Christmas in UK

Many probably wonder how British ppl celebrate their Christmas, or how Christmas is like in Britain. Is it more happenning?? Is it warmer feeling??

First of all, you'll always see this so called Christmas market. They sell stuff produced by local farmers, such as cheese, (disgusting) sausage, (ugly) painting and crafts, knitwear and even liquor (YES, they make random liquor with unknown alcohol level... see how dangerous it is). Anyway, normally you'll see Christmas market 1 month before christmas in every town and city.

The people in the stalls are all farmers disguised as artists. They're fucking stupid and have absolutely no idea of running a business. The photo below will explain what the fuck is wrong. My friend is looking at something and the owner just sit there and do nothing! What the FUCK is wrong with her?? She's not even doing anything!! She's not even trying to persuade my friend to buy anything or persuading others to come to her stall. I bet she's only interested in how many sheeps she have.


In Christmas eve itself, the photos below will explain how happenning the city celebrates Christmas.

This is taken in the city centre of Cardiff

This is taken outside my house in Cardiff

Yes. The labels are right. You don't see any decorations or anything as you've seen in TV, or probably the ones you see are from america rather than poor British. The streets are quiet and the whole city turns into a ghost town. Even rubbish man don't collect rubbish.

British actually hide in their pathetic small home with their families during Christmas. Hmm... Sounds more like Halloween to me.

Anyway, to all my readers and viewers, 'Merry Christmas and may the force be with you'. Haha... That's a bit futuristic... HAha...

Christmas shopping - Primark

This afternoon I did some shopping for christmas and to get some stuff for my ski trip. The high street was full of people. All the shops are packed with people, just like any other ordinary Christmas.

However I've realised something different. Most of the shops are packed with people, but there's hardly anyone queing up at the cashier. Seems like a lot of people just get in there to try new clothes and don't wanna buy anymore clothes. I guess this is due to the economic climate, and the people here are feeling the squeeze.

However, there's this one shop standing in the middle of the high street, where the queue is longer than the ones in the post office. It's Primark. For those who have done shopping in the UK will definitely know its presence.


So, what's so special about Primark. Well, they sell cheap clothings, with tolerable quality and up to date fashions. So how cheap, is cheap? I've got 2 pairs of gloves for my ski trip for 1.50 only. In terms of quality, I've been wearing their tie for the past 3 years and they're still here and still up to date.

My impression of Primark is that it operates more like a hypermarket for clothings. Normally, people carry a basket when they're shopping in Primark, and sometimes, you can see trolleys. I'm not joking, I'm serious.

All the items in Primark are all messy and all over the place including the floor (because there's too many people and too many clothes). It's always crowded in Primark, even during weekdays and non-festive seasons. Part of the security guard's job is to make sure that people queue up properly, rather than preventing theft.

Since the products that they sell are so cheap, it's the last thing that cross my mind to steal from Primark. Haha... What I'm really interested in is how and where does Primark managed to sell it's product in such a cheap price?

Get the products manufactured in China or India? There was once a report stating even if the goods are manufactured from foreign countries, it's still unable to bring down the price, due to taxes and transportation. There have been rumours that they've probably employed under-aged workers or they're involved in something else... Hmm... Probably money laundry?? Hmm.... I'm really puzzled....

Anyone knows more about Primark? Please let me know. I'm very curious about it.

Christmas Trip

Haven't been blogging these few days as I was busy arranging plans for Christmas.

We're planning of skiing in Scotland. But the problem is, there might not be any snow in the slopes. Argh... This really puts us off... This sounds ridiculous, but I hope it's gonna get colder and colder these days... Or else our trip is gonna be fucked!!!

If the ski slopes is really fucked, I guess all of us will just have to learn something called 'The Art of Doing Nothing'. I know many ppl have tried it in sandy beaches or somewhere with a warmer climates. But learning 'The Art of Doing Nothing' up in the highlands when it's cold... Haha...

Following photos are some that I've got when I went skiing in Charmonix, France. I guess it's too ambitious to hope that Scotland will look half as good as this.

Anyway, apart from skiing, we're going to Edinburgh for the Hogmanay. Biggest New Year's Eve in the whole UK. Can't really wait for it. I've been told that they close off the streets by 6.00 because the streets will be full of people... I mean ppl standing next to each other marching and can't do anything... Haha.... Let's just feed in to the crowd ... Haha...

Housing in UK

Many of you like to know what sort of place or the what the environment is like in a British neighbourhood. Well, this is what it looks like in a 8.30am Thursday morning.

Aboslutely!!! There's nothing to see and there's absolutely nothing but rows of houses, just like in Malaysia. Difference is, these houses are older than our age (as in adding up my age and your age). These houses have a history of nearly 100 years.


Just like in the movies. When houses are up for sale, agents put up wooden sign boards at that house. Just like the one below.



Anyway, this is the street where I am currently living. Took this random photos just to show you guys how ordinary UK is.

How many of you really think that "Honesty is the Best Policy", or how many of you still believe in it. Surprisingly, I still do. Haha...

Yesterday, I went to this Japanese restaurant called Tenkaichi and I've left 2 packs of orange juice there. Only realised it hours after I've left the restaurant. Well, it's a small matter, only cost me 3 pounds.... Easy come, easy go.

This afternoon, some random thoughts crashed into my mind. I got their phone number and phoned them, with a glimpse of hope that they'll keep my orange juice. Guess what, they really keep my orange juice. Wahaha... I felt so fucking lucky and said I'll come and collect them.

In the evening, I went to the same restaurant to collect it. It's the very same packets of orange juice that I've left there. It's in the very same plastic bag with the same receipt in it. What a miracle. I wanted to award the waitress who kept it for me, but she's not working tonight. Too bad then....

I guess in this society (referring to the whole world except british), there's actually nice and good people around us. It's just a matter of trusting each other. Haha... I felt like i've been touched by an angel....

Not this Ji Bai angel lar.... The one below lar... Haha....

Victim of the recession

I feel like a victim of the recession today. British pound is falling like hell this month, cause the British government is cutting interest again. Shit! I hate this. I fucking hate it!

The exchange rate now is 1GBP to RM5.34. It's fucking low.... And the 1 GBP against USD is 1.5. Against Euros is 1.13. Shit!!! This is damn low and there are speculations saying that the rate against Euros will drop until 1.08!!!

I really feel like a victim of the recession and I can't do anything. If I transfer my money to other currencies, I'm gonna need some british pound here because I'm staying here. If I transfer my money back home, I'll lose in exchange rates, I'll lose out in commission and also I won't get any interest as I don't have a foreign bank account. I feel so fucking helpless.

From what I've heard, the economy in Malaysia is not doing very well either. Mainly due to instability in politics which deters foreign investors. The rise in crime rate also makes it difficult to run a business, let alone foreign investors.

Tell you what the foreigners think about the economy in Malaysia is like. It's an oil production country, hence it's rich. Located in the South East Asia, lots of people often have the impression that our political stance is something similar like Indonesia and Thailand. Malaysia's reputation in corruption and bribery can be ranked in the top 10 countries in the world. Basically, we are just as 'competitive' as the government in China, or maybe worse. This is how bad it is. Sooner or later, we might have to compare ourselves with countries in Africa.

I'm so helpless in this recession. Can't do a thing and feel like a sitting duck. I bet it's worse for ppl who used to work in banks and have lost their jobs overnight.

Christmas party

It's the time of the year again.... Christmas... My office is having 'Secret Santa' among us this year, which means everyone will have to buy someone a present. I don't know what to get for my colleague. What if she doesn't like it? On top of that, my friends are exchanging presents too. So, another present for a friend. I'm really stuck in what to buy for my colleagues and friends, cause I hardly buy presents. In chinese culture, we don't buy presents, we just give money. Haha...

The following are some random ideas that I had in my intoxicated mind, but most of them seemed to be too random and impossible.

This is said to be the coolest christmas present... Haha... Only in America??

Secret gift for my colleagues.... Haha...

This will be nice for the girls. It even squirts white stuff... How cool is that??? And I guess this should be quite cheap.

I hope I can find my christmas present here.... Haha....

I guess I'll just make something and give it away as a present. Maybe a cheesecake or I'll cook something? Buying presents just isn't my thing. It's always the same old presents... chocolates, wine, gadgets.. At the end of the day, it'll be forgotten and thrown in the bin when someone moves houses. Better to make some food which can be eaten straight away or shared among everyone. Haha...

Secret of Christmas

Christmas is coming soon. I'm not a christian, but have anybody ever wondered what does Santa Claus, flying reindeer, a pine tree, presents, socks and all those stuff have to do with christmas??? I thought Christmas was just the birth of Jesus Christ.

So I started doing some research on my own. So who is Santa Claus? From what I've heard, Santa Claus is some generous guy who likes giving people money secretly. He help the poor secretly by dropping money or gifts into ppl's house without them knowing it. And this later on were turned into giving presents and then exchanging presents.

So what about flying reindeers? Before I explain anything, have you guys ever heard of 'Shrooms' or 'Magic Mushrooms'? It's a type of mushroom, which will make someone hallucinate and has been used as a drug a long time ago. These mushrooms are very rare. Shrooms act as 'catalyst' and your body doesn't absorb anything from it. So, certain ppl claim that it's safe.







Now back to the reindeer business. Reindeers like eating these mushrooms. They can sniff them out and always dig them out and eat it. And yes, the reindeers like to get high and hallucinate. When they get high, they'll just jump around and runs around happily, although I've never seen one before. Haha...

So how do people find these mushrooms. Remember me saying that shrooms cannot be absorbed by the body... Well, what the ppl in the past did was to either to use a reindeer to sniff out these mushrooms or drink their urine.... Haha... Yes, you can drink the reindeer's urine and get high, and use your urine again and again.....

So, when the people drank the urine and started hallucinating, they 'saw' the reindeers flying. I guess that's the story of the flying reindeers. And probably, that's what people do during christmas in the older days. Haha...

Anyway, if anyone of you ever wondered how it feels like to hallucinate? Well, follow the link below and follow the instructions. I think it's cool. Haha... Stare at your palm after staring at screen, you'll see your flesh moving. Haha...

http://www.neave.com/strobe/

Merry Christmas to all my readers. I could probably be the first person to wish you all 'Merry Christmas'. :D Hehe...

Thekla

Went clubbing in Bristol on Saturday night. The club is called Thekla and is on a ship in the river. The club was alright and plays electro musics. The crowd was alright apart from ppl pushing against each other.

As you can see, the ship itself is actually a clubhouse. The decoration and environment makes me feel more or less like a sailor (apart from the gay thing....). The old ship, a bar, ppl dressing up as sailors.... It was something different and a new experience.

The people there were nice people and mainly youngsters of age around 18 to 22. Everyone was friendly apart from the pushing around in the dance floor.

Something exciting happened that night. When I was sitting at one of the benches drinking beer, a British girl suddenly came over and sat on my lap. My friends were amazed staring at me and were laughing. That girl really caught me off guard.

I then asked the girl if she's alright. She then moved away and came back sitting next to me. I ignored her because I know that we haven't got a place to stay in Bristol for some action. Besides, I was there for a friend's birthday, and I will feel bad fooling around with another girl. Too bad for that... Maybe miracles could happen to me again....

Christmas Party

Tonight, my company is having our official 'Christmas-Do', or Christmas Party. It will be held in 'Mercure' hotel near our office and it's gonna be a formal dinner. I was in the Christmas party last year, guess I didn't really like formal dinners so I'm not going there tonight.

I hate formal dinners. Around the table, you get ppl dressing up formally (which is what we wear everyday, suit and tie) talking about formal stuff. On the table, you get more cutleries and plates than the food itself. Everyone's movement is restricted and you can't talk or laugh loudly.

Now the worst part of the dinner.... The pathetic western food. This is what a typical British will have for Christmas Dinner. Roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, carrots and roast potatoes. I don't really like them. Turkey is one of the cheapest meat and has no flavour in it. So they'll roast the turkey with lots of herbs when roasting it. It doesn't make any difference, because the turkey is still dry and tasteless.

British food is all about appearance. By just arranging the food in the dish a little bit, pour some sauce/gravy around the meat, sprinkle whatever random herbs, and it will be a 5 star dinner. Doesn't matter what they taste like, because they only care about the appearance and the alcohol after the dinner.

So far, I think roast potatoes are the best dish that British can ever produce. Anything other than that would either be cooked by others or it tasted like shit. So how to make a good roast potato. Boil the potato until it is partially cooked, drain the water, rub duck fats around the potato (this is essential) and roast it in an oven until it turns golden brown. Just how simple is that??? Fucking British can't cook.

Finally, here comes the worst dessert of all... the fucking 'Christmas Pudding'... Don't be deceived by its appearance. It's something like a fruit cake with raisins and berries. You will then pour some brandy on top of the cake and eat it. Some prefer to flame the brandy before eating it, as shown in the picture above.

Screw the company christmas dinner. I'd prefer clubbing in Bristol.

Not this club... But I would fancy using this club to smash something up. Haha.... I'm violent...

We're going to this club in Bristol which is on a ship. Not sure if there's any chance to meet some girls there, as I will lost my 'home ground' advantage. Haha...

Cold winter

It's so fucking cold here today. It started snowing in Manchester, Leeds, North Wales and even london. But not here in Cardiff. Haha... But anyway, it's still cold!!!! Too cold to bother do anything....

Those of you who like it here because it's cold, it's 0 degree celsius already. It means the water in the streets are frozen and slippery.

It means the air here is dry (Most of the moisture content freeze and dry). It means your lips are all cracked.

Not those lips... Hmmm.... not sure if they'll dry out...

I mean these lips....

If you really wanna know how cold it is over here, go to the freezer, look at the frozen chicken. Touch it, and this is how cold my hands are. Now imagine yourself as the chicken in the freezer for a few months. Haha...

If you're homeless here, and you might get one of these... Frost Bites....

Look at the black finger tips... It's called frost bites... This is what you get if you sleep in the streets if you wear torn socks and shoes.

This is how cruel winter is... It's not fun, it's fucked!!! And I'm now sick again, so I'm on sick leave tomorrow. Woohoo....!!! :D

Frog legs

It was a friend's birthday yesterday. We went to this Chinese restaurant near my house to have dinner. The restaurant itself was quiet and looks more or else like a 'Chinese Restaurants for Westerners'. Haha... The reason we were there because one of us recommended the restaurant so we thought we'd give it a try. (I wasn't too sure about this at first.)

When I sat down and read the menu, I'm surprised that they serve proper chinese food. You know, not those 'Kung Pow Chicken', 'Sweet and Sour Chicken', 'Dragon Fried Rice', 'ChowMein', 'Spare Ribs' etc.

What made me surprise the most, is that they serve frog legs. Haha... Yes, frog legs in UK... 田鸡 This made me even more excited, and we ordered it too.

No. Not this kinda frog legs... Haha... This kind of frog is poisonous one... Cannot eat one... You can only lick... Haha.... What the fuck???
It's this kind of frog legs... I wonder where they get these from?? I don't see them in supermarket or anywhere. Hmm... Probably something illegal in UK... Haha... Whatever lar....

Frog legs just made me think back when I was a kid. Every morning follow my mom or dad to the market and watch them skin the frogs. Haha... Managed to find this little video clip from Youtube, showing how the frogs got skinned.... Amitaba....

I guess all readers and visitors are old enough to watch this. Because if you're under 18, you're not allowed to visit my blog because it's full of thoughts from my intoxicated mind... Hehe... But fuck it lar...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1B_Z_i5uiQ

Fight

Yesterday, my friends and I nearly got involved in a fight. The boss cheated his gf's salary (approximately 400 pounds). Finally, a chance to get involved in a fight in Britain.

No... I also wish i had a chance to have pillow fight with these girls.... I mean a real fight...

This is more like... At least it was how I felt. Cause when my friend asked me if I wanna beat up someone, I was holding the kitchen knife... Hmm.... Hehe...

But anyway, no fight broke out. The boss said he'll pay her back the money and everything is settled.... Haha... another close encounter.... Hehe...

India hotel bombing

I'm sure many have heard about the bombing in the Indian hotel. Killing and injuring many people.

There's something very suspicious about this bombing event. The newspapers here said the gunmen were equiped with automatic weapons and grenades, and they were aiming for British and American passport holders.

Hmm... With an automatic weapon and grenades, they could only kill 1 British and injure 13 British. Another strange thing is, they've killed and injured more Indians than British or Americans.

Either the gunmen are fucking retards or they don't know how to use their weapons. Or the local indians are protecting the British and Americans, resulting higher casualties. But this is still nonsense. I'm not convinced of what the newspaper said and I'm sure there's more dead British and American.

I think the British government here will try to do something, but i don't think they have the ability to go to war. They've got more things to worry about. A war against India will only make British poor, because of logistics and the war will last quite long.

Lost a Bid

Today is another sad sad day in the office. Everyone in the office is very depressed and most of the managers and directors are all worried. We lost a bid for a framework contract.... T_T

The client is Camarthenshire County Council (CCC), and we have worked together for more than 5 years. Sadly, we've lost in the tender. Almost half of the work/jobs in our office comes from CCC, and we've lost it!!! We even opened up a new office in Camarthen so that we're more competitive, but we lost it.

You see the bunch of roads in the west of Britain. That's where Camarthen is.

Loosing in this bid means most of the staff in our office will be redundant. Probably some staffs will move to other offices while some unlucky ones will be sacked. The recent increase amount of work from the Highways Agency will probably absorb some staffs from our team.

Everyone in the office are all depressed and worried. Our colleagues in the new Camarthen office is getting a little paranoid and have been ringing us frequently. Oh dear....



So what if I got sacked??? I'm not too worried about that, because normally they would aim for managers first, simply because they have higher salaries. Although pawns like me are dispensable, I'm not worried. If I got sacked because of redundancy, the company will have to compensate... Hehe... So please... sack me.... And if I really get sacked, I'll just get back to Malaysia and start my life.... because I'm not really having a good time here...