The Lost Key

At work I was given a key to my office (shared by three other people). As this office is very easy for outsiders to come into, we have to lock it every time no one is in the room. Therefore I have to carry this key with me at all times.

Every time I go to the bathroom I always worry that I will forget it there. Every time I go to the kitchen to heat up my lunch, I'm paranoid I will lose the key. (I don't always have pockets so mostly it's in my hand).

Yesterday, it happened. I lost it. I realised this at lunch time when I was going to go to the kitchen. I knew the only place I've been to that morning was the bathroom so I ran there. The key was nowhere to be seen. I started to panic. Someone must've taken it. Unless I took it back to the office and put it down somewhere and someone picked it up.

I wasn't actually too worried about it because I thought I would just make a copy of my colleague's key. Unfortunately it wasn't that simple. Since it was a security key and a 'company asset', I had to fill out a form, explaining the circumstances. I avoided writing that I could've left it in he bathroom.

I'm hoping I can sort this out without my manager finding out as today was her first day back from holidays (first time I saw her since the interview as she left before I started). What a great first impression that would make.

When I recounted David my story, hoping for sympathy, he said, "You should be more careful with things like that". I was so mad. When he lost the phone, I said, "These things happen". After brewing it till late, I called and told him how that wasn't a nice thing to say. He laughed and said, "Don't worry, these things happen," which made me feel better.

Work Hours

me: I'm so annoyed. I couldn't leave until 5pm!
April: what a hard life you lead

Money Talks

My old manager called me yesterday and told me that the position that I vacated will be advertised with a higher salary!

And I have been deciding not to go back because I'm learning so much at my new job and getting used to it. I'm even appreciating the extra walking.

But money is a big thing so I will definitely go for it.

Missed

It was my goal to get the 4:28pm train today. Still sitting in the office at 4:25pm, I realised that wasn't going to happen. I hurried up to try to get out of the place for the 4:40pm train but at 4:35, I was in the same position.

Finally I managed to get out at 5:00pm and almost ran to the train station for the 5:13pm. I got there with a few minutes to spare. I looked at the board and saw that my train has been cancelled.

Got home at 6:40pm.

Never thought I'd say this but I miss driving. Not having to wait. Just get in the car and go home.

Found a card from the post office telling me I've received the salsa dvd but since nobody was home, I had to pick it up from the post office. One little problem - post office closes at 5pm and I can't get home before then.

My brother offerred to get it for me on Monday as he finishes uni early. But Monday! I want it now!

Why couldn't the courier leave it in the mailbox. It's just a dvd. It was my first ebay purchase.

Met up with Amelia for lunch (once I managed to get out of the office). Haven't seen her in God knows how long. She looked a bit odd. She got a different haircut (ok) but had bright green eye shadow and a leopard print cardigan. We didn't get to talk much but it was nice to catch up at least a bit. I'm meeting her next week again.

David's parents invited my family to dinner this Friday. Should be interesting - first time at their house.

Last night was soooo good. Just because David was with me. I realised how similar we were becoming. Or maybe we were similar all along. If there were trillion different wavelengths, David and I would be on the same one. We just get each other. And he loves parts of me I like least.

I wish we were living together already. I miss having him around to do nothing with in the evenings.

We went to Nadine's party on the weekend. April and Ella were there too. It certainly made an impression on April. I was used to it. Nadine made a great fool of herself. I was embarrassed for her but April said, "Don't worry, she won't remember any of it tomorrow".

Dean, her boyfriend, didn't seem to care. He said he had a headache and went to his room to relax.

I was so glad to have David there. April said she could imagine us acting like a married couple. I loved having him there to do little couply things with. Like, saying I was getting thirsty and him immediately getting up to get me a drink. Or me asking him if he wanted to finish my roll. Or when he flicked my hair to tease me or pushed it out of my face as I was talking to Liz. Tiny subtle gestures that show that we're comfortable with each other.

Liz asked him, "So David, do you have any friends for us?" Talk about being straight forward. I'd never be able to ask a guy I barely know something like that.

I wonder if people think our couply ways are annoying or if they make them feel bad. We don't mean to do either. I think I've stopped caring how we come across to other people. I'm just too happy to care.

A Little Bit Better

Day two: better than day one.

Today was a small improvement on yesterday.

My old manager called me in the morning to ask for help. I like being needed. Maybe they can take me back.

I think I enjoyed today 'cause I actually had something to do, the music wasn't playing all day and I was the only one in the office for most of the day. Something I didn't mind at all.

I don't mind listening to music but doing so non-stop all day just takes the joy out of it. I didn't even want to listen to my mp3 player on the way home yesterday, like I usually do.

I tried to get the earlier train today but got on the platform just as it left. Had to wait another ten minutes. Got home after 6pm.

I wonder if I'll ever get home before 5pm again. I'm not even asking for 4:30.

David is going to come over soon so I guess today wasn't a waste.

Work Is Just Money

I miss my old job!

I really tried to be positive today at my new job but all I could do was compare how it wasn't as good as my last one.

I saw David after work which cheered me up tremendously and reminded me that a job is only a job and while I have love in my life, nothing else really matters.

Best Job Ever

I have finished my job yesterday. It felt really weird, like it was the end of a school term. Only I wasn't going on holidays.

As soon as people at work found out I was leaving, they have been coming to me and saying that they'll miss having me around. I have also received numerous emails (including from the Director who was overseas), telling me how sorry they were to hear that I was leaving, calling me talented and saying my design skills have inspired them among many other sweetest things.

To be so well liked by so many people at my job is overwhelming beyond words. Especially after my previous job where nothing I did was ever right. It has restored my confidence in not only my job skills but my social skills.

One girl from another office (who I always talked with on the phone) came just to say good-bye and she brought the yummiest desserts. I was really touched that she made the effort.

I wish I didn't have to leave.

My boss told me to be prepared to be stolen back in a few months.

I was driving home yesterday and my heart was smiling.

Furniture Shopping

David and I spent 7 hours shopping for furniture yesterday. Fortunately we both got a bed, two bedside tables, a dining table and chairs. I'm so happy we have our own furniture!

Some salespeople are so annoying though. They think we have time to just chat. They don't realise we've been shopping all day and don't want to stand there listening to why we should get something we don't like.

One guy was particulary getting to me. He said to David (like I wasn't there) that my tastes were old fashioned and that my skin would match the chocolate coloured bed. Like who freaking buys a bed to match their skin colour? Idiot. What a dumb strategy to tell me I'm old-fashioned to get me to buy. I just wanted to get out of the shop as soon as possible.

Our bedroom is a small size so we were looking for a bed with drawers underneath and this stupid guy said that we won't find any 'cause it's old-fashioned. I told him that we just saw quite a few in other shops. This lead him to say that it would match my skin. Then he added, "That's why I like to sleep on a white bed." He also went on to tell us how he buys at IKEA for his kids. Like we cared.

Pushy salespeople annoy the hell out of me.

Some have a bit of a sense of humour though like when one came up to me when I lost David and asked if he could help. I told him I was "just looking" (for David) and he replied, "It's free to look today". It made me smile.

David and I had a bit of a disagreement about the couch. He really liked one that I wasn't convinced about. In the end I agreed but when we went back, the shop closed. David wasn't happy.

Shopping for so long can get quite stressful as David can't take more than a couple of hours and becomes quite difficult. I had to bribe him with ice cream. Not like I don't get tired but it's something that we have to do. It's much better to spend one day there than go several times.

I'm just glad the day was a success. He made dinner for me when we got back to his house. I was feeling very sleepy by that stage so he wouldn't let me drive home by myself. I was sure I'd be fine but he was like, "I'm taking you home. It's not a question." I love when he looks after me.

I dropped him off at his house in the morning. He has heaps of homework. It's always really hard to say goodbye after spending time together, knowing we won't see each other until next weekend.

I also got a chance to do some housework. Really needed to finish invitations but didn't get to it. I'm taking Friday off so I'll do them then. One more week at my job. I'm getting nervous.

New Permanency

I got the job I was interviewed for two weeks ago. Same position in a different region but with one big difference: it's permanent. I really didn't expect to get it.

I have mixed feelings as I love my current job. I love my desk (which no one can see and gives me privacy to do whatever I want). I love sitting near a window and in a room with windows on the ceiling, providing good natural light which makes it easier to concentrate. I love the people I work with, always there to have a good chat. I love my work, full of variety and gives me enough space to be creative but enough boundaries to make it doable. I love being able to leave late in the morning and I love being able to leave work at 4pm.

The new place has a much larger team (who I still have to impress), in an old building, in the crowded city. I have to catch the train which means I can't leave home whenever I feel like. Since it'll take longer to get there, I'll get back later too. I'll probably have a computer in full view of everybody.

I've been really spoilt with my current job and work conditions. Anything even a little worse is disappointing.

The ironic thing is that now that I'm leaving and the person I'm replacing isn't coming back, they will be advertising my current position. Maybe if I really hate the new place, I can apply to this one. If I didn't get the new job, they wouldn't hurry to advertise it. Now they'll have to.

It'll be another new chapter of my life. I'm happy I managed to stay in one place for over a year! Thought that would never happen. I wanted to stretch it for as long as possible so I could have a long period in one job on my resume. Unfortunately I have to start again. I hope the new manager won't be too upset when I ask to take two weeks off for the honeymoon.

I start there in a few weeks. I'm nervous but excited about starting something new. It could turn out really well, right?

Job Opportunity

As you know, I love my current job. You probably also know that even though I've been working at this job for over a year, it is not a permanent position. My contract has been extended many times and just before every one of those times I got very anxious and worried about it.

Since I've been working in the goverment for over a year, I am now allowed to apply for other internal government positions (and most of them are internal). So a few weeks ago, I decided to browse the job site and was very surprised to see an ad for the exact same position I'm doing now at another location.

Of course I applied. I didn't expect anything as sometimes the advertised positions are not really 'real', i.e. there might already be someone for the position but they just have to pretend to be fair by going through all the correct processes.

Today I got a call inviting me to the interview. I was so happy but nervous. Not nervous about the interview but nervous that I might not be working where I am now. What are the chances that the environment at the other place will be as wonderful as it is here?

I have to keep reminding myself that I need a permanent position, especially with a forthcoming mortgage and the possibility of having to take maternity leave in the next few years.

Who knows what possibilities there are at my current job. I could have my contract extended for many more months. The position could also be open and I could get to do it permanently. The big problem is that I have no guarantees now and this chance for a permanent position in my field and with the same salary and conditions is unlikely to come too often.

I might not even get it.

Done Done Done

Ceremony location: done
Marriage celebrant: done
Photographer: done

I feel so much better now. The more I tick off my list, the better I feel and the more I get excited. Not the anxious excitement but the joyous type. Yay!

Must not think about work though as that is starting to stress me out. We are given a new graphic designer for freaking FREE by another company for signing a three-year contract with them. Argh! This person better be really bad, otherwise when Eve comes back, I'm out of a job for sure! And then I will never find a job as good as this. Never. There's nothing anyone can say to make me believe otherwise because this job is as good as it gets. Who else is going to let me leave at 4pm?! And give me days off for working over-time? And great people who don't cause me any problems. And as much money as I'm earning now! I want to stay in this job all my life.

Anyway, stressing about it won't fix the situation so I will stop.

It's my and David's two year anniversary next week!!! I wonder, is it possible to be too much in love? Because I love him even more than that.

The Unspoken Rules of the Office

Working is so different to studying. And not only in the fact that you are earning money, rather than giving it away.

From my two years of experience in the corporate world, I learnt that you always have to think twice before you say something, three times before you whinge and never even think about bitching.

In the office you are not the same as everyone else (like you are in the classroom). You never know when the colleague at the desk next to you will become your boss.

I've been very careful about the way I act at my current job, having learnt how easy it is to get on someone's bad side.

My biggest challenge is to not make myself look better than anybody else. Doing your best is not always the best way to win approval from fellow workers as some of them might have issues and get jealous (as in the case of Renee).

I was doing pretty well here until yesterday. A person who recently became manager of one of the departments asked me to redesign a newsletter that they send out. She got the people who used to do it and me together to brainstorm some ideas.

The manager agreed with everything that I said and didn't pay much attention to the other people. I recognised the face of envy on one woman's face immediately. This is the woman who only a few months earlier kept saying to me for several weeks, "Sky, you're my new best friend!" when I helped her out with something.

I redesigned the newsletter today and the manager was so happy with it she told me that she really hoped my contract would get extended, along with many other nice things. She asked me to show the people who would do the newsletter how to use my template.

I emailed the two women asking if Monday was ok. The annoyed woman replied, "No, I'm away on Monday". Since she didn't give me an alternative, I suggested Tuesday. She sent another blunt response about how she was unavailable.

I went to her office and asked her when she could do it. She said she didn't know but could try end of next week.

I really hope I was imagining but I swear I could feel the tension.

I Know You

On Friday night, Ella invited April, me and David to dinner with her friends and their friends and friends of their friends... It was a pretty big group.

I sat next to one of Ella's good friends (who I met briefly once before). We chatted the way you do with someone you just met. She told me about her job, I told her about mine, discussed the menu and smiled a lot.

At the end of the night, she went to talk to another lady who sat at the end of our table. All of a sudden they called me and asked whether I used to work at some company. I told them I didn't. The lady next to her kept staring at me and said to Ella's friend, "I am sure you worked there. I know you!"

I looked closely at her face and she didn't look familiar at all. I also couldn't remember working for that company so I just laughed and said to Ella and April, "Isn't it scary that there is someone who looks so much like me out there". I also heard Ella's friend say to the other woman, "I told you she never worked with us!" The woman didn't seem convinced. She just kept staring at me.

Ella's friend told me the suburb of their company and I remembered that I did work in that suburb (the first first temp job I ever had, stapling all day). I told them that I thought I did work there after all and this woman started smiling while April rolled her eyes that I forgot where I used to work. (When you did as many temp jobs as I have, you might forget the one where you were only for a few weeks!)

The woman then excitedly said, "Remember we used to go for walks and you told me you did graphic design and played piano?!" Then it all dawned on me. This woman was the one who asked whether I had a boyfriend and got offended when I asked her whether she had kids. She told me she had a baby recently. No wonder I couldn't recognise her. She looked very different.

What was even more amazing than seeing her was that Ella's friend also worked there and she had lunch with us a couple of times. So we've actually met two years ago, way before I knew Ella.

Isn't it amazing how small the world is?

Still Here

Life has been hectic for me lately. It's gotten so busy that I had to make use of my pocket planner (taken from work and never used until now).

I had something on every day of last week.

Planning a wedding is like a part-time job.

Had some consecutive problems with my eyes. They seem better now so I shouldn't really be online tiring them. (I decided to take 2 days break from the internet and you wouldn't believe how many important emails I missed!)

I lost 3kg in one week which was a bit worrisome (not that I minded but it didn't seem healthy). My Mum thought it was 'cause of stress which was weird since I usually eat more when I stress. David said I was taking on too many things at one time causing me to get overwhelmed.

I'm now concentrating on 1 (well 3) things at a time and I feel better already. I just never thought that it would be so difficult and expensive to plan a wedding and I had fears that after all the planning it wouldn't turn out well or that it wouldn't turn out at all.

Also had some changes at work. My idiot manager lost her job. I guess the big bosses weren't happy with her either. She was very upset. So upset, in fact, that she cried... several times.

I felt guilty for not liking her because before she left she told me how talented I was and that she would be more than happy to give me a reference.

I told a really big fat white lie that she gave great direction and it was great working with her. Oh well, those sort of lies are important. She was already having a horrible week.

Now my new manager is the single 35 year old who I might've mentioned here. She doesn't have much experience in management but she's organised (and hopefully won't kick me out when my contract is up).

On the home front, my brother and I are on speaking terms again which is nice. During our non-talking period, he got himself a girlfriend. A very expensive one who wouldn't pay for anything so he was glad to break up with her last week. I didn't realise how good David had it with me. I mean if you want to be treated equally, you have to act the part.

David said to Andy, "I'm so lucky that way!" Times like these makes me think, "I make a damn good girlfriend".

On the weekend our parents met each other. It went the way I expected it to be - awkward at first but fine later.

We also went out to unofficially celebrate my birthday. David got very mad at my friends because they said they were too tired to stay out late (since we got there after 11pm). He was about to tell them off but I stopped him. I hate unnecessary conflict. I think he was more upset than me.

After he calmed down, we went in to dance which was great fun. He was very sweet. Ria was there with her boyfriend. I was surprised to get a birthday present from her. She congratulated us on the engagemt and said, "I can't believe you're going to be like grown-ups now" and I replied, "Just 'cause we're getting married doesn't mean we're going to be like grown-ups".

This is David's and my philosophy on life - having responsibilities and being independent does not stop you from having good old childish fun.

Lately, I've just been proven over and over again that I'm making the best decision of my life by marrying David. I didn't think it was possible but I'm falling in love with him even more each day.

(After not writing in here for a week, I got worried that this blog would die a slow death where the posts would become more sparse until one day they would all stop. I want to finish this blog on a high note so even though my posts might not be as frequent, I'm still here.)

Almost Monday

Not looking forward to work tomorrow. Especially my idiotic manager.

Last week she signed a print approval form (that it was fine for the work to go to print). A week later (after I've already approved the proof) she told me that she had to make some changes to the text. I reminded her that it was about to be printed because she signed the form. With a look of shock in her face, she said, "I didn't realise that's what I was signing!"

I mean, there are just no words.

She told me to immediately call the printer and stop the process. Lucky when I called, he hasn't started our job.

I try not to let it stress me because it's not like I'll be in trouble if she's signing off things she hasn't even read. But still, I like to get things done right. At least I have a job so I shouldn't really complain.

The good thing about Mondays is that once they're over, the rest of the week seems to fly by. It's hard to believe it's end of February already!

My Boss is Stupid

Before a few months ago, work was great! I liked everyone. Everyone liked me. It was a pleasure to be there.

This was all before my direct manager decided to follow her husband to another city and leave her position to what can only be classed as a "very self-confident idiot". And let me tell you, that type of idiot is the worst.

Let me illustrate my point.

SCI (i.e. self-confident idiot) asked me to make a poster of the map with all our organisation's locations to send to potentional international clients. Easy. I found a very clear map from our database, added some 'design elements' and voila.

She looked at it carefully and said, "Sky, can you please add circles around the CBD, every 10km so they can see how far everything is". I pointed to a very clear map scale in the corner. She looked at it, laughed and said, "Sky, who can even read map scales? Add the circles."

I did not argue, smiled and said, "Sure".

(Only a couple of days ago, we got a community college course catalogue in the mail and my Dad and I heartily laughed at the course "Reading Maps" - only $75!)

Now, if this example wasn't enough to convince you, I will tell you of another one.

SCI asked me, "Can you design a poster?" I said, "Sure, what would you like it to be about?" She replied, "I don't know. Just do the design and I'll think about it later".

Really, I can go on and on. But I won't. Well, actually, one more example (just to make myself feel better).

We went to a meeting with external design agency and they asked, "How would you measure the success of your new corporate image?" An excellent question, I thought. She replied almost immediately, "I'll just know it."

I also get to hear her constantly complain how bad everything is and how she's going to change everything because she knows "what's good and what's not". If only that was the case, I might not get so annoyed at her. Unfortunately she has the worst ideas that I (and everyone else in my team) has to go along with.

She's also the type that likes to 'delegate'. She often asks me to deal with difficult client situations (even though she's the one who should do it) and print off documents (that I've already printed and she lost) for her "to make things easier".

The main problem is that she can't even do her job. One of her main responsibilities is to proofread/edit all text that comes in for advertising, brochures, newsletters etc. First day she joined our team, she gave me the article and said, "Sky, can you please proofread it. I never notice mistakes". Not only does she not notice them but she makes the silliest ones. I'm not one to write correctly, but to notice a professional's mistakes is just not right.

It's good that I have experience working with difficult people so I don't take it personally and don't try to object. The good thing is that she seems to like me. Thank God. Makes my work life just that little bit easier.

Would love to hear of any other "difficult boss" stories. It'll make me feel better.

The Inner Child

I completely lost my voice today. It was so frustrating 'cause there were so many people I needed to call at work but I couldn't. That meant that I couldn't get on with some important work.

Everyone was really nice though, even though they couldn't help but tease me in their middle-aged way ("Were you at a Rave all weekend?", "You just don't want to talk today, is that what it is?", "This is a coming-of-age"). They answered the phone for me and everything. Nothing like the stupid publishing job last year where Renee made me go home when I asked her to answer the phone for me when I couldn't talk.

When I left, they all wished me well. Every single person.

Don't know if I should go to work tomorrow. I mean, I don't really feel sick. It's just my throat. Although I think I might have a slight fever.

Wish David was here. I couldn't even talk to him on the phone.

I'm so spoilt, every time I'm even a little sick, I want him to come and sit with me.

I was watching my POBian series and there's this guy who's after this slightly immature young single mother. When he told her, "I want to take care of your child", for a moment I thought he meant, "I want to take care of your inner child". That would've been just the most perfect line. I would love for someone (well, David) to take care of my inner child.

Life Update on a Friday Night

April got a job at a big prestigious law firm. They rejected her when she applied for a summer clerkship there but called to offer her a job as a paralegal.

She's very excited, as you can imagine!

I'm very excited for her too. She said she'll be working on a case that's going to receive a lot of media attention in a couple of months. I wonder what it is! A celebrity or a goverment scandal maybe?

Can't believe that my friend will be a part of such a huge thing!

Makes my job feel pretty dull.

Speaking of my job, I love it. I'm quite busy now but that's the way I like it. I've been leaving at 4:30-4:45pm now 'cause of extra work. I know I know, how good is that?!

And my work has been recognised so that makes me happy. One woman asked me if she can use the ad I designed for her own birthday invitation. I took that as a compliment. Also, got a copy of my first internal magazine with my name on the back. It was really satisfying.

So yeah, little things like seeing my work in print makes me very happy. Not that I'm changing lives or anything but gotta find satisfaction in what I do, otherwise I feel useless.

The great environment, money and benefits also add to my satisfaction.

David is going to have some trouble finding work, I can tell. He just makes too many grammatical mistakes and I can't keep checking every cover letter he sends out. I really don't know how to help him with his English. I wish I could think of something. It's also a problem that he's not an attention-to-detail kind of person (when it comes to writing) so he misses his own silly mistakes. It's quite frustrating because it'd be nice for me to have confidence that he's capable of doing stuff correctly and quickly.

Another thing I don't understand is how he manages to get distinctions in his assignments but not do so well in exams.

Anyway, I can see he's improving.

Nadine emailed me an invitation to her and Dean's housewarming. I won't be going 'cause David wants to go to a Latin American forum that day. Not that I particularly want to, to be honest. Don't know why, I just don't. I think I'd feel too out of place.

Nadine's a bit of a stranger to me at the moment.

Even the way she wrote the email didn't sound like her. And you know why it didn't? Because she sounded grown up. And I only know Nadine as a not grown-up. So anything she does that's adult-like is very strange to me.

The day after her housewarming is my high school reunion. That is something I do want to go to. And not just because it's going to include free food. (But that is obviously the main reason because I'm over wanting to see people from high school.)

David's at work today. He called me 5 minutes after he started and said, "It's pretty quiet here. Wait, I have to go to work. There's too much to do. Don't hang up." I waited on the line until the regular beep sound. I guess he hung up. He hasn't called since.

Tomorrow is my dance class again. Yay! And then I'm going over to David's. His car is broken down and he's not going to fix it until the end of his exams so I'll be going over to his house for the next couple of weeks. I don't mind. He always used to come to my place. I guess it's my turn. I hope he greets me the way he greeted me on Wednesday... like he hasn't seen me in a year.

Damn, I miss him...

Hot Chocolate

David came to visit me for lunch today, after his interview.

I never saw him in professional work clothes before (a suit to a wedding doesn't count). He looked so grown-up (very hot, really). I felt so grown up - an adult couple having lunch together... visions of the future filled my mind.

He walked me back to work before he headed home to study.

That was a nice surprise as I didn't expect to see him until Wednesday.

At work, my workmates were talking about how couples often look alike because apparently we are attracted to people who resemble us. I guess it's true to an extent - take Nadine and her boyfriend, for example. They are like twins. I'm not exaggerating.

But David and I are completely opposite in appearance. I don't think there's one aspect of our looks that is similar. He's tall, I'm not. He's dark, I'm not. His eyes are small, his mouth wide... just everything. Every time we catch our own reflection, we always notice the stark contrast between us. I don't know why but I find our difference really beautiful. I love that David looks so different to me.

Like he says, the two of us can make hot chocolate.

me: I don't want to be the milk, I want to be the cocoa
David: who said you're not?
me: good
David: I'm the healthy part of the relationship and you're the yummy part

A Public Phone Conversation

I think giving David my work phone number was not such a good idea.

Every time he calls, he intentionally tries to make me laugh as much as possible. Do you know how hard it is to stop yourself from laughing? Obviously it's a problem when about 10 other people can hear your every word.

And he loves it! I think he's entertained by my predicament. He also tries to make me say embarrassing things. So I end up just saying "Yep" as professionally as possible over and over again while trying not to giggle.

I'm sure my work colleagues all know that I'm having a personal conversation but that's not really the problem as they speak with their families and friends all the time too. It's the nature of my conversation with David that I don't want other people to know.

I don't want people to know of our flirty/teasing/silly/childish/ridiculous chats. I think they might never treat me as a serious adult if they knew.

I'll give you some examples just so you can understand how immature we can both be:

• Today when I picked up the phone, I heard some hold music. I didn't realise immediately that it was David singing.
• Another time, when I picked up the phone and said my usual 'Promotions Department' bit, he said, "I want to promote a cup of coffee". I replied, "We don't do that. " Then he exclaimed in a typical spoilt 5 year old fashion, "I WANT to promote a cup of COFFEE!!" I stayed silent (as I usually do when I can't think of anything appropriate to say). Then he said, "This is very bad customer service. I want to speak to your manager". And this went on for about 7 minutes.
• His favourite thing is at the end of the conversation to say, "Give me a kiss". I'd say, "Yep" and he'd say, "Come on! I'm waiting." I'd stay silent, trying not to giggle like a school girl. And he'd just keep persisting, knowing very well that I'm not about to kiss him over the phone with 10 other people around me. After he has enough, he stops.

These are just some of the stuff I have to put up with at work.

And the worst is that after I hang up, I can't remove the stupid smile off my face. I just try to hide behind the partitions.