Lunch with Dr. Ummul

When she was my thesis advisor, I used to think she couldn't stand the sight of me, and I was always freaked out by her ever so strict and 'scary' appearance. But then, so happens I ended up working for her as her research assistant. It's truly an honour. But I had my reservations. She became friendlier, but I still held back.. until one day, when she said "Come, let me buy you lunch.. it'll be your graduation present." I didn't know what to say, I was stunned. She bought me McDonald's.. although it was somewhat common, but it meant so much to me.. it's the thought that counts anyway. So, while eating lunch that day, I realized how well we both actually hit it off.. but then again, I still had my doubts. "She's just being nice." I thought.

The next week, I went to work as usual on Tuesday.. I talked to her in the morning and showed her what I had done so far. So, ok.. after that I went upstairs and continued what I was doing.. I was busy and so I forgot the time. At 12.40pm, she called me using the landline.. I was surprised:

Dr. Ummul: Grace?
Me: Oh, hi Dr.
Dr. Ummul: Are you hungry?
Me: mmm why?
Dr. Ummul: I'm hungry. Shall we go for lunch?
Me: Oh! Sure!
Dr. Ummul: Alrighty, I'll wait for you downstairs.

It was then that I realized, hey.. she does enjoy my company! And honestly, I do enjoy her company too. She's a totally different person when she isn't working.. totally easy going, very humourous too. It was then that I realized.. we became friends. She paid for lunch that day.. and then the Thursday following that I asked if I could buy her lunch.. but she wasn't free. And she told me that she would only be free following week.. it wasn't until today that I found this note in my logsheet.

"Grace, my calendar suddenly frees up today (by magic!) perhaps we could do lunch today? (28/8) Wait for me till I come back. Next week onwards will be ramadhan, so I can't miss this invitation - U :) "

My gosh, Dr. Ummul wrote me a cute note (with a smiley)?? That's unbelievable! LOL, anyway, she wanted to eat Japanese, so yeah.. I brought her to Sushi King and we ate a number of petite stuff. It was funny as I saw her standing at the sushi conveyor belt and staring at all the sushi for such a long time, and coming back with only one plate. "You don't really eat sushi, so I guess this is the only one you will dare eat.." :) She stood there so long to find something with me in mind too! We talked about lots of things, except work.. I made it a point not to talk about her work and I think she did too.. so she told me her stories, and I told her my stories. It's like each time we have lunch, we became just normal friends, instead of her being my superior.

After lunch, I asked if she was game for Starbucks.. she said ok, and so we went.. we ordered our drinks. When the barista made our drinks she asked "So is this to go?" I thought she might want to get back to work so I said "You want it to go?" And she said "Not really.... we still have 1/2 hour" So over coffee, more stories poured out as she talked about what she bought with her first pay (I just received my first paycheck then) etc..

I'll miss having lunch with her the next month (the fasting month).. I'll still see her, just not outside work. Perhaps the lunching will resume in September :) Till then, I guess she'll just be my boss. It's a wonder what 3 lunches can do.. and how it can bring two people closer.

till death do us part?

Come on, who are we kidding? Why do Hollywood stars have to say "till death do us part" when they know that marriages do not last a lifetime. And mind you, it's a vow.. a VOW.. let me enlighten you the meaning of 'vow'.

If you vow to do something, you make a serious promise or decision that you will do it.

that's according to Collins Cobuild Dictionary. Something serious.. a promise... but 2 years or even as short as a month later? It's as if that vow never existed. And the attitude towards marriage today is the idea of pre-nuptial agreement. What does that actually prove?! That you are going into a marriage thinking that there might be a big possibility that the marriage is going to fail? And then you can live happily ever after with those sums of cash. Like a celebrity news editor once said "In order to live happily ever after.. 3 words.. prenup, prenup, prenup!" Gosh, what do they take marriage for anyway?

The thing I don't get is that, why get married if you think it's not going to last? Why spend loads of cash.. tens of millions to have a wedding, and millions to get divorce? Why not stay status quo. That's what I don't get. Of course, I might be wrong.. celebrities might still think that their marriage will work.. but it always gets proven wrong.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a skeptic when it comes to marriage. I'm quite the contrary actually. I think marriages are suppose to last for a lifetime.. it's just that I'm skeptical when it comes to high profile marriages, and those which have prenuptial agreements. That's the wrong footing.. and will lead to disaster.

That's just my thought anyway, and yet again.. perhaps it's due to too much coffee..lol.

Happiness is..

Happiness is.. well, to me.. a cup of coffee will do it! I'm that simple.. or, perhaps.. I'm just purely addicted. But it's true.. I can be pissed off at one point, but just a cup of coffee can make me really happy. Just don't ask me why though, because I can't figure it out either.
What is in the cup? Just a blend of bittersweet, aromatic liquid, with a drug called caffeine. Yet, it can wake a sleepy person up, and make a simple Malaysian girl very happy. LOL. And the weirdest thing is that whenever someone asks me "What do you want me to bring back from my vacation?" My answer will always be "Coffee."
Somehow at some point of my life.. where my love of coffee overtook my love for chocolates.. I used to be excited whenever I received chocolates from all around the world, but now, it's coffee that really does the trick. Today, I received a surprise from a friend of dad's when he gave us Kona coffee from Hawaii.. ohh such happiness! Can't wait to try that! hehehe.. I was like a little girl who was given candy ;)
Anyway, just thought I'd blog.. even when it's nothing much, after all.. it's a caffeine talking, remember? ;)

It's been too long

Wow! It's been so long since I've blogged. So many thing had happened since then.. for starters, my beloved grandfather passed away. I miss him so much. The house seemed to be a little strange without him around. As I was clearing up the books, I saw those which I bought for him, and stationery which I bought as his birthday gift. Sigh.. I miss you kong-kong. You're the best grandfather I ever had.. selfless, loving and patient.. and I know that you're up in heaven and in the presence of the good Lord. I love you...

Oh well, before I sink into depression, here are the rest of the stuff.. well, actually nothing very much.. my job is getting easier as I gain momentum. Reading and summarizing is never easy, especially when the font is so small.. argh.. but I'll make it! LOL. The best thing though, is having my boss' company :) The more I get to know her, the more I adore her to bits.. She's just a good person who is also really brilliant. I'm very very honored to be working for her, gaining insights as she explains things to me.. and even honored that she chose me out of the many that have crossed her path :)

As for life, I'm living it. As best as I can. I never fail to stop and enjoy life.. knowing that even though it's not as productive or full of direction as I'd like it to be, I know that God has a plan for me. Honestly, all I can do is wait till I'm sure of that something I would like to do, and then act upon it. My parents have laid down several options in which I'm still considering. I'm not going to rush things.. it's not my style; this is MY life and I will definitely have the final say. So, I'm just chilling, and being happy.. because to me, that's what matters the most :)

Ok then, I'll stop here.. hope to post more soon!