Christmas Shopping On Oxford St.

** Dusting of snow **
No, not even some dusting of snow will deter determined shoppers! This morning's light snowing has caused some mild excitement in me (as i normally do not like snow), with the result of me sticking my tongue out hoping a small snowflake will land at the tip of the tongue. Alas, I still have not tasted snow!

The chip-pea couple experienced more snow than we do at London, whiter than white! Isn't it lovely? Happy Christmas to you, chip-peas!

London: The shopping experience

Christmas Shopping On Oxford St. < Originally uploaded by BKMworld.

Look at what we need to brave on Boxing Day and the day after!! The crowd, the crowd!
Elbow to elbow, every shop, every street. Unbelieavable Christmas in London. It's the sale again.

I did not see this but that would be interesting.

Some antics of non-shoppers:

Buy_Nothing_Day_Xmess 05073 Originally uploaded by reubeniz.

Buy_Nothing_Day_Xmess 05057 Originally uploaded by reubeniz.

Things that make my blood boil.

1) Defensive & Offensive (job) interviewer(s).

Recently, I went for an interview as a Snr Allocator.
The interviewer (Yes, ONE interviewer!) was good in her questions but she needs to be less defensive and offensive. By offensive, I mean, she kept cutting me off mid-sentence! Anyway, looking through their financial performance, i am absolutely shocked that their majority shareholder is still keeping this company. They posted a loss of £0.4M last year, which is AN IMPROVEMENT form the previous years. I know improvements are always good. But they need to really have a paradigm shift in the way they do business.
My impression of what they are doing now is, (this is what i gather from the interviewer) that they are still dictated by suppliers. Recently there was an article on the papers (Metro) highlighting that consumers are not too happy about buying their furniture and only getting them delivered in average of 42 days. That translates to 6 weeks. And from my research on their website, this company has an average delivery lead of 8 weeks, and they sometime even go as long as 13 weeks! And when i pose this question to the interviewer, she said they're still working closely with suppliers to improve this. Still, I’m not at all convinced that they are willing to work outside their comfort zone. They better be prepared when the cheese have been moved!


2) I will not even try to justify this piece of article with an opinion!!

http://www.metro.co.uk/metro/standard/article.html?in_article_id=32662&in_page_id=1

Quoted

“CONVICTED CRIMINALS COULD soon be sent to the front of the queue at Jobcentres in a drive to stop them re-offending.

The ex-cons, who fall into the 'hardest to help' category alongside single parents and people with disabilities, will then be given priority in finding work.”

And

“The Government insists the system would not favour a particular type of job-seeker but would 'recognise the barriers offenders face to get a job'.”

ONLY IN THE UK!! I say. I sighed.

Eye in the Sky

Weekends..

Those who work usually wait longingly for the arrival of Friday, because it's nearer to the weekend. Weekends are for relaxation.

But to me.. It's time to get out and about.

This is what i did last weekend.



London Underground was having a promotion -"Everyone's London" (link available here http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/everyones-london/index_flash.asp) and one of their attractions was for the British Airway's London Eye. Ticket prices were a steal @ 2 for 1 (adult tickets)prices, which is exclusive to Oyster Card holders.

** Editted**

I have always wanted to go visit this overrated, expensive tourist trap lovely architectural landmark of London.. so it was well worth it! We even get conned managed to browse through their strategically placed souvenir counter and bought ourselves a personalised gift- £10 for a medium-sized photo and 1 keychain and 1 fridge magnet!

Also.. it's a THURSDAY! One more day before the weekend starts!

Dinners @ M's!

Now, just because we cook dinner every night doesn't mean our dinners have to be boring, does it?

One good thing that came out of the situation in the last post, is of course my improvement in whipping out dishes and them tasting good!

Last week, I managed to grab some (grocery) shopping after the photography session. Part of my shopping included some scallops. They do stock some pretty good-looking scallops at M&S.

During the weekend, I decided to cook them using the absolutely DELICIOUS sauce* that M's mom brought over during their last visit. This is an excellent sauce and hey, it makes cooking so much more delightful! (Of course it is. Wonderful for people like me!)

I let the picture speaks for itself... with instructions and all.

And yes, you should add some garnish to the dish. I couldn't find any in my kitchen.. so had to do without!
(Look! You're drooling on your keyboard!)

*absolutely DELICIOUS sauce= Nyonya-sauce-in-a-bottle by Gimson

Hope

Mangrove seedling Originally uploaded by Marwano.

Another interview came and gone. Days before this, I spent most of my time reading up on the furnishing sector, Mkt analysts’ reports and the Furniture Retailing business. All these in anticipation of the big day.
So, looking back, what went wrong? Obviously, I am not very happy with the outcome. And judging from my luck these days, I am least optimistic about securing a job anytime soon.
It’s a depressing situation. I have not taken this long looking for work. Was it simpler back in the days when I just graduated? Not at all. Was I more well prepared then? Don’t think so. So, what gives? Surely having experience working in the Energy Industry previously must have helped right? So why am I going backward instead?

I have heard many stories about people having a difficult time looking for jobs. Now I have first hand experience. And it is not exactly something you can put at the back of your mind and only take it out when you want. If I have a family depending on me, I would have starved them ages ago! So anyway, I never believed (before this) that it is THAT depressing. When people tell me about this getting a job situation, I have always rationalized that you just need to put more effort into it. Stop moping and get the job done. Yes, that is until I am faced with this myself.

So, back to my question: So what gives?
1. Out of touch. After so long being in a limbo and adding to the fact that I have very little social contact with people in the industry (any industries). I have somewhat lost that zest, and the ability to grasp and articulate my thoughts in business sense.
2. Inferior complex. British accent makes me feel inferior. I cannot comprehend this complexity.
3. Half hearted effort. Really? Well, so I did read all the market reports, the company profile. But did I really put myself to understand it? I tried, but I didn’t try enough, probably.

Stuck in a rut
Often, situation like this would spiral out of control and if I don’t get a grip on myself soon enough, I would spiral into oblivion and get myself hurt in the process.

Time to get the whip out and start whipping!!
Moving here without a job can be quite a worry, not because I need the money, but because I need to feel useful, I need to feel BUSY. But I never stopped asking (praying) for a passionate job!
I need a financial and personal breakthrough soon. I anxiously need a revelation on where I should go with my career..

Meanwhile, let this remind me why I am here:

Faith

Makes all things possible..

Hope

Makes all things work..

Love

Makes all things beautiful.

Starry starry night....

After gym yesterday evening, I had to stop by the nearby M&S to pick up some food (and to wait for M). They have started to lit up the trees in More London Place. Glittery-bling-blings make me happy! So I decided to stop to snap some photos (with my cameraphone, mind you)..
The results do not do justice to the awe of the place. And it was actually a crescent moon last night but the photo came out a full moon. Well, it is afterall a cameraphone.

90º to the left, this is what i see. Nice 6 More London Place (walls painted in red on the left) and the restaurant/bars on the right carefully (but shamefully) framed the not-very-distant Tower Bridge. Nearby is the (London) Major's office, a unique landmark by itself.

The Christmas atmosphere in London is awesome!

Double 7.

The anxiousness of this morning went smoother than i had imagined. After breakfast, I proceeded to read up and try to cram as much as i can into the little brain in anticipation of what may lie ahead.

The agreed time was 11.30am but at 11am, the call came. We introduced ourselves and the process began. I gave a brief introduction of my past experiences and at the end, he managed to comment "Alot of numbers crunching then!". Yes. I hope it's a good thing.

It was quite a pleasant conversation with a duration of 45 mins.
At the end of it, I guess i have managed to persuade him that my past experiences were of good use to this role :) But there are tests, of course. Numeracy test and writing tests to ensure that I will be a fit Analyst.

I will probably know the outcome soon. Hope all goes well!

the interview
Originally uploaded by flickerbook1.

Nervous... and new background!

Hope all goes well tomorrow. And that is why i haven't anytime to update here..
And due to request, i have taken out my previous post.

And Merry Christmas.. i designed this background using Photoshop. I know, green and pink.. is not exactly christmassy.. hehe..! But it has to jive with my whole scheme of colours.

Walking on air..

rise above the sunrise Originally uploaded by awfulsara.

What is more romantic than sailing hundreds of feet above ground, in a hot air balloon transcending the vast horizon with sights such as this?
Well, I recently heard that a very lucky person sailed in a balloon similar to this one, across the Melbourne landscapes, and at approximately a thousand feet off the air, her bf gave her a proposal (infront of 8 others)! Talk about being on cloud nine!

~~ This post has been partially removed due to request ~~

Round and Round the Roundabout

Sign 0011 Originally uploaded by ektopia.

Britain’s obsession with roundabouts is really quite funny. I never knew that it was this obsession that was also imported into Malaysia when they ruled over Malaya until a Singaporean ex-colleague pointed it out to me. And I never knew Malaysia has quite of a lot of roundabouts ourselves. Near to where my house in in PJ, we just had one abolished to make way for newer more advanced method of road system- the traffic light junctions. Also, the “world’s smallest roundabout” is about a KM away from my house.

Roundabout Originally uploaded by embleton.

According to wikipedia, the first actual modern roundabout was constructed in New York City, United States in the early 20th century. However, the widespread use of roundabouts began when British engineers reengineered the traffic circle in the mid-1960s to overcome its limitations of capacity and for safety issues. I’ve seen so many of them everywhere here in London.

Yesterday I boarded the bus to go to the Retail Park. The double-decker bus I was on was overtook, albeit not according to the traffic rule, by a truck at the roundabout. This is a busy 6-exits, traffic-light-controlled roundabout. And because of the amount of exits there are, the distance between each exit is a short distance, thereby limiting the driver’s ability to get into lane fast enough, especially if you are driving a big vehicle. The truck came very close to scratching the right side of the bus where I was sitting. But apparently, at the front, the truck has managed to knock the driver’s side-view mirror. And instead of only getting upset at the truck driver and implode, the bus driver decided to overtake the truck driver at the next traffic light (still within the roundabout), and verbally threaten him that he (the bus driver) is not gonna let the other driver off for doing that. The lights changed and the bus driver, still obviously being commanded by road-rage, decided not to let this go.. No.. He maneuvered a little more to the left to try to block the right side of the truck now.. and release the brakes little by little and when the truck tried to move, it made a sickening scratch on the left side of the bus. Mind you, the exit door is on the left and yes, it’s blocked. It’s blocked and we cannot get out.

Columbus Crcle, New York Originally uploaded by Esthr.

(The roundabout looks abit like this, but a much smaller version)

Calling to report this accident, I can hear the driver of my bus “explaining” his side of the story. A fellow passenger decided to have a word with the driver, obviously not pleased that his journey is delayed. This passenger is polite and tried to tell him that he could’ve avoided this accident.. but the driver got mad at him instead. Anyway, cutting a long story short, we were let out via the back emergency door into the busy roundabout into a passing bus. A kind passenger held my hand to jump from the higher platform onto the hard tarmac (How do they expect the elderly to do this?), into the waiting bus. Well now, isn’t this a wonderful experience of a different kind? My short journey to Tesco is made more interesting at this roundabout thanks to a very short-tempered London bus driver.

More roundabout pictures...

This must be my favouritest roundabout in the world! A Sculpture by Pierre Vivant, 1998. (Canary Wharf). I was in the car on a nice summer evening going to the cinema and we passed by this most interesting sight! It looks like this.

The Traffic Light Tree Originally uploaded by Hector Loudon.

(Tsu Lin's favourite roundabout in London!)

And ever heard of a "Magic Roundabout"?

(The Magic Roundabout)

According to wikipedia, this "Magic Roundabout" (not to be confused with the children's television programme The Magic Roundabout) can be found in the town of Swindon in Wiltshire, England. This roundabout is made up of one large center roundabout and five smaller (mini) roundabouts around the center. Traffic can circulate clockwise or counter-clockwise around the main central roundabout, with the normal rule applying at each mini-roundabout within.

Similar systems are found in various places in England. Magic roundabouts are also known as "Ring Junctions".

I conquered Tumblebugs!

(Screen capture of my victory!)

23:02 HURRAH!

Finally, tonight after an exhilarating 3 hours sitting infront of the lappy ..and about the 19,898th time playing Level 12, I managed to finish all sub-levels. There are, as usual 8 sub-levels in each levels of Tumblebugs. So, after a most exciting time at 12-7 (which reduced my life from 5 to 2), I maintained my calm till the end. Thanks to CG who introduced this to me, I've been playing this game for the past 3 months.. trying to reach the end.

Tumblebugs, like Zuma and Luxor, is a puzzle game shooting coloured beatles at the line to make matches at the "advancing line of colored balls”. This frees the bugs being captured by the Evil Black Bugs who want to take them to their lair and make them slaves.

This is satisfying indeed!

Hmm... .. (Yes, life of an unemployed surely borders boredom, no?)Next please!

Looking back - A year ago.

Having not worked for almost a year certainly is not something that I like getting used to. And sometimes I do become a tad melancholy looking back at life when I am more financially independent. And of course, working so close to Suria KLCC, I am obviously innocently exposed to the 6 times a year sale in Malaysia. And how much has Tsu Lin contributed (in personal finances) to the Malaysian economy? Well.. apart from tax, it’s all in the shopping! When I moved from my Project Management job into my last position, a Marketing role doing mostly analytical, category managing and merchandising, I also got :-

1) A place nearer to the café bar, the company’s break-out area. This is a “happening” floor and you can pick up one or two hot topics here. Or, if you’re really lucky! You get roped into many “interesting” conversations.. just by “being in the vicinity”. It gets abit too distracting at times, so sometimes I would hot-desk at one of our discussion rooms to get some peace and quiet. ^_^

2) A desk with a view! Well, the view is pretty amazing, having the luxury of overlooking KLCC’s park, its fountain area with the lush surrounding green lung. Yup. Sometimes when I do work late, I take a break by swiveling my chair around to take in the fantastic view below. Usually at 5.30pm, they would’ve turned on the fountain and lights and from above, the view is just stunning. It beats the old view – looking at the crawl along Jalan Ampang, and beyond!

(View from my desk, circa 2003)

3) Nearer to the ladies. Well.. what can I say? I’m a person who likes the shortest (walking) distance to anywhere.. so, if I can save 28steps from walking to the loo (No, I never counted. I’m just saying), that is so much better. Hey, the saved calories can be better utilized doing REAL work.. like thinking (Yes)

4) Further away from my boss.. Infact, he’s not even in the same building! Whoohoo. No, but I have a great relationship with my boss- LY, my much-respected mentor in Merchandising. LY is based in Singapore and we’d often catch up with work by keeping in close contact via teleconference, or by the frequent meet-up required by the job. So traveling is also quite often for me. Although not as often as was in my first role. But not that I’m complaining.

5) To work with suppliers and vendors of the FMCG industries.. some of whom I still keep in contact.

6) The chance meeting with the love of my life.

And from there, starts a new life here.

Home and my favourite things..

Random shots of home. I love using Picasa2. After learning about Picasa2 from Mooiness! (I read this blog occasionally), I decided to upload install it and boy, isn't this addictive?! Spent the whole of yesterday editing photos and exploring the features of Picasa. The Picasa flickr group was most helpful. I learnt how to do a few collages trick from there. More collages can be found in my flickr album



Another collage of my favourite things. I made the image of myself using Yahoo Avatar (after seeing MVO did one of herself). I wonder if it looks like me indeed?

I hate this template which doesn't allow me to edit my posts very easily. I seem to need to use HTML coding instead, even for paragraphing and re-alignment of the pictures. Argh!

Triple Temptations

Triple Temptations
Originally uploaded by Beezy..

1) To travel.
2) Do a postgraduate course.
3) Work.

So, my heart tells me I should go all out, find a job. And i really do love to work. But landing a job with my kind of visa is tough unless i settle for a general role such as admin.
I've done alot of travelling for the past 10 months, and i have a feeling I most probably will do so for the next few years, which I don't really mind.

But yes, a postgrad sounds good .. at least i'd be kept occupied at something and at the end of it, i'll be armed with something i can use here.

Temptations or dilemma?

"By the power of grayskull, I've got the power!"

Why so gay?
Originally uploaded by Tsu Lin.

So says He-Man. But wait, according to a recent documentary on cartoons - "100 most interesting cartoons" (or some title to that effect) which i sat down to watch for some 10 mins last weekend, it was disclosed that He-Man was gay-ish. Yes, gay. The character with shoulder-length blonde hair, hunk body with metal belts and one of the most watched (and loved) cartoons for the boys (and some girls) in the 80's is revealed as being gay. Not so comforting knowing we grew up in this era, huh?

So, now you know! And to those of you who laughed at me because I don't watch much cartoons when i was young (Sure, there were the occasional Smurfs and Road Runner to keep my dinnertime occupied, but it's really kept to a minimum -the cartoons, i mean, not the dinner.).. There you go, so i do know something about cartoons. And in keeping to the good natured moral of cartoons, I hereby dedicate this post to you (WS), you and you.

Just a little *pointless* trivia that I thought I'd share with you. Have a nice day!
^-^

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

This post is dedicated to someone close to me on her very special day today. Happy Birthday to you.. Happy Birthday to you..

Have a great 22nd Birthday, Vivienne!

zZzzZzz..

Proeproe 0901
Originally uploaded by nils ♫.

Been a long day.

Need advertiser's money.

Need advertiser's money.
Originally uploaded by Tsu Lin.

I'm fond of the companies that i worked with. Especially having such fond memories of more than 4 years of working with this company (click image to enlarge).And so sometimes when i spot the logo, i get excited (ok, mildly excited).
This was spotted along the streets of Vienna. It's just too funny to miss!

Blogging?? Baah!

I don't blog. I only chose this template because i need to make comments on pixel/mvo/jaremfan's blogs. And it's only natural that I chose this template, as Green is one of my favourite colours! The others include Orange, Fuchsia Pink and probably white.

Blogging Moms/Dads

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Use Real Butter