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Sunday, December 24, 2006

Wedding Photos #2

Yup, the second album is out... You can view them at photo.adriantai.com

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Saturday, December 16, 2006

Wedding Photos

Just completed the first wedding album and it is now available at photo.adriantai.com. For now, I have settled for manually writing each and every webpage. Trust me, it is no easy task. Will look into the options available (such as Macromedia's Dreamweaver, etc) later on.

There are over 500 photos for the reception alone. Then there's another 300 from the tea ceremony. And that's not including the other photos from my guests such as Dean.

Anyway, I have split the wedding photos into a few albums and will slowly add them to my Photo Album. Expecting to put up an album a week for the next 2 months or so.

Here are some of the photos in the first album called Wedding 01 (you can tell I'm not that creative, huh?)... They are all photos from the wedding reception.

OK... Now I truly call it a week and enjoy what's left of my weekend.

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Saturday, December 02, 2006

Port Dickson

Port Dickson... Here we come!!!
This was our honeymoon destination. For me, it has been years since I last visited the Port Dickson beach. I have heard of many 'stories' about how dirty Port Dickson (PD) beach is, etc... In my mind, I could see oil sludge, dead carcasses, plastic bags, paper and what-not strewn all over the place.

I was wrong... Which is a very good thing for me. :)

There were many hotels to choose from. Among the ones we considered were Guoman, Avillion, Seri Malaysia and a few more that was listed in MariMari.com. But we finally settled for the Corus Paradise Resort.

This is what greeted us when we walked into the place. Wow... Looks quite posh.

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Even the beach looks really nice from the hotel...

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After checking in, we took a drive along the seaside. About 5 minutes drive heading South, we arrived at this beautiful place called Pantai Cahaya Negeri. It is a very lovely place, with trees, a playground and even a small bridge connecting to a... errr... very tiny 'island'.

Photo taken from the bridge

The bridge
There was a temple nearby which we visited as well. We passed by an Ostrich Farm but did not stop to go in. That will be for our next trip.

We saw lots of seafood restaurants along the beach. But both of us were vegetarians, so we did not stop to try the food. Anyway, we just wanted a place to relax and be alone. *ahem*

Unlike Gurney Road, the items sold in the shops along the beach is reasonable priced. Mineral water still cost about rm1.50 per 1.5l bottle. I was expecting it to cost something like rm3. Maggi Mee is about rm0.60. So if you decide to drop by PD for a short break, you don't really need pack any instant food and be worried that the food here will cost a bomb! During our drive around PD, we also saw KFC, Pizza Hut and even 7-11. But we didn't find any McDonald's though.

We decide we had enough sight-seeing around the area and went back to the hotel. We could not really walk on the beach since the hotel did not really have one (Errr, dunno how to really explain it -- I believe a recent ad on TV used this place).

I guess now I know why it's called Corus Paradise Resort and NOT 'Beach Resort'
From our hotel room (all the rooms are 'seaview' rooms), the view is really nice.

I like that white patch of light on the sea
We waited for the sunset. Romantic ma...

Sunset is always romantic
Unfortunately, that was the closest we got to a sunset that night. Sat down from 1730hrs onwards and waited for the sun to set. But dunno why we didn't get to catch it. One minute it was still there, the next minute... The sun was no longer there. Our trip to Langkawi last year was better. We got to see sunset on a yatch.

The next morning... We took a stroll along the 'beach' since it was low tide. Wah, we saw so many...

Crabs...!!!
We had a good time there, even though it was just for one day and it didn't involve the use of our passport. I guess it is who you are with that matters the most.

The newly wed couple

For me, the first thing I always do when I check into a hotel room is to take a look at what they provide for the bathroom.

Not bad... They even provide toothbrushes and lotion!

You can usually tell what to expect from the hotel by just looking at what kind of soap and shampoo they provide. I still remember one hotel I stayed in a few years ago. They didn't provide me with a toothbrush. When I requested for one, they charged me rm5 for it. And they had bought it from the shop next door!

Although Corus is rated four stars in Marimari.com, I have noticed that the room was not too big. And it was not as clean as I would have expected the room to be, considering that at rm180 per night, I could easily get a nice, clean and quite big room in KL.

Excuse me but there's a fly on the floor and noodle on my (toilet) bowl
But still... IWe enjoyed our honeymoon.

To get to Port Dickson from Kuala Lumpur, just take the North-South Highway and head South. Take the PD exit and follow the signboards to PD. The signboards should lead you to the PD highway. Here's something that I learnt from this trip. At the end of the PD highway, you will arrive at a crossroad with a set of traffic lights. Signboards will tell you to turn RIGHT to go to PD. Straight will take you to Telok Kemang.

My advice is to GO STRAIGHT to Telok Kemang as it is easier and faster to get to the beach (and most of the hotels). We took the right turn and it took us through the PD town (with lots of confusing roads).

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Thursday, November 30, 2006

Honeymoon

We're going off for a short honeymoon. A really short one.

We'll be back tomorrow night. Till then...

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Sunday, November 26, 2006

We're finally married

And we're exhausted from all the running around. Make up for her, dinner arrangements, tea ceremony, etc...

Updates and photos will come in a day or two... IWe need our precious sleep.

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Saturday, November 25, 2006

Less than 24 hours to go...

In less than 24 hours, I will be married.

It is now 0230hrs and I'm still up. Nope, it is not because I am overly excited or what. I think it has more to do with the tea I took about 1 hour ago with the 25kid. He had just arrived from Singapore.

There are still so many things to do. Sitting arrangements have not been finalised yet. I still have a lttle bit of tidying up to do for my room. What else...?

I am really glad that I have many relatives and friends who are helping with the wedding preparations. Especially Shin Yee (aka PsychoGirl). I really, really dunno how else to thank you and your hubby for helping me out again for the dinner. And there are of course many others like 25kid, Dean, Derrell, Jude, Wei Loong, Mun San... The list just goes on and on...

Anyway, the question that's bugging my mind is... Do I celebrate my anniversary 3 times a year? This is because we got legally married a few months ago. The dinner will be on the 25th and most of my friends and relatives will probably remember this date. But the traditional ceremony is on the 26th... Hmmmm...? How leh?

I better try and get some rest now. I really need it. I'm turning into a zombie... But before I forget, my apologies to a dear friend and her husband - Anushka and Milinda. So sorry that I'm not able to be a good host this time around. Hope you are having a good time discovering Malaysia. Time just flies by and I realised I only had one post on Visit Malaysia prepared for you guys. My sincerest apologies...

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Monday, November 20, 2006

Last bachelor weekend outing

I am not kidding when I say that my last weekend as a bachelor was spent with a few friends drinking juice...

Guess which one is mine...? 17, my favourite number!
What?!? Hmmm... No strip-o-gram (oh wait... this thing dun exist in Malaysia)? No wild parties? Zilch!

Anyway, the first place (yes, we went somewhere else after that) we went to was not really that fun. You can tell when they actually have a menu like this.

Ok, ok... They do have alcohol but it's nothing fancy except for the price
Wah, they limit the number of skyjuice (read: plain water) you can order per person. rm2 per glass? RO water or even battery water (distilled water) is cheaper la... The government should start looking into this and maybe put water as controlled item as well. Luckily there’s a happy hour rate for skyjuice (read the last sentence with an acidic tone)! Can someone buy me a ticket to Kuching so I can attend KennySia’s birthday bash instead? Heard they have freeflow of FREE drinks there...

But seriously, it is not the drinks that matters. It’s the people you hang out with. I had a good time with my friends, of course. Actually, nobody actually celebrates ‘last bachelor weekend’. It’s just an excuse to meet up with friends and have a good time, which we did. Thanks guys... You know who you are. :)

Anyway, I have a new ‘family member’. A colleague decided she’s had enough of her hamster and decided to give it away. She had bought three Winters for her kids but no one was really able to take care of them. Two of them died sometime ago. But I’m more than happy to have another mouth to feed.

Meet... Errr... I still have not given a name yet to the fella. Have forgotten to check if its a he or a she...

Eh, I’m camera shy la...! Dun take my photo la...


I’m so cute with my big, black eyes...


p/s: i had the Tequila Sunrise... or was it Sunset?!? (the one that is NOT served in the jam jar).

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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Wedding update 3

Husband and wife jokes: For him.
A husband visited a marriage counselor and said, "When we were first married, I would come home from the office and my wife would bring my slippers. Our cute little dog would run around barking. Now after ten years it's all different. I come home, the dog brings the slippers and my wife runs around barking."
"Why are you complaining?" said the counselor. "You're still getting the same service!"

Husband and wife jokes: For her.
One woman told another, "My neighbor is always speaking ill of her husband but look at me. My husband is foolish, lazy and a coward; but have I ever said anything bad about him!"


So far, everything seems to be falling into place. New bed is now in my room taking up space and I can't sleep on it yet! Dowry (and XiaoFen's family requests) have been met and delivered last week. As for the invitation cards, I still have quite a lot yet to be delivered. *sigh* And I hope I've not missed out anyone from my list!

Last night, we went to the restaurant to confirm the menu and the arrangements for the wedding day. We also picked the song for our entrance (I think it is a Scottish song - yes, last night was the first time we heard it but it sounds very nice). There will be NO alchohol (beer, wine, etc) served during the dinner but the plan would be to proceed back to my house after dinner for my Bachelor's Party!!! :)

The restaurant, Sky Garden, is a place I discovered about 3 years ago. I had just started being a vegatarian not too long before that. Two of my colleagues brought another colleague and yours truly to the outlet in Cheras (till today, I still do not know how to get to the one in cheras). I was quite impressed by the decor and the food there. When I saw their had an outlet in Petaling Jaya (there are now two outlets in PJ, the other one in ss2), I decided to check it out on my own.
The PJ outlet near Old Klang Road is just as impressive. I knew immediately back then that if I would get married and have a wedding dinner, it would be in Sky Garden. Yes, the place is that impressive. Till today (and last night), the place is still just as impressive. I managed to get a few shots. These shots don't really do justice to Sky Garden since they did not open that section and decorate it - they only do it when there is a big function.

Taken shortly after our very late dinner last night


Can you just feeeeeel the atmosphere and place...? Don't feel like a vegetarian restaurant, huh?
Anyway, with just slightly more than one week to go... I wonder if I missed out anything else. Everyone seems to tell me that weddings are always a headache. So far, all seems fine on my side, except for the invitation cards of course.

Oh ya... Many friends and visitors have commented that I'm being too vain and only posting photos of myself. Hey, it's MY blog la... But anyway, I told Xiao Fen about the comments and she said I could put this picture of her...

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Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Wedding update 2

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I wonder...

Touch 'N Go claims to have 3 million cardholders and 500 000 SmartTAGs. If 5% of the cardholders are also Zing users (150 000 Zing users), Rangkaian Segar (Touch 'N Go operator) stands to earn rm300k yearly in interest from the rm50 deposit (assuming interest at 4% pa). When you terminate or surrender the card, there is also a rm5 processing fee. This means the operator can 'safely' put this amount in a fixed deposit account. With 3 million users, that's rm600k pa at 4% in interest earned. Easily a million ringgit business a year for just having users.

Wah, how can I get into this business as well?

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Headache!

Traffic jam is back. It took me more than 30 minutes to get to my office today when it took me just 15 minutes last week. *sigh*

The wedding guest list is also another problem. I have to really emphasize that it can be a MAJOR problem. If any couples plan to get married and ask me for advice, I would tell them to first start with the list. Why?
1. To book the venue, you first need to know how many people are coming or at least you plan to have. After all, the venue have got a seating capacity and may not be able to meet your requirements.
2. Once you have a list, you then know how many cards to print.
3. From the list, you can then calculate how much money you will need to spend. Yes, there is a cost to each guest from invitation card (printing & stamp cost) to wedding favours (yes, I have something planned out for my guests). Then there's the obvious dinner costing.

I will share more on how my nightmare started another day.

But I have to say that I'm really lucky to have:
1. a very understanding wife. She is suffering a lot from this guest list problem. She practically could not invite any of her friends.
2. very good friends who continuously remind me and keep me on track when it comes to the wedding plans. Every now and then, they would even offer to help out with whatever arrangements. To them, I really have to thank you very, very much! I'm so very touched! I will let you know if I need additional help. At the moment, we're still OK.

Some have asked how come there are no photos of Xiao Fen, my wife. Well, I am saving the best for last. Yes, I will not be posting a photo of her here... Yet.

Like happy4ever said, I'm going to camwh0re and post another photo of myself. My wife's favourite. She saw the photo I posted yesterday and said this one looks better:

My wife likes this photo
Me? I like ALL my photos... Hahahaha...

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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Wedding update 1

To be honest, till right now, I still don't know if I have got all the things ready for the wedding. Yes, in case there are a few of you regular visitors who some how missed out on this... I am getting married.

So far, the cards are already printed and currently being distributed. We've also reserved the tables at the restaurant for the big day. Vegetarian dinner. Kinda disappointed with myself for not taking up the whole place when we first reserved the tables. We took up only about 2/3 of the place and now we can't invite all the people we had wanted to. So my advice to couples planning to get married soon... Think about who you want to invite, make a list and then only do you look for a place. For our case, the restaurant already 'gave' the 1/3 to another couple.

The photos came out quite nice. I guess our worries were unfounded. We were quite nervous about how the photos would turn out since there were some minor issues with the studio. I guess they lived up to their reputation and I will be more than happy to recommend any of my friends to them. I will write more about them later on.

Hmmm... What else is there to do, anyway...? Oh well... I might as well share this one studio photo.

Can you honestly say I don't look good? ;)

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Friday, September 29, 2006

Four changes and a wedding

I have noticed that over the few years, government service have actually improved! Usually, you need to wait for hours to get a number. Then you wait a few more hours for your number to get called. Then you wait for an hour (ok, this bit is exaggerated) for them to complete the service you want, be it to renew your passport, change your Identification Card (IC), etc...

What used to take weeks or months (like getting a new IC) now takes maybe a day or a week. Impressive. This is what I call change for the better!

However, the same can't be said for the private sectors. That's really strange cause it used to be that when you privatise something, they usually become efficient and fast. Maybe times have changed.

Now, it takes me an hour to do my banking (take number, wait for turn, wait for officer, etc). I know we have 24 hours cash machines, etc... But there are somethings you just can't do with the machine like get a Fixed Deposit, argue for discounts, etc... It still takes eternity to buy stamps (and it takes twice as long for your recipient to get your snail mail).

Nobody likes to wait these days. Everyone wants everything YESTERDAY.

When a website takes a long time to load, I usually just hit the STOP button and click BACK. Or I just go somewhere else to look for information.

This is partly why I have also changed the looks and feel of this site. I've removed most of the images and rely mainly on CSS. But since it is hosted on blogspot, it means that the individual pages become bloated (with CSS codes). However, I know there's still a lot that can be done to reduce the number of line of codes. Changes will come.

When a person hits 30, they start to realise that things are NOT the same anymore. Suddenly, you realise you're an ADULT. You have got to think about loans, mortages, family, career, mortality... The thinking starts to change. You become more responsible. You become more serious (since you should never treat life as a joke!). Still, life is short. No one said you cannot be serious and enjoy life, right? So more funny, witty posts will be coming soon!!!

And did you know that it takes less than 30 minutes to change your marital status from SINGLE to MARRIED? I don't mean unchecking the box and then checking on the other when you are trying to complete an online form. I mean legally in Malaysia. Of course the whole process will take about slightly over two weeks since the law requires that the marriage announcement be placed on a public notice board for a minimum period of two weeks (actually, this is another interesting topic that I will blog about another day). This is to allow people to protest against the marriage, if any.

The 30 minutes involve you raising your right hand, saying 'Yes' and then signing the papers. You can actually complete it is less than 15 minutes.

OK, so what about the wedding and who's wedding is it?

Well, the wedding is definitely coming. It is in November. And it is MY wedding. :)

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Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Type of wedding

Unknown:

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Monday, September 25, 2006

Success in Marriage

Anonymous:
Success in marriage is much more than finding the right person; it is a matter of being the right person.

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