Snippets of life---19/9/2006

Well, nothing much before the whole lots of events swam in during October...lazing around St James Park and of course having some wine and fish and chips before going to church..(oopsie i actuallie have a slight headache during service..seemed like i cannot reallie drink and looked at that silly ron trying to make a pose)
haven been checking out london yet ,trying to save on tube and getting used to the place,we definitely have been on the move so much that we are learning t take things at stride and not be anxious about anything. the lord will show us our way, i am very sure

Buckingham 21/9/2006

I know i have not been doing many entries lately. partly a bit lazy to upload the pictures coz many have requested they only read if there are pictures and also, I have been to Paris the last five days and have not been ard.As such i am gg to back track all my entries now.

Before i went to Paris, I made a day trip to Buckingham palace by myself which cost me a freaking amount of 25 pounds. Well, i decided to take all the three tours since i am not sure when i will be back again and the palace will only be opened during the summer when the queen is on holidays.

So i am so excited about the whole thingy coz i thought i can see my prince william soon..ahahha...of course not!!well but since i have always been following all those juicy gossips on the royal family, this is one place which i definitely cannot missed out.

The place was grande , you cannot imagine how luxurious the whole setting was. And i reallie felt that i was a princess when i took a tour in it. too bad i cannot take pictures of the place but the furniture, the architecture was impressive. Luckily , the audio tour was free and so I learn about every bit about the British Monarchy and how this palace has been a working place for the queens and kings of all time.

Queen Victoria obviously has been one of the best . During her reign, the country is doing well as such i think she has more time to design the palace and of course choose her furniture and stuff like that..hhehehe, it made me reallie think how different life can be for a commoner and a ruler of the country.Even their dining sets are all customed made ,porcelianed with delicate features.

The ballroom was huge. You feel like you can dance with your Prince Charming over here. Remind you totally of Cinderella...( did i tell u guyz i just rewatched this all time favourite childhood cartoon) It was usually used by the royal family to host banquets ,parties, bursaries presentations to the civil servants who have served the nations well.

What impressed me and left a deep impression was this temporary exhibit of Queen Elizabeth II 's gown, jewellery and the crowns which totally took my breathe. Gosh, totally gorgeourous, day, evening gowns.... She has her in house tailor who will tailor a dress on every occassion and the material, design they chose will be according to the climate of the country which she will be visiting. I saw the one she wore to Singapore...chiffon with flowers ,just right for our hot ,humid climate. The queen is very small build and i think she has a waist size of just 22 when she is young. You can see that she has grown as she aged . The one she took with my Prince William has shown much of her growth.

Queen Elizabeth II was one great woman herself, i think. Check out this link which shows lots on her life for the past 80 years. She is so pretty and motherly and of course her handsome Duke of Edinburgh who has been her support all this while.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page4819.asp#

Well, it made me reflected how some people have suffered , lying in the streets,begging for food, and contrast to this whatever you can imagine luxurious life that these royal family members have been living. God is fair , isn't he? No matter how wealthy they are, they have their own trials to face,under the public scrutiny of their private affairs all the time ( Princess Diana and the big scandal of Charles and Carmillia who are happily married now, Harry who took drugs and his new gf and of course not forgetting my William who is under trememdous pressure to be crowned the next king.) Everyone has their own unique life experience , aren't they, no matter what status, geographic origin, ethnic,each has its own life journey to go through.Most importantly, is to learn to be contented and know that your joy and strength lies in the lord who is the creator of the universe.

The new neighbourhood- Canary Wharf

Canary wharf is the next area where Londoners are trying to build their next financial centre asides from the one in the city and the bank. It happened that we stayed around this area since EJ has kindly let us stayed with him. Just imagine that this place is very similar to our Raffles Place.Totally Singaporean feel. Everyday, I will walk from Coldharbour, cross a bridge and a deserted road before hitting this financial hub.( for example walk from the Empress Museum to Raffles MRT .) I was totally overwhelmed initially coz i thought it was pretty dangerous .But for the past few days , I have grown to like this precinct alot. I thank god for that. I felt safer and it was reallie convienient for me to check out the stores at the Canada Square ( Aka like our Raffles Link Mall) anytime I felt bored. Just to entice those shoppers out there...TOPSHOP, WHAREHOUSE,SELFRIDGE are just 15 minutes walk away from where we are staying. Though the accessibility to these places are good, but prices are not too attractive though, so all I could say is to just "look see look see" to satisfy the unsatiable hunger to grab more pretty winter and autumn clothes.But of course other than the stores, there is a library nearby where I have already enrolled myself to some couses like aerobics,christmas baking and probably another one which I have not decided yet. Waitrose is a upscale supermarket that serves the professional over tis area for their day-to-day grocery shopping. Food is definitely fresher than the one we go at ASDA ( chain of Warmart) where you can get the same things at a much cheaper price.The brits ' supermarkets seemed to be different from the hypermarts in US where you get everything in bulk and stocked in your store. Kinda of miss that kind of shopping though. But I appreciate that everything is very much similar here to back home. Even the portion of food they served is much smaller. We went to the church EJ went normally. Interesting, it is the first on barge church I ever went. It was an eye -opener but everything was much the same like the worship and sermons .Next week will try another church called ALL SOULS before deciding which one to attend. But I thank god that i attended the service today for it gave me a timely reminder to rejoice in all circumstances and be contented with whatever I have.

http://www.stpetersbarge.org/

London (I)

I will say London is such a much nicer place to stay compared to NYC for the people here are so much polite and friendl. I love the Londoners . They are very considerate,helpful and patient in their services.It surprised me that even though this city is one of the world 's biggest financial centre,I did not feel that everyone is stressful nor hostile. The city has lots of greeneries, clean roads and streets and everything seemed to be very systematic and peaceful in a hustling and bustling place. It reminded me a lot of Singapore ,especially the TUBE and DLR aka MRT and LTR.It made things so much easier for a person like me who has been relying on public transport all my life.Now, I can get around and do the things that I like. Lots of interesting events, concerts, galleries, museums, public lectures which will sweep my mind off during my next four months stay here. Are you ready to take on this london ride with me?Keep yourself updated on my postings in London!!



Apparently, these pigeons in the park is one of my favourite .Baby is definitely trying to enjoy this tube ride to LBS.
These beautiful roses were one of those many beautiful ones which we took in Queen Mary's garden.

We were strolling in Regent Park which is just opposite LBS. The weather is really great now .We felt so relaxed here.

The story of EJ and YL in London

It all started on one stormy night when EJ tried to pick up YL at a petrol station. He said: " Hope on the car, Barbie!I will give you a ride." YL was oblivious and wasn't too interested in the invitation. EJ was trying real hard to please YL with his new Macarena moves .
It seemed like it worked and YL agreed to go on a date with EJ to Leciester Square.They seemed to hit off well.
The relationship progressed really well. They seemed to start living with each other and enjoying the daily homecooked meals together after a few days
Eeeks....I cannot imagine what's going on between them.They seemed to love to be in tight white tees, showing off their bods. I need to excuse myself in this household where woman is not very welcomed.:)

Chicken and more Chicken!!

I never have eaten much fish since I came to States and I kinda of have been eating chicken all day long. I am getting abit sick of it but luckily the Prima Deli packs salvage the situation. I am pretty proud of the chicken dishes I have presented coz I have failed in other dishes which I tried. Frankly speaking, I think Ron is a better cook for me and he should do the cooking instead of me.HaHa.

Labour day weekend Sept 1- Sept 4th

Before, Steve and Carol arrived on friday evening, we had wonderful steak at this farmhouse which was a very homey farmshed located just at the side road in the mist of the jungle which you would easily miss the turn to reach there.It was meant to be a farewell party for Ron and I to London and I was wondering if there was a necessity for that...coz we are coming back in January again!!!Anyway ,I am still very touched. It showed Ron has made some true friends over this one year !!!Many koreans,Japanese,Thais,Hongkongers and ABCs!!!Anyone of them caught your eye?




Steve and Carol came over to visit us when the Ernesto Storm is still hitting the NorthEast.
We had lots of fun time with golf at Hillandale golf range where the course is much bigger than the previous one we went.

Let's welcome Buster Sherman!!!!
The dogs are here but my favourite is the SCOTTIE, Buster!!He just has so much character. And that day , I went to President Bush's website and realised his dog is a Scottie called Barney. And guess what he is so sweet that he bought Laura Bush another Scottie called Miss Beasley on her birthday. They looked exactly like Buster and loved to play with balls as well. But life in the palace is so much different from the commoners. Sigz..will there ever be equality? No wonder Buster looked so grumpy and helpless.....Check out the videos at the site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/barney/

Steve and Carol weren't too please with me for temptingg Buster to sleep with us and there they were feeling frustrated and din know how to gain back his attention. hahhaha, Buster loves me!!!And his fur is so warm!!!( Actuallie , I just happen to catch this shot while waiting for our Dim Sum lunch at Durham on Sunday )

When two becomes one

I realise there are certain trivial stuff which i get a bit frustrated with when we stayed as a couple and somehow i find that pretty amusing at times.

1) I prefer to use microwave to cook noodles and he prefers to use the traditional boiling method
2) I prefer to keep my kitchen neat and tidy even while I am cooking whereas he tends to clear up the mess after everything
3) He likes to watch gowdy films like ROME while I prefer my CINDERELLA and CHOCOLATE FACTORY
4) He tends to wet the whole bathroom while I prefer to keep it dry
5) He needs to sleep in an air-conditioned room and always like to keep the temperature cool while I prefer to just hv the fan or none.

Well,amazingly, as two stayed together , You always have to find ways to compromise but isn't that the fun part of marriage?When two becomes one?