Challenges

I guess I was given a head-start where work was concerned because after months of easy- sailing, challenges have begun to spring into existence. Snippets had to be redone, articles came in from the wrong angle and had to be extensively fixed, time ran out and energy levels fizzled. My blood sugar was elevated last week and it was a challenge to think straight.

Now it's time to pump it up and fix the wrongs. Hopefully, more things don't go wrong, because working in a time sensitive industry, fixing troubles take up too much precious time! Guess I have no choice but to keep moving and getting things back in order. I still enjoy the work, it's just not so magically easy as before. Oh well, I was entitled to a break, and now it's time for elbow grease. C'est la vie...

Aeroplaned!

As a whole, I quite hate photo shoots. Especially afternoon sessions. There are so many people to confirm - subjects, makeup artists, hairstylists, and recently, location people too.. And every too often, someone will aeroplane me at the last minute, or I get too busy to follow up in advance and end up huru- hara trying to get things organised.

The past few days, have been as lazy as if I pulak yang Deepavali. Took a couple of days just to buy groceries and spring clean my room. Managed to find a fridge and iron, tadi lepak dengan the girls. Did clean my cupboards and go to the gym, but all in all, it took entirely too much time. Just remembered that I promised to send in an assignment by the weekend, so no choice, will have to do it tonight.

Got an unwelcome reminder as to tomorrow's shoot when someone called to reconfirm. Location had to be changed. Belum kasi tau the makeup people yet, and as I feared, the hair guy (or should I say 'gay'), aeroplaned me yet again. AAaarrrggghhh!! Shit. Called my whole list of hairstylists, but still kenot confirm anyone. Eeps. And I tried so hard to arrange things in advance! Sheesh. I hope I manage to find someone by tomorrow. Sheesh. This can be a very stressful job sometimes...

*aeroplane=fong fei kei=let you down/ fail to show up

MISS-communications

As much as I hate to see red marks on my copy, you have to admit that how you compose your text does make a difference. An invitation to an event started with :

DON'T LET THE MONTHLIES STOP YOU
With this, you can do just about anything, anytime!

(picture of a ring-like object)

Have sex, swim the ocean, climb a mountain, bla bla bla...

It goes on to say that it's produced by a HK based health care company and it 'offers women even more protection than ever before'. The impression I got was of some dodgy contraption which I wouldn't want to get within a mile of. Was forced to attend anyway, boss' orders, and found that the 'contraption' wasn't so bad at all!

(squeamish people can go away now)

It turns out that the sex bit is just an extra, since your vaginal area would be clear of any blood thanks to the contraption. But since it was the first thing listed, it gave a totally wrong impression to the reader (namely, me). Like, why would you want to have sex when you're having a period? How dodgy... Can't it wait? Obviously I have no authority in this area, but well, that's what ran through my mind anyway...

The softcup (that's the name) is a relatively new alternative to tampons and pads, which effectively caps the cervical area, collecting menstrual flow in a built in soft silicon 'cup'. It's thin like a plastic bag, actually. Since the material is like silicon, there are no fibers that swell if you jump in the pool, and there won't be any drips once you climb out. No mess, no leaks, no smells. I'm sold!

They'll be available in major pharmacies nationwide soon, retailing at RM19.50 per box of five. Yes, expensive, but I can save them for swimming sessions only. For the curious, log on to www.softcup-asia.com. I'd like to try them out too.

On Being Thankful

Sometimes I feel like God holds back something that I really want because I don't really understand why I want it. Sometimes I wish for something so much, simply because everyone else has it. In a way, if I don't have it, I'd feel less than normal, and that would make me feel bad. And in the end, when I have it, I'd be more grateful... most of the time. It's either that or I realise it doesn't suit me after all :)

A lot of people take being loved for granted. Someone we met the other day was telling us not to get married, because she felt her husband was an unnecessary encumberment. I wonder if she would be so glib about it if she lived all her life pining for something no one was willing to give. Would she take her spouse for granted if he hadn't married her? The way we saw it, all he wanted was some respect.

He works hard all day, and sometimes he comes home early only to find that the wife is gone. Is it too much for him to expect to be notified if she was going out? I guess, if the wife is tired of "being the maid" and waiting for a husband who always comes home late, then he should take the trouble to keep her updated too. They don't even have kids, for God's sake. Why can't they go out and date sometimes? Sheesh.

Choices, choices...

We were out of ideas to do the home test. I abhorred the column, mainly due to its terribly boringness. To me, of course. Very the ma fan...

Have been gila2 behind with the work this month, so have been working extra hard to catch up. Semalam dok lari sana, lari sini, sampai lupa which hotel I was supposed to be at! Haiya... Nama organiser semua tak ingat. In the end, terpaksa call office mintak bebudak tu tengokkan buku assignment. Saba ajelah.. blur katak!

Hari ni, wasted time dengan spa yang tah hapa hapa. Mahal gila lak tu. Nasib baik aku punya free. Actually it was all right la, i like the products. But that spa was not for impatient people who are desperately short of time. I felt it was way too long, macam slow motion facial spa for the whole body. I'd rather go for a Swedish to work out the kinks. Traditional or Thai massage pun jadik la. Lagi best. Guess it depends what you want it for la, kot. I was told ramai tai-tai pegi sana, monthly lagi. Heh. Kot nya la aku ada sugar daddy nak buat benda2 tu. Tak kuasa I!

Dalam kecoh2 tu, kena jugak pegi cari air freshener nak test. Dah test nak tulis citer la pulak. Masalahnya, what do you say about air freshener?? Bau sedap. Bau tak sedap. Sekian terima kasih... Hari tu masa dok fikir takde la terfikir pulak masalah takde idea ni. Pastu, setengah tu sebenarnya bau dia tak disukai ramai, tapi.... client la pulak... Macam mana pun, terpaksa kata benda2 yang best walaupun sebenarnya tak best. Hrmm... Arrrgghhh!! Bosan! Nak balik boleh tak? :P

Chuffed!

My article for next month was selected and it went on TV!! NTV7 invited the nutritionist I met and they talked about the content. My page even went on air, with my standfirst proudly displayed for all to see... Hehehehehe... this job is cooler than I expected :D So guys, watch out for November issue of Her World - Losing It. Now, have to go mandi. Got photo shoot in 10 minutes. Erk!

Isn't it strange...

...that sengau voices singing rock kapak songs from the 80's can be uplifting?

...that I feel happy despite living a demanding double life?

...that people who never invited me to their open house can ask me to host one just so they can come? Get with the program, dude. My open house was held on Raya Pertama.

Jammed!

For once I'm glad of my gluttony... Had scarfed a mini pizza and chicken curry pau in the car while driving back to office from Ampang earlier. It took me 2 hours. Midway, got desperate and stopped by a petrol station to borrow their loo. The road was still jammed 20 minutes ago, so stayed for a bit to deal with an ad which needed attention. Timing is quite bad today, so many things sangkut while I was out of base. At least I managed to get my story, so now I can actually balik and do it at home. Nak calling2 pun, my phone batteries are completely dead. So I guess the best course of action is to bungkus whatever is necessary and start for home la. Hopefully the roads have cleared. Kalau tak, I'll stop by a shop/restaurant and makan while waiting for the jam to ease. Kind of 'sad' to makan sesorang, but sometimes no choice lah. I was thinking of going to the gym and pump up my metabolism, but at this hour... maybe not kot. See la how... Really have to go work out. My muka bulat macam bulan oredy.

Back to the Grindstone...

Raya holidays over, have started back at work and MAN! Is there a lot of work to do!! My other assignments are coming in as well, plus yang lama tu nak disiapkan. In between social obligations and work commitments, I'm back to depending on my good old friend, Mr C(affeine) to keep moving. Plus, MUST make time for the gym, because for some strange reason, physical activity actually boosts my energy while too much rest makes me as lemau as kacang goreng tepung masuk angin... Also, because I'm writing a story on Power Jump, a newfangled thing brought in by Celeb Fitness just launched last month; and I happily promised the instructor I'd show my face in class one of these days... Adeh... Have to do double duty this month pasal banyak keja tergugat bulan lepas... Hmm... Bukan senang nak senang, ya?

Lazy Raya

This must be the boringest raya ever.. To begin with, didn't feel much like preparing. So only half-heartedly touched up dodgy wall in the hall. Must budget for a proper paint up job, seriously. Also wanted to change lights, sofa and wall hangings. BUT... we're planning to swap houses soon, so might be better to save up for the new place instead.

Dragged myself to buat lontong. Itu pun pakai acuan. Daun dari pasar, cuma 10% yang cukup lebar utk buat lontong Jawa. Kuih2 semua orang lain buat. Lodeh K Ayu masak. I cuma buat rendang je pagi.

Pagi raya, visit Aunty Rose sebelah, ada a few friends datang, petang baru nak gi kubur Mak, then pegi Kg Pandan & Selayang. Next day visit Abah kat Sg Buloh. On the way balik sepatutnya singgah Kuang, tapi really ngantuk, so balik terus. Malam jalan2 sikit, then balik. Nak go S'pore tak jadi pasal ada orang takde passport. Nak balik kampung, Mak Ngah takde. Kitorang pun satu family sakit perut. Apa ada "ramuan tambahan" ke makanan kat rumah makcik tu?

Saturday kemas rumah, cuci baju & setelkan house linens. Lepak2 main game. Konon nak siapkan projek yang berlambak-lambak belum siap. Habuk pun tarak. Holiday mood sungguh! Sepatutnya nak balik BP hari ni, but found out Mak Ngah still kat Singapore. So I guess esok je la I turun BP for some family matters, balik hari.

The only good thing was I managed to settle some really overdue household matters and dapat pegi shopping. Plus that *&^%# company finally paid up. Saja je nak buat dajal, bagi cek pukul 6.00 petang hari Selasa. Nasib baik gaji dah masuk. Kalau tak, tak ke naya orang nak raya? So now kira duit raya la. OK jugak. Things are looking up... Sigh.. holiday almost over. Will be back on the grindstone soon. Adehhhss...