My Blue Heaven

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Just alright

I find it mildly annoying when people ask me how I am, and I reply with an “I’m alright“, to which they reply somewhat disbelievingly “Just alright?” or even more sensitively “come on go harder“. What the?

<rant>

Yes. I am “just” alright. Not great, not fantastic, not even good. I can’t honestly say that my life here is great. Coz its not. I’m not “livin it up” and “partying in london” as lots of expats from Australia seem to. I don’t know why my experience seems so different. Why I’m not “loving london” like all the other Aussies seem to. Ok, maybe I’m not all that different and I just don’t know about the people that are struggling too. But maybe I am different. Maybe its because I have different expectations in life. I don’t find my happiness in going out and getting drunk and partying at bars and pubs. In fact I find that totally boring and pointless. Clubs I don’t mind because dancing is involved, but I *still* haven’t gone clubbing here.. prob because I can’t afford it. Which brings me to this.. perhaps its due to financial restrictions. I don’t have much money these days (due to factors that I won’t go into), and that makes life quite hard – esp here in London. London is great fun… if you’ve got money. It’s a struggle to meet all the bills and rent and groceries and transport costs etc. I suppose if I had lots of money, my life quality might be different. But then, isn’t that being materialistic? I guess.. but I think that sort of judgement is easier to make when you do have enough money.. say when you still live off your parents, or even have moved out but are happily married with 2 decent incomes. But when things start to get harder.. it becomes.. not such an easy thing. Of course in the grand scheme of things, yes yes, I’m still quite lucky and all. It’s not all that bad and there are lots of people much worse off than me. But still, I find myself kinda envying those who can afford to do things like go on holidays to Italy or elsewhere.. things that were part of my reason for coming here. (I guess I can kiss going skiing in europe goodbye 🙁 ) Or even other things like being able to buy enough basic furniture for the flat so they don’t have to live out of boxes. Or afford to live closer to central london. Ok I know its bad to compare myself to other people (along with danger of coveting). But the way I’m thinking about it is that I could have done better for myself. Given my background, my education, training and opportunities (which have all been very good and a blessing).. there is no logical reason I shouldn’t be in a better situation. I guess I feel like its kinda a failure on my part. (I mean its not even because I’m deliberately putting myself here due to noble and selfless acts of great giving/sacrifice.) Am I being too hard on myself? I dunno. I know I shouldn’t really complain.. but to explain.. I guess I’ve never been in this sorta situation before.. and I’m finding it a bit hard to accept. It’s easy to say “yeh I don’t care about money” when you have enough and it doesn’t really affect your life much.

Anyway. I feel a bit sad too. About people. Friends (or lack thereof). Losing touch. That sorta thing. Maybe my expectations are unrealistic. Or maybe I’m not trying hard enough. I wonder where my life will lead. I wonder if I’m doomed for an unhappy life. Like so many out there.

</rant>

Ok enough about money and all things dismal. To put things into perspective for myself, its not that bad. I can still “afford” just a few small “luxuries”, like gym and dance class and broadband internet (though realistically.. my budget and bank account would probably look healthier without those things). But have to give up other things.. like piano classes :(, a bookshelf, new clothes anytime soon, a holiday anytime soon, and at this point, even a flight back to Sydney anytime soon.. heheh. *sigh* Oh wells. Here’s hoping things get better in the future.

Hmm. Strangely enough, I feel a bit better now. Go cathartic blogging. I do have a lot to be thankful for.. I have been able to experience lots of cool and different things over here and have managed to do some travel (last year). Gotta try and stay positive.. see the bigger picture.. get the perspective. I guess I’m alright. Just alright.

3 – 1

BRILLIANT!!! 3 goals in the last 8 mins for the socceroos vs japan. Wooohooo! Go Aussies! 🙂

Ok normally I’m not that into football (or soccer as we call it in Australia), but I think my national pride overrides my usual indifference towards the game. And hey, I think the enthusiasm of Kwai and general UK populace for the World Cup is rubbing off a liddle bit. I suppose it is the most watched and most played game in the world.

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! 😀

“Severe” weather warning

EARLY WARNING of Heatwave – Issued by the Met Office at 11:30 on Friday, 9 June

This is the first warning of disruption due to Heatwave. The Met Office is forecasting southerly winds to bring some very warm air across Eastern Great Britain over the weekend and into early next week, with increasing humidity later in the period. The warmest air is likely to affect central and eastern parts of England with some areas becoming hot, or very hot. There is a 50 percent chance that temperatures in Northeast England, Yorkshire and Humberside will reach daytime maxima of 29 degrees Celsius and nightime minima of 17 degrees Celsius, fulfilling the criteria for Heat-Health Watch warning.

Hahahahaha….

Yay for meme’s

Thanks to Vron. 🙂

1: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4.
There are now two tabs named Form1.cs above the Code and Text Editor/Design View

2: Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
My work computer 17 inch flat screen monitor

3: What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Family Guy season 1, episode 1. Ooh yeh. 🙂 (Well not on tv.. on the computer, but hey its a tv show)

4: WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what the time is
10:40am

5: Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
10:41am

6: With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Annoying loud drilling from building construction works next door

7: When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
An hour ago. Running slightly late for work.

8: Before you came to this website, what did you look at?
My sitemeter stats

9: What are you wearing?
White singlet top, brown pleated mini skirt, brown Jack Johnson hoodie, brown havaianas

10: Did you dream last night?
Yes. Vividly, as usual.

11: When did you last laugh?
Last night out at drinkstag in Bank (cbd of london) with Kwai and a friend we met in Frankfurt, nicknamed Spiceboy. Good times. 🙂

12: What is on the walls of the room you are in?
A couple of black and white framed photos of famous classic stars – dunno who they are though

13: Seen anything weird lately?
A particular YouTube video which is mega cringeworthy and decidedly wierd (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMHRkISRj18)

14(a): What is the last book you finished?
Hmm.. I haven’t actually *finished* a book in a long time. I think it would be Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince last year.

14(b): What book are you currently reading?
“Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” – Steven R Covey (yes I’m *still* reading this – its only been a year :-\)

15: What is the last film you saw?
United 93 and Poseidon.. one right after the other

16: If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
I think Vron’s suggestion is good.. go on holidays.. probably to Frankfurt and watch a game of the World Cup! But before that.. a flight for Kwai to go to Budapest to do the final stage of his tooth implant and crown, and a bookshelf and bedside drawer for the flat (because I can’t afford it at the moment 🙁 )

17: Tell me something about you that I don’t know
I hate wearing bras. I just find them really uncomfortable and binding on my ribs. No matter what sort. Yet I still wear em. In fact, I find my “going out” clothes pretty uncomfortable in general.. I don’t really like wearing them, and I much prefer slumming at home in loose comfy clothing, a bathrobe or nothing (german influence!) I think I have a low “comfort” threshold when it comes to clothing.. and even lower for shoes. I can’t wear strappy high heels to save my life. As much as I love how glam girly clothes & shoes look.. *sigh*

18: If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Erradicate any form of smoking anywhere at any time!

19: Do you like to dance?
Does a dog have four legs? Hell yeh! 🙂 I dance mainly hiphop, funk, jazz and salsa.

20: What is the last thing you ate or drank?
A caffe latte and water. Mmm.. caffeeeiine.. (hey it was only 10:30am and I was already falling asleep at the desk)

21(a): Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Umm. Not too sure.. something pretty though.. like maybe Jasmine..

21(b): Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
No idea. I think I’d prefer a baby girl anyways 😛 Not that I want children any time soon.

22: Would you ever consider living abroad?
Hah. Been there done that baby. Am living in London right now.. but if I were to move elsewhere, I’d love to live in Europe for a bit.. Brussels or Frankfurt.. or somewhere in France. 🙂 Otherwise New York sounds cool too.

Current listening :: “Dirty Dancing” – Black Eyed Peas

Setlist and random photos

(Note: She deviated slightly from the set list, playing “Drive” instead of “When I See You Smile”)

Getting the bus from work to Clapham Junction station kinda sucks. Once I’m at the station, getting home is a breeze. But getting to the station is the hard part. Actually getting to any station from my work sucks. And the bus stop isn’t even that close. (Not that I mind, coz the walking/running to the bus stop is good for me :)). Anyway, crossing Battersea Bridge is especially bad. Traffic is always chockas, and yesterday was a classic example. One of those open-top tour buses picked the worst place to break down. Traffic in almost every direction was stuck, and so was I. Took me an extra 40 mins.. but I eventually made it home.

Oh yeh, and its 28 today, with a forecast of 26, 28, 28, 27 for the next 4 days!!! Go London summer! Pity there are no beaches. 🙁 Anyway, gonna do a salsa class tonight! Yay. I’ve been pretty irregular this year with salsa.. really need to get back into it! Then am meeting Kwai at Drinkstag (which is german for Drinks Day.. or evening).. with some of his expat friends from Frankfurt who have now returned to London.

Current listening :: “Shake” – Ying Yang Twins

Miscellaney

It’s quite warm today, prob about 24/25 degrees, and tis a bit stuffy in the office (no air con, only windows). I feel kinda sleepy now… *yawn* Well at least summer is finally here. The next few days and the weekend are forecast to reach around 26 – 28 degs! Methinks its time to pull out the havaianas, skirts and singlet tops. 🙂

Life has been.. chugging along I s’pose. Been quite busy at work.. but otherwise have just spent time hangin out with Kwai, going to the movies, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, church, bible study, gym, and the slightly irregular dance class. Me and Kwai have been watching a movie (or 2) pretty much every weekend (seeing as its the only thing we can do that doesn’t cost money.. other than the monthly £14). Over the past month, we’ve watched Mi:III, The DaVinci Code, XMen III, Poseidon and United 93. Kwai also watched The Omen yesterday (without me of course – s’if I would ever watch that!) And over the next month or so, I’m looking forward to Superman Returns, Over The Hedge, Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Mans Chest. I’ve also been enjoying regular workouts at the gym. Its nice to get the body moving and just let loose after sitting at a computer all day. I’ve started doing a body pump class on monday nights. Keep this up, and I’ll be buff in no time! Hehe. It’s certainly workin the muscles.. I really feel it afterwards.. and it takes me about 2 or 3 days to recover! :/

Belated Bic Post

Kwai and myself went to see Bic Runga the weekend before last, down in Brighton (nice town on the south coast of England – but only 1/2 hrs train ride away from Croydon). I would have blogged about it earlier. We were literally 2 metres away from her, right at the front of this very intimate gig. I took so many photos and videos on my phone. BUT…. my phone decided to WSOD and die the night before I was going to upload the photos. Damn you Sony Erricsson! After some research on google, I believe the only way to save the phone is to do a firmware flash. Which means I lose all my data. Damn you Sony Erricsson!! *sigh* 🙁

Well, one photo was not lost. The one taken with kwai’s camera. Of me and Bic, after she signed the set list I nicked off the stage (it even has her footprint on it!). She’s really nice and very friendly.. she hung about signing everyone’s CDs, having a chat to each person and posing for photos with them. Her mother is on tour with her too, selling the cds at the table after the gig. She seems like a typical chinese mother!! Hehe.

The gig itself was awesome. I love her new stuff! It sounds less depressing live than it does on the cd (maybe it’s the strings). She sung quite a few old tunes too, including “Drive”, “Bursting Through” and “Sway”. Very happy was I!! But I think the highlight of the gig was a cover she and her band did of this french song “Ne Me Quitte Pas”. It was incredible.. just so emotional and soulful – she sung it really well. I have to find a copy of it somewhere. Esp since I lost the video I took. Grrr. Anyway, I remember she used to be quite shy and uncertain in gigs. I think she still was a little at the beginning, but then she seemed to warm up to the audience and relax a bit.

Well, I’ll post up a pic of the set list tonight or something. Guess I should get back to work. Bleugh.

Current listening :: “The Rhythm” – The Cat Empire (great summer listening… ooh and I’m going to see them again in August!)

Photos @ Maze

The Review

I liked the menu (modern french with an asian influence). Between the two of us, we shared 10 dishes, and 3 desserts. Plus 2 cocktails (I had a strawberry caipirinha and Kwai had a peach and passionfruit cocktail), finally finishing with coffee and complimentary petits fours. The menu was really cool – it was kinda like a-la-carte tapas, where you pick from lots of different small dishes – allowing you to sample lots of things at a fairly low cost. A foodies heaven! They also had the chefs selection 7 course menu, with the best signature dishes (from the aforementioned tapas style menu) that work the best together. We ended up choosing the chefs menu, plus 5 more dishes and 1 more dessert. 🙂 I was absolutely and utterly stuffed by the end… had a major food coma, not helped by the cocktail at the beginning! The price was also really quite good value – which is suprising for a top restaurant owned by a famous celebrity chef. A chefs tasting menu would normally be about twice what we paid. I guess its only been open for a year, so prices might rise later. Not that it mattered this time, as work is paying for the bill. (I’m finally cashing in my reward from that Hoover project a month or so back).

Anyway, we really enjoyed the 3 odd hours spent there. I’d probably rate it as the best dining experience I’ve had in London so far. It was great that the restaurant and staff weren’t stuffy or snobby at all, unlike so many fine dining places. The decor was very modern (perhaps a little cramped, but hey its London), and the atmosphere quite trendy and lively. The service was excellent – the staff were discreet (ie not in your face all the time), polite, friendly and very attentive to details (eg when one of us went to the toilet, a waiter would almost immediately come over, pick up the napkin, shake it out and fold it neatly on the chair for the customers return!!). Oh and it was a NO SMOKING restaurant too! Yay!!!! When a customer at the table next to us started to light up a cigarette, a waiter very smoothly and politely informed him it was a no-smoking restaurant and took the offending cigarette away.. as I sat there silently cheering!! 😛 We felt quite comfortable there, more so than other restaurants where the atmosphere feels a bit stiff. And getting to visit the kitchen and meet the chef topped off an already wonderful evening. 🙂

Current listening :: “Bubble toes” – Jack Johnson

(more…)

Stuffed

Just got home from a verrrry nice evening out at Maze, Gordon Ramsays latest michelin starred modern french restaurant. Will blog about it properly tomorrow (with pics too).. but for now, let me say the food was reeeallly gooooood. London is fantastic for fine dining. I thought I’d been to some great restaurants in Sydney, but I think I’ve been re-educated to what quality gastranomical delights are here in England (where 4 out of 10 of the worlds top restaurants reside).

It was quite a special night. Aside from the fantastic food, we met the head chef Jason Atherton, had a mini tour of the kitchen (its huge!), and saw Gordon Ramsey himself who was sitting opposite our table chatting with business associates. Oh yeh, and it was me and Kwai’s 1 year anniversary tonight. 🙂

Ok, its 1:30am, waay past my bedtime… zzZzZZzz..

Wishful thinking

Sometimes I wish there were some sort of magical portal doorway that I could step through here in London, and I’d be transported to Sydney on the other side. It would be so nice to just drop in on friends/family on the other side of the world with just a step through a doorway.. I could like, go to a friend’s party or birthday or wedding.. for just a few hours.. and then step back into London. Could even go home for mums cooking one night. Would have to factor the time difference of course.

Someone invent one please?

Miscellaney

Current listening :: “Mofongo” – Yellowjackets

O.M.G.

Those bboy crews in Korea are friggin nuts! Pretty awesome stuff… I dunno how they do it! I can barely do the frog squat thingy where u balance on your hands with your knees on your elbows. I can hold it for maybe 10 secs at most! Here’s another crew from the same show (gets really good from 4 mins onwards). Damn.

I’m probably a bit slow on the uptake, but I’ve just signed up with YouTube, and have been discovering some pretty cool videos. I knew about it before, and I’ve browsed MySpace videos and Google Videos.. but never actually checked out YouTube in much detail. Possibly a dangerous discovery for me as I can see myself spending half a day at work on this website.. haha. It’s the whole Web 2.0 thing.. they’ve been yapping about it at the Internet World exhibition I went to last week.

I’ve been kinda getting into watching breakdance/bboy stuff on the web. Prob coz I’ve been thinking about taking some break dance classes at Pineapple. Ok, I KNOW I will never be able to do stuff like that video above, but Kwai says break dance is really good for helping with hiphop.. esp footwork.. and also it’ll be great for fitness.. it’ll buff my arms right up! Heheh. Not like gross huge, but I could do with more muscle tone. My arms are getting kinda flabby. And it sounds fun! 🙂 Just gotta find time to get to a class.

Oh and I’ve also been checkin out what my old dance school has been up to.. DanceKool. Looks like they’ve got a few vids up on YouTube too. Check out Poppin Sam. Awesome freak!

Current listening :: “Full Moon” – Brandy

Rockin my suburb

I’ve just been reminded how much Ben Folds friggin ROCKS!! I found his myspace profile (incidentally, I’ve been added as a friend on his myspace friends!! WHEEEE!!!!) Anyway, he’s got 5 new songs written specifically for the new animation movie Over The Hedge.. I’ve just listened to “Still” on his myspace page – and I immediately fell in love with the song… within the first 5 seconds. Damn, he is one talented songwriter/musician. Can’t wait to hear the rest! I was also reading his blog, which is quite funny. It was cool reading about the process through which he wrote those songs. Interesting stuff.

Anyway, I’ve been soooo tired this whole week. Ever since the move last weekend. It’s messed up my whole week – that friday night with 3 hours sleep. I’m feeling pretty run-down now.. like I’m on the verge of getting sick (got a minor sore throat.. really hope it doesn’t develop into anything more). And I haven’t been to the gym or dance class at all this week. In fact, I haven’t done any exercise at all since wednesday nite last week.. thats over a week ago. Ugh. I feel gross… unhealthy, unfit and tired. I really need to exercise (gym or dance) at least once in a week. Otherwise my body starts to go into slob-mode… and I just don’t feel very good. I eat more, I feel more tired/lethargic, and my mood goes downhill (as my poor boyfriend can attest to). I guess things have been so busy, there are so many things I still need to do with the new place… such as finish unpacking the boxes! I needed to take it easy… esp since my body is weak and rundown.. I don’t wanna push myself too hard and really get sick. Patience. *sigh* But I wish I could have done at least one class this week.. yoga or pilates or even hiphop class tonight. Perhaps I can do something on the weekend hmmm. After a good nights sleep tonight, I might feel more up-to-it tomorrow. Or Sunday. We’ll see. At least its the weekend! TGI Friday! 🙂

Miscellany

Oh, the landlord has FINALLY paid back the bond for my last place. Only yesterday. Took her long enough! Now I’m settling into my new place… its starting to feel a bit more like a home.. but as mentioned above, there’s still lots of work to do. Kwai is gonna install some new lighting – we discovered that you can actually put halogen lights into the normal light sockets using a halogen plug-in, like this one. So now I can have halogen lighting at home! Yay! I still need to buy a bookshelf. The living room is currently half filled with stacked boxes, coz I have nowhere to put those things. Myself and Kwai are gonna visit Ikea tonight. Such an exciting way to spend Friday night. Forget bars, pubs and clubs.. Ikea’s where its all at! And they’re open till midnight. Haha. 😛 The builder will be coming in next week to do the bathroom. Yay.

Otherwise.. travelling to work from my new place is a lot better than before – I always get a seat on the comfortable air-conditioned trains 🙂 …which is MUCH preferable to playing sardines on the overcrowded, non-airconditioned tube. Especially as summer draws near!

Current listening :: “Still” – Ben Folds (Over The Hedge OST)

Landlords from hell

I’ve just experienced firsthand getting shafted part of my bond as a tenant in the UK. I can’t believe how bad the system is here. There is no Bonds Tribunal here like there is in Australia.. no third party, no legal protection for tenants if the landlord decides not to give back the bond. If they don’t give it back, there is very little a tenant can do.. other than things like small claims tribunal, or a CCJ. Which costs money in themselves so might not be worth the cost and trouble.

See I moved out early from the flat in Finchley – before the legal 6 months, in good faith due to the landlords personal circumstances. The landlord had promised she would pay the deposit (plus the extra one weeks rent) early to help with my next deposit, seeing as she was asking for an early vacating of the flat. But later she went back on that saying she’d been advised not give deposit back until after inspecting the flat. So ok, I agreed, settling on paying back the deposit the day we left. She didn’t saying she was busy that day (saturday – apparently her birthday), and we settled on payment for the Monday.

Now I recieve an email from her yesterday claiming she was “deducting £180 for cleaning services as the place was very dirty and it took the cleaners 2 days to clean it back to the original state when you moved in”. How on earth it takes cleaners 2 days to clean an empty studio flat is beyond me. Seeing as I personally vacuumed, washed, cleaned, wiped down the flat before I left. Yes a little bit of dirt was left on the carpet whilst the removal of boxes/furniture was taking place by the movers. Since the vacuum was packed away, I couldn’t really give it a final vacuum (which seems excessive to me anyway).

I disputed this fee, and she replied today (the day she had promised to pay in the deposit – by lunchtime.. which she didn’t) saying she wouldn’t pay anything until the dispute was resolved (smells like blackmail to me), going through the cost of cleaning (professional carpet cleaning plus the cleaners bill), and listing out the areas she had found unsatisfactory. I took pictures just before leaving the flat, and I really don’t think the flat is dirty.. it looks lived in yes, and not spotlessly perfectly professionally cleaned, but I believe it was acceptable. Does that kitchen and hob look like it “hadn’t been cleaned in 7 months”?? Grrrr.

*sigh* Anyway. After getting advice from numerous people, including a lawyer friend, I decided it was best to just take her first offer, swallow the bitter pill and accept the £180 cleaning services fee, and part on good terms (esp as I asked her to forward any mail that might inadvertantly arrive there). She has agreed to this, and I guess that is that. I really need that cash too, after the blow of paying deposit plus 1 months rent in advance – all in cash. It’s a bit annoying that she’s been withholding it – and there is nothing I can do about it. At least I’ve learnt my lesson. My work colleague told me, apparently the only way you don’t get shafted your bond, is to get the place professionally cleaned yourself… and to KEEP THE RECEIPT AS PROOF! Lesson learned. Renting sux.

Current listening :: “Real Love” – Mary J Blige (ahh.. good ol’ old skool R&B..)

Goodbye Finchley, Hello Croydon!

So, I’ve just successfully completed moving flats to the opposite side of London: Finchley = far north, Croydon = far south! This would be my 5th move over the last year since coming to London. And hopefully the last for at least the next year! Speaking of years, yesterday was my 1 year anniversary with dreary London. Yep it has been exactly 1 year since I arrived here. How time flies.

I was gonna do something to celebrate yesterday, but I completely forgot about it as I was too preoccupied with unpacking, settling in, buying groceries so I could eat, and discovering my way around the plethora of shops in croydon (there are 2 huge shopping centres, a main high street shopping mall.. and generally heaps of shops everywhere). There’s even a Mango and Zara here in the brand new shopping centre Centrale. Yay! Plus there’s a huge “new” Ikea only about 10 mins away by tram – a direct tram from just outside my street! And next to that is a humungous megastore Sainsburys (supermarket.. like woolies or coles back home). Phew. I guess I won’t have to commute into central london to do my shopping anymore!

I’m pretty happy with my new location. Its a really convenient location to live. Only 5 mins walk to the tram stop just outside my street – trams come every 1 to 3 mins (until about 1am – though less frequently at late hours – the tram network down here rocks!) to East Croydon station, which is only a 5 min journey. Trains at East Croydon (which is a the most major station in the area – sorta like Waterloo in central london) every few minutes at peak time into central london, and there are FAST direct trains too!

Anyway, the move itself was quite a lot of work. I was packing boxes on Friday nite from 7pm until 4:30am. Got all of 3 hours sleep before getting up to finish up last minute packing before the moving van came to load up and drive down. The movers were pretty cool – amazing how fast they loaded everything into their van. The drive down to Croydon took about 2 hours. Ugh. Then spent the rest of saturday moving in, cleaning the place before I could unpack and put things away. Its an unfurnished place too – but I have my own bed and chest of drawers so it was ideal. I need to buy a bookshelf though, coz my last place had come with one. This is where the nearby Ikea comes in handy! At least this new place comes with a wardrobe. So unpacking is only about half done. Half my things are still in boxes.

This place is really spacious compared with Finchley. It’s a 1 bed flat and actually has a living room!! And a proper kitchen! And even a garage! Yay! However, its not as nice as Finchley – eg. it doesn’t have halogen lights (the other place did – which provided much better lighting and gave the place a warmer, more modern feel), the interior is a bit old (the other place was newly refurbished), the bathroom isn’t as nice (bathtub/shower is a lot smaller, shower head is cheap, toilet has difficulty flushing sometimes), and generally interior design is a little.. dated.. kinda makes me feel like I’ve stepped into the early 90s/late 80s. Heheh. Also has a slightly cheap feel to it (eg cheap plastic vinyl floor in the kitchen uneven in places, old washing machine, cooker has a half sized oven – other half is a griller). But for the price, space, and convenience for transport, this place is a gem! 🙂 And the landlord is pretty cool – I can make a few changes to the place to suit my tastes (at his expense!) things like lights and curtains can be changed, and the builder is coming in this week to “update” the bathroom, put in some shelving or a cabinet for storage (currently has nothing, not even a towel rail). Might even be able to get the landlord to pay for the bookshelf, if we leave it in the flat. Water pressure is good coz there’s a special extra pressuriser thingy you can turn on when you take a shower, but a new shower head is needed. And a new shower curtain. Also need new curtains for the kitchen window, and a net curtain too for privacy (it’s a ground floor flat facing the road and footpath – yes, I’m gonna buy home & contents insurance asap!) So I guess there’s freedom to personalise this place, which is good. Can make it my own. 🙂 Might invest in some nice halogen lights later (hello Ikea :P) to brighten the place up. And maybe an inexpensive sofa!

Phew. Moving and setting up a new home is lots of work. But its a nice feeling, settling into a new place, making it your own. I don’t have internet or phone line set up yet. Its gonna take prob 2 weeks to setup BT line and move my homechoice connection over. Ugh.

So, other than moving, my weekend was.. well.. all about the move. Myself and Kwai did watch Mission Impossible III on sunday. That was pretty cool!! A very action-packed, exciting, tense movie! May is an awesome month for movies! Last week was Mi:III, next week The Davinci Code, and following week is… X-Men III!!! Yay! Ok tis time for lunch.

Current listening :: “Sea Song” – Doves

Fond memories

Well, as promised, I’ve finally uploaded another set of photos taken in Sydney. These were all taken at my favourite beach in Sydney – Palm beach. 🙂 Kwai and myself made the most of our last day in Sydney (which happened to be a gorgeously sunny, blue skied day) and soaked up the sunshine at palm beach. We also took a fair few pics with Kwai’s digital SLR. Below are a few highlights (geez it was hard to pick only 8!) – you can view the rest here.

Isn’t it just beautiful? *sigh* I’ve ingrained the memories of that day in my head – they’re gonna have to last me the next year or so!!

May is a good month

So we just had yet another long weekend, only 2 weeks after the easter long weekend. It’s called May Day – a bank holiday on the 1st monday in May. Yay. 🙂 Then at the end of this month we get another bank holiday – called spring bank holiday or something. Not a bad time of year hey… and summer is just around the corner! The days are warming up.. no longer do I have to suffocate myself in 3 layers, scarf and gloves. 🙂 I look forward to the day I can wear t-shirts again! This thursday is even forecast to hit 25 degs. Yay!

Anyway, on Saturday I went to this err.. political demonstration / protest / concert.. called Love Music, Hate Racism. It was a free gig in Trafalgar Square. I went mainly because Belle & Sebastian were playing. 🙂 It was a protest against racism, and the British Nationalist Party – coz elections are coming up. Good cause – about 3000 turned up, but it didn’t get much media coverage at all.

On sunday myself and Kwai went to St Helens (we’ve pretty much settled on going there regularly now). Monday we played basketball with some of the guys from St Helens, ate an infamous Hot Salt Beef bagel at the Beigel Place on Brick Lane, and watched 16 Blocks (quite an intense movie).

Movin’ out

This week is gonna be pretty busy for me, as I’m moving this weekend! Yep, the flat was found (in east croydon), the decision was made, credit and reference checks were all good… so I’m moving on Saturday! Gotta pack everything into boxes.. and have to move furniture too coz it’s an unfurnished flat. What a hassle to move. BUT the new place is more spacious (a 1 bedroom, as opposed to studio flat).. and cheaper.. plus it has a garage too! It is further from central london – but there are very regular fast trains into central london, so its actually quite a convenient location to live (and its very close to public transport). Many central London workers live out in this area and do the commute by train. You definitely get more for your money out here.

Well I gotta head off soon. Am meeting Kwai at St Helens – we’re starting another bible study course tonight called The Big Picture. Should be good!

Current listening :: “Better together” – Jack Johnson

Hello from the office toilet!

Yes. I am bored today. 😛

Notice the new blue glasses? (See cam pic for close-up view.) 😀

*yawn* Man I’m tired today.

Current listening :: “I ain’t gotta tell you” – Ne-Yo

A foggy day..

.. in London town. Yep it is quite foggy and miserable today in London. On days like today, pictures like the ones below make me feel rather homesick.

These were taken during the trip home. The first of 3 visits to the beach, at one of my favourite beaches in Sydney – Freshwater. 🙂

But anyway, my weekend wasn’t bad. Watched two movies on Saturday (oh the unlimited card rocks!) – American Dreamz and Eight Below. The first kinda sucked, even though Mandy Moore was in it. I didn’t really like the ending. Eight Below was great! A definite must for dog fans, esp if you like Huskies – its an absolute Husky-fest! Its way better than Snow Dogs, but beware, there are a few tear-jerker moments. 🙂 Its a typical soppy disney, but I loved it. Makes me wish I had a husky… or 7. 😛 Here’s a still from the movie (more pics in the “more” section):

Farewell KC Actors Studio

Tonight is the KC Actors Studio Showcase, where the students from this past term get the chance to perform for agents and directors. It’s the also the end for KC Actors Studio. The school hasn’t done well financially, so Kwai’s decided to put the whole thing on hold for now and go back into Banking for a bit (selling his soul, as he puts it). But its sure been hectic leading up to this Showcase – so many things to organise. Ugh. I’ll be glad when its all over. Though there won’t be much time to relax, as I’ll have to start packing soon because I am possibly moving next weekend.

Dinner for 2.. on the company!

Work is going pretty well for me at the moment. I’m quite happy here, and my bosses tell me I’m doing a good job. I just completed a project last week, and as reward for a job well done, the CEO is giving myself and Kwai dinner on the company, anywhere we want!! We’re thinking of going to a Gordon Ramsey restaurant (3 michelin stars). Either at Royal Hospital Road or Claridges. The menu prestige looks absolutely mouthwatering. *drools* And so it should be for 90 pounds per person! I think budget isn’t an issue as my boss (also worked on the project) will be going up to The Fat Duck (which won the best restaurant in the WORLD award last year and also has 3 michelin stars). I’m tempted to try it too – it’s renowned for its creative and innovative dishes – eg bacon and egg ice-cream – sounds wierd, but its supposed to be really really good! Tasting menu is nearly 100 pounds for one person!! Hrm.. so which one should we go to – Gordon Ramseys or The Fat Duck?

Current listening :: “1001” – The Cat Empire

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Four years

Well, thanks to Vron, I’ve just been reminded that my blog has hit the ripe old age of 4. Yep I’ve been at it for 4 years. Gee how time flies. 4 years, 3 boyfriends, 2 countries later… from my first eloquent entry, through many ramblings, rants and redesigns.. plus the
odd controversial post.. to now.. I’m still here and still blogging.

Happy anniversary aye.

Current listening :: “Unbreakable” – Alicia Keys (live)

Take the lead

Watched this movie on the weekend (Antonio Banderas), and I have to say, its one of the best dance movies I’ve seen in a while. Very inspiring – I’m sure ballroom classes had a big influx in attendance after this movie was released! The dancing is pretty cool – makes me wanna learn to tango! Might get going to my salsa classes again hmm.. But other than the dancing, the plot of the movie was quite good too. Decent drama, with a some good laughs and inspiring dancing. Would you believe people in the cinema clapped near the end of the movie!! I admit I kinda felt like clapping too. You get a bit emotionally caught up.

Also watched She’s The Man, which I thoroughly enjoyed. One of the better romantic comedies I’ve seen this year. I kinda like Amanda Byrnes, as much a teeny bopper star as she is (I have a weakness for teeny boppy girly things *cough*) – but she is hilarious in this movie. Heehee.. a must watch for all – even the boys will have a laugh. Kwai enjoyed it. 🙂

Other than that, my weekend was spent flat hunting and watching the first half of Dark Angel Season 2.. plus the odd Family Guy episode. 😉

Yes I am flat hunting again. My landlord needs to move back into the flat. She rented it out because she was getting married.. but now they have broken up, called off the wedding, and she needs to move back to this flat. Hence, I need to find a new place to live. *sigh* But she’s being quite flexible.. I can move anytime from now until abt 6 weeks or so. So yeh, flat hunting again sucks… esp as I’m not exactly big on cashflow atm. Might have found a place down in Croydon. I’ve realised that the huge benefits of living further out really outweigh the benefits of living closer to central london. If you’re living in central london you’d get a place less than half the size, at more than double the price of something on the outskirts. So yeh, more space is good! Less rent is doubly good!!

Anyways its late now, gotta sleep!!

Current listening :: “S.O.S” – Rihanna (is it just me or does the choreography in this music video REALLY suck… its like, mega-cheesy beginners-jazz-class moves.. *shudder*)