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Thursday, January 04, 2007

Snow White Queen

Was listening to this song (of Evanescence's TOD album) and it conjured up images of snowy wintery places... but instead of white and bright, it was really more gloomy and dreary. Cold. Bleak. Maybe it's just the song?

It doesn't get too cold during winters in Dallas (although for me anything below 60F/15C can be considered cold. My body grew up in Singapore afterall.) And it almost never snows! So with the aforementioned imagery in my mind, I tried to find some photos I've taken that reflect the scene, but not much turned up from around here. (This is pretty close though.) Instinctively I gravitated to the pics I took on my two trips to Finland. First time was in a November, the start of winter, with the first snowfalls. Just below freezing and quite pleasant actually. The picture below left was from the second trip in a February. Full blast of cold and snow at 0F/-18C.

Winter WonderlandMy wedding dress - negativeMy wedding dress

It stopped snowing enough for us to take a walk (during lunch break) and snap some pictures. I was ironclad with a cashmere sweater and long wool coat plus snow boots and a really warm fuzzy hat that kept my ears covered (although they still felt like they were going to fall off).

Then I was reminded of another February trip taken four years back. That was to Las Vegas, and while it wasn't freezing, it was cool enough to warrant a medium jacket. But for a couple hours there I was completely unaffected by the temperature and was sans outerwear/sweater etc. Why? I was getting married, and didn't want anything to cover up my beautiful wedding dress! Look, my arm was blue from the cold, but I really don't remember feeling it. Perhaps it was adrenaline, or maybe just my memory failing me....

No? I didn't fool you with the blue arm? Darn, that would have given me the "something blue" that I think I lacked. Not to mention a kick-ass gown with black tulle. But it worked out well... I adore the lilac, and was actually kinda disappointed when the photographer's pictures came back depicting it as light blue instead! Dude, learn to adjust the white balance! He was still using film, so no instant feedback about the results, but still no excuse for a professional right? The above photo was taken after the event with my own (and my first) digital camera: the Oly UZi (2100). Till this day I miss it. It was faithful... especially in color reproduction. Sure, I've had 3 more digital cameras after that, including my current one with bigger zoom and more megapixels and all that jazz, but the first one will always have a special place in my heart. Along with my first cell phone, first laptop, first PDA, first computer, first car.... huh? What do you mean those are not the first loves people usually talk about? Oh ok now I remember, my true first love is the one I met back when I was a teenager. Before I had all the hi-tech stuff above...

... how excited I was when my dad (of all people) introduced him to me. On my 15th birthday. How hesitant and nervous I was during the initial getting-to-know-you period, but as time passed I grew bolder and took him everywhere with me, proudly showing him off. I fondled him whenever I had a chance, not caring if anyone was looking. In fact, he is living under the same roof with Bruce and me. He is.... ok ok ok IT is.... my Minolta 35mm SLR!!!! What a wave of nostalgia (and maybe a sigh of relief from my readers?) -- now I want to load it up with some film and play with it again. There's something magical in the anticipation of getting your film developed and having to wait to see the results.

Guess I have to thank my dad for turning me on to photography. And, well, thanks to our wedding photographer for giving me "something blue" after all. As for most of the "something new", hmmm maybe all of it, I got them on ebay. Seriously... from my dress to the veil/tiara/accessories. My husband-to-be on the other hand went into a brick-and-mortar store to get his suit! And he got it fitted and altered. Who's the bride here now? It's a long-running joke between us that "beauty and the geek" refers to him and me respectively. He wanted to get me an engagement ring with the antique mine cut (in case you didn't know, Bruce is kinda old..... fashioned), and I showed him how to research online, and we ended up getting one on, where else but, ebay! I did the research and booking for the rest of the stuff online too: chapel, photographer, air tickets + hotel, show tickets, Megan and Marc ;) We might as well have had the whole wedding online.

Haven't decided what we're going to do for our 4th anniversary, although I have something in mind to wear, and guess what, I got it on(dotted)line!

cybette wrote this at 06:20 AM
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