"Remember when Ben & Ade got hitched?"

When you are single, somehow, you find that you have a lot more time on your hands.

Weekends are spent doing the things you, as a single person, loves. To me, it's visiting the art galleries (for free, of course), or prowling the streets of Melbourne armed with my trusty LX3 (also free). If the weather permits, perhaps a beer with a fish and chips lunch in the spring/summer sun. And I'm happy as a bee with a pot of honey. You didn't have to plan for two. You didn't have to compromise. You just, do. Whatever you want.

And birthdays, well, birthdays are mostly quiet dinners with friends and family. Not that there's anything wrong with that. They are, after all, the constants in your life. There's just no romantic dinner followed by a "big" gift anymore.

But it's okay, you know. Read SW's Top 10 Reasons to Stay Single. I dare say most of it is true. Reason #1 is #1 for a good reason.

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No.1 - You Learn What You Need From A Relationship

Being single offers one final advantage that doesn’t get talked about much. Couples deny it and single people themselves rarely realize it. But the fact is, being alone is an incredible opportunity to learn about yourself. In fact, I posit that the longer you’re single before getting married, the better off you’ll be, because only single people truly know what makes them happy. Unless you’ve spent years drinking your inhibitions away, putting yourself out there, experiencing the thrill of one-night stands, and coping with the agony of rejection, how can you really know yourself? Playing the field is merely doing due diligence while having a blast to boot. More importantly, what fun is married life if you don’t have any high jinks to reminisce about? Waking up next to your wife every morning must be twice as reassuring after you’ve spent 10 years waking up next to chicks you have had to introduce yourself to.

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Relationships shouldn't make you a shadow of your previous self. Instead, it should enrich. Make you better. Complement you. Like best friends do. In fact, relationships should all start out as great friendships.

If you could find someone you know you would have a hell of an adventure with, you know you're on to something good. And I didn't mean that figuratively. I meant that literally. Like a real adventure/trip that would be filled with lots of fun (thanks to a same sense of humour), spontaneity, and equal open-mindedness to new experiences. Not to mention the opportunity to see the bad side of each other ie. grumpiness, impatience and yet, can still stand each other.

I'm in no hurry, but I do wish I find that someone, someday. At the meantime, I'll just indulge in feeling envious of couples who found their adventure partner. Couples who become so much more together .

Marshall and Lily from "How I Met Your Mother" is one such couple. (They even have a wedding website!) Fictional, I know. But exemplary of how couplehood should be. At least, unlike what you see in Korean/Hong Kong dramas, the stories they have are more real. In fact, great stories from many adventures are what we all should have.

And my friends Ben and Ade, is another such couple. The kind which you just know that they're just gonna be so good together. The kind of relationship you wish with all your heart that you can have.


I wish you both enough happiness to last a lifetime. And that you'll both have great stories to tell in the future.



I'm glad to have been a part of this special day of yours. And hopefully I'll be in one of those stories that start with "Remember when Ben and Ade got hitched?"