I've succumbed....

.....to Facebook!

Heard so much about it, read so much about it, but I had stubbornly refused to give this a go. I just didn't quite like the idea of spending so much time on any more of these virtual networking sites, where people can buy each other drinks, poke, bite, throw high fives....err, it all sounded a little too kiddish (even to me!).

BUT! at a few recent dinner gatherings, my friends who were talking about facebook made me feel that tad bit left out, stirred my curiosity, and just five minutes ago, I created my very own facebook account! *hurray*

So, go on, see you all on Facebook! :)

The things I do....

Colin is always lamenting that I waste a lot of my time doing "nonsense" stuff. Watching "nonsense" tv, surfing "nonsense" internet websites, reading "nonsense" magazines.... well, you get my drift.

I have to admit it. I find great comfort in non-intellectual tv programmes, trashy magazines and hey, the internet is so vast it'd be a crime not to explore fun and crazy websites right?

One of such websites that I discovered is really cool! Its especially great for women who would like to experiment with different hairstyles without actually taking the plunge of chopping your locks off! Here, you can try out the hairstyles of your favourite celebrities and you can even change the colour, size, shape of their hair to suit yours!

First, you have to upload a photo of yourself. Took this photo specially for the purpose. Note that I pinned up my fringe and tied up my hair so that my own hair won't interfere with the "makeovers". (If you're gonna do it, do it right!)

Here's how I look with LONG WAVY hair!

In the style of Ashlee SimpsonMadonna
Here's something more familiar....STRAIGHT, MEDIUM LENGTH HAIR, not too unlike what I currently sport In the Style of Nicole RichieJ Lo (this is Colin's favourite look)

How about something drastically short? In the style of Natalie PortmanHow can I resist trying on Posh Spice's hairdo?

And finally, here are 2 of my favourites! In the style of Cate Blanchett - Chic layersPatricia Arquette - Couldn't resist this dolly look!

Unfit for work

*giggle*

I have just been certified "Unfit for Work" by my neighbourhood doctor.

*giggle*

Don't get me wrong, I am not a skiver who takes every opportunity to call in sick. On the contrary, I am one of those who always feel really guilty and always have to think like a million times before deciding whether to go to work on those mornings that I don't feel well.

Like this morning. No. It actually started yesterday. Yesterday morning, I had diarrhoea twice before I left home. Still, I decided to head to work as I was scheduled for a meeting with my big boss. Throughout the day, I had diarrhoea another 2 times, and my stomache felt sore the entire day. After dinner, 3 times, resulting in not just a sore stomache, but also a really sore behind..

Popped some charcoal pills and went to bed. Woke up this morning. Twice. Contemplated whether to go to work. After thinking through my day, decided that I didn't really have too much to do today. However, my righteousness and guilt got the better of me. Got dressed and left home. Just as I got out of the lift at the ground floor of my flat, tummy ached again and I had no choice but to U-turn back home to use the toilet. Darn. No way was I going to make it to work like this. The thought of having to scoot around for a toilet during the commute to work was too much for me to bear.

Finally decided to text my boss that I was not going in. As I made my way to the neighbourhood doctor, I saw my bus approaching the bus-stop. Hesitated a split second there whether to catch that bus and still push on for work. Stupid thought. Walked on to the clinic. Good call, cos as soon as I reached the clinic, I had to go again. After getting the MC from my doctor, I still felt really guilty so as soon as I got home, I logged on to my office webmail and cleared some of my emails before writing this entry.

Responsible employee? Foolish woman? You decide.

You know it isn't your day when.....

You wake up in the morning feeling more tired than you were before you slept.
You leave the house, walk to the bus-stop, and realise you left your wallet at home.
You run home, grab the wallet, run back at your personal record-breaking speed, only to see your bus pulling away from the bus-stop.
You reach the office (late of course), and find a note from your boss who had decided to drop by and have a discussion only to find you not in the office yet.
You trudge through your tonne of work, thinking about nothing except how long it is till the end of the work day.
You receive a call telling you that a cheque that you dropped off for a payment due today was un-signed and you need to make a trip to the cashier counter to sign it before 6pm else there will be a late charge.
You rush off hurriedly after work, reach the office at 5.50pm, and the receptionist tells you that the cashier counters closed at 5.30pm.
You spend 10 minutes arguing with the receptionist who tried to track your cheque with the Finance department, only to find the cashier strolling out at 6pm. Apparently she waited beyond her 5.30pm for you, but the stupid receptionist had held you back from entering the office so you never got to the cashier counter (and the cashier probably was cursing at you for not turning up)!
You spend the next 2 minutes pleading with the cashier to open the counter again for me to sign the cheque (which she agreed finally).

Its been a rough day. I need a hug. Thank goodness Colin is coming home tonight.

London - What's not to love?

Its official. London is my favourite european city (so far!). Ok, so I've not been to that many cities in Europe, but I really do love London. Coming in a distant second is Barcelona, followed by Paris, then Lisbon. Samuel Johnson once said " When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life", and here are the top 10 reasons why I agree with him!

1. West End ShowsMusicals, plays, dance, films, comedy, there's bound to be something for everyone! The best place to get tickets is at the TKTS booth at the centre of Leicester Square (got 2nd row Phantom tickets at 35 pounds each!). The other alternative is to book your tickets on lastminute.com and collect them at the box office of the theatre (got 2nd row Blood Brothers tickets at 12 pounds each!) I managed to catch Phantom of the Opera (really brings back fond memories), Les Miserables (my fav coz the music is so nice and the story so sad!), Lord of the Rings (superb visuals!), Blood Brothers (heartwarming story), and Footloose (fun song and dance!)

2. Best Sandwiches I've ever eaten!
The British just eat a LOT of cold food. Cold sandwiches, salads for almost every meal! I love my usual hot breakfasts of nasi lemak, roti prata, or dry mee pok, but while I was there, I fell in love with their cold sandwiches! Juicy, fresh, bursting with ingredients, TASTY like mad!! I had a sandwich every day, mostly for breakfast, sometimes for lunch! The one here is Pret A Manger's Provencial Chicken sandwich, with grilled chicken, sun dried tomatoes, olives, salad greens and caeser dressing in sweet malted bread! *YUMS*

3. Vibrant Shopping Choices

From shopping institutions like Harrods and Liberty, to high street labels like Topshop, Jigsaw and H&M, quirky vintage at Carnaby Street, to the "bargain warehouse" Primark (really cheap stuff with dresses around S$35! But beware the crazy check out queues!) London is shopping paradise in terms of choice. However, due to exchange rates, I ended up having to bite my lips and control my buying urges!

Animal rights groups giving out pamphlets and shouting to everyone to "boycott Harrods" coz apparently Harrods is the only store in London that sells fur. However, their calls just fall on deaf ears as everyone just streams into the huge store, maybe only after stopping to take a picture! Topshop is extremely expensive, its better off buying it from here! One shop that I really liked was Urban Outfitters, which is just a few stores away from Topshop.

4. Rich heritage In c. 200 AD a defensive wall was built around the Roman settlement, then called the London wall. For well over a millennium the shape and size of London was defined by this wall. The area within the wall is now 'the City', London's famous financial district. Traces of the wall can still be seen in a few places. The above photograph shows a section of wall as it stands today at Cooper's Row, near the Tower of London. This wall is just 3 minutes walk away from my hotel and 5 minutes to my office. Its also interesting to note that as I explored different districts in London, I sometimes feel like I'm in different cities altogether, as they often give off totally different vibes due to the different architectures.

5. London makes you appreciate Mr Sunshine!

London skies are almost perpetually gloomy. The above picture shows a typical grey sky often filled with clouds (this was taken during lunch time mind you!). Most of my colleagues carried umbrellas in their bags and you could see them everywhere! It rained on half the days I was there, but luckily usually during office hours! Hehe! The showers were usually fleeting, sometimes really heavy but over very quickly. And I was so lucky to meet Mr Sunshine on the weekend! Check out the clear sky!Took the opportunity to chill at Hyde Park, soaking up the sun!

Hyde park is really huge, and on a sunny day like that, there were lots of people, just chilling with a book, lying on the grass, roller blading, strolling, picnic-ing, and there was this lake in the middle of the park where some people kayaked!

6. Eye Candy Galore

London blokes either have great genes, or they really know how to groom themselves. Everywhere I went, there were always cute guys to oogle at! Perhaps it helped that everyone wore smart suits, but nevertheless it was fun to bask in their glory and let my closet SPG come out! (but of course, I only love you, darling!) haha!

7. Cheap trashy magazines

Shy as I am to admit, I'm a sucker for trashy magazines. Used to subscribe to Star magazine from U.S to get my weekly dosage of celebrity gossip, so you can imagine how crazy I went at the newstands! Magazines like HEAT, STAR, REVEAL, etc were going at an average of 1 pound each! How to resist?!?!

8. Huge variety of things to do

From touristy stuff like London Eye, Big Ben, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, to the interesting Borough, Camden and Portobello markets, to the many museums (check out Tate Modern), my only complaint is that I only had one weekend in London this time. So much to do. So little time. The London Eye against London's 4pm sky.
Me and Big Ben in the background London Bridge -The original London bridge was the first bridge over Thames River. Many mistake the more glamorous Tower Bridge for it.
Strolling across Tower Bridge before going to the office. My evenings were either spent having dinners and drinks with colleagues or watching musicals, so I made it a point to go for daily morning walks around the area before heading to the office in order to see as much of London as I could. Kiasu Singaporean? You bet!
Borough Market is like our Pasir Panjang wholesale centre, only much much better. Stalls sell interesting food ranging from all kinds of fruits, nuts, chocolate, cheese, sauces, pastries, and even.....
Rabbits and pheasants! I turned away immediately when I spotted these dead animals handing at the stall, and when I took this photo, I did not dare look at them even through the camera lens! This is the Lloyd's building - where insurance all began. Its an institution in London, and I feel so honoured to have experienced the "Box", spending an afternoon sitting amongst the underwriters and the brokers who did business the traditional way! Insurance used to be a male-dominated industry and till now, there are strict dress codes to enter the building. Men must wear their suits (even during summer) and they are not allowed to remove their jackets in the building. Women of course must be appropriately (read : conservatively) dressed. Entrance to the building is strictly controlled. Non-industry people can only enter if they are signed in by a Lloyd's staff and must be accompanied at all times. My London office is located at Minster Court. Walked by the office on Saturday morning and found that the entrance was hogged by "Gorillas"! Turned out there was a Gorilla run going on that morning. How sweet is that! Me and a random Gorilla. After we took this photo, he told me "I don't know why I was even smiling beneath my mask!" Haha!

9. Fabulous Dining Experiences

As I was on a business trip, I batted no eyelid treating myself to one nice meal a day. Even my breakfast sandwiches cost around 3 pounds, so my daily "fancy" meal would probalby have been something I'd do without had it been on my own expense. Here are some of the stuff that worked their way into my tummy!
Roasted fillet of John Dory and crab tortellini on a bed of apple and lime The most yummy lobster noodles from Royal China restaurant. The lobster were totally fresh and succulent and the noodles just soaked up the flavours! *drool*Mussels and Mash - The mash is wonderfully soft and fragrant and the mussels were so good I forgot to take a picture till I was halfway through it!Poached pork loin, Peas a la francaise, lardons - The lightly poached pork melted in my mouth and went really well with the peas.What's a trip to London without eating Bangers & Mash? I've always loved sausages and this pub near Carnaby Street has awesome sausages though the mash was not fantastic.

After a week, I totally craved spicy food so I went to an organic korean place for this spicy cold noodles and some yummy spicy seafood. What can I say? I'm a chilli queen and a noodles fanatic!
Amidst all the hype about doughnuts these days in Singapore, I am one of those who refuse to queue for hours for my doughnuts. Took this opportunity to load up on Krispy Kreme (the best doughnuts in my humble opinion!). Think I had around 10 of them during my stay in London! haha! This one in the picture is a special Harrods one with chocolate cream inside!

I also highly recommend a fancy french restaurant called L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon on West Street (near Covent Garden). This place is opened by Multi-Michelin starred Joel Robuchon (voted chef of the 20th century by his peers) and they serve really yummy fare. (sorry, no pics for this place coz its too "atas" that I felt shy to take my camera out)

10. Last and very important reason, everyone speaks English so you really feel right at home!

During this trip, I also took the opportunity to meet up with my sister-in-law (Colin's sister), Cindy, who works in Glasgow. We had a "atas" lunch at The Dorchester, with exquisite food, and everyone was very primp and proper in the restaurant, talking in whispers. Cindy and I were the only ones making a racquet with our chattering and laughing away!

That's me, Cinders, and Pat after a lovely lunch

Only been back a week, and I totally miss London.....so, Boss, if you're reading this, I think there are too many issues that need to be followed up so it may be worthwhile to consider sending me again! :)