Highlights of 2010

Some of the highlights of 2010:

1. Took my relationship to the next level (merisik)

2. I graduated with a first class engineering degree (sorry I'm so proud of it, I just HAVE to write it here)

3. I got my first job.

My offer letter

4. Tried online shopping and bought my first ever authentic Coach!

Coach Poppy Signature Wristlet

After this first purchase I got addicted to online shopping. Which leads to another Coach wristlet...

5. Bought my first Thomas Sabo charm

...which leads to another 4 more charms.

Overall, 2010 has been quite a boring year. Not many great things happened to me. I didn't even travel anywhere this year. And I can't believe that I regard Coach wristlets and Thomas Sabo charms as highlights of 2010.

I have no resolutions for 2011. Every year I would make the same old resolutions but didn't accomplish them.

For the year 2011, I just pray that all my dreams and goals will be realised when it comes to work, love, money and health. Amin.

My Convocation Day : 7 August 2010

To make up for the lack of updates in this blog, I will post about some of the highlights that has happened so far...starting with my convocation day.

My convocation day was held at the multipurpose hall in Uniten. It was one of the most beautiful days of my life. All my hard work paid off and I am now officially an honours degree holder in Civil Engineering.

The convocation rehearsal was held on 6th August (Friday), and the big day was on 7th August (Saturday). My parents and I spent the night at Residence Hotel. Bliss....

We attended the convocation rehearsal in the morning and then took pictures around campus. Starting with the Admin building.

Life moves on but sometimes I wish there's a rewind button...

When I was little, I couldn't wait to grow up and go to school.

I looked forward to make friends and learn new things.

Then I started my schooldays and I hated it.

I struggled to fit in, I had to study real hard to compete with my friends and there were those endless exams.

That was when I looked forward to university.

I really liked the idea of freedom, to be independent and be able to pursue my dreams in the field that I wanted.

But that all changed once I finally attended university. I made some really bad choices, I didn't enjoy what I was studying and I constantly prayed that college life will be over real quick. What I really wanted that time was to graduate, find a good job and earn my own money and never have to look at any thick textbooks ever again.

Finally I got my degree and landed a job that pays me 5 times more than the allowance I used to get while I was studying. Guess what? Just the idea of coming to work makes me SICK and I wish I can go back to my childhood and NEVER dream about growing up again.

Because it's a scary world and being a grown-up SUCKS.

Headbands

I have an on/off liking for headbands.

I remember during my first year in university when I first started dating with my bf, I was so into headbands. How did it all started? I wore a pink headband on one of our first few dates and my bf complimented that I looked cute. So I started wearing headbands all the time. Until I got sick of it.

And now I'm crazy about headbands again. Especially the beaded ones.

Some of my headbands collection. Left: Bought it at Great Eastern mall, middle: Diva, right: John Candice (the most expensive headband I've ever owned!).

Worries

I worry a lot.

Things I'm currently worried about right now:

1) My dentist appointment this Friday.
2) My probation report which my boss has to comment on next week.
3) The first ever presentation which I have to give ever since I started working in this company.

I've read books on how to overcome worry. One of the advice I've heard of is don't worry because if whatever you are worrying about doesn't happen, then it will be a waste of time. If it does happen, then there is nothing you can do about it. Err...that sure helps...a lot.

Any advice on how to stop worrying? There is no self-help book which can make me overcome my worry. How can I stop worrying? I think the answer is I can't.

Crackberry

Crackberry : A funny nickname for the Blackberry. It is popular because people get addicted to this electronic device. For example, "My boss is out of town but I can ping him on his CrackBerry -- it's the one thing that he will check when he's travelling."
source: Cleo magazine, Oct 2010.

I bought a white BlackBerry bold and put on a pink cover on it and tadaa...

Now I'm officially addicted and attached to my BlackBerry. And yes, I like the colour pink.

What do people think of you?

I've just got back from the team building thingy and on the last day, the facilitators made us write positive comments about each other in our folder. In a way, I've found out what people really think of me (the positive points only, of course).


"Small" is the first thing that comes into people's minds when they think of me...urghhh!

"You maybe in small size, but you have a big team spirit."

"You are small but big inside." <--I'm kinda puzzled with this one. I'm big inside? As in, I have a big pancreas? Big lungs? "You may be small but you can do great things if you believe in yourself."


...and apparently, I've earned myself the nickname Cili Padi...

"Hey Liyana, kecik2 cili padi!"

"Cili padi, don't let anyone look down on you."

"Hi girl! It's nice to see you here, and yes I agree, cili padi!"

Cili Padi huh? What a lame nickname.


Some wrote things which I really really like to hear (or read) that I feel like I want to belanja them Tony Romas. Hahaha...

"Liyana...pretty face! Keep up the cuteness!"

"You are so sweet!"

"Very comel, sweet & supportive team player. Great to be in your team. Keep in touch. See ya!"

"So sweet. Supportive & a team player."

"Liyana, you are so cute! Seriously!"

"Dear Liyana, I sat with you in class. You are one pretty girl and sangat cute! Nice knowing you!"

OK I better stop now before you guys vomit reading all these things. Oh, by the way, Yasser, if you're reading this, all the you're-so-pretty comments were written by GIRLS, so you don't have to worry okay.


Some wrote boring stuffs...

"Good job. Keep in touch."

"Hi Liyana, good to know you! Thanks for everything."

"Be cool! Good luck and take care. Smile always!"

"Nice knowing you and a helpful person. Thanks. Keep in touch. "

"Trustworthy and sincere."

"Keep in touch OK. Good luck."

YAWN!!!


Someone wrote something I don't understand...

"Liyana... Hope to..." <--What the...?


Some of them notice my antisocial personality...

"You're pretty quiet but I'm sure you're strong inside. Bring it out!"


...and someone was aware that I panic easily...

"Dear Liyana...Stay calm!"


Some of them wrote random things...

"Saw you once in 727." <--727 is the cafe at my office. "Liyana, selalu jumpa kat parking lot! Hee."

"Kawin jemput ye! Best of luck."

Whatever they say, it's good to know what people have to say about me. The team building was tiring and challenging, but I learned a lot.

Good news

This blog is going to be active again after I come back from the Corporate Induction Program! The course ends this Sunday (17th October 2010). Oh, and I'm planning to get myself a Blackberry with an unlimited data plan so that I can blog more often! Adehhh terbang duit aku! Anyway, pray for my safe return from the 1-week course!

Raya 2010

**Note: Previously the title of this post was 'Raya 2011.' No, I did not go into time travel or anything. Just a typo error.**

Hello, I'm back!

After my convocation, I've been a bit down because there are no more happy event to look forward to. It's just work, work and more work for me. I don't feel like blogging about my work, even though some of the things I encounter at the office are funny and worth sharing, I'm afraid most aspects of my work are too P&C to be written in this blog.

Anyway, let's talk about hari raya. This year's raya is pretty boring because:

i) It falls on a Friday, so we can't go out to all the relatives' houses because the men had to go for Friday prayers.

ii) I no longer get any duit raya because I'm working.

First raya:
Gave duit raya to my cousins. Watched Step Up 3 on my cousin, Lina's laptop. Ate. Slept.

Second raya:
Went beraya to only ONE house. I got RM2 duit raya because the makcik doesn't know I'm already working. Went to City Square to watch Resident Evil:Afterlife. It's a movie with lots of fighting action and zombies. And shocking moments too. I almost get heart attack several times when watching the movie.

Unlike last year, I didn't take lots of photos.

Wishlist...updated

1) Western Digital external hard disk in pink
I've always wanted this since my student days. I've crossed this off my list many times when I feel like I don't need a backup for all my files. But at the moment, I feel like I need it.

2) Baju kurung English cotton
I'm sooo into English cotton baju kurung. I've bought one last month and wore it to office. The secretary loved it so much. I'm not so into kebaya anymore because kebaya makes me look like a makcik. Wearing English cotton baju kurung makes me feel young. Haha.

3) More Thomas Sabo charms!

4) Shoes
I've bought work shoes. Now I want casual, comfortable shoes.

5) Jewellery
No, not those costume jewellery at Diva or Forever21 or whatsoever. I mean genuine gold jewellery. Jewellery that I can trade in or sell back, that has value. Oh God, I've turned into a high-maintenance brat since I started working!

I need help

I need help. I can't control my shopping. Which is why I don't have a credit card until now. Coz I know I won't be able to control my spending. To me, having a credit card is about spending money which you don't have. Tak best! Last month I owed my mum RM500. So this month I had to pay her back when I got my salary. I think having a credit card is like that. I spend money which I don't have, and once I get my salary I have to pay the bill. I don't like the idea of getting my salary, and then having to pay back all my debt. I want to earn my salary, and have all the money to myself.

Yesterday I went back to JB. I was on stanby, because I have to work 10 years then only I can get confirmed status on concessional travel. Luckily the flight wasn't full so the guy at the counter confirmed my booking.

Went to Body Shop to buy my foundation and makeup remover. Previously I used Skinfood's makeup remover. Then I thought I want to try something new. So I bought this Cucumber Cleansing Milk. Airline staff get 10% discount.

Cucumber Cleansing Milk

All in One Face Base

Then went through the security check and walked to the gate, I looked at my ticket, and it turned out that the flight was DELAYED. So I spent time wandering around the chocolate and perfume counters. I bought this body mist from Victoria's Secret. Got the 10% staff discount here as well.

This is Fruity & Bright. The one I bought was Warm & Cozy. But the bottle is the same though.

Arrived home in KL today, checked my bank balance, and I didn't like what I saw. Then I was rummaging through the things in my drawer, and I found a RM50 note. Don't you just love it when you find money (especially RM50 bill) in your jeans pocket/drawer???

2 pair of new shoes & third Thomas Sabo charm

Update: my dad said I don't have to pay for the Estee Lauder serum! My dad is the best!

OK, back to the topic, I got my salary yesterday, so today is shopping day! I've been hunting for the perfect pair of work shoes. Went to KLCC, and I saw a pair at Clarks which I really, really like but they don't have it in my size :-( I tried size 3, but it was so freaking tight. Size 5 was too big. I asked for a size 4 and the salesgirl told me that they don't have it in size 4. There's only size 3,5,7 etc. So sad.

But then I was happy again when I saw not one, but TWO pair of shoes that I like at Pedal Works. And the good news is that a pair of Pedal Works shoes is 1/3 the price of a pair of Clarks.

These Pedal Works shoes are similar to the ones I tried earlier at Clarks. But it's definitely better! And cheaper too. Only RM99. The Clarks shoes are RM298.

So in love!

Faux-snake skin peep toe shoes.

Side view.

Sukaaa!!!!

Besides that, I also bought another Thomas Sabo charm! The lipstick charm!

Next on my wishlist: Skechers Shape Up shoes!

The most expensive skincare product I've ever owned!

Last night I was browsing through the Temptations in-flight shopping magazine. With my staff ID, I can get 10% discount on all the products. But my dad works in the department that deals with all this in-flight shopping thingy, so he can get an extra 30% discount.

And my dad always encourage me to buy stuffs from Temptations. For example, if I see a perfume that I like in a departmental store, he'll say, "If you buy it at Temptations you can get it at a lower price."

So last I was browsing the catalogue, and I saw the famous Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex. I've heard (and read) that lots people find this product as a 'magic liquid.' So I said casually to my dad, "If I use your staff discount, I can get a 50ml bottle at RM200 only! Ground retail price is RM290! What a bargain! Maybe ONE DAY IF I HAVE THE MONEY I will kirim from you."

My dad was like, "OK OK!"

Then, TODAY, he texted me, saying that he already bought that serum! I didn't tell him to buy it, I only said I WILL buy it IF I have the money.

Now I have a HUGE bottle of this very expensive serum and I have to fork out RM200 to pay him back. *Sigh*
Takpe la, support my dad and his work.

My (expensive) new hobby

The next time I'm going to have to write a resume, I'm going to say I'm a member of the Thomas Sabo Charm Club under "extra-curricular activities."

I'm so obsessed with Thomas Sabo charms!

This is what I already have right now. Well, almost. Currently I'm wearing my charms with a necklace. I have the charm carrier, the aircraft charm and the dancing shoe charm. Next, I'm going to buy the lipstick charm.

However, the charm carrier could only hold up to 3 charms. Once I have 4 or more charms, I'm gonna buy the bracelet! And then maybe I can randomly mix all the charms into one bracelet, like in the picture above (aircraft, the letter 'N', lipstick, butterfly, pearl + butterfly pendant, gummi bear, bow, dragonfly).

Or maybe I can have a theme for the bracelet. Like in this one, the theme is SHOES! Ohmygod ohmygod so cute. Tak tahan.

I was thinking of collecting all the birthstones charms. The more colours, the merrier.

And since I'm a handbag addict, I can have a HANDBAG theme for my bracelet! But Thomas Sabo handbag charms are so expensive (more that RM200 each).

The choices are endless! The only thing you need is $$$.

Alone

My boyfriend won't be coming back to KL this weekend. 2 weeks of not seeing each other. Can you imagine???

I've came up with a list of things to do without him here in KL:

1) Fasting...definitely. If I can fast for 2 days during the weekend, I only have 3 more days more to ganti!

2) Go to KLCC and buy another Thomas Sabo charm...But I'm still hesitant about spending RM149 on a small piece of charm. Hmm...

3) Or I can spend that money on officewear! I've been looking for a long skirt and long cardigan.

4) Or maybe I can buy some fluffy soft toys to keep me company (so sad...)

5) OR I can go to Ampang Point and fix my bushy brows.

Hmm...still thinking.

My first Thomas Sabo charm

Bought my first Thomas Sabo charm at ISetan KLCC yesterday!

I bought the "Dancing Shoe" charm. I happen to own a pair of shoes which are very similar to the charm! I also bought the charm pendant (the large size). I want to wear the charm with necklace first. Once I've collected 3 charms or more, then I'll buy the bracelet.

The truth

This is my cat, Ash. Was. He went missing when I was 18. Or so I thought.

Today I came home from work, my mum was acting weird. She said there's something she wants to tell me. She could no longer hold the burden of keeping it from me. She said both she and my dad had promised each other not to tell me this. But she said that it's time for me to know.

Mum: Ash didn't go missing. He died.

Me: Oh. I see.

Silence.

Me: How?

Mum: Somehow he managed to escape from the house and crossed the road. Then a taxi hit him.

I was totally cool. I didn't even cry. I thought, it's qada' & qadar. Things are meant to happen. Like death.

Mum: After being hit, he still managed to run back into the house. Ayah saw him sprawling in front of the kitchen. Ayah held him but at that moment, he was already gone. There were blood trickling from his mouth.

This made me cry. Things would have been simpler if he died on the spot. No suffering. But he didn't die immediately. He managed to walk back into the house. Our house. I couldn't imagine his suffering.

I can't stop crying up until now.

Hot wheels

No, I'm not talking about the toy cars.

It's about my car.

On my way to work this morning, I turned my car's aircond dial to 1. There was only hot air, it didn't feel cool at all. Then I turned the dial to 2. Still feels hot. Then I set it to 3. No difference. So I figured that my car's AC ran out of that refrigerant liquid (I don't know what it's called). You know, the liquid that gives out cool air? I was fine going to the office without aircond, because in the morning, the weather is not so hot.

But when I went home from work...my god...it was terrible. I was sweating like crazy, and I had to roll down the car window like how most pakciks always do when they drive (but I don't stick my arms out of the window like they do). I had to turn up The Strokes CD full blast to beat the noise from the traffic. When I was cruising on the highway, I had to roll up the windows because the wind gave me chapped lips. But if I rolled up the windows, I felt suffocated.

I managed to arrive home safely, but extremely dehydrated and with dry skin and lips. And messy hair.

So I told my dad that my car's AC needs to be fixed. He went out to the porch to take a look at my car.

Guess what?

I forgot to turn the AC switch on.

My weekend

SATURDAY

Went to Sunway Pyramid with Yasser. Brought my new camera along with me. Hehe.

A temporary substitute until I can afford Thomas Sabo next month (I already bought a camera this month). I'm into charm bracelets now, by the way. Bought this charm bracelet at Diva. Thomas Sabo's charm bracelet costs RM159, and the charms start at RM99. The bracelet I bought at Diva costs RM23, and the charms are RM10 each. Haha.

SUNDAY

Went to Empire Gallery shopping mall in Subang. The mission was to find macaroons. I just wanna know why people are so crazy about macaroons. My colleague told me that there's a cafe called Whisk in Empire Gallery that sells macaroons.

Bought the macaroons in 3 flavours: pandan, pineapple and rose. Verdict: macaroons taste okay. Not my kind of dessert. Too sweet for me I guess. My favourite among the three flavours was the pineapple ones.

Macaroons...not the ones I bought, I googled this pic.

It's only Wednesday...

Today my mum called me at the office THREE TIMES just to ask me...

1) ...why I didn't wear the charm bracelet that she bought me.

2) ...what kind of cereal to buy.

3)...whether I'm dating with my boyfriend this weekend cos she wants to go to Empire Subang.

Anyway, I'm so excited because I browsed the Dorothy Perkins website and maxi skirts are back!!! Can't wait to stock up my workwear wardrobe with them!

The world is unfair

My dad is on leave. For a week.

While yours truly, on the other hand, is suffering at the office.

My dad's annual leave is 29 days. Mine is 12 freakin' days only.

Today my parents went to Pavillion to watch movies and had lunch at Tony Romas. While at the office, I was having a hard time finding food as the cafeteria was closed (the cafeteria workers are illegal Indonesian immigrants. People said they got caught yesterday or something).

My mum was feeling extra happy because she's dating with my dad (eww) and she's being gedik and she called me at the office just to "say hi." Shit I thought it was something important, like Koko is sick or what. But then again, my mum always calls me at the office to talk about useless things like "What vegetables do you want me to put in your soup?"

I hate it when she asks me to make decisions on small matters like that, because when that happens I usually end up making mistakes in my job like optimizing the wrong departure dates or sending flights to wrong entities. Grr. Can you believe it? My mum's habit of calling me to talk about useless stuffs can cause reduction in an airline company's revenue.

I went home and found Tony Romas potato skins on the dining table. I ate it only to be told by my mum that it's hers. Unbelieveable. I thought she pitied me cos I was having a hard time finding good food at the office. Sheesh.

I'm one happy girl!

Why am I happy? Because today I'm on leave. In-lieu for YDPA's birthday. And I've got some of the things on my wish list crossed!

I bought an iPod touch with my first salary. With my second salary, I bought the Samsung PL101 2View camera!

It has dual LCDs. Now I can camwhore easily. Yay!


Bought this camera yesterday at Sunway Pyramid. At RM699, it comes with a pouch, strap, 2G memory card and tripod! What a bargain!

Today I went to Ampang Putri Hospital for a medical check up. Everything's fine with me, alhamdulillah. Just as I was about to go home, the doctor asked whether I'd received my vaccination for cervical cancer. I haven't, and I've always wanted to get it, so I told the doctor I wanted the jab immediately.

Just as he was about to plunge the needle into my forearm, this thought crossed my mind: How much does the injection cost? I can't believed I've agreed to a medical procedure without asking about its cost beforehand!

So I asked the doctor, "How much does this vaccination costs?"

He said, "Err...it's not the cost that matter. This vaccine is really good. Don't think about the cost. It's better to prevent cervical cancer. If you get cancer, the cost of curing it will be much much more than preventing it."

I've known this doctor all my life so I knew right there and then that if he didn't give me a straight answer, it means that thing is bloody expensive.

The vaccination costs me a freakin RM300.

That's not the end of it though. I have to come to the clinic again for my second and third injection. Total cost of the vaccination is RM900.

That is approximately my one week's worth of salary.

But the doctor was right. Prevention is better than cure. I'm willing to pay that amount of money and do whatever I can to protect myself from cervical cancer. But there's this Swatch that I've been eyeing on for quite sometime, and I had to forget about buying it this month. And by the way, it's so unfair that schoolkids get the vaccination for FREE! I wanna be in school again dammit.

After the medical check up, I went to Uniten with my parents to pay the convocation fee and submit the convocation attendance form.

Then we went to KLCC. This must be my lucky day because my dad bought me the Swatch (as a graduation present) AND gave me RM300 to reimburse for the injection. Oh how nice of him! I graciously accepted the RM300 and went crazy at Dorothy Perkins.

Present for graduating. 'Me & My Shoes' watch by Swatch.

The black work pants. Need to alter its length. Man I'm so short. I've bought this in petite size already. Maybe Dorothy Perkins should come up with 'Dwarf' or 'Midget' sizing.

I don't know how many times I've mentioned this in my blog but...I love Dorothy Perkins so much! It's like, their clothes are designed specially for me or something. If people ask me what's my style like, I won't say things like "Rocker chick meets classy lady bla bla bla." I would simply say, "Dorothy Perkins." That's my style.

I bought a pair of black work pants, black striped blazer, and a grey skirt. All these for RM330 only. I paid additional RM10 and I get to sign up for their membership. Now I can get 10% discount off normal-priced merchandise at Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins. Awesome!

P/S: Took these photos using my new camera and the pics are blurred even though the camera is 12.2 megapixel. Will make a point to spend some time learning the user manual (and overcoming this shaky-hand thing) during the weekend.

Tumblr and Formspring

Everyone has their own Tumblr and Formspring page nowadays. I pun ada! People who has Tumblr and Formspring are mostly teenagers or college students. I don't wanna feel old and left out so I signed up. Actually I've created accounts in Tumblr and Formspring a long time ago, but I'm not an active user (will be active after this).

I created my Tumblr page because I wanted to sell my books, but I'm not business minded and I don't know how to promote that page, so the blog was deserted.

I created my Formspring page at almost the same time as I created my Tumblr. But I have zero friends and I've only answered 3 questions generated by Formspring. So I abandoned my Formspring page as well.But now I want to be an active user in Tumblr and Formspring. Do read my pages ok! And add me. It's compulsory for cousins who have Tumblr and Formspring to follow me. If not, you're not getting any duit raya from me this year.

http://norliyana.tumblr.com

http://www.formspring.me/norliyana

Wow...I have Blogger, Twitter, Tumblr, Formspring. I've figured a way to manage all these pages:

- Twitter will be used for short updates (less than 140 characters? 120?)
-Tumblr is for medium-length updates. Updates that are short but not short enough to be published on Twitter (yeah Twitter is annoying for the number of characters limit).
-Blogger is for long entries which I hope won't bore any of you :-)-Formspring is for answering any questions you have for me. But I doubt that any of you will ask me any questions.

On the other hand...today I went to KLCC with my mum. Bought a necktie for my dad as Father's Day present. And I bought this amazing Dorothy Perkins black cardigan for myself. I have a thing for cardigans,by the way. Yes, call me grandma, but whatever. The cardigan I bought today was just sooo figure-flattering, I love it! Sorry no picture.

Dorothy Perkins has gorgeous cardigans. I'm waiting for this puff-sleeved cardigan to arrive in Malaysia. So cute right???

Sick

On Monday, I was sneezing in the morning. Then yesterday (Tuesday), I got sore throat. Slowly, I started to feel cold, even though there was no aircond in the office (sedih kan? Old building, only some parts got aircond). Then, I got headache (and I'm sure it's not because of the same Rihanna song playing repetitively at the office)...followed by body ache.

During lunch time, I drank iced lemon tea. Big mistake. My sore throat got worse. By 3pm, I was shivering and I couldn't even type at all.

I went home at 5.30pm sharp, and thank God there wasn't any jam and when I arrived home, my dad drove me to the nearest panel clinic. Actually I prefer another clinic which is within walking distance from my house but that clinic isn't a panel clinic.

The panel clinic doctor was so unfriendly. I walked in, and she didn't ask me anything. No "So how can I help you?". Nothing.

So I said, "Sore throat, fever, body ache."

She checked my temperature using this ancient thermometer (the coloured plastic which is supposed to be placed on your forehead). The last time I saw that kind of thermometer was when I was 3 years old. Then she checked my throat. I guess it was really bad cos she immediately gave me MC without me having to ask for it. But I got 1 day MC only. Hmph.

Then she made this gesture with her hand as if to say "Get out."

I went out, and my dad was like, "That was fast!"

This morning, I woke up at 9pm and had the yummiest nasi lemak for breakfast. After taking my medicine, I played Docking Donuts (yup, tiru Dunkin' Donuts) on my iPod. The game was so addictive that I played until my hand got cramped. Then I slept again until 2pm. My mum bought Nandos for lunch. 1/4 chicken with rice, peri corn (yum yum) and peri wedges (even yummier!).

Suddenly, it's 4.30pm. Time flies by so fast when you're on leave. Sigh.

Work, work, work

My job description includes:

1) Control flight records
2) Optimization of flights
3) Help conduct staff training

Err...I can't remember but there's a lot more.

Yay! Tomorrow's Saturday! Plan to go shopping. I need a new purse, and shampoo and makeup remover.

My expanding wishlist

Q: Is it normal to want everything once you earn your own salary?

A: Yes!

My wishlist (as of today 4th June 2010...it will be longer in a few days time, trust me!)...

Samsung 2View PL101 camera
Why I want it: It has dual LCDs. And when I tested it at Harvey Norman, I like the way I look in the picture. Cameras always make me look ugly, but not this one.
Target: Will try to buy it by the end of this month.

Skecher's Shape Up shoes
Why I want it: It promised to give me toned legs, make me lose weight and improve my posture. And I'm a sucker for all this weight-loss thingy.
Target: End of July

A new Swatch
Why I want it: I wear the same watch everyday. I need a new watch. My current watch is the shape of a doll. Great look for meetings in the boardroom huh?
Target: End of August

Power adapter for my iPod touch
Why I want it: I need it because it's inconvenient to carry my laptop along whenever I travel. So I really need a power adapter to charge my iPod.
Target: Tomorrow (5th June 2010)!
BOUGHT IT!

Books on computer, systems, networking and other nerdy stuffs
Why I want it: Mannn I really need to start reading geeky computer books if I want to get ahead in my career.
Target: By next week
BOUGHT IT!

SJP NYC perfume
Why I want it: The bottle is cute. I don't know what the scent is like though.
Target: The following week

Clinique's All About Eyes Serum and Vitamin C Lip Smoothie
Why I want it: Well, it's my favourite eye cream...but in a roll-on form! And the Lip Smoothie looks yummy.
Target: By the end of September

Besides that, I also want those fancy, expensive books on fashion and beauty at Kinokuniya. And I want Dorothy Perkins cardigan in every single colour available.

Oh, and I need advice on personal finance!

Shopping for Aween's dowries

This entry is a week overdue.

Last Sunday, Aween, Yana and I went out to Sogo and Jusco in Taman Maluri to shop for Aween's dowries.

When we arrived in Sogo, we immediately had lunch at Secret Recipe. And then we discussed what should be included in the dowries, budgeting etc etc.

Brownies with ice cream! Yummy!

Then we took the LRT back to Cempaka station, and then went to Jusco.

We managed to find a handbag and a cosmetics set. Next on the list are watch and err...I can't remember what.

Sorry I think I've lost my writing skills.

But since a picture is worth a thousand words, five picture is worth five thousand words.

Til the next entry, bye bye!

To-do list

1)Buy pins (to stick notes onto my cubicle wall).

2)Go to Maybank and print out my account statement.

3)Go to HR and give that account statement so that they can change my bank from CIMB to Maybank.

4)Apply for Maybank debit card.

5)Wash hair tomorrow (Friday).

6)Update blog about shopping spree with Aween and Yana

7)Read my favourite blogs (which I no longer have time to read)

8)Buy books on computer, systems and networking and boring stuffs like that.

9)Ask the department's secretary to get my phone line fixed.

10)Breathe

I'm a dead meat

It has been one month I've been in this company, and finally today I got to know my sub-division. I've known which division I'm in since day 1 at this company, but I have not been assigned a sub-division, which left me wondering everyday...will I work in Inventory or Pricing?

Today I got the answer.

And the answer is NEITHER.

I'll be working in SYSTEMS.

Oh.My.God.

When I told Fiza that I'll be working in Systems, she frowned. She's in HR and she had worked in HR Systems before and it's hell. I am not in HR, but in this company, every department has a Systems sub-division. And if you get Systems, it's like getting a death sentence or something.

One thing you have to know about me is that I am not IT savvy. My IT skills are limited to:

a) Windows OS (who on Earth doesn't know Windows???)
b) E-mailing
c) Social networking (Facebook, Twitter).

Thats. It.

So this morning I was called in by the GM.

"Tell me what's your Statistics background is like."

"Well, I know the basics like mean, mode, median, standard deviation and variance. I also know some additional things like binomial formula, Poisson distribution bla bla bla..." <-- I was selling myself.

GM nodded her head. "What about programming?"

Err...OK, I didn't like where the conversation was heading to.

"Ermm...I learnt programming in my first semester."

What I didn't tell her was that I hated C programming with all my heart, I skipped class and went to the foodcourt and read Harian Metro instead and I hired a tutor to do my programming assignments.

"OK, I'm going to put you in Systems. You'll be dealing with a lot of statistics."

My heart sank. Memories of doing Statistics a few months back came flooding back. Probability of finding insect fragments in a chocolate bar is bla bla bla, you ate bla bla bla grams of chocolate, whats the probability that you swallowed 10 disgusting insect fragments?

My boss said that I was selected for this job because it really suits my engineering background and I'm supposed to be a 'specialist' in all of the systems that the company used. The sad thing is, I've only tried using one of the systems, and I am not very competent at it. Now I have to be a 'specialist' at it, and when other people have problems with the system, I should be able to help. How am I going to help the poeople who know more about the systems that I do???

I feel like I'm working in IT technical support.

Right now I'm praying hard that I can perform in this job.

A note to all boyfriends out there

Whatever you do, don't say these things to your girlfriends:

*Pointing to another girl*
"Look at her. She's so skinny. Why can't you diet and be like her?"

*At the cinema, staring open-mouthed at the actress on screen*
"She's gorgeous. Why don't you do your makeup like her?"

*Pointing to a poster*
"Look at that chick. You should do your hair like her."

Seriously, guys, if these statements had escaped from your mouth, stop it. Girls (well, most girls) hate it. We hate being compared, we hate knowing that we are not hot enough compared to other girls and we hate feeling not good enough for you.

I think guys should look at themselves in the mirrors first before commenting on their girlfriends. Some guys are not even handsome but they have the guts to make nasty comments to their girlfriends. I think it's really mean.

Day 14: Fun Friday!

Yesterday Fiza and I had lunch at the cafe at our office. We ordered this kuey teow goreng basah and it was sooo good. However, the portion was very small and we were still hungry after eating it. Today we decided to eat it again. My (brilliant) idea was to order THREE plates of kuey teow goreng, two for each of us, and the other one was meant for sharing (split into two).
Guess what? Today the kuey teow goreng came in big portions. All three plates, big portion. AND it tasted AWLFUL. We couldn't finish it. What a waste.

Today my job was to calculate the fares for these routes:

-Kuala Lumpur to Sydney
-Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne
-Kuala Lumpur to Perth

At first, my colleague taught me how to calculate the fares. Then I did it on my own. After I've finished doing it, I will forward the spreadsheet to him and he will check my calculations. Everytime he's checking my work, I prayed silently "God, please please please don't let there be any mistake." Fyi, in the job I'm doing, you can't afford to be careless and make mistakes. You have to be careful, analytical and has attention to detail. So far, I've never made any mistakes, and this colleague of mine, he will always try to find my fault. Usually, he will make comments that are not related to my work, such as commenting about my e-mailing style. I think he doesn't want me to be pleased with where I'm at and wants me to keep improving myself.

Anyway, after he finished checking my spreadsheet (no mistakes, by the way), I opened the department's e-mail (I'm responsible for handling the department's e-mails). I saw an e-mail from that particular colleague of mine. He sent the e-mail to the travel agent requesting for all those fares to Australia and he cc the e-mail to my personal e-mail, with a note "Thanks Liyana."

He used my spreadsheet and sent it to the travel agent! And he acknowledged my work! I was so proud of myself. This is a historical day in my career. It's the first time I calculated fares AND my fare proposal was being submitted to a travel agent. They are going to pay the amount of money which I have decided. Wow. Big deal.

Day 13: Medical book and self-help books

Got my medical book already! Yay! Dah boleh demam dah. Bila la nak demam ni?

Today I learned how to derive the fuel surcharge. And I had a bunch of other jobs which I don't feel like writing about in this blog because I don't wanna bore you guys.

When I got home, I found these 2 books:
1) 151 Quick Ideas To Improve Your People Skills
2) How To Deal With People Problem and Problem People

My mum bought them for me. Err...okay. Thanks?

My friend in HR told me that I won't be getting full salary because I start on the 3rd May. The company starts calculating salary on the 25th of every month. I think I will be getting around RM1800. Or maybe less. :-(

Day 12: An extremely busy day

Today I came home at night because I revised fares for all these routes.

From KL to:

1) Cape Town
2) Johannesburg
3) Buenos Aires
4) Beirut
5) Dubai
6) Istanbul
7) Jeddah
8) Shanghai
9) Guangzhou
10)Xiamen
11)Kunming
12)Hong Kong
13)Seoul
14)Osaka
15)Tokyo
16)Taiwan
17)Taipei
18)Delhi
19)Hyderabad
20)Bombay
21)Bangalore
22)Madras
23)Karachi
24)Colombo
25)Male
26)Los Angeles

...and from Kota Kinabalu to:

27)Seoul
28)Tokyo
29)Taiwan
30)Taipei

31 routes!

I almost fell asleep at the wheel on my way home.

Day 11: Rainy day (edited)

If you read my earlier post (Day 6), I mentioned that I will never want to use the NKVE when it rains. So today I went home using NPE. Guess what? The travel time is almost the same. I spent 2 hours on the road. BUT using NPE is worse. It involves a lot of tricky lane changes, and when I arrived at Sg. Besi, I immediately headed towards the Smart tunnel, only to find that it's CLOSED. They should have put a warning in RED letters, instead of those misleading orange letters. Whenever they wanna wish you Selamat Hari Raya --> orange letters. Selamat Hari Kemerdekaan --> orange letters. They should put it in RED, blinking letters. OK, I admit, I'm myophic, but I seriously doubt other people can read it in the heavy rain. Anyway, thanks to my superior driving skill *clears throat*, I managed to maneuver the car back to Sg. Besi. If I missed that small exit I would have gotten lost in Cheras!

Next time, I'm using the NKVE. It takes ages to get home, but at least the roads are simple and I don't have to do a lot of tricky maneuvers.

Anyway, today I wore the new clothes that I bought the other day. And the grey pants I talked about? Well, I tried it on in the fitting room, and the considering that it's only RM30 (after 60% discount), I bought it without thinking. I didn't even try to walk in them.

Today I wore it...and...it was a complete torture. It was sooo tight. I walked like how Japanese women walked in their kimonos. Sitting down is uncomfortable. Praying is even harder (I was worried my pants might get torn when I sujud!). My movement was totally restricted! I had a big lunch and after I ate, my stomach felt like it was going to burst. Not only that, when I was walking, I was extremely concious of visible panty line (a big fashion no-no!) since the pants was so tight.

I think I'm gonna burn the pants and never wear it again.

Day 10: Boring Monday

Drive the Honda to work again.

I'm not that busy at work today. But I still don't know my department yet. And that worries me. I've spent 2 weeks doing nothing but dealing with e-mails. How can I get satisfactory ratings during my performance review in June???

A colleague showed me how to calculate the fares. It's quite easy, but I've only learned the basics.

Came home, tired, and my mum mengada suruh ajar guna Internet for the billionth time. Then when she saw my lack of enthusiasm to teach her, she sulked like a 5-year-old and told me she's "not in the mood" to learn pulak. I don't know for how much longer I can stay sane.

Day 9: Shopping at KLCC

Went to KLCC with my parents. It was my mum's idea. She dragged me to Kinokuniya to find a book on dealing with difficult people. Not for her, for me. Yup, she thinks I need a self-help book to adjust with my new working life. We couldn't find the right book, and she insisted on checking with the guy at the counter for reccomendations. At that point I had grown super-irritated and I told her that shopping for a self-help book that dictates how I should mingle around with people makes me feel like a total loser. So we left Kinokuniya without buying anything.

To cheer me up, and to 'congratulate' me on my final semester exam result, my parents decided to buy something for me. I've been struggling for 4 years to get the kind of result I got, you'd think they give me a camera or something. Nope. "Find anything you like in Accessorize, below RM200."

So I picked a necklace with spoon,teacup and ribbon pendants, a set of earrings (1 has a leopard print, another 1 is heart-shaped and matched my bronze heart-shaped pendant), an owl purse and a beach bag.

The tea time pendant. My mum thinks it's cute, that's why I bought it.

Dear readers, please pray for me that this week will not suck like last week. Thank you.

Discovery

I've just realized that my touchscreen phone comes with a pen stylus.

What is that thing sticking out from the phone???

At first I thought it's a toothpick. I'm not very smart, despite having an engineering degree.

Day 8: My phone is functioning as normal!

Went to Sg. Wang with my parents to repair my phone. The dude said that it's a memory card problem, not a phone problem. He told me to format the memory card. So I bought a card reader and format the memory card at home, and my phone is OK now. Yay!

Had lunch at Nandos. I'm sick of Nandos. Couldn't finish my food. But the peri wedges was still yummy though.

Went to ISetan. Bought a maroon-coloured shirt to wear to work, and a pair of grey pants. My mum used to complain about the fact that I always wear jeans to work. I didn't exactly wear jeans. The design of the pants was like a jeans (with the label at the waistband and all that) but the fabric isn't denim. It's curduroy (do I spell it right?). But whatever, it's pointless arguing with my mum about fashion so I bought a pair of formal workwear pants just to satisfy her.

I've found some ways on how to motivate myself to enjoy my job. Whenever I'm facing an obstacle, I will just remind myself of:

1) The pay... Always remember that you get paid five times more that what your father used to give you!!!

2) Free flight tickets

3) Free medical plus insurance

4) Free dental

5) The job market is highly competitve nowadays, so you can't quit! Else you will tanam anggur for the rest of your life!

6) There's always weekends to look forward to! And dates with my bf.

7) ...and public holidays.

8) I have my annual leave...plus that in-lieu leave thingy.

Honestly, I don't know for how long money and benefits can motivate me. People say in the long run these things won't matter anymore.

Day 7: A not-so-happy Friday

It's quite a stressful day (even though it's Friday). E-mails came in nonstop, and to make things worse, the Internet at the office was superslow. It took me ages to deal with those mails.

Had lunch with Fiza at Skypark. We ate at this kopitiam and we got 10% discount. We talked for 2 hours, and then it started raining and we were stranded.

I made it back to the office at 2.45pm, and there were billions of e-mails in the inbox. *Sigh*

Today, the whole department knew that my father works in the same company. I'm worried that they might think I managed to get into the company because of family connection. But the truth is, I met the CGPA requirement, I passed all the aptitude tests and I performed well during the interview. But of course, I can't tell people all these things can't I?

Now I'm feeling paranoid all of sudden. My dad told me not to worry so much about this, as sooner or later, they're going to find out anyway. I guess he's right.

I just hope that I can get along well with everyone in the department and can perform well in my job. Amin.

***EDITED***

Finally, something good happened. I got A for my final year project. But my CGPA is not updated yet. So can I grad with first class honours? :-/

Day 6: Bad day

-Today I learned how to fix a jammed printer.

-Most important lesson learned today: Never use NKVE when it's raining. The jam was terrible.

Day 5: My handphone rosak!

I think it's ironic how I used to be really bad at geography when I was in school but I ended up working in the airlines industry. I process e-mails from travel agents daily but I don't even know where the hell is Saigon or Male. Haha.

Anyway, today everything was OK at work. Less e-mails came in. But what happened AFTER work wasn't OK.

In the morning, when I first arrived at the office, I checked my handphone. Surprisingly it was off. I tried switching it on but I couldn't. Which was weird, because I already charged the phone the last night, no way the battery was low.

When I got home, I charged it and tried switching it on. The "Nokia" screen appeared and then nothing. I tried switching it on many times, unsuccessfully. So now I'm using my mum's old phone. No 3G Internet. Not even a camera.

Another bad thing that happened is, I was waiting at a traffic light on my way home. A car on the opposite side was going too fast and hit my side mirror!Luckily nothing serious happened, there wasn't even a scratch.

Day 4: Farewell party for our General Manager

Omg, it's only day 4!!! What a torture.

I still drove the Honda to work. My driving with the car has improved.

Koko is being nice to me lately. Every morning before I go to work (and every evening after I have arrived home) she would roll on the floor in front of me, expecting to be cuddled. I think she's being nice to me because after this I'll be the one supporting her once I have my salary. Her food, her litter, everything is going to be paid by yours truly.

Today, I got a bit better at work. I know who's who in the department, hence making my email-sorting work easier. I know which e-mail to print, not to print, or delete. Travel agents are still keep resending e-mails, I wish I could e-mail them back, telling them it's pointless if they keep e-mailing the same thing. Because I'm just gonna delete all those unneccessary e-mails from them :-)

Today we had a farewell lunch for our GM and SGM. It was supposed to start at 12.30 pm, but it started around 1.30pm. By that time, I was so hungry that I ended up eating FIVE courses of meals. I had fried bihun for the first round, spaghetti for the second round, then followed by roti jala, sandwich and fruits for dessert. Then I ate Ferrero Rocher.

That's all about my boring life. More updates tomorrow.

Day 3 : Monday blues

Hello people. How's your day? Mine sucked.

I drove my dad's Honda to work today, because my car is still at the service centre (tyre alignment problem or something). I'm so used to drive a small car, when I drive the Honda, it feels like I'm driving a lorry or something.

I deal with e-mails again today. It's really annoying when travel agents are impatient and resend the same e-mail several times. We got your e-mail ok!!! It's just that the staff who is supposed to reply to you is on a sick leave. You don't have to resend the e-mail, with additional messages telling us to hurry up. When this happens, I got confused and printed the same e-mail twice and you know what happens next...

I feel like typing my usual "impatience-is-a-disease" advice in the e-mail and click send. But of course, I can't do that.

I went home at 6pm. Thank God my father was driving. With the jam and all that, I think I would have fainted at the wheel.

Day 2 : It's Mother's Day

Hello people! It's Mother's Day! Have you hug and kiss your mum and tell her how much you love her??? I haven't. But I did gave her an amazing pair of earrings yesterday.

Second day with no communication with my bf, I feel terribly depressed. I feel like I'm back to my schooldays when I was single. I only use my phone for mp3. My phone doesn't ring at all today. Number of text messages sent = zero. Well, I'll try to look at it on the bright side: cheaper phone bill this month. =)

Today I visited a sick relative at KPJ Selangor hospital in Shah Alam. And then I went to a wedding. The food was superb. They served ikan keli, grilled chicken, daging salai masak lemak, ulam and there were 2 choices of rice: plain white rice or nasi minyak. The daging salai masak lemak was sooo yummy! I wish I could take away. Haha. They served bubur kacang for dessert. My dad had 2 helpings.

In the evening, I finished reading The Lovely Bones. And then I watched the movie on DVD.

Day 1 without my bf

From today until 22nd May, I will be updating this blog DAILY. My bf is in outbound school in Lumut, Perak and handphones are confiscated. So when he comes back, he can just read my blog and find out what I've been up to while he's gone.

By the way, I've just learned something. If you get something you want, it doesn't mean you'll be happy with it. Yasser and I had always dreamt about working in our current jobs. In other words, our dreams had came true. He got the job that he like, and I got the job that I like. But things don't always work out the way we want. Yasser was transfered to Kluang (I'm a Johorean and I've never even been to Kluang! I don't even know where it is on the map!). He cannot request for tranfer to KL for 2 freaking years! The thought of being in a long-distance relationship worries me because we've always been so close. Well, not that close, but from his house to my house takes about 40 minutes using the NPE. While I, on the other hand, I like my job, but I'm still in a depressed and confused state. My friend Fiza said she felt that way too in her first few weeks at the company. I feel lonely and lost.

OK, enough complaining. I'm gonna blog about what I'm doing today. When I woke up, I texted Yasser until about 12pm, and then I never heard from him again (i.e. his handphone had been confiscated) :-(

I went to KLCC with my mum. Checked my bank balance. I only have RM131 in my account. Hence, I am very very looking forward to payday :-)

Went to Accessorize. I bought a silver heart-shaped pendants (I have a thing for heart-shaped jewelleries) and my mum wanted this diamond stud earrings (fake, of course) so I bought it for her as Mother's Day present. At the cashier counter, we both fell in love with a solitaire fake-diamond ring (gee, I'm really bad at describing jewellery. What do you call something that looks like a diamond but is actually made of plastic?). So we both bought the ring. The ring looks like an engagement ring.

We packed our lunch. I had paprik fried rice. I had sudden craving for white chocolate (it's that time of the month) so I bought Cadbury Dream at the Choc Boutique. I swallowed all the white chocolates, and when I got home, I weighed myself, I had gained 1kg. Nice.
And I also ordered Mango Passion at Juice Works. Simply yummy.
Went home, read The Lovely Bones. Sleep. That's all.

My Work

I apologize for the lack of updates lately. I know I should be blogging more about my work, especially my first day. I mean, the first of day of my first real job!!! And I didn't blog about it. So now I'm gonna make it up to you by making a summary of my first week.

Monday
Report duty. Had to fill up millions of forms. Then I was assigned to my department. This was the most boring day in my entire life. I happened to bring my laptop and a letter-writing book with me. So the whole day I browsed through my laptop, deleting some old files etc etc. And read the letter-writing book. I read the company's magazines, codes of ethics, some brochures on performance management system bla bla bla. Boooring. Had lunch with another trainee who is in the same batch as me, Kak Ayu. We ate at the cafe which is in the same building as my office. I had rice with asam pedas and chicken. At 5.30pm sharp, I packed up my things and cabut lari balik rumah. Kena perli by one of the staffs, "Awalnye balik." Lucky me, I joined the busiest department in the company. Everyone goes home at 8pm (average time).

Tuesday
First thing in the morning, I asked the lady sitting in the cubicle behind mine, if she has any reading materials. She gave me some notes that she got during her training in the company. So I read all the presentation slides on management, pricing, forecasting, demand etc etc. And on this day, I had my first task. The most common task to newcomers at any workplace--filing! I was given a high stack of papers, and I had to sort them out according to the reference numbers. FYI, the numbers range reached up to 3000 plus! When I finished sorting my first batch of papers, I was given the next stack and I worked past office hour (until around 6.30pm, since yesterday I kena perli balik awal). Had lunch with another trainee in my department. She joined the company in December 2009. She introduced me to her friends. We ate at a cafe across the road. I had rice with fried fish fillet, lauk lemak and stir-fried vegetables. I didn't like it. Still haven't got my ID. Had to walk around wearing this ugly, yellow visitor's pass. I felt like I didn't belong. Another hassle I have to go through is surrending my driving license every morning and returning them when I go home to get the visitor's pass. This was my unlucky day. At 6.30pm, there was a heavy downpour and there was an accident. It took me 1 hour 30 minutes to arrive home due to the jam. I followed the NPE highway.

Wednesday
Still doing filing. By the end of the office hour, I felt that if I have to look at any more numbers, I'd scream. I used the NKVE highway to go home this time. Took me 45 minutes to arrive home. Still having lunch with the same group of people, at the same place. I ate chicken rice. Not bad. But I spilled the soy sauce on my purse when I was about to pay. What a klutz. And...I got my ID and staff number!!! When the general manager's secretary gave me my completed security application form, I was ecstatic. I crossed the bridge to go to the security office across the road. My picture was taken there and then, and I didn't bring my makeup bag and comb with me. My picture was awful. When one of my colleagues saw my ID, she said "Laa...sikat la rambut!" I used the NKVE highway to go home. More peace of mind.

My messy hair. My face had to be censored because it looks even worse than my hair. Haha.

Thursday

Took time off in the morning. Went to EPF to create an account. I went through all the jam and when I arrived at EPF, I realized that I forgot my IC. Had to go home, went through all the jam again, to get my IC. Arrived at the office, I had to do filing again. But this time, I didn't have to sort according to reference numbers, only by dates. A colleague gave me a reference manual on how to use Sita, a computing system for flight reservation or something. It's like C programming, with all the coding and whatnot. Since I already had my staff number and e-mail address, I could access the department's e-mail. My job was to print e-mails. The e-mails are from travel agents and tour groups, and I had to sort them according to the destinations. E-mails requesting for tour codes and bookings that have been confirmed go to one of the exec, and bookings that are on waiting list will have to be forwarded to the managers. This might sound simple but it's confusing to me. I had a hard time remembering who's in charge of which region. Had lunch with at the same cafe, but this time I order kampung fried rice. Still using NKVE to go home.

Friday

Still sorting out e-mails. I memorized airport and city codes. Had lunch at McDonalds Skypark with an ex-schoolmate at SAB, Afizah, who is also working in the same company, but different division. A regular double cheeseburger McValue meal cost me RM8 only. I got discount when I show my ID. I have no work but I felt guilty about going back at 5.30pm sharp. So I lingered around for a few minutes, printing more e-mails. One of the staff told me not to work too hard coz it scares her and she told me to go home. So I'm still clueless, should I go home early or late? I'll never know!

Time flies

14th April 2010 : Submitted my thesis.

19th April 2010: Job interview.

20th April 2010: Got a call from the company to do medical check up. In other words, I was accepted, but subject to medical check up and reference checks.

22nd April 2010: Medical check up.

29th April 2010: Was informed that the result of medical check up had came out and I had to report duty on 3rd May 2010.

3rd May 2010: My first day at work.

Maybe I should construct a Gantt chart so you can visualize this better. Ahh nevermind. But the point is, I finished my final semester on 14th April. 5 days later I got a job interview. A day after the job interview, the HR called me to do medical check up. Two days after the call is my medical check up. And a week later, I got the job offer. And I will be starting my work 3 days after the day I got the offer. Hence, I was unemployed for about 3 weeks only. Things happened so fast! I don't have my transcript yet, and I don't even know the grade of my final year project. But anyway, Alhamdulillah, I'm very very grateful to Allah, that I got the job that I wanted. I just hope I'll be able to cope.

Tomorrow is my first day at work. Oh. My. God.

So many worries on my mind. Will I be able to do the job? Will I be able to perform? What kind of people will I meet?

Mr. Y will also start work tomorrow. Same day as me. He has to undergo 1 week of some sort of orientation, then 2 weeks at outbound school. Which means I won't be seeing him for 3 weeks! Argh I'm gonna put a ticker on my blog and count down the days until we can see each other again.

All these feel so UNREAL to me. I can't believe I'm already working.

Presents from Mak Long

I got a surprise from Mak Long (my aunt, Dad's elder sister).


What a cute packaging!

She gave me a set of pantyhose, a red lipliner, an eyebrow pencil, Maybelline eyeshadow and Maybelline lipstick.

With a note that says:

Ms. Liyana,

CONGRATULATIONS! Just to let you know that I love you and care for you. It gives me great pleasure to see that you're getting on well in your life. Herewith is a small token for you to 'kickstart' your career life. Good luck & God Bless.

Love,
Mak Long

That's so nice of her! Even though, the thing is, I'm not planning to wear skirts to work so I don't need those pantyhose. But then, maybe I'll consider wearing skirts. I don't use lip liners, or any lip products in RED. I don't use eyebrow pencils either, but maybe I'll use that as an eyeliner. I don't like Maybelline eyeshadows coz they don't have rich color pigments. And the lipstick is a shade too dark for me. Arghhh so many complaints. What an ungrateful, spoilt brat I am! I will try to make full use of these gifts though. I really really appreciate it.

I'm sure some of you will wonder whether I've gotten myself a job, since I'm getting these congratulatory presents. My answer is yes. But I will not tell you about it in details yet as I'm not so sure about this job offer.

Anyway, Mak Long will definitely be getting some cash once I get my first salary!

My RM14 haircut

Today, in addition to waiting and worrying about job offers at home, I decided to do something extra. I got my hair cut!

I’ve always wanted a layered look ever since the beginning of last semester but since I was very busy, I couldn’t find time to go to the salon. So my hair grows and grows and grows up until a point when people would say I look like a Pontianak. My hair was very thick, very black and long.

So I went to this small, secluded salon near my house. I’ve always preferred small salons compared to big, swanky, posh ones. The reason is, ‘professional’ hairdressers are usually know-it-alls and they would cut my hair according to how THEY like, not how I would like it to be. Plus, they would criticized my hair (lots of dandruff, oily, too thick that you broke my brush).

Presenting…my new look!

Tada!

This is the third time I opted for a layered hairstyle. But this is the first time that I actually LIKE it. The first time I tried the layered look was when I was 14. The hairdresser was so stupid, she chopped my hair short, instead of layering it. The second time I tried it, the ‘professional’ hair stylist made my hair looks like a bowl.

The hair stylist gave me a wispy, layered look…making my formerly thick hair look thinner and light. But at the same time, my hair has volume, which I like. And this new style isn’t too “structured”, it’s more natural and ‘messy’ and I like it!

Wooh…I like it a lot.

Messy, out-of-bed hair.

Long at the back...short at the front. I like I like I like.

The hair stylist gave me a wispy fringe as well! I likeeeeeeee….

What I like about layered hairstyle…you can go for short, shoulder-length hair…

…or medium length hair at the next minute…

…or long hair! Totally versatile!

I would also give the customer service an A+. The hair stylist was nice, friendly, chatty Chinese lady. As usual, I got asked whether I’m have Chinese parentage. And as usual, I would have to explain that I’m partly Japanese which leads to a series of questions about my ancestry. But the thing is, I don’t really know my family history :P I only know I have Japanese blood from my mother’s side. The stylist said that this new layered haircut made me look even more Japanese.

This haircut cost me RM14 only.

Before I left, she told me to come to the salon more often coz she would like to see my ‘pretty face’ more often (AHA! The oldest trick in the book…using compliments to attract customers!). She also told me that I have nice eyes and that I should wear mascara to accentuate it. I always wear mascara, but today I was too lazy to wear full makeup.

Can’t wait to meet my bf and show off my new hairstyle!