Here’s what I do every weekday, since I started work…

Mornings :
- Drag myself out of bed between 6:00 - 6:30am
- Wash-up
- Feed cats; change water supply when necessary
- Take my daily fill of friendly bacteria (need to have this in me for at least 1/2 hour before I eat)
- Start laundry, when applicable
- Sweep the floor with one of those brooms with fabric so the unwanted stuff sticks to it; wash fabric when done
- Clean litter pans
- Make breakfast and eat (breakfast varies)
- Wake Hubs up to take his fill of friendly bacteria; he goes back to sleep after
- Hang up laundry, when applicable
- Give cats their daily supplements
- Toilet ritual and shower
- Get dressed for work
- Take vit C out and place in front of Hubs so he’ll remember to take it (he would be up by this time and having his breakfast)
- Leave for work between 8:00 - 8:15am

Evenings :
- So far, this week I have been leaving work before 7pm. May vary depending on amount of work.
- First 2 days, I got home before 8pm - took me about 45 minutes. Yesterday, it took me an hour to get home due to the traffic jam caused by evening rain. So, duration to get home from work will vary depending on weather and traffic condition.
- Start rice cooker
- Vacuum floor
- Prepare the ingredients that I need for dinner, if I am cooking (I cooked this Monday and Tuesday. Was planning to cook on Wednesday but because I got stuck in the jam and it got late, we ate out).
- Wash up, if I don’t cook
- Clean litter pans
- Mop floor on Tuesdays and Thursdays
- Bring in laundry, when applicable
- Go swimming on Tuesdays and Thursdays
- Shower
- Load the washing machine to save time the next morning (so I can just start the machine)
- Chill out before hitting the bed around 12am
- Begin the cycle again the next day

As it is, my weekday is already filled to the brim. Add another component in there and I wouldn’t know where to fit it in.

Am still trying to locate the shop that I’d passed by, selling air purifiers. Still on my quest to get a really good one, to try to help with the Hubs sinuses.

Another reason to detest pale floor tiles — everything that gets on it is so visible e.g. dust, cat fur, tiny bits of paper from Misty’s scratching board.

Ah well, adjustments are inevitable. Have resorted to vacuuming daily in the mornings. But I’d have to do it at night when I start work else the neighbors might send me a love letter in my mailbox (happened to someone else for another noise problem). Hah, with the construction going on and the 2 competing mosques nearby, we have no lack of noise pollution anyway.

On to my quest for the perfect air purifier…

I wonder what brings on a migraine coz a splitting headache is what I’ve got right now.

And I am appalled at some people’s complete lack of communication skills. Gawd!

Ow.

I think I finally found out how I got the blister on my finger.

Ironing!

Bah.

The only reason why I’m not looking forward to going back to work is that I won’t be home to watch Nessa in case the reduction of her meds cause her seizures to recur. According to the vet, it will take about 2 weeks for the meds to stabilize in her system so it might not take effect immediately. This means that the most likely time it might recur is when I’m back at work. Sigh. Am so praying for the best because it would be so difficult to see her go thru the horrifying episode again.

Doesn’t help that now I don’t have my parents around for moral (and sometimes, physical) support.

Sigh.

Got.to.be.strong.to.handle.this.on.my.own.

Now I know how it might feel like if I were to have a kid and had to leave him/her to go back to work. But that situation would be different in that there would be people (read : family) who would be clamoring to volunteer to watch the kid.

When I’m in a plane, I am very sensitive to the engine sounds. I can pick up every tiny bit of change in the engine by its sound and, I am embarrassed to admit, I sometimes get a bit worried because changes in the engine could mean different things — some of it normal engine activity or other unexpected things (of which I would rather not think about).

In a similar way, I can also detect changes in the way people behave/react around me. I can pinpoint changes in voice tones and even the subtlest change in behavior towards me. But that’s about the extent of my ’skill’. I can tell when there is something different, but I don’t know what is the cause of it. If I am close to the person in question, I would ask directly what is wrong. But if it’s just an acquaintance, I would ignore it and pretend I didn’t notice.

This is the part where it becomes frustrating. Normally, most people would appreciate it when you ask them what is wrong because they sometimes don’t know how to bring up the issue. Which is good, because I’m the type of person who prefers to resolve issues right away instead of letting them dwell and fester in one’s system, which isn’t healthy, in my opinion.

But then there are other people who will deny that there is anything wrong but I know something is wrong because it is so blatantly obvious (t0 me) from the way they act. They think they can hide it and deny it, but I can tell. And I think it is unfair to me, that if you have an issue with me and you don’t tell me about it, I can’t address the issue and resolve it. IF it is some wrongdoing on my part.

But then again, if someone wants to try to hide something from me, I guess they are safe.

I am not a mind reader. I can’t go into one’s mind and magically find out what is wrong. Thus, if anyone were to have an issue with me, I would appreciate it if they would just let me know.

Is this an unreasonable expectation?

~~~~~

I don’t know if it’s due to my work experience or such, but when someone asks me a question and I don’t know the answer, I will  try to give them options in order to find the answer.

Example scenario :
Other person : Hey, do you know where I can get XYZ?
Me : Hmm… I’m not sure but you can try Mall A at Store B or C. I think they might have it there.

See, I won’t just say “I don’t know” and leave it like that. Of course, I won’t have the answers or options in every single situation but most of the time, I can give some options.

Maybe it’s from work. Since the beginning, I’ve been trained never to just claim ignorance without giving options/alternatives because it is a negative reflection on one’s attitude and initiative. So I would never go to my bosses with a problem, without first having a list of possible solutions. At least then they would see that I have thought about the problem and all they need to do is guide me in the correct direction to come to the most viable solution.

Similarly, I work the same way in my personal life i.e. refer to scenario above. And if I don’t know the answer/option but I think I may know someone who knows or I can do a bit of work to find out, I will offer to do so and get back to the person. Likewise, I also expect others to do the same. Of course, I don’t expect everyone to have the answers all the time but we all have different experiences and know different things, so I’m quite certain that the next person will know something I don’t but may want to know one day.

People who just respond with “I don’t know” show me a lack of initiative and effort.

Is this an unreasonable expectation?

Contrary to what family and friends might think, although I am currently unemployed (by choice), I have not been sitting at home and vegetating in front of the idiot box or sleeping my days and nights away.

I have been surprisingly occupied with various tasks and activities since I quit my job, besides planning and executing the Big Day.

Let’s see what I’ve been doing since the Hubs returned to work after his short leave for the Big Day. In no particular order :

• Vacuuming every other day because I keep the windows and door open so that air will circulate around the place but unfortunately, it also brings in dust from the construction around us.
• Doing laundry every few days. We have surprisingly a lot of laundry even though it’s just two of us *scratches head*
• Ironing, which I detest but still have to do. I especially detest ironing 100% pure cotton shirts because as soon as I am done ironing one section and move on to the next, the previous section gets crumpled again. Whoever invented non-wrinkle shirts is a genius.
• For the past week, been going back to my parents’ home daily so that I can give Nessa her supplements in the morning/day. Started her on her supplements program in order to slowly reduce her pheno dosage. Since the parents are giving her the pheno at night, I thought I should share the responsibility of giving her her supplements in the morning. Can’t wait till the mossie screens are in and I can move her here so that I can supervise her more closely. Hope the supplements work so that she can eventually get off the pheno.
• Preparing ingredients for dinner and attempting to cook a few dishes.
• Meeting the Hubs for lunch since food around his workplace is quite limited.
• Organizing the closets and drawers for his stuff and my stuff. We have waaaaaayyy a lot of clothes (and other junk) for two people.
• Getting misc household items and running misc errands.
• Helped out a couple of days at dad’s office.
• Went for an interview.
• Met a friend for lunch.
• Met a friend for a movie.
• Edited pics from the Big Day and uploading into FB.
• Started sending out my personalized e-Thank You cards.
• Watched 4 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy.
• …and more which I can’t recall.

Tomorrow’s agenda :

• Mop floor + clean bathrooms/toilets
• Do laundry
• Go to the vet’s to get Patchy’s special food and refill Nessa’s supply of pheno
• Meet friends for movie
• Meet Hubs + friends for dinner

Phew!

After my hen’s night party, Jo was driving me and Gkay home. There was a police roadblock along Jalan Tun Sambanthan (I think that’s the road name), before the YMCA, heading to Brickfields.

For some reason, our car got stopped and Cop #1 comes up to Jo and asks for our identity cards. We gave it to him. We ask Cop #1 why are we stopped and what is the purpose of the check but Cop #1 ignores us. Cop #1 looks at our MyKads and gives mine and Gkay’s back to us but keeps Jo’s and goes to hand Jo’s MyKad to Cop#2. Cop #2 starts taking down Jo’s details from her MyKad. At that point, I ask Jo and Gkay “Wait a minute, why is he taking down your details? I’m gonna ask them when they return your card.”

So when Cop #2 came back to return Jo’s card, we started asking him “Encik nak check apa? Kenapa kereta lain tak dihentikan?” (few cars were allowed to pass without being stopped). Cop #2 says “Jangan risau, kita lakukan check secara rambang saja.” Jo asks “Tapi check apa?” And the moron repeats the same thing! And then he asks for mine and Gkay’s MyKads again! We were grumbling as we handed it over “Tadi polis tu dah check dah, kenapa kena check lagi” and Jo sarcastically remarks “Oh, nak check tengok kita warganegara ke tak, ya? And the moron of a cop still can’t answer what was the EXACT reason for the roadblock except that it was a random check and they are doing it for the sake of the citizens. Oh.my.effing.gawd!

You know, I wouldn’t have minded being stopped if the cops are able to articulate clearly their reason for stopping us and taking down our details. Saying it’s a random check is NOT good enough. Random check for what?

Can someone tell me if I have the right to refuse to hand over my identity card if they can’t tell me exactly what they are checking for? Heck, the information on my identity card is confidential! I don’t care if you are a cop! With all the corruption going on, what’s to stop them from using my details to commit fraud or something?

This country is seriously going down the drain. Sheeesh.

My mom forwarded this to me. It’s very funny, lol!

I suppose everyone of you must have boarded a plane before. Ever encounter any proud and arrogant joker like some sort of “Datuk” or “Tan Sri” shouting at the top of his voice at the check-in counter? Read this one. Very interesting……..especially the last bit ……
THIS SHOULD APPLY TO EVERY AIRLINE DESK ANYWHERE IN MALAYSIA - WHERE EVERYONE HAS SEEN THE “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM” ASSHOLEs everywhere: airports, restaurants, traffic lights……

An award should go to the desk attendant in Sydney some months ago for being smart and funny, while making her point, when confronted with a passenger who probably deserved to fly as cargo.

A crowded Virgin flight was cancelled after Virgin’s 767s had been withdrawn from service. A single attendant was rebooking a long line of inconvenienced travellers. Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the counter and said, ‘I HAVE to be on this flight and it HAS to be FIRST CLASS’. The attendant replied, ‘I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be happy to try to help you, but I’ve got to help these people first, and I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.’

The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear, ‘DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?’ Without hesitating, the attendant smiled and grabbed her public address microphone: ‘May I have your attention please, may I have your attention please,’ she began - her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal.

‘We have a passenger here at Desk 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to Desk 14.’ With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man glared at the Virgin attendant, gritted his teeth and said, ‘F.. You!’ Without flinching, she smiled and said, (I love this bit) ‘I’m sorry, sir, but you’ll have to get in line for that too.

LOL!

So yesterday, I was involved in a minor fender bender.

I was trying to back my car into a parking lot at Two Square when this Myvi showed up on my left hand side and I didn’t see him so I scraped his driver’s side door. Frankly, after thinking about it, I don’t know whose fault it was but at that point, I claimed responsibility. Here’s the damage to his car :

So ok, I said I will check my mechanic and see how much it costs to fix. While doing so, he called and said he went to the Perodua workshop and they quoted him RM750 to fix. I was like “What?!” No way! (Note :  Any moron would know that if you go to the car maker’s workshop, they would charge you an arm and a leg). So I said I’ll check with my mechanic first. So went to check with 2 different mechanics, the lowest quote was RM250, including spray painting the entire door. This mechanic can fix it in a day. And he is a friend’s mechanic in Damansara Utama, not some capalang mechanic in gawd-knows-where.

So I called the fella (I’ll call him Moron. You’ll see why later.) and told him, my mechanic can do it in a day for less than RM300. THEN he started hemming and hawing… “I need to go to work. How am I going to go to work if my car is in the workshop… I want to check with my mechanic first because your mechanic might not be up to my standard.”

At this point, I was starting to get annoyed coz hallo?! First of all, shit happens so just deal with it! Even if you send your stupid car to Perodua, you still have to get to work, right? Get a cab or something! You call yourself a man?! Can’t even take public transport on your own, issit? Some more, you are 34 freaking years old! (We took down each other’s MyKad details). Secondly, I have done the work by looking around different mechanics to get different quotes. My mechanic said he’ll spray paint your freaking door! You want to change a whole entire new door, issit?! For such a small thing?? Thirdly, you are driving a Myvi, not a Porshe. What standard are you looking at?!

So anyway, he said he will check with his friend and get back to me. Later in the evening, he sms-ed and gave me a proposal : RM400 to close the whole thing. I sms-ed back : Thank you for your reply. I have checked with several mechanics and the prices they quoted was maximum RM300, some even lower. So that is the actual cost of your repair. I am willing to offer you RM350, final offer to close this. He replied “Ok, let’s do this the official way then.”

So that’s how I spent half a day today, running around making the police report. Actually, I don’t mind the reporting because what I can’t stand is the guy trying to fleece me off for more money than the repair is worth. THAT I cannot stand. So never mind, a bit of hassle for me is ok. If this Moron thinks I will get scared and just give him the money to settle it, he can bloody well think again. Now, it’s not the matter of money; it’s about principles. I already offered him 100 bucks more than what his repair is worth. If he is truly honest, then he would have accepted it. But since he wants to be unscrupulous, he can go deal with the insurance.

I really hope the insurance people give him a difficult time trying to make a claim for this tiny damage.

Note : The cops didn’t issue me a summons because the accident occurred within a building, not public area. Whee! When the cop was examining my car to take a photo of the damage to my car, he said “It saja ke? Orang tu mahu report?” (No damage to my car, just a scratch on the bumper coz I was backing in quite slowly when it happened). I was half expecting him to start laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.