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My feelings

I'm officially broke..

Saturday 28 June 2008

Birthday.....

Today is my birthday. The worst one since I can remember my birthday...

4.30a.m.
Wake up. Realized my tongue doesn't feel well. red spots. dunno what the hell....

4.40a.m.
Realized the green jacket that my aunt gave me as present is gone... The first thing on my mind was I must have left it on the bus yesterday when I came home as I fell asleep due to too tired after work. That was the first time I didn't wake up on time to drop off the station which I am suppose to drop off. Second thing in my mind, that jacket has lots of memories... too much... I decided to go to the bus garage to look for it after I finish work.

4.55a.m. - 5.40a.m.
Blessing. The buses today were so smooth that I reach my work place earliest since I start taking bus to work. I need to take 3 buses to work, sometimes if the first bus is late, I will be late for work.

6a.m. - 2.30p.m.
Work as usual. I started to get unwell at around noon. Diarrheoa around 1.30p.m. when I was still working in the frozen room. Crap!

2.30p.m. - approx 3p.m.
Shopping for food.

3p.m. onwards
The traffic was so horrible that I took 2 hours to get home. I need to take 52, 2 then 159 to get home. When I was waiting for 2, the first bus driver doesn't open the door, making all people wait for 5 more minutes for next bus, second bus, when it arrives the station, it became "not in service" so... e2 more minutes, 2 of the same bus came. After that, I was stuck on the roads for nearly 1 hour to take the final bus, then traffic again... so 2 hours to reach home.

5.20p.m.
Reached home then went out again to ask for my jacket. Went to bus garage, no records of missing green jacket found. bus No.2 is not using that garage, I need to go to the other one to ask. I didn't get my jacket nor can't confirm if the jacket can be found.

5.45p.m.
Got home and watch final episode of TVB drama - Forensic Heroes II. I don't know what to feel.

7.15p.m.
Felt hungry.... alone at home... cooked spaghetti... birthday spaghetti... adding Organic canned chopped tomatoes into the sauce as an extra, with some small frozen prawns which I bought some time ago... and adding the last mushroom I got... I ate alone at the kitchen window... standing...

8p.m.
Back to my laptop and get 2 more birthday wishes.... altogether until this second which Cathy... but Liwan using her messenger, which she already gave me wish just now.... around 10 wishes... thanks people...

As a conclusion, this year's birthday, I am poor, lonely, sad, angry, unwell, just lucky to have people still remember my birthday, and thanks to Angel for sending a birthday card to me, which arrived far too early due to miscalculation. That is my best present so far this year.

Anyway, happy birthday to me. Presents will appear anyway.... eg. Visa extension news, get my pay for the month, and maybe more? I want more presents!!!!! to cheer me up. hehe...

Sunday 22 June 2008

Borough Market London - Part 1

Date: 3 May 2008
Venue: Borough Market, London Bridge
Tube Station: London Bridge
Camera: Canon Powershot A430 4.0MP
It was again another sunny weekend so I decided to visit one of the interesting place in London which many tourists doesn't know but yet still so many visitors around - Borough Market. The whole market is located next to London Bridge Train Station, while on top of it is the railway which trains go in and out of the station so frequent that you can hear rumbling sounds of trains passing by your head all the time when you are there.
This current Borough Market started trading since 1756... how long was that!!! But before this current one there was still longer history before it!! You can read the history of Borough Market by visiting the website. Basically, it is just a market which you can find all the usual market stuff around.

It is divided to 2 parts, the main part and another one is the Green Market which is just situated just beside.
The Green Market has more cooked food compared to the main market. It will be in Part 2.

As I mentioned, this is just a market which sells everything you can imagine in a market, but more, and some specialties as well.

Fruits & Vegetables

Watermelon anyone?
Colourful enough?
Organic fruits & vegetables are very trendy here.
Mushrooms - All kinds

There are of course still more fruits and vegetables but all are nearly the same so I just took some special ones.

Meat & sausages

As for meat & sausages, there are more exciting than fruits & vegetables, well, not in the sense of colour as they all look red anyway, but in the way of choices and varieties.
Lamb stall... everything lamb...
Sausages or salami? I can't differentiate...
Ostrich products
Ostrich Steak... £24/kgOstrich sausages... £11.60/kg

I had one of the Ostrich Grill which I will mention later on... It taste like... Ostrich....

Bacon... all types... you name it they have it.
The top on is just a bacon stall, this one is a shop. EXPENSIVE!!
Picture shown is Salamino Rovajo which cost £5 each which use free range pork. Free range is something like Organic as well, which the pigs are not living in the cage, meaning that the pigs are left running freely around the field when they are still alive. English people say, better quality meat and more humane.
Pancetta Stesa, which is full of fat as you can see, is the opposite of the sausage in the previous photo which is very lean. It cost lot more but totally different form. It costs £18.95/kg!!
Polish sausages. I heard my Polish friends telling me that they are very nice... haven't try though... not cheap la.... geeezzzz.... but it looks very nice..

Fruits, vegetables, meat, sausages.... more varieties to come in Part 2.... maybe part 3 as well?

Tuesday 17 June 2008

Happy Birthday?? :/

I can't believe I'll be turning 23 in the next 10 days. This month is absolutely disastrous. Everything went wrong, so tired of working here... surprisingly... and my mood is really swinging because of everything.

I thought I would be better after changing my job as job description stated during my interview is only sorting out stores, helping 3 food sections to sort out their fridges so to make sure they have everything they need and after 12pm I'll be staying at the tills to help out. I am now doing everything that they ask me to do, more than I should be doing. It is not because that I am not flexible, just that all those tasks they ask is not in my working time period and description!! That means I am not PAID for that!! And I am always doing the wrong tasks at the wrong time because of them!! My timetable is crazy as well!! sometimes 11hours a day sometimes 6hours a day!!?!? Supervisor is crazy... manager is sometimes crazy.... WTF!! nuff said! I'm going nuts!!

Another thing, last night, I found out that the letters I kept in my room for that old lady who used to live in our flat are all gone!! She still have the bloody keys of our flat but she denied coming to get the letters!! It's not magic!! I searched the whole flat and I couldn't find it! If it's not her then who? She keep delaying to pay the bills remaining, keep saying that we kept her deposit for no reason but actually she moved out before contract ends, keep delaying in returning the keys, now came into my room for those letters... WTF!!

Again another thing! I have no money this month!!! As I change my job, I lost my weekly pay, so I need to wait until this end of month to get paid before I can do anything. Now I am living by basic food which consist of instant noodles and spaghetti with some veggies and a little meat. 2 weeks already eating like that!! I wanna PUKE!! I am even starting to buy bus pass from today. Taking a bus to go to work will need 1 hour while coming back from work using same route needs 1 hour 30 minutes at least due to traffic. Anyway, price of weekly bus pass is £13 while Travelcard which can be used on tube is £24.20.

Enough of all this external stuff, now my own inner stuff. If I really have somebody around me... eg. friends, partner etc to share my loneliness that is filled in me since long time... I think I will feel better. This month I felt more again. Am I too sensitive?

Enough complaining. I am too tired already. Never had enough sleep since I start this job. I am moody, tired, head spinning, start scolding people for minor reasons, getting frustrated for everything, stomach cramp, getting nervous easily... SHIT!!!!!

Happy birthday to me? see what's going to happen in the next 10 days.

I need a break.... seriously...

Monday 9 June 2008

Brick Lane London

Warning: Large number of photos. Loading might be slow depending on your internet speed.

Date: 27 April 2008
Venue: Brick Lane, East London
Tube Station: Aldgate East
Camera: Canon Powershot A430 4.0MP
It was more than 1 month ago I went to Brick Lane. The other name for Brick Lane is Bangla Town as most of the Bangladeshi and Indians live around that area and can say that all the shops in Brick Lane are either Indian or Bangladeshi.


Desserts & Sweets
BanglaCity Continental Supermarket

As I walk down Brick Lane, I realized some "really good" restaurants.
Chutneys - Brick Lane "International Chef of The Year" 2006 - 2007 & 2007 -2008
Papadoms Brick Lane - "Curry Chef of The Year" Award Winner of Brick Lane Curry Festival 2006/2007/2008
The Shampan - Best Bangladeshi Restaurant of the Year (didn't mention which year)

So they win the awards every single year continuously. I wonder how good are their food? And how much the meals are going to cost?

As I walked down the lane again, there is a big Truman Brewery building appearing in front of me. At first I thought it was just an old building or a brewery which is still in operation.

In fact, there were like huge amount of people walking around the building, and when I walked to the main entrance... I was shocked... everyone was having food in their hands.
Going into the main entrance of the factory building...
Juices
People, table, benches... food.... even carom table!!
Malaysian Cuisine anyone??

Passing by the food section at the front, it is all clothing and accessories at the back end of the building.
Underwear anyone?

Continue walking to the back door of the brewery, the famous "Rootmaster" Restaurant is 'parked' in the car park. It is actually an old Route Master, for those who doesn't know, Route Master is the name Londoners called for the old double-deckers which ran around London City for many decades. So, the owner of the restaurant bought this old bus and turned into a "Rootmaster" serving vegetarian food if not mistaken. It was featured on the newspaper for many times.



Just across the "Rootmaster", there were few stalls, one of them is Japanese.
They sell Takoyaki. If not sure what is that, just enlarge the photo below to see what actually is a Takoyaki. I felt like trying, but in the end I gave up as I don't feel like spending money...
I went back to the main street after that to continue walking down the lane. The whole scene start to change as the stalls are starting to get a little rough. Most of the stalls are just on the floor.

I heard Polish sausages are nice... yet to try it.

The Backyard market, this is actually my main destination of the day. Actually it's another building like the Truman Brewery which I mentioned before, but this one is just a big warehouse, which housed the stalls which are still fighting to get a place in Truman Brewery. The rent is cheaper here but the customers are far less than the successor.
Why is that my main destination? My previous colleague is selling her art works there, and it was her last day of doing it as she said it's not easy, requires lots of time and dedication to it while doesn't make much profit out of it. She's a student by the way.
She was chatting with a customer when I took this photo. Anyway, she's Brazilian... doesn't look like Brazilian at all? Of course, as her parents are all Japanese, so it's Brazilian Japanese. She's a fashion design graduate.

After visiting her, I went out to continue down the lane again.


I wonder how much profit they made by selling all these.. especially the last photo... a pile of phone chargers scattered on the floor... some old shoes... etc. I even saw a stall which has a computer mouse on the floor, which looks dirty and kicked around... I wonder who's gonna buy it.

Reaching the end of Brick Lane, I saw this lovely Swedish Cafe call Fika. The waitress was holding a plate of Swedish Chocolate cake for tasting at the door, she even posed for me as you can see... :P Lovely Swedish lady.
I walked near and tried some. It is very nice. Moist and chocolaty. It is served with ice-cream as a dessert and cost around nearly £4.
That is the end of the Brick Lane visit... Bangla Town with trendy youngsters around...