Be-Muse-d

In the last couple of years , my friend had introduced me to this band.
I know-I'm a late convert to their music......but it's never too late right?
These guys are awesome LIVE.......especially from this Wembley show...
The lead singer must be one of the most talented musicians alive- he can sing, write, awesome at the guitar....
I think the performance of New Born at Wembley is one of the top performances....
Everytime I listen to their music-I discover more things I like about them.....never get bored of their music....
So enjoy! Will u be be-Muse-d?

Weekend with Will

Ivy and I finally got our act together and planned to finally go up to visit Will in Glasgow. Will is my ex-colleague from HCW who is now running his own family business there.
All three of us are no longer working at HCW but through the power of Facebook we've all managed to still keep in touch with each other.

I took advantage of the BA airmiles I've clocked up to fly there- we flew from City airport which is convenient especially if you are flying to the airport from work. (note to self: book flights from City compared to Stansted or Gatwick which is too far....)

Will was the perfect gentleman as he greeted us from the aiport without us having to wait long at the arrivals area. By the time we reached his flat it was running pretty late so Will gave the grand tour of his place.
Both of us were well impressed-he found a lovely flat which characterised the Glaswegian architecture with the Victorian-style houses and tiles. I wanted to take pictures but I don't want to embarass him :)
Of course his place was full of his IT gadgetry, his surround sound system and even rockband! But we didn't get a chance to rock out that weekend......busy enjoying the scottish scenery.

It was nice to have a long chat that night-I'm glad he has toned down in the boozing but still being the Will we knew all that time ago....(sarcastic yet never failing to entertain us)

In advance of the weekend, he was apprehensive on how he was going to entertain us and show the best bits of Glasgow especially for Ivy who had never visited the place before. We wanted to bring Ivy to Edinburgh but it was rugby weekend and we would have been spending most of the time in traffic.
Instead, we decided to go for a day trip visiting Loch Lomond & Loch Fyne just outside Glasgow. Will drove us up to visit a village called Luss- our timing could not have been better as we saw a Scottish groom getting married that day as he arrived - we felt like we were gatecrashing but they didn't mind as they posed for the cameras as they arrived.


Next stop: We visited the National park and took some amazing scenery-the beauty about Scottish scenery is it is always changing in the season -it is now winter coming into spring so we could see a range of colours coming through which was amazing.

Lunch: We headed to Loch Fyne Restaurant which has a couple of chains in London but this was the original one. Fresh oysters are farmed in Loch Fyne which is facing the front of the restaurant. The restaurants in London of this nature can sometimes appear to be posh so I was pleasantly surprised the Scottish chain had a more homely feel to it without compromising the taste in the food.
The speciality of the restaurant are the fresh oysters and mussels. I've only had oysters once previous to this but I was totally loving the oysters we had that day-so fresh! Will showed me the best way of eating the oysters- slightly loosen the oysters from the shell-squeeze a bit of lemon and put on a bit of tabasco and let it just slide in your mouth without chewing it-amazing!

After the amazing lunch-we drove onto Inveraray -a maritime village. I'm not sure what it is about looking out to seas and rivers but I just love the sea breeze and looking out onto the sea-it has a very calming effect on me. My dream house would be one that overlooks out into the sea where you can just walk out to the beach at anytime. All the worries of the day will just flow away as you take in the views.....-wishful thinking! hehe

To drive back to Glasgow , Will took us onto the ferry back to Greenock. As it was dark by then we couldn't take in the views but it sure was cold! We didn't stay up at the ferry too long before heading back into the car to stay warm hehe.

All of us were pretty knackered by the end of the day, but we decided to head out for dinner as Will showed us the nightlife of Glasgow in the West End. We went for drinks at the famous Ashton Lane -this is a little alleyway with cool and quirky restaurants and pubs.
We then headed to Spuntini- an Italian tapas restaurant which had recently opened there. Many Italians moved to Scotland and settled there which explains why there are so many good Italian restaurants in Glasgow. I really liked the concept of the restaurant-good choice of tapas that night...we were stuffed with the choices.....

The next day, we decided to have a look around the Glasgow city centre-so many things have changed since I was last there about ten years ago. There was another shopping centre called Buchanan Galleries which is a bit like Westfield. Glaswegians definitely know how to shop-it is the 2ndmost popular destination in the UK for shopping....
We went for brunch at Princes Square which is my favourite spot in Glasgow -with its cafes to chill out....

After walking around the city centre it was time to fly back down to London-Will was great and a true gentleman who looked after us the whole weekend........ Thanks! :)






Scotland will always have a special place in my heart since my teenage years was spent in this place. Recently , I found out that my secondary school-Bearsden Academy in Glasgow is about to be demolished....

http://www.bearsdenacademy.e-dunbarton.sch.uk/news/default.asp?storyID=14

Sad but true but things move on and the school is in need for refurbishment.......

Ku Mohon

This is dedicated to a close friend who is going through a tough time at the moment
Stay strong and my thoughts are with you always....

Same same but different

This issue has been on my mind for a while but I've never had the opportunity to write it down...

Most of the time , I feel blessed to have the type of upbringing I've had but throughout my life I felt I never quite fit in.

I've always led a nomadic lifestyle ever since I was born-constantly moving from place to place following my dad.

I moved to Rhode Island in the US when I was 7 where I started my kindergarden education. That was the first of many occasions where I experienced being the only Malay girl in a foreign environment having to adjust to new people and new surroundings. I still remember that first day in school where I stood up in front of the class and introduced myself as "Hi, I'm Wati from Malaysia". I could sense most people in my class didn't have a clue where Malaysia was and why my name sounded so weird...
I'm not complaining for the opportunity living in America since my memory of Rhode Island were of happy times.I was lucky to visit places like the White House, Niagara Falls, Disneyland and many others with my family.

After a year in the US , we went back to Malaysia where I stayed in KL for a short while. I attended school at my aunt's primary school in PJ. I experienced culture shock -I cried at my first day at school because I hated the state and smell of the toilets in the school-(it sounds so petty now that I think of it)
In the next few months, my brother and I went for home tuition classes at my aunt's house in PJ but as soon as I was settling down in the school it was time to move again to Sitiawan in Perak. I attended an all girl's convent school but moved to a mixed school as my parents thought it was a better school. My childhood friend I can remember at the time was Ayu- we hung out and played around the neighbourhood. Fun memories but after about a year it was yet time to move again-back to KL.

There, I met other kids in a similar situation as me staying in the armed forces headquarters (MINDEF) and attended Bukit Bintang Girls School (BBGS). I made friends there but I never really had the chance to settle into the school as it was only a few months before the whole family was posted to Glasgow, UK.

If someone were to ask me whether I had close childhoods friends back then-I would probably say no because I never really had the chance to know people long enough to develop that close friendship bond.

Reflecting back on my time in Scotland-it was of fun times most of the time where I had neighbourhood friends who also went to the same school as I did. We were close especially Pat, Vanita, Gemma and I. But, deep down I felt an outsider. I wasn't British and my parents were traditional in my upbringing in that I wasn't allowed to stay up late going clubbing and drinking which were pretty normal in those days for teenagers growing up in the UK.(but saying that I'm sure Malaysia probably has the same teenage scene nowadays-I guess I just had a protective childhood back then)

When I moved to do my A-levels in Edinburgh, I was (again) the only Malay (muslim) girl in the whole boarding school. I made some good friends there but again I always felt I was missing out on knowing what being a Malaysian really is. I often described Malaysia as a wonderful place but did I actually have the right and the knowledge to really know what being a Malaysian really is?

Throughout my childhood when my dad was posted in Glasgow, I rarely went back to Malaysia -maybe once every two years. Even then, it was only during the school summer holidays and stayed with my aunt and spent time with my cousins. It never felt like I really knew Malaysia except for doing the touristy things.

I chose to continue my uni education in London-maybe it was fate but I was blessed to stay in the uni halls where my flatmate was a Malaysian- I met more Malaysians through her,my uni course as well as joining the usual Malaysian clubs. It was an eye opener for me because I never really had proper Malaysian friends before this. My three years at university were the most enjoyable time of my life so far. I felt independent travelling around Europe and learning to live with other people.

My first proper relationship was at university and people found it surprising that I was going out with a Malay. People assumed that I would go out with a Mat Salleh but I was never really interested with British guys-I think the culture gap was too big for me. However, I do understand why Western guys can seem appealing at times as some Malay guys can be insensitive jerks at times (but then aren't men like that anyways at times irrelevant of which ethnic origin they are from?)

Post graduation: due to the work climate at the time I took a year out to go home to Malaysia while trying to get chartered training back here in London.
My year in Malaysia was long overdue-for the first time in my life I was able to spend time in Malaysia for more than three weeks!
Initially, it felt like a holiday-I was able to spend time with my family and I also experienced working in Malaysia. I got a taste of the crazy working culture in Malaysia and met new people other than my uni friends.
I realised pretty quickly that there was still lots of things I didn't know about living in KL- let alone Malaysia.

Soon I felt suffocated-I was used to come and go as I please in London-stay out and meet whomever I wanted but back home it's more restrictive. I needed to account on where i was going, what time I was due to go back. It was like being back in school. I understood that it wasn't because my parents didn't trust me but they couldn't accept that I am no longer a kid and I needed my freedom. Compromise and tolerance was required from all of us in the family to make living bearable and I think towards the end we were close in reaching some sort of compromise.

In terms of my spiritual faith, there were things which I did in the past which i regretted but I tried to put that behind me and my inspiration Moez changed all that for me during that year I was in Malaysia. He inspired me to change my ways and become a better Muslim. I soon realised however, that there were other Malays who didn't understand this side of me. Trying to make your faith stronger should be a sign of a favourable trait in someone but I felt certain people found this off-putting and stereotyped you in a certain category.


When I moved back to London and started working life, I was lucky to have great workmates but there was always this barrier. British working culture revolves around the pub-it's a place where they socialise. We go to coffeehouses or mamak stalls to lepak but here people go straight to the pub on a friday evening. My workmates were understanding when I explain to them I don't drink but again it was difficult to fit into this working environment. At the beginning, I attended all the working drinks but as the years go by, there were times where I made excuses of why I didn't attend the leaving do's or made reasons of why I wanted to leave early.

I often wonder do I fit better in the life here or back home in Malaysia? Even at my current workplace, I am the only Malay girl in a large global firm. Throughout my whole life, I had to adjust in different environments and meeting new people but I can't help feeling when will I feel a sense of belonging?
Does the feeling ever exist? Is there any one out there who had a similar background to me?

I think most people go through life trying to discover their identity. When I read Barack Obama's book "Dreams of my father"-Obama went through life trying to discover his own identity as a mixed race American and fighting the prejudices of people (both black and white) and fighting for what he believed in. In the end,he just learnt to accept that he was who he is and proud of it.

I'm not comparing myself exactly to Obama per se, but what I'm trying to say is everyone goes through life with different background and different life experiences searching for that sense of identity.
Maybe I will never find that sense of identity-I keep on wondering...

I'm hoping whoever I settle down with Insya-allah will learn to accept that I am who I am. Is that too much to ask?

Brit Awards 2009

It was the Brit Awards night:

Performance of the night was Pet Shop Boys winning Outstanding Contribution to Music award- they definitely put on a great performance especially his duet with Brandon Flowers from the Killers (looking cute on the night if I may say so *wink* )



Yes...finally! Kings of Leon receive the recognition they truly deserve as Best Group and Best International Album for "Only by the Night"

My favourite album of 2008...the songwriting and melody to this album is beautiful-credit to the group for doing a great job on this album.
I love you guys and hope to see you in the next tour!

For most people, Duffy may have been the winner of the night but I'm not a fan of her music so for me it was Kings of Leon night!

Dear....

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...

Slumdog Millionaire

It's been a while since I had a great movie night until I went to see Slumdog Millionaire.
Yes People- do believe the hype!

This is one of the best movies in a VERY long time.

Before Christmas , I saw the poster trailers of the movie being displayed across the red London buses but didn't take much notice of it. I thought it was just another Bollywood movie.

It wasn't until a friend posted the film trailer on his site which made me want to watch the movie.


The Bayswater crew and I decided to watch the movie at the Everyman Cinema at Hampstead with its comfy two seater couches. I love this cinema-we can get drinks and snacks ordered and brought to us before the movie starts. Due to the lack of parking spaces in the area we didn't have time to enjoy the pre cinema experience but we're hoping to go there again for the next outing -Curious Case of Benjamin Button movie which will come out next week.



Returning back to Slumdog Millionaire movie- it was directed by Danny Boyle who has directed a wide range of movies from 28 days later to Trainspotting to name but a few.


The main cast were not A-listers but this movie is truly magnificient. It is based on a book written by Vikas Swarup about a boy from the slums of Mumbai called Jamal who is on the verge of winning 20 million rupees in the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire but is caught by the police for alleged cheating on the show.

The show goes through a series of flashbacks of his life as he answers each question in the show. The movie focuses on the life for Jamal, Salim (his brother) and Latika (Jamal's love).
It gives us an insight of the way of life living in the slums of Mumbai. As the director describes the slums-it is a thriving environment which is constantly changing in its unique enterprising way.

The real stars of the show for me were the slum kids who played Jamal, Salim and Latika's character when they were kids. These were real slum kids who had been picked by the casting director.
The good thing I found coming out of this movie is these slum kids are now been taken in by charitable organisations and will hopefully be able to grow up and able to achieve their aspirations and dreams. A proportion of the box office takings are going towards setting up a Foundation to help the slum kids of Mumbai.
So please do not go download this movie or buy pirated Dvds because the money you spend in the cinema is actually going to a worthy cause.

The scenery of India is truly maginificient in this movie -the film crew had a tough time filming through the crowded streets of Mumbai but the results were truly spectacular.

Here's a trailer of the movie- Go watch it if you haven't already!
I love this track too by M.I.A

The Media vs the Truth?

The media has a strong influence on how we perceive what is happening all around the world. A recent example of this would be the Gaza crisis.

During the three week attack on the Gaza strip, Western journalists were not allowed into Gaza by the Israelis. Israeli's official reasons: it was too dangerous for foreign Western journalists to enter Gaza and Israelis were concerned that if foreign journalists were in Gaza, they won't be able to have an objective view on what was happening since Hamas militants may threaten people to report to the journalists in Pro-Hamas favour.

Pictures and reports of the conflict were coming through by Arab journalists and aid workers who were already in Gaza at the time of the conflict.
A picture can say a thousand words...however if it isn't shown in the right context-the message can be misconstrued and thus misleading the rest of the World.

The Arab channels such as Al-Jazeera were more graphic in their reporting of the devastation compared to Western channels such as the BBC. Does this mean the Arab channels like Al Jazeera was portraying a truer and honest picture compared to the Western channels? I'm not sure whether my opinion of the conflict would change if I saw more gore on the television. I think just seeing the faces of people who had lost their loved ones and home had made me feel very sad of the innocent lives who are caught in this conflict.

The way the conflict is portrayed will affect its audience. Young Muslims watching the devastation may form a feeling of hate and despise towards the Israelis as fellow Muslim brothers and sisters continue to be killed.
This can promote radicalism and extremism amongst these young people if they are influenced into the wrong groups.

I think the UN has the responsibility to try and pursue investigation of possible war crimes which may have been committed to the Palestinian people during this period.
We may never know exactly what really happened during the three week conflict-it will take years to build the Gaza strip from the rubble and destruction.

The media must also take responsibility to be as truthful and factual as possible -government spokesman from Hamas and Israelis have their own propaganda and will pursue their version of events.

As per John Pilger's quote : "It is not enough for journalists to see themselves as mere messengers without understanding the hidden agenda of the message and myths that surrounds it"

As Gaza tries to rebuild itself there is a huge humanitarian crisis in the city. BBC's refusal not to broadcast the DEC appeal is disappointing- there is no question that what occurred to the Palestinian people is truly devastating.They need our help-the innocent Palestinian people didn't ask for their homes to be bombed.
It is not a matter of choosing sides i.e.pro Israelis or pro Palestinians but it is about reporting a humanitarian crisis. I wonder if there were more people being killed in Israel would the BBC act any differently?

Boyz

There are a few things I would like to write in this blog but I need to gather my thoughts before putting it on screen...

One of them is the Gaza Crisis: even after 20 days the fighting continues and now over 1000 Palestinian lives have been lost.
The news coverage will tell us about the current updates but I would like to write about how this atrocity is sowing the seeds of extremism in the hearts of the new generation of Palestinians , Israelis and Muslims all around the World....

I will write this , insya-allah in my next blog but until then I have been listening to this Boyz remix with MIA and Jay-Z which expresses the way people felt about America on Bush and Iraq.
However, I think this is still relevant for the Gaza crisis too especially as Israel send their reservist troops as the ground troops gather force to attack the densely populated Gaza city.

Extract from the MIA remix lyrics:

How many soldiers are ready to fight?
How many ready for war?
How many sick of them?
How many quit?
How many ready for more??

How many people say nothing one idiot says it all?
How many people gettin frustrated waiting for Bush to fall?

Jay-Z:
How many soldiers are ready to fight?
How many ready for war?
How many niggas get locked up for drugs?
The Government slinging that oil

How many billions does it take before the troops are home?
How many banks got to collapse to know whatchu doin is wrong?

Gotta get Bush out the chair (yeah)
Give Obama the floor (yeah)
F**** it!
Lets bring back Reagan at least he would get in that brawl
These politicians dont give a shit the hood still getting ignored
Gotta get paid now

So, how many more innocent lives do we need to be killed before this is stopped?
Obama will be inaugurated this Tuesday as the new American President.
It is hoped to be a sign of hope and change for the world after what Bush had done during his reign.
Let's hope this Gaza crisis will be one of the first items on his agenda to fix once and for all. Possibly wishful thinking on my part as there are so many parties who want to have a say in this crisis and it has been going on for decades yet I think peace is possible.

I'll write this in my next blog...until then enjoy the music!

Change the World

Let's all make a difference in whatever way we can...Stop the Massacre!

Into the new year 2009

My first blog for 2009....

I spent New Year's Eve morning servicing my baby car.

My baby car will be three years old end of this month which also marks the end of my final payment for the car....woohoo!

Three options for the car:

a) Sell it and buy another car when I go home

b) Trade in the car for another one-(not sure to what though)

c) Keep it and ship it home

I'm not yet sure what I want to do....everytime I think of selling it/changing it I feel sad because it had so many memories with it...I'm a sentimentalist if there ever was such a word...

I took Aliza and Ninie to Portobello Rd in the morning to check out Hummingbird Bakery for a girlie morning coffee chat with cupcakes...but we were disappointed that the cafe was closed....

All was not lost, however, because we discovered another cafe called Humble Cafe for some humble pie---it was yummy! I'll definitely take a short drive there again....

Then it was back to work-more of a short afternoon of checking emails and calling my peeps back home before heading home.I wasn't planning to do anything for the NYE countdown and would have been content to stay in and watch the fireworks along the Thames on tv rather than freezing out in the cold along the riverbank.

But as usual when I don't plan things...something impromptu will come up.

I decided to join No.53 peeps for Hakkasan dinner which I hoped wouldn't come to the same bill total as last time....it was less pricey than before and it is a once in a while treat and the food is definitely first class.

The whole evening was thoroughly enjoyable with good company. We headed back to wait for the countdown and watch the fireworks from Primrose Hill. I think this year was a better NYE countdown than last year's - Despite the bitter cold weather , there were plenty of fireworks on display and beautiful lanterns flying up into the sky.

The next day, Nazlin invited me over with a few other mates for a New Years Day Turkish lunch since her mother in law was in town. It was a delicious meal especially trying out salma (rice stuffed in vine leaves) which I love but it was my first time to try it home made which was amazing.

It was nice to catch up with old mates since we are all spread out all over London and don't meet up often.

Even my close friend Omar said we don't meet up often enough especially since he's moved nearer to my area...So to make amends...I visited his new place which was a typical batchelor's pad and met his flatmates.

We then headed to the movies to watch our first movie for the year-Australia. I wanted to watch Slumdog Millionaire especially after watching the trailers but it doesn't come out here until the end of the month.

Australia was an epic movie starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman-it was a good movie but you have to be in the right mood for it. It's not something you want to watch if you're expecting a movie with a lot of special effects, unpredictable plot or twists in the movie.

It's a good movie with great acting by Nicole Kidman..so-so acting by Hugh Jackman but my favourite character was Nala the aboriginal kid who became the narrator throughout the whole story.

The cinematography of the Outback was breathtaking and makes you just want to get on the horse and hit the Great Outback.

I recommend it if you want to watch a good old classic Gone With the Wind type movie for a three hour movie...

So get comfortable in the cinema... :) This was my favourite song in the movie as the characters sat around the campfire. It is by Iron and Wine "Such Great Heights"

All in all it has been a relaxing start to the New Year.

Any resolutions? Well no resolutions but to be happy and better myself as a person:

Workwise-I wanna aim for promotion to have a more secure future when I go home (it's gonna be a challenge especially after talking to other execs in my position)

Personalwise- Try to be less naive and be more wary of people who take me for granted.

This past year, a few people have disappointed me in their actions and at times have cause misunderstandings between certain people I know.

People sometimes misunderstand me and make certain assumptions about me-but if they're not willing to know the real me then I'm not going to impose it on them.

I will also try to think about my actions /words first before judging/making my assumptions about them until I know them well enough. Sometimes first impressions are deceiving and all is not as they seem.

Despite that, I am still blessed to have people around me near and far who are there for me during the good and bad times....

Let 2009 bring me closer to my goal.... Bring it on!

Winter Wonderland

Christmas arrived and went…This year we decided to do a joint Xmas lunch roast turkey with all the trimmings, wild rice salad, roast lamb and bread and butter pudding for dessert.
The No.53 crew had seen Jamie Oliver in action in his Xmas special and we were attempting to recreate the Jamie Oliver Christmas taste….

I stayed over at No 53 over Xmas Eve to help with the preparation, however, I don’t think I did much since Fazly had already prepared the roast lamb and Ninie and Najla were already preparing the stuffing for the turkey.

The Jamie Oliver Xmas show was interesting because there were a few things we didn’t realise in roasting a turkey. Firstly, the stuffing is made of bacon which is mashed up with lots of herbs and sage. We replaced this with mince meat instead.

In addition goose fat is also used….we replaced this again with our halal meat fat. The turkey feast is actually quite fattening if you think about it…even the roast vegetables is cooked using the turkey fat produced during the roasting process. The turkey fat is then used to make the gravy along with mashed vegetables and chicken stock.
Since most of the preparation was already done, we ended playing Rockband2 for the rest of the night. Previously we had an issue with the drum pedal (due to over playing perhaps??!!) which broke halfway during our session. This was replaced by a wooden pedal which Bob the Builder had made for our group.

The next morning, the roast lamb had been cooked overnight and the turkey was ready to go in….all 7kg of it! It was massive and with the stuffing it looked even bigger….
Whilst waiting for the turkey to cook, we chatted upstairs and there was a good atmosphere all round….i think probably more relaxed than Hari Raya (obviously!...we weren’t heading out to go for Mass/Church kan?!)

After about three and a half hours , the turkey was ready along with the lamb, wild rice and pudding. It was time for the carving to begin! Jamie Oliver made it look so easy but well done to Fazly, Ninie and Azril for carving the meat because it was a hard job to do…especially when we do not have the sharp carving knives like Jamie…..

We finally sat down for our lunch …and it was absolutely delicious especially the gravy which was amazing with the meat! And pudding with custard to end the meal was a great ending to a great feast…everyone helped out which was fun and enjoyable.
Once all the clearing had finished mainly consisted of Areel who did most of the dishwashing (bless him for volunteering) it was time to have fun….

We started out with Lips (karaoke game) and one of the kids who came to the house beat us all with her rendition of Bleeding Love –Leona Lewis where she scored over 1m points…..We comforted ourselves by thinking that the only reason she won was because her voices has not yet broken…(hehe u can tell we are all bad losers…hahah!)

We then moved onto the party game Cranium. Cranium is a game of various tasks which the team has to perform: it can range from game of charades, humming/whistling a tune, brainteaser questions or word puzzles.

My team (Jiden, Farhan and me) came last but we were just unlucky on the night with our dice throws, difficult tasks ( how is anyone expected to sculpt a california sushi roll using purple plastecine?!).

Areel, Najla and Aliza’s team were just lucky on the night and good guesswork by the girls. The highlight of the night is Areel performing Shakira’s song using the lyrics “Whatever…whatever…” and the girls still managed to guess correctly.
The last game of the night …was of course Rockband2….everyone had a go at playing it which was fun……Overall it was a fun night with good food and of course good company!

Will put up pics later...

Twilight weekend

Work has finally quieten down and I can finally breathe again but I haven't got any extra holidays so it's gonna be a quiet time in the office next week..

This weekend, I managed to catch up on proper sleep-time which I didn't have in the last few weeks.

After doing spring cleaning this weekend I met up with Ivy for our movie dinner night. We went to Sakura's for some Japanese: I like the fast service and the sushi's ain't bad for the price we pay. I forgot how rude the waiters/waitresses are though-it took us four times to get refills on our green tea and there were several times the waitress tried to take our sushi assuming we finished our food when we clearly haven't!
Despite that, the sushis are good and reasonable so we just bear with the lack of service...

Then it was off to Leicester Square for our movie night-Twilight the movie. The movie is based on Stephanie Meyer book which has been successful especially in America.
People in Malaysia have been raving about this movie especially the guy who plays Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). I was intrigued how this pale guy who played Cedric in Harry Potter could be such a big star especially amongst teenage girls within a short space of time.

I was expecting a Buffy Vampire Slayer type film and expecting someone like the character of Angel.
Unfortunately, Robert Pattinson didn't bring out the character of Edward Cullen as readers of the book would have liked and imagined....The chemistry between Edward and Bella in the movie appeared sub zero at times and the inexperience of the young cast was apparent at times as Edward (Robert Pattinson) awkwardly having conversations and displaying his affections to Bella.

Some scenes appear disjointed at times e.g. Edward turned from Bella's biology lab partner into someone Bella fell in love with overnight yet we couldn't see their relationship develop in the movie.


Yet, it wasn't a bad movie like the baseball scene partly because it had "SuperMassive Black Hole"-Muse playing in the background, the scene where he introduced her to his family and the prom scene.

Robert Pattinson may look good in a black suit but if only he could act -the movie could have been awesome rather than being another teenage romance movie...

However, due to the popularity of its book I think we should expect a sequel to this movie in the near future....

Let's hope the acting is better in the next one....

Weekend

It has been a cold week in London.....my health hasn't been too good lately-this cold weather does not suit me at all :P

My iPod nano gift arrived this week: to some people it may seem like a small thing.. but to me the gift represents six months of hard work, late nights, travelling and to the future so thank you!

Luckily my manager and team have been supportive and let me work from home couple of days this week although it has meant I haven't been able to attend the EY Tower of London Xmas Party...-would have loved to go and see the Queen's Crown Jewels and catch up with everyone from the office...
Takpe maybe next year if I'm still here....

I'm still not feeling 100% but the weekend is here...and it's gonna be an interesting one...

a) meeting the Whittaker's : it's been too long since I saw them so it would be nice to see them before the xmas period starts...

b) brunch with the bayswater crew...and Rockband 2 session at No.53! For those who haven't heard of rockband or guitar hero it's a music game where people can just have fun and rock out...
I love the guy who came up with this game....rock music is a fun way to get everyone together and just play good music...
My favourite instrument is the drums....I never had the privilege to own my own set of drums plus I didn't have a soundproof basement so Rockband is a perfect substitute....


Raya haji is approaching -so those in Malaysia..selamat raya haji and bercuti...korang banyak holiday ler.....tak aci.. :P

Lyric of the week

"You change your mind like a girl changes clothes
Yeah you, PMS like a b***** I would know
And you always think, always speak cryptically
I should know that your no good for me

Cause' you're hot then you're cold
You're yes then you're no
You're in then you're out
You're up and you're down
You're wrong when it's right "

Soundtrack of my life so far.....

I listen to music when I'm happy
I listen to music when I'm feeling blue
I listen to music to concentrate
I listen to music when I'm feeling lonely
I listen to music when I'm trying to motivate myself

Basically music has been a part of my life since as far back as I can remember.

I used to make up compilation tapes when I was at home of songs I liked from the radio or albums of artists/bands I loved.
I went through different types of music in my life from Jazz, Classical, Rn B, Pop, Rock, Dance...there is not any single type of music which I like...I'm a fan of all types of music.

I used to collect CD albums but a few of my favourite tapes and CD albums have been shipped back or gone missing when we moved from house to house...
I've tried to download old songs which I miss but its not the same as having the originals...
I will hopefully be getting my new Ipod nano soon thanks to my lil reward gift. So I'll be able to have more songs to listen during my travelling trips... Thank you :)

When I moved down to London, I enjoy going to gigs and concerts when I had the time with like-minded people who enjoyed music like I do...

I was trying to think of my top ten songs which reflect my life so far .It was difficult cutting down my favourite songs into only ten but I think this is the list so far:

Song 1) Janji Manismu -Aishah
When I was just a lil girl, I saved up my pocket money in order to buy her album and this song reminds me of the time I lived in Sitiawan.

Song 2)Hero-Mariah Carey

I often sang this song at the school playground during lunchtime with d lunchtime gang...it reminds me of the schooldays in Glasgow...

Song 3)You'll Never walk alone-Gerry and the Pacemakers
Pat, Gemma, Vanita-My mates from Glasgow made me a 'leaving compilation tape' before I moved to boarding school in Edinburgh. During the first few months in Edinburgh, I often felt homesick but their compilation tape filled with jokes and fav songs made me laugh everytime...

Song 4) Round Here-Counting Crows
This song reminds me when my ex boyfriend took me to the Counting Crows concert in London on our first date together. Before we went to the concert, he wanted me to listen to all of their songs in their album to try to convince me to go with him- he succeeded and I do still love their songs and would listen to it from time to time...

Song 5) Independent Women-Destiny's Child

Nija (my uni flat mate) and I loved Destiny's Child and loved to watch them perform live......
The song reminds me of the good time we had as flat mates and our uni years...

Song 6) My Body-Pretty Ricky

This song was playing on the van throughout our shopping trip to McArthur Glen Outlet with the London peeps-Lini, Meem,Abang Nas,Mas,Me...

Song 7)Noerul Saranghae-Gong Yoo

I love Korean dramas -especially the Coffee Prince and Kak Rahayu and I absolutely adore him-This song reminds me of the sleepovers we had watching the K-drama...

Song 8)Dream Catch Me-Newton Faulkner

I listened to this song while I was trying to gather my thoughts while I was taking a walk at Hyde Park.This song reminded me of how I upset I was when I found out I didn't pass my last paper for the ICAS exam-It was a turning point in my life where I wanted to make changes in my life and setting new goals on what I want to and can still achieve in my life....

Song 9)Umbrella-Rihanna
This song was playing when I was going through some changes in my life last year and it's so uplifting...I kept playing this song over and over again for months.....

Song 10)Mungkin-Anuar Zain

I met him for the first time in June when I went home this year with my cousins: he is an amazing singer and the most down to earth and decent guys I have met irrelevant of his celebrity status..
If only more Malay guys can have the attributes he does...

In the future there will be other songs (old and new) which will be part of the stories of my life which have yet to happen....

Fraud victim

Yep...I am a fraud victim....It's the worst feeling when you find that the money you have worked hard for only to find someone take your details and take it away...

I thought that using the 'chip and pin' system would be secure but unfortunately people can still find a way...

I'm still waiting for the fraud unit to investigate how the fraud occurred...
I normally avoid using my debit card for online transactions so the only other way the fraudsters could have obtained my details would be:
a) fraudulent atm cash machines
b) the chip and pin terminals i use for random things when I don't have enough cash with me

My advice to people:

a) avoid using debit cards except for withdrawing cash from atm cash machines to reduce the risk of fraudsters cloning your card....

b) use your credit card to pay for items; however small it is if you haven't got cash with you instead of a debit card.
the bank can recover your money easily for credit cards because credit companies have insurance to cover these situations. However, with debit cards it's harder because the banks have to claim against the retailers or people responsible who have passed on your card details to the fraudsters..

I have learnt it the hard way...i'm just praying I can still recover the sum of money the fraudsters took from me....

Sincerity

Definition of sincerity:" the quality of being open and truthful; not deceitful or hypocritical...virtue of speaking truly about one's feelings, thoughts, desires"

A word which covers so many aspects in our lives....in our religion, studies, friends we make, family relationships and at the workplace...

No one is perfect including moi...but one thing I've always tried to do is be sincere in what I do- the things I share with people,friendships I make and the work which I do...

I guess I'm naive in my perspective of the world...but I'm finding there are people in this world who doesn't think being sincere is a virtue which they would like to aspire to....

Stay

I was going through my song playlist and this song came on......brought back memories and the song I used to sing all the time......

The song still sounded good as it did all those years ago.....