Eureka!

Was toking to MsK just now..then suddenly, *ting! light bulb appears* I think i know why i'm always feeling hungry ever since i came over to UK liao..

For those who have not had meals wif me often enough..i'm known to have a hearty appetite even when i was in Sg..& when i eat with frens..more often than not, there'll almost always be someone who cannot finishes her food..which means i get to benefit from it :Þ

It might sound gross to some..feeding on other's leftovers..but i choose to call it 'not wasting food'..

And since i'm spending quite a bit of my time on my own here..i've no 'leftovers' to feed on..& tat explains why i'm always feeling hungry after finishing my own portion..(oh twinky twinky little star, where are u when i need u in times like this?)

There u have..my appetite hasn't really increased tat much..but then..how do i explain the 2kg gain in weight leh..??

so much value in small kindnesses

A newspaper article tat i would like to share wif everyone :

How many times have u found urself wishing u could give more? More time to friends & family, more money to charity, more support to those who need it..

Joan had hoped to do so many things to help others. She went shopping for less mobile neighbours, went with them to hospital appts or even popped in for a chat. Sometimes she felt guilty at how much she enjoyed the friendship & company she received from these people while only doing little things in return.

But, one day, the church minister produced 2 clear plastic bags. One had $1 coins in it - this represented one big act of kindess. The other bag contained $1 made up of smaller coins, each of which symbolised a small act of kindness.

Although there was the same amount of money in each bag, he pointed out how much more the 'small kindnesses' weighed.

Suddenly, Joan realised tat her approach to life was like tat bag of coins. Although the things she did for her neighbouts were small, together they added up to something weighty and of real value.

And you, my fren? How does your bag look like?

Coldest July Day in 25 years

Just heard from the news tat yesterday was the coldest day in London for the month of July for the past 25 years..no wonder lah..why i always so heng one?

And there was a tornado in Birmingham this afternoon..

The weather has really gone mad..

My Mini Achievement

Brr...it's cold today..so cold tat i got goosepimples when i sat on the toilet bowl this morning..

Had planned to blog about my trek up Snowdon & complain how hot it was the few days i was in Wales..& now? I'm wearing my xiao hong as i'm typing..english weather..@.@

K..before i blab on about the weather..yes, my trek up Snowdon..why is this trek so 'significant' for me?

I guess there're several reasons..cos it was the first 'serious' trek i had since my Nepal trip..it was the third trek/hike i had in UK(i got a bit lost on the first two..so i was a little nervous) cos it's the highest(one of the most famous) mountain in England & Wales.. & mostly, cos it was my first solo trek..

I always had the luxury of having frens/& guides wif me on trekking trips..where u know u won't die cos u took a wrong turn or if u slipped & fell..but this time, i was on my own..

Wednesday, 13 July 2005

0730 - Rise & shine..took my breakfast..4 slices of bread & 2 bowls of cereal(this is a typical breakfast for me..see how much my appetite increased?) then waited for the bus..

0904 - The frenly bus driver arrived at my stop on schedule..i like this driver! Hopped on & i'm off to 'Pen-y-pass' where i will begin my trek..

0940 - Reached the start point of the Pyg(yes, pronounced as pig) Trail..i had asked the pple in the hostel the nite before & read up my LP..this is supposed to be one of the more popular treks up..it's medium grade..takes about 5 hrs up & down..i had checked my bus timetable & had hoped to catch the 1445 bus back or the next bus would be 1745..

0945 - Off i go..it's a hot day today..but i'd rather have it hot than cold..

1045 - 1 hr later(i timed myself), i had a quick break of banana & flapjack(some ang moh snack)..so far so good..terrain not too difficult..a bit of rocks at first so there was some scrambling here & there..i missed my ACG though(i was wearing my asics)

1145 - Starting to pant a little..could see the summit liao..jia you zxl..

1230 - Ta da! Deng shan cheng gong! I did it! Self-indulge in this success for a min..heh

1231 - Take photos..arrange my 'prop'..take more photos..The summit was actually very crowded cos there's another easier way of coming up - taking the train. Every other 30 mins, a train would huff & puff its way up & unload some 50 visitors..making the top of the mountain seem like a busy sunday bazaar..

1240 - Celebration lunch - sandwich topped with some mountain dust(the wind was quite strong up there)

1250 - Decided to make my way back..scrambled down is more like it(i had a bus to catch rem?)

1400 - Reached the bottom..was quite surprised i took only about 70 mins to come down (goes to show i was really scrambling).

1445 - It was the same bus driver again..chitchatted a bit wif him on the way back..he offered to drop me off at this point along the way where i can see ospreys but i declined..had enuf 'adventure' for the day liao..besides i dun wanna wait 3 hrs for the next bus back..

1530 - Back at my hostel..took a nice shower & went down to the lounge & R&R..

1800 - We had BBQ dinner at the hostel backyard..my hostel mates 'xin xie lai chao' decided to have a BBQ..this bunch of hostel mates is the best i ever had..shall talk about them on a separate blog lah..getting too long this one..wait the website crash again..haha

Ah...BBQ under the clear blue sky..gentle breeze(for once, the weather very cooperative)..cold beer..idle chit chat..wat a perfect end to a perfect day! : )

Idle..

Tat's been my lifestyle for the past week or so..not too much a lifestyle i'd say..anyway, before i get rotten eggs hurled at me(or your pc screen)..let me remind u, this lifestyle comes at a hefty price(in british pounds, to be exact)

Not much to do these few days..not too eager to venture out to central london..(see? i do take everyone's advice & concern very seriously)..so just rot away in the 'woods' lor..

My daily routine goes something like tat :

9-ish AM : Wake up (though after 2+ mths, i still keep waking up at the wrong time in the middle of the night, courtesy of the early daybreak at 4-ish)

930-ish AM : Cook my oatmeal (yes, cook using the stove, not the instant kind & they really taste a lot better)

10-ish AM : Read the papers (they're slowly burning a hole in my pocket at 50, 60p everyday..but i can't stand the feeling of not knowing wat goes on ard me)

11-ish AM : Check my email/surf the net (& occasionally, morning tea : Þ)

12-ish PM : Prepare lunch (more often than not, it's some microwaveable meal)

1-ish PM : Lunch while watching some TV gameshow tat comes on at 1 (i can almost memorise the TV listings liao..haha)

2 - 5-ish PM : Run some errands/do housework/shopping for groceries (my fave of the 3 activities) & of cos, the obligatory afternoon tea (contributing factor to my expanding waistline)

6-ish PM : Prepare dinner or if it's not my turn..i usually rotate with the sis for this task, go for a jog(weather permitting..this is london rem?)

7-ish PM : Dinner

8 - 11-ish PM : TV time

1130-ish PM : Lights out

So, wat do u think? Rather boring hor..

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Blind Dates..

Nah..sorry to disappoint but it's not me who going on a blind date : Þ

Here's an article i picked up from the newspapers here..

College students in Singapore have broken the world record for the most blind dates in 24 hours. Organisers at Nanyang Technological University paried 268(so auspicious sounding!) couples who spent at least an hour together during a single 12-hour period, beating the previous record of 123 couples set in London in 2001.

Erm..well done, NTU!

All About Sasha

A bit xian after the stupid website decided to wipe out 2 hrs of my typing..oh well, i shall re-type my strawberry experience when i have the urge again..now it seems like it took place so long ago though it was just about 4 weeks ago tat i was bending over rows & rows of strawberries..

And so, i decided to talk about our caravan mate, Sasha instead..

When we were shown our caravan, Sasha was sitting in his corner..he must be about least 6ft 2in? Quite 'dua jiak'(read : a bit on the plump side, wif a beer belly).first impression of him is tat of a 'guai guai zai'..mummy's boy pattern..wif rosy cheeks somemore..

Why do i say so? Well, he has this little teddy bear by his bedside..(yes, i'm not kidding) & he carries this small little gu niang bag when he's out picking strawberry..the kind of bag tat even i will think twice about carrying..

And oh, like the time, he bought a new handheld game(machiam western bar kind leh)..& he was really excited about his new toy..how do i know? Cos he woke me up at 1.30am(!) to show it off to me..tried to show me how it was played..or so i think..he was gesturing but i wasn't wearing my glasses so can't see clearly lah..fu-yaned him for a while before i finally signalled to him tat i wanted to sleep liao..

There was, however, one particular incident which changed our image of him..i will get to tat later..

We had guessed he was about 25 yrs but found out he's actually 30(or was it 33?)..hmm..first time i underestimate an ang moh's age..

As i've mentioned before, he's from Latvia..seriously speaking i din hear of this country before i came to this farm(it's next to russia)..he couldn't speak much english (his std of english is sama sama of my malay..meaning can only count up to 10..) He has this english-russian dictionary wif him & sometimes we would just flip to the word & point to him..but mostly, our communication was based on sign language..

Since i was sleeping in the living room wif him..i had the most contact wif him..which is why i found him to be a rather interesting character..

A few days after we arrived, he bought a new radio(i wonder if it's to drown out our noises?!) We're quite surprised since he couldn't understand english & true enuf, everytime the DJ starts to speak, he would turn the dial..quite exasperating for us cos sometimes we're trying to listen out for the weather forecast..(not forgetting the few times, we'd secretly turn on his radio when he's out)

Actually he's quite a nice guy..like he would try to tell us where to get the wage slip..or where we could get the pck boots for wet weather(he must have assumed we're staying for long)..he's also quite considerate..like he would lower his the volume of his radio at night when he saw tat i'm sleeping..

He also made some efforts to communicate wif us..the times when he saw us playing cards, he would just hang ard & watch us play..he also attempted to teach us his game but after several rounds, we still have no clue as to the rules & objectives of the game..

BUT there were a few habits tat we're..err...not very used to it..

#1. He doesn't bathe very often..i think he only bathed twice during the time we were there?! Instead, he uses this body spray which isn't exactly very pleasant-smelling to me(i was sharing the room wif him, rem?)

#2. Related to pt 1, he doesn't change his clothes much..or as often as we would like him to..we can't be sure if it's him or his clothes tat smell..anyway, we only saw him wash his clothes once..& it was in the dirty sink..which brings me to the next pt..



#3. He doesn't washes his dishes..AT ALL..he would use the pan to fry his fave fish fingers, then leave the pan & bowl there till the next time he uses it..oil & all..imagine tat..

The time has come to talk about THE incident..Sat was our day off & many of them spent the night partying(apparently this is the norm)..on fri nite, Sasha had gone over to our neighbour's caravan to party(never knew he was the 'partying' sort)..anyway, we were all sleeping soundly when he came back at about 1.30am to drag a bewildered cordell out of bed to the party next door. Needless to say, she was dumbfounded..somehow, she managed to talk her way out & escaped back to our caravan..

Watever came into him to drag her out, we never knew for sure..all i knew was he dead drunk when he stumbled back heavily into our caravan..not too sure about the time(din check my watch)..& i could hear him puking the whole night..thank goodness he still had the sense to run into the toilet to puke..i would have given him a piece of mind had he puked in the living room..the best thing is? he was up & out the next morning even before i woke up..& i think there was just this bit of 'awkwardness' between us(or at least him & cordell for tat matter) after this incident..

I think it was 2 days before we left when we saw some words on his towel tat made us go 'hmm..??!!'. The words? 'Neurologikal Klinik'

Aiya..i really regretted not taking a photo wif him before i left..really quite an interesting character..i think he's the closest thing to a 'russian roommate'(not including those whom i've met in hostels) i'll ever have in a long while..

Watever it is..i wish him all the best..be it in strawberry picking or watever he might be doing now..