Three Thousand Kilometres of Rocky Roads to A Happy Ending - Malaysia Express Wedding License

 I am married and YES I am married!  BUT THE HARD WAY!!

Getting married itself is already a stressful mission but marrying a non-citizen of Malaysia is 1000 times more stressful because I didn't get any advice from anyone. I hope my blogpost can help a lot of the citizens who want to marry their loved ones who are non-malaysian easier.In my case, I am marrying an American .

We found out that there are two types of Registration of Marriage (ROM) in Malaysia for the non-citizen.

i) Normal procedure marriage at the office of the Registrar of Marriages (ROM).
- this usually takes 21 days after submission of the form by both the parties. ( Non-citizen must have resided in Malaysia for at least 7 days consecutively)

ii) Express Marriage License
- this one doesn't need a waiting period but a fee of RM100 is applicable.

We opted for option 2 which was the express one. But we didn't realise that both the options included a lot of travelling and patience. Before 'M'  came to Malaysia , I found out from the JPN in my town that I could do everything including registration in Johor ( I am from Johor) and he needed a single status confirmation to prove that he was single so he got an affidavit from his high commisioner which isn't acceptable here. When 'M' arrived to Singapore, we went to Johor Bahru to register directly.
When we got to Johor, only then we found out that we couldn't get married there and then! There are a few things we had to do before we could get married. MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE A STRONG REASON FOR THE EXPRESS MARRIAGE.

What do you need?
a) I/C ( local citizen )
b)Passport of the non-citizen
c) Photocopy of I/C and Passport main page that shows the information and the page of the date of arrival to Malaysia
d) One passport size photograph with a BLUE background
e) ORIGINAL birth certificate ( get it translated from a certified translator if it's not in English or Malay )
f) If he is a divorcee, pls bring along the relevant documents

1) The affidavit from the country of origin isn't acceptable so the first thing to do is to go to own embassy to obtain the Letter of Confirmation of Single Status. This letter needs to be issued from the Malaysian Representative Office, Embassy or High Commission in Malaysia. After that, you will need to get the letter certified at the Consular Division in Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Wisma Putra) in Putrajaya.

2) Once all the documents are certified and obtained, go to JPN in Putrajaya to get a letter of approval. This is the place that we got told that 'M' needed his ORIGINAL birth certificate. We didn't have his birth certificate and was told that the rules has recently changed. So we got 'M's' father to send it and had to get it translated into English because it was in Spanish! After gaining the letter of approval, go to the JPN in the state where you were born. So from Putrajaya we had to rush to JB.

3) At JB JPN in Taman Setia Tropika ( State National Registration Department [NRD] ), we were required to fill in the forms and submit the letter of approval from Putrajaya alongside with the relevant documents. Before that, we had to go to the High Court in Johor City to get the stamp and certified by the 'Jurubahasa' (Translator) and also the commissioner or Oath. Both can be found in the High Court. Without the stamp, the forms are not valid!

4) Then, we went back to Kempas JPN to submit everything and then we were told to wait for the date to get married which usually takes 7 days.

Please note: For all American Citizens, the US embassy which provides the notary services is only available for walk in service from 9am - 11am. 2 hours only!

After a few months of planning and a couple of weeks being on the rocky roads and some flyings from the US by my lovely husband, we finally got married on the 28th September 2014!

Letter of Confirmation of Marital Status. This letter needs to be issued from the Malaysian Representative office in your country or your country’s Embassy or High Commission in Malaysia. Upon obtaining the letter, you will need to certify the letter at the Consular Division in Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra) in Putrajaya. - See more at: http://milestones.my/getting-married-in-malaysia/#sthash.z1pVHnKd.dpuf

Letter of Confirmation of Marital Status

Letter of Confirmation of Marital Status

Letter of Confirmation of Marital Status

Haeundae Market @ Night

FOOD HUNTING AT HAEUNDAE BEACH 

 It was already quite late at night when we arrived at Haeundae Beach. All of us felt very hungry already so we went food hunting. We didn't know what to expect and just walked about and came to this Haeundae Market. It's called a market and sort of wet market too but we didn't expect a wet market to open till late night like this. It's worth a look!

                    It's a small street with stalls selling all sorts like greens, fruits, meat, clothes and etc.

                   Korean Street Food fried vegetables, meat, rice cakes and so on in batter

  I realised that Korean like to eat eels. There are tanks and tanks of eels outside the small restaurants in the market. I don't like the way the kill the eels.

                             This is the sort of seafood you find outside the restaurant!

                                                                         Octopus

 We ended up ordering seafood hotpot which cost KRW40,000.

My One-eyed Dog - the love of my life

 I have always had dogs as a pet as far as I can remember. They are loyal and listen to you all the time. The picture above is my beloved dog and he is 9 years old. We named it Whiskey and why Whiskey? When he was very young, we had to smuggle him from somewhere and we 'comatise' him with Whiskey and hence the name. He is a very gentle dog and I bet there aren't any gentler dog than him.

Now all of you must be wondering why he is left with only one of the important sight organ. I remember that happened in 2009. I was in NZ and I left my precious with a friend who had a few other dogs which lived in a big cage. I didn't realise that this breed of dogs ' SHIH TZU ' can't be left outdoor with other dogs and suddenly one night, she called up and said Whiskey's eye popped out!! I was in tears and I immediately asked her to send him to the vet's. 'It has to be taken out' was all the vet said. What made me angry was the vet asked me to put him to sleep because he would be a disable dog! How can one be a vet be so cruel? Anyway, I learnt my lesson and I won't leave him to anyone else. Shih Tzu has very delicate and dry eyes so they have to be looked after carefully.

About two weeks ago, I went on holidays again and left him at home at the garage. When I got home the next day, his only eye was very red and looked swollen. ( I regret of not taking a picture of it to show you ) It looked like it was going to pop out! I was so scared and quickly took it to the vet's who is kinder. She found that he had caught the common infection of the Shih Tzu's eyes which is known as 'Cherry Eye Disease'. Apparently many Shih Tzus lost their eyesight because of it. That's not the worst thing, she found some maggots in its eyes! Yucks! I don't know why my baby needs to go through this but what needed to be done had to be done so they lightly sedated him and extracted the maggots out ( altogether an amazing 9 sleezy little maggots ).

Well, I now look after him very carefully, applying artificial tears to his eye once every two hours ( not when I was asleep though ) hehehe.. so whoever that is reading this, pls pls be very careful while taking care of a Shih Tzu. It requires a lot of love and time and most importantly, do not abandon your dog if you do not decide to love it for however they might turn into one day!

These are the offsprings of my Whiskey. Arent't they cute?

Sunset at Batu Ferringhi / Ferringi Beach

 I have always like to see sunset so when I went to Penang during the last school holidays, I didn't miss the chance to go to Batu Ferringhi to see sunset. It took us about half an hour to get to Batu Ferringhi from Lebuh Chulia, Georgetown. The drive was smooth and we got there just in time to enjoy a few moments before the actual sunset time.

 This is how it looks when we got there. Not as many people as I would have expected but it left us with some space to enjoy the view and the beach alone.

 From left, my brother-in-law, two nephews on the horse, elder sister and my lovely mum. There are people leading the horses around asking if anyone would like to take pictures with the horses or even to have a ride on the horses for RM30. As technology and social media have advances, people start to take photos of everything just like my brother-in-law.

Panoramic view of the beach.

There are a lot of water activities in Batu Ferringhi. Swimming, sailing and boating just to name a few. One of the most favourite activities is Parasailing or Parascending where a person is towed behind a boat while attached to a 'parachute'. Some enthusiasts choose to view the sunset while being off the land ; more romantic maybe?

The golden colour sky always melts my heart. The sunset view from Batu Ferringhi is one of the prettiest that I have seen. So wait no more if you are visiting Penang, spend some time there! It's worth it!


What I personally think about the downside of Batu Ferringhi:

1)  The sand is not as fine as some other popular beaches.
2)  A little rubbish was seen strewn along the beach.
3)  Be extra careful of your own personal belongings as I spotted a few 'foreigners' eyeing up the bags that were left on the beach.

50 Ways To Be A Happier You!

Living in this hectic life means that we are not aware of our own happiness and needs. People nowadays work way too hard and too long to make both end meet. We would set a target but when the target is met, we want more and working becomes a never ending story because there is no satisfaction in whatsoever. Depression comes and haunts you forever and trust me, I had been there. So for a moment, let's think for our own and be selfish for a little while. Pamper yourself once a while, it's not too much right? Here are 50 ways of how I am trying to make myself happy but I think they suit the hardworking and dedicated people like you too :

1) Have your passion as your career. If you are passionate in your career, you are mixing play with work which make your job much more enjoyable.
2) Stay healthy - I am trying.
3) Participate in community events - I am trying also..(hehe)
4) Stop worrying.
5) Be thankful and contented.
6) Count your blessings.
7) Exercise regularly - I will
8) Volunteer in charity work.
9) Provide to those in need - SERIOUSLY ONLY TO THOSE IN NEED!
10) Forgive yourself.
11) Set goals - my goal is to travel the world!
12) Celebrate others' success.
13) Believe in yourself.
14) Take criticism as a feedback - I am good in it.
15) Forget about things you are unable to change and focus your energy on things you can change - It was hard but I did it!
16) Keep stress level low - eat chocolates and ice cream but not excessively.
17) Compliment others - I am still trying because I prefer others to praise me.
18) Dance.
19) Sing - Humming in the bathroom or even sing your lungs out in the karaoke.
20) Be patient - keeps my blood pressure low.
21) Read jokes - I make jokes too.
22) Focus on others around you instead of just yourself - don't be selfish.
23) Have a hobby - lim teh'ing'.
24) Rest well - I am trying.
25) Meditate.
26) Put a smile on others face - It always brighten my day up!
27) Surround yourself with positive friends - I am so blessed.
28) Remove friends who are negative from your life.
29) Learn something new - can be anything.
30) Have a pet - I have my baby 'whiskey' ( a shih Tzu )
31) Smile always.
32) Forgive others who hurt you in the past - more sadness if keep on hating that person.
33) Do not have high demands for others - a little is ok.
34) Have an appropriate demand for yourself.
35) Be near nature - I love mother nature!
36) Watch comedies or cartoons - It's not childish!
37) Be yourself - do not care of what others think of you!
38) Build up your self esteem - don't let anything pull you down.
39) Be honest to yourself and others - lying puts you in a depressed mode.
40) Enjoy the present, live life to the fullest - That's me!
41) Respect others and respect yourself.
42) Be assertive - I say 'NO' when I don't want to but in a polite way so not to upset others.
43) Have a religious faith - It helps to keep me in the correct track.
44) Take lots of photos and keep them in an album - looking at those photos brings back sweet memories even though much of them are in the hard disc or FB.
45) Take holidays and visit countries you had wished to visit- I am good at this.
46) Do something new - I visit new cafes though not everyday.
47) Buy a small present for yourself - I prefer a medium-sized one.
48) Save money - I am trying as I think I will be happier if I do not need to worry about the lack of money.
49) Talk more!
50) Attend motivation classes if there are any - I found them very helpful.

Wish all of you a happier you!

Standing Eggs

To mark the beginning of the spring, everyone becomes egg maniac, trying to make eggs stand! So what is this egg standing philosophy about? Is it a myth or can be explained by science? I don't know so I will just play along with this tradition and it is proven that eggs can really stand despite the shape of the eggs! :)

6 eggs standing without fail :D

My Happiest Moment!

My Happiest Moment with Olympus Happy Photography.

Happy moments are so precious and so valuable as they only happen naturally and sometimes take us by surprise. I feel so blessed that I was born to live in this era when camera invention's improvement is at it's highest peak. It helps to capture all of our happy moments if we have a camera with us!

About a year ago in August 2010, me and my friends made a dramatic decision to visit India to see the Taj Mahal - one of the seven wonders in the world. We had the choice of going to Taiwan or India but we chose India..what a life changing decision! Just days before we our flight, we only came to realize that Taj Mahal is in Agra while our flight would take us to Mumbai which is REALLY far apart. Well, hard work always pays off. After we had a few sleepless nights, we decided to fly from Mumbai to New Delhi and then by train to Agra. I couldn't believe my own eyes when I saw Taj Mahal right in front of me. I was so happy and my tears nearly rolled down my cheeks upon seeing the amazing building. I was so lucky to have amazing friends travelling with me and we spent so much precious moment together which I will not forget in my entire life. We took so many pictures but this is definitely the one photo which can represent 'My Happiest Moment'.

Many thanks to this couple from Holland whom we met there and took the above photo for us.

P/S: I left my camera at home in Malaysia and I nearly cried when I realised that I didn't have one with me for my entire trip! So many thanks to all my friends who had captured me in their cameras especially my bestie jessying. I love you guys!