It's Fall

The summer has just zoomed by. I love each of the four seasons, but always feel some sadness and withdrawal during these transition periods.

Looking on the bright side, I do love Fall. Tomorrow I am going apple and pumpkin picking, which I am really excited about! Have always wanted to do that. I love Honey Crisp apples from MN and PUMPKIN is quite possibly my favorite fruit. I adore pumpkin pie. :)

And... FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!!!!!! :)) Which means lazy Sundays on the couch with my hubby, watching 3 games back to back. LOL.

I love the four seasons. Each one is so special and enjoyable in its own way. And also it helps me remember when things happen. ;)

Oh, I forgot to mention that one of the funniest wedding moments was when Troy's friend Shag went up to my dad, Troy's dad, and me separately to tell us how Troy was the nicest guy he knows and Troy's the man he would introduce to his sister. We both thought it was really sweet of him, but also sooooo funny. :) Shag felt bad for Troy because everyone at the wedding kept saying how lucky Troy was, and he felt the need to stick up for Troy. ;)

Ok I confess I am still a little high from the wedding. ;) Avery's mom emailed to say she and his dad were also still high from how good Avery was at the wedding, and they are very proud parents. :)

I cleaned up the apartment some this weekend. Took out some boxes to the trash. We still have a stockpile of wedding presents in our living room though, but we'll probably leave them unopened until we have our own house. We both can't wait to have a house!!!!!! Me because I want a place to call our permanent home, start decorating it, and have lots of friends over. Troy because he wants dogs and a MAN CAVE in the basement. :P

I started a smartypig savings account for us today! Our first savings goal is a trip to ROCKY MOUNTAINS, COLORADO next October for our first year anniversary. OMG check out these gorgeous cabins with an OUTDOOR HOT TUB overlooking the mountains?!!? HELLOOO??? http://www.cabinsofcolorado.com/index.htm

And, because I'm a person who always plans ahead.. my latest interest is researching citizenship. Being a green card holder married to an American citizen, I will become eligible for US citizenship in 2013. Thing is, when I first started this immigration process several months ago, I had absolutely no intention of taking up US citizenship. I had always planned to retain my Sg citizenship so that our kids could be dual citizens. Sadly, due to DON'T-MAKE-ANY-SENSE GAHMEN, this plan is now foiled.

Why? Well, gahmen has this absolutely ridiculous law that states male dual citizens are not permitted to renounce their citizenship until age 21. Which means our sons will be called up for NS at age 18 just like any Singaporean. I would be fine with it if they were actually in Singapore. However, since Troy and I plan to stay in the USA, our poor sons will have to leave their entire lives in the USA and return to Singapore all by themselves to serve NS for 2 years. Following NS, they would then have to renounce Sg citizenship at age 21 because Sg does not permit dual citizenship. UMM, HELLOO??? At the end of the day, they would still NOT be dual citizens, just wasted two years of their lives. Which parent would inflict this torture on their child???

Does this policy make sense to anyone???

I'm a married woman!!

Being "married" makes me feel about 10 years older. Oooooh I'm a grown-up now! With a real job and everything! ;)

I HAD THE BEST WEEKEND OF MY LIFE!!!!!! I enjoyed every single minute of my wedding and prepping with the boys+girls the day before. It was a blast!! I was still high for 2 days after... ;)

My girls were just wonderful in helping in every way and making it all a breeze for me. I really enjoyed having them stay at the Inn with us, it gave us some nice time to catch up while making centerpieces, cocktails, decorations... And the boys!! If you look under their jokey exterior, they are the kindest souls. :)

And boy am I glad I bought those bubbles and hired a DJ! Those bubbles kept the kids entertained ALL NIGHT long, and really got Avery and Bekah going! I was really worried about Avery being bored, but omg the kids became little DANCING MACHINES once the music came on. It was hilarious to watch.

Am sooooo soooooooo glad Troy convinced me to get a DJ and have a dollar dance. I was pretty hesitant since 1) I can't dance to save my life, 2) I'd never even heard of a dollar dance. IT WAS SUCH A BLAST! I loved loved loved it, it was awesome to chat and slow dance with so many guests, plus how cute were Caden and Avery (both 6) when they bashfully came up and asked the bride to dance! It was adorable. Bekah (little bride in the making) kept coming up to me every 5 minutes to ask me something, (Umm.. Meijie? Can I have more bubbles? Can I have a crane? Can I have another crane?) which also cracked me up. ;) And then I had to stop talking to my coworkers because this little 5-year-old insisted I teach her how to make a crane at my wedding, LOL.

And the toasts were just wonderful! We have funny friends. :)

Anyway, what made it even better was everyone telling me after that what a fun time they had. Johanna said it was the funnest wedding she had ever been to, and my coworker said it was one of the nicest. :) Awwwwwwww, ain't that the sweetest things anyone can say! And everyone we talked to had a blast, and we got compliments on the venue, cookies, food, flowers, little handmade details... Troy said his dad was impressed with my organization skills. ;)))

Am soooo glad we had an intimate wedding. 60 turned out to be the perfect number of people there. Can't wait for the pro pictures to come back! In the meantime, check out fb for pictures. :)

LOL, again

The baby's been pretty curious about Singlish, so last week I pulled up a video on YouTube to show him what Singlish sounds like. It was a clip from the movie Singapore Dreaming.

He watched it 3 times with a really confused look on his face.

Me: So, what do you think?
Him: What do you mean?
Me: Did you understand what they were saying?
Him: Oh... you mean they were speaking in ENGLISH???

1 week away!

Wowee, time flies! Can you believe the wedding is ONE week away??

Our little apartment is stacked full of boxes right now. There's about 10 boxes that we need to bring with us to the wedding.. and in the other corner we have all our wedding presents! Opening presents has been TOO MUCH FUN. LOL. My coworkers at preschool and Capernaum very sweetly threw me a wedding lunch and a wedding shower last week. I was very touched.

I've been having quite a bit of wedding panic these two weeks, mainly worried about if I forgot something, or if I should have done such-and-such differently. I'm trying to remind myself that the world won't come to an end if I have ugly centerpieces. :P I'm really praying for good weather.

Am also looking forward to life after the wedding. It will be my last week at preschool next week, then I am starting at Global Academy, which is K-8th grade. Mostly Muslim students, children of recent immigrants from Somalia, Iraq, and the middle east. I certainly identify with the adjustments that recent immigrants have to make! I am very curious about Somali and Iraqi culture and am looking forward to learning about it.

Community ed classes are starting in September, and I am most likely signing up for yoga. Have been wanting to do yoga for a while, and these classes thru the Minneapolis schools are pretty cheap.

Am also contemplating starting up my own small business online on etsy. I've had fun DIY-ing some parts of my wedding, so I figure I might be able to sell some of my crafts online. Some extra income would be really nice, since we'd like to get our first house in about a year. I've been thinking about what kind of part time job I'd like... don't really wanna do more speech therapy, 4.5 days a week is enough. Don't really wanna work as a waitress, sales person.. kinda boring and pay's not great. Soo... if I could get my etsy shop going, that would really be perfect.

Troy is planning on going to grad school next Fall, for a Masters in School Counseling. He is pretty psyched about becoming a school counselor, because it means weekends and summers off!! THREE whole months in the summer to bum around and do nothing. And if I get a job working in the schools too, that means 3 months off a year for the BOTH of us! ;) So yeah, we've been researching grad school options around here.

Oh, and I also ordered the Flat Belly Diet book and cookbook, on the recommendation of my coworker. She said she and her husband lost a bunch of weight and lowered their cholesterol after starting the diet, and also have more energy to boot. So, Troy and I plan to get started on it after the wedding. Since we have a family history of heart disease on both sides, can't be too careful really.

Fall's a-coming, and this year I am determined not to miss out on pumpkin and apple-picking. I LOVE FALL. I love pumpkin pie. I love halloween. I love the beautiful colors and gorgeous weather. I love Thanksgiving. I love football. I love having the four seasons.

So, lots and lots of plans ahead!!!! :)

My baby cracks me up

Was rather bored last Sunday, so I dug out my 放羊的星星 DVDs that I bought from Taiwan a couple years ago.
Troy's first exposure to Taiwanese drama!

Our conversation:
Him: Why do they keep calling him Tianqi?
Me: Because that's his name?
Him: But... I thought his name is Vernon.
Me: It is.
Him: Huh??
Me: His English name is Vernon, his Chinese name is Tianqi.
Him: I'm confused.

*Me laughing hysterically because its so duuuuhh!* My poor baby's going to be so confused when he goes to Singapore. ;) I already told him to go read angryangmo.com, which is written by a German in Singapore.

And later...

Him: Even though I don't understand what they're saying, they're all really bad actors.
Me: Hey!!! Don't talk about my childhood idol that way. I've liked him since I was 10!
Him: If you had a choice between him and David Duchovny, who would you pick?
Me: Uhhhhhhh... ummmmm..... dunno. Can't decide.

;)

We went to watch Myq Kaplan at the Acme Comedy Club last night. He was 5th on Last Comic Standing. But I was quite disappointed in his performance because I'd already heard half his jokes on TV! The 2 other comedians were REALLY REALLY funny though! Quite sad that the sidekicks upstaged the headliner huh? We had a great time, only $15! Definitely going back. We'd probably go check out the comedy club at the Mall too sometime.

To be or not to be?

http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

Although I don't agree with everything he says, I am quite an avid reader of Gopalan Nair's blog. In many ways, it reminds me of why I left Singapore.

Troy often wonders why I don't like Singapore. I told him it's too long and complicated of a story. It is not the usual tale of the immigrant leaving some poverty-stricken third world country. In fact, the Singapore gahmen is far richer than the US government. And I think the unemployment rate is a fair bit lower.

BUT, I could never shake the feeling that the gahmen doesn't give a sh*t about me. At all. It only wants me NOW because I am a young, healthy, well-educated person who has quite good ability to contribute to the economy. If you are old or in poor health or unemployed or have special needs or for some other reason "don't belong" (e.g. homosexual), the gahmen pretty much can't wait to get rid of you, even if you are a citizen. THEY DON'T FREAKING CARE.

My first day of school at my alma mater Victoria Junior College, the principal said, You guys are the cream of the crop. I want you to get as many As as you can at the A levels, for the glory of our wonderful school. (In other words, I don't give a sh*t about you or your aspirations or your personal growth, just make sure you get all As so that we can still be Top 5 JC.) -- does that totally exemplify the gahmen's attitude or what! I still look back at VJC days as the most traumatic 2 years of my life.

Some day I am going to be old. Some day I may be unemployed or have medical needs. Some day I may have children with special needs. (A family I know emigrated to Australia to get special needs services for their son.) Even if my kids didn't have special needs.. if they are anything less than "very smart", they are pretty much screwed. I DO NOT feel that I can count on the gahmen to come to my assistance if needed. They will only do what is the best for them, end of story. I am just a little cookie in a cookie-cutter land. If I am somehow non-satisfactory, they will crush me, destroy me, and import another cookie to replace me.

Yup, so that's reason number 1. I have a lot more.. I am writing all of this down because it helps me sort out my thoughts. I don't know if anyone who reads this will understand the way I feel. I often feel very misunderstood, like the wedding invitations hoohah. Maybe I just don't think like other Singaporeans, which is why I never belonged in Singapore. Who knows.

I am a PERMANENT RESIDENT of the USA!!!!!! :))

Joy oh joy, we had our interview today and got APPROVED! :))))))) The whole thing lasted less than 10 minutes, and was probably the easiest interview I've ever had in my life. ;) So much for all the horror stories eh?

We waited about 15 minutes in the waiting room, then got called. Followed the officer to his office, where he had my USCIS folder in front of him. Wasn't too thick, unlike some of the others in his office. ;)

Asked Troy:
Full name, address, phone number, place of birth, social security number?

Me:
Full name, phone number, place of birth, social security number, parents names, my profession?

Asked me if I have ever been arrested, deported, involved in terrorism, claimed to be a US citizen, etc. (All NO, obviously!)

He asked us, where did you meet?

He asked to see Troy's driver's license and my passport. Asked if I brought anything else I WANTED to add to my file. He didn't appear to want anything. I gave him our phone bill and a more recent bank statement. I showed him about 5 pictures - told him we didn't have too many because Troy hates pictures. He laughed. He didn't look at the phone bill or bank statement, just took them. He glanced at the pictures and gave them back.

Then he said, well, it looks very straightforward. You're approved and you'll get your green card in the mail in about 2 weeks. We said, great thanks!

No trick questions or anything! Approved in 2.5 months - how speedy is that?!

Can't wait to get my green card, which allows me to live and work in the US indefinitely, plus travel in and out of the US anytime I want!!!! No more of that %#$*@ work permits and visa paperwork!! No more waiting in the LOOOOOONG "aliens" line at the airport and dealing with grumpy I-think-you're-a-terrorist airport officials! No more fear of being denied entry into the US!!!!! (Last summer I was afraid of crossing the border to Canada when we were at Niagara Falls).

Whole process cost me something like $1800 though. Could have been a Disney World or Caribbean honeymoon, but alas it was not to be. :P

Updates!

It's been a happening week!

Finally mailed/gave out all the invitations!!! And people are starting to respond already - WOOOO!! :) We have friends who booked their flights to fly in from several different states, makes me feel so touched and loved. :) And of course my parents are flying halfway across the globe. AND my brother might be able to come after all - yay!

I got many compliments on how cute the invitations are *braaaag*. Haha. Quite happy with the way they turned out, especially since they are quite low-budget. :)

Also, my mom sent us a very generous ang pow, which couldn't have come at a better time really. And my super speedy bridesmaid Dianamari also got us our very first wedding present - an indoor grill, which arrived yesterday. :)

And people have been so great about helping out. My dear bridesmaid Charlotte sent me pearl earrings from Indiana (because I mentioned I needed some to match my necklace), and my MOH Johanna's mom very sweetly made a veil for me out of my MIL's veil! It was just mailed to me this week too. MIL's veil (that her mother made for her) was too long and umm.. a little old-fashioned, so Johanna's mom helped to alter it for me. I have NO sewing skills. :p

So yeah, I feel very loved.

Also I received notice that my employment auth is extended for another year - yay. :) Although I won't need it once I get my green card, but at least I don't have to worry too much about when the GC arrives. I am becoming quite the expert on immigration paperwork. :P

Outrage!!!

Article from the ST:

Jul 6, 2010

Help for problem preschoolers

If you read the article, you realize that what this particular journalist is talking about is really preschoolers with learning difficulties, or developmental delays. Instead of calling them that, she refers to them several times as "problem kids". OMG!!!!!!!!!!

I am appalled.

59 days?!

I spent the last couple of days updating our wedding website, and now it is finally (almost) done! For those who are curious, it is at: http://www.weddingwire.com/MeijieandTroy

The "About Us" and "The Proposal" parts took me a couple of hours to write, but am pretty pleased with how it turned out. It's been quite a while since I've done any kind of creative writing, and I'm surprised by how much I still enjoy it! Sometimes I still fantasize about being a writer.. Could still happen I guess. ;)

I finally completed my Clinical Fellowship yesterday, so I'm now a certified speech-language therapist! YAY!!! Pending all the paperwork, I am excitedly looking forward to a raise!!! (I've been too paiseh to ask how much of a raise though :P) And actually, I think my job is getting better every day, as I get more experienced. An unfortunate side effect of my job is that I now don't feel like playing with kids outside of working hours! Playing with a kid now just seems like work, and I don't want to do it without being paid. Hah!

Oh, and I also started a group on Facebook to connect with Singaporeans in the MN. We had our first meeting last week, there's about 6 of us around here. It was fun, but hanging out with them also reminded me of all the reasons I left Singapore. My pet peeves:

1. People who think everything bad that happens to them is because the other person is "racist", e.g. "I didn't pass my driving test because the tester was racist." Erm, did you ever think that maybe your driving just sucks?! Or maybe so-and-so just doesn't like YOU as a person, and your race has nothing to do with it!

2. People who complain that Americans don't know where Singapore is. Erm, do YOU know where every single country in the world is???? Where is Trinidad and Tobago? Or Bahrain? In fact, most Singaporeans have not the slightest clue about USA geography. Most Singaporeans would not be able to pin Minneapolis on a map of USA. Bet they could not even pinpoint NYC, California, Florida or Texas. I have friends who ask me, hey I'll be going to the USA, want to meet up? Erm, Arizona is about 30 hours away from where I am. Or, I heard there's a school shooting, are you ok? Erm, considering its about 3 states away, I think I'm ok.

BTW, I'm not saying I expect Singaporeans to know US geography. I'm just saying that everyone knows the geography of their OWN country the best, so stop saying Americans are dumb just because they don't know where Singapore is.

So yeah, now you know my top 2 pet peeves. :P Think there's more but I'm too lazy to think of them now. I'm just going to watch tv and laze around. Heh.