it all started with...

it still amazes me how 2 souls could be touched, to cross paths and intertwine in the strangest fashion... that many would have thought was unperceivable that things would work out.

the odds were against their success, circumstances made the situation bleak too many a time, and the question of "is it worth it?" was revisited several occasions. yet, a challenge cannot be met by simply giving up without a fight. The stubbornness paid off, and the result was of course much sweeter and more treasured.

2 years indeed. an atypical 2 years of times together with long fillers apart. regardless, absence does make the heart grow fonder. the distance apart has pulled fm and i so much closer. the countless difficulties and heartaches of differing schedules, timezones, environment... forced us to understand and empathize with each other even more. it is indeed the path less travelled (and definitely highly NOT recommended). but when there's a will, there's always a way... and we really tried hard.

taking a step back, we never knew of whether it was all gonna work out. then, we had known of each other's existence for barely 2 months. shortly after, i would depart for the States, leaving us to deal with LDR problems right away. what made matters worse was that i would be in the woods, uncontactable for the next 2 weeks. finally, who knew how hectic the moving in and settling down would be... but all things considered logically (as much as possible), driven by passion and that simple 'gut feeling', we sealed the deal with a 'yes' that we would try... for one never knows what will happen until one does...

so 2 years it has been. 2 winter trips, 4 spring breaks, 2 summer breaks together. one fall break, one winter trip, 2 spring breaks left before the darlings finally reunite in summer 2007. the 3 years will be a true testimony that the seemingly-impossible can be done, if u put your heart into it.

a tale was born 2 years ago...
and it all started with... "let's give it a try".

*
the anniversary week spent together was simply unbelievable. for once (besides winter), both of us had nothing on our mind to worry about. it wasn about travelling and exploring, but simply to lay back, relax and enjoy each other's company. watching movies, pampering ourselves in the jacuzzi, bowling, tanning and playing at the beaches... simply heavenly.

more imptly, it was the time to live our lives together. right down to the simplest things of cooking, doing laundry, grocery shopping. it was a joy.

and now, may i present to you: prepared, cooked and served by the darlings themselves...

Le Menu Spécial des 'Darlings' pour Le Dîner Anniversaire

LES HORS D'OEUVRES
Shrimp and Crab Salad

- A Delicious Blend of Shrimp and Crab with Celery, Onion, Chopped Egg, Water Chestnut, Spinach and Carrots in Mayonnaise. Served over Crisp Wedges of Romaine Lettuce.

*
LES POISSONS
Blue Crab Stuffed Halibut

- Baked Fillet of Halibut Stuffed with Blue Crab Meat with Onion, Celery, Green Pepper, Eggs and Breadcrumbs and a tinge of Lemon Zest.

*
LES ENTRÉES
Shephard's Pie

- Ground Beef, Mushrooms, Tomato, Carrots, Peas, Corn and Onion in a Delicious Brown Sauce Covered with Mashed Potatoes and Topped with Cheese. Baked to Perfection.

*
LE DESSERT DU JOUR
Oreo Cheesecake

- Simply Irresistable!

*

thank you, my dear, for a magical night...

thank you, my darling, for a wonderful week...

thank you, my love, for a loving 2 years...

thank you for caring and loving me... and i you too. -muack-

all roads lead to rome...

this is way long long overdue. but fm and i got too busy during the semester to actually complete the story of italy, and the first part of summer has just been too happening. heh. so here goes... if u dun mind. =)

recap: we decided to drop over in milan for a quick look. and took the evening train down to rome, just in time for the new year countdown festivities. the train reached at about 10pm, and we went searching for accommodation. walked ard the streets with our backpacks, asking all the hostels/ hotels. but many were full, not surprising since it was after all new years eve.

this indian-ish guy walked past us and saw that we were finding rms, so offered us a place at his place. after much bargaining, we got the place for a decent price. but when we saw the place, IT WAS ONE OF THE SKETCHIEST PLACES EVER!! take a look for urselves...



it had no good warm blanket, and even the sheets were kinda gross. and in the cold winter months, the place had no working heater. the shower was pathetically small and narrow, not too mention that the shower curtain was utterly gross! ewww, ewww, ewwww...

we speculate that this 'hostel' was illegal, for him to earn extra cash. and when we left our backpacks in the room, we had some suspicions that our bags would be stolen or ransacked thru, during this wonderful opportunity when everyone was out partying. phew.. thank goodness nothing of that sort happened...


anyway, we joined in the crowd for the countdown celebrations... too bad it was raining that day.. so it was kinda inconvenient, pple carrying umbrellas, wet streets, puddles... but nevertheless, crowded and chaotic. some youngsters drove thru the streets horning away and driving thru the puddles. after the countdown, there were also areas where people starting throwing their beer bottles, smashing them to the ground. it was.. interesting.

visited some of the attractions, such as...

the Forum Romanum, shown here is the remains of the Temple of Saturn on the left and Temple of Castor and Pollux on the right.


Piazza Venezia, a square just beside the Roman Forum. Behind us is the landmark dominating the Piazza, Il Vittoriano, a white marble monument dedicated to king Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of Italy.



of course, the famous Colessum, one of the most impressive buildings of the Roman empire.





At the Vatican city:
St. Peter's basilica, the largest church in the world symbolizing christianity.




the beautiful view of Rome and St. Peter's square from the Dome observatory, which we climbed up via a long and spiraling staircase...




We were truly awed at some of the world's best paintings in the Vatican museums. oh so lifelike and beautiful they were indeed...

this was one of the most colorful and life-like paintings we saw. simply amazing.




The murals in the Raphael Rooms, the School of Athens, portraying Plato, Aristotle and other ancient philosophers engaging in philosophic inquiry.


of course, we ate the all-famous italian gelato very frequently thru the trip. This was the biggest one we ever had. A huge 5-scoop cone... mmmm... yummy!



part 2 of rome will be up soon... stay tuned!

Two Years...

time. the mystical creature that could fly at lightning speeds, crawl to far flung corners, heal various injuries (especially injuries of the heart), and perform many other wonders. this enigmatic beast can be tamed by no one, and especially likes to move at undesirable speeds at all the wrong times.

its sometimes hard to believe how much time has ran by you, slipping away into the blackhole we call the past. only faint memories that escaped the deathgrips of time remind us of the long paths we have all taken to reach our present state of nature.

two years... its been two long(? short?) years since jas and i gave our commitments to each other, with the promise that we'll try - to make the almost-impossible happen, to stay true and fast together through the three years that we'll be apart, separated by 2566 miles of interstate freeways or 2245 miles of open airspace.

we really tried. tried hard, we did. the pains of being apart, the temptation of fun without the other, the loneliness that many college students felt, the ceaseless academic pressure, the rough edges of friends rubbing us sore. the bittersweet meetings of one week or three, rotting restlessly while the other studies or playing to the limit while breaking the bank. you've heard all this before, and so have we repeated this to ourselves time and again.

but still. the amount of time that have simply seeped through our sleeping fingers is simply shocking, to say the least. two years. neither here nor there, yet its still something long enough for us to be proud of ourselves.



thank you dear for the very nice anniversary present, a collage of photos of us travelling, hiking, skiing, kissing, and most imptly, loving.



the girl who never stops showing that she cares...

my belief never changed over this two years. long distance relationships are unhealthy and difficult. those are the facts. LDRs are not recommended for the faint of heart, or weak in love. but despite all this, all shld still hold hope in yourselves. if u believe that u truly love him/her, then u shld just try for it. some succeed, some don't. but who knows, u may be the lucky one.

and to my dear, the one girl who've been with me thru thick and thin and shared my laughters and pains...

there's nothing else to tell you, except that i love you.
and thank you.

promise, n.

A declaration or assurance made to another person with respect to the future, stating that one will do, or refrain from, some specified act, or that one will give or bestow some specified thing.
- Source: OED, 2nd Edition, 1989

someone made me a promise today. a simple promise, written in black ink on paper.

im debating whether i should chuck that slip of paper out with my trash, for a promise that doesnt stick is not worth keeping. i dont have a habit of keeping useless things around me.

several promises were made before. all were broken without much thought to it (or so i think). i wonder what a promise means to her. something i can trust my life on? or merely a casual cliched idiom, simply used too often?

so i tried to test the strength of a promise, by objectifying the last promise she made me into a bet. i hedged a 5x win ratio with a starting bet worth ~USD 200. regretfully, i won.

im debating whether to demand my fair winnings back, even if it causes financial strains on her. i never had selfish aims throughout the process - i dont intend to keep the proceeds to myself.

for the time being, yes, i will. the details for the lay out, which i hadn't the time to put forth, goes this way: i, for one, will get my bet back. the remaining 5x worth of the bet will go towards any 5 of the 4 guys and 2 girls she deems helped her the most in the past 3 years. this, i hope, serves as a symbolic gesture to remind her of the anguish and disappointment that she, knowingly or not, had caused the entire group. the recipients may not like this arrangement, but i demand it of her. the products of the promise may dust, rust and rot in the drawers of the various recipients, i dont really care.

she who causes the pain, must receive it.

turning 21... a few months early!

firstly, a BIG THANK YOU to all who came down to the party, making it such a huge success!!! u guys made my day! special thanks goes to my family too, for helping me with all the preparations and of cos, my dearest darling... for all the help and support! muack!

not actually 21 just yet... =P but who said it hurts to claim so just 3 months early, celebrating it back at home in singapore with my loved ones!


pretty, pretty customized cake... thanks to darling for thinking of this brilliant idea... to avoid getting the usual mundane key designed cake. kudos to prima deli for doing an absolutely wonderful job on the cake!


my clever darling arranged the 21 little candles prettily... 20 characters + the little dot of the 'j' = 21 candle spots!




happy birthday to ME!


tried to blow out all 21 candles in a single breath and failing. hehe.




my dearest family... from left: daddy, mummy, me and my older sis!


sisters unite!


from left: my aunt jane and my baby cousin!!! me, my dear grandma and mummy. special thanks to my grandma for cooking the delicious bee hoon and curry, and preparing the chicken wings for the party!



lovely rgs odac dearies...


my fellow dukies back in sg too...


fm's friends, shang ren and victor, who kindly came to join in the celebrations...


my wonderful class of 02S19!




of course, last but definitely not least, my love, my dear dear, my darling!

thanks everyone once again and hope everyone enjoyed urselves! i certainly had a blast!