Sleepyhead In Surrey

Got a surprise this morning, waken up by an invitation to a field trip. I went to Gunwharf Quays but all the shops were closed. Memang lah Christmas Day what?. We just went around taking pictures. Even most of the mat sallehs there spent their Christmas afternoon loafing around the breezy coastal town. And a few of them even greeted us with a frienly "Merry Christmas!". I'm planning to come again on Boxing Day. Maybe, catch an attractive bargain or two. Levi's jeans there costs less than 20 quids a pop! Here is a good link for information about the town.

Posted in: on December 26, 2003 at at 1:24:00 AM

It's Christmas Eve. It's a ghost town around here with everyone gone back to their hometown to celebrate with friends and families. By everyone, I mean everyone who celebrates Christmas. For us, it's just the fifth day of the break. I mentioned my opinion yesterday about LOTR: ROTK. Well, I found out that my opinion is quite different than most people. They find the third installment of this trilogy as the best. This is a good source of the review. They are in Malay. This is another one. Regardsless, ROTK is undoubtedly the best epic of this century.
On to other events,

The final episodes of Sex and The City Season 6 will start airing on January 4 th. Yay! I wonder what will happen between Carrie and the arrogant artist.

Posted in: on December 25, 2003 at at 2:09:00 AM

How bad can it get, eh, celebrating Eidulfitri in the class? Oh, believe me, it can get pretty ugly. First of all, the folks at home are celebrating it earlier than us. Second of all, you have to stay up to call the folks back home to wish them well. Third of all, you have to listen to the cheers and laughters in the background while you concentrate on your mother listing down the yummy dishes that she'd prepared for the glorious day. Fourth of all, and this is the worst, you fail to contain the tears that are welling in you eyes. And you end up bawling you eyes out wishing to go back home. Then, you get asked by you foreign classmates why the heck are you wearing that weird dress (we call it baju kurung, not dress you daft!).

Oh, well. At least I'll have something to look forward to this weekend. Our own private party! Oh here comes the soto ayam. Oh there goes the rendang daging. Oh there I smell lontong. Kih Kih.

Posted in: on December 22, 2003 at at 1:13:00 AM

Ramadhan in the winter is kind of a blessing. The daytime is shorter so you get to break your fast earlier. I'm not complaining about that! Subuh ends around 8.00 a.m. so you could laze around under the covers if you so wish before performing the short prayer of the day. Maghrib comes around the corner at 4.40 p.m. Nice, huh?

The thing is, though, ramadhan in the winter makes me even more hungrier than usual. It's so cold and every minute or two I can hear my stomach grumbling its complaint. The wind is so dry that you get dry lips and go looking for water. And when the time comes for breaking of fast, I get bombarded with knocks on the door inviting me to join the group to eat my heart out. Believe me, the food selection was eclectic what with the group members coming from different parts of Malaysia.

I might just come out alive from this one. It sure beats fasting the hot weather back home. And who could refuse good food coupled with good company.

Posted in: on December 20, 2003 at at 11:50:00 PM

Now I'm in really in trouble. It seemed like a good idea at the time - furthering my studies in the UK. Who would have thought it would be the start of one hell of a ride. The place in question - Guildford, Surrey.

Terminal 3 was a shock to me. Come to think of it, the whole of Heathrow was a shock. After years of frequenting KLIA I thought Heathrow would be a million miles better. I guess I thought wrong. Was greeted by Indian looking officers and suddenly I wondered whether my plane landed at the right airport.

The last friendly face I saw was of the cute steward saying "Thank You!". It all went downhill after that. The officers were rude and condescending. The counter at which I was interviewed was made, for god's sakes, of wood! The carpeting was tacky and the air circulation was close to non-existent.

It was a relieve that I met a few familiar faces (Malaysians) and got to talking to some of them. Oh well, no one is going my way. Guess I have to rough it out.

Posted in: on at at 9:55:00 PM