“It’s them evil advertisers I tell you”

The Brits have an undying love for their pets. In fact their love runs so deep that sometimes, the dog is more important than their children. Yes, it is not uncommon for a parent to buy dog food and tell the child “Oh I’m sorry, I forgot we were out of pasta ... well here’s a tenner, why don’t you go out to the local Macy D’s luv”

In fact, there was recently a documentary where a British celebrity went around with two donation cans. One a donation to help the homeless and the helpless, the other for the Battersea dog’s home. It was amazing, not a single person donated to help the homeless but the dog’s charity had gained 50 pounds.

The advertisers know this and use Brits love for animals in a bunch of ad’s all over the place. I only managed to grab a few, but I will get more soon.

Ipod Will be the Death of Us

The birth of the Ipod shook the earth harder than Sony’s revolutionary ‘Walkman’ ever could. Not only could you take your entire music collection from place to place in a device the size of a pocket notebook, you could use the excuse to escape pesky sales people, stop listening to the couple next door making out, and best of all make a statement while your at it.

The Brith of the Demon

Now I myself am guilty of owning one but since I own a pair of really dorky headphones, I almost never bring my Ipod out. This has given me a unique opportunity analyse this unique sub-culture brought on by massive consumerism *What a bunch of Crap*

But have we actually considered how this would affect our world? Does Apple know that they have unleashed a product that would change our very ways of life and possibly even end the livelihood of some people? Let me explain.

It used to be that we could carry our cassette Walkman around town and act cool and hip. But somehow the thought of carrying multiple bulky cassette didn’t appeal to a lot of people. Cd players made it possible to burn our own selection of songs but still it only carried 70 minutes. Therefore by the time we’re halfway through our journey, we run out of songs.

London, a city where personal transport is almost a no no. With it’s small and narrow roads built for horse carriages in the early 16^th century, people rely heavily on buses, trains and of course the London Underground. This makes for a huge amount of boring hours spent reading or sleeping. Thanks to the Ipod, we now have none.

People listen to the famous white box everywhere. You don’t need to read anymore because you could now enjoy listening to Britney’s latest hit. You can’t sleep anymore because the passenger next to you is listening to Statix–X so loudly that the noise resonate off his dead ear drums into yours … which by the way is already slowly deteriorating.

This makes even more trouble for the ‘Famed’ London underground performers. People used to tip them for their fantastic musical talent, and they are talented. Many of these performers actually have musical degrees. So instead of enriching their lives with music from the great composers of Beethoven etc, Londoners are more interested in filling their ears with senseless “BASS”. How are these performers to survive? Is Apple going to pay for their food etc?

So instead of creating a portable music library that everyone can afford and use, Apple has instead created tool for people with absolutely no music taste to loudly advertise their horrid music to the innocent people of the world.

God gave Rock and Roll to us, unfortunately he also gave the British their weather

As I searched for the horribly loud alarm coming from my hand phone, I wonder if I actually remembered to set the time right. 7 o’clock could not possibly be this dark. So after finding it under a pile of books, got out of the room and tasted first hand, what British weather really is.

No I really mean taste it. It’s all salty and stuff. The view below is exactly what I saw at 7.30. Not a pleasant sight considering I had to walk out to the bus stop under these freezing dark conditions.



The should have shot Lord of the Rings here

Anyways the next day, wow what a change. … Oh now you shine, when I'm on break

But like all things good it did not last, for 2 hours later rain came.

…British weather. It’s almost a mirror image of their culture. It’s dry, unpredictable, and always gives up whenever you want it to last. *Ahem*

Search for the Mythical Roundabout.

It was another long boring Sunday *Well it was Sunday when I went there*. Unlike Malaysia where everyone just flocks to the nearest shopping mall, the residents of Great Britain prefer to stay at home and watch TV. Maybe, just maybe have a ‘Sunday Drive’. This makes for a really boring day where all you hear is the sound of BBC1 and children screaming.

Not wanting to be deafened by screaming kids, I decided to look for a motorcycle clothing shop I passed by 4 months ago. I had absolutely no clue as to where this place was other than it was situated near a roundabout. For those of you who know me back home, know for a fact that I’m absolutely hopeless with direction and will wander from place to place thinking to myself that it is familiar.

But seeing that I had a whole day to waste, why not? So I packed some water and a sandwich and set off to find this mythical roundabout. Now I knew it was over the river so I went to the most logical place, The Thames Bridge.

It’s so peaceful here. The wind blows softly across your face. But that was just my mind playing tricks. The warm wind was actually the exhaust of cars traveling by, and the air was so dry that I ran out of water just 1 mile from my house.

Half and hour passed and I still couldn’t find the place. This brought up another serious issue with the Brits. There are no public toilets anywhere. I mean it. You cannot find a public toilet anywhere in London. Sometimes, not even in a shopping mall. It makes you wonder how much they hold in … Eww …

What’s worse now is that I’m completely lost. Sigh ... my only hope is to follow the motorcylist. Sounds stupid but after 10 mins I did find the place WooHOO !!! ..

Now .. how do I get back?

The Mythical Roundabout


Quite lost now
Why do they park expensive cars near the water?
Ah the River Thames

So much Water

College Life

You would think that after being erected over 100 year ago, the Goldsmith College might have done some improvements to keep it competitive with other Uni's etc. Their rooms are old, the paint is faded, and their hallways were made to accomodate Americans before fast-food was introduced.

Still, it does give a sense of belonging. It seems to call out to you in a way no other college or uni could back in Malaysia. You're transported into a world where every scientific experiement was a first. Sure the posters stating when the latest gay rave is a sign that would never be allowed 100 years ago, at lest the rest is still pretty much the same.

Nothing much to update as my internet connection is still not up. The cable man will be coming by this saturday so hopefully I'll be able to update the blog a lot more during those times.

















-Transmission from Goldsmith College Out-

Weird Cooking Experiments

After the intensive cleaning process of making my new living space livable, I had to find the cheapest way to live in the UK. Obviously looking for a job is a good idea, but with absolutely no idea what my college time table is I just can’t. So it’s off to the Farmer’s Market nearby to get some cheap groceries. I’ll just skip all the boring ingredients and show the result.

Soya Chicken with Mash Pots

Spaghetti with Bacon
















Thai Green Curry

Today is just for uploading these pics lolz. Classes start Monday so expect another update soon.

Sorry for the crappy layout and short messanges but with 3 pounds an hour at a local internet cafe .... that's just too expensive to maintain.

PS: ..that curry looks wierd but it was ok LOL .... too much sugar

Getting Lost in Middle Earth

After getting used to the jet lag and climate change, it was starting to get really boring at home. But with only walking tracks nearby and no car at my disposal, walking seemed to be the only thing I could do. But since there is absolutely nothing else, I thought “what the hell”

The walking path looked at if it was well maintained and very heavily used. Walking one whole round shouldn’t be that hard right? … Wrong.

See it looks like it’s all peaceful and all, but walk further in and boom. You’re stuck in a dirt path with no one around you except the squirrels. You feel kinda like Frodo but bigger and no feminine gold ring around the neck.

It seems doubtful I’ll ever find civilization once more till I saw one of man’s best friends, the cows.

So walking is a good form of exercise, but taking well over 1 hour to reach your destination is just not worth it. Next time, I’m taking the bus.

First Impressions of a Foreign Country? Not good.

Sorry for the really late log update but after living in the United Kingdom for two weeks, I've yet to get broadband at home. Well to get everyone up to date, I arrived on the 18th of September. Weather was alright at 16 Celsius but the airport was at a warm 24.

Got my hand carry baggage and made my way to customs. Was approved and thought “hey that was easy”, Then the dude said. “Please make your way to the health inspection”. I nearly lost my mind when I the saw the length of the queue.

After 3 hours of waiting, I finally made it inside the reception area. For such an advance country, I have to say that their staffs are one of the most … *how shall I put it?* … not up to par with Asian countries.

What’s more, for a country that makes “…10 Billion pounds from foreign students every year…” (BBC News) they sure make it hard to enter. Certain custom officers look at Asians in disgust and a few got yelled at just because their level of English is at a basic level. For those who don’t know, English doesn’t always have to be everyone’s first language.

After taking the x-ray *which only took 30 seconds, it really makes you wonder why they do it so slowly*, I hurried and tried to catch the taxi which I’ve called to pick me up 3 hours ago. Obviously, he had left and I only had two choices left to go home.

1. London Cabs which would cost about 60 Pounds not including the wait in traffic jams.
2. Take the tube to Hammersmith and switch to the district line to Richmond and take the bus from there. All this whiles carrying 40kg worth of luggage. Cost 5 pounds total.

Well being the cheapskate that I am, you guys ought to know which choice it would be eh? Lolz.

Anyway, I finally made it to the apartment at 7.00 PM after touching down at 2.45 PM. Tired and stinking like a man who hasn’t showered for almost a day including the sweat from running to catch the tube and bus, I settled for one of the most comforting things in life … A hot bowl of Maggi Mee.