Puan Seri

Somebody pointed out today that I am a Puan Seri.

In what way may you ask?

We were in the middle of a conversation with some acquaintances. Hubby was telling how happy he was that he managed to sell our second car at a reasonably good price.

Then the acquaintance asked,

"Kereta lagi satu?"

I told him no, we are keeping that one.

And he said,

"Yang tu mana boleh jual, tu kan kereta Pn Seri. Hahahaha..."

I know some people around here have the impression that hubby bought that car for me. And when I say people, I meant the Malays. It is rather luxurious for their standard, so they made assumption that I 'requested' for it, for my personal use after we got married.

Truth is hubby's had it with him for several years already. The only reason that people hasn't been noticing is because he prefers to drive the other car, an old 2-seater because it has an open roof top - he likes having the wind in his face. After we got married, he obviously continues to drive that car simply coz he loves it and the fact that as a husband, he wanted me to have the better ride - no rocket science there. So when people see me driving a more luxurious car, they made assumptions that I am a queen who wanted nothing less than a German ride.

Sometimes it boggles me, don't they have enough on their shoulders? Between managing families and pursuing their PhDs, they still have time to jaga tepi kain orang.

Good friends are hard to come by

Friends are those precious angels who stick by you through thick and thin. They lift you up when you are feeling low. They laugh at your silliness but never ridicule you. They listen to your insecurities and thoughts but never judge you. Acquaintances are abundance, but friends? They are hard to come by.

Yesterday I met someone with a quality of a friend. She's married too, and oh - jobless like me! So that's one thing in common. Ha ha. She is a qualified industrial designer but fails to secure any job due the niche market and her unwillingness to resort to generic art simply due to her passion in what she does.

There was one particular gesture yesterday that made me feel an immediate connection with her. We were talking about traveling and she mentioned how different things are after marriage as she has to consult her husband first. "You know how it is Cikitita, we have responsibilities now..." while rolling her eyes. Ha ha!

Some of you might get the wrong idea and think she is being disrespectful. But if any of you were there yesterday, you would have realized what a nice and cultured person she really is. To me, what she said signifies individuality, and determination of being her own person despite being married to a man. For those who have crossed the marriage-dom, you'd know what I mean. It is easy to lose yourself as you strive to be the perfect wife, especially in our culture.

I loathe ladies who are so clingy to their men. I loathe ladies who stop seeing their friends just to make herself available to her men 24x7. I loathe those who are full of jealousy. I know a person who did not let her husband do manicure because she was uncomfortable with the idea of another woman touching him (read: his fingers).

K I L L M E N O W .

On another note, I was out with another person today. It is sometimes difficult to understand someone and it is hard to categorize them as a friend or an acquitance. I know there are possibilities of her 'using' me, but I am giving her the benefit of the doubt, at least for another month. I shall not blog about it as I do not intend to ruin the positivity that I am having right now.

Till then, signing off with love.

Now I can put on my smiley face

My last post was on the 3rd of March. I thought of writing from time to time but nothing came to mind. So today while going through the blog I thought hey, why not publish some unfinished post just for the sake of it? So I did.

While browsing through the list, I came across a particular entry that I wrote prior to the wedding. A 'cold feet' entry. All brides get this, I know I did based on what I wrote that day. But boy, am I glad that I married him ;)

Ok enough mushiness.

And enough of whining too.

So for a change, I would like to share with you a few good news. Firstly, I am glad to announce that I have gotten the work visa which is up to the 18th of November. A short duration, but enough to get the residency application done, or so I hope. I have completed the expression of interest, lost 50 marks due to MMU not being recognized by the NZ government, hence eliminated me from the 'auto-approved' group. I refuse to get it assessed by NZQA as I see no point in giving away 750 NZD for recognition purposes so people, do pray for me!

I do have two other good news to share, but both are on initial stage so I thought I'd give it a pass, at least for now. Will definitely share it with you guys once all is confirmed. Good things are definitely coming my way, and I thank Allah and my lucky star (read: darling hubby) for giving me hope when all seems dark and gloomy.

Did I told you guys that I am loving the weather? It has been raining cats and dogs for the past two weeks but I doesn't bother me, really. Auckland has mild temperature, no winter, and half of the time it feels like summer. I know things will only get better, and no matter how bad it gets I know it is a lot better than other places. You'd say that too if you've experienced the hot, humid weather in Malaysia and the crazy four-season-in-a-day in the UK. The weather reminds me of Madrid too, gosh how I miss those carefree days!