Changed da house,
Changed da look.
BTW, my bathrobe's usually pink
and we don't have a fireplace.
Other than that,
it's pretty accurate...
Psst...click the words above to navigate.
Best viewed, unfortunately, in Internet Explorer.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
~ What an impression ~
So I went to the Police Station right in the heart of Canberra City to do my finger prints.
Since I'm really, REALLY tired (just finished an assignment that really wasn't worth the amount of time and effort I put in for a miserly 10%), I shan't recount the time absolutely wasted waiting around at the station after they took my AUD$26.00.
I shall just say that being at a police station for me was kinda like being in a hospital for some people, who are terrified of getting germs because "sick people go there". Indeed, the police station in the city seems to be a magnet of weirdos galore. There was a twitching man at a corner who kept leering at me, another old man who shouted something incomprehensible to a police officer about his rights, yet another character who insists someone reported him (or his car) to the police, 3-generations of women (the youngest of which was probably 4 at most) decked in too much make up, cheap perfume and prosthetics, making a police report because someone assaulted the granny, who was standing there posed with perfect peroxide hair, and I swear she would have looked very much at home in leopard-print leotards.
When they FINALLY came to do my fingerprints, I was only too glad. The officer attending me was tall and friendly looking enough. Problem... the last time I did any kind of fingerprinting was in Singapore, where they rolled my thumb on this cool mini monitor thing that captured my thumbprint to perfection. So I wasn't quite so thrilled to go back to the old ink-and-stamp method of fingerprinting.
Particularly when it involved all 10 digits.
By the time we got to my pinkie, my face was probably a mix of consternation and amusement. The policeman, unfazed, said to me cheerily, "Don't worry about it." And then added, "Because it's about to get worse." And with that, he grabbed my hand and calmly splotched it across the ink sheet and then printed my entire hand print on the paper. First the right, then the left.
It took me 15 very unglamorous minutes to get most of the ink out.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
~ Mathematical Puzzle ~
Capacity of Eastern Formal Gardens: 100
Number of guests we want to invite: 189
Question:
What is the maximum number of people one can convince to form a Human Pyramid on the day of your wedding?
~ Superbride ~
"It's a bird... it's a plane..."
This little detour will be interesting, to say the least.
I'll be flying back to Singapore on Friday next week (Sept 3) so I can hopefully accomplish the following:
Amidst, of course, spending time with family and sorting out details of February's reception.
In preparation of my sudden departure from duties here, I have done the following so far:
Monday, August 23, 2004
~ The Airline Industry had better give us commission ~
Good Grief. I just might be flying back to Singapore during the September term break to get a gown.
I know I'm gonna look like a princess, commuting from one CONTINENT to another just for a gown, but guess what... it just might work out to be cheaper to do that, than to stay here with Cup Size C-and-up gowns that cost AUD$1,650. $2,000 actually, if you count the veil, the hoop rental and the woefully needed alterations.
Yes, there has been a kafuffle with the gown-previously-mentioned, and talks to bring me over to Singapore to be properly fitted and fussed over have thus commenced.
Tony reckons that, with the number of people flying into Canberra from Brisbane, possibly Melbourne and Singapore-Sydney, and with us travelling to Singapore again in early 2005, we could "keep SIA afloat". Or something.
And now with this additional trip being an added possibility, this looks set to be bigger than what I ever imagined.
Good Grief.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
~ Quiche is not pronounced as 'Quickie' ~
I just submitted my tax return. Hopefully that will mean extra money in the bank when they realise they've taken too much taxes out of my salary. Hopefully that also means I get extra money in the bank to pay my rent and settle any outstanding hidden costs that come with applying for a Spousal Visa.
Considering what a beautiful, lazy Sunday this has been, I think Tony and I managed to get some important things done.
For one thing, we've asked Anthony Whalen if he'd be willing and able to "wear a suit and handle some rings", as Tony had put it.
For another, we've also put together a list of tangible things that Tony's parents can do when they come down to Canberra from Brisbane to help out and get involved.
We just got back from the weekly small group meeting that Tony and I attend on Sunday evenings. For some time, we had been discussing at length about the principles behind 'provoking one another to love and good works', and we had just tied up some loose ends on a baby shower we were helping out with.
The group happened to be sitting around, mulling over possibilities for a new project when Tony flashed me this huge, Harrison Ford grin and asked me if we could suggest something.
So yes, we now have our catering for the wedding solved. Hurrah!
Kerry Nielsen and and Lynda Johns will be heading this operation, and they cook really, really well. Kerry's also had experience with catering for weddings. As it is this evening, she made these 2 bee-yoo-tee-ful quiches that were JUST the right consistency, and that's saying a lot, coming from cream-hating, lactose-intolerant me.
Friday, August 20, 2004
~ Police Chase ~
The form clearly says that I am to submit "a full set of fingerprint impressions taken by a qualified fingerprint official... Non-residents (of Singapore) may have the fingerprints taken at the local police station or law enforcement agency of the place currently residing".
So I call the Australian Federal Police.
They tell me that they do NOT take fingerprint impressions, and politely directed me to "the Department of Public Prosecution", or DPP for short.
After scouring the whitepages, both on the web and in hardcopy, I came to realise that it's called the DIRECTOR of Public Prosecution, and it's located in the city.
So I call DPP. They quiz me upside down about my reasons behind wanting to have my fingerprints taken. After explaining at length, the person servicing my call asks finally if this involves the high court.
No it doesn't, I patiently explain again. I just want to get a full set of prints done so I can attach them to the police check clearance application which I'm submitting to the Singapore Police Force. I need this for immigration purposes so I can prove to the Australian Government that I don't even have an outstanding traffic fine.
DPP then takes down my particulars, and promises that a Geoff something-or-other knows best, and will get back to me.
He never did.
So I wait till this afternoon to call the Singapore Embassy. I relate all that had happened, and they inform me that I've been misguided; I CAN get my prints done at the local police station, and she then gives me the location of the nearest police station to me, which is at Belconnen. She tells me to just walk in.
Seeing how the number for the Belconnen Police Station is the same number I dialled the last time I got misdirected to the DPP, I decide to do this in person instead, armed with the Singapore application form.
So I go to the Belconnen Police Station. They tell me that they do NOT do the prints there, they only do it at the police station located in the city.
See where I'm getting with this?
So I make a detour to the bank to get a bank draft for S$50, which incidentally ends up costing me AUD$61.24 because of the $20 surcharge I had to sacrifice to the good bank for their troubles.
I then make the trip down to the city, get lost a little, bump into a church member who talks to me about Kate and Mark's wedding (which probably doesn't include anything close to running after police stations), and then finally make my way to the police station, which incidentally is located two blocks from the DPP.
They tell me that I have to pay a nominal fee of $26. No, they don't have an EFTPOS (equivalent of NETS) facility. The person who does the fingerprints has already gone home anyway (at 3.45pm on a weekday), why don't I come back next week?
And this is why I'll twack anyone good and proper if they ever question whether I love the man I'm gonna marry.
Thursday, August 19, 2004
~ Up close the Big, White and Flooffy ~
~ Big, White and Flooffy ~
Take a look at the first gown I tried out on Fashion Friday last week.Couldn't quite believe I was wearing the darn thing! What catches my fancy with this one, is the simplicity of the designand the sweet, white trim at the hem. What REALLY catches my fancy with this oneis that it's a brand new gown that's going for HALF PRICE!!!
~ Form Inform ~
I have just downloaded a total of 12 different kinds of forms pertaining to Police Checks, Character Checks, Health Checks, Partner Sponsorship and what-have-you.
Mind you, this doesn't include the Partner Migration Booklet, nor the many little booklets explaining how to fill out the corresonding forms. To avoid future possibility of ruining an application form or something, I've printed 2 copies of each application form.
I have, therefore, in the bundle in front of me, easily two-thirds of a ream of paper. (1 ream = 500 pcs)
I thank God he gave me the position as a staff member of a learning resource centre because that gives me an unlimited free print quota.
Yuck-pooey.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
~ Four Months! ~
Yes, in exactly Four Months, Tony and I will spend ever after together. AAAWWWWWWW!!! Ain't that sweet.
We missed the last counselling session last night because we decided to celebrate our first anniversary since we officially started "seeing more of each other". Altogether now. AAAWWWWWWWW....!!!
Updates:
Friday, August 13, 2004
~ Flower Power ~
Oh yes... and I forgot to mention this, in the hype of Browsing for Gowns...
We got the Eastern Formal Gardens! Tony is very satisfied. The Eastern Formal Gardens is really a private garden along the Parliament House drive. It's well maintained, will probably have GORGEOUS flowers in Spring/Summer, and is quite perfect for a ceremony.
PLUS, it's ab-so-lute-ly free.
He never promised me a rose garden, but this is pretty cool...
~ Fun Fashion Friday ~
After getting seriously torn up inside earlier this week between praying for Good Christian Attitudes and wanting to tear something out with my teeth over sharing the Wedding Spotlight, I decided to chill out and enjoy the ride. I went shopping for a wedding dress.
My housemate and I braved cold, winter winds and unceasing drizzles to take on the bridal shops in both Kingston and Manuka - Yuppyvilles of suburbia Canberra. I had no idea gown-sampling could be so physically demanding. I was seriously pooped by the time I crumpled into a chair at Choices for dinner.
For the record, La Belle Bridal Boutique in Kingston and Nocturne Design in Manuka have some of the prettiest stuff I've seen. The staff are also really good at taking the tension off what already is a mentally exhausting event sans family.
If you're EVER gonna buy a gown, you can skip Momento in Manuka altogether. For starters, they don't specialise in the sale of bridal gowns, their selection is limited and somewhat wanting in design, and one of their sales staff seriously needs training in diplomacy. I spent a good deal of the time getting gown upon gown dumped on top of me while this little horror of a salesgirl referred to me as "DAH-ling" in barely civil tones as she insinuated that the lousy make of the gowns had nothing to do with how terrible I look in them. Also, one of the gowns had a corset so badly made that the metal piece just about ripped a piece of my flesh off because it was poking into my side. They buffered that part with TISSUE.
Classy.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
~ $ession Four ~
So we talked about money today.
I wonder how the very-rich live, sometimes. Imagine if money were no object. They say that money, statistically, breaks up marriages whether you make $25,000 per household per year, or $250,000.
Still, I bet the very-rich have at least more resources at their disposal when it comes to planning a wedding, for starters.
The interesting thing about coming from an Eastern and Western background is being respectful of both cultures and heritage, being true to both sides and yet constructing something new. Just thinking about whether we can do without some traditions and customs is already an exercise in negotiation and creativity. I think we're both stretched to a large extent to think outside the confines of what we've grown up with.
For instance, traditionally the bride's family pays for the wedding in Western culture. However, the bridegroom's family is the one who has to pay for the dinner and the dowry in Eastern culture. What happens now?
We're still forging our way, and we really don't have the answers. Tony's been truly wonderful in pitching in and being involved to a very large extent on what traditionally is an off-limits area for Caucasian men - wedding planning.
I only hope that our respective families and communities will be as flexible.
Saturday, August 07, 2004
~ Location, they say, is everything ~
Our marriage counsellor slipped on ice in his driveway the other week and landed on his elbow. That happened more than a week ago. Funnily enough, it only dawned on him that his elbow was broken some time late last week. As a result, he got admitted into the hospital over the weekend, and was last seen on Thursday spotting a Robocop Arm. We also missed Counselling No. 4 as a result, but no matter...
What got dropped out of our list, into oblivion:
Tony and I went venue hunting today. Seeing how we'd have to juggle my University education and graduation, his work, DIMIA, church work, and 2 weddings (yes, we've decided on two - one for each continent), we thought we'd get a headstart on venues. The cheaper, the better.
Here's the shortlist:
