Surat cinta pertama daripada Dubai

Salaam namaste from Dubai!

Salam namaste? Dubai ni ramai orang india.. So kalau cakap salaam namaste sure ramai yang faham, betul tak? Hehe. Anyway, baru rasa2 nak settle down kat sini. All the packages and luggages dah habis unpacked. So, life's back to normal. 

(Ramai orang india ehh.. sebenarnya berharapan nak jumpa Aamir Khan ke, Shahid Kapoor ke, Kareena ke buat filming sini.. lol. Neil Nitin Mukesh tu.. paling hensem lah. haha)

Sure ramai yang tertanya, ok ke duduk rumah after 7 years of working? Boleh tahan ke? Soalan ini selalunya ditanya oleh mereka yang bajet careerwoman la kan.. atau nak ada anak tapi malas jaga sendiri. I know that feeling, haha. Walau lepas ada anak dah tak berapa nak bajet careerwoman, tapi kerana tuntutan bekerja and peer pressures tu, gaya mesti maintain, betul tak?

Ahh, melalut pulak aku.

Honestly stress kat rumah and stress at work adalah 2 perkara yang berbeza. Tapi I guess stress at home adalah lebih seronok daripada stress at work. Stress at work (setelah menganalisa diri sendiri dan whatsapp conversations from my colleagues) adalah amat tak best kerana merasa kebergantungan terhadap manusia lain, yang selalunya mengecewakan. Be them your beloved colleagues ke, your most hated boss ke, or just this lady from department lain yang takde kena mengena tetiba minta something that takes away your time from your pile of work (I would love to write down their names mannnn...), for now adalah lebih baik stress di rumah. Seriously I'm not kidding.

Well, at least, when habis masak (and stressed kalau Fahim tetiba terbangun melalak sebab mama takde), Zara will eat and look at me and say "mmm.. delicious, thank you mama.." Boss ada nak cakap selalu "Good job..!" ? Haraamm.. lagi bagi kerja on top of my already full plate ada la. In a way, the sense of accomplishment I can obtain more easily (and mmg akan dapat pun!) at home. Sense of accomplishment at work.. hmm.. the last real one was masa dapat TUV certification kot. That was 3 years ago!

Anyway, I don't know how long I will be staying at home of course. Tapi for now rasa nak kerja tu belum ada la lagi. Perasaan nak ambil masters tu memang membuak2. And the course has already been identified. Cuma I already missed the semester for this year because it started before I left Petronas. So tahun ni tak dapat la kan. It's alright. I'm more eager about my sister's wedding planned at the end of this year. So yep, really looking forward to that occasion. Mana taknya, kakak pengantin lagi bersedia daripada pengantinnya, haha. 3 pasang baju dah siap dah. And kasut sekali!

Dubai, presently it's hot here. Tapi tak lama lagi nak cuaca sejuk dah. These few weeks my life is about home, cooking, shopping malls and taxis. Lol. Belum beli kereta lagi. Pun tengah fikir2 nak beli kereta apa. But our new home is very near to restaurants and groceries, so it's really convenient. Baru nak kenal jiran2.. hehe. Slowly2..

Hello from Zara & Fahim! You lucky lots.

Oklah, sebenarnya banyak nak tulis lagi. Tapi masa tak mengizinkan (teruna dan dara di rumah memerlukan perhatian mama, hehe). Ada hutang post lagi kan.. hutang dengan FSI girls, and hutang nak bercerita macam mana saya berjaya menjual kereta Honda City saya. Pengalaman yang berharga tu.. hehe. 

Alright. See you in the next post. Adios from Burj Khalifa!

Au revoir Petronas!

What.. my last post was in January?? Seriously I thought I last wrote in March. Duh, how can I forget..? Well it's not so surprising cuz after having Fahim, it seems there are too many clouds in my head. Asyik lupa je. I know I should be taking supplements to help myself.. but I'm not that religious in keeping up with the doses everyday.. (-_-!)

So.. Ok.. let's start writing again..

I really didn't know that I do have readers amongst my officemates (wait, WHAT!!) If I knew, I would've written more, haha! Oh well, I have more time at home now; perhaps I should continue writing.

So.. hmmh.. this week witnessed the beginning of my life as a home maker. Did I hear someone say I'm kidding?? No I'm not. I'm officially jobless now (well, I still have time to retract my resignation, but I don't think I will) but it seems that I'm still busy with my to-do list. Things to shop before I fly, selling off my Black Beauty (sedih betul di hujung hati ni..), attending to Fahim who seems more clingy than Zara was before, and a few more things that I can't seem to remember.. (see.. cloudy mind again..)

Oh well, the idea to exit Petronas didn't come in a wink; it started longer than a year ago.. when I was offered a better paying job outside. But then, suddenly I found out that I was pregnant.. so I didn't think it was a good idea to wave goodbye to Petronas as yet.. I continued to stay, telling myself I'll give myself another year..

Then, end of 2013 I had Fahim.. and went on MC+maternity leave+MC (again!)+ AL that totaled up to 3 months. Upon returning to the office for 2 weeks, we (myself+hubby+Zara+Fahim) flew to London for a job that I was assigned to. The thought of exiting Petronas came again.. and at that time a few headhunters called me up, asking if I was interested to venture outside of my comfort zone. I was sooo ready for it. So damn ready.

A couple of weeks after coming back from London, I was offered a position in a competitor consultancy firm for a position as a senior consultant, in the field of work that I love. I was soo looking forward for it. Told my husband my excitement. He was equally excited for me. One thing about my husband, he is always supportive of what I am doing - I love you, Yang :) (and I think he is also tired of listening to my rantings and complaints about my workplace.. the distorted system, the dysfunctional line of reporting.. and all that's in the list)

Little that we know.. Allah has other plans for us..

A day after I got the offer, my husband was offered a position in Dubai. I didn't really know what to feel at that time, as I was so mixed up. Couldn't really think it through.. again, the cloudy mind thingy. I consulted my friends and my parents too. Feeling frustrated, angry, helpless, trying to act I-could-be-the-supermom... I was actually so prepared to leave my job for another job..

..But He is the best planner of all..

I talked it though with my husband.. detailing our finances, our pros and cons, our visions, our wishes, our wants in life.. and looking at our kids, I know they can not stand their parents being apart. Zara is growing fonder of her Papa after seeing Fahim being so attached to Mama, and that when my husband left for Dubai, it is really apparent that she misses him so much. I really pity her.. but what to do. We'll just wait for the time to arrive.

So, on 22nd April 2014, I tendered my resignation.

Au Revoir Petronas..

It was much to my superiors' dismay.. my immediate superior asking me over and over again if I could change my decision. I might not leave if I was offered a non-traveling-just-stay-in-Dubai position, but that will not happen, since my work outfit is meant to be mobile. Family's interest comes first. I have to decline.

Oh well..

It is not easy leaving beloved friends behind. Friends who were there for you through thick and thin, through sweat and tears.. friends who were so supportive in each other's development as engineers and mothers and wives. But goodbyes are real.

Goodbye is such sweet sorrow. Even Shakespeare acknowledged.

Maybe a few of you might be wondering, what am I gonna do after being a home-maker? Well, that's not for anyone to wander yet. I'll choose. And for whatever I'll choose, I'm not answerable to anyone except Allah. I do have a few plans in mind.

This is my time to be excellent again :)

Oh ya, just follow my instagram for quicker updates. It's ladyrora. Heh.

My Version of 29 Awesome Things About Being 29

I'm gonna say goodbye to being in my 20s in a few days' time. Yeah, I really think being born in January is uncool.. contradictory to what I used to think when I was in school, haha. Saw this interesting list on buzzfeed about 29-year-olds.. thought I would just like to share it, from my point of view, lol.

So here is..

29 Awesome Things About Being 29

By Jessica Misener, Buzzfeed staff

1. You just generally give less of a shit.

Well, yeah, kinda. Like I don't care about how expensive your wedding is, or how much you can spend on your vacations, etc. I only care about the things that affect me. Like the government policies. Yep, we're talking serious here.

Credit: The Undisclosed Studio

2. 11 p.m. has become a socially acceptable bedtime.

Well, we are worse. We go to bed at 10 pm. or whenever we possibly can, 9.30 pm. Or else we'll end up like this:

 Credit: Drink and Be Merry

3. When you’re around younger people, you can still claim “being in your twenties,” but you can also hang around thirty-somethings with ease.

Well, yeah, I do this too. But I would prefer being around the early 30s. LOL. 

4. Craft beer is delicious.

Skip this. I dunno what the hell craft beer is.

5. You can look back on your twenty-something heartbreaks as learning experiences, and not just soul-crushing acts of emotional sadism.

I never treat past heartbreaks as soul-crushing. They were just a waste of time and energy actually. I wish they weren't existent.

 Credit: Quiksilver

6. Gossip bothers you WAY less now.

Gossips about friends, nah.. not interested. But just to kill time while waiting for my thosai and hot milo, I read these :D

 .. for my daily dose of gossips to laugh at or to loathe about.

7. You’ve made the extremely wise decision of investing in a memory-foam pillow.

This statement is totally for my husband. LOL.

8. You don’t feel the need to join every single new social media network.

Nope, I don't have Twitter account. And am proud of it. 

9. All your friends are just as tired as you are.

I dunno. I don't think so. Many of them are busy joining marathons. Maybe they are just plain bored.

 This is me studying for ACD. Am honestly tired of it. Credit: Shutterstock

10. You have no problem telling people to go jump in a lake.

Yep. And I won't help you if you drown. Cuz I can't swim.

11. No one will judge you for ordering white wine at a bar.

I dunno if you can only order beer at a bar. I have no idea how bars operate.

12. You don’t have to care about knowing what an “Avicii” is.

I happen to know Avicii's an artiste from an annoying pop-up message on one of the gossip websites I went to.

 Exactly. Credit to GWPatriot

13. You’re old enough to remember Friends.

I love this episode. Ok, I'm OLD enough!

 LOL! Credit to Pinterest.

14. Getting ready now takes 5 minutes.

It's possible. Trust me. Thanks to Ruelala

15. You spend less money on stupid stuff.

This was (I think!) the last stupid thing that I got. It costed RM2k. And it wasn't so smart at all. Regretting of asking my husband to place it as one of the 'hantarans' until now. Credit to PhoneArena

16. You’ve stopped pretending that an ill-fated hookup can’t mess with your emotions in the same way as a failed relationship.

Ill-fated hookup? I didn't have that.

17. You wear what’s comfortable.

Yeah I guess so. 

There were days when I wore babies like this to lectures. Can you believe it? You'd better.

18. You can refer to “college kids” as such, because kids they are.

It's fun referring to them as 'kids'. I think they are an annoying lot. Korean contact lenses, hijabista-wannabes, color-blocking addict.. and all on their parents' money. Erghh yuck! Those born in the 90s and forward.

19. You’re willing to pay extra for a nice hotel room.

Yep yep. And it's not weird if the hotel is in KL. LOL.

Papa, let's go here again! Thanks to KL Photos

20. If you have a crush on someone, you just tell them.

Ok, I can never confess. But I can do this. LOL.

 Hehe.. Credit to 8tracks.

21. You recall your early twenties…and wonder what the hell you were thinking.

Ok I blame this entirely on Dr. Mohamad and Dr. Nordin (tak boleh tulis nama penuh kang orang google2 terjumpa pulak!)

Krohhh krohhh.. everytime. Memang super gila betul cuz their voices sounded like lullaby. Credit to Agefotostock.

22. You’ve stopped lying about having seen a certain movie or read a certain book.

I've stopped since upper form. Haha.

23. Vacations don’t have to involve any plans besides CHILLING TO THE MAX.

I wish! The realistic plan now is to get the KIDS to chill to the max. And that may mean an entire day spent at the swimming pool or the playground.

24. You’ve learned to take everything a lot less personally.

Maybe this also, will be ok someday, LOL. Credit to Quickmeme.

25. When one of your friends complains about their dating drama, you’re just glad you don’t put up with petty crap anymore.

That's because all of us are married!

LOL! Credit to rapgenius.

26. You remember watching actual music videos on MTV and VH1.

Yeah.. and MTV was a rare thing because we didn't have cable channels.

Can you recall this video/ song? I totally loved it. Picture source here.

27. You’ll go to a bar by yourself without feeling weird.

I don't go to bars.

28. The idea of having a kid — if you don’t have one already — doesn’t freak you out QUITE as much.

Aww.. who wouldn't want kids of their own.. Credit to Secretsofagoodgirl.

29. You’re not scared of turning 30, because you’re more confident in who you are than ever!

...OK, maybe you're a *teensy* bit scared.    

Oh well..

I AM a bit scared.. LOL. Thanks to cocreatingourreality.