When STOMPer Rupert first met his wife, Prisca. it took him much courage to approach her as he had never approached a girl in public before.
STOMPer Rupert shares his love story:
"To many people out there, February 6, 2006 is just another day, chucked into the history as long forgotten or even meaningless, but to me, it is the day that will forever change the course of my life, for it is the day I met my one true love, and here, I let my love story unfolds. Thank you STOMP.
"I was still a 'nobody' then, working as a jeweller, assigned to Woodlands Causeway Point for a Valentine’s Day exhibition that lasted for two weeks. Little did I know that this would be the trip that I met her - Prisca, the one whom I call Meimei, my love, my wife and now, the soon mum-to-be of my son.
"I remember the moment I saw her, she was gracing in her Clinique lab coat, standing at the back of her counter, serving her customers. Her sweet smile, her below-shoulder length hair, tied as a bouncy pony tail, tilted to one side, that sweet little voice, and that unique name, I could just stare at her from my counter for hours. That was when I told myself, I had to know her! The problem was, I had never ever, and I swear to it, approached a girl in public and said, 'Hi!', much less came up with some cheesy pick up lines!
"Improvising on what I had, trying my best to avoid verbal contact, I took two blank A5 papers, stuck them together with tape and drew a big 'HELLO :)'. Waiting for the right moment, I flashed it at her and caught her unwavering attention! Yeah!! That was how it all started, with small stares and smiles throughout the subsequent days. All I did was to gesture at her and asked her, 'Have you eaten?' and made a remark, 'You look so tired!'. This drew giggles from her colleagues and they nudged her and said, 'Hey, your jewellery boy with the unique hairstyle is calling you!'
"It was not until the February 14, Tuesday, I vividly remember, on the last day of my exhibition, did I foster up enough courage to call the information desk of Causeway Point to ask for the phone number of the Clinique counter. With the number, I called her, and with the manliest voice that I could garner, I spoke my first words to her.
Prisca: Good evening, Clinique Service Centre!
Rupert: Hi! May I speak to Prisca please? (I know it's her as I was looking at the counter, DUH!)
Prisca: Yes this is Prisca.
Rupert: Hi Prisca, it's me, the guy who is opposite you.
Prisca: Who is this?
Rupert: The Guy opposite you. I am standing in front of you now, Hi!! (I started waving!)
Prisca: *Chuckle* Yes?
Rupert: I am leaving today, and was thinking if we could keep in touch, if I could have your phone number. Please, I really wish to talk to you. Let's just be friends for now?
Prisca: Uh.. ok.. take this down.. 9XXX XXXX.
Rupert: Ok!! I will send you a text later! Until you are comfortable then I will call you! Bye!
"Yes!! I succeeded! Or sort of, because little did I know, what followed through were two solid months of incessant text messaging. I never called her once, respecting her decision and she never once hinted to me that I could call too! Neither did I know if she was attached, all I know was, it did not matter what status she was in as I was only messaging her as a friend. All these came to an end when one day I plucked up the courage to ask her for a date through SMS. It was our first date and she agreed. It was at Burger King in Tanjong Pagar. That was when she gave me a first major surprise! She has a twin sister! Their question to me, after I had not met her for almost 2 months was, 'Guess which one is Prisca?'
"With the luck of a Jackpot millionaire, and a quick-witted guess judging by my two weeks of close observation at Causeway Point, I made the right guess! She was the one in white! That started our first date and five months of tough courtship ever since I first met her at Causeway Point, with plenty of SMSes and poems that I sent her, we started our love story on 20.06.2006.
"It was not an easy relationship. We had too many things uncommon! She was the quiet soul at home, the one who preferred peace and tranquility, while I was the wandering soul, the one who preferred socialising and parties. We had our fair share of disagreement and quarrels (although I always give in, and she knows it), plenty in fact. However, something in me told me that,
'You will never find the Perfect Partner,
But you could always become the Perfect Partner!'
"People always tell me they are looking for the right someone and that we should always accept our loved ones for whom they are and we should not change the person to suit ourselves.
"I do not agree with this! To me, if that person is worthy of your love, if you want to spend your life with that person, if he/she is worthy of you spending your whole life with, he/she is worthy of your change for him/her!
"That was what we did; we spent years understanding each other, with tears and pain, with trust that was so difficult to build, with sacrifices and heartaches. It is all worth it!
Throughout our courtship, I was carving out a career for myself, starting businesses after businesses, failing time and again and landing myself in debts. There were even months when I survived on nothing but loaves of bread which cost S$1 each and cheap margarines with plain water. All the pain and insecurities that she had to deal with when I had to meet clients till late thoroughly upset her but she swallowed her tears and cried alone in the middle of the night. I only found out when I saw her with puffy swollen eyes. All she said was that her eyes were itchy. She stood by me all the while, buying me lunch and secretly hanging them on my office door, knocking and running away, supporting me with what little she had back then. Yet I made her cry at times when I failed to see the pain she was going through while supporting me along my path to success.
"'Every Cloud has a silver lining,' I believe in this. 'Success comes to those who persevere!' After four years of hard work, I finally succeeded with the opening of an education centre. Now a renowned motivational trainer in my own field and expertise, I share my joy with Prisca.
"'There is no other reward that I could give to her but to serenade her with a well-planned proposal on our fourth anniversary! On the June 20, 2010, I got an entire camera crew, 100 balloons, a diamond ring, and proposed to her in public at VivoCity, all being captured on video. The video link (login with Facebook):
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1414083546928
"The rest was the beginning of another fairy tale. On 01.11.2011, we embarked on a romantic wedding bridal photo shoot in Taiwan with 11 days pre-wedding holiday, and our photos were eventually chosen by the bridal company in Taiwan as their first showcase album in their new Facebook link. After another year of planning and selection, on 05.05.2011, we concluded our wedding and engagement at the prestigious Pan Pacific Hotel Ballroom in front of 300 precious guests. To make the night all so special for her, I flown in the make-up artist from Taiwan and imported the exact gowns from Taiwan that she so loved when she tried them on for the photo shoot and even bought her a brand new gown when she wanted something a little more 'puffy'. My friends said that I was crazy to spend so extravagantly for my wedding, but all I said was, 'She’s worth it!'
"True enough, just five months after our wedding, Prisca is pregnant!! Now into her third trimester, we are happily awaiting the arrival of our little Dragon baby boy! Much to the delight of my friends and family! Another chapter of my life is waiting to unfold!
"What it holds for us, we do not know. No matter what happens though, we know nothing can topple the strong love foundation that we have built throughout our years of courtship. The trust and understanding we grew and still continue to foster now, will sail us through the toughest storms that life will throw on us.
"On this special day, I just want to tell the whole world, through STOMP, that Prisca, my Meimei, the One I love, my Wife, my Baby’s Beloved Mother, I LOVE YOU!!"
For more Love Stories, click here.
