Occasionally, Alan and I will drive past our future home to check out the development progress. This photo was taken on 21st of Sep. Looks like they've finished 4 out of the 5 levels of car parks...

Hmmm, I've been thinking of numerous combo of numbers based on the dates given. After much deliberations, I thought that this formula is kinda unique.

You see hor:

• 08 is the day Alan proposed and 16 is one of the RoM dates given
• 05 is the day we have our dinner in KL and 13 is the day we have our dinner in KS

Irregardless of whether I minus the dates or add "8" to the dates, "8" remains the constant number:

• [Minus] 16 - 08 = [08] / 13 - 05 = [08] or
• [Plus] 08 + [08] = 16 / 05 + [08] = 13

Talk about coincidence!

Now that Alan has proposed and that we're engaged... What's next?

Wedding dates selection of course :). We had to wait several weeks cos the 2009 Chinese Almanac wasn't released until late this week. So anyway, we went to Kok Chong Ming today to submit our particulars:

• Groom & bride's date & time of birth
• Both sides' parents date & time of birth

Alan has to fill up the particulars on a piece of form in Mandarin... and here's a picture of him in full concentration:

We paid RM50 for a registration date and RM80 for a few wedding dates. To our surprise, we got an SMS that night itself on the set of dates:

Registration

• January 2009: 3rd (Sat), 15th (Thu), 16th (Fri)

Wedding

• October 2009: 3rd (Sat), 18th (Sun), 25th (Sun), 28th (Wed), 30th (Fri)
• November 2009: 18th (Wed), 21st (Sat)
• December 2009: 05th (Sat), 6th (Sun), 13th (Sun), 26th (Sat)

Honestly, the dates were not what we initially planned... Since Alan proposed on 08-08-2008 [8-8-8], we thought that our registration and marriage dates should also have a good numerical combo like: 3-6-2009 [3-6-9] or 10-10-2009 [10-10] for instance. But when the dates came back, they all seemed "plain".

We're supposed to revert with our choice of dates so that they can give us the full deck on auspicious hour to "jip san leong" (fetch bride) etc etc... But none of the dates appeal to us... So how??? Sigh...

Nevertheless... we opted for 05th December for the dinner in KL and 13th December for the dinner at Kuala Selangor. Next step is to consult our parents...

Update

One of my friends told me that the most important date is the Registration of Marriage date cos' that date would be our wedding anniversary. As such, we're gonna submit our preferred date to the "sifu" and hope for the best: 12-January-2009 (121) cos' easy to remember and has a nice meaning of 1 to 1... hehehe... Wish us luck! :)

Latest Update

The "sifu" reverted with 2 extra dates for the registration; 15th Jan or 16th Jan... (1-5-1) or (1-6-1)... Hmmm...

Today, our boss took us to this coffee shop called "Pan Heong" somewhere near Batu Caves. This place is apparently famous for its fish porridge and has got numerous newspapers cuttings and photos of well known politicians and celebrities visiting the shop. We had quite a lot of dishes which included prawns (bigass ones), frog legs, noodles, vege, some dunno what rolls and of course porridge with "yao char kueh".

We went in 3 different cars and the one I sat in, there were 5 of us. Out of which, only 2 were married with kids; 1 male colleague and 1 female colleague. And it was on the way to Batu Caves that the funniest conversation took place... about childbirth.

Women do not faint right after the baby is born...
You would've thought that with all the pushing and heavy breathing... one would be too exhausted after childbirth and might faint / fall asleep in relief immediately! But apparently no lor...

Men & Childbirth = Impotent...
Our female colleague told us that her friend's husband was impotent for several months cos every time they wanted to do "it", he remembered the hairy head coming out from her... you know where...

Nurses are rude...
If you think that nurses are gentle and kind since the poor mother is already in a state of mind-numbing pain... think again... Our male colleague told us that an old nurse scolded his wife for "delaying" the childbirth. She was apparently hospitalized for 24 hours... and the nurse went: "Wei, how long more you wanna wait? Everybody's going home di!" and shouted "PUSHHHH don't just SHOUTTTT...!" when the wife was in the midst of giving birth...

Husband & wife in operation theatre = Appreciative husband...
Our male colleague told us that he pitied his wife as he saw the pain that she had to go thru to give him a daughter. After the whole ordeal, he apparently treated the wife better and even got her an LV bag... hehehe...

So moral of the story?

• Make sure you drag your husband into the operating theatre with you. If you are gonna suffer, he jolly well be beside you...
• BUT, make sure he stands next to you and not opposite you so that he doesn't become impotent after that...

:)

I've been toying with the idea of getting another haircut for a while now. But then Colin's wedding's this Saturday, if the haircut turns out disastrous, I will look like shit! But then again, I look like shit with my braces anyway, so what damage could a new haircut possibly do la right?

And so I got my haircut during lunch today...

Initially, I quite like it cos it was quite a refreshing change to the straight long hair I've always spotted.

But then when I reached home, my parents said that the hair do is somewhat similar to the one I had when I was in Form 1. Wtf???!!!

And so now... I regretted my new haircut. Kannasai or not?

I've finally finished watching "Moonlight Resonance".
The ending was damn good lor... Hehehe...

I was on MC today cos the bleeding was on and off. As a matter of fact, I was given 2 days of MC but I think I'll only be taking one day off.

So anyway, I spent the entire day sleeping cos that was the only way to distract myself from the pain and the bleeding. When I got up, I got a message from my boss congratulating me that I've gotten the "Departmental Award" this year!!! Hoohoooooooo!

Where I work, monetary and cash certifications are awarded to top performers in recognition of excellent contributions to the company. I was a "Spot Award" holder for 5 years; 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

But this "Departmental Award" is totally different! For one, it has a higher monetary value tied to it... RM2,000 in CASH and that there can only be 1 "Departmental Award" holder in the entire department. So ya, despite my current condition, I am soooooooooooo happy!!! Hooohoooooo!

Life is indeed beautiful! Thank you, thank you!

Update
Aiyar, only RM1,000 in cash ler, I made a mistake. Nevertheless ok la... happy! Hehehe.

Today I went back for my monthly braces treatment. This time round, the works were rather horrifying.

Extractions
I previously had the 4th tooth (lelft and right) extracted from the upper teeth. Thus, this time round, the extractions were for the 5th tooth (left & right) from the bottom teeth. Surprisingly, the extractions were faster this time round. In fact, the nurse didn't had to hold my head in place while the dentist yank with all his might! It just went "POP"... twice!

Frenectomy
Now this one was totally new and not made known to me before. According to google results, the description of the surgery is as such:

• A frenum is a fold of tissue or muscle connecting the lips cheek to the jawbone. A frenectomy is the removal of one of these folds of tissue. Sometimes a frenum can be attached too high / too low on the gums causing either recession or spaces between teeth. The procedure to remove this is a called labial frenectomy and involves the removal of tissue attachment between the two front teeth as the gap between the teeth can again pushed apart by the frenum even after it being initially corrected via a different procedure.

My frenum was apparently too low which resulted in a small triangle gap in between my 2 front teeth. The dimple that I have; just below the nose was apparently caused by tension of this tissue attachment too. And so, the removal was necessary given that the frenum is restricting the movement of my upper jaw.

The scary thing bout this surgery was the sounds emitted by the laser beam... It went "tek tek tek tek tek tek" which scared the shit out of me! I was so scared that when Alan placed his hands on my legs to calm me, I felt like crying!

After the surgery, the dentist gave me a mirror to look into and what I saw made me wanna cry even more! Cos the place where the tissue attachment was previously located was now gone and was covered with blood!

Bite Blocks
The lump of clay I mentioned in my previous post was called a bite block. Instead of 1, I now have 2 bite blocks, creating an even larger gap when I bite.

So ya, not only do I have to endure the pain once the anesthetics' over, I also have to suffer from the bleeding and oh I can't eat any solid food for another month!


When I first started the treatment, I was told that it is RM6,000 for the entire treatment and this is non-inclusive of extraction, scaling or any other dental works in between...

• xx-03-2008: $1,100 [Deposit, X-Rays, Photos & Moulding]
• 30-03-2008: $ 870 [Deposit & Upper Braces Fitting]
• 20-04-2008: $ 423 [Braces Treatment, Extraction & Medication]
• 18-05-2008: $ 325 [Braces Treatment & Wire Change]
• 17-08-2008: $ 325 [Braces Treatment & Bottom Braces Fitting]
• 14-09-2008: $ 764 [Braces Treatment, Extraction, Frenectomy & Medication]

YTD, I've spent $3,807 and I am only at my 4th visit (excluding the 1st 2 trips).

Honestly, I don't know what I got myself into. All I knew was that, it is too freaking late to back off now so I just have to bite the fucking bullet and charge ahead optimistically! Sigh...

As you know one of the most discussed concert this year has came and gone. The one that was widely reported everywhere that it was called off. Various reasons were cited:

• Rocker chick was apparently too sexy for us
• Then there was this news about Ministry of AC&H rejecting the permit
• Followed by reports stating that how the concert should be cancelled cos it was just too near independance day (for those of you who don't know, the concert was held on the 29-Aug-08)

It was so easy for the authorities to ask for the cancellation of the concert.

It doesn't matter if thousands of customers have bought tickets with the cold hard cash they earned.

It doesn't matter that the Concert was promoted 6 weeks before hand (cancellation news came only towards the last week of the Concert) and that the hearts of delighted customers who won tix from the numerous contests and reward programs will be crushed (hundreds of them)!

It doesn't even matter that the artiste management promised that they'll adhere to the rules and dress codes.

Nothing matters to these people. Just fcuking cancel the concert at the 11th hour!

In the end, after lots of hoo-hah, the authorities finally came to their senses and the Concert went on as planned. And boy! Was it a great one!

Btw, the last time something like this happened was back in 2007 - same period (August) when we did G Stefani. I too was the project owner for it and if you remembered, this project won the Grand Prix Award mid this year... :) So ya... I am hopeful that we will win something next year...

I stood next to AL herself. Notice how I am slightly taller? Hehehe!

AL rockssssssssssssssss!!!

The Olympics held in Beijing this year was extremely special to me...

• Firstly cos I watched it in Bali with Alan.
• Secondly cos Alan proposed to me just before the Opening Ceremony on 08-08-08!
• Thirdly cos the Closing Ceremony was held on the same day as Alan's Birthday!
• Lastly cos I have never been more proud to be a Chinese! The opening was just spectacular and it goes to show that the Chinese can do great things too (if not greater than the Westerners) when they put their hearts and minds to it!!!

Kudos China!!!

The trip to Bali was an extremely memorable one for Alan and I... We've both been together for over a decade thus it is unusual to hear that we've experienced many firsts together. But what was surprising was that, this trip alone offered many firsts for us too...

• Like how I had manicure and pedicure at the beach for the first time
• Like how he wore "sarong" for the first time
• Like how we visited an active volcano for the first time
• Like how we stayed in a suite for the first time
• Like how we tried the couple spa for the first time
• Like how we both watched Olympics out of Malaysia for the first time

But more importantly, it was the first time Alan ever knelt down in front of me.

He proposed to me in Bali!!!

And he chose to do it on our last night at Nusa Dua after dinner in our suite. It was 08-08-08 at 8pm just before the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing begun!!!

I've always dreamt of this moment and have always thought that I would smile sweetly while nodding in agreement. But when it really did happen, it was nothing like what I dreamt about. The minute he knelt down and said those things he said, tears just flowed down my cheeks non-stop.

For as long as I knew him, I have never seen him kneel down. He has this condition where the bones at both his knees juts out when he kneels. Doctor said it was cos he was too active when he was younger and that there wasn't a need to fix it cos they only hurts when he kneels down. So imagine my surprise when he knelt down in front of me!

I was touched beyond words and I could see that he too was choking back his tears when he delivered his proposal... sentence after sentence slowly. I have never felt more loved before and I knew that he felt the same cos it was written all over his face and his eyes... :)

On a more delighted note. He got me a really "tua-liap" bling bling, an 0.91 carat which cost him a bomb! Hehehehe...

So ya, Alan and I are officially ENGAGED!!!

Warning: Tidak halal...

The food in Bali was not too bad for Alan and I. Alan cos he's super duper fussy and me cos I have got a lousy stomach.

One thing for sure, their "mee goreng" and "maggie goreng" was absolutely yummy! Not too salty and yet full of flavours! So unlike what we have here...

I also had a taste of the Balinese "Mi Kangkung" which was somewhat similar to our "Pan Min" here but again much richer in flavour.

But the meal that I enjoyed the most has got to be "Nasi Babi Guling". Mind you, not just any "Nasi Babi Guling" but THE "Nasi Babi Guling" by Ibu Oka in Ubud!

It is where the whole pig is proudly displayed at the front of the shop:

For pork lovers, you can't say you've been to Bali if you've not tasted the "Nasi Babi Guling". Try it, it is highly recommended:

But be warned... Stay away from this place if you don't like pork cos that's all they serve! Poor Alan has got nothing to eat cos he doesn't eat pork. Me on the other hand had 2 plates cos he took a bite of the pork slices and immediately gave me this look. Hehehehe...

I lurve Bali!

We stayed in 2 different hotels in Bali and I absolutely love both the hotels!!!

The first 3 nights, we stayed in Ramayana Resort & Spa which was located right in the heart of Kuta and within walking distance to the famous Kuta beach. Though we were located right in the heart of town, there was this feeling of tranquility when we were within the hotel compound. The hotel was surrounded by beautiful blooming tropical gardens with small water gardens and a nice pool.

Because of our packed itinerary, Alan and I made sure we wake up on time every morning for their breakfast. Breakfast is served at the coffee house next to the pool.

The room was cozy, clean and comfortable too.

Plus, it was very near the Kuta beach.

Since we had a pack itinerary, we didn't spent too much time at the beach but I managed to get a manicure and pedicure at the beach:

The best part about living right in the center of Kuta is that there are plenty of places to shop. There are large shopping boutiques like D&G, Quiksilver, Roxy and more!

Heck, there are even McD and Starbucks here.

At night, we only had to walk to the entrance of the hotel for drinks.

On our last 2 days in Bali, we moved to Nusa Dua. We stayed in Melia Benoa Resort which was located just next to Club Med. This is the lobby where they served us the welcome drinks:

The concept here is totally different from Ramayana. While Ramayana was all about the convenience of being located right in the middle of the town and yet offered the tranquility of a peaceful surrounding, Melia Benoa offers privacy and was near secluded as we didn't bump into anyone at all.

Within the hotel compound, there were beautiful landscaping with ponds of various shapes and sizes. The compound was wayyy larger than Ramayana:

There was also this nice swimming pool with a bar next to pool:

Room wise, we stayed in a suite thus the room was extra large! Here's where the bed is:

Followed by the chill out area next to the bed.

The study area and oh the TV can be turned 180 degree around the suite.

The large window panes which offers plenty of sunshine. Words can't describe the happiness of waking up to a beautiful morning! Just by looking at the bright sunny day outside, one could smile endlessly!

Our balcony which faces the pool:

Though Ramayana was a walking distance from the beach, Melia Benoa has its own private beach!

The beach was nicely landscaped too:

Unlike Ramayana, there was nothing to shop near the surrounding of the resort, thus we took the couple spa package. This was our first spa experience. Sure, I've been to massages and reflexology before but spa... this was really my first time let alone a couple spa. Here's the entrance to the spa:

We took the complete package that offered feet scrub, massage, honey body wrap, green tea body scrub, herbal bath and facial honey mask. The entire package took a couple of hours. We left the spa feeling relaxed, rejuvenated and recharged! Not to mention smooth too... hehehe...

So if you ask me which hotel I prefer, I would say I like them both.

Ramayana is in the middle of everything from booze to shopping places to the beach. While Melia Benoa has the privacy that is hard to get in KL. If you want to spend quality time with your other half, Melia Benoa is definitely the place to be. Plus, the private beach way nicer than the crowded Kuta beach!

The first few days, we stayed right in the middle of Kuta. Since we arrived in Bali bout 3-ish, we decided to go on a self discovery walk. But nothing beats seeing the streets via a horse carriage ride! We went all around Kuta and even Legian passing by rows and rows of night entertainment outlets, eateries, massage parlours, reflexology centres and plenty sidewalk stalls.

The following day, we signed up for a local tour at our hotel and the first place we visited was Mengwi Pura Taman Ayun (Garden Temple in the Water). It was apparently a great royal temple that was built in the 17th century which also served as the family temple of the Mengwi Dynasty (whose kingdom survived until the late 1800s). This temple is famous for its exquisite wooden "merus" i.e. pagoda-like shrines.

One thing peculiar bout the temples in Bali is that there are no altars where one could pray and offer offerings like our Chinese temples here. All we see are pagodas after pagodas of different heights. But that doesn't mean that there are no offerings made cos offerings of flowers and joss-sticks are left on the sidewalk everywhere (yes, on the floor).

The next stop was Alas Kedaton Monkey Forest. Although there were a lot of monkeys here, they all looked fierce and menace... At the start of our walk, our local guide told us to hide our sunglasses and to zip up our bags. In fact, we were told to walk around with our palms wide opened so as not to be seen as hiding food from the monkeys!

Next stop was Tanah Lot; which was one of the most popular places of interest in Bali. Tanah Lot means land to the south and this place is dramatic because of its ocean-front location. The temple is built on a small protruding rock and is only accessible at low tide. During high water, the rock takes on the appearance of a large boat at sea. We arrived in the evening during low tide thus I was able to stand where I was standing...

According to our local guide, sunset is the best time to visit Tanah Lot, when the golden red skies frame the temple and waves crash into the rocks. And indeed it was... the sunset was beautiful!!! Then again, the sunset in Bali seemed to be beautiful everywhere! But nothing lasts forever cos though the sunset was breathtakingly beautiful, it was kinda short-lived. In Bali, the weather's extremely hot in the day but after the sun sets, the temperature drops drastically.

That night, we had our dinner at the Jimbaran beach. Jimbaran is located at the south of the Ngurah Rai International Airport and the beach is cluttered with lots of seafood restaurants. We went to the one called "Aroma". Apart from the fact that it was a pleasant place to dine in (think sounds of crashing waves, tables and chairs by the beach and performances by locals), the food was nothing to shout about. Kuala Selangor has better seafood at a fraction of the price! Had it not been so cold, it would've been a romantic dining experience. I wasn't prepared for the drastic weather change and thus was freezing in my ass! Alan had to borrow a jacket from one of the waitress cos I was practically shivering non stop...

The following morning, we were whisked off to Ubud to watch the "famous" Barong & Keris Dance. "Barong" is a creature that looks something like our Chinese lion and apparently is a temple guardian / protector. However, the dance was rather confusing cos till the end, we couldn't distinguish the good from the bad.

Since Ubud is famous for arts, crafts and music, we were taken to a "Batik Factory". There were live demonstrations outside the factory and thereafter... the usual la, the Batik boutique where they charge you an arm and a leg for anything and everything Batik!

Same goes for the "Carvings Factory". Live demo outside and boutique inside. The thing with Bali is that wherever you go, you will see carvings of "cock" as in the male anatomy in different shapes and sizes. Made us wonder if demand was really that high for those carvings. Alan and I wouldn't be caught dead having one in our home. Can die of shame if relatives visiting our home says... "Wah, this "cock" so big hor"! Hehehehe...

One of the things I like most about Bali is their famous "Canvas Oil Painting". There were abstract ones, traditional ones, religious ones and loads more. If it wasn't cos our place is still not ready, we would've brought one of the abstracts one back.

Next stop was Kintamani. It was one of the favourite tourist destinations cos it has an active volcano called Mount Batur which has apparently erupted 24 times since 1800 and still active up till now. Next to the volcano is a beautiful lake called Lake Batur and it is one of the biggest lake in Bali. Here, the scenery was breathtaking and beautiful plus the weather was extremely cooling and windy. A definite must see for all those visiting Bali!

On the way to the next attraction, we stopped by Tegallang to see rice terraces. Nothing much to comment bout cos it's just terrace after terrace of plantations that come to think of it doesn't resemble rice / "padi" at all.

Our final stop for the day was Besakih Mother Temple. The temple is called Mother Temple cos it was one of the biggest temple in Bali and it sits on the western slope of Gunung Agung. The temple guide told us that many years ago, when Gunung Agung erupted, the larva went around the temple instead of drowning it, thus the temple was still intact even after the eruption. Till today, this temple is regarded as one of the most holy place for Balinese Hindus. Here, it is mandatory for everyone to wear a "sarong", regardless of whether you're a male or female, that's why we both in "sarongs". What I didn't like about this place was the fact that you are forced to make a donation at the entrance before you can enter. No issues with donations but it is the way the locals speak... almost as if they were extorting us. But the good thing is that, with the donations, you are then given a local guide who will take you around the temple.

On our last day at Kuta before we moved to Nusa Dua, we walked around the entire Kuta again shopping for souvenirs. Here, there are plenty of small stalls selling anything and everything under the sun.

I must say that the trip was a pretty productive one given that we managed to cover quite a number of attractions in our 5 days 4 nights there... :)