Our Story Thus Far

Noel and I were engaged on March 14th, 2022, which was exactly the 1314th day since we got together.

In Chinese, the numbers 1314 sound similar to "forever" or "for the rest of one's life".

So far, I have only shared this joyful news with close friends and family. I have also uploaded a photo of our engagement briefly on Instastory, but I have not written any post about it. It is because I think a FB/ Instagram post with few words or pictures is insufficient for me to express my thoughts. Since a lot of my friends and relatives do not know Noel personally, I want to introduce him properly to everyone via this blog entry. It took me a while to get to this because I had been overwhelmed with work for the past few weeks, but now here I am, ready to tell you our story.

Photo taken in September 2018 at CAN Studio, Johor. 

We knew each other since November 2016 through Teach For Malaysia Fellowship program. When we were having our two-month pre-service training in Kuala Lumpur, we spent many weekends watching movies and anime together in my hotel room. We had many delightful conversations and bonded well as friends.

In 2017, both of us, along with other TFM Fellows placed in Pasir Gudang, worked together on two projects. One of them was Accenture Kickstart. Throughout this project, Noel had demonstrated himself as a tenacious team leader. His steadfast commitment to his faith and work is one of the qualities I admire about him. His determination has also proven crucial in sustaining our relationship later on.

Photo taken in August 2017 at TFM South Region Office, Johor.

In March 2018, Noel and I started working for an international translation studio together as collaborators. We translated web novels from Chinese to English. We spent a big chunk of our after-school hours together - translating, proofreading, lamenting on ridiculous plot lines, and talking about various genres of novels. This is undoubtedly one of the biggest contributing factors of us becoming a couple. Up until this day, we are still business partners in the translation industry.

Photo taken in August 2018 during our graduation ceremony for completing Postgraduate Diploma in Education.

Photo taken in August 2018 at Kellie Castle, Perak.
We visited Penang and Perak on a road trip with a few friends to celebrate the end of our diploma program.

Photo taken in November 2018 in Malacca.
We went there for our SPP interview, in hope of passing it and becoming full-time teachers eligible for pension scheme. We eventually got our permanent teaching placement in April 2019.

Photo taken in November 2018 during TFM Alumnext dinner.

Photo taken in March 2019 at Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang.

Photo taken in December 2019 during the CIMB Mozek Camp. We joined the camp as facilitators.

Aside from various work opportunities, Noel and I are very appreciative of our friends for getting us out of our rooms for different social activities. 

Without them, the two of us would be in pajamas all-day long. Noel would be enthralled by his video games while I would be fully immersed in my web novels. We would stay in the same room for hours without talking to each other. In fact, we enjoyed a continual period of uninterrupted couple time doing exactly so in 2020, when the Malaysian government strictly imposed Movement Control Order during the beginning of Covid-19. Of course, no photos were taken to commemorate those seemingly mundane moments. However, both Noel and I agree that those moments were well-spent with each other's presence. 

Nevertheless, we cherish the time spent hanging out with friends. Friends come and go as we are each in different seasons of our lives, but the fond memories stay with us forever.

Photo taken in February 2018 during Noel's 26th birthday.
Birthday celebrations are always a great reason to meet up for good food.

Photo taken in August 2018 at ESCAPE theme park in Penang.

Photo taken in December 2019 during Elaine's wedding in Kuching, Sarawak.

Photo taken in January 2020 at Lost in JB, Johor.
We played an escape game to celebrate my 26th birthday.

Photo taken in November 2021 at EnergX, Johor.
We played in an indoor trampoline park to celebrate Siew Ting's 31st birthday.

Photo taken in November 2021 at Desaru Coast Adventure Waterpark, Johor.
We played in a waterpark to celebrate Amanda's 28th birthday.

Noel and I have come to a consensus very early on that a marriage is the joining of two families. Therefore, we make conscious effort to get to know each other's families and try our best to spend time with them. 

Photo taken in December 2018, when I met Noel's family for the first time.

Sometimes, I find it a little uneasy to hang out with Noel's family because his family dynamics is drastically different from mine. Besides that, I take a tremendously long time to warm up to elders in general. However, I am beyond thankful that Noel's family members and relatives are very understanding and they go out of their way to make sure that I feel included. 

Last night, when Noel and I were doing an assignment for our marriage preparation course, I was surprised when Noel said that our families have a lot in common. Due to my pessimistic nature, I tend to fixate on our differences a lot. One thing I can definitely learn from Noel is to focus on what binds us together, and not what pushes us apart.

Photo taken in September 2019, when the family got together to celebrate Noel's father completing a master's degree in Counseling.

Photo taken in December 2020 at my house in Ipoh, Perak.
I think it was the first time our parents met. I can't remember for sure.

Photo taken on Christmas 2020 in Penang.

Photo taken in May 2022.
Noel and I are very grateful to have Aunt Maria and her family here in Johor. Their presences definitely make Johor feel a lot more like home for both of us.

Noel and I have a lot of in-depth conversations about faith, and we both desire to maintain a close relationship with God. Noel introduced me to Catholicism, and I joined the Catholic church in September 2020. However, this came as no surprise to me personally because of my background in the Anglican church. 

Of course, Noel and I are still, occasionally amazed or amused by the different approaches or understandings we have towards a topic. Though I might be frustrated by our differences in many aspects, faith has never been an issue between the two of us.

Photo taken in September 2020 during my baptism at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Johor.

Here're a few more pictures of us which I find endearing.

Photo taken in December 2019 at Kuching, Sarawak.

Photo taken in December 2019 at Kuching, Sarawak.

Photo taken in December 2019 in Penang.

Finally, let me end this entry with the picture below. I think it has precisely captured the dynamics of our relationship -- Noel is the stable one while I am the flexible one. 

To put things into perspective, Noel's personality has remained largely unchanged throughout these six years, classifying him as an ENFJ-A (Protagonist). On the other hand, I changed from ENTJ-T (Commander) to ENFJ-T (Protagonist) to ENFP-T (Campaigner) to INFP-T (Mediator). The result of these personality tests should not be taken too seriously, but I think it illustrates my point here.

I am well aware that each plus point comes with a potential downside. For instance, a stable person also means a stubborn person. However, I am reminded that all of us need a lot of grace, from both God and people around us, to grow into the likeness of Christ. 

Often, I am impressed by the humility shown by Noel. Recently, we almost got into an accident due to his carelessness. As expected, my worrying nature flared up and I tended to micromanage him when he drove. I knew that he was annoyed, but instead of bickering with me, he thanked me for being his extra pair of eyes. Gradually, I loosened up and now, things go back to normal for both of us.

To sustain any relationship, I figured that I should carve all the good moments on stone (read: on social media) so that it will last for a long time. I will scrawl all the bad moments on sand so that they will be gone when the wind blows. I certainly hope that this entry will not be a summary of all the fun we have. Instead, it will be a prelude to many more exciting years to come. 

Thank you to all family and friends who have been showering Noel and I with lots of love and blessings. It is our privilege to have you in our lives.