I do apologise for the delay on this one, I guess it’s always better late than never. The month of November & December has always been the busiest time for me. It’s almost possible to call it a tradition - appointments on every date & at every time possible. With 11 more months to go till the wedding, I’m afraid chances are it will be busier. What would make it different is that I’ll be sharing my tradition with my husband to be, Leslie. You will find more reading in this last entry for the year, and it is due to this that I will try to include as much details as I can.
The Engagement Party We all love a little bit of party but this was a party I’ve never experienced first hand. It was held on Saturday, 8th November 2008 at Glen Waverley Community Centre. The period it took for Leslie & I to plan for this occasion was approximately 4 months with very little idea of how it would turn out as we had a unique set up. By unique I mean every guest was required to bring a piece of their favourite dish in lieu of gifts. I was very concerned about the numbers of turn out that we would have & how many of them would bring a dish. Leslie said that we would have 100, but from the looks of it at the party we probably had 150! About 2 weeks prior to the party, we finally decided to have a DJ instead of our humble mp3 player. He had some collection of what we would like to have at the party - songs included ABBA, Frank Sinatra & other 80s music. There was no way an mp3 player knows how to co-ordinate the mood of the party with the songs. You need a human for that. Organisation skill is my strongest but when it came to the very day of our engagement party, I kind of lost my sense of time & ability to function in orderly fashion. There were so many things happening in the background which sent me into complete state of hysteria. Firstly the spring rolls weren’t cooked in the expected time frame. Secondly, the hall was too big for 3 pair of hands to handle – we could’ve hired another 3 or even 4 helpers to do the set up. Thirdly, the purple & yellow balloons didn’t get blown because we ran out of time. But you know what the strangest thing is? The engagement party went absolutely perfect even with hurdles!! I guess the best part was being able to share our love with our families & friends. We would like to thank Leslie’s friend, Marg for giving us an amazing looking & tasting complimentary cake. It looks quite cheesy but being the cheesy couple that we are, we totally love the marble cake! We would like to thank all our love ones who brought their tasty dishes – golly, they are such professional cooks! We had more food than we expected and there I was weeks ago worrying about the numbers. Haha. Thank you all of you who attended. 
The hall set up
The Stage with decorations
Our engagement cake
Our family & friends during our speech
Cutting the engagement cake - practice, practice. Engagement Photo Gallery Links
The Wedding Jewellery About a week later, my sister, Widya & I visited Jeanette Maree with whom I made an appointment for a first consultation. It will definitely not be the last. The extensive collection that Jeanette has was just unbelievable! She has a wide range that would suit any kind of bride. You want classic? They have it. You want OTT, yup they have that too. I believe they have approximately 300 collections for you to choose – neither one of them looks eyesore. You must be thinking “Omigosh you’re gonna be stuck all day in the store just picking out which one to get!”. Now now..the most is 1 hour, at least that’s how long we were there for. Jeanette’s service was the best by far from any other jewellery store that I’ve been to. She is one jewellery designer that is more than happy to spend time getting to know your style, your dress & the kind of theme you would like to go for. She’s also very down to earth. Widya pointed this out. You see, it was really cold outside as it was drizzling that day so when we set foot in the store, Jeanette greeted us ever so warmly & said ‘Hi, do you want to know where the heater is? Come with me to the back. Come. Come.’ 
The necklace, bracelet & earrings in blush pink pearls & crystle. I'm not sure about the hair comb..hmm..
Richard’s Family BBQ Richard is my 2nd brother in law. His sister, Nelleke invited us over for a get together. It was a fair drive to her place, but we totally enjoyed the BBQ. I spent most of my time with Nelleke’s daughter, Alicia playing dress ups & dancing. Ahhh..you gotta love good times with family.  Nelleke’s husband, Mark is great in the kitchen! He voluntary helped at our engagement party to get all the food heated up & making sure Leslie & I are out of the kitchen. 
After BBQ
Stacey & Leslie testing the pool table.
Playing dressup is so fun!
Stacey’s New House Stacey is my 1st brother in law’s twin sister. She recently moved from Clayton to a 3 year old unit which Leslie & I quite fancy. We think it’s a decent size house for 3 or 4 people. Yes, Leslie & I are looking at buying a house sometime but not that soon – we have a wedding to save up for! Hehehe. Stacey enjoys craftwork. She was the one that introduced both my sisters & I the joy of hand made cards. Then My 1st sister, Melita grew a permanent love for knitting. She has a blog which consists of her knitting outcome & of course her kids – Matthew (6) & Ashleigh (3). Last Saturday, Stacey held a BBQ at her humble abode for her birthday, which of course means my 1st brother in law’s (Brad) birthday too. We celebrated it with Stacey’s close friends & loved ones. Matthew, Ashleigh & several other kids were feasting their eyes at Stacey’s very colourful & historical Christmas tree. Many of her Christmas ornaments were bought from all over the world with dates as early as her birth year. We will be visiting Stacey again on Christmas Day for another great family BBQ affair. 
Stacey & Brad at young age
Stacey opening gifts from Wid, Rich, Les & I
Charlie's Angels & lil Ashleigh
Mel pointing Stacey's X'mas tree while everyone else was checking it out. Hehe.
My Graduation My last graduation was in Swinburne in 2006. Having completed that course, I pursued a Master in Business IT at RMIT - this darling nerd loves IT. Throughout the course, I had made plenty of friends, gained meaningful knowledge with a crowd of very helpful & remarkable lecturers. I can proudly say that my experiences at RMIT have made me braver, sharper & some would say a little bit nutty – in a very good way that is. Let’s just say the course had helped me to think globally - being more aware of global impacts & that we should be more sharing of information – be less stingy in what is in scarce. If we’re talking in hippy language, I can summarise it to – “Share the love bebeh”! My RMIT graduation fell on 17th December 2008. I attended the parade as well as the ceremony. Sadly it ‘rained on my parade’. Hehehe..by that I meant it literally rained at RMIT parade. Nevertheless, we marched with our heads held up proudly from La Trobe St to Federation Square. My entourage consisted of Marc, my brother Anton & Leslie. Thanks!!  A close friend, Emmeline & I went together to the ceremony. She was unable to make it for RMIT parade. Well we took plenty of photos at the ceremony together & with our favourite lecturers too.  My experience of coming onto the stage to receive my testamur from the Head of Business IT has got to be one of the few greatest experiences of all time. I’ve done it before, but somehow receiving this one made it a whole new grand experience for me. I suppose it’s because I was totally in love with what I was doing and that I gave my all and my best. Ahhh….i did it! Yes, Class of 2008 RMIT – we did it!!!  About 2 weeks ago on the 13th, Emmeline & I set up a pre graduation celebration lunch. We had it at Shark Fin with Dante, Gengis & Marc. For some, it was quite an unique lunch as they've never had it before. Even Emmeline introduced me to dishes that i would'nt have picked alone. It drizzled for a while but it was all good to get us into the spirit of graduation. Hehe.
Today, we had a graduation cum family portrait with Chris from Blue Print Photography. Chris will be taking wedding photos for Leslie & I next year. The grad/family portraits will be ready by January. Can’t wait!!! 
Yum Cha @ Shark Fin House
Gengis & Marc after lunch.
That's me on Swanston St RMIT parade + the rain
RMIT parade - we had to share the street with the tram & other vehicles. Darn!
RMIT graduation ceremony with dad, brother Anton & Leslie
With Dr. Konrad P. & Emmeline - oh yes, he'll remember us two.
The Wedding Leslie & I are currently planning a possible church ceremony in Kuching. However this is not confirmed until Nov 2009. Something simple with extended families & close friends would be very pleasant. We are also on the search for more information regarding our honeymoon in Hawaii sometime in 2010. If you have any useful information, do share some tips.
Oh oh our wedding favours have arrived!! 
Victorian chairs which also holds name cards
My Family Last Christmas, I was with ¾ of my family. This Christmas, we are together as a complete family & it will continue to expand. Oh dear…I sound like we’re in the breeding business. Bwaahhaha. On the topic of family, Les & I have often been asked, “how many children are you planning to have?” “3” I said. “2” said Les. Oppsy. We plan to have our first born by 2012. This will give us plenty of time to save up for a bub & myself when I go for a year of maternity leave. This marks the conclusion of my entry – wishing you a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year 2009. 
2007: in Hong Kong with Dad, Mom, Ash & Les
Sunday, 21.12.2008: My family & Les' family @ Dragon Boat Knox City, celebrating my graduation. | 
