One ring to rule them all.

I'm still on the look out for the perfect wedding band.
Seven and a half months in, Encem still doesn't have a wedding ring.
I mean, not that it's necessary.. but I'm sappy like that.
I've always loved rings. And of all jewellery ever created for men, I didn't mind rings the most. (Does that sentence make any sense?)

Anyway, we had a silver couple ring made while we were just dating.
I hadn't wore mine since the engagement as I'm only allowed to wear two rings while in uniform. So I chose to wear the engagement ring, which is a simple gold band that Dida and I describe as "Lord of The Rings ring" on my left hand, and on my right is a white gold ring Encem got me with his first paycheck when we started flying.
Yeah.. he's kinda sappy too.

My wedding ring has a stone on it so naturally, I only get to wear it when I'm off.
Wouldn't want anything terrible happen to it.
But I think it's lovely and I wish I get to wear it more often. Plus, we got it at a bargain so yeah, I adore it! hahahaha

So I've browsed the internet for ideas and was keen on this particular Bvlgari platinum ring..
Even went to the Bvlgari store to check it out in person months before our wedding.
It was over RM 5K!
And as much as I'd like to get it, Encem had already told me not to spend too much for his ring. (Also, that ring is waayy more 'spensive than the ring he got me.. so.. tak aci! hahahahha!)

Damn, why does platinum has to be so expensive?!

The search went on and I was then keen on looking at titanium rings. Read on titanium and got myself worried that apparently, if the ring was stuck tight to your finger, hospitals in general doesn't have the tools to cut it!

I mean, not that I'm expecting Encem to get into an accident. But shit could happen, right?
He might get an allergic reaction to something and his hands swells up then he couldn't get the ring off.

Damn, why does titanium has to be so scary??!

So I've been stopping at those small kiosks in malls where they sell jewellery out of silver.
Silver -- how unexciting.
But even they didn't have the design that I was looking for! I've been looking for MONTHS and I'm getting frustrated.

I really hope that I'll find something by our first anniversary.
I still have a few months to be inspired.
Or save up and get him an expensive one and just not tell him that it's actually expensive. hahahaha! I am more likely to do that, really.

I've been feeling spendy lately but for the life of me, I couldn't justify getting anything at all!
Kinda trying to save up.
We need a good.. loooong holiday.
My leave for this year have pretty much run out so I'm really looking forward to the new year!

I did.. NOTHING!

Bahahahha!
So much for wanting to be productive.
Suppose I shouldn't have went to bed at 3 AM in the first place. heh
I did woke up just about 10 though, so it wasn't terrible..
But Encem was around and he was sleeping in.. and really, if you have any idea how HARD it is being a crew-couple, you'll understand how difficult it is to do ANYTHING at all when your partner is around, but leaving.

Does that make any sense at all?

While I have the day completely free, Encem was flying out in the evening and would be gone for a couple of days.
So all my hopes and dreams were gone when I saw him still sound asleep yesterday morning.
I just didn't feel like getting busy.
Even after he woke up, and was cool with one of my errands, I really didn't feel like doing anything else than chill with him.

Better luck today.

I probably need to just have a day's rest anyway. Being home with hubs gave me just that.
Slept in. (Kinda.) Did a bit of laundry; our hamper is empty for once in a very long time! Played Angry Birds Friends (ha!), Encem made lunch (God knows I can't cook!) then napped for a few hours! I didn't need to, but hubs will be working overnight so.. I had nothing else better to do. hahahha!

I miss Encem already.
Even though I've been cranky a whole lot this past few days.
Gotta get to bed early tonight if I wanna do anything useful later during the day.

6-months in.

Today marks exactly six months that I am someone's wife.

Nothing much different, really. hahaha! I am currently on a cold war with Encem over some silly things that we always fight over, but here I am about to talk about being married. Or getting married. Or the preparation. I haven't decided yet.

Here's a little back story about Encem and I.

We met in training school in April 2009. We were batchmates. I was kinda interested in him but I was in a long distance relationship then.

We were friends. Pretty good friends as us smokers (seven of us) tend to stick together.

A friend of ours was kinda into him. Our friends thought he was into someone else. And I had a boyfriend, so why do I care?

Anyway, somehow we got closer and got together in July of that year.

We got married in January 2016; six years and six months after being a "couple".

Six years is a pretty long time. But according to Dida, we were flying in and out so apparently we've only been together for half of that time. heh. Dida's logic.

Now, along that six years we've gone through a lot. We were friends first, so.. I don't know. Maybe that's why we stuck by each other a lot easier than if we hadn't started out as friends.

I don't condone dating for as long as we did, to be honest. Unless you have the patience of a saint. Not saying that we were saints! ..But I was just not ready for marriage, and Encem being two years younger than I am was a GREAT excuse for me to just wait it out.

Still not sure if marriage is for me (hahaha!!) but Encem is my guy, of that I'm certain -- even when I refer to him as "asshole" in my tweets. I have a potty mouth, he just have to deal with my temper.

Encem probably first talked about marriage sometime in 2012..? 2013? Pretty early into the relationship, but he took his time saving up and as forementioned, I was in no hurry.

2014/15 was a tough year. Encem took up a charter program so he was gone for months at a time. Even when he comes back for breaks, I'd be flying off somewhere else. I remember there was this time when he was back for two weeks, and I was only around for just four days. Not consecutive four days.

It was hard. Long distance with him was hard. The time difference was hard.

But he managed to save up and put his plans into motion.

We had a wonderful orchard wedding in Bukit Kapar, Klang. Had the solemnization under the gazebo beneath the durian trees that my father planted when he was a boy.

We wore ivory. Good quality material we got from Jakel (RM100/m--WTF!) but Encem only paid RM 90 to get them sewn. So it wasn't too bad.

I, being the diva who refused to pay the RM1000-1700 average fee to get my material sewn looked into my roster and found three consecutive days off and bought three tickets to Bandung.

Those tickets were more expensive than the market price for custom-sewn dress in Shah Alam by the way, but I had a good short holiday with my mom and then-soon to be mother-in-law so, no regrets!

Yepp, I went to Bandung with Encem's mom too.

Anyway, two dresses for RM300.. Not bad at all.

So yeah, TOP TIP; if you have a year to plan a wedding, book a flight to Bandung and get your material and dress there. Just bring along some photos of the dress that you want to have made. Most textile shops there (if not all) have their in-house tailor and they can get it done in a day! (Two to be safe so they could bring it over to your hotel so you could try on and they could take it back if it needs alteration.)

*I say one year because flights are cheaper when you buy them way in advance. That's all. My flight was not cheap.

Weddings are a tiring thing. Yours especially. Having to constantly smile for pictures. Running around to try and talk to all of the guests. Ours was pretty laid back but it was SO hot and humid that day that you could really see in the photos, which ones were taken later in the afternoon.

Our eyebags were prominent and our smiles were as if they were just plastered on. hahahaha!

It was a good day, all in all. My makeup stayed put well into the evening.

Speaking of makeup, I put them on myself. I don't know.. I guess I wasn't as big of a diva as I had thought -- or am I? Perhaps I was stingy, but I think I am fully capable of putting on makeup on my own since I do it all the time anyway.

Getting a mak andam just seemed unnecessary. Although not having one also means that I had no idea how to style my hair so I pretty much just let it be.

A collegue did comment how committed I was to curling my hair. I laughed, of course.

So two weeks after Bukit Kapar, we travelled to Cherating for Encem's side of festivities. We booked Holiday Villa because we've been there and liked the place. Plus, what's the point of having to travel but not get a beach wedding?

There isn't much preparation to be done as Dila, the lady whom we corresponded with coordinated most of it. (A+ for her, by the way!) All we had to do was prepare the doorgifts -- which was kinda mundane until we made a party out of it!

We had our friends come over to our suite and they so kindly lent a hand. We had quite an awesome coffee party.

I took a picture of our trash can the day after and it was full with Nescafe cans! hahahaha

I don't think I ever had a "dream wedding" in mind growing up.. but what I ended up getting was a dream.

I'm glad that we had outdoor receptions. A hall reception is just.. Not us.

Now that I think about it, our wedding was pretty cool. I mean, I still hate the idea of going to one, but I definitely don't hate ours. hahahaha!

That's it from me for now. There are some wife-ly things that I need to do around the house and later I've got a family gathering to go to.

Oh, quick update.. I have seen my mother-in-law since my last post, but it didn't feel like an Eid-visit at all so I am a little disappointed. But I AM glad to have seen her!

4 out of 10.

That was roughly the days I got to spend with Encem before he left for Jeddah.
Suckety suck.
Life moves on whether he's around or not.. I still had to work to keep my livelihood. So happens that I am only rostered for ONE turnaround flight -- at the end of this month. That's my way of stating why I didn't get more time with Encem; I was sent to trips.
I did get to send him off at the airport. For that I was thankful. Also thankful that his brother didn't mind driving in silence on the way back.

It has only been two days and naturally, it's 20 minutes to 7 AM and I am still up!

I had a lovely day yesterday with Bestie and Mumu. I am so grateful for "clicking" with them almost six years ago. For that I thank God. I love it when He reminds me that I have things to be glad for instead of moping around in sadness.
Why is that, anyway? Why do I have the tendency to wallow in my sorrow?
Maybe that's why I've latched onto Encem all these years. He could laugh at anything, talk about anything -- never stop talking! hahhahaha!
He's my kind of drug (oh hey, Twilight reference there!) and withdrawal SUCKS -- BALLS!!

Btw, that's been my favourite phrase..? cuss..? for a while now. I don't say it as much as I think about it though because really.. now that I've said it, I can't help imagining a person.. sucking balls.
HAHAHHAHA!! Oh dear, God..

I think I might start dieting. Maybe. I don't know. I don't know how to diet when I'm not a big eater to begin with! Not even a real fan of rice, and yet I'm getting heavier!
The thing about Encem being gone -- I haz a sad, I don't have a regular meal-time, I sleep badly - or don't sleep at all and I tend to binge on junkfood because I'm too lazy to prepare actual food! AND I'm thirty, damn it! Bloody hormones and metabolism!

Okay, the clock on the taskbar says that it's 7:02 now and I should attempt to get some sleep. Pick-up is at 2 PM and I haven't packed a thing for my trip! Not that it'll take too long to do that but I HATE doing it so I'll procrastinate, do it after I wake up -- hoping that I won't oversleep! heehee

February.

I'm in Kathmandu again. Feels like I only remember to blog when I'm here. Maybe because there isn't much that I feel like doing other than contemplate. heh!

Nothing much been going on.

Except that Encem's home since earlier of the month so my off days were pretty much occupied. I missed having him around. I missed talking to him late at night and just drift off to slumberland. Him being home also means that the noise level goes up a little. heh! I do find it weird if not a little annoyed that he always ends up picking up his guitars after one in the morning!

Suppose I could pick up one of the guitars and make some noise of my own but I pity the neighbours.

Suppose I'll miss the racket once he goes back to Jeddah -- again. My brain comprehends why he has to leave but my heart just hates it! My heart friggin' HATES it!! And I hate it even more since he doesn't even know when he'll be leaving. The thought that he might have to leave while I'm away on a trip is just upsetting!

I don't know why but I feel like I need to send him off. Like a proper goodbye. Maybe because his roster is interchangeable that even he has no idea when he'll be back again once he leaves.

Honestly I get tired yapping about him all the time. Honestly I don't even talk about him much in real life. I guess I don't feel as bad talking about him on my blog knowing that people could just click away when they're bored, instead of having to sit through me talking.. about a boy.. like some crazed obsessive girlfriend.

Which is how I feel most of the time, really.

Anyway, life's been good. Work's been alright. Mamita and I have been waiting to go to NARS for the new collection to arrive. Somehow she's just as obsessed with NARS as I am; don't know how that happened!

But I must say that it's nice to have someone to talk about makeup with -- and they're just as excited with it! heehee!

Sim, the artist in Pavilion gave me a few samples of the new foundation that'll be released here this month; All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation, to try out and I'm still deciding how I like it.