Singapore Date: Dec 28, 2003

I only have a moment to write this, and I’m already a day behind.

We met with Dorothy, the church co-ordinator in the morning at about 11:45AM to confirm the Mass Booklet on the day as well as set a date for the full-dress rehearsal. George and my parents came with us. Lunch was at Boon Tong Kee, the famous Hainanese Chicken Rice Stall.

Next stop was Sophia, the Wedding shop, to confirm my gown and evening dresses - this time with George, our wedding planner. D had to choose a Tux and Jacket color for himself too. I wasn’t so tired this time, so trying on different outfits didn’t feel as painful as the day before.

So we took care of the gowns and the groom’s outfits. For dinner, there was a Christmas (post-christmas) party at the Chew Family House. I got a chance to meet most of the family, D’s uncles, aunts and cousins. Everyone was in a festive mood, and there was laughter and happy chatter throughout the night. We exchanged gifts and drank wine. Mich bought me the latest Pet Shop Boys release - Pop Art, featuring their greatest hits through the years plus 2 new ones. Woo hoo! I came back at about a little after midnight.

Singapore Date: Dec 27, 2003

It wasn’t until Sunday that we needed to get back to the Wedding Shop to get fitted with our gowns and tux. Today, like clockwork, I woke up at 9AM. Mom made an awesome breakfast - toast with ham, turkey and cheese on top. Yummy. That and a fresh cup of coffee made my morning. We got a call from my 2nd auntie saying that Jessica and Jonathan are coming to visit. I’ve not seem them in 2 years, and both of them have grown so much! Kids, they just grow so fast.

We left home at about 12PM, to the Dentist. I wanted to get my teeth whitened for the big day. Too much coffee. heh. Didn’t get it done on the spot, but had to go back a week later to pick up the chemicals. The Doc warned of sensitive teeth after I apply the chemicals, but I guess that’s the price I have to pay for having white teeth on my wedding day!

The next stop was my Nanny’s place. She looked after me when I was little, because both my parents worked. It was great to see her again, and walking along the corridors reminded me of the times when I played at this very place when I was little. I also met her children, who had kids of their own, as well as Belinda, we grew up together, me, her and Angeline. I had a wonderful time there, catching up, and taking photos.

We went for Sunset Mass, and after that, for a nice Birthday dinner for my brother at a nice Chinese restaurant at Suntec City. And I got the chance to try the Shark’s Fin Soup. Mmmm … The food was quite good too. We had Herbal Chicken, Soft-Shell Crab, and Steamed Fish.

And so that concludes Day 2 of my Back to Singapore Series. Tomorrow’s a hectic day, so stay tuned.

Singapore Date: Dec 26, 2003

I know choosing a wedding gown was hard, but I didn’t know it was exhausting as well. We left at around 12:30PM, Dec 26th, and our first stop was Irene’e Collection at Delphi Orchard.

D had rented a car for a month, and as we drove to Orchard Road with my parents, and Michelle, I had the chance to get a glimpse of the different cars on the road, the buildings, etc, and I realized how much I’d forgotten about the place. The visions I had in my mind were just fragments of the real thing. And there were new things too, a lot actually. The place around Tiong Bahru Plaza has been fully built up with new high-rise flats, 35 storeys according to Mom. Wow. And there were shops on the first three levels too. Cold Storage is still here, but a new extension was built just outside of it, complete with pharmacies, a food place, and a cellular phone shop.

But I’m not really here to talk about the changes in buildings. Today, Dec 26th, was the first time I tried on not one, not two, but more than ten wedding gowns. I didn’t know what to expect. The first shop, Irene’s Collections, had a lot of strapless gowns, with some halter top types, so I tried about 8 of them. Apparently white is not the only color of wedding gowns, there is the off-white, and the new “Color for 2004″ - the champagne color (that’s what I was told). I look awful in white, but it the off-white and champagne looked much better on me. Guess I’m not that pure after all. Although I fancied one of the wedding gowns - a two piece corset and skirt combo, we just needed to look some more before we decide.

Our second stop was Tanjong Pagar, touted as THE place for wedding stuff. There were two rows of wedding shops all along Tanjon Pagar Road, and we just picked one shop that didn’t have so many people, but wasn’t completely empty as well. It was called SOPHIA. Immediately when we came in, a woman approached us and offered us a seat and served us tea and mentos (apparently that is the candy of choice for wedding shops, because Irene’s Collections had those exact same ones too). First they introduced us to this “wedding coordinator”, called Wilson, who showed us the various packages they have. Then it was another guy who showed us a couple of wedding photos of previous clients. All the photos were digital, and the outdoor scenes were pretty impressive. Of course, it had to really depend on the weather on that day.

Ok, now on to trying on the gowns. Even though I didn’t have any jetlag from the night before, I was already feeling the exhaustion from trying on the gowns from the previous shop. Man, those gowns are heavy! Anyway I tried on about 5 gowns, and sort of decided on one partcular champagne color gown. I think we kinda had that “Let’s go to another Wedding Shop” look, because at that moment, the owner of the shop invited us into a VIP room to try on some “better quality” gowns. I smell a gimmick. Anyway they definitely had better looking gowns in that room. We saw one that was really unique and had beautiful patterns of flowers on it, with a long train - it was perfect, well, among all the other gowns I’ve tried, it was a cut above the rest. After a little negotiating, we put our deposit. I’m sure none of us was ready for another shop that day. It was getting dark too, and we were tired.

When we came back I could even keep my eyes open, and dozed off in front of the TV, and it wasn’t even 11PM yet.

Yep after about 18 hours in the air, we have finally arrived in Singapore just a little past midnight on the 26th. Passing time on the plane wasn’t a problem - there was a great selection of on-demand movies to choose from, and I think I watched a total of 6 movies - Seabiscuit, Johnny English, Matchstick Men and Freaky Friday to name a few. I love SIA coz they have TV screens on every seat.

The transit at South Korea was only for a short while, just enough for D and I to get a taste of some Korean BBQ Beef with rice before the announcement was made of boarding. I was fascinated by the PS2 gaming kiosks available at the South Korea Airport, as well as Internet Stations. I wonder if you had to pay to use them, but didn’t have time to check.

There weren’t any particularly special festivities on the plane as we spent Christmas Day on it, just a few ornaments above the windows, and a Turkey Dinner. What’s more, they’d run out of those by the time it was my turn, but good thing D had that so I was able to trade with him. heh. I couldn’t handle the constant offering of food or drink on the plane, and its so hard to reject them too. “Would you like coffee, tea, juice?” How could you say No to that, especially coffee. I tried not to drink too much coffee though since it dehydrates the body, instead I had tea.

I would have to give this flight an 8 out of 10 - it was very much less a pain compared to my past experiences of long flights, and I think partly because of the time of the flight - I have decided that afternoon flights suit me best, because I’ll not be obligated to sleep on the plane. I always wake up with a blocked nose, and I’ll get those mind-numbing headaches when the plane descends. But this time it was alright. So … no red-eye flights for me, well, unless its first class!

It was an odd feeling coming back. Everything looked familiar yet new, in a way. I don’t know how to explain it, but its like flipping through a book that you have already read - you can vaguely recall the different scenes as you flip, but it will only get clearer when you read those lines again. I guess I need some time to “warm-up”.

It was great to see my parents and brother again. And Ginny, my dog. Even though she has almost lost the sight in both her eyes, she looks really healthy. We had some “together” time, but it was late, and she was tired. Maybe tomorrow we’ll “talk” some more.

Mom, Dad, and Bro were there to pick me up at the airport, and for D, his sister and friend was there. We hugged, and exchanged pleasantries. I was exhausted from the flight, so it was hard to think straight.

Anyway, its 3:30AM here now, as I write this, and I think I’d better turn in for the night. More tomorrow.

We are leaving in a few hours, and I just want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas! For all you travelers, have a safe trip, and see you all after the holidays! Drive safe, and don’t drink and drive.

People in North California, did you feel the earthquake? It happened at about 11:15AM PT. Funny thing is, I didn’t feel it, and my co-worker, who was sitting right opposite me, felt it! Seems like a strong one this time - 6.5?

U.S. Geological Survey Site
Yahoo News Article

For all you Mac Heads out there, here is the link to Steve’s Macworld Expo keynote address from Moscone Center in San Francisco. Its on January 6, 9am PT. Quicktime and MPEG-4 required. Be sure to tune in!

Link to the Webcast

I will definitely keep on updating my blog when I’m in Singapore, so keep on reading. I’m sure most of the events will be related to my wedding, one way or another. Later.

Yes, boys and girls, its that time of year again - Otter gets her tooth trimmed today! I need to make sure she spends the one month while I’m away in comfort, and her tooth don’t make it out of her lip! heh.

We decided to bring good California wine back to Singapore, so yesterday, we braved the soggy weather and drove to V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena, CA. We even have pics. It was a fun drive nonetheless, and the Altima that D rented handled really well in the wet weather.

As you can see from the pics, the picnic area was completely empty because of the rain, but they had the cellar open for picnics, which was nice.

We ended up with 2 cases of Gamay Rose, Cabernet, and Chardonnay.

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King opens today! Who’s going to see it? Me, I’ll probably wait a few weeks, maybe catch it in Singapore. Yep, we are heading back home next week. I’m excited, but I’ll miss California too.

My favorite song of the moment is “Crucify” by Tori Amos. I know its an old song, but it just takes me back ….

“Supreme” by Robbie Williams is another song that’s really great. What a hunk!

Big story - CNN had it on for 10 hours straight yesterday.

Here’s a Before and After photo. I don’t know, you think they got the right guy?

Don’t you sometimes have the feeling/realization that you are all alone? It can be scary, but its true. That’s the scary thing.

You know when you drive, your eyes are just focused on the road ahead of you, the car in front of you, the brake lights, trying to keep a safe distance … then suddenly you hit a red light, a stop sign, or just plain old traffice jam - you start to look first to the left, then to the right, and you notice things that you never notice before - “I never knew so-and-sp company’s here”, or “Wow, nice christmas decorations!”, “Ooh, nice car.” Then you hear a distant noise, and it was the driver behind you honking so loud so you would get your fat-ass-of-a-car moving. I guess my point is - there are discoveries even in the most beaten of paths, and some people are just darn impatient.

What’s up, everybody? It’s been a busy week, but I love every minute of it - got to learn new stuff, and that’s always good.