I Am Still Here March 31, 2006
Posted by Martin in : Thailand , 1 comment so farYou won’t believe how much my Gemology class has taken out of me. In three months I’ve ballooned from 60kg to 75kg because I’ve not had the energy to get any exercise!
I’ve not been doing Aikido and even my daily ’swim’ had gotten to be more of a “sit in the pool and think about swimming experience”. That said, I’ve successfully passed my first 3-month Gemology course and have a 6-week holiday to look forward to with Tik.
Apologies for the tardiness of updating the site but over the next few days I will be adding a lot more content (not necessarily in any real order though). One disincentive for updating the site has been that the photos have had problems and are no longer properly linked up to the blogs. Next week my web design team in India will get all that sorted out for me and it’ll be a pleasure once again updating things.
Keep in touch over the next week to see what I’ve really been doing for the past 10 weeks.
The End of my First Gemology Module March 28, 2006
Posted by Martin in : Education, Thailand , add a commentToday I finally completed my first three months of my Gemology Diploma at AIGS. The course comprises of 4 modules, the first one ‘Classification of Gemstones’ has just finished and I am extremely relieved.
I’ve really enjoyed the course although it was no walk in the park. I’d signed up last November anticipating a very simple 6-month course. Although there is a strong implication that the course is between 9am until 12pm weekdays the course took up much more of my life than I’d really anticipated. There was a lot of unschedules practice required to get familiar with all the different stones available.
Getting Used to Our Engagement Rings March 18, 2006
Posted by Martin in : Thailand , add a commentI’ve never worn any jewelry before so placing an engagement on my finger felt quite unnatural. I kept rotating it around, sliding it up and down and feeling a little tense when it got stuck at my knuckle. I mentally prepared for having it on my finger permanently by considering it a more of a potential weapon than a symbolic finger-cuff. Tik embraced her ring like it was a new toy. Every opportunity she had I noticed her moving her hand around to look for the flashes of light.
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Tik & I are Engaged March 10, 2006
Posted by Martin in : Thailand , add a commentDear All,
This evening Tik and I have made it all official. WE ARE NOW ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED!
It’s an amazing feeling, Since probably 2 weeks into our relationship we just knew we were meant to be together and I’m sure those of you who’ve met Tik already can understand why we have such an incredible future to look forward to. We are looking at a wedding date in Thailand between August and September 2007.
The last thing a future husband should be doing within a few hours of proposing is go online whilst his fiance is preparing the drinks so I’ll keep this short and no doubt you’ll be updated with photos, news and details in a few days time.
Wishing you all as much happiness as we both feel,
All our love,
Martin & Tik x x x
How to Buy a Sincere Engagement Ring March 10, 2006
Posted by Martin in : Thailand , add a commentI regret that I shot myself in the foot by undertaking a gemology course during the time I’d be making my once-only purchase of an engagement ring. The downside to learning about gemstones is that it instills a pointless pompousness when it comes to making purchases. A few months ago I’d have likely bought an engagement ring from the first shop offering them. To the untrained eye all diamond solitaire rings look the same.