random thoughts

hehe it's been a while. not much going on lately, apart from work, work, study, work, work....

1. autumn is beautiful. fallen leaves of a myriad of colours make london look so much more serene. how leaves on the same tree can have a shade of colours still mystifies me.

2. just read a friend's blog, a site that he bumped into gave me the urge to travel right immediately haha. ever increasing to-go list ... to start off with somewhere near, there are Eastern Europe, Norway, Iceland... so many places so little time so little money!

3. it's funny that some long lost friends signed up on fb, sent a few msgs like: "long time no see!" "miss u so much!" "what u up to now?" etc etc right after adding me, then disappeared into thin air following a short thread of msgs, haha. does this only happen to me or everybody?

4. a hungry monkey went into my house in kl few weeks back lol. it basically rummaged the whole place, and left the house feeling contented and stuffed up. it's still roaming around the housing area, a bit bad to catch it right? lol

5. i realised i love cleaning. stepping into a sparkling clean and white bathroom gives me immense satisfaction hahaha. getting more and more domestic ?!?

6. learning greek now. hehe back to doing algebra, and mind boggling equations for my next paper. kinda glad to take a break from wordy exams. don't think i'll say the same thing approaching exams though!

7. there are some types of ppl i don't like working with in the office. not because of their personality, but their bad breath >_< they are either too engrossed with work or too lazy to get water themselves, and tend to be completely oblivious about it. (don't they feel funny at their throat and mouth?!) they love talking by blowing air into your face, omg the stench can seriously bring a dead person back to life lol. i always try to evade but they keep blabbering like machine gun...

8. did u know eating too many chewing gums may cause laxative effect?! haha something i discovered on the gum pack. and yea, gums are my saviour to prevent myself from being one of the above ppl lol...

9. thinking whether or not i should get a license here. that implies i'll have to go for driving lessons bleh. apparently i can choose to learn only auto cars (i can't drive manual for nuts haha) ... bf thinking of getting a car, good in a way cos there'll be more things to do like travelling, bulk shopping hehe. but very ex ler...

10. watched ratatouille last week. (hehe yea UK's showings are always much slower than rest of the world) read many good reviews about it and really pleased that i enjoyed it! good animation, entertaining, and cute plot. haha funnily i started to think how hard it is to be a rat, having so many big things around all the time. and it was actually my first time going to cinema here, haha damn ulu. i think kl's cinemas are better though :P

very looking forward to going home now. away from the brutal coldness here :D

did u see the moon last night?

the dreadful day has come... hopefully i'm still a happy girl after 5.15pm. will be setting off to the exam hall in 4 hours, possibly the longest 4 hours in this past whole week. i'm sitting here trying to read my notes another round, but the devil in me is trying to divert my attention to anything else but exam stuff, which in a way is sensible since i might get panicked last minute. i can still vividly remember the previous paper on 11th april, how i hopped on the tube which took ages to reach the exam hall. the chinese girl who sat next to me kept reading off stacks of paper, which i peeped at, and realised we were about to take the same paper. i was somehow disapproved of the last minute study, and thought i probably was more well prepared than her. 6 hours later, after the two mind draining papers, i came out feeling like a defeated soldier. i couldn't feel a slight bit of confidence in passing the papers. i kept whining to people around me about how i felt my hard work might not be compensated. i kept dreading to get the results, yet hoped to end the misery of waiting asap. very surprisingly my outcome was a favourable one. and now, the vicious circle starts again. this time, i just wish i could come out of the exam hall feeling better than before. i desperately need to pass both papers i'm taking this round...

friend who has been staying over for the past whole week will be moving in her new place tomorrow. really glad that she's been cooking dinner for me every night, and we've been sharing so many stories together lol.

didn't have a good sleep last night probably due to exam jitters. got up at 6, and while making my drink i saw the stunning full moon hanging in the sky. it was such an amazing sight. cliche as it may sound, my first thought was that no matter where we are, we're still staring at the same moon. lol. does it bring people closer at heart? at the same time, the superstitious side of me wished this sight to behold is a sign of hope for the paper today :)

such an irony that i blog more often during exam period haha.

sigh

housemate's dad passed away today. although she was kinda prepared for it, i'm sure she still feels the pain when reality hits. after receiving her sms this afternoon, my first reaction, apart from feeling sorry for her, was that a close friend of my age lost her dad. and how fortunate i am to still have a complete and healthy family. life is way too unpredictable for something so tragic like this i guess. no one is immortal, but when someone so close to you leaves, the pain is no doubt excruciating.

sigh... although i've only seen uncle once, hope he rests in peace and takes care of his family from the peaceful other world...

clock is ticking...

...towards exam time, again. Just struck me that my first exam is in 11 days, hooray :( study block starts on wednesday, but i'm already starting to feel restless from revision. wonder why it always happens although i'm not that prepared for exams yet. haven't even touched anything on the second paper, 2nd hooray lol. questioning myself why i'm doing this set of crazy exams again, i wish i was more ambitious and motivated to get through this whole thing!

that aside, something quite tragic happened last weekend. housemate's dad was admitted into icu last saturday when doc found a blood clot in his brain :S and although he recovered from cancer few years back, the cancerous cells are starting to spread again. coupled with his current sickness the situation doesn't look good at all. she wept so many times over the weekend, and spent day and night just worrying about her dad. finally she couldn't stand all this torture (and also cos her bro said the illness might be terminal, sigh), so flew back on monday. got a text from her two days back, her father's condition fluctuates everyday, but doc has verified that there is improvement. and she's still uncertain whether she can make it back here to take the exam she has prepared so hard for half a year. just pray that uncle gets well soon...

this is the one thing that i fear most living away from home. the call during midnight to break a piece of bad news, or the call to tell me someone has fallen gravely ill *touchwood* ... aaahh, shouldn't think so much i guess, but i certainly find death getting more and more scary as i grow up. just hope everyone takes good care at all times...

back to study, how exciting...

Presenting the Moments..

The album design this time is simple and beautiful! all pics of leo's 'world' trip, which are connected to the lyrics of the songs in one way or another. he also wrote a passage of his feelings concerning each pic - heard some in an interview just now, they are all pretty sentimental hehe.

Listened to some of the songs... most of them are ballads this time, quite refreshing. wish to have a look at the lyrics now :)

my903.com forum has got some pics of the album, hold your breath....

comes with a 'passport' and 'boarding pass'

the boarding pass showing his itinerary

the traveller + photographer

mark's son! one of the songs is dedicated to the baby

can't wait to get my hands on the album now :D

6 weird things about me...

as tagged by JC... here are 6 weird things about me (please tell me i'm actually normal lol)

1. i have a ridiculously weird sleeping pattern. when in uk, i wake up incredibly early... at 4.30am (or earlier) without fail. I don't even need my alarm clock to wake me up, that's how weird i am haha. no matter how late i sleep the night before, i still wake up early, i'll be happy enough if i wake up at 6am one day haha. my friends said i need some help, i think so too :P strangely enough, i sleep very normal hours back in kl and wake up at a 'normal' 7am hehe

2. as mentioned in the earlier post, i tend to see the numbers 1019 almost every day. i don't know why but i always imagine myself being slit at the throat by some 'assassin' ><

3. i have a weird habit of playing with 'corners' of fabric... on both left and right sides of all t-shirts, there are two lump of cloth joining the front and back of the shirt, can you see it? hehe i used to play (ie keep touching it) with it since i was a baby apparently. my dad called this action as 'moh kok kok' lol. sharp edges of collars or blankets too. haha something i can't explain, also something i need to change but probably never will.

4. i must have a cup of nescafe within 20 mins i wake up every day. something feels not right if i didn't do so, is this considered addiction?! and also, i believe it stimulates bowel movement, try it!!

5. i was once a very 'handsome' girl haha, thanks to the very stringent rules in primary school - i ended up with a boy cut from pri 3 onwards. and the tan i got from daily basketball training added on to my 'manliness' >_<>

6. erm something weirdly interesting maybe? my first name is encapsulated in a triangle on the keyboard. hehe go find it :P

erm i'm tagging everyone who reads this basically... haha if u feel like doing.

1019

i've always been very sensitive to numbers... and for some inexplicable reasons, there are certain numbers that always pop up in front of me. i have absolutely no idea whether this is just pure coincidence or i'm kind of 'fated' to these numbers for life.

take for example, my birth date Oct 19. maybe i'm being overly sensitive, but i swear i see these numbers more often than any others. there are two 10:19 everyday in terms of time, and by hook or by crook, i definitely see at least one of them on the left corner of my laptop almost every single day! (while most of the time i'm already asleep by the time next 10:19 occurs lol) it's so spooky cos i don't even mean to look at the time, but i just do... ahhh don't know how to explain this but hope you get the drift. and while doing checking at work (checking is apparently very important in consulting work urghh), out of a couple hundreds of numbers, my eyes just get drawn to 1,019 for no reason! haha ok i hope i haven't freaked you out yet...

Hmm i hope i'm not the only person who experiences this!! (well, at least i know my sis has her frequently-seen special numbers too) please tell me i'm not weird :P

ps: there was a period of time i was even more freaked out cos i kept seeing 4:44!! :S

Lately

it's been a long time! first time getting home before 7 since coming back from KL, i think i'm officially absorbed into the cruel rat race of corporate world! basically, work is a life long game, up till retirement age....

actions to gain points:

1. stay extra late every night, best if everyone sees you still working while they pack.

2. ask extra many questions even though you're not really interested in the work.

3. engage in random conversations with colleagues, feel at ease while talking to them.

4. work hard, study hard. no play.

5. sacrifice social life in the evenings, since your social circle is in the office.

6. suck up to managers no matter how much you hate the irritating ones.

7. attend all drinking sessions, mingle with the rest, and get as wasted as possible.

new office new desks new chairs new monitors...

i think i can go on and on about what i dislike about the corporate world lol... then again it's not ALL that bad sometimes. probably i'm still in denial of the fact that i'm going to do almost the same thing for the rest of my actuarial career, which right now it doesn't seem like it's gonna last too long hahaha. well, to be fair, all corporate firms are probably similar... one thing about working in a consulting firm is that we're working for clients and so we have to enter timesheets. all levels of employees have a target of chargeable hours to meet (ie working on clients' stuff), so whenever there's clients' work, some ppl tend to hog everything to themselves showing their selfish sides. then they end up juggling a nonsensical amount of work and stay late. now, this is what partners love to see... haha staying late is equivalent to enthusiastic and proactive employees. those who pack and go at 5.30 shall look forward to unfavourable appraisals :P i always feel the guilt whenever i leave earlier than 6, thing is, it's officially off working hours! but because of the unhealthy work culture, ppl have this false impression that 'early' leavers are lazy, then again they were not in yet when those came in earlier than 9.30. where's the fairness... i once saw a guy hanging around doing literally nothing work-related but just plainly surfing the internet for one whole hour before he started packing. in my mind, i just thought how sad this soul was... just go home!

there's a perception in asia that westerners are slackers who don't really work hard, i can declare that is totally wrong! ppl here DO work really hard and late, hmm probably not as late as in asia though hehe... sadly, i'm not paid overtime :( can't wait for the new grads to come in, at least i can dump all the dull jobs to them hehehe. this is what grads are for, i've already had my fair share of crap work... (and quite a few nice ones in between)

the breakout area with plasma tv - only shows bbc news though! took this one night when i had to work late and not many ppl left hehe

haha maybe i really shouldn't complain so much, i admit having found a job here is a good kickstart of my career... but every now and then i ask myself why i'm stressing myself out doing extremely tough actuarial exams while i know i'm not going to work in this career for the rest of my life. just for backup, i reckon :P my housemate and i were just moaning, there's no work/life balance - only work/study balance. being typical asians, we're moulded into emphasising on the importance of giving the best shot towards exams and stress the hell out of ourselves to achieve our goals. at the same time, the passing rate for actuarial exams - often a very 'generous' 30 odd %, certainly does not permit us to wish for passes every single time... my weekends are already fully devoted to studying, and of course occasional chilling (for few mins haha...) plus groceries shopping. the terrible feeling of guilt starts gnawing once i spend a wee bit more time not studying - it's bad, really bad. but the harder to the goal, the more ppl want it, such is life...

study day tomorrow... friend coming from oxford on fri, before going home for good... and back to routine on weekends. i seriously think i save more money here than back at home! :)

on a side note, i've been listening to Jay's 不能說的秘密 and Hin's 酷愛 lately, highly recommended! leehom's latest album is pretty crap methinks... only 1 nice song, he's trying too hard to sound western =_= but personally it didnt work out his way. he looks good on the album cover though!

watching 歲月風雲 too, the tv company is quite smart to include both hk and mainland actors so as to capture the entire chinese market haha. just finished 2nd episode, i guess i'm on par! plot seems really interesting given it's a big production series, and it's gonna be 60-ep long, oh no... my friend just gave me a new nickname as tvb-itionary :P

ps: anyone knows why my spacing doesn't turn up after posting? i've been trying to rectify this prob since day 1 lol

pps: bought a few gigantic strawberries few weeks back - they were almost as large as apples! scary yet shocking haha. i'm pretty sure they were genetically modified cos werent too sweet :P and cost a freaking 35p - RM2.50 EACH!

Relieved!

Hahahaha I passed the exam I took in april!!! :D Results were released at 10pm last night, and from 8-10 I was practically really restless at home, watched some series but couldn't concentrate at all. Around 9.45 i paced back and forth, heart pounding as if it was trying to jump out of my body... and surprisingly the page loaded extraordinarily quick for me at 10 on the dot. Slowly i scrolled down the list while my fingers trembled... and i saw my name!! :) the thrill is simply beyond words. Ahhh the weekend is beckoning for a round of extreme celebration... what a relief to have overcome this big barrier! Miracle of the century happened lol... of course i wish for more miracles to come cos i've still got 4 papers to go! Happy happy weekend everyone! :)

11.11pm

i'm still at work... :'( way past my bedtime, my eyes are feeling literally heavy. luckily got my study day for tomorrow approved. bed is waiting for me...

Don't miss this!

I should really be studying on my study day, but this $$$$ mv is too funny not to share with you :)

Not the whole song though, only 3mins plus, but many different roles lol. One thing for sure he is not a convincing bad tycoon :P

D/l: http://www.sendspace.com/file/pdwaqj

What would you do?

On the way to work yesterday, I passed by hordes of people and something caught my eye: a lady in work pants... buttoned but unzipped. My first reaction was: turn away and look somewhere else. Then I started wondering, should I actually tell her about that? On one hand it saves her from further embarrassment; on the other, I would need 1230698 times more courage to tell her that.

So... to tell or not to tell? And what if it was a guy instead?!? Lol... btw this is definitely not the first time I encounter this kind of situation hehe.

Then I started putting myself in her shoes, hmm I can't determine whether I would like strangers pointing that out to me. I would blurt out a big OOPPS with my cheeks and ears burning immediately haha. So as a precaution, be very very sure that your bottom is zipped/buttoned at all times :)

Whole Foods!

On the way to a course on Wednesday, I passed by High Street Kensington and something caught my eyes - Whole Foods Market! The first time I saw Whole Foods was in Boston, when me and my sis went there almost everyday just to stare at the wide variety of healthy food they offer. Totally delighted, I couldn't wait to explore the supermarket for myself on Thursday right after the course ends.

So after a gruelling + boring two-day course, I asked along my closest colleague to come with me. Hordes of people tried to squeeze their way into the three-storey high supermarket, prominent among the high street full of renowned boutiques. At the entrance, we realised it is much much bigger than we'd expected...

Selection of nuts to choose from. There are also machines to tailor make peanut butter, just like Boston's!

Even eggs come in different sizes here - from quail eggs to ostrich eggs.

Whole Foods are famous for their wide range of organic food sold at reasonable prices. I would seriously consider doing my grocery shopping there weekly if it were a tad bit closer to my place...

Apparently their motto...

A very satisfied customer :P (she's thankful that I brought her there haha)

There are uncountable sections in the supermarket, and like US there's freshly cooked food for sale, and patrons can simply dine on 2nd floor. Their wine collection is humungous! Products are mainly similar to america's, incorporated with few UK quality brands. I realise buying things there make one feels healthy haha. Unlike most UK supermarkets, Whole Foods are very willing to let customers taste their goods, almost every corner serves food samples - pretty big portions (free-food-wise) too! Love it love it...

On the tube home, I discovered from the papers that Whole Foods was actually just opened in London on Wednesday, ie 2 days back, and they are thinking of expanding further to different parts of UK and Europe! Yay! Always welcome american brands to expand the choices of goods here haha :)

Sounds as if i'm paid to promote WF, in actual fact i'm just trying to stir the envy in my sis muahahaha. (jie, seriously this is few times the size of Boston's, but the downside is it's too busy!)

pics are quite blur cos photography is actually not allowed in it so I took the risk hehe. For more info:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com//UK/index.html