Victory!

I've been trying to conquer my fear of cooking. And finally, 1 small success yesterday :)

I marinated chicken drumsticks over night, steamed them with this nifty attachment over my rice cooker, used Prima Deli instant chicken rice mix to make yummy chicken rice... And stir fried -with chopped garlic! - this mix of beansprouts, mushrooms, carrots, onions, and lettuce that I bought from the supermarket!

To top it off, I managed to find chilli padi! So I treated myself to a mountain of bird's eye chilli (that's what they call it here!) with garlic and soya sauce.

And completed my meal with nectarines. Yum Yum Yum! :D

Very satisfied.

Pub Grub

Brits. Beers. Pubs.

The three go together.

Today was the second time I've eaten dinner at a pub. We went to Hobgoblins just down the road. A pretty small, intimate place for the locals to hang out.

Because it was jam-packed inside, we were left with the benches outdoors. There was a barbecue thing, and heaters, but in -5°c (according to BBC, it's supposed to snow tonight!) strong winds, heaters count for absolutely nothing.

I was totally freezing; I'd forgotten my mittens and scarf. So I was sitting there, drinking an iced cocktail, braving the winds. No mittens, no scarf, no hat, no socks. Nothing.

The food was really bad too. (BBQ-ed?!?!) Fish and Chips. They had the usual pub fare. Chilli chips, burgers, hotdogs.

One saving grace - a really yummy "salad cream" thing, that was like mayonnaise, but with a nice twist to it. Think I shall start searching Sainsbury's for it. Yum :D

ASBO me!

It's totally a cultural thing here - spending hours and hours and hours AND HOURS nattering away. And I'm just not used to it.

Talking so much tires me out, and there are days I just feel like being quiet. But that's associated with really negative behaviour! :(:(:( People think you're just being plain downright rude ("shy" and "introverted" apparently, doesn't fall into their dictionaries).

What really puzzles me though, is: How is spending a day shopping wasting time, while spending hours sitting in front of a fireplace chattering away about everything from the weather to which celeb was last caught with his hand up someone's shirt not?

At least with shopping you end up with some final product (s)! And information too (Yes, you can learn loads shopping)!

Maybe I should be given an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (which by the way, sounds much nicer than what it really is for) :D

Please remove all footwear!!

There's a practise here, that no matter how hard I try, I can't get used to.

Walking around someone's house without taking off your shoes!

Even in the bedroom! It just seems so awfully rude and dirty-ing to be trekking around someone's carpetted (bedroom!), right beside the bed, with your muddy, wet soaky shoes!

Those same shoes that trampled all over the wet leaves, the dirty sidewalks, the muddy fields, the grimy pavements... Yikes Yikes Yikes!

I'd be totally apalled if someone stepped into my house with their shoes on!

My First Bottle

The first bottle of wine I've ever bought.

A pretty, pink Rose as a gift for the birthday boy :)

The walk to Tescos

I went to Lewisham for the first time yesterday.

The heart of Lewisham, where the Docklands Light Rail station was. It's about 2 stops from where I was, and it cost me a 35 minute (slow) walk!

Although I walked along Lewisham high street, it was not at all a pleasant walk. It was dark and pretty deserted, despite being only 6+ in the evening. The people straggling were not at all pleasant.

Oh and... I received a "Would you like to come home with me tonight" dubious invite from a random passerby.

Having said that, it was nice to get out of the room and have some fresh air. And... walking in this cool weather is always a treat! Am never gonna forget how walking is like in 30 degrees celsius and 77% humidity!!

According to the map, Tescos was 1.46 miles from my place, but in reality it was a lot longer; I suppose it's to their benefit to measure the shortest direct distance. I wanted to visit that particular Tescos 'cause it was one of the biggest in the area, and open 24 hours (rare, in the London context).

For a supermarket, it sure was fabulous. I totally didn't regret the long walk there.

Lewisham DLR station itself was not all that bad, there were a lot of men in suits, probably returning from work having taken the DLR from Canary Wharf (which is a beeaauuutiful place and totally warrants an entry itself).

The DLR is an overground train that has tracks built in the air, making it quite obviously different from the Tube (which is underground), and the Overground (which are trains on tracks laid on the ground).

The travel fare is decently cheap. You can travel pretty much within a zone for just £1.

The best thing about the 24-hour Tescos in Lewisham was its Asian section. There were two rows of Asian stuff - vege, rice, stock etc. But my absolute happiness stemmed from being able to buy real chilli! Real, spicy, chilli. Yum.

Bought a couple of bottles of stock and sauces for stir-fry too. One of the things I've been having trouble cooking is vegetable. It comes out bland and tasteless and strange, even after I've tried adding random stuff - garlic, soya sauce...

I didn't really wanna buy that much, considering I'd have to lug everything back, and reasoned that everything else could be bought at Sainsbury's, which is just a couple of minutes walk from my place.

Stuff at Tescos seemed cheap, though being new, I still am not very familiar with the general cost of stuff. There were loads of 1-for-1 and half price offers, so I suppose there has to be some merit in them, since people were pretty much grabbing things off the shelf.

There was Krispy Kreme too! Yay. Although technically, I wouldn't pay S$ 4.20 for donuts. But I did. Thrice!

An eye for an eye

The very first thing our tutor said to us on the very first day of class, our very first lesson on "Feature Writing", was:

Tell me something that pissed you off over the holidays.

Random tales of airport security checks, buses breaking down, trains not operating was tossed into the air.

And then, we did something most amazing.

Each and every of those screwed up moments were moulded into feature story ideas.

So the toilet in the airplane was not working. For a 5 hour flight. Find out how often it happens. Who it happens to. When it happens. What airlines. Are they cheap flights? Does it happen on non-budget airlines flight. Who has similar experiences. Can you write a what-to-watch-out-for column. How did the crew handle it. How about a travel column. Was it a once-off bad experience? What are the spin-off effects.

See why you should never screw a journalist?

We'll get back at you. With a million eyeballs.

Living it up

I've been here for nearly 4 months, and it's only now that I finally feel like I've got a life.

I haven't really been up and about exploring the city; Partly due to heavy course work, but mostly because somehow or other, I lack the motivation to sightsee when there's no one (reasonably special) to share it with.

Recently I decided I need to be more proactive, and have made arrangements to go out with as many people as possible. It's difficult heaving myself out of my comfort zone, hanging out with people I'm not familiar with... but tough luck. I'm here all alone. So it's new friends. Or no one.

10 hours on the Phone

Well ok, maybe not 10, but definitely 60, at least. 60 minutes, that is.

**
When I first came, I was totally wow-ed by the exchange policies of the shops here.

(I have rights as a consumer! Finally!)

Torn clothes, no receipt, no tag, worn for more than 30 days, but hey, sure, refund you we will.

(Try that in Singapore and see what you get. "Tough luck, who ask you buy from our shop" or "Want cheap cheap, it's like that!" probably. Blargh.)

I was slightly skeptical, when I first came, about how much companies honoured their refunds. But so far, I've had no problems (granted, my sample size is just 1). I only got charged for delivery, which is a pain, but I was happy to get my 15 quid back for something that didn't work.

Today's phone call had to be the silliest though.

**

I decided, this morning, that the fact that something I'd ordered 9 days ago but still had not received warranted a phone call to customer service.

After gazillions "Please hold the line, I'll transfer you to the right department", I finally got to speak to someone who sounded like he could help.

Apparently, they had sent it via courier.

It was just £10 (and a flat envelope that they could easily have sent through Royal Mail), but they had to send it via courier.

That was alright, but... apparently, they had been here thrice, and rung the buzzer, and had even left notices with a number to call.

But (also apparently), I was never in.

How could they have rung the buzzer, when to reach the buzzer, you have to key in a code to get through the locked gate?

And no, I never did receive a single one of those notices.

Well, it's definitely impossible for any courier to enter through the multiple security systems we have in this prison-like environment. So I tried setting up alternatives.

First, I tried giving him my mobile number, but was promptly informed that he was "really sorry", but the delivery man might not call me as any calls they made they had to be done at their own expense.

Then I asked if we could arrange for delivery at a specific time, so that I could be at the gate waiting. But no, that was impossible.

Could I change my address to my hostel's reception who could sign for the parcel and then notify me to collect it? Ooops, no change of addresses allowed.

How about sending it via Royal Mail? I'm sorry, we only use a courier service.

Sigh.

Real (!) Food

Had dinner with Jane at Wong Kei, this restaurant in Chinatown that serves Hong Kong / Chinese cuisine.

It probably serves the best and cheapest good Chinese food in Chinatown, and I didn't know this before the first time I went, but it supposedly build a "reputation" for its uber bad service.

In fact, it became a huge tourist attraction due to its "bad service".

Ironically, we had really good service this evening.

The waiter was charming, polite, pleasant, attentive, and spoke relatively good English.

The only stumbling happened when I inquired about the difference between "Chinese Mixed Vegetables" and "Chinese Green Vegetables". (If you're interested, the "mixed" was 50p more expensive than the "green".)

"Chinese mixed vegetables and ... Chinese green vegetables..." the waiter repeated, staring at the menu.

"Ah!"

"Mixed vegetables is mixed!" he proclaimed.

"Green is green!" he continued, with a very straight face.

Unwired

Yesterday, the school network crashed.

Coming from an island which is fully wired, not being connected to the world can have devastating consequences.

What I can't get though, is the attitude.

**
Hi, I'd like to report a faulty Internet connection.

Yes ma'am. The school network is down.

May I know when it will be restored?

Well, the technicians won't come in till tomorrow morning.

It's just the Internet though, no big deal.

??!

**
And it was only 8pm at night.

So I went to bed early, thinking that I'd wake up up bright and early (830am) and everything would be fine!

9am - still down

930.. 10.. 11...

**
The inefficiencies of this great city!

Pop!

Blinding lights. Deafening music. Overpowering sweat and smoke. Bodies. Alcohol. Poppers. Heels.

An assault on the senses.

That just about sums up my first clubbing night.

**
My virgin clubbing experience. An archers, a beer, a gin and tonic, a vodka with lemonade.

**

I've never heard of Poppers before (have I even got the name right?). These small little bottles that look exactly like the thinner bottles you'd get in the days when liquid paper still came in a bottle with a brush.

You sniff it, and it apparently gives you a rush.

"Apparently", because I tried, and ended up choking.

People, People. Everywhere!

There are so many things in London that amaze me. All the time. But let's begin with something that has hit me nearly a million times over.

The number of people that are employed in totally senseless jobs!

**
Do you remember back in the kindergarden days, where they try to involve as many children as they can in graduation plays? So teachers would make random kids "act" as trees, stones, ducks, leaves, whatever. Just so they could get on stage?



Be a sign post, anyone?

**
And then over the holidays, the East London Line, one of the tube lines, closed. So they had replacement bus services.

And they had these guys, three, if you must know, standing at the bus stops outside the closed tube stations, yelling out the name of the tube stop as the bus pulled alongside the stop.

Good money. £6 an hour, with the following job description:

Brave the winds, pollution from cars, the rain, random insults from irate travellers that miss the bus, and act like a broken record whenever a bus pulls in.

**
There are 276 tube stations in London. Each one has at least one ticket officer. This chap, let me tell you, does exactly what the ticketing machine does: Collect cash, credit your card with the equivalent amount of cash, issues a receipt. The end.

He certainly doesn't provide any extra services.

**
On the subject of travelling, nearly all tube stations have a gate officer.

Yes, that's the guy that stands by the handicapped access gate. You scan your card, he pulls open the gate for you.

Do wider gates consume more energy, and thus make them inefficient to automate?