happy eleven, hubby!

So we're in Taiwan as our steely 11th anniversary rolls around! Nope, don't think we'll be sharing a romantic dinner tonight... because my parents are here, together with five of their friends (two couples and one auntie), and also my aunt, and we'd have met up with my bro and sis-in-law and her parents mid-trip. O_O So yeah. Huge gang. I hope I'm coping well. : \

Anyway, this post is for my hubby who would never read this.. or my blog for that matter. And I'm more than fine about that. No, I wouldn't send a link to him. Yes, I'm strange, and he's not curious, so we're perfect for each other. Haha! We're total opposites but I think that's the reason why God put us together.. so that we could complete each other.. while annoying the heck out of each other haha! Ah, so much LOVE.. ;) Me doth think that the husby is rily teh awesomest! ^_^

Btw I'm lovin' this song fr JT who wrote it for his gorgeous wife Jessica Biel and was inspired by her and also his grandparents' six decade-long marriage. Aww! He's said that, 'One of the most valuable things in a relationship is being able to constantly change and be individual, but look to the other side to the person that you're with and know that they're changing as well individually, but somehow you two can mirror each other and be the other half of that world that you both create.' Yup. I just think that it's such a well-produced track and although it runs for 8 minutes, it doesn't feel like it. Wish it wasn't so difficult to sing along to though, my timing is all messed up and I feel so rusty bleh. But that's what traffic jam is for: car-aoke! :)

'cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul
I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go
just put your hand on the glass
I'll be tryin' to pull you through
you just gotta be strong

'cause I don't wanna lose you now, I'm lookin' right at the other half of me
the vacancy that sat in my heart is a space and now you're home
show me how to fight for now and I'll tell you, baby
it was easy comin' back into you once I figured it out
you were right here all along

it's like you're my mirror, my mirror staring back at me
I couldn't get any bigger with anyone else beside of me
and now it's clear as this promise that we're making two reflections into one
'cause it's like you're my mirror
my mirror staring back at me, staring back at me

justin timberlake :: mirrors

Read last year's anniversary post here.
Mm nothing from 2011 :P
This is from 2010.

Lee Hom posted this on his weibo yesterday:

昨天跟媽媽通電話時她說她正在坐長途車，爸爸在開. 我就說 “那我放心了, 爸爸是最好的司機，你可以好好休息”. 媽媽說 “他不但是最好的司機，也是最好的朋友，最好的伴侶，最好的老公." 爸爸媽媽，兒子我好佩服也好感動你們的婚姻到今天為止正好長達41年了. 結婚週年日快樂 Happy Anniversary!

I was on the phone with my Mom yesterday and she told me that she was in a car on a long distant trip and that Dad was driving. So I said, "Then I've no worries, Dad is the best driver, you can take a good rest". Mom replied, "He is not only the best driver, but also the best friend, best companion, best husband." Dad, Mom, this son of yours truly admires and is deeply touched by your marriage which by today has reached the 41-year mark. Happy Anniversary!

Like, AWWWW right? :D

And my response to his weibo, which reflects my thought on marriage and parenthood (and envy of him :P):

The best gift your parents have ever given you (aside from those awesome genes for good looks and remarkable intelligence and impeccable musicianship) is the enduring love they have for each other. You are so blessed! Happy anniversary, Mr & Mrs Wang.

On the subject of weibo, one of the best things about it is being able to connect with fellow fans (another is the relative anonymity it provides, which makes me feel more at ease (but still civil nonetheless ;) compared to the other social media platforms that I engage in). There were a couple of misses but so far I've hit it off pretty well with two people from two different corners of the earth who just share in my enthusiasm for all things Lee Hom... and more. :)

once upon a time, east met west...

the husband and i are the same in some ways and very different in every other way.. personality wise, don't let me get there, but we clash in every. possible. way, except oh, we are both VERY STUBBORN. hahahaha.. interest wise, at the basic level, we both enjoy reading, TV/movies and food. but rarely do we read the same books (he reads theological books)(as I'm typing, he's reading an OT theology book)(or serious mags like Time or The Economist)(while i like my whodunits or fiction or Calvin and Hobbes); we don't download *cough* the same shows (i love animation and sitcoms, while he watches everything from Hawaii Five-O to Walking Dead BUT doesn't touch my HIMYM or Community); we do eat the same food when i cook (of course =), but i love my pasta or potatoes, while he prefers low-carb meals (or he'll say crazy things like, "let's just have vege and fruits for dinner" to which my only response is an emphatic NO. because the cave-woman in me MUST. HAVE. MEAT. rawrrr! =) on some Saturday mornings, he would up at 6 to go hiking, while i probably would have just gone to bed a few hours before that (i'm allergic to the morning sun, which explains my semi-comatose state before noon each day ;)(but i can get reeeally hyper when my adrenaline kicks in, like really =).

thankfully, another thing we have in common other than our "stiff-necks" (read that in Canto) is our love of travelling and thankfully again, we belong to the same category of travelers (there are many kinds actually, like the first-class-all-the-way type, the backpacking-and-sleeping-at-bus-stops type, the tour-group-only-else-i'd-be-lost type, i'm-allergic-to-sun-and-sea type, off-the-beaten-path-only-please type, city-lovers vs nature-lovers, and many more).. we are the free-and-easy-can't-afford-first-class-no-tour-group type. and while i'm not a big fan of Tony Fernandez, we have AirAsia to thank for enabling us to go places we have been over the years. let's see, together we have been to Singapore (of course =), Bali (Indonesia), Hatyai, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Bangkok (Thailand), Hanoi (Vietnam), Baguio (the Philippines), Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai (China), and recently Melbourne (Australia). and there's Taiwan end of this year! the wanderlust is strong in us. if only our currency is equally strong *cries*

anyways, the reason for today's post is that............... today we are ten. that's TEN YEARS as a married couple. that's (365*7 + 366*3) days (= 3,653 days)(gosh, only 3 thousand plus days? felt like it's been 10,000!)(accordingly to the traditional anniversary gift list, we're supposed to be getting TIN/ALUMINIUM this year)(ergh no thanks!)

and what a ride it has been. haha! i'm thankful for this journey. of course if i could walk it again, there are many things i would have said or done differently. but there's no looking back. we are definitely better people today than we first started, for there has been a lot "sharpening" of the iron kind haha, lotsa sparks (from the friction haha) i think we have learned (and are still learning) to accept each other for who we are (especially our bad sides!) i am very excited for what God has in store for us in the next ten years, and all the tens that follows.

Lord God, we commit ourselves to you. thank you for your faithfulness in our lives. thank you for the happiness we have known together; for the sorrows we have faced together. we ask for forgiveness for any failure on our part; for any times when we became difficult to live with; for any lack of sympathy and understanding; for our selfishness. you have brought us so far along in this journey as husband and wife, we have learned tough lessons about living as one, how to die to ourselves and to consider the other's needs above our own. and we continue to learn. thank you for blessing us with so much, help us to bless others with what we have, with who we are, in return. thank you for the love which grows more precious each day. guide us in your way everlasting. we want to know you more. we want to be sensitive and obedient to the prompting of your holy spirit in our lives. help us God. light our path. thank you for everything. we love you. in jesus' name we pray. amen!

H A P P Y T E N , H U B B Y ! !

love you so, so much! muaks muaks! ^^

two drifters, off to see the world, there's such a lot of world to see...

-moon river-

i've been looking for a song to commemorate this day, and am happy to choose this because:

1. i love derek webb and i love how much he loves his wife and i wanted something from him that reflects that and voila, this song ^^ 
2. this song is fun ["I wanna read the Bible and I wanna make out"? haha! btw this is him and his wife Sandra, if you are interested] 
3. if you asked me if i would do it all over again, i'd probably pause to think for a bit, and then smile and say "Yes!"

I wanna marry you all over again, I wanna meet you and I wanna be friends
I wanna chase you all the way to Tennessee, I’ll meet your parents at the airport bar
I’ll take you out in my rental car, I wanna court you on the record label’s dime

come on baby let’s go back to the start
take it back sugar then gimme your heart
don’t you know baby I would do it all over again

I wanna buy you an old upright, I wanna accidentally stay all night
I wanna read the Bible and I wanna make out
I wanna marry you all over again
I wanna fall in love and say we’re just friends
I wanna race you all the way to Kansas City

I wanna give you a diamond ring, and then we’ll run into my ex-girlfriend
oh, I wanna sing songs while the sun’s going down

derek webb :: i wanna marry you all over again

Ready, get set, here we go!

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment that we all, mainly the husby and I, have been waiting for. Put your hands together now for the truly wonderful, always delightful, downright awesome... T&E's annual vacation! *cue confetti rain & blaring trumpets*

What makes this year's trip all the more special is that it marks our first trip out of Asia.. AND.. with it we are celebrating our tenth anniversary! That's right: 10TH ANNIVERSARY/Ulangtahun Kesepuluh/第十週年! *cue balloon rain and laser show*

It's amazing we lasted so long! All those friction finally caused some sparks and got the fire going hehe.. God surely has had a hand in preserving us and carrying us through the downs of our lives, and we are forever and ever thankful (esp to fam and friends who saw us through the whole journey)! We have grown so much, especially the past few years. We've also made regrettable decisions and mistakes, which have taught us valuable lessons on love and life. And I pray for the next ten years to be better, that our love for each other will continue to grow and that we will be a blessing to others whose paths cross ours. *cue some 90s power ballads*

So, where are we headed? Most, if not all, of you would already know cos I've been mentioning my anticipation and excitement of this trip (good news are meant to be shared ma :p) But if you don't, let's just say that it's to an island not that far away. An island so vast it's a continent unto itself. Haha.. *cue joke rimshot and sound of crickets*

happy 8th, hubby!

:)