Thank you for sharing your story, Weed. (Refer to her comment in my post below)
I hope you'd tell about the 'kek kemek' pulak nanti. :)

Now, let me tell you my story which you remind me of.

I was in a bus, somewhere not in Malaysia, where the bus stopped for a very long time. I was getting annoyed and began to look out of the windows to see what was delaying our journey. Was it the traffic congestion? It seemed odd because we were on a big road, which traffic rarely occurred at that time of the day. Other vehicles stopped too, from both ways!

An old, frail lady was crossing the road.

She was holding a walking stick, walking slowly, with the help of a younger lady, who left her BMW door wide open with the engine on (and of course, nobody would want to take opportunity on her).

Another young man, came out from a different car, was stopping the traffic from the other side to let the ladies cross the road.

So, lets imagine if the situation happened in Malaysia. Of course we would have the conscious not to hold up the traffic and just continue our journey because, well, this all happened at the other side of the road which wouldn't affect us, because we were the people who were going the other way.

But noooo....The citizens in this particular country, decided to stop. All of them. Whether they were going North, East, South or West. And nobody honked anybody.

And mind you, we were in a city, the capital of the country, not in some outskirt countryside where people are generally nicer.

And all of us waited. Until the nenek tua crossed the divider and another jalan besar.
To get into the bus I was on.

Even the bus driver had a big heart!

Kalau dekat sini, of course the bus driver would have left us. Tak kuasa nak tunggu 10 minit. Lu lambat, lu kena tinggal, lu tahan bas pun, wa jalan buat tak tahu, lagi wa langgar adalah!

Ataupun, kita mempunya pemikiran macam ni, "Dah tua-tua macam ni pun nak naik bus ke? Baik duduk rumah je lah. Nak keluar jalan-jalan tapi menyusahkan orang."

Well, giving my benefit of doubt, the people in that country memang generally very, very, very nice pun. In fact, personally, I think they are the nicest people in the world. Sangat, sangat baik, friendly and fair. They treat all people equally, tak kira lah bangsa apa, tua atau muda, cacat ke tak, miskin ke kaya, they accomodate for everybody...That's why when I was there, I didn't feel poor even though money was limited. We all used coupons and they didn't give that look when we asked for discounts. Tak ada rasa malu pun nak guna public transport because even the millionaires naik basikal pergi kerja.

I'm glad the values I learned there, I still hold onto tight until now.






My boyfriend and I have our daily sessions of telephone calls.
"Tadi petang," my boyfriend told me last night, "Mak budak accident tu telefon."

"Kenapa dia call?" I asked.

"Dia cakap, 'Terima kasihlah bawa anak makcik pergi hospital. Makcik tak tahu nak buat apa. Dia tu anak yatim, bapa dia dah meninggal. Makcik orang tak sekolah. Makcik tak tahu nak buat apa.'"

I'm sure it's nothing. He'll probably just need a operation (or probably dah buat operation dah pun). Tinggal money issue je.

Sekolah ke tak sekolah, ikut cakap doktor is best. Jangan ikut cakap bomoh. Haha.

Doctor will probably say that the patient needs a lot of rest, but must also help himself by not just lying down. Kena beli crutches to help him ambulate. Kena makan ubat. Tapi jangan biasakan diri makan painkillers. Kena pergi regular follow-ups.

Tapi kalau bab saman saman, nak minta gantirugi (since it wasn't the boy's fault), insurans ke apa, itu kami tak tahu. Kena report polis lah kot.

Kalau that stupid lady refuses to help, harap dia mati masuk neraka.






My life doesn't have an insurance. My life has no value, say the insurance agents, if I don't get an insurance policy.
The insurance agents also say it's very, very important to have an insurance.

They still fail to convince me that I need an insurance.

I'm not arrogant saying I will never die abruptly or fall sick. I know I will, one day, I just refuse to think about it, or rather, I refuse to relate them with money.

If I die, my children don't need to inherit my properties in order to survive and be happy. I will teach them that they have to find their own funding.

If I fall sick, I don't mind going to a government hospital. I don't need a private room bathroom ensuite in a posh hospital to ease my pain. I need to see other people who are more unfortunate than I am to leave the world in peace and rasa syukur.
If I was left alone in the room, I would think I'm the most malang person in the world oh why is God doing this to me! Setan banyak kalau kita tinggal seorang, haven't you heard of that?
Contohnya, kalau patient sebelah kita sakit stroke pun tapi masih nak sembahyang, wouldn't you feel embarassed if you excuse yourself from praying just because you ada asthma?
And that's why I like to be in a crowd. Would a private hospital provide me such humbling moments while I'm dying? Unlikely.

I don't mind the insurance agents, I just don't like the ideas that they put into my head. Sometimes, I hate them so much (no offense, sorry!!! I couldn't help myself), the only thing that can prevent me for hating them as much is by thinking: Diorang pun cari makan juga. This is what they do to support their family. Ini rezeki diorang.

So, when they preach to me, I senyap je, angguk-angguk, pretend to be interested and then say "No, thank you."

Tapi nanti diorang akan cakap, "Betul ke tanak? Tak kisah ke kalau duduk dalam wad kerajaan, bila hospital dah penuh, diorang takkan terima you, kena tunggu lama-lama?"

I repeat, "No, thank you."

"Tapi sebelum tu, boleh you bagi nombor telephone kawan-kawan you?"

WHAT THE HELL! Can I just create the numbers and lie to you?






I also don't have a credit card.
I used to have one, then I terminate it. I think it's very useful especially when it comes to dealing online.

I used to ask my boyfriend, "Kenapa you tak ada credit card? Semua orang kerja ada credit cards!"

Shallow.

My boyfriend said:

- I takut overspend.
- I tak suka berhutang.
- You ingat, orang kaya tu orang yang banyak kad? Orang kayalah sepatutnya tak guna credit card, they should pay everything in cash.

Okay.

Then, a death came. I was sitting down with my friend, asking her, "What now?"

She said, "I'm gonna make sure Mom is alright, then I'm gonna settle all his credit cards, phone bills etc."

Credit cards. Hutang. What if nobody knows how many credit cards I'm using! I tanak mati berhutang!

Tapi beli kereta, beli rumah pun berhutang juga.

Okay, from now onwards, I'm going to tell my boyfriend about every hutang that I owe.

And no credit card for me.
Or maybe just one.
Just to book flight tickets? Hehe.

My good friend lost a family member. I can imagine how the mother is devastated because their family is small. To add salt to the wound, one other family member became useless. He's like a zombie, only physically there but always high, I assume.

And this is why I always want a large family. You never know what can happen.

But I hope, there's a hikmah di sebalik kejadian.
Who knows, the other family member will finally realize that he now has to take charge, change, be there for his mother.





When I was little, I always sympathize those poor children who have to walk to school under the burning sun or the heavy rain.

Whenever I see them, I'd ask quietly why Mother, the woman who always fetched me to and fro the school, never stopped to offer them a ride.

Tak kesian ke...

So, I promised myself, after I got my driving license, I would do volunteering work and randomly offer stranger kids the rides that they need.

But it never happened.

I'm not really sure why.





My boyfriend was driving when he was stopped looking at an accident victim lying by the roadside.

The motorcyclists met an accident with a dumb lady who stood there doing nothing. He was obviously bleeding and his leg was deformed.

My boyfriend decided to take him to the hospital.

The boy was in my boyfriend's car. He told my boyfriend, "Mak cakap, kalau macam ni kena bawa pergi jumpa bomoh, bang!"

Naive.
Ini bukan terseliuh main bola!





At least, my boyfriend is doing what I'm unable to bring myself to do.

Helping a complete stranger in trouble.

And he doesn't even mind the drops of blood staining his car seat.

"It's an old car anyway. I tak kesah pun."

And the more reasons to get a new, dashing car!
Yeay! :)

you'll find it.

A question.

Who can I trust to make a beautiful corset?

I think a really nice corset is hard to make, so I am thinking of separately sending the corset top to a good tailor and the rest of the dress shall be sewed by other low-key tailors. You know, just because I don't think it's worth it to spend thousands on a wedding dress.

Well, it is worth it, but I don't have enough budget.
I admit!




I gave my boyfriend a text message, basically I was praising myself using the words he had used to compliment me:
"I ni mata bulat, rambut lembut, kulit gebu, bibir mugil, body lawa, kaki licin, wangi, mata bulat, leher cantik...Bertuahnya you ni! What more can you ask for me hah! :)"

This is what he replied with:
"I nak hati you yang baik, kelembutan you, your presence and kasih sayang dan ihsan dari you."

Wow, that was a surprise.

Anyway...

I think this blog has become more or so the place where I document the nice things people had said about/ to me. It's important to remember these things especially during one of those low days when you feel worthless.

"Ectopy, I've been watching you for a long time. I notice you are very humble and hardworking. Keep it up. May God bless you. Jangan lupa banyak baca Quran, banyak-banyakkan berdoa."

Terus hati berbunga-bunga, when someone whom I am not close with, who could be as old as Mother, suddenly said those things to me.
On the other hand, I also has been admiring her from far. She's firm and kind, not irritating unlike some other people who hold the same position as her. And she always encourage people to pray, "Awak Muslim? Baca ni...(Then she would recite some doa). InsyaAllah everything's gonna be fine. Jangan takut. Kena kuat semangat."

The embarassing thing is, she thinks I'm such a nice person which I don't think I am. Perhaps I should recite the Quran more often.




I hate seeing my friends not believing in love. It makes me feel like, 'If I were single, I would've made you happy because I could love you, why wouldn't anyone love you and you love her back,' that kinda thing.

It's baaaaaad...and sad.

For some reasons, I always fail to convince them that they will find the one. Just like how I felt when I fell out of love several years back. I thought I could never loved anyone else more. But then, I found my boyfriend. And it is possible to love more and more.

I remember I was crushed thinking I could never find a person who I can love and love me back. But then, someone told me, of course you could never feel the same love again and you can never compare the love you will have with the previous ones. Because they are different love. But still love. Probably not better, but it's love.

Do you get what I mean!

See, I told you I always fail to explain this to my friends. You'll get what I mean when you've experienced it.

How was your Valentine's day?

One of my friends had a really super duper romantic one and instead of feeling jealous of her, I am so happy for her!

But because the mood still lingers, it opens up opportunities and twisted tales between my friends and their friends and their friends which in the end, I know all of them past and secrets. Why are we so interconnected?

And that's why I like to mingle my friends!

"Ectopy, I've been meaning to ask you this for a quite some time. Are you, by any chance, a ballet dancer?"

"No."

"Have you ever?"

"No. I wish my mother had enrolled me to the ballet school though."

"Oh. I thought you were because of the way of you walk. It's kinda...Not the usual way I would see it."

I smiled. "I know. I get that often. People say I walk as if I'm on the moon."

She nodded her head and smiled.

"But I dance. I used to dance. I mean, I used to represent my school and I really like to dance," I said. I was trying to approve her theory. Maybe I do walk funny because I dance.

That was a pleasant few minutes of conversation. It would have been nicer if she thought I was a ballerina because of my posture. Haha. I have a bad posture. I like to watch people in the mall, and I would judge them. Those with the best postures, I'd assume, are the dancers and the models.

But I haven't danced in a very, very long time...





A few weeks ago, I spent the weekend with my boyfriend. We were in Gardens when it suddenly rained.

I like the rain. Because when it's raining, it's a blessing. When it's raining, we should make a prayer because one of the best times that our prayer would be heard by God is when it rains.

My boyfriend said, "Kesian orang yang naik motor. Nanti basah diorang."

That was random. We were not even in a car. We were just wondering aimlessly in the mall.

I smiled. I smiled and enjoyed the rain.

I smiled and remembered why I like him in the first place.

I like the way he's so compassionate and he thinks about the others before himself. I like that. Mempunyai sifat ihsan and belas kasihan. Like me. Only that he is better than me in this department.





So, I have this colleague at work, who is single and kind and handsome and everybody seems to fall in love with him. We clicked straight away since the first time I worked with him. I've brought him to meet my boyfriend and family. He reminds me of my other friend, whom I am very close with.

At work, we distant ourselves. People know that I am 'booked'. However, some thought he was my 'booker'.

One day, I was in the pantry when this girl came and said something about how she didn't know I sudah dirisik and she thought I was with *Ghazali.

(Haha, why lah did I choose Ghazali to be the pseudonym! Seriously, tak creative langsung)

So, I took this opportunity to ask her,
"Kenapa akak ingat saya dengan *Ghazali? Saya bukannya selalu bercakap dengan dia. Jarang sangat."

It's true. We try to avoid being overfriendly at work because there's nothing between us. We meet once in a while, but we don't go searching for each other. Sometimes, we work together but that's it, nothing extraordinary.

"Tak adalah...Ghazali yang bagitau saya yang Ectopy nak kahwin dah..." she answered.

"Carikanlah somebody untuk Ghazali. Dia masih single," said I.

"Ghazali tu handsome. Baik hati pula tu. Takkan takde sesiapa?"

Aha! I knew it. She was just saying things to me so he can find out more about Ghazali!

"Entah dia. Dia sedang mencari tu..." I told her.

"Mungkin dia jenis pemilih kot..." she concluded.

Cis, ada hati dekat Ghazali rupanya.

And this is why I dislike to be put in the same team as Ghazali. Too many people like him and they tend to overlook my capabilities.

This is quite complicated because Ghazali is quite eager to work with me since we are friends and kononnya 'It-would-be-fun'.

For him, it's fun lah. For me, people treat me as a threat and they often say or do things that hurt me, not in front of Ghazali, but shamelessly in front of me!

For example, they always call for Ghazali if anything happens as if I'm not capable of solving the situations. I am not useless!

Many of colleagues get excited if they are due to work with Ghazali because Ghazali always comes to the rescue. But I don't like that. I like to be the one who rescues! And since Ghazali is a kind chap, he always helps me out without me asking and it looks like he's doing all the work (including mine)!

And I feel bad about hating him whenever I work with him. He is a nice friend but I really think working with him does not bring any good to me. Am I am selfish and ungrateful?

Urgh. This is what we call, a blessing in disguise. Ghazali is the blessing in disguise whenever I need to work with him.

aging.

Now I only have one grandparent who is still alive. It's scary. It means that my parents will soon leave too, and I'm not getting any younger.

It's scary that my grandparents were 63 once, and I, as a child thought, 'Wow, tuanya!' but now, my parents are at that age.

The first time I realized about this was a few years ago when I worked with the elderly. "How old are you?" I asked. I always had the feeling: Wow, you are not very much older/ younger than my parents.

We are all aging. Can we stop the time now?







I invited my friends/ colleagues for a paintball session. They were keen to join and one of them talked about how he was going to shoot me.

"I'm gonna aim at your butt. But your butt is small, so it's gonna be challenging," he and my other colleague laughed away.

I always thought I had a nice bum, so, I said, "What! I have a small bum? Damn!"

"No, correction, it's micro," they broke into laughters again.

Okay, so now it's time to pump it up!

I think, nowadays, I mostly spend time with my friends playing games. I remember when I was younger, we used to eat and watch movies a lot. Seriously, melepak.

Perhaps, it's because of our stressful lives handling our careers, we'd rather go for something wild, as a way to release it. Or maybe, simply because we have tried eating at every hip restaurant they are in the Klang Valley. Plus the fact that parking spots are so difficult to get nowadays, it drives me nuts!
In a way, it is kinda sad that we don't have a favourite hang-outs, somewhere that we can call 'the usual'. It's okay, since our gang members stay in every part of Klang Valley, so changing our meeting place everytime seems fair.

And we always welcome new people into our lives, we all can freely bring our own friends and that's how our network gets bigger.

And when there are more brains in the group, that's how we come up with games, a weekend getaway, fishing trips, paintball, workshops, theatres, orchestras and such.

I upload the pictures of these events to Facebook and I have people asking which one is my boyfriend.

The thing is, my boyfriend only pops out once in a while.

Sometimes, I think it's not fair for him since I'm really close to the other guys in my group. But he should understand that without these good friends in my life, I may not go as far as I got. Each and every one of them contribute something in my life and I appreciate that.

And to make sure he's always there with me, my boyfriend forces me to wear my ring all the time which I gladly do even without him asking me to.

When people don't know start to tease that I'm going out with such and such, my friends and I always pretend to go along with it for 5-10 minutes until my friends tell that I'm booked and all I have to do is raise my hand and show the bling.

I love it. I love my friends. I love my boyfriend. And currently, I love my life.

Again, can we stop the time now? I am currently so contented, I don't want things to change.

I hope, all of us will age together and our relationships will develop into something even more beautiful, 20-30 years down the line.

My grandmother passed away. Al-Fatihah.

Father and Mother were supposed to be on their way balik kampung, but they postponed it to a day later since Mother was not feeling well and she didn't want to spread the infection to my grandma.

That night, Mother barged into my room and told me that her mama had gone.

I didn't know what to do.

I wasn't very close to my grandma. In fact, I am not very close to any of my family members.

I took the news really well.

She left my room and I continued whatever thing I was doing. In the end, I went to see her while she was packing.

"Macam mana boleh meninggal dunia?" I asked. As far as I knew, grandma didn't have any chronic disease, except the fact that she was just old.

"Masa tu ramai ada sebab nak pergi wedding. Dia cakap sakit. Lepas tu dia duduk, tak bangun-bangun," Mother said calmly.

"Siapa yang cakap dia meninggal? Tak panggil doktor ke? Mana tahu, entah-entah pengsan je ke..." said I, thoughtfully.

Suddenly, my Mother laughed. "Tak tahulah diorang tu!"

I didn't get why Mother and my sister started to laugh. This was serious matter! "Mana tahu, sebenarnya dia tengah coma ke...Mana boleh senang-senang je declare orang mati! Doktor pun tak boleh senang-senang declare orang mati tau."

"Ala...Siti* kan doktor...Dia tahu lah kot..." Siti* is my cousin who lives in the same hometown as my grandma.

I'm not joking weih! I wouldn't want to declare someone's dead unless I am qualified to!




Anyhow, I've spent a lot of time with my friends. I've always noticed that I go along better with the guys and the girls. The other day, I was even the only rose among five thorns (haha!) and we played three kinds of sports in one day.

It was really good. I enjoyed myself.

My colleague found out about this and I jokingly said that this was the time to enjoy my singlehood.
He said if he were my boyfriend, he would be unfortunate to get a girl like me.

So, I told my boyfriend about what my colleague thought.

Then, my boyfriend said, "I'd be jealous too. But the only reason I let you go is because I know all of your friends."

I feel blessed. To have an understanding boyfriend, to have great friends, and also to have a boyfriend who knows most of my friends and let me have my time with my friends even though my boyfriend himself rarely spends his time with me.

Haih. I love all of them. :)

kerja.

Wah. It's so nice of you guys to congratulate to me. Thank you, thank you, you guys are too cute. Congratulations to you too, for whatever thing you have achieved so far!

Sorry lah I rarely reply your comments. You know my problems, the Internet + the PC suck.

I eat so much nowadays.

Since McD launched Prosperity Burger, I have eaten nothing but Prosperity Burger everytime I have the chance to order from McDonalds. Tambah dengan McFlurry lagi, nak bubur lah, nak apple pie lah, I always end up having to pay the most among my friends.

Do you guys remember the McD advertisement, probably some 20 years or so ago: the McD clown mascott with his red shoes, singing the alphabets: Mc D O N A L D S, Mc D O N A L D S! I love it. I sing it to my nieces sometimes.

"You ni, makan banyaklah!" my colleague whom recently joined the department said as I munched away my french fries.

Colleague. Work. Work.

When I first started working, I was so enthusiastic, I gave my best in everything I did.

I made sure I came to work on time (I still do this) because I didn't want to 'makan gaji buta'. It's not so much about principle, but I am scared to gain 'rezeki yang haram'. Lets face it, I am not the most pious person, heck, I don't even wear a tudung, the least I can do is to care about these little and simple things that are within my capabilities of doing.

I'm not saying that I've never come late to work, I do, but I'd get all guilty and work overtime so the money that the organization pays me, is worth my work.

People at work often ask me, "Why?" Why do I come to work early. Why do I go home late. Why I never go for lunch unless I make sure everything has been done. Why don't I go take a nap. Why do I help my colleague even though obviously I've done more than him/ her. Why this and why that. I always end up smiling. I mean, can I tell them my actual reasons behind doing all these? I am no ustazah, I don't want to suddenly stun them with my personal views.

Kiranya, what I believe is macam, what you give, you get back la...

However, sometimes, I do get the feelings that the efforts that I put into my work is not appreciated and I don't get the respects that I think I deserve.

Whenever I have these thoughts in my mind, I quickly reflect the purpose I choose this industry. I choose it not for the money, not for the respect nor for the appreciation. So, why bother if someone treats me like crap and the money I get is shit?

There are two ways I look at it.

If my staff misbehave, I keep quiet, I think, "Patutlah kau ni kerja takat ni je...Buruk akhlak. Kurang ajar. Macam mana nak maju?"

If my bosses misbehave, I keep quiet, I think, "Belajar pandai-pandai pun tak guna. Buruk akhlak. Kurang ajar. Cleaner pun perangai lagi bagus dari kau. Buat malu je."

And I don't believe in instilling fear to get your workers becoming more productive. Someone should be approachable to generate interests. Nak marah pun agak-agaklah, kena ada adab. How disgraceful to point out your negative points in front of the clients. Not only it's unprofessional, kalau I jadi client pun, I tak jadi nak dealing dengan these kinds of people. Tak constructive langsung.

I first join this organization believing I wouldn't become one of the commoners. I still keep my mind judgemental-free and I vow to treat everyone the same. I don't care if you are VIP, if you know Datuk so-and-so, you still get in the line like everybody else, you get to cut the line like everybody else if ONLY there's an urgency! I don't care if you whine a lot, that doesn't necessarily mean it's an urgency. On the other hand, who am I to conclude whether you fake it or not, you are still entitled of my full attention and service, just be patient and wait for your turn.

One thing for sure, I don't care whether you to treat me like crap, and if you call me an idiot, I agree with you because I am still learning but trust me, you are still more idiotic than I am. Haha in your face.

Sometimes, I go home feeling all depressed. Everyday is almost similar, but on some of the days, I couldn't take it and I sob. I think it's the accumulation of the many days and so I have this episodes of lachrymology.

My boyfriend is very understanding and he helps a lot in order to make me feel better. He recites his wise words, he shares his own experiences and he even seeks his friends' opinions who work closely in this field.

The sad thing is, I have been advised, for so many times, that I shouldn't trust anyone.

Ah, yes, and how many new friends have I made since I've started working? Two, at most. The rest remains colleagues.

It's me. I work too hard that I don't have the time to get to know them better.

Because of this fear of makan gaji buta, I even feel guilty if I take personal calls during working hours and I never use the Internet for personal use. I do personal things if only I have time spared after I've done my work, which is very rare. And because of this, I have less bonding sessions with my colleagues, hence the less friends I make.

Kesimpulan dari semua ini? Takde.

Nak meluahkan je...

taken

I kept the event low-key. Only a few close friends know about it. And you, the readers.

It's not that I purposely want to hide my status. But I feel things can go wrong anytime, and I don't want to suffer from the consequences. You know what they say, suka suka jadi duka. That's why I don't want to be overexcited about it.

However, an observant boss saw my new bling on my finger.

"Are you engaged?" he asked, in front of my other colleagues.

Later, I found out from my colleague that it was so obvious that I was contemplating to say Yes or No because I took a long time to decide.

Haha.

My answer was positive. "Just yesterday," I told him.

My boss congratulated me.


Is my boyfriend now my fiance? We are not engaged, you know. We decide to skip the engagement ceremony to save cost.

Guess what?

My parents asked for two rings.

"I ingatkan kalau tak tunang boleh save duit! Tengok-tengok parents you minta dua cincin!" he whined.

I'm happy that I'll get two!

My boyfriend is now my future husband. =)

psst.

Psst.

I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard Mother and Father were arguing about me.

My boyfriend called earlier to confirm the date that he will be bringing his family over to my house.

Mother said okay but Father was obviously furious. He was so furious, his voice was so loud, and he said nasty things about Mother, my boyfriend and I.

Somehow, the shouting has stopped.

And here I am, refusing to cry.

Boleh tak I menjerit instead?

achieve

Not many know that I secretly want to be housewife.

Simple as that.

I was talking with my boss, he asked me what do I want to do in my life, specifically, in the near future, do I have anything in my mind, do I want to further my studies?

Yes, of course. But I don't know in which area particularly. Definitely not the one I am in right now.

Boss wanted to know the reasons.

Me: I'm thinking of having a family soon. This (the department I am in) is mostly a guy's thing. I cannot do this while I'm pregnant.

Boss: Bullshit. Look at the female bosses you have. Don't you think they want to get married and have family too? If they can do it, so can you. If you get pregnant, we'll assign you to do other things first.

Me: Yes, I know. But I don't want to wait 9 months to learn. That means, I'll be getting my cert later that supposedly. I just hate to be left behind.

He shook his head, "Achievements come first."

"Having a family is an achievement too," I argued.

"Not to me," he said.

Me: It is an achievement to have a good family.

Boss: Well, yeah, it is. But I can always do that later.

Me: You are a guy, it's different. I don't want to give birth for the first time when I'm forty!

After a long pause, I continued, "I actually like this department."

My boss gave me a smile and said, "You're just saying it because you are talking to me."

"No, I am serious. I like it, it's so nice here, it'll be perfect for me without the...You know, like I mentioned before..."







My colleague was working for a good 8 months before she quit her job.

"Why did you quit?"

Her answer: My husband didn't like me working. I wouldn't say he was unsupportive. He just didn't like me leave the house and come back tired.

"So, I resigned," she explained.

"Wow. Your parents didn't say anything?"

Her: Of course, they did! But my husband didn't force me to quit my job. I wanted to do so too. It felt so good, to be able to do nothing. Then, I had my baby and it was fun.

"So, you were a housewife for...?"

Her: Two years. Did you know what I came back? Because of SpongeBob.

I laughed.

She laughed too.

"No, seriously. I loved SpongeBob. One day, my kid and I were watching TV. I was excited to watch SpongeBob. 'Yay, SpongeBob!' and then, it was a re-run. So, I was very disappointed."

"And then, it hit me. How can I be disappointed to watch a SpongeBob re-run! I watched too many SpongeBob episodes, that they were now showing re-runs and I didn't like it. I thought to myself, 'Man, my brain is getting rusty. I couldn't do this anymore. I need to get out of the house'."

Next question asked, "So, you talked to your husband?"

Her: Yes, and he was OK with it. So, here I am. Working...

Her: But it was nice to be a housewife. I mean, it wasn't too bad to sit at home. It's just...For example, I didn't get to dress up for anything. And I used to be pretty upset about it. Like, why do I have to buy nice clothes, I don't even get to wear it.

Her: But now I feel terrible for my daughter. She's always like, "Mommy, are you coming home today?"

Her: And I don't get to live with my husband. It's so tiring to drive up and down, you know. So, we decide that I should stay somewhere nearer to my workplace.

Me: Aww, that's sad. Do you guys get to see each other often?

Her: At least, twice a week. He lives the dogs. I always joke that he spends more time with the bitches than me.