Speakers' corner

Dad: "I was going to speak at Speakers' Corner, but there was a looong queue. Didn't have time to wait because I had to meet you."
Me: "That's ok Dad, I'll book you a slot for next weekend."

It was quite a surprise when we got out of high tea around 6pm, and Speakers' Corner at Hyde Park was still going strong. I've always wanted to hear the ranters :) Public speaking is not my best ability. In fact, I had to do a presentation last week to a whole bunch of HR people. I swear, I could hear crickets scratching at the end of it :P So I was impressed to see such a large crowd gather to hear what a total random stranger had to say.

That is... until I realised, I couldn't understand a word of what was being said :P Strangely, the ones drawing a crowd were speaking in Arabic. I asked someone for a translation, and was told, "This man is from Egypt. He is saying, Egypt is the best country. Better than all the other Arabic countries". Hrm. Fairly mundane topic, but I guess that would explain why there were a lot of Arabic men arguing with him. I was hoping for something a little more controversial, like about the conflicts in Iran or Iraq.

The only English speaker I could hear, was ranting about Jesus. What's new eh?

So, kinda disappointed by Speakers' Corner, but at least now I can mark it as "done" on my Rondon to-do list.

Heritage

One of the positive things that have come out of my parents' visit, is the tidbits of info I get fed about my family history. My grandma has two names. My grandma's brother had three wives, two of whom were jealous of my grandma. My grandpa's brother cheated the family with dealings on the chicken farm. My Dad sold eggs from the chicken farm. My Dad was born in a hut. My great-grandpa owned a small grocer shop but was stingy. Everything was lost during the war. Great-grandpa was an opium addict. My grandma pawned her jewellery to afford food for the family. My grandma caned anyone who slept in past 8am. My grandpa caned anyone who didn't do well at school.

Different times.

I love my parents, and I love having them here, and we joke lots (loudly, in Chinese, mainly about our bowel movements, the Pope, and the Queen). However, at the same time, they're driving me nuts :P NUTS, I tell you, NUTS. Yet, I look at them, and realise that so much of who I am comes from who they are, and how they've been brought up. So if you don't like anything about me, you know who to blame ;)

I think a lot about what sort of person my niece will grow up to be. Sadly, I don't think she'll get the same exposure to my culture and heritage. Not saying I'm an expert on all things oriental, if anything I feel like I've missed out on a lot. But at least I had a chance to experience some of it growing up - temple visits, ancestry worship, gods & goddesses 101, oriental festivals... It'll be interesting to see the next generation of my clan grow up anyway.

Different times.

Cheating

From this:
(Turnmills membership photo 2006)

To this:
(Simpsonize Me)

Hehehe... So ok, the original pic of me is a year old. I found myself adjusting and picking features until I looked like how I wanted to look, and not necessarily like how I look like right now *sigh* It's a little soul crushing that it's possible for me to look hotter in a 2D cartoon than in real life :P

Maybe I should add a barrel to my wardrobe...

Thanks Lil, for the Friday link!

Size queen

I don't get it. Pretty it may be, but do I really want to watch "two movies back-to-back" on a 2-inch screen? :/ I'm squinty enough as an oriental...

I'll stick to my 15.4 inch MBP display :P

Guess how much?

I hate having cravings. Especially expensive ones. Guess how much these 6 teeny weeny pieces of salmon and tuna sashimi set me back:

£10.30

YUP. 10+ squids. I couldn't help but convert to Aussie dollars. That's about AU$25. For AU$25, I could have a fcking feast at Makoto sushi train in Sydnery with my cuz. It'd be a lot better too. Don't get me wrong, Japan Centre's Toku restaurant is great. It's as close as I'm going to get to decent Jap without going one level up to fine dining. Only, it's so dang expensive for what you get. I also ordered Umeshu (5 squids for 50ml!) and green tea ice-cream (stingy 1 scoop given only). Total of bill would've been about 20 squids IF I didn't have some discount card stamps with me. I still ended up paying about 12 squids. Dang it. It really bothers me. I don't understand why good Japanese is so hard to find here. Gawd I miss Ichi-ban Boshi. MMmm, unagi zara... *lustful sigh*

MEN

Apparently, when guys are 20-something, all they can think about is sex. A short skirt and tights, that's all it takes. All they want to do is, have sex. So that's why it's ok for 20-something year old guys to cheat. Because at that age, guys just want to have sex. It doesn't mean anything when they cheat, cause it's _just_ sex. Then suddenly, when a guy hits 30-something, all they want is long term commitment. So cheating isn't ok anymore. One day it's fine to cheat, the next day it's against his principles.

MEN :P

It's NEVER ok to cheat!! IMHO :P Yer can look, but just make sure you know which beehive to get your honey from. Is that a bad analogy? :) I swear, the number of times I've had guys try and explain to me the whole "guys just want to get into your pants" mindset, and I still don't understand it. What's the big deal? Can't we just talk? :P Guys - you're sooo one dimensional sometimes! And demanding.

I can't remember what I was talking about one day with a couple of blokey mates, but the topic was enough to incense me to declare, "THAT'S IT. I'M DOING A SURVEY!"

Bush or no bush?

From bars and clubs, to Ibiza parties, to random drinks with random guys. Months of hard research - the answer is unanimous...

No bush.

What. Don't act surprised. YOU expected it all along. YOU can't fool me. I've had one guy tell me he'd turn away a hot chick if he found out she had bush!

There _is_ a (very) small contingent that will say bush. However, their logic behind it is that they don't want to feel like a paedophile :P

MEN :P

Reverting to childhood

6:25am (5 mins of snooze time left before my alarm goes off)
Dad: "Girlie, wake up"
Me: "Mmmffffmmm"
Dad: "Mum, you better wake Girlie up"
Mum kicks me
Me: "MMMMMMPPHFHFFFFF"
Dad: "Girlie, it's time to wake up!"
Me: "YES DAD"

I'm 7 years old again. It's time to wake up and get ready for school... At least this time round, I can avoid the yucky half-boiled egg slime for brekky :)

Daliborus

I think what I loved most about working for PwC Consulting, was the people I met. It definitely wasn't the work. It definitely wasn't the crap salary. It was the great people. One faithful night in Tampa, I couldn't sleep, so I did the usual - I baked. I baked a looooot of cakes when I was in Tampa. But this one was special. This one was a chocolate mud for Anna's birthday :) This one, won me Daliborus' eternal friendship *lol* Thus began my education on The Man Show, hippos versus elephants and rhinos, the joys of a good booty, and... erm, other stuff that can't be mentioned on my blog *lol*

Over the years, there are only a few left that I still see from the "good ol' days". And if I'm really lucky, I get a visit from one in Rondon :) If I'm REALLY REALLY lucky, I even get not one, but TWO jars of his Mum's homemade apricot jam! :D *drooool* Guess what I had for brekky this morning, Daliborus? ;)

M&D

A continental brekky at Le Pain

M&D flew in last night, and although I spent the first night on the sofa bed, Mum kept insisting I sleep in the same room. So here I am. I think the last time I slept in the same room as my parents, I was about 12 years old. I feel 12 again :)

Only this time, I'm prepared...

1 x pair foam earplugs!

My Dad's in denial and blames my Mum. The truth is, he's been snoring up a thunderstorm for the past few decades! As males get older, the snoring gets louder. Weird but undeniable truth of life. Chubby never use to snore when he was a puppy :P

It's funny being in Rondon with them. It doesn't matter that I'm 28 years old, I still want to do _everything_ right by them. I'm worried about what to feed them, what to show them, where to take them, whether my room's clean enough for them! I'm a slob. I'll admit it. I wallow in my own mess. Even now, the mess hasn't really been cleaned, it's just been shoved under the bed *grin* BUT, I did vacuum and mop AND, most hated chore of all - clean the toilet! No complaints from M&D about my cleanliness so far *phew*

I did try and broach the topic of my latest tattoo with my Dad.
Me: "Mum, did you tell Dad about my tattoo?"
(Yeah, I've been too chicken to tell my Dad. I was hoping my Mum would do it for me :P )
Mum: "No, but your brother started talking about it, and I gave him looks. So I think Dad knows, but he didn't ask."
Me: "Oh..."
*Later on*
Me: "Dad, erm, do you want to see my new tattoo?"
Dad: "YOU ARE COVERED WITH TATTOOS! DON'T KNOW WHY YOU GET THEM!"
Me: "It's only two!"
I've taken Dad's response as a sign of, "better not go there" :P

Time to test those earplugs out :)

Cowgirls

Hehehe...

Happy 0.375 year anniversary, U&W! ;)

Long weekend

For the first time in a week, the sun finally peeked through, and the rain clouds disappeared. Thank gawd. I was about to spend the day outdoors at SW4 :P As much as I love Paul van Dyk, it really wouldn't have been that much fun if it was raining on me during his set. The pic above is of the massive line to get into SW4. Single file, people pretty much circled the park to get into one entrance. I think I stood in it for at least half an hour!

SW4 reminded me a lot of my last Field Day actually :) Just with a lot more DJs.

Bosom buddies *grin*

Wazzz with the munchies:

Bonding with my tattoo buddy:

Dodgy orientals

I love my "Fong Jaow" ("Phoenix Claws", the fancy name for "chicken feet"). It's funny when I go to dim sum (the British name for yum cha) with a caucasian crowd, and they always make fun of "Fong Jaow". It's like the biggest challenge to eat something like chicken feet. But I love it. Fresh from a steamer. This though, I wouldn't touch... Chicken feet preserved in gawd knows what, vacuum packed in plastic, and sold in an oriental supermarket as a snack.

*Bleargh* It looks so bad:

It's also quite a worry when you're eating at a restaurant and the menu plugs one of its selling points as, "Excellent Hygiene". Excellent hygiene? Shouldn't ALL restaurants have excellent hygiene? Is it something that needs to be advertised? Should I be worried that the restaurant has to be explicit about its hygiene standards?!?

Well, all I can say is, I had a really bad tummy the next day :P It could've been the prawns, it could've been the chilli oil. At least I can rest assured that it wasn't because of poor hygiene :P

Youth crime

Youth crime is pretty scary in the UK. It's scary to see headlines like, "11 year old shot. First pictures," on evening papers. It's scary to read about young teens getting killed in their own bed. If you're not safe in your own home, where can you go?

An 11 year old, walking home after playing football, gets shot by a youth aged 13-15. When I was 13... I was worried about doing well in school, making friends, gawd knows what other trivial sht. Where does a 13 year old get a gun from? Why would a 13 year old think of shooting someone? It scares the bejeezus out of me.

Kids in the UK, they're... different. It makes me feel old to say, "Kids these days, have no respect". Not for their elders, not for themselves, not for anyone else. A lady sat down next to me on the bus the other day. She pulled out her mobile and called her mum ("HIYA MUM! ARE YOU OWRIGH?"). From her very loud conversation, I found out that she herself was a mother of a teenage daughter. The daughter wizzes with the toilet door open. Doesn't wash her hands. Goes into the kitchen, touches everything and makes herself tea and a snack. Apparently she does this all the time.

When I was young, if I ever did anything like that, my Mum would've smacked the crap out of me. Although my Dad never laid a hand on me, my Mum was never afraid to pull out the rattan feather duster for a good caning. If I did something to deserve it. My brothers apparently use to get chilli rubbed onto their lips. Kinda backfired, my second brother grew up to be a bigger chilli addict than I am :P

The lady next to me, all she did was, tell her daughter that she should wash her hands after coming out of the toilet. Her daughter apparently gave her "a look" and ignored her. End of disciplining.

o_O

I'm not trying to enforce child abuse :P But... Come on!!! Instill some fear into your kids :P

The lady next to me then spent the rest of the trip justifying to her own mother why she had to "have a word" with her daughter about hygiene.

O_O

How do kids grow up like that? I just have no idea. I really don't want kids. Way too much time and effort to invest in kids. Especially when they turn out like that.

Star Trekking

Approximately 689 minutes later, one thing's for sure - Captain Kirk's waistline definitely expands with every movie :) Have to admit, he was pretty sharp looking in the original Motion Picture. Definitely not as sharp by Star Trek 7, especially up against Jean-Luc Picard! Now I understand why Ula had a thing for Picard ;) *grin*

You know, I'm sure the question's been asked many times before, but I'm new to this. Why-o-why, did they remove seatbelts from spaceships? They have warp drives, they have transporters, they have impulse power... But something as simple as seatbelts? Nope. Or just _anything_ that keeps them in their seat? Nope. I haven't watched a single movie out of the 7 yet, that hasn't had a scene where crew members are thrown around the bridge!

The whole reason I started watching the Star Trek movies is because I really thought Futurama's "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" episode was one of the best. It's probably too early to make Star Trek judgement calls since I have another 3 more movies to finish watching *groan* Getting there. But out of all the movies starring the original Star Trek crew, I'd have to say "Wrath of Khan" is the best. With Khan's moobies deserving a special mention. Followed by "Search for Spock". "The Voyage Home" is hilarious just cause Chekov really does keep saying, "nuclear wessels" (as piss-taken in Futurama) *grin* And I burst out laughing when Uhura did the fan dance in "The Final Frontier" :)

It's actually a lot less painful than I expected watching the Star Trek movies. I was tempted to delete all of them after watching the first one, which was just terrible. I'm glad I stuck it out :)

Some friendships...

... will always pick up where they left off.

Over time, the family of funny faces just gets bigger :)

I miss those days of $5 steaks, pool at Sharkies, wedges at Roofbar, lazy brunches and coffees. Quality time with mates *sigh* I can even remember my first D&M with KC about 11 years ago. We were on our way to the Matthews building :)

Good luck in NYC guys! Book me in for your couch (when you get one *grin*)!

Hey Wazzz

Come and get it *grin*

Needless to say, Wazzz didn't want to :P

MIA: 1 Cossack dancer

6 years out of sight and sound, and nothing's changed! You still banter like an old woman *grin* Glad we got to meet up mate! Even if you are a lousy date!! ;)

AP with his very girly "tulip" dessert:

LS said it best:

"Most people shouldn't drink and drive, you shouldn't drink and communicate :)"

Mm, does it count if I actually figured out that 1am Rondon time equates to 10am Sydnery time, and therefore, it was fine to send you a drunken message? :) I felt it was important to express my thanks for the RAM! *grin* I didn't think it was as important to spell correctly ;)

I really should get my internet and phone taken off me after a couple of beers though. Geez. There have been some doozies these past couple of weeks. I remember running up to a sports car filled with young arrogant pups (YAP) on Saturday night. It had wing doors, so it was either a Lamborghini, or a souped up Supra *lol* I couldn't tell :P

Me: "What do you do for a living?"
YAP: "Property development, rental estates..."
Me: "How much do you earn?"
YAP: "43,000 pounds per MONTH."
Me: (Dubious) "Do your parents have a lot of money??"
YAP: "No man! I'm a self-made millionaire!"

This boy, looked about 16 years old! Complete with giant diamond bling in his ear. Although, that could've been a cubic zirconia :P I think he was having me on :P No, I didn't climb into the car. I ran off and joined my mates to catch the N18 bus home :) All those Ferrari drivers out there, better watch out for the curious drunken oriental. I want answers!

Cons

Lately, I've been virtually bitten, and I wonder if it happens to other bloggers. I thought the whole point of a blog is to express your humble opinions honestly. On life. On love. On society. On human interactions. However, it's all online. There's the personal touch missing. If I were telling these stories face-to-face, it'd be over a coffee or a cocktail. It'd be a two-way conversation and you'd defend your view against mine. We'd laugh and get over it.

Somehow, when it's over the internets, it's different. I say things, and it gets misinterpreted. It gets misconstrued. Readers are offended. Don't get me wrong, the majority of feedback I've received on my blog, has been positive. Yet there's still that percentage of small disgruntled readers. To be honest, that percentage is probably small only because I have no idea my readers are disgruntled. It's only occurred to me recently that whatever I write, could be hurtful. Yet...

It feels wrong to me that I have to watch what I say on my own blog. Maybe I'm a little less tactful. Maybe I'm just predantic (AdF - ;) ) about certain topics. Whatever it is, I never mean to offend. And I do apologise for offending. Sincerely.

What brought this on? DG's emails to me. Yeah you, DG ;) And other conflicts that have happened recently.

I know I've been preaching about dancing skillz lately :P But, when you get down to it, orientals really can kickass on the dancefloor *grin* Link me to something better than what these guys can do.

Modern day robot at its best:

Algorithm dance with NINJAS:

You know, don't be afraid of telling me your PoV. I want to know. Email me, or comment on my blog. Personally, I don't believe in censorship. At the same time, don't take everything I write so seriously. Have a beer before you read my blog if it helps :P

Kubrick fan-gal

I love Kubrick's work. I might not understand it, but I still love his movies. I'm glad I went to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey at Somerset House. I was pretty close to skipping it. Having tried about 5 times to watch it on my laptop, I had given up hope that I could last the 141mins without dozing. I survived! Although I do remember Niffies nudging me at one point *grin*

There are scenes from 2001, which just blew me away. Watching it on the big screen was beautiful. I can't believe this movie was made in 1968. Man had barely ventured into space, with the first space flight taking place in 1961. Yet this movie, made me feel in such awe of space. I'm pretty amazed at how space is portrayed in this movie. But err, I still can't appreciate much from the "Dawn of Man" yelping monkey scenes :P

Now that I think about it, the ending of the movie had a familiar Matthew Barney'ish "wtf is happening" feel to it. I wonder if Barney got some of his inspiration for Cremaster from Kubrick.

One of my most prized possessions in Rondon, is a strip of frames cut from a 70mm print of 2001: A Space Odyssey owned by Kubrick. It came as part of "The Stanley Kubrick Archives" book which C gave me for my birthday last year. I definitely appreciate it a lot more now.

Somerset House is a great venue for open air cinema. Though next year, I'm bringing my puffy jacket and a thicker cushion. It's definitely not warm enough to sit around in a singlet top and flip-flops :P My arse was definitely aching by the end of it.

Paper

At about 2am today, my stomach retched and the ciabatta topped with Carluccio's sugo al funghi porcini came up. Unbelievably, this is the second time in my life that my stomach contents have wafted a porcini scent at me from the bowl. Traitorous stomach.

At about 9am today, SH jumped on me (hidden under my doona) in my bed, "HI BABE!!! OMG! ARE YOU NAKED?"

Shit. Indeed I am. Sometime between 2am and 9am, my clothes left me. Traitorous clothes.

It really doesn't take much these days. I think it was 3 vodka lemon limes, and a shot of Belvedere. Incidentally, a shot of Belvedere and a vodka with mixer will set you back at least 18 squids in Paper! I had to get the shot in order to cover the minimum spend before I could put it on my credit card. Traitorous cashless society.

To be honest, I was slightly disappointed with Paper. It'd been hyped as the place where celebs go to be cool. So I was expecting something big, flashy and ostentatious. I wanted Bling, Baby. Instead, I was faced with a ton of burly bouncers, a lack of seating space, and plastic chandeliers. AND, expensive spirits!!! Lucky I'm a cheap drunk. I drowned my sharply lowered expectations in vodka (obviously), and had a great time dancing to remixed choons from the early 90's :)

I also accosted a fierce looking black bouncer.
Me: *Tapping bouncer on his iron forearm* "Excuse me... Can I ask you a question?"
Bouncer: *Pulls out receiver from ear and leans down*
Me: "Have you seen any white guys on the dance floor that can dance??"
Bouncer: *Breaks out into a big grin*
Me: "No, I'm serious. Have you, in all your experience as a bouncer, seen any white guys that can dance?"
Bouncer: "You know what, I spend a lot of time watching. And I have to say they're improving."

Aaah, evolution...

We chat some more, about jazz clubs in Camden, about girls in Paper.
Me: "Do you pick up here?"
Bouncer: "I don't. The girls here, they're here for one reason. Everyone knows it."
Me: *Clueless* "What's the reason?"
Bouncer: "Money! A lot of people with money come here."
Me: "Really? I'm a bit disappointed with this place. It's small. Who's the most famous person you've seen here?"
Bouncer: "I've seen P.Diddy. Even Harry has been here."

Our conversation is cut short by another member of staff. Besides, the girls were giggling at me from the dancefloor.

To all my whitey guy friends, I don't mean you *grin* I wouldn't be caught dead with you in a club otherwise! ;) The dancing techniques in Rondon clubs though, is just shocking...

Plasticy goodness

This mini table will probably set you back 500 squids

How is it possible Niffies was still standing at the end of the night? ;)

VOLE? ELVO? OVEL?

Summer's here. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Sometimes, you hear a story, and it restores your fate a little in love, and finding your soul mate.

A guy, meets a girl at a mutual friend's wedding. They glance across the room at each other. 2 days later they were engaged. 3 months later they were married. Now they have 2 kids and are a happy young family. From the moment when they saw each other, they just knew it was meant to be...

So to my male drinking buddies last Friday night, who have never said the "L" word - I hope it happens to you and you find out what the "L" word feels like. Fingers crossed you're at the right place when the cosmic stars are aligned ;)

SWANS!

A seal yesterday, and 7 swans today!! There's either going to be an apocalypse with blood rain tomorrow...

... Or a dead body. It's the Thames, it could happen :P

It's a...

...SEAL! I swear!!!

It was sooo cute. I was eating my breakfast in the cafeteria, and it kept popping its head out of the river :) Dang cutie knew I was trying to take a photo of it though. Everytime I was about to click, it popped back down. I need a faster camera...

Darren Emerson

Unranked, and for good reason - Darren Emerson's music is boring. _Really_ boring.

I don't know if it's because I like my trance cheesy, or my house hard, but gaaawd... I've rarely ever stood infront of a DJ and felt that unmotivated to dance. So that's it, no more house music for me.

Even the overdressed crowd was boring. Girls performed their mating calls in spikey heels, boys performed their monkey moves in preppy shirts. I even saw a girl do the Elaine Dance. That was the most entertaining part of my night. Of course, there's always at least one twat in the club that wants to talk to me.
Twat: "What do you dislike most about Western guys?"
Me: "They can't dance" :P

Girly Saturday!

Hrm, now that I think about it, I don't really have that many male friends in Rondon... If you're male, good looking and would like to apply to be my friend, feel free to email me :P Oh alright, I'll be less superficial and accept applications from those with a great personality too *lol*

I managed to convince Babsy and Niffies to come for brekky with me this weekend at La Fromagerie. I'm now addicted to their soft boiled eggs. Which is just shocking considering I use to hate them with a passion. For gawd-knows-how-many years, my Mother use to cook soft boiled eggs for me when I was growing up in Malaysia. Every morning at 6am, I was plonked at the dining table with a steamy gooey yellow mess infront of me. Every morning, I'd steadfastly refuse to eat it. At 7am, my Mother would eventually yell at me to eat the cold slime and get ready for school, or get my butt smacked. South-east Asian kids didn't get cereal for brekky :P

So when I grew up, I never ate it again. And I blamed my Mother for my bad habit of skipping breakfast :P Imagine my Mother's glee when I told her last weekend I was going out to eat a soft boiled egg! She knew I could never blame her for my bad eating habits again.

So stuffed with an egg, bread and 2 latte macchiatos, I headed out from La Fromagerie to meet Trini and Sus at Borough Markets. It's been way too long since my last visit. It's still my favourite markets. I wasn't hungry until I sat down with the girls and started smelling the food coming out of Brindisa's kitchen! Mygawd, I haven't had tapas like this since... err, Barcelona 3 years ago? As dish after dish came out, Trini, Sus and I kept reshuffling food to fit everything onto our tiny table. I've also discovered, Sus is a cheaper drunk than me *big grin*

Stuffed beyond belief, I still couldn't help myself and I bought some picante chorizo to take home from Brindisa's shop in the markets. Thanks Sus for the yummiest lunch I've had in a really really long time :) Let me know next time you have a craving for Brindisa! My treat :)

Twilight zone

It's dark outside the tube. Packed bodies, fluro lights, dazed looks, heavily lidded eyes... Am I coming back from a night out?

(Everyday, it's a choice of arse in face, or crotch in face...

Today, it was arse.)

Or heading in to work at 8:37am on the Jubilee line? ;) What I've noticed this week is there's always at least one Harry Potter book on the carriage. Dang it, J.K Rowling didn't kill Harry off :P

Dinner conversation

I kind of wonder, as we get older, does our acceptable "dateable" age range increase? Wazzz has always stated the rule of thumb of "half your age, plus 7 years" for a male. Which is just under paedophilic, yet very workable. At the age of 28, Wazzz should be dating someone who's 21!!! Sorry TO ;) Hehehe... But I think Wazzz would be crazy to give up TO for a 21 year old. In fact, Wazzz, I'd disown you as a friend if you chose a 21 year old over TO! :P

From the other perspective, my age minus 7 years, doubled is equal to 42!!!! Is that really fair? :P

Do you know how hard it is to do algebra after 2 beers and lots of wine? :P Fck, took me awhile...

Torrents

I don't have commercial TV. I don't have Sky. I thank Buddha (yup, getting there) for fcking torrents *grin* OMG, new season of Dexter (not my flatmate), didn't disappoint. Without torrents, I'd be screwed. And about 12 episodes behind :P

Time to follow it up with one episode of Futurama (thanks Wazzz!) before bed :)

Why I'm laughing

It's bizarre. One thing I've always noticed about working in IT, is that IT people are always hidden away. Somewhere out of the way. Somewhere with little natural light and tight confining cubicles. I've worked in all sorts of environments. In a separate building to the rest of the organisation. In an industrial zone. In a YELLOW PORTA-WAREHOUSE (angsty memories). So I was kinda shocked to turn up on Monday and to see this from where I sit:

(Can you believe this was the view after a thunder storm?)

Previously, the highest I'd ever been located was level 18 at Darling Park, with a view of Darling Harbour. Even then, it was hot-desking and you were lucky to get a window seat. What's so special about the view above? Guess where I am?

Level 10? No.
15? No.
25? No, higher please :)

It's level 35! I'm so high up, my ears pop when I step out of the elevator. Sneaking past my boss' desk, and peeking through the blinds, I have an unobstructed view of East London. That's the Gherkin in the distance! And the sexy curve of the Thames River to the left! Wowsers.

What's so funny? I'm the only IT person on this side of the building *lol* Regular nerds don't sit here. This is the HR level :) I'm guessing the nerds are hidden away in the basement :P Nyuk nyuk nyuk...

Feeling bad

I love my Aunty Laura. So I thought it would be exciting to take her to East Beach Cafe which I had read about here.

We drove for two hours to get to Littlehampton. Then waited 40 minutes in line to get in.

It really wasn't worth it.

Which is why I feel really bad for dragging my Aunt to that place last Sunday *HRRMPH* Aunt Laura and I were just incredulous at how inefficiently this place operated. We got there to a massive line. I had to hunt down the hostess to put our names down, whilst my Aunt stood at the end of the line. There were people infront of us who didn't even realise they had to put their name down. It looked like it was about to rain, and there was no cover we could stand under. We were instructed not to wander too far off, incase we were called. If we weren't around when called, we would miss out on our table. Yet, the hostess didn't want to take my mobile number and call me when my table was available. There were empty tables with no chairs around them inside the restaurant. I don't understand how this place can claim to fit 45 people when it looked like only 20 fit inside. Where the hell was the so called seating for 80 outdoors? Full of crap.

When we finally got in, two waiters couldn't explain to us what the fish special was. The first, a ditzy blonde, said she'd find out, but never came back. The second, was confused between the fish special and the daily fish for the fish and chips. Finally, we flagged down the hostess to explain the menu to us.

The mussels I ordered for entree were good. But, my cutlery arrived after my entree, and I had already started eating by using the shell-pinching technique. Then halfway through my entree, the bread arrives and the bucket for shells. Geezus. What's the point?

My Aunt's fish came out undercooked. Both our fish meals were too oily. We didn't stay for dessert.

I just don't get how someone can spend gawd-knows-how-much on getting a designer building built, and then not foreseeing the need for table space. It's a restaurant. Come on!!!

East Beach Cafe - Way overrated. Not worth the drive from Rondon.

I did find it hilarious that Brits think this is a beach though :)

Tagging

I'm going to go through all my posts and organise my tags... So if you're RSS'ing my blog, you might get a lot of old posts reappearing. Sorry! If not, well, carry on and ignore this post :P

Just one more...

... post about Amsterdam! Tying up loose ends :P

I spent about 3 days in Amsterdam this time round. C and I decided to follow some tips from the Wallpaper* City Guide for A'dam. I have to admit, it's a pretty good guide! Having been to A'dam a gazillion times now, I didn't think there was much left for me to see. The Wallpaper* guide has a "Best of the city in 24 hours" section, and we managed to go through all of it:
- Irish brekky at Barney's: Errr, can't really say I recommend this. It's just bacon and eggs. I think Barney's has more of a reputation as a "coffee shop".
- Stedelijk Museum: Contemporary art, not my thing but it may be your's.
- Appeltaart at Cafe 11: The place has a great view of the city, and turns into a club at night. Apparently a pretty good one.
- Amstelkring Museum: This is pretty dang different. It's a secret chapel built upstairs in a home!
- Amsterdam Historical Museum: More than you'll ever want to know about Amsterdam :)
- Van Gogh Musuem: My third time there, and I still love it. Make sure you do the audio tour if you go!

The Almond Blossom (pictured right) is still my fave painting by Van Gogh:

Other places we went to from the guide:
- Droog: Really cool design store, definitely worth checking out. It's one of those places that stocks things I read about in blogs :P
- Envy: *Phwoar* This place is owned by the same people who started Supperclub. For EU$50, we stuffed ourselves silly with the Chef's Choice menu - 3 kinds of deli meats (YUMMO), 4 cold dishes, 4 warm dishes, 3 kinds of cheeses and 4 mini desserts. Gaaawd, I was in heaven with the asparagus and truffle soup. Definitely value for money. What I loved most about the restaurant, was how the produce was displayed in fridges along the wall. Everything looked fresh and delish, and apparently a lot of it is flown in from Italy:

- Brasserie Harkema: Another great place to eat in A'dam. C and I checked it out our first night there, then took the others back here a couple of days later. Mussel soup, entrecote steak, roast duck, panna cotta (the best I've had in awhile), everything yummy! And of course, I also made everyone eat bitterballen here :) U&W - you taught me well!

You won't die if you eat it, AdF ;)

The best tip I can give for A'dam, is always make the Tourist Info Centre across the street from Centraal Station your first stop. For EU$2, you can get a city map from a vending machine! Which is important when your sense of direction is as crap as mine :P

Lastly, when in A'dam, don't forget to visit Vlaams Fritehuis on Voetboogstraat 33. Crunchiest hot chips ever! I think we ate a cone of it with Belgian Mayo everyday! MMmmm...

See, I don't just go to raves and clubs in the Netherlands :P

Napkin blogging

Lately, I find myself writing a lot as I sit in a cafe with my mocha. Unfortunately, the only thing I have handy to write on are napkins. I really should carry around a notebook. My pen blotches badly on napkin paper. One waiter even felt sorry for me and handed over a couple of post-it notes.

Organic soft boiled egg and mocha from La Fromagerie. Spot my blog notes!

Anyways, the search for a "j.o.b" is over... for another 3 months at least. I'm currently enjoying my last days of freedom before rejoining the rat race after 6 weeks of pure utter lazing around. I'm sure it sounds like an easy lifestyle, but don't be fooled. Contracting means you have to rely on your savings for the days you don't have a job. Even when you get a job, you still have to penny-pinch till your first payday. It _is_ stressful.

I've been thinking about my interview. It was such an odd situation. I've gone through a lot of interviews in the past. Normally, I know what to expect and how to handle it. Usually, it's a chat with the Project Manager about my experience. Occasionally, it's a technical grilling, and I'm still okay with that. Those are easy to prepare for. Thank gawd for Wikipedia ;)

This time, the interview situation was different. I was told to set aside 2 hours, and that I was to meet with 3 people, and if all went well, I'd be on the phone with a fourth person from the US. Keep in mind that this is for a contract role doing UAT! o_O The last time I was interviewed by 4 people, it was for a permanent role with Google. With my nerves building up, I decided to try some new techniques:

1. I had read an article recently about a champion poker player. She always went into a game thinking, "I will win this tournament". So I went to bed that night repeatedly thinking, "I will get this job," and woke up thinking the same thing. Throughout the day the same mantra cycled through my head. This might've worked a little too well. As I was standing at the reception desk waiting for my visitor's pass, the receptionist asked me, "Feeling confident about the interview?" I pretty much yelled back, "I AM A WINNER!" at him *lol* I think I surprised him with my confidence :P

2. Normally, I'd briefly review my resume and focus more on refreshing my tech knowledge. This time, I spent more time reviewing my resume and trying to summarise my skills out loud. I was pretty surprised that I couldn't do it. I stumbled over my words and got all mixed up with a lot of "Uhms" thrown in. So I typed out what I wanted to say, and rehearsed through it paragraph by paragraph till I could voice it smoothly. It worked! I felt pretty confident about selling myself after that exercise. I guess the usual rule of "practise makes perfect" applies here.

3. I was still a bunch of nerves. So I called up Wazzz and he dropped everything to meet me for a coffee. Thanks Wazzz, you were great! :) Sorry for being a pain. We spoke about IT, and caught up on some gossip. I just needed someone who understood IT to talk to me about it. And I needed a friend to help me chillax. After a half hour session with Wazzz, I was ready and headed off to the interview.

Whom did I meet/speak to?
- The Head of Global Learning and Education (egads!)
- The Development Lead
- The UK HR Business Lead
- The US HR Business Lead

Geezus. How did it go?

Obviously it went well, since I got the job. However, I honestly think this was the best interview results I've ever had. Half an hour after I had left the interview, I received a voicemail message as I stepped out of the tube - "We would love to have you work with us" :)

That's NOT a good look

*Sigh* When unemployed, I spend a lot of time drinking coffee in cafes. If you ask me what the most hideous sight I've ever come across in a cafe is, I'd tell you, it's pasty white butt crack. Flashed by low riding jeans on a cafe chair or stool. There's always butt crack. I'm not sure what's worse, plain butt crack, or butt crack with flossing *groan*

Either way, it's still hideous.

(10 points if you can pick this trendy Rondon cafe :) )

It looked _much_ worse in real life. Lucky for you, I have a shtty phone camera and you don't have to view it in high res. Faces have been blurred to prevent me from being beat up by the Butt Crack Kween's bf if he ever finds out about my blog :P Let's take a closer look:

*Uggh* Lady, that G doesn't even look like it fits your butt. To be honest, it looked like she'd been severely wedgied. The material was definitely digging in there *shudder* Do I need to show you butt crack on my blog? No. However, the point is, do I need to routinely see butt crack in my daily life? Especially when I'm trying to enjoy my coffee? NO. Yet the voyeur in me just can't look away. I'm fascinated by the hideousness of it all. Serious car crash material.

Why do women do it? How can they resist pulling their undies out of the crack?

On the flip side of the coin, I keep getting requests from someone on Flickr to add the shot of KY licking butt crack to the Random Butt Crack group. It's disturbing that this guy is soo insistent on getting my photo into that group. It really is.

WOOooo...

It makes my day when I come across something in real life that I've read about on one of the design/coolhunting blogs I subscribe to. I was walking down Spuistraat in search of my hotel when I saw this!

It's Jon Burgerman's "On the Wall" exhibition in Amsterdam! So while C went in and splurged on streetwear, I went in, admired some street art and patted myself on the back for finding something cool I had read about in the blogiverse! *grin* Another cool exhibition on atm, is Yoshitomo Nara's first European show at the GEM Museum in Den Haag:

It's brilliant! Japanese design collective Graf designed and built an art space for Yoshitomo Nara in the form of wooden sheds. I've been a fan of Yoshitomo Nara's work for awhile now, and I've had my eye on this Nara clock for a very very long time. One day I'll break down and buy it...

Happy Big 30 AdF!

There are very few people I would travel to anywhere in the world for:

(I adjusted the colour to make you look less sunburnt, hehehe :) )

Sunset at Cafe del Mar. AdF and I fought off dozens of tourists trying to steal seats from our table for about 4 hours!

Squinty!

Stranger danger

What is it about me that attracts the weirdos? In clubs, in bars, in cafes, on the street, and now, in _airports_! Why is it never the good looking hunka muffin that approaches me with a corny opening line? No. I get the weird, old, wrinkly, googly-eyed grandpa. It's _always_ the grandpa.

I'm minding my own business at Schipol airport in Amsterdam when the googly-eyed grandpa (G-E G) approaches me and starts speaking in FRENCH. What on earth would possess anyone to speak French to an oriental in a DUTCH city? Actually, I've always wanted a guy who could speak French, but I guess I should be more specific about what I ask for. Please add "non-creepy" to my list of requirements. After grandpa had figured out I spoke English:
G-E G: "Is this your first time in Holland?"
Me: "No."
G-E G: "Your second time?"
Me: "No. I have friends here."
G-E G: "Oh. What's your name?"
Me: "Sarah."
G-E G: "Oh! Do you know where the name Sarah comes from?"
Me: "No." (Internal *sigh*... and I don't really care. I'm just making sht up to humour you...)
G-E G: "Sarah, is Abraham's wife! You know Abraham? It comes from Catholicism."
Me: "Yes." (Why are you talking to me?)
G-E G: "Are you Catholic? Or Muslim? What are you?"
Me: "No. I'm nothing."
G-E G: "Well, Sarah is Abraham's wife. Shall we go somewhere to talk?"
Me: "NO!" (You MORON!)

... and I walk away. The problem is, my parents brought me up to be polite and well-mannered to anyone. When really, it would've been more useful for my parents to have taught me how to cuss like a pirate :P It's "wrong" in our society for me to be rude to older people, "respect your elders" and all that crap. However, I don't care how senile grandpa is, he has NO RIGHT to prey on girls 50 years his junior. _That's_ wrong!

Would you believe the googly-eyed grandpa crept up on me AGAIN about 5 minutes later??
G-E G: "Excuse me..."
Me: "GAAAAAAAAAAAH!" (totally freaked and caught by surprise)
G-E G: "Sorry! Bye..." (walks away real fast)
Me: "GEEZUS! BYE! FARK!"