The Wedding Woes

I have friends telling me stories about how couples break up due to disagreements between the couple while planning the wedding. But no one mentioned how parents make things difficult for you. Too bad you can’t break up with your parents. Just have to deal with it. That sucks.

With the wedding date looming (the wedding day is in 4 months), many plans have to start taking shape. Say example, the parents have to meet up to discuss the betrothal. It was arranged for this coming Saturday. However, to my dismay, my father asked me some rather ridiculous questions. Below is a summary:

- How much should I ask for? If you ask me, of course is as much as possible la! (He really think I’m a piece of goods for trading)

- Liquour? Also as much as possible la!

- How much do you think you are worth? I have supported you for 10 years. Discount abit la. Let’s go by 10 years for the calculation. You count you one month earn how much then multiply by 10 years lo. That should be the amount I am asking. (For goodness sake, how much I earn now has nothing to do with you. I paid for my own degree and support myself via part-time jobs during school. You did not give me any allowances during uni times. I got my job through my own capability. I don’t owe u my job and my salary.)

- Don’t want anything also can. Say you leave me a room in your new house so that I can move in with you and rent out the current house. Lidat I can earn rent. The rent can be considered repayments. (WTF??!! Do I have to thank you for your consideration? If I want to stay with you, why the hell did I go spend money to buy a new house??!!)

Above are just some examples that really get on my nerves. I NEVER say I will not support you. I NEVER say I will not take care of my parents. But why do you have to do this to me??!! Seriously, I have to say, it’s a damn lucky thing you do not have a son. Else, how the world are you able to fork out the exorbitant amount of betrothal sum for the bride’s family? Please la. Don’t ask for something that you yourself can’t even provide for. Move in with me? And if my in-laws also want to move it? You really think 3 families can live together happily ever after? I can’t even stand talking to you for 5 minutes in the same house now. What makes you think I want to stay with you for the rest of my life?

Don’t go over-board. I am not to be bullied. Not even by my own parents. I go by my principles of values and reasonings. And now, my reasoning is, no one is paying for my wedding other than me and my husband. Thus, no one makes the call other than us.

So as of now, no need for parents meetup. Cause I don’t want anything from the in-laws. Nothing to discuss. No need for betrothal. No need for guo da li. Everything shall be as simple as possible.

Please. Don’t make me hate you anymore than I do now. Don’t be ridiculously overboard. Don’t think in you old-fashioned way. The world has changed. However, not much more different cause when you got married, you also did not give ah ma anything!

Seriously! I am damn pissed.

Furthermore, the planning of the wedding, the details, are already taxing and stressful enough. But they seemed not to understand and did not help to make things easier. Planning of tables ar? You know who are the people what? You don’t know how to plan yourself meh? WTF. When I ask them, they tell me things like that, Don’t blame me if you are not happy with the table arrangement. Don’t blame me when I did not invite the people you want to invite. Seriously, I don’t really care if those relatives, whom I see a few times a year, attend my wedding or not. I don’t care if I serve them tea or not.

It’s my wedding. My call.

Celebrating 10 years of friendship in Hanoi

Just touched down Singapore yesterday after 4 days in Hanoi. Lemme summarize the trip with a few paragraphs.

Hanoi Old Centre Hotel
Hotel staffs are wonderful. Being attentive in all aspects from carrying our luggages to offering us watermelons on a super hot and humid day, they never fail to attend to our smallest needs. Special thanks to Ms Thuy, who is very hospitable during our stay in Hanoi.

Being Singaporeans (who are very critical I have to say), we are really pleased with the hotel. Though it’s small, it’s really comfortable and clean. On our 2nd last night in Hanoi, we left the kettle boiling in the room and went out. The kettle was burnt dry with a charred smell lingering in the room by the time we got back to the hotel. I really am shocked and scared. But the hotel staff handled it with absolute professionalism and did not request for us to compensate. This surprised me and I really have to give them another thumbs up for such good service!

Breakfast was simple and not bad, especially for the room rate that we are paying (USD29/night/room). They even decorated the bed with rose petals for all rooms. The only regretful thing is the hotel airport transfer, which is hot and stuffy and cramp. But, oh well, it’s cheap. :S

Would definitely recommend this hotel to friends who are visiting Hanoi! Bought them a small card for thanks and gave them some tips. They were really modest too!

Old Quarter
Had a walk around the famous Hoam Kiem lake when we reach Hanoi Old Quarter. The lake is packed with people lazing around chitchatting and taking pictures and exercising under the hot, humid “crazy” weather. Amazed, is the only word I could think of!

And the roads. It’s unimaginable! People cross the roads as if they are as durable as the cars. And horning the car horns are pretty common on the roads. The roads and horns and people put together, it’s really a hazard. If you don’t have a certain amount of balls, you would most definitely be stuck forever at one side of the road. Don’t even think about traffic lights. I swear there are only a handful of traffic lights in Hanoi and I ain’t sure if they are working!

Foot Massages
Nothing fantastic. Those in Bangkok are way better and cheaper. And the masseurs in Hanoi loves to sweet-talk you and “force” you to pay them tips. Not small tips, mind you. But tips that are almost as much as the cost of your massage. My take? Don’t do massage if you don’t really want to be blackmailed.

Halong Bay
Best scenery in Hanoi! The water is so beautiful and clear you can see the jellyfishes and squids. The horizon is beautiful and so are all the rocks and cliffs and caves. Visited a limestone cave. It was so cooling inside with all the amzing structure. Words can’t describe them all. You have to be there to see it. But again, some say you can find the same scenery in China. Haha!

Only regretful thing? I did not get to jump overboard the cruise into the Halong Bay waters. Watching the Caucasians do it, I am full of envy!

Great Company

Travelling with Hubby, Xin, QY, Ang anf her bf this time round. A regret that Aar and Syl couldn’t join us. The company was great. I have to say, this trip was better than Bali last year. We really entertained ourselves irritating each other the whole trip. But it was kinda fun. And pretty warm. I guess you can only do this with really close friends! =)

Already pinning for our next trip. Jiu Zai Gou. Australia. States. Philippines.

Which one next!??!! =P

Updates on overseas trips!

1. April 2007 – Taipei, Taiwan

2. July 2007 – Penang, Malaysia

3. June 2008 – Hong Kong

4. May 2009 – Korea

5. November 2009 – Bangkok, Thailand

6. December 2009 – Tokyo, Japan

7. June 2010 – Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

8. July 2010 – Bangkok, Thailand

9. November 2010 – Batam, Indonesia

10. May 2011 – Genting, Malaysia

11. May 2011 – Bali, Indonesia

12. August 2011 – Bangkok, Thailand

13. December 2011 – Malacca, Malaysia

14. February 2012 – Hong Kong

15. May 2012 – Hanoi, Vietnam

Just booked a trip to Phuket in Sep/Oct 12 but not confirmed yet. Planning Taiwan in Jan 13 and Italy in April 13.

So excited!!

“We don’t accept coins more than $2″ policy

“We don’t accept coins more than $2″ policy.

How many of you know about this policy?

Apparently, there really is such regulation. According to Singapore’s Currency Act Chapter 69, PART III CURRENCY,

Authority to have sole right to issue currency; legal tender

13.

(3)  Coins issued by the Authority, if the coins have not been illegally dealt with, shall be legal tender up to their face value in Singapore as follows:

(a) in the case of coins of a denomination exceeding 50 cents — for the payment of any amount;

(b) in the case of coins of a denomination of 50 cents — for the payment of an amount not exceeding $10; and

(c) in the case of coins of a denomination lower than 50 cents — for the payment of an amount not exceeding $2.

 [2/69; 11/82; 3/91; 25/2002]

And the story began….

Walked into Admiralty Prime Supermarket at approximately 11.20pm just now. After picking up all the stuff we wanna buy, we proceed to the counter to make payment for a grand total of $4.85. I gave the cashier 2 $1 coins, 2 50cents coin, 5 20cents coins, 8 10cents coins and1 5 cent coin.

The cashier auntie, while picking up the coins to put into the cash drawer, says in chinese: Next time hor, cannot give so many coins. Coins not more than $2.

??? I was like? Coins not money meh? So I asked, is this a policy? She say ya is policy. She went further to add on that some customers paid with $20++ coins and we also don’t want to receive too many coins for our change. I have never heard of the policy. And please la. I gave her $4.85 worth of coins not $20. And I am quite sure having located  near a wet market in the neighbourhood, surely there are alot of housewives with lots of coins patroning the supermarket. What are they gonna do? Turn away all the customer?

Furthermore, it’s 11.44pm. The place is really quiet. There is no queue behind me. Seriously, what is the problem? If this is the so-called policy the cashier is refering to, then I would like to point out to the Currency Act that I have extracted above:

(c) in the case of coins of a denomination lower than 50 cents — for the payment of an amount not exceeding $2.

You want to be particular? Then I will be too. The coins that I paid with, it only comes up to $1.85 for denomination lower than 50cents. Technically, it is still allowed under the act. And thus, I wanna make a complaint! I am so disappointed by them. I also thought of a celever way, that is to split all the different items into different receipts. No problem of coins exceeding $2 already. And even if I wanna pay $20 worth of purchase with coins, legally I can as long I keep to the limits!

Extending the supermarket hours to 24hours operation, I am guessing that they are hoping to attract more customers and also be more customer-centric. Furthermore, it’s late at night. Not as if I paid with $20 worth of coins during peak hour with many people waiting behind me.

With such customer service and attitude of the cashiers, I wonder how they survive. I will now avoid going to that place as much as possible!

Boyfriend Leave

Hubby proposed a new scheme for civil servants today.

We were talking about childcare leave, child sick leave and parent care leave when he suddenly had this idea. “why isn’t there boyfriend leave? Since the government is promoting marriages, this kinda leave will encourage many people to go into a relationship!”

Haha! So I say, does that mean the more boyfriends I have, the more leaves I’m entitled? And how do you determine whether that boyfriend is a real thing or not?

And he says the staff can produce Facebook status print screen and must be in a relationship with the same person for at least 3 months to apply. Each staff is entitled to 3 days of boyfriend leave: valentine’s day, boyfriend’s birthday and anniversary date.

LOL~ funny hor.. If such leaves are implemented, can imagine all the funny situations that will arise!

Amusing though…

Tense Up!

Just tried my 1st bottle last night. 9 more bottles to go. I only bought one box back from HongKong.

If it works (visible results), I guess I will continue taking it everyday. Even though it’s kinda pricey. Ok, very pricey I mean. =P

But if I get the required results, why not! Afterall, I counted one month worth of tense-up is probably around the cost of my one month facial. HAHA! So I hope it works so that I can go facial less often. Drinking collagen is definitely way faster and convenient than visiting the beautician once a month!

Bad English

I cannot help but post this. Came across this post while I was reading a forum. No offense. But this is very bad english. Please don’t learn! I hope I don’t kana complain and there’s no copyright for this! =P

Brought my wife and my in laws to try this american style dinning place. Located right behing Toy R us and too bad they dont really like it. As they a true Chinese dinning food an old fashion i should said.

It’s a sunday and the is pax with american army and family group. So its noisy and there is Rock Music. It was a sunday and there is not live music. As i asked one of the stuff. Price is quite normal for dinning but only the portion is Huge. Ok American Style, but it very enjoying and great to bring Family members to enjoy. Love it.The Ambience is quite of small for a well known restuarant. But the service staff they are great, not rude and very polite and get things in a speedy way. I like it. At less u will feel comfortable in there places.

Ok my in Laws, i order for them the Mixed Combo (beef, chic & prawn) Fajitas for them to share. My wife she ordered the Honey Citrus Grilled Chicken Salad and i orderd the beef brisket. Ok the fajitas is good and it serve in Hot Plate, with tortillas, lettuce and Chili Bean with 3 type of sauce. But for the Main items is too full of the spices and make my in law uncomfortable and they have to drink lots of water. (As they told, its spicy in a pepper way…Oh ok??)

For my Wife’s Salad…OMG It’s huge, but taste is good as its has a sweet and orange taste but the chicken is dried and tough. I should said its bad for the chicken. My piece of advice ladies if you trying this. I suggest take that as your main course. It’s a huge portion.

Ok my beef brisket is good not that bad, not tough and easily slice them. But i just wonder why Americans love their food in a very dried way ??. So i have ask for the BBQ sauce to go with it. The fries is good as usual i’m a fries lover.

Overall from everyone its not bad.

I would recommend this area for birthday celebration, corporate function.

Cheers Mates

Do n’ Don’t (s) this CNY

Shared this from Yahoo! News. A good refresher course for young people!

And a Happy Chinese New Year to everyone!

http://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/blogs/en-sg-blogs-shopaholic-articles-specials/chinese-don-ts-065623760.html

Don’t know much about the upcoming season? What about your knowledge of the holidays — is it getting a bit rusty? Avoid embarrassing or awkward situations with our quick round-up of Chinese New Year habits and customs.

Do… remove your shoes
When visiting a friend, remove your shoes at the entrance as you would in most Asian homes. Shoes may bring in dirt and dust. Remember that homeowners aren’t allowed to sweep their houses on the first day of the festival — it’s considered bad luck.

Do… bring a gift
It is customary to exchange a pair of mandarin oranges with your host, a gesture that wishes him or her an auspicious and prosperous New Year. This practice dates back to ancient China, where public officials, mandarins, will pass the delectable fruits around as gifts during the festive season. It was no coincidence the fruit matched their bright orange court robes. Hosts will also welcome any additional gifts of fruits, food and alcohol.

Do… give red packets
It is also customary for married individuals to distribute red packets to single unmarried individuals as a token. Prepare the red packets with crisp new notes, and make sure the sum is an even number — giving an odd sum is considered bad luck. You will not want to mess with a centuries-old tradition which predates to a small village in the Song Dynasty period. According to legend, a young orphan helped to slay a huge demon which was plaguing the village – and in gratitude, the village elders presented him a red envelop filled with money for his courage in saving them.

Do… say positive things
You want to start off on a good note. By only talking about pleasant things and wishing your friends and family well, you ensure a smooth and auspicious transition to the year ahead.

Do… wear red
It is the best colour to wear during this season not only because it is considered lucky, but because its vibrant hue is considered appropriate for festive celebrations.

Don’t… wear black or white
Associated with death, these colours are considered unlucky and a fashion faux pas during the lunar festival.

Don’t… finish everything on your plate
Most Chinese mothers want their children to finish up every grain of rice on their plate during mealtimes, the opposite holds true for reunion dinners. You should always leave some food- especially fish- on your plate, so that symbolically some of the money you’ve earned from the previous year will be carried over to the New Year.

Don’t… cut your hair
By cutting your hair within the first 15 days of the New Year, you could be ‘snipping’ your wealth away.

Don’t… handle books, pears or clocks
All these objects have negative connotations attached to them, so try not to touch or use them during the festive season. Try not to read books in the presence of mahjong players, serve pears to your friends and family, or prepare clocks as gifts during this period.

There are so many traditions and customs to follow during Chinese New Year, but do remember that it’s a time to relax with your friends and family. The season is about being with them, after all.

Wander

Having chronic dreams about people I should have long forgotten puts me at great unease.

And so, I started Friday the thirteenth feel a sense of unsettlement. Things that you had been trying so hard to hide, creeps up on you unexpectedly.

In the dream, I kept chasing and you kept on running. What does that mean?

No more facial

Even though I keep complaining that their service sucks, but their products are indeed kind to my skin. And so, I signed another package with Modern Beauty ( previously known as Giman Beauty) once again.

This is my 5th package with them ALREADY. I know I know. It’s crazy. And I hope this is the last package I sign up with them before I finish paying off my debts.

真是一屁股的债!

Oh ya. They are finally a listed company. Making big money yeah?!?

Gonna go home and tabulate my monthly installments liaoz. Stress.

But my skin is really smoother now. Clean of those little oil bumps that grow mostly on my cheeks and chin. 27 this year liaoz. Gonna need more effort in this upkeeping. Keep the wrinkles and pimples away!!

Summary of my packages:
- lymphatic massage
- normal body massage
- super VIP facials
- LED light treatment
- crystal treatment

Almost forgot to mention that I should probably add one more thing into my 2012 New Year resolution. No more new packages for the next 20 months!