My Blue Heaven

I hate cigarette smoke

Seriously. I am really really REALLY starting to really really REALLY HATE cigarette smoke. In Sydney, I didn’t have much against cigarette smoke. It was something I put up with in clubs on occasion, but I wasn’t too bothered by it. I never really encountered it much.

Since arriving here, I seem to have developed a passionate hatred for cigarette smoke. I don’t think I have so passionately hated something in a long time. The reason is because it’s everywhere. Everytime I go to a restuarant or cafe to eat, there will inevitably be someone smoking nearby. And because London buildings aren’t exactly built for ventilation (keep the heat in and the cold out) the smoke just gets trapped in those tiny rooms. Its not so bad outside.. you can avoid it, stand up-wind, walk in front of them. But in a restaurant or building, there is no escaping those evil tendrils of smoke that ever so slowly begin to choke you. On Saturday night, I had to step outside (into the freezing cold) to wait for the birthday dinner to end because I just couldn’t stand breathing in any more smoke.

And to put the cherry on top of it all, people smoke at my workplace. I don’t know who or where, but I can ALWAYS tell when someone starts smoking. Because I start to choke. My eyes sting, breathing is more difficult, I start to cough and it gives me a headache.

I’m sitting here now, already with a cold and some seriously blocked up sinuses.. my body trying to fight the infection. I’m finding it hard enough to breathe as it is. And some selfish person is smoking. I’m sitting here typing this and I can feel my body’s health deteriorating. My cough worsening and my chest starting to hurt.

This is why I hate cigarette smoke (indoors). Its a bl**dy selfish activity. Harmful not only to themselves, but also those around them.

Current listening :: “Dreams be dream” – Jack Johnson

Gong Hei Fatt Choy

I can’t believe I’m sick. Again. I only just got better, for all of one week.. and now I’m sick again. Grrr. Sucks. 🙁

I didn’t even have a particularly big weekend. No partying hard or clubbing. It was just busy with normal activities – dim sum with relatives, a friends birthday dinner, Chinese New Year lunch and church. Ok, I did sleep a bit late getting 6 – 7 hours sleep, but no staying out late. It’s just that there was no chance to sleep in – which is quite important for me. I need to allow at least 1 weekend morning to catch up on sleep and recover from the tiredness that builds up over the week at work. Kinda sad really.. that work takes such a toll. A job that slowly kills you? I’m beginning to understand.

Photos from the weekend:

Lets play tag

Thanks to a l. 😛

Four jobs you’ve had in your life:
1) Waitress
2) Graduate programmer
3) Web developer
4) Contractor

Four movies you could watch over and over again (not to be confused with favourite movies):
1) Bridget Jones Diary
2) Star Wars Trilogy
3) Love Actually
4) Ever After

Four TV shows you love(d) to watch:
1) Stargate Atlantis!!!
2) Stargate SG1
3) Seaquest DSV
4) Star Trek Next Gen

Four places you’ve lived:
1) Hatfield, UK
2) Ermington, Sydney, Australia
3) London, UK
4) Frankfurt, Germany

Four places you’ve been on vacation to:
1) Paris, France
2) Verona, Italy
3) Phuket, Thailand
4) New Zealand

Four places you would rather be (or where you’ll like to visit? – ok changing my answers to where I’d like to visit):
1) Italy (I looove Italy! Rome, Milan, Venice, Sorrento.. wanna see em all!)
2) Southern france
3) Japan
4) New York

Four of your favourite foods:
1) udon noodle soup with teriyaki chicken
2) rich chocolate ice-cream/gelati
3) fresh salmon sashimi
4) authentic italian pasta

Four websites you visit daily:
1) gmail.com
2) kazzart.com
3) homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html
4) metoffice.gov.uk

Four tagged:
1) Vron
2) Nayfon
3) Gavin
4) Sam

Anyway. Home time! Yay! Me and my blocked nose have been looking forward to this moment from the moment I arrived at work.

Current listening :: “Don’t Panic” – Coldplay

I just saw..

A body floating down the Thames River! One of my work colleagues saw it first and pointed it out to the rest of us. We’re pretty sure it looks like a body.. face downward.. looks like he’s wearing workmans clothes. We called the police and reported. No idea where it is now.. floated onwards. Rather disturbing – not something you see everyday!! I didn’t even get a picture of it to send to the papers. I wonder if there’s gonna be a story about it in the papers. I wonder what happened..

Anyways. TGI Friday! This week has gone by really quickly for some reason. And that’s a good thing – I love it when the week passes by and before you know, it’s the weekend again. Yay! 🙂 I’ve got quite a jammed packed weekend coming up. Dim sum lunch tomorrow with almost all my relatives.. 2 aunts and various cousins – just so they can check out my bf (and probably report back to my parents). I think my parents are setting up a spy network rivalling the British Secret Service. Ok maybe not, but its a bit unsettling what I hear from cousins at times! Asian parents man. Youngest daughter moving out for the first time.. to the other side of world = parents freaking out at regular intervals!

Err where was I again? Oh yeh, the weekend. So after dim sum lunch, we’re rushing off to a birthday party for one of Kwai’s close friends. That’ll last till late. Sunday’s schedule involves a looong Chinese New Year lunch with Kwai’s parents in china town (gee it’s a full on Meet The Parents/Relatives weekend this weekend!) and then watching a movie (probably Zathura) in the late afternoon before going to evening service at St Helens at night. Phew. Hope I won’t be too exhausted come Monday. No time for a visit to the gym unfortunately.. which sucks coz I like going to the gym on the weekend. 🙁

I’ve started reading “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” again.. continued reading I mean. I’m now up to chapter 3.. and its only taken me 9 months!! I am absorbing it though, slowly but surely. I still think its a great book – very practical.

Anyways, lunch time now. Need. Food.

Current listening :: “Stay” – Lisa Loeb

Happy Australia Day!

Feeling a lil nostalgic on Australia Day today. Plus the fact that I don’t get the day off kinda sucks. 😛

It’s funny, these days usually one of the first things friends from home ask me when I talk to them on MSN/email is “So when are you coming home?” Like I’m gonna be returning any day now…. and I haven’t even been here a year yet. It’s nice to know people miss me.. hehe. I do quite miss home. You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to going home for that 2 week visit in March. Just to see the familiar streets of Sydney again… my home… my cat… family.. friends. To eat at my old regular haunts. Go to the beach. Lots. *sigh* I miss Sydney.

Am having fun here too. Went to dance class last nite! First time in…. weeks!! It’s been over a month I think! I was *really* itching for it. Serious dance drought here. But finally went to a fusion funk class, and it was much easier than I expected. Either the routine was easy, or I haven’t lost my skills/fitness as much as I thought. And I’m not really that sore today, suprisingly. Maybe the yoga has paid off eh. Anyway, there are a few new hiphop classes I really wanna try. (Still searching for a real hiphop class.)

Well. Better get back to work! But before I go….

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!

😛

Current listening :: “Better Be Home Soon” – Crowded House

Jarhead

My notification list just got spammed. 34 dud yahoo.co.uk email addresses. Well that’s a new one! They just keep thinking up new ways to spam you don’t they? Grr.

I watched Jarhead on the weekend (Hoo Rah!) I was a bit hesitant to watch it at first.. but then gave in coz Kwai really wanted to see it, and there was nothing else to watch that I hadn’t already seen. (Unlimited movies with Cineworld/UGC Cinemas is a really Cool thing!!) Anyway, back to my point. Jarhead. It was much better than I expected. I quite liked it in fact. It was different from your usual war movies. An interesting insight into war.

Hrm I wonder how accurate a portrayal it was. Could ask a friend in Frankfurt.. american guy who fought in the Gulf War. He did special ops stuff too. This guy is one crazy individual. He was telling us how he once, on a dare, snuck into a nearby russian base, stole a tank, took it for a joyride into the forest and then abandoned it, AND didn’t get caught! Proud owner of a Nissan Skyliner (about which he brags for hours). A few times a year he races a few other fast car owners (eg ferari’s etc) in Germany on the autobahn from Frankfurt to Koln. Apparently police cars can never keep up with them if they try to catch them. I believe he’s even outrun a helicopter before. Nuts. I guess he likes his thrills! Funnily enough, he’s also a huuuge fan of Stargate. 🙂

Anyways, gonna head off now. It’s finally end of the day, and I’m absolutely knackered. My back hurts too. 🙁 Despite the 15-20 mins yoga I’ve started doing every morning when I get up. Maybe tis just the cold weather… temps have dropped back down to around 0 – 2 degs! Friggin freezing, but alas, no snow.

Current listening :: “Weather with you” – Crowded House”

I hate being sick (Ranty rant)

As the title says, I hate being sick. I’m especially bad with the recovery stage. I get too impatient. I find it hard to wait for my body to be completely healed, coz I just wanna get back into exercise already! Having not done anything active for at least a few days, I feel all crap and lethargic and bloated and I’m just itching to get back into doing my usual regime of exercise or dancing. But time and time again, I try to resume exercise too soon.. my body can’t handle it, and I just get sick again – or I prolong the recovery period. But when I don’t exercise for some time, my mood is noticably worse and my body feels stiff and crap. I get all frustrated with everything and the best solution is to exercise, but I can’t. Grrr. I hate being sick. 🙁

I’m also frustrated with work. Just the fact that it takes so much time out from my life. I never get home before 8pm. Usually sometime between 8 and 9pm. And thats going straight from work to home. Which barely leaves me enough time to cook and eat dinner, relax for a bit and get to bed at a decent hour so I can get up the next morning in time for work. To being the cycle again. Or if I go to the gym, then that pretty much takes out my 8 – 10pm time slot for dinner! Am really feeling the whole “rat race” thing here. I want a life damnit!

/rant. 😛

Despite all my rage
I am still just a rat in a cage

Here are some photos taken (with my phone) from and around my office building. Can be quite a pretty view sometimes. I guess that’s small comfort for not being in central London and having to travel 1 & 1/2 hours to get to work.

Current listening :: “Bullet with butterfly wings” – Smashing Pumpkins (I’m finding that I rather like Melon Collie & the Infinite Sadness now.. more than I did before.. not just the poppy songs.. even the “heavier” songs.. wonder why that is. I feel the emotion in the music that I didn’t really feel before..)

Twenty old

Happy Belated Birthdee to mee. (For saturday.)

Scary to think how old I am now. Don’t even wanna think about it. Anyway, didn’t exactly have the best of birthdays as I came down with the worst cold the day before. Was fully bed-ridden on friday, but felt a bit better on sat, though still had a painful sore throat. Didn’t really do much – Kwai and myself did go out into central london in the evening and had dinner at a really nice (and equally expensive) modern french restaurant called Pied a Terre. Food was nice (we had the tasting menu – 10 courses!), but of course pricey, and service was alright (a bit forgetful – Kwai had arranged for them to bring out a birthday cake for me, which they completely forgot to do – not good for a michelin starred restaurant). And the clientelle were a bit snobby (apparently some old lady sitting at a table nearby commented on my wearing jeans – even though dress code was smart casual). But I still enjoyed the 3 odd hours we spent there. The bittersweet chocolate tart and petit fours were to-die-for. *drools*

Photos above were taken with my Sony Ericsson K750i phone. Not bad effort for a phone eh! (With only minimal photoshop tweaking – gotta love Auto Levels.. photoshop for the lazy person! Hehehe). More photos here.

On sunday we watched Memoirs of a Geisha. Which was long but pretty good. Quite a moving story. I just wish they didn’t use all chinese actors to play japanese characters! As good as Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh are, I’m sure there are plenty of talented and equally beautiful japanese actresses.

In other news, I’m gonna be coming back home for a holiday around mid – end March. For about 2 weeks. Will prob stop over in HK for a couple days too. So get ready to be booked into my frantic 2 weeks of catching up with as-many-people-as-possible!! 🙂

Current listening :: “High and Dry” – Radiohead

(more…)

I want it that way

Absolutely hilarious. Hahahehaheha. (Thanks to Bill.)

Notify me!

The astute may have noticed a new little form on the left hand side. Yep, you can now officially subscribe to Kazzart.Com. This simply means you can be notified by email when new content is posted to my weblog. Just enter your email address and click “Notify me”. This is all thanks to in-built features of MovableType (which I’ve been too lazy to utilise until now). And don’t worry, I’m not harvesting emails to give to secret 3rd party associates – I won’t spam you.. I promise.

Talking about techie things… has anyone upgraded to the new MovableType 3.2? I’m still stuck in ancient times on v2.6. Is it worth the upgrade? I notice you now have to pay, unless you’re getting the single user/no support version. Hm.. anyways. I really need to do a website update/redesign soon. My code isn’t even w3c standards compliant and I’m supposed to be a web developer. Well, now I know how to do this, and more. Kinda handy having a hobby in the same industry as your job. 😉

ISFP

I decided to revisit the myers-briggs temperament sorter. The last time I tested myself was almost 2 years ago! So I find it interesting to note that I am now fairly firmly an ISFP (was previously ESFP.. though teetering towards ISFP). As defined by Keirsey, I’m an Artisan Composer. I actually got almost the same results from both Kisa and Jungs tests.

In more detail, according to Jung I am:

• moderately expressed Introvert (44%)
• distinctively expressed Sensing personality (62%)
• distinctively expressed Feeling personality (62%)
• slightly expressed Perceiving personality (6%)

I found a fairly short succinct description of an ISFP on this website:

“People of this type tend to be: kind, humble, and highly empathetic; thoughtful, faithful, and affectionate with those they know well; sensitive to criticism and easily hurt; quiet, soft-spoken, and gentle; adaptable, responsive, and curious; realistic and down to earth.

The most important thing to ISFPs is feeling peaceful and harmonious with the people and places that matter most to them.”

Actually scarily accurate! (Esp the extra bits about “how to love” and “how to spot” an ISFP). Rather interesting stuff. But if I change one answer (in the Jung test), I become an ISFJ, with a Judging score at 6%, which also fits depending on the situation! Seems I’m quite borderline between the J and P.

I wonder why I’m a lot more introverted than before. Is it just a matter of circumstance? I got an ESFP score before.. and I think in the right situation, I could possibly be an ESFP sometimes? Meh.. maybe I’m becoming more hermit-like with age! Kwai seems to think I’m an introvert.

Current listening :: “Pon De Replay” – Rihanna

Weekend update

Had myself a rather enjoyable weekend. Fri night was spent relaxing at home, ordering some local Thai delivery and watching Princess Diaries 2. 🙂 On Saturday, Kwai and myself went to salsa class @ the Urdang Academy in Covent Garden! The teacher, Julian, was the same as my thurs class I used to go to, but the level was a bit harder (Int/Advanced). I felt like such a clumsy beginner.. especially with the fancy footwork during warm up. He taught the class a lot faster too. I think I annoyed one of the guys I danced with coz I totally lost it and wasn’t following him. Ack. I find following the hardest thing in salsa.. I’m just not used to it.. I’ve been too well-trained in other forms of independant dance (jazz, funk, hiphop). But all was well in the end and I had improved greatly by the time I went full circle (we change partners throughout class) and reached the same guy again. I danced with the teacher once too.. whose only advice to me was to look up and not at my feet. Good advice. Kwai seemed to find the class a tad challenging too… at least I didn’t have my partner refuse to dance with me, as one of the girls did with him. Harsh. But then he hadn’t done any salsa for like 7 or 8 months. For me, it was my first salsa class in about 3 months. We both were jumping straight into an advanced class. Haha. Well I like the challenge. I always seem to go for classes that are just a little over my head.. I guess its much more satisfying when I do get the routine at the end. 🙂 But I intend to get back into salsa.. and improve! It’s heaps fun. 🙂 I quite like the Saturday class. It’s smaller and friendler.. with a close-knit feel to the group. As they repeatedly stated, they’re like a family there. Plus me and Kwai can go practice at salsa clubs. 🙂

So after salsa, we both had an impromptu haircut at my new-favourite salon in London.. Sanrizz at Covent Garden. Kwai desperately needed a haircut and managed to get an appointment with his regular hairdresser – a japanese lady called Hirumi. She’s the senior stylist there. I decided instead of waiting, to get my hair done too! 🙂 Got my fringe trimmed shorter and blended it in with the layers around my face. I’m really into this layering thing atm. It gives more body and shape around the face. Might post a pic later. 😉 After our dual haircut (I’ve never gotten my hair cut with my boyfriend before… it was fun!) Kwai took me to his favourite Balti Indian restaurant nearby. The cheap pre-theatre menu included a Balti dish and unlimited naan bread for £6.50! Let me tell you, the naan bread was absolutely divine. It was HUUGE (the width of the table!) and freshly made, just out of the oven. Mmmmm. Finally, to finish our day out, we watched March Of The Penguins.. which was very cute. Emperor Penguins are the coolest animals. Literally.. surviving in -80 degrees + wind chill of 100 miles/hour! Damn I shouldn’t complain about London weather!

Sunday was spent in bed. I slept until 4pm and actually missed daylight! My body was worn out from a hard week at work, building up lack of sleep, and a long day & night out on Sat.. I woke up all sniffly, sneezing, with a headache – so went back to sleep. It was worth it. My body definitely needed the recovery sleep. At night, Kwai cooked me some pies with mash and peas for dinner. And I mean, cooked pies from scratch… he made the stock by simmering chickens, cooked up all the fresh ingrediants with fresh herbs and white wine, rolled out the puff pastry… mashed up potatoes.. and 3 & 1/2 hours later.. we ate the best chicken and mushroom pie I have ever tasted!! Kwai Can Cook!! 🙂

Well. Gotta leave soon – gonna go to the gym tonite for a swim, spa, steam and sauna. Nothing too heavy.. just some light exercise coz I feel so stodgy after eating very filling pie for lunch. (He made 6 pies… I can barely finish 1 in one sitting).

Oh yeh, forgot to mention that I watched “Just Like Heaven” and “The Producers” the weekend before. I enjoyed both. Reeally loved Just Like Heaven – it was so sweet and romantic.. and I cried twice in it! The Producers was a crack up.. I have “Spring Time for Hitler” in my head now… hehe. I gotta say, the gay guys at that choreographers house/office were VERY funny… esp when they come down the stairs as they’re introduced.

Current listening :: “One Way” – Hillsong United Live

Photos update

FINALLY updated my gallery with some new (old) photos taken over the past few months in Brussels, Frankfurt and London! Check em out. Here’s a sneak preview. 🙂

Current listening :: “Stickwitu” – The Pussycat Dolls

2005

Note: This post has been updated to include a few more categories and musings plus links to all the relevent experiences in my blog during 2005. (05/01/06 11:30am.)

Yet another year over. I can’t believe how fast this year has flown by. I can’t believe I’ve been in London for 8 months. There have been so many changes in my life over this past year. Just trying to think back and remember everything that has happened this year is giving me a headache. In summary:

• Started the year depressed, heartbroken and single
• Kicked myself in the butt, took a chance and met some awesome people who have become great friends (whom I miss very much)
• Decided to go experience more of the world whilst I was still young (and free) – so packed up my life and headed off to London
• Whilst in London – got a job, lost a job, started contracting, stopped contracting (coz I chickened out), lived in the south, west and north of London, lived in Frankfurt, lived out of a suitcase for 6 months, visited Paris, Verona, Brussels and Amsterdam, started renting my own place for the first time, met a cute british boy who rather abruptly ended my fairly short span of singledom

I’m gonna attempt to narrow down and list the 2005 experiences that really stand out for me. Very difficult task, but here goes!

Most memorable experience

This is sooo hard to narrow. I may even change my mind later. But for now.. it would have to be the time I spent living in and visiting Frankfurt. The month or so I spent there (plus the first few weekend trips) really left its mark on my memory. I actually miss Frankfurt and the people I met there. Things that stand out for me include buying a 2nd hand bicycle (and basket!) and learning to ride around Frankfurt by myself.. be it to go shopping for groceries, go to the kino (cinemas), or just for a ride by the river side. Bicycles are cool. Other things include Mystery Monday nights at the kino, the riverside street festivals, and the saunas. A close second would be my final few months in Sydney – had lots of great friends, partied hard, danced hard, felt so energised, healthy, independant, motivated and alive. I really had a great time before leaving Sydney. They were some of the best few months in my life. (Ok I didn’t do a very good job of narrowing this one down to one experience. :P)

Happiest experience

Sitting on the back of Kwai’s bicycle as he cycled through the peaceful, leafy tree-lined streets of Frankurt on a beautiful sunny sunday summers afternoon during my first weekend trip to Frankfurt.

Most fun experience

The day out at Wattamolla with good friends followed by dinner, some extremely crazy fun karaoke and very late pancakes at the rocks. Also clubbing almost every week with Romyl, Kay, Chris, Christian and crew during my final few months in Sydney.

Most scary/exciting experience

Sitting in the very front seats of the front carriage on a rollercoaster at a theme park near Frankfurt… and going down that first, near vertical drop, being forced NOT to hold on to the bars but have my hands above my head.. whilst screaming my head off! Also coming over to London, leaving home for the very first time.. that was pretty scary/exciting.. in a different way.

Coolest experience

The saunas in Frankfurt… they’re awesome! (Should be called hottest experience really! :P) And the International Dancers Workshop #3. Oh the routines were sooooo goooood. *sigh*

Most unexpected experience

Getting a boyfriend in London!

Best gigs of the year

Tie between The Cat Empire @ Shepherds Bush Empire (London), Jack Johnson @ Centennial Park (Sydney) and Wave Aid @ Sydney Cricket Ground.

Coolest new skill learnt

Salsa dancing! Sooo much fun. 🙂

Biggest shopping spree

Hands down. Brussels. Whee! 😀

Most gastranomical experience

Verona – the coffee, the gelati, the food (in particular lunch in backstreet alley deli/cafe). Nuff said. Also a certain restaurant in Montmarte, Paris – I think its called Pre Cadet. Oh, and belgian chocolates and waffles in Brussels. Mmmm… *drools*

Most cultural experience

Watching La Boheme at the Arena di Verona Annual Opera Festival in Verona, Italy.

Most bittersweet experience

Saying our first “I love you” at the airport, as my new boyfriend of 3 days left to spend 6 months in Frankfurt. And also every time we parted after a wonderful but too-short weekend together.

Most depressing experience

Suddenly really missing my parents (and crying for days) 2 weeks into arriving in London (after the initial ‘wow’ had worn off)… also the many times I’ve felt very alone and friendless in a big, cold city (have really hit some big time lows this year)… the whole process of leaving and gradually losing touch with all my friends back home. 🙁

Most stressful experience

Losing a job, and getting kicked out of accomodation at the same time. Not having any contract work for 6 weeks. And the experience of missing a flight (or 2).. and missing a eurostar train…

Most painful experience

Getting UTI. *shudders*

Most disappointing experience

The fiasco of having a contract job cancelled at the airport the day before starting. Also gaining weight due to too much eating, losing fitness due to lack of exercise, losing dancing skills due to lack of dancing, losing piano skills due to lack of playing! 🙁

So there it is. 2005. Happy 2006 to you all. A brand new year with lots more new experiences. Hopefully these will include skiing, more Europe, Australia, New York, more dancing, more salsa, more exercise, more friends, jazz piano courses, St Helens, World Cup 2006 in Frankfurt… to name a few. 😉

To extend this long post even more. I know I have changed over the past 8 months. I’ve been reflecting upon this.. and I think the change that stands out the most to me is my willingness to try new things, for the sake of trying new things. I always tended to stick to the old and familiar.. the tried and tested. I hated disappointment, and unless I was 110% sure a new experience/food/thing would be good.. I would most likely choose what I already knew to be good. But now, I find myself going for the new.. something I haven’t tried or eaten before. I guess I’ve become a lot more adventurous.

Hm. This has become a mammoth post. But its been good for me to reflect on this past year. To remember things I’ve forgotten. It helps me keep things in perspective. It helps kick me in the butt in the areas I’ve let slide. Reminds me of things I have achieved, and motivates me to continue trying, because I know I’ve done it before. So.. here’s to making 2006 a great year! 🙂