MooPig & The Babe

Depressed

2007-10-05T15:08:00.000+01:00

[Comments received. Thank you for taking time to drop a comment or two. Really appreciate it. =)]

And so I was at the Fracture clinic of University College London Hospital yesterday afternoon. The backslab was taken off and the Sister put a brand new fibre glass plaster on. It's red! w00t! Did an X-ray and the consultant said I'm recovering well BUT I still cannot put any weight on my foot for AT LEAST 2 weeks! I'm given a sicknote for 4 weeks! 4 bloody weeks! The next appointmet will be on 31 Oct. Still a looooooooooooong way to go. Sigh

It's so depressing to stay in bed the whole day. I think too much and this makes me even more depressed about the situation. People have been telling me to enjoy the recovery process. Excuse me? enjoy? No fucking way! Don't you ever wish you were in my shoes.

I was so happy that I could go out of the house yesterday. I woke up early, got dressed, took 2 Panadol Actifast, had an apple and waited for my Aunt to go to the hospital together. The weather was brilliant and I enjoyed every single second of it. The moment I set foot into my room, depression sank in. When I looked at my bright red plaster, I felt depressed again. When I was hungry, I was depressed. I haven't been eating proper food for the past few days and I'm too embarrassed to get people to bring breakfast, lunch and dinner for me anymore. Whatever satisfies my hunger and is edible goes into my mouth- apples, oat cakes, chocolates, crisps and all sorts of junk food. It's unhealthy, I know but there's nothing much I can do. Occassionaly when the boyfriend comes home from work early, there's Wagamama for me. Sometimes, there's salad for lunch from the Italian next to his office. Sometimes, he takes away Wagamama and my flatmate will heat up for me the following day. But I cannot expect this everyday.

Argh. Fucking depressing.

I haven't had proper shower since 26 of September. Every night, I get a wet towel and clean my body. Every 2 or 3 days, either the bf or the flatmate carries a chair into the bathroom so I can wash my hair. I am disgusted at myself.

Hopefully I can put some weight on after 2 weeks. I might arrange for a taxi to bring me to and from work then. I CANNOT lie in bed and do nothing every day.

All I can do is count down till the day I can walk. And try to be slightly optimistic.

Being dependent

2007-10-01T11:27:00.000+01:00

I've been staying in bed 23.5 hours a day. The remaining 30 minutes are spent moving up the stairs using my hands and bottom, toilet, bathroom, brushing my teeth and washing my face.

I hate being immobile.

I've been doing lots of thinking these few days. One thing I really, really miss being independent. Lying in bed all day long means I have to rely on everybody else to do everything for me. For a person who's so used to having things done by herself, it's really difficult to accept the fact. The first few days, I was crying silently because I could not bear the thought of not being able to do things by myself.

I just can't wait to start walking again.

Long Time No See

2007-09-28T12:47:00.000+01:00

Hello there!

It's been a while huh?! I've lost the motivation to blog, I reckon.

1. I'm no longer unemployed. Good stuff! Pay day is today and I've got my salary in my bank account. Was thinking of splashing some money on the high street this weekend but unfortunately, I cannot do so. Why?

2. I fractured my right ankle. I fell off from the bed at 2.30am on the way to the toilet. The amazing thing was, I still managed to sleep after it happened. I was away in Bedfordshire to attend a course for a week but had to come home on Wednesday afterneoon. I went to UCLH yesterday morning to fix an appointment with the fracture clinic but was told I can only get the appointment within 10-14 days! I'm bored to death lying in bed all day long.

3. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm so damn bored. Why oh why did I have to fracture my ankle?

4. I'm soooooooooooooo bored.

5. I'll be back..... soon.

tata

Moved. Again

2007-07-10T00:24:00.000+01:00

Yes, I'm in my new flat again!

I was due to move out on 20/7 but I decided to move out 2 weeks earlier because I was having such a hard time at the old flat! That landlady is a witch I tell you!

Last Sunday night, the ancient toilet broke. It wasn't me because I used it before I showered and it was working perfectly well. After my shower, I heard someone using the toilet (either her or her husband) and after that the toilet stopped working. The water did not fill the tank. 10-ish, I heard her raising her voice "For God's sake, nobody uses the toilet every 10 minutes" or something like that. Basically she was accusing me of breaking the toilet because I use it so often. I just ignored and stayed in my room.

The following morning, there was a note on the toilet: Toilet Broken. Best if you spend day out.
Great. No toilet. Cannnot pee and poo. As if that wasn't bad enough, she took away the shower head. I went out during the day, spent some time at Borders and Starbucks and only left after I finished doing all the necessary 'businesses'.

In the evening, I overheard her telephone conversation. She was having a good time telling her friends about what I did. Obviously, she made up most of it. She said I used the toilet 6-10 times an HOUR! And added if I used the toilet that frequent, I have some problems and should go to the toilet. The toilet hasn't broke in 10 years. She called me a peasant!!!!! (What a bitch!) and a whole lot more rubbish.

I drink about 2 litres of water every day but I do NOT use the toilet every 10 minutes! On average, I pee about 6-8 times a day, which I think, is perfectly normal. Besides, that ancient toilet is 10 years old and hello! which toilet doesn't break?

Anyway, 10-ish at night when her husband came home on Monday, I heard her saying 'shit' this 'shit' that. All I could hear was shit, shit, shit and more shit. I didn't know what was it about until Tuesday morning. That witch accused me of pooing and didn't clean up! I found yet another note on the toilet: After you shit please clean up after yourself. Just because I came home earlier that her doesn't mean that I pooed in the toilet!

I could not shower and could not use the toilet. Pretty pointless living in hellhole, aye? I went to my friend's to shower for 3 consecutive days. Lady luck must be on my side when I found a flat just a block away from my old flat on Wednesday. Since then, I started counting down to Friday when I could finally move into the new flat. Every single day was so long and I thought Friday would never come.

I think it was Thursday morning when I set foot into the kitchen. Guess what I found- dusty filter. I did my laundry one day and I totally forgot to clean the dryer's filter. That evil witch put the filter on my tea bags and my plate! Oh for God's sake, does she have a brain at all? Putting dusty filter on my food and plate is just disgusting!!!!

Then I got a note from her saying that I had to vacate the flat when viewings take place (she's renting the room out after I leave). The viewing times were 5.30-8pm on Friday, 12-5pm on Saturday, and on weekdays, if required, 6.30-8pm, and the times are NOT negotiable. That is just ridiculous! Imagine if I didn't have my new flat now, what am I suppose to do? Stay on the streets of London?

Living with them is the biggest mistake ever! I'll never ever live with a landlady/landlord anymore. And I'll never never never ever live with a Kopi-O anymore. It doesn't matter if the other half is a White coffee. Kopi-O will remain a Kopi-O regardless how much bleach you use.

I'm just so glad that I'm in the new flat now!

This is what happens...

2007-07-04T10:11:00.001+01:00

... When your parents don't update you about the new addition to the family.

*Phone rings*
"Hello. Nak cari siapa?"
Speechless. Shocked. Doesn't sound like my Mum. Can't be wrong number.
"Hello. Ini bukan Taman XYZ ke?"
"Ya betul. Nak cari siapa?"
"Ohh.. ni kakak baru ke?"
"Ya. Anak sulung kat England ke?"
"Ya. Ma'am ada tak?"
"Ma'am baru keluar"
bla bla bla bla bla...

=_=

Don't Worry, Be Happy.

2007-06-30T23:51:00.000+01:00

I guess you'll be glad to hear that I was in slumberland when they found the bomb in Haymarket. No, I wasn't clubbing in Tiger Tiger.

With all the bombs and terror threats going on, I've been avoiding the 'touristy' areas like Piccadilly Circus and Hyde Park. I wouldn't say I'm terrified to go out but as a safety precaution, I just stay at home. I have to say the news didn't hit me as badly as it did 2 years ago. I wasn't very surprised when I read about that. But.... But... But.... The great sale is on and I haven't been to any shops yet!

Perhaps it's a good thing that it's weekend and I absolutely hate hitting the shops on weekends. Perhaps Monday's a better day.

Anyway, I'm off to bed soon. Night!

Oh...

and be happy =)

Cheerios!

睡不着

2007-06-23T00:03:00.000+01:00

躺在床上翻来覆去
又睡不着了
9点的飞机去德国
是的，我又要去德国了

他在那边我在这里
那么多个月
我的确有点累了
每个月只有那么短短的四天在一起
不见面的时候
就是靠手机维持这段感情

熬了那么多个月
终于要七月了
很快的就可以摆脱这种用手机维持感情的日子
虽然不会每天见面
可是好歹我们都会在同一个城市
要见面，只要搭地铁或巴士就行了

讲真的
这样谈恋爱很累
感情会渐渐转淡的
每天晚上就是在盼望那手机响
每个月就是盼望放假的时候
每次有假的时候就在网上找机票
为的就是短短那四天

Work. 20th June.

2007-06-21T00:24:00.001+01:00

Yesterday was Rosie's birthday. I went in late because MrsC planned to leave after her princess woke up- it was Rosie's idea that she wanted to see her Mum when she woke up.

I only worked on Wed afternoon last week and I was missing the 2 young ones. I decided to get in earlier yesterday morning so I could see Adam off.

It was almost 8 when I arrived. I opened the door and walked to the kitchen. No one. They must be upstairs, I thought. Indeed they were. I made a cup of tea before emptying the dishwasher.

Adam heard me and he came downstairs.

"Morning!" he said.
"Hey Trouble, morning!"
"You should come upstairs. Rosie is opening her presents!!"
"You sure?" I hesitated. After all, it was a family thing.
"Yeah! Come upstairs, it's really fun!"

I brought Rosie's present and went upstairs.

The Katy and Rosie were sitting on the bed. MrsC sat on the sofa bed. Adam gave up his seat for me while he went to get ready for school. On the bed, birthday cards and presents were arranged neatly. Rosie was deciding which present she should open first.

I gave Rosie her birthday present- A CD and a card from M&S. She read my card before reading others.

Rosie played the Scissors Sisters's CD and started dancing away. She then tried on the swimming constume her Mum got for her. It fitted her perfectly too :)

It was time for MrsC to go to work. I left the room to prepare Rosie's lunch box.

============================================================

It was very heart warming when Adam invited me to go upstairs. I felt like I am more than a child minder to them- perhaps an elder sister. =) I think that's how Adam and Rosie see me as. Katy sees me as a friend.

Wednesday is probably my favourite day of the week because it's the first day of work. I walk them to Art on Wednesday afternoon and the journey to Art is always filled with laughters.

Anyways, it's time to dream of what to cook for dinner tomorrow. :P

.

2007-06-17T23:41:00.000+01:00

"So you miss home huh?" Daddy asked.

"Umm.. not really" I lied. "I've programmed my mind so I don't miss home anymore." I continued.

"Okay." Daddy said.

We changed topic.

Deep inside, he knows, I know, we know that I MISS HOME.

Yet I'm reluctant to go home. It's weird. Whenever my parents ask when I plan to go home, I always say I don't know. I use work as an excuse.

I've been asking myself why I don't want to go home. I've been thinking all this while. There is a magnet pulling me away from home. There is something stopping me from going home. Finally, I know why- because I haven't accomplished what I want. (Thanks, Laine!)

Lots of my friends are encouraging me to go back. I'm reluctant to. I have my dreams here and I'm working towards my dreams. I don't explain because I don't know how to. I'm not wasting my time here. I want to tell but I don't know how to.

Perhaps you'll hear about this next month. *fingers crossed*

在国外漂流的日子

2007-06-04T01:30:00.000+01:00

来英国5年了，搬过无数家
在威尔士的时候，住了一年的学校宿舍后，就自己搬出来住了
跟朋友租了一栋房子，还不错的
毕业后，暂时搬到朋友家去住个2个月左右

之后就搬来伦敦了
先是在表姨家暂住一个月左右
再搬到一间很贵很贵的Studio
十个月后就搬走了
再过五，六个月后就搬到这里来了
下个月，我又得搬走了
烦死人了！！！！！

在这里住，其实有点不开心
房东两公婆和我一起住
他们有点奇怪
明明是个二市一厅的房子
一间租给我，还有一间不懂他们用来干嘛
反正他们是在客厅里吃饭，睡觉，看电视，打游戏
他们要跟我讲话，绝对不敲我门，
就在房间外面留字条
就说这周末吧，我们都待在家里，可是一句话也没讲
在厨房里碰到她老公也不多说几句，偶尔连招呼也不打

有几次，门铃响了，我看他们没反应，就接那个Intercom可是对方没讲话，我就挂了
隔天，房外多了一张半页长的信。
内容呢.... 是要我不要接电话,除非我知道我有朋友过来。若不是的话就不可以接，因为触犯他们的私隐。
我当时气得快流泪了
不就是一个破电话吗，何必写的那么严肃？！神经病的！
好心被雷打！

她老公很喜欢打XBOX
英国的房子是出了名破的
隔音很不好
有时候
他一个人在房间
打输了
就乱喊乱叫
脏字出口成章
有时候我睡觉都被他吓醒

下个月搬走，有好有坏
这里的交通很方便
租金也合理

搬走了
又要适应新的环境，新的室友

男朋友有问我要不要一起住
我心里挣扎了好久
二室一厅的房子是最贵的，我负担不起
三室一厅，他又不肯和别人住
一室一厅，我怕怕
要是吵架了，还要和他共处一室，根本没有冷静的空间
要是分手了，他搬，还是我搬？
再说，妈妈可能不会赞成同居
很多疑问

每次要搬家前我就开始烦
每天不停的想，
要搬到哪里住
要找怎样的房子
价钱，安全，地区等等等等

哎~
要是自己有钱买房子，多好呀？
永远不用愁搬
永远不用受房东/室友的气
哎~
现实偏偏就是那么残酷。。。

Caught Off Guard

2007-06-02T10:59:00.000+01:00

I was out yesterday and I told a friend of mine "I feel a lump in my throat. I think I'm catching a cold."

When I came home, I drank juice from half a lemon, sans sugar and salt, but to no avail. By 10/11-ish, my throat felt horrible. I dreaded to sleep because I know how painful it is to wake up the next morning.

This morning when I woke up, I felt my tonsil was as big as a football. Every time I swallowed my saliva, I nearly teared.

The first gulp of water I took was even painful. Ouch.

It must be the weather, I tell you. Rain and sun, sun and rain. Last week, the temperature was at 20 and above and suddenly, over the bank holiday weekend, the weather decided to be nasty and it was raining. Some days it rained like cats and dogs. Other days it rained like elephants and hippopotamus with thunder. The temperature plummeted to below 10 degrees. My body is very sensitive to the weather, I suspect. Every year when the season changes, I catch cold.

Water will be my best friend for today and the next few days. And I really, really, REALLY regret not keeping any Vitamin C in my room. (I can hear my Mum nagging already :P)

That Crush

2007-06-01T02:12:00.000+01:00

IRC was the cool thing in 1997. I was so addicted to IRC then and so did most of my friends and fellow schoolmates. Almost every night, I would sit in front of the computer and started chatting away. I joined this chatroom where most of my schoolmates joined as well. Basically, I was chatting to strangers who were actually my schoolmates or strangers from other schools in town. After chatting for some time, we'd arrange to meet up in school either before or after school. Occassionaly we met at the famous tuition centre.

It was back in 1997, I got to know this guy from a boy's school. I don't remember how we ended up chatting but we did. And then we started exchanging emails. We probably talked on the phone as well- I don't remember that well. Anyway, he came to my house one evening. It was either a Monday or Wednesday evening- Mum taught aerobics on both days then. He cycled to my house. We were in the living room, chatting. I remember he told me 'I like your house' and I answered 'I'm bored of it already.' Needless to say, I felt so stupid after that. -_- My piano was in the living room then. He asked if he could play the piano and I said yes. He played 'Don't cry for me Argentina'. I was impressed. Very, very impressed. He promised he'd write me the score.

And I had a crush on him since then.

He kept his promise. He came again and he brought the piano score. I don't particularly remember what happened that day. I think we just chit-chatted and he left before my parents came home.

Gradually, we lost touch. His Dad was transferred to another state and we never kept in touch. I attended the farewell dinner organised by his church and that was the last time I saw him.

That was 10 years ago.

He's one crush I always forget- really! I only remember this story because I was browsing through Friendster and came across his sister's profile.

10 years ago. I had no concept of danger. Or perhaps I could argue that my friend's friend's friend knew him. Back then, cases of cheats, rape etc because of 'internet friends' were unheard of.

10 years later, I can laugh at how naive I was. But I can't help but worried about my safety. What if.....

8 days ago...

2007-05-30T01:21:00.000+01:00

... This blog turned 3.

and I forgot about it. Completely.

How should I put it. 3 years ago, I started blogging (again) as eveningprimroseoil (which explains my email account) and I moved to this blog due to a certain nosy parker some time ago.

***

I haven't been blogging much lately.

I tried to but I couldn't.

I hit the backspace key every now and then.

I just could not write anything.

Just to let you know...

I still love my job. K seems to like me better now, which is a good thing. We talk more now. =)

I ran away to Frankfurt again last weekend. 4th time in Frankfurt. It was boiling hot. We walked along the river during lunch time and had a lovely lunch after that. I think I'll go again in a week or two.

My Paris trip has been put off till July. =( Blame it on his job.

Few weeks ago, I worked as a translator. A group of 5 came from Tian Jin. They are from the Environmental health office. I sucked big time. It was harder than I imagined. I couldn't translate words like 'sociopsychology' and some other funny words which I myself don't understand in English. They said I speak better mandarin than they do. lol.

I'll be back when I can write better. Too many hiccups.

对不起

2007-05-07T23:27:00.000+01:00

对不起,
刚才的语气是重了点。
虽然解释了，也道歉了，
现在想想，真的不应该。
可是我这个人偏偏是个急性子。。。唉！

你在电话的那端，
静静的，什么也没说。
我还没反应过来自己是那么的鲁莽。
你终于说话了。
你说：我刚才在喝茶。
其实你并没有- 我听得出来。
你这善意的谎言，其实是要我好下台。
因为你知道我这个人死要脸。
因为你知道我的心事。
因为你知道我当时的心情。

流泪了，
是因为自己惭愧。
是因为自己觉得对不起你。

对不起。

Something I Learnt Yesterday

2007-05-02T20:27:00.000+01:00

"You must be an Alpha-Female. People might not like you but they respect
you."

The Culprit!

2007-04-26T23:24:00.000+01:00

I've been having shoulder aches for years but I realised it's got a lot worse for the past few months. There was hardly a day that went by without me complaining about the pain. I applied Yoko-yoko, I went for back massages (Cost a bomb!) and I even contemplated spending 40quid (or more) on a pillow. Back massage did help but not much- I was in pain again the next day! The same with Yoko-yoko.

My friends said it was my sitting posture so I kept on reminding myself to sit upright. I stretched my back and shoulders every now and then but to no avail.

Yesterday morning, I was tired from work so I decided to take a nap. Suddenly, there was a light bulb in my head- maybe I should try sleeping without the pillow. At the same time, I hesitated because I used to get headache if I slept without one. 30 minutes later, I woke up and felt so refreshed! The ache was there but it wasn't as painful as before AND I didn't suffer from any headahce at all!

So last night, I slept without the pillow. It was very uncomfortable at first and in the middle of the night I think I must have grabbed one of the pillows and put it under my head. I realised that when I woke up at some point.

This morning, for the third time in many many months, I woke up without complaining about the shoulder ache. (the first time was my Brussels and the second time at my friend's- I slept on a special pillow for the neck)

Pillow.... the culprit!

Now I have to get used to sleeping without one AND change my sitting posture.

Night Night!

Speechless

2007-04-14T20:10:00.000+01:00

"I have no food in my fridge. I have no milk. Well, I have but I have expired milk so I can't drink tea today."

"GO TO THE SUPERMARKET TOMORROW!"

"I thought you were going to do online grocery shopping for me like you did for your grandmother!"

"Baby, I can promise you one thing."

"What?"

"I will do that, when you are 80 and we're still together."

-_-

Speechless or not????????

******

Paris in June! :D

Time to save up for...er.... youknowiknowlah *wink wink*

The Conversation Last Week

2007-04-13T16:24:00.000+01:00

I love my 4 little nieces to the bits. And I know they love me too. Every summer, I make a point to visit them at least once a week and each visit lasts more than an hour. Everytime they see me, I see the brightest smiles on their faces. So innocent. So pretty. So cute.

Last Thursday, I dreamt about my little niece, Xuan. She's probably the least close to me because I was already abroad when she was born. But last summer, surprisingly, she called out my name for the very first time! Anyway, I dreamt she rang me. And she said "Hello Aunty Moopig."

On Friday, I decided to give the 4 darlings a ring.

MinMin, the #3 picked up the phone. She recognised my voice although the last time I rang was during CNY.

Part of the conversation:
"I have to go to school tomorrow. Replacement class"
"But you don't go to school on Saturday. Let me ring your headmaster and tell him students don't go to school on Saturday."
"No you can't! If I don't go to school tomorrow, I will have lots of homework on Sunday."
"OK then, I'll call your headmaster to tell him not to give you so much homework. You know, the students in England only have 2 pieces of homework every week!"
"But if I don't do homework, I can't get number 1 in class loh"
...... I nearly fainted.

I see the children here and the children at home. Big difference, I tell you.

MinMin is in Standard 2. I remember when I was 8 years old, I never had much homework to do. On top of school work, MinMin attends tuition- English, Chinese, Math, Malay and what-not.

When I went to kindy, I learnt English and only English. Mum said I cried when they sent me to Chinese school because I could not communicate with my classmates. It was chicken-and-duck talk with them. Don't ask me how I managed. I was perhaps a genius then. :P (I wonder what happened now lol) Now, kindy offers English, Malay and Chinese. They do Math. I think all I did was writing ABC, colouring and drama in kindy.

Woah..... generation gap. Generation Gap, I tell you. Scary.

And what happened to the conversation between little Xuan and me?

"Tata!" was the first thing she said when her sister handed the receiver to her.
Her mum said "Xuan! Talk properly!"

And she said "Chua Yin Xuan!" and handed the receiver to her sister. She was too busy with her toys.

=_=

How do you like this Meme?

2007-04-10T19:29:00.000+01:00

[A is for Abalone]
[B is for Bird's nest soup, Bak Kut Teh and Budu (Kelantan fish sauce- think cincaluk)]
[C is for Chee cheong fun from the Chinese market and chicken feet]
[D is for Durian]
[E is for egg tarts from Tong Kei brothers ]
[F is for Fish Fish Fish and more Fish!]
[G is for Guai-Ling-Gou]
[H is for Heng Hua noodles and hokkien mee]
[I is for Ikan Bilis and Indian rice at Aunty Sara's]
[J is for Ju-hoo char]
[K is for keropok lekor and Hot & Spicy KFC ]
[L is for ~~LB and Little Miss May~~ Leg of lamb and lobsters]
[M is for Monk Jump Over the Wall (Fat-tiu-chiong)]
[N is for Nasi Kukus, nasi dagang, nasi berlauk and nasi kerabu]
[O is for otak-otak]
[P is for pei-tan chok and prawns]
[Q is for QQ fishballs]
[R is for roti canai and roti kahwin (it's actually bread with butter and kaya)]
[S is for Slimey sea cucumber and scallops and the expensive Soon-Hock (marbled goby) fish]
[T is for turnip cake]
[U is for Ulam and belacan]
[V is for Vadai]
[W is for Wantan ]
[X is for Xiao Long Pao]
[Y is for Yam Rice and it goes darn well with zhu-tou-tong]
[Z is for Zhu-tou-tong (pig tripe soup)]

An A-Z list of the food I miss from home.....

Anybody fancy compiling a list like this? It took me a good few days!

Have You Eaten Your Easter Egg Yet?

2007-04-08T20:07:00.000+01:00

H a p p y E a s t e r e v e r y b o d y!

luv,
Moopig xoxo

The Kepo-chi post

2007-04-06T23:23:00.000+01:00

I can't come up with anything. I tried to. I can't. And then.... light bulb! LB's tag.

Here we go~~

[A is for age] Twenty thwee.
[B is for booze of choice] Strawberry Daquiri. Or Long Island Tea. Or a glass of white wine.
[C is for career] Perhaps tax consultant? Fingers crossed.
[D is for your most dreaded] Disappointment
[E is for essential item you use everyday] my glasses! Can't live without them.
[F is for favorite song at the moment] In Another time- Jodie Simons. Uuh.. sappy.
[G is for favorite games] Sudoku! :P All time favourite will be the Classic Super Mario :P
[H is for hometown] Kota Bharu
[I is for indulgence] Creme De La Mer. Chanel. Sisley skincare
[J is for favorite flavor of juice] Cranberry
[K is for kids] Nil. But I take care of 3 kids every week.
[L is for last hug from wife] huh?
[M is for years of marriage] tengah pak-toh lagi lah
[N is for name of your crush] Take a guess :P
[O is for overnight hospital stays] touch wood. None.
[P is for phobias] Lizards. Hate them!
[Q is for quote] Whatever~
[R is for regret] Regrets... I have a few...
[S is for status, married or single] Single
[T is for time you wake up] 6am when I have to work.
[U is for underwear] Loads of them. Need new ones.
[V is for vegetables you love] Cherry tomatoes, carrots, romaine lettuce, sweet corn!
[W is for worst habit] Snoozing my alarm clock.
[X is for x-rays you’ve had] 2, I think.
[Y is for yummy food you make] Chicken pie. And this un-named mascarpone dessert. Dumplings.
[Z is for zodiac sign] Sagittarius

The Price To Pay.

2007-04-01T00:08:00.000+01:00

It's been 2 months plus since I settled down in this new place. I wouldn't say I'm unhappy but I wouldn't say I'm happy here either.

You see, I was spoilt when I first moved to London. I lived in a fantastic studio, albeit a tiny one, and the transport links were just brilliant. Everything was brand new. Of course, the drawback was the amount of moolah I had to fork out every month. Everyone who asked about the price of the studio almost had their eyes popped out when I told them the rent. I had friends coming around almost every weekend. Life was good but the health of my bank account deteriorated. Badly.

And then I moved out from the studio 10 months later. I lived with J. It wasn't a bad experience. Come to think about it, I did enjoy staying with her because she was always there, physically. There was never a day that went past without me stepping into her room. But it was too far away from central London and the condition of the flat was bad- the toilet started leaking towards the end of the tenancy and I saw a mouse(!!!!!) in the flat! The relationship between the landlord and us ended bitterly.

And here I am, blogging from my new flat. Every weekend, I found myself at the verge of becoming crazy. I have no one to talk to in this flat. If I don't ring anyone, I end up not talking the whole day. Don't even mention seeing human! I live with a couple who owns the flat. I have no idea what their jobs are- the landlady seems rather reluctant to tell me about their jobs. But, I'm extremely sure they're NOT drug dealers or pimps. :P We're not particularly close. Occassionaly, the landlady and I can talk for an hour about current issues and holidays. But that's like once a month or so. The longest conversation I ever had with the landlord was about the snow and the Meteorology. That was like, 2 months ago? Or was it last month?

You see my problem now?

I realised that for the past years, I was always close to my flatmate(s). We shared a lot of tears and laughters. We went shopping together and cooked together. We argued and slammed doors.

When I visited my friends, I felt so happy and secretly wished that I could live with them. I could see us doing so many things together. I could see myself happier if I were to live there.

But I'm too stubborn to give up city life for Zone 2/3. I'm too stubborn to give up excellent bus routes for DLR and tube.

And that, is the price to pay to live in Central London.

I do regret it sometimes. Like now, for example.

A Night To Remember

2007-03-28T23:43:00.000+01:00

On the first day I arrived in the land of Currywurst, he picked me up from the airport. We made a quick dash to the city centre after I dropped my luggage in his flat. While waiting for the sales assistant to bring a pair of shoes for him to try on, he told me we were going to this bar in the Main Tower with his friends. I agreed. He looked at my pair of Camper shoes and said "But you have another pair of shoes right?" I nodded and said "Next time if you want to bring me to nice places, tell me in advanced. Luckily I packed another pair of shoes."

In the evening, we headed off to his apartment. I had wanted to wear a pair of jeans but he disapproved so I put on my black dress which I brought for "emergency purposes". When I was getting ready, he said 3 other friends were joining us. I have met one of them before but not the other two. I was getting really nervous. At the same time, I was worried I would be lost in translation since my German vocabulary is worst than a 2-year old kid.

At 9pm, he called for a taxi and off we went. I was rather quiet on the taxi as I was slightly nervous. The bar in Main Tower is famous among the investment bankers, you see. Suddenly, he said "Oh no, there's a change of plan. Promise me you won't be angry with me." "What now? Are you going to tell me it's a boy's night out only?"

He showed me his Blackberry. It read: 2100: Dinner at Opera.

Instead of going "awwww", the first thing I did was to punch him. lol. But deep down inside, I was happy and was so surprised. Boy, was he good at acting! I did not smell a rat at all!

It was the second time we dined at this restaurant. The first time was my belated birthday "present" and it was also another surprise. We both liked the restaurant- the service was good and the food was simply delicious! You'd think in a posh restaurant the price will be rocket high but surprisingly, it's affordable. A typical main course costs around 28Euros.

Anyway, this time, I had monkfish with lobster ravioli in tomato and leak fondue and champagne sauce while he had his favourite asparagus with veal. We had a glass of wine each and I must say the wine complemented my main course very well. The portion of the main course was so huge that I couldn't finish it. Since I was feeling tipsy half way through the dinner (Man, I'm still not very good at drinking!!), we decided to share a dessert- baked vanilla ice cream with something something ameretto biscuits and something something cream. It was Supercalifragilisticextradelicious!

I wish I could take better pictures. I didn't want unnecessary attentions so I just took a quick snap, without flash.

If you're happen to go Frankfurt ~~to see all the banks~~ next time, try out this restaurant!!

My New Hairstyle

2007-03-16T20:54:00.000Z

So how do you like me in blonde? :P

Just kidding.

It's Red Nose Day today!!!

The 2 younger ones were very excited about Red Nose Day. Little Miss R brought her blonde wig and took her brother's sunnies and made me wear them! It was good fun. :D

偶病啦

2007-03-14T19:12:00.000Z

入春了
又是生病的时候

不用大惊小怪的啦
偶已经习惯了
呵呵

我这个人
一年肯定要病三次的: 入春, 入秋, 入冬
习惯就好啦...

嗯....
很想喝妈妈褒的温暖牌皮蛋粥
想要望梅止渴都不行
哎~~
待在国外的代价 :(

要和没味精的粥?
自己褒咯!
可怜呀~~

Chopped

2007-03-12T22:15:00.000Z

I finally chopped off my hair this afternoon.

It was bra-length and I chopped it till shoulder length. My head feels SO light now. But I must admit, when the staff swept my hair away, I felt a little sad. Just a little. ;)

And I haven't got enough money to dye my hair. I can't afford £90 lah. :(

周日の晚餐

2007-03-11T19:27:00.000Z

最近发现自己发福了。有小腹，脸蛋变得圆圆的，双下巴很明显，好讨厌！

从小我就不喜欢运动。在伦敦，我的运动除了在赶时间的时候跑到巴士站和走路，运动量几乎等于零。所以，要减肥，就得从食物下手。

今天去买菜时，坚决不买零食。买了好多菜，水果和鱼。

今天的晚饭，弄了一个Haddock Fillet和一大盘沙拉。

记得去Brussels的时候，看了一个节目，大概是说西班牙人烤鱼的方式。今天就自创吧！
先来块150克鱼，撒上黑胡椒和mixed herbs，姜，切片，拍几颗蒜，切几个洋葱圈，切一个辣椒，最后切几快柠檬片然后放到烤箱里烤大概10-15分钟就搞定了！很简单的啦。

味道还不错！

Work, as usual

2007-03-08T21:09:00.000Z

When I go to work, I dress really horribly- hair tied up, or sometimes let down, glasses, sans make up, I wear my ol' trusty pair of Camper Twin shoes and wear an old top and my oversized MNG jumper or any other cardigan which is loose and not-so-nice and a pair of jeans. I haven't got much time in the morning. I get up at 6.10 and have to leave home by 6.25 or 6.30 latest, to catch the 6.35 bus so I can get in at 7am.

I was wearing the same ol' thing this morning. But in the afternoon, I felt like dressing up a little. I painted my face a little and put on something nice. I swapped my glasses for contact lenses and used a nice clip to clip half of my hair. I looked prettier than usual.

At 3.30pm, I picked R up from school. I was standing at the usual spot but couldn't see her. Suddenly, I saw her, lost in the crowd of school children. I approached her. She stared at me for a few seconds and smiled. As we walked home, she looked at me a few times. She said I looked really different and she wasn't sure it was me. lol.

When we reached home, A was home. He came into the kitchen and asked me "Why did you dress up today?" I smiled and asked "Can't I dress up?" "Of course you can, I thought you're going out later." He said.

I promised the kids we'd make chicken pie today as they have the little pie pots, as I call them, from Waitrose. I used the McDougals shortcrust pastry flour to make the pastry and cooked the fillings myself. R kneaded the dough while I cooked the fillings and rolled the dough. Then the two of them brush some egg wash over the pastry before the pies went into the oven. Since we had some leftover pastry dough, R used a cookie cutter to carve different shapes. Each of us had our initials on the dough. I joined them for dinner as I had to stay till 8.15pm.

As much as I enjoy my job, I don't think this is something I would like to do for a long term. It can be a little boring and I want some challenges in life. Besides, I think I sound like a housewife already. No thanks! Yes, you hear me right. I no longer want to be a housewife! I want to climb the corporate ladder and I can't wait!

Dan Lain-Lain Lagi

2007-03-06T22:15:00.000Z

I've ran out of ideas for the title. My posts are like a bowl of salad- everything in a bowl.

1. Thank you, but seriously, no thank you. I'm annoyed at people who talk out loud on the bus. Seriously, I believe none of us on the bus wants to know that you bought a new top today. Nobody is interested that you bought a pair of new knickers and socks from Debenhams. No one wants to know about your friend's gossips and neither does other passengers want to know your private & confidential details (I heard someone on the bus giving out her details to the bank). Dear fellow passengers, please, please, please, do not speak so loud as if you're alone in the bus.

2. I was in the lift today. On the first floor, 2 stinky boys (boy, the really stink!) entered the lift and started pressing number 9 the moment they stepped into the lift. I just told them to stop pressing because they can only press 9 when we arrive ground floor. Apparently, they knew about it but God knows why they still pressed number 9. When my friend and I left the lift, one of them shouted "I've lived here for like, what, 7 years." To which, I replied "But you don't know how to use the lift!" wahahahahhahahaa.

3. I have a friend visiting from Japan. After I picked her up from Covent Garden, we headed to my place for a simple lunch- Spaghetti with meatballs in tomato & basil sauce and a bowl of salad. She bought a Raspberry cheesecake from Somerfields so we had that for dessert. We left for Harrods for window shopping then took a bus to Buckingham palace then went to Piccadilly for dinner. I'm knackered. My right foot has blisters.

4. Guten Naht.

Coincidence

2007-03-03T00:16:00.000Z

Getting off the wrong bus stop wasn't a bad thing, you know. :P

It was raining this evening and I couldn't see the stop properly. I thought it was the right one so I got off. While waiting for the light to turn green, I saw this familiar looking face. God knows where the courage came from. I found myself opening my mouth and the next thing I knew, I asked "Hello, are you Jose?"

He turned around and obviously, he couldn't recognise me. I was dressed horribly- hair tied up in a bun and wearing a glasses. I know I looked totally different from the first time I met him. Anyway, I quickly said "I'm MooPig, we met at the XX Company interview." He remembered instantly. After we left XX, we didn't get in touch with each other as no one exchanged any contact details. We chatted a little while crossing the road. We arrived at the bus stop and I had to get home.

I thought this is amazing. The moment I stepped out from the office, I knew we wouldn't see each other anymore but today, I actually met him! Doubt there will be the next time though!

That aside, I'm dying for a hair cut. My hair is no longer curly and it's so out of shape. It's horrible, terrible and... err... ve-ge-ta-ble. Everytime I look in the mirror, I repeat the same thing- "sh!t, I need a hair cut. My hair is horrible." Mat Sallehs don't do a good job on my hair. There's a famous Japanese salon some where in Soho. I'm really tempted to. And I'm also thinking of dying my hair for the very first time. I'm bored of my natural colour already. But.... am I willing to fork out 100quid for that?

Decisions decisions decisions.

It's weekend... and it's time to clean up my room. Hate the hoover at home.

Was late for work this morning AND this afternoon. I had no one but myself to blame this morning. I was supposed to get in at 7 but I only woke up at 6.30am!!! The next bus was 5 minutes later and there was absolutely no way for me to get on that bus. 6.49am was the next one and for once, I was thankful for early bus. It arrived at 6.45am but I was still10 minutes late. Sigh. And I missed the bus by seconds in the afternoon. So I ran to the other bus stop, only to find the 271 left the bus stop. So I had no choice but to wait another 5 minutes for the 43 bus. I was 15 minutes late to pick up MissR. Hopefully she doesn't mind. Must make sure I get in on time next week.

I love Fridays cos it's PAYDAY! :D

Sleepless in London

2007-02-28T01:35:00.000Z

Another post filler.

01. Coke or Pepsi?
Coke, cos Pepsi's too sweet! Coke has more varieties too. And also Coke's everywhere over here.

02. KFC or McDonald’s?
It has to be McD in UK cos UK has awful KFC. (sorry LB) At home, it has to be the other way round. Hot & Spicy KFC... mmmm.. yum!

03. Häagen-Dazs or Baskin-Robbins?
Haagen Dazs! I have a tub of Pralines and Cream in the freezer now. Fancy some? Strawberry & Champagne is my ultimate favourite but I don't see it anymore. Baileys, Strawberry Cheesecake, Vanilla and Brownie are also my favourite. Baskins are too sweet to my liking.

04. Coffee Bean or Starbucks?
Starbucks. Cos they don't do Coffee Bean over here.

05. Nike or Adidas?
Adidas. Cos Nike is unethical. Say no to child labour! Having said that, I have a pair of Nike trainers. *hides in shame* BUT, I bought that before I realised how unethical Nike is.

06. Mercedes-Benz or BMW?
BMW. Few years ago, my cousin brother told me "In Germany, Mercedes are taxis so I'll never drive a Mercedes". Somehow, it's stuck in my mind.

07. UK or U.S.?
UK. I'm just being biased cos I've lived here for 5 years. Never been to the US.

08. Paris or Rome?
Another biased one. Paris. Because I've never been to Rome. Or maybe I have, when I was 6. I could hardly remember anything from my first Europe trip.

09. Céline Dion or Mariah Carey?
I have to say it's Mariah.

10. Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera?
I don't like either. But I definitely prefer Christina to Britney cos she's less insane.And she sings better than Britney.

11. Brad Pitt or David Beckham?
Brad Brad Brad! David's just an overpaid ~~henpacked husband~~ footballer.

12. Dad or mum?
Umm.... a real tough one. I can manja with Mummy but joke with Daddy.

13. Movie or music?
Music. I only go to the cinema when the boyfriend suggests a movie night.

14. Windows or Mac?
Windows. I'm hopeless at Mac. Tried once. Never got around to understand it.

15. PC or lappie?
Lappie! The smaller, the better. Enough said.

.... and I'm still awake. How now brown cow? And I gotta get in by 7.30 in the MORNING!

Kaboom!!

2007-02-23T01:04:00.000Z

Remember the Project 200?

Well...well...well....

I thought I could manage it. I really, really thought I could do that. Alas, it was easier said than done. It was harder, much harder than I thought.

Too many 'unexpected' events. Too many temptations. I tried to resist some. I really did! But there were situations I couldn't avoid at all. Like, the 'reunion' dinner. The dinner I promised K I would buy him when I got my first pay cheque. (He just decided to surprise me for CNY- the dinner was supposed to be next month!) Like, the friend who came all the way from Japan. I treated her to lunch and bought her a little present. And the final blow?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
My impromptu trip to Brussels tomorrow!

Don't hate me. I couldn't resist. A double room at a 4star hotel at 62.50Euros. Return tickets with Eurostar at a slightly steep £69. Belgian chocolates. Belgian Waffles. Mussels.

I'll be back on Monday. I promise!

and I'll show off my chinese new year goodies and ang pao from home.

It's Not Too Late To...

2007-02-19T19:10:00.000Z

Wish You a Prosperous Chinese New Year!

May the Year of Oink Oink bring you.... good health... good luck.. good wealth and good everything-lah.

Gong Xi Fa Chai

Love,
MooPig
oink oink

Awwwwww...

2007-02-15T20:43:00.000Z

As usual, I went in to work today. Last week, I promised the 2 kids that we'd bake chocolate chunk cookies today and baked we did.

While waiting for the trays of cookies to come out from the oven, we were chatting and messing about.

"When I was moving, I think I had like a million stuff with me. And I told my friend that if I can sell everything for a pound, I'll be a millionaire. When I'm a millionaire, I won't have to work here anymore." I said.

The 2 kids laughed. MrA continued "Then we'll pay you more!"

"Why?"

"Then you will continue working here."

Awwww.... ain't that sweet?

Wednesday Morning

2007-02-14T10:41:00.000Z

I worked the morning shift today. MrA was the earliest to get up and about 15 minutes after I arrived, he was in jeans and t-shirt and was ready for breakfast. He had 3 pieces of Weetabix with milk, 1 plum, half a grape fruit and a glass of smoothie for breakfast. (So healthy okay!) Since he had about 15 minutes or so before he left for school, we talked. He's such a morning person!

MissK came down for breakfast before A left. She was pretty much like me- grumpy and quiet. She ate her breakfast while I did my crosswords and she left.

I prepared a packed lunch of carrot sticks and cucumber with hummous, bread and cheese and a banana. At 8.20am, I went to wake MissR up. This is my second time waking her up since I started. I can never be like her. She doesn't kick up a fuss to wake up and doesn't laze in bed much. She smiles when she gets up and wishes me good morning. She's always in a good mood to talk to me.

And I asked myself: Why can't I be like her? That 11 year old doesn't snooze her alarm for 14987372 times before getting up. She doesn't laze in bed for hours. She's cheerful when she gets up. And me? I'm the opposite of her.

When I have something to do in the morning, I can be good, i.e. not laze in bed for ages and don't snooze my alarm clock. But if my morning is free, I can laze in bed for hours and hours. Sigh.

Must try to get up early everyday. And be cheerful in the morning.

=======================================================================

It's really weird but I'm not in the mood to celebrate V'day at all and I'm not at all depressed that he's not with me on this so call 'special day'.

I guess I'm too stingy dingy to spend extra money today. I don't see a need to have overpriced meal and buy overpriced presents and receive overpriced flowers today. Bring me fine dining anytime, anyday but not today. Buy me tulips anyday, anytime but NOT today.

And actually.. I'm a little thankful he's not here in London with me today. Because I really am not in the mood for celebration.

But I am very, very thankful, that he's coming to London on Friday to spend Chinese New Year with my friends and I. =) That, I think, is more meaningful.

Do you agree with me, love?

Because I am Happy

2007-02-09T13:13:00.000Z

It snowed yesterday. For once, the MET forecast was accurate.

It's so pretty when it snows. The whole place is white and it reminds me of fairytale. i couldn't resist taking pictures of the snow. Walking on snow reminds me of ice kacang (Shaved ice) :P

But when the snow starts to melt..... it's not as pretty as it was anymore. It's dirty and slippery and tricky.

I'm not a babysitter because I don't take care of babies. :P I'm a childminder, actually. (but then again it's just another British term for babysitter.) The children are 15, 12 and 10 years old. I don't really have to take care of them. On Weds, I walk them to the Art factory near the Holloway Women prison. On Thurs and Fridays, they're free so I just need to pick up the 10 y.o. from school and walk her back home. I prepare dinner for them around 5-ish and leave when their mum comes home, about 6.30pm.

Yesterday, MrA and I made scones. MissR wasn't keen so she went to the living room to practice guitar. Everybody was amazed by the scones except MissK who didn't say a word after eating one. Oh well. Miss R seemed to have some interest in baking after eating scones yesterday because she said she wants to bake something today. I'm still scratching my head despite looking through different websites searching for a suitable recipe.

I think I'm cooking chicken fried rice for dinner. I have to think of what to cook for dinner everyday because resources are limited in the kitchen. They use an Aga instead of stove and I'm not very good with that. It's not very good for stir-frys because it takes ages to heat up the hot plate.

Anyway......

tata!

Week 2

2007-02-08T00:43:00.000Z

2 weeks into the job, I'm more comfortable with the children.

The eldest daughter went to school in the evening so I had to stay back for another extra hour. The 2 kids wolved down the chicken and vegetable stir fry dinner and disappeared after putting the plates and cutlery in the dish washer. I washed the pot and pan. It wasn't part of my job but I chose to do it anyway.

I'm less comfortable when the eldest daughter, MissK, is around. She's a little snobbish and doesn't talk much. She was away today. The 2 young ones went up to the room. I was bored so I walked into the music room and played the piano. The 2 young one came down. MissR, the 10 year old girl was hiding behind her 12 year old brother, MrA. MrA said "We heard you play and it's really good.' He's the sweetest in the family. He never complained about the dinner and always thanked me for cooking dinner. I blushed. They left soon after.

I decided to go to MissR's room after that. She dressed up as a punk rocker and she put on an Afro wig which really looked good on her. I stood there and was shivering. MrA asked me to sit on the sofa bed. I declined but he insisted. Little MissR went to switch the heating on. We had a good time talking about stickers, their art class, dressing up and lucky and unlucky colours.

I didn't realise it was past 7.30pm already. MrsC rang up to apologise because the meeting ended later than expected. I stayed back until MrC came back, about 8pm. I didn't mind at all. It was good fun with the kids.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow already! MrA and I are baking scones! =)

Last week, I felt I had the most boring job ever. Between after school and cooking, I was bored to tears. I called my friends to chat and I read whatever's on the dinner table. Today, I wouldn't say this is my best job, but I'm doing something I enjoy. And they pay ain't bad for a part time job! :P And this will probably be the only job that allows me to do Sudoku when I'm free!

"whatever" law

2007-02-07T00:40:00.000Z

Call me superstitious if you want to but before that, read on.

I remember I attended my very first 'real' interview in London. Well, I say it's a real interview because it was formal and it didn't involve questions like 'So, tell me what does your father do?' and 'How many siblings do you have at home ah?'. That morning, when I put on my contact lenses, my eye hurt. Like something sharp poked into my eyes. No, the lenses weren't dirty. And the outcome of the interview? Unsuccessful.

And then I went for another interview. I was late by 10 minutes! Well first I left home late-lah. Then the traffic was horrendous. I was so nervous. I called the HR to tell her I'd be late because of the traffic. Thank goodness it was chaos at the office. They didn't have a proper procedure, I supposed, and no one realised I was late! I guess because they were trying to save time by having 1 group of people doing the tests and another group of people attending interviews. It was a miracle- I passed that round. And oh, when I put on the contact lenses in the morning, it didn't hurt at all. Good sign, I thought to myself, and it turned out to be true.

Then came the final round. I was dressed in my lucky colour- blue. I realised pink is my unlucky colour so I stopped wearing anything pink to interviews. The journey to the office was smooth sailing. Interviews went on well but I wasn't good enough for the position.

Forward to many many weeks later, I was lucky enough to attend another interview session. Since the office is out of London, I deliberately planned my route so I'd be early. But....... my hair just *had* to give me trouble yesterday morning. It was all curly and nice when I came out from the shower. After putting on some gel to set the curls, I started blow drying and ta-dah! they became half straight, half curly. It was hideous. I tried to make them straight but to no avail. They looked even worst. God knows how much time I spent on my darn hair. Then I had to put on some make up. By the time I left home, I was runnning 15 minutes later than my planned time. Half way walking to the bus stop, I realised I left my mobile phone on the bed and the ipod on the bookshelf. Great! I missed the bus by 10 seconds. The next bus came few minutes after that and I was actually on time to catch the train BUT Miss Silly Moopig went to the wrong platform! I was in a rush and missed the sign. Thank goodness the train didn't break down.

And you know what? I got an invitation for the final round.

I. am. speechless. I really don't know what to say.

Project 200: Day 3

2007-02-03T20:01:00.001Z

£163.28

Classique

2007-02-01T22:33:00.000Z

"Your currency is not Pounds, not Euros. Your currency is LV"

Classique

I burst out laughing when he said that last night.

Everytime I pick up his dirty laundry or handwash his clothes, I nag "for every shirt I handwash, you're getting me Chanel bag" or "for every meal I cook, you're getting me an LV bag". I am kidding, of course. (At this stage, I still don't think I deserve an expensive present from him yet. Seriously.) I guess that's how he came up with that statement. What a classic.

You can never deny my passion to own a designer bag or a pair of designer shoes or hair clips or jewellery. I can never not look into a designer store and think of what to get when I have enough money. I'm drawn to these stores like ants to sugar. But I'm never brave enough to walk into the boutique and pretend that I have the money to buy everything in store. I'm happy to look at the window display and dream a little.

I remember the first time I bought my very first designer bag. My heart was thumping. I felt guilty yet I wanted to have it so badly. When I gave the sales assistant my credit card, I hesitated for a split second. Should I back out now? That was the question I asked myself. When I marched out of the store, I actually felt good but guilty at the same time. Guilty pleasure, it was. My parents never spoilt us with expensive stuff, you see. Until today, my parents still don't know about that bag because I never brought it home.

With my pay cheque coming in every week, it's time to do some homework to decide which one to get, aye? I'm sure I will feel very proud everytime I use that bag. After all, I bought it with MY money, not Daddy's. :P

But we'll see how it goes. Money definitely don't come easy.

Project 200

2007-02-01T08:17:00.000Z

============================
£170
============================

This will be the challenge of the month. I'm challenging myself to live on £200 this month. This money excludes my rent but includes everything else I spend- phone bill, monthly bus pass, groceries and other stuff.

I did a calculation last month. I should be able to live comfortably but not lavishly. After all, after deducting transport costs (About £50 a month on a monthly bus pass) and £30 on phone bill, I'll have £120 left. Groceries will take about 1/3 of the £120 so I should have about £80 to spend on shopping(cough!), eating out and what not.

The credit card and debit cards are evil so they are out of the wallet for the month. From today onwards, I will only carry cash when I go out. I aim to make this blog a diary to keep track of my spending this month.

Let's see if I'm up to this challenge! ;)

5 minutes

2007-01-31T12:48:00.000Z

"Someone" who mumbles a lot complained that I haven't been updating.

Well.... the truth is, I have been a little busy. I have an appointment in 10 minutes. I have to go in 5 so I'll make this a quick one.

Short update:
K is here in London for a few days because of a special occassion. Lots happened but that will be in another post. My temper has been unbelieveably bad. It's confirmed- Period is not an excuse. I throw tantrum even when my period is not due to arrive. Damn.

I started a new part time job. Pay is decent. I'm hoping I'll be determined enough to wake up at 5-ish every morning and NOT go back to bed after I finish the first shift. I work 2 shifts a day over 3 days. I get paid end of the week. I'm waiting till the day I can walk into a designer boutique and get a bag that I've been dying to have and PAY WITH MY OWN MONEY! But after doing some thinking, I decided to save 60% of my pay and the remaining shall go into my 'shopping account' or my 'holiday account'. The latter is more important. The sister is demanding for a Louis Vuitton already. At 19 years old, can you believe that! That spoilt little girl! I'll see how my financial situation is first. Oh, if you're wondering, I'll get her a genuine one. (Siapa makan pedas, dialah yang rasa)

Shooot I'm running late. till then

Chicken Rice- Moopig's Way

2007-01-26T19:32:00.000Z

I've been craving for chicken rice for quite a while and I finally cooked it today.

It took me an hour to prepare dinner and only took me 28 minutes to finish dinner. Was it worth it? Absolutely!

I'm never a fan of 'pak cham kai' so I oven-baked the drumstick instead. I marinated the drumstick with light soy sauce, chili oil, garlic, 5-spice powder and anything I could find in my food cupboard. Yummy!

Who can resist a bowl of hot soup during winter? 2 fish balls, 2 beancurd puff, half a carrot, few slices of ginger, 2-3 cloves of garlic, a few whole black pepper, 1/2 cube chicken stock or 1 chicken bone and salt to taste. Just boil until the carrots soften or few hours. Throw in a handful of Hong Kong Kailan and boil for just a minute. Serve! Easy peasy! I used the soup to cook the rice as well.

It's time to wash up. Looks like I'm going to have the same food for dinner tomorrow night as well but I'm definitely not complaining! =)

Blue Monday

2007-01-22T22:51:00.000Z

Not Just the Cold Turning You Blue
It's cold, it's raining and it is the most depressing day of the year.
Psychologist De Cliff Arnall of Cardiff University has named today Blue Monday
after calculating that the final full week of January is the most likely to give
us the blues due to the weather, Christmas debts and broken New Year's
resolutions.

grabbed from the London Lite. 22 January.

Is your Monday blue in colour today? Hopefully not.

Cheerios!

Moved.

2007-01-20T21:54:00.000Z

I'm so knackered. I'm finally in the new room.

The packing was horrendous. The unpacking was just slightly better. So far, I've unpacked everything except two boxes.

After moving, we had to go back to the old flat to clean it up in the afternoon and to meet the idiot landlord at 3. At 3.40pm, he rang up to say he'd be late and would only arrive at 4.30pm. It was impossible because I had to rush to my aunt's. So we agreed to meet at Old Street/City Road but that idiot got lost. He was supposed to return our deposit but he didn't have enough money (yea, right). I gave him one key and agreed to return the key to him when he gives me the deposit. It was like hide and seek before we met up. He claimed to be on City Road but he was on the wrong side of the road. Tsk tsk. I was so stressed out the whole time.

And then I had to rush to my aunt's to collect something to pass to her boyfriend. It was a waste of time to do so because I am so sure she did not need it. I don't mind paying for the transportation but I minded the time and the energy. I was not pissed but was so stressed out from the moving and the crap I got from the landlord. Travelling to and fro took about an hour. By the time I got home, I was in a bad mood and just broke down after I couldn't find the dirty bed sheets. Sigh.

It's been a long day and I have yet to have lunch or dinner.

:(

Grumblings aside, I am SO GLAD that I've moved.

The Ex-File

2007-01-18T15:19:00.000Z

Reading Jomel's post about her boyfriend meeting the ex reminded me of myself few months ago.

K shared a locker with his ex during term time. They had to clear the locker before the deadline.

On the bus to uni one day, he told me about the locker. He explained that he'd be meeting his ex so she could pick up her stuff as well. He asked me if I wanted to go to the locker room. I was dying to say yes. I wanted to see who she is. But I said no.

I never asked him about his ex-files until we got together few months later. I guess I'm too chicken to know his past history. Perhaps I'm inferior. I feel insecure. What is she's better than me? But he asked about mine when we went to Spain. We were strolling on the beach when he asked me and I told him everything about the exes. He didn't see it as a way of 'being a better boyfriend than the exes'. Rather, he saw it as a way to know me better.

I never looked at it this way. I see it as a competition. I want to be better than his ex. I want my exes to know I have a good boyfriend who is better than them.

Am I the only one who is being bitchy?

The Laundry Saga

2007-01-16T17:09:00.000Z

Some time last week, K sent his shirt and mine to the laundry so we went to pick them up yesterday. The bill came up to a whopping 6quid for 2 shirts! We were taken aback because it normally costs less than 2quid to wash a shirt. Another laundry near my flat charges 12quid for 10 shirts, or £1.50 each. So K asked the boss why is it so expensive.

The boss, who looks like a Middle eastern man, said "We charge at this price because we dry clean the shirts. Dry clean is better for the shirt because it won't harm the shirt. If you wash with soap and water, it will damage the material very fast. Other places charge cheap because they are rubbish."

Needless to say, I wasn't impressed at all. First of all, how can he call other laundries rubbish just because they wash instead of dry cleaning the shirts.

This morning, K had to attend an interview. He wanted to wear the shirt. He smelt it and said it stinks. I didn't believe him so I smelt the shirt. It was horrible. I don't know how to describe the smell but it was really horrible. I told him I'd bring it back to the laundry and talk to the boss but he stopped me from doing so. I sniffed my shirt and it was ok. Weird.

I didn't go to the laundry in the afternoon but deep down inside, I was really, really unhappy. We paid so much yet we got such crap service. Those who know me well know that I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT TAKE BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. If I were in a bad mood, I would kick up a fuss, shout, yell, do whatever I can to get a better customer service. After all, I'm the customer. I don't pay to get crap service.

When my flatmate came back, I showed her the shirt. She smelt and told me to take the shirt far, far away from her. She said it stinks big time and if K were to wear the shirt, even if he showers a hundred times the smell is still there. I know she exaggerated but that shows how stinky that shirt is.

Anyway, I had to go out to the butcher this evening. I took the shirt with me and went to the laundry. The boss came out and I explained to him.

"Did you take this shirt from here?" he asked. He sounded very suspicious.
"Yes. I came yesterday, remember?"
"And what other shirts together?"
"There's a blue striped long sleeve shirt. From TM Lewin."

Silence. He smellt the shirt.

"I don't smell anything at all"
"But it does smell really, really bad. It's like it's never been washed before"
"My dear, look. The collar shows it's been washed before."
"But it really stinks. And the weird thing is, my shirt doesn't stink at all"
"Do you want me to wash it again?"
"Yes please"
"Ok then I'll wash it again but there's no guarantee"
"Can you give me a ticket please?"
"You don't need a ticket"
"Then how can I collect the shirt?"
"I recognise your face"
"But I'll prefer a ticket"
"OK.. what's your name. Write down your name and number"

I stood there and made sure he pinned the ticket to the button of the shirt before I left.

Let's wait and see on Friday.

And I hope K doesn't get angry at me for sending this shirt to the laundry for the second time :P

Chocolates or Flowers?

2007-01-14T23:38:00.000Z

Left or Right? This or That? Chocolates or Roses?

I always thought this question is just another silly question I read on Friendster Bulletin but today, this question corssed my mind and I actually spent some time thinking about this question.

I choose the latter.

I hung the roses up side down so they dried up and turned into dried roses. They've been on the wall for about a month now. I felt sorry to throw the dried roses away so I put the rose petals in the bottle. They look pretty in the bottle. =)

That Godiva was absolutely yummylicious!

The Same Old Rant

2007-01-14T22:28:00.000Z

Shoulder aches. Backache. Tired.

What's new. It's always the same thing everytime I start packing.

This time round, it's a lot better. I've programmed my mind so I throw away everything which I no longer need. If I look at something, stare at it for more than a minute debating if I should keep, then it goes into the bin. Seriously, I don't understand why I have so much things to pack.

Hopefully I'll end up with lesser stuff this time round.

I need a back massage now!

The Quest of Pick-Me-Up

2007-01-11T14:36:00.000Z

I'm not a big fan of Tiramisu but I love making it because it's so simple yet so yummy yummy.

A few days ago, a friend of mine invited us over for dinner and I brought Tiramisu. The moment I brought out the Tiramisu, everyone went "ooh and ahh". They were generous with the praises but I knew something was not quite right.

Last night, I wanted to use up the sponge fingers so I made another Tiramisu. It was definitely better than the other time but it's still not perfect.

I will continue making Tiramisu until I've made the perfect one.

And I only want to use these ingredients: alcohol, mascarpone cheese, cream, sugar, coffee and sponge fingers.

Any volunteers for the next Pick-me-up?

What do you have in your fridge?

2007-01-10T21:54:00.000Z

The fridge on a good day i.e. after grocery shopping. It's so full that we have to rearrange everything to fit our groceries! ;)
Brie is my latest addiction and only President Brie is approved by my palate. German sausages, single cream, semi-skimmed milk, peanut butter, rojak sauce, yoghurts, Eclairs, ham and some trifles.

And also some leftovers and tiramisu I made =)
The healthy 2 tiers: full of vegetables and herbs.
Butter, feta cheese, Go Chu Jang, beef and chicken stock cubes, mushrooms and preserved vegetables, Fresh Thyme, Pesto sauce, pickle, mustards, vanilla essence, oyster sauce, skimmed milk, marmalade, MY BEST-EST STRAWBERRT JAM!, chilli oil.

Hungry? lol.

What's in the freezer then? Let me tell you- it's not as interesting as the fridge. Really!

What do YOU have in your fridge then? Care to share?

To Sir, With Love

2007-01-08T12:47:00.000Z

Dear Mr Mukherjee,

The last time I saw you was in September. You were very sick but you were so determined. You told me stories about your younger days and you also told me how you invented the tube. You showed me your suction diary. You were a meticulous person. You jotted down the date and the time. It was painful but you persevered. You showed me when you took off the tube you couldn't speak anymore. You were very proud of your invention, I remember. Despite the pain and the sufferings, you remained optimistic and I always admired your optimism. I still remember you told me stories about the oxygen level and you had to be on oxygen for more than 12 hours a day. You told me about the oxygen tank story when there was a power cut few days ago. You were amazed at today's technology, you said.

I never regretted going home in September anymore because that was the last time I saw you. That was the last time I hugged and kissed you and it was the last time you told me stories.

Why didn't I see you again before I left? Why? Why? Why? Why did I only see you once? Why?

I still remember the time when you were admitted into USM. I weeped. It was so painful to see you with tubes. I went to visit you. I brought food for you in the evening and I fed you chicken soup, I remember. I could see that you were very happy and proud of me.

Do you still remember you used to write long emails to me when I was in college? You never failed to tell me how proud you were because I always remember you as a 'humble cikgu' and you always treated me like your own daughter. The emails are still in my mail box.

I attended your Advanced English tuition class when I was 14. You never took a single penny from my parents. I never liked it when you ambushed us with vocabulary tests or quizes but now, I really appreciate them. You were the best tuition teacher I've ever had. I'll never find another teacher like you. Do you know, throughout the three and a half years, my proudest moment was when you praised me in front of the whole class after my public speaking? It was in Form 5. You gave me a hard topic but you changed it after you learnt that I came back from Japan. I talked about my experience and you said it was very, very good. That was my proudest moment and I was on cloud 9.

It's too painful to write anymore.

It's too painful.

I'll never see you anymore. I'll never hear your voice. I'll never get to hug and kiss you anymore. But... I'll always, always, always remember the times I visited you, the stories you told me and your optimism towards life.

I know you're in a better world, a better place. You won't suffer anymore. No more pain, no more sufferings.

I'll always love you and will always think of you. You're always in my heart, forever and always.

but it's so painful to see you go.... so so so so painful.

This the story of a nomad

2007-01-05T22:49:00.000Z

1 hall of residence, 2 years in the same house in North Wales, a couple of months in a lovely 2 bedroom house in North Wales, a short stint at the aunt's, 10 months of luxury in a studio, 5 months sharing a one bed room flat 5 minutes walk away from the Arsenal Emirates stadium, it's time to move again.

Where to?

Central London!

Yay!

It's been a pretty miserable 5 months living in the current flat. It's a 15 mins walk away from the tube station and only 2 buses run to Central. I never liked the transport system over here. The flat itself is ok but it's too cold in my room and it's warm in the flatmate's! Weird.

5 months ago, I was moaning about packing and moving. 5 months later, it will be the same thing over and over again. Lots of things to throw, lots of lost-and-found. This time, I'll make myself be in the 'chucking things mode' so I'll throw away things which I will no longer use and give away clothes I will no longer wear.

I must count my lucky stars this time. I only saw 1 flat and took it straight away. For the first time in my life, I'm living on the 15th floor. I can see the London Eye from the kitchen. Nice nice! I hope I get along well with the landlady and her husband.

I know no rented property will be perfect until I get MY own place. There will be complains along the line but hey, it's for a few months only and I'll be on the move again.

Like Father Like Son

2007-01-04T23:36:00.000Z

Was on the phone with Dad a couple of days ago.

Dad: I got a new car.
Me: I knew it! Just waiting for you to tell me only. you normally get new car after a major accident bla bla bla bla.
Dad laughed.

"So what car did you get?" I asked.
"Kelisa" was the answer.
And I raised my voice because I knew he was lying.

"impossible! You won't get a kelisa for sure."

He laughed. He turned to my brother and said "Di (brother), da jie (eldest sister) doesn't believe Daddy's getting a Kelisa"

"Kancil eh" came the answer from the spoilt brat.

The both of them..... Sigh. :P

First Post for the New Year

2007-01-04T22:19:00.000Z

The lazy bum is back.

I did a 2006 review few days before the last day of the year. Sweet. Sour. Spicy. Bitter. There was little bit of everything.

My resolutions for the new year? The cliche ones are to be a better person, control my temper, lose more weight and yada yada yada but there's one resolution I hope to achieve before the 31 December- get a job in the UK.

2007 started off pretty badly for me. I don't know what got into me but my temper was particularly bad. The boyfriend and I had petty arguments so often but we finally talked about it last night (phew!) and everything's all good now.

Looking forward to a better year.

And I wish you and your family
.... better luck
.... better success
.... better health
.... and a better year.

Cheerios!

7,000 words (and more)

2006-12-29T14:52:00.000Z

They say pictures speak a thousand words. So here are 7 pictures from my germany trip. =)

Christmas tree and the dinner table at his mum's

Christmas deco' at the shopping mall

The Olympiastadion and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtniskirche (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church)

44,000 Swarovski Crystals on the Christmas tree

Christmas Lights (with the 140,000 Euro Ferrari as the background picture)

Polish snack made by his grandmother and the german sausages at the Christmas Market

Christmas markets... toffee apples and toffee grapes, chocolate coated bananas, apples bla bla bla

I'm back!

2006-12-28T01:10:00.000Z

The mother's test- passed.
The grandmother's test- passed.

Christmas was E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-T.

Everyone was nice and friendly. Food was excellent. Company was great.

I love love love love love the Christmas Markets. I decided to eat toffee grapes instead of toffee apples (which I eat annually) and got sick of it before I could finish it. Lovely Christmas lights. I still can't get enough of the caramel almonds. *yum yum*

I got a shock when the bill came up to 15euros for 9 packets of german sausages and hams. I did not realise I put so many in the shopping basket. :P So yeah, the housemate is happy, the friend is happy and so is the aunt.

German custom officers are extremely strict. And I mean, EXTREMELY strict. Scary. I thought I'd never make it to London anymore. He looked at me as if I was holding a fake passport. At one point, he even asked me to tuck my hair behind my ears. No one has ever scrutinised me like that.

But sadly, my German did not improve much but I picked up a few Polish words here and there.

Time to hunt for a language school, aye? :P

I'm knackered.

And now... what should I do on NYE?

And I'm already missing the cheesecake his mum made. I reallllly should have eaten the second piece for lunch on Boxing day. Arghhhhhhhhhhhh

The Christmas Jinx

2006-12-23T01:19:00.000Z

I took this picture using Slow Synchronise function. That's how foggy it is.

I think Heathrow Airport is jinxed.

Last year, it was the strike.

This year it's the fog.

My mind is in a mess now.

Someone better introduce some kick-ass feng shui master to the BAA Chairman.

Time to continue packing.

Have a wonderful Christmas and see you after the 27!

To those joining the Boxing Day sale, I hope you have fun and get loads of bargain! I'll only start picking up the leftovers few days before end of sale. ;)

"All I want for Christmas is..."

2006-12-21T23:57:00.000Z

Mariah's "All I want for Christmas Is You" has always been my favourite Christmas song. Listening to this song always makes me wanna dance. =)

I think it must be 4 years ago. My corridor mates used to blast Christmas carols in the kitchen. "I saw Mummy kissing Santa Claus" has also become one of my favourites. Sounds cheeky and not quite right for Christmas but somehow I like this song.

"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" is also another favourite or mine but it sounds a little sad. It's been gloomy lately and listening to this song makes me feel even sadder. But I'm a sucker for songs like this. :P

*************

Fog. Fog. Fog.

I'm starting to worry a little now. I'm sure you've read lots about this on the news. I checked my flight a while ago and it's still flying to Frankfurt. I really hope the condition will be better tomorrow. Why does this *have* to happen?!?!??! Now I have travelling anxiety.

********************

So what's on your Christmas wishlist?

I'm still cracking my head. I have no idea what to get for the boyfriend. To add salt to the wound, money's a little tight at the moment and will be for the next few months until I get a decent job. This means his Mont Blanc will have to wait. I never bothered about pens but when I walked into a pen shop today, I sighed. The cheapest pen costs one hundred something pounds. *chokes*

Buying presents for men is so difficult. Agree?

I have a few ideas in mind. A pen or a leather organiser. Or a gift voucher from TM Lewin/Hawes and Curtis/Pink.

More shopping done tomorrow. I'm dreading that already. Yes, you hear me right.

I. do. not. want. to. go. out. shopping. tomorrow.

The crowd is massive. It's crowded. I dislike crowds.

I never had a Christmas wishlist. It's the same this year. I have everything I need. There are so many things that I want but... I don't have the urge to have it yet. Have you ever felt like that?

********************

I'm sleepy. My shoulders are aching. I'm going to watch Episode 24 of Dicey Business and jump into bed. It's -1 at the moment. Freeeeeezing.

*********************

5 Days to Christmas

2006-12-20T03:06:00.000Z

5 days to Christmas. How do you feel?
Christmas doesn't mean much to me because we never celebrated Christmas at home.
This is my 5th Christmas abroad.

My first Christmas was in Japan, back in year 1999. It was a house party hosted by my host parents.

And the second Christmas abroad was in 2002. I spent that Christmas in Coleraine. I was really looking forward to it. I travelled by myself to Coleraine. I took a train to Holyhead, took the Ferry to Dun Laoghair (sp?), took the train to Belfast and another train to Coleraine. Brian picked me up from the train station. I think it took me about 6 hours to get to Coleraine. I had no idea how Brian and family celebrated Christmas and I thought it was a huge occassion with loads of preparations to do the night before. But I was wrong. It was all quiet. Silent Night. On Christmas Day, Brian and family brought me to BushMills Inn (Does it ring a bell, LB?) for Christmas dinner with Brian's brother's family and Nana. Joan's sister and her family came over. Everybody was excited to meet me because ~~yellow~~ I was 'representing' Daddy. Daddy used to spend Xmas with the family when he was in Ireland years ago. On Boxing Day, Joan cooked lunch and invited Adam's girlfriend over for lunch. That was it. I was there for 6 days and I was dying to get out of Northern Ireland!

The third Christmas was unpleasant. Joan and Brian separated so I stayed with Nana in Tobermore. Adam, Brian's son was diagnosed with Acute TB. Sigh! This time round, I took Easyjet to Belfast and it took a mere 50 minutes! Brian brought us to The Lodge for Christmas dinner. A family friend of Brian joined us as well. Over dinner, I was talking to Aiden since he was sitting opposite me. Aiden was a smooth talker who tricked me into telling him what alcohol I liked. He bought me one alcopop after another. He was smart though- he paid the waiter to bring the drinks to me while he went out to get his dose of nicotine. He wanted to bring me out for drinks in the evening but I declined because Nana wouldn't allow but he went on and on and on so I just said yes to shut him up. But I knew we wouldn't meet up because Nana wouldn't allow me to go out anyway. He was ultra nice to me after that. He waited for me to get my food, took my plate away when I was done eating. He became bolder too. He said we should go to Adam's house party and spend a night there and have sex. I told him straight on his face that I wouldn't do it. Then he got the message. I avoided him after that but before I left, he said to me "I hope I'll get to fuck you next time." That Son of a... No, that jerk. If he weren't Brian's friend and his Dad weren't Nana's friend I would have given him a tight slap. Oh, did I tell you he was 20 over years older than me? I never looked at Christmas the same way again.

The following Christmas, Joan and Brian reconciled but Joan was diagnosed with cancer. I decided not to spend Christmas with them because I would create more trouble. Besides, I was haunted by 'that' experience. I told Dad about the bad news and he agreed I shouldn't spend xmas there. Phew! I spend this Christmas in Bangor. A quiet one.

Last year, I spent Christmas day watching telly. Wahey! Must be the winter blues, I tell you.

And this year, I'm actually in a Christmas mood already. I downloaded some nice Christmas carols a while ago. I put on my earphone and started writing Christmas cards. =) I have no idea how my Christmas will be like but I know I'll be spending Christmas in Berlin, with the boyfriend AND HIS FAMILY! I've bought his mum and granny presents but not his siblings because I have no idea what to get for them! I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year. 5 more days to go, 3 more days till I see him again. I need a bear hug from him!!

Tell me about your Christmas, will you? =)

Stay tuned for the "meet the family" posts. Or maybe not. :P

Kurismasu lights

2006-12-18T00:35:00.000Z

Christmas Lights on Regent Street. Not a very good shot because it was so crowded at Piccadilly Circus. I'll try again when if I go to Oxford Street/Regent Street.

Celebrating Christmas the Deutsch Way!

2006-12-17T20:33:00.000Z

Will be leaving on Saturday evening to Frankfurt. We're going to Berlin on Christmas Eve and I'm flying back to London on 27 December. He'll join me later and we'll celebrate NYE together. =)

And this will be my first time visiting the parents. I've never done that in my life and boy, I'm extremely nervous.

Now.... what presents shall I get for everyone?

Time to go shopping!! teeheeee

On Tanterhooks

2006-12-15T15:37:00.000Z

She told me the feedback will be on Friday.

I slept after 4am. On a normal day, I wake up about 6/7 or maybe 8 hours later. But not today.

By 9am, I woke up immediately after the alarm rang. No lazing on the bed nonsense. The first thing I did was to switch on my laptop and checked my email. My mobile phone never leave my visibility. I've even set the gmail page as my home page. I never log off the account.

Positive or negative reply? I wonder. Again, the intuition says the latter but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the former.

I've been so stressed for the past 2 weeks. I have 4 mouth ulcers. That's a sign of how stress I am. I need more Vitamin B12, Iron and Folic Acid, Wikipedia says so.

Do you think the HCM lady will ring me up to tell me a favourable reply? Or she will say the same thing like the Business Psychologist that BAT employed told me? "Thank you for attending the BAT assessment centre on XX. You've done very well but unfortunately...."

I'm so scared. I'm so worried. I'm so nervous. The heart is beating so fast.

Fingers crossed. Toes crossed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I brought my mobile into the living room when I went to cook dinner. And I DID NOT HEAR IT RING!!! When I realised it was 9 minutes too late. I hate 'No Number' or 'Private Number' phone calls.

I called one firm. I thought the HR rang me to confirm the interview date after I left a voice mail. Nope.

I checked my email. No.

I guess I'm taking this as a negative reply. The last time I made it through to the final round, the HCM lady sent me an email and told me to ring her a.s.a.p.

And you know what my intuition says? Wait till Monday. Maybe there's a good news waiting for me. But the pessimistic side of me says no.

I'm so annoyed. So confused. :(

When Routine Isn't Routine Anymore

2006-12-14T23:41:00.000Z

K and I talk every night when he comes back from work. Since he started work, we've been doing that, except for 1 night when I went out clubbing and arrived home at 3.30am.

We don't spend much time talking on the phone. Sometimes it's just a 5 minutes conversations but sometimes, we spend an hour plus on the phone. That's the longest we've done. Gone were the days when I used to spend hours and hours and hours talking with the ex-bf on the phone. :P

Our classmate, T, is at his place. T came all the way to London and decided to fly to Frankfurt to visit K before he leaves to Tokyo again. Last night, I told K not to ring me if it's inconvenient.

I can't help but feel a little awkward. From time to time, I check my Voip and mobile phone for missed calls. And then I realised that he won't call me tonight.

It's not that I miss him terribly. It's just that I'm so used to talking to him before going to bed every night and tonight, it's a little different, simply because I'm used to the routine and routine isn't routine tonight.

=)

On another note, there's an invitation for 'meet the family' during christmas. Get what I mean?? Now I'm worried and... umm.. nervous. Not sure if I'll take up the invitation though.

It's amazing I'm still alive

2006-12-11T22:55:00.000Z

So yes, call me a drama queen if you like it.

Had to wake up at 5-ish this morning because this miss drama queen takes about 1 hour to get ready. That includes showering and NOT picking what to wear for the day because I've prepared everything (including socks and the earrings) I was supposed to wear this morning, putting on a 10 minutes hydration mask (because I was looking really awful from lack of sleep), plastering thousand and one layers of cosmetics on my face, trying very, very hard to cover my extremely visible dark circles, and at the same time, multitasking in front of the laptop- reading emails, blogs and listening to music. And I did not have time for a cup of tea. -_- Really can't imagine how it will be like when I start work the next time.

It was still dark when I left the flat in my favourite suit (my best investment so far!). I arrived about 25 minutes early so I grabbed a hot chocolate from a cafe nearby. There were 2 of us scheduled for the 8am interview. The first one went okay I guess but I thought they might be 'too excited' to interview the first person. The guy was slapping me with questions, questions and more questions and when he stopped, the lady continued. I thought it wasn't going to end until he asked me if I had any questions. *phew* And I thought, in the final round, there would be technical questions but I was so wrong.

I had to wait for more than an hour, or maybe two, for the next interview. At the mean time, I got to know the candidates of the day. 2 Americans, 2 Canadians but 1 is from HK and the other one is from India, 1 Chinese, 1 BBI, 1 Greek and me. They are very nice people and we actually got on really well.

The next interview was with the guy who interviewed me from the first round, and the CFO. The interview lasted shorter than the previous one, probably they were tired from interviewing other candidates and I was the last one. The CFO seemed quite pleased with my answers and the questions asked were basically competency based. The other guy was emotionless. I can't tell.

I was quite dead by the end of the second interview.

We did an office tour but we were running late so the HR lady didn't bring us to the trading office. Dang! I really, really wanted to see how trading is like in an IB. Oh well... next time, hopefully? We had lunch- sandwiches. How cliche can that be!

The final one was the group exercise. My brain just decided to shut down during the last 10 minutes or so. I just couldn't think anymore and I wasn't absorbing any information. I don't think I did particularly well. Other people were just yapping and talking and giving information and opinions but I just talked when I thought I could contribute something to the group.

I felt like the whole assessment centre thingie just drained my brain juice, right down to the final drop. It didn't appear very taxing but when I came out from the building, all I wanted to do was to get home and go online then jump onto my bed.

And then the bus decided to play hide and seek with me. Oh well.

Anyway, I'm done rambling and I'm off to bed. Another one tomorrow and I can't be bothered to prepare for it.

I feel sooo dead now

2006-12-11T18:38:00.000Z

For the first time in many many many months I got up at 5-ish.

I feel like dying now.

update later.

Lilies at full bloom

2006-12-08T00:06:00.000Z

First and foremost, thank you very much for the comments and encouraging words.

Once, everything looked bleak and gloomy. I did not know where to start from. I had no plans for my future. I took time off to do some 'soul-searching'. I finally decided what I wanted.

Application forms were filled in and sent out. Rejection letters, like the waves in Cala Millor, came one after another. And finally, one invitation came. Boy, I was estatic. But I wasn't good enough after the first round.

I did not give up but I was worried. I fear my dreams will not come true and I have to pack my bags and go. I fear I will remain unemployed for the rest of my life.

Finally, I had another interview.

K arrived with a bouquet of flowers on my birthday. I put the flowers in a little vase. Everyday, I look at them and wonder when the lilies will bloom. The night before the interview, while looking at the flowers, I said 'if the lilies bloom tomorrow, I will do well.' The next morning, I was disappointed. None.

I went to the interview at one of the most reputable investment banks in London on Tuesday. The traffic was bad and I was late by about 10 minutes! Thankfully, the interview hadn't start and it was chaos in the office so no one realised I was late. I had to do verbal reasoning and numerical reasoning tests. I don't know how well I did. I managed to finish everything but I don't know if I answered them accurately. I had another interview with 2 interviewers from the department. They were nice and friendly. Helped me when I struggled. One of them said I gave a very good answer when all I did was just say something which I didn't think it was relevant. At the end of the interview, my intuition said I won't get the second interview. When I came back in the evening, I realised one of the lilies actually bloomed but it was hiding.

I prayed and I prayed and I prayed. I made 2 vows.

When I woke up this morning, the lilies were at full bloom! I checked my email. Another invitation from another company. =)

In the evening, I received another good news. I actually passed the first round interview and the next round is on Monday!

I see light at the end of the tunnel. The lilies are at full bloom.

=)

Have you ever...

2006-12-06T00:09:00.000Z

Have you ever experienced this?

Your intuition tells you no, but being an optimist, you still hope. You hope that your intuition was wrong and the answer is yes.

And you start talking to yourself. You start telling yourself the answer is yes and your intuition is wrong. You tell yourself to be positive. You tell yourself that you've done your best.

I wish my intuition is wrong.

I want a positive answer. Please.

Surprise

2006-12-02T01:56:00.000Z

I don't care if this post sounds cheesy or mushy.

The boyfriend is so damn sweeeeeet!

He's flying to London tonight and back to Frankfurt on Sunday afternoon! I was in tears when he broke the news to me. It was meant to be a surprise- and he pakat-ed with the flatmate. The flatmate keeps her lips so tight- not even a single hint!

I didn't sound very cheerful when he called after 12 midnight (and he was still in the office). No, not because he's not here. It's just me- I've been under the weather for the past weeks. Anyway, he rang again when he got home, about 2am. He told me that it's ashame that we can't see each other so often because of the distance. He told me he's too busy to buy present for me. He told me how much he loves me and how he feels about this relationship. I was listening and was about to shoo him to bed because he has to get into the office by 11am on Saturday, and suddenly, he said he's flying to London tonight to spend my birthday with me!

I thought he was joking. I must have asked him the same question like, 3 times? I just could not believe my ears. I was in tears. Literally.

It's like a dream come true. I never expected him to fly all the way here because he works over the weekend and he's afraid of flying. He's very, very afraid of flying.

I'm estatic! I'm counting down the hours till we see each other again!

I love you!

二十三岁前夕

2006-12-01T02:15:00.000Z

又过了一年。

明天就二十三岁了。

一直以来，我都很喜欢庆祝生日。生日前几个星期，我就很兴奋，开始计划自己的生日要怎么过。

可是，今年不一样了。不知道为什么，一点也不觉得兴奋。反而室友比我更兴奋。她前几天就问我生日要怎么过，可是我都说不知道。哎~

嗯~ 很想哭。

二十二
离家6年了
出国4年
最后一次和家人过生日，嗯....18岁吧!
搬来伦敦后, 觉得跟以前不一样了，
学了很多东西，长大了，
嗯。。。应该比较成熟吧！

噢~ 二十二岁做的‘坏事’比以前多
最坏的....应该是不跟妈妈说就坐飞机去德国找男朋友。
回来了也不跟她说, 也不打算说。

二十二岁
生平第一次去工作面试
虽然不成功，可是累积了不少经验。

嗯~
酸甜苦辣的滋味都尝了
不过
还是很幸福啦

二十三岁，
会是怎样的呢？

凌晨3点半

2006-11-29T03:31:00.000Z

凌晨3点半, 我刚到家。妆也没卸就坐在电脑前写部落。

嗯....好像是第一次那么迟回家吧，还是自己一个人搭巴士回家。一个人在巴士站是蛮恐怖的，老实说，可是我没办法呀！还好没碰到变态的或是打劫的。不过，在等那该死的19路时，有个司机跟我打招呼，我没理他，不久，他又转回来，跟我打招呼。

前几天朋友打电话过来，要我去什么CLUB，我推了几次，她不放弃，我不好意思，就勉强的答应了。

原本八点半在某某地方见面的，可是我一个小时后才出现（CLUB九点半才开门）。：P 我以为我迟了，哪知道朋友的男朋友说，某某某还没到，那个汶来苏丹的孩子（可能是孙子吧？我不是很清楚）还没到，那个什么丹斯里的孩子还没到。我楞了一下。啊？不是吧！

进场后，我就坐在沙发上，左看看，右看看，酒也不想喝。我从进场就一直坐着，看着性感妹妹，帅哥，拉拉仔，拉拉妹跳舞，喝酒，抽烟。

华丽的舞台不吸引我。音响好大声，连说话都要用喊的。那些身么丹斯里的孩子，什么有钱人的孩子，我根本没兴趣；觉得有的人很恶心。

我还是比较喜欢在家里，或是和一群朋友在餐厅/酒吧聊天。

4点了，是时候睡觉吧。

头发好臭呀.....都是烟味！

That Weekend in Frankfurt

2006-11-28T02:27:00.000Z

Banks, Banks, Banks and more banks.

Buildings, Buildings, Buildings and more buildings.

Quiet.

Peaceful.

Kinda....intimidating.

That's what I think about Frankfurt.

I left on Friday at noon. My flight was at 4.30pm. The flight took 90 minutes but when I arrived at Frankfurt am Main, it was 9.30pm. By the time I arrived, I was so exhausted. The journey from Frankfurt Hahn to Frankfurt am Main took 2 hours. -_- The price to pay for flying with Ryan Air.

K picked me up from the bus stop and he went back to the office while I went to his flat. That poor boy only came back after midnight. While waiting for him to come home, I entertained myself with Haagen Dazs ice cream (He has 7 tubs in the fridge), CNN, BBC (Thank God for Cable!) and the magazines I brought from London.

Since he had to work over the weekend, we didn't spend much time together either. I brought my portable hard drive and watched TVB dramas and some movies while waiting for him to come back. We spent some time walking around the city and went up the Main Tower. I saw sun set! =) It wasn't as beautiful as the one I saw in Japan 7 years ago but I'm contented. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out very nice. =(

I didn't go to Frankfurt to sight see. I spent less than 40Euros. I saw so many banks and sky scrapers (man, I sound damn jakun). I did zero shopping. I can't speak German and I think my limited vocabulary is deteriorating. The only word I say is 'Danke!' But I'm not complaining. In fact, I'm happy I made this trip. A very memorable trip indeed.

Perhaps.... next weekend again, aye? =P Hopefully he won't have to spend 8 hours in the office on a Saturday!

Random

2006-11-21T15:01:00.000Z

It was sunny so I went out to top up electricity and bought my flatmate a lunch box from the Chinese Takeaway.

That was an hour and 20 minutes ago.

2 minutes ago, when I went to shut the window, I realised it rained.

And now it's sunny.

How unpredictable.

Life's like that. Unpredictable.

Home Alone

2006-11-19T19:01:00.000Z

It's cold. It's quiet. It's dark outside. I'm home alone and I'm not used to it.

The flatmate's gone to Belfast for 3 days.

The flatmate and I are not best of friends but we do spend lots of time together. We prepare dinner together, we eat dinner together and I always wash up after that. When we have dinner, we watch an episode of game show. Usually it's Kang Xi Lai Le. Few hours after dinner, she comes into my room and use my bed to do 20 sit ups because she sleeps on a blown up bed. She talks to Leo, my soft toy, in a squeaky voice which I absolutely dislike. She leaves when the boyfriend calls me. We do crosswords from London Lite and Sudoku from The London Paper. It's been like that for the past month of so and I'm used to it.

And suddenly, I'm alone.

When I go to the kitchen, I have to switch on the light in the living room. The corridor is dark. I have to switch off the boiler before I go to bed. I have to switch on the boiler when I wake up in the morning.

I don't think I'll be doing much cooking for the next couple of days.

I have to get used to staying alone.

When the routine is no longer a routine, it feels.... weird.

(Pre)Winter Blues

2006-11-14T14:01:00.000Z

I've been a hermit. I only go out when I need to, not when I want to. When I go to central, I make sure I do everything in one day because it's too troublesome to go out.

The weather is one of the factors. I hate going out wrapped up like a mummy. There's the scarf, the gloves (optional), the jacket, boots, jeans, top and sometimes, the cardigan. On top of that, I have to carry a handbag. And oh, how I can forget the brolly? All wrapped up when I get out of the flat. Then take off the scarf, gloves and sometimes the jacket when I'm on the bus or tube. Then put them on again before I get down the bus. Then take them off again when I'm in the shops. And repeat the same old procedure again. I guess you say I can choose not to take them off, aye? I wish I could. But no, unfortunately. I feel giddy because it's so stuffy.

In the shop, I have to carry the jacket and walk around. If the handbag is not big enough to keep the scarf, I have to carry it as well. Carrying the jacket, scarf and the handbag and walking around. Uhhh. And when I have to take something out of the bag, imagine the hassle.

It's time to go out to get some groceries. I don't want to eat carrots for dinner tonight.

grumblegrumblegrumblegrumblegrumble.

and it's raining out there

whinewhinewhinewhinewhinewhinewhine

Seriously...

2006-11-08T13:17:00.000Z

... If you have nothing nice to say, just shut the _ _ _ _ up.

You know what I'm doing. I don't mind if you keep quiet and not say a thing about it but for goodness sake, don't discourage me just because you did not succeed. Don't be bitter, you know.

When I told you I was a little depressed, I thought you would console me because you're my friend. But no. You added salt to the wound. So much so for being a "friend".

You know what, just keep quiet.
Because I'm too tired to be your Ms Yes.
Because I damn sien already ok.

Palma

2006-11-04T00:35:00.000Z

The cathedral..

We rented a car and drove to Palma, the capital of Majorca, on the third day. The weather in Cala Millor was so bad. There were no boat trips, no swimming allowed in the sea and of course, no sun bathing. After arguing for some time (because I just couldn't make decisions, damn it!) we just decided to rent a car and drove to Palma.

It was pretty easy to drive to Palma as road signs were clear. The journey took about an hour. But on the way home, it wasn't that easy. We stopped several times to ask for directions. People were friendly and we got to Cala Millor safely, and most importantly, on time. I never thought I'd go on a road trip, albeit a short one. =)

There are more things to see and do in Palma but the beaches are not as nice as the one in Cala Millor/Cala Bona. The Islamic influence is quite prominent in Palma. The Cathedral looks very promising but we didn't have enough time to explore the city as we had to return the car by 8pm. The only cathedral picture was taken when I was in the car. -_-

Next up: Barcelona! =)

Cala Bona/ Cala Millor Part II

2006-11-01T23:18:00.000Z

More pictures from Cala Bona and Cala Millor

Typical Breakfast at the Balcony- Baguette, Chorizo, Cheese, Butter and Jam
Night view

Tea Time. Cake, iced coffee and Gelato (Hazelnut, Ferrero Roche and Strawberry)
The rough sea
Pretty =)

Tonight...

2006-11-01T23:08:00.000Z

... I cooked Bak Kut Teh for dinner.

It was the best Bak Kut Teh I've ever cooked because the herbs I brought from home were fantastic. The pork ribs were so soft after I boiled them for hours. The BKT was almost as good as Mum's.

BUT
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

I forgotten to take pictures of the dinner.

-_-

and too bad that this is my one and only packet of herbs I brought from home.

Cala Millor/Cala Bona

2006-11-01T02:11:00.000Z

This is my very first attempt to post a series of posts about my holiday.

Gatwick Express @ Victoria Station

Our first destination was Majorca. We left Gatwick airport at the ungodly hour of 6.50am. We left home at 2am to get to Victoria Station to catch the Gatwick Express on Sunday night. -_-

Palma Airport carpark

This time, we flew with British Airways. I have no complains because I was busy sleeping. The breakfast was your typical English breakfast- sausage, omelette, soggy bacon (I hate my bacon soggy) and potatoes. Hey, it was pretty good actually. Airplane food gives me nightmares.

We arrived at Palma airport 2 hours later. We booked a shuttle bus (which turned out to be a Mercedes!!) to the Aparthotel in Cala Millor. The journey took an hour and I busy catching up on my sleep in the car.

The Aparthotel

The Aparthotel was nice. There was a large living room complete with cooking facilities, a balcony, a bedroom and a bathroom. The Aparthotel is between two beaches- Cala Millor, the nicer beach, and Cala Bona, the not-so-nice beach. :P We spent most of the time at Cala Millor, obviously.

Cala Bona

We spent 4 days in Cala Millor and Cala Bona, lazing around, getting tanned and enjoying the sun. We spent the evenings hunting for food in the city centre, wasting money on arcade games, walking around aimlessly, eating ice creams and cycling. There's nothing much to do in Cala Millor, really. That's why retired Germans migrate there.

In between Cala Millor and Cala Bona

Cala Millor

...tbc

================================================================
!@#$%^&*( Blogger can be a pain sometimes. Want to upload extra pictures also cannot! hmph!

More to come- lah!

Dear God

2006-10-30T15:30:00.000Z

... PLEASE PERFORM A MIRACLE ON THIS POOR SOUL.

THANK YOU!

I have the word 'DESPERADO' tattooed on my forehead.
I need a job desperately.
I'm sick of filling in application forms.

I KNOW YOU HEAR ME. PERFORM A MIRACLE. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

It Must Be The Weather

2006-10-30T11:07:00.000Z

I'm nursing a cold. The nose is blocked and I cough occassionally when the throat gets itchy. Urgh.

I thought Beecham Flu-plus Caplets would be my magic pills but looks like it doesn't help much. It took my sore throat away though. The boy left me some Vitamin C and Magnesium sachet and I took it last night. Not much help either. SIGH!

It's been 6 days. This blocked nose thingie is annoying me.

Time for another Strepsils.

Being Alone

2006-10-28T00:32:00.000+01:00

I'm a little depressed today.

The boy's gone. For 7 weeks, at least. If we're lucky, we'll see each other soon but it all depends on his work load. How will his schedule be? Time will tell. We all know that investment bankers have crazy working hours. He might even need to work on weekends.

We started talking about this in Barcelona. Needless to say, I shed tears. On the Gatwick Express, I fought hard to stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. Last night before I went to bed, I cried again. This morning, I was so quiet. I wasn't the monkey girl who annoyed him. When he wanted to pinch my nose, I didn't give him my usual reaction. Tears started rolling down my cheeks about 10 minutes before he went into the boarding gate.

And now, he's gone. For the third time.

I walked out of the airport alone. Took the train alone. Took the tube alone. Walked on the streets alone. It felt weird. Something was missing.

Nick is right. I've grown to be dependant on him. How can I not? We see each other everyday. For the past 10 days, we spent, on average, 23 hours a day with each other. That's at least 230 hours together. I wish I could freeze the time in Majorca and Barcelona.

I could fly over to spend weekends with him. Ryan Air has cheap flights. BA and Lufthansa have attractive offers now. Frankfurt is only an hour away. But... The last thing I want to do is to burden him. I can't speak German. I can't even strike a conversation. I can tell you what I know: 1-10, in 10 minutes, 104.6RTL and of course, the cheesy words. He might need to work on weekends. I don't want him to feel guilty for working and not spending time with me. I don't want to go over on weekends and see only see him for few hours a day and spend the rest of the time shopping/sight-seeing/cleaning the house. I guess it's too early to tell if I should fly over on weekends.

7 weeks. Seven long weeks. I know I will survive. We've done 2.5 weeks. We've done 3 weeks. I just need some time to get used to being alone again.

I'm looking forward to the 22 December... or maybe earlier.

Here's a picture of Juliet the Orange (from Juliet) and Leo (from him, because he's a Leo)

The Virgin MeMe

2006-10-27T22:28:00.000+01:00

I'm a little depressed today. Thank you for dropping by and cheering me up.

I'm still drafting a post. The holiday post will have to wait. Anyway... I was tagged by Ken (for the first time!) so here it is (I know, Ken, it was a loooong time ago)

4 things many don't know:
- I must sleep with a duvet or blanket. Something must cover my body.
- I love doing Crosswords and Puzzels :P
- I stopped reading Marie Claire/Glamour since about 2 years ago after I realised they have more ads than articles.
- I actually have 'shopping mood'. I don't shop ALL the time.

4 movies i could watch over and over
- The Notebook
- A Lot Like Love
- You, Me & Dupree
- Phantom of the Opera

4 places i have lived
- Kota Bharu
- Mantin, Negri Sembilan
- Kobe, Japan
- Bangor, North Wales

4 tv shows I love
- The F Word!
- Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
- X Factor
- How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

4 places i've been for vacation
- Spain (Barcelona/Majorca)
- Scotland (Glasgow/ Edinburgh)
- Gold Coast, Australia
- Italy (Florence/Rome/Pisa)

4 of my favourite food:
- Fok Keen Meen
- Nasi Kerabu biru and kuning
- Heng Hua noodles
- Nasi Ulam

4 places i would rather be:
- Home
- Barcelona
- Frankfurt
- Kobe, visiting my host parents

4 favourite songs:
- Tonight I Want To Cry by Keith Urban
- Time after time by Cindy Lauper
- You Belong To Me by Jason Wade
- A Love That Will Last by Renee Olstead

4 persons tagged:
Nicholassssssss
The Babe
Mr Smith! (I don't know your blog add yet!)
Vi Jan/ YK (Where are you guys??)

Tadaima!

2006-10-25T18:23:00.000+01:00

That's what the Japanese say when they arrive home, no?

Hola!!

I'm back from Majorca/Mallorca and Barcelona. The weather was always above 20'C. It was so nice.

Needless to say, I had a fabulous time.

I am tanned and fat. My face is as round as a bola. I'm too chicken to stand on the weighing scale. I ate too much gelato, I shopped too little but I'm broke. I had to 'earn' my shopping time and managed to 'save up unused shopping credits'. :P

Time to go on a diet.

Sun. Sea. Sand. Sun bathing. Laughters. Fun. Arguments. Tears. Hugs. Kisses. Good food. Crap food. Fantastic Gelatos. Free Paella. Tapas. Extremely fresh king prawns. Best pizza. Excellent Bruchetta. No phone calls. No e-mails(Alright, I checked once. Just once!). No Blogging.... for 10 days.

And I'm looking forward to the next trip. Hopefully. Fingers crossed.
Thanks Mom!

Green is the Colour and Pictures

2006-10-14T20:26:00.000+01:00

I saw the second red light when I was home. But few days later, my Mom changed her mind and gave me the green light. Finally!

I'm off to the sun, sea and sand... for 10 days!

Till then!!

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. =)

The new house
The dining area and the entrance to the second bedroom
The living area where we have lunch and watch 'Yi Nan Wang'
The badminton Court
The bridge

An Update

2006-10-12T22:52:00.000+01:00

I'm in the mood to blog tonight but I'm not gonna write much.

When I was home, my mom got a makcik to massage for her. Incidentally, my dad's friend just arrived from Londonderry that afternoon so he had a massage session as well. In the evening, I had to send my dad's friend to his sister's house and the makcik home. In the car, the makcik asked what was in the plastic bag. My dad's friend had brought a packet of oats into the car and left the bag at the back seat. He asked me 'How do you say porridge in Malay ah?'

Oooops. I didn't know. I was thinking.. and thinking.. and thinking... and guess what I said...

'Nasi air orang putih'.

To which the makcik replied 'Kalau bukan orang putih, tak boleh makan lah?'

=P

*porridge is oat boiled in water, milk or both.

2006-10-09T23:38:00.000+01:00

too lazy to blog......

see you soon...

Jetlagged

2006-10-05T20:02:00.000+01:00

8pm UK time. 3am Malaysia time.

No wonder I'm so sleepy.

I'll be in bed around 10pm.

I'm starving.

Dinner is ready. Brb!

A Quick Hello From Dubai Airport

2006-10-05T03:42:00.000+01:00

I'm in Dubai airport. I'm in the electronic shop, using the laptop and wireless internet provided.

The flight was so bumpy. 3 hours after I arrived at the airport, my head is still aching. I hate Airbus330-200.

Food was bad. The snack was alright but the Roti Jala breakfast was bad. I had few mouthfuls and closed the lid.

There's not much to do in this airport. I don't think stuff are really cheap here. A Tag Heuer Alter Ego is about RM4K. A Rolex watch is about RM20K. I think stuff are cheaper back home.

Time to exercise my feet again... for another 3 hours.

Till then

i miss

2006-09-19T19:54:00.000+01:00

I can't deny the fact that I love being at home. The attentions I get are great, though they can be annoying some times. I get whatever I want, whatever I want to eat and I don't have to lift a finger in the house, except washing the dishes sometimes. I get to make some decisions. Mom offered me a trip to Bangkok and a shopping trip in KL but I declined. (because I just want to be a hermit for the next couple of weeks) The only thing I have to do is chaffeur everyone here and there.

I have been extremely busy and hardly have time for myself. Tonight is the first time I sit down and spend time by myself after so many days. Just me, myself and I. I sacrifice my sleep because I need some 'alone time'.

I still miss London. My day is incomplete without a cuppa tea in the morning. I brought a box of English Breakfast tea home because I'm not sure if like Lipton/Boh tea. I miss my skimmed and semi-skimmed milk. HL milk doesn't go well with my tea. I'm not sure about Anlene though. I miss making fresh salad for lunch or dinner. I miss shopping for groceries for 1.5 hours in Sainsbury's. I miss my freedom.

and i miss you too. i miss having meals with you. i miss walking around london for 3 hours. i miss spending time in the park with you. Tonight I realise that I actually miss you more than I thought.

Very soon, I will leave home and I will miss everything at home. My family, my relatives, my nieces, my kakak, my friends, family reunions, the new house, the old house, the attentions, the mother and daughter chats.

You see, I'm always missing something/someone.

Home

2006-09-19T05:52:00.000+01:00

If you're expecting pictures I'm sorry I have to disappoint you. I have yet to upload pictures on my Mom's pc. I forgotten my adapter so I avoid using my laptop. I'm such a doink!

Anyway, I went to visit my neighbour, "mah mah" yesterday morning. When mah mah saw us, she hugged Mom and she cried. She can still recognise me when she saw me and when she held my hands, she cried. Mom and I cried too. My heart ached when I saw mah mah bed ridden. She's been hospitalised for a couple of weeks and we only found out yesterday. She could hardly talk because of stroke but I could vaguely understand her. Mom gave her a red packet before we left but mah mah refused to take it. Mom said it's for good luck so we left it under her pillow. She cried again before we left. It was heart breaking.

Mah mah saw me growing up. When I was young, I always shouted "Mah mah" from my Mom's window and she would say hello to me. In the evening, mah mah used to walk around her little garden and I visited her occassionally. She has always been very kind. Before I left for UK, I went over to tell mah mah and the next day, she came over to my house and gave me a red packet. The following year, mah mah was healthy but 2 years later, she was down with stroke but it wasn't very serious. This year, it's very hard to accept the fact that mah mah is bed ridden. I couldn't recognise her at all because she has lost so much weight.

I want to visit her again but I can't. I know I'll cry when I see her. It's too painful to see her in this condition. I will probably visit her again when before I leave.

I can't do much. All I can do is pray for her and hope she gets better soon.

Sunday Morning

2006-09-17T00:37:00.000+01:00

I still have lots of free time in my hands as my parents are only reaching home tonight.

I don't think I have anymore jetlag. By 12 midnight, I was already on my way to dreamland.

When you people are still lazing in bed at this hour (it's 7.39am), I've already came back from sending my annoying brother and my neighbours to school. We Kelantanese work on Sunday and weekend is Fri and Saturday. =) I was thinking of having my usual tea and biscuit for breakfast but I'm going to skip it for today. My stomach is calling for greasy, fattening, high carbo chinese breakfast. I have no idea what I want to have for breakfast: chee cheong fun? Char kuay teow? Bak kut teh? Nasi berlauk? Nasi dagang? I'll just ask my sis to choose. Another 45 minutes till that girl wakes up so my stomach will have to wait.

*******************************************

I went to collect my luggage last night. The flight delayed for about an hour. I was so shocked when I saw my luggage. They bloody ransacked my luggage. The zipper is gone. Lock and the combo lock are gone too. Thankfully, nothing is missing. But still... HOW CAN THEY OPEN UP MY LUGGAGE LIKE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! It took me so long to file a report. The custom officer didn't allow my brother to follow me into the arrival hall to pick up my luggage. I didn't have my mobile with me. My sister and cousins were at the restaurant waiting for us. The poor boy was so worried. He said he asked the officer what was happening but was shooed away. Idiot.

My sis is flying off this evening. I'll send her to the airport and send my lugggage to KL. They better repair it or replace a brand new luggage. The whole process better take less than 2 weeks or else I will REALLY make a big fuss. First they lose my luggage and made my family and I worried for 20 hours. Then they broke the luggage and ransacked it.

Bloody Emirates. Seriously. This will probably be my last time flying with them.

Good News!

2006-09-16T10:44:00.001+01:00

They found my luggage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's on the 6.25pm flight to KB and I'll pick it up at the airport!

Thank God!!!!

Phewwwwwwwwww!!

Home

2006-09-16T04:15:00.000+01:00

I'm home. Finally... but without the luggage. :(

My parents left for KL to attend an important function so we met briefly at the arrival hall before they boarded the next flight. Dad looks slightly older. Mum is still the same.

My cousin and my brother came to the airport as well. I didn't sleep the whole night and only managed to catch a few winks on the aeroplane. I was so sleep deprived that food didn't matter anymore but my cousin insisted that we had breakfast first. In the car, I was so excited to see my brother and I became so hyperactive. We went to White House, a local chinese style Kopitiam. It was full and there weren't enough staffs. I had an half boiled egg, a spoonful of nasi dagang and few pieces of roti kawin. Roti kawin means bread with butter and kaya (coconut jam). This kopitiam serves the best kaya, in my opinion. I made a mental note to take pictures of the food before eating but I forgotten. After my breakfast, I yelled "Oh no! Forgot to take pictures!"

We went home for an hour or so before coming to the new house. The new house is beautiful! Mum has definitely put in a lot of effort in decorating the house. It's so English, minus the fireplace, of course. There's a patio in the backyard. There's also a badminton court! Brilliant! I'm so amazed!!! Pictures to follow soon. My camera is in the luggage and I'm charging my parent's new toy, their very first digicam.

My Kakak has lovingly prepared Nasi Lemak for lunch. Even my brother, who is a fussy eater, says Kakak cooks the best Nasi Lemak. My Mum's friend ordered some Roti Jala and will bring them for lunch. As today is my sister's birthday, we booked a table at a restaurant, just the 3 siblings and 2 cousins.

From the moment I set foot in KB, my eating journey begins (and so must my exercise regime!)

Arrived

2006-09-15T22:31:00.000+01:00

I'm in Nilai at the moment. Flight to KB is in 2 hours.

I'm awake. Very awake. I'm hungry. Very hungry. I'm very worried too.

My checked-in luggage is lost in the air. I have zilch idea where it is now. I have no clothes, no clean underwears, no contact lenses. I only have my laptop with me but I left the adapter in London- damn smart! I managed to sneak a tube of tooth paste and a tube of lip balm. I called up the airport twice but I was told to give them 24 hours. TWENTY FOUR BLOODY HOURS!

The flight to Dubai and to KL delayed. The flight to Dubai was very nice- it was a Boeing 777- but the service did not live up to its standard. Food was pretty decent. I gobbled up everything because I was too hungry. I hardly ate anything before the flight. Dinner was served at 11pm. After spending about 2 hours in Dubai Airport, I boarded an Airbus 342 (I think). For the first time in 17 years, I felt like puking on the aeroplane. The first time I puked was when I was 6, on the way to Europe. Mommy said blame it on the Macaroni and cheese. Anyway, service wise, it was way better than the previous flight. The food was bad though. The crews were friendlier and more attentive. I was lucky that the seats next to me were empty during both flights.

It sucks to arrive without my luggage. I'm still waiting PATIENTLY till my luggage arrives. My patience is running thin. 8 hours and counting.

I'm keeping both fingers and toes crossed that my luggage will arrive at my doorstep tomorrow morning. I hope you're keeping your fingers and toes crossed for me too. Thank you =)

Au Revoir

2006-09-12T19:48:00.001+01:00

Day After tomorrow this time, I will be at the departure hall waiting to board my flight. An hour later, I will be on the flight to Dubai. At 2115Malaysian time (1415 UK time) I will set foot in KLIA and will see my lovely (Oh so cliche but can't help it) sister.

The packing started more than a week ago. I put things that I want to bring home in my big suitcase. Today, I started arranging everything. I have more things to bring home than expected (What's new?). My aim is to bring home as little things as possible but as I sat down and started arranging everything, the suitcase filled up so quickly. I was at the verge of tearing my hair. It doesn't help that I cannot bring any hand luggage on board other than my laptop. I can foresee myself arriving in KLIA with stinking breath because I can't bring toothpaste in my hand carry.

Looks like I'm spending tomorrow rearranging my stuff again!

Í don't think I'll blog very often at home. Too many things to do, too many people to visit, too many errands to run. I'll TRY to take pictures of home cooked food. =)

I called my nieces the other day. They are such darlings, I tell you! I was telling Niece #2 that I'll arrive KB on Saturday morning and would give her a ring in the afternoon if I'm not too tired. She asked what time I'll call but I said I don't know. She said this: I'll wait in Mommy's room until you call. When the phone rings I will quickly pick up! Tell me, how can you not love her?

I can't wait to see them already!

I called kakak one day and told her I want home-cooked nasi lemak for lunch on Saturday. Yum Yum!

It's 8pm. 48 hours and 30 minutes to go.

Edit:
I'm such a doink lah! I'm only flying on Thursday and I wrote this on Tuesday.

Kitchen Disaster

2006-09-07T18:42:00.000+01:00

Let me tell you that my culinary skills have gone down the drain.

I don't think I can cook a decent meal anymore.

Few weeks ago, my beef stew turned out to be perfect and I was so proud of myself. Today, I was feeling domesticated so I told the boy I'll cook him dinner.

I started cooking around 4 and everything was perfect until I transferred the beef into a pot. (I was using a non-stick pan previously) I left the pot on slow heat and came to the living room to use the internet.

I don't know how long I left the pot unattended. When I decided to check on the stew, disaster struck. I knew I burnt the dinner. I quickly transferred the un-burnt stew into the pan and tasted it. Shoot. It tasted pretty er... burnt. D'uh.

I took out everything I could find in the kitchen- Lea and Perrins, English mustard, soy sauce, salt, balsamic vinegar, pepper, mixed herbs and milk and added into the pan, hoping to 'cover' the burnt taste. The mustard did a pretty good job but it leaves a very strong 'mustardy' taste. -_-

So on the menu tonight: salvaged burnt beef stew, chocolate cheesecake and chocolate coated strawberries.

The boy better like mustard or I'll have order takeaway. Or... he can skip the main course and have chocolate cheesecake and chocolate coated strawberries for dinner. :P

Unblock the Writer's Block

2006-09-07T18:28:00.000+01:00

I'm back.

I went to Northern Ireland on Monday morning and came back on Tuesday evening. For the first time in my life, I stayed at home throughout the 2 days and only went out to the local store to get 2 copies of newspapers for Nana on Tuesday morning because her feet were sore. No, I'm not complaining.

It's been 2 years and 8 months since I set foot in Coleraine and Tobermore. The last time I visited Brian and Nana was 2 Christmas ago. 2 years later, so much have changed.

Nana is very forgetful. Every now and then, she would repeat herself. Every now and then, she looked at me and asked "What day is it today, Pet?". She told me her cooker is not working at least 5 times in a day. She kept on forgetting I live in London. She thought I was living in Belfast on Monday night. But she never forgotten about Daddy. She was telling me about the good old times when Daddy was in NI. Nana is still wearing the gold chain Daddy gave her some 20 over years ago.

Can't believe I'm flying off next Thursday. Part of me wants to go... and part of me doesn't want to.

WHY?

2006-09-01T16:00:00.000+01:00

Why do certain people take my jokes so seriously?

Why do they think I go out with an ang moh with an intention?

Why do they always, ALWAYS, have to say 'Good lah, now you have ang moh boyfriend, can stay back here already'?

Why do they have to say 'Good lah, get married to him faster lah?'

Seriously, W.H.A.T T.H.E. F???

I'm so sick of explaining and I don't intend to explain to them anymore. I'm sick. Bloody sick. Say whatever you want. I'm done ranting. The next time anyone says the same thing to me I'm just gonna tell that person off. Period.