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April 19, 2025

Breakup.

Bismillah.

If everyone likes you and finds you reliable, you'd think that's a good thing, right?

...

What if, as a consequence, everyone goes to you whenever they need help, until you feel torn apart and exhausted from having to give attention to all of them?

...I think I'm an ambivert. I would be nice to strangers on a good day, until that stranger no longer feel awkward with me. But at the same time, my energy drains every time I talk and smile.

How do I fix this?

How do I take a break, when everyone's depending on me?

Why are you so scared to take a break? Because you're scared you will burden our colleagues for having to take over your job?

But if you send your resignation letter now, you'll still stay until project completion. Should be no problem there, right?

Or is it because you are scared you'll be alone once you quit work? That all those people that you've help, would no longer have opportunity to reciprocate? That you wouldn't have your return of investment?

Why are you expecting something back?

No, I'm not.

I'm scared of being alone.

That mean's I'm putting work as my main identity.

I'm depending on work to give me life meaning.

That...I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Meaning, you are actually depending on something. You're not fully independent.

You gotta take back your identity.

Your freedom.

You are not your work.

You can survive any other places.

You have always been flexible. Just see how you are nice to everyone, without prejudice.

You can survive.

It's okay if you end up being a cleaner.

As long as you stay happy with yourself.

It's okay if you lose all those people from work who like to hang around with you.

That means they only hang around you because they get something from you.

Once you stop giving it to them, they stop being nice to you. 🤷

You gotta cut your losses.

Please...be nice to your own self.

What if you see your best friend suffering like you right now? What kind of advice would you give her?

I would say... take a break.

Stop thinking if your break would cause trouble to the project or the people.

You need it.

You yourself might break if you don't take this break.

You are breaking.

That's why you're reaching out like this.

If you can take it, you'd never raise this issue.

It is an issue, that's why it's appearing.

Like an illness or a disease. If you're healthy, nothing is an issue. But once you're sick, symptoms pop up. And when symptoms pop up, that's when you need to take medicine.

Even if the medicine is bitter.

Even if...quitting your job is bitter.

It's almost like breaking up from a relationship.

Admittedly, I like what I'm doing.

I'm involved with building SQL logic.

And I like the colleagues. They are nice people.

Bosses as well, they are all good people.

Yes, it's like breaking up.

You're sad that you have to end this.

Imagine those scenes in romance movies saying, "I love you, but we can't continue like this," while crying.

Yes, it feels like that.

Why can't we continue, you asked?

It's because I feel like I'm giving too much.

You might say you can change.

But for now, I just need a break.

To re-evaluate my life back.

I'm sorry.

But I need it.

I need it.

Dear God...

Hah...

Please...help me.

It will be a tearful breakup.

I will need to recognize and acknowledge that.

It's okay.

It does hurt.

You will cry.

But it's okay.

It will be okay.

At least you'll only cry once during the breakup.

Instead of crying yourself to sleep every night and in the morning before work.
 
It's okay.

It shows how passionate you are working there.

It shows how invested you are.

Which is not a bad thing.

It's okay, cry. It is a sad breakup.

It is sad.

Your heart will hurt, during the breakup process.

But only that time.

Your heart will stop hurting from the daily work itself.

June 25, 2024

Kid crying? I'm crying too.

Bismillah.

I realize I can't hang around kids.

No, I don't hate kids, I like playing with them.

But to be around them 24 hours daily...I don't think I can do it.

I would get sooo anxious and drained and jittery from being needed all the time.

And I would break down.

And I would pull away and closed my doors.

It has happened.

Kids, you can't reason with them. Nor can you just leave them to do whatever they want. They need supervision.

See, I'll get especially anxious if I'm with a kid who refuses to do what I need them to do.

If it's an adult, it's easy.

If I told you to clean up your mess and you refuse, I can just leave. Or resent you in silence. Or plot a revenge behind your back.

With kids? You can't simply leave! Who knows what kind of danger they'll get into if you leave them alone!

And you can't even hate them for their tantrums. They're kids! They don't know how to regulate emotions yet.

See, that's what happened when I was left to babysit my nephew for a day. Just one kid! The kid cried out when their parents left, refusing to follow me. What am I suppose to do?? Pull at him forcefully??

...yeah, I know. I should calm him down, pujuk him.

See? That's where the problem is.

I would myself cry if I start to pujuk him.

You know why?

Because I'd feel helpless.

Because I don't feel loved enough to love back.

I guess that's how those single mothers feel.

Or I guess, I don't have any skills in conflict management.

Everytime there's conflict with people, I clam up.

I thought everyone also feel the same way, but one day I wondered, what if everyone else is actually okay with being scolded at? With being angry with someone?

How, when you are angry at your loved ones, you still can take care of them?

Why? Why I tried to calm the crying kid, I would feel so lonely like I haven't had someone be there for me when I cry?

Wouldn't you cry, if you had so many things to do, yet your child keeps crying and wanting your attention, you feel so frustrated and exhausted that you ended up crying while carrying the child in your arms and still doing whatever chores you needed to do?

Does that mean I'm just so tired of giving the world what it's demanding from me, that I don't have any energy left to deal with a crying kid?

How do I stop being so tired?

April 17, 2024

Tired...of cooking.

Bismillah.

God...I want a break.

From life.

This recent Raya season was sooo hectic.

At least for me.

I guess because I was feeling responsible.

Like a mother feeling responsible for all the celebration going on in the house.

Well, not all.

Because my mother is already old, and not that well, so I feel like I have to rile up my siblings to help out with house chores.

And all the cooking...phew 😮‍💨

5th of April I was working, and they all went for iftar at the masjid so I didn't cook and ate whatever they brought back from there.

But 6th Apr the sahur morning, I woke up to cook sup sawi even though I was not fasting.

Then 6th April iftar, I cooked sup Thai and my sister cooked tempe goreng with sambal penyet.
That nigh we went around bazar, shopped for some fireworks and my brother's raya clothes.

7th April sahur, apparently they didn't have enough leftover rice to eat because my youngest brother ate them during midnight 😑

Went to Sunday morning market with mom.

7th April iftar, my mom cooked kengsom. My brother complained about eating weird menus 😑 Also, I cleaned the paru my mom bought at pasar pagi, cut my finger with the butcher knife 😖 damn hurt I didn't dare to open the bandage for 2 whole days!

8th April iftar, my mom cooked paru and requested me to cook kabsah rice, since she had the kabsah spice mix she bought from a while ago. At the same time, masjid was inviting people to come iftar there, they were having kabsah rice too, sponsored by some restaurant or catering or something. I had to compete apparently 😂 Even though I've never cooked kabsah before, and near iftar time the rice was almost not fully cooked, but at the end, all was well and no complaints 😌... Mom used a roundabout way to compliment me (while at the same time criticizing me, typical), saying why you're good at cooking but lazy to cook back in KL?

And, again, that older brother of mine, always had things to pick on, said he wanted to eat something he's familiar with. Bro just went blind, ignoring all my sweats and tears cooking for hours in the kitchen 🙄

9th April sahur my mom finally made singgang because that brother requested, and I woke up to cook some veggies, then went back to sleep without eating lol

9th April iftar I cooked mee lidi goreng basah, which that brother of mine complained again (!) saying why is it not the dry version. Like bro, cook yourself la! 😡 Also, I stubbed my big toe while cleaning up the house and moving furniture, it hurt like hell and was bleeding, yet no one knows because I DIDN'T TELL!

And people dare complain so much!!! GRRRRR

Then 10th April, 1st day of Raya we cooked nasi lemak, I got the sambal bilis and sambal sotong ready. My sister dared leaving the nasi uncooked and went to the mosque, like, hey! You left your responsibility to us, when we wanted to go to the mosque too!!! GRRRRR 😡
But, my sambal was so good that my brothers' wives loved it.

11th April 2nd day raya, my mom made laksa. I got so tired of cooking by now, I didn't cook anything except helping mom with cutting veggies and boiling eggs. Balik kampung balik hari, then masak nasi a bit when arrived back home, these people tumpang2 my nasi (like they don't know how to cook it on their own 🙄)

12th April 3rd day Raya, we got guests coming, stopping by our house before entering the highway back to KL. Didn't really cooked, just prepared some nasi himpit, kuah kacang, sate, serunding for them to eat.

13th April, another guest from Pekan came, ManDak. I made mee hoon sup.

14th April, another guest from Pekan, Kamil AcuDin. We made mee curry. Well, my mom made the curry, we prepared whatever else needed.

15th April. Woi, harini aku dah balik KL. Penat gila full week asyik masak aje. Naik fedup pun ada. Nasib baik sebelum balik, adik aku buat kerapu sweet sour. Tu pun aku yang goreng dulu kerapu nya.

Haaa

Nasib semua sedap

Banyak resepi refer Che Nom punya Youtube aje.

Thanks Che Nom <3