My Lego-Themed Wedding

The past few months had been such a rush, I couldn't believe it is already December now. So much had happened since I last blogged, but I guess the only big thing is that I am now officially married! =) Not that it felt much different for us both, but then again, it does. Whilst I am not a big fan of weddings, I am a believer of marriage. A promise to stay with one another through thick and thin, to love and to grow old together. =)

But since everyone loves weddings, I would just share some snippets of my simple little wedding here, for those who are as nerdy as us, or for those who just wanted something simple and sweet. I must say I am proud of my effort at planning this wedding, considering I only started planning about 2 months away. Single-handedly, whilst juggling a full-time job (80-110 hours a fortnight) + moving houses + getting my drivers' license. Looking back now, I am still amazed at how I could manage to accomplish all of that! All by God's grace, I must say.

I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this, but both the Boy and I are Lego fans, and I am working on a pretty decent collection at the moment. An expensive hobby, I must say, considering they are just little plastic toys. There was an article I once read about Lego investment giving higher returns than gold. Hmm... Anyway I've digressed. 

So my point was, we had a Lego-themed wedding! Lego and the oh-so-popular Rustic theme, to be exact. I did have some of the standard decor like bird cages, candle-lanterns, vases, petals scatters etc, but with a touch of Lego. Just to avoid looking like a 5-year-old's birthday party, that is. I am not overly-fussed with weddings, but I must say the planning did get me pretty excited and I loved how things came together on the day!

We had both our ceremony and reception at the same place - The Hadley's Hotel in Hobart cbd. A short and sweet ceremony, complete with vows, celebrant and signing of papers. Three-course sit-down reception afterwards. 40 guests in total (all who graciously turned up with lots of gifts and love, despite our last-minute invites). We also had most of the standard wedding stuff - guestbook, wedding favors, wedding cake, pre-wedding photos in a leather-binded album (if you are wondering, it's a BIG asian thing haha), bridal gown etc. But we've done away with the bridal party, the wedding march, the awkward first dance, the diabetes-inducing lolly buffet (though we had nicely-packed Lego candies as a second wedding favour for everyone), and the embarrassing drunken-blabbers a.k.a wedding toasts. Instead, I prepared a guest pamphlet detailing the sequence of events of the night and some quirky Q&As, and a Lego-Building Station that was definitely the highlight for most guests. And I would gladly say that we enjoyed every part of our night (without any of those freak-out-moments or Bridezilla-stress-explosions), and the same goes with our guests! 

And the best thing is, we barely spent much at all on the wedding, despite having a classy function room with a crystal chandelier, hotel-grade three-course meals, top-notch service, and an open tab! Thank God for friends that doesn't binge-drink. =P

Our Lego Building Station. We prepared various pots containing male and female hair/headpieces, heads, torso, legs and accessories. All guests are given a white podium with our names printed on a white tile. They are to take the podium to the station and build their very own version of Christine and Michael to take home as keepsakes/wedding favour! 

 

An example of a completed Lego wedding favour =)

A close-up of our rustic birdcages decor with pre-built Lego Creator sets in them

Our guestbook signing table

We used this cute little picture book as our guestbook

This was our geeky Wedding Prescription Pads, where guests could write down their "prescription for a happy marriage" and drop them off in our little first-aid box. These "script pads" were custom-made by yours truly! *patent pending

Our dinner menu for the night and another one of my custom-made event pamphlet (made during my row of night-shifts haha)!

Lego centre-pieces! We only had 40 guests which came to a total of 4 tables. Instead of using table numbers, we assigned a different colour to each table (correlating to the colour of the Lego pieces).

    

Our custom-made three-tier Lego cake! Made by this wonderful lady we found online who even delivered it to our venue. Yummy cake, reasonably priced too. I would definitely use her services again for my future cake-requirements! (sorry I only got to take a photo of the cake after it had been cut, hence the dark line across the back)

Feel free to steal the idea for your very own big day, and share your photos with us too while you're at it! =) 

  

One month to go...

One month till forever. We're ready. =)

Where have we left off?

Finally I am back from my long hiatus. Where do I begin? 

To be honest there wasn't much happening at all for the past 3 months. I went back to Malaysia for a 3-week-vacation and it was great, especially since my brothers were on uni holidays as well. It was like going back in time to my childhood days again, waking up in my childhood bed, delicious home-cooked meals prepared by my mum, playing with Frosty the cat, watching tv and playing video games with my brothers... It felt as though I never left home. Which made it so difficult to leave again when the time comes. I would've thought that it'll be easier every year, but I had been away from home for almost 10 years now, but I still suffer when it comes to goodbyes. 

Other than that, it was just work, work and work. I am now on a temporary retreat away from the hospital setting in the Drug and Alcohol Detox Unit, which was a refreshing change from all that relief work and surgical night shifts. It was indeed a whole new experience for me and once again, every day was a learning opportunity, and every client has a story I love to listen if they would share it with me. I am enjoying it very much so far (apart from the commuting), a much-welcomed slower pace compared to surgical, friendly colleagues and bosses, and plenty of mental health involvement. Whether I decide to pursue psychiatry or general practice in future, this rotation would still be very beneficial. 

Oh, and I have a wedding to plan... in 2 months! Procrastination at it's finest, really! I am never big on weddings, so I guess it would just be the simplest ceremony I can put together. Now it's just the matter of finding a venue, inviting the guests and finding a celebrant. Shouldn't be too much work (I hope!). Funny that I'll be way more willing to put in effort to plan our marriage life and babies and whatsnot, but when it comes to weddings, I find them a real chore! Afterall, I see weddings as putting on a show for others to see, it's never really just about the two of us. If we get our own ways, we would've just signed the papers in the registry office! =P    

Anyway, rant over, time to get that procrastination monster out of my head.

There are many pretty girls in this world.

With their porcelain-smooth skin, perfect vision, big sparkly eyes, perfectly-shaped nose, luscious lips... yada yada. Some people reckon that even their sweat smells sweeter. 

Alas, I am not one of them.
But then again, so what. Life goes on. Beauty is overrated these days.

Girls, cliche as it may sound, appearance is NOT EVERYTHING. I've witnessed countless girls giving up all they have and who they really are in pursuit of the ideal image of beauty; from splurging on skincare/cosmetics to visiting aesthetic clinics to undergoing plastic/cosmetic surgeries. In the end, they all look like photocopies of each other, pretty, but without personality. Pretty, but forgettable faces.

And do they even know what sort of substances they are actually injecting or implanting in their bodies? What effects they have on the anatomy and physiology of a human body? Let alone the unnecessary risk of potentially introducing infection. Sepsis kills, severe hemorrhage kills, PE kills...

Oh well. The up side of it, it brings about a HUGE business. A growing business, especially in this new era whereby cosmetic procedures and plastic surgeries are seen as a norm rather than a taboo (thanks to Korea and Japan for being the pioneers!). The debate is heated, and the proposition is heading towards a winning trend. It's pro-feminism, it's about women (and men) exercising their rights to achieve what they want, it's giving people a chance to increase their self-esteem and confidence for better mental well-being, it's what's trending, it's a symbol of wealth...

My take? Honestly, I probably would've yearned for a nose job when I was say, 15 and don't know any better. Or even maybe a blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), dermabrasions... heck, change my whole face and body if you could! But now, I probably wouldn't take up the offer even if it's free. It's probably easy for me to say as I am now on the other side, 10 years older (and hopefully 10 times wiser). But on a serious note, let me tell you, there will come a time when you'll learn to love yourself for what you are, and see that there is a much bigger picture to life than that of your own nose (or any body part you would've wished to change).

And one day you would meet that special someone who knows how to appreciate you the way you are, who thinks that you are beautiful even when you don't see it yourself or even when the world does not see it.

Make your choices, girls. But remember to think twice, think thrice, think a zillion times if you need to. For this is a decision you have to stick with for life; reversal surgeries are not impossible but why go through all that to realize what you really wanted was always what you already had?

But if you still decide to go for it, Maybe I will be here to offer you my services in... some years to come. Because now I am seriously considering tapping into that aesthetic business when it's hot (maybe as a part-time sub-specialty), for the promise of a better financial future for me and my family (wait for me, million-dollar dream house(s) and Lamborghini Aventador and a complete Lego collection from year 2000 to present, that I could buy a special house to store them all!) Oh yes, I am shallow practical like that. Teehee. A practical dreamer. Heh, I love the paradox.

Also, I think I make a really bad salesperson/ business promoter as my post would probably have killed my potential business, what if every girl in the world decide not to go for it anymore?!! 

(Hmm, nah probably won't happen...) =P

0700

Watching the sunrise from my window, praying that my phone does not ring an hour before I am due to finish my shift.

Last night shift for this month! =)

Heading to Melbourne for the next four days. Great food and shopping, that's the life! =)

To be a ME with a YOU

To me the most romantic moments are in the little things.


Like when I had a fever the night before, and the first thing he did the following morning when he woke up was to touch my forehead to check if I was still burning.

Like when we were walking hand in hand down the street when he suddenly pulled me into a locked hold and kissed me.

Like when we put together our new home, one flat-pack furniture at a time, and his hands were covered in blisters afterwards because he insisted on putting in all the screws himself...

Here's to many more great moments to come. =)

Nocturnal Creatures

Count me in as one of them.

I'm doing night shifts again as surg senior, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I am actually enjoying them. The peacefulness of the night (when patients behave, that is), the long quiet corridors of the hospital, the private time, the wonderful surg senior room in the resident quarters... So much different from the hustle and bustle of day shifts. But I would say nights are more challenging. For you are on your own most of the time, keeping patients stable and alive till the day comes.

Scrubbing in on a 2 to 4am emergency laparoscopic procedure, being able to manipulate the camera for the very first time was pretty fun. Almost like playing video games.
Admissions... not so much.

But I'm not complaining, as nights allow me to finally have the time to blog again! While awaiting the next phone call...

Away

Tonight, I was that little girl once more.

Running aimlessly amongst the weeds in the field,

Trying to shake this loneliness again. 

Light grey dress, the colour of the sky;

Searching... for days that were lost and forever gone. 

My mother, her face kind and beckoning. 

The smell of home, warm and comforting.

How many years had been?

The clock goes on and on and on... 

I'll be free some day.

I'll find myself again some day.

I'll be dancing and singing like I used to some day.

I'll be me again... some day. 

I'm finally home

Sorry for the very belated update.
One year has gone so fast that it was almost impossible for me to catch up with the passing of time.

So much has happened since my last post, yet I still remember vividly the anxiety and the uncertainties of it all. Believe it or not, I had a very difficult time in the last few months. Slow, inefficient and unfair recruitment processes almost drove me nuts. I would not want to bore you with the details, but I am so glad that it is all over now. Hopefully from now on, everything would be smooth-sailing. I really hope that was the last of the storm.

So despite not being able to get my psychiatry registrar job in Hobart (due to major mess-up by the HR), I was still able to secure myself an RMO job in Hobart (albeit really late), which was really what I would prefer. For that, I am very thankful.
Guess that's one more year for me to consider carefully whether I wanna be a GP or a psychiatrist!

I think 2016 would be a good year for me, for us.
I am now finally back in Hobart, back to the place I had called home for the past few years, back to where you are. I could still remember the elated look on your face for that whole day when I first came back down to Hobart for good. You were so happy and for some reason it moved me to tears.

We are buying a house together too, hoping to move in this coming month or two. It was a great little 250 square meters brick house, full of sunlight and great view. I am no great designer, but I am gonna make this feel like home. For us, for our future family.

We are engaged, planning to marry within this year. It wasn't a huge engagement, no friends or family present, just a little private time between the two of us. In my favourite Sydney, during a weekend getaway. A dainty little diamond ring. I am never that girl who has an ideal wedding in mind down to the little details like the colour of the napkin rings, so I would envisage a small, simple ceremony. (I would have went for the option of just registering and not having any ceremony at all, but I guess The Boy and my parents would probably not like the idea... >.<)

Anyway, so there, lots to plan in the months to come! That, and adapting to my new job in a new hospital. Sounds like an exciting year. I am looking forward to all that life has to offer me!

And counting my blessings everyday. =)