CB & SS

These 2 ladies offered me a position at Nick 8 years ago. SS decided to leave and I came in to replace her. CB informed me that my first business trip was to Mumbai and that was 2 days after I joined Nick. 2 months later, CB told me she wanted to resign and I hated her to leaving me in the deep end of the pool. I had no choice but to struggle and stay afloat. Fast forward 8 years later, I join them for cheese and drinks in one of the nicest apartments on Rue de Antibes in Cannes. Who would have thought I would one day tell them I did not appreciate what they did to me before but am lucky that they had given me an opportunity to work for a great brand. And most importantly, today we are all friends.

OCD

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - that's what my friends tell me whenever I tell them I did housework in the middle of the night. I did the same again last night - I could not sleep when I see dust on the floor, clothes to be ironed and toilets to be cleaned. You see, I am leaving this evening for Cannes and will be gone for 10 days. I know hubby will clean the house while I'm gone, but I don't think he can manage looking after the small one and doing housework at the same time. Hence I decide to help. While at it, I thought I'll just do ironing as well and got so hooked doing house chores that I did not realize it was past 1am when I'm done. I felt really satisfied after and slept peacefully, hoping to get up early and pack my luggage. Alas, I have to do that later this afternoon.

Ramadan, will I get to see you next year?

How time flies... Ramadan come and go. As I sit listening to Mufti's khutbah on radio on Syawal morning, I could not help but wonder if I have done enough during Ramadan. Will I get to see the next Ramadan? Will I get to see the same faces next Ramadan? This few months I lost an aunt, I have visited my mom's good friend in hospital twice and she is still unconscious, I have followed my mom to visit another one of her friend whose husband's health has deteriorated and is now very ill. I wonder will I get to hear some good news in the next few months, will I get to see the same faces today, tomorrow?

Iftar Part 2

Iftar session was at ESST restaurant in Westin Hotel. The restaurant has a modern zen open kitchen concept and includes individual private rooms. We had one of the rooms. The restaurant carries a variety of Asian cuisines ranging from Vietnamese to Japanese to Chinese, Malay and Thai. I ordered a little of everything.

I am no foodie so I really cannot comment on the food. However, I do like the ambience of the private room and I was lucky because one of the partners that I sat with has a very interesting character and personality. I have to admit I enjoyed the conversation that we had and his weird humor. I also get to know more of the TV viewing habits in Malaysia for the older audience. All in all an interesting evening... I have to admit, I dreaded the whole idea initially because I don't fancy having a meal and making small conversations but this one was good.

While I do enjoy the food, I got back to my hotel room feeling hungry. I realized I wanted simple stuff like noodles or kueh or curry puff but I got none. I was counting down the hours to my sahur. I had porridge and I ate with much gusto!

Project Saturday

I was determined to run all my errands on Sat - hubby went along with my plans - though at some points I don't think he appreciated it.

First up - pay tithe - done

Next stop - collect baju. I wanted to avoid Geylang at all costs during Ramadan. Unfortunately, our baju were not ready and I had to call the shop repeatedly to pressure them to deliver our baju on a particular date. It worked, I got our baju and the lady was apologizing to me profusely :)

Next - prayer call - by the time hubby did his sholat, it's almost time to break fast. I don't fancy breaking fast out but this time round I had no choice. Hubby chose the venue - not that far away from Masjid Sultan. I don't like the location and I think Lil Adli did not either. He gave us both a hard time throughout.

After Maghrib sholat, we went to our final stop - one of the carpet shops on Arab Street. Yep, bought carpets - not one, not 2 but 4 pieces! I don't know what got into us, suddenly we decide to buy carpets for our dining area, living room, corridor and prayer room! :P

Iftar Part 1

Last week my boss sent a few of us a note. Basically he wants us to go to KL with him for iftar with some partners. Some colleagues decided to arrange for some meetings with their clients, I choose to stay put in Singapore, work till 2pm and take the 3pm flight for iftar at 7-ish. Silly don't you think? One colleague tried to convince me to stay for the night and take the 8am flight back the next morning. I intend to take the last flight out of KL the same day. Ambitious? Yeah I think so. Can I make it? InsyaAllah.

My time with Lil Adli is so precious. I would rather come home tired, cuddle my 2 loved ones and play with Lil' Adli in the morning.

Expensive iftar? You bet.

Necessary? In my opinion, not at all.

Tithe

Every Ramadan, I take a day off to fetch my mom to Jamiyah and Darul Ihsan for her to pay her tithe. I did the same last Friday.

On our way there, mom wanted to go to NTUC to buy a packet of rice. She said she wanted to pay her tithe with rice. "Ikut sunnah Nabi" she said. I obliged but kept my comments to myself.
When we got to the mosque, her action caught MUIS rep by surprise. I don't blame him and tried calling MUIS to see if they would accept the packet of rice. No one responded to the call.

Back in the car, I asked her why she did what she did. She told me Ustaz F informed everyone during class, its good to follow sunnah Nabi - yep, I agree, good to ikut sunnah Nabi. However, there must be a damn good reason for MUIS to establish the current system right? Imagine all the other neneks in her class carrying packets and packets of rice to the mosque to pay their tithe and they receive the same treatment as my mom? Tulang dah kerepot, kaki dah lemah, angkat beras berat only to be informed the mosque tak boleh terima their fitrah. Tak kesian tu?

Are Singaporeans Insensitive?

Last Thursday I was in Jakarta and a colleague who was traveling with me is a non-Muslim. It was lunch time and our partner brought her food and invited her to one of the meeting rooms to eat. I was with the mbak U'ut and she told me that in most restuarants and foodcourt, non-Muslims can only eat in designated area... separated by a curtain. I asked her if her non-muslim colleagues would drink or eat in front of the Muslims and she said not at all.

I was impressed.

Several years ago when I was in Manila during Ramadan, I asked to be exused for 5mins during a meeting to break my fast ( it was about 430pm then). When one of my Filipino colleagues found out the reason why, she quickly ordered a hot cup of coffee for me. That was very thoughtful of her.

In Singapore, first day of Ramadan coincide with the mid-Autumn festival. I received boxes and boxes of mooncakes which I give away to my colleagues to eat. Interestingly, between mouthfuls of snowskin jackfruit mooncakes, one colleague exclaimed and said, "Alamak, Zan Puasa lah...sorry sorry " but he never stopped eating and the rest didn't either. While I don't mind people eating in front of me, i thought when someone exclaimed something like that, they would be sensitive enough to quickly stop eating right. Well, I was wrong.

So are Singaporeans insensitive?

Thank goodness not. One of my colleagues was eating an apple when she came by my desk. She remembered I was fasting and quickly hid the apple behind her back, got the info she wanted and quickly walked away.

Sept 11

I was at the ariport on Sept 11 to go to Jakarta. It was pretty quiet and the plane was not even full. It was unusual for a 750am flight to not be full. I decided not to mention anything until my colleague passed a comment. We both looked at each other, that knowing look and decided to quickly leave the airport.

A day earlier, I realized the date and voiced my concern to a girlfriend. She told me not to worry - because the terrorists are Muslims and they will not have the energy to strategize or hijack a plane. Yes, I laughed along with it but was still worried.

Alhmadullilah. I had a safe trip and came home at 11-ish feeling very hungry.

Project E2 + 1

When my boss proposed Project E2 + 1 to a few of us, he came prepared and even showed us the roadmap to get there. Despite telling him that the monetary perks will not appeal to the team, he refused to listen but told us to think about it. In my mind, there is nothing to think about, it's a done deal and true enough a few weeks later, he proposed the idea to the team. They were quiet, some were unhappy but no one wanted to tell him there and then their grouses. We went ahead and 6 weeks into this project, we have a long way to go.

I honestly don't think we can achieve this Project E2+1. There are certain portions on the roadmap that we can achieve- no problem but looking at some other "external" contributors, I think that could dampen our drive there.

I have to admit, I am tired. I'm trying to sort a few things on my own with regard to work - basically bringing that passion back into what I do and marrying some demands that my boss has thrown at me. Mind you, it is a curve ball and I hope I can continue to swerve that ball and move it in the direction that can make me happy at the same time meet my boss's objectives.

Morning Person

A girlfriend told me once that she would find me very annoying in the morning.
Why? Because while most Singaporeans would still be sleeping, I would be singing and chirpy as a bird. I am a morning person but I don't make noise in the morning. I love the peace too much and I like the feeling of being in my own world. I can be mopping the floor, cooking or even having a conversation in my head - and I am completely fine with that.

Yes, she would find me annoying - especially for a non morning person. I would find her annoying too - why? Life is short - why start your day being grumpy? Breathe in the clean air, enjoy the peace, it does not matter what time of day it is. It's all in the mind.

Ya Ramadan

I was really angry when i left the office last evening. I've worked late many times but yesterday particularly I was determined to leave the office by 615pm -I wanted to be home with my hubby and family to breakfast together. Instead, I went into my usual routine ie. break fast in the car.

Looking back, I cannot recall when was the last time, on a weekday that I get to hear the azan and have a proper meal with my family. For the past 2 years, I have either break fast in the car, on the plane or in meetings in some foreign land. And the only thing I eat is one date and drink plain water. My boss would try to stay focus during the meeting and use my break fast reason to rush through a meeting but in the same breathe, he would leave me work to do that needs to be submitted in the next hour. Talk about being sensitive to other people's religion.

While I can blame work, I think I have myself to blame too. I never put my foot down and say no - no to my bosses for making me work late, no to my traveling plans. I didn't make enough effort to work around the break fast time and to Ramadan.

I missed those days when I would rush home, prepare a meal to break fast with hubby. I missed those days when I would go to the mosque with mom/hubby to perform my terawih. Today, I shall continue to pray - give me strength, patience and show me ways to get out of the current situation I am in.

As I look ahead, 030609.... there's no stopping me from pursuing what I intend to do.

Office Move

No, your memory does not fail you.
Yes, you have read about an office move on my blog before.
Yes, it is happening again - soon. Apparently in Oct but till today an office space has not been found.

I told a friend I send an email to our "Can We Talk" - an annonymous venue for staff to voice out. It's not annonymous because HR reads it and if they share that email to the management team, how can you call it annonymous. This is not the first time I wrote to them via this channel anyways.

My friend laughed at me when she heard what I told her what I emailed. I don't know what is so amusing but I laughed along with her. She was funny being funny and it worked. I guess the reason why she laughed is because in my email to "Can We Talk" I listed down the following:

- the 2 venues that I suggested - one has lots of European offices and one American offices

- how robust each venue is - this includes upcoming projects and buildings and known brand moving to that area

- the additional costs that staff has to inquire - not a good time because of rising inflation and prices

And of course the part where she laughed out loud:

- the distance from the office space to an MRT station - to be exact about 500m-800m

But they are all good and valid reasons. So all one can do now is wait.

03-06-09

If everything remains at ceteris paribus, then come this date things will change on my end.
I've been thinking about it over the weekend - think hard. Plus I was reading a book called "Tuesdays with Morris" and there are a few things that I read made a lot of sense. I begin to question everything that I do professionally and I asked myself whether I am being selfish. I know I have admitted it before - where professional life is concerned but I also do feel guilty at times. I have been lucky because both parents have been very supportive of me and hubby.

It does not help either when I went to my regular religious class last night, the same issue was raised and the emphasize of having a balance is repeated. I have heard it before, I know it is right but why am I still stuck doing the same thing?

I've decided, come 03-06-09 I have to make one final decision - may be painful and scary but I will have to. Till then, I shall save as much moolah as possible.

Wait For Me!

Lil Adli is picking up lots of words lately.

Every morning, I would carry him up the stairs to the carpark. Sometimes he could climb up the stairs on his own. His father would be waiting for him at the car.

One of the mornings, he wanted Abah to climb up the stairs with him. So he said "Abah... Wait Or me! (as in Wait for me!)"... and this morning he said "Wait or Me! m coming!"

It was so cute but I could not laugh... in case he decides to not say it again :)

An Arrogant Guai Lo

I was introduced to a Guai Lo recently. He works in this industry, a Creative person and based in Malaysia. He came across as someone who likes the attention and super talkative. I never like talkative guys to begin with but I decided to chat this guy up - who knows, we could one day use his expertise, contacts and services should we have some business opportunities in Malaysia. He joined us for lunch. And our conversations went like this - he was seated in front of me...

Guai Lo: Ah, I get these kind of dishes in Malaysia... (he said to everyone at the table)

Me: but this one here is the best. You can't get the same anywhere in Malaysia

Guai Lo: of course you can, it's all Malay food. same

Me: No, they are not the same. This is from Padang.

Guai Lo: Ah, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, they are all the same. Malay. (all these while, he spoke arrogantly)

I decided to end the conversation because I was very close to saying "Are you saying that all Europeans are the same too? Dutch, German, Swiss?" I figured, I would have created a tense moment then... the best is to ignore such ignorant Guai Los and enjoy my food.

Barongan

The gamilan music was playing nicely in the background.
The dishes were served - everything looked really yummy.
The dessert table looked amazing, there were so many different kinds of kuehs, I saw my favorite putri salad.... told myself to leave some space in my tummy for that later.
I had my nasi briani and dalca ready... was about to eat when I heard the hadra
I looked up and the first thing I saw was the barongan.

I never liked Barongan - the first time I went to see a Barongan when I was in Bali - like 10 years ago. I remembered that night, I could not sleep well - had disturbing dreams.

I did not bother finishing my briani and neither did I take my putri salad. Instead, I carried my little one away and stayed behind a wall... looking at the nicely spread dessert and soon after left the wedding ceremony.

7 signs of Aging

No. This is not Olay's ad. This is what I see and experience today...

1) it takes me more than a day to recuperate from any overseas work trips. Longer if I travel further

2) i've started using serum on my face and neck and anti wrinkle cream around my eyes

3) it takes me twice the effort to lose that 1kg, no matter how often i hit the gym and run around my housing estate

4) i go to bed on most nights at 10-ish and wake up every morning at 6am. I used to sleep post midnight and stay in bed till late

5) is that another white hair i see? Oh no!!!!

6) i'm attending "M" is back this August and I don't even know who's who... except for one group that's known for it's malfunction wardrobe

7) i write notes to remind myself what to do next - be it for work or home.

Gingko biloba... I need you!

System Overhaul

I had a 100mins long massage (or rather corrective massage) yesterday - 3/4 of the time, I was in pain and sounded like a hungry cow - my burps were really loud. The last time I had a massage was 5months ago and yesterday according to the Masseuse my veins are in knots and I have a lot of trapped wind in my body. I know because of late, no matter how much I ran and exercise, I continue to feel "heavy" (no not muscle) but today, I feel much much lighter and better.

Hubby called after my session and wanted to know how I felt. Told him exactly what happened... after asking if I am feeling much better, he said, "Wah, nampak je va va voom on the outside, on the inside, you need a major system overhaul!"

*sigh*

Okamoto - a Tyre Brand

I was thinking of bananas while on my away to meet my insurance agent. Why? Because the lil' one loves eating banana and last night at the petrol station he pointed to one and say "Mama, banana".

That's when I saw Okamoto Condom Ad... a Banana with the French Cap on.
Apparently the #1 selling condom in Japan and the world's largest manufacturer of latex condom in the world.

Why on earth use a Banana for the ad? Can't they come up with a better idea? The marketing guy or lady must be damn lazy to come up with such an idea. Isn't there a better idea for a condom ad? Is the ad also implying that men's ahem is like banana - ripe and yummy but it rots after a few days??