Second last wedding of the year!

I must admit I was a little freaked by the wedding invite this time around as I was invited not by the usual suspects (ie. Noel’s friends) but by Noel’s Mum’s friend, Tita Pat on the occasion of her daughter’s marriage. To add to the freak factor, Noel’s Mum even took a picture of all of us (that’s Claris and Noel’s brother Nico on the left) because you know, it was a very couple-y thing to do.

It was a posh-y affair. I was so glad I consulted my mother (read: an act of desperation) in choosing my sarongs and tops and what nots.

The church wedding was very interesting. They incorporated Filipino traditions and symbols like the pinning of the veil, the tying of the cord and the offering of coins. They even gave us a little bell (with pretty ribbon) to ring when the couple walked down the aisle as man and wife. It was so cool. Rather, I was the si jakun because I was probably the only one manically ringing the bell at the end of the service.

A few highlights:

1. Noel’s father rented a car for the weekend and I bravely offered to drive the whole gang to church and to the wedding dinner. The reason I plucked up the courage: I am a manly driver and I trust no one on the road. The other reason was I didn’t quite want to die on the road in Singapore. True.

2. Filipinos point with their lips. Very cute.

Phd.

Great news!

Today my mother successfully defended her thesis on doctor-patient communication. She will be graduating next year, at the wonderful age of 50. What a celebration!

8 years of slogging and hard work whilst raising a family as a single parent, my mother has finally made it. She has achieved her dream, all rightfully hers.

I am so proud of her. Her great bunch of girlfriends (read: nutty) even threw her a surprise party! Over the weekend they plotted and decorated her room with good luck messages; today they redecorated her room with congratulatory messages, knowing that she would come through just fine. One of her retired colleagues even came back to assist the decorating party. They had balloons, pumpkins, banners, streamers, announcements (one even reading “Permanent Head Damage”) and cupcakes!

I heart Mutts.

Source

(click for a larger image)

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I am not the least embarrassed to admit that I love Mutts. I subscribe to their news feed. I read their comics everyday. I have 2 great Mutts books. I joined the Mutts Fan Club group on Facebook.

The strip above reiterates why I love them so. As the author wrote on Mutts Meditations, “In the world of MUTTS, love is always the answer”.

Incredibly profound.

Yesterday we sold off our old Toyota, Jolie (that is her name, I kid you not).

It was a rather sad day. The story goes that Mum and I sent Jolie in for a service. Our service manager Desmond kindly explained to us that Jolie would not be able to live for very long if we went on driving her around – long distance or otherwise.

Basically, we had to make a decision. Keep Jolie and repair all the parts that needed repairing (don’t even get me started on the amount) or value her at the service centre.

We valued her 3 times. The first offer was just over 20k but the last offer, a salesman, wanted her for 26k, which was a very good deal considering Jolie’s age and condition.

We said our sad goodbyes yesterday. She has been so good to us, served us well and has carried almost anything and everything, from durians to dogs. We are really going to miss her.

After that depressing outing Mum and I had a strong cup of coffee and debated (see image above) over the new car that we will be getting next year. We ruled out many cars and it’s down to a Myvi (a national car) or a Toyota Vios.

We argued. Hands were flying. My mother wrote down notes. We calculated costs.

I still don’t know. I’d go for the national car any day because it’s a car within my range and reliable for town driving.

Mum wants a Toyota. It’s a little out of my range. She has volunteered to contribute a sum but I still feel bad. And another factor that I cannot deny: safety. Much as I would like to be completely financially responsible, I don’t know how reliable the national car would be, given that I have never owned one. At the same time I know I will be doing long distance travel over the next few years, at least (more on that later).

Toyota? National car?

I feel so grown up suddenly.

Exciting week ahead – we’ll be going on a road trip to Penang and Kedah!

Unlike all our previous holidays, this one is going to be different in that we’re going to settle some university/study stuff in Penang before heading off to Bujang Valley.

More photos and stories to come!