propose

/prə'poυz/ v.i. to make an offer of marriage.

Rachel and I are engaged! About a week ago, we had a really fancy dinner at the Sir Stamford Hotel dining room in Circular Quay. The restaurant was very nice, but there weren’t many people there for a Friday night. The food was great, and the restaurant was very accommodating. I’d rung ahead to book the table, and asked if they could make sure there were some gluten-free options for me. When we arrived, there weren’t any issues at all! I had some very tasty pork ribs with potatoes, and a wattle-seed brûlée for dessert. Delicious!

After dinner, we went for a quick walk down along the harbourside, and that was quite pretty, because the city was all done out in bright colours for the “Vivid” light show; all the buildings were shifting through the spectrum, there were fairy lights in the trees, and the opera house was being splashed with different colours. (Don’t think I’d planned that! It was all a lucky coincidence! As we were driving in to the city, I was thinking to myself, Wow! This is pretty cool, and great timing!)

As we sat down in front of the opera house, looking out at the harbour bridge, the water, and across to Kirribilli and North Sydney, I asked Rachel to marry me. She said yes! The weather was icy cold, with a chilly wind blowing. Rachel (who’d had an inkling that it was going to be “the night”) had brought her camera along. The photo turned out all right, which is a bonus, since I could barely keep the camera still because I was shivering so much!

Since then, the past week has been a whirlwind of discussion and the beginning of organisation. There’s a lot that goes into a wedding which I hadn’t realised. We’ve been talking about churches, reception venues, dates, themes, guests, music, ministers, dances, food, photographs and photographers, cakes, travel, the honeymoon ... the list goes on! At the moment, things are in the very early stages, but we’re looking at narrowing down our choices for reception and service very soon. That’ll help us start to organise some of the other things we need to do. We’ve already chosen our bridal party, so that’s very exciting. Rachel’s very happy with the ring. It had to be resized, but that’s all finished now, so I’ll take it back to her tomorrow.

We’re heading for a January 2011 wedding date. That’s not too far away! Stay tuned!

marriage

/ˈmærιdʒ/ n., 1 the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc. 2 the state, condition, or relationship of being married; wedlock. 3 the legal or religious ceremony that formalises the decision of a man and woman to live as husband and wife, including the accompanying social festivities.


Last week was fantastic. After a long bus ride from Suva to Nadi /'na:ndi:/ I caught an even longer flight back to Sydney. It was awesome to see my family and friends again.

One of the highlights of the week was catching up with my good friends Heather and Gary, from the United States. They have just finished a tour of the US and Asia, and are now staying with my parents for the next few months. They are also keeping a blog of their adventures … If you get a chance, check it out at http://www.xanga.com/newlywednomads. Heather and Gary have been great family friends for a long time now, are honorary Aussies, and I really enjoyed their friendship and conversation over the week. I’m only sorry I didn’t have longer to hang out with my “brother and sister”. Don’t worry, mates, I’ll see you at Christmas.

I also had a nice long phone conversation with my best mate, Phil, who is teaching in Thailand. It was good to chat with him after not being able to hear how he’s been going for so long.

My sister’s wedding on the Sunday was beautiful. Both Tania and Belinda are princesses. The day started out looking a bit grey and blustery, but it all blew away and turned into a beautiful sunny day. Everyone spruced up really well, and overall it was a really happy time. Belinda and my new brother Mat are honeymooning close to the NSW/Queensland border. Again, I’m looking forward to catching up with everyone in December. The reception was just as beautiful, in a picturesque location overlooking Darling Harbour.

A couple of my relos told me I had lost weight, so I obviously look thinner. But, for the record, I would just like to advise everyone that I have officially lost only 2-3kg, which is not really that bad!

After finishing the reception at about 11:00pm, we went home and I finished packing my bag for the flight back to Nadi. I was done by 3am, and had about an hour’s sleep before Dad came and woke me up at 4am to drive to Sydney airport. It was really tough. After spending a fantastic week with friends and family, then being able to share in the emotion of my sister’s wedding, and being so tired on Monday morning, it was really hard for me to get on the plane. Realistically, it would have been better for me to relax for an extra day in Sydney. I ended up arriving back in Suva at about 9:00 at night, and I was dead tired.

I’ve had a few good nights’ sleep since then, though, and have recovered, and worked my way back into the swing of things here in Fiji. Jim, the director of the school has arrived from his overseas trip, and it has been good to finally meet him. I have started taking a class in basic Fijian too! Au sa via sara yaloyalo, ia au sa osooso! (I really want to watch a movie, but I’m busy)!

The next big exciting thing on the agenda is when my parents arrive in October to help me celebrate my birthday, so I’m really looking forward to that. I hope everyone who visits this site is happy and healthy. Please check back regularly.


Cheers,
Andy