My Journey to Kuantan - Part 4 - Love at First Sight

This week I am sharing a series of blog posts explaining how I ended up where I am today - in Kuantan. If you have missed any previous posts, you can get yourself acquainted with them here:

PART 1 - RAISED IN ENGLAND (1982-2002)


PART 2 - SERVING AS A VOLUNTEER (2002-2004)


PART 3 - MISSING MALAYSIA (2004-2005)

I came back to Malaysia for my second holiday in a year in May 2005. This time I went alone and for a period of 3 months. I had planned all the places I was going to visit and the people I wanted to see, including Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Kuching and Singapore.

However, just a few days into my holiday, on the island of Borneo, a girl called Fidelia threw my plans upside-down in a matter of seconds!

Meeting Fidelia one night in Kuching was completely unplanned. I didn't even know she was around. It was her younger sister Florina, who made the call and engineered our meeting.

It was after 10pm and Fidelia was coming back home from work. She walked through the door of a friend's house and it was love at first sight!

I don't know how it happened but I just thought silently in my mind, "this is the girl I'm going to marry!"

This was a picture we took on that first night we met each other. We look good together already!

Just a month later we were engaged. Can you believe it? Neither can I!

Here's where I proposed to Fidelia with a poem I wrote. Can you tell she said "yes"?!

We held a very simple engagement party at Fidelia's home. Didn't cost much but it was a nice evening spent with family and friends

Can you spot the mystery hovering paper plate?!

I briefly went to Ipoh but didn't last long there as I missed Fidelia too much! I swiftly returned to Kuching! The rest of my holiday was spent with Fidelia in Kuching and then in Kuala Lumpur.

At church in Kuching

We came in 2nd place and won RM100 in a blowpipe competition in Kuching! (How good does Fidelia look?!)

At Mid-valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur

Our favourite picture together at KL Tower

We had a great day out at Sunway Lagoon water park. Later we spent some time on a children's train, and chocolate tasting at Sunway Pyramid, Subang Jaya, West Malaysia

Here's where my holiday came to an end. I was shortly heading back to England. Fidelia was returning to her studies at university near Kuantan.

I racked up a hefty RM12,000 phone bill during the period of August 2005 - April 2006. Gave my mum a cheque each month to cover it. At times it was worth it, but at times we drove each other crazy by calling at all sorts of hours (because of the time difference) and worrying about things that didn't really need to be worried about! These months were torture!

 We decided to get married in May 2006 and we would find a place in nearby Kuantan as Fidelia's university was 30 minutes drive from there.

Here are the home-made wedding invitation cards I designed. Didn't pay a penny for them!

On 2nd May, 2006 we registered our marriage at the Kuching register office, and came back to sign the papers on 4th May

To celebrate our marriage we simply booked a nearby restaurant for a small sum of money. A good-sized group of family and friends attended and it was a very nice evening. There was no huge cake, no lavish setting, no photographers, no expensive clothing code, just us and close family and friends. That's all we spent and it was worth it because we needed the money for the start of our married life, paying rent and bills etc...

We took some great photos at a studio in Kuching for a good price, and here are a few of them:

In traditional Iban attire

The second part of our marriage took place in England. There we were married inside a LDS temple, which event is kind of like going to Mecca and circling the Kaaba for a Muslim. To find out more about Mormon temples, you can follow this link:

What happens inside a LDS temple?

Have a look inside a LDS temple

Browse LDS temples all around the world

Here we are at the London England temple grounds

On the steps of the London England temple

We had a small gathering at my home in Leicester for family and friends and that was it.

My journey to Kuantan is almost complete!

Don't miss the final installment tomorrow!

Fidelia's Friday - My childhood home

I decided to write about my childhood home. I grew up here since I was 8 years old. There are so many lovely memories here with my sisters and parents. When I arrived back home for the first time in 5 years last week, I shouted out loud "I'm home!!" It was good to be home!

Here are some pictures of my home taken by Duncan...

Looking down from the stairs...

The dining area...

The living room...

The kitchen...

Upstairs...

We love our childhood home. We spent most of our time at home when we were young and now the house is so quiet because everyone has their own life. The only noise we can hear is the dogs barking outside the house!!

In the white cage is Coco. He loves barking at NO ONE! In the black cage is Lucky. Lucky is quieter and more reserved. One more dog Fifi is somewhere outside...

I would love to go back to Kuching once a year for a special occasion for example Christmas Day but sometimes other commitments that we have will get in our way.

Do you still live in a house where you grew up? I hope this childhood home of ours will never be sold and will be forever there for us to treasure!

CPB members, vote for my photos here

Flies getting down and dirty!!

Spotted these two on the branch of my orchid plant, getting down to business! In fact, this particular plant seems to be quite the love-spot for these flies - I've spotted such incidents on numerous occasions.

At first my Panasonic Lumix DMC-F2 had real problems focusing on the flies. It persisted on focusing on the background. The only clear picture I could get was too far away from the flies to see them!

So I grabbed a piece of white paper and with one hand held it behind the flies whilst I focused the camera in the other hand  -and hey hey, it locked on to them beautifully! This is a decent little tip if you're having focus problems with small objects. Neutralize the background with a piece of white paper!

WHEN CHOOSING A CAREER PATH, WOULD ONE CONSIDER SALARY OR PASSION AS THE DECIDING FACTOR? (AN ESSAY)

Last week I presented my students with this question to answer in essay format. I always love to join in with my students in writing the monthly essay, not only as I love writing, but to show them that I, as the teacher, also care about the work I'm giving them, and to give them some support in what many students of English find very challenging.

After a considerable time discussing the question and formulating an essay plan, we got down to the writing. Here is my essay on this particular subject:

When choosing a career path, would one consider salary or passion as the deciding factor?

"I believe it is difficult to conclude that either salary or passion is more important in defining a career. I feel that both factors contribute to a happy life. I will attempt to discuss some of my feelings about each one.

Money is a basic need of human existence in the civilised world. With money, we obtain food and shelter, necessary for survival. Finding a job with a good salary is a vital task in supporting a family. I have a wife and a 3-year-old daughter to provide for, with another child on its way. It can be somewhat daunting to think of ones family responsibilities. Earning a good salary can go some way to alleviating that burden and bringing security to the family unit.

With numerous bills to pay, it becomes imperative to earn more money than you spend. Being the recipient of many household bills is not something I enjoy, but with my decent salary, I'm able to take care of this requirement and feel a sense of relief each month.

Indeed, the ability of earning a substantial income and providing for all the needs of my family brings a great sense of satisfaction as I feel I have fulfilled my duty. Bringing home money gives me a sense of empowerment, makes me feel useful, and increases my self-esteem - all contributing to my overall level of happiness.

Finally, it is possible, and necessary, to save a portion of money each month, for the future. I have my children's education uppermost in my mind, which doesn't come for free. I would also like to have our own home and a better car in the future, which requires careful planning in saving money. Being able to earn enough money to save each month is a major milestone in living a contented life - the blessings which earning a high salary brings.

The next point of discussion is in doing something you are passionate about, instead of focusing solely on salary, as a career. There are many jobs with high salaries, but ones ability to earn is obviously affected by ones qualifications. I'm fortunate enough to be doing a job I love - teaching English. I love the English language and teaching others how to use it correctly. English was always my strongest subject because I simply enjoyed it and had a passion for it. Enjoyment and happiness are the rewards of doing something you love, which may flourish to a greater degree than simply working for money.

Money doesn't necessarily guarantee happiness in life. Achieving satisfaction involves many more factors outside this topic of discussion which could include religion, spirituality, social and emotional relationships. For the sake of this question, I will give my opinion based on the comparison of only salary and passion. It is my conviction that if you can't put your whole heart into your career, you can't be truly happy with your life, regardless of the sum of ones salary.

After much thought concerning this area of discussion whilst working through this essay, I would sway contrary to my previous thinking in my introduction, and thus conclude that the deciding factor in choosing a career path would be salary. I believe doing what you love could be a limiting influence on ones earning power, but on the other hand, one is always capable of learning to love a high-salary career. When it comes to providing the bare essentials of life, earning a good salary would be the most important point in choosing a career path."

What do you think? Do you have your ideal job? Are you working out of love for your career? Or are you labouring to earn a decent income? Are you fortunate enough to be doing something you love which happens to also pay you well?