internet! yay!

I really can't believe I have survived 2 weeks without my laptop! It felt like Lent all over again! but only this time, I'm actually sacrificing something (Yep, didn't do much for Lent this year. Last year was about chocolates. I know riiight.. but I guess I'm just not at the stage to sacrifice juicy meat for forty days, *faints just thinking about it*).

Anyway, my baby laptop has decided to go into a coma and of course it has been on life support for the past one month. I've just been in denial of its medical situation, decided to let it fight off the problem with its own brute strength. Finally, its heart beat stopped and so was reluctantly sent to the "revival" station.

The past 2 weeks of absence was the hardest ever in my history with my laptop. Of course, I worry about... wait, I just realised I didn't name my laptop. I named by car Bee. :).. yeah anyway, was pretty worried about my laptop's safety and more importantly...

my songs and photos are in there!!! its like my whole life in chapters stored in there. I was worried. Had sweaty palms sometimes just thinking about it. And of course, it also died on me during a time when I needed to do my major monthly e-bankings, bill payments, Tax filing. Aiyo.

And I try to while my time away by keeping myself busy... and then I realized that the only thing I do when I'm not working, or e-banking or e-filing, is done on my laptop. *cue drama!

O_O

So I did what most social outcasts did... I read endlessly... it was hard because I'm so not up-to-date with the world!

Like, why did X from Front Office break up with Y? Why, Yvonne? Why? Well, I don't know! argh. How can I not know! hmm.. I could see the disappointment in my Senior Sales Manager's face. "How come you don't know?"

and so... when that didn't work out (I mean, I can't be reading Waiter's Rant, Time Traveller's Wife and Dear John back to back for 2 weeks in a row), I tried texting people more, tried going out for dinners more. But it is just not the same.

I also wanted to practice some Yoga and then I realize I play my Yoga CD on my laptop because the recorded volume's pretty low and needed to be amplified on speakers. grr.

I also got mild OCD. I cleaned up everything that I see. Everything seemed to need a scrub, a rub, some polishing, some wiping. I felt like a grown up woman for once! The maternal instinct to keep things neat and tidy! Or maybe I was just bored.

And when my fingers decided to sound the alarm of abuse, I stopped cleaning and, hold your breath(!), took out my abandoned notebook and my fave pen and started writing a book!

But of course, it stopped at page 5.

So "ma kwai fun", Cantonese for "freaking troublesome", to write and when you think maybe "munch" is more interesting a word than, say, "eat" or "chew" or "snack", as in, "As I munched on that unsalted bag of chips, I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to ta pao fried bananas for my mom and her mahjong kakis". So should I use Munch, Ate, Chew, or Snacked?

Erm, anyways, so when you think you might prefer to use "munch" you have to either use white outs or draw a line across the unwanted word to axe it. So messy!!!

I miss you Microsoft Word!

So when I got my laptop back on my lap this afternoon, after driving 300KM back to Johor for it, I was almost thinking of dramatically shedding some tears of joy. Just to emphasize to my parents how much my laptop meant to me because they didn't agree to send it back to me in KL. -_-

I missed you. Don't ever die on me again, OK? Next time you do that, I'll just go queue for an iPad.

signs

signs that you have been all about work since counting down on 31 Dec 2009.


1) You have very bad skin
2) You look like you are suffering from malnutrition/could have more nutritious foods
3) You are putting on weight in the wrong places
4) You suddenly find yourself making regular appointments for reflexology and neck and shoulder massage
5) You look like you could use some sleep
6) You ache for a holiday (heeeelllppp)

I am at point 6 now (and all of the above). Ache.For.Holiday. and it is not even mid year yet!

soooo need this. right now.


and the list continues to more drastic side effects..7,8,9... but that shall be kept for another day. Let's see how I, little potato in need of some sand and sea, survive till June then.

innocent brutal honesty

I love people who tells me the truth.

I love honesty.

I definitely love people who are transparent.


Now that I have made that clear. Anyways, the world will be a beautiful and awesome place with everyone being honest and kind and wanting no more than just joy and bliss for everyone around them. What a happy place to be.

*no, I'm not on some Happy Pills.


But there is a little something called Brutal Honesty.

These are people we should learn to love because they tell it like it is. I am still learning to open my heart wide enough to accept these sharp, killing words with a smile and warm embrace. I truly am still learning the art.

Today, I received Brutal Honesty in its purest form.

It just so happened that I was feeling fine and dandy and on top of the world after having an awesome lunch with awesome drinks and awesome clients to meet.

I was feeling so awesome I was smiling to myself. Like, what a beautiful day, right?

Then I met 2 colleagues who caringly told me:

"Oh Yvonne, Yvonne, you have become fat, I can see." (direct translation)


I held my heart (well, left side of my chest) and feigned a fainting face. Like, seriously!

And I thought by doing that, they will pull back their words with a smile and laugh it off and start talking about donating to charity. But NO! it is not meant to be...! Instead they earnestly looked at me with the expression that says something to the effect of "why are you treating this as a joke? we're serious, darling."


My life just came to a halt for 1/10 of a second when I realise that they were not in anyway trying to spoil my day. It is just plain old innocent brutal honesty which slipped past the Mincing Department. It came Whole. Cold and hard handed over with warm hands.


Of course I did not feel like a major super star after that. I just felt like I needed a jog.


See why we need more of these? I felt like a jog after what seemed like years of deprive. I need more brutal honesty in my life.

Sneak Peek

*wow, 2 days of posting in a row. we're on a roll aren't we?


Sneak Peek: A day in Yvonne's work week...

It's been a super hot day scouring the streets of Nilai, some 70km from my office - so hot that I thought I was going to die of heat stroke. Then and there, no less. I wondered who was going to collect my body. Like, will they inform my parents?

I did save "mummy" and "daddy" in my phone.


And then it rained and based on my superstitious believes (inplanted into my head since I was like 2 days old), some rain drops got to my scalp and that, my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of my health as I know it. If I get flu, it's caused by those drops. If I get cough, it's caused by those drops. If I get fever, it's caused by it too. If I get diarrhea... you get the picture.

And then because I itchy-buttedly drank some super strong coffee lovingly brewed by my client, I got this massively epic headache which bounces from left to right.

BUT!

It could have been caused by those rain drops.


And then I got stuck in traffic, ON THE WAY BACK. (wow wee!)


On top of that, I have 2 ulcers on my tongue which was caused by heatiness (duh, everyday in the sun) and I was supposed to drink lotsa water. But how was I supposed to be motivated to drink when everytime I drink, it hurts like faaarrrrkkkk... literally. And when I wanted to tell my colleague that I wanted to puke, he thought I wanted to peel. Peel what? (raise eyebrows, raise eyebrows)

seriously. this was worse than bad hair day. or staining your shirt with curry right before an appointment. or accidentally eating garlic before a meeting. and have no access to Listerine. or going into the Touch N Go lane without your Touch N Go card! it's worse than stockings tearing in the middle of Shah Alam! With no spare!


.....


Wait, I'll have to re-consider that.



And all I wanted to do was to sigh a long "cibaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" when I got back to the office. And so I did. Trust me it feels good. Try it, today!


OK, I conclude, stockings tearing in the middle of Shah Alam with no spare is really sucky. touch wood touch wood.