Sans twitch

My eye's stopped twitching. I was told it was a sign of high blood pressure. Dear me.

Life's a Twitch

It's been a helluva week. Last weekend was the annual festival for our clients so we were busy as bees (I killed one by accident...I was swatting it away with the paper and it kind of...died...I felt so bad...) My left eyelid's been twitching non stop for 2 days. It goes off every ten minutes. Like those annoying car alarms that go *Step away from the vehicle* everytime someone gets too close. I can't seem to stop it, and I don't know what's causing it. The search results I've had so far is:

1. If you're left eye twitches, then it's good luck. (Like when a bird sh*ts on you, it's good luck)
2. See your physician as this is a sign of a neurological disorder. (Okaaaaaaay)
3. It's nerve related or something. (I go for *or something*, I actually have a pet mouse in there and his nose keeps twitching)
4. I LOVE when my eyelid twitches. (Try having sex...)

My favorite so far is:

My eye twitches whenever I get a brilliant idea on how to dominate the world. Nice.

Long Live the Queen

I became a British citizen yesterday. Today, our ceiling is leaking. Hail the Queen.

Can You Believe It?

*Ring*

Me: Hello?

Prita: Hello, may I speak with the contract holder for this telephone landline please.

Me: Wha? Yes that's me.

Prita: Hi, my name is Prita Patel. Are you the contract holder for this telephone landline please? (It wasn't any less confusing the second time she said it)

Me: Yes I am.

Prita: Hello mam. I'm here to tell you that you can cut the cost of your landline rental down to 8 pounds. Can you believe it?

Me: No. *Click*

I should stop answering the phone.

I miss you already

Winnie was here for a visit. It was a whole week of sunshine! I took her to the airport today, it was raining, gloomy, cold. The weather knows how I feel.

Thanks for the macarons. I don't want to eat them. They look so pretty!

Unbelievable Bargain!

I've been on hiatus for quite some time. Life gets in the way you know?

The last thing I want to do on my days off is to take a call from a "customer advisor". Somehow today the ringing of the phone got to me and instead of ignoring it I answered. I was greeted by Cathy, a customer advisor from a telephone company. The ensuring conversation left me bemused.

Cathy: Good afternoon, can I speak to Mizzz So please (I hate that, Mizzzz So)

Me: Yes?

Cathy: Before I start Mizzz So, let me advise you that our conversation will be recorded for future training purposes.

Me: Gosh really? No, I'm honored to be part of your training programme. (No, I didn't really say that but I wish I had)

Cathy: Mizzzz So, as you have been a longtime customer of said telephone company, I am here to offer you an unbelievable bargain with massive discounts on your broadband service.

Me: .....I already have broadband.

Cathy: Who is your current broadband provider?

Me: What are the details of the discount?

Cathy: I don't think you heard me Mizzz So, I said who is your current broadband provider?

Me: I'm not willing to disclose that. Can I know what the bargain is all about?

Cathy: Well I'm not going to go any further with the offer until you tell me who your broadband provider is.

Me: "Click"

That click was me hanging up the phone. I guess I won't get the unbelievable bargain afterall.

Life's little pleasures

Life is good.

BOB has a friend!

Baaaaaaah. Bob has a new friend courtesy of Dang. We’re still trying to think of names. His name is Noris. I think we like that. Bob and Noris.

And I'm leaving on a jet plane...

It never gets any easier leaving family and friends to go back to my adopted home. There's this rush of emotions that you can't stop and suddenly you find yourself holding back sobs (it's just too embarassing to have snot running down your nose as you sob uncontrollably). Ahhh vanity, my savior. This time, it's especially hard for me to leave. I've been given a chance to touch base with my good friends, and I remember why I miss home so much. It's not so much where I am, but who I'm with that matters now. I'm torn between two countries, and leaving each one is difficult because of who I am leaving behind. I've been able to spend a lot of time with the people I love, some of them too short a time, but nonetheless every single second spent with them counts. I bumped into friends I wanted to see but just couldn't arrange our schedules to fit, it happened to me more than once during this trip. Serendipity is a word I've learned during this trip. I've also realized how much I've grown emotionally (and physically...I've had too many halo halos, each one of them savored).

I will see you again soon. You can bet on that.

Life is changing

There are so many decisions to be made lately, but I am thankful to be making decisions under positive circumstances. I have been given the chance (albeit from horrific beginnings) to spend time with loved ones. I am more open, more aware that the people I spend time with are the most important people in my life, now and forever. I don't know what kind of withdrawal symptoms I'll have to deal with when I get home. I've been told to process my grief, lest it become something too big to deal with. I think at this point I am still on auto pilot, but I am vaguely aware that beneath the surface, there is this quiet desperation to be able to merge my two lives, to make everything easier for me. Therein lies the problem, I want to make things easier for me, not for the people around me. In any case, I am blessed (I have this realization everyday) to have this dilemma.

I can't wait to see what life holds for me.

To whom much is given, much is expected

After the storm the sky clears and the sun comes out again. That's how things have been here. It rains hard but each time the downpour stops, the air is fresher, the sky is clearer and the sun seems to shine brighter. I have been touched by God. I am seeing things from a different perspective, and I feel loved. I have been answered, and it is a loud one. My heart is full of gratitude. I was slapped on the head, told to wake up and stop doubting.

It has been a very loud call, and the experience has been humbling. I am thankful everyday for the new things that I am slowly learning. Yesterday in church (this is part of my *something you never thought you'd be doing* list) one of the message was...To whom much is given, much is expected. If you don't need God like you need air to breathe, then you have not experienced the real need for God.

I totally agree.

I am thankful for so many things...

I've learned to be thankful for the simplest of things. Life is not about what you don't have, it is about what you have and the people who experience your life with you. I have been given a gift and I am blessed to have it. It is not something I can hold nor touch, but it is something that will be with me forever. I am truly blessed. Thank you friends.

=(

Mike broke my cow print mug. All I'm left with are the teats. =(

You will be ok

There are things that we don't understand. There are things that we despise. There are things that we dream for. There are things that we want but cannot seem to have. We will learn to understand. We will learn to accept. We will learn to dream again. And we will get what we want. You will be ok.

Trains, Planes and Automobiles...more trains please

My wind often wanders while I'm writing my posts so I've decided to put my thoughts in quotes (or paretheses whichever you prefer) and italics. This way it's easier to read what I actually want to say versus the thoughts that suddenly pop in my head. I am one of those people who can have a conversation with myself in my head. I'm just kooky that way.

I finally found platform 9 3/4. I've been to King's Cross so many times and crossed that platform (more running than crossing, I just have this fear of being left behind by a train. I remember having breakfast with Meh in Paddington. For those of you who know her, she cannot be rushed during mealtimes. I think this is just the lady in her or maybe it's the manifestation of the brute in me. As she was finishing her toast, I was paying our bill, drinking oj and putting my coat on at the same time. The look she gave me was hilarious with a touch of menacing thrown in to tell me that I was being so rude. Hey I figure, we've known each other since four, so I can be allowed the liberty at times to rush her without being subtle. *Grin*) I've been on platform 9 so many times but have never seen Harry Potter's platform before. As we got out of the gates, there it was, complete with half a trolley (I assume the other half is on the other side towards Hogwarts). It made me remember what attracts me to London...there are just so many quirky things to see if you keep your eyes open. I've seen the hospital where Louis Pasteur invented penicillin to name one. I just need to find where Sherlock Holmes lived (I've been told it doesn't exist. Shame.)

The train ride from Cambridge was wonderfully quick and full of scenery. I always like train rides, there's just so much to see in the countryside. As always, you (or ewe) see sheep that look like fluffy clouds in the distance. There was one that was particularly close to the tracks that looked like a fluffy marshmallow, all white and bouncy looking without legs. Cows, a particular favorite especially when there's lots of them. As you all know (or not) I have a thing for cows (no not the kind of thing that lands you on the sex offender's list). I just like cowprint. I was given a mug with cow print complete with pink teats for the legs, perfect gift for me, I just love it. (Somehow, I just sound like a pervert when I say that.) And horses. Loads of them scattered around with scenery, just munching on...stuff. There's no grass so it's either they've eaten the whole landscape, or they just munch on stuff you can't see (from the train that is.) I just noticed today how some horses have coats on (you know, those rainproof coats they wear on their backs) and how some of them don't. How do you know if a horse is cold and he needs his coat? Next time I see one up close I'll check if it goes brrrr.

Things that make you go...EH?

Seen today in amazon:

Customers who bought a Le Creuset Cast Iron Round Casserole also bought:

Le Creuset Stoneware Deep Rectangular Dish
Le Creuset Handle Glove
Benazir Bhutto's Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West

Overheard:

Man: Hey, this plant looks just like the one we have back home. I think it's called 5 fingers. It's a lucky plant.

Woman: Looks more like 3 fingers to me. I guess it's not so lucky.

Eh?

It's official...I'm an adult

There's a moment in your life when you realize that you're no longer as carefree as you once was back when Madonna first wore fishnet stockings (this was before she was married to Guy...heck this was before MTV). I was in the park with my trainer (listen to me sounding all posh eh?) when she told me about RBS sacking 40,000 employees. I felt my heart race and it wasn't because of the jogging (yes my friends...I jog now...). I bank with RBS in one of their subsidiary banks, and I was suddenly scared shitless that I would be able to have access to my money, or worse, my money would be gone. I don't have millions in the bank, but I have some so that I can pay for things that I would rather have in life (they're not a necessity but you want them anyway...) i.e. trainer, food, rent. It motivated me to finish our training session (man, you've never seen me run so fast!) and go back to the office to check the news (what would I have done if this happened pre internet?)

RBS is not going bust, I can still pay for my trainer, and I can still sleep at night knowing that I won't be penniless tomorrow. Thank you thank you I will be seeing you on Sunday in church.

Bob enjoying a pizza

Bob was hungry last week and ordered some pizza. Yummm.

He looks like he's about to jump in.

Life's little pleasures

A few weeks ago I had lunch at Kiasu and had my customary hainanese chicken rice meal. As I was walking back home, out of the corner of my eye, there was display case full of...bamboo steamers. Hmmm...about turn... OMG it's a chinese grocery! *Jump for joy.* It's a chinese grocery! *Twirl around while the locals mumble about these loony immigrants invading Britain*. My friend looked at me as if I've gone bonkers. I won't have to trek all the way to Picadilly just to get my fill of tofu, oyster sauce, chilli sauce (my mother in law hasn't given me my rations yet), Kewpie (those in the know...you know what kewpie is), Kai lan, sesame oil. Ohmaigas!

I just had to go in for an inspection (of course). It was better than I imagined. They even have the black herbal tea that I used to hate when I was a kid. Ki pe loh (who would have thought I'd go gaga over throat medicine?) They have everything! (Ok. Obviously not. If they had dried deer testicles then they'd have everything...but since we are talking about the chinese here then I wouldn't be surprised if they did.) I digress as usual.

I dragged M as soon as we had the same day off (what? I'm not going to carry all that load, after all, I'm a laydeeee.) I started grabbing stuff as soon as we got in. An hour later, M commented that I looked like a kid in a candy shop. I suppose I was. I didn't have to trek all the way to Chinatown together with the obligatory tourists posing underneath the Chinese arch. I didn't have to take the tube. Glorious!

And so, like so many years ago when my roomates and I used to take pictures of our pantry, I present to you...my grocery shopping (minues the Tesco cereal and perrier). Spot the hidden booze!

Ala Peanut Butter Sandwiches!

The baking process for the beads went better than I expected. It was just a matter of buying an oven thermometer (I needed one anyway) and monitoring the temperature during the baking. 25 minutes and I had my first batch of beads! I can't believe how easy it is!

I just need to polish and buff the beads to make them shiny. You'll notice my fingerprints on some of the beads.

I had some leftover clay so I made one for myself...