Giving back

"Charity is for those in need"

Any amount of money can never replace the feeling of joy when you know you are able to help and give a little back to those who need it most. Last Thursday, as part of the EY Womens Network I joined with other EY colleagues in helping out at the Breast Cancer Haven in Fulham for the day. The charity opened in the year 2000 from a lady called Sara Davenport whose nanny suffered from breast cancer and wanted to create an environment for those who are affected by breast cancer away from the environment of hospitals which can at times be stressful to cancer patients. As I arrived in the morning at the Haven, I was impressed by the layout of the place. I was expecting a run down building but instead I arrived to a bright airy reception. The day started out with an introduction to the place by the Corporate Fundraiser-Maxine. She is as enthusiastic as you would think a fundraiser should be... We were split into groups and I wanted to help out with the gardening but the slots were taken up quickly by other people. Instead, I volunteered to wash the walls on all the floors around the building....it sounds really mundane but by cleaning the place up gives it a new lease of life.... In the afternoon, my team went to the streets around Fulham sending mail out promoting on the programmes run at the Haven and leaflets outlining what the charity did. When we were washing the walls we visited each of the floors we were able to gain an insight on the facilities available at the Haven. The Haven is a drop-in centre and the building consists of rooms where treatments such as acupuncture or counselling sessions take place. There are also rooms where classes like yoga and makeup classes take place. Each room has a name such as Rose, Lavender etc..which all have a homely feel to it. This was a recurrent theme throughout the whole place. In the lower ground floor, there is a working kitchen where volunteers come to cook for visitors to the Haven and also the staff working there. The volunteers cook recipes catered for visitors with various needs and even sell products (mainly organic in nature) to visitors who are interested.

The Haven offers series of cooking programmes for those who are undergoing treatment or those who have recovered from breast cancer... The volunteers were kind enough to cook us lunch as well. Food plays an important part in someone's recovery from cancer treatment therefore the ingredients used are important. The Haven is one of a kind in London and have expanded in another two locations in the UK. However, opening and maintaining a Haven costs money-fundraising is key... This charity is a small organisation so Maxine explained that initially when the Haven was opened they had to rely on high profile organisations to raise money in a short time. For example , last year they held a function at the Natural History Museum attended by celebrities. The cost of the ticket would only cover running the event therefore the charity relies on people spending money during the night e.g. at the charity auctions. In one night, you could potentially raise at least GBP50k in one night. However, due to the high costs of running the event and times of recession it is not possible to hold such events on a regular basis as people are not willing to spend as much money.

Therefore the Haven needs to expand ther network and raise awareness of the existence of charity. I raised the question whether funding is shared amongst other cancer charities like Cancer Research UK. Unfortunately, funding is not allocated across other cancer charities so each charity is to thier own although they do work together. The Breast Cancer Haven are trying to work with private medical insurance companies in order to provide specialist services with patients under these companies who may need it. In principle , the NHS are suppose to be doing this but due to the intense pressure NHS are already under it is not possible for NHS to provide palliative care to all of their patients. It is not easy to raise money consistently for a cause you believe in but if people believe in what the organisation is doing and feel strongly about it..there is still hope.

Throughout the day, I saw some of the visitors attending the classes such as the yoga classes and you can see from their faces that the Haven does make a difference in their lives. If I won the lottery, I would love to quit my job and spend my time working for various voluntary organisations and actually making a real contribution to this world...in issues such as health and world poverty..

Well, I may not win the lottery anytime soon so in the meantime I am trying to do whatever I can within my means to help out with various organisations... My future intention would be to get involved with the VSO -Voluntary Services Organisation but this may be put on hold after I move back home for good.

A few weeks ago, I ran in the Race for Life charity run at Hyde Park with two of my friends. It was a great day and thoroughly enjoyable...Cancer has affected us in one way or another...I have seen family friends suffered with their loved ones and close friends who have lost loved ones through this disease...The Race for Life day was an event of raising awareness on the disease as well as recognising the lives that have been lost and also to those who have survived through the research in this disease which would only happen through the funds raised by people fighting for the cause.

When I was doing my A-levels I had originally wanted to study medicine and become a doctor. However, I didn't feel that I could face the emotional challenges I would face in training as a doctor.

As corny as this may sound to you, I have tried to be a person who would always try to help people in whatever I can with no strings attached. I would like to think whatever I do is out of sincerity. This can sometimes make me appear as someone who is 'weak' and 'can be taken for a ride' but if that's what people think only God knows what my sincere intentions are. I'd rather be that person than someone who is selfish and thinks of what would be best for them and them alone...

I believe charity can come in any types of form..even a smile is a charitable need. When someone is feeling down-a smile from a stranger can brighten someone's day... I hope those of you who read this article would reflect on whether you try to do a charitable deed however small you think it is. Whatever charitable deed it may be, the impact can be greater than what you think to the particular individual so keep doing it. If you are interested in finding out about the Haven it is on http://www.breastcancerhaven.org.uk

Let us all make a difference

YOUR support is much appreciated

Life is for sharing

This is the latest T-Mobile ad filmed at Trafalgar Square where Pink made a special appearance..

Life's for sharing indeed....

The day London turned white...

In London, the weather forecast is usually pretty dull-mild weather, rain and the odd spot of heatwave in the summer months.
Londoners are known to be pessimistic folk so when it was forecasted London would be hit by snow -no one quite believed it. We're used to anti-climax-and the forecasters often over-exaggerated the forecast anyway.

Despite the weather warnings, everyone in London did get caught out in the snow a couple of weeks ago. It happened from Sunday evening onwards-snowflakes started coming down steadily but most people thought it would probably stop in the next hour and the snow wouldn't lie...
But the snow kept coming down...and went on ...and on....and on....throughout the whole night.

I had spent that Sunday with No.53 crew so by evening time it was snowing too heavily to get back home so I ended up spending the night at their place.By midnight, the snow was already a few inches deep.
It was a strange feeling playing snow that night in the middle of the road. The inner child in me just wanted to start building a snowman and playing snowball fights with my friends. It reminded me of the snow we used to get in the 90s when I was growing up in Bearsden, Glasgow :)

The next morning, I walked back home as it was still snowing. Usually, Monday mornings are associated with words like "hectic", "rush","monday blues" but that Monday was somehow different.

Paddington was covered in white and there was hardly no one around. A few people were struggling to walk through the snow on their way to the station only to find that the stations were closed but most people had just decided to stay in for the day. I found it peaceful walking back home and people actually acknowledged each other in the streets talking about the snow-if u've been in London before you would know that its very rare where strangers would just go and talk to you in the middle of the streets in London without thinking you have some dangerous motive in mind.

I did try to go to work in the morning but by the time I reached Baker St station , Jubilee line was closed so rather than getting p****ed off with waiting for the next train to come along I decided to head back home.

The rest of the day was spent taking pics round my area and heading to Hyde Park to meet my friends. The No.53 crew did a great job of building the tallest snowman in the park that day-I wish I had been able to join them in the process but I was struggling with the so called 'penguin walk' trying to get to the park along the icy pavements. I managed to reach on time when the picture session was taking place.

In the news, some people were complaining about the lack of London's transport system who were unable to cope with what the rest of the World would say a 'lil bit of snow. But I think for most Londoners that day-we were just happy to have the day off to have the snow experience and momentarily forget about the doom and gloom of the recession that is facing the UK at the moment. From my point of view, I think the next day most people were rejuvenated than anything else from the snow experience to go to work and face the challenges of the day.

The weather has continued to be unpredictable but nothing could compare the snow we had that day...

Ketch-up week

‘Ketch-up week’ with my peeps….

Mon-Chill out day at the office catching up on all my admin stuff after being away from the office for a fortnight...

Tues : I met up with my old uni friends for a get together since Izad and Wendy came to visit London. We went to Fire and Stone Pizza restaurant. I tried booking it online but my office had blocked me from booking things on my credit card on Toptable. Unfortunately this meant I couldn’t earn points on my Toptable account.

Handy tip: the more you book on Toptable and rate the restaurant the more points you get. The more points you get, the higher the chance you and your lucky frens can get a free meal in a nice restaurant around London. So take advantage of Toptable people!

It was fun catching up with the old uni people…we all have moved onto different things in our lives…but we all agreed that the longer we stayed in London the longer we stay in this ‘time bubble’ where things seem to just stay as they are whilst if we go back home: there is more urgency to move on with one’s life i.e. pressure from family, relatives, friends etc…….
Eventually, one reaches a point in one’s life where one does feel like settling down and I guess the older we get the stronger that feeling becomes more apparent.

Wed : Had our last Year group meeting with the ‘original gang’ organised by our year group manager Laura who is leaving to travel round South East Asia before going to work in Sydney…. (lucky gal!) It was more of a get together with our year group rather than a meeting itself. Since most of us have done our three year practical training we’re all at the crossroads of our career in deciding what or where we would like to be in the next few years. There’s a possibility of secondments to Australia…perhaps that is an option.. I’m not too sure at the moment.

Thurs : Met up with Len & Marigold at Awana restaurant for a catch-up dinner before the Christmas holidays. A trip to Awana will not be complete without ordering the mixed satay and the lamb ribs…lovely! It was lovely to meet up with Len and Marigold who are the sweetest couple even at their old age. I hope I get to experience the same feeling when I’m at their age.

Fri : Went over to Fazly’s house for American Gangster movie night. Any movie with Denzel Washington will always be a good movie- he’s a fab actor. The movie was Godfather-like which was fine but one negative point about it was the movie was a tad bit long. Kak Rahayu came over to stay and we stayed up late chatting and didn’t get to sleep until 2/3 am in the morning. This did not do too well for our beauty sleep for the next day. :p

Sat : In the morning, we planned to go to Portsmouth for my first shopping trip at Gunwharf Quays. To my shock & horror, as soon as I went to get my car in the morning, the passenger window was smashed and there were glass everywhere.

I can only presume it was vandals who had decided it was fun to smash an innocent mini car….damn vandals!

Luckily I had Chip and Kak Rahayu with me…I don’t think I would have coped very well in that situation on my own. Oblivious to the necessary procedures, I called up my insurance provider and arranged for Autoglass people to come by to fit the new glass onto my car on the spot.

It was a horrible feeling seeing my car in that state. I have now complained to the Council about the vandalism that has occurred in my street. It’s now been the third time where my car has been vandalised and it’s not fair why our cars are vandalised because of a few drunken yobs that have nothing else better to do in the middle of the night!

We still managed to get into Portsmouth by the early afternoon and I finally found my dress for the xmas party and shoes …yeay! (Courtesy of my vouchers) I tried to spend the day in a positive mood but I couldn’t help trying to get over what had happened in the morning.

Portsmouth is a lovely place….and I would’ve liked to spend time taking more pics around the harbour especially near the tower which looked so pretty in pink at night… but we had more important stuff to do…like shopping! All in all, apart from the event in the morning it was a good day out.

Sun: Had that Sunday feeling where I woke up late and I just wanted to lie in and sleep especially when I looked outside and it was pouring down with heavy rain. It was the perfect day to snuggle in bed with good dvds and a nice hot chocolate :)

And then Monday comes along……….the season of partying begins…

HM The Queen visits the St Bride's House-front door of my office!

Snapshot of the Queen passing the walkway in front of my office :) she's so lovely!

Queen comes to Horwath-my office!

Yesterday everyone in the office got an email from our Chief Exec that the Queen and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh will be attending St Bride's church for a service. Since the church is beside our office we were invited to show support for the Queen by greeting her at the entrance walkway after her service.

Throughout the day everyone acted cool as if they weren't that bothered the Queen was coming but when it came to 3pm everyone started looking outside the window to se if the Queen had arrived.

I brought my camera to capture this rare moment because it isn't everyday you get to see the Queen in person right? So everyone who was in the office went down to greet her...and she looked lovely in her cute blue dress suit and hat. The Queen being "the Queen" has a certain air of elegance about her.....

She was so lovely :)

Post exam blues........

It's been two weeks now since I came out of my hibernation mode after 12 weeks of going underground for the exam. I hate the waiting game now because there is nothing I can do about the result now. I tried the best I could but I don't know whether my 'best' was good enough in this last round.
The reality of it all is that the next stage in my life will be decided by the end of this year...

I've tried to keep myself busy to take my mind off things and the highlights so far have been:

a) Chris and I attending our post exam celebration by going to the theatre. We went to see "39 Steps" courtesy of lastminute.com 10gbp offer- an old Alfred Hitchcock movie turned into a comedy play. Entertaining and funny with its subtleties and wit which you can only find in British humour but it was nothing compared to the creepy and at times scary "Woman in Black" we attended last time.

b) Shisha chill out session and watching the fireworks at Omar's flat in Canary Wharf...we might try to gatecrash his place to watch the fireworks at the Millenium dome for New Year's eve nanti :p thanks yah dude!

c) Attending my first Korean film festival at the Barbican: ever since Kak Rahayu got me addicted to K-dramas she invited me to attend the festival where I watched my first Korean movie The King and the Clown in the cinema. One of the best foreign movies I've seen so far where there was a balance of love, comedy, action and sadness....Malay movies have a LONG way to go in order to reach this type of standard. It was refreshing to see that the Korean film festival attracted not just Koreans but other people from various nationalities with one common love for great movies.

d)Meem coming to London: it was fun to hang out with her again and reminisce about the good 'ol London days and going for our road trip to Blenheim Palace, shopping in Swindon, trips to Liverpool St market and not to mention our makan2 sessions at our fav hangout places...

In London , we're expecting a long cold winter which is a huge contrast to the mild weather we experienced last year. So for those in London : wrap yourselves warm with your woolies and make yourself a warm hot chocolate during those long winter nights!

Spending a quiet Eid in London

The sign of Syawal approaching is often associated with the sound of Takbir Raya. It is a sad time especially being away from the family so I decided not to go to Malaysian Hall in the eve of Syawal to hear the Takbir raya this year in case I started to feel down and sad being away from home.

The first day of raya was spent in Brentwood at the client's office so for the whole day it didn't really feel much of raye except for the raya messages and calls I received throughout the day. Thanks guys for the best wishes and remembering me in London.

In the evening, I bumped into Fareesha who was kind enough to invite me to her and Jo's place for makan2 sempena raye celebrations. It was fun lepakking with them and we ate and played a few rounds of the 'wolf and hunter game'. :P I think I still need to practice my 'sly poker face' though to do well in the game. Later on that evening I went to a late night feast at Bobby's place and met up with Ija and Kak Shina.

I wasn't able to go out to celebrate on Saturday since I had my tutor date throughout the day but on Sunday the London crew gathered at Fazly's house and watched the Rugby World Cup semi finals. Looking forward to the final this weekend! :)

It was a quiet Eid this year but it's nice to know that I can still spend raye with my 'second adopted' family here in London.

In other matters, I have been following the Coffee Prince and this is one song which cheers me up in the morning..if only I can find Goo Yoo's version singing this song to download...I love the bit when he goes "Woah Woah Woah..one more time"..comelnye....

Puasa and raya di perantauan.. four years in a row!

So…it is 2007 and I am spending yet another puasa in London.
This year puasa in London has been low key-since it’s the charity audit peak season so I have been on away jobs outside London so haven’t been able to attend MSD tarawih as often as I would like to.

I am grateful that I'm near to Malaysian Hall and Nahar if i ever miss Maaysian cooking. Also I'mlucky to have friends in London who are just a doorstep away. It makes a difference having people around so puasa isn’t so lonely and I don’t get too homesick. I’ve also discovered Fatoush restaurant near where I live. It’s a Lebanese restaurant and the biryani rice is soooo tasty. But the best thing about the restaurant is the service. The waiters at the restaurant always remember us when we go there. We’ve even be so lucky to get desserts free of charge there. It must be the goodwill gesture of Ramadhan.
There is a space at the back where you can reserve for private functions which is cool with its comfy couches. To be noted for another place to hang out in London…and it’s just down the road from where I live. Yeay!

One thing that I’m struggling with is working and studying during puasa…it’s hard enough for the brain to function after work to study but it’s even harder when you’re fasting.
Insya-allah this will be the last time I have to write another 5.5 hr case study.. ever !
Roll on October so that I can sit for this exam and enjoy November and the Christmas break.

Until then, I will be spending another low key raye celebrations….In Malaysia raye is for a whole month but in London raye is only for a day or two days at the most….! Hopefully this year lebih meriah since both raye days might be in the weekend.

Wishing all the Muslims out there Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir Batin! To those at home….think of us in London who have to spend raye once again away from their loved ones…..

Merdeka day 2007 at Brickendonbury, Hertford England

A nice break will always do you good......

It's been a week since I flew back to London..I was hesitant to fly back so soon but I tried to make the best out of the time I had in Malaysia.

I'm sorry to those of you that I didn't get to meet up...three weeks is way too short!
Insya-allah the next time you see me back in Malaysia I can be around for longer.....

For my last day in KL my mom and I treated ourselves to a day at the spa in Marriott Hotel Putrajaya. It was lovely being treated and pampered for the day and both of us looked and felt revitalised and refreshed!

My flight back to London had been cancelled that morning so I had to take the next flight out later in the afternoon on the same day but I wasn't complaining. In fact, it was a blessing in disguise because I could spend extra time in KL with the family.
Alhamdulillah, the flight went smoothly and I arrived back to sunny London on Sunday evening.

I went back to work the next day feeling revitalised from my break and motivated to do well. A trip back to Malaysia has enabled me to reassess my goals and by doing well in UK and passing this last hurdle I can settle for a better future back in Malaysia. I'm lucky to have a supportive family. I don't what I will do without them.....I just hope I don't disappoint them....

In a more light hearted note, met up with the London gang since I got back...exchanging stories and gossip on what has been happening whilst I was gone :)

We watched Transformers -the movie and I highly recommend it!! As a kid, I remembered my brother had a few of the robots but I don't really know much about the cartoon. The special effects in the movie were superb especially the last car chase scene of the movie with the F22 plane..if you haven't seen it yet definitely worth watching! Many have even gone back to see it again at the cinemas.....so believe the hype!

We also watched Hairspray which I wanted to watch ever since I saw the preview trailers...It is based on a musical set in the 1960s...the plot was pretty simple but I love the costumes and the music! Meem and I were tapping our feet throughout the movie and really felt like dancing in the cinema...hehe.....

The weekend was fun enjoying the sunshine by taking a walk in the park whilst enjoying a nice gelato.

Sabrina was in London so met up with the LSE gang at Nusa Dua (Indon restaurant). It was a nice restaurant but I couldn't help comparing it with Jakarta Restaurant which I think is still my favourite. We ended the night by heading to Ed's Diner for milkshake and waffles...yummy!

Last Sunday, Kak Nita introduced us to a new breakfast/brunch hangout place which has opened up in High St Kensington at Whole Foods Market which used to be the Barkers Arcade.

It is an organic market with a wide range of organic fruit,vegetables,fresh bread. They also cater for a wide range of healthy take out salads and seafood dishes. The unique thing about the place is there is an open seating food court. It is not like the typical foodcourt that we see in Malaysia but this food court has a 'lounge zone' feel to it with big sofas and seating areas for little groups to gather around and a place where everyone can meet up to chill out.

It gets really busy during lunchtime so I think it would be an ideal place for us to meet up for late breakfast/early brunch just before the rush of people arrive instead of going to the usual place like Nahar. :)

The boys Abg Nas & Hazeem wanted to watch the footie so we ended up watching it at Bobby's place. It was a relaxing but very HOT sunday..

I'm not complaining though cuz I am not looking forward to the autumn and winter weather approaching......

A week of fine dining and searching for my ideal home

I have recently met up with the LSE crew...

There aren't many LSE'ans from my batch left in London but it's not quantity but quality that counts kan...heheheh

If I had to choose whether I preferred school life or uni life I would definitely choose uni life...(apart from the end of year exams & the early morning lectures)
Since I was 6 years old I have constantly moved from school to school within Malaysia and out of Malaysia. So I have never really kept in contact with my primary and secondary school friends.

It was only when I started uni and moved down to London, I met Malaysians from different types of background and some of them I would consider as friends for life. One of those groups are my uni mates.......there are frens who I was close during uni but there are also uni mates who I was not close with during uni but we've kept in close contact after graduation.

We had a mini LSE reunion on Wed night at Awana restaurant in South Kensington taking advantage of the 50% offer valid until the end of the month.
Finally we have found a fine dining Malaysian restaurant that we can promote to non Malaysians who want to try a taste of Malaysia in a fine dining setting.
The service was great, food was amazing...I loved the satay which was the best satay I've ever tasted..so tender!
There were also unique desserts like lemongrass and chilli sorbet, jackfruit & ginger sorbet(my favourite) and others too many to mention.
The owner Mr Lim was kind enough to let us try other dessert dishes...lovely person!
If u ever have the chance please check it out!

On Thurs, Bobby & I checked out the Ideal Home Show exhibition in Earls Court. I love looking at homeware stuff....gave me ideas of what I want when I get my place back home in KL.
The exhibition is huge...ranging from furniture, to garden decor to health & beauty to house entertainment technology.... You would need at least a full day just to cover the whole area!

We met this Indian manufacturer who came to the exhibition from Northern India bringing small furniture ornaments which were exquisitely crafted. He said it is a dying trade because not enough young people want to learn and take up the trade. It's a sad thought when you can see that the crftsmanship is so beautiful. I bought an incense holder and incense sticks from the stall which I absolutely loved. Keeps me going when I'm studying.

Discovering new spots everyday

Last Sunday morning, met up with a fren for brunch at Nahar and we took a walk afterwards through Hyde Park to High St Kensington.

It was such a lovely winter's day...the clear blue skies, the crisp winter air and the sun shining down on us...

I love the parks in London, I think the best season to go would be between autumn and winter when the colours of the leaves are changing..if only I was a good enough photographer...can capture the changing colours of the leaves from green to auburn to brown...really nice.. :)

I discovered two cool new places in High St Kensington, my fren introduced me to Ben's Cookies...sedap giler....can beat Millie's cookies any day..Thanks dude! :)
The cookies are freshly baked everyday and each cookie is different and you pay according to the weight of the cookie instead of the type of cookie so memang VFM!
Check out http://www.benscookies.com

We also checked out this cool place ideal for chocolate lovers out there- "Hotel Chocolat"
I'm not a big chocolate fan but I like looking at the chocolate designs.
They have a wide selection for all types of people...ade chocolates suitable for vegetarians and also ade selection of non alcoholic chocs which is ideal for gifts to family and friends...
I've discovered you can even buy the chocs online
If interested got to http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk.

So even though I have been living in London for a while, it's nice that London still continues to surprise me with new places to visit and see.... ;)

Holidays are near...

Last Sunday , I had my first "mini" Raya open house in my flat in London....

There was a different feeling this year in the open house compared to last year....
Firstly, my lil sis is not here this year and secondly we had more space in our place in Slough last year....
This year was limited in space but with Kak Rahayu interior design help we managed to accomodate everyone hehehehe....
Thanks to everyone who came..... :)

So now raya is finally over and everyone in UK are looking forward to the Xmas period...
I will be spending the Xmas hols and New Year's in Roma and visiting Naples this year...booked tickets online with Ryanair for 45GBP return...bargain!!!!

Last time I went to Italy was with my family about ten years ago when we did a Europe road trip...so it's been a while....
And this will be my first holiday for three years since holidays have been taken up by study leave and exams thse last few years....*sigh*
So I'm really looking forward to this Italy break....especially since I'm dreading my exam results coming out before Xmas so at least this is something to look forward to drown my sorrows and disappointments...(Apologies for the depressing tone guys)....

This week is pay day so Viv, K Rahayu and I are going on a shopping trip to Bicester this weekend.....
I'm hoping to get some good bargains....... :)


Laters......

Bulan Ramadhan di London

Alhamdulillah....at long last I finally have internet at the flat. It's amazing how reliant we have become to technology.

It is now the second week of Ramadhan, weather in London is getting colder and it's getting gloomier each day......I hate this time of the year when the weather is gloomy like this. I would not be surprised if Oct/Nov would have the highest suicide rates in the UK.

But let's not have unhappy thoughts right......

So this year is yet another year spending ramadhan in London..I've lost count of how many times I've celebrated Ramadhan in the UK. The best part of Ramadhan is going to tarawih and this month helps us get that much closer with Allah. It's also a chance for families to buka puasa together. Nowadays, modern families don't create enough time to sit down and have a proper meal together as everyone is busy with their everyday lives. Ramadhan can help strengthen family ties by breaking iftar and going to tarawih together.

I miss being back home this time of the year but this is all dugaan kan. Only by being away from home does one realise how lucky one is.

This year, it's been fun having friends over to break iftar together. Last Saturday we went to the Indonesian embassy to break iftar and it was an experience how other countries celebrate. Once a week the Indonesian embassy buat buka puasa session and it felt like being in a kenduri. Everyone sat down and the older folks dishing out food for us..it had that 'kampung feel to it' which was nice.

This week, we went to Qatar mosque for tarawih. I could only do four raka'at and continued witir at home though because I came down with a flu and wasn't feeling too well. Nevertheless it was an interesting experience. I hope to be able to check out how other cultures experience tarawih by the end of this month.

Ok well better start preparing for iftar..........

Internetless

Hi peeps,

Haven't been updating this blog for ages!! There is a good reason behind this. I moved back into London last month and signed up for a new internet provider. For those of you who are in the UK, I signed up with the service provider Talk Talk. The offer sounded too good to be true...i sign up for the Talk talk call plan and get unlimited broadband for free.
But in the real world nothing comes for free.....due to the high demand there is a delay in getting my broadband..I signed up at the beginning of August and I'm not due to get my broadband until end of September. So no internet for me at home for a while :( aarghhhh...

Other than that, been going to body combat classes....it's such a good fun workout. I love the music and there's a different routine each month plus it's good exercise..all at the same time!
I've even tried golf..well I've been to the driving range once...unfortunately I was pretty rubbish hehehe..i think i'll need a bit more practice before I can actually hit the ball properly off the tee and actually make it go further.

The reason I'm trying to be more healthy is I've been feeling a bit lethargic recently with work so the aim is to try to be fitter so that I have more energy to study.
So let's hope it works and also I can burn off some extra calories...hehehe

Being a Londoner again

It's been a week since I became a Londoner again.

Moving was a day event in itself..Thanks to the London crew for helping me move my stuff..it's amazing what you can fit in a Mini and a little help from my friends.... ;)

What will I miss living in Slough: the neighbours who do look out for us, ASDA which is virtually two minutes from my house and the luxury of space!
What will I not miss living in Slough: the commuting journey where it practically takes me three hours every day travelling to and fro work and being away from the London crew.

I'm now living in Bayswater near Khans & Nandos...which is so convenient for me to get to work and the gym. My new resolution is to try to start going to body combat classes again which is a great stress busting workout! Since I've already written this in my blog I need to start going! :)

I liked the analogy my friend said to me...
the Bayswater crew=PJ folk whilst the Edgware road crew=Ampang folk hehehehe...

Last weekend was a busy weekend...firstly went to Somerset House open cinema to watch Jack Black's School of Rock & his new movie Nacho Libre on Friday night. It was good fun sitting outside the Somerset House courtyard watching the movie on the big screen! The weather wasn't great but that didn't dampen our spirits sitting in the rain. I think it enhanced the experience...it would have been better if it was a clear night and looking up to the stars though...that's for next time :)

On Saturday, went out with Ija & Adik and then went to Suz's Birthday Party. Suz is my old college friend from my Fettes College days in Edinburgh. It was good to catch up with her..we've both gone to do different things in life yet we can still remain close friends.....

On Sunday had the London crew over for dinner and had our usual ginrami session to finish the night off...Usually it would be a late night for me to drive back to Slough after a weekend in London but now I can actually get a decent night's sleep.

Okie dokes people.......that's it for now!

Summer Update

Apologies for not updating for so long.......busy busy busy........ Since I last wrote my blog the World Cup had finished...my prediction for France to win did not come true...never mind...have to wait for another four years for the next one....

I attended my sister's graduation..my parents, aunty & uncle came over to stay with us..It was a simple affair but the venue was lovely..everyone got dressed up and the weather was great. My sis has specifically not allowed me to post up pics from her graduation...(the vain girl that she is! :p hehe ) We will have to wait until she develops the pics and find the best ones to be posted. I can't believe my little sis has graduated..time definitely flies...I feel sooo old!!

Whilst my family were here...we went summer sale shopping more specifically in Bicester..some good bargains! Next sale to look forward to will be the winter sales if I'm still in London.

During the last few weeks I've been caught up in the longest heatwave i can remember since I've lived in London...Temperatures have been ranging on average at 30 degrees celsius on a regular basis. It's lovely during the weekends but a nightmare travelling to work...tubes,trains and even buses have been a nightmare. Public transport are struggling to cope under the sweltering heat!! When will they put AC on the public transport??!!!

I've also managed to catch up on the movies recently. I watched Superman Returns & Pirates of the Carribean....Superman was alright...there was not much plot going on but i guess it was entertaining enough. If you're a Superman fan you might want to watch it for the special effects but there isn't much of a storyline there.

I think my fav Superman would have to be Christopher Reeves and a close 2nd would be Dean Cain. He was cute in the Superman series with Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane. I remembered watching it when I was a kid and always envious of Teri Hatcher's bob haircut at the time..lol

Pirates of the carribean is my fav movie so far....I love Jack Sparrow...he's hillarious...Some people have complained the story is too long but I enjoyed it. The special effects was amazing..there is a gripping storyline and the ending left you hanging to find out more in the next sequel..Can't wait when that comes out sometime next year.

Lastly, I've been flathunting for a place in London...I'm pretty fed up of moving at the moment..I think I've moved four times in my seven years I've been here in London. I look forward to the day when I will be shipping my stuff back home and flying back to Malaysia for good....

Well wish me luck in finding a place.....until then......

Springtime...What spring???!!!

We are now in March and yet it doesn't feel like spring has arrived. It was only last week we had snow flurries in London. What the hell is going on??!!

It's the audit peak season again...so I've been moving from one job to the next having to meet one deadline to another deadline ..and another ...and another...haihhh...endlesss..

But at least I have a break from that this week with college although it is scary that my final exam will be creeping up soon..erk!

The weekend was good..I'm more comfortable driving into London now although I only know one route so far hehehe..one step at a time kan...I think I need to get one of those "tom tom gadgets" -GPRS navigation system. :)

By having a car in Slough has definitely made my journey to work a lot bearable and less time consuming...there's only one thing though...gotta wash the car...

Any takers on anyone who wants to wash my car??!! hehehehehe........

for any cricket fans out there...England drew with India in their first test! yeay! It was a good result considering the big players like Michael Vaughan and the lovely Simon Jones are injured. If only I can actually watch the game on TV. Damn Sky sports for taking over the coverage from Channel 4...!!!!!