' I would get if he did that?? Again, I believe this is something I inherited from my Mom. She may not admit it - but she doesn't like people re-organizing her stuff either! She definitely doesn't like people messing up her kitchen - and that is why I have never cooked at home (to the point that my family finds it so hard to believe that I Can Cook!).

Anyway, in-laws are back home safe and sound and my parents are back home safe and sound and you know what? The apartment seems to be bigger, emptier and lonelier now. I miss them very much. I wish they could visit every weekend!

And so, I now look forward to the Chinese New Year where I will see my family again. Counting down begins!

Mother & Father-In-Law with MOH at the park right in front of our apartment block

Chocolate Cream Mousse - by Chef Leigh Ann Seto

2010-11-30T01:56:00.000-08:00

Ingredients :

200 ml Cream

180 ml Milk

40 gr Sugar

5 Egg yolks

200 gr 65% Chocolate

25 ml Brandy (optional)

Method :

1) Chop chocolate into 1 cm pieces and place into a blender or processor.

2) Combine milk and cream in a sauce pot and bring to a scald.

3) Mix yolks and sugar well. Pour some of the warm milk into the yolk mixture and blend well.

4) When cream mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and pour yolk mixture into the pot while whisking. Stir for an additional few seconds.

5) Remove pot from fire and strain mixture into the blender with the chocolate.

6) Let cream settle into chocolate for a minute.

7) Cover blender and blend until the chocolate is melted. Brandy may be added here.

8) Pour mousse into serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap letting the wrap touch the surface of the mousse
to prevent a 'skin'. Chill for at least 4 hours.

To serve: Garnish with soft whipped cream, fruit, and/or chocolate shavings.

** FOR a READ of Chef's "An Encounter With...Chocolate" Interview - click HERE!

** Photo of Chef and her Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse Cake! Simply heaven!!

Giving Thanks

2010-11-25T21:59:00.000-08:00

I never grew up with Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since moving to Cambodia 3 years ago, a lot of the expats who are left in town to celebrate the occasion without their families and loved ones often seek solace in each other's company and host their own Thanksgiving / X'Mas parties.

Last night, I had a fabulous, fabulous, FABULOUS home-made-from-scratch Thanksgiving dinner courtesy of Chef Leigh Ann and Nicole - our upstairs neighbour :) It being their first celebration away from home, they invited us over for the scrumptious meal. For Chef & Nicole, entertaining guests was like second-nature to them and they have really nice dinner wares and themed table-settings (Chef can be rather particular about how her food is presented - even off work!!) - so you imagine how stressful it was when I invited them over for a home-cooked Bak Kut Teh dinner just last weekend. I had no matching plates nor cutleries. At least I was "civilized" enough to have place mats! (And Nicole actually brought STRAWS - just in case I didn't have straws to drink the Mojitos which they prepared and brought over as well!) Not to mention - I still do not know if Chef approved of the Bak Kut Teh meal :P At least Nicole said she did :)

Anyway, whilst I've had my fair share of turkey and all the fixings, this was actually the first time I'm having an entire Thanksgiving meal that had been passionately prepared from scratch - from the bird being given a one hour 'spa bath' of sea salt, lemon & garlic to the freshly made croutons and turkey drippings for the stuffing and gravy right down to the pumpkin cheesecake!

Those who know me would know that my "healthy days" (when it comes to food) are Mondays to Fridays and yesterday being Thanksgiving Thursday and all, I had to break the rule. Chef did indeed "try" to go easy with the ingredients she used - freshly baked WHOLE WHEAT rolls as opposed to plain white rolls (take my word for it - the rolls were to-die-for) and light sour cream for the cheesecake as opposed to the full-fat version (and despite the "healthier version - pumpkin cheesecake was to-die-for too!). And a bowl of grilled brussel sprouts and carrots too! But then of course, she had roasted a leg of ham as well and I couldn't resist the crispy skin and then, she had to serve the pumpkin cheesecake with a scoop of ice-cream. To top it off - she told me after the meal that she rubbed butter underneath the bird's skin before putting it into the grill to make sure it was moist.

Weigh-in before dinner was 46kgs and weigh-in the morning after dinner was 46.6kgs. But you know what? It was 0.6kgs well worth putting on because truly, it was a remarkable meal. So - I ran an additional 5km this morning for my training (maybe all that food had given me extra energy after all :P). Big deal. I train so hard, surely I deserve an additional "bad food day" in the week if I wanted to, yes?

Well, as Nicole said - it IS Thanksgiving. And I for one, have lots to give thanks for. For great friends who can whip-up such a lovely meal (I can't get over this meal - it had been really too superb), for the great love of a dotting hubby, for the unconditional love of my family, and for being a lucky, lucky girl - in so many ways but mostly, for all the love I have around me. So life's a bitch sometimes - but I still have a lot of love in my life. Is that lucky or what?

I got the almost Yaba-daba-doo drumstick!! :) :) And

the to-die-for whole wheat roll and stuffings *smack lips*

Grilled Turkey and Roast Ham.... mmmmm

absolute divine pumpkin cheesecake and I also learnt what is
plated service "stacked 2 high / 4 high / 6 high / 8 high / 10 high" :P

Charity Work - A Delusion?

2010-11-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

When my partner-in-crime Leticia ran the idea of doing the Wedding Wishes Campaign as part of the AWP Malaysia's social responsibility programme, I was extemely keen. I'm always for supporting a worthy cause and so - with the support of our members who sponsored their bits as well as TV3 who joined us as media sponsors, we embarked on our plans.

The "Mahligai Impian" project aimed at helping single couples where one or both are terminally ill because getting married presents to be a challenge as money is put aside to finance treatments and as a result, couples forgo the idea of having a complete wedding with the whole works. Briefly, the "Mahligai Impian" campaign was aired on TV3 in July 2010 and invited participation from Malaysians aged 20 and above. The condition was one or both the couple needs to be terminally ill to qualify and they need to submit a piece of their story as to why they would like to get married in any languages. Finally, after much scrutiny of the results, TV3, as the judges together with invited NGOs selected the final winning couple. They had their grand wedding reception just last night - which coincided with it being Thanksgiving.

However, I am truly saddened and maybe disheartened at how the couple, as well as their parents treated the entire crew and team during the entire planning stages right down to the implementations yesterday. Mind you - the entire wedding was fully-sponsored by all AWP Members and it was well worth over RM100,000. Some members even sponsored their products / services / cash to the value of RM10,000 each without a bleep because we all held to one believe - that this was for a good cause.

Instead of the "thank you" - which societal P's & Q's would dictate as the norm, we had the family saying very unpleasant things to the wedding planning sponsors - rather rude and loudly in public. No, we do not expect to be thanked because we did this from the bottom of our hearts. But neither did we expect to be called "disgusting" or generally being insulted in public view that way. Being professionals, everyone kept their cool and the show went on without a glitch. But STILL - the families were not pleased. Right to the point that they actually walked past the Sponsor's table without SO MUCH AS AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, let alone a THANK YOU.

I saw some frustrated FB statuses today. We all have the right to be. As sponsors - we gave up our time, money, effort and most importantly - heart to make sure the project ran smoothly and the well-deserving couple happy. As professionals, we maintained our professionalism and poise by grinning and bearing through it all. When they say this is a thankless profession, INDEED it is. But as professionals too - whether on a pro-bono basis or a paid basis - we do not expect to be mistreated. We are not your slaves nor servants. Period.

What got me frustrated and disheartened is this : - There is a whole wide world out there for us to try to help in whatever ways we can. How many more will turn out to be like this? I know what your answers will be : "You try to save them all. You don't care about who they are or what they give you in return." That's not the point, you know. The point is our means as individuals and even as small groups / companies / associations are limited. We can't save them ALL. As such - I much prefer to save those who are well-deserving of it.

I mean, this is me writing in frustration but if you asked me now, after the incident yesterday - the RM10k cash & value sponsorship that some of the sponsors forked out - between an orphanage for HIV+ children and an ungrateful and rude family member of a deserving couple, I choose the orphanage! Need I say more?

** image courtesy of showersmile.wordpress.com

A Cambodian Tragedy

2010-11-23T01:26:00.000-08:00

I'm one of those who hates reading tragic news. For some reason, it greatly disturbs me. In a lot of cases and at most times, there is very little if at all, that I can do. And yesterday's stampede, amidst the festive celebration of the Bon Om Teuk in Phnom Penh was a disastrous tragedy indeed.

Whatever the investigation outcome turns out to be - the people do not deserve to... be in this tragedy. When the island was opened, when the bridges were opened - already people were questioning the "crowd management" during the Water Fest. The bridge was - in essence, tiny. For those who has ever experienced the Cambodian Water Fest, you would know that we're not talking about crowds of just thousands. We're talking about millions. Phnom Penh alone has a population of 5 million. During the Water Festival, close to 1 million Cambodians travel from the provinces (they save up their meagre income and make the trip once a year) to catch the festivities and celebrations.

So - was there a proper 'crowd management' system in place? What about proper disaster management? Were these in place? Were the authorities given the right training, the right briefing to manage and control a disaster should it take place? Some 5-star hotels here do not even provide basic first aid training for their staff! You do the math. Who shoots water cannons at a crowd standing less than 0.1mm away from electrical wires and cables? (which were installed, not with safety in mind, I believe - I could be wrong, but you do the math again!)

I'm just a frustrated expat. Of course, I can always turn a blind eye and say - "Fuck, this ain't my country, this ain't my problem. I'm alive and thank you." But I come back to the point that these people do not deserve it. I call for better safety management, better disaster management and I call for them to be implemented in the best possible way, with the Cambodian people in mind. Always.

My prayers go out to all those affected by this tragedy. There is no way for me to even begin to comprehend nor understand what they are going through. My heart goes out to those who have suffered losses. Be strong.

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. That word is love." - Sophocles

Exhibitionist

2010-11-08T02:28:00.000-08:00

When MOH and I took our wedding nudes as part of our wedding portraitures last year, we ended up with a collection of photos that we utterly loved, loved, loved. Of course, the photography process was not as simple as it seemed. Firstly, one needed to get rid of the awkward-ness of being stark naked in front of ... the photographer and his team as well as any body hang-ups that you may have. And then, you needed to get a little creative with the poses. Lastly - the tricky part - you needed to HOLD the poses while the photographer tries different lighting and angles to achieve perfection. Believe me, after a 3-hour session, you will find muscles you never knew you had quivering.

So when Yeh, our photographer asked for permission to exhibit some of our photos (of course, most are still kept under lock & key) at his first solo exhibition - we said Yes. I mean, after all, the ones which were rated "U" were already on FB. Ahhh.... but we certainly did not expect Yeh to have chosen some of our butt-shots for his exhibition! And definitely did not expect there to be a price tag on the photo!

The exhibition which was opened just last Saturday on the 6th November 2010 at Small Talk With The Moon was jointly organized by my partners at Nupts & Such and endorsed by AWP Malaysia. Canon also came in with a show of support by sponsoring the event. Being all the way in Cambodia, I was skyped in - because I wanted to see WHAT was on display. MOH & I had a right good laugh when we found out our buttocks were on sale for RM2,500. Who would purchase a photo of somebody else's butt? Hmmm....

Nevertheless, the opening of Yeh's first solo exhibition went about successfully and he had talk sessions on wedding nudes, creativity in photography styles and it even evolved to the more technical topics like lightings, angles, equipments and technology.

For me, while only on Skype, it was still nice seeing our nudes showcased in a little exhibition (Yeh - next time, do a bigger show, ok?) and seeing them used as part of Yeh's learning / skill-sharing session - in other words - case study :P Talk about being an exhibitionist eh!

Believe me, we are all exhibitionist in one way or another. We all want the world to see us in our most delightful angles or profiles. We want the world to acknowledge that something or some part of us look good. But the world also expects us to be modest about it. "Oh, no... my legs are too skinny..." when in actual fact - all you want to do is jump up and down at the compliment. After all - we do care and love ourselves enough to present the best of ourselves for the world to see.

So go on and tell yourself right now - You're Fucking Beautiful.
I know I will. Just that - I don't think it's time to trade my current career with modeling at the mo'.

** Photography of Wedding Nudes by Yeh Poh Chung
** BELOW : Yeh's "Nude Case Study of us - Screen Captured from Skype :)

** Further reading on A Journey To Forever in Lyrical Poses and Tantric Artistry - click HERE

Dark Hours Part 1

2010-11-05T01:07:00.000-07:00

I once exclaimed "The world is under my feet!" and a wise retort came back : "Just don't let it get on your shoulders."

Sometimes, I don't want to keep it so together.
I think it's great that the world is under my feet.
Shouldn't it be ok too when the world is on my shoulders?

Sometimes, I don't want to be responsible.
I think it's great that I can lead.
Shouldn't it be ok too when I just follow?

Sometimes, I don't want to wake up.
I think it's great that I'm even awake.
Shouldn't it be ok too if I want to hide under the covers?

Sometimes, I don't want to be diplomatic.
I think it's great that we agree.
Shouldn't it be ok too if I told you that you were a scumbag from the stenched-womb of the earth?

Sometimes, I don't want to think about money.
I think it's great if I have some.
Shouldn't it be ok too if I had only bread and water?

Sometimes, I don't want to be on your side.
I think it's great if I see your point.
Shouldn't it be ok too if I went against you?

Sometimes, I don't want to make the effort.
I think it's great when I work on it.
Shouldn't it be ok too if you worked on it instead?

Sometimes, I don't want to be bubbling.
I think it's great when I am energized.
Shouldn't it be ok too if I'm zapped?

Sometimes, I don't want to be the best.
I think it's great if I am somewhere there.
Shouldn't it be ok too if I were last?

Sometimes, I wish to hurl profanities at you.
Sometimes, I wish to tell you to screw yourself silly and have a post-coital cigarette.
Sometimes, I wish to just say "Sod It!"
Sometimes, I wish to shut down, mentally, physically and emotionally.

But instead, I curse at the ears of the walls.
But instead, I smile and tell you it's ok.
But instead, I say "It will all be better."
But instead, I make myself carry on because I have to keep it together.

The dolphin leaps into the air, and does a triple sommersault.
The show must go on, eh? She winks.

*copylefted photo by Stephan Uhlmann

How To Save A Life

2010-10-31T19:18:00.000-07:00

What a terrible, terrible morning and I've never felt more useless in my life.

The weather in Phnom Penh had changed drastically, and "winter" is here. This has rendered the water in the swimming pool - icy cold and swimming in it, whilst sure to wake you up, feels like a thousand knives slicing through your skin. But being the masochistic freak that I am, swam in it, I did - yet again, this morning.

I saw this lady coming into the pool as well. I knew her - as in, knew her to be a member of the gym and also knew her to be somewhat, "not well" in the head. I heard she's not "stable" - but I've always admired her for being rather regular at the gym (even though she doesn't really know how to use any of the machines) - after all, it takes discipline. The water was so bloody cold, I was fully concentrated on keeping my breathing even and my body moving so that I do not freeze over.

The next thing I knew - some guy was dragging her out of the pool and another guy was running towards the pool. I got out of the water and ran over to see that this lady had .... drowned. Very unfortunately, nobody knew first aid. Not even the gym staff (Welcome To Cambodia). One of the gym members tried to administer CPR on her. She had turned blue on her lips and finger nails.

Amidst the hoo-ha and everything, I did manage to instruct the gym staff to call the ambulance - surprise, surprise, they never thought to do so and instead - they called the lady's son. We all tried to keep her warm and I could only stand by in shock and cursing myself for not having noticed her earlier. "Please don't die, please don't die," I silently prayed.

She did finally develop a slight pulse, but she hadn't woke up - even until she was bundled into her son's car. I pray for her. I hope she's ok. And I'm really sorry I couldn't do anything about it. My only first aid training had been in school - when I was with the Rangers and the PBSM. I had not felt so useless in my entire life, standing by, watching helplessly and not being able to do anything about it.

Life, as they say, is fragile.
And it certainly would help to learn at least - the basics of First Aid administration, don't you think?
This has gotta go onto one of my Top 10 Things To Do ASAP list.

Hard Rock Hotel Pinktober : Breast Cancer Awareness Celebration

2010-10-30T22:38:00.000-07:00

Notice how my new blogsite design template is so matching for this post :)

About four months back, I was approached - via my company Nupts & Such by Hardrock Hotel Penang to help them think of suitable ideas for their month-long Pinktober campaign for raising breast cancer awareness. As always, I believe in supporting good causes - in particular those that I actually believe in - cancer / AIDS awareness, poverty, women & children support / sustainability, etc.

Anyway, I did put together a proposal and was mighty pleased with the ideas that I had for the Pinktober celebrations at HRH Penang. And I was even more pleased when HRH came back equally as enthusiastic about my ideas and very soon, it was on towards the implementation.

My partners-in-crime - Cindy & Carolyn implemented the ideas in my absence and they themselves, always supportive of non-profitable causes had a blast working on this project together with Elisa Saw - the MARCOMS Manager at HRH Penang and a host of other kind-soulled vendors who volunteered their time and services for this project as well.

I missed the opening - but I received many text messages updating me on the progress of the event on that day. One particular one was when Cindy told me "The Pink Duckies are selling like hot cakes!" - and I got off my seat and did a jiggy :) I love it when clients dare to dream the same dreams as I and I love it even more when the idea works way above expectations.

I will sadly also be missing the closing - this coming 14th November 2010 and I know we've got some pretty awesome line-up of activities planned for the closing. So for those of you who may have the time - do drop by and show your support to a good cause.

My sense of fulfilment from this project goes to show that sometimes, it really isn't all about the money when we work on something. It really is about just being happy that the project took off and you've helped in a tiny way to make some sort of difference in this world.

The video of the Pinktober opening - click here (voluntary service by Andy Wang Cinematography) will show you how everyone was on the same page with the laughter and the fun that they had. For this - I thank you all from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of HRH Penang and the breast cancer charities - for making it happen.

Here's a big thumbs up to all involved and looking forward to a blast at the closing of Pinktober!

** photos & videos by Andy Wang
Clockwise From Top Left : Rocking it with band High Society, Models with the Pink Rubber Duckies and Mdm Mui Siew Koon from the National Cancer Society giving her speech

Bali Travels : Part 5 – Returning “Home” to Kayumanis Nusa Dua

2010-10-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

13th October 2010

We skipped the breakfast at Tanaya today and went to the beach for our Bakso once again. Mmm… delicious!! Today, we checked-out of Tanaya and will go into the Nusa Dua area and continue our honeymoon at Kayumanis Nusa Dua – once again, thanks to Journeys For Two :)

The pick-up from Kayumanis arrived early and as such, we arrived Kayumanis before check-in time. It was good to be “home”. “Welcome home, Ibu. Welcome home, Bapak,” was the greeting from all the staff who remembered us having our wedding here last year. And imagine our thrill when we found out that they had upgraded us to the honeymoon suite! Whoopeeee!! But because we were still early, we went out to Bali Collection for lunch first and then went back to Kayumanis to our suite. Wow, the suite was really, really beautiful with a private lap pool! Not to mention, a Jacuzzi and a ROUND BED!! I cannot describe to you how fantastic the bed looks – somebody surely knew how to put couples on honeymoon in the mood indeed! We also got a little “honeymoon cake” along with our afternoon tea.

There was a private cabana by the pool and the whole villa was surrounded by water features. We had our afternoon tea right after check-in and then we headed straight for the beach – on the bicycle built for two – unbelievable – this tandem bike is still around! Once again, a few more “Welcome home” greetings by the familiar staff along the way. Despite the 100% occupancy, we barely bumped into another soul at the resort aside from the warm and friendly staff.

MOH & I decided to have a private dinner in the villa for today and after exploring more of the Nusa Dua area, we headed back. The villa was really nice. I wouldn’t have minded if they had given us the same villa as our wedding, but the upgrade was a really nice touch indeed.

Our butler came with our meals and set-up our dining area for our private dinner. Rather than get dressed for it, MOH and I had dinner in our bathrobes – that was truly us – as fuss-free as possible ;) Dinner was great – and I had no idea why, but I ordered the Ikan Java Curry – which turned out to be really quite good. The portions were quite massive too! Guess what? They even made us a miniature cake – which was the same as what we had for our wedding last year. The colour was not right though, but it was the same chocolate cake!

You see, it was very obvious why we chose Kayumanis as our wedding spot – it was because of their impeccably warm and friendly service as well as their attention to the little things which counted. They made sure you felt at home without you feeling that your boundaries have been intruded upon and despite the 100% occupancy, you seem to be their number one priority. This type of service is a rare gem indeed. Not only that – I was always remembered by the staff at Kayumanis as the Bride Who Didn’t Want Flowers (and for the record, still the only bride at Kayumanis who didn’t want flowers) and they knew during the wedding planning that if I were to have flowers, it would have to be calla lilies. As such, a big bouquet of calla lily was in the honeymoon suite. Where do you often find people who remember tiny, insignificant details such as these?

Anyway, …….. there is no reason to continue writing about what happened for the night before bed time – as you can just imagine, this was a honeymoon suite after all! ;)

14th October 2010

I woke up to do laps in the private pool before breakfast. We both went to Kayumanis' Tetaring for breakfast and again, all the “Welcome Home” greetings before breakfast was served. I had the Eggs Benedict and MOH had the Mee Goreng and we shared the Kayumanis Toast. The Mee Goreng – ok, this one tops the list so far as the best Mee Goreng I had for this trip. The noodles were the right consistency and the flavor was just right. Unfortunately, it wasn’t spicy because it was MOH’s order :P

After brekkie, we went to the beach once again and had a swim before venturing out to explore Nusa Dua - especially the Art Market. For lunch, we went back to Kendi Kuning – but I was greatly disappointed that the chef is now a different person and as such, the menu no longer carried the Sate Kambing. We had the Sate Kambing last year and it was so good, I had packed some back to the villa too! Anyway, it was Nasi Goreng and Mee Goreng again before we headed back to the villa. We had a quick dip in the main pool of Kayumanis before we went back to our villa - not to mention lots of "Bali's Next Top Model" photo shoot :P All the times we had stayed here, we had never ventured anywhere near the pool area but since our honeymoon suite was actually right next to the pool, we decided to at least try it once!

For dinner, we went over to Fortuin Café at Jimbaran Bay and we caught a beautiful, beautiful sunset whilst enjoying our grilled prawns, sotong, clams and all. It was strange because the weather in Nusa Dua & Jimbaran was not as breezy as Kuta. In fact, it was humid and stuffy. Where had the breeze gone?

15th October 2010

We got a wake up call at 5.30am (wondering if Kris Wong would agree to this :P) for our Sunrise Breakfast on the beach. Again, it was cloudy and we were not able to catch a perfect sunrise, unlike what we had last year. But we enjoyed our breakfast, the beach, the view and each other’s company before we went back to enjoy more of the villa.

Today, my spirits were a little low, because it was exactly the end of my Bali trip for 2010. I always leave Bali with a heavy heart.

After checking out of Kayumanis, we went to Bali Collection for lunch again. This time, we went back to The Paon – which was lunch venue prior to our wedding last year. I actually did not take the Mee Goreng, but went for the Mixed Rice Set instead – where I had Pork, Fish, Chicken, Eggplant and Lalapan. It was really quite delicious! MOH - Nasi Goreng as usual.

Then we made all the necessary transportation arrangements before we headed off to Discovery Mall Kuta – for me to get a tattoo. This time around, I wasn’t so much as getting a ‘new tattoo’ but merely adding on to an existing one.

My little dolphin tattoo on my right back shoulder was my first tattoo which I did in Australia. After a rather stormy emotional set-back, I had gone to get the tattoo – various reasons – 1) It was small enough so I thought the pain wouldn’t be so painful, 2) It was a dolphin which is my favourite animal and 3) It was a single dolphin because I thought that life for me from henceforth would be forever me, alone, enjoying being single and individual.

However, eversince I’ve been together with MOH (not counting the earlier 13 years as friends before we started dating), there was much enjoyment in being a couple. Our wedding marked the end of my “singlehood”, and whilst I had never planned to get married before, I am now happily married. Which was why I thought, it was time to add another dolphin to my lonely dolphin to mark yet another significant event in my life.

Of course, MOH had funny ideas that if we had a family, I’d be adding baby dolphins to the art and I told him “Anything more than two is a CROWD,” before pinching him :P

The tattoo was not done by Dekdi – which is our regular tattoo artist, as he hurt his back. However, Dekdi’s skilled and talented uncle completed the deed this time around. I like the outcome of it. It’s a pair of dolphins nuzzling up against each other with the ‘bigger’ dolphin seemingly saying “I’ll take care of you!” Nice one.

We hung around Kuta Beach (and discovered a shortcut from the mall to HardRock Hotel!) for awhile more and had more Bakso (I cannot get enough of this because it is so good!) and watched the sunset before our pick-up came to take us to the airport.

And with that, it was bye-bye Bali. Till we see you again!

Bali Travels : Part 4 – Our Honeymoon Begins... With Kris & Debs In Tow

2010-10-20T02:16:00.000-07:00

11th October 2010

We woke up for breakfast after last night’s celebration feeling a little groggy and all. MOH & myself checked out of Villa Diana and checked-in to Tanaya on Legian – this being our 4th different hotel in a span of 5 days! Tanaya was a really chic boutique hotel but no frills and no fuss since we would be out all day exploring Bali.

We met up with the gang (Kris, Debs & Cindy) for lunch at Seminyak Square and had lunch at Braga – also one of our favourite F&B outlets that served Nasi Goreng Gila – this should explain why MOH wanted to come back here! After lunch, Kris & Debs headed off for their spa session at Sicilia Spa whereas, MOH & I headed over to Bodyworks in Seminyak – where we had our pre-wedding spa session last year. We requested for the same treatment (in MOH’s words when he booked – “the one with everything, the yoghurt and the bath and everything.”). Ok, for Bodyworks, maybe because I was being biased, I enjoyed the session here more so because there's fond memories for me. But the place looks great, smells great – and of course, you paid a lot for it too.

After our spa session, we were supposed to meet the newly-weds together with Kris & Aunty Debra for tea but they were late – by an HOUR!! Well, MOH & I went around exploring Seminyak and checking out all the villas there – in the plan for re-visiting next coming year. At 6pm, we met up at The Junction and ok, I was a little annoyed that the bride was still sulky – OMG! What happened to happily married?? But as Debs always say “Let her la”…… If all the “zen-ing” from the day before did not work, then, I’m lost as to what would. I was hoping the honeymoon – with all the “rabbit-action” would cheer her up!

After tea, the bride & groom bade their farewells and Kris, Debs and I walked over to Café Bali for dinner. Aunty Debs bought dinner for us and we had an excellent meal in an excellent environment with excellent company.

After dinner, we bade farewell to Kris & Debra as they will depart Bali the next day. MOH & I continued with our exploration of Kuta / Legian at night and I wondered if we were being a tad old when we steered clear of all the pubs / discos and outlets that were playing music that would surely tear your ear drums!

12th October 2010

We had our breakfast at Tanaya before heading out for the beach and hours and hours of shopping. When we got to the Memorial Monument – there was a bit of a crowd and police and media gathered there – and I realized that it was on this exact day in 2002 that the bombings happened. I have to write of this hilarious moment earlier in the trip when Kris, Debra, MOH and I got into the Murano Spa transport and Kris asked to be taken to the Memorial Monument. The driver replied “Oh, at the moment bomb” – and you should see Kris’ face – he turned green – but we were all shocked too for a couple of seconds and then we realized that it was an “England” problem :P

Anyway, we spent a whole day shopping and eating – at long last, I got to eat my bakso by the beach which was really yummy and we did a “walk-through” of the route we took when we had our wedding portraits done – we even found the graffiti wall and a stranger helped take a photo of us! He was amused that we had taken wedding portraits in front of the wall!

We also spent some time on the beach and I went into the waves again. A little boring this time around as only me alone, seeing that MOH had to safeguard our belongings :P We walked around some more and finally settled for lunch at Warung Made’s. After lunch, MOH wanted a massage – again! I accompanied him but I opted for the 45min session instead of the 90min session. Guess what? I got a male masseuse! OMG factor! I was naked except for my panties and the tiny sarong covering my body! Debra would surely pengsan if this happened to her!! Anyway, after I finished, I set MOH a rather difficult task. I told him I would be on the Kuta Beach watching the sunset and he would come and look for me. He said “How do I look for you? There’s so many people!” – and I told him “I have faith that you will find me.”

When I got to Kuta Beach, it was absolutely crowded – the locals and tourists alike parked themselves for a brilliant sunset view – as if they were all waiting for a concert to start. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and there was no sunset. I walked around and waited for MOH. Would he be able to find me? It was getting very dark and I was losing hope. His mobile phone was not working either. Perhaps, this was not such a good idea after all! And just then, we spotted each other, at the beach area in front of the HardRock Hotel surfboard. Serendipity :P

We walked back to Tanaya and showered before heading out to Seminyak for dinner. However, when we got to Seminyak, none of the outlets struck my fancy so we went to the Double Six Beach instead and ended up at this place called The Flying Fish. MOH had the Lobster Nasi Goreng while I had the Seafood Bouillabaisse (no mee goreng on the menu!). After a nice and quiet dinner by the sea, we walked along Jalan Double Six and did a final walk-through of Kuta / Legian. We both decided that for our next trip, we would avoid Kuta and Legian as it was just too congested these days. Maybe a day trip here for shopping but definitely nothing more than that!

Bali Travels : Part 3 – A Really Beautiful Wedding and An Extremely Emotional Bride-zilla

2010-10-19T05:08:00.000-07:00

10th October 2010

Kris, Debra, MOH and myself had gotten our attires to match Leticia’s dream wedding theme. In fact, Debs and myself got our outfits made by … of course, who else but Kris / TSO :) Because it was a tie-back for me and heaps of buttons for Debs, we needed Kris’ help to get into our bajus. I was actually thinking to myself – we are such a nice bunch to have for a wedding because we totally immerse ourselves in the excitement of the whole process! From the getting dressed right up to the end! We helped each other get into our bajus and then we took photos before setting-off.

On the way to Sanur, we had our one and only rehearsal for our surprise presentation! We were doing a rendition of Teresa Teng’s “Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Sin” and another of Leticia’s guest was sharing the van with us. We had to bribe her to do two things for us – firstly – DO NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT THE SURPRISE PERFORMANCE!!! And secondly – please stand up and applaud loudly while shouting "Bravo! Bravo!" after our performance. Hahahahahha. We were desperate since we had no idea where was the repeat, the bridge and not forgetting the fact that Cindy and Connie were not in the rehearsal with us! We will just have to wing it! And then of course, some smart person suggested I do a short intro beforehand which got me all hot & bothered because public-speaking just wasn’t my thing. I’m not going to be able to do an impromptu one so I wrote it down instead. Blimey.

The ride into the wedding venue was a little bumpy with only dirt road taking us there. But upon entering Villa Pushpapuri – the view was absolutely stunning! And we were – on time as usual, but because of the rain earlier, the set-up was delayed. We had fun taking photos and teasing the wedding planning crew! Ok, ok… me again :P

Leticia had really outdone herself and all the two years or so of planning her wedding was showing through all the attention-to-detail she had put into it. My favourite had to be the candy and snack station – and I believe the same went for all her other guests. She had about 30 guests which made it all the more intimate for a wedding celebration. For a small wedding like this, it was worth every effort to personalize it every way possible – and Leticia did just that. There were fun photo stations too as well as fun place cards, etc….

She was finishing her make-up when we all went in to see her and of course – the much talked-about layered wedding gown. She was looking the entire part of a beautiful, beautiful bride. Demure and all – except when she started cursing and swearing as usual :P We took some photos with her and Kris had to 'fix' her baju a little bit (well, it was a tiny piece of loose string!!). In fact, I told him I was offended when he said he didn’t bother bringing a sewing kit when I was getting married and his response was simple “What for? Because you would have happily traipsed in even if you had a big hole in your wedding dress!” It was true. So true. I hadn’t even wanted a wedding dress in the first place! I wanted a sarong and Kris had to tell my wedding planners to keep the sarong away from me until after the walk-in! Leticia and I were truly worlds apart and our friends would vouch for that!

Anyway, the weather was gorgeous after the rain and we were all getting more and more excited to the whole ceremony starting. MOH and myself together with Debs sped-up the set-up by helping to lay-out the favours and programme booklets. Ok, can’t say we sped it up all that much, but hey – we tried!

Finally, it all started. The entire wedding ceremony was really beautiful – which was the most important part. Well, at least to me. Their wedding ceremony was presided over by a priest – who, aside from reading utterly slowly, completely skipped the part about the Lighting Of The Unity Candle which I wrote – cheh! As guests, we showed our enthusiasm and happily sang along with the specially chosen hymns when we felt the choir wasn’t singing as greatly as we did :P Whatever it was, I was hoping and hoping for Leticia the bride-zilla - at the moment of the ceremony - to be freeing her mind from everything else and solely concentrated on remembering the entire ceremony and how she felt. As brides, this is likely to be your once-in-a-lifetime. How worth it would it be if you were cursing the bad sound system or worrying that your wedding cake isn’t displayed properly instead of focusing on the ceremony and remembering every minute of that special moment? How worth it would it be if you finished your wedding ceremony and after a day or two – when recalling the ceremony, it draws a blank in your head? Not worth it. And I believe Leticia knew this too. Just that, her bride-zilla streak was near frenzy levels on wedding day and one could lose sight of what’s important when that takes over! Therefore, I was hoping, for I wanted my friend, my partner-in-crime to remember her wedding day as something beautiful not because of anything else, but for the simple fact that she married the man of her dreams and the love of her life. And of course, we could now share wedding tales and married life, having gone through the whole motion!

But it being October in Bali and that meant the raining season – it poured after the ceremony ended. Most unfortunately, everything laid out for the dinner reception got wet. But for Kris, Debra, MOH and myself, we had already vowed to enjoy – even if we were under the rain so our spirits were still high. But for Leticia, she revealed to me – a different side. One of a cry baby! OMG.

Now, I hated the fact that it rained and all her well-planned details got drenched. And I can definitely understand how she felt – that the rain had ruined what was to be perfection on one of the most important days of her life. When I saw her crying, my heart went out to her. I never wish this upon any brides – not even clients of mine who were nasty. Like I said, you are likely only to get married once. If you want it perfect, it should be. However, sometimes things just don’t go according to plan especially when it comes to nature.

Despite all our efforts, her families’ efforts, in praying and praying for good weather, it still rained. Last I checked, we didn’t control the weather with a snap of our fingers! But you know what? Under these circumstances, it was crucial to focus again on what was important! And with that, I told Leticia that the little bit of rain shouldn’t ruin the day for her! I pointed out that the rest of us were having loads of fun (and I was enjoying my snack cup right in front of her when she started bawling!!) and she should too! And it ought to be a happy occasion because she had a beautiful, beautiful ceremony and she finally got her dream wedding to her childhood sweetheart! You tell me – was marrying the person you love more important on your wedding day or was it more important to have all the pretty wedding things remaining pretty? Simple case, yes?

The rain did eventually stop and Kris, MOH and myself pitched in to help salvage whatever was possible to start the programme for the reception. That’s one of the good things about having good friends in the wedding industry – aside from moral support, they were people who knew what to do to make it work again in situations like these. Not to mention, we surely knew how to keep spirits high! We went in to play the games (yes, those with the very complicated rules, according to Kris!), took polaroids after polaroids and of course, attacked more of the yummy snacks. I was a nut fanatic and was really delighted to see pistachios and macadamias all laid out at the snack station! Ok, basically - I'm a junkie - I love junk food :P

And as per planned, the reception went ahead and the wedding programme resumed. Her MC – which was also her ‘brides-man’ was hilariously funny and set the mood right for the day and whilst we ate our dinner, we were entertained wildly with the speeches by the bridesmaids, groomsmen as well as the father-of-the-bride who gave a really emotional speech. As always, I believe that weddings should always be one where laughter permeates the air – and this wedding was no different! Finally, our surprise presentation happened (in all honesty, I had planned for something wilder, but because I wasn’t in the country to co-ordinate with the gang, the karaoke would have to do :P) and we sang to our hearts’ content. Hmmm…. If only we could have smuggled the life-size moon and heart along without alarming the bride-zilla :P

Kris, MOH and myself leapt into the pool – and we are now worried that we would have some rather embarrassing photos of us partying too hard – when the pool party was declared started. We had champagne in the pool and the bride came in looking all sexy in her new bod ;) and pink bikini. All in all, it was a really, really fun celebration and what can I say – but hats off to the wedding planning team for pulling this through despite all the set-backs!

And to Leticia & Tjun Hong, congratulations once again. After the 18 years of ‘courtship’ – this DOES mark a new chapter in your lives and may you always live in love.

Bali Travels : Part 2 – Debs Joins In The Fun in Kuta and A Pre-Wedding Dinner at Jimbaran Bay

2010-10-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

9th October 2010

After all the face-stuffing last night, I woke up early for a swim at the lap pool. Of course, Kris said he’ll join me and I woke him up half an hour earlier than the agreed time – 6.30am! I rang his doorbell “incessantly” as he puts it, and he grumpily shouted “Who’s that?!” and I cheerily replied “It’s me! Time for morning swim!!” to which he grunted a grumpy “I’ll join you later!!” Laughing at the mischief that I had caused, I skipped to the pool. I was surprised that the water wasn’t as cold as I thought it’d be. After my 50th lap, Kris finally came and joined me and I completed 2.5km before breakfast. I do not know how may laps he did :P After breakfast, I completed another 1.5km to make it a total of 4km for the day – and damn proud of it!

Before you knew it, it was time to check-out from Maya Ubud. Both of us did something really funny at our villas – seeing as we haven’t utilized our private plunge pool during our stay, we all undressed and skinny-dipped in the pool – even if for just a couple of minutes. Oh – Kris did that in his own villa and we did ours in our own villa in case anyone has any funny thoughts.

We skipped lunch and our transport took us straight to the airport to pick Aunty Debra. We arrived 30-minutes earlier and ok, we got bored with the waiting. We had even prepared a placard with welcome details for Aunty Debs. After half-an-hour, I was basically asking every Tom, Dick and Harry who came out of the arrival hall if they were Debra. “Are you Debra? Are you Debra?” – including a gwai lo. Out of boredom, the three of us had conjured up lots of theories as to why our dear Aunty Debs was taking soooo long! But finally, she arrived – grinning merrily as usual.

And it was away to check-in to Villa Diana at Legian which was pre-arranged for the wedding entourage. Most of the wedding entourage stayed here – including the couple themselves before they checked into the wedding venue. This was a really nice little resort hotel and MOH and I got upgraded to the Deluxe Villa!

As usual, we were starving by the time we settled in and our transport took us to the Double Six Beach for lunch. It was close to 4pm by the time we had lunch – but eat we did at Tekor Bali. And then, we took to the beach! Kris and I went into the water and really had damn a lot of fun with the rolling waves! MOH joined us later and Aunty Debra kindly looked after all our belongings. We resumed some of our “Bali’s Next Top Model” shoot here before heading back to get ready for the dinner at Jimbaran Bay.

We were a little bitchy with the timing and our rides – but we did get to the dinner venue – Teba Cafe right on time. However, being early doesn’t have much advantages if everyone else were hell-bent on keeping to Malaysian times :P We waited a good hour plus before dinner. Alas! Dinner was not great for me – the main was ….. fish! But the company was great (not sure about the other tables, but we had great people at our table!). Cindy and Connie finally joined us here and lots of catching up and sharing stories and tales – since Cindy & Connie both had been out with the bride & groom the whole day for their wedding portraits session.

After dinner, we all (all, meaning the younger crowd) went over to Ku De Ta for drinks. Jolly, jolly me – alcohol it will be since not training for the week! Kris, Debs, MOH and myself didn’t stay long at Ku De Ta. After lots of photos, we decided to call it a night.

10th October 2010

With Debra around to keep him company, Kris had automatically moved breakfast hour to 8.30am. Fine, MOH and myself adjusted to that too and after breakfast, we had a quick tanning session to get some glow for the night’s festivities before we headed out to Murano Spa.

Since the Boreh was highly recommended, MOH & I went with the Boreh as well. Now, I’m not a spa person because sitting still for a long period of time gets me restless and fidgety. Hardly relaxing at all for me. Well, the couple’s room at Murano wasn’t smelling fantastic – especially as soon as I placed my face into the hole. Oh dear. How am I going to endure 1.5 hours of this? That wasn’t the worse – the stuff they used for the Boreh was also not smelling fantastic – it was like minyak cap kapak to me – which I absolutely detest. OMG factor two. I tried to close my eyes and think good thoughts but the smell kept playing havoc with me. Needless to say, I was wishing for time to fly! Of course, whilst I was squirming in my hot wrap, MOH was snoring away and I also learnt later that Kris and Debs had enjoyed their session as well. They are all spa kakis!!

After the highly un-enjoyable spa session (for me), we hit the extremely ‘macet’ Kuta/Legian stretch for shopping and lunch. We bought Crumpler bags and stopped at Oey for lunch. After lunch, it was a rush back to Villa Diana to get ready for D-Day!!!