A traveler's tales of the 7th month: different worlds ocupy the same sphere........

Want more tales?

"Molest" in a cruise ship.
Two colleagues who I know very well went for a company sponsored training in a cruise ship. This "pretty auntie" forget to bring her travel "protection charm" that she usually brings. On the last night of the trip, she was "molested". She was aware throughout the whole ordeal, but could not move.

She heard kissing sounds next to her ear, and the heavy breathing, and felt the hairy-ness, and the weight of a "man" on her! Gross!!!

These happened while another colleague; her room mate, a devout Christian-who-never-believe-in-nonsense watched in horror!!! According to the "pretty auntie", her roommate, S saw her grimacing and felt a certain shadow on her, and heard the kissing sound. S was not sure if she was imaging things, and could not wake this "pretty auntie" up by calling her name. She was so scared, she just prayed and prayed... and prayed. This thing still continued and only stopped when the first ray on sunlight came into the cabin.

When I heard it, I was like.. Ewwwww Gross!!!!! You are joking with me, is it?? Try to scare little girls like me?

Her response was, "Ask S, ask her what she saw while I was experiencing these?"

S's response was " No more S***cruise. Even if it is free!!!"

S is not someone who would "joke" about these stuff. And she visibly don't want to talk about these things. That afternoon, one went to her church to "cleanse", another quickly go to the temple.


Inside a pendulum called elevator
On a Thursday* night in the 7th month 2 years ago. I worked late, as usual. I think I left at almost 11 pm, the last person on my floor. When I walked to the lift lobby, I felt a presence--I ignored it- thought I was getting psychotic with all that amount of work that need to be completed. I was just impatient to get down, as I didn't want the taxi to run off, and end up waiting on that road.

The lift button was not exactly responsive at first. I really had to pressed it hard many times before the door would close. Darn, I cursed. This is supposedly by a world class architect!

When it went down, it was SHAKING!!!! I could feel myself wobbling from one side to the other, as if the cables were snapping or some force was shaking the lift like a pendulum?

At first, the joker in me thought "Shit, too fat! Move to center to balance!"

But moving to the center did not "balance" it, and the shaking grew more violent, the lift seemed to shot down faster than usual! I had to "hold on" to the walls to help to balance myself. It was getting very scary. Only in those last few seconds, it occured to me, "7th month!".
And I was like "Oii, don't play with me! I got nothing to do with you, whatever".

My horror ended when the lift landed with a violent THUD!

I think I srambled out of the lift with a very pale face. The security guard saw me and was concerned. "Are you ok, miss?", he asked. Hmmm, I must have looked very bad, as the guards are known to have a "dun care" attitude.

I told him "Something wrong with the lift, it was shaking!" I think this middle aged man saw the horror in my eyes; he gave me a "Oh, no, not that!!" look. He offered to "check the lift". He walked there reluctantly, take one glance and quickly walked back to tell me "Don't worry, tomorrow we get people to check".

I did not want to know what was going on, I was just too happy my cab was waiting for me, and I could go home! My hubby was probably wondering why I insisted he wait for me downstairs.

*According to a colleague, Thursday is not a "clean" night based on local beliefs. A thurday night on a 7th month makes it worse. Throughout that 7th month, she chased me home every Thursday night, or told us not stay in the office alone :)

7th Month is here...........

Here comes the airline sales....and then you know that it is 7th month. This year, air ticket sales seems to be quite extended, thanks to having double 7th month.

I think traveling by plane during the 7th month is still ok. Perhaps water activities should be avoided. Just as I warned my hubby not to go swimming, my BIL's friend drowned in Taiwan last weekend. I think it freaked hubby a lot!

What is seventh month, actually?

It is also known as Ulambana (Ancestor Day) 7th Month Festival / Chong Yen Zie / Hungry Ghost Festival.

Ulambana (Ancestor Day) 7th Month Festival / Chong Yen Zie / Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated throughout the Mahayana tradition from the first to the fifteenth days of the eighth lunar month. It is believed that the gates of Hell are opened on the first day and the ghosts may visit the world for fifteen days. Food offerings are made during this time to relieve the sufferings of these ghosts. On the fifteenth day, Ulambana or Ancestor Day, people visit cemeteries to make offerings to the departed ancestors. Many Theravadins from Cambodia, Laos and Thailand* also observe this festival.

Ulambana is also a Japanese Buddhist festival known as Obon, beginning on the thirteenth of July and lasting for three days, which celebrates the reunion of family ancestors with the living.

* Does that mean we should observe 7th month when we go to visit these countries?

According to my mum, we had to stay at home at night even 1 week before the 1st day of 7th month. Some "naughty ones" might have escaped a few days earlier and cause trouble. I have had high fever after going out on the 14th day when I was a toddler.

Despite all her tales, I did not believe in these tales about 7th month. Statistics of death or accidents don't really seem to be higher than usual, rite? There are most probably another story to keep us kids at home.

But when I started working, I had many colleagueas who had to travel a lot. Scientific, technical people who had to travel anytime, anywhere; and yet they observe the 7th month too. As a colleague pointed out, the numbers do not really increase or decrease during the 7th month, but the number of weird things happening increases!

I used to think that my "6th sense" is my own imagination, now I just want to "respect" it. This "6th sense" was responsible for making "irrational decisions" which resulted in not taking a route that would probably put me in a plane that crashed, or transiting in Middle East when the war is starting there.

Probably nothing would have happened to me at all. I might have taken another plane and not involved in the crash. So far, nothing has happened to civilian planes in the middle east as well. But the worry would probably be too much for my parents.

This 6th sense also told me that the hotel I was allocated on a bussiness trip was "not right", and I had to ask a colleague what to do as a precaution. Yup, turned up the hotel is known to have some histories.

But a traveler like me will still travel if a chance comes, 7th month or not. The excitement of going to explore a new place is just too much! Perhaps learning some "precautions" is great to calm you and avoid imagining stuff?

I know a friend who bring along a "Tibetan singing bowl", to cleanse the room. I always wondered how she could chuck such a metal thing like that into her luggage! And come on, she is so "modern" and "sophiscated"!!! Perhaps she encountered things that she would not want to talk about? She had been living out of a suitcase for years.

A colleague of mine like to blast the tv all the time, while I do the opposite. I don't leave the tv on in hotel room late at night anymore, after a colleague who could see those things told me that her tv channel was switched to a gory murder scene, because that thing tried to "communicate" with her, but she ignored. It freaked her out! She is not staying in that premier Petaling Jaya hotel anymore, no matter what.

No one should touch my shoes!
I will put it in the "position", and it should not be touched. When we stayed in that famous hotel in HK where a "superstar" died, hubby "tidied up" the shoes one night without my knowledge.

When I was about to sleep, I suddenly felt a certain gush of wind?/movement moving from my window(closed!!) to the door. Seemed like something whizzed passed, something chilly. And at that instant my hubby suddenly sat up VERY straight and murmured something. He looked weird!!! And when I looked at our shoes, I realised they were all nicely tidied up. I quickly put them in the correct places again, and then he just dropped back to sleep, just like that. FREAKED me out!! That hotel's corridors are quite creepy, but the rooms were ok-except that night. And that was not a 7th month.....

Anymore tales? Yes. I got to put in another page, a Traveler's Tales of the 7th month.

It is 7th month again. While I don't practise any of those stuff like praying or whatever, I think a traveler like me should still be "aware".....and respect my trusty 6th sense :)

Giving up seat index (GUSI)

Today, I my knee was aching. I thought I was in good luck to get a seat in the train. Well, if you get on the first station, you get the seat don’t you?

However, my luck ran out a few stations later.

An old couple walked over from the next coach. The old woman was holding a cane, with obviously wobbly knees. They were walking from the next coach to mine, hoping to get a seat. I got up immediately to give seat to old lady, and held her steady as she tried to lower herself down. It took some glaring and frowning before someone a few seats away got up and give the seat to the old man.


People’s reactions when the old couple walk pass them, without a seat??? Look out of window, read newspapers, and immediately fall "asleep". What did the young guy sitting next to me do? Happily sitting there.

I wonder if I will end up at the police station for kicking a guy like him some day.

Instead of all those reader's digest ranking of the most honest city, quality of life living index and the latest favourite GINI index, maybe one day we should have a Giving Up Seat Index (GUSI). That will be a measure of whether the city citizens still have a HEART, and an indication of whether you could grow up in that place.

REALLY HOT London sales??

Just got wind that the really HOT london sales is now on. Shucks!!!

why do i miss the hotest sales?

I need to buy clothes for that new job. hmmm

maybe hubby will be kind enough to pop by into whitley's zara and grab some nice suits for me?? Well dream one... he wont. he wont. Darn.

Why not? This is london, man..... and you got your consumer rights right up to your collar! I remember buying a wrong sized bra (not my fault, just that the M&S at whiteleys always close their fitting room!!!). basically, I keep on changing, returning.. and then finally gettinng my cash back when nothing fitted me well.

Well, bras. Well endowed gals will find london a fantastic place for good, comfy affordable bras. nah, forget about Ann Summers. I think that is meant for kinky gals who "play" or gals who "work". Ahem.. go and interprete yourself what i meant.

I am just so happy with those M&S bras, and the fitting service they provide at their marble arch branch. Even a shy scary cat like me felt comfy with the fitting process. very discreet, very professional, no pressure to buy at all. Anyway, no pressure needed. You will happily buy. And probably i would have bought more if i know that it is easily 20-30% cheaper in london than singapore!!!Hmmm. I will kick myself if i miss the M&S sale. That means i got to wait till 26the December 2006!!!

Crossing the CAUSEWAY for food and contact lenses.

Today, I "crossed the causeway", and realised that i am suddenly 2.35 times richer!!! That means my cheese cakes are 2.35x cheaper.

Sis and I have developed this ritual of crossing the causeway.

We will go empty stomach, and risk fainting while waiting for the bus.

Then, when we are "released" at the other side, will dash to City Square and head straight to the basement. That is where salvation is to be found, in the form of "Secret Recipe". Having my sis is the best blessing in my life, cos with her around, I can sample many many many many cakes!!!

That skinny pig grew up on Secret Recipe. She used to hang out at Secret Recipe with her gang, to the dismay of my parents who fret about her expensive taste. My bro and me were not happy too. It shows that life is not fair. How can the perfect pitch kid at home also happen to be the one who can eat a cow and not put on an ounce????

Ops, digressed.

Anyway, crossing the causway means I can have all that I can't in London. Durians. Sinful, yummy chessecakes which are not overly sweet, and lot of other tit bits.

i heard that londoners cross over to france for the same purpose.... food, food food for a lot less than what you would normally spend. I wonder if the get their contact lenses there, cos my sis head for JB to get hers. And she knows which shop to get--> the second flloor corner shop in City Square... RM50 for acuvue!!! That is less than £10!!. Shit! Next time, i should ask my sis to post me the contact lenses. Acuvue is about £30 for a month's supply!!! It is even cheaper than those postal order sites in UK!!!

Budget and time was is a little tight, otherwise, i would have polished the plates at the House of Sundanese as well. And sis also forgot to get her generic aspirin for her acne. hmmm.. looks like got to cross again one of these days.

why are vitamins so ex here?

I dont understand, why are vitamins and health supplement so ex here??

It is much much cheaper in UK!!!

I should have bought a big box of Lavender essential oil. £2.+++ during sales for 20ml. really much cheaper. Good for all my good friends and sister staying in the area which smells of chicken shit.

I would have brought more glucosamine back here also, if not beacsue I already got so many things. And I am feeling soooooo lethargic... DUNNO because the heat, or my ginseng and ginko tablets from healthspan.co.uk

Hmmmmmmmmm

haiz. When I get back to UK, i will dose myself with lots of vitamins!! and books!!!

why are books(novels) and vitamins much much cheaper there?

Milk too...

today i finally force myself to buy a litre of fresh milk. Sigh....... had been having "difficulty" buying cos it is so ex, and taste not as good as the UK cheap cheap ones.

Ok ok.. it is not all that great in london. London no chicken rice. ::D

Today, i had 2 chicken rice meals. One roasted, one steamed.
Tomorrow I will eat Ya Kum Kaya toast-again. and take cheese prata for lunch??

Hehehehe.................. hmmmm teh tarik on saturday?

oh ya, i found lauganma in a "supermarket" in the "chinatown" here. price is same as See Woo's, suprisingly. I thought it would be much cheaper.

This sunday can have cold tofu plus lauganma chili oil.

To those who have not discovered Lauganma, it is time to head to See Woo in chinatown and check it out. Trust me, it makes life in London meaningful again.:D

Killer heatwave in europe

Hubby said it was 37C yesterday.

I cant imagine that.

The hottest i experienced was 33C, and that was unbelievable.

Unlike the tropical countries, most places do not have a even a fan, and definitely not air-conds. I still remember the bars of melted chocholate that had to be "rescued".

What I can imagine is happening now is every shade in the park has been taken up by bare bodied men (and also women). Pubs filled with beer sipping workers.

And what did I do then? I ran to the shopping malls, to get the air-cond.

By the time I get back, the heatwave would be over...i hope.

Oiii... drink the crysynthemum tea ok?

I dont like cities...

So many people. So little green space.

So, can we move to somewhere not so city-ish?

I LUV Oxford, lets move there. :) Anyway, I could work nearby!!!

Guys can travel better, so hubby can join his good friend to take the Oxford Tube to London every day. They would be so tired when they come back, that they will not have time checking out pretty gals on the way home. Meanwhile I could drive around town with his friend's gf, shopping, exploring, eating ice-cream and complaining about the men in our lives.

Sounds perfect. Hmmm.. that sounds tai-tai-ish. Yummy life!

That day, I had to join the queue for the "shuttle bus". Full of sweaty people, pushing, jammed up like sardines. I think a few more pimples popped up as a result. Hmmm.. that means a facial is a must the moment these heat rashes go down.

I don't like to join queues, I dont like crowded places-unless it is a place that I have never been to before-Which means I don't mind queuing at Disneyland.

Of ya, did I tell you that I bought that "Thailand" Prickly heat talcum??
Wow, it is good. cooling. Stop my itchiness, and I have less NEW rashes popping up.
However, I realised (when I was jammed in that bus), that I smelled like a "foreign worker".

yup, a few more months later, i will be a "foreign worker". I wonder if the Brits would think I have a particular smell. hmmmm

If we stay in a village, maybe we can get a bigger place. Maybe we will be nearer to nature. Then I could finally buy a digital camera, and take pictures of the changes in the season. Then maybe things would be cheaper than central London, and we will go the Alps for Christmas. See, so much "potential".

Ok, if those arguments do not work..... then lets try the other way....

Oxfordshire got one of the lowest crime rate in UK. Safe. Not like the previous places that hubby "almost" rented. Kensal, Harrow, blah blah blah. Thank goodness he never considered the infamous Hackney.

I always feel that you get HACKED in Hackney

Cheap, zone 3-ish London, with murders every other week or so. I dont like that. I hate places where the gangsters are not even sophisticated enough to kill properly, or have reasons to kill. If they kill like Chow Yun fatt, I don't mind-lah.

They kill when they try to get your wallet.
They kill if they failed to rape you-blaming you for their inability to rise to the occasion?
Or they kill if they managed to rape you, and they kill you, simply because they kiledl the wrong person.

That kind of places are out. I am a "careless" person, and I want to maintain my couldn't care-less attitude. The only way you could help a careless person stay out of harms' way, is not to stay in a bad area. " Crime prevention" should not be in my mind all the time... That is not how life should be!

Staying in Zone 1 is good, if we are loaded. Otherwise we will be sharing with people again. Chances of meeting people like our Romanian housemates is quite high! Probably we will even meet someone worse!

Hmmm.. with so many reminders of crimes, this posting should have blackmailed hubby into moving to Oxford, or one of the commuter towns on the way. hahahah. Mission accomplished. :D

Updates of "local" happenings: ice-cream kids and Mr Brown

First of all, I am damn MAD!!!! And I need to curse!!!

I hate it when people abuse kids. And I am scared I will get into a fight with some ice-cream or pizza bosses at a void deck one of these days. Thank goodness I am not in a public housing estate, or the chance of me meeting one of them, and then getting into a fight is high!!!

The MISuse of kids, underaged kids to sell ice-cream seems to be getting more rampant, in guess where.......hmmm!!!!!!

When two kids first appeared outside my door, sweating, and heaving and puffing (cos there was no lift on my floor) with their ice-cream, it just broke my heart!!! I thought, "Gosh, economy is so bad!!!". These kids are barely teens! So small compared to the huge trolley of ice-cream which they had to push around! I emptied my own wallet, and digged hubby's too.... and stuff my fridge with the tubs of ice-cream. Yeah, stuffed myself too....

Subsequently more(different kids) came...
And then they got more agressive. Looked more and more pitiful. I started to suspect... they got some sort of "training"? Someone must be behind it!

The last one I saw, before leaving for London, was really really agressive. Clinging on to my hands. Saying stuff like need to finish selling before going home. It was more than 8 pm, and a school day. What were kids doing there?? Selling ice-cream?

What did I do?Emptied my wallets again.I was mad. But seeing them pushing the heavy ice-cream up the stairs, melted my heart. I was fuming at the bosses...!

Now I am back in town. And realised that it still happens!! In fact it happens more!!! What is going on??? Isn't the economic crisis over??

Am I in Bangkok or what?? Child labour??

It is the same brand of ice-cream. Why are the people behind it not caught yet? Is it so difficult to catch them??

This is worse than the kids in Bangkok selling handmade flower garlands for 5Bath each, in terms of risk of injury to them. I am really worried that one day an accident will happen and a kid will be squashed by an ice-cream trolley. Uhhh....

And what if some paedophile (Thanks to the endless paedophile reports by BBC, they are always at the back of my mind now) say, " OK, I buy from you. But you got to bring them in and put in my fridge"??

Oh My GOD!!!

Shit!!!! I really got to curse.... no other words to describe my anger, and concern.

And the other "happening" that I missed?




Mr Brown vs Bhavani??

I still dunno what is going on. I know who Mr Brown is, but no idea who that Bhavani is. I only caught the part about Bhavani saying Brown hiding behind some pseudonym....
I think I am away too long, cos I know who Brown is (I remember his columns), but dunno who Bhavani is.

New blogger?? I don't know, just guessing. Usually bloggers "fight" right?. More famous than Xia Xue?

Anyone know where she/he/she-he blogs? Or maybe there will be a tv show of "Brown vs Bhavani"...then I can really find out what is going on. Too busy now to follow these sagas....

Yup.. that is about all

summary of happenings:
:( stuff

1. Ice-cream kids getting more rampant!!! And I am very angry about it.
2. Taxi-fare increased... a lot!!! Damn.. no more taxi-ing around.
3. New regulations about Tui Na!!! Awwww.... whichever idiot started this, I curse you with many many neck aches!! Got to got to JB or Bangkok to fix my aches now??
4. Food prices increased!! I got a shock at the supermarket, but my friends did not seem to realise..........

Happy stuff:
I will put down when i think of any.... bad mood now.


Neutral stufff... due to my ignorance on issues on hand...

1. Bhavani (dunnno male or female) vs Brown. Some fighting going on?

Gonna shift house = stress stress stress............

Finding an "home" in LONDON which is

1. safe
2. decent- ie no falling roof, or disintegrating floor boards
3. affordable-ie less than £140/week
4. have decent housemates/landlords
5. convenient

is like trying to find a mango among a pile of durians.

Ops... what nonsense am I saying? Anyway, it just means that it is almost impossible!!! If when you think you found the mango, it will probably be all quashed up anyway. Ie, if the advert look good, the place is often crap when you get there.

We got enough interesting stories with my Romanian housemates that we could probably start a blog called "MY stupid Romanian housemates", and it would probably turn out to be a big hit. Anyway, enough is enough. No more sharing with Eastern Europeans who just "came out".

Years of living behind an iron curtain makes them narrow minded? Yaars of dealing with the chaos after the fall of iroon curtain makes them street smart, but distrusting and dishonest. They will do ANYTHING(just use your imagination. I am lucky in my case, prostitution was not included in my housemate's list) to stay in London.

It is ok if they are educated, have been in London for a while, and hold a decent job. But how can you be sure they are educated, have been in London for a while , and hold a decent job? My hubby had that impression of them.

Turn out? She is not qualified to practise here, and he, the "painter", was a bus-driver at home, and just started in the construction industry..Hahaha..

I don't judge people by their education and profession, but sometimes you know... only certain people could do projectile spits from the balcony with such style. And he could beat any "Chinaman" to it. When he "prepare" his spit, it was always loud enough to wake me up from my afternoon nap!!! [And I am such a pig!!!]

"kroak kroak kroak [gathering strength, and forming proper bullet] puhhhhhh [pull trigger].... piak[hit target]".... Ok, the "piak" is my imagination. Cos the balcony opens to a field. I was just worried for some kids playing there..... Eww......eww...... I apologise for your loss of apetite.

Sigh.......Welll...there is no way you could tell. They look so handsome and pretty, friendly (if they want to), and well mannered. But wait till you know them really well.... and then you know. They operate with different modes, can "press button", and then change "colour".

Now it is back to browsing the www.gumtree.com.

Scanning for flats to let again. Rental agents in London are hopeless. They make you pay money to see flats, and then will tell you the flats are not available anymore, or there is a long list of interested tenants. So, we got to do everything on our own.

This time, lets hope we get a good one. Renting in London is no easy job, unless you have a LARGE budget.

Mental note: Eat your mangoesteens!

YEah, I should eat more mangoesteens now that I am here.

You cant get them in London. It only appears in a "health food" form, bottles of mangoesteen juice called Xango. Xango is so big in London, and the kwei los really seem to believe that this tropical fruit have almost magical antioxidant powers. Does it have?

I dont know. I only know that if I eat them with that durian feast, I proabably will be spared a sore throat or fever the next day.

Well , whatever, I gonna hunt for my mangoesteens and mangos and durians while I am still here.

Otherwise, I got to "drink" them.

Talking about Xango, I miss Wild and Natural!......... although I dont buy from there. It is too expensive. However, it introduced me to lots of new "health fads", organic stuff and all, and yeah, that Xango thing too. Always generous with samplings as well. That will probably the first shop I hit when I get back.

I want my strawberries!!!! Missing Portobello market

Yeah, I want my strawberries!!! Peaches, grapes, raspberry and melons too.

Straberries and cream is just the perfect summer desert. Thinking of it made me salivate.

Portobello Market is probably the thing that I miss most about London. The Saturday fruit sweep, hahaha.

Imagine, I got a basket of grapes, seedless and sweet at £1.00. 3 gala melons for £1. 2 punnets of British summer strawberries for £1.20 or even £1.00!! In winter, we setteled for the lesser cousins, strawberries from Spain at a rate of 3 punnets for £1!!! Befor I came back , I got 2 pounds of cherries for £1.20 there, and 2 punnets of ripe yummy peaches for £1.50. Cheap?? Definitely.

Portobello has a reputation as "expensive", because people are put off by the prices displayed, particularly those nearer to the antique shop.

But the gems of Portobello market are down the road. Yes, go DOWN hill.

Nah, that organic pastry stall is crap. Expensive, and not yummy!! I would rather walk to the Wild and Natural at Westbourne grove, pay a little more, and dine with the good lookers from Notting Hill. Knowing that some stars like to eat the muffin I was having make me feel..... errr... well, I don't know. But it is better than that pathetic pastry stall!!!

The Banana and Tomato King is my favourite stall. This is where a big chunck of my fruits came from. Cherries, which are in season now, raspberry (woah, thinking of it make me salivate!!!) in winter/autumn and British strawberries. They also probably have the cheapest "fresh" bananas in town. Their apples are always crisp, and can be terribly cheap sometimes. Ok, you definitely can get 1 basket of apples for £1 somewhere else, but those probably will have bruises. If you talk about "perfect" condition apples, this is the place.

The stall next to it, (its name has the word "Banana" in it as well), is cheap too. However, you can only buy boxed, and priced items from them. Try giving them a bag of grapes/bananas whateer, and you will end up wondering why the bag is so "heavy", cos the price did not come up as cheap. The thing I will get from them is just boxes of strawberries.

Many times bitten by them, now very shy :). I get "bullied" by them whenever I go alone, and hubby not with me. Hmmm, it must be because hubby look more like a gangster, and I look more like a sheep??? hahah. But this sheep is known to "bleat" at sales people when they try to cheat, and tell them off!!

If you go at closing times, ie past 4 pm some stalls get rid of their fruits by the boxes. YOu wil get big crates of grapes, melons, apples, satsumas (something like mandarin orange, but 10 times more yummy and juicy) for £2. Some of our happiest buys include a box of satsumas, which we shared with another customer for £1.00 each. That £1.00 bought us more that 40 satsumas, and we happily ate the satsumas, and give them away to friends. Another time, we got so much grapes, ie sharing a BIG crate with another person for £1.00, we had to distribute them away.

Those crates of fruits are usually very ripe, and must be eaten on the same day or the next two days, but hey, that is how you could have only fruits for dinner!!! (and breakfast, and lunch too!!) Imagine, by breakfast cereals used to be served as an accompaniment to my fruits (ie more strawberries in my bowl than cereal, hehehehe).

On the afternoon England played, I did my last Portobello Sweep, and was an extremely happy and contented gal to have no one fighting for the goodies with me, and the stall holders giving things away cheaply to go home and watch England play. Peaches, appricots, grapes, strawberries... etc etc, all those things that I tell myself I would buy and eat as much as I want IF I ever get RICH.

Now, back to reality. Back to that supermarket that I wish no longer monopolise the town.
Well, nothing wrong with them. It is just that they offer apples apples and more apples. Apples from Brazil, China, new Zealand, Washington?? etc etc. Green apples, red apples. Ok, they also offer lots of orranges, orranges and orranges. Ok to be fair, they also offer not so fresh grapes, for $3+++ a small box. It is difficult for me to buy, cos I think the grapes look like "crate" material!!! Well. SIgh..................

I walked around the aisles like a mad woman, past those expensive blueberries, strawberries, and also 3 for $3.55 pathetic looking peaches (definitely "crate" material)....finally settling on 5 gala apples. I have only eaten 1 apple (I mean fruits) since I landed, other than those generous fruit platter served by my "taitai" auntie.

I think i better find excuse to go to her place and get my strawberries?? Maybe I should also whine about the cherries and peaches??? If I whine enough, maybe her personal "fruit-er" will source for them??? Ok. Nah, better dun get so low down. Back to reality, and console myself that a durian goes for $5 or less, and news say Malaysia over produced durians this season!!!!
Woah hahaha. Poor farmers. But happy me. Cruel me. Hmmm, maybe these thoughts will affect my karma.... but who cares. i want durians!!!

And talking about Portobello, have I ever mentioned that I fell in love with Romeo Pires and thinking of losing weight for him in that fateful day when my "Shrek" was given a red card?

Ops... better shut up. Hubby will be spying here.

Home again, after THAT "lovely" flight.

Home again, after THAT "lovely" flight.

The moment I get pass the arrival hall, I felt FAT and HOT. Yeah, FAT, SMELLY, SWEATY is not exactly SEXY....

I just discovered that they take bribes at the Heathrow airport. So becareful with how much you shop, gals. Your excess luggage will cause you trouble. Not exactly, rather it will hurt your pockets, or your bums.

Too itchy, tired now to talk about that flight. It will spoil my mood.For sure, I will not take a certain airline again, if their staff want bribes. Ok, that is unless they are super super cheap and offer a crazy price one day. My ticket was not cheap! That is what irritates me most.

Nah, I did not bribe, and was rewarded with "fantastic" seats. 13 hours of suffering and 1 hour of inconvenience. Worst flight in my life. Worst than that flight which was fully packed, where I was squashed by the heavy woman sitting next to me. At least, that one gave me two bottles of red wine, and a nice "overnight kit". It kept me well-fed, and I was a happy gal.

Hmmmm....

Got to go. Back home. Back to work, back to reality.

The only one that is going on as usual is my BLOGGING!!! Must put down those nice memories while they are alive. And put it down soon. My Japan trip was wonderful, and yet it has not been "documented". How am I going to remember and share the stories with my grandchildren next time? Children are getting more difficult to entertain, and I guess, one day they will want "proof" when you tell them stories. Or they will assume you are bragging/BS etc etc.

GSS is now on its last few days.

Well GSS now seems pale in comparison with the summer sales there.

No excitement. And no incentive for me to look. This is not a place for FAT gals.

My free Haircut from Toni and Guy Academy London!!

Have you ever been a model?

I risk my future and my happiness to have my hair cut by a "trainee" at Toni and Guys.

It was scary. When I booked my appointment, the gal told me to allow 3 hours. In my mind, I imagine a kid with trembling scissors nipping my hair off, and the trainer having to "save" me eventually by giving me a "short and sassy" haircut.

The place is just near Centre Point, near the British Museum. In fact, I thought that if my mum comes here, I will bring her to the museum, and when she got totally bored and tired, she can "rest" and get a hair cut. She can then brag about that haircut in London.

When I announced my arrival at the reception, they told me to wait. I noticed other "models". Many pretty gals. Young, and pretty, and slim. Perfect. There is only one other fat woman with long hair, and she was equally nervous! We made small talk to reassure ourselves, and I told her where I got that coupon. Then, in come a Hong Kong-ish "si-lai": that kind that you will see on tv, buying things from market, choosing a fat chicken for the dinner cos her future DIL is coming. Gosh, her hair was a flat, grey and cut in an old fashioned bob style. I immediately told myself that I will never look like that 30-40 years later. Gosh, can something be done for her, in terms of hair?

After loitering for a while, some stylists invited us upstairs. Everyother model had been picked up by a "student", except me and the other fat woman. I was thinking: Round face =challenging?

After a while, a handsome guy came to me and introduced himself as Carl. He was very young, and I was thinking eh... dont tell me I am unlucky enough to get a "basic" level trainee.

After doing a consultation about my lifestyle, previous haircuts, my likes/dislikes and what I "hope"to get "today", he suggested some styles, and discussed them with me. then he told me to wait a while, so that he could get his trainer. He repeated everything that I said to his trainer.

His trainer checked that I agreed with him, but did not agree about how to cut my fringe. He suggested making it ASYMETRIC! Was I keen to try? Why not???

Carl then had to tell his "trainer" what he planned to do, which part he will start to cut first, and how long it will be. He seemed to get everything right, except the EXACT length. The trainer wanted it to be about 1 cm shorter to take into account my curls and my face shape.

The cutting was quite slow. At first, I was nervous at the way Carl seemed to measure and measure and measure. I was wondering how good he was. But as soon as he took his first "cut", I knew he was good! Everything was "measured" and checked again by the trainer at the end of each step.

I was in and out of sleep. About 1 hour later, I was almost done. I did not get that radical asymetric cut to open up my face, as Carl discovered he could make it look even better if he "push" my hair to a side in a certain manner. I was happy. Trainer was happy , and that was it!

I think this is my best hair cut so far.

How about that si-lai??? She looked good after the haircut!!! It was another bob haircut, but somehow she looked updated, and was obviously very very happy.

The other models? They finished earlier than I did, (since a wavy, asian hair like mine was a "challenge") and walked out looking great!!! I did not spot any bad haircuts! Fantastic!

It turned out that most of the "trainees" are already qualified hair stylists, who go there to update and polish their skills.

How did I get this Free haircut?

The tel no to book an appointment is 02-078360606.
Location: at 71-75, New Oxford Street, near the Centre Point building.

You can just call and book. I got a "FREE" coupon from www.thelondoncareers.net magazine, which you could access online, or at popular Tube stations.

With that coupon, you don't have to pay a penny, without it, you pay £5.00 "booking fees"...I got to warn you the advert does not appear on every single issue. I got mine from the 5th June 2006 issue, so if you cant get it, go to the website, look for this issue, and find the coupon on page 9.

Hubby kept on looking at me after my haircut, and I am sure this time it is not because the haircut was bad.

Infact, I myself grabbed every opportunity to look at my own reflections on glasses and mirrors.--> VAIN!!!

Imagine, these were my "criteria"

• FAT, ie face is ROUND
• Have limpy hair, that is dropping like crazy, and curling in all sorts of directions
• not wanting to spend more than 30seconds styling my hair

And yet, they fulfilled it!!!
I looked quite good!!!

If you are spending some time in london, do consider a Free hair cut!!!

P/S: Back to that sunny island now, and people are saying my cut is good. heheheheh....

Hand got better

My hand got better. Still feel a little weak, actually, after being stuck at the gate. Talking of the incident make me mad all over again.

As I recount to my singaporean and Malaysian friends, they dont seem to quite get you the picture.
Well, it is difficult. Over here, you will never think of not helping someone stuck at the "doors" of the MRT or LRT, whatever, because of a different colour or class. (I hope)

That is the beauty of travelling around. You will see things that you never thought is possible.

My cousin told me that when she went to John Hopkins, she did not dare to go out of the hospital compound alone. Being a petite Asian, she will be robbed within 1/2 hour on her own, or worse. She had to be accompanied. She could only be on her own within the compound, which had armed guards at the entrances.

My friend studied and traveled in India. She told me she could not go out on her own. A pretty, fair skined petite girl like her is a fair game for most men, who would take the chance to grab/grope whatever body parts they could.

Can this world be a better place? I don't know. But I know the world is beautiful. I know it is when I saw an old Japanese lady sweeping the road outside her house, and in the process, cleaned and swept the road outside her neighbours' home as well.

The Tube Staff was such *&@&*"*$!^. Was he being racist or simply a horrible hooligan?

I am supposed to talk about happy things. In fact, I am dying to talk about that haircut, and my Portobello spree on that fateful day when England lost and my dear Shrek aka Wayne Rooney got a RED card. (My first impression of him was SHREKK!!!!!, He looks like Shrekkk) .

And yet, I don't think I can do anything else if I don't get it off my chest.

Have you ever experienced racism in London? No? Great. You are a tourist!!!

Racism is not uncommon here. Nope. It is not about the whites telling you to get off their "lovely" land, and stop sharing their agony or putting up with that "miserable" weather. It is about some other variety of the homo sapiens species.

If you are YELLOW, racisms come from the middle Eastern people, blacks, and also that chunk of people from southern part of Asian continent who hoped that they are white, but was unlucky to be dark. And these people talk about non-discrimination, minority, rights etc.... well, BS.

Today was bad! Very bad. I got fat forearm and my handbag trapped by the gate at the entrance to the Tube station.

It was not really painful when it "hits", but the pressure it exerts keeps increasing!!!

The moment I was stuck, I thought, " Ok, luckily the staff is right in front of me". The beeping sounds was very loud but he did not seem to do anything. I was yelling like, "Ahhhhh, I am stuck, my hand is stuck. My hand is stuck!!!!", and I kept on waving the other hand to catch his attention. I really panicked as the pressure increased, and it started to get painful!!! Still, no sign of him coming to my rescue.... our distance? 4-5 feet??? I could almost touch him and pull him!!! (I felt like kicking him!!!)

Hubby joined in the waving, and was getting annoyed.

That idiot walked towards me very very slowly, taking his time to get a key from his pocket that could be scanned to open the gate, and released me reluctantly. He gave my husband the "F*** You" look!!!

Hubby became damn angry, and went something like "hey what's wrong with you?? Can't you see she is stuck???"

Then, he picked a fight with my hubby as we walked off!!! He blocked my hubby's way and yelled "You pointed a finger at me, do it again! Do it again if you dare!" He was really looking very aggresive.

He was really very very agressive and kept on repeating the threat, as my hubby explained, "No, I didn't, I just waved at you".

I was like, "Oh....my God!!!!" I feared for our safety then. He was really intend on picking a fight or something, because hubby never pointed any fingers at him! And even if there is someone being rude to a Tube staff, you would not expect a staff picking up a fight with a passager in that way!!?? He looked more like a gangster selling coccaine!! I felt our lives were under threat!! I have never felt so threatened all my life.

I got to pull my husband away. As I walked off, I told him, "Your attitude is terrible!!! I can't believe that you saw me stuck right in front of you, distressed, and not trying to help!!!"

His answer?? A really angry one. Like almost going to fight with me!

"Can't you see what I am doinng? I am helping an old lady!!..."

Anyone want to guess what was the important task, that is more important than moving 2-3 steps towards me, dig out the key from his pocket and scan it? It would take more than 5 seconds?.....

Taaa daaaa....

The answer was " I was helping her with directions!! She was asking me for directions!".

My retort??? "Your attitude is really really appaling!!! YOu rather take your time giving directions than spend a few seconds to release me, when I was in pain!"

Can you believe it???

I did not notice the old lady at all, because I was stuck and was in pain, and trying to wring myself out of it. My hubby told me that she was white, and he seemed very courteous to her.

So, that says it all. A typical racism here??? Some of these idiots idolise the whites, and treat you like shit. Go to stores outside the touristy areas, and experience the difference in service you get from these people in comparison to what customers of their race, and the whites get.

In London, racisms come from these minorities. And this is "training" us to be racist as well, I guess. Our impression of these dark skined varieties worsens with experiences like this.

My pain (still painful and bruised as I type), is not worth 5 seconds of a white woman's time, according to this Black guy. This is really disturbing."Service???" from a London TUBE staff!!!

And this guy was supposed to ensure passager safety.... ??? what a joke. He is a big bully, a gangster.

Seee.. my day is spoiled. Still want to brag about TIGI and my Portobello finds? Nah...my hand is damn painful. I might need to see doc? I really feel like using that F word on him!!