I always hear from my friends that they are always very busy with their work.

All of us have the same amount of time per day and some can do more while others can do less.

I seriously think that it is the issue of time management that determine if a person has “enough” time for himself.

I believe that work is a very common excuse that all of us use during some of the times.

When we can’t go for some gathering, we will use work as a reason.

“Oh, I have so much work to do. Maybe next time.”

I can really empathise with those who truly have alot of work to do.

However, I would like to remind ourselves that the amount of work we can have is endless.

It is never-ending. However, the time we can have with our wife is unpredictable.

It may be a few tens of years or even just a few months or days.

We can never tell. No one can.

Can you?
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Yesterday, I was quite frustrated about the fact that my wife was home late and she forgot to abide to the pact we made many months ago.

The pact is to call home or drop me a message if anyone of us will be home late. We have to inform by 10pm.

However, she forgot.

Even though I may be quite angered by this encounter, I told myself it was quite a rare opportunity for her to meet up with her ex-classmates.

I started to put myself in her shoes and imagined how fun it was to be if I were hanging out with my old classmates.

It was like so much things to catch up with so little time.

This is like a change of focus, from what was bad to the better side.

In fact, do you know what is the reason for informing?
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I got an email enquiry on this:
“Hi JR, I’m getting married in 3 months, I have difficulty coordinating my time, too busy.”

It seemed to me that there is alot to be done about time management.

Many times, the bride or groom’s names filled in the “who” column and that is why they are completely drained even if their wedding is a few months away.

I can also empathise that the bride and groom could be really busy with their work, especially when their wedding could be just before the busiest period of the year.

Many times, I asked how did these people managed it. Thye just replied that they won’t care so much and applied leave to plan thier biggest project of their lifetime.

I know you may asking “what will their employers or supervisors think?” These ladies just say “Can’t be bothered.”

As for me, I was doing my part-time Graduate Diploma in NUS, working and planning my wedding. I almost went crazy last year…so much frustration and fatigue…

My wife at that time was very busy too with work.

I believe that what pulled us through was how we compliment each other, how we support each other and how we understand each other.

She was very busy too and I did most of the reasearch of hotels and bridal studios.

She helped out by looking for our photographers.

I did the first contact with the hotels and the bridal studios.

She found out more about where to purchase wedding stuffs and note down everything in her big scrapbook cum diary.

When I had to sit for my exam (5 days just before my wedding), she took over all the follow-ups and left me to study for my exam peacefully.

We had times of scuffles when we felt not supported enough. But we settled the misunderstanding on the very same day and move on the next day.

I think this made the difference: how couples settle their differences?
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One more week left and it seems like I still have tons of things to do:

1) Last Saturday, I have met up with my brothers and planned a draft for our wedding schedule…did I say draft? yes, I have edited it for about 10 times in these past two days. I will be editing it again.

2) next, I have more or less planned the guests sitting arrangement? “What? who can’t sit with who?…who MUST sit with who?…” I have been hearing remarks from my mum and it seems like I’m trying to plan my time-table in University to fit my schedule.

There are still some guests who have yet replied me if they are attending. For Singaporean, it is no “pai-seh” (not embarrasing) to check with guests if they are coming or not. However, according to Hong Kong custom, my future mother-in-law had a difficulty asking her guests. This led to our difficulty of checking who is coming.

(Remember rule number ONE !? If you want a good life as future son-in-law, NEVER confront your mother-in-law. Grooms, remember this!)

3) My fiancee is very nice to help choose the wedding songs from the song lists supplied by the hotel. She is also trying to come up with the wedding videos, montages and slide shows.
We wanted to have : Continue Reading »

It is another few more days nearer to my wedding. As I looked back, I somehow don’t really understand how we coordinated and planned everything needed for our big day.

It ranged from buying of proposal ring, choosing the right bridal studio, selecting the hotels, negotiating with the staff, getting help from cousins and friends, and at the same seeking to understand ourselves better and trying to compromise wth respect to culture and values conflicts.

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