My Blue Heaven

Updates

Hey guys. Sorry for the lack of updates! Things have been rather busy here… apart from starting work, I’ve been going out heaps as well! Really need to catch up on sleep..

Work

Ok so, work. It’s my 5th day here at Adgistics (err yes I’m blogging from work again). Work has been not bad thus far. The people are very nice – the environment is a fun and laidback, yet hardworking one. And everyone is quite young.. my manager, the IT Technical Director is only 31! I went out with a bunch of my work mates last Friday night, which was nice. I thought it would be a good idea to try and get to know them a bit better in a more relaxed environment at the pub/bar.

The work itself has been a bit slow – I’ve been just trying to wrap my head around this system and the code – its getting slightly easier as time goes by.. at first I wasn’t sure if I would be able to understand it at all. But now bits and pieces are coming together and making sense. It’s a much larger and more complicated system than I’ve ever worked on before, involving some rather abstract OO concepts (even though its just ASP/SQL). I like the responsibility though – I’m actually taking on a whole project (my client is Canon – I’m taking over their online advertisement management system). So my first task will be to make updates and enhancements to this existing ASP system.

Fun

So apart from work… things have been getting a bit better here. Am feeling a lot less homesick. It was pretty bad about a week back. I was getting really depressed and homesick and felt very alone. It was even affecting my ability to socialise with and meet new people, which wasn’t really helping my situation.

But now I’ve been going out alot more. Last night I went to the Ben Fold gig at Hammersmith Apollo. T’was an awesome gig… Ben Folds lives up to expectations yet again. 🙂 I had a fairly good view too, and this time I actually remembered to bring my digital camera! Woohoo! Took a plethora of photos and video. Hee. Will upload them when I have time.

So what else have I been up to… saw The Lion King Musical on thurs night with Annie and Andrew, went to a bbq at a CCiL friend’s house on sunday eve where we totally stuffed ourselves with food, monday was a public holiday (woohoo!), went to a karaoke bar on monday night (one of those at-a-pub-in-front-of-everyone do’s.. except these people could actually sing rather well!), “enjoyed” the night bus experience 2 nights in a row (one night with it actually breaking down.. luckily only one stop away from my stop), and otherwise just chilled at home doing stuff like washing my clothes etc etc.

This Thurs night I’m going to a friend’s leaving party at a Salsa club – should be fun! 🙂 And on Fri night, I’ll be going to Shakespears The Globe Theatre to watch “The Tempest”. Really looking forward to this! Got standing room tix for just 5 quid!

I’ve got lots of photos to upload. Just haven’t had time to go through them yet. So stay tuned. 🙂 Ok back to work!!

Current listening :: “Rush Rush” – Paula Abdul

More pics

Taken over the weekend.

Current listening :: “Sol Y Sombra” – The Cat Empire

G33k Quiz

Which File Extension are You?

Hahaha.. how appropriate. Hehe.. I found this quiz highly amusing.. as any true geek would. (Thanks to Joe for the quiz.. whose result of .ogg is so totally accurate :P).

Updates

Anyway, so one more day of freedom before I start work on wednesday. I hope it is as good a place to work as I expected. Today I met up with Annie and Andrew from my church back home, who are holidaying here. It was good to see a familiar face, and hear that good ol aussie accent again. We had lunch in chinatown (trusty asian food… always cheap.. and was quite yummy too! :)) Then after scrumptious dessert at Hagen Dazs cafe (man I love that place!) we went down to the British Museum. I saw real mummies!! And a well-preserved mummified corpse. Freaky cool stuff! Took lotsa pics which I’ll post later.

I also bought myself my first gig ticket today! Ben Folds at the Apollo in Hammersmith, 25 pounds not too bad (going by myself tho.. :|). Ooh… and the support act is Clem Snide! I remember seeing him aaages ago in Aust… can’t remember who he was supporting but I remember he was pretty cool.

*sigh* Never thought I’d say this….. but I miss my parents. 🙁 And of course I miss my friends. I miss home. I miss Sydney. I think I’m finally feeling homesick… now that the newness and wonderment of being in London is starting to wear off. *sigh* And I miss Coltrane…. I dreamt about him last night. And also my parents. And.. others. I feel sad and alone. (Not all the time. Just sometimes. Like now.)

Current listening :: “Breakdown” – Jack Johnson

I Got A Job!

Actually, I got TWO job offers! Yay!! 🙂 Both Dialaphone and Adgistics offered me a job on Friday. I picked Adgistics.. I was actually hoping that they would offer me a job. So my reasons?

Well, they were in a better location in central london (right underneath Tower Bridge, London Bridge side – this was actually quite an important factor for me.. I like to work in a nice location that is central.. with shops and restaurants around – esp since I’m here to experience London), the role also involved more asp & .Net programming/development work (which is definitely better for my career), the company was more exciting and cool (being in online advertising – they provide online advertising management systems to big names like Sony, Adidas etc), the people are younger (the IT Director looks like he’s my age!!), really friendly and laidback.. and the environment seems just more fun and informal (they dress quite casual – 2 of the guys who interviewed me were wearing t-shirts). The hours are better too – they start later.. yay! Just seemed like a really awesome company to work with – I’m so suprised they offered me a job.. after only one (quite informal) interview too!! Was a very quick process! 🙂 Oh yeh, and extra bonus… they offered more pay!! I mean, how cool is that… I got the job I wanted, with better pay! This is so much better than I expected my first job here to be. Woohoo!! 😀 Will update as I start the job – I’m sure its gonna get stressful and challenging.. and I know I’m gonna have to work hard in this role, but I think this experience will be interesting, and also good for me career-wise. 🙂

So I start this Wed at 9:30am. Yay.. I’m actually looking forward to it. To meeting the rest of the company.. and yeh… doing something with my spare time. Oh yeh, and earning some money!

Anyways, time to sleep. Tonight I went to see Star Wars Ep 3. Hmm.. better than 1 and 2. Still had dodgy scripting and sometimes flakey acting. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. So depressing. *sigh* But of course, it had to be that way. *sigh* I missed seeing it with you guys in Sydney too…. I wish I could have gone to the midnight premiere with you guys.. and just shared in the enthusiam. Ppl here don’t seem to be as into it. *sigh* Ok really better go sleep, otherwise I’m gonna start wallowing in depressive thoughts again.


Current listening :: “Hello Stranger” – Bluebottle Kiss

Photos!

Yes finally. 58 new photos uploaded to my Gallery. This better be worth me staying up till 3:20am. Go check em out. Here’s a sample below.

In other news. I think I almost have a job offer.. or 2! I think I am going to get an offer from one company tomorrow.. and I’ve also had very good feedback from another company. So it’s looking good… two possible job prospectives on the horizon.. not bad in only 2 weeks! 🙂

Went out tonight with my cousin Samuel to see a play. It was really good. Its a christian play – called Hope’s Kitchen. They go around to prisons around the country. And tomorrow I’m going out with another cousin to see the National Beijing Opera. Anyway. Bed. Now!!

Current listening :: “Last Cinema” – Bluebottle Kiss

Updates From Chilly London

Hey guys. Sorry, long time no update. Things have been pretty hectic!! (Gee I hate using that word now… ever since KYC in January. :P) Anyway, a summary of my life thus far, broken into groups:

WEATHER

I’m slowly getting used to the weather here. It’s been sunny quite often, which has been nice. And Sunday was absolutely beautiful – it was actually singlet top weather!! Bring on more of that! 🙂 But when its cloudy.. its cold.. and if its windy too… then its damn cold!!

JOB HUNTING

This has been going fairly well actually. The main cause of my busyness. So far I’ve had 3 interviews, 2 with one company (dialaphone.co.uk) and 1 with another (IFX Markets). The interviews with dialaphone have actually been going very well – I just had the 2nd interview today, which consisted of an interview with HR and then an IQ logic test and a personality quiz. Then this very afternoon, I got a call from the IT manager (not the recruitment agent) who told me I had scored 100% in the IQ test!!! And that they wanted me to come back for the 3rd round interview – to meet with their senior developer… tommorrow morning at 9am. Ack early start.

And then I also have another interview tomm afternoon with another company – Adgistics – for an asp web development role. Looks like a very good role and a good company actually. Also they’re in a more central location at London Bridge. Anyways…. we’ll see how things go! Looking good so far! 🙂

CHURCH

For the 2 sundays that I’ve been here thus far… I’ve gone to CCiL on both sundays (11:30am english service), with my cousins. I’ve found the people at that church quite friendly and welcoming.. which is probably why I went back again last sunday. However, I found the teaching to be a bit… not-so-solid. Esp the sermon last sunday… ack. Talk about direct application of OT, skipping of hermeneutics and not much mention of Jesus. I took some notes… coz I’m not sure if my thoughts regarding the sermon are correct or not. I guess my theological and biblical knowledge is a bit rusty too. I don’t wanna jump too quickly to wrong conclusions.. but my “dodginess” bump was itching throughout the sermon. For my notes, click on the “more” link at the bottom of this post.

So, for this reason, I’ve been wanting to visit other churches – namely All Souls and St Helens (well actually, I had planned to go to one of these churches before even arriving in London, but wanted to visit CCiL too coz my cousins went there). I finally went last sunday to All Souls 6:30pm service. Which was quite huge. Around a couple hundred I’m guessing. Firstly, the sermon was GREAT! Really solid bible teaching… just like a KYC talk back home. It really struck home for me too… about the danger of hard hearts (passage was Ezekiel 2 & 3, sermon title “God Appoints A Watchman”). However… I was lost in the numbers there – nobody noticed I was a newcomer, and nobody really talked to me. I pretty much came and left on my own. Oh, but the music was phwoarsome. They had the All Souls Orchestra playing (as they do once a month) and that was pretty amazing. Very majestic and uplifting!

So now I’m stuck…. I like CCiL coz of the ppl, I feel comfortable with them, and they are so friendly and welcoming…. but I prefer the teaching at All Souls. Still have yet to try St Helens – will do so next Sunday methinks.

SOCIAL/PERSONAL

Have been making friends with CCiL ppl. After the All Souls service I actually met up with some ppl for dinner nearby just down Oxford Street. (Went out with them for lunch too!) So that was fun… am getting along quite well with these guys.

But other than that… I don’t really feel I’m at the stage yet where I can just call one of em up during the week to chat, or meet up. I mean.. maybe I could… but its early days yet, and I feel a bit hesitant to do that so soon. The familiarity is not quite there yet. So during the week I still feel a bit lonely. Esp when I go home and have nothing to do… wanting to talk to and share with someone about my day, the interviews I’ve been to… or just hang out. But I think with time this will get better… just need to be patient. And also once I start working I’ll have a lot less time to feel bored and lonely, as I will probably be so busy with work and stuff, that I have little time to spend alone.

But still… at times.. it kinda sucks doing all this alone.

FOOD

Save the most important for last eh. 😛 I am rapidly getting sick of having toasted panini sandwiches. So tonight, I cooked myself (and my cousin & her husband) a pasta dish. Yummo. I enjoy cooking I realised. It gives me a sense of satisfaction and contentment. 🙂 Anyway… food is expensive here. And fresh groceries are hard to find. 🙁 Not like Australia where we have mountains of fresh fruit and veges to choose from… grrr.

Oooh I discovered one gem of a cafe today. Haagen-Dazs cafe! OMG it is soooooo gooooood *drools* They have icecreams, sundaes, hot and cold drinks, cocktails. desserts. I went there today…. and ordered the Chocoholics Sundae. A scoop of Belgian Choc (rich choc with belgian choc flakes all through it), a scoop of Choc Choc Chip (rich choc with chunky dark choc chips), cream, hot choc fudge and a wafer cone. It was to die for… and I nearly OD’d on all that chocolate and cream. Hahaha. Dearie me.. think I need to hit the gym again real soon!!!

Okies… well I think thats about all for now. Need to go sleep soon so I can get up bright and early for tommorrows interview. Photos are coming soon… err… I promise!! I know, I know, I’m just a lazy sod who can’t be bothered going through and resizing images. Well you try sorting through 150 photos. 😛

Current listening :: “Ounce Of Your Cruelty” – Bluebottle Kiss
(Argh I miss Aussie music…. the radio here is truly awful, esp the stuff they play at the gym…. crappy british commercial dance crap everywhere.. yuck. I noticed in Aust we have more US or Aussie music.. but here they have not much US or Aussie music – which sucks coz they don’t have much decent R&B/HipHop or good Aussie bands. Though I did here The Vines “Get Free” on radio once, which was kinda cool… wooo! Go Aussie music!)

(more…)

I said Brrr its COLD out here

Ok, its officially freeezing. I think temps have been around 6 to 14 degs. I certainly pick the right days to go exploring London. I spent about 7 hours walking around London today.. and even though it was sunny, it was still cold, and windy. That wind is quite nippy. It was like our coldest days in winter today.

Anyway, other than the cold weather, I’ve been enjoying London. Have seen a fair bit now. Today I spent the most of the day exploring London. I walked along South Bank from the Blackfriar Bridge down along the Thames River to Westminster Bridge. Saw the London eye along the way, and then crossed the bridge to see the Houses Of Parliment, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. That was pretty cool. Those buildings are magnificent… really amazing to just take in. Took lots of photos, which I’ll upload later.

After gawking at these buildings at Parliment Square, I walked down to St James park, and took a lovely late afternoon stroll through the park. Its very pretty, and english! 🙂 There are lots of ducks, swans, pidgeons… and squirrels!! They’re so tame! I fed a squirrel out of my hand!!! Sooo cute! 🙂 Even got a pic of it eating out of my hand. Anyway, walked down to Buckingham Palace which was pretty unexciting.. then walked up to Soho/China Town to grab some dinner (found a jap place for some udon… but damn I miss Sydney food… I miss Ichi Ban Boshi… *sigh*) After which I walked to Charing Cross, caught the train to Waterloo then back home to Clapham. That’s alot of walking today.. like around 7 hours. But I must be getting used to it coz I’m not actually that tired. Oh yeh, also tried to open a bank account today (with my cousin’s help), but no luck.. grr.. what a hassle.



Anyway, I also did some sightseeing on Wednesday. Went to Leicester Square, walked down to Picadilly Circus (which i thought was cool… so vibrant… and they have this huge neon sign… like our Coca Cola one at Kings Cross, but BIGGER), then across to Trafalgar Square, then up through Covent Garden (I found the Pineapple Dance Studios incidentally.. gonna do dance classes there). Then went into China Town for dinner with a friend… after which we took a stroll through Soho. Quite a “colourful” area at night. 😛

So other than sightseeing, things have been going ok. Been hanging out with my cousin Andrea and her husband a bit.. or hanging at home. Went out to an english pub called The Blackfriar last night. That was cool. And I went to my first Wagamamas here in London for dinner. Was less than impressed – Sydney food kicks its arse. I’ve been living off mostly toasted panini sandwiches actually – its just about the cheapest thing you can get. A decent toasted panini for 3 pounds. Not bad. But I can see myself getting sick of it very soon. Someone send me some good jap food… *sniff*

Job hunting is going ok. Its slowed down a bit. I still have that 2nd interview with that company, next Tues. But this is the only company I’ve had an interview with still. Nobody else has gotten back with any positives yet.. no more interviews yet. I hope I can get a job… I’m worried that I’m not technically skilled enough… :\

Okies.. should go to bed.. its nearly midnight now. Hope to hear more from you guys and your news. I feel kinda wierd spending so much time alone. I don’t think I’ve done so much alone, experienced so much alone, and spent so much time alone before. I think I’m handling it alright… coz there’s just so much newness and exciting things to take in and see. But at times, I stop and wonder what I’m going to do with myself and my spare time, without anyone to share things with. Don’t really have any friends to call and go out with, like I did in Sydney. I’m starting to miss having friends.. just having someone to talk to. The cousins are fairly busy doing their own thing, though I do hang out with Andrea and Iain a bit. Hrm.. I guess I’m learning to be alot more independant. Learning to do things myself, and be by myself. Learning to be content with my own company. (Which I think I was already starting to do back in Sydney over the past couple of months anyway.) But I do wonder… how long it will take to establish a group of friends.. how does one go about doing that from scratch? How do I meet similar minded people who share my interests? I kinda miss my friends. And family. And Coltrane!! My cute kitty… I miss being able to hug him. 🙁 Ack.. ok enough ruminating. Time to sleeeep.

Current listening :: “Breakdown” – Jack Johnson

Quick Update & Fotos

Hey guys! Thanks for all your comments and well wishes. 🙂 Things have been going pretty well so far. Been quite busy getting settled, contacting and catching up with various cousins/friends in london.. meeting new people.. and doing a bit of exploring. I caught my first underground tube ride yesterday. Heehee. Pretty easy and efficient mode of transport.

Job hunting has started – and I have an interview tomm already! How cool is that. 🙂 I’ve called a few other agencies and now I just wait for them to contact me as roles come up.

Anyway, this post was just to let you know that I’ve uploaded a few photos taken so far. Clicky here to view. I quite like the look and feel of London so far.. its nice.

Don’t don’t be fooled by the blue skies and sunshine… its still been rather chilly… brr.

Anyways, I’m outta here… gonna go do some exploring and then meet one of my cousins for a coffee near the St Pauls Cathedral. 🙂

Hello From London!

Omg. I’m in London. Eeek! Argh! And I’m already set up on the wireless lan at my cousins place.. haha how cool/geeky is that. Weather’s not too bad actually – about 14ish degs? Still fairly chilly though, for me. But there’s some blue sky, and sunshine at times, and fluffy clouds, which is nice.

So… first impressions? Everything looks so… more old. Houses look quaint and older.. kinda cottage like – most houses here are terrace type houses.. narrow and 3 stories. But the style is quite different from Sydney (which is a more modern, or that brick 70’s style). I have absolutely no idea where I am most of the time… in terms of suburbs and general sense of area/direction. I think that’s gonna take a while to get used to.

My cousins have been very nice, my cousin Daniel and my auntie came to the airport to pick me up. And I’ve seen my other cousin’s baby now too… very cute 6 mth old girl called Naomi. She’s got such chubby cheeks. Hee. Will take a photo later.

Anyway. I’m absolutely buggered atm. Gonna go take a nap and then freshen up with a much needed shower. Stay tuned for photos… later!!

Leavin, On A Jet Plane

Hello all. I thought I’d write a few blog entries whilst on the plane, even though I can’t post them straight away. But hey… I’m blogging at 20,000 feet!! Hee. Its now around 12:10am Sydney time – and we’re currently descending towards HK International airport landing in about 30 mins time. I’ve had a pretty good 9 hour flight so far, in a window seat. Watched nearly 3 movies (In Good Company, National Treasure and about 3/4 of Phantom Of The Opera). Also caught some pretty beautiful sights whilst on the way over – the sunset over a sky-full of dotted clouds.. and some rather cool lightning in a mass of storm clouds in the distance. I didn’t sleep though as I wasn’t really that tired. Anyway I better turn my laptop off now! Will blog more when I’m in transit at HK airport. Ciao for now. 🙂

Ok I’m back. It is now 11:15am Sydney time, 9:15am HK time and 2:15am London time. I spent all of 1 hour in HK airport before boarding my connecting flight to London.. just enough time to cleanse, tone and moisturise, brush my teeth amd have a wander round. Hee. Now we’re somewhere over Russia (near Moscow) at 38000 feet (11,582 metres), and are due to reach London in about 3:15 hrs (its been abt 9 hours already). A couple hours ago we passed over/near the Sayan Mountains.. and it was quite a spectacular sight.. seeing these snow-capped mountain ranges from above. I managed to get a decentish amount of sleep during this flight… about 3-4 hours first block, then another 3 hours in a second block. Kinda patchy sleep, but I do feel fairly awake at the moment. I guess if I’m tired enough I can sleep anywhere. And boy was I tired by 3:30am this morning (Syd time).

Ugh, my tailbone/butt is sore.

So anyway, I can’t believe I’m on a plane going over to London.. I can’t believe this is it. It still feels like I’m just going on a short journey somewhere and that I’ll be back home by dinner time. I think my brain is finding it hard to.. comprehend. It just feels wierd.. I dunno what I’m supposed to be feeling.. so my brain is like “Oh well.. meh.. too hard to comprehend”. I am kinda excited though. It will be cool to finally see London again.. after 15 years.

Well. Its getting a bit uncomfortable using this laptop in my seat. Tis a tad cramped. I think I’ll watch another movie. Stay tuned for more updates on Kazzart’s Adventure In London. 😉 Will upload photos soon too.

Current listening :: “Staple It Together” – Jack Johnson