Copenhagen

Isn't it beautiful? Copenhagen really reminds me of a cleaner, less seedy version of Amsterdam. No, we didn't see Princess Mary (although we did make effort to find out where she lives - 4km outside of Copenhagen. Far enough to keep the weirdo Aussies from stalking her). Hans Christian Andersen lived along the canal pictured above, to the left :)

Giant ice-cream cones anyone?

No? How about some yummy "roses of the prophet" pastries then? :)
Alright, alright, enough about food. Here's a snapshot of danish attractions:

Niffies & Niall (Take 2)

Some people, not only do they demand to be on my blog, they insist on having veto rights too if they don't like what I post ;) I hope this meets your approval Niffs!

Oh Kermy!!! :D

Saw these on Neal Street at Convent Garden. I sooooo want a pair! Maybe I should startup a PayPal account so you guys can fund my shopping *grin*

Borough Markets

This is on my list of must see places while in London. I went for the first time on Saturday.

I tried the pork burger and the chicken burger, but couldn't make myself try the venison burger after I saw this:

I know, I know, there's nothing nice about the way animals are slaughtered for their tasty meat. It's justs a little off putting seeing Bambi without its head or limbs :/

And I really wish I bought some truffle salami now. The sample was soo yummy... The markets were great! There was such a buzzy feel about it, with loads of food to try everywhere. I'm sorry I keep talking about food in my blog, but if I don't eat I tend to get grumpy :P The sight of fresh fruit, veg and quality meat made me happy. Now I know where to go for groceries.

Babsy & Mike

Yeah, I don't know what she sees in him either ;) And I even adjusted the colour to make Mike look less pale! *big grin*

Should I, shouldn't I?

So I was sipping on my organic hazelnut mocha at a funky cafe, flipping through a copy of Metro, when I spotted this:
That's right, a four fiddy quid haircut at Vidal Sassoon! Well, at their hairdressing school anyway. It's not the first time I've thought about it. B and I were approached by Toni & Guy apprentices a few weeks ago to get free haircuts. I think in the end we both chickened out because the T&G girl wanted to give us bobs.

When I got home, I did some more research on Vidal Sassoon and what people had to say about haircuts at their school. Hrm, they didn't get bad reviews... And I can handle a sore bum from sitting for 4 hours... If it meant I got a great haircut. The question is, should I wait till after I get a job before I try something like this? I'm just worried I'm going to look like a freak at future job interviews...

It's not all fun and games...

So, today marks my one month anniversary arriving in Rondon. If you've been following my blog, it seems like I've been living the high (or at least, fun) life. Well, there's two sides to every story. Here's what my usual day has been like for the past week and a half:

* Wake up 830-9am.
* Shower, moisturise moisturise moisturise. Aaargh, my skin! I feel like a molting alien. I'm flaking!
* Hop online, search for "london business analyst" on multiple job sites.
* Apply apply apply.
* Wait for a response.
* Answer totally irrelevant phone call from random agent.

Not very exciting, eh? What makes the whole process even more painful is having to deal with recruitment agents. I thought the ones in Sydney were bad, the ones in London seem even worse. I've figured out that the London agents don't really work on Fridays (they're probably at the pub), or on Mondays (they're probably recovering from the weekend). There aren't really any new ads on either of those days. The calls I get are a bit suspicious. The agents take my details (which they should already have based on my applications), then end the conversation with, "I'll pass your cv onto my colleague", or, "There's a few business analyst roles coming up in a couple of weeks, I'll call you back". What's the point? The other day, I was halfway setting up an interview for Friday with one agent, and the line cuts off. Cue screams of, "NOOOoooo, call me back! Call me back!!!" Does the agent call me back?

No.

*Grrrr* All agents have a "Withheld" or "Unknown" number which doesn't show up on caller ID. Convenient eh?

Anyways, I've always wanted to ask my friends (that would be you guys), what job do you think I would be good at? :) Forget IT! Do you think I should be an event organiser? Or a cafe barista? Or a hostess at a fancy restaurant?

It's not all grumpiness from me. I think what makes Rondon more bearable for me atm is the time I get to spend with friends I haven't seen for a long time. Resuming the weekly ketchups I use to have with Babsy and Niffs has cheered me up a lot :) Thanks gals!

Happy Birthday Des!

High Tea @ Savoy

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Originally uploaded by risque.

I love having great friends who treat me to nice things *grin* Unlimited cakes, sandwiches, scones and of course, tea! Thanks for a fab Sunday afternoon Karene!

I might be a bit on the tubby side by the time I come home to Sydney. All I seem to do is eat here...

Keeping in touch

Boys and girls, I've only recently realised that you have to have a blogger account if you want to comment on my blog. I know registering for these things is a pain in the arse. So I've created a generic login for ppl who want to comment without going through the hassle.

username: mis0
password: blogger

Remember to leave your name at the end of the comment though! *Muah*

Also, please drop me an email when you're free. I'd love to hear from you :)

Bus 98 will be the death of me...

... but more on that later.

I absolutely luuuurve clubbing in London! OMG! It was a fantastic night at Turnmills, listening to Eddie Halliwell. B had the great idea of us becoming Turnmill members. Best 25 quid I've spent soo far! We got there, and were escorted to the head of the line! Everyone in the club was soo unbelievably nice! If people stepped on your foot, they apologised! *Shock* People offered us water! People chatted to me outside while I was waiting for B. I even got a free challenge on an arcade game :) I don't know what it is about clubbing here, but I was just soo pleasantly surprised by how nice people were. You never get the friendly attitude at Sydney clubs :(

I also never got the pick-up lines in Sydney clubs :) Hehe. Maybe because I was always surrounded by three giant Kiwis :) I miss having those boys around me while I dance. So, worse lines for tonite?

"You have some great moves. Are you a student?" - This came from a chubba flailing his glowsticks at me. He also kept yelling in my ear. Very annoying. His, "Are you a student," call confirms my suspicions that I still look 20 though. I think the bouncer at the door couldn't believe my age either, he kept looking at my card.

"How are you doing? I like you" - He was foreign, I think that's all he knew how to say.

So, 4am, we leave the club. Got back to Oxford Street. B and I parted ways. I jumped on the 98 bus. This is the second time I've jumped on this bus. This is also the second time it's taken me the wrong direction!!! *Arrrgh* I think my bus number is actually 94. But for some reason, I just see a "9" and jump on :( Sooo, the bus turned off Bayswater Road, onto Edgeware, I'm thinking, maybe it'll hook back and head towards Notting Hill. Nope. It's at Paddington and heading towards Kilburn!!! So off I get, and walk back towards Bayswater Road. Eventually I tire of it, and catch a black cab back home. It's now 530am. I should've been home ages ago...

I MUST NOT CATCH BUS NO 98 ANYMORE!

Here are some lousy club pix :) It's too dark to take any good ones. Btw, a solution to the nasty topless guy problem! Make the club well ventilated and airconditioned! It was cold enough for everyone to keep their shirts on at Turnmills :D I was very happy about that!

Sun's out!

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Originally uploaded by risque.

It's a bit odd. Instead of hitting the beach, the Brits hit the parks at the slightest sight of sunshine... Not a bbq in sight though.

Edit 13/05/2006: I spoke too soon. That evening it absolutely rained on me. The tube line was closed, and I had to meet my friends for dinner. Tried to catch a bus, but the buses were packed and weren't stopping. Tried to catch a cab, no luck either. So I walked for half an hour in the rain to get to the restaurant. Geez, I thought Sydney was bad at handling rainy weather...

Ula & Wilco

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Originally uploaded by risque.

Meet my fave Dutch couple :) After being traumatised by wedding dresses and apartment cleaning, I was rewarded with a day trip to Brugge in Belgium for chocolate and mussels!

Congratulations to the kids for their upcoming wedding next year! I'll miss you guys when you leave :( Thanks for always looking after me and taking me around when I visited *knuf* I'll see you soon at Sensation White in July! :D

Handy Dutch words I've picked up over the years:
Lekker kontje - Nice butt
Bitterballen - Dutch meatballs
Kaas - Cheese
Bedankt - Thank you
Helaas pinderkas - What a shame peanut butter
Eet smaglijk - Enjoy your meal

Tulips!

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Originally uploaded by risque.

I finally made it to the Netherlands at the right time. This shot actually turned out better than I expected. Then again, I did touch it up with iPhoto too :P

Spring is great in Europe! Everything was blooming around me.

Clubbing in Berlin

I love clubbing! I think dancing in clubs is about the only exercise I get these days. Great music provided by Paul van Dyk. Great company provided by B :)





What truly utterly sucks though, no matter where you're clubbing around the globe, are the fcking sweaty idiots who take their tops off. I don't get it. Yes, it's hot, but you don't see me taking my top off and then rubbing my sweat onto other people. Just bumping into those topless idiots is enough to make me shudder. Grrrrrrr... The worst offenders are the steroid injected beefcakes. A curse on those beefcakes! May you get a skin rash which requires you to keep your shirt on! Does any girl out there really fancy those types? Then comes the hairy pot bellied fool who thinks he has the body of a beefcake and follows suit... *Argh* Think of hygiene people!

Holocaust Memorial

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Originally uploaded by risque.

The memorial opened in Berlin in 2005, and is a tribute to the murdered Jews of Europe. It was designed by Peter Eisenman, and is made up of 2,711 concrete slabs positioned on a sloping hill. Each slab varies in height from 0.2-4.8 metres. There's no relevance attached to the figure 2,711. Eisenman has refused to comment on the artistic meaning of the memorial, leaving the public to come up with their own interpretation.

The first time I saw the memorial, I thought it looked like a bunch of gravestones. However, having walked through it a few times, my thoughts changed. Its meaning grows on you. As I walked along, I looked up, and saw bright blue sky. However, the bright blue sky is abruptly interrupted by sharp concrete edges which make you feel trapped...

The concrete slabs have been chemically treated to be grafitti resistant. Ironically, when the slabs were first being treated, nobody realised that the company treating the slabs, was the same company that supplied the Zyklon B gas to concentration camps during the war. Once the company realised this, they pulled out from the project. It is estimated that six million Jews were killed during the war.

"That was only a prelude; where they burn books, they ultimately burn people"
- Heinrich Heine 1820

In 1933, professors and students burnt 20,000 books at Bebelplatz, infront of Humboldt University. Eerily enough, Heinrich Heine was a 19th century German poet who predicted things to come. His books were amongst the ones destroyed.

This is the statement at the front of the crematarium memorial at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Sachsenhausen was the model camp that Auschwitz and Dachau were based on.

Errr, I'm suppose to be in London...

... But I've already spent more time outside the city than in it :) Sorry for the lack of blogging. I was in Berlin from the 26th till the 30th of April. Got back to London, and then flew off to Amsterdam on the 2nd of May to spend a week with my bestest Dutchies, Ula and Wilco. Wow, it's tough being unemployed ;) My Berlin pix are up:

20060426 - Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Pergamon Museum, Sony Center, Prater Garten (Berlin's oldest beer garden)
20060427 - Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Queen Nefertiti, Radisson Hotel
20060428 - Bradenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Bebelplatz (book burning site)

Then I ran out of battery for my camera, and I had the wrong adapter with me :P So no clubbing fotos until I steal them from B!