Closing Time

Today is the last Friday of the year...also the last working day of 2006.

So much has happened. This year has proved to be a roller coaster ride. Lots of joy and tears. But through all this, I have learned something and hopefully I can carry these lessons to next year.

As for the new year, I'm hoping it will be a good one.

To everyone, in case I don't see you or send you an sms, here's wishing you a good year ahead.
Happy New Year!

Company Annual & Christmas Dinner

We had our company annual and Christmas dinner on Thurdays (21/12/2006) at Ciao Cafe in KL. Well, it wasn't just us, it was together with our sister company. So it was a big do.

I must say I love that restaurant. It is really fabulous and divine especially for private functions. Warm, cosy and yet romantic as well. I wouldn't mind having my engagement dinner there...like as if I'm getting married anytime soon. But thats how perfect the place is.

There was way too much alco as usual. Advertising agency le...forever got alco at functions. I had my fill of wine...yummy and had superb fine dining food!!!

I'll let the pictures do the talking. There were more pictures but I only got these from my colleage. Photos courtesy of June's camera.

The night began: we're all looking pretty for the camera (L to R : me, Yvonne, June)

Deciding to be posers. I think the wine was starting to kick in

We got these little tags as an indicator of what our main course was. We had to place it at our table. So cute!!! MOO!!!

Our appetizer : Salmon salad. The whole plate was covered with salmon and it was good!!

After salad was soup but I didn't bother to take any picture. Then main course for me was tenderloin steak in balsamic sauce and mash potato. The beef was rare baby...

Dessert was fabuously good!

Ok..the wine betul betul kicked in already. Look at Yvonne, she looks like she's sleeping or praying

I admit, I was high. I had like 3 glasses of wine on empty stomach..oops..

Ok, I'm laughing hard not because I'm drunk...Sam was trying to tickle my boobies!!!! (L to R: Me, Sam, Jane & Yvonne)I love this picture of me and Sam. (my red streak is looking good!)

The next few pictures are evidence of how high my boss was that night. He had to take 3 tries before finally getting a good picture with all of us in it!

L to R : Sam, Me, June, Yvonne, Elaine, Eda, Elly, Jane & Cindy

Yvonne and I doing the 'Point'...ok la...we're posers!

One for the road with our little gifts (L to R : Elaine, Sam, Yvonne & Me)

Why...

I don't know why I did it...I don't know why I allowed it to happen. I told myself that I would never let it happen to me ever again but I did. Now I live with this feeling of regret and I feel the guilt and shame...

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

I meant to blog before going off on hols but then the power went out in our building and I had to rush some work. So there went the blogging.

I was a good girl and went to church for Christmas Eve service with the family followed by our family tradition, supper and pressie time.

It was definitely going to be a quiet one this year because I wasn't having my usual open house. So there wasn't going to be any hussle and bussle like every year. I actually dreaded it.

On Christmas morning, I got a call at around 11 something from Hobbit. It felt great to hear her voice. It was a voice I hadn't heard in a while due to each of our busyness. I remember distinctly feeling a little sad that she and GurlWithCurls were not around and so the sisterhood was not complete. So I thought to myself, 'No way am I spending Christmas this quiet'. I started calling people. Started with FunkyMonkeyErin but no answer, probably asleep. The I tried SuperJann and lo and behold, I woke her up for the second time in the same week! It was starting to look sad because no one could make it.

Then during lunch, there was a knock on the door. When I opened it, there she was smiling at me! I stared at her for a while before I started screaming with glee. Hobbit was home for Christmas!!!

We decided to surprise the girls and so I called for an urgent meeting. First to react in the car was FunkyMonkeyErin and had the same reaction as me but this was in the car, so my ears went kaput after that. Then at Coffee Bean in Mont Kiara, we got more surprised reactions for SuperJann, MidniteVon (changed her name since she started going out so much). SwenBobo's was the classic drama queen, stopping in the middle of Coffee Bean and exclaiming 'what are you doing her?? You have to stop doing this to me wei!'

It wasn't a surprise that all of us could just bond straight away. There was no polite how's everything. It was just our usual girl talk right away.

We spent the rest of the day out and then all went home to dinners except me and FunkyMonkeyErin. We ended in Midvalley and each bought a new handbag. We bought the same bag but different colours. Then caught up with Hobbit again later for mamak session with some more people.

Looks like what was suppose to be a very quiet Christmas turned into a very long and happy one...

Got a call at 4am from Jack In The Box. Something was definitely up because he wanted to come see me. I wanted to layan him over the phone but he wouldn't allow so I ended up hanging up on him. Will check up on him later.

As for CatchMeNot, he went MIA. Said a while back that he was interested to got to church with me on Christmas Eve but he never replied my sms or returned my calls. And then I get a misrable 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year' message from him. How very disappointing.

But all in all, Hobbit's home coming made everything else better. I've missed her big time and now we're all planning our holidays and we're also gonna be partying on New Year's eve with the alco she brought home. WooHoo!!

WELCOME HOME, HOBBIT!!!!

The weekend started with me getting up early. So much for sleeping in -_-

Went to watch Happy Feet with PearlyPearl. That movie made me cry buckets wei!!! There were lots of sad parts la and plus I cry easily at the movies.

Then PearlyPearl and I paid a visit to our hair stylist Joe. I got my hair trimmed and also got my signature red streak. Initially, it was suppose to be purple but don't know what happen. It's ok, I like it! (picture above)

Got home, had a quick shower and I was out again for dinner with SexyIsabel, Al, CynCyn and Eddy. We went for yummy porridge steamboat. Suppose to head over to Redbox for some karaoke but in the end, we ended up in TSB Bangsar. Before you know it, we're calling it a night.

On the way to the car, I passed a familiar car. It didnt strike me at first until I turned around to look at the car again. Could it be? It was...where could he be? Oh well, we walked on. Then I get a message from him. It's Catch Me Not (I've changed his name from something else, it rhymes with the first one) asking me to buy him a drink. Called him back but as usual, he didn't answer. So we decided to walk back to where he was...and there he was, getting ready to go home.

It felt nice to see him. But yet, it was confusing because I had tried calling him from Friday and even sent him smses but he didn't answer or reply. Made me keep thinking that I had maybe done something wrong.

****************************************************

There's something different about him these days. He doesn't call, doesn't answer calls, doesn't reply smses and cuts short our conversations.

So unlike what it used to be where he would call back immediately, or there would be an sms. No cut short conversations.

I seem to meet these types of guys very often. Makes me think that men only do all the above when they're interested. But once they get bored, they do the opposite which is to stop communication.

sigh... someone please shed some light

In Remembrance Of Rubin Tan

A week ago, I heard from Hobbit that a college mate of ours was in critical condition after his kidney transplant surgery failed. My heart started to panic....today, while catching up with another ex-college mate, she informed me that Rubin had passed away about 2 days ago...the shock was overwhelming. He was only 20.

I remember meeting Rubin in early 2004 when he first came into college and joined the publication department of the Psychology Club. He was cheerful and eager to help. His exterior showed a tough guy but when he smiled, he was the warmest person. It's sad that I never really got to know Rubin personally as I was already in my last year. But I do remember him for for having a very good memory because there was this one time I sent Hobbit over to his place to pick something up and he remembered me even though I had not seen him for ages. He was just as friendly and warm as I remembered him.

And today, my heart goes out to his family and his friends, and even though I may not know him well, I cried. I cried for the loss of a another human being, the for loss of a friend that he was to everyone else, for the loss of a sibling or child he was to his family.

It made me realize that life is fragile. Too fragile and too short to just stand around.

To Rubin: May your soul rest in peace wherever you may be...

*Picture courtesy of his Friendster page

Retirement

Today is mom's last day at work. After working for more than 30 years, she is finally calling it a day. The burden to be financially secure weighs down on me even more but it is a must to try and provide for my parents...

Irritated!!!

EEEESSSHHHHHHH!!!! I'm so irritated by a certain someone!!! People call him to find out how he is, to let him know he's invited for a friend's b'day do and he acts like he doesn't care and then even says, "see how my schedule goes."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so geram now!! It's freaking 2 weeks from now. Why can't you put it down and make sure you don't make any other appointments la!!

I know you're stressed with exams but please la...everytime I call you to see how you're doing, you, you sound like you don't wanna talk...APA LA!!! If I don't call, I won't even hear from you!

Ok, understand you're having exams now...better not be like this after tomorrow!! bugger!

Gossip Time!

Yeah right!!! Gotcha didn't I! Just as Jack In The Box predicted, here I am to update on how our meeting was last night (andrea smiles and looks around)

We met up at Coffee Bean, BSC. I think I felt a little awkward at first because it had been so long since we've had a drink together. We sat outside so that the man could smoke and I could get out of the cold.

I was saying I felt awkward but as soon as we started talking, it's like the old chemistry came back and soon it was a conversation with ease. It was just like old times except that we had grown older. We spent the evening really catching up, finding out what each had done and gone through in the 2 years that we lost touch.

In all honesty, I had really looked forward to the evening. I was hoping I might feel the same way I use to feel when going out with him seeing as we used to date.

But I realised that in the 2 years, it may not seem like a long time, I have grown up. As I sat there listening to him talk about what he has been doing and what he's gone through, I no longer felt anything remotely close to being in love with him. I am no longer desperate for this man to love me in return. Don't get me wrong, I still do love him, and I know he loves me too but the kind of love I have for him now is different. I now love him as the friend that he used to be. The one I would spends many nights talking and laughing with when I was in college. The one who would tell me to stand up when I fell and the one who used to comfort me when I cried.

As I drove home last night, I came to a conclusion that that is how I want our friendship to continue. There must be a reason for why our paths have crossed again so I want to be there for him when he needs someone to talk to. I want to show him that fighting the good fight is never without its rewards. And I want him to know that for all that I have gone through with him, it has made stronger.

To Jack In The Box: We cannot erase the past. It has happened. But I'm glad we are able to end it with grace and gratitude and yet with a little kindness as well. To new beginnings...

Ghost Of Christmas Past

The Ghost of Christmas Past has come to pay me a visit. Not exactly Christmas past but my past has come back to haunt me.

On Saturday, SexyIsabel invited me to join her and Al and Carrick for the soft launch of her friend's bar at The Curve. It was too bad that CynCyn couldn't make it that night. We had a quick bite and then headed over to The Sanctuary. It has a nice ambience but just reminded me too much of the old Voyeurs.

Anyway, women being women, we have our intuition. I had this funny gut feeling that I would meet a certain someone that night and my instincts were right. We were playing pool, and then as I looked towards the door, there he was...Jack In The Box...again.

The night did not end too well because he finally made the move to say hi and it was all good at first...then somehow, we ended up arguing and me later on breaking down. Thank God for wonderful souls like SexyIsabel, Al and Carrick. They were understanding and knew just how to be there for me.

Feeling distracted, the day became even more distracted when he called me early in the morning. We talked a lot about what happened to us and then also spent a lot of time catching up on the last one year.

In all honesty, I dreaded the fact that he re-appeared but yet, talking to him last night reminded me of the nights we would talk on the phone. Those were good times, of course.

But now, it's just confusing. Why re-appear when I've started to move on? Why now? Why not 1 year ago? Why not 2 years ago? Why now? Why had he not given me reasons for leaving me? Why make me spend the last 2 years wondering what was went wrong? Why make me spend many nights crying myself to sleep? Why now when I promised myself that I would never get involve with him ever again because I don't wanna hurt anymore...

I've thought a lot about it and here's a new promise...Here's my chance to just be friends...the way I want it to be...and so he shall be just a friend...(andrea silently prays that she can keep the promise!)

To the people closest to my heart, CynCyn, SexyIsabel, The Sisterhood, SuperJann, VonVon & CatchaVinod, please try to remind me of this every time you get a chance.

And to Jack In The Box, I don't know why we have crossed paths again, but I'm willing to find out if you're willing...Like SexyIsabel said to me yesterday, to end our past with grace and gratitude and to start anew with friendship at the heart...here's to friendship...