Nara and Desiree get engaged

Managed to get some of the pictures, still awaiting more from other friends who took pics but here are some of it :)


My Daddy and me. "Daddy's little girl all grown up"


Me and my Mummy. Both in PINK! Cute eh??


My favourite sister(oopsss...heheh..only have one sister) and me.


Me and my make-up artist - Charan. What would i do without her expertise...sigh!



The female stars of the night..all glittering and bling bling...


And then it was time to change into the saree..



The tying saree process was complete..ready to go and exchange rings with my other half.


He is looking at me but why i am not returning the gesture? Sigh...some people never change right..n by some people i mean me!


He puts the ring on for me. But of course before that he whispers to me to make sure i put out the correct hand..hahahah


And then it was my turn. Of course i told him the same thing too la..give me the correct hand..lucky its still pics or my shaking hands would have been noticeable..



We light the oil lamp together - signifying we are beginning a life together.

Anyways, these aren't all the pictures. I am still waiting for a few more sets from other friends...will post more when there is more..but before i end this entry, my favourite pic for the night - when everything was over and i was in my comfort zone!


Don't we look so comfortable! hehehe

Cheers!

A blend of cultures!

Last weekend I had an "experience". For the pass few weeks, tension had been rising as our engagement ceremony day loomed closer and closer. So many things needed to be done in a short span of time, not to mention normal daily work.

It was rather painful at times, but it was a wonderful experience at long last. Last Saturday, i was officially engaged to my fiance, Narajeevan! He being a Hindu, and me having a mixed parentage of Punjabi and Portugue-Eurasion, what did the ceremony turn out like?

Well we blended it all cultures. It began with the Hindu custom whereby the groom and his family would arrive my house with 5-trays of gifts. One of the gifts is a saree which i had to change into once they arrived. After i successfully got dressed, i was brought downstairs and my fiance and i exchanged rings follow by the lighting of the oil lamp - signifying that we had begun a life together.

Next, we had a short Punjabi customary session called "Sagan" whereby married couple would give us their blessings, feed us some punjabi sweets and sometimes even give presents / gifts / tokens.

Well, that was not the end of course! There was cake! In accordance to Portuguese-Eurasian custom, my father proposed a toast and we cut the cake.

Anyways, a long story short, it was an enjoyable night and an extremely memorable experience. Look out for the pictures, very very soon!

Red Bull Rookies Rock the MME!

It was a tiring weekend, but it was indeed an eventful one. I had the privilege of being "behind the scenes" at the Merdeke Millennium Endurance Race last weekend in support of the Red Bull Rookies.

On Friday 29th August, i spend my whole day there as that was the qualifying day and our Red Bull Rookies came out 2nd - girls can be faster than boys on the track eh? Heheheheh...I am so proud of you gals!

30th August 2008 - THE day! The MME Race kicked off at 11.45 a.m. (fyi- this is a 12-hour race ya). I was thrilled to have the privilege of being with the driver before they began their race. Although i did frequent the paddock area for the training session but this day was a first for me - I WAS ON THE ACTUAL RACE TRACK!!! and i got pictures to prove it :)



From left to right: Me, Irma and Puteri (Red Bull Rookies). And of course Aziz is visible at the back with his camera wearing a red T-shirt. This one was taken on the race track! Like i said i had the picture to prove it. Our Rookies gained a lot of attention. Even the Marshalls came and took pictures ok.

There were also loads of umbrella girls - naturally since almost all of the drivers were men. Check out the most outstanding ones below!



I am NOT the umbrella girl! The very orange ones behind me are! I shall stop here and not comment further on them :)

It was of course and extremely HOT day! I did get a bit of a tan...yippie! Which will render me colourless again though...what to do! But look how this girl copes with the heat!



It's a Hello Kitty mini fan! hahaha..If you own one of this, do not leave home without it. Comes in handy in times like these.


From left to right: ME, Christabel (Red Bull) and Irma (Red Bull). We hung out together throughout the day.

Here is one for the RMM Wall of Fame!


From left to right: Brian Hong (Red Bull), ME, Peter Pek (Mercatus) and Aziz.


The Race Craft: Integra DC 2

I am proud the announce, the Red Bull Rookies made it through the 12-hours and they came out 6th place in their class! In my opinion, simply excellent for first timers in the MME.

Congratulations is in order to the whole team! Well done Red Bull Rookies and congratulations to Red Bull for finding these amazing girls from their Red Bull Female Driver Search last year. Congratulations to Kenvin Low as well, Chief Trainer from AADA - the guy responsible for pushing these girls to their full racing potential.

So ladies, if you are between 18-30 years of age, are able to drive a manual car fairly well and crave for speed, do not miss out on joining the Red Bull Female Driver Search which was recently launched.

Click here to sign up online now!

Age calculator anyone??

Yesterday, my colleague, Aziz suddenly asked me which year i was born in. He had this Excel sheet whereby you just key in your date of birth in the given format and it calculates your age - and i mean your exact age, in years, months, minutes, seconds, etc. Also at the side of it states your "characteristics" based on the month you are born in. After tabulating my own date-of-birth, here are the results:




As of today, here is my age:

Age in years : 24.00
Age in months : 288
Age in days : 8761
Age in hours : 210253
Age in minutes : 12615154
Age in seconds : 756909238
Age in Millisecs: 75690923847
Age in weeks : 61324
You born on : Sunday

And here are my so-called characteristics being born in the month of August:

* Loves to joke
* Attractive
* Suave and caring
* Brave and fearless
* Firm and has leadership qualities
* Knows how to console others
* Too generous and egoistic
* Takes high pride of oneself
* Thirsty for praises
* Extraordinary spirit
* Easily angered
* Angry when provoked
* Easily jealous
* Observant
* Loves to lead and to be led
* Loves to dream
* Talented in the arts, music and defense
* Sensitive but not petty
* Poor resistance against illnesses

Some of the characteristics are quite accurate! Not bad huh? But of course not all of it so please DO NOT think i am all of the above. I have highlighted the once which i think are true about me.

Various reactions - Part 2

Before i begin with the continuation from my last entry, let me just say i have reached my target for this month. And i mean, in the number of blog entries for this month. My target was to have at least 2, and this goes to show my blog isn't a lost cause altogether, there is still hope yet.

Okay, now getting back to the reactions of people when i told them the news of me getting married for the first time. (Once again, names will be changed to protect the ones who wish to stay anonymous)

Scenario 3:

An ex-colleague of mine was chatting with me on gtalk. The main reason she buzzed me was that i had put my status as "lost my phone". So we did the usual hellos, how are you's? and of course we got into how i lost my phone etc. And then we get to the more interesting part.

At 11.30 a.m.

GTalk Girl: So what's new with you?
ME: Hmmmm, well did i already tell you, i am getting married

And there was no reply from her. So i assumed she was away from her desk or busy work so i didnt now pursue it, i just carried on with my work. The at 4.30 p.m. she replies with her telephone number asking to save since i lost my phone. And not two second later my phone rings...it's her of course

GTalk Girl: Hullo
ME: Hi. How are you doing?
GTalk Girl: How did you know it was me?
ME: I recognise your voice la.
GTalk Girl: Hey, you are joking right? I know i have not been keeping in touch much and all. Are you just trying to get my attention by saying you are getting married?
ME: No la...it's for real i am getting married in December.
GTalk Girl: What??? (A bit high pitched) Oh wow! Congrats! I am so happy for you.
ME: Thank you. hehehe..

And that was Scenario 3.

It's interesting to see the reactions of various people. About 3 years ago, i remember pulling a fast one on a friend of mine who was in Canada at that time. We were chatting on MSN and for a few days i was telling him about how I was getting married and the wedding plans and i made it sound so real. This time around, I am really getting married so i decided to drop him an sms.

Scenario 4

So, i send my friend an sms saying i am getting married.

(via sms)
SMS Friend: What? You are kidding...Don't lie.
ME: No, seriously. We met last December and we've been dating a couple of months. We are getting married in December.
SMS Friend: WOW! I am seriously in shock. Congratulations! So give me the juicy details? How did he propose? Who is he? Where is he from?
ME: Well, i'll tell you all the details soon. Just wanted to let you. Call me when you are free alright take care.
SMS Friend: Okay. You too take care.

Well, i thought he had forgotten. About two weeks later my phone rings and it's my SMS Friend.

ME: Hello!
SMS Friend: Hi! How are you la? You bugger you! Getting married huh?
ME: I am okay la. Yeah la. This time it's for real. Not pulling a fast one on you.
SMS Friend: Wow! I can't believe it. Didn't think you'd settle down so soon. But if you are happy i am happy for you.
ME: Yes, i am very happy thanks.

Then we continue talking about the wedding etc. And catching up on each others news.

It has been an interesting experience actually telling people my BIG NEWS. I recall spending most of my college / working life telling people how i would NEVER settle down and get married till i am at least 28. I have learned my lesson. Call me superstitious but i believe when you say things like this, the opposite happens. I did try to learn from my relatives when they used to say they did not want to marry a particular race that's the exact race they fall in love with and end up marrying.

No need to go so far, my mom, in her younger days never liked Punjabi's. Like for real! And look at her today, she has two daughters carrying the name KAUR and she is also known as Mrs Singh. My sister, said the same thing - now she is Mrs Singh as well with two little "Singh" boy as her sons. I was "playing smart". I told everyone never would i criticize a race or say i did not want to end up marrying a certain race. But, i did say i would NEVER settle down till i am in my late 20's.

Nevertheless, i would have to say, no regrets! I always taught that marriage would mean and end to a lot of things. But now, i feel very differently about it. Yes, there would be more responsibilities, but i think i am ready to face it all and the best part about it is, i will never have to face it all on my own anymore.

Various reactions

It's interesting to see how people react to various types of unexpected news. Recently, i've had the good fortune of getting various types or reactions from people around me when i informed them the "I am getting married". Here are a few scenarios. (names will be changed to protect the identity of those who wish to remain anonymous)






Scenario 1:

I was on leave from work that day and i was making arrangements to do certain important things e.g. meeting my future in-laws for the first time. Therefore i needed to explain to colleagues why i had to maybe leave early and for this particular time, i was not able to stay till the very end of a photoshoot session of my client which was supposed to end rather late at night.

ME: Hello!
Colleague: Hi! How are you?

Ok la, i cant remember the whole conversation but we updated each other on work stuff and then....

ME: Hey, i dont think i can stay till the very end of the photoshoot.
Colleague: Can, can no problem. ( Didn't even ask why - a bit the Weird right??)
ME: Actually, i have to tell you. I met someone and we are settling down. I am getting married.
Colleague: HUH??!! Are you serious? Are you sure?
ME: hahahahaha...yes yes i am sure. i will tell you all about it.
Colleague: Okay..... (sounding very speechless)

After this the conversation ended very quickly because my colleague had to attend to something. After about one hour my phone rang, it was my colleague.

ME: Hello
Colleague: Hi. Now i can talk. I am still in shock of what you told me
ME: Hahahaha. Yeah i know it happened so fast.
Colleague: Ok my first PR reaction is are you sure but my actual reactions is "ARE YOU CRAZY??"
ME: Hahahaha..

Oh well that was that! Cool reaction isnt it.

Scenario 2:

I went over to my sister place just to say hi but my real intention was to tell her i am getting married. We talked usual talk, how are you etc etc..talking about her children etc. Then, she posts me "the question".

Penji: So, seeing anyone? (Usually the answer she gets is NO - i'm too busy)
ME: Well, as a matter of fact yes i am
Penji : (Looking interested and eyes wide open) Oh, interesting. is it serious??
ME: Yes it is very serious. And you can expect good news
Penji : (Now at the edge of her chair looking as if she is about to fall off) Really? How serious?
ME: He proposed
Penji: (Screams a really shrill scream) And? What did you say?
ME: I say YES of course la!
Penji: (Screams even louder and her kids come running asking her what is wrong). Oh my God, Oh my God.

And then, she cried and hugged me so tight i think it affected my blood circulation a bit.

So, there you go! Two scenarios.

The Wedding Plans

Planning a wedding is “supposed” to be something memorable – I do hope than once I’m married I may look back and laugh at these trying time. Too many things seem to be happening all at once. Yes, I did find time to update my blog, oddly, but I am guessing this is due to me being so stressed out over everything and looking for my once chance to escape it all.

Alrighthy then, that aside, the wedding preparations have officially begun! The church ceremony will be on 27th December 2008 and on the following day, my fiance’s family will be hosting the Hindu ceremony. In preparation I’ve already started looking for my wedding gown! Even I can’t believe it – me, at this age, looking for my wedding gown! Of course the search may take time and hopefully I find “the gown” but even if I don’t it wont matter – to me at the end of the day, my wedding day will be memorable no matter what, because I will be starting a whole new life. This is what I am looking forward to. I am looking forward to a happy marriage and building my new life together with my husband.

So if anyone were to ask, is this going to be your dream wedding or fairy tale wedding – I would say, this is not a priority. Yes, the wedding symbolizes the beginning of a new life of two people, but the dream or fairy tale I dream of will be the rest of my life and not the ONE day.



Will this be the gown???? As if i would show everyone the real thing before THE DAY?? But this particular gown is lovely i think. Some say this is too simple while others think this is so ME - simple and not over the top!




At any point of the wedding, will i be wearing a lengha?? Have not decided yet! Just have to wait and see..i am as eager as everyone else to know what i will be deciding on.

I have to admit, things have been pretty out of hand lately. About three weeks ago I lost my handphone in an embarrassing incident which I’d rather not mention but I will say this – I looked like a panda for a week! It was really upsetting because I was very attached to that particular handset and most importantly, very important contacts we lost along with it (yes yes I know back up! Now I’ve learned my lesson).