@Summer dresses

The beauty of living in Malaysia is that we get summer all year 'round. And summer means I can wear all those girly dresses. By girly, I mean super duper girly like the one below. Believe me, girly dresses like this one is really comfortable.

What do you think? :) I love the colour! It's absolutely perfect for a trip to the mall, matched with a pair of strap-on sandals, Or on a girls' day out. Hey, even on a lazy Sunday afternoon, to lunch. So many occasions to wear it, but only one dress!

I discovered this great site with loads of beautiful dresses for sale at an absolutely fabulous price, and I couldn't resist sharing it with everyone! You can find a lot more summer dress like the one above, and if you have a special occasion to go to, you may even find a dress there because they have a variety of style to suit everyone's budget. Yes, they're really affordable, I kid you not.

Excuse me now while I go browse for more dresses. Talk to you soon!

You know you're very addicted to Pet Society when you flipped open an IKEA catalogue, and started thinking, "Hmmm...this will make a very good decorative piece for my room!" only to realise you are not in virtual world.

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What's next?

You know, when you were little, your mom often told you to eat more rice so that you'd grow up faster, go to university, then get a good job? Well, at least my mom told me that. Then when you're finally ready to spread your wings and embark on varsity life, what's next?

You study hard. Burn the midnight oil. Get good grades. Forget about BGR because it will only distract you. After much hard work, you graduate with a degree in hand, and a ready resume. What's next?

You land yourself a job in a multinational company, and after a while, you get promoted and is given a room on your own. Imagine that! Your very own room! Is that an achievement or what? What's next?

You decide to get married. You have the wedding of the year, the talk of your relatives for many years to come...what's next?

You have children. You work harder to provide for the children. You give them the things you never had when you were young - music lessons, dance classes, self-defence classes, various sort of learning programmes etc. You send them to school, pick them up, spend time with their school work, cook them lunch/dinner...what's next?

Now, the children are ready to spread their wings. You see them off to university. Your years of saving for this very moment has finally arrived. With a heavy heart, you let your babies go. What's next?

Your children get married. You are now a grandparent. What's next?

Seriously, wouldn't you agree with me that life is all about 'what's next?' ? You move from one step to another. You conform to what other people expect of you. Well, at least I know I do.

The thing is, I wonder when it will be before I take charge of my life and live it the way I want it to be.

Of being young and having big dreams

When I was younger, I had big dreams for myself. I had loads of expectations, from my mom especially, so I worked hard at school to please her. I wouldn't say I was a straight-As student, but I gave my best.

Back in school, I was a hardcore feminist. I believed in equality between men and women. I was the captain of the chess team, and it made me feel good when I trashed guys during chess tournaments. I was the prefect, the nerd and the teacher's pet. I was brash and outspoken. I was moody and temperamental. Everyone knew I wanted to be a lawyer, although no one knew that I secretly wanted to be a flight attendant, and oh, a model!

Then I went to college. I was involved in every single society, from the editorial team of the college newsletter, down to ballroom dancing! Oh, I was also chosen to be a Miss INTI contestant haha! That was my very brief moment of fame, although I withdrew from it at the very last minute. I didn't fancy the idea of parading myself in front of a bunch of young, hormone-driven men. I was a dedicated law student. Heck, I even dreamt of having an office in KLCC!

I didn't know how I ended up applying for an airline job, and subsequently got the job. But things happened for a reason, I've been told, and I haven't looked back since.

Today, I sit in the comfort of my home writing this, and boy, am I lucky or what? I don't have to wake up early every morning, brave through traffic to get to the office, only to sit at my desk doing lots of reading, then brave through another traffic to get home, prepare dinner, go to bed, and repeat the same process again, five times a week. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not showing off or anything like that.

I'm just lucky, that's all, and I want to count my blessings. I am no longer a feminist. I have adopted and agreed with the idealogy that men and women can never be equal. There will always be some form of discriminations, but I'm ok with this. After all, God made men and women different, and I've decided to embrace this thought.

Today, I think that nothing gives me greater satisfaction than seeing the faces of the children that I teach. I hope to one day experience the joy of seeing the smiles on my children's face.

Until then, I got to get this whole wedding thing done with! Seven months to go...

The makings of a beautiful bride

This whole 'getting married' thing is tiring! Ever since I announced my engagements, kind friends have been giving advices and sharing tips with me. "You should go organic!" "Eat your Vitamin C and Primrose Oil diligently!" "Do 1000 crunches a day!" "Take care of your skin!" "Wear sunblock!"

And so, each day, after a nice hot shower (AFTER my personal trainer has worked me off like an elephant in a circus!) I diligently cleanse, tone, splash on essence, moisturise, and apply sunblock. Then, prior to blow-drying my hair, I spray a heat protector at the roots of my hair, and when my hair is dry, I spray a hair mist so that it's silky and smooth. Sometimes, if I'm not in a hurry, I'd smear body butter all over.

At night, after shower, I repeat the same process, except that every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I also exfoliate, and put on a facial mask. Mondays and Fridays I do a moisturising mask, and Wednesdays, I purify.

Are you confused already? Don't get me started on my regime at the gym.

Mondays and Thursdays, I work with my personal trainer. Tuesdays, pilates. Wednesdays, spinning classes. Fridays, either yoga or some body works classes.

The pre-engaged me is so not like that at all! Sometimes, I'd only cleanse but omit the tone-essence-moisturise-sunblock step. I'm usually the 'in the shower, out of the shower in 5 minutes' kind of girl...and this whole beautifying myself for the wedding process takes over an hour, bath time not included!

Then again, I do want to have silky smooth skin, with a beautiful complexion, not to mention, hair that catches the wind...so, here we go, girl on a quest!

Of nudity

In case you're thinking that I've been too busy to blog due to the up-and-coming wedding, you're so wrong! :)

Instead, I've been hooked on Pet's Society and Restaurant City in Facebook, and I just can't stop. Also, I've been busy at the gym...you know, before one starts to prepare for the wedding, one has got to prepare the body for the big day, and that's what I'm doing now.

I know, some of you may say that I'm not fat. I never said I was. However, I want to be toned and fit. Think Michelle Obama's arms. Think skin-tight mermaid style gowns. Think toned shoulders, thighs and calves. Get the idea now?

Now, I'm never a fan of nudity. I don't like to display myself naked especially to strangers, and I don't fancy having nakedness being thrust full force into my face either. But this whole gym business is making my pulse race a little faster each time I step into the ladies' changing room.

On my maiden visit to the abovesaid changing room, I saw a HUGE pair of boobies staring straight at me. I turned away, of course! I wonder if the owner of the boobies felt no sense of embarrassment at all?

Today I had worse! I was happily walking into the changing room, looking forward to my Pilates class when wham! I came face to face with a fully naked skeleton! This woman was so skinny that I could see more bones than flesh, hence the skeleton. But that's not it. It's the nudity that makes me feel uncomfortable.

No, I don't wander around the changing room naked. After my gym session, I go into a curtained cubicle to peel off my dirty clothes and go back out to my locker wrapped in a towel. That's the most that I'd do - walking around wrapped in a towel. I just can't do it, I mean, I can't bring myself to strip in front of strangers, nor can I put on my clothings in front of others as if it's something I do everyday for a living. I just can't do it! Period.

Perhaps I should go to the male changing room instead? I wonder if they're more discreet over there?

The Proposal

It happened like this.

March 15, 2009

1700 hours: The pilot told me to be ready for dinner. "Why should I get ready so early?" I asked. "I'm taking you somewhere," was his reply.

1730 hours: The drive to the mystery place. Along the way, we played the guessing game. When I saw Batu Caves, I said, "I KNOW! You're taking me up Genting Highlands!" He grinned. The first thought that crossed my mind was, 'He's taking me up there to eat Ah Yat Abalone issit?'

1830 hours: Genting Highlands! Lucky thing I brought along a scarf, otherwise I would've frozen to death. I still didn't know where dinner would be. The pilot took me on a 1/2 hour walk from First World Hotel to the amusement centre, to Genting Hotel with me whining, "I'm hungry!"

1700 hours: At the lobby of Genting Hotel. We were walking around people-watching, when suddenly, the pilot made a sharp turn and half dragged me into The Olive Restaurant. My jaw dropped a little. It was a fancy restaurant with a romantic ambience. When the waiter asked if we wanted desserts, it did pop my mind that the pilot might propose, you know, hide the ring inside the tiramisu or something like that, but he wasn't into this kind of corny stuff. And I was right! So there goes my fantasy of being proposed to in a public area, and 1850m above sea level too, at that!

1830 hours: Baskin Robbins, sharing ice-cream. He looked and acted very normal. No sweaty palms, no stuttering words. I didn't smell a single rat.

2100 hours: The drive back to KL began. Halfway through, he asked if he could drop by at his parents' to collect his flying log book. (His parents were at their holiday apartment in Genting). I said 'ok'.

2200 hours: At this parents'. I wanted to use the toilet, so I went into his former room and was greeted with a surprise. The air-conditioning in the room was left running! I turned to look at the pilot, who in turn smiled at my coyly. Something in his smile told me that something's gonna happen! :)

2215 hours onwards: We hung around in his old room chatting, and when I asked if he wanted to go back to our own home, he said to wait a little longer. Then he asked me this, "Darling, can I press that pimple on your forehead?" What the...! I said, "NO!" He said, "Well, if you let me press I'll give you something." Ok, I'm a sucker for this whole 'something' affair, so after he's done pressing (and causing me a hell lot of pain too!) I was told to close my eyes, and when I opened them again, I saw a huge bouquet of flowers staring at me.

The pilot was kneeling on the platform bed when he gave me the flowers. As he was facing me, he held my hands and gently took out the ring that he'd bought for me 3 1/2 years ago for my birthday. It's our so-called 'promise ring'. He played with the ring for a while - inspecting it, rubbing it against his shirt etc. - and then he suddenly asked me this, "Darling, if I had asked you to marry me 3 1/2 years ago with this ring, would you have said 'yes'?"

Without thinking, I said, "YES!" Then he gave me his coy Mickey Mouse smile, looked me in the eyes, and said, "Will you marry me?" And you know what? I fell onto the bed and started laughing! I seriously thought he was joking! I mean, with that Mickey Mouse face...I just couldn't help it! Then he pulled me up and said, "Darling, I'm serious you know..."

I cleared my throat and looked at him. He said, still smiling, "Be my wife?" while holding out my promise ring. In my heart I thought, 'What lar this fler...wanna propose oso upgrade lar the ring a bit...ni, use back same ring oni...'

But still, I said 'yes' lar. :) And then he slipped the promise ring back onto my ring finger.

He then told me to close my eyes. (Yes, we like to play this 'close your eyes' game a lot!) When I opened my eyes again, he held out a rosewood box and it was then that my heart began to beat soooooooo fast! I was positive that the rosewood box held something beautiful inside. After all, I've been with him long enough to know that he isn't the type to stroll into a jewellery store and just pick something. And I wasn't disappointed! He had the ring custom-made to the setting that I like. It was also a perfect fit, mind you.

So there, my proposal story. Sorry it came a little late, but hey, better late than never, no? :)

The anniversary, Part 2

One month and six days ago, the pilot and I celebrated our 4th year together. I received a beautiful watch and some very lovely flowers. What I didn't tell you is that I also received something else.

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That 'something else' came inside a rosewood box.


And in it held the most beautiful ring ever - a ring custom-made for me.


I know, I know...my bad for keeping this so long, but the pilot wanted to ask my parents' permission for my hand in marriage first, and now that he's done so and we've finalised the wedding date and venue, here goes people...

I AM ENGAGED! :)

Ever since I announced my engagement, I have been bombarded with questions like, 'How did he propose?' 'When did he propose?' 'Did you cry?'

But then again, do you really want to know? *wink*