Monday, September 22, 2008

1st Wedding Anniversary - 9th Sep 2008

Unknowingly, a year has passed since the day we walked down the aisle at Mandai Orchid Garden amidst cheers and claps from family, friends and relatives. Perhaps both of us have been busy with work plus preparing for our customary wedding this coming November, so much so that I exclaimed to him sometime during mid August, “wah! 3 more weeks and it would be our very first wedding anniversary!”

It’s been at least 2 weeks since 9 Sep and to date, I am still not done with the blogging, lol. So be prepared. It’s gonna be a long post, haha.

We had agreed to take half day leave on 9 Sep to celebrate the occasion, but who knows Old Cat (aka Melvin) took a whole day off without my knowledge! Feeling pretty bummed that he can go back to sleep after preparing breakfast while I had to go to work, I got him to accompany me to the MRT station, haha~!

Perhaps he knew that I would expect a bouquet of flowers to be sent to the office (that was what he always did), so well, there was nothing for me, lol. He smsed me at 12.50pm saying he was waiting for me downstairs. By the time I went down, it was already 1.30pm. The grumpy Old Cat grumbled about how he waited under the hot sun for 40 mins until I shot him with “Didn’t you see there are sofas at the lobby?” Wahahhahhaa~! He has only himself to blame for being so short-sighted.

Anyway, he had the day’s plan mapped out already. We went to Bugis for a really quick lunch at NYDC and then watched the movie Wall-E. Pretty silly movie though it was kinda funny. It felt pretty weird to be watching a movie on a weekday afternoon. The cinema was near empty and so was the shopping mall. What a big difference from weekends! After the movie, we shopped for a while before heading to Clarke Quay – he had planned for us to take the river cruise to “reminisce the proposal day”, haha!


while waiting to board...

We were the only ones on the boat again, and after 5-10 mins of trying to introduce us the Singapore River, the host decided to stop yakking and instead, helped us to take photos, haha~! Its amazing how much has changed since 20 Sep 2006. That night, when the boat stopped in front of the Esplanade and The Oriental, the opposite side was the open waters. The construction works for the integrated resorts have not started. The surrounding area was calm, peaceful and quiet, perfect for a romantic night out. Now, almost 2 years down the road, the very same area is very different, with all the construction work going on and the noise. We stopped the boat at the same location as it was 2 years back and stood with our backs to the Esplanade just like before though this time, the photographer was a young man in his mid 20s while 2 years back, it was an old man, haha.


stopped the boat at the same location as 2 years ago haha~

After the entertaining river cruise, we made our way to Mandai Orchid Garden, the very place we got wedded a year back. Nothing much has changed. Couldn’t see much of the Mokara Hall where we held our solemnization since it was quite dark. We made a beeline for the Vanilla Pod restaurant. There were few diners on a weekday night, but it was ok, we enjoyed the privacy. Although the Vanilla Pod restaurant was very small, the ambience was good. Very wedding-like in a way, and elegant. Very cosy setting with music playing in the background. The last time we were here was during our solemnization rehearsal with Bro Eddy, Bro Ullas and The Low Clan. The service provided by the waiter was excellent.


at the Vanilla Pod restaurant


Cheers~!

The Old Cat made some lame excuse of going to the gents and returned with a large bouquet of flowers. There were 99 stalks of pink and white roses. It was very heavy, luckily I didn’t have to carry it around Bugis had it been delivered to my office! This time, he was smarter. Instead of ordering flowers from Bloomdale or other florists, he opted for Far East Flora. More expensive, but at least the delivery didn’t cock up unlike the previous 2 times from Bloomdale! For those who do not know, he actually had flowers delivered to my office twice this year and both times, the deliveries cocked up, lol. It was a good thing we sort of have the whole restaurant to ourselves, at least we didn’t have to bother about curious stares from other diners, haha. Another couple came in shortly after that, but we were already done with the photo taking by then.


Us~


Heavy bunch of flowers



Me, myself, and flowers~

My present for him: A set of cufflinks from Hugo Boss and a card I bought earlier in the day (and hid in the washroom to write. SHHH!!!).

His present for me: A DKNY watch.



At home~


Top-down view



99 stalks of roses in a tiny vase haha



Look at how squashed they are~!

Its amazing how quickly time flies. Throughout the one year as husband and wife, I have learned to close my eye (sometimes both eyes, lol) on many things. As both of us were brought up differently, there are certain things we both don’t see eye to eye. I guess I am the fussier of the two and I cannot stand untidiness. I like things to be organised and I am very detailed oriented. Now, one year down the road, I don’t bother to make noise anymore whenever he mops each part of the house once instead of twice (cleaner mah)…. I don’t care anymore… why bother getting pissed when I am not the one doing it anyway, lol. I didn’t think I would get married until 27, but God has other plans for me.

Indeed, being married means that I lose my freedom in certain aspects, like how we both have to make time to visit the folks once in a while. It doesn’t help that my in-laws live so freaking far away and I hate the especially hot weather in the East. Being married also means that we forsake the comfort and advantages of living with the folks (e.g. no need to pay bills, mother to do the chores.. etc), which makes me wonder sometimes… get married for what huh???? LOL.

But having said all that, marriage is not THAT bad too. It has its own set of pros. In a nutshell, getting married has its pros and cons, and marriage is not a bed of roses. There is a lot of getting used to in terms of living habits and more often than not, I find myself feeling very frustrated during the first 2 months when things are not done the way I am used to. I have to remind myself that not everyone is like Wonder Woman like my mum, haha!

Couples often plan for their wedding thinking that they will live happily ever after with the one they love. More often than not, they enter into marriage with unrealistic expectations, only to struggle after that when things go wrong. By then, they will be too caught up with fighting than remember the vows they made, hard work they have spent in setting up their home…etc. Marriage is a lifelong commitment. Rome was not built overnight. Likewise, it takes time to build a happy and fulfilling marriage.

This is only our 1st wedding anniversary. God willing, I hope we’ll be able to celebrate our golden anniversary one day.

“…………What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” Matt 19:6

Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary to you OLD CAT!

- Phebe



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