The February that was

I had a conversation with P today, and she kindly pointed out that I've gone through my first month at the office now. Time has flown indeed.

First week of this month was spent rather casually at the office, getting to know my role better and my boss and supervisor not giving me that much work yet. I went out over the weekend, going to a friend's birthday drinks at a place full of naked baby angels (like the place, don't really like the crowd); went for lunch on the Saturday (spent about 30 minutes standing alone at Footscray Station, so the day was a bit of a thriller-drama-comedy, I guess, but I ended up having a great time, thanks to Nick); went out for drinks at night around the corner where the pink elephants are, then later on at the icky Irish pub down the street; then spent all day Sunday doing nothing before going to my friends' gig down by the beach. That was by far the best week I've had this month.

The following week was a bit hell because that was when I really learnt what it feels like to bring work home. I had a lot of work to do at the office and I couldn't finish them by the time 5 o'clock struck; and so the deadline needed to be extended and that was not a nice feeling to bring with me when I came in the next morning. But thankfully that was resolved by the time Thursday rolled in and I was able to enjoy the weekend. I went out dancing on Saturday night for Shahana's birthday and then had yum cha the next day for Chinese New Year. Bought "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" on DVD too that day; enjoyed it a lot, and it wasn't only because of our extensive adulation for Robert Downey, Jr. Yes, mainly that, but Val Kilmer is pretty damn good there too.

Last week was pretty underwhelming as I'd expected something equally high-strung as the previous week, but it turned out the workload had died down then and I was cruising along till the weekend. Mum and Dad came back mid-week from their month-long stay in Jakarta so the rest of that week was spent catching up with them. I went to my friends' gig again on Thursday night; finally got to talk properly with the drummer after not having done so in the past, so I won't feel guilty anymore now when I see him at their gigs. Went to an old friend's birthday drinks after work on Friday, then to dinner and more drinks with the girls which turned out to be disastrous because lack of sleep + alcohol = well, let's just say not pretty. I spent Saturday looking at properties for half of the clan when they come Down Under next month. Had a lovely late lunch by the water with mum to celebrate finally finding a property, before going to the movies with my sister at night. "The Wolfman" turned out to be pretty fantastic; I love Benicio Del Toro there.

And so it's come down to this week. It's my 6th week working full-time and honestly, it feels like high school all over again, except people wear suits and nice structured dresses and I spend half the day in front of the computer. I tell you what, nothing beats that feeling when 5 o'clock strikes on a Friday afternoon. It feels pretty damn great. Oh, and I'm finally reading "A Study In Scarlet" properly this time. The book makes me all the more compelled to read some Poe.

I miss blogging like this. I should spill my guts on a public space more often.

Past couple of weeks

I've been reading my friends' blogs and I decided I wanna write in mine too.

So it's been going really well the past couple of weeks. As I last wrote here, we got our PR and I finished my master so to cut long story short, I've finished school forever. And then my sister got her dream house and it's a wicked little dwelling with the perfect view and all. It really does remind us of our childhood home back in Jakarta.

Then I had my birthday last weekend and it was plain wild. I think I can safely say people had a good time there. I think I can categorically say that it was the best birthday I've ever had, because it was, ironically enough, far from perfect. The day started off with me super sleepy with a headache then my parents and my sister wished me happy birthday; had breakfast then got down to business making food for the party that night; mum and dad started fighting over who got to mix the eggs with the pepper; got ready and left for yum cha and it was so very nice; opened presents; went home and ate my birthday cake, mango gateau! Went out, bought beer and ice; drove to the hotel; panicked over how to hide the 24 bottles of beer in the suitcase; checked in, complete with my mum trying to take over the whole process; family out, friends in; spent time with them before getting ready; people started coming and finally the party started; tired mixed with alcohol equals me drunk and passing out crying. It was ups and downs, highs and lows all rolled into one day. And that's okay; I think I'm starting to learn how to embrace imperfection. It's my life, it's anybody's life and I gotta stop striving for 24/7 poise and grace and just allow myself to let go.

Anyway, I'm going to Singapore and Jakarta in 3 weeks. I got a crazy deal for the flight, and I ain't paying nothing for accommodation in Singapore, so it's great. I hope I got enough money when I'm there so I can shop like nuts!

So anyway, I think things are going well. But I can't help thinking all the time when will the other shoe drop? I'm pessimistic that way and I sometimes think that things are too good to be true. I guess you can't blame me for thinking like that after the past 10 years of drama. But let's hope things are gonna be fine in the long-term. Not perfect, just fine.

Big update

It's been pretty busy the past few weeks. The thing is, none of them had to do anything with school, which is quite disturbing to know.

Anyhow. Last Saturday I got the new Nokia E71 phone!
I absolutely love it. It's currently my idea of power dressing.

Then last Sunday, I went to Box Hill with my family and it was a really hot day so naturally I got thirsty along the way. I went to buy a bottle of green tea from some random grocery store, paid for it and happily drank it - until I read the expiry date.
Note: last Sunday's date was 12.10.2008.

On Friday night, I had drinks with my friends and I was given these Lacoste yellow trainers and the cutest cupcakes I've ever seen in the dark:


Finally, I made my first successful pancakes last night. Note to self: Sara Lee's French Vanilla ice cream is the best. And don't the berries look so summery, not to mention severely yummy?

Out of order

It was my birthday last Friday and this is what my sister thinks I look like on my special day. She's a great illustrator.

I'm pissed off with my new anti-virus program. It's making my computer run so slow and it doesn't even block pop-ups. Whoever created this program should go back home and learn how to say 'dumb' from their mama cos that's what they are.