An Austrian, Brazillian and Malaysian Dinner

After a most satisfying Peruvian dinner yesterday, today I made more plans for dinner again!! This time, I made plans with Jamile and Maria to have dinner together at their place. Aiyo, have to make the most out of every moment, la!!

I could hardly wake up in the morning... as the events from the night before really wore me out. Well, this girl has to get busy... and spent about 3 hours in the kitchen preparing Nasi Briyani and Otak Otak. The 4 of us (Mari, Mauricio, Jack and I) arrived at Jamile and Maria's apartment at 7.30pm and there, I was treated to the amazing scene of Jamile 'flying' around the kitchen. I can tell, by the speed that she works in the kitchen, that she is a very experienced cook! Even my offer to help cut the tomatoes was not fast enough for this girl. Haha... I also watched Maria cooking the typical Austrian dish: Wiener Schnitzel. Smells sooooooo good!

Finally, dinner is ready... and we have:
Brazil: Handmade Pizza, Salad, Camarao and Rice
Austria: Wiener Schnitzel and Potato Salat
Malaysia: Nasi Briyani and Otak-Otak

Sooooooooo yummy! I am feeling hungry now... just thinking about it. We had a great time chatting, eating and drinking white wine. Good times!!

Mauricio's Birthday

Finally....... today I will get to taste the much awaited Peruvian Turkey!!! Mauricio has talked about cooking this dish for the past 1.5 years. So, in conjunction with Mauricio's birthday, today we all get to taste this much talked about dish! Haha!!

Mauricio started cooking at 10am. I was driving around doing some chores while Mari helped Mauricio to prepare the food. By the time I got home... the dish was nearly done, and I realised my BIG MISTAKE!! Aiyo... I should have been home to watch and learn how to cook, la!! =( So smart of me!!! Well, I decided to cook some chicken pasta with white sauce for Mauricio's birthday dinner. I can never resist any opportunity to cook. Hehehe...

Shortly after 5pm, Sara and Stephanie arrived. Oh, how I miss them! We chatted while Mauricio and I continued to do the finishing touches for the meal. An hour later, Serenella and her son, arrived... and she brought the BIRTHDAY CAKE!!! Awesome! I woke Jack up at 6.45pm and started dressing up for the dinner. Jamile, Maria and Patteri arrived at 7.30pm with tiramisu cake (yummy!!) and pineapple cocktail (Brazillian style).

At this point, I was HUNGRY and we all started our dinner. My goodness, the turkey was delicious!!! (Mauricio, I still prefer the leg than the turkey breast, haha...) The food was delicious, the company was great and the conversation was entertaining. Andrea arrived at 8pm and we all stared at her while she had to eat all the yummies in 5 minutes. Hahaha.... Once the table is cleared, we brought the birthday cake forward for Mauricio. One of my best memories was singing Happy Birthday to Mauricio in 8 languages: English, Portuguese, German, Finnish, Italian, Cantonese, Malay and of course... Spanish! Oh, how I love my traineeship!!!

Visiting My Best Friend in Michigan

I just came back from Michigan yesterday night, after spending a weekend with Allison. I must admit, that her new house looks great! I am so proud of her... and also inspired. Way to go, girl!

I had such a good time... and as always, reminds me of the good old days of my high school. We laughed so hard, remembering how we 'create' our campfire dances, and watching Michael Jackson MTVs... oh, and how we used to boycott/ torture Wan Ju and Linnet! (Teenage girls can be mean!) Then, there was Jo-Ann's mom's URFORGETTABLE SZE CHUAN SOUP!!! I swear, that till today, nothing lives up to that! Allison was actually salivating while remembering it... hehehe...

I had the most enjoyable evening, bbq-ing with her aunt and friends. The barbeque was delicious, and the conversation was great! You see, when 5 Malaysians meet... the favourite topic was about our mother land, of course!!! Besides the usual reminisense, we were making so much fun of girls that are wen-rou (english= gentle, soft-spoken, ladylike to the extreme). Its funny how the western people stereotype that asian girls are always sweet and wen-rou. Hahaha......... Wait till you marry one of us!!!

Well....................... a most wonderful weekend, and thank you!! Allison, you are such a wonderful friend and yeah, we make a great team!

My last day in Mastercard

Finally... THE DAY is here. It feels surreal, and dreamlike. I find it, quite hard to believe... that after 18 months of coming to work in GSC, today will be my last one.

I woke up, remembering Stephanie's comment yesterday night. She misses my Malaysian curry dish. Haha... That was really sweet. ;o) With Stephanie in mind, I spent 2 hours in the kitchen, cooking a whole pot of the Malaysian Chicken Curry. Oh... I can't wait to see Stephanie's face at work!

After 'bombing' my house with curry smell... I prepared for work, and woke the sleepiest-human-being-alive up. Goodness, he slept for 14 HOURS! So crazy. (I would get sick, sleeping for so long =$)

I arrived at work, like any other day... 5 minutes late (but still within the 7 minutes grace time). Hehehe... Old habits die hard! One hour later, I placed my Malaysian Chicken Curry dish on the 'food table' and sent out a sametime announcement to the floor: "I made some Malaysian curry and it is on the table, please try it!" The moment the announcement was sent, there was a small commotion and I looked up to see 8 people crowding the food table! (So much pride... the Malaysian curry is indeed a hit! I even had a date next week, for a curry-cooking gathering at my place! ahahaha.... Malaysia BOLEH!!)

I was looking for Stephanie expectantly, and saw her walking towards me with a very red face, and tears in her eyes saying "You remembered!". =) I hugged Stephanie and insisted to have a picture taken with a teary-eyed Stephanie. Of course, what a Kodak-moment!! Remembering that someone in St Louis will miss me...

I clocked out for the last time, at 6.00am... cleared my mailbox and drawer. (I still feel dazed, and surreal) I walked around, taking pictures, saying goodbye and thank-you to everyone. We hugged and exchanged promises to keep in touch. (Many of them asking about my wedding date! =p) I gave out Malaysian postcards and thank-you notes to some colleagues that have been so kind to me for the past 18 months.

I also discovered that Alessandro will be on a 3-week vacation, and I will not see him before I fly to London!!! =( I was planning on spending my next 2 weeks with the trainees... and that was unexpected. We hugged and did the customary-trainee-kisses, while I enjoy being called 'Bella!' by my Italian friend. =D

The few highlights that I will always remember...
Saying goodbye to Phyllis and Fran: the 3 of us were nearing tears as we exchange our farewells. I remembered Fran... "I better go now, cause you are going to make me cry soon". Fran... such a colourful character! Phyllis... such a sweet and kind person. Sunny... my BIG sister in St Louis. Stephanie... with tears for me...

At 10.30am, Emily left the building.
Can you believe it... I spent 4.5 hours saying goodbye! ;o)

Farewell Party at Mastercard

As tradition goes... only 3rd shift organizes a special farewell party/ dinner at work on our last day of work. Today, it was my turn.

Though, I have gone through numerous farewells at 3rd shift, I am not immune to it. I could see Phyllis walking around to set the table, Jarol trying to get all the utensils ready... At 11pm, Jarol came over and invited me to the honor of being the first one at the dinner table. Oh, the table was so pretty. All the food looked so good, and Jarol even cooked Chicken Noodles Pasta!

I have witnessed this so many times... but still, I am very touched. I feel humbled. This was personal... it was for me.

I was placed on HSBC Only today, and I was writing Malaysian postcards with personalized messages for my colleagues. I love the expressions on their faces when I gave them my momentos. So many memories, and so little time left...

At then end of the day, I have the sweteest message from Phyllis:
"Thank you for the card. I wish you the best in your travels and whatever you do. You mother is blessed to have a beautiful, hardworking daughter. I am proud of you. I know your mother is proud of you. We are blessed you stayed on3rd shift with us."

To my colleagues... thank you for this memory. I will never forget your thoughtfullness!!

False Alarm

I came back from work at 7am, thinking that tonight will be my last day at work. I went straight to bed, trying to catch some sleep. After lying down... I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I couldn't.

For 4 hours, I tossed and turned on the bed, trying to sleep (unsuccessfully). I kept thinking about work... my traineeship... my first day in St Louis... the people I have met (nice people, and not-so-nice people), the bits and pieces that made up my 1.5 years in St Louis. I felt like I am watching a movie of my life, on the chapter in St Louis.

It is a strange feeling... the closing of one chapter of my life. I am not really sad... but very nostalgic. I finally had 1 hour of sleep, and went to work.

At work, I realized that tonight is not my last day... ITS TOMORROW NIGHT! Duuuuuuuh........... False Alarm!!! ;p