Klutz

I am such a klutz today!

Not that I'm normally any better, but boy I'm just out of control today!

Before we get into the story of me being a total klutz, I'd like to briefly mention that I just witnessed another episode of shocking buying power of the Chinese today, and man was it brutal!

Bee and I attended the auction of a property that we quite liked but weren't planned on bidding. The location of the house was fantastic, but the layout, eh, not so much.

Still, we were curious (read: nosy) about how much the auction would fetch.

We arrived at the auction late, and it was only down to 3 bidders. All Asian! @@

And of course, in the end, the house went to a young Chinese family, hence the title of this sidetrack story - The Brutal Buying Power of Chinese in Australian Real Estate. :|

Anyhoo, Bee and I went to Westfield for lunch and did a little shopping at David Jones.

He wanted a jacket, but didn't find anything he likes even though I thought one of them looked smashingly trendy on him. Men can be so hard to please at times huh? *Shrugs*

I really liked this body balm by Aesop that has a very refreshing citrusy scent to it, but decided against it because one of my new year resolution is to stop buying beauty products because I never use them!

Knowing me, I'll probably go back there next week and buy it anyway, but hey, at least I refrained today huh?

We did our weekend grocery shopping in Box Hill while waiting for one of the real estate agents to call us back (which he never did, by the way *Rolls eyes*).

But we stocked up on lots and lots of Asian snacks and cookies, so I'm happy. *Grins*

When we got home, Bee and I were struggling to get all the shopping bags out of the car when I accidentally dropped one of them, and a bottle of light soy sauce in the bag broke.

The whole glass bottle just shattered into pieces, and there was soy sauce everywhere!

Bee and I managed to clean up most of the broken glass pieces, but not the pool of soy sauce on the floor. So you if find a large patch of dried up soy sauce in the car park tomorrow morning, you probably live in my building!

When we got back to the house and tried to unpack the groceries, I just couldn't stop dropping things. One after another! I swear, I wasn't doing it on purpose. It was almost like, once you pop, you can't stop!

It's either my "klutz button" has been triggered, or I was still traumatised by the light soy sauce incident. *Shrugs*

And when I was trying to pretend to be a domesticated wife by cooking a simple dinner for my husband, there was just stuff flying everywhere in the kitchen and landing on the floor. I cut my finger too while chopping up some vegies. :(

Oh I sure hope that this klutz-phase goes away soon, 'cause I'm sick of feeling so clumsy!

Back to cooking (read: dropping things) I shall.

Wish me luck, people!

Testosterone

Today, I bailed on Bee on our usual Saturday routine - house hunting.

For some weird reason, I was feeling so weak and tired this morning that I couldn't even get outta bed.

It's either that I've re-caught the virus that's been going around and making everyone sick, or it's because of the new sleeping tablets I'm trying out. My guess is the latter. :|

Oh well. *Shrugs*

On a normal day, Bee would have just obliged and slept in with me if I wasn't up for it.

But today, the man was feeling so unusually motivated that he actually decided to head out to the scheduled property inspections all by himself!

*Raises eyebrows*

To be honest, I was rather impressed.

Even though he normally goes to house inspections by himself on weekdays anyways, it was still pretty impressive that he could resist staying in the warm bed on such a cold weekend day to go out all by himself.

I know I wouldn't!

So after he left the house, I sneaked out of bed, made myself a big cup of tea, and sneaked back to bed with my favourite macadamia shortbreads.

I then spent the rest of the day with my current obsession - Brothers and Sisters.

I mean, a show with beautiful people, beautiful sceneries, beautiful clothes and beautiful homes. What's there not to love?

And like everything else that one truly enjoys, time just flew by as I went through episode after episode.

Until my husband stormed in with egg tarts and the word "ANGRY" spelled on his forehead in capital letters (which were mutually exclusive, by the way) , all red faced while huffing and puffing like a steam engine.

Apparently he got into a shouting match with another driver on the road because the bogan honked him when it was Bee's right of way and the moron's bitchy wife was really rude with her, um, hand gestures.

They were shouting at each other, racing plus cutting each other off all the way from Doncaster to Glen Waverley, for Christ's sakes!

And this is the reason why I should've known better before encouraging my hot-headed husband into getting a turbo charged car!!

(But oh do I love our new car! *Sighs*)

I could only thank God that it didn't escalated into a full blown road rage situation!

It's hard to imagine how an usually mild mannered man like Bee can sometimes be so short tempered on the road. It's almost like, spontaneous combustion!

I'm telling ya, there's a weird chemistry between men and driving.

And I call it testosterone.

Friday

I've always loved Fridays, even since my school days, but I think Friday is officially my favourite day of the week now.

First of all, it's my day off.

(And really, who doesn't like their days off work?)

Secondly, and more importantly, it's now the one day in a week that I feel entitled to allow myself to just stay at home and do absolutely nothing at all because, well, it's my day off.

By now, most of you should already know that my favourite thing to do is really to do nothing at all huh? Haha.

So Bee and I slept in till noon, had a late breakfast, then we just hung out and did some "coupley" things. You know, mostly just lazing around, cuddles and kisses and stuff.

It was another chilly winterly autumn day today. I think it was around 12-20°C?

As tempting as it was to just stay in our warm bed and order in, Bee and I decided to get dressed to go out for dinner instead. Afterall, it's Friday night!

I took him to this little Japanese restaurant that I used to frequent when I was in uni but haven't been since.

It's a really small and tiny place with unassuming exterior and modest decor, but I love the cozy ambiance.

The place is usually jam packed, especially on a Friday night. But even then, it never makes you feel as rushed and hurried like one of those busy Chinese restaurants, which I believe I whinged about one of them here.

Instead, it just feels, well, warm and homey.

The wait staff is ever so friendly and polite, and the food is still as good as I remembered them to be.

I had their 4-course dinner set, which I chose miso soup and California rolls as entrée, katsu chicken curry with rice as main, and green tea ice cream as desert.

Everything was impeccable for the price we paid. The katsu chicken curry and green tea ice cream were, dare I say, even better than what I've had at some of top notch Japanese restaurants like Nobu or Hanabishi on King Street.

Bee had teriyaki fish because he had cravings for fish. I didn't sample any of the fish because, personally, I hate teriyaki or any form of sweet soy sauce, but Bee quite enjoyed the dish.

What can I say? It was a superb dinner that didn't burn a hole in our pockets. We should definitely go back there more often from now on!

On the drive home, we decided to pop by to visit a colleague's dad who just had a minor surgery.

By the way, since we're on the topic, I'd just like to mention that I never really quite know what to bring along when visiting someone sick, apart from flowers and fruits. Any thoughts?

And you should know that I'm terrible at picking gifts for people, regardless of the occassions. I'm not kidding, I'm just really really bad at it.

So much so that I'm really starting to think that it's a stupid idea to give people gifts. People should just give each other money as presents so they can buy something they would actually like or need, no?

Just a thought.

Anyway, Bee and I simply picked out some fruits from a grocery store near their place since not many shops were open at that hour, and I'd think Asians (or I should say, older generations of Asians) don't really appreciate flowers that much. *Shrugs*

The friend's dad looked happy and healthy, nothing like a sick person, so we stayed and chatted for a little before calling it a night.

And now, Bee and I are back home, chilling.

(Okay, chilling is probably not the best choice of word since it's pretty cold tonight and our heater has been on the whole day. :p)

Him on his laptop reading news about geeky gadgets; me kicking back with a cup of tea and my favourite TV series.

Oh don't you just love Fridays?

Groggy

Back to work after the long weekend.

And it was a chilly rainy day too, which really wasn't much help in uplifting the mood. :|

I felt so groggy the whole day that I think I was sleep walking (and talking) the entire time. I could barely keep my eyes open!

Which was weird, because I actually slept pretty early and well last night. Oh well, must be the weather huh?

And the fact that we have to work! *Rolls eyes*

Good thing that the day actually went past pretty fast. Surprisingly.

We weren't even that busy, though somehow, the time just went by rather quickly today, so hey, I ain't complaining. *Grins*

Maybe it was because I wasn't as annoyed today.

Oh don't get me wrong, people were still annoying, there were just not as many of them today. *Knocks on wood*

Again, no complaints from me on that!

After work, Bee and I had Vietnamese pho for dinner, which as you know, I've been craving for since Sunday.

The big bowl of hot noodle soup with assorted beef slices and beef balls, lots of bean sprouts and a dash of lemon juice put me in such a jolly good mood that I was even up for a walk in the cold weather after dinner.

(Trust me, that doesn't happen very often on a work day!)

We stopped by a random Vietnamese grocery store to replenish my supply of instant noodles, and I accidentally stumbled across this macadamia crunch thingy that turned out to be really good! It's nutty and crunchy, yet without being overly sweet like so many other snacks.

Hmm, definitely gotta remind myself to go back and stock up!

But for now, with a warm and happy tummy, I better crawl into bed and have an early night.

Let this day end on a good note (because I can sense that an unwelcome guest, who obviously doesn't think of himself as a guest, in my living room is gonna annoy the crap outta me real soon), and let it be a less groggy day tomorrow.

Goodnight, peeps!

Anzac Weekend

Simply went by too quickly.

I had a 4-day weekend (well, nearly), and it just flew by before I could say "wee!".

Bee and I had initially planned to go to the zoo or have picnic in the park today, but were too lazy to go out after waking up late.

Instead, we stayed in and enjoyed a lazy day of doing absolutely nothing.

I played Farmville and watched some of my favourite sitcoms, while Bee played his geeky computer games and surfed ebay for more geeky gadgets; then we had a bucket of finger lickin' good fried chicken for late lunch.

Some of you would be proud to know that, in the afternoon, I managed to talk my husband into letting me give him an at-home facial (with exfoliation and hydrating masque and all, people!). Haha.

He's been spotting some tiny red bumps on the side of his face lately, and the man usually have clear skin that made me envy!

I'm planning on forcing him to the Kiehl's counter next weekend because I've heard some great things about their range of facial products for men. Though I can already sense that some kicking and screaming will be involved in that. :|

Anyhoo, it's back to work tomorrow.

*Long sighs*

Why can't everyday be a holiday?

Sunday

I had to work today.

Which was a real bummer since it's smacked right in the middle of the long weekend.

Though it was only a 4-hour shift, it still pretty much ruined any plans that Bee and I had about going away for a short (or at least, overnight) trip.

But it was my rostered Sunday to work and I couldn't swap out of it. Plus the conscience of the uptight bitch in me is too strong for me to wanna fake a sickie, so.....*shrugs* I guess I really can't blame anyone.

The weather had taken a funny twist and turned chilly again today, so all I wanted to do after work is to have a big bowl of piping hot Vietnamese pho with raw beef slices and lots of bean sprouts. Nothing beats a good ol' bowl of noodle soup on a cold day, man!

But no, even that didn't come through for me. *Rolls eyes*

Bee and I circled the block for 5 times, looking for a parking spot, before finally giving up and went home to have kimchi ramen instead.

And I just realised that I forgot to make reservation for our dinner at Nobu tonight, so there goes our fancy Sunday night dinner too. *Double rolls eyes*

Oh well, I guess I'll just go take a nap now with Bee and sulk about my uneventful long weekend later.

At least we have an extra day off tomorrow, so yay for that!

Happy Anzac Day, everyone!

Friends

I had heaps of fun hanging out with the girls last night.

We went out for dinner and drinks, before re-adjourning back to Bridget's place to talk and laugh into wee hours of the night.

That's the thing about childhood friends - no matter how far you are apart and how long you have lost touch, the familiar bond is never lost.

You might be leading different lives and playing different roles now, you might be living in different countries and in different stages of your lives, but it's is so easy, almost effortless dare I say, to reconnect with each other again.

And sometimes, it's almost scary when it feels as if they know you better than you know yourself, because they remember the person you once were before the harsh cold reality of life gets to you and gets you down.

For a brief moment, you remember those young and carefree days.

For a brief moment, you remember the person you once were and have forgotten all about.

For a brief moment, you remember that life can actually be as simple and as uncomplicated as how it used to be.

Old friends are like a favourite old coat, always comfortable, always warm, and always good to be reunited, especially when it's cold.

Argument

Barely a week into our so called "holiday" in KL, Bee and I already had our first argument yesterday.

Same ol' issue, caused by the same ol' people.

And now I remember why l decided to leave this place.

Woman

Today, I set out to fulfill some of our womanly duties.

A gynaecological routine checkup, followed by eyebrow shaping.

No, not by the same person, you moron. :|

I like my gynaecologist.

She is this really really sweet and nice lady, who doesn't make me feel the slightest bit uncomfortable or intimidated even under some potentially (very) embarrassing circumstances.

(You ladies would know what I'm talking about, right? And for those gentlemen who read my blog, yes all two of you, well, it's better if you don't.)

But I'm afraid I can't say the same about the beautician who groomed my eyebrows today though.

Out of convenience, I headed to Shu Uemura at Mid Valley, instead of the other outlet I normally go to at One Utama, only to discover that the level of service is a world apart!

I'm talking about both the attitude of and quality of service.

To avoid sounding like a bitch (more like I'm just lazy to go into details), let's just say that I'm definitely sticking to Shu Uemura @ One Utama from now on.

Shu Uemura has some serious work to do about their quality control when it comes to customer service, that's all I'm saying.

As a woman, there are certain things in life that we enjoy doing more than others.

But I gotta say that your day is gonna feel pretty weird when the gynaecological exam turned out to be more enjoyable than the beauty service.

Enough said.

Indulging

Despite the fact that I can no longer fit into some of my skinniest skinny jeans, I've decided to indulge myself with some of my favourite local food anyway.

And they aren't exactly the healthiest food around, to say the least.

But hey, what are holidays for huh? :p

Whenever Bee shoots me with that judgemental look of his, I'd pout and say, "But, it's my holiday! I'm entitled to enjoy and spoil myself on my holiday, no?"

He says I have an excuse for everything.

The truth is, I do.

*Evil laughs*

When I work, I say, "I'm stressed. I need comfort food!"

When I'm off work, I say, "I worked hard, so I deserved a treat."

When I'm happy, I say, "I'm celebrating!"

When I'm sad, I say, "I need to cheer myself up."

Haha.

In the past few days, I've had 8 gigantic bak-changs (Chinese rice dumpling with pork), many many serves of maggie goreng ayam with extra fried chicken plus teh tarik ais, and many of that chicken floss sponge roll thingy from Bread Story.

And they are just my snacks, ladies.

Those bak-changs headed straight for my waist and thighs, I'm telling ya!

I gained 3kgs in less than a week! @_@

I comfort myself by thinking that it might be water retention due to PMS.

Or that I can try to lose those extra kilos when I get back to Melbourne.

*Sighs*

Indulgence comes with a price.

And my price tag is reading "muffin top".

Revitalised

Bee has been down with a stomach flu for quite a few days now.

He's had to stay in bed, be a good boy, and stay on a light diet.

Which means that we haven't been going anywhere.

As a loving wife, of course I want him to get as much rest as he can so he can have a full and speedy recovery; but at the same time, the control freak in me is secretly panicking as well because we have been back for nearly a week now and we haven't gotten anything done yet.

Though this is "supposedly" a holiday for us to unwind and visit our families, it is actually more of a trip to get a lot of important things done.

Things that we couldn't "remote control" from Melbourne, and things that we have to be physically present in Malaysia to do.

Our list of things-to-do is SO long that it isn't even funny.

But neither of us have been feeling very well since we got back, him with his stomach problems and me with my fatigue from jetlagging, so we have only been staying in all these while instead of running around getting those things done.

Knowing me, you can probably guess how that is making me A LITTLE nervous.

And needless to say, whenever I'm nervous, I get A LITTLE cranky as well. :|

So today, I decided to take myself out for a facial and massage at Aster Spring.

Dimmed lights. Comfortably tugged under a light blanket. Soft tranquil music. Soothing scent of essential oils. Relaxing massages.

For a brief moment, the world slows down around you.

All the worries and stress melt away, and you only have to concentrate on being pampered and unwind.

Best part is, you walked out feeling that your skin, body and mind have been rejuvenated and revitalised.

So when Bee picked me up, I was a much happier wife with healthier skin.

A pampered woman is a happier woman, yes?

Happy

I've been in an exceptionally good mood ever since Bee and I got back to Malaysia.

Not having to work and not having to put up with annoying people brightened my mood drastically.

It is as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can breath again.

I wake up with a smile on my face and music in my head.

Life just feels that much easier to cope and, um, better.

The new fruity tea tastes better. The fresh flowers smell better. My hair looks better. Music sounds better. Even lame jokes are funnier than usual.

Everything is just a little easier and not as overbearing when you're able to relax.

I'm even a much more pleasant company (especially to Bee) because a happier me is a more affectionate and loving person, rather than a cranky uptight biatch.

And it got me thinking.

Isn't this the same lifestyle that I chose to give up to go back to Melbourne a year ago?

How could a place that used to make me so unhappy bring me so much joy now?

What's changed? Me, or the circumstances?

Or maybe nothing has changed, but just my mentality?

Was it a mistake for me to leave? Would things have been different if I had stayed?

But would I still feel the same way I'm feeling now if I were to stay on permanently instead of just a brief holiday?

Why does the grass always look greener on the other side of the fence?

How do we choose which side of the fence to be on?

And most importantly, would I ever be truly happy with the decisions I make in life, be it here or there?

I don't know.

And quite honestly, I am afraid to know those answers.

Terrified, actually.

But let's leave those questions for another day.

For now, let's just try to enjoy this day and the beautiful sunshine outside our windows.

For now, let's just try to be happy.

Weekend

Bee and I decided to stay in and be lazy this weekend.

(Then again, what is new huh? Haha.)

We really shouldn't though.

We have a long list of things-to-do. Things to eat, things to see, things to decide on, things to submit, and of course, things to buy.

Both "official", and "unofficial". You get the idea.

Also, we have been missing some of our favourite restaurants and the shopping scene in KL for the past few months. I need to eat my heart out and shop till I drop!! *Shakes fists*

Most urgently, we really really need to do some grocery shopping because the maid was asked to clean out the whole fridge and pantry before we came back, so now there's no food left in the house.

I'm not kidding. There isn't a pack of emergency biscuits or instant noodles left in my kitchen. :|

But Bee and I seriously dread having to brace the crazy crowds in shopping centers on weekends.

I get a headache just from thinking about the noises, the people, the queues, and the amount of time one has to spend circling the carpark looking for a spot.

So, after much contemplation (ha!), we decided to give in to our lazy selves and stay in bed to be two happy slackers.

After all, this is the first weekend in a long time that I feel this relaxed and stress-free.

Plus, I'm still jetlagged.

Oh the excuses I can come up with. *Grins*

Tangled unwashed hair. Bee's oversized shirt. Greasy takeaway food. Favourite TV shows. Lots of cuddles and laughters.

And that's our very un-glam but homey first weekend back in KL.

Jetlagged

It's the 3rd day since Bee and I got back to KL, but I'm still jetlagged. :(

I've been dozing off around 8pm and waking up before 8am everyday. My body seems to refuse to adjust itself to the local time, even with the sleeping aid I'm using.

Another obvious symptom is fatigue. I pretty much spend the whole day drifting in and out of sleep because I simply do not have the energy to do much of anything else.

All I do in the day is to eat and sleep. I'd wake up briefly for food, and maybe a quick banter with Bee, then go straight back to napping for another few hours.

That's how tired I am.

I'm exhausted, from doing absolutely nothing at all.

The thing is, I've never even suffered from jetlag before.

(And c'mon, let's face it, it isn't exactly that long a journey to travel from Melbourne to KL.)

Is it a sign of aging? I wonder.

Many friends have complained about the same thing.

In the past, to make the most out of our vacation, many of us would maximise our time away by heading straight to the airport after we finish work on the last day and only return to Melbourne the day before we have to start work again. Heck, some of us even went straight back to work barely a few hours after we landed.

Not sure if anyone else does this, but this has been a common practice among my circle of friends. Or are we just a weird bunch? :|

But as we age, most of us are starting to find that it has become increasingly difficult to continue doing so. Our bodies seem to be taking longer to recover from the trip and to adjust back to resuming our daily routine.

Whilst we used to only need a good overnight sleep to feel fresh and ready to start work again, now we might need a whole week to awaken those dormant brain cells and get into the swing of things again.

*Sighs*

Oh well. We only get older, right?

Maybe I should admit that our young carefree years are over and follow the footsteps of my friends, to allow a longer cool-off period before and after each trip for our aging (such a sad word!) bodies to rest and recuperate.

*Shrugs*

Bee and I still haven't booked our return ticket to Melbourne yet, so maybe that should be taken into consideration when we do.

For now, I shall join my (even older) husband for another afternoon nap before we head out to dinner.

*Yawns*

Have a good weekend, people!

Nothing

I did my favourite thing to do today - absolutely nothing!

I stayed in bed all day, ate, slept, surfed a little, watched some youtube videos on my laptop, and that's ALL I did.

And boy, did it feel good!

Though Fridays are normally my off days in Melbourne anyway, but this feels different.

Being so far away from the work place (like a-different-country away, man!) and not having to go back to work anytime soon did wonders to improve my mood.

I feel like a different person!

It is as if even the last strand of invisible stress that work poses on me was lifted. The feeling is, um, liberating.

And I guess clearly knowing that I won't be seeing D* and her super annoying boyfriend, C*, for the next few weeks plays a significant part in uplifting my mood as well. Oh you have no idea how happy that made me!

No work, no unreasonable customers and ignorant colleagues, no annoying friends and their even more annoying boyfriends, no running around like a headless goose, no stress from car shopping and house hunting.

*Exhales deeply*

Life is, once again, wonderful.

Home

Bee and I arrived in KL early this morning.

His parents picked us up from the airport, and took us to a quick breakfast before sending us back to our place.

Bee and I would normally plonk ourselves on the bed and snooze off to dreamland straight away, but today, we were too excited to.

We were both terribly tired from the awful flight, which was probably one of the most uncomfortable flight I've ever been on, but for some strange reasons, we were simply too hyper to sleep.

It's a really weird feeling.

To be honest, I dreaded this trip to start with.

As a creature of habit, I dreaded breaking away from the routine in Melbourne that I'm just starting to get used to. I dreaded the long list of things-to-do on this trip. I dreaded the hot and humid weather in Malaysia. I dreaded pulling myself out from my comfort zone. I dreaded the emotional roller coaster when we have to leave friends and family once again at the end of the trip.

I honestly thought I wouldn't enjoy this trip one bit.

But as usual, all those bad feelings went out of the window the moment our plane landed and we stepped out to breath the familiar (polluted) air of our homeland.

The sense of belonging was especially intensified when we got back to our own house, where we are free to do whatever and whenever we want because it's just us and no one else.

In more ways than one, Bee feels the same.

Before we came back, he was excitedly planning all the things (read: his beloved toys) that he wanted to bring back to Melbourne since he's slowly taking liking to the city and planning on calling it home for the next few years.

But merely a few hours after he came back to his original playground, from the way he is now pacing around the house like a proud king screening his castle, I can tell that his new beliefs are being shaken to the core, and my dear husband is, once again, doubting if he can ever love another city the way he loves this place.

There goes months of effort and brainwashing by yours truly. *Sighs*

Well, I guess that's the thing about home.

No matter how many bad things you have to say about it and how long you have been away, it will always be where your heart is.

There is no place like home.

Fight

Barely 3 days into the Lunar New Year, Bee and I already had our first HUGE fight in the year of Tiger.

It started off when we received a parking ticket in the span of 5 minutes that we tried to rush in and out of a Chinese restaurant in the city to order some takeaways for dinner. I got a bit crossed with Bee because that was the EXACT thing I warned him about and he just brushed it off.

He didn't bother to reload the parking meter, thinking that it was just for a few minutes and we would be able to get away with it. The parking meter only operates from 7.30am to 7.30pm, and it was already 7.20pm when we pulled into the parking slot.

I mean, it was just 10 minutes right? What were the chances of us getting a parking ticket in the span of 10 minutes, especially when we were just going across the street?

Now while that might be true in another city, Melbourne has the most efficient (read: anal) parking inspectors I've seen in the whole world! They are hidden in every corners and ready to jump out on you the minute your parking bay expires.

(Don't ask me how I know. Let's just say that it was a very expensive lesson for me to learn over the years.)

And that's exactly what happened. A parking officer came out from nowhere and issued a parking ticket on our windshield.

Up to this point, it all sounded really petty and trivial, yes?

And could you really blame me for being upset when I specifically reminded him, not once, but TWICE, before we got out of the car, but the stubborn man just refused to listen?

On a normal day, Bee isn't one who can't take criticism. But tonight, something in the usually patient and easy going Mr Nice Guy just snapped and his temper took off like a rocket.

Come to think about it, C* probably jinxed us during dinner last night when he said that 3rd day of Chinese New Year is traditionally known as "fight day" in Hong Kong, so as a general rule, people avoid visiting others or socialising on this day.

I looked it up on Wikipedia and it's true that the third day is known as "chì kǒu" (赤口), directly translated as "red mouth". "Chì kǒu is also called "chì gǒu rì" (赤狗日). "Chì gǒu" means "the God of Blazing Wrath" (熛怒之神)! @@

But no, jinxed or not, Bee was a total jerk to me and there was no excuse for it.

And he was a jerk to me this time last year as well. What's up with that?!

Maybe he's an annual CNY jerk. *Shrugs*

I don't care what anyone says, I'm planning a trip to go away by myself next CNY. Far far away from everyone else, especially on the 3rd day.

I'm not even that big a fan of Chinese New Year to start with, and this just further tainted my opinion about it.

Whatever. I'm gonna pop an extra Stilnox and head to bed.

So far, I'm not very impressed with the year of Tiger.

Not at all.

Monday

Whilst everyone else is still enjoying their long CNY holidays back in Malaysia, it's business as usual for us here in Melbourne.

Back to work on Monday, back to more whingy people complaining about just about anything and everything, who all seem to think that I'm evilly withholding some secret potions up my sleeves which is going to miraculously solve all their problems just like that *clicks fingers*.

News flash, people! If I held the secret to such wonder drug, did you still think that I'll be standing here, listening and nodding to the most ridiculously bullshit anyone can think of all day long, instead of sipping margaritas at my private Bahamas resort while collecting big bucks through the patent?

Sorry, guys, bitchiness overload. Occupational hazard, as we call it. :p

Maybe they should make a pill for bitchiness, I'm sure that is gonna sell like hot cakes. *Raises eyebrows*

To make me feel better about having to work throughout the Chinese New Year, Bee cooked bakuteh to cheer me up.

Though what was meant to be a hearty home-cooked meal turned into yet another I-cannot-wait-to-get-out-of dinner because I just had to open my stupid mouth and invited D* to join us, not knowing that her very annoying boyfriend was coming over AGAIN.

So yeah, it's only natural that he gladly and shamelessly invited himself, and I had to hold my tongue throughout the dinner to stop myself from giving him a piece of my mind when he was being his usual infuriating self.

Speaking of which, does anyone else hate eating with people you don't particularly like?

Personally, I find that my threshold has been significantly lowered to the point of intolerant now that I'm forced to talk to every Tom Dick and Harry all day long at work whether I like it or not, so it's like working overtime whenever I have to "entertain" people outside of work.

It's sad but true, my line of work has truly brought out the worst of my anti-social self.

So for now, I'm just gonna kick back and enjoy some quiet "down time" before I call it a night.

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone.

Long Time No See

And it indeed has been.

It's been more than 3 months since my last post. Can you believe it?!

Though it's not like I have that good a track record to start with anyway, so I guess you probably can. :/

Lots' been happening.

Bee has been in town for the past couple of months, and my brother plus his girlfriend (whom I'm not particularly fond of) visited and stayed with us for a few times over December and January.

I started a new job about 3 months back, so I've been trying to adjust myself back to a routine of waking up to go to work every morning and psyching myself up to tolerate people's crap all day long, which I have to admit I'm not very good at because I think I hate homo sapiens now. You know, in general. :|

Then there is the house hunting and car hunting process which pretty much kept me (read: us) running around like crazy maniacs on the days I don't have to work.

Not forgetting the festive seasons with all the social obligations - celebrations with friends and relatives, work functions to attend, and worst of all, dinners with people that you don't even like that much to start with. :|

So yeah, life has been a little hectic for my liking, and I pretty much haven't had time for anything else.

I honestly can't wait till when it's all done and settled so we can start living our lives again.

Or when I can sit down in the perfect living room of my dream house, with tea and scones served on my Royal Albert tea sets, and enjoy a quiet afternoon of doing absolutely nothing, while my husband plays with his new car in the garage.

Well, until then.

First Day

I hate first days.

First day of new school when you don't have any friends.

First day at a new job when you don't know where everything is.

First day in a new country when you feel completely out of place.

First day back from vacation when reality hits.

First day of menstrual period when you get stomach cramps and backache.

Today was of many first days.

And I hated it.