Walking Down Memory Lane

I’m bored. Quitting time couldn’t be here soon enough.

Yana asked if I wanted to join her for a quick lunch and I immediately agreed. At this rate, I will take up any offer including (bungee) jumping off the building. That’s how bored I am right now.

Here’s a recap of what happened last week.

What happened last Monday May 26th:

Story 1
Initially wanted to haul my laptop to the office but changed my mind minutes before I leave the house. When I got to the office, a colleague informed that my boss was on emergency leave. Darn. I should have brought the machine. At the very least, I could keep myself entertained with Burger Shop or Pet Salon.


Story 2
I forgot that BCA people have moved to the building across the street and there were just 3 of us left in the office. It’s so quiet. And empty. Sigh.

The empty office

Story 3
Got a message from a colleague - my boss asked me to move his stuff into one of the vacant room. I did as I was told but got stopped by the Dutchman’s staff, saying that they have reserved the particular room.

Called Property department and asked if I am allowed to carry on with the move. Got the green light to continue shifting my boss’ stuff into the room and relayed the news to the Dutchman’s staff. I saw her frantically making calls – probably to her boss. Got a bad feeling but continued on with the move anyways.

As soon as I have moved the last bit of the lot, I got a call from the Dutchman himself – trashing me with questions and accusations. I had to endure almost 10 minutes of his yakking. My ear almost fell from my head. Or melted. Or go deaf.

The property manager called and asked more questions. She asked that I remove all of the stuff from the room. What the *&^%??

Seriously. I am not paid well enough for all these. Especially the bickering and becoming the middle person for their endless war.

So I moved everything back to where they came from and refused to entertain the charade (for the day –sigh-).

The stuff I moved in and out of the room. Including the freakin' heavy white board.

Story 4
Yana called to inform that she has received the gift basket plus a basket of free muffins for us. Yey!

The free muffins. Yum!

The yey was short-lived when we tasted the coconut crush muffin. The coconut shaves tasted funny. Yuck. The coffee muffins were yummylicious - that pretty much even things out.

The gift basket is here but the birthday boy is not.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DOL!
Come back soon or we will eat the muffins. Hehehe.

What happened last Tuesday May 27th:

Took the day off to chauffer the kids around. The girls were in KL for a few days – their mum had a 3 days course to attend.

A few colleagues and I have arranged for lunch with Dol and embarrass him with loud singing of the birthday song. Hauled the kids to get a cake for the occasion and headed to MacDonald’s for brunch.

We then joined Dol, Fah and a few colleagues for lunch to celebrate Dol’s birthday. Lucky for him, no singing were involved. He was surprised to see me there, I could tell. Heheh. Cool.

Lunch at Bangkok Expresso.

After lunch, we headed to the cinema for a movie. It was 2.30pm when we reached the ticket counter and the only movie worth watching for the kids was Narnia – it’s scheduled to start at 2.30pm! Bought the tickets and ushered the kids into the movie hall. We fumbled for the seats and that was when I realized that we were 1 ticket short.

Lucky for us, there were not that many people in the theatre and the seats in front of us were empty. I wanted to get another ticket but couldn’t push the door open from inside the theatre. I kept praying that nobody will buy the seats in front of us or else, I will need to have adik sit on my lap. I made a mental note to pay the extra seat that we occupy, when the movie’s over.

It started to rain when we got out of the theatre. The kids agreed that we should leave straight away to avoid bad traffic. We made the right choice because by the time we reached home, it rained heavily. As I was letting the kids into the house, I realized that I have not paid for the extra seat like I planned to. Oh well. I’ll do that the next time I catch a movie there. Hehe.

Waited for Deli to get home before eating out for dinner at San Francisco Pizza. We were having so much fun that we didn’t mind missing Sindarella, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives and Vice Versa on tv. Good food and good company – what’s there to miss?

What happened last Wednesday May 28th:

The kids wanted to stay home and keep themselves busy with PS2 and other games. I didn’t deny them the request because it meant that I could catch up on my reading as well. Heheh.

By the way, I have tossed Darren Shan’s book aside. I couldn’t bring myself to read beyond chapter 3. It didn’t catch my attention nor interest.

I managed to get A Thousand Splendid Suns and finished reading it in a couple of days. Now this is an interesting book. I still think The Kite Runner is better though. I hope Khaled Hosseini will write more books. I like the way he writes and how he describes everything. My mind would wander to create the surroundings that were described and I felt like I’m a character in the story. A character that observes the story being told.

Anyways. All of us went out for lunch and a bit (such an understatement!) of shopping at Alpha Angle. Along dropped me off at my place and hauled the kids to Tok Mak’s. We said our goodbyes and I saw my son, teary-eyed, trying his best to control his emotions and took his place as the co-pilot. He was after all, the only male in the car. We hugged for a bit. I could feel his arms around me. Strong and tight. I wish we didn’t have to let go.

When he buckled his seat belt, I saw him holding Leo (his stuffed lion) to his eyes to wipe off the tears and reached for the door handle. He didn’t cry. He closed the door and waved goodbye. I let him go with a heavy heart. I was proud at the same time. It was amazing that he managed to contain his emotions. I almost shed tears myself. It was not his first time being away but to me, each time felt like a first. He is still a baby in my heart.


What happened last Thursday May 29th:

I had to work on Thursday, much to my dismay.

I saw an internal job posting in the staff portal and sent an email to the hiring manager – whom I have known for quite a while.

I teasingly asked if I am eligible for the vacancy. The email communication went on from a simple question to discussions about the vacancy. I have not made up my mind about applying. I know for a fact that the position will lead to his chair in 2010.

Then, there was an email from my boss with some shocking news. The change in reporting structure – he is now reporting to the COO. We all know that they’re not on the same page about almost everything. Our portfolio has yet to be decided and God knows if we are needed at all. Our future in the company looks pretty much dim. Gloomy. Depressing.

The new shoes were not so kind to my poor feet either - just to add to my misery.

What happened last Friday May 30th:

Had a quick chat (a lengthy email prior to this) with my boss and to cut the story short, he is willing to let me go because he couldn’t guarantee that we’re needed in the division after this.

My boss and the hiring manager had a talk. My boss requested for a few things, the hiring manager agreed (pending approval from his boss) and we’re good to go. Paperwork will need to be done next week.

Meanwhile, please pray that everything will work out fine. Amin.


What happened last Saturday May 31st:

Attended a wedding and headed to Alpha Angle before making our way to BP to Tok Mak’s.

Deli decided that he should listen to his colleague and be a bit fashionable. Apparently, it means getting a new pair of shoes – the kind where it’s narrow at the tip. I told him that I think he looks gay wearing it. I had this perception about that sort of shoes. I won’t stop him from buying the shoes. He can buy and wear whatever he wants. He just needs to stand the pointing and teasing from me. Hahah.

Shoes - checked, now shirt.

We were looking for one that he could wear to formal functions and decided to stop by EIC. The mockery continued when Deli tried on a see-through shirt. A black, see-through shirt. How gay can you be? Hahahah.

Honey, please tell your friend that if he wants to be gay, by all means, go ahead. Just don’t influence the rest of the office!

I had fun laughing with and at Deli. It has been a while since we last had a date – just the 2 of us. The kids are a blessing no doubt, but I guess we still need some alone time to keep a healthy relationship. Once a while, it’s nice to have the house to ourselves and not worry when to pick the kids from school or the nursery. Or wonder if the baby sitter takes a good care of the kids, whom we know can be quite a handful to handle at times.

Let’s see if I can talk Deli into going for a trip for 2. Heheh.

Oh, the trip to BP took 4 hours! The congestion started at Nilai Memorial Park, all the way to Nilai exit. A lorry was on fire. The fume of burnt rubber lingered on till Seremban. Urgh!

We reached Tok Mak’s at 10pm to find our dear daughter eating dinner – rice and tom yam soup, accompanied by her Tok Ayah. Cute!

What happened last Sunday, June 1st:

Attended a wedding at BP. A pretty joyous one, if I might add. The food was decent - the kids had more than 2 helpings each of the corn soup. There was a zapin group, complete with mucisians and singers to entertain the guests. We stayed for a bit before moving on to Atok's place where the 'real' party was. Uncles and aunts shook hands, shared stories and teased each other, often unleashing laughters and kids played freely with minimum supervison.

Dafi - Tok Non's cat.

The zapin entourage.