Back to Life, Back to Reality...

As I was whining about being despatched to Miri during my birthday season, Anthony joked that I should be grateful to be given a free holiday as my birthday gift. Hrmph! Trust that guy to twist things around like that... but in a way he's right, though. Went over looking haggard from lack of sleep, sick due to haze and came back well rested. God bless my boss and ex-colleague who quit and gave me this much needed break :-p

For starters, I started work at ten, so I can get up later than usual. When I'm ready, I have a buffet breakfast waiting downstairs. Sometimes I even have some extra time to catch a nap before work. "Work" means sitting down in a shopping center and entertaining people who ask about our exhibit. When I'm free, Speedy video opposite our booth plays movies non-stop for my viewing pleasure. Granted, they show sections, not the whole thing, and i can hafal oredy scenes from "Krissh" - the Hritik Roshan superhero movie and "Shaggy Dog" (Tim Allen). But hey, it's easy work. Sometimes I get stray internet connection coming in. I had time to work on the Organic Farming database... When I'm bored, i go jalan2. Lunch is cheap and easily accessible. Evenings I either lepak by surfing, watching DVD, listening to music or spending time with Pzie & Zana.

When I get back to the hotel, the room is clean and tidy again. I can get a hot bath without having to boil water and lugging it upstairs. I get fresh clean towels without having to do laundry. I got a king sized bed and the aircon thermostat actually worked. Excellent!

More importantly, there is so much less demand on my time. There are no bratty cats waking me up demanding food. I don't have to cook or clean. I don't have a list of 15 chores I need to do before going to bed. I don't need to worry about the garden, hall, toilets or floors. Damn, I could get used to this!

My birthday was all right even if I had to work all day. Pzie & Zana cooked up a storm and invited friends. There were messages and calls from friends all over (God bless the people who invented mobile phones, Skype and SMS!) Thanks, guys. Really appreciate it.

But as soon as I got home, reality strikes. Sigh.

Housemate moved hall furniture to a weird formation that made no sense at all, presumably to annoy the hell out of me. She succeeded. The wires are all tangled. Pots I didn't have time to clean were still in the sink, 5 days later. Expired food in the fridge have not been removed. Tables, counters and floors were still dirty. There was *stuff* on the floors. As if la I didn't have unpacking and laundry to do when I get home. Doesn't it ever occur to her that I might be tired from travelling? Why can't she take care of things when I'm away? Does she expect me to somehow clean up "my" mess even when I'm not there? If I had the time to do it before i left, I would have done so!

How can someone happily come home late and go watch TV when there is so much to be done around the house? Guess it doesn't matter to her how filthy the house is. I'm the one yang malu when friends come over. And she knows that somehow I'll find time to take care of bills and clean up even if I have to sleep late. And I wonder why I look so haggard!

Damn. I can't wait for the day i can finally get my own place, without a parasite living in it. Sorry guys, I'm just so sick and tired of being taken for granted...