My happiness level is down again..

I blame it on

#1. I had forgotten to buy bread last nite(i reached home at 7.30pm & ALL the shops were closed) so i couldn't prepare my breakfast & lunch today..ended up eating some unappetising sandwich from the canteen for 3 pounds..

#2. The tube - it was down this morning again & i had to take the bus..resulting in being 45 mins late for work..opportunity cost of money + bad impression

#3. The weather - it's sooo cold & wet today..wearing 2 sweaters & i was still freezing..add the rain & it's a totally miserable day..it's really no fun at all to be emptying garbage bins in the rain..

#4. I realised the park is closed from next mon - thurs..& i just bought a weekly travel card starting today..it costs me a f***ing 50pounds & it's not gonna be worth it..not to mention, i'll have no income for tat 4 days..

#5. I thought i had left my locker key at home but despite turning the house upside down, i still can't find it..which means it must be lost..which means i need to pay for a replacement one..

At times like this, cant help but think 'zi gei lor lei sui' (read in cantonese)

1 down

Today is a slightly better day : ) Mainly cos i managed to solve some of the problems which caused my pekchek-ness last week..

I dun wan to be too whiney..so i shall first talk about problem #1 - Opening of Bank Account

If u had friend/relative living in UK before..go ask them how they managed to open a bank account here..it's damn f***ing tedious..at least for a foreigner(who's neither working nor studying fulltime)..

They need a prove of residence in UK..which means i need to prove when/why i came into UK..& the most headache of all, bills to prove my address..which i obviously do not have..& despite a letter from my employee, the stupid H bank(this bank exists in Sg too, so go figure) near my place refuses to open an acc for me..& the lady who attended to me spoke to me as if i'm an illegal immigrant..'if u cannot prove u're staying at this add, we will not open an acc for u'

Why i need a bank acc so urgently is cos my current employer credits the pay directly into employee's bank acc..& despite knowing tat i have yet to open a bank acc here, my employer was stupid enough to pay me my first week's wages in cheque..a crossed cheque somemore..now, how am i supposed to bank the cheque without a bank acc leh??

In any case, after i got rejected by H bank, i went to B bank..same thing, i can't open an acc if i dun have any document to prove my add..but the lady was nice enough to add that if i can produce a bank stmt from my home country, she can try & do something for me..

And so today, armed wif a bank stmt summoned from home..i went to B bank again today..the same lady told me everything i needed to know about opening a bank acc here & did it for me straightaway..which means i'm finally the proud owner of a bank acc here in UK : )

Problem #1 solved ; case closed

Of cos, not forgetting the 'good lucks' & 'jia yous' i got from u folks..u provided me wif all the support when i needed them..with friends like this, wat more can i ask for?

Caution - Aircraft crossing!

We dun really get to see this so often in Sg..where u, whether as a pedestrain or a driver, have to wait at a railway junction to let the train pass..but i'm sure most of u have seen this scene on tv before..

But today on my way to work, it wasn't just vehicles or trains crossing at the junction..but i saw an aeroplane(BA megatop somemore) 'crossing' the road..yup, the whole big damn plane just went right past about 100m in front of my bus..i dunno whether to be amused or pek chek(cos i'm in a hurry, as always..& it took like forever for the plane to cross)

What is even more amusing was..the same thing happened to me on my return trip(this time it's Southern Africa Airlines) Maybe this is a common occurence on this bus route..this is the first time i took the bus to work cos there's no tube service from my woods to central london today..tat's one thing i really hate about going out on sundays here..the tubelines always get disrupted & the buses come once in an hour..

Btw, u can always see planes in the skies here..& u can really see them 'upclose & personal'..u'll see them flying really close to the ground..as though they're just above ur head..

Anyway, tomorrow i shall attempt(again) some of the stuff which left me so fustrated last fri..not feeling too positive about it..am in fact anticipating another round of pek chekness..so wish me luck my friends..

Pek Chek pek chek pek chek!!

It has been an ultimate day of fustrations for me today..and i'm feeling too drained to type out all my pek chek-ness..the stupid miserable weather isn't helping things either..& so i shall just cyber-sulk..

:( :( :( :( :( :(:( :( :( :( :( :(

Day off..

Had the day off today..nothing really interesting took place..dun think anyone will wanna read about my supermarket trip again..so i will just share an interesting article i came across in the papers..

'As the woman crossed the street in front of me, a wind-blown carrier bag rustled around her feet. Hardly pausing in her stride she picked it up and carried it to the nearest bin, then continued on her way.

She obviously hadn't said to herself 'It isn't mine' or 'The street sweeper will get it' or 'Who cares?' Instead, she spotted a quick & easy chance to make the world a little nicer, and took it.

In these days when people are judged by the labels they wear, the cars they drive or the money they earn, I have to wonder - don't you learn more about a person by watching what they do when they don't have to do anything at all?'

Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Chua!

Gong xi gong xi! Bai tou xie lao! Zao sheng gui zi!

Wai Guo de yue liang bi jiao yuan..?

Happy mooncake festival to one & all! Thank u all for the sms greetings & even an attempt to send mooncakes over to me..appreciate all these thoughts..xie xie..

And since it's mid-autumn festival today..it means i've been thru 3 seasons since i came over..or somewat 3 seasons..

It was late spring when i first arrived in May..then came summer(late jun – early sep)..& now..autumn..the season of falling leaves(do u know they’re actually a hazard to tube/railway tracks? apparently they form a Teflon-like coating when the fallen leaves are baked on the track)

I’m starting to notice the change too..besides lower temp these days(some of u might have been on the receiving end of my ‘complaint smses' about the weather), the daylight hours are getting shorter too..sunrise used to be 4-ish..but nowadays when I get out of bed for work at 6ish, it’s still dark outside..& when I'm on the train back from work at 7-ish, it’s already dark..compared to the days when I would have to wait till after 930pm to catch a glimpse of sunset..

This may sound silly..but it’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come UK..besides to ‘see the world’ ie.. I wanted to experience the different seasons in a year(tat’s another item to strike off in my to-do/experience list)

Alright..getting tired liao..it's been another long day at work today(today's sunday, rem?)

ZZzzzzxl signing off..

P.S. The moon really looks a lot nearer(& therefore much bigger) over here..