Ranting about work (again)

What a loooong day it's been...

I was up since 5.45am to catch an early bus and get to work BEFORE 7.00am... that's right, you heard right... I arrive at work around 6.45am and I should be arriving earlier except that there's no bus that comes even that early.

Am I insane, you ask... no, I'm merely trying to earn an honest living. Our boss hooked in this ginormous project covering the US market, which means we need to make calls to the US... which means accomodating the time difference for both sides of the world... which means waking up at a God forsaken hour to make these calls! Oopsie, that was uncalled for, no hour is ever God forsaken, but there are times when it certainly FEELS that way.

This project is turning into a nightmare... sometimes I think that we've really bitten off more than we can chew... I'm not sure how much more of this I can take...

At the start my boss assured me that I don't really have to go in early to do the calls... we'll hire some temps to come in early to do the calls. But as far as I can see, I definitely have to come in early for a while because there's just so much to handle.

Sigh... the things we do to earn a living.

I should be tearing my hair out because this is only ONE of the projects I'm getting swamped over. I'm tempted to think that this is a deliberate sabotage by my boss to see how much I can take before I give in. I suspect that he thinks I''m not very motivated because I don't work late a lot.

But can I help it? I've had enough of it in Singapore... work and career is no longer my main motivation in life. I have a feeling that I'm becoming a bit soft... losing my edge...

But I'm determined NOT to let work rule my life. Life is more than work.

I need to stop complaining.

I'll just take a deep breath... brush my teeth and go to bed. Need to wake up early tomorrow.

At Freo with hubby & B.I.L.

The Yau bros


Strolling down the pier at Fremantle - B.I.L. is holding on to his precious stash of fish&chips; which he tarpau-ed from Cicerellos


Exploring streets of Freo and marveling at historic pieces


Once again I have failed to take photos of the food, i.e. Cicerello fish&chips... I always do that! I get so excited about the food that Iforget completely about capturing the moment on camera... oh well, hopefully I'll remember next time... or you people can come visit me here and I'll bring you down to Fremantle to enjoy the fish&chips and let you worry about taking the photos instead *grin*

My office

Thought you people would like a glimpse of the place where I work...

Right: This is the lift lobby on my floor and straight ahead is the entrance to the office
Left: As you walk in the office, you'll see the guest waiting area on your right


Straight ahead you'll then see the rest of the office...


This is the work space... you can see my boss's office on the right picture below - it's behind the clear glass, a.k.a. his "fish tank"


Right: Informal meeting table, Left: board room


And this where I spend most of my day - Mondays to Fridays

Intrigued

Hubby's lil' bro left Perth yesterday.

He was here for just five days. Yes, I know, I know... it's a very short trip. But I believe he enjoyed almost every minute of it.

Here are some of the things he found very intriguing while he was here:

01. How totally blue the sky is
02. How there is so much open space around
03. How wide the roads are
04. Freeway speed limits being over 100 kmph
05. Albany Hwy and Leach Hwy speed limit of only 70 kmph
06. How many houses here don't have fences and gates in front
07. How many houses here have garages
08. How small $2 coins are
09. How we managed to get an '888' car plate no. without paying a fortune
10. How cheap cars are here
11. How there almost no traffic jams
12. How bright and glaring the sun is
13. How yummy chilli mussels are
14. How delicious the melt-in-your-mouth Freo fish & chips are
etc.
etc.
etc.

The list goes on...

It was quite entertaining having him around as a guest.

He picked up a few new life skills too... like washing dishes and hanging up laundry...

And exposed him to the world of gambling (at Burswood Casino) and alcohol (Bacardi Breezer)

Aren't we such nice hosts, even if we are guilty of corrupting an innocent young man just a little

Gong Xi Gong Xi

It's now 3.30pm on a Sunday afternoon.

Hubby just touched down in Perth not long ago and he should be in a cab making his way home... so happy that he'll be home any minute now... I am making a snack for him in case he's hungry...

I felt a little sad at moments during this past few days when he wasn't around... like yesterday when we went to Cash and Carry to shop for Mamak Nite stuff... I'm sure he would have enjoyed it...

But all the same, I think it was really good for me to spend some good girlie time with Eu Lynn... haven't had one of those in some time... always perks me up a bit... all the mindless chitter chatter and I admit some gossip as well (but nothing malicious, I promise!)

Okay, back to my snack making...

P.S.1. Meng How's bro is arriving tonight as well, so we'll be having our first house guest this year!

P.S.2. Gong Xi Ni... Nien nien you you yue - my favourite CNY greeting!

Lonely? Not quite...

*Sniffles*
 
Hubby left for Sydney yesterday morning for his company's kick-off... and he won't be back until Sunday evening.... Waaaaaargh!
 
Anyway, looks like I won't have much time to feel lonely...
 
Last night was our cell's Valentine's Day dinner, girls bring food, guys bring pressies. So this Valentine's day gift is an anonymous one - I got some chocolate and a book on PRAYER! There were lots of other nice pressies... perfume, Body Shop pack, teddy bears, and lots and lots of chocolate.
 
For the dinner I made black cherry rice pudding... inspired by Jamie Oliver... it didn't turn out exactly as pretty as Jamie's one... but everyone said it was nice... except for Roy who said it LOOKED yucky but tasted nice... but I don't think he actually tasted it himself... terrible fellar...
 
So tonight, I'll need to get some groceries... mainly MILK - because we are complete out... and EGGS - because nobody can ever have enough eggs to eat.
 
Then on Saturday need to get stuff for MAMAK NITE... Eu Lynn and I are setting up a nasi lemak stall... so exciting! yum yum...
 
So although I am missing dear hubby, its good that I've got stuff to occupy me so I don't crumble to pieces without him (not that I would anyway)

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Good buy?

I am so terrible... leaving all my readers in the lurch like this, without peep out of me in aaaaaaages...

So sorrieeeeee!

Anyway guess what? Hubby and I just bought our very first house in Australia!

Yeah!!! Pop the champagne!!!

It's a very small house, 3 bedroom 1 bathroom... we hope to rent it out first and build up our equity to buy a bigger house for ourselves next time...

Pray pray pray that the market will turn in our favour and we get lots of growth.

Here are some photos of the house...




Do you think it looks like a good buy?

The joy comes with a little pinch though... mortgage payments!!! Let's hope it's worth it.

Controversial restaurant?

Today I finished work late - 7.00pm... rushing a report out that needs to be sent out first thing tomorrow morning...

It's been a hard day, didn't even have time to eat lunch... good thing I ate a big breakfast of spaghetti bolonaise (leftover from last night).

I just didn't have the energy to cook up dinner tonight, so we decided to try out this new place in East Vic Park - Puteri Nasi Kandar owned by Malaysia PM's brother... let's see what the fuss is all about...

Not a very flashy place at first glance... but clean and pleasant...

We decided to try their EXTREMELY PINK air bandung...



I ordered Nasi Kandar with beef rendang...

Hubby ordered Nasi Lemak with chicken curry and beef rendang...



A pretty ordinary restaurant... interestingly, there were posters promoting Malaysia Airlines all over the place (wonder what's the connection?)

And of course a picture of our beloved PM with a plaque of the officiating ceremony displayed prominently for all to see.

Next thing to check out would be where Badawi's rumoured US$5 million house in Perth is located. I'll keep you guys posted if we find anything.

Speaking of houses, we are also on the hunt for a house of our own... not quite up to the US$5 million mark... maybe next time eh? We've put in an offer for one of the houses we liked, waiting to hear from the owner. Will let you know how it goes okay?

Cheerios!