Missing in Taiwan

Sorry I've been postless for so long.  The reason is that I flew to Taiwan on the 25th to get married.  Well, I'm not exactly married yet, but Chris and I flew back a week early to get a few things ready and prepare for our wedding on June 1st.

One of which includes taking our wedding pictures.  This is also the first time you see us.  Hi World, sorry it took so long for us to gather the courage to show our face.  However, as they say, first impression counts the most.  So, here we are at our finest.  I'm kidding, of course.

 
The photographer is Chris' friend and he, in particular, loves to take action shots - the jumping kind...so naturally, we jumped - or at least, I attempted to jump in my dress and all.  Turned out okay, no?

This last one is sort of my favourite.  We didn't anticipate we would end up with a series of shots like these.  Chris and I bought these giant bows for Halloween last year and we thought we would simply bring them along just in case.

Well in this case, we put them to good use.  What do you think?

 So, here we are, 2 more days until the wedding and I have broke out in rash.  These kinds of things always happen, don't they?

Wish us luck!

Us

I found this photo online and I love it.  It's us.

You know how in Lord of the Rings when the ring is destroyed, everything else is destroyed with it......

or in Harry Potter when Voldermort is killed, everything also comes to an end? 

Well, I think that's how I will feel from now until July 1st.  It's kinda great!  =)

A day (and a half) in my Life

A typical day in my life is, to be honest, not that exciting.  It involves me getting up, getting dressed, and going to the office.

But on some days, I do think it is a bit out of the ordinary.  Let me try to explain.

For many of us, a typical day - a normal day - is a day that is not out of the ordinary.  We dine at our usual venue, wait at the same bus stop, walk the same route, and see the same scenery.  Essentially, it means that we go through our day with the same group of people.  If you work in an office setting, you dine at places that are full of people like you; when you wait at the bus stop, you are also with people who dress like you.  In other words, you rarely meet anyone that is different, out of your social circle and different from your circumstance.

What I notice about my day is that it's not like that, at all.  When I go to work in the morning (way past the rush hour), I don't see office-goers; I actually see a lot grandmas out and about doing grocery shopping.  They talk about the sales that are going on at the markets, the fish, the meat and all the "little things" in life.

When I'm at work, my colleagues (tenured professors) talk about totally different things: ideas, concepts, abstract things.  Most of them drive to work and they are quite well off.  They eat at fancy restaurants and live a life that is above the average income earner.  I certainly don't fit into that high society, but that's where I work.

At lunch time, instead of dining with my colleagues at restaurants that I can't afford, I do take-outs like many of my students.  So yes, I would be that person with a window office, overlooking the great harbour view, and chowing down a burger. 

And when it's time to go home, again, I don't go the same way as my colleagues.  Instead, I walk down from the university campus to where stay-at-home moms pick up their kids from school and head home to prepare dinner.

So you see, my whole day consists of blending in with very different groups of people, literally, from each social class - from the poor and needy to the freshies who are just starting out, to the well-off "upper class" and finally, to the middle class stay-at-home moms.

And that is my typical day....and here are the pictures to prove it.


Beginning from yesterday:

I invigilated the exam for my course.  This was taken about 10 minutes before the students came in for the exam.

 
Early next morning:

 

I lined up to buy these famous cookies from this store.  These are all tourists.  I was the only local who bought a big enough suitcase to fill 20 boxes of cookies.  Does this sound crazy or what?  These are for Chris, not for me.  I ended up taking a taxi home because I couldn't manage the suitcase.  I looked like a crazy tourist. 

At lunch, I ate a restaurant near my house.  Here, I'm sitting with grandmas and grandpas and a lot of construction workers who are on their lunch break.

 

One of my favorite dishes is rice in tomato sauce.  It doesn't look appetizing here, I know.  But trust me, it's good.

After lunch, taking the mini-bus back to the office.  Again, I'm surrounded by tourists, students, grandmas and foreign maids.

Arrived at the office and began marking. Bumped into my colleagues dressed in suits and dresses.  Me?  I'm in jeans, T-shirt, and sandals.  Totally office appropriate =P

 

What about you?  What's your life like?  Do you live in one social zone or multiple social zones?

We start from zero [weekend update]

A lot happened this weekend.  So, I'll begin with this...

Chris and I watched Iron Man 3 this weekend and as everyone said, it was really amazing.  It is indeed one of the best trilogies I've seen since Lord of the Rings.  The movie is 130 mins long, but you wouldn't feel it.  There were no slow parts.  Chris and I were at the edge of our seats the whole way through.

We loved it.

Prior to the start of the weekend, I also watched this movie below.  If you are interested, here the Link! to watch it online.

3 idiots was recommended by a colleague of mine.  He came by my office one day and couldn't stop talking about this movie.  He told me it's a must-see for all in the teaching profession because it wonderfully shows how students perceive education and the stress they go through in the process.

It is not one of the typical Bollywood movies though there are songs and dance.  It is a delightful movie with a great message:  Follow Excellence...Success will chase you, pants down.

You all have heard of this before.  Very often, our parents will discourage us to pursue the arts or the music or any other subjects because it will not get you a job.  They say, "You don't want to study that.  You won't get a job." 

Well, the point of this movie is the very opposite.  It says, "Study whatever you like.  If you love it enough and do it well enough, somebody will offer you a job for it."

I think it's a great message.  And as I'm heading into my last week of class, I will definitely pass on this message to my students. 

Now, to the last bit that I want to share with you in this long post.  Chris and I were on the bus heading to the subway station and we were discussing about our future, what we want to do after we come back...etc.  We kept going in circles and weren't able to work out anything.

Then he said, "From now on, I don't think we should talk about what are we going to do after the trip.  Otherwise, what would be the point of our trip?  We go on the trip to figure exactly that!  We will start fresh.  We start from zero."

We start from zero. 

I like that.  That's indeed how I feel.

came, saw, and decided...?

Another weekend update?  Sort of...

I hope everyone had a good weekend.  Mine was all cooked-up.  Chris came over Saturday afternoon and told me, "Honey, my co-workers love your beef stew.  One of them said he would pay $200 for a huge batch.  Do you think you can make it?"

0_0"  [stunned]

Me: Are you serious?  
Chris: Yeah...I think so.

Meanwhile, Chris got a phone call from the very co-worker to enquire about the beef situation.

Me: Was that just him calling?  
Chris: Yeah, he's serious.

And so began a whole Sunday morning cooking escapade.  Chris has actually never seen me cook the beef stew from scratch before and naturally, he was quite curious (and excited) to see what I do in the kitchen.  Well, to be frank, he doesn't see me in the kitchen all that often because I actually never go in there that often.  So, he's very keen on checking things out whenever I'm in there.

It's pretty funny because on the one hand, I'm trying to get this stew done while on the other hand, I have this giant (aka Chris because he's very tall) right next to me watching and attempting to help.

Anyway, long story short, we got it done and it looked yummy.  Chris will report back to me tonight.  Can't wait to hear the verdict.

So, about the title of this post!

After a full morning of cooking, Chris and I decided to chill out at a beachy / local market area in the afternoon.  While we were walking around, he said to me, "You know, I think we will probably end up in China by the time we come back from our trip."

Me: Really....China
Chris: Yeah, I feel it.
Me: So where in China?  Shanghai?
Chris: Probably not since it's already a developed city.  It's probably going to be a secondary city that the PRC government is trying to develop.  Things are still relatively cheap, but it's got huge potential.
Me: Cool.  

What do you think?

A mini 4 day vacation

With the Easter weekend and all, I had myself a mini 4 day vacation.  I snuck out of office extra early and headed straight to Chris' for the long weekend.

Chris was on call for all 4 days (meaning he's not allowed to go anywhere), so this essentially meant that we were holed up in his room for the whole time....eating, watching movies, planning our trip, and taking care of my swollen elbow.

Chris has marble floors and I slipped on them on my way to the bathroom...and BANG!!...I hit my head (quite hard) and landed on my bum and elbow.  My behind was fine (luckily), but my elbow was immovable for the first night.  It was painful.

Now (several days since that incident), I'm doing much better.  At least, I can raise and move my arm again. 

You know, even though it was just a 4 day semi-get-away, I felt like I was gone for much longer.  It had that long vacation feel because I was doing such different things from what I would normally do on weekends.  So, when I finally got home yesterday night, I had that feeling when I hadn't been home for a long time.  And it was nice.

To add to this, the academic term is almost over....3 more weeks and I'm done....so, the feeling of vacation, of getting away, of freedom, of starting new is creeping in.....I feel like it's happening.

And I love this feeling - this feeling you get when you are near the end of finishing something and at the cusp of beginning something new.  It really does look like the bright light at the end of the tunnel.  The feeling is wonderful......it's actually quite addictive.

Addictive - life should be addictive,  no?  =)

Spring break? What? No!

No, this will not be a post about spring break.  I know many of you are busy planning your getaway, but I will not be talking about spring break / reading week.

Instead, I want to talk about how marriage legitimizes you as a person. 

What? Come again?

Yes, because I do feel this way.  As I read the news today about the US Supreme Court and their decision to hear the case of same sex marriage, I can't help but to think about it and write about it. 

Ever since I got married 2 weeks ago, I realize that I feel different.  I don't necessarily look better in any way, but I feel more confident, precisely, more LEGITIMATE.

The sense of legitimacy comes from the fact that I now, in the eyes of my peers, friends, society, am a person with a known status.  I no longer need to qualify / describe my relationship with Chris as the boyfriend, significant other or partner. 

You all know that awkwardness you get when you introduce that person as your boyfriend, significant other or partner.  The underlying message is that this relationship - no matter how loving or how stable it has been for the past 20 years - is not recognized or acceptable because you are not "married".

With marriage, you almost immediately have a legitimate claim to....well, your existence, your way of life, or just life itself!   

I never thought that I, as an educated and modern woman, would ever feel this way and yet, I do.  I never thought that marriage would legitimize my sense of existence and my sense of self the way that it has.  Never. 

So, when people say "Marriage is the best thing that has happened to me".  I believe them.  NOW, I believe them.

For me, marriage is legitimization.  If it can have this effect on me, then I am sure it can have the same effect on many many others out there.

And to think that this - this process of legitimization - is not available to everyone....just the thought of that.....is *shakes my head* u-n-b-e-l-i-e-v-a-b-l-e. 

Chestnut Love

I know this may be a little weird (or maybe not), but I have a developed a liking of eating roasted chestnuts.  Part of the reason is that there's a specialty store that sells it near where we live.  So, it's quite convenient to hop it, buy a bag, and munch away.

And interestingly, Chris has taken notice of this habit of mine and he would buy me a bag whenever we passed by the store.  Especially last night when I was coming down with a cold, an awful awful cold - I am still bed-ridden today, having a stash in the house just made me feel...well, that much better.  It puts me in a good mood.

A bit weird, I know....but it puts a smile on my face =)

 

Mrs - Now!

"Chris, take care of my daughter."  

Now repeat that 20 times over the course of 5 days.  This is the one thing that my dad kept saying to Chris during our wedding registration weekend. 

Poor Chris....LOL....but he seems to be handling the married life just fine - for now.  In fact, he's been quite happy ever since Saturday.

That night - when all is said and done - Chris was having a hard time sleeping.  I asked him why and he said he was too happy.  As for me, I was so tired that I was pretty much out of it the moment I hit the pillow.

Chris: "I know, I saw you fell asleep.  I was awake the whole night."

LOL =D

Be Supportive!

So this is my Aunt's reply to my email (after I told her that we may need to push the wedding ahead one more time - I'll fill you in the details below)

"Haha ... I know that's what you want --> skip the wedding. Stop dreaming, that's impossible for Chris' family. If you remember, I had to do the same when I got married (to your Uncle).

I'm sure Chris knows how to handle the situation; we just go along with what Chris says; be supportive!

Take care,
Aunt"

So the details....

Chris' grandma called him several days ago and said, "I hope I'll be able to make it to your wedding in June."  O....m.....g.......

And that's why we may need to move the wedding early in case..........

Hence, my Aunt's reply. 

Chris is......

............kinda crazy in a cute way.

He's been obsessing over our wedding invitation over the past few days. And it's not even the official printed invitation.  We are talking about the facebook - online - invitation/announcement.

He would ask me questions like,

How do you like this picture as the cover?  
What about this one?
Is the font too small?
Does this sound right?
I think I like the other one better.  You?

Is he not crazy or what?  LOL....he's is cute.  I never thought he would be this way. 

Wait until we have a kid......

On the road...

I'm glad I was able to walk the last little bit with you, Grandma.  You did good.

My grandma passed away in the hospital yesterday at 2am in the morning.  My uncle and I stayed with her until the end.  She went in peace, in her sleep.

We watched as the heartbeats fluctuated.  In certain times, we thought this was it, but then she came back with the beats.  This went on from yesterday morning to when I arrive at 8:30pm and finally at 2:00am.

So for me, there will be no Four Weddings and a Funeral (as in the movie), but 1 funeral and 1 wedding happening all at the same time.

Life.  That's the irony.

  

He wants this, but I want that

Chris and I, not surprisingly, have totally different ideas of how our wedding should be.  He wants a big celebration with lots and lots of people, but I want a very intimate small gathering with only close friends and family members.

As I said in previous posts, we are having 3 gatherings/dinners/ceremonies for our wedding union because our families are from 3 different areas.  Chris' family in Taiwan, my family in another continent, and Chris and I currently live and work in a 3rd city.

Originally, our initial idea was that we would have the formal wedding ceremony in Taiwan and 2 informal gatherings - one for friends and coworkers in our current location and another one for my family back home. 

However, it turns out that things may not be so simple after all.  First of all, we are now flying Chris' parents (and some friends) here to attend our informal gathering in March (our wedding registration with the government registry).  Second of all, we are now hosting a lunch banquet for those who are coming.  And third of all, it will be sort of a mini-vacation for his parents and my dad (who will also fly to here to attend my wedding and see my grandma)....so imagine all the logistics that will be involved to coordinate 12 people for a weekend.

I have always imagined my wedding registration here to be a simple one.  Just me and Chris and 2 additional people as our witnesses for the ceremony.  I have always imagined it to be a very intimate thing for Chris and me.  After all, since the wedding in Taiwan will be the formal official thing, I thought this will be the chance to have something that is just for the 2 of us.

Well, no chance of that happening now.  Between the 2 of us, Chris is indeed the GROOM-ZILLA!!

MIA in Taiwan

Sorry I've been gone for so long!

I just got back from vacation (10 days in Taiwan) last night and am now sitting in my office typing this post.  It was a wonderful wonderful vacation since we got a lot of stuff done.

I found my wedding gown.  Chris found his ring.  We confirmed the wedding venue.

Yes...the first part of my wedding will be in Taiwan --- only 4 months away --- eek!

Chris' mom cooked up a storm during our stay and with the company lunch and everything, I ended up eating a lot of good food...no weight gained =)

And Jenny (one of my very good friends) may be able to make it to my wedding!  Hurray!!

Chris says... / Recent Updates

Last night's phone conversation:

Chris: I'm very happy recently
Me: Why?
Chris: Because you are happy.  You seem happier these days
Me: Oh really?
Chris: Yeah, why?  What's changed?
Me: Not sure....
Chris: Well, it's good.  It makes us both happier

Another piece of good news: my dad is coming to visit me in March to attend my wedding registration.  He'll stay with us for about a week.  Well, really, the reason he's coming early is to see my grandma.  As you know, my grandma is not doing so well recently....so since my wedding registration is in March, he thought he would come early - 2 birds 1 stone kind of thing.

Not so exciting new:

I woke up this morning and horror!!  The younger brother's girlfriend posted a picture of a diamond ring on her finger.  Though we have yet to receive confirmation on what it means, just a present or the real deal.....I don't like it either way.  This is definitely not the direction I was hoping they would go.

Com'on guys, bring on the voodoo spells and tricks!!!

Gown 1/2

Chris and I went shopping for our wedding attire yesterday and it was a success.  I mean, we got what we wanted...so in that aspect, it was good.  However, I cringed every time I thought about the fact that that's money I could have used towards something better, such as our vacation.

Mind you, we didn't spend a lot.  My formal gown and his suit together were easily 1/3 of what we would have had to pay in stores at the mall.  We had ours tailored made; we chose the fabric, chose the cut........so actually, we got a bargain.

But still, you know...money is money is money.

So, everything I suppose is coming together nicely.  Now, I say "Gown 1/2" or 1/2 of a gown because I will have two gowns.  I will wear one at the beginning of the banquet and another one near the end. 

In fact, here's a side note: Chris keeps tell me that he will bring me to listen to opera or some classical music performance when we are in Europe this summer.  And he said, I can wear one of my gowns for the occasion.  I don't know when and where he came up with this idea of us going to see a show in formal evening wear.....I mean I certainly don't remember saying anything about it being my childhood dream...????

So...LOL...I really don't know where he got that.  But it's super sweet, no? =D

p.s (left): Necklace that I'm totally digging at the moment, from Forever21

Book: Pour Your Heart Into it: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time

Blood orange

I once asked Chris if he could eat any fruit everyday, what fruit would he choose?

Guess what he picked?  And I guessed right.

I said: I think you would pick bananas.
Chris: Yeah, I think so too.  I like bananas.

What about me?  I think I would choose oranges.  They are so good, so refreshing.  Not too sweet, not too sour.  Just nice.

Well, tonight, just now, I was cutting up an orange and I mistakenly picked up a blood orange. It's red.  All red inside.  Kinda freaky. 

Perfect Pairing

Yes, I found the perfect wedding band for me yesterday.  I never thought I would ever describe something as being perfect, but the process of finding this ring and the outcome was indeed absolutely perfect. 

Chris and I have actually been ring shopping for several months now.  Now as you know, I'm not a fussy girl.  I don't need big diamonds, princess jewels.....that's not my style.  As Chris likes to describe it, "We like understated elegance."

When Chris was shopping for the engagement ring, I specifically told him not to get me a diamond ring.  I don't like it, especially with the rock sticking out.  I think it looks more like a sharp dangerous object than anything else.  Plus, I'm a practical girl; I do dishes, I clean the house....there's no way I can wear a diamond and feel comfortable doing housework.  I know lots of other people do, but for me, I rather have something I don't need to worry about too much.

So when Chris proposed to me, he presented me with a very simple ring.  And I love it.  Just exactly how I like it.

With the wedding ring, Chris wanted me to at least have some small diamonds on the band...and I think it looks pretty too.  So we've settled on this one (above).  The story with this ring is that we actually saw something similar (though not as pretty) during Christmas when the store was running its Christmas sale.  We didn't get the ring at the time because I wasn't 100% sure on it.  So we waited. 

With the sales now over , Chris and I have been looking in a lot of places for something comparable.  We didn't find anything and we actually decided that if we couldn't find anything before the wedding in June, then that would have to be.  

Then, a miracle happened.  We stumbled into this store yesterday that we haven't heard of before and we picked out the perfect ring................and here's the best part.................with the perfect price.  It's actually even less expensive than the one we saw before. 

I loved it.  It was perfect.  It felt right.  The store was nice, the sales lady was nice.....it just felt right.  So we got it and I am very very happy about my ring.  I never thought I would ever find the perfect ring....you know, because I'm very picky and all...but I did. 

Chris was willing to pay anything for the ring....but with it being even less expensive than the previous one.......it was just perfect! =) =)

The Arch Enemy

No, I have nothing against the big golden arch aka McD's and this post actually has nothing to do with McD's other than the fact that I am still reading the book and still enjoying it.

The post is about a personal enemy.  And no (#2), it's not about ex's or friends who I no longer see....no, it's not about those things.

This is about me and my evil twin, inner enemy, if you will.

Chris and I have not been on good terms recently. Actually, we had a sort of fall out, if you can call it that, during our vacation a few weeks ago.  These things are never about anything serious, but they end up being worse than they really are because....well, you know.  I'm sure you all know.

Anyway, I was complaining to Chris about it last night, sort of throwing a hissy-fit , and we just didn't see eye-to-eye.  And that's really how I feel ever since we got back.  We just weren't seeing eye-to-eye.  Something just feels out of place and I have not yet figured out what or why.

We went to bed exhausted, semi-angry because we decided that there was no point talking when it was already so late into the night.  There could be no solution.

This morning, I woke up to his text message: "Good morning, baby.  Sorry about last night and the other night.  I should talk to you in a better way......"  The message went on....and I was a little bit surprised.

Surprised because it was the complete opposite of what was discussed last night.  Last night, it was me that was the negative one.  Me that was being difficult to talk to.  And come this morning, it's totally different.  What happened?

I don't know.  I keep saying that.  I wish I know.  Is this called Wedding Anxiety?  It sucks.

My stock options

I've been reading this book: McDonald's Behind the Arches by John F. Love....and I love it.  Yes, I have professed my (and Chris') love for McD's before and I have always been fascinated by the chain's success.

So, I decided to read about it and I love the narrative!  I'll say that much for now and I will update you later about this book. 

Anyway, my stock options.  I have none so far.  But I soon will.  I hope.  Here's what I said to Chris this morning:

Me: I have an idea and I want to know what you think about it
Chris: Okay
M: You know the $4400 wedding ring that we plan on buying?
C: What about it?
M: Well, how about this?  Why don't you use $4000 to buy a stock for me.  The remaining 400 to resize (fix) my dad's wedding ring?
C: ??
M: I just feel like spending that much on a ring that will depreciate the moment I wear it is a bit silly.  If I'm going to spend that much on something, I want to spend it on something that will do something.  Besides, my dad's ring is just sitting here and I don't want it to go to waste.  It's meaningful to me. 

I think Chris was a bit surprised.  Obviously, because we have been shopping for wedding rings for some time and have actually found a pair that we both like.  So, this idea of buying stocks and bringing out my dad's ring kind of came out of nowhere.

Well, not really nowhere because Chris always knew that I wasn't big on wedding must-have's or must-do's.  So, I am sure that he doesn't think I am crazy.  For our wedding, we have pretty much scrapped all of the traditions.  XD  It's great!

So, what do you think?  What do you think of my stock options? =D