Month: December 2018

Bahrain Bar hopping- Apollo Lounge, Dublin Bar & The One, and dinner at the Beijing Restaurant

Okay, breathe. How do I start? At last, I had the chance to sit and concentrate on my blog page without interference. 

I just got out from our 2 hrs Technical meeting, answered a few emails, forwarded the previous Progress Meeting, logged new submittals to be reviewed, released done inspections, receive and emailed new ID Inspections, haha, and now finally, taking advantage while the others are still in the meeting and my quick lunch break! This is what we usually get the first few days after enjoying a long weekend, then all the work will come up one after the other.

What I did on EID Holiday?

Oh well, of course, the first night, as usual, was spent with RJ, it’s like we were drinking (moderately) and binge-watching plus a lot of sleeping (and home-food) since Thursday night, 13.12.2018. We were planning to go in the mall on 16.12.2018, the actual first day of the two day National Day but I got a message from my friend Nicole and suggested that we should meet up, have dinner and go for bar-hopping.

Since I don’t get to see much of Nicole these days, haha, (we used to live together in one flat like until mid-2017 until she moved out and I also moved out from my flat of three years to our new flat with RJ) so RJ and I agreed to go out the next day to be able to meet my friend.

She took me to a Chinese Restaurant (Beijing Restaurant) for dinner. Been there a few times years ago (as in really years ago, maybe around 6 years ago). They gave us free Chinese prawn crackers as soon as we arrived and then we ordered dumplings for a starter, iced tea for refreshment, vegetable fried rice, and beef with pepper sauce something (I don’t know the name of the dish). It is beef with oyster sauce topped with a  lot of onions and pepper and red chilis.

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The beef was recommended by Nicole which is tbh, exquisite and appetizing. The servings are actually good for two to three person so we didn’t order anything more and in fact, we still have to take away the remaining portion divided to two, (one for Nicole and one for my husband to try).

They served us chocolate ice cream (it’s like a hot fudge with banana) afterward as a complimentary dessert.

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Too bad I didn’t have much of photos taken but it’s okay.

Beijing Restaurant Location: Villa 576, Road 3819, Block 338. Adliya.

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We had to walk back to the paid car parking after dinner. Check out these nice photos I’ve taken while walking on the streets of Adliya, (I wish I have a better cam). It is a holiday mood so the area is dimmed with beaming lights. There are a lot of people walking along the streets and sitting on the tables outside every restaurant but I wasn’t able to take a lot of snaps.

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We went bar hopping to three bars on an entire night. Our first stop was in Apollo where we had a glass of vodka with pineapple. The place was still empty when we arrive since it’s still early. We stayed for another 30 minutes listening to the music then we moved to Dublin Bar and I had a martini, and another one, margarita. The martini made me feel a little bit tipsy as it is strong for me so I changed to Margarita which is way better. Then our last stop is Dublin (where there is more crowd) and I had three glasses of vodka, two vodkas with pineapple and one vodka with cranberry).

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Apollo Lounge:  Building.670 Road.2411 Block.324, Alsafir Hotel & Tower, Juffair

Dublin Bar: Building No. 256 Road No-40 Juffair.

The One Bar: Alfateh

It was getting a little bit late after bar hopping, so we decided to go to Starbucks Diplomat for a quick coffee then go home. But then Nicole’s friend called her and invited us to drop by for a while to Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel where they are staying.

It is something like a few minutes away from Starbucks so we decided to go. We spent about an hour there, laughing and talking with a few cans of beers (I had one full can of Coors light I guess, but I tried a few sips of this unfamiliar Hawaiian beer in a very strange bottle, haha) while playing throw the dice and drink a beer, oh well, I just named it like that where you have to throw the dice and the other person opposite the table should catch it, otherwise he drink the beer and vice versa.

It was a fun night with Nicole, we never had for a little while since we are both busy at work and we now live in a totally different location unlike before.

It was past 2AM when she dropped me home coz I can’t stay longer than that as my husband won’t sleep until I come home.

That’s how the night ends.

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Just a bathroom selfie 🙂

Simple things that never fails to make me feel better

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Day 08!

So here it goes on my eight straight days.

Few things that never fails to make me feel better. (In no particular order)

1. Work out- Definitely at all times. Whenever I’m exasperated, tired, lazy or sleepy, I would get up, put on my comfortable work out clothes and walk/run for at least one hour and definitely, I will feel better.

2. A bar of chocolate- This is one of my hard-to give-up simple pleasure, this also improves my mood but yeah, with calories and this is always included on my grocery list.

3. Going back home to a clean house. Yep, if there’s something that never fails to irritate me is going home to a messy house after a day’s work, my OC probs. That’s why I always make sure to clear everything before I leave to work in the morning. I’m glad that after more than a year of living together, RJ already knows these weaknesses and my simple house rules he won’t dare to mess up, haha and would arrange everything before I go home every Saturdays when he’s all day home.

4. Long Sleeps- I’m such a sleepyhead, I could even sleep for a straight 15 hours. But that was before getting married. Now I’m only taking advantage of these long periods of sleep during the weekend but not more than lunchtime because surely RJ will die of hunger, he will wait for me until I wake up to eat together, haha!

5. Foot and back massages- Oh well, who wouldn’t feel better when someone is doing this back rubs until you get to sleep?

6. RJ’s cooking-  And of course, my husband’s cooking! Who needs to dine out when I’ve got the best chef at home? RJ’s menu of the day always brings the child-like excitement in me, I would always hurry back home to eat. 

7. Writing-  One frustrated blogger in here. This is far more than just making me feel better. Every time I’m spilling out my thoughts through blogging, this would turn me into a completely different person in a totally different world. Writing is my best friend where I could always confide my feelings.

8. Surprises- Yeah, whether it’s a small piece of chocolate or just anything. I love surprises! 

And a long list to follow…

To be continued. 🙂

DAY IN PHOTOS- My usual Routine at work.

A day in the office. So today, I’ve compiled some photos of my daily routine at work dated 13.12.2018.

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This is how my office table looks like. I couldn’t start the day without having coffee first. Whenever I reach the office, our Tea Boy would immediately serve me right away. 

Then, I would log in to my official email and check all new emails, pin all emails to be replied for the day, circulate all the emails to be replied by the Engineers, download all incoming letters for my record then start my usual routine. The usual  Site-office work differs day by day. Some parts of the day are idle (and that’s when I would start jotting down my entry) but most of the time is busy since we are working on a big high rise project that operates 24hrs a day, and for no apparent reason, even how much you think the work is done, something would always come up to work on.

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And this is how our office looks like. It’s a big office room on the ground floor near the parking area with only one partition to separate my small office. Three more desks for the 2 other Engineers, one is empty, and another long conference table in the middle for them to work on.

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And that’s me. I intentionally took selfies while the Engineers were out on Site Inspection. This is how I literally look in the office, especially in afternoons when I’m about to end my shift with this messy hair haha, oh well,  messy hair don’t care.

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Finally, Going home. My work starts from 8AM until 4PM, weekdays. This is the kind of traffic I pass every day in The Avenues area.

End.

A Married Life

You may not notice it at the beginning, but there are some surprising changes that will happen in our lives once we get married. 

Spending more than a decade of living away, it is natural to seek belongingness outside your comfort zone: friends, activities, hobbies, leisure, pleasure, travel, splurging and a lot more. More so, when you get used to your independence, you might not want anyone to control your life (I’ve had my share of stubbornness, inability to trust, insensitiveness, shortcomings, playing around and the likes) but that will surely change once you tied the knots.

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And here’s the list of changes that I have experienced.

1. Your Surname- Of course, the most obvious one.

2. Your time, commitment & priorities –  At this time you will find yourself putting your spouse who is now your family on top of everything and everyone else.

As for me, I would rather spend my time cuddling with husband on weekends, cleaning and arranging our small household, preparing home-cooked meals together (oh well, like what I’ve posted on my IG, who needs to dine out when you’ve got the best Chef at home named RJ, haha!), watch TV, and other stuff rather than my usual going out with friends on weekends or staying up late outside the night before.

You are more likely to go out with the husband alone or you would take your partner with you if you are hanging out with friends.

On a larger scale, this is the time when you set your priorities straight. Looking forward to more comprehensive goals together. A more detailed outlook. Your goals become their goals, and their goals become your goals, your dreams become their dreams and their dreams become yours shared together to achieve one steady output.

3. Your Money- You will start spending money in a different way now. You would not splurge like the way you do when you are single. You will learn how to control your spending habits and more likely to budget your individual expenses and buy only the necessary needs for the household and important expenses. More so, you will both work on how to save money for the future.

I would rather prepare food and eat at home with the husband. I don’t splash or have a sudden outburst on unnecessary leisure, pleasure, and extravagance anymore but rather learned how to spend wisely and with limitation.

4. No more secrets- Yeah, when you get married, this is no time for hiding secrets.  You have to reveal your real self, good or bad attitude, even those shameful ones, your habits, your weaknesses towards certain things, how would you like your food to be done, your eating and sleeping habits, your tantrums, likes and dislikes.

We started laying our lives on the table for the other to peek in. We never hide anything from each other even past stories, past relationships, past mistakes, future dreams, even our mobile phones, haha! (even though RJ’s phone is always open, and I know he doesn’t hide anything from me, not at all,  I’m also giving him his own private space to do his personal stuff like I also want to have my own privacy browsing, surfing, and chatting with family and old friends), our daily activities, family matters, and everything under the sun.

I myself prefer to live a private life but having a spouse, we must have to share our private life with them.

5. Your Loyalty- Well of course, when you get married, one very important factor is to always have a full loyalty to your husband/wife.

No more in-betweens. You have to surrender your self completely with your partner.

6. Your daily routine- Your usual schedule, things you do, places you go, your preference, habits, and others will change accordingly to blend with your partner.

My usual routine of getting up at 3PM every weekend surprisingly changed an hours earlier because I have to adjust in a way to meet my husband’s timetable. When I’m still living alone, I never cared about storing food at home or do a regular trip to the supermarket since I don’t cook at all. I woke up and eat whenever I want to and mostly, order food outside.

And yeah, getting married indeed will change our personality and perspectives.  Making marriage last requires both hard work and understanding for both the husband and wife. Time. Commitment. Loyalty. Trust.

Every decision, whether it’s about finances or family, have to be agreed and discussed with both parties in mind. You have to change. You have to compromise. You have to give your self completely. You have to think about the other, then surely you may have a simple- peaceful- happy life.

Stop Being Irritable

Okay, Okay, I get it! I get so grumpy at times! There are some things that would make me dyspeptic quickly. I do get to the point where my tolerance level becomes so low and I would likely to become a little bit aggressive and start ranting.

At home, or even at work.

Irritability is something that we all experience from time to time. When we feel irritated, we are more likely to bark at the people around us. I get easily irritated by little things, well I guess the perks of having OC problems.

I admit I get annoyed even with small things that actually could be shrugged- off easily if I handle my anger management properly. Like the simple dirt at home or a messy bed, garbage thrown somewhere, wet towels thrown somewhere, un refilled water containers in the fridge, dusty shelves, and cupboards, unorganized shoe-rack, dirty shoes inside the room, clothes hanged in different hangers or direction or even an unkempt laundry, I want them to be neatly folded inside the hamper. Yeah, my OC problems! Haha, poor RJ, the husband, who’s always the recipient of all these grouchiness.

I rattle quickly at work whenever I have pendings to be done and I want to do it as fast and as perfect as I could, even spacing on my letters and emails should be the same. I want my work to be done one at a time in a very organized manner without anyone disturbing me. If I want to do something, I have to do it right away or this will bother me until I start doing it.

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Not to mention that I couldn’t work in a messy Office. I have to work and organize things at the same time.

The same manner whenever I’m in charge of cooking at home, (that once a week schedule when RJ is working on an afternoon shift), I cook and wash the utensils at the same time, leaving everything tidy just as I finished my cooking.

These things when not done properly irritates me fast.

To reduce my mood swings, I compiled some of these easy steps to follow:

Quick ways to stop being irritable:

1. Check the source- What are the things that make you irritable and start addressing it.

2. Get rid of it- Whenever you are exasperated, take an hour walk. Go for a leisure walk to catch some fresh air. This will definitely improve our mood.

3. Alone Time- Find a quiet place to sit and relax. Listen to music and meditate.

4. Get proper rest – Lack of sleep often derives us to become angry than usual. Make sure to get a night of proper sleep at least 8 hours a day, and for a sleepy head like me, ten hours is much better!

5. Reduce caffeine and alcohol – Cut back the over-consumption of coffee and alcohol cause this may cause a negative effect in our mood and other risks.

6. Being Loved- Of course getting a hug/kiss by someone who cares about you is more than enough. To know that there is someone out there who truly cares and won’t aggravate you more since irritability activates our fighting glands instead will give you the comfort you need to go back to your normal system.

And though at times I  tend to put my anger on my husband with silly things like the simple household fights which are all petty quarrels,  I have this attitude that I only have to express my anger right away,  and with a deep breath after spilling it out, everything would be back to normal.

Taken from my Tumblr- written in 2018