School Hols+Halloween Weekend=Disaster

It was another day of mayhem in the park today.. One of my colleagues actually got punched by one of the guests..i didn’t actually witness the incident but heard she(yes, it’s a ‘she’) got punched by ‘ah beng’ for asking him to queue up..hmm..reminds me of a granny-slapping incident..*o*

Aiyo..these ang mohs..they are really in the mood for halloween..imagine walking around the park after dark & someone appears in front of you wearing one of those scary masks..ren xia ren, xia si ren..

And the mess left behind 20,000 guests is no joke..imagine an event site after a mass event..multiply tat by 3(ang mohs are generally dirtier) & u’ll get the idea..think I’ve cleaned more litter in this week than I’ve ever cleaned in my house in the past 20 years..

For the past 10 days or so, I’ve been having all my meals outside..breakfast on the train there, lunch & afternoon tea in the park & dinner on the train back..& I usually pack my meals..so u can imagine the amount of food I bring with me each day..4 meals..i’m essentially carrying a picnic basket around..

This also means to say I haven’t had hot food for these 10 days..cos all I’ve been having are sandwiches(sandwiches are cold, toasts are hot)..it’s not so much tat I mind eating sandwiches..they’ve quite a bit of sandwich fillings here..from the usual egg mayo to coronation chicken(chicken bits + raisins + peaches in curry)..but for those who know me well enuf..i’m always very particular about my diet..& I just dun think sandwiches alone can provide a balanced diet..

I usually catch the same train as a few of my colleagues..so I’ll be like seeing them from 8 in the morning when we catch the train till 9-ish at night when we go our separate ways at the train station..hmm..kinda reminds me of the ‘good ole days’ of mass events..



P.S. A string of emails from some ex-classmates reminded me tat it’s Deepavali(Divali in London) & Hari Raya(‘Id in London) back in Sg..totally forgot about these occasions..this week to me, is Halloween week..from the many pumpkins hanging all over the place & people walking around in funny costumes..apparently, some people really came trick or treating at our door the other nite but I wasn’t back yet..still at work..sigh..

I wish i could turn back the clock..

In case u dun realise it..i was (trying to)sing the song by Johnny Hates Jazz n years ago.. :Þ

Anyway, wat I’m trying to say is..time was literally turned back when UK summer time officially ended on Sunday..this means tat UK is back on GMT again..this is actually my first experience at ‘adjusting the clock’..basically at 12midnite on Sun, the clock goes back 1 hr to be 11pm Sat nite..

Actually I prefer the old time..cos now it means the sky starts getting dark at 5-ish pm, instead of 6-ish pm..although it also means I need not scramble for my oyster card(aka ezlink in Sg) in the dark when I take the tube in the morning..i dun really mind it cos I get to see the sunrise at about 730am when I’m on the way to work..

Come to think of it..UK also damn one kind one..the rest of western europe are all on GMT+1 time, only UK is on GMT..& while everyone else on this side of the continent drives on the right, the Brits drive on the left..

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As for my ear..a visit to the hospital today(realised I spent all my off days visiting clinics/hospitals or rather.. I plan my off days according to my doc appts *.*) revealed tat it’s starting to heal(yay!)..& guess wat was the doctor’s advice to me? Try to get more sunshine..it would be easy as pie if it’s Sg he was talking about..but we’re looking at London wor..& getting ‘some sun’ is no easy feat, given the tempermental weather..



P.S. As I’m blogging away..there’re fireworks outside now..apparently, there’re a few designated days for people to ‘put’ fireworks(wat is the correct verb ah? display?) Quite pretty..

Sooo tired..

Worked 11 hrs today..from 930am - 830pm..so tired..tat i fell asleep on the tube..first time i did so ever since i started work..despite having a 1.5 - 2 hrs journey one-way..i dun usually sleep on the tube/train cos the journey's broken into 3 half-hour sections..so quite hard to sleep..

And the crowds at the park today was unbelievable..i think there were 20,000 guests in the park today? Cos the average number for a weekend is about 15K & it definitely appeared more crowded than a usual weekend..maybe it's the weather? Just when i complained about the weather..it turned out to be unusually good today..hot in fact(by UK standard lah)..a high of 21degrees..i guess tat's british weather for u..

Rojak Blog

Haven blogged for quite some time liao..so dunno where to start..should i backtrack & blogged about stuff tat happened 2 weeks ago tat seemed so 'must-blog' then or minor things tat happened yesterday which aren't really tat interesting?


Was thinking about wat to blog when i talked to twink..the first person to finish up all the credit in my mobile..but despite tat(& prob tat's why)..made me listen to her call waiting..AND asked me to hold so tat she can wash her clothes..

Ah yes, i know wat i should blog about..THE video clip..i finally managed to view it liao..gan dong..chu le gan dong hai shi gan dong..to know tat your frens are thinking about u on your birthday despite being miles away is really heartwarming..esp at a time when ur ear insists on giving u problems..when you are working 10hr shifts in addition to a 4 - 5 hrs journey..when the weather is getting more & more hostile by the day..okok..i'm starting to kaobei again..stopstop..

On a lighter note(though it wasn't tat amusing at the time it happened)..i was on the bus to work last sunday & i missed the connecting bus by like 3 secs & was late for work by 30 mins(i shall not comment anymore about the bus services on Sundays)..& do u know why? Cos the bus was stuck behind a horse carriage! Yes, a horse carriage on the road..& since it was a one lane road, the bus couldn't overtake the horse & crawled behind it for wat seems like eternity..

Imagine how ridiculous i would sound back in Sg if i told my boss tat i was late cos of a horse carriage or an airplane crossing my path(refer to previous³ blog)..

Hmm..say dunno wat to blog also blogged quite a bit liao..till i find the time(& mood) to blog again..

P.S. To whoever(i dun recognise the number leh.. 81212xxx)sent me a MMS sometime last week..sorry i wasn't able to retrieve it on time since the pc was down then.. @~@

happy(belated) 5th month anniversary & happy(belated) birthday..

..to myself..haha..

The pc at home had died-ed..tat's why there were no publications of ZXL Times for the past week or so..

Anyway, thanks to everyone who remembered my birthday & sent me wishes from all over the world..of cos special mention to the ssc folks who celebrated my birthday with lionel as my rep(?!) & for producing a video clip for me(though i've yet to view it yet)

XIE XIE DA JIA..

Pek Chek Shi Jian - Part III

As visitor has left his/her comment(who are u huh??)..this is my blog & i'm allowed to rant..& so i shall rant..somemore..

Why was i so insistent on seeing a doc the other day leh? Besides the fact tat my ear problem is irritating the hell out of me..another just as important reason is..i just received my first paycheck from the Park..tat's good news, u might say..yes, indeed it is..but when u open up the payslip & realise a whopping 30% went to taxes..u'll be just as inclined to scold somebody's mother..

My first week of wageslip goes like this :

42.5 hrs worked@ £5/hr £202.50

Tax £44.44)

National Income Contribution (£11.93)

Nett Pay £143.13



Therefore, i concluded tat if i'm paying taxes here..i should be entitled to their (free) healthcare services..which was why i was so determined to get registered with NHS..a f***king 30%..to think i dun even pay tat much taxes in Sg..

Pek Chek Shi Jian - Part II

The other thing I was so frustrated over the other day was to visit a doctor. You know over here, you can’t just walk in to a clinic and ask to see a doctor(unless u go to a private clinic, which obviously charges some exorbitant prices..but more on that later)


The way the system here works is..you need to register with a GP in your residential area(you cannot suka suka register, it must be within 3 miles of your address)..and then, you make an appointment to see the GP u registered with..this appointment date can be on the day itself(which u should really go buy toto) or a week later whereby you might have already recovered from whatever u were suffering from(if u’re lucky) or fainted from the pain(if u’re not)


I always have problems with my ear..somehow it always start with it being itchy/blocked(too much earwax maybe)..& then I will itchy hand go disturb it until it gets inflamed. It happened to me again recently and the problem came on & off for a couple of weeks until I was so irritated by it, I decided to go see a doctor.

I went to a health centre about 10 mins walk from my place..after negotiating thru a series of receptions(there were 4 clinics in the centre and an average of 3 docs in each clinic..i was to pick one and then get myself registered) I went up to the receptionist and told her I want to register myself with Dr XX..

‘I need a photocopy of your passport’

‘I have my passport with me now’

‘No, I need a photocopy of your passport’

‘Can’t u do it for me here?’

‘No, u need to do all the paperwork yourself’

‘Ok, so if I bring you a photocopy of my passport later, can I see the doctor today?’

‘No, the earliest will be next week’


‘…………………………’

Of cos, I gave up the thought of registering with the doc..but I was so damn fed up(the just-as-frustrating bank account thingy just took place 30mins before) tat day..i actually spent 5 pounds and 1 hour to travel out to central London & went to a walk-in clinic at Victoria train station(I saw it during one of my journeys thru there). I did manage to see a doctor within 10 mins but she said she couldn’t do much about my ear cos it was badly inflamed and I need to administer ear drops to it for at least 3 days before she can syringe my ear for me.

Guess how much this 5 mins consultation cost me? A whopping 40 pounds. And the best part was, I needed to get the ear drops myself (doctors here only provide prescriptions, patients need to get their own medicine from the pharmacy)


So please dun blame me for being so ‘kao bei kao bu’ for the past few days.. ‘yi4 xiang1 you2 zi3 de4 xin1 ku3 you2 shui3 zhi1’

And lastly, you would have thought that NHS would have better things to do than to make registration with a GP so tedious for a foreigner..



Extracted from a local newspaper :


Cooing over babies banned

Hospitals visitors have been banned from cooing at newborn babies – to protect the infants’ human rights..visitors in hospitals are greeted by posters featuring a doll in a cot with the slogan ‘What makes you think I want to be looked at?’

..‘We know most people cannot resist cooing over new babies but we need to respect the child’..

..Hospital staff say they have acted to protect the human rights of ‘little people’ who did not deserve to be ‘prodded like tins in a supermarket’..

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P.S. I got the flu today..but decided to stick to the age-old method of ‘drink more water, get more rest’ than to attempt to see a doc again..