Granada-Espana May 2008

May Bank holiday weekend Destination: Granada, Espana

In order to escape the depressing wet UK bank holiday weather: I escaped with three other girls (my sis included) to Granada which is part of the Andalucian region in southern Spain. We started our journey on Saturday morning flying with BA which has to be the most inefficient self check in service I have experienced. Their airline service wasn't that great either: I don't think they have really understood what it means service with a smile. It is no surprise Malaysian Airlines & Singapore Airlines have been voted one of the best airline staff in the world when we see the standard of other airlines. After a stopover in Madrid for an hr we arrived in Granada in the evening. Fortunately due to the summer weather the sun was still shining down brightly on us when we arrived.

The airport was situated as if it was in the middle of the desert overlooking the Sierra Nevada mountains...breathtaking views...;) In order to reach the city centre of Granada there is a shuttle bus which departs from the airport about 30mins after each flight lands at the airport for 3 euros which is reasonable. It takes approximately 30 mins to reach the centre (traffic permitting)

Our Hotel Arroyo (more like a hostel) was near the Gran via de colon. For 30 euros per person we had a twin room ensuite which is comfortable for our trip and catered for our basic needs. We were greeted to our hotel with the cutest spanish guy but couldn't speak english nevertheless smiling as always and replying with "Si... Si"..

The hotel advertised a flamenco dance show at the Sacromonte caves which we were interested to go and see as part of our Saturday night entertainment. These flamenco shows are not widely advertised along the streets of Granada but exclusively handled by the hotels and hostels around Granada. Our flamenco night included a tour around the Albayzin quarter, view of Alhambra palace from Mirador St Nicholas point. The area is known to be the old Muslim quarter and gypsy area where the flamenco shows flourished. The show lasted for about an hour which was entertaining especially the footwork which is the Spanish version of tapdancing!

The next day we dedicated the whole day to visit the Alhambra palace. Alhambra palace is one of the last remnant building of the Arab occupation which was at its strongest during the Ottoman Empire. I have seen pictures of Alhambra in books and internet but nothing could compare to seeing the place up close. It is a huge compound divided into three categories: a) The Nasrid Palace b) The Alcazaba c) The Generalife The Alhambra Palace had been awarded the UNESCO World Heritage site so there is a limit to the number of people allowed in the Nasrid Palace at any one time. Our time slot was 2.30pm so we had the whole morning to explore the outside area of Alhambra palace. We did a bit of souvenir shopping purchasing the mosaic-type craftwork which Granada is famous for. If you do intend to visit the palace, I would recommend bringing your own mineral water and food because there are not any cafes around. There are a couple of hotel restaurants in the vicinity of the palace but these tend to be overpriced. By the time the afternoon came we were geared up to explore the inside of the Alhambra palaces.

In Europe, I have visited a few palaces and castles e.g. the Versailles palace, Buckingham Palace, Vatican (does this count as a palace?apologies if it is not), Edinburgh Castle. In my opinion, nothing compared to the intricacy of the design and the artwork designs displayed all around the walls, ceilings, doors, arches of Alhambra. In compliance with Islam the majority of the artwork did not have sculptures of people or animals and yet it still had elegance and beauty ..even more so in fact. The Generalife gardens were filled with wonderful roses and wysteria with a variety of different colours and decorated along wonderful water fountains adorned along the pathways of the gardens. The Alcazaba was the least prettiest building out of Alhambra but it wasn't built with the intention of looking pretty but a fortress in order to keep a lookout for any unwanted visitors. I think it took us about five hours to cover the whole area but it was definitely worth it. It has to be one of the greatest sites I have been privileged to see in my lifetime.

The next day was souvenir shopping day before heading back to London. One thing I noticed was that some of the souvenir shops owners were actually local Granada people unlike the souvenir shops in Barcelona. It was pleasant for once to talk with the shop-owners rather than being hounded to buy the souvenirs. For people who have travelled with me, they will know that I am not a collector of any particular souvenirs but I will buy stuff which I think represents what each country I visit represent and will remind me of my visit from each place. In Granada, there are just so many different craft work on offer and also the mosaic designs inspired by Alhambra were items which attracted me. I'm not a shopa-aholic but I loved the mosaic designs and wanted to buy items for family and friends which can bring a little of Granada with me and hopefully get people to visit this wonderful place. I have yet to visit the other parts of Andalucian region like Seville, Malaga and Cordoba... I guess this will have to be for another trip... Until then ...Adios! :)

Everyone has a role

Recently in the news, we've had election fever from America with the Obama vs Clinton campaign, from UK with the local elections mayoral campaign and closer to home the shocking results with the recent elections in Malaysia. It seems all these campaigns have a common theme: people want change.

So do we just vote for change because we are bored/unhappy of the current administration or are we voting with the opposition because we actually believe the opposition are really offering a better future?

I am not here to preach: everyone is entitled to their own opinion and have their own reasons for voting the people they decide to vote.

Last week, I attended a talk by Tun Mahathir Mohamad. No matter what people's opinions are of his policies and actions during his 22 yr old reign as Malaysian's prime minister:I think he is still one of the most influential and well respected people we should be proud of with the level of change he helped to form in what is Malaysia today.

The topic was on the Roles and Challenges of Youth for 2020. His main message from the talk was in order for our country to progress we need to ensure we have a clean government. It was inevitable there would be politically sensitive issues voiced by many people but the ex-PM handled the questions very well and took it in his stride. Policies which are aimed at improving the wellbeing of those less fortunate cannot be improved if it is abused. Rather than the policies being wrong it is often the implementation of these policies which are at fault.
His message to the youth today was take action in what you think is morally right no matter what your political views are. If we all do not act and play our role:Malaysia will have a bleak future.

I think the recent elections in Malaysia has indicated that Malaysian people are unhappy with the current administration. Malaysians should have the right to voice out these opinions and it appears that the majority have voiced out their dissatisfaction. We hope that this is the step in the right direction for a much fairer government.

So watch this space.........

Paris Je t'aime

I came into the office with that common TGIF feeling. As I was having my Pret egg & salmon breakfast baguette, Ezro called:

Ezro: "Wati, kat office ke? ?"
Me: "A'ah baru je masuk office..wassup?"
Ezro: " U ade plan ke this weekend?"
Me:"Ermmm...takde plan lagi..nak buat a bit of studying je kot...kenapa?"
Ezro: " Nak gi Paris tak with my wife? Manager I ade empat spare tiket naik Eurostar "
Me: " Iye ke??!! Bila? "
Ezro: " Hehe...tomorrow then come back on Sunday night"
Me: "Wow ...ye ke...hmmm....boleh gak... I've always wanted to go to Paris on the Eurostar..."
Ezro: "Ok settled...will talk later to sort out details..."

And that is how I went for an impromptu last minute visit to Paris for the weekend...

We left in the morning from Kings X St Pancras, London and arrived in Gare du Nord central Paris within 2 hrs. It is surreal to think that within a two hour train journey one could be in a different culture and different country. This is the beauty of living in Europe. After checking in our bags in the hotel we were famished for some foood...

The KFC Story

We heard that Paris is one of the few places in Europe which has halal KFC. Everytime i go back home..one of the first few meals I will have (after Mama's cooking which includes kangkung masak sambal belacan...yummy!) would be KFC chicken with the mash potato & gravy and coleslaw...
Kalau pergi airport , before I fly off we will always be sitting at KFC and have our last goodbye chat eating KFC.
So when I heard there was a halal KFC in Paris...I couldn't wait to go. Eiffel Tower and the Louvre can wait for a few more hours...hehe

We managed to locate this famous KFC and ordered our spicy chicken family bucket. As we started to tuck into our food we could hear people shouting. We thought there might have been a crazy person at the counter..a couple of tourists sitting beside us asked us what was going on. We shrugged our shoulders and said we didn't know either and just carried on eating.
A few seconds later everyone from inside KFC ran outside and we saw the police raiding inside the KFC restaurant. Momentarily, I though s**t! Another terrorist attack ke..
We all started running outside and headed out into the square where moments later the police had closed off the whole restaurant. Since my french is very basic...I couldn't understand what was going on even if I had asked the police officers..so we just stood outside and watched the police close off the whole area. We were all grateful that everyone was safe and sound but the sad thing was we could see our KFC family bucket being eaten by the birds outside....*sob sob*
We decided to head to Pizza Hut to drown our sorrows.......Onwards and upwards kan....
Later on that night we decided that we would head back to KFC for round 2 of the KFC family bucket....We thought that we were entitled to some compensation for our loss earlier in the afternoon and so the guys tried to get a free family bucket but it was to no avail. "No receipt, no free refund" ..Well at least we tried...anyways we brought the KFC family bucket safely back to the hotel. It was the best ever KFC I've had in a long time... "finger lickin good"!



Paris is a beautiful city....you can travel either using the metro carnet tickets or if you are clever you can get a youth travelcard with passport photos and you will be entitled to a one day travelcard for only EUR 3,20.

My favourite parts of Paris would be:

1. Walking along the River Seine with cherry blossoms showing signs of spring is a wonderful sight I will never forget..

2. The Eiffel Tower at night is absolutely stunning in the way it just glistens ..the view from afar is just breathtaking
3.The Louvre is grand in every sense of the word from the sheer size of the place and the museum in itself. I've never been to the Louvre before this so the only picture I had in my mind of the Louvre was the glass pyramid. When I actually arrived, I was stunned the Louvre is soo much more and in my opinion the pyramid seems out of place with the rest of the grand Louvre. I would love to visit Paris again for a Louvre trip in order to appreciate the wonders it has to offer inside.
4.The walk from Louvres to Jardin des Tuilleuries leading to Champs Elysees. This represented another side of Paris, the LV HQ which was massive...Kak Nor and Kak Oleen jangan jealous yah... :P next time we can go there together.

4. The crepes...i think the best one was actually the one we got at the Gare du nord on the way back to catch the Eurostar...crepes with nutella chocolat....simple is always the best.. C'est bon!

It was a short relaxing weekend trip which is what I needed before going 'underground' in the next few weeks...

A sad tragedy…….

Sufiah Yusof is a sad story about a Malaysian girl who had a gift that made her a Maths genius and was accepted at Oxford University at a young age of 13. You would think with the extraordinary gift she would have grown up to do many wonderful things.

Instead, we hear of a sad tragedy of a daughter who was unhappy and parents who might have pushed her too far up to the point she has been claimed of calling home “hell and vowed never to return back with her parents”.

It was thought Sufiah would finally get her happy ending in 2004 when she married a trainee lawyer Jonathan Marshall but unfortunately this was short-lived since they divorced thirteen months later.

Recently, her father has been jailed for eighteen months at Coventry Court after being found guilty for sexually assaulting two girls whom he taught in his home tutoring classes.

The sad story of this family continued when it was found Sufiah had resorted to the oldest profession in the book –prostitution and advertised herself on her website as a sex escort.

So where did it all go wrong?? This girl had a troubled childhood and parents who appear to have never listened to what Sufiah wanted. This had resulted in her rebelling against everything the parents wished for. There have been several times where she had cried out for attention and help e.g. when she ran away to Bournemouth to become a waitress in an internet cafe.

There have been reports that due to the recent incident the Prime Minister’s department and Malaysian Missionary Foundation (YADIM) are trying to provide help in a campaign called “Save Sufiah Programme”. I wonder whether this is a worthwhile campaign.

Firstly, her parents are permanently residing in UK and when her mom was asked to comment on her daughter’s recent activity her comment was "I didn't know anything about that. I am not in touch with Sufiah any more. I have got no comment."

I do sympathise with Sufiah’s situation but until she realises herself she needs help these campaign programmes will be useless to her. I do hope she will be able to get help but she needs to do this at her own accord.

In my own humble opinion, instead of the government spending time and effort saving this girl maybe it is worth thinking about the numerous other less fortunate girls who have no education and have to resort to the sex trade to earn a living in order to survive. It would be a more worthwhile cause if the government would spend more time tackling the root causes of troubled teenagers rather than focusing on this one person.

I hope Sufiah finds happiness in this life and the hereafter but I wish that the government could be as concerned about the numerous other teenagers as they are with this one girl....

Sound of Music

Sound of Music has been my all time fav musicals- It is one of the few musicals I can watch again and again and never get bored of it. When Sound of Music came to the West End : it has been one of my wish lists of must-see musicals.

It has a feel good storyline, romance, cute kids, set in a beautiful location and most of all...great music! What's there NOT to like about the musical.

Initially, I was not sure whether the West end musical could ever meet the Sound of Music movie starring Julie Andrews. However, I was fortunately proved wrong. Summer (some of you might recognise her from Hollyoaks) played the part of Maria. She played the character well in her own right and was the star of the show. The Von trapp kids were adorable but I couldn't help comparing it with the kids in the movie.

The scene which I will remember most from the musical would be when the Von Trapp family had to perform their song in the competition. I have never been in a theatre where the stage had red Swastika flags hanging off from the balcony and the side stage. There were also actors dressed up as Nazi soldiers patrolling the stage. It was scary to experience what it might have been like to live in Nazi occupation.

Despite that, this movie is still a feel-good musical. It is a must-see musical: I was humming to all of the songs throughout the musical especially the old time favs: "My favourite things", "Climb every Mountain" and the "Hills are Alive".

Watch it before it is too late!

Linkin Park ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week, I realised one of my life long wish-to attend one of THE greatest rock bands of my generation.



I started listening to Linkin Park in my late teens and Linkin Park's first album -Hybrid Theory was one of the albums which was played full blast throughout the whole summer when I first got my first car in KL after graduation! :p


Linkin Park's earlier albums-Hybrid Theory and Meteora had a lot of anger and frustration in its songs and lyrics which was many teenager's life anthem at the time. You can relate this to songs like Numb, Easier to Run, Crawling, Points of Authority...


The most recent album Minutes to Midnight is awesome! It is more mellow- a display of maturity from the band members but without compromising the great music they produce.
The songs which stand out for me are What I've Done, Bleed it out, In Between, the Little Things give you away. It is more politically conscious and it is refreshing to see bands who are globally aware in what is happening to our world today and reflect this in the music they play reaching a greater audience.



The O2 arena has been THE place in London to stage concerts and Linkin Park is no exception. We got the standing area and I was a bit apprehensive there would be a lot of teenagers bashing into each other which I experienced at the LostProphets concert which wasn't pleasant.
Luckily, the Linkin Park concert didn't have the crazy teenage bashing. Most people were there to enjoy the music and althought there was a lot of jumping and singing (myself included!) it was an enjoyable experience!



Chester and Mike belted out a mix of the new songs from the recent album with the old classic songs from their previous albums. I also got to see my old teenage crush Joe Hahn on stage DJ-ing his beats and sounds on stage-he's still looking and sounding good! :P
The stage also displayed the animation videos which the band are known for-it's a work of modern art :)



Towards the end , Linkin Park did two encore appearances....everyone took out the mobile videophones and cameras and sang along to One Step Closer and In the End in unison.



An amazing experience which I will never forget.....Below is a video clip-snippets of some of the great songs that were played that night. I apologize in advance for the blurriness of the video-I was jumping up and down with the crowd and the music.

Thoughts....

Ever since I was born, I have led what could be associated as a nomadic lifestyle following my dad around. Making new friends and travelling all around the world may seem exciting to some people but it isn’t as glamorous as it seems.

I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy the travelling and meeting new people but I found it difficult to discover who I was and what I stood for. Maybe everyone went through a similar thing. Some researchers have said that we only really discover and be comfortable who we are when we reach our 30s & 40s…hmmm that would mean I’m still learning and have a LONG way to go.

As a little girl growing up in a foreign country, living abroad and being different from everyone else was difficult. Throughout most of my childhood years abroad, I was the only Malaysian girl in my class. Trying to fit in with people similar to my age and maintaining my culture and values was difficult. It wasn’t easy combining Western culture and Eastern culture together. Some things I did better than others.

Moving from place to place made it harder for me to fully trust people other than my family. It was difficult getting close to people when I know that I might be moving to another school in another town or country.

Studying in London for university enabled me to develop more of my Malaysian identity by meeting friends who I know some of them will be friends for life. It was hard at first to fit in being the Malaysian who lived abroad-people sometimes can be judgmental and have a stigma of ‘budak melayu duduk overseas’.
But that’s when you discover who your real friends are and meet people who can just accept you for who you are.
I wasn’t perfect and probably will never be but I still try to do the best I can and try to keep to the values which I think are important.

Working in London has meant seeing people come and go… and it is still difficult for me to trust and get close to people because I know that by the time I get close it will be time for them to leave.

2008 may be the year where big decisions will be made and maybe I can finally feel settled, be happy and not have to move around anymore. Insya-allah….

When you fall, pick yourself up again....

A sweet colleague of mine recommended I watch this on youtube...and although I'm not a Rocky fan watching this clip gave me a boost up.....



So for those of you who need a bit of a push..watch the link below.

Road to nowhere?

Music is my escapism......

"No Roads Left"-Linkin Park

Standing alone with no direction
How did I fall so far behind?
Why Am I searching for perfection?
Knowing it's something I won't find

In my fear and flaws
I let myself down again
All because


I run
Till the silence splits me open
I run
Till it puts me underground
Till I have no breath
And no roads left but one

When did I lose my sense of purpose?
Can I regain what's lost inside?
Why do I feel like I deserve this?
Why does my pain look like my pride?

In my fear and flaws
I let myself down again
All because
I let myself down
In my fear and flaws

I run
Till the silence splits me open
I run
Till it puts me underground
Till I have no breath
And no roads left but one
No roads left but one

In my fear and flaws
I let myself down again
All because

I run
And the silence splits me open
I run
And it puts me underground
But there's no regret
And no roads left to run

Bring on 2008

I haven’t been updating this blog since I’ve been trying to sort out a few things in my life recently.

Have you ever had the feeling where you feel down but trying so hard to be positive in life and coming up with the next life time plan? I guess that’s when our faith is tested the most.

When I was younger I had a lifetime plan of where I would like to be but things do not often happen the way you want it to be so I have to constantly revise the plan. The One above may have another path set out for me….we can only plan what is best for us but it is He who decides….

During the New Year period, instead of looking forward to the partying like when I was younger I find myself in a more reflective mood these days. It may appear like I’m a right old grumpy woman! Aaaarghhhh...that’s not who I want to be…..

A holiday break is always a good time to relax the mind and take our minds off things ….

I went on my first hiking trip with London peeps…if I was to be honest I didn’t think I would reach the top with the rest of the group. But we all plodded on and it was an achievement in itself to reach the top. It was another thing going down the mountain which was the scariest part for me out of the whole trip….at one point I thought I was going to fall off the mountain. In the end, I was thankful to be able to walk on flat ground once more. I would say it was a character building trip where you find out more about people and things about yourself and surprise yourself at times in what you can achieve. An adventure trip which I may like to do again but I will need to prepare myself both mentally and physically for the next one if I ever go again.

After a day recovering (with still some aches and pains from the previous trip!) went for a chill out break to Belgium and Luxembourg for a few days. It was a more relaxing trip compared to the adventure trip a few days back…different but still as interesting.
My last trip to Belgium in ’99 with Suz and Giac was more about spending time with Umberto, his sis, Giac and his friends. This time, the trip was more about looking at the tourist sites I missed last time. Thanks to Chip’s GPS (my map reading skills isn’t exactly the best), I think we managed to cover pretty much most of the sites since the places weren’t that big.

We also visited Luxembourg which is one of the smallest countries in the world. I think the country is basically built up around a fort on a hill. A small country but has a certain “Je ne sais quoi” feeling about it. As we were walking near the casements area there was a mystical feel about the place as there weren’t many people around. It was like going back in time where I tried to imagine what people during those times would have had to live in that type of environment. Maybe my imagination was trying to get the better of me! :P

New Year’s Eve was low key this year watching the London Eye fireworks on Primrose Hill. So have I set myself any resolutions? Well, all I wish for everyone is to be happy with themselves and be grateful for what you have.

“A relaxed mind, a peaceful soul, a joyful spirit, a healthy body and heart full of love” –that’s all we can wish for everyone!

So here’s wishing you a Happy New Year for 2008!

Dream Catch Me-Newton Faulkner

I absolutely adore this song...........

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!

Is there some truth in this perhaps.......

I wonder whether there's any truth in this ...hmmmm..

You Are Occasionally a Jerk Magnet

You've been known to attract real jerky guys from time to time... But the truth is, you know what you're getting into. You can help but love bad boys.

Are You a Jerk Magnet?

My Japanese Name

It's been a while since I've updated this blog...I will do soon....until then...

Your Japanese Name Is...

Yuuka Yoshida

What's your Japanese Name?

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....

Tagged

Ok since I'm currently an insomniac I'll do this tag by my sis...

5 Things In My Handbag

I've got more than five things in my handbag but these are the top five things I would not be able to live without:

1.Wallet
2.Phone
3.MP3 player
4.Vaseline
5.House keys

5 Things In My Purse
1. Cash
2. Bank cards (credit, ATM)
3. Boots Card
4. Receipts & slips to claim for expenses from my outstation jobs
5. Work pass

5 Things In My Favourite Room
Since I'm living in a studio flat I don't really have a room but here are a few of my favourite things
1. My laptop to keep me connected with home
2. My pics to remind me of the good times
3. My Sex and the City dvd sets which will always keep me entertained when I'm feeling bored
4. My pink polka dot converse shoes...I just love converse...funky and comfy at the same time
5. My Karen Millen shoes which always brightens up my day for work

5 Things I Would Like/Love To Do

In the short term:
1. Pass my final case study paper so I can put those files and books away...forever!
2. Go to Paris on the Eurostar and visit the Louvre and have croissant and coffee at a chic French cafe for breakfast

In the long term:

3. Visit Japan & Korea during the sakura /(spring) season
4. Go for Umrah with the family
5. Take part in the Volunteering Service Organisation scheme (VSO) and help out in the deprived areas in the Southeast region like Aceh.

5 Things I’m Currently Doing
1. Updating my blog
2. Recovering from the chocolate fondue I had with the guys at Cafe Rouge
3. Listening to Amy Winehouse album which is wicked..loving the song Back to Black
4. Planning the day ahead not much to do except my study date with my tutor *sigh* three more weeks to go
5. Contemplating whether to stay up late to watch the K-drama Coffee prince on youtube with the danger that I might not get enough sleep tomorrow. I've done a whole night marathon before watching Spring Waltz...hmmmm should i do it again i wonder?!!

5 People to Tag
1. Imran
2. Babah
3. Kak Nor
4. Lini
5. anyone else who are insomniacs like me who have 5 mins spare...

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…..

Seducing Mr Perfect

Since I was a little kid I've always been fascinated by Japanese culture from the language, the food (i'm a sushi lover!), their clothes, their music, their style and their J-dramas. Japan is at the top of my wish list of the many places I would like to visit before I die.

If I had to choose between watching J-dramas and K-dramas I would have previously chosen to watch J-dramas especially the ones with my fav actor Takuya Kimura. However now I might be persuaded otherwise since watching Seducing Mr Perfect -a South Korean movie starring Uhm Jung Hwa and the gorgeous Daniel Henney.

The movie has all the essentials of a romantic comedy:
the hero and heroine had a great chemistry between them, script which manages to have romantic and funny element without sounding too corny ,great soundtrack and filmed at a great location and THE most important element of all the gorgeous Daniel Henney!

Min Joon (Uhm Jung-hwa) is a girl who believes in true love and has always been unlucky in love ending up with guys who always took her for granted. One day, on her way to work she bumps into a car and the car owner turns out to be Robin Heiden (Daniel Henney). Heiden has different ideas about relationship and love: to him both are a game of power. Min-Joon fears about being dumped again so seeks advice from Heiden. However, When she changes her behaviour like Heiden she realises she prefers her old self.

Heiden was also dealing with his own heartbreak. He loved a woman so much up to the point she shot him to get her away from him. Min Joon showed him a different way of looking at relationships and eventually falls in love with her. My fav scene of the movie was when both of them were caught up in the rain and Heiden was giving advice to Min Joon.

Guys: please take note if you ever watch this movie Daniel Henney is how every guy should be and how he acts at the end of the movie is what every girl wants : TLC (tender loving care)

The ending scene of this movie was so lovely. The script was great and really captures the moment. Both had a hapPy ending of their own. Usually I would be cautious that a movie like this might be a bit too corny but I think it had the right ingredients to a lovely feel good movie.

Have a look at the trailer and the soundtrack to this movie. Enjoy!

Merdeka day 2007 at Brickendonbury, Hertford England

Highlights so far.....

Beauty of a woman

If only people didn't judge a book by its cover but rather what is inside. My cousin forwarded this to me which I thought was sweet hence I'd like to share this with you.....

~~Beauty of a Woman ~~

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,

The figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a
woman must be seen from her eyes,
Because that is the doorway to her heart,

The place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman is not in a facial
mole,
But true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
It is the
caring that she lovingly gives,
The passion that she shows.
The beauty
of a woman
With time, only grows..

Please think about it....

York trip

This weekend was my last proper 'free' weekend before I start my revision again (insya-allah for the last time)
After this my blog posts may become irregular again......

I was supposed to go to the Ascot races with my work colleagues this weekend but considering I don't bet and weighing that against the option to go to York factory outlet for shopping I opted for the latter.

Meem and I have been wanting to go to York factory outlet since last year but we've been delaying it since it's a long drive up. Finally Bobby, Meem and I decided to do a road trip with Harris, Aunty Tun & Aunty Yok in the weekend
Alhamdulillah, York factory outlet didn't disappoint us...We arrived mid afternoon and were ready to shop! The outlet is indoor which would be great during wintertime away from the rain and the cold. There were a wide variety of brands like Coast, Karen Millen, Ted Baker, Next, Mexx, Nine West, Hackett, Armani and Paul Smith were amongst the few we liked. We shopped until we dropped ..well until the closing time anyways.

Then we headed to Leeds to visit Abg Nas who had recently returned from Malaysia. We met his new little nephew Hakimi who was absolutely adorable and wanted to play with everyone....
I came up with a new 'lil rhyme for the little kid titled 'Cak Cak Cak'.
I might bring it out in a song album one day....hehe not!!
(sorry to those who are reading this and thinking WTF??!! I'm just rambling on in one of my funny moods )
Thanks to Abang Khairy, Kak Huda and Abg Nas for their hospitality and the nasi biryani which was lovely!

After a long day driving and shopping we spent the night in a travelodge between York and Leeds. It was pitch black when we arrived at the travelodge..pretty scary but I think I was too tired to think about anything else apart from getting a good night's sleep.The two drivers for the weekend...looking tired and in need of a good night sleep!

The next day we woke up bright and early to head out to the next factory outlet called the "Junction 32 outlet" which is on..wait for it..yes Junction 32 on the M1! I was excited to go there because it had MNG which is the first factory outlet I've seen in the UK. The outlet was reasonable although I think the guys bought more stuff than we did maybe because there were more choices for them or possibly because we had spent loads more the day before.

Then it was time to head back to York town centre which we didn't manage to cover completely the day before.
My favourite spot in York was the wall monument all around the old town...it reminded me of a small version of the Wall of China.


York is a beautiful town similar to Canterbury and Bath with the distinctive Tudor buildings, Museum gardens and Clifford Tower which stands alone up on the mound. I think it would have been nice to spend a full day there walking along the town centre and taking in the scenery but time wasn't on our side because we had to head back to London that evening.


A tiring, expensive yet enjoyable road trip weekend! :)

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......

Which Sex and The City character are you?

Which Sex and the City Character Are You?
	You are Charlotte. Fairytales were made for you. You've had your share of heartbreak, but that doesn't stop you from opening your heart to others and searching for your happily-ever-after. To some, you may appear naive and your romantic ideals far-fetched, but you know that someday, your Prince will come.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Birthday celebration

The family celebrated Liani's 23rd birthday at Itallianies in One Utama and had Nuqman & Naquib with us.


Kak Nor ordered some cute cupcakes for Mama's and Liani's joint celebration. It is a family friendly restaurant with a lively atmosphere. The little boys entertained themselves with big massive balloons courtesy of the restaurant whilst we enjoyed the lovely food.


So my sis is now steadily approaching the mid 20s mark..getting older lah u! Hahahaha :P

Penang trip

This week, I had promised my sis I'd visit her in Penang.


I enjoyed the scenery whilst enjoying the drive to Penang. There aren't many places in the world where you can see waterfalls whilst driving along the highway. It's one of the things I will miss when I fly back to London.


Whilst waiting for my sis to finish work, I followed Chip to the USM campus which was a nice setting for a campus. I never had the privilege of living in a campus but I think campus life would have been enjoyable living the student community life where everyone knows each other.


A trip to Penang would not be complete without nasi kandar so we had late lunch at the famous Kayu restaurant. My fav dish was the ayam madu..delicious!!


We took a ride round Penang Island visiting Balik Pulau and passing Balik Relau..it was a shame the weather was slightly overcast but I still liked the view. There are also a few durian stalls since it is the durian season...I'm not a durian fan due to a certain durian trip I took with my aunt and uncle when I was younger. Luckily the durian smell didn't get in the car so I didn't get carsick ;)


On the way up to the hill I noticed there were a few people jogging up the steep hill and people can also go cycling up the hill. Full respect goes out to all of them since it is a very steep hill (for me anyways!)


We then headed towards the town...the architecture in the town is heavily influenced by the British Colonial style during the British occupation period. Even the streets have British names like Jalan Downing Street, Jalan Scotland , Jalan Macallister and I even noticed there is even a street of my school Jalan Fettes (yeay! famous jugak my school ni...hehe)


The thing which makes me sad is a lot of the buildings aren't being preserved due to lack of money and investment in restoring these buildings. In my own opinion, I think economic progress has taken priority over preserving the historic buildings and artefacts that remains in our country. I am all for economic progress but we should strike a balance between striving for economic progress and preserving our cultural heritage.
I mean how many shopping complexes do we REALLLY need which probably ALL have similar shops.....??!!!


We visited Padang Kota Lama which faced the seaview...I love walking along the seaside because it relaxes me and for that one moment all life's troubles just seem so far away...............


I met up with my sis after dinner and we all had dinner at Gurney Drive which has a row of hawker stalls. I was still full from lunch but I just had to try one of my fav dishes Assam Laksa and sotong kangkung...I just love kangkung with anything!!!


My sis then took me to her current fav place Batu Feringghi to check out the market....I would've liked to see the Batu Feringghi beach but there's not much a view at night...oh well maybe next time.....


The next day, Chip took me to a surreal place to have roti canai at Jln Transfer ..it was certainly an experience. I've never had breakfast where everyone is sat all in one row (canteen style) but instead of facing each other we're facing the street. That was definitely a first for me! :)


Since everyone was working I ventured out for a wee walk round the area....I visited the massive Burmese Temple adorned with the Buddha statues and gold colour everywhere. I wandered along the streets to look at the building architecture of various buildings around the area and stopped over at Gurney Plaza. I wasn't in the mood for shopping but I ended buying stuff anyway....ooops!


That night my sis brought me to have pasembor, cendol and char kway teaow (again one of my favs!) Anyone who is reading this probably thinks I'm food obsessed! Hahaha you're not far wrong! :p


We took a drive round the town at night...I wanted to go to Penang Hill but it was closed during the evening but we decided to drive up there anyway. Even though Penang Hill was closed there were still people wandering out at night round the area...one of them was a line dancing group who was using one of the halls nearby the hill.. I have to admit their dancing weren't half bad...hehe


All in all it was an enjoyable trip thanks to Chip and Liani for taking me round the area.......

A night of celebration......

Last Friday my uncle a.k.a Ayahyus invited the Nik Clan to celebrate his Company's 15th Anniversary celebration. It was a fun night with a black & red dress theme code. Everyone dressed up following Kak Oleen's tagline "Dressed to Kill" !

We had Kak Oleen and Alex Choong as our MC for the night. The MC did a good job making everyone participate with the event for the night. The night was filled with an assortment of entertainment ranging from Michael Jackson impersonations, comedy from Leonard Tan (although I didn't find him THAT funny..not my cup of tea I'm afraid...), various theme music quizzes, best dressed competitions won by Azrai. I thought there should have been a category for best dressed boy cuz Naeem was the handsomest boy of the night. Even my mom participated and won a prize for rushing up on stage in guessing the Dallas theme song!


My highlight was seeing Amy from Search perform. I grew up listening to Search and Gersang rock songs mainly influenced by my bro who often had their songs on at home. He was as we say in Malay slang "very sporting" coming down stage to allow people to take photos with him while he was singing those classic Search songs. I would have liked to see him perform more songs but due to late running of the event he performed two songs only.


The other singer of the night was the lovely Misha Omar. A singer with an amazing powerful voice with a friendly attitude which was good to see. Abang Azmi was lucky enough to perform a duet with Misha. He was a bit nervous at the start but he got into it halfway through the song...hehehe...Abang Nizam recorded the song so we will keep it in our family's hall of fame...hahahahahaa..... :)


The night ended with Ayahyus emotional speech. As a family we all hope he will find happiness and contentment in life. It was a a joyous and enjoyable night of celebration...We look forward for the next milestone Ayahyus! :)

Weddings weddings weddings........

Apart from visiting my family, the reason I came back to Malaysia this month is to attend my friends wedding.

My sis and I attended Ezro's wedding at his place in Bangi. A simple affair but enjoyable and thanks to 'lil sis for temaning me :)


Izad's and Wendy's took place last night. When Izad told me he was getting married I was surprised since out of the LSE gang we didn't think he would be the first one to get hitched. Nevertheless we're all happy for him. Selamat Pengantin Baru dude!!! Semoga bahagia ke anak cucu :)

It was a good night being reunited with uni friends and London people who I haven't met in a long time..some even since graduation.... Some have got married and had babies and some haven't changed one bit since we last met.



My other good friend Nija is also getting hitched this week. Nija has been one of my good friends at LSE and we became closer when we lived together as housemates. We had our girls night out at KL Hilton organised by her sis Nina. It was a fun dinner filled with some entertainment for our dear Nija *wink* Hope it was a memorable night for u !
Thanks for letting me be involved in the wedding preparations..hope I don't let u down ! :)

Back at home...

I'm finally back at home. I arrived early on Sunday morning.


I wasn't too jetlagged this time since I didn't really get much sleep the night before with my last minute packing and the last few weeks have been hectic to say the least!


Recent updates, I've had to move out of my flat in Bayswater to Edgware Rd. It wasn't out of choice but I was forced out by the landlord and there were certain mishandling of the whole situation by the estate agent. Anyone who has experience in renting will know that estate agents are the most insistent and persuasive people when you are looking for a flat but once you're a tenant their service are often not satisfactory to say the least! Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I moved out of the place because the whole situation would've been a whole lot more messy if I found out when I came back from KL end of this month.


In the long term I've had to rethink my career options and long term plans ..the question everyone always asks when I go back "Bila nak balik for good??" . When I was younger I thought I had a plan...after uni , qualify for my CA and then work for a few years post qualification in London and then go back to Malaysia to settle down. But now, I'm done with planning ahead and having high expectations..."que sera sera"... I still want to do well... but maybe my time has not yet come..All i can do now is keep on trying and doing my best..


Well, hopefully this break can revitalise me...
I prefer the afternoon flight from London..arrived KL in the morning so didn't get a chance to sleep.
After having breakfast at home, I met my second nephew Naquib for the first time...a year old already! Time flies man!
This week I've been sorting out my admin things like sorting out my lost driving license and updating my passport which I can now use at the Autogate..yeay! No more queuing at the manual gate.
Renewing the licence was surprisingly straightforward, I had to pay RM20 as a fine for losing my licence and showed my IC with copies of my licence photos and hey presto a new driving licence just like that!


I went for my fitting for my fren's wedding...I hope it looks good...have to control what I eat now cuz can't put any more weight after the fitting took place. :P


I also checked out the Curve this week for the first time, I like the place..good choice of places to eat and near my house too so I think that will be my new hangout place... :)
Shopping has also been good although I have to stop using my credit card and converting in MYR! Definitely not a wise thing to do.....


Apart from that, spending time with the family, catching up on sleep and familiarising myself with the Malaysian traffic again with new roads & highways paying for tolls everywhere!