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I haven't been blogging for a while.

I'm not in the mood. Last week was ... I dunno. Did a lot of things in London - musicals, art galleries, university campuses ... tiring, but fun all the same. And a bit more shopping of course - finally bought my bag in Covent Garden. I'll post some pics and hopefully a more cheery description of my trip another day. London was fun and all, but something's happened (or rather, didn't happen) that screwed up my whole holiday. I really can't complain or do anything much about it, but I'll do what I can.

Pn. Wong called me up earlier and asked some of us to come for some NiE thing tomorrow morning. Newspaper stuff again. It's good and all, especially when the Singapore press tags along - I should be happy. Recognition for your work is always good, and publicity is better - but it's a shame that it might be too late to use it to my advantage. I've been hopeful, but maybe it's always just been false hope. So near yet so far. Cliched, I know, but I can't help it. I've always been a dreamer, and always will be - so-called 'hope' will always be with me. I could use a little bit more right now.

I'm sick. My nose is runny, I've got a slight temperature and I'm super-lethargic - signs of the quintessential British cold. The weather's unpredicitable - it's nice and sunny now, but just wait for the afternoon. Cold, chilly showers and windy evenings all around - in June! But then again, it snowed in April, so I'm not surprised.

I've been helping to design a new take-away menu for Kak Erah's restaurant - Malay House - so it's been keeping me up for the past few days. I'm not complaining; I get unlimited access to Rashdan's computer - and all the broadband access I want along with it. Using Photoshop as usual, and surprisingly, all my fave fonts are present. Kozuka! Myriad Pro! Gotta love 'em.

It's coming to around half-past noon here. Nearly everyone's at the weekly boot sale, either in Hayes or Sidcup today, but I'm staying in. Loads of cheap but generally used useless stuff, though there's always inexpensive toiletries, choccies or fresh fruits (don't worry, these are brand new). Second-hand clothes, shoes, books and bric-a-brac aplenty. Spotted someone trying to flog Petaling Street-grade Louis Vuitton bags last week, which I think really are from Petaling Street, LOL. Poor Brit suckers. I'm not particularly fond of boot sales, which entails following Mama around, stopping at every stall and basically getting sore feet at the end of it all, collecting bags of new-old stuff along the way. A shopper's paradise, but definitely not for me. I prefer Covent Garden.

I do have fond memories of boot sales, though they're particularly confined to driving the car around in circles when I was 9 or having a deliciously sweet Lemon Ice from the Ice Cream truck in summer. Boot sales in winter though, are just, umm, cold. And talking about shopping etc, I bought a cool-looking fedora from H&M the other day, on Oxford Street. I have absolutely no idea when I might wear it, but it was only £4.99! That's cheap by London standards. Spotted a similar one in Topshop yesterday - £20! H&M is really quite cool - shame there aren't any shops in KL. Been following Mama around, so naturally I've been inclined to shop. There's a cheap store in Lewisham called Primark or something - really, really cheap stuff. Even cheaper than back home. Mama loves bargains, so I jumped the bandwagon and got a few shirts. Very Topman-esque shirts for a third of the price, so I'm happy. Isn't it plain sad? A week into London and I haven't done anything else. I really better start planning. Musicals, museums, tourist spots ... anyone have recommendations? Ironic really - you'd think that we'd have done it all living here for seven years. But then again, it's just the same in KL. It's always there, so we don't bother. Malas. We have two cars at our disposal - a Volvo and an Merc A-Class - but the Congestion Charge going into central London isn't worth it. Looks like the tube all the way then. Oh, and something I've just realised; I've started talking like the locals. My old accent's resurfacing. It's weird, but strangely fun to use, though only with the locals. I'm still a Manglish-er at heart.

I'd better get back to designing that menu. I'm already doing the fourth page, and I don't want to rush through it - I still want my unlimited internet access! Maybe I'll take it slow, tinker around a bit more - all for the sake of so-called perfection. Maybe I'll check my e-mail instead.

What's the time? It's way past midnight over here, so it should be 7+ in the morning back in KL ... I think. Anyhoo, I'm back online and blogging, albeit not very often - but hey, I'm improvising. I'm already vaguely sleepy, after a wet and blustery day walking around in Croydon looking for magazines.

Magazines! Finally found some design tomes - Wallpaper and Creative Review - after much looking around a few WHSmiths and newsagents. Movie mags aplenty though, and I've been hording special-edition Star Wars issues of Empire, complete with Vader-breathing sound thingamajiggies. Oh, and about Star Wars, I've been collectibles shopping - two Revenge of the Sith movie posters and a bobbing-head Darth Vader so far, and planning to get a few more. There's a mug I've been eyeing, but I've already run out of £ notes. Oh well. 

Haven't walked around London much yet - only Oxford, Regent and Carnaby Streets so far, incidentally on a rainy day. Typical English weather. I need a new bag! Well, I don't actually need one, but I'll have to get one to replace the old Mambo one soon, as Imran's claimed ownership. Looked around in FCUK, but they're too damn expensive (£80?!?) ... I'll just stick to Mambo. Cooler bags anyway. 

I've been meaning to visit the AA School and the Bartlett, but they don't seem to be open for visitors. No running exhibitions, so that's a damper. There's also a very, VERY interesting Fosters & Partners open-day sort of thing on the 21st, but I'll be back in KL by then ... *sigh*. So much for architectural stuff then. Maybe I'll just drop by the London Bridge area - City Hall and the Gherkin nearby. Photo op!

Bapak will be back tomorrow, so I'd better start planning next week. Maybe a musical. I really want to catch the new Queen one, We Will Rock You, but seems like it's only showing in July though. PotO, Les Miserables, Fame, Lion King .... which one? Suggestions? Have to book soon! Umm ... and what about the London Eye? Entahlah. Anything interesting will do, with the exception of Madame Tussauds. Been there, done that. Three times. 

Eh, and by the way - what do you guys want from London? Anything? I'm not buying those lame souvenirs this year, so be creative (and cheap!). Maybe I'll get some porn humour stuff for the guys (lame, tame, funny stuff - not raunchy crap. Down boys!) - there seems to be plenty of porn everywhere here, so it's not a longshot. Hey, if they can flash their tits on TV ...

OK, so I finally managed to get my internet connection sorted - three days after arriving no less. Flight was uneventful, as always. They had great movies on-demand, i.e. The Aviator and Hotel Rwanda but ended up watching In Good Company instead. Light fare's better on dull plane trips. And by the way, we got upgraded! Business class all the way. Lunch in the air was a long drawn out affair, what with breaks in between courses, but it was infinitely better than the usual economy. Too bad it's back to the usual on the way back, LOL. Oh well, so much for wide bucket seats.

Besides the usual travel hoo-hah, everything went smoothly and we arrived at Kak Erah's house by 7pm, local time. Horrible jam through the city centre, especially around Kensington, but that's expected on a Saturday evening. It's getting warmer nearing June, but nights are still chilly - wet mornings too! This time around we're taking things a little more slowly - last year was a mad rush. So far, all we've done is a little shopping in Ashford (bought shoes!) and going to car boot sales. Today - Monday - is a bank holiday, and understandably lots of people out shopping, so we're staying home. Bapak's going to Stuttgart tomorrow for business, so we'll stay here and plan our own things while he's away. Maybe tube-hopping through London, seeing the usual sights and sounds. Haven't been to the museums yet, but then again I'm not really in the mood. The London Eye sounds like fun, but long queues and the general pricey-ness of it all might just put Mama off it.

What about shopping? I'm only looking for a new bag, since my brother has a permanent hold on the Mambo one with the flying-V. Maybe I'll get a Topshop or an FCUK one for a change ... ah, but who cares anyway. Am I sounding constipated to you? Even in London I'm mind-numbingly bored, and incidentally sitting on a freezing floor in a compromising position isn't helping my writing today. Better get my bum off from the floor. I'll post something in a few days then - till then, bye for now!