Secret Recipes

London Business School Graduation Day

2008-07-04T17:03:00.001-07:00

Tada!! Finally graduated..... Here are some preview pics... can't upload too many because it is pretty late here and we have to catch Eurostar to Paris tomorrow morning.... Will upload more when i return...

Back from Portugal

2008-06-07T02:31:00.000-07:00

Hey all... just came back from Lisbon beginning of this week. Lisbon is fun fun fun... hee... becos we had a tour guide with us (Jose from Portugal) and a very yan dao one... haha.. I was lucky... stayed at his place and saved quite a bit on the hotel... haha... here are the pics... Band playing along the streets in Sintra..... Ba La Ba Ba Ba... I'm loving it!!
At the city centre in Lisbon.. I looked so shagged... barely 3 hours of sleep the day before....
Fountain at the city centre of Lisbon.......

Tada... our Portugese tour guide.... secretly reading the Lisbon Tour Book behind us... haha...
I can support the tree... hee hee....
Entrance of the castle......
Beauty Pagent.... hee hee....
Group pic outside the castle... taken by one very friendly tourist.... :)

Look like Grat Wall of China??
Woah... I dun wanna look down... scared....
Kuan Wai... a singaporean Lawyer in our class....
Here we are... the 2 Singaporeans.... haha...
Up in the tower.. where is the enemies??

At a Pier downtown....

Monument near the Pier....
Shopping beauties.... haha.... Shopping street along Rossio Square....
Shopping shopping....

The most famous Portugese Egg Tart place.... how famous?? Look at the queue.....

Yeah... bought 6 egg tarts.... I was so funny... when I ordered.. I was like " Can I have 6 portugese egg tarts?".... My friend said to me... "Actually all the egg tarts here are Portugese egg tarts.... " I almost fainted.. Aw... so embarassed... Egg Tarts in Portugal of course at Portugese egg tarts.... haha...
Monument near Pier.....
Sea view....

Roller Coaster in Colombo Shopping Centre.......
Do I look like a teacher??
Drinking night at the neighbourhood of Lisboa......
Tada... group shot at the buzzling neighbourhood at around 1am.

Cathedral.....
Yummy dinner... oh by the way.. see those cans of drinks there?? Sumol is the most popular Portugese drink.. Personally, I feel like it taste like sparkling orange juice with a stinct of Indian smell... dun ask me what is Indian smell.... :P
Nice biscuits in the shopping centre... but expensive... cost about S$20 per packet...

Tom Cruise look-a-like.... haha.. Travis Cooke from California....
See our super tall tour guide?? haha... wanna guess his height??
A place outside the castle... where I almost fainted... serious... but recovered after resting for a while....
Eraldo Pitruzzella from the U.S.... super nice guy...
Giorgio Vintani from Italy... sounds like Giorgio Armani hor?? haha....

Scared... dun move... dun touch me also...
Along the streets near Rossio....
Yellow Tram... nice...
Tram packed with passengers.....

Scotland Trip

2008-05-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

I know this post comes really late... hee hee... Heard Singapore has been super duper hot these days... hopefully these pics will make you guys cool down... haha..

Urquant castle on the shores of Loch....

Winter Wonderland....
Red Vintage bus.....
Winter WOnderland... ice skating anyone??

Our favorite eat out... cheap and good...

The tallest and shortest man. in Scotland...
Their house...

Up in the mountains... so cold...

It is snowing... yeah!!
At Loch Ness... ever heard of the Loch Ness Monster??

Heamish....
Cattles along the way...

Snowing snowing!!!
Ice kachang anyone??

Near Edinburgh castle...

Doune Castle, where the movie Highlander was filmed....
Birthplace of Harry Porter!!

Along the Royal Mile... I love Edinburgh!!

Serious piper.... I like the music though...

Amanda's Bdae & Mozart Festival

2008-05-13T13:40:00.001-07:00

I have been feeling so stressed out lately.. lots of assignments, cases and a super irritating project... all of us tried to sign on a petition to request our assoc. dean to drop it... But it failed... hiaz.. back to reality now... 3 more weeks before the submission of the project and I have yet to clear my weekly assignments... how can I start on the project... Argh... I'm starting to stratch my head and pull my hair these days... nonetheless, I still have to allocate some time for my bestie on her XXth birthday...

Managed to get her favorite fruit cake at Church Street Markt... Yippie!! Guess how old she is... No prize for the right answer... :)
Yes.. I cooked our favorite Tom Yam Soup and grilled chicken... nice nice... didn't expect to influence her to like TOm Yam SOup so much...

In the Royal Albert Hall... waiting for the Orchestra Performance... it's Mozart Festival!!

The exterior of Royal Albert Hall... Looks like an Arena...

The conductor... and his musicians...
The opera singer... I couldn't stop giggling when she was singing... It seems like she almost could not breathe at certain point... hee hee... She was good...

Yes... look at how much weight I put on... haiz... my face looks like Hamburger.... UNBELIEVABLE!!

After Exam Party

2008-04-17T10:53:00.001-07:00

MOCHITO = >>> My favorite Cocktail
LIU YING =>> Classmate and travel buddy from China
CHRISTOPH = >>> From Germany... thanks for the beer....

MIKE BOWERMAN =>>> From Canada.... think u were drunk that night....
TOSHIKI and MINGYANG = >> From Japan and Taiwan respectively....

ESARAWADEE and JULIE = >> From Thailand and Korea respectively....
KUAN WAI and ANDREW == >> From Singapore (yeah singapore!!) and Hong KOng

NATALIE =>> From Philippines... super shopperholic....
ANDREW, VASSILIS and NATALIE...
MIKE BOWERMAN....
JOSE LOURENCO = >> From Portugal... OUR MR. YAN DAO in the class..

Before Exam Party

2008-04-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Italy Trip (31st Mar to 8th Apr 08)

2008-04-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

It's been such a long long time since I update my blog... sorry guys for the delay...

I just returned from Italy and Spain... oh yes... I have yet to upload my Scotland pics... ok.. Let me do it one at a time... Let me do the Italy trip first... here you go... We went to several places in Italy over the 8 days.. Our trip goes like this: Milan => Verona => Florence => Venice => Pisa => Rome => Naples ... It was really fun but exhausting... What can i say about Italy?? It is a super duper expensive place... and also very dirty... yes... dirty.... dust and dog poo everywhere... didn't have a good impression of the country... luckily I wasn't there for honeymoon... hee... ok.. enuff said.. here are the pics..

MILAN

VERONA

======> At Juliet's House... Where is Romeo?? hee hee... Touch Juliet's right breast to have good luck....

VENICE

====> Watch where you are flying.. don't slam into my face....

FLORENCE

PISA

ROME

====> At the Colloseum

====> At Fountana D Trevi

====> AT the Vatican Museum... sent some postcards to loved ones there... :P

====> AT Piazza Spagna

Naples

====> Deadbody found after the volcanic eruption....

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!!

2008-02-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

Yo Yo Yo.... Happy New Year everyone... Here's me wishing you Wan(4) Shi(4) Ru(2) Yi(3), Xin (1) Xiang (3) Shi (4) Cheng (2)..... and not forgetting... since we are in the Shu (2) Nian (2) ("Rat Year"), I wish everyone SHU (3) QIAN (2) SHU (3) DAO (4) SHOU (2) LUAN (3) ("Count $$ count until hand tired")... haha... Yah... Celebrating CNY here is so so so different... not fun at all... so sad... wanna go home but cannot go home... *sob sob*....
Celebrated in school yesterday... here are some pics....

After I came home from school, I had a big surprise. I received a parcel from Singapore.... hee.... It was from Anthony.... He sent me Ba Gua and Ba Hu (illegal to send pork over hor...) and Singaporean can food.... Also... hidden in the box was my V-day prez..... It is not only a bear.... it has a very special meaning attached to it...... "wad meaning ah...?" ...Harlow Harlow... .of course cannot tell u lah... Hee hee...
So cute.... It keeps smiling at me.... :)

The start of the new term

2008-01-20T12:07:00.001-08:00

Very lazy to blog these days... school started last week... lots of assignments and reading piling up but I have no mood to work on anything... didn't start the term too well I guess... decided to blog a little tonight... Now, its 8.30 pm london time, just had my dinner... I cooked Fish Soup and Kung Po Chicken for dinner.... All thanks to Liu Ying, a China classmate of mine who gave me a packet of dried chillies brought from China... with that... I dished out my Kung Po chicken... I stayed home to eat the whole of this week, this saved me quite a bit.... started to feel guilty about spending too much on traveling .... Oh yes.. something to share... I got back my Corporate Finance and Valuation results yesterday... got an A!!... very happy about it... the force ranking thingy really freaked me out because there are too many smart pple ard me... waiting for the return of the other 2 papers... keeping my fingers crossed...

Oh yah... before i forget, Zhi Ming a.k.a Mickey came down to London last week... He stayed over in London for 2 days... Wah... for those of you who knows him, you all must be eager to see how he looks like right?? He is very big and tall already.... and he is an SIA air steward, that's why he got a call to fly over to London.... From Singapore, he bought me 9 packets of Si Quan Da Bu Tang.... haha... easiest to cook... boil the soup with chicken and throw in the Mee Suai.... can eat for lunch and dinner... for good health and grow richer (because save $$ mah)...

Here are some pics that we took for the 2 days...

===>> London Eye.... along Thames River...
===>> Tower Bridge

===>> Tower Bridge behind us... trying to make sure our faces get into the screen...
==>> Standing on London Bridge.. Both of us got something hot to drink....It was really chilly that evening...

===>> Our lunch at Ten Ten Tei... we search high and low for the place... the cheapest authentic Jap restuarant located at Brewer Street... Total Bill = 28 pounds...
===>> Most famous duck in London... Four Seasons... The skin is really damn good.... I use to dn;t really fancy duck... but this is definitely a must-try if you come to London...
===>> Pizza for dinner....
On our way to Tower Bridge....
===>>> No no no, I'm not lying on his shoulders...

====>>My desert after the pizza...

====>> Beautiful tower bridge....
===>> Oh... Beckham... Let me be your Victoria....
===>>> Yes... that is London Bridge.. nothing spectacular... no wonder many pple mistook Tower Bridge for London Bridge...

Switzerland Trip 15th Dec - 22nd Dec 2007

2007-12-23T00:57:00.000-08:00

Suppose to be a trip for the 6 of us... but so damn unlucky... the officer refused to let Toon in because she has no Visa.. damn it... Daniel accompanied her to stay in London... Argh.. they wasted the money on the trip.... and the plane was delayed because of us.... Hitomi and I did like a 400 m sprint all the way to the boarding gate.... so breathless by the time we reached there... phew...

Day 1 - Fell terribly, sprained my neck, hips and had like a concussion on my head.... Lesson no.1 - Never ski on your own without an instructor on your first ski attempt.

Day 2 - Day 5 - After attending the ski lessons, I felt more confident. I could brake, carve, do short turn, transverse the slopes and parallel turns.
Dunno izzit because the older I get, the less guts i have. I was really fearful of falling, not sure if it is because I fell to many times on the first day or because I am indeed really so afraid of falling these days. By the way, you will never know how torturous it is on my first day. I dun even know how i fall because my speed was too fast (i could not control my speed) and to avoid crashing into a tree or other people, i have to fall to break. My legs spilt with the 10 kg skis on me, my goggles flew to the other corner of the piste, my poles were up on the slopes ..... yes... You can't imagine how bad i looked without having grasp the basic of snow ploughing (stopping/ controlling my speed on the slopes).

But everything was just fun fun fun and more fun when you really know how to control your skis. You get to go up to the mountains, ski on steeper slopes, snap beautiful picturesque views of the mountains etc....

=====>>>>> Swiss Alps taken from the plane

====>> The chair lift that will bring us up to the mountains where we will ski down from there..

========>>>>>> Up at La Chaux - one of the easier blue runs.... ======>>>>> At Les Esserts - Both the place where I fell the most and where I learnt to ski
=====> The other 2 students in my Ski course - Christina and Maria ====>>> My lovely instructor, David.... He is damn good....
=====>>>> Top view of Les Esserts
There were so many kids skiing there... they were barely 3 year old... see that cutie pie in blue...

===>> Flo, your hat really keeps me warm throughout the entire Ski Trip... Thanks..

====>>> Soft, white snow..... looks like Ice Kachang... Argh... I miss Singaporean food....
====>> At Verbier - A Ski Resort in Switzerland....

====>> Checking out the rental of the Ski equpments at Verbier... not cheap ok. My Ski lessons cost me CHF240, my Skis and boots cost me CHF 219, SKi lift pass CHF294.. and the food there is quite expensive... but of course really good authentic Swiss food.... ====>>> My SKis and Poles....

This is where we stay at Verbier... Chalet Itroz.....
====>>> Beautiful View of the mountains early in the morning....

Not for the faint hearted

2007-12-14T12:10:00.000-08:00

I had a very bad fall 2 weeks ago... It happened like this.... I was feeling rather thirsty and stressful during that period... so i thought maybe i could take a 15 mins break off my studies to go to the nearby Tesco to get mineral water... yes mineral water... eh.. the water that comes out from my tap is not very clean lah... drinkable but at your own risk kinda thing... so I put on my coat and stepped out of my hostel.... while i was happily walking towards Tesco, i suddenly tripped on something and "pah".. i fell flat on the ground... couldn't stand up after that... maybe because of the shock and the pain.... I was cursing and swearing like mad after that... I picked myself up and to my horror.... my pants was torn... my favorite Gio Yoga pants... argh.... with the needle pricking pain on my legs and hands, i limped to Tesco.... yes... still need water to drink right... if not I'll die of pain and thirst.... poor me... everyone in Tesco looked at me... machiam like consruction worker like that... with the soiled and the torn pants... I took one whole week to heal.... pus kept coming out from the injured spot (see picture).... OUCH!!

=======>>>>>>>>>THE CULPRIT<<<<<<==========

MIF Christmas Party

2007-12-14T01:44:00.000-08:00

We had a party last night to celebrate Xmas and the end of of exams... Here are some pics and video... the food was lousy but the DJ and music was great... got dragged by J to the dance floor... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Toon and I
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Haha... K is so funny....

>>>>>>>>>> Hitomi (my project mate) and I

>>>>>>>> Gustavo, Hitomi and I

>>>>>>>>>>>>Josh, Ivan and I

Exams over!!

2007-12-14T01:17:00.000-08:00

Hey hey... exams finally over!! Yippie... but I'll never forgett the torture that i had over the past few days... The last paper was really tough... but didn't wanna think of it already... Now, It's fun time and time to really relax myself... I've been treating myself so badly during the examination period... less than 4 hours of sleep per day..... at least 4 cups of coffee per day.... 2 bottles of Red Bull..... initially these worked really well for the first 2 papers... when i reached the 3rd, I was down with fever. The past 3 days were terrible.... Now I know: Little sleep + Lots of coffee + Red Bull + Brands Chicken of Essence does not equate to good results.... but fever by the end of the week.... hee... Anyway.. I'm done... next term will be tougher... but it's for next term.... I'm trying not to think about it now... Will be going off to Switzerland with Peter, his gf, Hitomi, Daniel and Toon tmr... looking forward to it... This will be my first time snowboarding... always play snowboarding games and skiing games on X-box.... Now, it is for real!!

This is hilarious

2007-11-03T16:39:00.000-07:00

Stonehenge and Bath (23rd Oct 2007)

2007-11-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

I organized a day tour to Stonehenge and Bath for some friends during the one week break last week. Managed to use my charm to get further discount. The day trip which includes transport and entrance fees were only 38.75 pounds; it was really worth it.... Enjoy the pictures below...

Bath

Bath is situated within the south west of England; situated on the steep sides of the valley of the RIver Avon. Bath is a museum to the Roman and Georgian periods of England's history. Look closely at how the 18th century architecture, Bath Abbey and Pulteney Bridge.

The Roman Baths Museum... the baths are still filled by the thermal spring waters that gush from the earth below. The water has cured many who was suffering from leprosy in the past.

History of Bath

The hot springs and the Roman bath house are a Celtic / Roman sacred place, dedicated to the Sullis and the goddess Minerva, in myth the sacred spring was discovered by King Bladud who was cured of leprosy by the healing waters and mud. Archaeologically there is no evidence for pre Roman structures on the site, but the area may have been revered by the ancient Britons.

The Legend of Bladud
Lud Hubibras (Bladud) was a British Prince in Celtic times. While at court the Prince contracted the dreaded Leprosy and was banished and disowned by his father. Before he made his way out of the kingdom his mother took him aside and gave him a golden ring. This was to be the key to his return if he could ever cure himself of the disease. Everywhere the Prince went he was shunned, he meeked a living as a swineherd until some of the herd also caught the disease.

To hide this from his employer, he fled across the river Avon (at a place now called Swineford), and into the land where the city of Bath now stands.He wandered the area until one day one of the pigs seemed to go crazy and rushed headlong into a black bog in the marshy ground. Bladud struggled to pull the pig from the bog and became covered in the foul smelling mud. When he had finally freed himself and the pig, he found that the pigs skin lesions had disappeared and where the mud had touched his bare skin he was also cured. He immersed himself in the warm mud and became fully cured of the disease. Finally Bladud returned to court where he was welcomed with open arms by his mother who recognised the ring she had given him so many years before. Bladud ruled wisely as King for many years and founded Bath and the temple of Aqua Sullis.
Some street performances outside the Bath museum....

Molested him... hee hee...
Aiyo.. where are you guys?? Couldn't find some of them...

My warrior.... haha.....

Lunch at Bath in the cafe.... had fisherman's platter... approx 9 pounds including a drink....

Stonehenge

Stonehenge consists of a series of large rocks which were arranged in circular format known as a henge (and where we get the name Stonehenge from). The first structure to be built at the site of Stonehenge was the circular ditch and outer bank around 3,000 BC. The first stones were brought here around 2,000 BC from the Preseli Mountains in the southwest of Wales, around 220 km (137 miles) from Stonehenge. THe outer circle was completed around 1,500 BC and consists of the largest stones in the monument. These stones weigh up to 50 tons each and it is estimated that at least 600 - 1,000 men were required just to move one of these stones.

The following pics were taken when we tried to do some stunts... all not very successful except ........
Amanda and I looking so clumsy... seems like we can't go against gravity for long....

Janice... trying her best to reach for the sky.... but.... failed.....
Amanda...... long hands and long legs do not come in handy during this time.... failed.....
Aiyo... know how to say others... look at me... like chow jing like that... fail fail fail.....

Kevin: "Can't you girls jump higher?? Let me show you how to do a proper jump.... "

It's that simple.... let me show you again.....One more time....
Tada.... that simple....!!

We gave up.... we prefer the balancing act.....
Glad you guys had a great day....

Prof Randy Paush's last lecture

2007-10-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid86195573/bclid823355447/bctid1199157902

Bloomsbury Festival 2007

2007-10-21T04:03:00.000-07:00

Woke up early to do my laundry this morning. Had been so busy for the past 2 weeks rushing out the Corporate Finance Valuation project. Finally, I'm done with the presentation on Thursday. Now.... It's time to play!!... Will be having my one week break this coming week.... I organized a trip to Stonehenge and Bath for some friends on Tuesday... Think it will be really fun... Yeah!!

Just came back from the "Pasar Malam" outside my hostel.... the Pasar Malam here is so different from the one in Singapore...

And by the way, if you look at my pics... I have gain so much weight... gosh.... You know what's my appetite now? For maggie noodles, it must be 2 packs... For mee sua, I use to eat only 1 bundle ("ten cent" in hockien)...now i have to eat 5 bundles... I can't believe it also... But but but but.... I can't help it... if I dun eat... I will be grumpy and uneasy.... How? Tell me how?? I'm gonna be a fat pig soon... Argh....

Some pics from Bloomsbury Festival (aka "Pasar Malam" for me)

====I bought some Turkish delights... It cost me 1.55 pounds======Bought 2 donuts back to eat... one for my Taiwanese sister, Amanda.... haha...

Tattoo 2007

2007-10-20T14:15:00.001-07:00

This is LBS's yearly event, the Tattoo. At this event, you will have the opportunity to try all sorts of food from different countries. Really cool.... nice food and superb performance... at a price of 18 pounds per person. ==============Jose Lourenco from Italy===============
======My hostel-mate cum good friend, Amanda Su from Taiwan=====
======Haha... really got a LBS tattoo... I proved SG right!!===

Toon fromThailand, Jason, my next door neighbour from Korea and Jay Kim from Korea

============ Simone fromBrazail==============
===========Dario Portioli fromItaly============
======Dunno his name... just grab him for a pic=============
=================my Taiwanese sister=====================

==========Liu Ying (in pink) from China==============

==========Meng Lu from China, Amanda and Liu Ying=======
==============Ah Ne Hasaeyo==================
==========At the Korean stall... yummy kimchi=========
Some of the performance were really cool...... especially the Brazillan dance.... sexy??

Shopping at Picadilly Circus

2007-10-07T10:46:00.000-07:00

It's lantern festival.... I'm at Picadilly Circus... also known as the London Chinatown...

Buying some vegetables and fruits at the market....
Haha.... The "MIDAS TOUCH"... darling will know what i meant....
"Macbeth" almost made me flung my English Literature when I was in Sec 3.

"Fair is foul, foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air".

MIF Opening Dinner

2007-10-07T10:38:00.001-07:00

This pic was taken from the MIF Opening Dinner... Left to right: Jay Kim (from Korea), Esarawadee and Toon (from Thailand), Me (from Singapore) and Daniel (from USA).

One month anniversay

2007-10-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

It has been a month since I arrived in London. Time flies... whooo... 9 more months and I"ll have to be back in Singapore... sob sob... I dun wanna go back.... I'm loving the place so much right now... School work has been really hectic and the courses were really demanding.... definitely stressful man... look at us, gotta dabao subway to study room to eat on a Sunday afternoon.... Worked till late at night... Thanks to the assignments....

I'm gonna say it again... I love Camden Town... my favorite shopping district..This section is dedicated to my ex-lunch kaki (Angela). She wants to know what I've been eating at home. :)The above are some of the simple meals that I cooked for myself in the hostel... The noodles on the bottom left of the picture is the most recent dish that i experimented... damn good especially with the Hao Diao Jiu (chinese wine) that mum prepared for me. ~yummy sia~

Other than the hectic school work, I still have housework to do... washing, hanging and ironing of clothes, washing plates, cleaning stove, washing toilet bowls and clearing the accumulated hair in the drainage hole in the bathroom are but some of the household activities that i do. Every fortnightly, Henry will help me out with the vacuumming of my carpeted floor. Opps... forgotten to tell you that he is camera shy... look at the way he stares at me... hee hee....

London Business School MIF Away Day

2007-09-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

Location:
Vision Development Training centre at Wokefield Park, near Reading in Berkshire. This is located about 40 miles west of London. Early in the morning 8am.... when the temperature was around 11 degrees celsius.... We were divided into groups to work on the challenging activities for the day...
Wow... so high.... it's about 6 storeys high... cool...We (in groups of four) were supposed to climb all the way up, stand on a very small board (size of a laptop) hold each other tightly before stretching our hands out to form a flower. I tell you... it's scary when you are up there....

Here we go....
Kevin and I before the trapeze jump... by the way, i missed it... :(
Here i go...
See the small "flower"??

Trying to figure out puzzles... din really like this... I prefer the outdoors...
Though I was sick during the middle of the day, I continued with the activities and really enjoyed every bit of it. This was our reaction when we heard that we will be having BBQ and wine for dinner!! YEAH!!

Mei Zhen is famous!! (Quoted from Y M)

2007-09-13T00:20:00.000-07:00

Monetary Authority of Singapore Finance Scholarship Deed Signing Ceremony
Ang Mei Zhen (Capital Markets), Jenny Wong (EVP & Global Head, Group Human Resources), Kelley Foo Pei Yee (PFS)

20th July marked a special day for two of our staff, Kelley Foo Pei Yee, Personal Financial Services and Ang Mei Zhen, Capital Markets. It was the day that they signed the deed to pursue a Master’s programme under the co-sponsorship of the Bank and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Kelley Foo will be pursuing for her Master of Science in Financial Markets at the Illinois Institute of Technology while Mei Zhen will be pursuing her Masters in Finance at the London Business School.

Upon completion of their programmes in 2008, they will return to contribute in areas relevant to their studies.

We wish them all the best in their studies!

It's a Camden Day!!

2007-09-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

I had my bank appointment at 10am at HSBC Baker Street today. Managed to open the necessary bank accounts......Ken Dove, the guy who opened my account. Sshhh... he doesn't know that I snapped this photo... Florence, you better thank me ok.... I risked my life to snap this specially for you... So how? Better than Eugene or not?

After that, I decided to explore Camden Town. I visited the Camden Market, the Inverness Market and the Staples Market. The Camden Market is the best because it is like the Thailand Chatuchack Market. Just that the price is 5 times higher, temperature is 20 degrees lower, and they dun say "199 baht.... no discount, wholesale price". :( Nonetheless, i managed to get 2 sweaters, one cost 8 Pounds and the other 15 Pounds. Cool... I got some vegetables, cranberries and strawberries from the Inverness Market as well.

Other than shopping, I walked around to do some sightseeing of Camden Town. These shots were taken at Camden Lock.

My first home cook meal in London

2007-09-11T10:37:00.001-07:00

After my registration with the NHS , i decided to take a stroll down to King's Cross to shop for groceries at Tesco. The Tesco there is much bigger than the one near my place.

This is what i had for dinner.... looks simple but cheaper than eating out...

Dinner: Potato and tomato soup, Brown sauce chicken wings, Sweet and sour pork, Celery with seafood, Plain white rice.

Presents oh presents...

2007-09-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

I received 3 of my shipments today... so happy... like pre-birthday presents... packing the things in is such a hassle but taking it out is great fun..... especially when you know that the things in the package are things that you cannot survive without...

Tada...

I called this the Lansdowne Terrace Ma Ma Shop......

A day trip to the Town of Warwick, England (9 Sep 07)

2007-09-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

The town of Warwick was founded on the banks of the River Avon in 914 AD by Ethelfleda, sister of Edward the Elder, as a defence against the Danish invaders, on a site overlooking earlier riverside settlements. It is built on a small hill which controlled not only the river valley but also the river crossing on the road to London and the roads to Stratford, Coventry and the salt way to Droitwich. The Anglo-Saxon town was surrounded partly by a wall and partly by a ditch.
The medieval core of the town was prevented from expansion by the open spaces that surround it: the Common and Racecourse, the grounds of the Priory, St Nicholas Meadow, the River Avon, and later, Warwick Castle. Within a relatively small area there are many buildings of historic interest, of which the Castle is the most important.

Warwick is the historic county town of Warwickshire in England and has a population of 25,434 (2001 census). The town lies upon the River Avon and is located 18 km (11 miles) south of Coventry and 4 km (2.5 miles) west of Leamington Spa

The town is famous for Warwick Castle, the construction of which began in 1068. Spent 15 pounds on train tix from London Marylebone to Warwick Station. Spent 17.75 Pounds for entrance fee which includes Ghost Alive. We had Fish n Chips for lunch @ 5.95 Pounds per set.

Left Wariwck at 6.23 pm.

Here are some pictures of Wariwck Castle.

London Business School MIF BBQ

2007-09-08T23:06:00.000-07:00

The best email that I've ever received (I still remember it was from Gin's PDA and i got it after Yoga Class):

Dear Mei Zhen

I am very pleased to be able to tell you that the Admissions Committee at its meeting today decided to offer you a place on the full-time Masters in Finance programme commencing in early September 2007 - congratulations!

I very much hope that you will accept our offer. I have sent you a formal offer letter which will include further information about the course and the School. The deadline for your decision on our offer will be 24 April 2007.

The email brought me to where I am right now. :)

**********************London Business School************************

This is Baker Street tube station - the station nearest to my school....
This is LBS's library - it is located opposite LBS.

I went to school to attend the MIF BBQ gathering. I had a great time there. I stayed throughout the whole session and i met many people with very diverse background :) I like my classmates a lot. Cheers...

Afterthe event, i took a bus down to Oxford Street to do some shopping. Poor mummy, din know she is waiting for me to go online - No wonder i felt uneasy when i was shopping yesterday. Hee...

This is Oxford Street....

This is wad i have for dinner... yummy and cheap... 1.50 Pounds.... :)

My new home for the next 10 mths

2007-09-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

International Hall - Russell Square, Lansdowne Terrace Checked into my hostel after 2pm.... This is what I get for paying 800 pounds a month..=> This is my double bed.
=> This is my mini kitchen=> This is my toilet

Look at the inside of the kettle...I have tried to soak it with vinegar to remove the rust but it couldn't work... worse thing is my whole room smells of vinegar..

This is the view from my room...not fantastic but at least away from the noisy streets...

First time London - Memorable in the wrong way

2007-09-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

Arrival date - 5th Sept 2007, 5.50am

I was asked to go the the health custom office to do a chest x-ray. The custom officer was quite hostile and asked a few questions regarding my visit to the UK.

After chest x-ray, i proceeded to belt 6 to collect my luggage. I waited and waited, the carousel belt was empty but my luggage never appeared. I walked to the baggage claim counter and told them that my luaggage was not there. Then the officer asked me to go to belt 9 to check it out as SQ last minute changed the belt. I went and waited again, no sign of my lugguage. I walked back to the officer and told him about it. I filed a baggage lost report.

I was without my baggage early in the morning. Could only check into the hostel after 2pm. Found cafe near my hostel and bought a cup of coffee in order to hook onto their wireless network. Emailed almost everyone in Singapore, shouted for help. I was so lost then.

Then late in the evening, i saw this email:

Hi Mei Zhen

Someone from Warminster School called me to say that one of their students has got your suitcase by mistake! They are also hoping that you may have theirs. Can you call the following person as soon as possible to discuss : Mrs Cottam (she is the lady who called to tell us about the suitcase)House mistressWarminster School

I have been informed by Mrs Cottam that the person who took your suitcase by mistake will be returning it early tomorrow morning (Thursday 6 September) to the Cathay Pacific check-in desk in Zone B, Terminal 3, Heathrow Airport. Please go to the above location at Heathrow and tell them you have come to collect your lost luggage which has been returned to them by another passenger who had taken it by mistake.

I was jumping with joy when i saw this message; like strike 4D or Toto. It was about 12am (London time then). I slept for a few hours and then woke up to get ready to go to the airport to collect. I spent 4 hours (including traveling time) at the airport but did not manage to get my luggage. Dun ask me why... ask the bunch of inefficient brits. I was fuming mad... wasted time, wasted money, wasted effort...

To cut the long story short, i finally managed to get my luggage but it was no longer in the original condition. The lock was broken with a foldable trolley missing. I am in the process of typing a complaint letter to SIA to ask for compensation. Wish me good luck!!

Farewell Gathering with Cousins

2007-08-27T08:50:00.001-07:00

Ah Mei (the big sister big) organized a gathering for me..... We went to Xian De Lai Ma La Steamboat restuarant... Attendees were: Me, darling, Ting, Chee, Leng, Jin Xiang, Weiling, Ah Mei, Florence, Angela and Gordon....

Here's me and Darling....

Here's Ting and her PP (still dunno why she calls him PP... dun tell me he luvs to Fang Pi?? hahah)

Here's Leng and Jin Xiang (Ex-fairsian also leh...)

Here's Angela and Gordon (the most humourous cousin....)

Some other groups pics.... Ah Mei, Weiling and Ting.....
Me and Flo....

Me and Angela (my lunch kaki)

The soup is really shiok man.... Spicy to the core.... It helps me in my detoxification process... simply put it.... I Lxx Sxx 3 times the next day.... haha...

Wah... other than the dinner... They bought me presents..... so touched (~sob sob~).... i received 4 prez in all... now trying to find some space in my luggage to bring them over to London...

Thanks CUZ... I really had a good time that evening....

My last day at work

2007-08-27T08:24:00.000-07:00

Haiz... my last day at work was on the 21st August... didn't have feelings of relief though... maybe becos i did not see those projects which i was handling to fruition.... but then like wad YM said, "There will always be work waiting for you in your In Tray, so just go..."

I am really blessed to have many nice people and frens around me. On my last day, even the cleaner for our department baked a coffee marble cake for me. Together with the cake, she said to me many well wishes.... she said, "I'm not very good at words so.... "Zhu Ni Yi Lu Shun Feng", "Kao Shi Kao De Hao Hao"..... I'm so touched... she really has the heart.... I happily ate the cake which contained all her well wishes for me.... Jus wanna say... Thanks Auntie!!

While waiting for darling to come and join us for lunch, we took the pic....

Tada... he finally arrived..... let's go for lunch.....

A slightly higher class than Polar Cakes.....

2007-08-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

I remembered someone in the department warning me about buying Polar Cakes (orr... Chin Han... ) for the dept on my last day in the office.... Polar cakes were meant to be associated with words like "insincerity","cheapskate"...... haha... then I try.. "What about Old Chang Kee?"..... then that someone immediately said "you might as well buy for you mother...".... haha... i know he was kidding lah... but just in case he wasn't and to play safe, I decided to order a mini buffet from Andy's cousin.... tried and tested food... good comments and reviews.... why not?

The food was really good... for those interested... you may look up http://www.flavoursnspices.com.sg/ .....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~yummy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The eve before my last day at work.....

2007-08-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

We had 2 rounds of the mixed platter for the night.... i had a glass of Heineken.... like Jess, we were so sleepy after the beer got disgested in our stomach..... but then, we still went back to the office to clear some work.... took a cab back after that....

It was really generous of Charles to treat all of us.... it was really fun as we chatted and enjoyed the food and beer.... the ambience was great.... This was the group pic which we took.... look at Charles... there must be some babes in the pub that caught his attention.... on the count of three, his eyes were still away.... :>I like this pic a lot.... it was really well taken... of course.... must see who is the photographer mah.... :P

Dinner treat from bestest frens in the department @ Aqua Marine - Marina Mandarin

2007-08-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

Look at us.... so demure in the office......
This was what happened to us when we saw the food... sorrie...not normal food but real good food....
Look at the giant prawns.... wow... and the lobsters, fresh oyster, scallops... not forgetting the small little Tabasco sauce that did a great job in removing the raw taste from the fresh oysters...

Thanks babes for giving me such a wonderful treat..... i really enjoyed the food and your companionship for that night.... :)
A decent group pic during half-time..... "Let's go for our second round!!".....

For those who doubted I can cook....

2007-08-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

Suprised!!... my new look.... yes.. had my hair trimmed and fringe cut this afternoon...

Today, i'm supposed to go to DBLO with my colleagues.... Andy and HW couldn't make it.... so we decided to postpone it.... haha.... so with the free time given that darling has his own activity (DInner at Spizza and KTV) with his colleagues.... i decided to dish out something for the family.....

This is how i look in the kitchen... yes i know... darn auntie.... but look at the end-product.... looks good man..... so i dun mind sacrificing a bit lah.... hee....

See.... cool man.... confirm safe for consumption... An hour had passed since my family ate the food.... so far so good.... no compliants leh... no one rushing to toilet also... haha...

So Gin, if you wanna try my home cooked food before i go, you better organise the pot luck at Charles' place before the 3rd Sep k?

The end products: Gong Bao Chicken, Tomato Prawns, Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish, Sour and Spicy Steamed Seabass.... ~~yummy~~

My first farewell gathering.....

2007-08-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the same old place with my JC mates - Waylin, Xinxin, Minghui and Peiling.... everything here seemed to be the same.... but we seemed to have aged.. or maybe only me lah....not the rest... We are called the "5 Tom Yam Queens"..... Last time, when we first started out eating Tom Yam, at the end of each Tom Yam session, our lips will swell to become like 2 red sausages... but now... steady... look at our lips... we already have the Tom Yam immunity in our body... hee...

Can tell who are the hiao ones..... no face blotter also bo bian take tissue.... no dental floss also bo bian take toothpick...

Happily married Minghui and Peiling...... so happy for them....