Oil prices have gone up 6% today. Oooh boy, inflation will be through the roof!

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I decided to leave my hotel early and head to Mitsui Outlet near KLIA just to see what’s out there.

I was tempted to buy one very discounted item but after going around the mall, I decided against it. I could spend that money for our trip to Anilao in the coming days and our stay in Chinatown (so we can explore the area while I process my birth certificate in Manila City Hall). I have to have my bike repaired as well.

I should start being conservative with my disposable income if I were to start freelancing in this terrible economy. That escalating violence in  Middle East is not helping my cause at all.

I finally asked their dad for contribution for their school tuition. He said he will send some but until now he hasn’t and I’m going to pay their school fees tomorrow. 😑 Although I already have the cash for that, it would help a great deal to have his contribution so I can fatten up my retirement accounts, especially that I know stocks will be falling tomorrow.

After my massage last night, I went around the food street market of Jalan Alor to see what the hoopla is all about.

It’s a touristy area but it’s ok. There’s a lot to choose from.

I felt robbed. Since I ate lunch really late yesterday, I really couldn’t partake of what is offered here. I couldn’t eat that much because I had that sad bak kut teh rice.

What I noticed in Jln Alor was that 70% of what is being offered there was Thai food. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I was expecting the real Malaysian street food but here we are, getting bombarded with Thai seafood dishes.

This morning I took my sweet time getting ready for my meeting outside of KL—to Damansara to be exact. I checked which mall I could go to for lunch so that I won’t be huffing and puffing to rush to my meeting from Bukit Bintang. I went to Damansara City mall to have lunch.

I realized this mall isn’t really a mall where I can while away my time. I crossed to Pavilion, another high-end mall. Ah well, at least the bathrooms would be clean.

I walked a bit further and I ended up in Suria KLCC. And of course, Petronas Towers are just there.

I had a 2.5 hr conversation with our local reporter here and told him about the changes that will take place once I’m done with my medical leave. I told him I will go freelancer and it’s up to management to make arrangements for the management of the bureau. He agreed that our current set up is not sustainable.

Let’s see what happens…

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It was already around 3:30 pm that I got to have my lunch.

I was disappointed. After the excellent Malaysian bak kut teh I had in Singapore, the one from KL is disappointing. It was like eating a soupy adobo. 😑

I went around that expensive mall and my bff who is really into toys and cartoon characters asked me if I could buy her Lilo & Stitch stuff since it’s always sold out in Manila.

Just her luck:

In the end, bff settled for the blind box.

My duty as a best friend done, I went back to my fancy hotel to get my stuff to transfer to a more humble, backpacker-type of accommodations.

That conversation with top boss never came. 😑

So how do I go from here?

One source said, “Oh I thought you were gonna quit a long time ago? You had been telling me that. What would trigger you to quit?” I said, it has to be income neutral.

He said he hasn’t found the right PR for what he was planning. Hmmm… I think he still wants to get me. 🤔

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I’m done.

After my manager and regional head scolded me after my presentation today, our global head talked to me. I told her I wanted to quit. Not with the limited skillset that some of my team members have. I can’t keep carrying their weight. I’m trying to plug holes with what superhuman effort I can do. It’s not enough.

She agreed that I am overwhelmed and she said sorry that she wasn’t able to see I was already drowning and needed help. She said I’m already stretched too thinly. She said it’s equivalent to handling five bureaus that I need to be on top of, aside from trying to bridge the skills gap of my people.

I told her I saw a therapist when it was already too tough to remain sane and I need to go back and see a therapist again with the way things are going. I said I will go on medical leave next week.

She said she will talk to me tomorrow to draw a game plan. I will tell her that after 6 months I will quit and go on a freelamce mode and have somebody else manage the team. I have already exhausted everything and my efforts weren’t enough because it’s already the best that they can do given the limited skills they have. I’m working with I have, with whatever I’ve inherited. Hanggang dito na lang talaga, wala nang ibubuga.

I’m done.

I have six months to find something else to do. In the meantime, I will go on freelance mode.

My mental health is more important.

It started with ICE in full combat gear and gas masks rounding up staff of a neighborhood Italian restaurant in LA.

Then the citizens fought back.

Trump wants chaos and calls in the national guard. The world watches in disbelief as rhe US collapses on itself. .

My cousin had to bring my mentally retarded uncle back to the Philippines last week. We cannot risk ICE hurting my defenseless uncle. ICE doesn’t care whether you have proper papers or not—as long as you’re not white, you’re vulnerable.

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Waiting to board flight to Kuala Lumpur. The trip I dread the most. The minutes tick and my trepidation grows.

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Flight got delayed because the plane had come from Indonesia before landing in Manila. It got held up in Jakarta. I got out of the airport at around 1 pm, jumped into KLIA Express, which only took 28 mins to reach KL Sentral. I was hungry so I took a bite at the central station.

I browsed in some of the shops a bit, just to see if it’s cheaper here or in Manila.

Yep, it is. The Garnier Sakura Glow Ceramide serum cream that I had been searching for in every Watsons branch I encountered back home is only around PHP 395 (MYR 30) at Guardian here in KL. In Manila it’s around PHP 500+. Of course I had to grab one jar.

Then there were books. Lots of books for only MYR 10.

I think these are local reprints that’s why they’re cheap.

I was intrigued and I was tempted to buy. However, I knew I wouldn’t read it so I just left the thing in peace.

We discussed this in our Literature class in second year high school (Asian Lit). Aside from Mahabharata and Ramayana, we also tackled Rabindranath Tagore, Kalidasa, Matsuo Bashō, etc.

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