The Proposal

Ahhh, I don't know where to begin.
For months, we've been talking about weddings, marriages, proposals and such. How we would like certain things to be and how we would like things to be more unconventional, also things that we would like to keep close to our hearts.

I knew he was going to plan something surprising for me. I honestly thought it was going to be in the later part of the year, or rather, it "has" to be by this year because I know that we both secretly would like to please my parents by agreeing to being engaged before Tex flies off to Perth (again!!!, I know right?!) next year to further his studies.

I just didn't know it would be so soon. Still smiling as I type this. Heeeee.

Yesterday started off like any other Saturdays that we normally spent with each other. He picked me up from my house at 9am and we went to ICA to grab his new passport. Had our favourite Yong Tau Foo near Stephanie's maiden home and drove back to his house with the intention of grabbing his soccer stuffs for his match at 1pm. Enroute, met with a massive jam with no idea how and why, I got very amused by a lady passenger who scowled at me with goldfish eyes when we refused to give way to their car as they were on the road shoulder, trying to veer in. Singaporeans, what's new right?

Side track: Singaporeans like to perform synchronised-driving. When they intend to turn left later, they keep right until they are about ten metres away then they tried to switch to the leftmost lanes. Vice versa. Poor cars in the middle lanes practically cannot move and just have to stay still and watch them do their 'thang'. They seem absolutely uncomfortable staying still.

Okay I've digressed. Geez.

Watched him play and his team lost, as usual. Wahahahaha! He is finally believing my words - everytime I watch him play, his team would lose. I have never watched him win a match before. :E

Went home to shower and we decided that we should just head out for dinner! I changed into my favourite (also his favourite) maxi dress of the moment - an ethnic-print dress that I bought during our holiday in Boracay. Had to meet both a buyer and a seller at Orchard MRT at 7pm so he waited for me while I ran my errands. While he was waiting in the car, he decided where we should head for dinner and hence suggested Botanic Gardens.

We arrived at where the food court was and I was pleasantly surprised that the food court had become Food For Thought Cafe! He told me I had been an awesome girlfriend for the week and I was free to order ANYTHING I liked! Jumped at the chance of it and ordered:

-- Ratatouille
-- Grilled Basil Pesto Chicken Burger (WITH FRIES AS SIDES)
-- Grilled Cuban Ham and Pulled Pork Burger (his)
-- Bacon, Potatoes and Onion Salad

Whattttt a feast!!!! We were sooooooo hungry! When I was finishing my dinner, he even told me I could go to the cake stand and decide which cake I wanted while he went back to the car to leave the leftovers which I doggy-baged as we couldn't finish them. OMGGGGG!!! Okay, I was like a kid, I know. This health-conscious boyf does not give me alot of chances to binge, you know?? Alas, I was too full and gave the cake a miss.

So he suggested that we take a walk. Botanic Gardens at night is rather romantic! Haven't been there since my sister's wedding day. Walked and found a nice pavilion to sit down and we chatted as usual. Then the jumping scene in "Crazy Stupid Love" where Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone did that Dirty Dancing jump scene came to my mind and I told him I wanted to try! Tried for like five times and I still couldn't hoist myself off the ground. Too fat, I hear you say?!

Refusing to give up, I stood on a bench in the pavilion and insisted that he hoist me up. AND HE DID! OMG I WAS SO HAPPY I CAN'T EVEN!!!!! So when he put me down I was giggling, laughing and basking in my own little glory that we finally did it when..

HE WHIPPED OUT A BROWN BOX AND SMILED GINGERLY AT ME.

(Nope, it's not THE blue box.) Seriously, I wasn't even thinking about that at that moment.

Before I could even react, he knelt down on one knee, opened up the box and there it was... the most beautiful, sparkling ring I have ever seen in my life. I teared up almost immediately. And he said a string of sentences that I was too emotional to remember but I caught and remembered the following,

"You are the pillar of my support. I cannot imagine doing this with anyone else but you. We've been through five years of life together and those were the happiest times of my life. I want to marry you because I want more of these and you are the perfect person for me. You have been there for me through my darkest times. Of course without you, my life might be better but because of you, I am willing to face the uncertainty of our future... You don't have to answer me now, take all the time you need to think about it. I'd understand if you have cold feet.." Blah blah blah.

I prolly forgot the rest because I was trying to sniff in all my mucus and blink out my tears just so I could see his face clearly. Too bad my crying face always ends up with loads of mucus and shit faces so I'm secretly glad that no photos or videos were taken.

So he waited for my answer..

"But you didn't ask the question!" I exclaimed.

"Oh.. Will you marry me?"

"... Yes." I deliberated awhile because I wanted to imagine at the instance, can this man, who's kneeling down in front of me, be the man who cares for me, laugh with me, cry with me, appreciate me for who I am, tolerate my sloth, live the happy moments with me but most importantly, be there for me at my lowest point?

He can, he had, he did. He still does.

He is a man, so different from those that I know. When we go out for dates, he never once rushed me when I was taking my time to do my make-up. When we sit down for meals, he opts to sit next to me so he can be close to me. When we were in a long-distance relationship for the better half of our time together, he called me everyday and took time to share the day's happenings with me. He always started the conversation like this "Hi Baby, how are you today?". He looked forward to share my experiences, big or small. I don't think I can ever find anyone who has patience with me like he does. Five years on, he is still as loving and as caring as when we started dating.

Sure, we have our fights. Squabbles, quarrels, full-fledged fights, you name it, we have it. But we never really got down to wanting each other out of our lives. The happy times that we have were always the pull factor that sucked us back to each other.

We were brought up with different upbringings, his open-minded, mine conservative. We welded together and formed a balance of our own. We are not perfect yet, we don't aim to be. We are beautifully imperfect. I love the rawness and grounded humility he has, despite being more privileged than others. He taught me the precious lesson to be honest and to treasure my parents. I used to blame my parents for things I didn't have, he showed me to be thankful for what I already have.

He is my best friend. I tell him everything, right down to the disgusting habits and the OCD traits that I have. He assures me time and time again love is being happy for the person you love. In return, I tell him "there is no forever, only as long as possible".

We are each other's best travel mates. Every new country I visit, I wanna do it with him. He brings out joy and interest in the simplest things ever. We got so happy when we tabao-ed a packet of fried carrot cake back to the hotel in Malacca and ate it in bliss. We roamed the streets of Hong Kong, keeping each other warm by holding hands. We pitched a tent by Lucky Bay in Esperance and had canned soup for breakfast. We popped a $7 bottle of champagne upon news that I had graduated from business school and sprayed it all around the beach, with the moon shining brightly on us. We went on numerous road trips in Perth with me feeding him Starburst Babies while he drove. He woke up in the morning to cook me breakfast with bacon the way I liked it to be. We trekked through a forest in Lombok and frolicked at a waterfall. We walked through a tunnel with water up to our ankles in darkness. He accompanied me on my virgin diving experience, a promise he held true to his heart. We shopped our hearts out in Taipei and fell asleep holding hands. We parasailed in Boracay and as we rose higher and higher, we looked at each other in excitement, taking in the euphoria and bliss we then enjoyed.

I could go on but that's not my point of contention of how much fun we had as travelling partners (although that is an absolute plus point). This is one man I could see me being happy with. Even if we may not be the perfect match now or in future, we know we both tried damn, fucking, hard. This man tells me how you should train a three year-old toddler. This man is the first one who regarded my migraine auras very seriously. This man encourages me to go to the dentist, to visit a specialist to inquire about my frequent migraines and auras when I was so afraid of finding out the truth, to relentlessly inform me about insurance plans and how I should protect myself and even my parents. This man thinks so much about himself, me and our families. He is the one who taught me "Don't give others what you don't have."

Simple, but so much wisdom in it. The underlying tones - you have to take care of yourself first before you start caring for others. You need to have love before you can give love.

He is so full of passion and has so much zest for life, he brings me sunshine and lights up every aspect of my life. He has his timetables so packed that he sometimes can hardly breathe but you can trust that he is the kind that looks back when he is old and says "Goddamnit, I did all these! Woah!"

I wanna be like him too. We kissed and we found contentment in each other. We start OUR lives together right this very moment.

So yes, I will be marrying my best friend.

Here's presenting to you, one of our first few photos as a newly engaged couple.

Hello loves.