Questions (Part II)

How do you work with someone for whom you have zero respect?

How do you work with someone who asks you to replace the word "free" in the sentence "...Party A warrants that the products will be free from defect..." with something else because "people may think it means "free of charge""?

How do you work with someone who always interrupts a conversation so at any given time during a conference call you can hear at least 2 voices speaking simultaneously, and the noise is giving you a splitting headache?

How do you work with someone who is so stupid that you think it's a sin for him to exist in this world, and you actually feel embarrassed to be seen working with him?

I need a drink.

Revelations

(I)

昨天黃昏，放工途中，在地鐵裏如常地開始發白日夢，想着想着，忽然驚覺原來距離結婚日子，只有三星期不夠，心裏發毛，冷汗直標。

之前一直忙於新屋裝修的事情，籌備婚禮的工作擱在一邊，現在家也搬了，也就繼續婚禮準備。只是沒有想到，原來時光真的會飛逝，剩下的日子不多了，但好像很多事情還沒準備好。喜帖沒派完，鞋子沒造好，教堂程序表沒印好，皮膚還是很差（豆豆跟我仍是好朋友）...怎麽辦？

(II)

Last night on the way back home after our meeting with the videographers, BB said, shaking his head, "You really are a control freak". I tend to believe him, because I was getting that feeling too. From the house moving to the wedding preparations, I just have to be involved in every minute detail of things. From the colour of the paint to the way the door handles should be installed; from the style of my wedding dress to the exact timing the photographer should appear at our doorstep to the way I want my bouquet to be tied (hand-tied, not the round ones), I just need to be sure everything is under control, and that everything is to my liking.

I remember some years ago when I was lunching with my gal friends and we were talking about weddings and other gal stuff, all my gal friends agreed that I was gonna be one bridezilla. I didn't know what prompted them to say that, for I didn't think I was particularly fuzzy or demanding (on the contrary I thought I was rather easy-going). They said "yes you are easy-going, but when it comes to wedding, you will be a Bridezilla with a capital B". Damn, I hate it when they are right.

How I love my shiny kitchen

...and the bathrooms and the study and the bedroom and the guest room and the living room and the dining room, which are all new and shiny and smell of paint and new wood.

The housemoving could not have gone more smoothly, starting from Friday evening when we moved some of the smaller boxes to the new house (with the help of our friends), and ending with the big moving truck coming over and wrapping our sofa and dining table and mattress with super large cling film and transporting everything big and small to the new house on Sunday afternoon. The unpacking and tidying up took only a few hours (with the help with both my parents and BB's mom and the part time maid) and by 8pm Sunday the new house is 99% functional. We are so blessed in having such lovely parents and friends.

I am so glad this is now over. We can finally focus on the wedding preparations in the next few weeks.

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P.S. I never realised I have expensive taste until Saturday afternoon, when we met with the florist / event co-ordinator to discuss our wedding decoration. When asked what kind of flowers we wanted to use for the wedding, I picked the flowers which turned out to be really expensive (e.g some rare specie of peony, amaryllis, and some exotic flowers the names of which I can't remember, etc). This wasn't intentional - I just thought they were super beautiful. Obviously, BB wasn't impressed (and kept rolling eyes at me), and at the end a compromise was reached, so that instead of using all the expensive flowers, we will also mix them with some of my less favourite, but more economical, flowers.

So don't be surprised when you will see roses at our wedding reception.

Question

If my job requires me to:

(1) travel to China (by cross-border shuttle bus) on a weekly basis; and
(2) work with people who think they are always rights just because they happen to be your boss,

and I:

(a) have a massive headache every time I commute to and from China; and
(b) do not enjoy one bit working with those smart asses, who are rude and unreasonable to say the least,

should I then seriously consider quitting? But won't that mean I admit defeat? I am better than that. If I go somewhere else, does that mean I can avoid working with Chinese at all?

My head is spinning again.

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On a different note, WE ARE MOVING HOUSE TOMORROW! Our old house is now full of boxes, and apparently Siu Bo is very confused now, seeing all the boxes stacked up in our living room but having no idea what is going on. I hope he is not thinking that we are conspiring to abandon him.

My next posting will probably be made from our new apartment!!!

我我我我我

原來我很介意別人怎樣看我。

原來我很容易哭。尤其是受委屈的時候。

原來我很需要被我重視的人了解。如果我的說話被誤解，我會不厭其煩地解釋，直到對方明白（或怕我煩所以敷衍說明白）。

如果我一直當你是朋友，但你只把我當作你講是非的一個題目，我會很傷心。但我已經學會放手，畢竟我的朋友多的是，少你一個不算少。

原來我愛我的家人，比我想象更多。但我從來沒有表現出來。

原來在工作的層面上，我從來不是一個有野心，喜歡挑戰的人。一份朝九晚五，不需用腦的工作，其實最適合我。

原來我是很膚淺的（見到靚仔會開心半天！）。

原來我的意志力很薄弱。看我減肥減了這麽多年還是老樣子便知道了。

原來我是一個記仇的人。我可以原諒一個人，但他對我的不好，我一世都會記得。

原來我很怕看那些關於落後民族的紀錄片。一看到他們的大耳窿，畫花了的臉，吃樹皮（或其他奇怪的食物），我會毛骨悚然。我承認在這事上，我是徹底的種族歧視。

原來我不喜歡我的芝士被移動。“改變”跟我，從來也不是好朋友。

原來我非常極度十分不喜歡社交。 在社交場合，我可以表現得很好，但我一點也不享受。

最好的工餘節目是回家跟貓玩。看看電視也不錯。跟愛人家人朋友在家吃飯也很好。

原來我在這裡寫的東西，真的有人看。謝謝你們給我的回應與鼓勵。我開這個blog，就是爲了跟你們分享，這目的，現在總算達到了。

It's about time

My posting has been a bit sporadic lately, and it's likely to be the case at least for the next two weeks.

The renovation of our new flat is coming to an end and we are hoping to move in the next weekend. That means in the next ten days or so, we will spend all our evenings and weekend packing and bubble wrapping things. This is a stressful exercise. Fun, but stressful.

I'd better lose 10 pounds out of this.

A visit to the ultrasound room

OR "Oh-my-God-the-baby's-heart-is-beating!" or "Oh-my-God-it-has-the-cutest-lips!"

My friend B is 25 weeks into her pregnancy and this morning she and her husband C paid a visit to the doctor for her regular pregnancy check-up. I, the nosy one who enjoy being vicariously pregnant, tagged along. After some routine blood and urine sample collection, we were shown to the ultrasound room.

B and C must be very used to this, but I was very nervous, as this is the first time I get to see a real baby through ultrasound.

The baby had its face hidden by its hands most of the time, and we couldn't see clearly its features. In fact most of the time all I could see was a big circle (the head). But at the very end, for a few seconds, the baby removed its hands from its face and we could see its features. It has very cute thin lips and a big nose (CUTE!). I also heard its heart beating. It was awesome and I was almost speechless (except the arrrhhs and ohhhhhs).

The mystery of childbirth never ceases to amaze me. This is probably God's biggest and best manifestation of his omnipower.

Centre of the Universe

Since my university years, I have never enjoyed being the centre of attention.

When I was young, I used to get a lot of attention. I went to a very decent girls' school, I was always one of the good students who got good grades and never caused troubles. I was rather popular (at least when compared to the geeky ones) in school and had quite a lot of good friends (most of whom I manage to keep in touch till now, for which I am very proud of myself). I was a member of the English debate team and once I won the best speaker prize. I took part in the drama competition and enjoyed every bit of it.

Until I got into the university. The uni experience was really an eye-opener. In law school, you see all kinds of smart people, REALLY SMART people. Your classmates are from international schools so even though they are also locally born and bred like you, they speak impeccable English. Some are from really really rich families. And did I say they are smart?

The transition from secondary school to university years is a very humbling experience. You discovered that you were nowhere near being the cream of the people. I wasn't frustrated for I am not the competitive type, but since then I had this change within me, the change that tells me I should avoid being in the lime light at all costs, because I am never good enough when compared to some other people. This is not a sense of inferiority, this is just reality.

I write about this because more and more I feel that I am starting to get the attention now. I get asked questions about the wedding preparations, whether I feel nervous, and how they all look forward to seeing "the most beautiful bride", etc. etc. While I do really appreciate the care and concerns and compliments (and yes I also want to be the most beautiful bride, but first I need the stupid zits to leave me alone), sometimes I feel quite uncomfortable addressing these questions and comments, because the conversation would be all about me me me. Most importantly, I worry that the people who ask the questions may only ask them out of courtesy, and are therefore not really interested in what I've got to say, so I tend to keep the conversation brief. As BB said, telling a person who's not getting married anytime soon everything about YOUR wedding preparations may bore the hell out of him/her.

So next time when you ask me how the wedding preparations are going and I respond with a simple "it's ok lah", it's not because it's ok (wedding preparations are never ok, you have all sorts of complications), it's only because I don't want to bore you with the minute details.

But if you really are interested in what flowers I use for the wedding, what are the colors of my evening dresses, what hairstyles I would wear, etc. etc., you can always come to this blog. After all, a bridezilla would not be able to hold her excitement. Thank God for cyberspace.