gnatweds

After weeks of chasing the Tays, they've updated their blog with enough wedding photos to keep me quiet(er) and to save them from the perennial nagging about having photos of bunny rabbits up forever.


Am shamelessly stealing from their blog to put up their photo here.



So scheweeet hor?
To Yvonne and Vinnie - many many many happy returns of the day. Huge hugs for everything. And I can't tell you how glad I am to see both of you soo contented and happy together like this.

But, dear readers, as much as I lurve them... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I'm still gonna give them grief for a looong time. I was there in Rochester when they were going "noooo! nooooo! no posed shots! So fake! Eugh." ROTFL.

And yes, I can attest to Yvonne's admission that they said "Over my dead body am I going to walk in with the dry ice".... sniggers.

Okay okay, look, I am insanely critical of the de riguer Chinese wedding here - that's just me selfishly imposing my views on the rest of the world lah. The truth is that the little ahemm touches like dry ice probably flicks someone's bic. So technically, I shouldn't comment...

But if I didn't... I wouldn't be Nat! *grin*.

By the way, this is what I wrote in September 2005 (!). Click this link to see full post.

(My diatribe against the regular wedding started way back then lah... )

The Usual Singaporean Wedding:

The groom arrives at the Brides home at some unearthly hour of the morning accompanied by his posse of "brothers". (NB: Please note that this means that the bride has to wake up three hours in advance to get prettified - there may be some accompanying rituals like hair combing yadadadada - the reasons for which this uncultured clout has no idea about)

The brothers are stopped at the door by the bride's own posse of "sisters".

Sounds bad yet?

The brothers have to barter/buy/try everything possible to get through the sisters - this usually involves extremely embarrassing stunts, horrible hot sauce concoctions and money changing hands before the groom is allowed to get to his bride.

But all this has to happen before a magic hour - else it would be horribly unlucky for the couple - when they'd have to leave for the groom's place.There they will kneel and serve tea to 1001 relatives who will give blessings of many children - *shudders*.

THEN, they have to go back to the bride's home to serve tea to her 1001 relatives - who will also most likely call down wishes from the heavens for children. (she also changes her outfit - apparently it is tres unlucky to wear the same gown)(BTW, this uncultured lout actually knows this little factiod: The bride back in those feudal days would only go home three days later, but the entire thing has been compressed to fit the modern day and age)

If they have their own home, they then go there and sometimes have strange ceremonies which involve children rolling around the nuptial bed - again, its this archaic fertility rite. Sometimes there are even live chickens involved. A cock and a hen are thrown under the bed - the first to emerge is a clue to the sex of the couple's first child.

What is it about children and marriages anyway? Isn't it supposed to be ahem about the couple???

They then get transported in a garishly decorated car with fountains of ribbons, half wilted flowers and occasionally scary looking dolls to the designated hotel where the 10 course Chinese dinner is held. The car is parked right outside the hotel - mainly as a way to show it off: ahem.

If course, there are often more than 2 weddings at the hotel on any given night SO it just means that there are a lot of rather sorry looking mercs, BMWs and Jags drooping with flowers in the driveway.These dinners usually feature ... ugh.... shark's fin soup! *triple shudders and annoyance*But the dinners have to start with a de riguer slide show showing the couple's entire life story in pictures - usually starting with baby pixes.

Geez. Okay, if this corniness is not enough, there's usually a grand entrance of the couple, complete with dry ice. Sigh.

Halfway through this extremely protracted affair - the bride changes into another outfit.By this time, its 10 pm and the guests are raring to go home, the couple is exhausted but noooo: its not the end.There's the yam seng ceremony, a couple of speeches AND the mandatory table photos where guests huddle into a scrimmage at one end of the table, the bride and groom joins them and the photographer takes the obligatory shot.

Wha liaus. I'll let you find out for yourselves how many of these milestones actually happen on our wedding dinners.

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As you can tell it was an extremely vituperative post. Hahahha, savage critism is just so... me.

But now more mellow lah. The Tays looked charming together at the dinner; Yvonne looked fabulous; and it was sweet to see them make each other and their families oh-so-happy.

Am still gonna give them grief for a while though ahahhahahhah *tease*

And that said. Despite our best efforts, we were sabo-ed. Had to do a yum seng at one of our dinners - luckily not at both. And I did change out of the uber fluffy wedding gown for something for comfy too.

Plus, one nice plus at the Tay's wedding at the Shang earlier this month? The Cape Mentelle definitely passed the palate test!






That'd be me going yuuummmmy! Pix again stolen from Yvonne's blog. I had quite a few of those that night.

The brilliant boy put a pen in his pants and dumped the lot into the washing machine.
It's a damned bad habit.

He does NOT empty out handkerchiefs, pens, and yes, thumb drives - he left ANOTHER one - in his pockets and of course, I just do the laundry.

My theory is that if I have to do the laundry after I come back from work at 2 am... am not going to go through the pile to pull out the pockets. :)

But that means that whoops, the pants have an ink splotch that is not removable... my fingers were blue, and i got ink on my white top... but it didn't come out!
Out damned spot! Out! *can you tell I'm trying to do my Lady MacBeth impression?)

(As for Dr G. Him? actually touch laundry? and spots? And clean?? hahahahhahahah... althouuughhh I have pointed out to him that this one-sidedness when it comes to cleaning will rapidly become a problem with the marriage because I have other things to do with my life now than keep home - no it's not Rochester anymore - but we'll see if he pays attention to what I'm saying.)

So, G is in a good mood today.

Why?

Considering that I am on duty till 1 or 2 am tonight, it's sure not because of my oh-so-pleasant company.

G's just moved a couple of alphabets to C

Confused? Give him a call.

Here's another footnote to the last post: On Saturday, G had his 10-year reunion of his medical school class of '97.

It was at Safra Mount Faber - the military has a lot of money to come up with such a swish, fancy schmancy clubhouse located right smack in the heartlands. Despite its name, its actually in Telok Blangah, not really Mount Faber...

Buffet style AND there was a magic show. I jest you not. We were way overdressed; some appeared in bermudas and polo shirts... but noooo, Dr Goh told me to wear "something black".
Sigh.

But why a magic show you ask? Think the young chap was there to entertain the multitudes of kiddies:
His classmates have produced many many, MANY kiddies in the decade since they left school.

One of his mates thought i was ... ahem... his medical officer. (ahem... G, what have you been up to? Others were completely shell shocked that Gene was actually married and yet others were wondering just how old I was - apparently G has rep from way back for dating young things.
I dunno whether to feel happy or insulted that Gene tried to save my honour by telling them that I was 33. Heeeello. Grrr. He just added two years to my age...

As weird as it was, I think Gene had a blast meeting up with the chaps again, and of course, after that we were off to the Bellini Room at St James Power Station... where i think eight or 10 people - people kept flitting back and forth from the various rooms - polished off two bottles of Glenlivet single malt and we were starting on the Chivas Regal when a concensus was called that we'd try to get into the Ministry of Sound instead.

But here's the weird part right? remember how I say that all these people I used to know in school are just reappearing like mushrooms? It happened again! I meet people who used to live in the same hall etc etc etc, of course, they are married to docs too... but think about it. There's no three degrees of separation between people here in Sg, try more like two or one!!

We finished up the night at 3, mainly because I was about completely zonked by then and my feet were killing me (wearing my 4 inch stilettos) and I had completely gone hoarse. But like good weekend warriors that we are; Sunday was fully packed as well.

Ran/Swam, shopped - splurged on Massimo Dutti, well actually, Gene splurged on me getting Massimo Dutti - drank a bottle of prosecco at Tanglin Village and had very satisfying yong tau foo for lunch and banana leaf Indian dinner (samy's curry - yah, they have a website! happening ah?)

Of course, by Sunday night, G knocked out by 930 pm. Hehe. Nowadays must account for age when we go chiong lah.

Weird title, I know. It was going to be a philosophy-esque type entry about Being.
Which is different from being... note the capitals...

Okay, nevermind!!! It's too late and I am still at work for this to actually make any sense, heck, I don't even think I make sense on a normal-ish day.

I just heard that a schoolmate of mine from University just had his baby daughter! Congrats SHK! I also remember attending their wedding which was just after ours.
Mr Gene and Gina Wee are also going to get a wee Wee soon! Sorry, couldn't help it.

Just tells you how life is quickly moving on. Just years ago, it was all about convocation ceremonies, meet ups at bars... then it was weddings, and meet ups in wine/whisky lounges. Now, its births, kiddies and meet ups over dinner!

Wha piang. That said. I refuse to give up my wine/whisky. And no, you're not going to catch us trotting on that particular, perculiar path of parenthood anytime soon.

Somehow, the stars have made it possible to meet a whole bunch of people from my previous lives all in the space of the two months since I got back from the US - Secondary school mates; JC mates; uni mates; ex-s; pple I met as a journo in my early years at the paper...
Why just in two months? When I went by for years without meeting them before that? I have no idea at all.

And it seems to me that life has really gone by. Whatever happened to my 20s?
Geez, and of course, you can also track the progression of life in your friends and what has happened to them since you last met.

Ah well.

Hey, on a strange note - fate again?: I interviewed the president CEO thanks TK! of Mayo Clinic today. The desk is so short of hands, and I decided that I would actually volunteer - joyous joy at the ability to get out of the office and do an interview again.
Am so desk bound these days its not funny. All meals are eaten in short order in front of the screen. Scary but true. I have an image of my bum becoming ginormous with all this sitting down. alluva sudden.. pfft! huge.

PS: Gene's doing his first call back home tonight. Note the date. Hurhur.

"Control tower, this is Gnat-Oh-One. We have Touchdown."

Gene is currently making himself comfy; working on his computer in the living room, while muching on breakfast of wan tan mee - hiam jiou juay - and having brilliant coffee - made by our very own coffee machine.

Yep. He's BACK. Albeit, with a small kerfuffle with one piece of luggage.

The mess has also been transferred 20,000 miles into our new place. Attempting to keep it in control but think that's going to be a futile effort.

Sigh. Gene. If you read this. The floor is NOT a closet.

This reunion has been surreal: we look very different (we're both impressed by how two months can change both physiques), we're also behaving differently (well waddaya expect? Not a limpet hanger on a la Rochester liao) and we're exploring this new-ish relationship again - its like dating all over again. We're actually holding hands. *gasp!* when we go out. Talk about renewal.

Of course, right now, am off work, so we have time to rediscover all the things we like together and exercise like bunnies together. He's swum and biked (we just have to convince him to run and he can do a marathon) extensively while I have been lifting.

We're going to try out our new wakeboards in about an hour's time.
Of course, today is a bit cloudy while the last few days have been really nice and sunny; its just arse luck.

It's been a hectic three days since he arrived early on Tuesday morning. But that said; have managed to catch Oosh and St James' Power Station already. That boy can run on very very little sleep now. Not quite lil ole me.

PS: He promises that he will keep up his bloglet. Well, eventually anyway.

Dr Yvonne Chung in her wedding finery at Shangri-La last night.

And yes folks, it was realllyyyy funny because Dr Chung and Dr Tay had everything they said they didn't want back in Rochester.

And I mean, the works. The 30 plus table wedding dinner at top hotel, with dry ice entry with the wedding march playing, a wedding car hired specifically for wedding, pre-dinner shots at the marina in the sun, and rather glamorous shots of them looking lovey dovey at each other - all looped in a slide show thing. Hahahhahahahahha.

Awww, am teasing. Despite all this, they looked really good, my phone camera doesn't do Yvonne justice. But am hoping that they'll put up more pixes on their blog. This will force them to finally update their bit of cyberspace... since I'm kinda tired of looking at the rabbits!!!! Hahahhahaha.

Plus, the author of freshspottedmushroom is touching down at Changi Airport in.. oh... an hour's time. Now... to plot and plan my way out of this office. Yep, still here.