Last few days were really bad, especially in the mornings as the back muscles are usually dead stiff in the morning and practically EVERY SINGLE MOVEMENT hurts.

Collected my x-ray results yesterday and they weren’t pretty. Sigh. My curvature had indeed worsened and it will continue to do so. Couldn’t help but to feel sorry for myself and the “why me?” syndrome started all over again…

O well, gotta get my act together.

At least it’s not health threatening (YET!) and I’ve decided to seek treatment from a Chiropractor called, Mr. Kevin Lau who specializes in scoliosis correction. The treatment is going to cost me a bomb but what to do? Health = priceless. I gotta give it a try right? What do I have to lose except X amount of money that is equivalent of a 2-3 weeks of holiday in Europe. But if the treatment is indeed effective, I walk away with a healthier spine that I get to keep for the rest of my life!

I’ll only get to see an orthopedic surgeon next week and can finally get to listen to a specialist’s opinion. Although I already have an idea what he’s most probably going to say…

Doctors and surgeons will usually say that scoliosis has no cure except surgery, so to them, chiropractors are just like the “ang moh” version of Tui-Na. ie: ineffective.

However, I am not keen to go under the knife at all and in fact, in my current situation, it is not necessary at all… but in 10 to 20 yrs time, if I just let my back deteriorate, I’ll start looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame in my 40s or so and in that situation, I will most probably have no choice but to go through surgery to feel and look better.

However, Mr. Kevin Lau indicated that with intensive therapies and corrective exercises, one can actually improves one’s scoliosis curvature or, at the very least stop it from worsening.

So, I guess I’ll have to devote a big part of my life (at least for the next 6 mths) to combat against the worsening of the curvature and it’s going to part of me for the very rest of my life.

Thankfully after 1 session with my sinseh in the morning and the chiropractor in the afternoon, I am feeling MUCH better already. No more insane pain and for once in many days, I can kinda walk normally without pain.

Although I will not be able to run for the next 1 to 2 years….(most probably, but wana confirm with the orthopedic surgeon next week). But I can still participate in non-impact sports like swimming and cycling. And if my back muscles become supple and strong in time to come, I can still run, but of course, not a marathon… but a 10 km perhaps? So, I can still do a triathlon!

Yeah! *cheer up already*

So once my back doesn’t hurt anymore. Gotta go for therapy at least 3 to 4 times a week for the next 3-6 months. Intends to swim at least twice a week, do stretching everyday and stationary cycling twice a week.

At times like these, being healthy and pain-free are the greatest gifts in life. I must always remember that and works towards that. I hope all my friends will do likewise.

Pain management

Labour Day weekend didn’t work out well for me…

I took the Friday off to stay at home to study for my up-and-coming CFA Level 2 exam on 8 June, and somehow with a combination of bad posture, bad chair (chair with a soft cushion seat is bad for backs!) and bad luck, I ended up with a HORRIBLE backache on Saturday and for the rest of the week, I bet… …

Sigh.

I actually woke up at 7 am on Saturday, wanted to do a 7 km run and while I was putting on my sports gear, I noticed something funky was going on with my back. And before I could proceed out of the front door, the dull ache became increasing painful and while I was about to step into the lift, I had a really sharp pain shooting from my lower back, all the way to the INSIDE of my hip, I knew something was wrong.

I couldn’t believe it. How could I suffer from such a backache just from sitting on a bad chair?!!?

The pain was just getting worse and worse, until I really had difficulties walking and decided to pay Sinseh a visit AGAIN.

This is the 2nd time that I am suffering from a lower back pain w/n 6 months. The last backache was from a yoga session in Dec07, and luckily I managed to recover in about 2 weeks and that wasn’t as painful as this current episode.

Actually, I do have a confession to make; I suffer from a condition called Scoliosis, which basically means that I have a curve spine. So, one side of my hip is higher, while one side of my shoulder is lower. I got this condition ever since I was a teenager and have more or less come to terms with it. It wasn’t serious enough to go for surgery and so far, it hasn’t really given me any problem except a bad episode of a minor slipped disc in 2003 (but I fully recovered from that) and occasions of minor aches now and then.

But as I increase on my intensity of running and training, it seems to me that really BAD backaches seem to be recurring. And I am really uncomfortable with that.

Sigh. I’m going to see a doctor later to get a referral to see a specialist in Orthopedic. Cant help being a bit depressed right now, as I am really looking forward to doing a full marathon at the end of the year. I wouldn’t be surprise if the doctor were to tell me that I should quit running and try lower impact sports like swimming.

So, to all those people with beautiful, straight and healthy spines, please appreciate and take good care of your backs. You have no idea how much I wish that I can have a straight spine.

Ok, gotta talk about something else other than the wedding. Even I am sick of myself talking about the wedding. Ha.

Due to my exam in June, I’ve been slacking in my running schedule. The original plan is to run on both Saturdays and Sundays, where I’ll do a short run of about 5 km (under 30 mins if possible) and a longer one of about 8-10 km. During the weekdays, my target is to gym 3 times per week where I’ll do spinning class on Mondays, run 5 km on Weds and another 3 km on Fridays.

So far, I’ve only been 25% successful. During the weekends, either I woke up late, or bad weather, or headache/flu or just lazy. As for the weekdays, sometimes I just feel too tired/lazy/hungry to hit the gym during lunch hour.

Hnmf. Not good.

On a separate note, I’ve recently signed up for the SAFRA Bay Run 2008, which will take place in August. Yup, that’s the one where I’ll run the Sheares Bridge for the very 1st time! Yeah, my virgin Sheares Bridge run.

Will also use that to determine whether I will be in good shape to run a full marathon in Dec this year. Looking at my training schedule… cant help feeling a bit intimidated.

My target is to run 21 km in 2hr 20 mins, and hopefully to do a full marathon in 4 hrs 40 mins.

Geez, really gotta buck up! I don’t wana die as a marathon virgin!

Ok, I am turning into a green monster. More pictures of The Majestic Restaurant. I simply love the decor... In fact, I am having so much fun coming up with ideas to decorate the place. But then again, the whole place is already very well done-up. So, I cant go OTT...
Hmmm, need to settle on a florist soon!

Pink David... Heh, I like. He even has tiny pink flowers "tattooed" all over his body.

Too bad that I cant catch his feet in the picture as well. For those who are interested, Pinkie is currently staying at the National Museum and he will be here till Dec08. I bet he'll definitely appreciates if you pop by to say "Hi"!

I don't know about you, but personally I think he's much hotter than his white cousin posing in Florence.

Some pictures of the Majestic Hotel, where I'll hold my luncheon at the Majestic Restaurant.

See, even the hotel's facade is slightly green! Haha. ;p

I want to create similar "feel" for my luncheon as the pictures above. The freshness of the green will pair with the purity of white... I've yet been to a wedding which has a very strong theme. In fact, it seems to me that only Ang-mohs are particular about wedding themes...

Since we're going to have a "Green and Cream" theme for our luncheon, we're looking around for inspirations. Some ideas that we have come out with:

[1] Drinks served during reception and wedding: Sprite with limes and mint leaves, with a green stirrer. Nothing else! (Sorry, no coke, no orange Fanta, no beer, but we'll serve white wine! Haha)

[2] White and green flowers with green fruits as table decors

[3] Green apples to be given away as wedding favours.

[4] Call up everyone to wear green and white!

[5] Green and white icing on my cup cakes

Oh... the decor of the restaurant is green as well, and that is the MAIN reason why we chose Green as the main color theme. It's much easier to work with the colors of the venue than to work against it. *common sense*

The walls of the restaurant has a rich yet fresh "green silk" feel, which I really like. It has 2 beautiful, classic chandeliers and yet still deliver a chic and modern feel to the whole place.

OK, gotta upload some pictures of the restaurant!

Internal Struggle

Beloved and I were tabulating our wedding cost and horror of all horrors… the amount that we’re going to spend is WAY WAY WAY past my “ideal” budget.

Haiz, to wed in style comes at a HUGE price.

Firstly, our photographer.

In my opinion, he’s a really, really very good photographer but an extremely expensive one. Let me put it this way, he only needs to cover 3 full-day weddings (he can actually do that in a week) and he can earn 5-digit compensation already. He is really costing an arm and a leg, and I am still trying very hard to internalize his cost. On one hand, I love his pictures to death; somehow every picture seems to tell a poem (not only a story ok, but a poem), then on the other hand, I know I shouldn’t spend money like that.

The devil is saying “but this is once in a life time and the magical moments are priceless” but the angel is saying “Marriage is a lifetime but wedding day is just ONE day. Keep the money for more important things in time to come”.

Secondly, our wine-pairing dinner.

This is something that we really want to do as we are such foodies/alcoholics that we also want our friends to enjoy the specially created menu; and matching wines that Beloved took a lot of effort and time (and $$$) to buy. Each course is to match with a bottle of wine, and since we have about 6 – 7 courses, (still haggling with the chefs), this means that we are going to serve 6-7 types of wines at least. O yah, we’re also going to have a champagne reception.

Each wine that is meant to be paired has been through weeks of thought-process and weeks of tasting to finally decide upon that it will go well with the course served. We have not actually tasted the wines with the food yet, but we will be going for our food tasting this weekend and we’re still trying to figure out how to drink 6 – 7 bottles between the two of us without killing ourselves.

Then the décor of the luncheon AND dinner.

Stupid rite? Usual couples only need to deal with one wedding venue but we, itchy backside, wana do TWO venues instead. There are so many additional costs that we have to grapple with and I am left to wonder why the hell are we doing this to ourselves?

Just because we want our wedding to be special and we want our guests to enjoy themselves.

The parents and relatives are more traditional, so a Chinese restaurant with Chinese food will be something that they can relate to. Then we have the bunch of foodies, alcoholics and the free-spirited who will definitely appreciate the dinner at night.

Think I have to forgo shopping for at least 2 years in order to recoup.

I cant help feeling silly right now… …

Just a little update

OK, been kinda busy with the preparation of the wedding, but it has been more or less done. Yay!

Many people told us that we’re really efficient to have settled our wedding plans, venues, bridal studio, photographer… etc within like 2 months after proposal.

Hmmm… yah, I think we are pretty “chop-chop” too. Haha.

So, we have decided to hold our solemnization and luncheon at The Majestic Restaurant at this really chic and charming boutique hotel, The New Majestic Hotel in Chinatown. We’ll going to only invite about 90 pax and it will consist more of relatives and more of my friends.

Later in the night, we will then have an even smaller and cozier dinner at Novus, their private dinning room at The National Museum of Singapore, where we’ll have a wine pairing dinner with only 60 guests. NO parents, NO relatives. Just good food, good wines and great friends. More of Beloved’s bunch of alcoholic friends…

*beam*

Looking really forward to that. I just wana eat and drink and be merry with my friends. No dry ice during March-in, or change of 2nd gown or anything like that. Food and Wine is the focus here!

On a separate note, Beloved and I went to Valentino’s for dinner on Sunday. Wow… the food was really absolutely fantastic! This place is tucked in a little corner in Bukit Timah, very rustic but.. woah, very crowded for a Sunday night.

We were seated at about 830 pm and people were still streaming in for the 2nd or 3rd seating all the way till about 9 plus!

Highly recommended and reservation is strictly recommended. Make that at least 2 days in advance!

Sometimes, I do wish I have dogs instead of cats! But I love my cats anyway!

How the hell did he escape?

OK, this is stale news but I am utterly disgusted with the way the police and our government handled the issue.

It has been nearly a WEEK since Singapore's most-wanted alleged terrorist, Mas Selamat bin Kastari escaped from the detention centre and he’s still somewhere out there, most probably clapping his hand in glee.

Geez… how could the most alleged top terrorist be guarded so sloppily? Firstly, why was the detention centre situated so close to town? Orchard road is just minutes away by car! There are easily 3 schools around the area! If he’s such a dangerous man, he should have been kept far, far away … like Pulau Tekong or say, Lim Chu Kang?

Up to now, the public still did not know how the hell he managed to get away. What was meant by “physical breach”? You mean the authorities forgot to fence up the area? You mean no policeman or a guard went to the toilet with Singapore’s MOST alleged terrorist? I thought even primary 6 students get accompanied by teachers to the toilets during a PSLE exam!

And I must say that our local papers and media have been very accommodating in “helping” the authorities with the news flow to the public… No journalist questioned who should be responsible for this incident?!

Must we wait until there is a bomb attack, people die and Singapore’s economy crashed before we can start “pointing the finger”?

This is a serious breach of our country’s security and yet, we have not heard a single word from our Prime Minister. Seems that winning the Youth Olympics is a more important issue.

Terrorists are a real threat to the world and Singapore is not immune to it. This incident clearly taught us that.

Nothing much been happening except studying for the %$#@^ exam in June and hunting for suitable venues / bridal studios / photographers for the wedding…

Very proud to say that we have at least nailed down our Actual Day Photographer!

His name is Wansheng and personally, I really do love his photos. I’ve always been envious of people who can indulge in their passions AND talents to make a living. People like musicians, artists, dancers, entrepreneurs… …

Ok lah, cannot complain to much. My job isn’t too bad and I do like what I am doing too. ;P

For those who are interested, do check out his website:

http://www.feldberyl.com/

Still trying to secure venues for our solemnization and dinner. We checked out a few really fun places like Relish, New Majestic Restaurant, MingJiang @ Rochester, 1 Rochester Park, Chomp Chomp hawker center (hahahaha)…

I’ll really like to have Relish for my solemnization as the idea of treating my guests to yummy burgers with fries and kick-ass, Belgium beers appeal to me very very very much! Hrm… don’t think my mum or relatives will be so keen on the idea though… … Plus that the “minimum spend” to book the whole place is rather expensive. ;(

Ahh. Still got bridal studios. Hmmmm… been looking around and saw 3 that I like. Getting kinda tired of looking around actually.

I am a lazy bride-to-be.

Beloved and I went around checking out some of the potential venues where we could hold our small wedding dinner.

First to hit: Goodwood hotel. NOT the ballroom, but the outdoor area outside Ming Jiang restaurant. It was actually quite charming, with the white walls, white china and wooden patio. It had a slight colonial feel, but with a Chinese twist. Well, it was next to a Chinese restaurant after all. It was also situated about 300m away from the pool… which could be a blessing or curse. Blessing is when the pool is deserted and you have the pool-view to yourself. Curse is when the white, fat, hairy half-naked Ang Mohs, prance about in their swimwear while you are having your dinner. Will have to try very hard NOT to vomit.

As we were about to leave, we noticed this small but swanky-looking restaurant, called Gordon Grill, which was just opposite the concierge. The restaurant was EXACTLY what we were looking for! It was classy, in fact, it had this old-world, Hollywood appeal… a place where you can imagine Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn having dinner. It also has a small bar where our guests can mingle before dinner. Beloved and I were so excited and asked for the manager immediately. But unfortunately, the manager said that the restaurant had never been booked by an event before and had to write in for an approval from the management. AH? Hrmmm… ok, so troublesome. But as we really liked the place, we would take the trouble to follow up and see what comes up. Although I have this sinking feeling that Management is not going to approve… …

Next, we went to Halia, which was situated at the Botanical Gardens, near to the Orchid Park. Very charming as well, it was lush and tropical. It also had an outdoor patio, which would be ideal if you want a tropical theme wedding… We were there at noon and wanted to try their lunch but it was fully booked. So we took a reservation for dinner instead.

The atmosphere at Halia was really different at night. It was so much more intimate and romantic. The setting of the lush vegetation, lightings and the cool breeze just totally set the mood for love. In the day, it was like a tropical haven, with tourists, kids, dogs, runners all over the place. But at night, the place was much quieter. We were a tad early, so we hung out at their newly-constructed bar, which was really cozy as well. It was indoor, with a high ceiling, equipped with big, leather arm chairs and a pretty chandelier.

Waited for a while before we could get our table. Luckily the champagne was great and the manager was really witty and funny, or else, I would have been very grumpy to wait almost 1.5 hrs to get our table!

I had a really tasty soup. It was chunky tomato, much better than the mushroom soup that Beloved had. But he had a better main course! The lamb was excellent… better than the duck that I ordered. All in all, the food was above average although a tad pricy. A main cost will cost between 30-48 bucks.

But the ambience won hands-down. Service was polite and it seemed that the servers were well-trained to give couples their intimacy but attentive enough when you need their service.

Now, we are torn between Gordon Grill and Halia. Although the mosquito bites on my arms were a boo-boo to Halia, despite drenching myself with lemongrass essential oil, which is a natural form of repellent!

And we’ll be checking more venues this weekend! And also to check out Goodwood again at night, as we’ll like to see how is the ambience at MingJiang when night falls.

Heh. This is actually quite fun!

Planning of a wedding

Ok, so it seems that many people are more excited about my wedding than me. I am excited, but I am also a little stressed due to my CFA L2 exam in June (which I am really behind in my preparations!) and the dilemma of whether Beloved and I should get our own place/apartment in the current market conditions.

Anyway, we are now waiting for the great-old-mighty fengshui master to get back to us on the auspicious dates that we can get married and things should start moving after that. We are hoping that we can hold the wedding in this Dec!

We’ll be checking out 2 restaurants on this Saturday. Beloved and I are planning to have our dinner banquet in a “wine-tasting dinner” style, where people can and WILL enjoy the food and wine. We’ll also like to have time to interact with our guests and so we’re looking to host about 6-10 tables ONLY. And no, I don’t have the intention to change like 3 million gowns ‘cos this is my wedding dinner, not Milan fashion show. The REAL reason is because I wana EAT MY FOOD and have fun talking with my guests, and not to waste time jumping around in my stockings, while trying to wear my 50th set of earrings and changing into my 300th gown.

Many of my friends who have tied their knots recently, all said that the planning process to a wedding is enjoyable and I should immerse myself in the hair-clenching, blood-vomiting, cold-sweating wedding planning.

Hrm. There’s a reason why wedding planners are still making moolah here. And I relate to the reason… although I am just too cheapskate to hire one!

Luckily Beloved is really into planning and organization of “events”. He’s like the Asian version of David Tutera, the Party Planner. (Those who watched Discovery Travel & Living will know who I am talking about!)

Hrm. No, Beloved is not gay. At least I don’t think he is… … …

And I said Yes... ... ... ... ...

It was one of the most romantic moments ever and I was deeply touched. The cake was so beautiful (and yummy!) and the ring is utterly breathtaking.

Every part of the cake was edible. The blue "cardboard" boxes are made of white chocolate, the "white form" that the ring was held was a sponge cake. Well, except for the ring, of course.

I feel happy. *grin* ;p

Last night, I hosted a Retro Party at Wine Company@Evans Road to celebrate my belated 28th birthday! I was sooooo impressed with the decoration that Beloved prepared since previously I told him that we would just “tie some balloons” and that’s it.

But Beloved actually went through the trouble to rent some really cool, retro items, such as a red retro telephone, ice-water glasses, table cloth, hot water flask… etc. In addition to some of his personal collections of retro toys and comic books, as well as a REALLY ancient type writer that was contributed by E!

Also must give credit to my crazy friends who really took the effort (& $$$!!) to dress up to the theme! I had so much fun laughing at everyone’s costume and creativity! Geez… it was just so much fun dressing up and looking like our mums and dads in their younger days!

I have always wanted to host a retro party for the longest, longest time and I am really happy with the way it turned out last night.

Another event that really took me by surprise was Beloved’s proposal. I’ve always thought that he would do it in private between the two of us… in a romantic setting or something like that. But surprise, surprise! He actually hid the ring in the birthday cake! And all of my crazy friends were in cahoots with him!

Although I did have my suspicion when I saw that the cake was in the shape of 3 stacks of Tiffany’s light blue gift boxes. Nonetheless, I was really surprised and was really, really touched by Beloved’s creativity and effort that he had put in. (Yeah.. I cried. So cliché right. But can’t help it lah.. very touched leh)

Above were some pictures taken last night. More will come! I’m still very overwhelmed by the whole thingy…

I feel loved and blessed.

This bunch of people actually thrashed our boys during QH & SC's wedding!

Haha...! And the music was awesome!

I want a Scottish Fold, a British Blue Scottish Fold to be exact!

Ok… I’ve never been a firm believer of getting a pedigree pet. To me, a dog is a dog and a cat is a cat. I will love them no matter what they love like…

And thus, all my cats are “long-kang” cats and I still love them to pieces.

But… but… but, I have just seen the cutest cat that has melted my heart! The British Blue Scottish Fold is just absolutely adorable!

To start with, I simply love Scottish Fold, which is a breed of cat that has “folded” ears. It is very rare in Singapore. In fact, I have yet to seen one in Singapore yet. But when I was in Taipei for a holiday a few years back, I did see Scottish Folds in pet shops and all those little Scottish Fold kittens are really so, so, so cute. Those little folded ears just did it for me…. JUST SO CUTE LOH.

So, an idea pops up. If I were to get a pair of Scottish Folds from, let say, Taipei and breed it in Singapore. Do you think I can sell the kittens? Since not many Scottish Folds are available in Singapore….

I can be the first Scottish Fold breeder in Singapore! ;p

Any supporters???

I should count my blessings…

Someone told me to count my blessings at the end of every year, so that I can reflect upon all the good in my life and cherish them. And hopefully the list gets longer year after year…

1) My family members are in good health! My mother is happy with her work and my two brothers are (happily??) studying their asses off in NTU!
2) I have a cute BF who loves me and I love him too. And yah, he is also in good health.
3) My crazy and beloved friends are all looking good and yes, also in good health.

(By now, you can see that I am quite a health freak)

4) I am in reasonably good shape, except for the back injury, which is healing slowly but it is healing.
5) I love my job (will love it even more if my boss pays me better) and I really do look forward to work almost everyday!

Above is a picture that we took at QH & SC’s wedding. Looking at their picture, I feel blessed to have such friends. Bitchy but absolutely fabulous friends! Can’t live without them!

May 2008 be a great year for you! Stay healthy and fit! If you arent that healthy and fit yet, hrm.... eat more veg and exercise! ;p

Wii – the best game ever!

I’ve never been a great fan of video-console games, be it PSP, PS3, Xbox, but I am so smitten by the latest generation of Nintendo Wii!!!

My first contact with the game was about 2 weeks ago at a Xmas party where a bunch of us were playing Wii Sports - games like boxing, tennis and bowling. I thought that was already pretty cool and for once, I DON’T HAVE TO PRESS BUTTONS (ie: Don’t have to reveal my lack of coordination of fingers!) Wii’s remote controls basically allow players to just wave them around to mimic the movements.

Then a few days ago, we went to an “open-house” party at QH & SC’s place, and the couple had this really cool wii game, calls Rabbid. The game is about a bunch of silly looking rabbits playing really STUPID games like, bumper cars and eating butterflies and doing, para-para-sakura dance movements.

SO FUN loh!

Above are some pictures taken while we were playing Wii.

I also want a Wii!!!!!!!!!

P/s: in case you are wondering, the theme for the party was GREEN, so most of us are in green! All the green monsters were fighting over the remotes to play Wii!