After months and months of long tiring full of headache process, finally we are coming to an end soon. Real soon. Although after this we’ll need to go through another level, it is still such a relief to know that we only need to wait for another 21 days before we can sign the paper and officially (plus legally, though only in the eyes of M’sia gov until we go back Indo and settle another level) become husband & wife. Pfiuh.
Getting this happy news really means a lot to both of us. It determines our next step, plan and life. Yes, it is dead serious. Not only about my visa but also my medical insurance. A month ago we just bought medical insurances for ourselves due to the reasonable insurance quote. But, I still can’t get it done because we don’t have marriage certificate from the government. We have nothing that can legally proved that I am his wife. Instead, I am just another foreigner in the eyes’ of M’sia gov. Sigh.
So.. well, tonight I sleep also can smile. 
*broken English mode on* One worry is being taken away.
Our post-wedding-ceremony life isn’t anywhere near to relax and honeymoon at romantic places such as panama city beach condos, but hectic which involves going back forth Kuching and JPN to settle our marriage certificate, and working hard so that we can spend during the process of getting the certificate.
The first trip was on October last year, when I came to Sibu to prepare our wedding stuffs. We took the midnight bus and arrived Kuching on early morning. Went to Indonesia Consulate only to hear the staff saying that law has changed since September and they couldn’t release the particular letter for inter-religion marriage. We were asked to go back Indonesia and settled it there (but inter-religion marriage is an issue too back in my country).
The second trip was on December last year, not long after our actual-wedding-day. We took the midnight bus again and went to the consulate confidently. Good news, religion was no longer a problem (since I’ve converted). Bad news, one of my documents was lack of ONE stamp from some authority back in Medan!
Some more the same lady staff who we met on the 1st trip insisted that she had given the list-of-necessary-docs to us and that she remembered my boy’s face but not mine. Wtf? We quickly refreshed her memory that she never gave the list to us but shoo-ed us away to settle it in Indonesia.
In the end, I had my parent helping me in getting the necessary stamps on the particular doc and mail to me via DHL. Waited to get that doc for almost 3 weeks cause it was holiday season (Christmas & new year) and the authority was in the mood of want-to-work-yet-don’t-want-to-work. Ugh. And oh, that stamps on the particular docs didn’t come free-of-charge. It wasn’t cheap either. It’s all about MONEY when it comes to settle stuffs in Indonesia. -__-”
The third trip was on last Sunday after we got the DHL mail on Saturday. The Consulate was opened at 9am and the crowds already waited since 8am or so. It went oh-so-smooth. We shown our complete documents and the lady staff (not the one that we saw on previous two trips) typed in the necessary info. They have new (computer) system which seems to be quite effective – thumbs up to the gov.
We finished around 11am sth and had to wait for the Surat Keterangan – which cost us freaking RM70 just for a piece of paper with some authority signature (see above pic) – to be released on 3pm or 4pm. To kill the time, we walked to the nearest shop blocks under the hot sun. It was around 6 minutes walk but it felt like 6 hours due to the hot sunny weather.
We had brunch at Sugarbun. After filled in our stomach, we were bloody sleep already (cannot sleep well in the bus cause some passengers were snoring so badly) and wanting to go for body massage but ended up spending 2 hours at internet cafe. Time passed and we quickly walked back to the consulate. Once we got the letter, we were super duper relieved knowing that one puzzle is solved. After that, we bought ticket back home, depart on 9pm and arrived home at 3am. Super tiring.
On the next day (tuesday), we went to JPN (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara) to settle the next step of the marriage registration. It was a long tiring day. Cut the story short, we had to wait for 14 days for don’t-know-what-documents-from-Putrajaya and another 21 days (For putting up the marriage info on the board. Local people can pay for RM100 to skip this waiting period but foreigner cannot. KNS!). After that only we can choose a date to sign the marriage certificate. I’m afraid it will only happen after Chinese New Year period. Sigh.
After that, we need to go back Medan to file for the marriage. Then, apply for 3 months social visa so I can stay in Malaysia longer while waiting for the spouse visa to be settled. It’s all about waiting (time) and money.
It’s not easy to achieve this togetherness.
Yayyyyyy!!!! So happy and exciting, partly because I have found the suitable travel medical insurance plan. But mostly because I just got the single-status-letter which was mailed from Indonesia via DHL on this Monday. The mailing fee IDR260.000 really worthy. Much thanks to my parent for settling all those documents for me despite their busy schedule.
With that said, my boy and I might be going to Kuching by bus tonight and get another document from Indonesia Embassy. We are definitely making a good progress in getting the marriage certificate.
This week is going to be a busy week with so many things to look forward to:
1. Our “I do” moment at church on this Saturday 28th Nov, 11.30 am. Our parents, close family and some friends will attend and witness us tying the knot in front of God.
2. Wedding banquet in Medan on this Sunday 29th Nov. For me, it is not just an eat-and-go-home moment but more of a reunion before I permanently move to Malaysia with my boy. There will be friends from primary to senior high school, friends from KL, and many more.
3. Actual day and wedding banquet in Sibu on next Sunday 6th Dec. I’ll be flying along with my parent, brother, grandma, Dad’s sister and husband on Friday 4th Dec.
4. The arrival of future in-laws and guests from KL (Funkers and my boy’s close friend) on this Friday and Saturday. Gonna be a tourist guide for the next few days.
5. Packing and packing, from clothes to shoes and many more. Luckily we are not moving to four-season-country or else I’ll have more stuffs to bring such as heated blanket and warm jackets. Pfiuh.
Hope everything goes well from the wedding ceremony to getting legal documents done.
Okay, so it’s been 10 days since my last post. Whew.. Busy, that’s it. Lots to write here but just couldn’t find the time to really sit down and type.
Anyway, I have decided to take things slower (read: amount of work) and allow myself to have more space to breath and relax. I mean, almost every brides-to-be will pamper themselves by going to spa (read: luluran etc) every week or every month before the big day, and I still get myself busy with tight-deadline kinda work while my big day is just less than 1 month away.
I don’t want to have dark circles around my eyes and be a panda-look-alike-bride due to lack of sleep cause working on tight-deadline-job yadayada. Some more, friends who met me sure said you-look-so-skinny, face-so-dull, stress-life-huh, blablabla.
So, yes, I’m gonna take things slower. After all, BIG day is a once in a life time event! And, mine is coming in less than 3 weeks time. Here’s the exact timeline: 2 weeks until my church wedding (Oh yes, boyfriend and I will have one. More about this later on.) and wedding banquet in Medan, 3 weeks until the actual day and wedding banquet in Sibu.