First Day in 2009

Thursday, 1 Jan 09, 1.38pm at home

Happy New Year, my little diary!!
Today is the first day of the year 2009. The weather is very cold this morning. I started my day by waking up at 11.37am, had a cup of hot coffee and a banana, watched a Korean series "Happiness" episode 26 and now writing this diary. Not a good way to spend the first day of the year?


Yesterday night, me and my hubby went out to see fireworks at IFC after the Korean food buffet dinner with our friends. You see, the picture at the most left is the picture of IFC building before the fireworks started, this is the tallest building in HK, the building where Batman jumped off in his last movie. And, the picture at the most right is after the fireworks started with a BIG "2009" written on the building. There was countdown starting from 30 seconds with the digits written on that Batman building too! I joined the countdown from 10 seconds since I haven't learned number 11-30 in Cantonese. *How about pic in the center?* It's me and Ron in IFC mall after watching the fireworks, on the way home.


The fireworks also came out from the top of each tall buildings in HK. Nice view, isn't it? I think it would be nicer if we see it from far, from different island, where we can see the combination of the sea view, the buildings, and the fireworks. But, we did consider about how to get home after that, so we just watched it on the HK island itself.

It was a sweet experience to witness Old & New in HK, together with thousands of HK people. I do enjoy my life here although some complaints come out sometimes unavoidably.

Thanks God for all the things that happened in the year 2008 and thanks God in advance for the good things that will happen in the year 2009! Another life journey is about to start..

-Abbie-

Last Day Diary of 2008

Tuesday, 30 Dec 08, at 22.10pm at home

Hello diary,
Actually I planned to write diary tomorrow in the office on 31st Dec 2008 but something happened today in the office so I have to write my last diary of the year today. You know what happened in the office today? Suddenly there was an announcement that there will be new seating arrangement for my team starting tomorrow! *What does the new seating arrangement have something to do with writing diary on the last day of the year??* You know that I have a strategic seat in my office where nobody can see what I'm doing behind my desk, right? Now I have to give it up! My new seat will be so open, without partition, and at the second row from the front! So, you know what I mean, right? You know, you know, it's not so polite to write diary (even just a little diary) during working hours. Talking about 'the second row from the front', suddenly I remembered my school days when my seat had been moved by my teacher to the front seat because I played 'cross-circle' too much till I forgot that I had to listen to the lecture, till I felt that the lecture was disturbing my concentration playing that cross-circle thing. Do you know what cross-circle game is? Hmm.. how to describe? It's a kampung version of sudoku.

I guess today will be my last day writing diary in the year of 2008. This is the first time I'm still able to write diary on the last day of the year. This is also the first time I'm still working on the last day of the year. Now I know how it feels.. it feels like New Year Eve is just another day but I'm still so excited to welcome the new year because year 2009 will be the year of my new phase of life! *What new phase of life?*

Tomorrow I'll be having dinner with my hubby and some other Indonesian friends at a buffet Korean restaurant in Causeway bay. I like Korean food soooo much, especially the BBQ one. I'm glad that I was still standing strong at the last Xmas buffet so my hubby still can ask me to have another buffet this time. Yeehaa! Diary, please remind me not to wear something too tight tomorrow morning. I also wanna see the Hongkong version of counting down event tomorrow at Times Square. Lucky that I managed to learn numbers in Cantonese because I don't want to be the only one screaming 'Happy New Year!!' when actually they have not finished the counting. I also don't want to be the only person who is still counting down with my electronic dictionary when other people have already been busy with screaming 'Happy New Year!', shaking hand, and hugging each other.

Ahh, I forgot to tell you my massage experience in Shenzhen! Ok, I tell you now in short because the title actually doesn't match this massage story *Who cares about the title??* You don't care, but I care! Anyway, my Shenzhen trip was good. I experienced a different life, I was served like a king/queen. Even there was somebody who gave me body scrub and apply the milk and honey to my whole body. Then, I went straigt to the steam (sauna) room to get the skin moisturized. After that, we were served with fruits and drinks. At night before sleep, I had 1.5 hours of full body massage till I fell asleep. OMG! I never had this kind of body treatment before for almost 28 years of my life. So, now I can feel that my body is lighter, whiter, cleaner, and... *slimmer?* I'm now ready to welcome 2009!

Have to sleep now.. see you next year, diary!
...and Happy New Year! ^_^

-Abbie-

Merry Christmas!

Friday, 26 Dec 08, 5.18pm at home

Merry Christmas, my little Diary!!

Finally Christmas has come and passed. Yesterday I had Xmas dinner with my hubby's uncle's big family at Harbour City. It's very nice place to spend Xmas with the harbour view and the santa and all the food there. Unfortunately I ate too much last night, I ate lots of baby octopus, I don't know how many head of octopus I had eaten, till I had a hangover of seafood! I felt like I was going to black out, my whole body was so cold, my eyes couldn't see clearly, my voice was 'bindeng'. What made me strong was a whisper from my hubby, not a romantic whisper, not a love whisper, not an encouragement whisper, but a whisper of "Don't fall down, don't embarrass me, I promise I will never ask you out for a buffet dinner again if you fall down this time". So, I was still standing till the party was over. Ha Ha Ha!

Anyway, for the last few days, my hubby loves to drink ronde. He bought the ronde from supermarket and he made his own ramuan of the soup with water, ginger, and the sugar. I can't believe that he has this hidden talent as an 'abang ronde'. He made the ronde for me on Xmas eve, on Xmas day, and on boxing day. Three days in a row we ate ronde! Here is my Xmas White Ronde in 2008! ^_^

Diary, I'm going to Shenzhen now to have a massage. I'll tell you my story in Shenzhen once I'm back. Please pray for me that I will get the pigeon hole (the room for sleeping) and warm blanket tonight.
See you diary..

-Abbie-

p.s I don't get Xmas tree in the exchange gift last time, but I got cups set, socks, and a flower! 3-in-1 package, isn't it sweet? :)

X'mas Exchange Gift Today!

Tuesday, 23 Dec 08, 9.38am in office

Morning morning diary!
Today is the last day, tomorrow I'll have a X'mas holiday till Sunday! Yipeee... but Monday I still have to go back to work, grrr..! This will be my first time to be still working during X'mas and New Year. Usually I always took leave before X'mas and returned after New Year. That's good, new experience in life, right?

Today there's a X'mas party in my office for my team. There will be a X'mas gift exchange too! I've prepared my gift. Yesterday I spent hours to get the gift. You know what I wish for X'mas. I hope that I'll get a X'mas tree, I already change my nickname in my msn "I wish I'll get a X'mas tree". My colleagues all are using msn, hopefully there's someone who's touched to give me a X'mas tree. In my previous post when I mentioned about X'mas tree, none's touched, none commented, hiks.. I really wish I'll get a X'mas tree! I'll choose the biggest and the longest box later..

I'll tell you what I get.. Please pray for me, diary.. ^_^

-Abbie-

My New Mini Stove

Thursday, 18 Nov 08, 2.03pm in office

Hi again diary,
Today’s work is not as busy as last week so I have time to do my own things. You know, works all come at the same time and go at the same time too, like a group of birds that transmigrates to another place when winter comes.

Anyway, today I just want to share with you that I have finally invented a good formula how to be a good wife who takes care of husband during a busy time. Last time I didn’t realize that this method would work so well. You know what? I just bought a mini stove! A mini stove that can be put on the dining table! We managed to do BBQ using this mini stove last weekend and it really saved my time a lot since I didn’t have to prepare for the ingredients and didn’t have to stay alone-so-lonely in the kitchen to cook. My hubby was also happy as he didn’t need to listen to my ‘weekend ritual’. And the greatest thing is, he was so happy grilling the meat till he didn’t realize that he was the one cooking for me, not the other way around! He was so happy because he had a new experience of life and he had a romantic dinner too! I was so happy too! You know, I was so much happier than him! Again, as pepatah says “sekali teplok, dua kodok ketangkep”. This is not cheating, ok! It’s called maximization and capitalization. I will try cooking soup-so-called-shabu2 using that mini stove this weekend.

Yesterday when I was washing the dishes in the kitchen after dinner, my hubby came in while bringing a glass of white wine on his hand. We chatted about this and that and finally came into an encouragement topic.
Ron: “You should never give up, keep trying till you get what you want”
Me: “Like you?” [still washing dishes]
Ron: “Yes, like me. I never gave up chasing you and finally I got you, rite?” [putting his hand on my shoulder]
Me: “Well, there’s reason why I accepted you”
Ron: “I tell you honestly. Actually I also have reason why I married you” [with serious face]
Me: “Hueh??? What’s your motive??” [stopped washing dishes]
Oh diary! I wanted to scare him only. Nothing else. I regretted that I started this type of conversation. He might be wanting to tell me what’s really in his heart for years now.
Ron: “You don’t need to know. What you need to know is I married you”
Me: “I need to know!! Tell me! Tell me!!” [Now I know how that dragon lady felt]
Ron: “The reason is….” [stepped out from the kitchen, leaving me alone in the kitchen]
Me: “What????” [I was so nervous waiting for his answer]
Ron: “The reason is…. because I love you!” [laughing so BIG!!]
Me: “I don’t believe you! Tell me, Tell me, Tell me!” [….following him out of the kitchen]
*Hey, what did you expect to hear from him??* I am writing it here because I want to remember this moment forever.

-Abbie-

X'mas Tree

Thursday, 18 Dec 08, 9.42am in office

Morning my diary..
Today I woke up a lil bit fresher than yesterday because I turned to bed earlier, around 11pm last night. But still, I'm not a morning person at all, I complain a lot every morning. My hubby treats it like 'morning ritual' so he can just ignores me. Yeah, we know each other better and better every day.

As I said, X'mas decorations are everywhere, including my apartment! This is the picture of my apartment's lobby. There is a big X'mas tree!

What I always dream for X'mas is having a X'mas tree at my home so that I can decorate my X'mas tree the way I want it to be. What I always wish to Santa is to give me a X'mas tree. What I always tell my friend when there's X'mas gift exchange is I want a X'mas tree, small one will do. Still, I don't have a X'mas tree at my home until now. I love X'mas tree so much. But I love orange tree with red packets (hongpao) hanging on the tree more than X'mas tree. Be realistic lah, if I have orange tree (with the hongpao of course), I can use the money to buy X'mas tree! As pepatah says: "sekali tapuk dua lalat kegeplak" or "sekali dayung dua pulau terlampaui" or "sekali makan dua piring sekalian".

Anyway, I'm happy that I have a X'mas tree in my apartment, although it's in the lobby. It's ok, better than nothing at all, right? ^_^

-Abbie-

p.s please feel free to send me X'mas tree if your heart is moved to give me a X'mas tree. Please feel free.. please don't hesitate.. please listen to your heart's voice carefully.. please.. pleaseee..!

New Roster

Saturday, 13 Dec 08, 22.04pm at home

Happy Saturday, diary..

Below is my new roster:
- Friday nite: clean home
- Saturday morning: wash clothes
- Saturday afternoon: do my own business (it's really my own business, ok? not the menikyur, pedikyur, kukyur2 girl's business)
- Saturday evening: dine-out and groceries shopping day
- Saturday night: 'selonjor' time!
- Sunday morning: go to church (please take note, there's no more badminton)
- Sunday afternoon: cooking!!
- Sunday evening: iron clothes
- Sunday night: 'selonjor' time!

Now is Saturday evening and you must now what I was up to just now. Yes, I was just back from my dinner. Every Saturday I always have sushi dinner at the restaurant near my home lately. *Why always sushi?* Yes! Exactly! That's exactly what I wanna ask 'why always sushi?'. It's because my hubby likes sushi so much, no, no, he likes wasabi so much. He can't eat chilli, but he eats wasabi as if there is no tomorrow. So, for the last 3 weeks he always nagged me to eat sushi every Saturday. Well, we seldom ate sushi when we were in Japan, now we eat sushi once a week. That's human. We miss what we don't have, we ignore what we have.

Just recently I realised that there's a big difference between dating life and marriage life when it comes to Saturday-night-dinner.
- Dating life: the couple are busy with talking, holding hands sambil cekakak cekikik senyum dikulum, drinking the hot tea malu2, and also busy cleaning teeth with toothpick (always scared if there's a small piece of red chilli hanging happily on the tooth). The topic of conversation is about 'you and me' and 'me and you' and 'us'.
- Marriage life: the couple are busy enjoying the food or waiting for the food to come or complaining to the waiter if the food hasn't come yet. The hot tea and the toothpick will only be touched when they finish eating. The main topic of conversation is about the food and the waiters and the restaurant.

My hubby is now busy studying for the finance HK regulatory exam. He has been preparing for the exam since last month and the test will be next week. He has to pass the exam in order to be able to work in HK. Yeah, I know, I can't disturb him now, I am also scared to be so near to him because I don't want to accidentally clumsily knock his head.

Diary, now it's already late at night. You can refer to my roster what I do on Saturday night, right? Yes, it's time for me to 'selonjor'!

Nitezzz, diary..

-Abbie-

p.s 'selonjor' is laying down on the bed or sofa with both legs straight. *Haiya, you describe it using difficult words. 'Selonjor' means rest lah!* Oh yess! Rest, yes, rest!

Christmas 2008 is Coming!

Tuesday, 9 Dec 08, 12.58pm in office

Hi my little diary!!
It's been long time since my last diary.. I miss you! *I miss you too!* The last few weeks were busy days for me, both at home and in office. At home, I was so busy preparing meals, cleaning home, taking care of hubby, and doing my own business. Remember? I'm still doing my own business now and it's even getting busier than before. I'll soon reveal it once it's ready, just hang on. In office, I was busy with... blogging?? Ehem, you know better than me. I was in the process of adjusting to my current lifestyle. I had been thinking hard to discover how to automatize my two roles; be a good housewife and be a good working woman too, with my limited 24-hours-in-a-day of time. And now I have reached into a conclusion, I have invented a very important formula, which is, I can't do well in both areas at the same time.. Sorry if I disappoint you, I still can't give the formula that you expected me to come out with.

Now is lunch time. Situasi kantor masih seperti biasanya, mister j masih juga makan dengan style uniknya, cewek2 yg lain masih juga duduk bergerombol ngerumpiin hal2 yg aku nggak ngerti dengan bahasa dewa mereka, beberapa cowok kepo juga masih suka mengintip2 layar monitor orang kalo pas jam makan siang termasuk ngintip layar monitorku sekarang! Hey, aku butuh privacy! Udah lama banget aku nggak nulis blog, baru sekali ini aja nulis di kantor (di bulan ini maksudnya) udah diintip2 gitu, gak seru ah. Tadi juga ada temen cewekku ngajak aku jalan2 ke mall abis makan, aku menjawabnya dengan jawaban ngambang sambil haha-hihi, biarin aja kalo mungkin dia ngira aku sejenis alien blo'on yg kuper. Aku butuh waktu pribadiku sendiri dong! My diary is missing me, aren't you diary? Selama beberapa minggu ini aku udah entertain dia tiap kali lunch time dengan makan bersama, jalan2 bersama, ngobrol bersama, sampe gak terasa skg udah bulan December nih! Gak terasa udah ampir new year, udah ampir taon 2009. Gak terasa umurku udah ampir nambah 1 th lagi, eh salah, gak terasa umurku udah ampir berkurang 1 th lagi! Gak terasa badanku mulai melar lagi akibat musim dingin.. gak terasa rambutku makin menipis lagi akibat... emm.. melarnya badanku mengakibatkan melarnya batok kepalaku juga kah?

Hey diary.. I learnt some new Cantonese words! At least now I can count numbers, I can say "I" and "you", I can say "good morning", "thank u", and "sorry", and the impressive thing is; I can listen to what they say (but I don't understand)! Isn't it so good improvement?

Anyway, Christmas is coming! Christmas decorations are already all over the city! HK is so nice at night, every time I cross the tunnel from Kowloon-HK at night, I can see colorful buildings every where! Every morning, I also can see colorful things every where! Hmm, it's jemuran.. Still, HK is so colorful during the Xmas season!! I will go nowhere in Xmas, I'll just stay in HK quietly, peacefully, faithfully, without complaint, enjoying the colorful pemandangan every night and day.. till new year comes, till they remove all the Xmas colorful decorations.. I'll still be here in HK, enjoying the only colorful decorations in the morning with smiles.. I'll still be here.. [taking a deep breath] yes, I'll still be here.. Full stop. Arghhh... GRrrrrRRRrr...!! *Did I hear you said "without complaint" just now?* I didn't complain, I was just GRrrrrRRrr-ing!

Ok, time to get back to work now..
See you, diary..

-Abbie-

In The Residence of Dragon

Friday, 21 Nov 08, 12.00pm in office

Hi again, diary..
I was just back from washroom. I met that auntie again, not the auntie who sells siu mai, oww please! I met the auntie who cleans the washroom. Few days ago when I washed my glass and my hands, that auntie was mopping the floor beside me. Accidentally I dropped some water on the floor when I was reaching tissues. And I was so shocked when that auntie suddenly.....

Auntie: “!@#$%^&*()$%^&*!” [pointing at the floor with one hand, holding the mop’s stick on her other hand]
Me: “.....” [Looking at her, looking at the floor, looking at her again, I didn't understand what she was talking about]
Auntie: “#$%&*((^^$#$^&]!!” [getting angrier, she was pointing me by using her mop’s stick]
Me: “.....” [Looking at the floor, smiling at her, nodding my head signaling that I understand, at that time I understood that she was angry because I made the floor wet]
Auntie: “@#%*()*^$%#@!!!!” [I could see her face slowly changed to red and some fire started coming out from her. She thought that I was trying to make a joke of her, I was really not!]
Me: “Diu? Diu… pat? Diu em chui? em chiu?” [with soft voice, trying to remember how to say 'I am sorry' in Cantonese. I know “Dui bu chi” in mandarin means I’m sorry. But in Cantonese, I guess ‘Dui’ in Cantonese should be ‘Diu’, I know ‘Bu’ in Cantonese is ‘Pat’ or “Em”, ‘Chi’ is what? ‘Chiu’? ‘Chui’??]
Auntie: “!@#$%^&*())_!@#$%^&*()!!!!!!!!! [she completely had turned to a female dragon with fire coming out from her nose, buzzzzz...]
Me: “.....” [left the washroom].

Just now, I entered the washroom again by carrying my glass. I was about to wash my glass when that female dragon suddenly entered the washroom in the shape of human. As soon as she saw me, she spoke to me with her dragonly language again, something like "ji shi" or something like that. She still looked upset. I put my glass outside then I went into one of the toilet cubicles in rush, waited inside there till she left. I was scared of her. She didn’t give me chance to repent for my sin, hiks..

-Abbie-

New Meal Style

Friday, 21 Nov 08, 9.22am in office

Good Morning diary,

Usually for breakfast, I bring some bread or cake from home and I have it in office. I like having breakfast and drinking hot coffee slowly in the morning while checking my email or browsing the Internet (or blogging?). I’m having my coffee now and I just had my breakfast, a real heavy breakfast! You know what? Starting yesterday, my breakfast style has been slightly changed. I don’t bring breakfast from home anymore because I want to taste what the real HK breakfast is like. So, I bought breakfast at a shop near my office. Yesterday, I bought Siu Mai and Jeong Fan which made them cost HK$10. The portion was just nice for my morning stomach. Today, the Siu Mai was finished, only left the Jeong Fan. I don’t understand Cantonese but I could at least understand when the auntie said “Siu Mai wan le, wan le”. I was so disappointed because I just had a ‘fun breakfast’ yesterday but there is no more fun breakfast today hiks.. The auntie asked me “Jeong fan, 5 khuai jien? 10 khuai jien?”. So I said, “10 khuai!!” with super confident. I thought $10 portion is my morning stomach portion but it turned out to be sooo much because the price of Jeong Fan is much cheaper than the Siu Mai. Fyi, Jeong fan is the long-white-transparent-skin kind of dimsum but with empty filling, and there are some (at least 4) sauces and sesame seeds on top of it. So, it’s very ‘eneg’ if you have it too much. Next time I’ll buy $5 of jeong fan if there is no more siu mai. It’s a good lesson to learn, don’t be ‘nggeragas’!

For dinner, this is usually what I do. For simple meal (e.g fried egg, fried instant chicken drumstick, instant noodle), I can cook just after I reach home from work because my husband is still able (read: he has no choice other than) to wait. But for medium-level-of-complicated meal, I usually prepare the necessary ingredients a night before and cook it again on the N-night. My husband is also willing (read: standing in front of my kitchen door with yelling-stomach but he has no choice other than) to wait. For high-level-of-complicated-meal, I usually cook on weekend, put it in the fridge, and reheat it over and over again, and we can have it for the first 2 or 3 days after weekend depending on the “food quality”. My husband is so nice because he will happily eat the same meal for 2-3 days (read: quietly eat with no comment, but his meal portion is getting smaller and smaller from day 1 to day 3). Yea, I agree with you, I also pity him; I’m a very understanding wife, am I not? That’s why I give him these 3 options for his dinner menu “Which level of meal complicatedness do you want me to cook for you?” Again, he’s so sweet by answering my question “Up to you, for me it’s all the same” with no-expression face. Is there any hidden meaning from his answer?

Of course I’m more understanding than that. I also offer him option 4; for instant and fast meal, I ask him to have dinner near his office or take-away some food and eat it at home. But he’s tired of having the oily-pork-Chinese food all the time. So, it’s not my fault, is it?

-Abbie-

Pictures of HK Apartment

Monday, 17 Nov 08, 10.11am in office

Morning diary,
Finally yesterday I managed to take some pictures of my little cute apartment after doing my weekly cleaning. ^_^





-Abbie-

Me [x] Bus

Friday, 14 Nov 08, 5.37pm in office

Hello gello bello, my diary..
This is my picture with my colleagues when there was a bday celebration yesterday. Sekarang pertanyaanya adalah, yg manakah mister J?


Today I had lunch outside. When I came back, aku ngliat si dia lagi berdiri sandaran papan penyekat dengan 2 tangan di atas penyekat dan dagunya diletakkan di atas kedua tangannya, sambil senyum2 pula! Dia terus berdiri di situ, menguping pembicaraan 3 cewe di balik papan penyekat sampai 3 cewe itu bubar ke meja mereka masing2. Now I got the answer of the matter I was wondering last time. That is his ‘lunch-discussion’ style!

Enough about his life, now let’s talk about mine. Now I always take the direct bus from my home to office. The reasons are because I’m lazy to transfer to MTR and because I want to save money. The bus takes about 1 hour. What I’m talking about is not about how long it takes to take me to office. Now I’m more concerned about my stomach. My stomach is so uncomfortable recently after riding on the bus. The uncomfortable feeling has not disappeared in the morning and I still have to ride on the bus again. I sat on the lower deck of the bus, I saw people coming in and going out all the time, it made me dizzy. I sat on the upper deck, it gave me feeling like flying. I sat on the front row, I felt like riding a roller coaster because I had to wear my seat belt and it was quite a tense experience since the bus has no “moncong”. I sat on the last row, it was the worst! I think I have turned to be a crab that can only walk to the side, not to the front. I will try to sit “miring” on the bus in the future.

Tonight I will have a BBQ with my colleagues at a ‘Far Far Away’ place. The place is around 1 hour from my office. Yea yea you’re right, my home is 1 hour from office, that means ‘Far Far Away’ place is near my home?? A big NO!! That place is on the opposite direction from my home!! Ok, it’s ok, I’ll just need to be ‘munek-munek’ for another 1 hour. I think this is the only way to get me slimmer. Thanks God for Your creative method!

Have a great weekend, diary! ^_^

-Abbie-

Si Jay

Wednesday, 12 Nov 08, 1.04pm in office

Hi diary,
Sekarang baru istirahat jam makan siang. Aku baru aja menyelesaikan makan siangku. Dua hari kemarin aku keluar makan bersama temen2 sekantorku tapi hari ini mereka pada memesan makanan dari luar kemudian makan bersama-sama di kantor. Jadi, aku pun memesan makan siangku.

Ada 1 hal yang membuatku terkekeh-kekeh siang ini. Kemarin siang, setelah aku kembali ke kantor lagi dari makan siang dengan temanku, aku bertanya basa-basi kepada 1 teman kantorku, sebut saja Mr. J. Dia orang yg sangat kalem dan pendiam.
Me: "Udah makan siang?"
Mr. J: "Udah"
Me: "Makan apa?"
Mr. J: "Oh, aku bawa makanan dari rumah hari ini karena ada hal yang aku perlu diskusikan dengan teman2 yang laen, jadi kami makan bersama-sama di kantor"
Me: "Oh, ok"

Tidak ada hal yang aneh, kan? Iya, memang itu suatu percakapan biasa. Aku juga tidak mencurigainya sama sekali kemarin sampai siang ini. Hari ini Mr. J juga membawa kotak makan siangnya lagi. Pada saat kami makan bersama-sama, Mr. J membuka kotak makan siangnya yang imut dan kemudian dia duduk di mejanya sendiri. Mejanya terpisahkan oleh sebuah penyekat setinggi kurang lebih 1.5m dari tempat kami makan bersama-sama. Penyekat itu membuat Mr. J (dalam keadaan duduk) tidak bisa melihat ke dalam ruang di mana kami makan.

Satu hal yang membuatku terimpress dengan kegigihan Mr. J untuk turut join dalam conversation kami dengan tenang adalah dia rela untuk mendongakkan kepalanya dan mengangkat kotak makanannya (yang imut) ke dekat dagunya (untuk bisa tetap makan) untuk mengintip apa yang terjadi di ruang makan dengan sesekali 1 tangan berpegang pada penyekat untuk mempermudah acara pengintipannya. Pada saat percakapan kami sedang seru2nya, dia juga tak mau ketinggalan segera berdiri (tak lupa tetap membawa kotak makanannya ke dekat dagunya) untuk tetap menyimak percakapan kami dengan sesekali ikut tersenyum. Sekarang acara makan siang bersama sudah selesai, beberapa orang sudah kembali ke meja mereka masing2 tapi masih ada beberapa orang yang tetap ngobrol di sana. Mau tau apa yg dilakukan Mr. J sekarang? Dia berdiri, dengan satu tangan bersandar pada penyekat, satu tangan memainkan mouse computernya, pandangannya terus beralih-alih dari layar computer ke ruang makan. Dia tetap tidak ingin ketinggalan gosip. Dia benar2 dapat menghayati profesinya sekarang sebagai seorang yang bekerja di bidang marketing.

Sekarang aku bertanya-tanya dalam hati, apakah itu yg terjadi dengan Mr. J kemarin siang? Itukah yang dia maksud dengan "Oh, aku bawa makanan dari rumah hari ini karena ada hal yang aku perlu diskusikan dengan teman2 yang laen, jadi kami makan bersama-sama di kantor"??

Kalau Mulan Jameela adalah makhluk Tuhan paling sexy, Mr. J sungguh makhluk Tuhan paling imut.

-Abbie-

Mulai Kerja!!

Tuesday, 11 Nov 08, 10.40am in office

Hi Diary,
Hari ini aku terpaksa menulis diary dengan bahasa Indonesia karena ini menyangkut orang2 yang disangkut dan yang tersangkut. Sejak kemarin aku mulai masuk kerja. Teman2 di sini baik2, lokasi tempat dudukku lumayan strategis, nomer 2 dari belakang, dan ada penyekatnya di samping dan di belakangku jadi orang laen tidak bisa melihat kalo aku lagi chatting atau blogging, kerjaanku juga kayaknya bakal exciting. Ah, moga2 aku bisa betah kerja lamaan di sini.

Kemarin aku datang tanpa bawa gelas dan sendok. Ada water dispenser, kulkas, dan microwave di dapur kantor tapi tanpa gelas aku tidak bisa minum. Seandainya itu di rumah, I don't mind minum pake tangan seperti kalo lagi kumur2 sikat gigi. Tapi ini di kantor, aku harus sedikit menjaga image, apalagi di hari pertama kerjaku. Di kantor ini, aku satu2nya orang Indonesia, dan satu2nya orang asing, jadi aku tidak boleh memberi kesan bahwa orang Indonesia suka makan dan minum langsung pake tangan!

Hari ini hari keduaku, aku sudah membawa gelas sendiri dari rumah, plus sendok plastik. Aku tidak boleh mengaduk gelasku dengan "sendok naturalku" yaitu jari telunjukku. I told you, aku tidak ingin memberi kesan bahwa orang Indonesia suka kemproh2an pake tangan! Pagi ini, aku bawa gelasku warna hijau terang ke dapur kantor, aku membuat kopi. Aku masukkan 1 sendok kopi, 1/4 sendok krim, dan mana gulanya?? Aku tidak bisa menemukan gula dimana-mana! Pada saat yg sama, teman sekerjaku masuk ke dapur dan menyapaku. Dia juga membawa gelas putihnya yang bertuliskan "Coffee", mengisinya dengan air putih kemudian mengajakku ngobrol. Aku tidak bisa memperlihatkan gelasku yang tanpa gula. Aku pura2 hendak mengisi gelasku dengan air panas dari water dispenser dengan harapan dia segera beranjak pergi. Namun, dia masih dengan asyiknya mengajakku ketawa-ketiwi tidak mau pergi. Jadi, aku benar2 mengisi gelasku dengan air! Setelah gelasku penuh, aku baru sadar bahwa air yang kutuangkan itu air dingin! Bubuk kopi dan bubuk krimku mengapung tak karuan di dalam gelas hijau terangku. Aku berusaha keras untuk menyembunyikan apungan bubuk2 tersebut dengan sendok plastikku sambil tetap melayani obrolan temanku. Dan, pada saat yang bersamaan, pertanyaan yang paling kutakutkan terdengar dari mulut temanku "What are you making? Is that coffee?". Yea yea, aku harus mengakuinya bahwa itu kopi, aku tidak bisa mengelak bahwa itu adalah lemon tea atau jus jeruk dengan apungan bubuk2 itu. And I said "Yes!", pada saat bersamaan aku minum kopiku untuk menghilangkan apungan bubuk2 tadi, juga dengan harapan supaya gayaku ngobrol tampak lebih luwes. Kopiku rasanya benar2 "spectacular!" tapi aku harus tetap tersenyum di depannya. Dan kami beriringan berjalan menuju ke meja kami masing-masing dengan ayunan kaki yang kubuat selincah-lincahnya.

-Abbie-

First Night (INA)

Sunday, 9 Nov 08, 10.35am at home

Good Sunday, diary!
From what I remember, this is the first time I write diary on Sunday this year. I seldom write diary on Sunday because usually my hubby was the one who used the computer and the Internet. My shift of using Intenet was only Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm. That was my working hours, there was no service on Saturday and Sunday. The rest of the time was my husband's. But now, I can use Internet anytime for as long as I want! You know why? Because I've moved to my new apartment last nite! *So what??* Oh, I mean, my new apartment has a wireless network coverage so two laptops can have access to the Internet at the same time. I've become addicted to the Internet now.

Diary, I've shifted to my new apartment now! Yoohoo! Last nite was our first night in this new apartment. We slept so soundly last nite since we finally could sleep on our own precious bed and pillows. The last couple of days were really tiring days for me. Although the mover company helped to settle the things, I still had to unpack my personal items and put them nicely on the wardrobe. The only things I haven't done are ironing all the clothes, washing all the dishes, and buying some groceries.

My parents had gone back home now. And tomorrow I will start my first day of working in HK. There is an exciting as well as a nervous feeling. My home now is so much more comfortable than my Japan's home with all the Internet broadband and cable TV facilities but now I have to give up my occupation as a housewife. *What do you want?? You had been crying so hard to get a job, now you've found a job and you regret it??* NO!! I mean.. I mean.. ahh, you know what I mean, rite?

I can feel my lifestyle is starting to change. I don't know if I still have time to experience cooking for dinner. I don't know how to get food for breakfast. I don't know if Friday is still my groceries shopping day. I don't know if Wednesday is still my home cleaning day.

-Abbie-

p.s INA = In New Apartment