The Lion King

I’m sure everyone has watched the Disney movie and knows what it is all about; a lion cub named Simba, the rightful heir to the throne of Pride Land and how he was banished from his land by his Uncle Scar who wanted to be King.

We were at the Lyceum Theatre in Covent Garden last Thursday evening catching this famed musical.

The musical was absolutely wonderful; from the beautifully choreographed dances to the extensive and elaborate costumes.

Lions being the main characters (Mufasa, Scar and Simba), had costumes that featured mechanical headpieces that can be raised and lowered, there were giraffes - actors on stilts, the famous happy-go-lucky meerkat and warthog duo i.e. Timon and Pumbaa, Scar’s sidekicks – the three hyenas, antelopes, cheetahs, wildebeests, wild buzzards and much much more.

The stage was utterly amazing and the live ensemble was brilliant; there were musicians playing drums and percussions in the balcony and if you glanced at the bottom of the stage, you’d find the violin, flute, piano and basically the complete composition of the ever so talented orchestra performing the famous soundtracks - Circle of Life, Hakuna Matata and Can You Feel the Love, to name a few.

I have to make a special mention of the cute giraffes and baby elephant. And how I simply loved it when all the animals came on stage for the Circle of Life, it was very moving.

The musical was no doubt award winning material but we were both truly knackered due to the on goings in the day, our harried schedule attempting to get there in a timely manner, in addition to the lack of energy as we were fasting. At the risk of contradicting myself, I did enjoy the musical very much, exhaustion notwithstanding.

Happy IK Day

Instead of counting candles
Or tallying the years
Contemplate your blessings
As your birthday nears.

Consider special people
Who love you, and who care
And others who’ve enriched your life
Just by being there.

Think about the memories
Passing years can never mar
Experiences great and small
That have made you who you are.

Another year is a happy gift
So cut your cake, and say,
"Instead of counting birthdays,
I count blessings every day!"

***

May you find what you are seeking in this lifetime and
may your heart be filled with joy, contentment and happiness, today and always.

Happy Birthday IK!

We Love You Lots,
Ninnie, Cleo, Ginster and the Wharfer.

Portsmouth

We spent the weekend at Portsmouth, about a 2-hour drive away south of London. Portsmouth is right by the sea and has a lot of touristy things to do at the seafront. This is also where you'd take a ferry ride across to the picturesque Isle of Wight.

We arrived just before eleven and drove straight into Gunwharf Quays car park, unsure where we were heading to really. But I was pleasantly surprised. Previously a Naval Base, Gunwharf Quays has been transformed into a blend of designer outlet shops and restaurants. I was quite excited at the prospect of finding bargains despite the strict embargo on my spending. You will soon find out that I am all talk and no action. *Hangs my head in shame*

We whizzed past Oasis Monsoon Gap LK Bennet [with great difficulty on my part] and went straight to the waterfront that was conveniently situated outside the shopping area, and made our way into the Spinnaker Tower ticket office. The tower looked kind of like the Burj El Arab but is nothing a large as the Burj. Apparently it is very popular and is expecting its millionth visitor on the 25 th of September 2007 [despite opening to public less than two years ago].

Spinnaker Tower

We went up to the viewing deck to get a bird's eye view of the harbour, the Solent and the town itself. As it was a cloudy day, visibility was limited and we could barely see the Isle of Wight across the sea. The view would have been more stunning had the weather been better.

Level 2 Viewing Deck

We were on the deck for about half and hour, looking out into the sea, the marinas, the naval ships docked around the port and IK was trying to figure out the schedule and timing of the ferry rides to the Isle of Wight from atop the tower, before finally going down to the outlet stores for a little 'look-see' but shopping was strictly not permitted I told myself. Yeah right. It was futile trying to resist temptation when these stores were screaming discount, 70% off, sale, etc at my face. My budget was blown to smithereens, so was IK's as soon as he stepped into Timberland. We spent a good 4 hours burning holes in our pockets before finally leaving for some more sight seeing [Simply because that was the main itinerary of our Portsmouth trip, wasn't it? I so need to focus].


We drove out to the historic waterfront area, and got to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Here we viewed the world famous historic ships - HMS Victory, HMS Warrior 1860 and Mary Rose. The HMS Victory was beautiful indeed. You should see the joy in IK's eyes gawking at the battle ships and carriers, not dissimilar to me in a shoe shop really. As we were late, we couldn't get tickets to see the museums [phew] but plans have already been made for a repeat visit with my dad in October to spend an entire day at the dockyard visiting the numerous museums. They share the same interest in these sorts of [dull] stuff, unlike I who could not even feign any enthusiasm for all things HMS-related. We've agreed that the next time, I will be at Gunwharf Quays shopping while they stare in glee at old ships and such.

HMS Victory

HMS Warrior 1860

After mooching around the dockyard, we headed to Southsea seafront just to chill by the beach. There is a little amusement park, lots of stalls selling ice cream, hot dogs, fish and chips, candy floss etc. Going sight seeing during the fasting month certainly had its little drawbacks! IK is now craving for those wretched ice cream cones; where in heavens name would I find them? Anyways, we strolled along the pebbly beach a bit, IK confirmed that the water was very cold, and left soon as the wind became too chilly for me. Oh, there was Southsea castle at Southsea seafront area where Henry VIII watched the Mary Rose sink into The Solent, which we gave a miss simply because after Leeds and Windsor castles in June, I've much about had enough of castles to last me a lifetime!

We enjoyed our little outing and I'd recommend ship enthusiasts, tall tower buffs, beach lovers and shopaholics, to give Portsmouth a visit.

Bliss

If only everyday was a Caturday.

Can't Seem to Think. [Of An Appropriate Title]

Life has been rather uneventful lately what with Ramadhan and the *ahem* compulsive Facebook sessions. I hardly do much else; my energy reserves dip very low in the evenings so no Pilates/salsa classes, I need to save what little I have slaving away [ok ok IK does help out too] in the kitchen cooking for iftar. As for the weekends, I avoid Oxford Street, Covent Garden, Bluewater and the likes to prohibit further spending as my frail bank balance is still recovering from the heavy investment into IK's birthday pressie and sight-see trips planned over weekends are always shelved thanks to my lazy self.

One activity that requires no effort or energy or cost any money is

Facebook-whoring [I promise this will be the last time I mention anything about Facebook in my blogposts].

I spend my days and nights discovering new friends/applications, sending flowers + booze, as well as shamelessly 'observing' what friends far and near are getting up to. Don't you think this Facebook is the internet-age version of makcik-type neighbours who make it their business to know what you've got up your sleeve, only in a more discreet fashion? Well, that's what I make it to be anyway.

On the weather-front, it has taken 180 degrees turn; it feels like winter now with the emergence of my turtlenecks/winter jackets/socks and the sound of the radiator emanating heat which I have not heard in a long while. I do pray this is temporary and temperatures will rise a little; I don't ask for much, anything above 20 degrees for the next couple of weeks please thank you very much. After all, it is only mid September, it should rightfully still be autumn with mild temperatures, no?

The upcoming schedule looks demanding though:

• A weekend trip to Portsmouth this Saturday [a BIG maybe]
• Iftar with some buddies set for next Tuesday
• Lion King musical next Thursday
• IK's birthday next Friday

I think I'll lay low for the few weeks after, and then look forward to:

• Eid, we haven't really decided but there are plans of organising a little do to have some friends over to catch up over rendang nasi impit kuah kacang
• Dadster's impending trip just a bit after Eid

So that's what I have looming on the horizon. Not too shabby at all.

SuperPoke Me

It looks like the Facebook craze has taken over the entire world. Everyone I know is now on Facebook biting, tickling, throwing sheep, sending a round of drinks, updating moods, adopting a fluffpet, growing a gift, leaving messages on walls and sticky notes for their buddies.

It’s all so addictive and fun for someone like me who never experienced the YM [or was it IM? God it escapes me] phase everyone when through ages ago. Yes, I was sadly not very internet-savvy then. Thanks Becks for the invite to register on Facebook!

Good thing that came out of this is I get reunited with friends from school I have not heard since I was 17. Amazing. And it’s fun to get daily updates on your friends when you’re far away from them; you know what they get up to – thanks to notes on walls, updates on their daily on goings application, etc. At least that saves me moolahs on phone calls.

I must admit the novelty has faded away a little as opposed to a month ago when I first got on it. Now I am less excited about the applications as I used to be. Then, I would add on everything I was sent and clutter my profile page. I am now Facebook-wise(r) and only accept what I really want and have since deleted everything else.

It is addictive in the sense I come home from work everyday and the first thing I do is log into Facebook [the stinking office restricts access to Facebook/Gmail websites, but can you imagine if they didn’t], hoping to find a new friend request or notification of some sort. It is really lovely when your friend whom you’ve not seen in a while finds you on Facebook and sends a request to confirm you are friends indeed.

While I have been going through this Facebook mania, IK on the other hand has been hooked on eBay [tried to get him on Facebook but he won’t budge]. Checking on watched items ending soon - that’s pretty much the first thing he does in the morning and as soon as he gets home. Oh you should see how he bids; he does get so aggressive, it's quite scary. I think it’s his competitive streak emerging there (!). Anyways, he is well chuffed as he has gotten some Asterix books at a bargain and he also got me the Little Britain season 1 and complete season of Will and Grace DVDs. Ain't he sweet? I am now waiting eagerly for that to arrive in the post.

A peek into our current daily routine – it is quite hilarious really, we look like two geeks, dashing upstairs after work and logging onto our laptops into Facebook and eBay respectively, hardly any conversation between us in the first hour or so! We joked that we now need to communicate via emails, sending each other messages like ‘Bila nak turun masak?’ or ‘Weekend ni nak buat apa?’ whilst sitting next to each other on the bed. Haha. Talk about living in this new internet age and time huh.

The bad [or good?] thing that came out of this is we hardly watch telly anymore. I know nothing about the on goings around the world; IK still reads the newspaper in the web so he isn’t quite as tragic as I am.

I can only hope this excitement and my fascination for Facebook will end soon as I think I am accelerating the expansion of my derrière rapidly due to my lack of activity and interest in anything else apart from exercising my fingers super-poking my mates.

Sweet Tooth

I have been tagged by Aidan's Mama on my favourite grub here in
London. *Muchas gracias senorita Zaza*

Regrettably I cannot say I have any to-date, as I am more of a 'masak
lemak cili api and sambal belacan' rather than a 'fish and chips' type of girl. Not that I have anything against the world renowned traditional English fish and chips drizzled in vinegar, with mushy peas or their traditional greasy english breakfasts, I do like them, but it doesn't quite fit the bill to satisfy my favourite food criteria.

In London, there is a diverse range of cultures, hence producing a variety of fare. I do enjoy the occasional Turkish, Indian, Lebanese, Spanish, French, Italian or Greek cuisine when I go out but I still find that our Malaysian food is more suited to my palate – chilly hot, fragrant, sweet, sour, and spicy – that is just how I like my grub. The other cuisine I do enjoy is Siamese, the likes of kerabu mangga, tom yam, pad Thai noodles, steam fish with lemon grass/kaffir lime leaves, chicken pandan to name a few. But there aren't any good ones that come close to Sri Ayutthaya and most Thai restaurants here are overpriced in my opinion.

Having thought long and hard about this tag, I do think desserts here are to die for and they are easily accessible and don't cost an arm and a leg. Credit is also due to the British for their delish puddings. As I am a big fan of custard, I find that a lot of traditional English puds are simply heavenly.

So is it okay to say that my favourite food here is 'desserts' and it comprises a variety that I get in London?

Here are my favourite indulgences in no particular order:

1, Trifle - my all time favourite would be the trifle and I normally get my fix from Marks and Sparks as they do really yummy ones.
2, Apple/Peach crumble – again I get them from Marks and Sparks, unless anyone can recommend a better one to me please.
3, Toffee crunch cheesecake from Pret A Manger, truly truly divine.
4, Chocolate éclair from Paul (although this is a French patisserie which is scattered all over Paris).
5, Strawberry tart from Paul.
6, The Godfather from Bella Italia.
7, Profiteroles from Marks and Sparks.
8, Tiramisu from Waitrose.
9, Chocolate filled custard doughnut from Krispy Kreme (again this can be found the world over).

Hope this meets the tag rules and requirements as it is my very first; hope I am not going off tangent!

Finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all Moslems, Selamat Menyambut Bulan Ramadhan.

Feline Funk

In my earlier post I wrote about being elated that Winnie has put on some weight. I thought that it was a sign that she was happy and contented with life. She became Winnie the Wombat; I was so pleased with her weight gain as she had never been this cuddly and round before. Little did I suspect it could potentially be something more grim than that.

Winnie's always been a cat that’s neither thin nor obese. She may be petite in size but is always of the right weight. She eats well, is very lithe and agile and has the capability of jumping up a vertical wall the height of approximately seven feet steadily with great ease; she was that nimble.

When I was home last two weeks, seeing Ninnie put on weight made me hastily [and stupidly] conclude that in her twilight years [she is 7 ‘human’ years but 49 ‘cat’ years old] she has finally started to gain weight resulting from blissfully sleeping more hours in a day compared to the work-hours I put in three days!


After reading an article in Readers Digest a few days ago, I fear I may haplessly be mistaken.

Apparently cats go through a state of depression from sheer boredom; they actually fall into a funk. The signs quoted in the article of this depression include overeating, lax grooming and sleeping at daybreak [when they should really be out hunting birds/lizards/etc].

Now when I think back, Winnie did have those symptoms. She ate more than usual and was constantly napping. She would only wake up for food [more times that her usual 3 meals a day habit] and when she needed to answer nature’s call. Sometimes I would purposely stir her deep slumber in the evenings at 6-ish, carry her downstairs [she sleeps on my bed] despite her protests and put her in the garden for some fresh air. If left on her own, she’d probably continue sleeping until the next morning. Eventually, no longer than one hour being outdoors, she'd run straight up to the bedroom anyways.


When all this was happening, silly ole me was thinking nothing of it, merely that 'she is getting old and logically needs more rest’. O I'm such a dumb-dumb.

Now being thousands of miles away from Winnie, I worry that the article may be true for her, and that I am powerless to do anything about it. It breaks my heart to think she may be suffering from depression and that I cannot be there for her; to cheer her up a little and engage her in some interactive cat-games to keep her out of the funk she ‘may possibly’ be in. It’s such a difficult [maybe unjust even?] situation because with family/friends/humans you can just pick the phone up and check on their well-being but with animals, what can you do?


My only hope is that if she was indeed in a state of depression, that it will not last too long and that her situation will improve very soon. I have told Mum + Dad to look out for her. Otherwise, I’m praying hard that it is merely an old age thing rather than something more clinical.

For Aidan's Mama

How I Spent My One-Fleeting-Week Of Holiday At Home

1, Major cat therapy - enjoyed Winnie, Cleo and Ginger’s company.

2, Got acquainted and bonded with Ginger; I weally weally like her. My daily routine was: feed, clean cage + litter twice/three times a day, entertain her abit. She is really easy, not demanding, just a little too playful compared to what Mumsy is used to; Winnie + Cleo are too grown up [or too human-like?] to be messy and cat-like!

3, Met up with friends – new mummies [+ babies] who I have not met since they gave birth and friends I have not seen in a year. I miss that part of my life - going out with girlfriends after work for a good goss + girly giggle sesh over a nice meal.

4, Customary in-law visits.

5, Shopped for IK's birthday pressie [hope he likes it].

6, Quality time with Mumsy + Dadster.

7, Indulged in more food – further to my list earlier, I had tauhu bakar, O Brien’s chicken and crispy turkey triple decker sandwich, thosai, red rubies, tiramisu from Alexis and lots of yummy home cooked meals. Yessiree, I am fat-ter.

Although by end of my stay my sore throat tampered with my oily + spicy + hot food intake, I had to significantly reduce it much to my dismay. Such bad luck indeedy.

***

Presenting Ginger a.k.a. Tiny Terror to Winnie + Cleo

Apart from trying very hard to befriend Winnie + Cleo to the extent of terrorising them, Ginger truly is a lovely little furball. She also bears an uncanny resemblance to Cleo's tri-colour coat of fur.




I am missing those three stooges very much.

Back in Blighty

Landed safely in Heathrow at 5.40am on 4th September.

Strangely enough there will always be some drama as soon as I touch down in Heathrow. The last time it was the unbelievably long queue at the immigration, bomb scare and missing-taxi episodes.

This time round we were wiser. [Or so we thought].

We registered for IRIS on the outbound leg of the journey to avoid the massive queues at the immigration upon our return. Hence long queues were sorted. It took less than 2 minutes each for the computer to verify our iris before we headed to collect our luggage. Not long after, maybe 20 minutes at most before our baggage appeared on the conveyor belt. Great everything is on track, I thought to myself. Two down. Huzzah.

There was no bomb scare thankfully this time either, another obstacle we did away with.

Found Mr Taxi man without much problem.

We got into the taxi at ten to seven.

We arrived home THREE hours later. A journey that would normally take an hour multiplied threefold thanks to the tube strike in London. Apparently only three lines were operating out of the twelve and so masses thronged the city to walk, drive or catch a bus into work. Traffic was horrendous.

This strike is reported to last until Thursday evening and it should get back to normal by Friday. Thankfully I walk and do not rely on tubes to get into work.

Got home at about 9.50am and managed to get into work by half ten. I merely showered and didn’t even have time to unpack; this morning my clothes are still staring at me from the suitcase. O how I loathe unpacking.

My short but sweet holiday was good. But I have decided that holidays [anything greater than 5 days] are much too stressful for me. I stress trying to meet deadlines prior to leaving and when I come back, I stress over the obscene amount of work I am expected to get done. Everything is urgent and needed by ‘yesterday’.

Flying for 13 hours, having inadequate sleep, being stuck in traffic for another 3 hours, feeling jet lagged, trying to clear out 100 odd emails while doing work is an absolute NIGHTMARE. I had to have Coke to keep me going throughout. I called it a day by 6-ish, pile of workload notwithstanding. I knew I had to leave when the numbers started to look fuzzy and I could barely keep my eyes open.

And so I survived Day 1. Let’s see how I handle Day 2 as I have been awake since 4.30am.

Welcome back the Wharfer.