So Long, Farewell, Au Revoir Bid Adieu

I've quit my job at SR Bailey Pharmacy. Today was my last day at work.

The upcoming workload of uni this semester is mad beyond imagination, and judging by my snail slow speed and sloppy time management skills last term, I figured I better pack my bags and leave now before it's too late. I can't trust myself to handle the stress of not having enough time for revision (and preparations) for exam, so I've made the decision to quit and focus on my studies.

Let's hope I won't squander the new-found time with my sucky old habit of procrastination...

If I do, I give you the permission to slap me wake up!

Every Cloud Has A Platinum Lining...

sourced from fotosearch.com

...because silver isn't good enough for me.

Yesterday was the first day back at Uni. Rejuvenated from a 6-week lay off? Hmm, a little bit, but like everyone else, I'd love to have a longer break...not so much to curi tulang, but to catch up on revision carried over from last year...oh well, I guess I'd just have to work doubly hard this term :(

Came back from lectures around noon time to find 2 email replies from hospitals I've applied to for summer placements.

I hurriedly checked them with moutain-high expectations.

But the anticipation of good news fizzled out like a can of soft drink when opened.

One regretted to inform me that I wasn't chosen to go for the interview, and the other said they've brought forward the application deadline to 15th of Dec last year (ie they won't be considering any more).

To say I was in low spirits was a total understatement. And knowing me, I don't take rejections gracefully (as I should have).

Had a chat with fellow coursemate later on and it was a good thing she had a strong character, or else she would have came out of my room having as bleak an outlook as the negativity and dismay I've tainted her with.

Rejections from 2 (out of at least 40 hospitals) I've applied to is a bit pre-mature to be pessimistic about isn't it? Ordinarily I would have thought so, but since early Jan when I started my hospital placement application frenzy, I've gotten replies from only a handful of hospitals, and not one of them is conclusive. All they are saying is they have received my applications and they shall contact me in the future should I be successful. So naturally, I would view any email that had come from a nhs.uk address to be (as what they've led me to believe) a sign of good tidings, no?

Unfortunately that wasn't the case.

I don't know if the person who coined this Chinese saying of "the higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment" is pessimistic or simply wise, but you can't blame me for aiming high!

Oh well, this placement allocation thingy is still in its early days. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Down and in a pout I was, but down and out I won't be.

That's not in my genetic make-up.

F for Federer. F for Finesse.

I agree with the critics. Someone needs to give us new words to describe this tennis maestro.

I watched the Australian Open Men's Single finals at 9 o'clock this morning. Funny how I always struggle to get up for morning lectures and yet when it comes to sports events, I am there right on the dot.

It's been almost half a year since I've watched any tennis games (the last few being Wimbledon 2006 in the summer). I've never ever held a tennis racquet in my life before (let alone play the game) but like football, I find it bewitching, magnetic even. Definitely one of the best sports of which to be an arm-chair spectator.

Fernando Gonzalez was the other finalist today. Speedy Gonzales many nicknamed him. But Master Federer was simply too good to be denied of the championship win.

A friend (who is also a close follower of the tennis game) once asked me why I like watching Federer play. Typical me, I retorted defensively and answered him back with this instead, "why DON'T you like watching Federer play?"

"Cause he does my head in. It's like you can never win against him. So what's the point of watching when you already know the winner before the game has even started?"

You get the impression that people find him boring don't you, that because he's always winning, there's no joy in watching his games anymore.

But I'd like to differ. Ask any of the tennis commentators and I'm very sure they too would beg to differ.

The magnificent shots that he come up with, the beautiful strokes that he execute, the wonderful placements of the ball in which he put, his game plan, his single-handed backhand, his footwork, his languid way around the court, his easy demeanour, his friendly nature - everything spells class.

Roger Federer is an epitome of perfection. He defies imagination.

That's why I like to watch him play.

Arnie says "I'll be back", I say I AM back.

Anymore procrastination means I might as well shut down this blog huh...Well, I guess we can all see why I always seem to be breaking my 'diary efforts' new year resolution, year after year!

Oh no baby, oh NO. *index finger wagging*

Not this year. It's for keeps. You be my witness!

Anyway, moi has been away to Port Talbot for a short 2 and a 1/2 day hospital placement. Came back on Wednesday and have been busy with stuff (which I have trouble naming). Honestly, where has all the time gone?!

This placement thingy was organised by the school for all 3rd year Pharmacy students just so we can get a taster of what it's like working in a secondary care institution before commiting ourselves to it for a 52-week make or break pre-registration year. We were all sent to hospitals around Wales and some even go as far as England.

Considering we've just finished our PH3108 exam on the Friday before this, I know many of my mates were treating it like a mini-holiday. As for me, haha, I'd like to berlagak a bit and treat it like I was attending a conference, complete with top notch accommodation and excellent room service plus exquisite buffet meals...

*snap*

Ah right, apologies for skidding off track there. But the part about top-notch accommodation and excellent room service is true. No joke. You see, I had arranged to put up at their hospital accommodation to save me the trouble of commuting from Cardiff everyday. Initially, the thought of paying 8.73 GBP per night was a big lump to swallow, but upon seeing the lovely room I was allocated, I felt 8.73 was worth every penny!


This is the hospital staff quarters all right, but it's a million times nicer than Aberdare Hall, which don't even have en-suite facilities! How I wish I could be staying here AND attending Uni at the same time...

Ya ya, dream on... :)

Woke up the next morning and found that I was teenie bit late for work, but pharmacists were all having a meeting so technically I wasn't late because they hadn't started work yet :P (I personally blamed the comfy bed). Met Mr John Harris who was our supervisor (I said our coz there were 2 of us doing the placement together, me and Rehma). He gave us a brief tour of the hospital and we settled back at the dispensary not 10 mins after.

Why Port Talbot hospital? Well, because my first choice viz Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend had been taken up, and considering this hospital was under the same trust as the former (and it is brand spanking new), I took it up. Basically, we were allocated numbers 1-100, so person number1 gets to pick his hospital (from a list) first and then followed by person number 2 and the cycle continues...so obviously the earlier your number is, the better are the chances of you getting a hospital of your choice. That said, mine was 36, which wasn't that far behind, but by then Bridgend Hospital had already been snapped up, so I had to settle for my second choice.

Port Talbot is a small industrial town 35 mins west of Cardiff, with a population of about 50,000. And almost everyone speaks with a thick Welsh accent over here - not surprising since many of them are Welsh-speakers (there was one time I overheard a pre-reg conversing with her tutor and I thought oh God, my clinical knowledge must be very shabby not to understand all the jargons they used, only to realise they were speaking in an entirely different language altogether!).

I was told the hospital doesn't belong to the NHS, but some local businessmen who sold the land and "loaned" it to the Health Service (or something like that). And one more trivia if you may - it's actually built on a huge piece of marsh land! That's why they get ventilators like this (pic on the right) to suck up all the methane trapped underneath this piece of concrete building or else...ka-boom!

Spent the afternoon observing a pharmacist run warfarin clinic, and I must say, he blew me away! Yes yes, I came here to learn, not to go all giddy but seriously, this guy has so much charm and wit it's impossible not to like him! And the patients all warmed up to him because of his animated and friendly nature. They told him things they wouldn't tell the doctors and asked him questions about things that were troubling their minds. You should see the way Mr Williams explained it to them - it was so full of easily understood concepts with no " I'm trying to sound smart" jargons, which the patients all appreciated. That was no mean feat I tell ya!

And he made me feel so important each time he introduced me to his patients by saying "oh this is Tan, my colleague who's here to pick up some pearls of wisdom on INR, which I hope I wouldn't put her off by the end of the day (and then turned to me to give me a wink)".

Sigh...why is this guy twice my age and happily married with kids?

You know what, DON'T answer. Don't EVEN bother.

The next day was spent going up to medical wards and checking the patients' drug regimen. It's nothing new given I've done a hospital placement before this but it was nice to see how each hospital differ from one another in terms of how things were done.

We were also given a chance to take drug history from a real patient (as opposed to nasty lecturers who always make it hard for us back in pharm school) and it was cool! I was a little nervous needless to say, but because the 2 of us doing it together, it didn't feel so nerve wrecking...plus we basically had the sheets in front of us so it was just a matter of asking the right questions! Anyway, I came away feeling quite dignified and to think I'd be doing more of this in the future is exciting as it is challenging!

2 days went by in a whiff and the last half day of our placement was imminent. We didn't do much since we had almost completed all those checklists on our agenda, so we were let off an hour early. I didn't want to come all the way to Port Talbot just to do a placement and then go home, so Rehma and I went to beach, which I was told was the only thing to see in Port Talbot.

Na-uh, don't start picturing Brighton because this was NOTHING like it although any sea-side place is a sight to behold. Swansea was within our optical range as it was just miles away from Port Talbot. I actually had plans to go to Swansea in the afternoon but because time was pressing, I decided to give it a pass and go another day (which is when, Adeline?)

One thing about a small town like Port Talbot, is that the people are unbelievably friendly. So much so that you'd think, "what's wrong with these people?", which is the kind of sentiment felt by Rehma, who's originally from London, where people mind their own business.

Lunch at Rhemo's cafe and a short walk along the promenade concluded my trip to Port Talbot.

Ok, here's some pictorial proof...

Hospital parking lot at dusk

Yup yup, there's a mountain nearby...imagine how scenic it is walking to work from the hospital flats everyday...

Port Talbot is to my left...

...and Swansea is to my right

And I didn't know Rehma is that tall! Okay okay, I'm short...

All in all, I found it a pleasant and purposeful placement. Confirmed my inclination for hospital pharmacy and I'm quite certain that's where I'd be heading in the future.

Wish me luck.

Amazing Race

Was filling out an online survey form for some Career Service organisation today when this caught my attention...

Ethnicity (please tick one):

British
Irish
Indian
Bangladeshi
Pakistani
Chinese
African
Caribbean
Malaysian
Other ethnic group (please specify)

Malaysian?

I bet our former PM must be very proud that his Bangsa Malaysia concept did not fall on deaf ears...at least it's VERY VERY WELCOMED by moi who ticked the tiny little box next to Malaysian with so much pride bursting out of her heart!

Exam? Checked. Next!

Right!

So PH3108 Quality Assurance module is now done and dusted.

Looking back, the paper was fine, with no shocking surprises in store for us although I wish I had answered some of them better. Oh well, guess I need to do some more thorough preparation the next time!

Watched Prime with Sola in the evening as a reward for thyself after labouring for so many days over good laboratory practice, SOP, audit, ICH GCP yada yada yada...*yawn*

Oh dear God. That movie was a drone!

Originally thought the cast was a good reflection of the quality of the movie/script but no! Not even a solid Meryl Streep or fascinating Uma Thurman could save it (the latter was the reason why I borrowed it in the first place).

It tells a tale of a 37 yr old divorcee (Thurman) who dated a 23 yr old hunk (er, brain ran out of synonyms for handsome man I'm afraid) who turned out to be her therapist's (Streep) son. Streep played a neurotic, I-sometimes-don't-know-what-I'm-talking-about psychotherapist who encouraged Thurman to go for it when she first told her of this young guy she's seeing.

"So what if he's younger than you, you're both clearly at your sexual prime!"

Haha, good one, except of course she didn't know it was David her son that Rafi was dating. "Stop them? Let them be? But he's my son, and she's my client!" She eventually let the relationship take its course and just when you start to think ah, end of story, fairy tale ending, the couple fell out because of inevitable differences that stemmed from their wanting different things in life.

Er, at least that's what I thought happened...well, you can't exactly blame me for not following an aimless movie!

Can someone please remind me not to heed the critics the next time...

A View-tiful Day

The view of Queen Anne's Square from my window

At last...a bit of sunshine for the pasty face (that I've become)!

The sun decided to grace us with her presence today (and stayed for quite a bit actually). Those of you back home might not treasure it so much, but seeing the sun really does lift one's spirits leaps and bounds in this gloomy country I tell ya! It's like seeing, I don't know, David Beckham on the streets, and him giving you a smile when you catch his eye!

Ok ok, just coz the sun is out doesn't mean I have go all dreamy :P

Fair enough.

Anyway, this winter has been a bit wet. We never usually expect so much downpour this time of the year but hey, I'm not complaining (except when I have to leave the room that is :P). Well, rain is definitely more welcomed than gusty wind and freezing air!

Hmm, my life these few days have been so very mundane. Wake up, wash up, breakfast, revision, lunch, revision, dinner, shower time, revision, hit the sack, wake up, wash up, breakfast, revision, lunch, revision, dinner, shower time, revision, hit the sack...oh God I think I'll run nuts very soon!

So, dear Friday, I need you to come fast fast. Really want to get over PH3108 and then get on with life!

Me, tissue box and air freshener reaching out for a bit of sun...oh, and Kay's plant too with which I've been entrusted for 3 weeks!

Let's get dirty?

Sigh, my floormates...*head shaking, in need of paracetamol*...

Not sure if they got the wrong message from Christina Aguilera's Dirrty or what, but the state of our bathrooms over the weekend was atrociously appalling!

Tissue rolls all over the toilet, paper napkins cobbling the terrazo floors and even along the common corridor, how shameful!

And these are adults who you would think understand the words hygiene, cleanliness, consideration, moderation and common sense!

I was washing up this morning and I heard the shuffling of plastic bags. I knew what that gal was doing and I would have lashed out and chased after her if I weren't in the middle of brushing my teeth and had the bathroom door locked behind me (tsk). You wouldn't have guessed what she did...stuffing her own rubbish into the toilet rubbish bin. How absurd!

Urgh, filthy filthy brat...Don't let me catch you red-handed the next time!

What Dignity? No Such Thing Here...

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/1/13/nation/16559011&sec=nation

Malaysia(n) Boleh

"What you will do matters. All you need is to do it. "

Yes I WILL.

Had enough of feeling crappy and useless about not being as productive as I should have, but really, why waste the time moaning when all the energy heaped on it could be channelled into something more fruitful.

And doing what needs to be done is a reward by itself!

So, in the words of Elle Woods, " from now on, I'm gonna be a serious student."

Positive. Affirmative. Definitive.

Can't be bothered with the title

The last 3 days went by in a blur.

Such is the degree to which I have procrastinated, to an extent where I couldn't even point my finger at something useful I've done in the past 72 hours!

While my mates were busy revising for PH3108 exam (which is a week from now), ha, guess what incorrigible Miss Tan did?

She slept till past noon, pottered about, surfed the net for useless information (which, she erm, *laughing nervously* won't disclose...confidentiality is the number one thing they preach to us at Uni you see :P), cleared her room (even though there was no urgent need for it), read her story book (which she regretted starting it in the frst place coz now she now can't put it down), watched some DVDs (1 would have been forgivable, but 2?), went to town to buy groceries but ended up clothes shopping and then came back all guilty.

Quite an achievement eh?

Oh God, please say no, because only a fool would think that!

'Four Weddings and A Funeral' makes one so not 'In The Mood for Love':

Thanks to my recent subscription to LoveFILM's free trial, I've been receiving 2 DVDs through the post almost everyweek (well, the quicker you watch, the more you'll get). Wrong time to be trying out the free-trial I know, but the voucher runs out in Jan you see, so cheapskate folks like me signed up for it immediately for fear of losing out!

I know it's un-believable that I've not watched the former, since it's a movie considered by many as the most successful British film of all time.

Really?

I find the film merely so-so, with a sense of humour only a Brit would call dry. Nonetheless, Hugh Grant was quite charming in the movie. Its theme centred around this 6/7 singletons who were, in the passing of time, not getting anywhere close to meeting the love of their life, or thunderbolt as Tom would have it. The scene opened with Charles (Grant) being late for a wedding for which he was best man. There he met a striking American (moi begs to differ) Carrie (Andie McDowell) and fell head over heels at first sight. With his stiff upper lip genes to blame, he found it hard to express his feelings for her until she had to make a first move (see, it's always girls to the rescue, time and time again *eyes rolling*). After a night of passion, Carrie went back to the States and Charles never saw her until the next wedding, where he again, failed to keep her. When it came to the 3rd wedding, it was already too late, for Carrie was marrying Sir Hamish, some rich Scot. Charles knew he'd blown his chance. But the wedding wasn't completely an auspicious occasion, as Gareth, one of the 7 singletons died of a heart attack on the scene and was gone, just like that (hence funeral). A year later, there was another wedding to be held and this time around, it's Charles' and Henrietta's, one of his ex-gfs (God only knows why he did that...out of desperation maybe?). But seeing Carrie (again) at the wedding threw him off, for he knew that she was the one he really loved, not Henrietta. The scene where he called out the wedding was somewhat hilarious, a full grown man freaking out literally seconds before the wedding commenced, which wasn't altogether that welcomed by his deaf brother, who had to interrupt the priest so that Charles didn't have to say "I do". Well, as one would have guessed, Charles got together with Carrie in the end, and his friends found their spouses eventually and hey ho happy ending.

Absolutely a romantic comedy to the core yet it didn't rank high on my charts. *Shrugs*

I had such hopes for In The Mood for Love to make up for the disappointment of Four Weddings but it turned out that the former too was a drag. Chow (Tony Leung) moved into a house where Chan (Maggie Cheung) was renting the other room. Both were married and in a spiritless marriage, where each suspected their spouses of cheating on them. Chow and Chan got close as loneliness bit on, but they (contrary to popular belief) restrained themselves from committing adultery because they didn't want to be like their morally unscrupulous partners. Set in 1960s Hong Kong, the pace of the movie was as slow as life was simple and mundane. If it weren't for Maggie Cheung's classy outfits each time a new scene come on, I would have snored very nyenyak-ly!

Going through the motions:

Went to work on Wednesday and pretty much did nothing in the evening. Oh wait, no, now I remembered. Had been busying myself with editing my CV for hospital placement applications...that was what took up so much time!

"When the going gets tough, the tough goes shopping." - Sophie Kinsella

Seriously, it wasn't planned.

It's just that when I see the words 70% off, I get itchy. My legs start to propel in directions that I try very hard to stay away from!

Sigh, blew another 30 quid by customing Oasis, MK-One and H&M, where the latter is having a buy 1 get 1 free promotion on sale stuff! How to resist you tell me? HOW???

Bought a nice top for sister (konon-nya), a formal shirt, another black top (kinda goth but I like it), a stretchable cheong-sam dress and some undies.

When I was in Capitol shopping centre, I also popped into Coast, Phase Eight, Kookai and Karen Millen. OMG, those dresses were just so pretty! Couldn't resist running my hands through the fabric and wishing they'd be on me...someday...

But I do thank God profusely for not being rich (or that rich) to be able to afford 'a-few hundred-quid-a-dress' prices, because if I had, I would have bought every single thing in those shops!

Get a Grip

Sourced from Fotosearch

I couldn't believe my 'luck' yesterday.

Was 3/4 through with Monday's blog entry when one silly click on 'back' from Preview erased every single alphabet I've typed for the past 30 mins!

^&*%.

Okay, chill, it's just a one-off thing. Fine, let's try again.

Oh yeah right, I repeated the damn mistake, again!

That's when I've had enough, and went to my book for solace. Currently reading Not That Kind of Girl by Catherine Alliot. Unbelievably gripping, even if it didn't have a thriller theme (it's actually a grown-up, domesticated, womanly chick lit without the hedonistic you usually get from books of this genre). Nah, I don't read thrillers, I find them too heavy for my worrysome mind. Also used to be a fan of tear-jerkers too, but when I am in a stressed-out state like now, the last thing I want is to be crying everytime I turn a page! So Jodi Picoult, you'd have to wait!

Stressed-out? Why lah, kan dah handed in coursework?

Yeah, but that's just the tip of an iceberg. I still have a million and one things to do, and it's not so much of whether I can do them or not (sure I can...if there's one thing I can do, it's to give myself a much needed affirmation!), but it's more of do I have the time?

Since the beginning of last term, I've noticed that my time-management skills seemed to have taken a down turn. In hindsight, 2nd year was way more hectic (in the sense that I had more on my plate than I do this year), but yet I was on top of mostly everything. If only that could be said of 2006/2007!

Oh well, I guess I still have another 5 months to remedy it before labelling 06/07 not as productive as 05/06. I know I have to cut down on the equivalent of junk-food in time management terms, like less MSN time (which I have quite successfully managed), less dreaming-of-pretty-boy time (er, this one I still have to work on :P), less rolling-in-bed time (Miss Tan, stop snoozing your alarm clock!).

Just like dieting (which I'm quite lucky not to have to worry about), I need a massive boost of discipline. Now, pardon me for being Joey-like, but where do you suppose I get that from?

Recollection Part 3

01.01.2007 - Chapter B Revisited

It was probably due to an overflow of high spirits from the night before, that the weather was ethereally sublime in the morning. Cloudless blue skies without a touch of frost. Nobody would have thought it was a winter's day without looking at the calendar and working it out that way!

Left Jacey and co to meet up with CHS classmate Sze Chuen at his place in Angel. Went for lunch at Miso and did some catching up. As usual, was philosophising about uni, work, life, etc. All the grown-up stuff :(. It was only just 12 hours into 2007 when we met up, but it already got me into thinking about the future. Yikes!

Btw, the first lesson of the year for Miss Tan: Someone who graduates with an Actuarial Science degree (and passes all the subsequent papers) is called an actuary, not an actuarial scientist!

Later that afternoon, I left for Brighton, my fav city in the UK!

The clouds weren't that accommodating though, it was pouring when I got there. And pity my friend Nickson who had to brave the rain to come pick me up!

For those not in the know, I spent 2 summer months working in Brighton last year. Was on a placement with Boots the Chemist, during which I stayed at Nickson's flat above a DIY shop on Lewes Road.

It sure felt weird, yet at home when I stepped into 149B that evening. Weird because I don't live there anymore and a lot of memories came rushing in the moment Nickson opened the door, but at the same time, I felt very much at home and cozy because that is how the flat is. An odd combination I know.

There are 4 of them living there, Nickson, Andrew, Adrianna and Charlotte. Andrew and Adrianna were around during the summer, so I knew them fairly well. Unfortunately, Adri and Charlotte (who I've not met) went home for hols, so it was just Nickson and Andrew that I met up with.

We had Chinese buffet for dinner and spent most of the night yakking. I'd say it was an interesting cultural dialogue between the Western world and Asia...haha. Andrew knew how sensitive I was when it came to issues of the East vs the West (a sentiment stemmed from my personal experiences of how Caucasians/Europeans sometimes take the mickey out of Asians just coz we don't live like them, talk like them, behave like them, drink like them etc), so he deliberately stepped on my tail just to wind me up, knowing I would put him in his place by blasting his political incorrectness and condescending attitude.

:)

All these were, of course, done with a lot of humour (just thought I'd make it clear before you start to think we initiated WW3!), and it felt just like old times where we'd be sitting around, doing nothing but having thought-provoking conversations that can really go on for hours. Haha, call me funny if you may, but I find it a bliss!

Sigh, time never stops when you're having fun, so naturally I didn't want to leave Brighton the next morning, although I knew I had to (or I won't be able to catch the bus back to Cardiff. Haha, so you think it's like the movies where some handsome man would come and halt the bus and profess his undying love for me and then ask me to stay yada yada yada...*yawn*).

Anyway, before I boarded the bus, I went down to St James' Street and popped into the store where I used to work. Some of my older ex-colleagues were still there, but the younger ones had left. One went back to Uni and the other had moved to the bigger store up in North Street. Even Yannski the security guy doesn't work there anymore. At times like this, I couldn't help but think...ahh, life is so short, one minute you meet someone, share some good happy times with them, and the next thing you know, they're no longer there (or have moved on)... oh well, cest' la vie!

Right, one last look at Brighton before I bade it farwell, for I don't know when I'll be back again (yes yes, Leaving On a Jet Plane. That song was playing repeatedly in my head at that time...don't ask me why).

So, now that Chapter B has been revisited, it shall be closed...for good!

The End.

P/s: MANY MANY THANKS TO JACEY and NICKSON for your kindness. I know I had robbed you guys off your comfy beds over the weekend, but if you wanna "get back" at me, you're most welcome to at Cardiff...anytime!

Recollection Part 2

31.12.2006 - Life is Beautiful

Friends went for church service at Tottenham Court Road and I tagged along.

Hillsong, as I was told, is a Pentecostal Church, who uses the Dominion Theatre at Tottenham Court Road as the venue for its Sunday service. It's the first time I've attended such a lively and merry service, and it's really cool seeing how worshippers express their devotion to God through music. Amazing!

Funnily enough, towards the end of the service, there was this mysterious sweet, onion-y smell that wafted into the hall, as if to announce the advent of lunch time! The 4 of us - me, Sly, Edna and Irene all admitted to feeling hungry, in unison!

Seeing we were already at Tottenham Court Road, we walked down to China Town for lunch. Sly had this insatiable craving for duck rice and so we settled for a restaurant he swears by for duck. Food was alright (I had Char Siew and Siew Yuk Fan...salivalicious!), but the same couldn't be said of the service. Barely 5 minutes into finishng our meals, they brought the bill without us prompting, how unruly was that? Yeah ok, I know they depend heavily on fast turnovers, but if only they do it with a bit more tact, I wouldn't have minded so much!

No wonder they say Chinese make the best businessman...we are shrewed to the max!

Anyway, the fatty meal left us all needing a walk to aid digestion. Blustery wind blew on but that didn't stop us from walking to Trafalgar Square, leisure-walking through St James's Park, admiring Buckhingham Palace from afar, acknowledging Big Ben for telling the time, contemplating calling on Tony Blair at Whitehall and arriving back at Lord Nelson's column almost an hour later. It was thoroughly pleasant despite the wintery gust!

p/s: While we were walking pass Downing Street, Sly said, "Good afternoon, Mr Blair, can I see you for a moment? I'm Sly, the Prince of Borneo." Haha, I was the slowest of the lot to get that. Either the wind had frozen off my cognitive ability, or that I was thinking of some un-nameable pretty boy, I don't know!!!

Pictures courtesy of Edna's camera, and Sly's angle-perfect snapshot.

Time check - ooh, it was only 4-ish. Plenty of time to kill before going for dinner at 9.30 in the evening. So we adjourned to Cafe Nerro to try to bring some colour back to our noses, cheeks and fingers. There, we met up with Alan, a friend of Sly's back in Coventry (or was it Brum). We yakked for about an hour, during which I found out that Alan's youngest daughter is older than me, the English don't quite like the Welsh (woops) and that Hogmanay and New Year's celebration in Scotland were cancelled coz of the inclement weather.

Oohh please please please. May that not be the case with London!

Thankfully not. We left for dinner at around 9ish in full force. The chosen venue was Des Amiz at Covent Garden. Des Amiz means "friends" in French or so I was told. There were 8 of us for dinner - Fitri and husband, Irene, Sly, Alan, Edna, Jacey and I. These people with whom I was honoured to dine are high-flying individuals. All of them bar Alan (who has a lecturing stint with the Uni) are here doing their PhDs. I know they're sick me of saying this but really, I take my hats off these brilliant people who have such determination to go that far up the ranks of academia (Edna is aka Dr Gias)! I on the other hand can't wait to finish MPharm and then PERIOD!

Couldn't see Fitri in this pic :(

Couldn't see Sly in this pic :(

Anyway, we had a fine dine. I had chicken liver for starters (wrong choice considering I never liked liver of any sort but I thought I'd stretch my comfort zone. Honestly, stick to what you normally eat is best), and haddock for main course, and creme brulee to top it off. It's like what they say...save the best for the last!

The original plan was to catch the fireworks along the Thames Embankment, but infortunately we left the restaurant too late to be able to get there in time, so we had to console ourselves with just catching glimpses of rays of light radiating from the London Eye, and the explosive POP sounds that came with every floral blooming up in the sky....

Was reading a friend's blog the other day and the phrase "look how far we've come" caught my attention. Haha Eunice, need to borrow the line sekejap :)

Whether it was kismet or not, I don't know, but I re-read the 01/01/2006 entry in my diary while clearing my room today (fyi, reading old diary pages can be very therapeutic!)

"...At about 5 mins to midnight, I went over to Min Yee's place (coz her room has a better view) to see the fireworks , conspicuously signalling the start of a new year. At that time, her TV was on, so at the stroke of midnight, we saw footages of New Year celebrations all around the world. Without a doubt, the one that caught my attention the most was London. The fireworks display was magnificent, made even more magical by the river Thames, thanks to the reflection of the water. The few of us in the room were in awe, and couldn't help but shamelessly shriek 'wah' each time we see it bloom. Such a far cry from the modest one we have in Cardiff. Secretly I said to myself, 'you know what, I'll be there next year. Next New Year's Eve. Come what may.' Only time time will tell if I made it in 364 day's time."

Dear diary, I can safely say I made it. To London. 364 days after jotting that down.

Although it was a huge shame I didn't get to see what many of us had hoped to see, but look how far I've come...and what a way to cap a wonderful year. Not sure if I'd have the chance of repeating this same feat in years to come (I say feat because surviving the stampede out on the streets of Central London with 250,000 people was a miracle), but at least I know I've tried, and satisfied myself that I succeeded in making a dream come true...partially!

One came from the North East of the country, the other came from the South West of the country, and they congregated at the capital. Although hugely disappointed about missing out on the fireworks display, they still have lots to smile fort!

Recollection Part 1

Hello hello hello!!!

Am back from my honeymoon!!!

Er, husband 0 but good times aplenty :P

Right, let's rewind 5 days to...

30.12.2006 - Thank You For The Music

Left for London for what was hoped to be the best New Year celebration I've ever had.

Remember I said I was quite apprehensive about the weather? Well, it looked like heavens heard my plea the night before. The weather couldn't have been better when I left Cardiff and it fared the same in London too!

Anyway, got to my destination on time (this time around), and Jacey, my host for the weekend, came to meet me at Victoria, together with Sly and Edna, who I haven't seen in months. Yes yes, I won't philosophise about how time flies. I know you got the picture.

We went for lunch and later adjourned to Piccadilly Court where Jacey is. Sly and Edna went to pick Irene (Sly's cousin) up from Heathrow and so it was just Jacey and me at home. We had the idiot box to entertain us but somehow, we didn't quite like what we saw, and after some rounds of channel flicking, this animated Jap cartoon (which many fondly call anime) caught our attention. Engrossed was an understatement! It was simply hilarious how 2 adults find themselves so into anime all of a sudden, to the extent that they both went online to scout for the DVD straight after the show ended! **eyes rolling, head shaking, tongue tsk-ing**

And really, prying my eyes from the TV set and lifting my butt from the sofa was probably the hardest thing I ever had to do...I was going for a concert at 7pm and at 6.30, I was still saying, "ok, I'll watch for another 5 minutes, and I'll go get ready." Seriously, what am I like???!!!



Yup, the All-Star Soul Spectacular concert was the prime reason I came down to London. It was a concert organised by Smooth FM, with David Gest as the host (no idea who he is but apparently the winner of "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" show. Er, whatever :P).

Me being the avid online listener of Smooth FM, I heard about the concert 2 months back. The thought of going for a concert of this kind (honestly, how often do you get a chance to go to a soul concert) and spending New Year's at London was too much to pass, so the decision was made almost instantenously. Was hoping you wouldn't ask how much I paid for it (hint: it's printed on the ticket), but it was worth every penny!

Cadogan Hall was where the concert was hosted. Candi Staton opened the show with Young Hearts (Run Free), followed by the following (in an order I might have messed up) - Russell Tomkins Jr (from the Stylistics), Dorothy Moore, Freda Payne, Carl Carlton, William Bell (the guy who gave us Private Number), Billy Paul (the guy who crooned Me and Mrs Jones), Martha Reeves and The Vandellas (who belted Dancing in the Streets so groovily that the whole crowd bogeyed like no other!), Bonnie Tyler (she's the only one who I wasn;t that excited to see...I'm sorry but I just don't like Total Eclipse of the Heart) Deniece Williams (who dedicated Let's Hear it for the Boys to all the good men out there, which, I'm afraid aren't that many :P) and last but not least, the guy who - out of all that I mentioned - I most wanted to see, and hear from...

Mr Peabo Bryson!

Man, it was just so overwhelming seeing him perform on stage. I've lost count of the number of times I shook my head in disbelief that I was seeing him in the flesh! It was just magical, and he is a great entertainer, with fantastic showmanship and charisma. He performed 4 songs in total - Beauty and the Beast, A Whole New World, If Ever You're In My Arms Again (where I had to wipe away a few tears that welled up, and sniffed a thousand times wishing that he could just serenade me alone, as opposed to the entire audience) and Ain't Nobody as the encore.

Just a little interesting by note: Ms Petula Clark (the legend who sang Downtown) was among the crowd!

How not to be star-struck I ask you?!

...to be continued