It is 5am (!) on a cold rainy morning. Argh! Yawn... Watching an ancient rerun of one of the Qiong Yao series - 'Wang Fu Ya' (which literally means husband-gazing cliff). Anybody has any recollections? I used to luurrrve this show because I thought the male lead was handsome. I still think so but now the show seems so juvenile to me. Haha... the pains of growing up, you begin to find things you once loved 'juvenile'!!!

Went on a tour of all my friends' blogs before writing my own. 'Eat grass' and 'mooo'? Hahaha... 'Quitting work because of underpayment?' Sounds good. 'Watching animations (note it is not considered cartoons when it is meant for adult viewing. Haha.) till 4am in the morning?!' Well, I am blogging at 5am in the morning...

Realised I was the only one left to not have updated in a long while, especially considering how I used to be the one with the daily reads. Ha, some friends commented my blogs were like the dailies themselves, always a good distracting read during lunch. Well, just goes to show how busy I have been at work, never mind life because I hardly had one.

Anyway a brief (I will try to be brief but it HAS been some time, long time) summary of what has been up:

Work Front
My nightmare from hell seems to be over as that horrible woman finishes her term in a couple of days and has been consistently displaying signs of non-interest in renewing her term or continuing her service. Heck, she does not even seem to be interested in her pet project anymore - the quarterly newsletter for the Home. So it seems like good news... But I am going to keep my fingers AND toes crossed until it is official.

And finally! I am seeing some recognition for my hard work! In the first place I AM underpaid for my work as it is, but getting two months' bonus and a pay raise certainly makes me happy. I am easily contented. Haha. I still get a lot less than many of my friends, despite having worked longer than most of them. But I guess overall I had a more interesting career path and choices than most people I know. Comes packed with a heavy dose of experience and networking contacts as well. I am happy. Honest. Of course, a little more money never did hurt anyone. Hee...

However, I had actually just decided I wanted to leave the job by May next year to pursue some other offers put up to me, which are pretty attractive. Considering that the proposer is a lady, with a family, I can safely strike out the possibility that it is because of a 'personal interest' in me that sparked this offer. Hehe... Back to my story... Basically this lady is another one of the directors from the Home's board. We have worked very well together on several projects throughout this year and she has kept commending me on my work and expressing her interest in me working for her should I ever decide to leave the Home. She is very nice to me and has brought up this proposal many times before. In a nutshell, I can choose whether I want to work for her as her staff and develop her current business of design production, OR, be her partner in new business ventures. She will come up with the capital and provide the infrastructures. I will be given a stake in the business and the option to top up if and when I am ready to do so. And I can choose whatever venture I want to do! Cool is it not?!!! Where on earth can you get a similar deal? I had dinner with her last night and questioned her faith and confidence in me and all she said was the important thing is for me to know what I want to do. To her, it is just another business investment and she has nothing to lose anyway since she has a core business to fall back on. (Not to mention a well-off husband, who also happens to be a partner in a printing firm, kekeke) Luckily for me, the few business ideas I had in mind for myself struck her interests too. A couple were even what she herself had thought of doing but never had the resources to.

I just find this all so unbelieveable and just too good to miss. As my dear sister pointed out to me, it is a win-win situation for me as I have absolutely no risk. I do not have to come up with any money and it will just be like working for another employer. If at the end of the day it does not work out, I can simply start all over again with another employer. Sounds too good to be true?! It sure is. There is not even any catch to go with this, like I have to marry her son or what... Haha. I am SOOO... tempted.

Only snag out of the blue? When I was handed the letter informing my raise the other day, my Executive Director told me that everyone is quite pleased with me and she has received no complaints so far and that it seems I am on my way 'up, up, up', to quote her exact words. She also said to me not to worry as she will take care of me. Haha... So how? Will it seem like I am biting the hand that feeds me when I go to tell her of my intention to leave? Sigh.

Anyway, before my last day, I will make sure that the department is up and running on its own, AS a department and not a one-man show like it is now. I will also not leave until the Home has its anniversary dinner celebration. It turns 25 next year. Just like me! Yeah!. Maybe that is why I do feel for the place, we have so much in common! Haha... I meant that in jest, before any of you starts to jibe at me for that remark.

Home Front
Home is quite a cool place to hang out recently too. Haha, maybe because my dad is able to keep house now according to the standards he wants, since HE is the one playing house now, he has been less demanding on my brother and I to keep up with his cleanliness standards. Which he means he no longer yells at us for not wiping this or mopping that. Which also means he leaves us alone to sleep till we want to wake and nap whenever we want to during the weekends. Bliss. (cue silly grin of contentment on face) Of course, it can simply mean that he has totally given up on us actually budging or obliging even if he continued to threaten us. Hee. We still do our share, just more lax nowadays...

Ooh! I hear my mum's alarm go off! And it is almost six in the morning. Freak! Haha.

Anyway, we have plans to go for a family break in January, when I can finally clear my leave! And I have sooo generously offered to pay for my sister's air ticket. I am feeling generous. Although I am still drawing peanuts, the little increment has prompted me to spread a little around for the people I love. So in case you are wondering, if you do not hear from me, please do not come asking. I do not love you enough. Hehehe.... (evil smirk)

Health Front
I need to go see a skin specialist fast! The itching and scratching did not subside despite the stress having defused. In fact, the recent weeks have seen it flare up woorse than it ever did before. Guess it must be a case of delayed and suppressed reaction. I am beginning to get patches on my neck and face. No good. My mum is worried I might be disfigured. I am not panicking yet but I think I will be pretty soon, especially since I see more and more patches on my body everyday. And I do mean EVERYDAY.

And the sinus sometimes drives me nuts. I can wake up with a headache in the morning because my nerves were pinched in the night, due to the constricted airways, which really leaves me without the mood to go work. Or it will send me on a volley of sneezes which kinda leaves me breathless after a while. And the eternal sense of coming down with a flu because of an occasional tender throat and perpetual nasal voice is beginning to drive me crazy. I cannot sing properly now because I am not able to reach some notes, which were of no problems to me before. Argh! Double argh!!

Anyway, I guess I will have to spend some percentage of my bonus on going to doctors. Sigh... This is what I slogged for, money to go to doctors for ailments self-inflicted due to insistence at overworking like a circus monkey. Haha.

I want to go on but I think I shall break here. Catch some shut-eye before daybreak. Going to catch 'Phantom' in the theatre with a friend and I do not want to doze off in the cinema!

More about my gym trips next. Hehe... Yes, I still very on. But sadly, my trainer will be leaving soon.