我好像肥了。。。

不久前碰见了一个旧同事，她笑着对我说的第一句话是：“你好像胖了，是不是‘有’了？”

我当然知道她是没恶意的。况且，我以婚，这也不是一个不合逻辑的问题。但是，我毕竟是没怀孕嘛。。。那发福的原因也之有1个咯。。。

我是只没有纪律的大肥猪。 Sigh... :(

From THIS...

overview, originally uploaded by AuRoRiN & MoOoK.

How the flat look just after we hack the walls/floor, before doing anything else.

...to THIS!

overview 4, originally uploaded by AuRoRiN & MoOoK.

Finally the flat is more or less done and Wilk and I are both quite please with the result which looked quite industrial, modern and gallery-like. Of course there are always things to tweak and we are still hounding our designer & contractor to fix certain things such as the concrete floor.

Again, quite sure that our family and friends may think us odd in how our 'love nest' ended up looking but I am sure those who know us wouldn't be that surprise by our choices or taste.

Ah... as for housewarming.. that will have to wait till we settle more stuff!

Weekend

An enjoyable weekend because on saturday i went to KTV with LS (my Mayday Kaki) & a new colleague of mine who is from Hong Kong. The best thing about going to KTV with new people is that you will get to listen to new songs and new singers because we usually tend to request/stick to the same few we know well. So on saturday, i heard joey yung for the first time, as well as other cantonese songs from different HK singers. Very cool. And we also get to hear how REAL cantonese ought to be pronounced! It was also fantastic that this new colleague of mine (let's call her Ani) also likes MacDull, another of LS and my favorite. *grins* In return, we rocked to Mayday's songs for Ani's amusement and exposed her to Hokkien songs (again, courtesy from Mayday).

After which, i went window shopping with SO at suntec for a bit. Initially i was feeling slightly grouchy because there were tons of people and i hate crowds but SO was very sweet that day and soon cajoled me into better humor. While looking for a place to eat, we passed by a mobile phone shop and there, i found the phone i was looking for, the LG Chocolate 3G. Frankly before the moment of setting my eyes on the phone, i did not know exactly what i was looking for even though i had been searching for a suitable phone to upgrade for more than a year. I was toying between the Samsung e900 and Sony Erission W850i for a while but neither appealed to me look wise.

When it comes to such gadgets like HP and MP3 players etc, i am really really superficial and to a certain degree demanding. It is not like the specs isn't important (well the more function, the merrier) but i'd admit that aesthetics is the key factor for me. To me, a phone has to look sleek, feels thin and works stylishly. If a phone has multitude of functions and capabilities but comes in a bulky and chunky shell, it will be a no go for me. I can't remember the time when SO tried to turn my ear to one PDA phone to another like the O2 but frankly, it just didn't tickle my interest at all. At first glance the phone doesn't appeal? Forget it.

That's not to say that i am not looking for good function as well... the basic functions of course would be there, it is also essential to have the usual camera and video function (at least 2 megapix) and Bluetooth features as well. Since this is an 'upgrade' i am also looking for one that can play mp3, hence an expendable slot will be necessary. All that in a nice tight stylish package... shouldn't be tough to find right? Seems like everything i need is there for the LG Choc 3G. Totally love the look and touch pad (damn shiok, though there are people who also absolutely hates it). It's a slim and sleek slider (something i wanted to move on to after having a clam shell for a long time) which fits nicely into the back pocket of my jeans. A screen that's nice and big enough, with adequate camera function, Bluetooth and plays mp3/mp4/wma as well as video. Comes also with a microSD slot that can take up to 1G of storage. Heard that sound-wise, the LG isn't fantastic, unlike the w850i but i am no expert so i am not hard up on that. Also doesn't come with infrared function and is extremely fingerprint prone. Those i can live with too. So i am one happy kitty now. *PurrrrrRRrrr*

That's not the end of my happy weekend because we also got to watch Spiderman 3 on saturday night and went for a lovely japanese buffet at Honjin (Robinson Rd) on sunday night. They were having a 1 for 1 promotions for UOB visa card holders and serves free flow sashimi, tempura and various great japanese treats. The dessert was also fantastic. Despite it being Mother's Day and place was totally booked out, we managed to get seats at the counter without reservations because we went pretty early which was great because.. NO CROWDS! Hahaha.

Last but not least.. the happiest thing that happened over the weekend was that i found out one of my bestest girlfriend has great news for her hubby & family. *beams* Its probably better not to say more but i am jumping with excitement for her and her hubby. Now i'll just have to keep reminding her to take it easy and look forward to the next couple of months. :)

Moving on and moving up...

Finally met with the 'higher' powers and soon-to-be-ex-boss couple of days ago to confirm my new job title which would be announced at the staff meeting. Not sure how i feel about it but some of them looked relieved that i will take the job but STB ex-boss looks like she was eating "ku gua". So after all those half compliments, half insults innuendos, she really had no choice in the matter whatsoever since the other two big bosses basically patted my knee and told me that i'll have their full support. Let's just say that things didn't get get very pretty at that point with STB ex-boss who soon went into a lengthy discourse on leadership maturity (or lack of) and openness, while the rest of us nodded perplexedly away.

Not that it matters now... once i am 'there', i resolve to make the job mine. There are so many things to consider when taking on the job but at least i was upfront with with them about my plans to leave next year. I do think that its important to fulfill my responsibilities and do my best before that but already, i am feeling the pressure and stress at having to do something beyond what i would normally do, and watching my own rather frequent 'careless' comments much more carefully now.

Think that people viewed the announcement of my 'advancement' in a myriad of ways. Some with trepidation. Some were honestly happy for me. Some were wary and unsure. As usual, the PPGs gave their support and some even promised not to let me 'sink' into the pits. For that i am grateful. I only hope that this will not change me much and i could walk away one day with a clear conscience and head held high, knowing that i did my best with what i was given.

Sigh.

Rumbles and Grumbles

- start grouse-

Still amazes me how much things are involve in 'relocating'. Its never quite so simple as just packing and leaving. So much to consider. So much to plan and take care of. Things to do in the place that you are going and things to take care of in the place you left behind. Aside the logistics and practicalities, there is also the money to consider. Money to plan just in case you can't find a job. Money to put aside in view of emergencies. Money for daily necessities and money for all the little bits and pieces which one can always hope to have planned for but can never be sure. That is not even going into the whole emotional and mental preparation for such an undertaking.

Which is why I was mightily pissed off when someone keep telling me that for sure we would leave and yet sure as hell, i have no freaking clue where, when and how. Abit off-base the last few days because i seem to be constantly worked up by the SO. Wish it wasn't so but still it happens. Several things that ought to have been fought about and left behind, continually rear its ugly head and remains unforgotten. It bugs me because its not about the 'things' or 'events' per se but the 'way' situations (big and small) are dealt with. We could have forgiven each other on multitudes of mistakes but nothing changes on how we perceive and handle things, which makes any future issues a potentially difficult journey for both.

Simply put. We have different priorities. I plan more. He works on impulse more. I put brain above heart. He puts heart above brain. I want the best and would wait for it. He manages his expectations and make do with what he can get now. I am unrelentless and steadfast in opinions. He negotiates and always balance out my view with the exact opposite, for the sake of being fair. Of course, those are generalities which doesn't cover all the things we go through and how we act. There are things we do agree on but sometimes the differences irks me. Its hard to imagine how much love you can feel for one person yet at the same time, feel just as much as wanting to strangle them at the same time. I think the SO will be the only one who can empathize right now, strangely.

Since this is My Blog. I shall, alas, continue to have my Last Word.

There is nothing, NOTHING more irritating and absolutely frustrating than someone "giving" you a choice but then take the carpet right out from under you, the very minute you have happily made a choice. It is a weird and sick compulsion which till now, I do not understand. I do not comprehend how such a way of dealing with people can be "accidental" other than the fact that the person is just being unbelievably thoughtless and self-involved that they totally neglects and negates whatever it was that i have said. Either that, or the person is just plainly 'not thinking'. Its the same for the little things. It is the same for the big things. It's telling the whole world how much 'choice' i was given and appearing, in all sense of the word, magnanimous while i appear like a spolit brat. Yet, the real compromise seems to come out from me and the person who always said that they are compromising, ended up with what they wanted in the first place. More than once, i did a 'double-take' and felt rightly 'swindled' somehow but then, the intention was never to trick me.

That's the joke of it all. It was all Unintentional. I can frown and be upset but then, its always been one thing leading to another. So now i end up with the 'bad rep' for being difficult, you come out smelling like roses... yet i am not sure what exactly it was that i 'got' and it appears more like your basket is full. I am perplexed and irritable but not to a point where i want to make a nasty big fight of it (other than when i start to ramble and talk). As these things usually goes and as my life has a perchant to do these days, i am unfortunately 'stuck' again.


ahhhh.....

-end grouse-

Finall...

Got a call from Angela to let us know she is safe and sound in Perth, and still looking for a place to stay. Turns out its not so easy finding rental that fits all the requirement and allows for pets but i think she sounded very hopeful that something will be confirmed by saturday. So fingers crossed. Asked angela if she missed us, the powerpuff girls, and fed her gossips of school... Also told her lunch seems quite empty without her, and her 'seat' is usually the one left vacant till the last cos' for some reason, that's always been Angela's chair. I think she is still trying to get use to not working with us but being quite the "I" person, she keeps everything quite nicely inside her. So nope, no great declaration or sob-sob tale of how much she misses all of us but then we all know la.. that's Angela. :D

Dis-Closure

Had a disclosure or closure, of sorts with my boss last week when she finally sat down with me to talk about her impending departure, as well as to clarify some of the comments i had made previously in our dept meeting regarding lack of choice in doing some of the work. Found out that she actually knew about leaving at the end of last year but as she explained it, i could also see why she would not be able to share or tell us about it due to her position as the HOD. Guess i am more or less not as worked up as before, and despite some slightly 'brain-less' comments, she did give quite a lot of reasonably good advice on taking a more senior position and what the work will entail. So for that, i am grateful because it did helped to clarify some issues of which i had some doubts in.

Of course, she does have an agenda for suddenly wanting me to take the job and also nudging me to make certain stand in what she believes in. I also had to play my part in allaying her fears regarding those issues and bide my time before showing my stance. A little of a mind-game to be played but then, it is just being prudent not to show some people what my views are at this moment especially when everyone is suddenly clamoring to be your friend and singing your praises. I still think its mightily insulting that people do not think that you can have your own mind and stand firm to your own principles but i do not see why i need to prove anything at this point. Once i am in that position, i will make that position my own. The rest of them... well, they could think what they want at this moment. Hopefully, they wouldn't be in such a big surprise when i get on the job.

As for my soon-to-be-ex-boss, it is really out of her hand how i want to play the game once she is gone, and most certainly, it would not be just blindly following where she thinks i ought to go (i.e. such as being in line with her appointed 'next-in-command'). I think the 'next-in-command' has anticipated that i might be my own free agent especially when it comes to propagated their agenda, hence all these calls regarding 'unity' and 'speaking in same voice' before a big meeting (of which my boss was been rather callously left out of). Next half of year should be interesting...