My Own Desperate Housewives & Sex and the City

For a while now I have been meeting up with a group of friends whenever we can to catch up on Friday. We call ourselves Desperados... LOL! Yes I know the name is so quirky, but it works for us. Different faces came whenever we had our 'congregation', but the usual ones are yours truly, an old and best friend from my high school, and two old friends from my college.

We usually meet up either in KL Sentral (because of the convenience of the LRT) or in Bangsar (usually in Delicious - Bangsar Village). Other regular faces are also friends from the old workplace that have become close to me.

These are the people that I care about the most besides my family.

What do we do when we meet up? We bitch (most of the time), we laugh at each other silly, we bitch some more, we share our successes and sorrows, we confide in each other, we listen to each other, and most importantly, we give our shoulders for everyone to cry on...

The congregation has become part of me so much that whenever there is news to be shared, one will be planned. And frankly, this is what has kept me going when I was down in the turf especially in the first few months of me joining the new company.

I hope this will become a ritual for all of us years to come even after everyone has become someone somewhere. And I also hope that the ritual has done them good as it has done me.

ieja

The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

Several months ago I was really unhappy with my work, the people around me at work and especially those who were supposed to be my immediate down liners. The root of my unhappiness? Pretty simple... they did not share the sense of urgency, accountability, the need to strive for the best in delivering results, etc. These people were like the government servants in the era of 80s (sorry that I have to use such analogy).

But what Hubby said was true. He is my king of logic after all :P He said all those things would pass and whoever survive the tide would be the winner. True enough, last Friday, my boss (I have pronounced him to be my Mentor - he didn't know this of course :)) called me for a career chat. We talked about how he made a career suicide with his ultimate boss at the Group level, and how he was content with where he was at the moment. But he acknowledged that I was ambitious and worked hard to get where I wanted to be. I did ask him how fast I could climb up the corporate ladder in the organisation after only being there for 6 months :))

And what he conveyed that day was really something that I would remember for the rest of my life. He said that I had been earmarked for being his successor. He was requested by his ultimate boss to head somewhere else, and that the CEO of the company had requested for me to take over from him. His exact words were "I would be really upset if you leave the company". Another recognition that made me really feel proud of myself was the fact that the ultimate boss at the Group level had told my boss to take me with him when he leaves next year.

I was so on the cloud nine after that conversation that I didn't give a damn that my big event later that evening didn't go that well (there was a shortage of food for dinner planned for 1000 ++ pax).

I realised that all these boiled down to one thing - if you're honestly working hard to get what you want, insyaallah, God will show you the way and opportunity will prevail itself. I am thankful (alhamdulillah) to God for this and pray that my rezeki will always be guarded by Him.

Amin.

ieja

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2011

Aidilfitri this year was a low key event for me, hubby and the kids. We did very very early raya shopping. In fact, some were done when we went to Bandung in January early this year. So that actually took care of some of the things that Hubby and I needed to do and buy - with twice the savings!

This year was Kota Bahru's turn. But after our last bad experience braving the traffic during last year Aidiladha, we had decided to fly instead of driving. I can't tell you how glad I was in making that decision. We didn't have to put up with 10-12 hours of tiring and chaotic journey. I just can't imagine having 3 restless small kids in a confined and moving space. I believe I could go mad...

Our flight was just for an hour. Abang Iqie, Abang Afeeq and Rayna were behaving themselves all the way. They were really an angle especially when we flew back to KL.

Previous years, I would call my parents to wish them Happy Aidilfitri in the morning itself. And without fail, I would cry! This year, I determined not to... and to make sure that didn't happen, I devised a clever plan. I didn't call them! Instead, I MMS them Rayna's photo in Baju Kurung (traditional Malay attire for girls) and wished them. That took care of the tears hahahaha...

Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir dan Batin!

ieja