Coming home after you two are already asleep, I wonder if you shared laughter tonight. Even asleep you bring me so much joy.......
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March 26, 2008 @ 11:57 PM
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To the two sweetest girls in my life, sleep tight. When you wake up, I’ll be home. It’ll be a surprise - for me too. I had miscalculated the date. It feels like I found a million dollars in my pocket.......
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April 3, 2007 @ 1:16 AM
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Sitting here in an empty room a million miles away from you, I realise that I like time alone, but I do not like to be alone. I do not like to be away from you. I miss you.......
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March 29, 2007 @ 8:07 AM
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Dearest Faith, it has dawned on me that you are not the same woman I married almost 4 years ago, or the same girl I fell in love with when I was 11. Things have changed since then. We have changed. We’re the parents of a precocious 2 year old girl whom we both love dearly. We have our own......
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March 17, 2007 @ 12:41 AM
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Over the weekend, Faith and I talked quite a bit about how Roger Federer kicked ass. It dawned on me that I’ve married the girl of every boy’s dreams - a wife who’d talk sports and hold her own admirably. It dawns on me every moment. I’ll be heading to the army camp for my reservist in a few hours.......
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January 28, 2007 @ 11:38 PM
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Dearest Faith, I’ve been enamoured with you more than half my life. I spent the other half on the pursuit of chocolate, twirling the hair on my forehead into a curl, tying my blanket around my neck and jumping off elevated surfaces in hopes that I’d fly. Preferably to more chocolate. I’m in love with everything about you. Your laughter......
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August 11, 2006 @ 3:10 AM
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Dearest Faith, it was exactly three years ago I saw you walk down the aisle to the loud squeals of your primary 6 class. Some of them were given the task of blowing bubbles from the balcony when you walked under them, but many started bubbling prematurely because they thought Ai was you. Three years ago we said “I do”,......
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July 12, 2006 @ 11:25 PM
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I looked at my gmail and saw From: Faith I smile for no reason. It just feels good to be on the same island as my beloved.......
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March 22, 2006 @ 3:24 PM
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Dearest Faith and Anne, during this time I have come to learn some things about myself. Somewhere, somehow I have come to envy the glamourous jet-setting, high-flying executive lifestyle promoted by the world around us. And tonight, sitting here miles and miles away I realise that I do not seem to fit the mould I admire. I had initially planned......
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March 18, 2006 @ 1:05 AM
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“will love you, cherish you, keep you honour you, obey you…obey you?” This part of the traditional Christian wedding vow never fails to elicit little semi-silent squeals of protests among the female portion of the congregation. It makes women feel “second class”, or lower than their male counterparts. Faith spoke those words. Rather than feeling a self-satisfying lordship over her,......
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March 9, 2006 @ 4:06 AM
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My friend, my soulmate, my confidante, my partner. The dawn of the last day of the year approaches. A few hours ago I walked home from a basketball game. I made a list of things that you’d done over the year that I was thankful for. I never quite finished the list, but I’m going to tell you the most......
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December 31, 2005 @ 2:43 AM
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Thanks, all of you who dropped an SMS or a note to wish me a happy birthday. The first two SMSes I received were from people in the States. Amazing to know that I’m still remembered despite being so far away. I’m truly touched. Faith hugs me and wishes me happy birthday with a sad smile. (Wishes, because she’s been......
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October 24, 2005 @ 10:53 PM
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Helen, thy beauty is to me Like those Nicèan barks of yore That gently, o’er a perfumed sea, The weary way-worn wanderer bore To his own native shore. - “To Helen”, by Edgar Allan Poe There’s a certain magic to found only in college campuses. Maybe it’s the abundance of grass, or the expanse of sky unhindered by towering office......
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October 18, 2005 @ 11:49 PM
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Dearest Faith and Anne, the sun sets on another day, and it is oddly painful to know that we share the same golden sunset, but apart. I’m listening to Tanya Chua’s “I’ll Remember You” on whatever juice I have left on the iPod. I use to reminisce over this song while I was in the US. Everyone tells me how......
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August 24, 2005 @ 6:26 PM
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Dearest Faith and Anne, it is the nights I miss you both the most. It might have been stupid of me to have forgotten to bring my mobile phone, but somehow the inavailability of instant communication has made clearer to me the things I take for granted daily. It has been a long time since I’ve had an entire night......
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August 24, 2005 @ 12:10 AM
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Before Faith’s parents’ place was undergoing renovations, there was a pretty thorough cleaning effort, and things that should have been forgotten weren’t (insert Lord of the Rings theme song here). Over the last few nights Faith has been studiously reading through a set of diaries I wrote a lifetime ago. In an attempt to marry her I pulled all the......
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September 24, 2004 @ 4:13 PM
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I fell in love with a surfer-girl over the weekend. Long brown hair tied in a ponytail; loose strands that were tossed by the ocean’s salty breeze and kissed by the sun when they flailed upward. She came across as exciting and dangerous, and was an absolute adventure to be with. I married a schoolteacher. Faith isn’t the most adrenaline-inducing......
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August 11, 2004 @ 5:46 PM
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I remember almost being made a prefect in primary school. I wasn’t the model student, never ever doing my homework, but somehow landed the nomination of the head prefect. I remember that a prerequisite to being made a prefect was a short “talk” with the vice-principal, a thinly-haired softspoken man who I presumed knew nothing of me. I remember staying......
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April 19, 2004 @ 11:40 AM
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Exactly 28 years ago, on a day not unlike today, an expectant mother lay on a bed in the maternity ward at Mount Alvernia hospital. Cries were heard and a baby was born. Slightly more than a year later, another baby too was born at the same hospital. Many things would transpire before the two babies met again many years......
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March 8, 2004 @ 11:58 PM
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We watched Ryan and Trista’s wedding tonight. It was like roadkill: we never meant to watch it, but were glued to the screen, endlessly repeating our amazement at how so low a show made it to primetime television. As I watched Ryan standing there waiting for Trista, I was reminded of our wedding day. How I stood there for you.......
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March 5, 2004 @ 12:57 AM
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Faith and I wear double rings on our ring finger. One of which is our wedding ring and the other the ring we gave each other while we were courting. I think I lost my pair. The thing about playing basketball is that you have to remove all unnecessary accessories. My pre-balling routine consists of taking off my watch and......
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December 31, 2003 @ 12:36 AM
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I found myself wandering in town yesterday. Faith had gone to attend the wedding dinner of a colleague. Somehow I felt so lost without her on a rainy night. I took a bus to nowhere in particular, to see nothing in particular. I landed in Funan Center in an attempt to relive the life of a schoolboy fascinated by the......
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December 21, 2003 @ 11:05 PM
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She’s sitting beside me ripping her CDs into mp3s. Being a music teacher, she has lots of kiddie songs which she sings along to while iTunes does its work in the background. She adds her own molotov cocktail of a Russian accent into old Singaporean community-building (brainwashing) songs. We laugh and I tell her I love her. The words seem......
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December 16, 2003 @ 10:11 PM
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One of the most common questions I get here on Tribolum is: How did you know she was the one? I hesitated replying this question because it opens a can of worms. Is there only one “the one”? What if you already blew your chances with “the one”? Will another “the one” be provided for you? I don’t have the......
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November 3, 2003 @ 10:06 PM
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Every night when I climb into bed and stretch out under my blanket (we each have our own) there is an inaudible (sometimes audible) squeal in the back of my throat. It always feels like the first night of a sleepover - an odd mixture of excitement and soothing comfort. Always the one who comes in much later while you......
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September 6, 2003 @ 9:50 AM
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It’s amazing how you seem to remember all your dreams. This morning you dreamt of how we forgot Cheryl’s birthday because we were busy preparing for her wedding, and in the background a cat that had eyes set too close together (one of them fell out and got stuck near the other eye, you said) turned into a primary one......
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August 15, 2003 @ 8:50 AM
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I remember how much I loved watching you from a distance. When I was thirteen and feeling empowered with a newfound sense of independence, I took one weekend off Red Cross drill practice and sat below a block of flats beside yours. I wasn’t expecting you to say “hi” to me or even catch a glimpse of you. In some......
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July 24, 2003 @ 11:33 PM
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I stood outside the door as Faith hugged her Dad goodbye. Though my home (where we’ll be putting up for a while) is only five minutes away, it felt different walking down the stairs this time. A deep sadness hung in the air and we both felt like we hurt the people we loved. It was almost as if our......
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July 15, 2003 @ 1:37 AM
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You said tonight that you were thankful that I didn’t view the marriage to come as something that would shackle me. I just wanted to tell you how blessed I feel that you have chosen me. Being wed to you is a privilege that you have bestowed upon me. I am honoured to be chosen, by you, to love and......
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June 25, 2003 @ 1:17 AM
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Inscribed upon my heart while watching you during our indoor photoshoot. I can’t even begin to describe how thankful I am that you’ve chosen me to be the photographer of your life; to capture every moment of your life on the canvas of my life. Though the photographer fires away, his flash illuminating the room at intervals, it is I......
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June 13, 2003 @ 12:54 AM
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Faith’s gonna be at a school camp for the next three days. Three days or nine months, one day away is one day too many. Come home soon dear.......
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June 6, 2003 @ 12:49 AM
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Just for kicks, I slid my ring on the ring finger of my left hand. I smiled. In the middle of a sermon. Bad boy.......
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May 20, 2003 @ 2:28 AM
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Looking back, I’m amazed at how much independence my parents gave me. When faced with the huge decisions in my life, Mum always sat down with me and asked, “So what do you want to do?”. And she wasn’t like some parents who asked their children’s opinion and then turned a deaf ear. Mum really listened. The decisions were made......
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April 2, 2003 @ 3:31 AM
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Due to the closure of all schools in Singapore due to the SARS outbreak, Faith is relieved of her teaching duties for a week and a half. We spent this afternoon (Singapore time) talking on the phone, about what married life would be like, how we’d do up our small apartment and so on. “I’ll have to warn you first,......
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March 27, 2003 @ 12:21 AM
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I called Faith a few moments ago - a surprise because it wasn't our usual phone-time. Hearing her smiles of pure joy had me grinning from ear to ear. "I love you", I muttered. "Marry me?" The question that I'd asked a million times has long become a statement of love - a reaction to love's sheer abundance rather than......
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February 23, 2003 @ 1:16 AM
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Some years ago I gave her a rose for Valentine’s. Being the romantic she was, she hung it to dry so that the keepsake would last longer than the few days flowers afford. An unfortunate gust of wind blew through her 22nd storey apartment and the rose was swept out of the window and unto the speeding cars that......
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February 14, 2003 @ 12:05 AM
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We often fall in love with the moment. A glimpse is all it takes for our hearts to pulsate erratically. A friend who dresses up for her prom may stir the currents of the heart in newfound ways. Or a stranger comforting you from your latest break up may end up being the Dennis Rodman of your heart. In the......
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January 15, 2003 @ 12:42 AM
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It was nine in the morning. On the other side of the telephone conversation it was midnight. We couldn’t agree: whether or not to get our own place and all that it entailed. It was getting really late for her and she still had work to do. There are times I wish the pulse of the city would seize from......
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January 7, 2003 @ 2:14 AM
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I know this seems so utterly premature, but after reading this forum thread over at the Ricebowl Journals about the perfect wedding I couldn’t help but let my imagination fly once again. Being the least musical of my friends doesn’t in any way impede my dreams that run wild and border on incredulity. I listen to my small collection of......
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December 16, 2002 @ 12:03 AM
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To my belovéd, thanks for sharing about your experiences in China. Though it pains me to be so far away, I now know that our fates are not uncertain, but held very carefully and very dearly by His loving hand. It’s something I’m slowly learning I guess. I used to think that I was relatively fearless, but now I see......
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December 15, 2002 @ 12:44 AM
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Click here to popup card. Wait for the animated gif to cycle. It was so very very good to hear your voice again. Halfway through the one week of silence while you were working in Australia I thought I would have gone mad. I don’t remember what it is like to be alone anymore, but I know that I want......
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November 26, 2002 @ 5:38 PM
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A lot of people have asked how I deal with the agony of a long-distance relationship. Truth is, I don’t know. I don’t even know if I’ve “dealt” with it. There are often times I pine till it hurts, and I have to remind myself to stay busy just for the sake of sanity. There are other times my heart......
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November 20, 2002 @ 1:43 AM
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Heard Rod Stewart singing “Sometimes When We Touch” on radio tonight and it reminded me of you back in the days when we were really young. I overheard that you were singing this song with a few other people as a presentation to the student body in your school. I can’t remember the occasion or whom you sang it with......
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November 4, 2002 @ 1:35 AM
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Just caught an old episode of The Practice on telly. It was the episode where Bobby asked Lindsay to marry him, with Helen eavesdropping in the background. Lindsay was in hospital, having just recoved from a stabbing. There are times it takes the very real prospect of losing something to realise its true value, and a conversation I had with......
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October 27, 2002 @ 12:52 AM
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Didn’t want to tell you guys that I designed my wedding invitation some weeks ago. Somehow I got caught up in the designing part, and forgot that dark grey (close to black) is hardly the colour for the ocassion. Oh well, here it is. Or was.......
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September 25, 2002 @ 2:44 AM
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This entry is for her. Watched part of Les Misérables on DVD for the umpteenth time tonight. The part where Eponine sings “On my Own” till she dies singing “Little Fall of Rain”, but of course. I am reminded of the time when you came over and we went through my wardrobe in an attempt to clear away the clothes......
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September 8, 2002 @ 11:23 PM
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There are times when I miss your scent, or the way your hand feels in mine. This morning I miss the sound of your voice. If I stay quiet and concentrate hard enough, I can actually hear you singing the loobylu song you taught me in the car, accompanied by yours smile and laughter. Now we dance loobylu Now we......
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August 22, 2002 @ 9:09 AM
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I realised today at your former classmate’s wedding that part of me doesn’t want to marry you, because if I did I wouldn’t be able to take photographs of you and me for our wedding album. There is so much beauty when two people come together that I feel my heart pulsate thinking about how to fully capture the moment.......
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July 21, 2002 @ 2:54 AM
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I remember our first “date” well though it was almost a decade ago. I asked if I could go with you to make the bus-pass you lost. We had to travel to Buona Vista MRT Station, and it was a long way from the East where we stayed. Not long enough. I can’t remember what we spoke about, or if......
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July 1, 2002 @ 2:23 AM
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There’s something magical about early mornings. Back when you were in Junior College, I woke up at four-thirty in the morning and made you the best breakfast I knew how. Mushrooms, cheese and spices between two slices of toast. I spread a thin layer of Campbell’s mushroom soup to give it a little saltiness. The fifteen minute walk was fueled......
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July 1, 2002 @ 1:33 AM
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You asked me the time very many years ago. I went home smiling: “you asked me the time”. I might have misinterpreted it - “you, me, for all time”. I was twelve and my heart heard things my ears didn’t. That same night you gave me a piece of candy as well. I still have it somewhere in a shoebox......
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July 1, 2002 @ 1:30 AM
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The first movie I watched with you was Fantasia. Well ok, we weren’t exactly alone in a group of about ten friends but it felt special. The very first one we watched alone was Fern Gully at the old Cathay cinema. We walked past the Orange Julius downstairs and you stopped me from buying you an orange juice there......
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July 1, 2002 @ 1:27 AM
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There’ll come a day when things will be different. There’ll be fewer phone calls from me. I won’t chat with you over the Internet as much, or send you as many emails. I’ll no longer be on the other side of the phone because I’ll be on the same side you are. I won’t be typing instant messages to you......
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July 1, 2002 @ 1:16 AM
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We’ve waited a long, long time to get married. Ten years. The past month or so our dreams came closer to their realisation, with us discussing the possibility of getting married over the summer when I got home. My heart thumped with anticipation. Sure, I was a little frightened, but the thought of me starting a new life with you......
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July 1, 2002 @ 1:13 AM
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I remember the time you went to New Zealand. I was twelve then. I remember it well because you didn’t come to church those two Sundays. Till then, it never occurred to me how much seeing you meant to me. I know that you didn’t have feelings for me, or even give me a second glance, but it was such......
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July 1, 2002 @ 1:10 AM
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No one said it would be easy. The physical distance. The new environment I would be in. Unable to see your face or hear your voice half as much as I would have wanted. We both thought it would get easier with time, but frankly, we both agreed that it has gotten harder. I miss you so much that it......
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July 1, 2002 @ 1:08 AM
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It’s amazing isn’t it? We’ve spoken to each other on the phone for every night the last almost ten years now. Well, except for times when it was impossible to, or when we were out together. I can’t imagine talking to anyone that much, but somehow we always have things to talk about. We’ve grown a lot over these years,......
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July 1, 2002 @ 1:03 AM
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Getting you a ring was hardly a surprise gift - I’m pretty sure back then you knew it was coming, but not when. The less than subtle hints were picked up of course, and being your wonderful boyfriend, I had to pretend that it didn’t penetrate my thick skull, and at the same time make plans to get the ring,......
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July 1, 2002 @ 1:00 AM
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Listening to Air Supply isn’t exactly the smartest thing to do but I do it anyway. I miss you, right now, right here. I know these pages are meant to be ones of memories and times past but I just want to thank you for everything that you’ve been to me all this time.......
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July 1, 2002 @ 12:58 AM
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We picked shells along the beach back in 1989. We watched the sunrise almost everyday for a week. I don’t remember us talking much, but I remember you - how close you were. I fell in love with you back then. That was the definitive moment it happened. Immediately after the Church camp you acted like it all never happened.......
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July 1, 2002 @ 12:55 AM
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The first gift that I successfully gave you (not counting all those I unwittingly gave to your neighbour downstairs) was the little cross-stich with your name on it. One of those cheap wooden circular frames. It was meant to say “My Room” but I changed the words, keeping the little rainbow by the side, and the small blue waves that......
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July 1, 2002 @ 12:52 AM
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I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz, or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off. I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers; thanks......
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July 1, 2002 @ 12:49 AM
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It was funny how oblivious you were of your effect on me. I looked forward to seeing you every weekend at church, not that it was my only motivation to be there, but it was definitely some sort of a huge bonus. In fact, it was something that kept me going through the week, knowing that at the end of......
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October 4, 2001 @ 12:46 AM
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One of the stupidest things I’ve done in my entire life probably stemmed from the mistake of misreading your address. I was 13 at that time and after a lot of deliberation, managed to ask your sister for your home address. I don’t think I did too good a job of disguising my feelings for you. She laughed me in......
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October 3, 2001 @ 12:44 AM
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It has been almost ten weeks since I’ve been back, and four days before I head back to Arizona. It gets increasingly hard knowing that I won’t be able to hold Faith’s hand or have breakfast with her after next week. Thank you for the wonderful time, and the beautiful memories. I want so much to marry you. If only......
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August 17, 2001 @ 6:42 PM
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