My sister and I will be aired on TV!!!

Assalammu'alaikum family and friends!

I am excited because the week finally came! Yes, we will be aired on TV this week!

Where? When? What?

We will be featured on Suria (Singapore's Malay Channel). It will be aired this Friday, 31st January at 8.30pm. Yes!!! For the reality show "Satu Family Sr 3 - All Star"

I can't tell more.. so set the reminder, and watch it because we are definitely sticking by the TV to watch our own epic faces.

What's your favourite team?? My favorite team changed after I actually see them live, in person.

I am still a little star-struck to be honest...

Let's rewind a little...

We were invited to be one of the stations by the Producer via another crafty pair of hands (Yuniq Creations / Aida Saini). Yes, the same person who did my hijab styling for my big day.

Our first meeting was on New Year's Day. Such a great kick start to 2014, eh? We are thrilled!!
We did our shooting the weekend on 5th January. Such an eye opener, I now watch the show at a different light. I get to feel their adrenaline rush now!

We will forever be thankful to Aida Saini for remembering us!

Stay tune and watch us!

 Remember, Friday 31st January 8.30pm at Suria! Watch Satu Famili Sr 3, ok?!

cc:
Just Make Your Choice
Yuniq Creations
Suria

Watch ya!!

Wassalam,
Jun

A gadget that fills me up... Review of Asus Transformer Book T100

Assalammu'alaikum family and friends! Alhamdulillah, it is Friday!

I am been itching to keep writing, there is just too many in my head sometimes, but those many things when typed out just become so little sometimes. Oh well..

Today, I shall just write a review on my latest gadget - the ASUS Transformer Book T100.

I have been searching so hard for a tab with full microsoft office installed, and yes, there is none! Can you believe it? And ya, why am I ever looking for a tab - a TAB? And that too with full microsoft office pre-installed?

Well, with business running, more paperwork needs doing. With the limited time I have, I am always on the run and I was just trying not to get a laptop because I often end up leaving it at home and just wont have it with me on the go.

Whilst searching on the background, I came across a mutual friend's post letting go some brand new gadget. A chromebook, so like a little kid, I called my husband, "Honey, your friend is letting go his Chromebook, can I?"

My wonderful husband, being so sweet, decides to bring me down to Funan because he wants to see the real thing and the specs and all. As everyone would have know, I am hopeless with IT technical stuff. Up to date, silly me still couldn't register what's RAM and what's storage space.

I am probably just ignorant because these things are just too technical for the already technical me. And it is just not me, it is the people in the industry! We are just overly dependent on those IT guys to come and tweak our computers whenever something isn't working well!

Ok now.. easy! Let's go back to our Funan walk-around. To our dismay, no chromebook was available but my husband's got a few insights from those sales people - to which obvious I didn't catch a word.

It is only when we visited Harvey Norman that the sales person asked why we look for a Chromebook, and what we are actually looking for.

"Something easy to handle, has windows, can operate office, you know" I said without blinking.

He led us to a section, "Why don't you get this? Can detach and transform into tablet, and have FULL Microsoft Office pre-installed, it runs on Windows 8.1 and ....." he went on (and of course got trailed off because it is technical going into RAM and what not)

My eyes beamed of course! It fits what I wanted! I can detach it and bring it wherever! PLUS full microsoft office!

How perfect! We bought it the next day, at S$599, only to have its price slashed to S$499 a few days later. Damn....

Oh wells. It works great! I managed to finish my Purchase Contract on it. I don't quite like the screen keyboard though. So, I ended up working on it as netbook more than working on it as a tablet. I should probably start searching for an app for a more ergonomical typing session with just the tablet.

Do you have a great screen keyboard app that I should consider? Drop me a comment! (As all comments to my blogs needs to go through a round of moderation, we appreciate a day's grace. Why I moderate them is simply because I don't want to miss any comments left by you, and I wouldn't want any spams on my comments section.)

My personal rating would be 3.5 out of 5.

It is a great piece, but I am guessing the dock will get a little loose if I keep attaching and detaching it every now and then. We'll see. Then again, I can always get the keyboard separately, right? So if you are looking for something versatile and yet perform your office documents well, this is the thing for you!

Till I blog again another day, with another story.

Wassalam,
Jun

My little hamster...

Assalammu'alaikum family and friends!

It's been awhile since I shared photos of my (not so) little pet hamster,  isn't it?

In case you miss her, do feel free to drop by and enjoy her photos here.

Taken few days ago after we topped up her food bowl.

She is so tiny, but she occupies a lot of space in our room and more in our hearts. Her antics are something I never imagined could come from a little hamster.

I mean would you imagine a hamster nudging your finger so it gets a little pat? Or a hamster actually responding to its name? Or how about the hamster listening to your instructions?

Maybe we are just imagining things, but my parents have seen some of her surprises. She has her days like ours, where we don't want to be disturbed, and some days where we just want attention - lots of it! And some days, just being busy.

Oh my little hamster, you have grown so much that we now prefer calling you Mon-mon or Mok-mok - and she shows us her butt when we do that. Haha! In disapproval, I guess.

We love you, 2-Tee. Stay healthy and continue to entertain us!

Lots of love,
Your owners.

9years ago....

Assalammu'alaikum family and friends,

Alhamdulillah, many friends and readers have come across my blog to read about the outstanding amount of debts I accumulutated and went on to read about how I cleared it. Thank you for reading them, I hope you find it helpful, and may you be debt free always.

Now, everyone is dying to know how I went on to get my degree. I graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a Diploma in Civil & Environmental Engineering in 2005. My life is Poly is not that smooth nor was it always filled with great GPAs. It was always fluctuating to be honest.

I graduated with a GPA of somewhere around 3. (I am not in the mood to dig into my transcript for the exact figure - not that it is anywhere near me now). I applied for a placing in NUS, sadly, they replied saying all seats were taken and that I am a tad late.

So I decided to just get a job first and take up a part time degree while working someday. So I got my first job pretty quickly, but it didnt last that long because I was young and someone was endlessly reporting me to my mom (God knows how she got my home number) spreading unsound rumours.

It wasn't long that I got my second job. I was working for a year and then decide it is time to get that degree. I went on a search. There were quite a number of choices. I went for distant learning via Auston Institute of Management. I chose to take up a course in Engineering Business Management from Coventry University, after noting that it was a recognized university and is valid.

So I went home with all these brochures, indicating the deposit I need to make to get a seat, and the cost of my degree and all that stuff, the bank loan applications. I shared with my parents about upgrading myself.

Shocking as can be, (and I can understand them now), they refused to accept that I am "wasting" so much money on a piece of cert only to end up in the kitchen raising children.

You see, my parents are illiterate, very conservation and traditional. At that moment when I revealed I am going to invest $12K+ on a degree and 12hours a week, it shocked them. They don't see why I need this. Afterall, I already have a good stable job.

But I was too determined, I went again to Auston to find out about the bank loan. They recommended me Citibank, and the difference if I were to have someone as a guarantor and if I don't have any. It was at that point a lot of money. I tried asking my sisters, which they politely decline reciting family priorities. So as hard as steel, I went ahead without a guarantor. I paid the deposit, which much plea, from my dad (that too after I promised I will pay him monthly and won't ask him for anymore money)

And so I did. I applied, got registered with everyone telling me in my face, behind my back, in my ears and in my head, that I am just "wasting" money. That this cert will do me no good, that I wont excel. I won't succeed.

Guess what? These negative words, they are really just motivating me more than they hurt me. Maybe because I grew up that way. I mean, when I was in Primary School, I scored 214 aggregate for PSLE, and was given no choice but to an express class for Secondary School. That too was filled with "oh she won't cope!", "express class will be too advanced for her", "she wont make it", "she will fall back to normal academic sooner or later".

Guess what? That made me score an awesome 16 points for my L1R4. I went to Poly. And everyone went like, "oh she is just lucky", "my son was just a few points shy", "ITE is better", "Poly is full of influential people", etc.

Guess what? I graduated - although a year late. I graduated. So what's these? I can surely graduate and be a degree holder.

And yes, I heard "Auston not good", "fake university", etc.

After registration, schedule is out, I had classes every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or something like that, from 6-10pm. That first semester, I was given 4 modules. Made a couple new friends, who came from various backgrounds.

My degree was 1 year long. You can call that crash course. Guess what, so much determination, so much hardwork, it pays off. I graduated with a 2nd Upper Class Honours. I made it!

I am a graduate - BSc 2nd Upper Class Honours in Engineering Business Management from Coventry University.

I was often over-qualified when I applied for jobs after my retrenchment, but it pays off now that I have a business running.

Today, my mother often tells me, "I am so glad you went ahead to take up your degree despite not having much support from us. It serves your nieces, nephews and your children a ray of hope, that such education is not determined by financial status or family background, but by their own determination."

I am glad I didn't and never succumb to negative feeds from people around me. I am not here to look down on anyone, in fact, not many of my friends know I am a graduate. I mix well with people even when they don't have any certs, I give them support and words of encouragement to go grab that cert they want, to upgrade no matter how small a step it is.

That is my purpose.

I hope this entry finds you more driven and motivated to upgrade yourself. In fact, I am currently considering to take up another diploma or chase that Masters. Let time tell.

Wassalam,
Jun

How I cleared my debts in 3years

Assalammu'alaikum family and friends.

Following up with my last entry late last night, now with over $15K of outstanding debts, and without a permanent stable job. How did I do it?

The first year

It was horrible. Scouting for jobs, I didnt have much choices but to just accept what comes. I became a despatch rider sending out invoices and letters, I took up the food delivery rider job, I even became a full time babysitter!

All three paid me pea to the nuts! It drove me crazy. I couldn't make ends meet. All my pay was out to pay these debts I have accumulated.

Setting priorities

I set my priorities by the amount of debt. I listed the least amount as first in the list. It was something people don't often do. Letters of sympathy was written and sent out. Of course, it was rather late as I was retrenched some 6months ago at that point when I decided to take myself out of this mess.

The list

Here's my list in accordance and how much I wanted to pay each month.

Diners : $200/month
Car : $303/month
Bike : $292/month

The rest just the minimum fee - about $50-100/month, total of 3 creditors.

How I manage?

Because my part time jobs are often by the hour or by the job, I set a target for each job.
My despatch job gives me $3 for every one way trip and $6 for every two way trip, and pays me forthnightly. I target this salary to pay my bike. I need 50 2-way jobs or 100 1-way jobs to reach this target.

My food delivery job pays me by the hour plus I get a docket for every delivery made. I sometimes run in for a friend who is tired, and could earn a little more, and often volunteered for those secluded areas especially Jurong Island because the customer would often slide in some tips. For this job I get paid once a week, and brought home tips of about $30/week. I used this salary to pay for the car.

Babysitting - it pays so little! It was rewarding though. I get paid $600/month for a 10hr job, 5 days a week. However, when I do this, I could only do so much for my other two part time jobs. So it wasn't really any solution at all. I did this for 6months, and paid for both my car and bike with this pay, and achieve the rest by my part time job somehow.

I don't have a choice!

A proper full time job - Start of Year 1

Alas after 1.5years, I finally secured a job to my professional skills. The flip side? It was 70% pay cut from my previous company. Still, it was better than a mere $600/month babysitting, no?

With a $2000 salary, I bring home $1600. I can now comfortably continue to pay the three main targets that accumulates to $795, leaving me $805 to survive. I set aside $300 for bike fuel and misc. I packed food from home for lunch. With $500 balance, I paid out the other 3 targets at $150/each. It was better than paying just minimum, and the balance $50 I topped up Diners.

Now I pay the following:
Diners : $250
Car: $303/month
Bike: $292/month
HSBC: $150/month
Citibank : $150/month
Courts : $150/month.






Despite seeing such figures, it didnt do much justice to the total amount. Watch...

Warning Letters

All the banks started throwing me red warning letters threatening me to court if I fail to do a full settlement. I am going crazy. I refused to panic, I called up all the agents stated in the letter, and arranged to compile all my debts, my payslip and everything I could to come up with a good installment plan.

I want to stick to my plan. I couldnt do more.

Paying in coins

All banks were more considerate knowingly I can declare myself bankrupt if I wanted to, but instead, I wanted to really pay off my debts. They complied to allow me to pay what I could. All except for Courts.

I am at wits end. I had nothing but my coins. So coins it is. I came through the accounts department door, and handed over a bag full of coins.

"Sorry but this is  all I have, I was retrenched, I had submitted my letters, I have just started my new job with all these other banks chasing me (flashes all red warning letters and handed over my coins)"

The officer kept mumbling and asking me how much was it in my bag, and I said I dunno, but it's all I have.

2hours and some $300 later, they decided to waive the balance and close my account.

*I am not asking you to try, but I had no other choices*

One off, 6 more to go

With additional $150, I snowball it to my priority - Diners

Before doing so, I called them up to get a current outstanding amount. They quoted me $400ish. And I decided to take a little away from the other bank to clear off Diners.

Called them back only to say they need another $100ish more of interest. Oh how now brown cow? I decide to not pay Citibank that month and just get this Diners out the door, and told them I am closing my account.

Two off, 5 more to go

The following month, I decided to priorities Citibank.

Now the amount snowballed. NO celebration for me, I had no time nor luxury to shop or even looked at anything to shop, these debts needs clearing more than anything else.

Citibank : $400
Car: $303/month
Bike: $292/month
HSBC: $150/month

At this point I had another $2K ish left on Citibank and $5k ish on my HSBC.

Technically I just need to go through 5months to almost clearing Citibank? NOOooo, remember, there are interest and late payment charges which will also snowball and you may take twice the time (if not more) you think you would clear off the debt.

Keep it going 

It was tough. I continued this for almost a year before clearing Citibank to proceed and pay up HSBC.

This time I changed my plan. I decided to participate in tontine. To help me get a lump sum so I can pay extra once a year or so. I also changed my job so I had more time to crochet (I started a small home business)

What is tontine? 

It was basically like a savings plan, but played within a group of as little as 3 to as many as 12. We will ballot names to know the order and we will begin. Eg, 3 person decided to play tontine, namely A, B and C.

Names balloted and it goes with the order C, B and A

If each person decide on $200. At the start, as ballotted C will get the monies, so B and A will fork out $200 each and give it to C, the following month, C and A will fork out $200 each and give it to B, and the following month, C and B fork out $200 each and give it to A.

I had trouble having money in the bank, so I decided this is the only way I can save up, of course, I went to a group that is trustworthy.

Start of Year 2

New year, new job, same momentum.

I am clearing the last bits of Citibank, saving via Tontine and continued on with HSBC.

I cleared the last bill for Citibank sometime mid that of Year 2. By this time I was engaged, the monies I had saved via Tontine saved me a lot on the expenditure.





PLUS, I took another job - tutoring my niece and nephew at a nominal fee of $100/month.

So here's what my financial responsibility look like at this point:

HSBC : $350/month
Tontine: $200/month
Car: $303/month

I overtrade my bike for a lower monthly installment
A downgrade deemed necessary for me with a wedding in tow.

Bike: $183/month

I found a better paying job, and with my business merging through, I could spare another $300/month or so on leisure, BUT, instead of celebrating and shopping, I decide to put this $350 aside for my wedding.

My tontine was for 12months. By that, in December, I will be getting a lump sum of

Tontine: $2,400
Savings: $4,200

Total lump sum in December $6,600

Discipline

Of course discipline to way way way important when it comes to clearing debt, seeing lump sums makes me wanna spend, so I draw it and gave it to my mom or someone else who are more trustworthy than me in terms of spending.

I was keeping stead and constant with paying HSBC, and I tell you that $5K figure seemed to deplete ever so slowly. Still, don't give up, keep paying. Of the $6,600, I saved the $5K for my wedding and the balance $1.6K to divide over what is necessary $1K for car insurance and $600 top up to pay HSBC more.

Budget

Stick to it, no matter how cheapstake it can be. Just stick with it. My wedding budget was at $10K. There is another year to save another $5K and I should be okay. Just stick with it.

(I know I wrote my wedding cost $17K in the end, thanks to kind sponsors. The 7K was raised by doting parents, of which I had fully repaid)

I budget myself so bad, I havent shopped for more than a year at this point. Sticking to needs and not once wants.


Start of Year 3

I used my dowry to pay off HSBC completely so I can start the year debt free. Some balance was used to pay off personal loans from my doting parents. I continued participating in Tontine because it was a pleasure and a pleasant surprise because I often forget when it is my turn to receive them.

Saving

Now that I don't have any debts to pay except for my car loan, I was free to splurge. NO!
Why splurge when you can save. Learn from your mistake, start saving. Deposit into worthy investments. Enjoy watching your money grow. Don't let it deplete.

I invested heavily on my business when I was free from debts, I started living like a human. I get to enjoy travelling without worrying about the banks chasing me. I enjoy little life pleasures like having the luxury to buy a bottle of mineral water when I am thirsty.

Today

Not being a brag, but today, I am debt free for over a year with blooming business of which I have given jobs and opportunities to those who worked alongside me or under my wings.

I am able to breathe much calmer.

My method worked. And I hope you too can get out of the debtful mess (if you are in one) soon.

The little things

Sometimes, it is the little things that make a big difference. Make you little change now. Save more, so you'd be ready when it rains. :)

PS: I had typed this over many distraction, so I apologize if it didn't make sense midway.

Wassalam,
Jun

How my debt accumulated....

Assalammu'alaikum family and friends! I posted on my fb of two hot topics and because they are both just as hot and that we are kiasu by default, both will be blogged about.

As the title suggest, this entry will share about how I accumulated debts that amounted to over $10k over a short span of 2years.

Being young and naive

We were all young and naive at one point of time, and so I was. I had an awesome job, pays pretty well, and it is stable as can be.

What could go wrong?

My salary increased year by year and soon I was eligible to apply for a credit card. Oh come on... I had to flaunt to my poly mates, don't I? I was young and naive, I needed to show people I was 'well to do'.

Besides, what could go wrong? It is not like I will swipe for everything, besides my salary is big enough to clear what I swipe. I'd be careful.

Let's swipe!

Why apply for credit card if you ain't gonna swipe?

My first swipe was probably because it wasn't pay day yet and I just had to get some shopping done.

Study loan

I wanted to get myself a degree. I had initially wanted to do 'Construction Management' but changed my mind and did 'Engineering Business Management' instead. The loan was to be paid over 2-3years. Ah.. easy peasy.. Surely I can put another $200/mth for this.

Installment plans

I had my eyes on a netbook because my laptop was down and out. Courts offer great installments plan, don't they? I mean who can't afford under $100/mth. And so I thought.

Swipe for that bike!

I told you I was young and naive, ok fine.. i was stupid too. I swiped to pay the deposit for my bike. Awesome!

Retrenched

Who expected this to happen to them? After almost 3yrs, I was retrenched for redundancy of my position due to projects being at halt alongside with the recession.

I was given compensation for my service, along with the worries that I brought to myself.

Rest first, job later

A mistake I probably regretted. I decided to take a break and just find a job later.
Instead of clearing my debts to zero with the compensation cheque, I spent it unnecessarily. Today, I cant even remember what I did with any portion of that money.

How much?

Credit cards I had and the amt I snowballed after failing to secure a job are as follows:
Diners Card: $2000 (over a max withdrawal of $500)
HSBC: $6500 (thanks to the bike!)
Study loan via Citibank: $5000 (lucky i was paying this pretty promptly)
Courts : $2000 (interest snowballed due to payment default)

That is $15000 already isnt it? There's more:
Car loan : $304/month
Bike loan : $292/month
Bills : $50-100/month

Crazy? Yes!

I will share with you how I managed to get out of this mess in the next entry.

Good night!

Wassalam,
Jun

Talyta Shawls by Avilia Review

Assalammu'alaikum friends and readers.

I had trouble sleeping so I decided to write a review on these shawls that arrive.

The first thing that caught my attention is the size. It measures 200cm by 65cm. Those who knew me would have vouch for that. I just love love love big long and wide shawls!

The huge size allows freedom to style and give so much coverage (both front and back).

Secondly, the material. It is voile + cotton which means it is not slippery and most importantly, not easy to crease - or simply put as anti wrinkle!

Of course design plays a part. Talyta Shawls by Avilia has 24 awesome design and I had a hard time choosing!

Of the 24, these three are my choices (and pls forgive my bare face). I quickly put it on when it arrived to test and feel the shawl. I had no inner on, and didnt gather enough care to pin the shawl. It is just a wrap around really. And yes - to put the point that it is not slippery.

Despite its big size, it didnt put too much bulk even when it is wrapped a few times over. Wonderful isn't it?

Here's the pictures of me with the three designs I personally handpicked!

 

PS: If you would like to own these gorgeous pieces, we do have them and we are submitting orders this Friday via our FB Page. Shawls will reach us on Monday night and we will be mailing out on Wednesday. Order now! ;) 

Till debt to us part...

Assalammu'alaikum readers!

Title sounds familiar? If you had read The New Paper, it obviously is and apparently is very much talked about for awhile now. If you haven't read it yet, here's the link.

I dunno how and why a wedding needs to be so expensive - I mean $100K? Seriously... - especially so when the bride or groom has no financial means to do so. Seriously, dude/dudette, so what if the whole world stood in awe watching your wedding? Why must you all die to live another living nightmare with all the unnecessary debts? Would the people who stood in awe watching you wed help you pay the debts you both had incurred?

In comparison, had you just "wear the hat that fits", they might just be one of two yapping about how "cheapo" or "low class" the wedding is, but hey... you are debt free and you eat when  you are hungry and sleep when you are tired.

Like myself, I would consider mine a little over - but yet doesnt cause a hole in my pocket. And the most important thing was that I enjoy my wedding!

So, let's recapped on my wedding expenditure..

I took a wedding planner (not really necessary, but I found her by chance and a lot of the necessity is under her wing). This wedding planner gets a distinction for planning my wedding so well and she did an awesome job in keeping my budget in check with what I want.

I remember her holding my hand down and ask if I really want what I asked for and if I am ready to top up the differences, and how much off my initial budget we are already heading towards. Now, my friends, this is an excellent example of a good wedding planner.

A good wedding planner, in my dictionary, had to prioritize your budget against your needs and then your wants. And she should always remind you that you are going off budget, and if you insists, well it won't be her fault. For my case, I said I want it, and asked if there is anything that can be compensated to have what I want. She left me a good choice of alternatives.

OK back to the dollars and cents.

My breakdown was pretty much simple.
Food/Catering with the buffet set, tables, toilet, dishwashers and service waiter/waitress (kendarats) - $9,900
(it was actually $9,500 but my parents requested a few add-ons and so it is $9,900)
This price is for 1000pax of guests
My wedding planner gave a complimentary 100 packets of food pre-packed (for VIPs to bring home)
Honestly, to be really honest, that is just about all that I remember in the breakdown! LOL

I paid a total of $17,900 to my wedding planner which includes the dais, void deck deco - incl table and chairs, bedroom deco, gubahan, DJ, photographers+videographers - incl outdoor photoshoot+video, make-up+hijab styling, 3 pairs of exclusively tailored and self-designed outfits (I get to keep one pair of the outfits), the door gifts (which I gave away to the groom because I had my own wedding favours handmade), signages (to show where my event is at the busstop and carpark entrances), wedding car deco, full henna design on both hands and feets and 1 complimentary make up for my sister. Service wise, I had to emphasize that I was glad we had our timings in check with the help of my wedding planner, my make up artist and my BFF. I really don't have to worry about anything except to have fun and smile away!

I spend another $300 on my invitation card, and another $300 on my 3-tier (all real) wedding cake.

So that is $18,500 in total. We used my father-in-law's humble Hyundai Avante as our wedding car so we didn't spend anything on rental. And this, is just on my side.

My husband spend about the same - the difference is, he shared it with his sister, who weds on the same day as us.

And that in itself, was rather a lot to me. However, we both made it happen without having any debts. And we are so glad we kept to our respective budget. I was really lucky to have that awesome wedding planner (apparently my wedding was last I heard of her, she continued her studies right after my event was over, and I am not sure if she is making a come-back).




And a few weddings I attended recently had spent $25K just on the food. I am guessing my kids will have to make us cook if the price continue to hike upwards. Otherwise, they will just have a simple home dinner to celebrate their wedding. And I guess I rather that than to see my children kill themselves everyday as the debt accumulates interest.

To me, a wedding can be raised up a notch just by having the right guests to make your wedding a day noone forgets! I have been to weddings a lot and had always observed. Sometimes the deco is so bare, and you knew in a glance, it was a wedding driven by a very tight budget, but the guests that were there, the people who welcomed us when we come by, they made us feel so honoured and we instantly forget the bare deco, and could only wish the bride and groom a very blissful marriage. Afterall, a marriage is not just on the wedding day, it is if possible always for a lifetime.

And there are also weddings which in a glance tells you it was kahching everywhere in every corner, and yet the people who were there to welcome us did it solemnly, in darkness and silence. So much so that the extravagant deco couldn't do much to hype up the event.

Alhamdulillah, as much as I foresee some scene, it didnt happen. I guess with this, I am so sure and would vouch that blood is always thicker than water. No matter how we may have offended or hated each other, we still would be there for each other, in silence, in darkness or in pain. We still feel a little happy when they are genuinely happy, and sad when they are in despair, and pain when they are in trouble. This what family is. They know how crazy and stupid we can be, but we don't have the choice to cut our blood ties. We will still somehow end up helping each other.

Even when I didn't say and show, deep down I always wished we could be like how we were when we were kids, when my mom is theirs, and their mom is mine. I wish that we can be as close as before, but somehow... words are not that easy to erase for the hurt it might have caused back then might still be fresh. How I wish, those words weren't read by me, weren't typed by them. How I wish... Honestly, I miss you. I miss all of you. Deep down it hurts so much when you pretend not to see me, and how stupid my ego and pride is to also pretend not to see you.

It hurts that much, and I still cry because I miss you, I miss those happy times. We will soon be neighbours somehow, and I always wonder if you'd just forget, and I can let go my ego, to just say Hi, and to just invite you over for a happy cuppa Latte Machiato or whatever you'd like. I wish I had cousins everyone else have, who is always a phonecall away to just talk shit and gossip only to forget what is said because it is all afterall, about family.

Oh wells, let's just hope my children will have cousins whom they can call best friends forever then!

On a good note, I shall end my write-up with happy recalls of how my family expands after marriage. I felt blessed that I now have a husband to rant on, complain to (and about), and still have his arms wide open to hug me when I need one! I am loved, and should always feel blessed for that.

And oh.... I was filmed! Oppss.. Seeecccrreeettt! Shall write after the scene is aired! I enjoyed myself that day!



Good evening, and have a great week ahead!

Xoxo,
Jun

Happy 2014!

Assalammu'alaikum!

Yes, as promised.. I am writing about the wedding we participated in as a couple mending a Polaroid Photobooth.

That is how our booth looks like. Simple, yet catchy enough.

800 guests come and go, and we only finished 100films. Hardwork!

And here are some of our favourites!

And someone asked for my card. Oh I am flattered!

We had fun, but we are definitely famished! Can't wait to give the guestbook to the newly weds.

Towards the end, we had to walk around and start photobombing some guests to fill up the guestbook, Alhamdulillah, it all fits well.

Till I blog again. :)

Wassalam,
Jun