As a quiet and introverted person, doing all the things described here has honestly not been easy. Good that it was only a once-in-a-lifetime experience...
Being together with Q for almost 5 years, I felt it was time to starting thinking about popping the big question. I spent many months trying to come up with the best way to propose to her. I wanted it to come as a surprise because I had rarely given her any. So I set a date - 8th August 2008 (080808) to do it.
Other than family and friends, I wanted to involve Q's colleagues and her close friends in the surprise. So I secretly gathered their contact numbers and tried to get in touch with them, most of whom I had never met before. 😬
I also built up the courage to contact her superior, not knowing what the response would be - whether she would love or totally shut down the idea. Thankfully I was met with this kind and supportive Wei Lee who was not only eager to help, but also suggested various ideas to go with the proposal. Thank you Wei Lee!
As the day drew close, I spent many nights restless being nervous and uneasy. At the back of my mind, I somehow kept thinking 080808 wasn't such a good day to do it. And indeed it wasn't. It ended up being a rainy day and traffic was bad all over town. Furthermore it was the opening of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, so people's focus was on China.
I literally went to dozens of places all over town, walked in hot sun and pouring rain, looking for the ideal party place - but somehow couldn't find one that would fit. Eventually I decided to do it in an unusual setting - a restaurant in the KL Bird Park. "Really?" I thought to myself, "Isn't that like a zoo or something?" You'd think it was a weird venue to hold a party - but upon surveying the place, it seemed the perfect spot. Nothing fancy or pretentious. The atmosphere was just right. Combined with the indoor-outdoor and upstairs-downstairs concept, my plan should work out fine.
Plenty of suggestions came in (probably one too many 😲) and things were added one on top of the other, until it turned from a simple surprise into something that needed a lot of planning and good timing. I was also forced into the idea of singing 😩 during the party. In the meantime Wei Lee would help me coordinate from her colleagues' side. She also voluntarily made a cardboard banner (thanks to CJ for the design) to help me with the proposal.
And so the day came...