Girls Only

Jo's amazing girlfriends who made it all possible - thanks guys! :)

What do you get when you put six girls together for an entire night? Why, a solid few hours of good food, fun, nonsense, mind-boggling games, laughter and a sleepless night for the neighbours.

It was the start of yet another weekend, but this weekend was different because it had been blocked for a girls' night out. If Jo recalls correctly, the last time she actually hung out with the girls was a good eight years back when all of them were still young, ravishing, eager beavers who were looking for every and any opportunity to spend the night at someone's place.

With those days long gone and everyone getting caught up in the rat race and their own commitments, it was a nice change to once again re-live those memories and rekindle friendships that have been tainted by the elements of time and circumstance.

It was guised as a simple farewell dinner for one of the girls who was to leave for distant shores in a couple of weeks. Over plates of humongous pizzas, extra cheesy pasta, and a semi-melted dessert, the evening was shaped by mindless chatter and amateur shutterbugs having a go at the best artistic shot they could produce.

Our scrumptious dinner turned supper - yum!

With everyone's tummies filled and some whose brains were already in hibernation mode, we headed back to where we would spend the night. An episode or two of Style by Jury was followed by a round of card games and eventually the 'surprise' bridal shower programme that all of the other girls knew about.

It was a hilarious, yet meaningful time as each offered some words of wisdom and presented their meaning-laden gifts which ranged from cereals to body scrubs to abstract piano pieces. While these items will eventually deplete with consumption, the memories will last for a lifetime. And to help us reminisce on the good times a few years down the line, here's a record of what we were up to that night:

Behind the scenes ...



... and what transpired after.

(Food, was of course, still an integral part of the programme!)

Wedding Registry

People generally say that it is always better to be debt-free rather than possession-rich. So, even a few simple coloured notes are always better than nice little gift items. But if there are those among you who really feel strongly about getting something for us, here are some examples to get the ball rolling:

1. A DIY veggie tray/rack (those hydrophonic ones complete with instruction manual and seeds) - We were told recently that most of the vegetables for local consumption are imported from Thailand. Apparently, the ones we import and eat do not gain entry into the Singapore market due to the high pesticide level.

2. Space travel - It is Jo's greatest wish to do a bit of earth orbiting. I think the Russian space programme has provisions for people with some loose change of about US20 million to spend on a seat in a rocket. If that's too excessive, I personally think Jo will settle for a multi-day hiking trip in New Zealand.

3. LCD TV (DONOR IDENTIFIED!) - We know, we know ... everyone wants one too. So, maybe if you are planning to buy one for yourself, just check whether if there is a 'buy one free one' offer. We don't mind taking the black one.

4. Free laundry and ironing services for a year - Since we do not have a washing machine, we're still debating who is to do what. I wash and she irons or I fold and she dries or I see and she does? Such services will help solve our problem. We just need to decide who drops off the clothes and who picks them up.

5. In-built oven - We hope to use the house we have been blessed with for hospitality purposes. I was told that Jo makes a killer English bread pudding. An oven will ensure that our guests (like yourself) get the chance to enjoy food which is not grilled or fried (OK, OK, fine - I want to eat too).

6. Elephant ride - We've booked ourselves a flight to Chiang Mai a few days after the wedding. My personal opinion? Forget about the night bazaar, the craft market, the ancient city walls and the numerous temples - a ride around the city on elephant back would be oh-so-fun!

7. Canon IXUS 960IS - Ever since someone got her new 8 megapixel 4x zoom complete with image stabilizer camera, we have been envying her with disgust. It's a little silly, yes. After all, Jo's 4 year old 3.2 megapixel still works albeit some kinks here and there. Humans are just so materialistic, huh?

8. Cool-ish car - Our marriage counsellor claims that husbands should never buy their wives half-past-six cars. He says that cars bought for wives should look decent and presentable in the eyes of her friends and colleagues. He says that because ladies are only concerned about the car's look and will probably keep them for ages, it is alright to buy them nice enough cars. Now, there goes my plans of getting her a Volkswagen T1c Kombi (Transporter) or a Land Rover Series III (1971-1985).

9. Grimlock, dinobot - Apparently, the Classics line was released in December 2006. Grimlock, the leader of the Dinobots was repackaged with a totally new mold and a flexible articulated tail. A 3-inch titanium version was also released that same year.

10. You - While a cash gift or any one of the ideas above will be useful and nice, ultimately, your presence at our wedding is what we will truly value. So, lets get those RSVPs going ok?

Dreams

The edge of her dress got caught under the door and ripped. Some well meaning soul came to the rescue by snipping off the jagged edges but that only made things worse as her train was now asymmetrical. Horrified, she tried not to let it bother her by focussing her attention elsewhere.

As she made her way out the door, she realized that she hadn't shaved and headed back into the bathroom to get it done. Her gown got soaked and she came out dripping, as the floor was still wet from her earlier bath.

While all this drama was going on, a few hundred guests were kept waiting in the church for more than an hour, wondering when she would finally arrive. And when she did, the alarm went off, awakening her from her sub-conscious that seemed all too real.

Overtime

Long days, packed weekends and lack of sleep is a sure recipe for exhaustion. It's a wonder that we haven't dropped dead at the rate we are going! With less than three months to go, the amount of work is building with deadline after deadline to meet.

Put simply, we clock a seven day work week now - with paid work to sustain our expenses on weekdays, and wedding related work reserved for after hours and weekends. And to think that the added stress of relocating hasn't even been factored in yet!

One good thing which may possibly ensue is a natural remedy for weight loss.

Holes In Our Pockets

Hotel accomodation, 100 THB.
Air tickets, RM305.
Transportation, 500 THB.
Gifts for attendants and helpers, 7000 THB.
Trip to Bangkok, priceless!

Ahh ... our recent shopping escapade was definitely a fruitful one. Considering that we left with hardly any luggage and came back worrying whether the customs officers would tax us on our purchases, it was a very successful, albeit short trip.

Barely into the second day and hardly a few hours at Chatuchak, we found ourselves running out of dough! Try as we may to stretch whatever cash we had, we resorted to desperate measures even if it meant losing out due to unfavourable exchange rates.

(Our travel buddies were rather amused that we actually went back to Chatuchak the following day despite having spent a full day there. But hey, we find that there's never quite enough time to browse through every single stall no matter how many times you've been there before!)

With our cash well spent and bags loaded with goodies, we survived our final day in Bangkok by making sure the places we patronised accepted 'plastic money' as payment. Perhaps we overdid it a little as our indulgence in pork ribs at Mr Roma's reached the point where we over-estimated how much we could actually stuff in to our tummies :p