Let there BE Love

All good must things come to an end such that other good things can be created. The wedding dinner too has to end at some point after all the bride & groom has much to do...as most of the guest interviewed wants to see the product of their love.

On this night most of the guest were not in a rush to go home as is the case with most weddings. I wasn't ready to go home myself and i been up since 0700hrs. It was just a magical and what a wedding. Many would go back tonite and remember this wedding...so beautifully organised by Jeannie the Bride. We the back-ups were glad to have been a part of this wonderful experience and i must say i didn't want it to end. As nervous as i was when initially asked to emcee...i wanted more. It was a party. A celebration of Love. A joyous occasion.

As i stepped onto the cobblestones leading out of Ciao's a reminder of the Love that was put into the organising of this wedding stands as a reminder that tonite...LOVE filled the air.

Life's A Beach!

As the conch shell trumpets, the party begins...crackers, confetti and lighted bouncing

sea urchins abound as the mood for the night is set for a celebration!

The gorgeous "sea cake" with a pair of dolphins atop it's crest. The wishing tree from which wishes from guest are hung in shapes of dolphins, sea horses and some other sea creature. I'm a mountain man i don't know much about sea creatures...apart from Bo Derek.

Guest decked all the way to the horizon.

Bride & Groom thanking the long list of helpers and guest etc, etc...and finally the throwing of the bridal bouquet and the lucky catcher...is supposedly the next bride to be!

The Players

Many are the players at Jeannie & Dave's wedding. Many have come to celebrate with them and many too have come to support them. All were here for the wedding of the year!

The wedding dinner reception girls with their beachily decked out tables with real goldfish, shells and pebbles.

James..the opening prayer for dinner and me, the emcee...who doesn't do prayers.

Steve the non-professional video man and the beautiful ladies of the night...the maid of honour flanked by the bridesmaids...who seem to be enjoying themselves quite a bit. :)

All played their part in making this...i vote as the best wedding i have ever attended. It was more a celebration of the couple on their most special of nites. A labor of love from the bride & groom in appreciation of the love blessed upon them.

Lotsa Love for Jeanie

July 28, 2007 a day i will remember not only as the day where jeannie & dave ties the knot but a day where i see jeannie at her happiest.

She has organised this wedding single handedly right from the flowers, the preparations, the theme, the excell worksheets, the favors, the invitations, the works. Nothing left to chance but all left in the hands of God. She went through the flow with us helpers and entrusted us with the big task of making it happen as she dreamed it and she let God handle the weather. I was entrusted with emceeing the wedding and nervous as i was i choose that stretch with conviction. Fear can have the better of me after that. :)

Everybody wants a piece of the bride...here with weni & grace..

..aunty mag the mummy and kuma my mummy. All sharing her happiness and none more than my mum (kuma to jeanie) who wants so much for her to find the happiness that she deserves. My mum prays a lot for her and from the otherside i know ah por is smilling and wishing her all the very best for she loved jeannie lots. When i saw the montage and a pix of ah ma (whom jeannie affectionately calls her) sitting next to jeannie...it brought tears to my eyes and i know somehow that she is here for mei mei. I know that.

Jeannie...this gang loves you much too! Dave...welcome to the family! We love you too but this one's for Jeannie. :)

The Wedding

July was like the wedding month of the year and had me running to Shah Alam for a Catholic wedding, Ipoh for a totally chinese wedding and finally Kota Kemuning, KL and out of this world for a Christian wedding.

The last and final wedding of the month was the wedding of my cousin Jeanie & Dave. It elaborate in it's conception and organisation. The wedding planner left nothing to chance. She made sure it was all that the couple wanted from the pretty flowers at the church right up to the pathway of the dinner reception at Ciao's and that's not where it ends. She brought as much of the sea & the beach to the dinner as possible pix of which you will get to see next.
The aisle where the father walked the bride and handed her over to the groom. This is the part of the wedding that always brings a tear to my eye as for me it is the most beautiful part of the wedding...where the father gives te bride away.

Flowers for the Maid of honour, the bridesmaid and the flower girls.

The beautiful maids and the bride.

The handsome groom, the best man and the grooms man and the little flower gals.

Jesse was to have been the One to bring the rings but he wasn't ready for the task as yet. Like Frodo he shall wait the time when the Ring calls to him. For now he is content with the job of picking up conffetti strewn all over the floor in the celebration.

Finally the groom runs away with the bride with the blessings and well wishes from everyone as a happy man & wife!

Attack of The Married Women

Here i am waiting for my dinner with these two beautiful and passionate women, hungry as one could ever be and unbeknownst to me...the conversation turned from a choice of food to GETTING MARRIED!

I, being the only pure one was the point of focus. The were like vultures descending upon a dead carcass. Pecking at the eyes, the nose, the lips...anywhere and everywhere. I was sweating under my collar as these two experienced wife & mother came at me with...When, Who, Why, Why Not and a million other questions as to why i am still not taking the plunge. They shared their experience of being married, their fears..."if this is the right one", and their joys and the truth that binds. The journey of being married, the commitment and the fights...and i hear Paulo Coelho's quote ringing in my head, " The good fight is the one that we fightbecause our heart asks it of us". I was being grilled alive.

Much to my relieve when the waitress...cute one too, brought our food and the conversation stops verbally but my head rings with their words of wisdom. This is not the end of it for i will be taking a journey with these two married woman and one other on the way for the next 3 months. Does not help that the only other man on the team will be getting married by years end. No reprieve for the stricken. It will be an enlightening and i trust exciting journey as the Wedded Bliss will be the conversation that i will be forced to look at.

I choose this stretch! I am ...

Ink to Skin

It was in Bangkok on a hot afternoon that my cuz and i went to the Royal Palace for a royal visit and then headed to Khaosan and got this tattoo.

I decided to get one to signify a phase of my life or perhaps it was something youthful to do. Hmm...not letting go of my youth could be one, rebel against the norm...who knows. I do know that i do want to put something that would be significant to me, after all it's not like you can wash it off if you decided you don't want it anymore. Of course they can use a laser to burn it off you but that would be rather painful.

I chose the yin & yang for what it signifies...balance. No good no bad, Light & darkness, Hard & soft, Masculinity & feminity...all One with the universe. I chose the sun to encompass it as the sun signifies life for me. Living LIFE in balance is my message. Very calming effect. A constant reminder that good comes with the bad and vice versa...so live life to the fullest. No excuses.

Cest la vie!

Kellie's...

..Castle this is not. It's some old chinese temple or maybe a halfway house for the Ghee Hin's or Hai San's to take a break or other. They were the gangsters and coolies during the tin mining days.

Our intention or not, was to visit Kellie's Castle but somewhere along the 12kms to Kellie's we got distracted by this sign board by the roadside " Cendol Pulut 200m". We quickly swerved onto the shoulder of the road as we arrived and alighted from our cars faster than you can piss. That "Girl fr Tpg" was smiling ear to ear. So happy. Must have been all that talk about Tpg chendol.

Nothing much to scream about but it was gluttony above anything else that made us choose the path we did. So we blew another half hour just chatting and enjoying our Chendol.

Have food will travel...no?

As for Kellie's Castle...we decided not to look for it. We will attempt once again when we come up to Ipoh for more food and Pomelo Gals.

Warrior Princess

Danielle the Warrior Princess...you don't wanna mess with her. Eats like a warrior and screams like a banshee.

Pomelo Gals

Ipoh is famous for it's hor fun, chee cheong fun, food and more food. As for fruits its the huge pomeloes and guavas too. There are these pomelo stalls that used to be by the roadside but have now been organised and placed in these concrete stalls.

The interesting thing about this place is that when you pass the stalls...a bevy of pretty young chicks just pops out from their stalls to greet you. They just pop out just like the cuckoo on the cuckoo clock. It's a treat i tell you. You'd think they were selling something else.

The wedding entourage mucking around the huge pomelo bust.

Ipoh is also famous for it's gals. Apparently most of the pretty gals in Malaysia hail from Ipoh. Go check it out...seeing is believing.

Teh Pengs & Pak Kafe

Another weekend at the weddings. This time we were in Ipoh for a "luk chat" wedding and LP's like to travel... as long as there is good food somewhere to be found.

The trip took Mikey, Grace, Weni and me all the way up to Taiping for a breakfast of kai si meen and apom with mom, durians at Aunty Aini's and popiah & char kuey for lunch. We woke up at 4am for all of these and of course i had the teh peng...only in Taiping.

In Ipoh it was pak kafe...white coffee, pork satay and hor fun and ipoh popiah and this was after the wedding. We actually were in the mood for nga choi kai :) The heart was willing but we were filled up to our necks from the wedding dinner. We promised to be back for that another day.

Lai and Tian Yee filling their glass till the cup runneth over while Han Nee, Mike Chai and me having a great time celebrating with them. We always have a great time celebrating weddings or for that matter anything. Cest la Vie!

New Friends to FRIM

FRIM gets more friends as my circle of friends expand. Many are just excited to see them greens in the heart of the city.

The city has promised clean clear rivers for ages but shit happens as far as that promise is concerned. Thankfully we have FRIM smack in the middle of developing housing estates. A 120yr old forest reserve for the purpose of research serves as my "church" and playground and i love bringing people here to expose them to nature and if they like it, we head for bigger things like 800m mountains in Seremban or 2000m mountains at the edge of Selangor. The peak of FRIM is 1000ft and that is approximately 300m.

Coming downhill is best and 1000 ft above sea level ain't too bad at all. Nobody died. :)

Yen gets a birds eyeview from the canopy walk and right behind her are her cousins and uncle Kym. Uncle Kym is a very funny guy that doesn't stop talking...after all the man did play for Mick Jagger. 54 and living life as you like it.

Traversing the canopy walk 30m above ground and Uncle Kym monkeying around on one of the vines...

...and i was monkeying around with two very happy friends who had a good time at FRIM.

Fresh air, good sweat, a good work out, great view and great friends. Just some of the benefits of trekking.

Blooming FRIM

I been busy with FRIM this month. I have brought many new friends to this piece of my heaven. I am living my stand of sharing the beauty of mother nature with as many people as i can in this lifetime.

FRIM always has a few surprises every now and then.

One probably gets to see this in the florist or somewhere but not many get to see them grow in the wild. I still get a kick out of it everytime i spot a new plant flowering somewhere in the undergrowth or way up in the trees.