I’m thinking… It’s only Thursday, and I feel like I’ve been working for at least 2 weeks non-stop! Ok, so the key word is FEEL. But yeah, work is ‘fantastic´ this week! And by fantastic, I mean:

Spending 2 days, that’s Monday and Wednesday climbing a certain tower. By climbing, I mean stairs. The tower has 28 floors. The lift is from the lower ground, right until the 27^th floor. Unfortunately, being a contractor, my pass only allows me to go up from the first floor. That means:

I climb 24 steps up from the lobby to get to the first floor. Then:

Walked 16 steps to the door. Then,

Swipe my pass, walked another 30 steps to get to the lift. Then

In the lift, I pushed the 27 button and wait for about 30 seconds.

(The bigger lift is fine, the smaller lift is shaky, it scares me).

At the 27^th floor, climb another 12 steps up..

turn…

another 12 steps up..

turn…

another 10 steps up..

turn..

AND another 8 steps up.. to get to the 28^th floor!

There, I take my shoes off, pushed the intercom thingy. Wait till the ‘tower’ people let me in, walk 5 steps..

and CLIMB another 6 steps up..

take 2 steps…

and CLIMB another 14 steeper-than-the-rest steps up.

3 flat steps again…

and climb the FINAL three little steps up!

(Soalan quiz: Berapakah anak tangga yang perlu saya panjat utk sampai ke tingkat 28 menara itu?)

Now imagine having to do that… at least 12 times (multiply that by 2, for going down) in 6 hours!

I don’t know about you guys.. but for a person who is as unfit as me, that is truly a workout.

Now imagine 2 of those 24 times (up and down), carrying a CPU among other things! Thank God HP has the ‘Small Form Factor’ CPUs now.. but still.. it’s at least.. what… 4-5kg?

(Nak bawak badan sendiri pun dah semput!!)

Why can’t they just make the lift to go right up until the 28^th floor is beyond me. (I’ve been to 3 control towers and they’re all like that).

The saddest part of all? After ALLLLLL the climbings, the thing I’m trying to fix STILL doesn’t work! What’s more sad than the saddest part is.. that only means I have to go there again next week!

My new business card (the company merged, changed its name, had restructuring and what nots) states my position as ‘Engineer – Critical Systems’. At the moment, I’m not sure which one is more critical – The system, or me.

Went to RHB last 2 weeks. Went in, and after about 5 minutes, got the documents I needed and about to walk out. 5 steps away from the door, saw a young, well-dressed man (well dressed in this context means, baju kerja + tie, proper lah) approaching the door from outside. I hesitated. Should I go first ke.. biar dia masuk dulu. He stopped walking as well. I thought it would be nice if he opens the door for me, but who am I kidding? In Malaysia? That? Maybe once in 100 occurrences kot. Tu pun kalau nasib baik. Anyway, since he stopped, I went ahead and open the door to let myself out. And guess what? That bloody fool, terus cepat2 masuk once I pushed the door open!!

Mangkuk hayun punya mamat!!!

Apaaaa lah nak jadi dengan lelaki2 kat Malaysia ni.

2.

SG: Cari apa kak?
Me: Breadmaker ada tak?
SG: Ha? Breadmaker? Hmmmm (sambil buat muka blur)
Me: Ha-ah.. breadmaker, yang guna utk buat roti tu.
SG: (still buat muka blur) Takde la KOT kak. Akak beli yang tu la (pointing tu mixer) Yang tu boleh guna buat kek.

I was sooooo tempted to be sarcastic at that point. I honestly cannot tolerate salespeople yang tak tau apa yang diorg jual. I mean, this is an electrical shop pulak tu. Bukannya some huge hypermarkets with 1 million different things! I think I did tell her that I was not looking for a mixer because (OBVIOUSLY) mixer is not used to make BREADS! Adoiii laaaa

Apaaaa lah nak jadi dengan salesgirls kat HSL ni.

Special shoutout to Mrs Curmudgeon:

Sandra!!! Got my Breadmaker already!! Breadmaker, not mixer.. and of course, NOT from that HSL lah kan. Lalalalala… Nanti dah siap itu roti2.. I’ll show you the pictures k? Semalam baca manual pun sampai tertido tapinya. I hope it's not a bad sign. Hihihi...

To recap, first we had my brother, Amel’s wedding reception. First in Gombak, on the bride’s side and then in 443. 443 is our house number back in Temerloh. So, we lovingly call home - 443.

Anyway, both the receptions went really well. Alhamdulillah. If I can find the time, I’ll squeeze in some pictures. (Work is outrageously chaotic these days. Soooo unlike my ‘ordinary’ days. As it is, the only reason I’m writing this entry (offline) is because I’m at the site, waiting for an installation to finish – it says time remaining – 1hr and 10 minutes – and there’s really nothing else to do. (No wi-fi here, dang!) I should get that Celcom Broadbrand!).

We were at 443 for 4 days for Amel’s reception. It was fun having everyone around. Tiring (because of the whole kenduri preparations), but really fun. Only thing is, Mariessa was having fever and diarhhea all 4 days, and Edrick (and his mommy, too) were coughing sooo badly. Kesiannnnn sgt.

I’ll put up pictures of the kenduri in 443 too. InsyaAllah. We were all in purple!

The purple us.

Budak tunggu pengantin... Duduk atas kompang

The 'pelantin' (pengantin). Tak ingat sapa yg pelat and pronounced it as pelantin. sapa eh?

The volunteers. :)

Came back to Kajang on Sunday. Brought Mariessa to KPMC in Kajang since she is still having fever AND diarhhea despite having medications for both since Friday from a clinic in Temerloh. She was tested for dengue. Alhamdulillah it came out –ve. Doctor advised us to change the milk to the lactose free ones. She gave us Bebelac to try. Came back and slept like we haven’t slept for a year! Not that I know how that would really feel.

On Monday, Shahril and I were still on leave. We decided to go for a movie. :) Actually had a tough time deciding between IronMan and Indiana Jones. Hehe. Aunty Pet’s sms helped a lot when I asked her: “ Indiana Jones of course!!!” Hahahah…

The movie was better than I expected! Entertaining. I didn’t expect much from it, actually. Mainly because, well you know, I think Harrison Ford is…, well you know… too old to still be the main character. Hehe.. But he did good.

Right after the movie, my maid called to say that Mariessa’s stool were ‘bloody’. Twice! Rushed to KPMC again, the same doctor. She said, Mariessa needs to be admitted for further observation. Only thing is both paeds at KPMC were on leave. (One of whom I adore so much, the best paeds I’ve had!) Asked the doctor to refer us to KPJ.

So, after some checks with the paed in KPJ, Mariessa was admitted. The place was unusually full (that’s what the nurses said). Almost all rooms were occupied!

Stayed there for one night only (Thank God!). Mariessa, although very sweet and demure in nature, makes the worst kind of patient! I guess she was intimated by the new surrounding, strangers around her and all. She automatically burst into tears everytime someone enters our room! The moment she sees the paed, she cried! No, she didn’t only cry, she wailed! Nurses came to check on her drips and what nots, she wailed! The lady came to send in our food, she wailed!!! And that night, she just wouldn’t let my hand go even when I thought she’s already in deep sleep. I had to text Shahril first thing in the morning to come to the hospital a.s.ap. so that I can run to the bathroom!!!

Budak sakit...

The good thing is, she got better right away! Hehe.

Last Saturday we brought her to see the paed for a follow-up check. The second she saw the paed, she gave him a scowl. The moment he extended his hand to check on her, she wailed!! “Ayaaaahhhhhh… Mamaaaaaaaa…. Kakaaaaaaakkkkk.. Amaaaaaaa…!!!! I’m not kidding! Pheww!

Alhamdulillah all is well now. Well, except Edrick and his mommy, who are still coughing! The day Mariessa was discharged from KPJ, Edrick got admitted into The Glen! He’s at home now, but still not too well. I hope you both will have a speedy recovery, Ngah!!

So there. The main happenings in the last 2 weeks. I’m still feeling a little tired actually. Spirit is further dampens by the fuel hike, of course. I think that goes for everyone. Did any of you queue up for petrol that night? There are 3 petrol stations in my area. Very near to my house. The traffic that night was horrible! We didn’t get in line. It was just too chaotic. Filled up our lil Savvy yesterday with the new price. Usually for full tank, we pay about RM47. Yesterday it came to about RM60. And that will last us for 400km. That’s about 3.5 working days. Hmm…

It’s high time we consider working somewhere near Kajang, hmm? Any openings? ;)

Still have 43 minutes until the installation is done. Main game la kejap! :).

I wrote the above on Friday while at site. By the time I got back to 'civilization' - that's my office, with of course, internet connection, it was almost 4 pm. Did this and that.. obviously couldn't find time to publish this.

Now it's Sunday, and I'm at the office. Had to go on standby as some people decided to do some job around the area and it might affect the electricity, thus bringing the server down. So far, it's looking good. (Didn't i tell you guys work is super crazy these days?)

Everyday before Shahril and I go out for work, we make it a routine to salam2 and kiss2 the kids. This is when I usually give Afiq my pesan2. And by now, Afiq has memorized it all. So now, instead of me telling him, he will say this while salam-ing me: “Afiq jaga adik, afiq jaga kakak, afiq jaga Waja” – My ‘original’ script actually ‘jaga adik, jaga kakak” je. The Waja part dia yg tambah sendiri. So yes, he looks after the car too while we’re away. Alternatively, he leaves out the Waja part if we’re taking both cars out.

And routinely, once we’re in the car, we’ll say our goodbye’s and I love you’s. Dulu2, Afiq said “ I laaaaaaaa you!!!” Now it sounds pretty much correct – I loVe you. Yes, with emphasize on the V, ever since he could pronounce it.

So this morning, it was just me leaving for work as Shahril is in JB. I reversed the car, and was about to say “I love you, Afiq” when he said this first:

“Bye maaaa… I loVe you, girl”