the day my grandma died

It was Sunday, 27th July 2008 - a little after 3 pm. And it was my younger brother and my auntie's birthday. I got a missed call from my mom - I was chopping onions for the spaghetti sauce when the phone rang and didn't pick it up. She then rang my brother who was sitting across the table.

I was working the celery when my brother came to me and said, "Mummy called. Maktok's gone."

And I went, "Oh. OK". The celery-chopping didn't stop. Now that's certainly not a Hollywood-movie response to the news of a death of a loved one. That's just me.

I'm the Queen of Delayed Telecast when it comes to emotions. Whenever I receive bad news, I will almost always have no reaction. And the worse the news is, the lesser reaction I will have. The day my grandfather died, I was fine as hell. At the funeral, I peeped when they were preparing the body for burial, that night I slept well. The next day I spent the whole day sobbing in my room.

Just as this incident, I actually finished making the potato salad and spaghetti before the trip back to BP. The Diver was nice enough to drive us back. In hindsight, it was a wise decision because I was really not in the state to drive at all.

Midway to Batu Pahat, I bawled my eyes out and told The Diver satu benda yang memalukan, "I slept with my grandma until I was twelve." There it was, my Delayed Emotional Telecast.

My grandma. She was a lot of things to me, a mother, a friend, a confidante, my masseuse (when she was stronger), the one who spoils me rotten. For someone her age, she's very very open-minded. I was afraid of breaking her heart when I got divorced. But instead she was the one who consoled me, "What's the use of you staying on with a man like that? You don't need to please everyone in life, you must always remember that," she said, while stroking my hair. I heaved many sighs of relief in her presence...

Her reaction was a stark contrast to my mom's.

I miss my grandma terribly. I didn't make it for the funeral. When I arrived, it was already over. I didn't get to see her for the last time, and bid that forever farewell. But I will remember the smile on her face when I visited her with The Diver late last month.

She knows how truly happy I am.

untitled (first entry with the Berry)

I'm sitting down here on this lazy chair at this Chinese reflexology and acupuncture place in Ampang. No, I'm no getting reflexed or needle-poked. I'm waiting for The Diver getting kneaded and elbowed by this young Ah Moi who sounds like she just got off the boat from the Mainland.

The Ah Moi is quite strong, The Diver let out some ouches just now. Kesian jugak aku tengok Ah Moi ni, badan mamat tu dahla agak *ehem* oversized. Gosh, I so don't wanna be in her shoes. 5 minutes of elbowing him I'm already sweating bullets, man.
Anyway, it's Friday and I'm bloody happy. Cepatla habis massage Mr Diver, I can't wait to put my feet up and just chill!

Alamak, acupuncture la pulak... Kena pakai industrial strength needles ni.

waiting to exhale

Deep breaths.

That's my mantra these days. This is only my second week here and my schedule can easily topple a GM's schedule at my former company. Back to back meetings, and lunch at my lovely little cubicle - most times it's the chicken rice. I'm addicted to that already.

As I type, I'm trying to take deep, long, breaths.....

I got this from meandmylife via email. My previous boss boleh la kot.. but my current boss... he's not jongos at all.. heheheeh.. Bos aku tak jongos kan, Deoughtred? My boss is the Energizer bunny multiplied by three.

Anyway, things are moving at a breakneck speed here. I don't know if I can cope with the rollercoaster of emotions, sometimes I'm on fire, other days I'm not. All I know is that by the time I get home, lying down in bed is just... heavenly. And yes, I do fall asleep in the middle of my conversations with The Diver. But anyway, these really made me laugh..

Deep breaths.

Back to work.

I hope these will make The Diver smile at least, because these days I don't have that effect on him anymore.

happy birthday, Diver-San!

After feeling so guilty about that really pathetic birthday-cake-ice-cream celebration I decided to treat The Diver for a birthday dinner.

I was contemplating Tamarind Springs/Hill (for the romance factor) or Nikko's Benkay or at worse Nippon Tei - , ikut tekak sendiri cuz I was craving for Japanese. Being a weeknight I was sooooo knackered and dressing up for a romantic dinner was not big on my agenda. Plus The Diver is so no frills, he's such an AirAsia in real life. So he suggested we go to Onagi, a tiny Japanese place next to Hock Choon on Jln Ampang. Before it became Onagi, it was Muller's Sausage Haus. And apparently, according to The Diver, before Muller it was a Japanese place. Betul ke?

Anyway, it's such an undiscovered gem - the place has excellent Japanese food (better than Nippon Tei) and such an extensive menu. They had Okonomiyaki and Yakitori too! I mean for such a tiny place, it's awesome!
My fave sashimi - Red Tuna. This one is so fresh!

The Diver's must haves - Fried Kaki (Oysters). Crispy on the outside and really succulent on the inside.

Pictured below is The Diver's Salmon Butteryaki, a bit on the artery-clogging side but yummy nonetheless:

This is my beautiful Chicken Teriyaki. Lovely, lovely, lovely. And the Chawan Mushi was great too.

Now I don't feel so bad about the DIY Corned Beef Sandwich birthday celebration.. Heheh.. The Diver ranted and raved about how good the food was that night. And that's enough to make me happy.

happy birthday my sweet

Today The Diver turns 42.

We celebrated at home last night at the strike of midnight with a few of our closest friends. And thanks to this new job, I did not have time to do anything special for him at all! We had DIY corned beef sandwiches and the birthday boy actually COOKED corned beef fried rice. I didn't even get him a birthday cake, so we took out the Hazelnut Ice Cream from the freezer, put a Ikea strawberry votive candle on it and sang him a very melancholic (ni Komar punya pasal la ni) birthday song.

To The Diver, I'm sorry Honey, but that's the best I can do last night. You mean a lot to me and I feel bad for not doing anything special for you. I will slave this weekend though. (masa barbecue nanti la.. don't get any funny ideas).

I love you babykins and I hope we share as many birthdays together as possible in future.

my third day in this building that looks like god-knows-what

What is crappy about this godforsaken building that looks so high tech and New Age tapi sebenarnya tak:

1. They still have squat toilets (optional).

2. Parking is f*ck. Outdoor parking for me costs RM7 per day. Thank God it's claimable. No stilletto heels, walking on gravel ya.

3. The elevators are slow as hell. I don't know what kind of Ah Chong lift they use but it just is very damn slow lahhh.... I miss Vampire Tower.

4. The Food Court at Level 3 has the crappiest ventilation ever.

5. No hair saloons!!!! Cannot pedicure and manicure and get my hair done during office hours!!! HTF am I supposed to look good going to the office. Basket!!!

6. No Ampang Park :( Yes, that stupid little mall I frequent almost every day when I was working in my previous company.

7. The San Fran runs out of Carbonara sauce and Aglio Olio by 3 pm. Boleh?

Screw this place.