Take care and all the best! Hugz

I also find him very frank and honest about relationships.
Here's what he had to say on relationships:
"In the case of ladies, they usually dwell a lot on past relationships. The most unforgettable relationship to a lady is always her first love. It is the sweetest and the most memorable one of all. However, in the case of men, the most unforgettable relationship, is usually the one that just ended."

What does it mean?

Well, in a nutshell, he is putting the message very subtly- while you gals are still crying buckets over your first love, us guys most probably would have moved on, faster than you can say "Flash". So dry your eyes girls, and put on your extra-sensitive antennas, tentacles, whatever tools you have to "detect" the next good guy who might just be bouncing along your way. Killer heels and leather miniskirts are essential...hehe.

The Wedding which probably got IRB's attention (ker-ching!)

p/s: Those of you who were in Kch last weekend will know what I am talking about.

Before I proceed, lets just say that this ladyman somehow managed to manipulate mainstream media across Malaysia and Singapore to feature his/her alleged RM2mil wedding. A glance at the local bookstore yesterday showed not less than 4 major chinese dailies giving him/her front page coverage of his/her wedding.A phone call from a friend on Sunday morning confirmed that chinese dailies in Spore gave her front page coverage as well. Photographs were, needless to say, abundant in nature. Eye candy? I leave it to your imagination.

However, this is a case of one media coverage too many.

Ever since the "shocking" public revelation of his/her new identity last November (think Pantene Pro-V advertisements with a masculine twist ;)), I have read nothing in the newspapers except news of her imminent marriage to her boyfriend, daily advertisements featuring his/her health products (and his/her heavily photoshopped portrait in either a doctor's gown or a body hugging cheongsam), exclusive interviews with more photographs of him/her etc.
What has become of the chinese media? Has it transformed into a tabloid known as "Ladymen "R" Us" overnight?
Are news like this worthy of front page full coverage, "gracing" the covers of our daily soul food which we rely on for news and issues around the globe? I don't think so.

Money well spent?

According to newspaper reports, he/she allegedly spent more than RM1mil on his/her wedding.
Here's a breakdown of the expenses incurred in the wedding, as informed by his/her wedding planner. (source- XXXXXX chinese daily)

1) Wedding dinner, air tickets and accommodation for members of the media, relatives and friends from WM and Spore-RM200,000
2) Castle for the Prince and the "Princess"-RM700,000
3) Limousine-RM300,000
4) Charity donations-RM50,000
5) Wedding portraits and photography-RM40,000
dan lain-lain lagi which were not disclosed.

How extravagant. Is money that easy to come by nowadays?

Now... I hear IRB people furiously calculating the expenses involved and his/her records on income tax returns. A solemn reminder: If he/she has not been paying tax diligently, and all these expenses came from his/her account, oh boy somebody is going to be in trouble....

In my humble opinion, this controversial union of love between two individuals, which is in no way recognised by the laws of Malaysia, should not have been heavily publicised. It sends a very disturbing message to all readers out there. How are we supposed to respond? How does she anticipate the public to react?

a) Should we rejoice over his/her successful gender reassignment? Compose an ode for her?
b) Give her a pat on the back and say "well done!"?
c) Or be more radical and fight for the rights of gender-reassigned people? Lobby to the Parliament for change in national registration laws to allow for amendments to be made to a person's identity card once he/she has been reassigned a new gender?

Answer: None of the above. The media is just having a ball of their time and she is enjoying every bit of the limelight accorded to her.

In other words, this is just an extended section of Entertainment News and Gossip. Only thing is that it made front page coverage.

Unfortunately, once the cameras lights have stopped flashing and the reporters have left, the hard cold fact remains: This marriage is null and void in law. You can get the attention of the media, have them work to your advantage, have your 30 seconds of fame and all, but still, you have no protection in law.
In other words, if your prince decides to ditch you, he can do so on the ground that this marriage is null and void in law. Even divorce proceedings are not necessary. Now how depressing is that?

I understand that this post will offend a lot of people. I do not discriminate against people who have undergone gender-reassignment surgery. I believe it must have taken them a lot of courage and they probably have used up their life savings just to correct something which the creator made wrong. And their families and close ones would have undergone a period of denial as well.

However, it does not mean that you can impose your ideals on the general public with your "propoganda" and your "touching" love story. It does not give you the freedom to freely manipulate the media and make a repetitive public display of your personal "triumph".

Everything should have ended with the revelation last November. We know who you are, we know why you went for the surgery, we symphatise with your plight, thats it. What more do you want from the general public?

Note: Your story revealed does not make you a celebrity. Come on, even celebrities don't make front page news ok, they belong to the entertainment news section.

On the part of the media (especially those who had, apart from front page coverage, had featured her in the second and subsequent pages), I just wish to say that there are other more important issues which could be brought to the attention of the public, rather than a constant reminder to the public of this person's road to womanhood. Please, get a grip on yourselves and behave like big boys of the profession. Stories like these are only tabloid-worthy. Seriously. 

Just remember, the same plate of rice, if fried too many times, won't taste any better.

I rest my case. 

Now there is this nagging thought in my mind...
Because both envelopes were peach in colour, I may have put the wrong card into the wrong envelope.
I am pretty sure I did not do that, but given my SMS blunders (see previous post), I would not be surprised if I accidentally put Vinny's card into Archie's envelope.