ten things i'm thankful for this year

it's been an up-and-down year with really unpredictable turn of events. things have gone from extremes of super bad to awesome in just a flick of harry potter's wand. it was a year full of change and excitement, and despite the crap and other relevant bumbaclot that has happened in the past 364 days, there was indeed a few stuff that i am thankful for, like :

1. the window of opportunity to get out from the drama-driven, idiot-infested company run by plastic glam-whores that don't know much about advertising or marketing, or just simply being human. good riddance.
   
   
2. for scoring a job at Pos - with amazing leadership, with better pay, with fun-to-work-with colleagues who love coffee and food as much as i do, with amazing benefits and potential of actually getting bonuses.
   
   
3. for my really talkative, witty, creative and funny daughter who teaches me everyday, that i should unclench once in a while, to be happy in the moment, and just enjoy the simple things in life. for her insatiable thirst for learning about everything, and at the same time, teaching me patience, responsibility, honesty, to forgive easily, to take it slow, to be open about how i feel, to become more considerate, and for making me realize of the strength i have.
   
   
4. for every time i hear Arwen calls me "Mamma", even though it's in between sobs or screams. i'm thankful for the fact that she'll always call on me, that she needs me and to constantly rely on me, be it to comfort her, to rub that nasty bump on her head, to get her things she can't reach, to read to her, to scratch the itch from mosquito bites - whatever it is, i want her to know that i'll always have her back.
   
   
5. for every night when we have pillow fights in our bed, normally initiated by Arwen. just the three of us.
   
   
6. for my husband who will climb mountains to keep me happy. yes, we have our fights and disagreements but we never hold it long. i'm glad that he's man enough to know when to let go of ego and see the bigger, more important picture. i'm ever thankful for his patience and tolerance for putting up with me. i know i'm not the easiest to handle. i have my emotional turbulence and the occasional blonde moments, which are annoying, but he still loves me whatever i may be. though he sometimes is hard to communicate with, because he is rather cryptic about his feelings, and sometimes there's a language barrier (he speaks Pekan malay and i speak well, me) but he's the only person in the world who seems to get me and take me for me. thank you, sayang.
   
   
7. for family who've made some of my birthday wishlist came true. ILOCHI. i've got a satchel/bag from the husband, a book for myself, the bookbook case from my mom, a crumpler laptop backpack from fadz earlier this year, some chunky bracelets from mom from her trip to singapore this week. (edited) and the jason mraz polaroid book, a thousand things from fadz also. just a pair of shoe/booties and i'm a happy girl.
   
   
8. for my brothers' achievements in whatever they're doing. fadz is doing so well with his writings which has got him published everywhere. faiz will be having his own office space next year for his photography business that is garnering recognitions and huge demand. i am so proud of them.
   
   
9. for the Malaysian football team for winning the ASEAN suzuki cup which warranted a free holiday for the country tomorrow - on my birthday. i was thinking about taking leave and the husband has pleaded me a few times about skipping work but now everything just falls into place ... so yeay!
   
   
10. for having lived, loved, enjoyed, survived, weathered, ate, accomplished through another action-packed year. and live to celebrate another birthday. insyallah and alhamdulillah.
    

ten things to be thankful for this year

1. i am thankful for hitting the big three-oh today (arwen sang "happy happy happy happy" to me this morning). superficially, i'm not enthusiastic about being 30, but way deep down, i am okay with it. i don't feel any different - it's just like being 29. i'm just the same old me - a deep-down angry bitch who likes to talk and laugh out loud who just so happen to have a wonderful husband and adorable 16 month old daughter.
   
   
2. i am thankful for the fact that i've reached my unwritten-before-i-reach-30-life's goals which is to have a steady career (i am not at all an ambitious person and i don't mind being the big fish in a little pond copywriter for a long time. i'm comfortable where i am. as long as i can help support my family, also to wear jeans to the office everyday, i'm okay with it). to get married and have a child. to still not drive (heh) - but despite that, i have a car under my name. and to be happy (well, i am still angry with the world, but whenever i come home to my family, i am happy so that's enough for me)
   
   
3. i am thankful for all the choices and mistakes i've made in my life. everyday, we make choices and decisions. it's those choices that dictates the future we lead. and so far, i think i've been making the right ones because they've made me what i've become today - mistakes or otherwise.
   
   
4. i am thankful for my brother for giving me the speedlite and his 50mm! (yes, yes, it's no longer on loan. it's officially a gift!)
   
   
5. i am thankful for my ability to use my voice, some people in the office have labeled me somewhat of a rebel because i'm not afraid to stand my grounds. i sometimes tend to overstep my bounds and say things people who like to keep their job, will not say. it may not be professional, but i am not into ass-kissing. i whoop ass when they need to be whooped. i don't care if people are hurt by what i say. work is work, the ultimate goal is to get the job done right. it's nothing personal. (i may not be thankful about my big, foul, rebellious, fuck-the-man mouth if i get fired because of it but lets not hope that will happen. i like working in that place)
   
   
6. i am thankful that my daughter is not as picky about her food as i was, i mean am. makes motherhood a wonderful journey.
   
   
7. i am thankful for everyone who's in my life, the real life and the internet life. each and every crazy one of you. you people have made an impact in my life in more ways than i can imagine. i love you.
   
   
8. i am thankful for my self-inflicted, self-diagnosed craziness. i hate to be called boring. it's my crazy-bitchness that put excitement in my life, and the lives around me. let's face it, people love drama. what do you think makes TV so successful?
   
   
9. i am thankful for the ability to laugh out loud - even at myself if opportunity permits. and if you know me personally, you know that i have a big, loud, in-your-face, annoying laugh.
   
   
10. i am thankful for, despite being a tough fiscal year for everyone, i still have a job, i still can make extra money with the poster business idea, i still can make ends meet and still enjoy the little extra things in life like the exorbitant amount of food dined in rather expensive eateries, i still can feed and clothe my daughter excessively (of course, thanks to everyone else in the family that has contributed to the excessive-ness, lah kan?).
    
    

song: we will not grow old by lenka

10 things i'm thankful for this year

1. for safely giving birth to a beautiful baby girl
   
   
2. and being reborn in the process
   
   
3. for having a job, that even without a bonus (again), at least i'm fortunate enough to be paid full every month end without any hicks. even that when i was 'working from home' three weeks prior to my delivery, i still got paid in full. i've heard really scary stories from other ad buddies that they have neither been paid for 2-3 months or paid half of their salary because times are getting hard and jobs are getting scarce and clients are choosing proposals that have the cheapest quotations and not based on creative merits, it makes our job as creatives rather redundant, doesn't it?
   
   
4. for my husband getting a permanent staff status with the government. he's been working under contract for almost 7 years and it's about damn time he's got permanent. at least, with the impending recession that is predicted to happen next year, and the government's plan to let go of all contract staff, his job is pretty much secure. not to mention all the perks in working with the government. as they say, rezeki anak. but, we still don't know where he's gonna be stationed. i am praying it's nowhere far.
   
   
5. for my husband. for his patience, his love, his gift of pro-swimmer sperm that made one part of our beautiful daughter within just a few days of marriage, for making me laugh, for cleaning up all my puke during the first 8 months of pregnancy, for standing by my side when i gave birth despite all his whining about not being able to stand the sight of blood and the sight of me in pain, for waking up in the middle of the night to feed arwen when i wake shake him rather rudely, for picking me up everyday from work since 2004 ... for just being him.
   
   
6. my family. we fight like mad sometimes but at least there isn't that much drama this year. no fuck-yous thrown about unnecessarily. probably because i, the harbinger of war, the firestarter, was pregnant for most of the year and thus didn't have that much energy to spare to menjawab and melawan all the time.
   
   
7. my family again, for everything else.
   
   
8. for that person who copied from my blog. because of her, i've got an influx of new readers! yay! not that i was looking for or expecting or intend for anyone to read my whiny-ass digital dildo. the first time i wrote in this blog was for myself. (ok, fine, someone talked me into it and i am the band-wagon jumping kind of person). it turned out to be a nice little window for me to pour out my whines thoughts and feelings. and an efficient way for me to update my friends and cousins about my goings-on. but now that i know strangers are reading this too, it makes me want to write more and better. better, as in wittier and definitely with more reasonable usage of sarcasm. but sorry people, this blog doesn't come with its own filter system. there's always gonna be inappropriate language, despite the fact that i know my MOTHER is reading this. you may not like it, you may hate my face, i may edit, i may delete, but what you read is what you get.
   
   
9. for my friends. i only have a handful, but i love them to bits. thank you guys, for seeing things the same way i do. i love you even when we only mostly talk on YM and on the occasional random kopi sessions which are hard to schedule since we know and understand that we each live our own separate lives and that each of us live in faraway nooks of the city.
   
   
10. for the increase of my credit limit. i know, this is a damnation in disguise, but to see that much balance i can still use gives me a glimpse of hope and a moment of pure pleasure. shut up! i'll deal with the debt later on.

since this will be the last thursday for this year, i might as well add ten more. because i've got so much to be thankful for ...

1. for the pay-rise earlier this year. despite all my whines, it's a good feeling to work at a place that knows that a pay-rise every year is an expected benefit. goes to show that the boss value all your late nights and time crunching meeting ridiculous deadlines and overcoming creative differences. eh, sorry, that's me seeing the silver lining around bullshit. the realist in me would say that the pay rise is a way for the boss to expect more late nights and time crunching and creative jousting from us. but still, it's better than nothing. the last agency i worked for, we had to threaten the bosses with our resignation letter to get a feeble pay rise. sometimes it works, sometimes you just have to pack your shit and leave the premises with a guard stalking behind you.
   
   
2. for the neighbour who actually volunteered to take care of arwen 3 days a week. we didn't really have to find one. they asked my mom if they can take care of the baby. im so blessed.
   
   
3. for my parents for taking care of arwen the rest of the time. and for falie for all those clothes he bought for his only, favourite niece.
   
   
4. for finding my creativity again -- well sort of. i'm helping my cousin mona designing her wedding stationery. it's getting there. i'm procrastinating, as usual.
   
   
5. for the creative team in the office. i swear i've never worked with such nice and talented and awesome and wackiest bunch of people as you guys before. most of you are younger than me, but it's refreshing to know that neither of you possess the brains of a 3 year old. i've worked with 40 year olds that's even more childish than peter pan.
   
   
6. for coldplay's new album.
   
   
7. and for jason mraz's new album.
   
   
8. internet downloads.
   
   
9. for the end of the writer's strike in the US. i need my constant fix of Grey's Anatomy, Prison Break, Supernatural, How I Met Your Mother, Gossip Girl and other random TV series. i was about to get anxious and all foamy in the mouth and almost decided to download porn was streaming youtube all day in the office to get the edge off.
   
   
10. barack obama winning the US election. best (advertising & political) campaign ever. hopefully the change will make the world a much better place, even if it only lasts 4 years. dont question me why i think the american elections are much more attention-worthy than the malaysian. i dare not touch about politics. not because i'm scared, but because i dont know shit. i leave it to the people who do.
    
    

SYUKUR ALHAMDULILLAH!

10 things i'd like to learn how to do

1. play the guitar
2. properly use chopsticks
3. pee standing up
4. write poetry
5. write anything properly for that matter
6. sing in tune
7. cook a decent malay meal
8. knit
   
9. get over my morbid fear of heights ... and clowns and people in puppet costumes
   
10. DRIVE!
    

10 worst fashion mistakes i've made

1. wearing black all the time.
2. wearing these thick bloody faux-tortoiseshell glasses because i'm too lazy to put on contacts.
3. wearing mini skirt when i know that i don't have the legs to pull the look off.
4. wearing blue eyeshadow.
5. wearing vamp red lipstick on my thick ass lips.
6. wearing the little black velvet dress for prom. with no bra. what a skank.
7. let my mom dress me in ruffles and lace.
8. wearing slippers to work.
9. wearing chokers.
10. wearing my hair up in a messy after-shower bun all the time macam orang dalam hari.

10 stupid things i did as a kid

i've officially gone meme obsessed. found this 10 things site. i like the idea. and being the original, creative, innovative person that i am, thought i'd start the same thing. i'll label mine "ten things thursday".

the first 10 :

10 stupid things i did as a kid

1. stuck my thumb up a live light socket and got mildly electrocuted. may be the explanation of the occasional erratic neurotic behavior.
2. tried to break into my own house through grille bars. my head went through but my shoulders couldn't. i can't remember how i managed to escape that. i think dad came to the rescue.
3. cut mengaji class. which contributed the reason why i got my head stuck in the grille in the first place.
4. cut my own bangs. with the plastic child-friendly scissors we normally use in kindergarten.
5. stole money from my mom's wallet, because all the girls in school had allowances more than RM1.
6. broke grandmother's precious antique china while playing flight attendants with my brother.
7. dressed my brother up with mom's clothes, shoes and make up, because i didn't realize he was a boy until after i got my period.
8. stuffed the drain outlet in our shower with stuffed toys because my brother and i, we always wanted to swim in a bathtub.
9. started drinking coffee.
10. grew up.