Dear Violet, I recently met this nice, wonderful girl. You could say she is perhaps the dream girl I have been waiting for all these while.But there is a catch here: she is a staunch Christian and it is important for her to find someone who shares the same beliefs and values as her. The problem is, I am not a Christian but I do not mind whatever faith the girl believes in. But the same cannot be said about her.

What should I do?

Sincerely, K

Dear K,

Thank you for your email!

This is a tricky one. There is no quick and fast solution. As a believer myself, I can understand where your girl is coming from. Especially, if she is a staunch Christian, I think it is probably very important for her to share her life with someone who is of a similar faith and has similar religion depth.

A few questions for you - are you open to finding out more about her religion? And are you open to subsequently converting to her religion when you are ready? If the answers to these questions are YES, then I think there is a higher chance that things could work out between the both of you.

However, like in any relationships, it takes two hands to clap. Is your girl willing to wait for you to find out more about her religion with the potential of accepting Christ one day? If she expects that the person whom she dates MUST be a Christian to start off with, I would say that it is difficult for you to change her mind.

There are many inter-faith relationships that have worked out. However, it is based on the common understanding that the couple accepts each other’s faith. There have also been cases where one party eventually converts to the other’s religion as well… but it must be of the person’s own free will of course!

To conclude, from my personal experience of working with clients of different belief systems… it is not easy to convince someone to date out of their religion preference, and I don’t believe we should persuade people to do so as well because religion is a very personal decision. And even if they reluctantly agree at this point, they would more often than not change their mind subsequently. 

All the best, and may things work out for you!

Sincerely, Violet

P/S: Dear readers, do you have any personal experiences or advice to share with K? Please feel free to comment!

After some hectic weeks, finally had some quality time with the family. Brought babe to East Coast Park. It was his first Beach day-out! We built sandcastles, had ice-cream (at least hubby and I did), and cycled around the park on a family bike. It was my first time on a family bike… and at first, we had some problems coordinating. But after that, we were like pros, making u-turns etc. And the best thing is to see babe smiling and enjoying himself.

Looking forward to more of todays.

I have not been updating my blog regularly as I have been working on a ’secret’ project. And since the project is no longer  a secret… I can tell you about it now…! Haha!

Lunch Actually is launching in Hong Kong soon! Yes, my dear readers who are based in HK and have been bugging me to open a branch there… I have been listening to you. And our office will be opening its door in the very near future. I am actually sitting in a cafe in Central, typing this blog entry. The weather has just turned cold today, again. I enjoy this sort of weather actually. Just that I really should have brought my jacket out this morning. But I ‘intelligently’ decided against it. Oh well…

I have been having lots of fun meeting lots of nice Hong Kongers in the past few days. And they are all really excited about our launch. In my profession, you will always have people approaching you at Networking Events, once they know what you do.

So, if you are in HK, or have single friends in HK who would like to be informed about our launch, drop me a line now!

Haha… do I sound like a crazy and excited teenager, screaming after meeting my idol? Hehe!

Anyway, yes, I met Eunice Olsen today as our company has been invited to be featured on Episode 5 of the brand new talk show on Channel 5 - Rouge! (Remember to watch it - it’s screening on Sunday, 6th April)

Have heard so much about Eunice, and have seen so much of her on magazines and TV. For those of you who are not currently in Singapore, read more about Eunice here.

I was never too sure what to think about Eunice, as there had been some not so nice writeups about her especially after she did not attend the swearing-in ceremony after being nominated as a MP. And pretty girls often have it tough, as many people feel that they are just another pretty face.

But anyway… after meeting Eunice today up, close and personal… and being interviewed by her, chatting with her etc., she is just about the most down-to-earth celebrity I have met! She’s personable, affectionate, non-pretentious…

Haha… I do sound like a raving fan right?

But the point is… we should never judge a book by its cover. Often, we box people up. E.g. beauty queens are probably bimbotic, or engineers are boring, or lawyers are crooks… Just like, when we go out on a first date, we should never be too quick to judge, as you never know the person deep within unless you take some time to get to know him/her better. There is often an unpolished gem beneath.

Dear Violet,

My boyfriend and best friend HATE each other they fight over the stupidest resons like who do I have dinner with and who do I go to the movies with on the weekends and I can’t take it any more. What should i do???

I want to pick my bestfriend but then again what about my boyfriend he will feel left out and I want to pick my boyfriend but what about my best friend???

All I want is for then to get along but how do I do that??

Sincerely, Peace Lover

*****

Dear Peace Lover,

Question, is your best friend a guy or a girl? If your best friend is a guy, then it explains why your boyfriend does not get along with him as he might feel threatened by your best friend.

Anyway, here are 3 quick solutions to your dilemma.

1. Understand the root of the problem. Sit your boyfriend down one day, and casually find out the reason that he cannot get along with your best friend. There might be an incident that happened along the way which you have no idea of. Do the same with your best friend.

2. Clear all misunderstandings and/or mis-communication. After finding out the root of the problem, play ‘peacemaker’. Instead of trying to force them to love each other, find an opportunity where you can help to clear any misunderstandings or mis-communication.

3. Have a heart-to-heart talk with them. If all else fail, tell them how much it means to you for them not to fight all the time. And if they are mature enough and truly love you, they will make some effort to get along. Help them find some common grounds. Maybe they like a similar hobby or sports? When people are having fun, they are less likely to yell at each other.

Good luck!

Sincerely, Violet

Short Note: A new poll is up, go check it out!

A soon-to-be colleague said to me yesterday… Happy Birthday in advance!

“How did you know my birthday is tomorrow?”

“I read your blog ma! Last year you went to National Museum right?”

Haha… it’s quite funny/scary how much personal info I reveal on my blog…

Ok, so anyway, today is my birthday! I turn 28! Hooray! For some reason or other, I do not seem concern I am hitting the big 3 soon… maybe when I really hit it, it would provoke some sort of reaction… but the signs of aging are definitely showing. My metabolism rate has slowed down a lot and the crow lines are beginning to show. With my slow metabolism rate, I put on weight very easily. Saw myself on TV the other day… and was really aghast to see how much weight I have put on… Hence, have embarked on a healthy diet… wish me luck!

How did I celebrate my birthday?

Jamie and I decided to take the day off, and bring babe for a day out! It was pretty impromptu and spontaneous. We first went to Sim Lim Square where Jamie bought me my birthday present - an iPod nano! It’s gorgeous, and even as I am updating my blog, I can’t help but keep admiring it… (Yes, I am such a gadget chic)

We had lunch across the street where Corum met a little friend who is one day older than him. What a coincidence right?! But since they both can’t really talk to/with each other, his little friend went on his way soon after with his gramps.

Then, we decided to go to the Singapore Flyer. The taxi driver warned us that it is not open in the afternoon. But we thought what the heck… let’s just go take a look.

And we ended up at a ‘Fish Spa’. Not sure if you have heard of it, but you basically have swarms of fishes swirling around your feet, and nibbling at your skin. It’s supposed to be good for blood circulation, people who have eczema problems etc. Me being the adventure junkie cajoled Jamie into trying it out. And it was definitely an unique experience. It’s not painful or anything. And after you conquer the initial weirdness of having fishes ‘biting’ you… it’s actually quite enjoyable. The good people at Kenko also helped us look after Corum while we got our ’spa’ therapy.

Then, we head off to Vivocity where Corum had so much fun at the playground! It was such a lovely feeling seeing how much he enjoyed himself going up and down the big blue slide.

We capped off the evening with ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s. We had Brownie with Ice Cream to substitute for my birthday cake. And Corum gets to taste a small bit of Cookies & Cream. I love seeing his expression when he tastes new food… you can just see him relishing every single bite.

It’s been a wonderful day! Thanks to my dearest hubby for arranging everything.

And also thank you to all who have either SMSed, emailed, called, MSNed or wrote on my wall in Facebook to wish me Happy Birthday. Thank you for remembering my birthday. Am feeling truly blessed and contented and happy!

Hiya,

Hope you have had a wonderful Valentine’s Day celebration…! Just got back from my V-Day date with hubby!

Will update again soon… meanwhile, have a fabulous day ahead!

Sincerely,

Violet