Simplicity

who says life is complicated. you just make it.

Portobello&GermanChristmasMarket-at-HydePark

A fulfilling saturday i would call it, despite me having to drag myself out of bed by half nine, a feat i find too difficult to accomplish on weekdays for lectures.clutching hot starbucks ginger christmas coffee special in our numbed palms, we made our way to notting hill where the portobello market is. this place is like a treasure trove selling everything from antique cameras to wooden racquets to chinese leaf lettuce and garlic. taking a stroll, ooh-ing and aah-ing at odds and ends while continuously snapping photos, we made our way slowly through the crowds. stopping every now and then to fill our rumbling bellies of course. a seafood platter, churros-fried doughy sticks dunked in sugar a chocolate, paella and ghana-ian meals were on the menu. we finally called it a day, loaded with our shopping bags.

the bratwurst and sauerkraut being barbecued the traditional way on a giant pitthe ferris wheel that james thought was the london eye when he was younger and naive...which was not too long ago

in the evening, the whole lot of us decided to crash D's date with M in Hyde Park. the place has been converted into a winter wonderland complete with a german christmas market. a part of it has even been flooded and turned into an ice rink, giving the whole white christmas feel-father christmas who stood in corners and the carols that filled the air simply complemented the atmosphere. james, our half swedish-half german british buddy introduced us to bratwurst and sauerkraut. food, glorious food. a glass of mulled wine and some candied nuts later, we carried little mats up to the top of a tall, curvy slide to come whizzing down!i miss my childhood joys oh so much. it's on days like these that it helps to have a botomless pit for a stomach. after all that excitement, hy and i had a toffee-ed and chocolate coated apple each and then headed to chachamoon for fried carrot cake and singaporean noodles.

i want to go ice skating next!

Desi Roots

cheng who insists bhangra is all about screwing the lightbulb. he can actually sing along to punjabi mc!

all hands in the air!

steve trying to pot the jinxed black ball

a fight that almost, but never happened

Saff, totally lost in his zone

I have never been to any of these desi events before. since this one was down the road in elbow rooms, angel, i decided why not. bhangra, i swear, all has the same underlying beat and rhythm. just the lyrics change in each song. but it sure has energy, which i always love :)

Thanksgiving

for our american friend, who is so far away from home

we had roast with stuffing, wine and dessert. that was my first thanksgiving. the boys spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen, preparing the perfect dinner for the whole lot of us. as we sat around the table, digging into the delicious spread, it came the time for everyone to say a word or two, expressing gratitude and gratefulness. i sat there thinking, my list was endless. but to sum it all up, it boiled down to my loving family and my amazing friends. the people i love who give me a reason to smile.

Three down, one to go

congrats sis, yep...one more dr. raj in the family. way to go! i'm so proud of you!*muaks*

jo&lis

even though thousands of miles away, josephine makes me laugh so hard. i really miss that little bundle of energy. what i really would want is to be stuck on a boat with lis and jo, cruising down the mediterranean, letting them talk my ears off about everything that has been going on. having one of our unforgettable crazy holidays. damn, i miss our sunday night catching up sessions in college. and lis wandering from room to room starting her sentences with 'Bla bla (anu/hy/jo/sap), I am so depressed'...for no particular reason.

Enigma@paperclub

how ironic. the event was called enigma-a puzzling or inexplicable occurence, and that was exactly how the night went, with many blank gaps to fill in, in our memories. like how hanad came home with more than 100 photos in his camera, qj with a cut lip, pictures of random people in the cameras, missing black pumps, oh the list is endless.

the pre-party was at qj's place, champagne and screwdrivers. feeling all warm and slightly fuzzy, we headed down to regent street. having vip tickets let us skip the queue outside and the cloakroom queue. thank god for that, as i really needed the loo and made a beeline for it. it was the weirdest toilet i have ever seen. one sink outside the one cubicle, and inside the cubicle, TWO toilet bowls. i go back and report this to hanad, who promptly replies 'yalaa, you girls love to do everything together. now u can shit also together'...ewww!

the drinks were flowing freely, the music was pumping and the crowd was vibrant. that made my night. since it was a malaysian-singaporean thing, the bumping into random old friends that i haven't seen for quite awhile added to the fun.

the getting home part was the most hillarious. hy and diana were in charge of a zoo and pracitically herding animals back. with justin sprinting down the street (in the wrong direction of course), me crossing roads without looking, darren screaming in cantonese to qj, terrence just gone. superstrong hanad suddenly decided he misses the gym and picks me up as weights and starts running back. today his muscles were aching-must have pulled something somewhere!

once again i ended up crawling into bed in the wee hours of the morning, exhausted and still bundled up in my jacket and scarf with bodytape still on...i think the cleaners were rather amused to see me emerge from my room at noon in a little black dress, hair toussled, make-up intact to use the toilet.