Our Life

Singing in my dream.....

I don't mind waiting a lifetime

Even if it's gambling with time

I could dare the waiting elsewhere

Love could be the future we share

the only warmth in Fall

Beautiful Fall, its getting cold but the only warmth you bring is the thought that he is coming home to me..

Just in case you are wondering where we have been, we are still deep in the abyss of thought...

With each struggle I find myself closer,
Closer to the beginning of us.
The reason why we exist is simple,
Yet it only dawned upon me now.

Time may have shaped every thought and situation,
Words and actions seem weakened.
But the pain must only be worth it,
For our dream and hearts remain unchanged.

that i did always love

THAT I did always love,
I bring thee proof:
That till I loved
I did not love enough.

That I shall love alway,
I offer thee
That love is life,
And life hath immortality.

This, dost thou doubt, sweet?
Then have I
Nothing to show
But Calvary.

-emily dickinson

Time can preserve many memories, yet can destroy all. :(

the coming of 2008, the going of 2007

How and where and when should I begin? The year 2007 has gone by, too much has taken place, too much moving about, too much happiness and accompanying tears... Does anyone still believe that love can be modern enough to survive the times yet old-fashioned enough to last forever? Most good stories begin with a quote or phrase which engraves the first impression in your mind, for me I shall begin with a picture:

I still wait,
as Penelope waited for Ulysses,
as Juliet waited for Romeo,
as Beatrice waited for Dante.

And a new love, begun.

For the first time in endless months of worrying, I finally went straight into a shop and bought a dress which we will tie our commitment to each other for eternity in. It was like a dream come true for me because I overcame the pressure of trying on gowns and finally had an idea of what I would look like on our day.

I picked something which is part oriental and mostly, befitting for my figure. I think I will do without a veil nor a tiara, but favour a pulled back hair weaved with little white daisies in it! I will carry, in my hand, your bouquet and your heart, waiting with diamond tears. I walk down the long magical aisle towards a life together, smiling the biggest smile of a new phase, beginning.

And a new love, begun.

I say, yes, I do, to be with you, in all times of difficulty and sickness, to love and care for you always.

Finally. Almost a full circle to 4 years.

Chinese New Years 2007

Traditions. Customs. Mysteries. Legends. Songs. Children Stories. Games. Moral. Understanding. Point of view. Ethnic. Respect.......Our worlds can be so different, coming from two different cultures.

Its part of Irene's and my life to learn about the other. Its part of our life to teach, show and introduce the other into the above mentioned. This time it was Chinese New Year. Something far more complicated than our New Years and honestly I have not fully understood. So I think i will have to go back next year and try again. This time Irene won't be there, since she will still study in Germany...but this time I will beat big uncle in Manjhong.

Well let me sum up what happened, letting the deeper meaning for next time:

The whole trip started weird, since I missed my flight in Medan. I could sleep over at a friends place and catch the flight the next morning. But I flew straight to KL instead of Singapore, because Irene left Singapore with her parents already in the morning. So we met in Kuala Lumpur. We met the first relatives in the city her mother grew up.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!REAL SATAY. Compared to the Sate in Indonesia, this was a festival of taste!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Sorry, but I haven't had such good sate/satay for quite some time.)

However, arriving in her uncles place Irene went from ??? to ????....

And her mother helped Irene's aunti cooking for the big night!

After moving our clothes to her cousin's new house, the fiesta began. At first Irene's uncle explained all (probably pretty annoying for all since they had to hear it again and again, but I think he did for me, I really appreciated it) the story and the meaning of the God of heaven. How the people try to trick him with treats and candy so that he gives some of the luck and money to the people and stays with them.
The food afterwards was gorgeous. I know we had Mrs. Tan fabulous Curry and Steamboat with Fish and Meatballs, Fish, Super shrimps. meat, pork, chicken, veggies..., but the rest was unnameable, but very yummy.

The eating went on for hours until midnight, when Irene turned 24. Here you see Irene, Mrs. Tan, Mr. Tan and her cousin. Her brother was not able to come, since the army did not give him vacation for the celebrations.

Soon this is official!

This is not the full family...only a part of it!

There are no pictures showing me playing...or better loosing Majongh, but that's ok...We visit a lot of relatives the next day before we head once again to Genting. We met Mr. Tan's one brother and played our beloved Ghost Squad, before we went to the Casino and won back every send we spend for the whole trip. All in all it was a very nice trip....Irene's Parents gave me a Majongh game, since i liked it so much. Now I am practicing for next year...I have to win!

love is everywhere

Seems to me life has a warped way to tease our relationship, I am right now in Germany, he, in Indonesia. But, life is still good. :)

a totally innocent one day insight into Banda Aceh

Ok folks, this post might or might not be based on a biased opinion, but well its Banda Aceh. :) As Matthias is working in Aceh, I have often heard about his rave experiences in Indonesia. From then on I have secretly cultivated a love hate relationship with Aceh. Finally, after 8 long months of hesitation and falsified impressions, I went on to courageously confront them! From Matthias's stories, I get the idea that Aceh:
1) harbours one of the strictest practices of Islam. You basically know what I mean.
2) enforces the local law that no local women can go out sleeveless, with anything shorter than above the ankles, with open toed shoes. In other words, we are all dressed fairly indecently here.
3) does not allow free love. Thank God we are so liberal.
4) mass produces rice since all they could eat is nasi all day long. I quite appreciate the variety we have here in Singapore.
5) houses their expats the most comfortably, judging from the pictures I have seen.
6) segregates the expats and the locals. Well...
7) is still suffering from the post 2004 tsunami attack. The country needs more help.
8) needs to import huge quantities of power generators since its always required in cases of blackouts, which is highly frequent.
9) requires internet towers built in your backyards to ensure the smooth running of internet connection. Which by the way, is the third party between me and Matthias. It's a total pain in the ass I tell you.
10) will not welcome me since I am Asian, looks like one of them and do not wear a head dress!
Ok, I know all these points sound ridiculous and severe, but they are indeed ridiculous and if they are ridiculous, they are ridiculous for a good reason. Let's move on to see the real picture of Banda Aceh!
Lets start with the dangerous motorbike ride through the busy streets of Banda Aceh... You really never know how many motorbikes you get on the extremely polluted streets of the city. Motorbikes everywhere and the most amazing sight would be the things they carry on their rides. Little boy sandwiched between his father and a heavily pregnant mother with an infant in her arms, sacks of rice, long bamboo poles... everything that is prohibited in Singapore, you get it there. And *GULP, 70% of them do not wear helmets nor 30% of them have their headlights on at nights. We abide by the law with our helmets!

Starting from what everyone would like to know, what has become of Aceh after the tsunami in 2004? The borders for the wasteland seemed never ending... I had to imagine the city standing right before my eyes.

Seems like they found a use for the remains of the disaster...

I supposed everything has been left the way it is ever since then? I just cannot imagine what you can still find beneath the waste sludge...

The biggest electrical company power ship that got washed 5 km inshore by the waves.... Look what could even be crushed beneath it.

And accompanied by the smaller fleet...

Stopping for some gas.

On the way once again..

See what's in the distance? It's not a new house being built, rather it is something that was standing before. Or still standing now. At least part of it.

I'm always amused by the mobile 'coffee shop'! It's like the ice cream uncle we catch along Orchard Road, except that he was selling rojak, bak so mee and fruits.

Reminders that stay: ''The owner of this house is still alive. Tsunami 26 Dec 2004.'' Translated from Indonesian.

Here we go. Time for new houses. However some aren't equipped yet with electricity and water lines since the start of the construction, so u can't really blame the people for not moving their asses off the Red Cross shelter homes.

This is supposed to be the most beautiful new house donated, from the Turkish. Probably the rooves look better.

This was the hot topic after the tsunami as well, the only monument that was so close to the sea yet the only one that remained undestroyed after the disaster struck and washed out millions of homes. Was it really because of a religious reason? Or if u study science like me, u know what I will say.

Finally we made it to the beach at Lhokna. I couldn't help thinking what would be my immediate reaction when the coastline suddenly draws back and we should expect a tsunami in 30 minutes. Matthias said he would climb towards higher grounds, starting from the mountains next to the beach. See here:

I mean, I really wouldn't immediately think about doing that! With 30 minutes, how far can u climb? I thought I would actually just take the motorbike and ride as fast as I can away from the pre-disaster scene! However life goes on perfectly normal post disaster....

And beautiful beautiful sunset for the final verdict...

If u ask me again, Banda Aceh is really: 60% no rules, 30% natural and 10% rural, which makes it totally 100% interesting! If you are somebody who hates to get sweaty, prefers toilet seats rather than squatting pans and totally has no sense of adventure, I suggest u never visit Banda Aceh. Look at Matthias's disbelief, he couldn't believe I LIKED my short trip to Indonesia so much!