Jan 03 2009
Oh no, it is already the 3rd day of the 2009 and I have not came out with my New Year Resolution. Juleen being the good girl has done hers. I keep nagging Juleen to have one and I am not doing what I preached. I am the bad boy now!
All right, I shall finalize it this weekend..
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What about you my friends? Quickly do one…
Dec 31 2008
Since Juleen has written her side of the marriage proposal story, I guess I should write mine…
It all began about a year ago when Juleen keep hinting me to propose. Now being a practical guy, I am never good in this kind of things. For me, marriage is a kind of progression in life. It is like when you feel you are old enough, mature enough, ready enough then you can start to think about marriage. All you need is to suggest to get married, choose a date and lets get married. That is called being PRACTICAL. However on the other side, I know to make marriage special and memorable I need to put in effort to make it unforgettable. One of the way is to propose like what we always see in the movie or drama. After talking to few female friends, I started to realized proposal or even marriage is a GIRL’s thing. They treasure good proposal and marriage more than guy. No wonder, if possible a guy wouldn’t want to go through the whole process of proposing and marriage ceremony. Too troublesome, too much hassle, too much effort and money spend without equal return satisfaction to the men. But for girls, however, it is the reverse. To go through the process of proposing and getting married is a special thing. It is D - Day for most female. So since Juleen has been so sweet to me all this while, I thought I shouldn’t disappoint her. It is too cruel if I do…
Therefore, to propose is never an option for me. In fact, to propose in 2008 is one of my new year resolution. It is a must do thing for me this year. I was thinking of the right date to propose and it took me a while. I need to make sure so many things. I have to make sure I am financially able to provide, I need to make sure I have the house, I have to make sure I am the right one for her and etc etc. After much thinking, delay and procrastination I thought December will be the right date. Why December? Because by December I will know how much is my bonus and my increment. Sound silly but in this world there are certain things you can’t do without money. One of such is a proper marriage.
To be frank, I have not decided on the date until after the 1st week of December until I found out about my increment and bonus. I quickly look for availability and settle with Dec 26. I thought it is a special day since 26+12=38 and 38 is our special number. Don’t ask me why? I also don’t know but because we are so fond with the number 38… our new house number is 38, Juleen’s diamond is a 38 pointer and so on.. Hehe! Since it is a day after Christmas I thought I would just ask Juleen to buy me a Christmas present. I think that is a smart move because not only I got the book I have been waiting for, the book will also act as smoke screen so Juleen won’t know I will be proposing on that day (I just found out she knew long time ago. Girl has very sharp instinct I tell you).
The Snowball
After some suggestion from a close friend, I thought Sassorosso is the right place. The restaurant is very cozy, quiet and not too crowded with people and since I am a very reserve person (yes,reserve person still can write blog) Sassorosso is just nice. Besides, they offer really good authentic Italian cuisine at reasonable price. Being a kiasu, I booked the restaurant 2 weeks in advance and requested a specific table. I got the reservation but not that specific table though since they have a private function booked inside the restaurant. But that’s okay, everything still turned out fine. Remember, always learn to improvised if you don’t get what you wanted..hehe!
On the day, my feeling was mixed. I was a little scared but mostly excited. However as the hour got closer I find myself a little clumsy and tense. I feel myself unease, worried Murphy’s Law will take place and was rushing for everything. Even when I picked up Juleen I have to intentionally force myself to look cool so that I won’t get into unnecessary conflict. Ohh… when I am unease, I will get impatient and always end up in conflict with Juleen (since she is closest to me).
To cut story short, we reached there on time, had very nice dinner, and propose. This is how I propose… after the dinner I told Juleen I wanted to have a chat with the waiter. As I approached the waiter, I quickly pull out the ring and ask him to put it in the bill folder and wait for my signal. Upon the signal, the waiter bring the bill over and I opened the folder and proposed. Juleen wasn’t too surprise but waiting for her answer is kinda torturing as I feel many people are looking at me (I am not worried Juleen will say No..hehehe). That is how I proposed, simple and sweet…
We initially wanted to go to No Black Tie to listen to some jazz music but decided not to since the champagne make Juleen a little tipsy and sleepy..hehe! For the rest of the story, please read Juleen’s thought in the previous post. I am just excited it is over and now we have to worry about something else. We have to plan for our wedding reception…Can I sigh? Hehehe…
After the dinner
On top of sharing my thoughts on my proposal I think I should acknowledge some people for making this proposal a successful one. They are like the unsung heroes behind my successful proposal. Without them, I think my proposal will be a dull one. Top on the list is TC (as seen in the picture below..hehe). Allow me to introduce, he is my Fund Manager. This guy is amazingly NICE. He is the one that show me various places to propose. Not only show me but he is so willing to spend the money so that I have the experience before making up my mind where to propose. He also shared so many creative ideas to propose. When I say “creative”, they are really creative! This guy is really good in these things. But what is more important is how often you can find a boss that is so generous, friendly and helpful?Very rare…
I also wanna thank my colleague like Shiu Lin, Kar Fu and Calista for their ideas. My colleagues together with TC has inspired me to be a better man rather than just being a practical man! Thank guys!
Dec 28 2008
Our proposal story begins with…
The guy RuehYinn
and The girl Juleen
at Sassorosso, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng
The interior of Sassorosso
The moment I enter the restaurant, I’m already very excited! The ambience is very cozy and soothing. Once we entered the restaurant, somehow the waiter already knew it was for Mr. Yap. It was not suprising since RuehYinn had already called in to book 2 weeks in advance. We were ushered to the table located at the garden.
Then the waiter approached us with the menu. The moment we opened the menu, we were amazed with the array of dishes printed on the menu. For awhile, we were confused of what to order and became indecisive. RuehYinn being nice gentleman kept providing suggestions of what to order. After awhile, we decided to refer to the waiter for recommendation. The waiter did gave some helpful suggestion and we finally had our orders in. 
Champagne moment
Cheers!
The food we ordered…
I have never liked fresh oysters because of the fishy taste so we had them baked with cheese and garlic
Baked Oysters
sooooo delicious, in a few minutes…they were gone!
Olio Prawn Spagetti
The jumbo prawns were so juicy and the pasta was perfectly cooked (al dente). Yummy!
Occhio di Bue Pizza
The crust of the pizza was sooo good, and the toppings bland well together, really really nice!
and not to forget, the last but not least…
the dessert Tiramisu
Isn’t the Tiramisu special…. hehe, it seems so simple to do ya.
We took our time to enjoy every bite of the food because they were simply irresistable. RuehYinn kept reminding me to slowly enjoy the food else we could have finish the food in 30 minutes. After we asked the waiter to take away the remaining food, the rest of the time were spent on enjoying the champagne and small talk.
By this time, we had already spent almost 3 hours at the restaurant eating. All of a sudden, RuehYinn excused himself to talk to one of the waiter whom he claimed is his friend from his previous visit to this restaurant (that’s why he suggested this place for our date). After awhile he came back and we ordered the bill. The waiter placed the bill folder on the table. Eager to know how much it all cost, I opened up the bill folder. To my surprise, there was a diamond ring inside the bill folder. For a moment I was stunned!!! There was a moment of silence…
RuehYinn then popped the question ‘Will you marry me?’ I responded with a ‘Yes!’
Before we left, there was a white couple sitting beside our table who offered to take our only shot together at Sassorosso.
And the rest is history…
Dec 27 2008
The best gift I bought for myself this year (with approval from Juleen..hehe) would be:-
1. Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 lens; and
2. Nikon SB600 Speedlight.
After a long consideration, I have came to the conclusion that D60’s kit lens (Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5 - 5.6 VR) has to go and I need an upgrade. The kit lens is a good lens and light, however, the Image Quality (IQ) is kinda limited. Under good lighting Nikkor 18 - 55mm VR performs relatively well but not so during poor lighting. I am not talking about very dark environment. I am talking about daytime inside the house. As a result, the pictures turn out to be blurry and disappointing all the time. Since then, I’ve decided to only use big aperture lens (means with lower f value like f2.8 vs f3.5 - 5.6). But there is another problem! Big aperture lens normally come with hefty price tag. For instance, my kit lens (Nikkor 18 - 55mm f3.5 - 5.6) is selling for RM850 only, whereas the big aperture lens (Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8) is selling for RM5,000. That is 6 times more expensive for the same zoom length. My hope was dashed for a while since there is no way I will have the money to spend on such lens. Next I look into third party lens like Tamron and Sigma but my friends advise me not to consider third party lens since they always come with quality problem and the IQ is no way near the original maker. Since then, I let go of my “dream” to own a big aperture lens.
Few weeks ago, after getting really disappointed with my kit lens… I decided to held on my research on the possibility of owning a big aperture lens. To my surprise, after a week or so of research, I found out some of the third party lens are EQUALLY GOOD if NOT BETTER than the original maker. Best of all, it only cost a fraction of the original maker’s price. One of those lens is Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 lens. Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 is no doubt one of the sharpest lens ever produced. I have slight doubt when I read one of the review on the internet. But now I am convinced!! Other than slower motor speed (which is not really that slow), no one say anything bad about this lens. A quick google on this lens will reveal a lot of happy owners and good review by professional. Read the review here.
How much does it cost? The Tamron only cost me RM1,650 vs RM5,000 by Nikkor. The drawback however, this is not a full frame compatible lens (bottomline, for the use of professional DSLR). Oh, did I tell you this is an award winning lens also?? To know more…just visit Tamron website here.
I also got myself a new Speedlight SB600 which is necessary to take good pictures. Don’t bother SB900 or SB800 Speedlight if you do not have the budget. SB600 can do more than 80% of what SB800 or SB900 can do! Very good flash unit. If Juleen ever writes about my marriage proposal (ahem!!!), then you will be able to see what SB600 can do in poor lighting condition. SB600 with Tamron 17-55 f2.8, produced really good pictures…
Here are some of the pictures I took to test the new lens. You judge the quality (without editing, not even with the watermark)…
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Juleen seems excited with the prospect of the lens and flash…
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Myself and Damon, my best friend since Standard 1 but has migrated to Australia. Sob sob!! And darn, I really need a hair cut myself…
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You wanna be the The Rock, bro?
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Wai Yeen, Damon’s wife. They just got married 2 weeks ago. Very nice friend… Anyway, I forgot to adjust the white balance so picture turn out to be yellowish..
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Oh,did I mentioned big aperture lens can produce bokeh effect like the following… Bokeh effect is where you have blurry background but the subject is sharp. Bokeh in effect makes the picture less noisy and let the subject stand out. Very nice effect, isn’t it?
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One of the lesson I have learnt is that, never never blindly listen to people. You may miss out great opportunity if you do. Instead, do your own research and make your conclusion independently from others. Bear in mind, what doesn’t work for others does not mean it won’t work for you! If I have listened to my friend without doing my own research, today I won’t be owning a relatively good lens just because someone say otherwise.
Dec 26 2008
Last week, RuehYinn promised me to bring me to have a good italian meal on the day after Christmas in exchange of a book The Snowball as Christmas celebration. ( I can smell something ‘fishy’… hehe…)
Finally, he popped the magic question and we’re engaged… , he said he planned it today because 12 + 26 is 38, which is our special number in our hearts… haha
Anyways, I guess his colleagues TC and gang have taught him some proposal skills and where to dine. Thanks a bunch to you guys!
We’ll talked more details over the weekend, so just hang in there… (to be continued)
Good nite for now~
