Ahh.. Wednesday. Guess tomorrow's Labour Day for people in Singapore ya? Gotta wake up damn early tomorrow to chat with friends. Then go to work.
Donato's friends left for Italy this morning and he's gonna go back on Friday. So yea. Kinda dread this weekend.
But then again, I'm hoping things will improve when I really start working next Tuesday. Anyways, I've made friends with my groupmates for these couple of days. But they won't be working with me after this course. So I guess it'll be unlikely that I'll see any of them again where I'm working next week onwards. Among them there's Dave, a 22 year old guy from Derby(apparently he's engaged and has just got a house, he's still in University by the way). Catherine and Laurent from France. Catherine's a real math genious. She's been helping me along for the entire course (cause she's sitting beside me) and she completes the questions faster than any of us there. And to my other side is Laurent. No idea how old is he though. But apparently he's just got a new house as well and he drives to work.
The other 2 people in my group are sitting slightly further from me. So I don't really communicate that much with them. There's Alex, who's a real weird guy. He brings this broken ruler and says that it has sentimental value to him. And on Tuesday a couple of people commented on his ruler and he got real pissed. He said he was gonna punch the next person who comments about it. He also brings to work a hand sanitiser to clean his hands once he gets to work. Freak.
The last guy... I can't really remember his name. But he's the only one in our course who's on the Marine side. Basically he's dealing with Submarines. And he can't tell us much about what he does. Cause its sorta like the Government Secret. But he's alright I guess. He's probablly 30+?
Oh and lunch for yesterday was really soggy rice with meat and sauce. That costs me 3 pounds.
And today I had Fries and Sausages. That cost me another 3 pounds. Basically that was what they had. The menu kinda changes everyday. But it wasn't that good. Most of the people here bring their own lunch boxes from home.
Sorry I don't have any pictures to upload yet. But yea will try to take some interesting ones soon.
Happy Labour Day.
I'll be going downstairs to help fix dinner with Donato. Free! haha.
Wednesday 30 April 2008
Tuesday 29 April 2008
29-04-2008 Tuesday
London Time: 7.10 pm
Wow work was crazy today. Well not cause I'm actually doing work. But its cause of the course I'm attending now. We gotta do loads of calculations and stuff like that. And alot of the stuff are on the University level. But thankfully I managed to complete them with the help of my group people.
My group only managed to complete the entire assignment at 6pm. But that was expected already by the lecturer.
And well. The assignment was on doing the designing of a TurboFan Engine. Basically dealing with LOADS of calculations. But there was that sense of statisfaction there when its completed.
Brain Dead.
Cycling to work today was quite alright. Cause I wore my Billabong sweater that had long sleeves compared to the sleeveless jacket i wore the day before. But never the less. It was cold. Not because the wind got through my jacket. But cause the uncovered parts of my face had wind blowing towards them. So yeap.
No pictures for today though. And i dont think there will be for the next couple of days. Nothing much to take. And I can't take pictures inside Rolls Royce Compound.
Wow work was crazy today. Well not cause I'm actually doing work. But its cause of the course I'm attending now. We gotta do loads of calculations and stuff like that. And alot of the stuff are on the University level. But thankfully I managed to complete them with the help of my group people.
My group only managed to complete the entire assignment at 6pm. But that was expected already by the lecturer.
And well. The assignment was on doing the designing of a TurboFan Engine. Basically dealing with LOADS of calculations. But there was that sense of statisfaction there when its completed.
Brain Dead.
Cycling to work today was quite alright. Cause I wore my Billabong sweater that had long sleeves compared to the sleeveless jacket i wore the day before. But never the less. It was cold. Not because the wind got through my jacket. But cause the uncovered parts of my face had wind blowing towards them. So yeap.
No pictures for today though. And i dont think there will be for the next couple of days. Nothing much to take. And I can't take pictures inside Rolls Royce Compound.
Monday 28 April 2008
28-04-08 Monday
London Time: 6.07 pm
Man i just got back from work. Cycling to work this morning was crazily cold. I was freeezzzzinggg my ass off when I got to work. So yea.
Donato led the way to work today and he told me to get a sort of like windbreaker/raincoat and waterproof pants. In case it rains halfway the next time. Well that's a good idea. But I don't have the time during weekdays to go down and get them. So yeap. Guess I gotta pray it doesn't rain whenever I'm cycling these few days. Ah what the hell. I think I'd just pray for it not to rain whenever I'm cycling throughout my time here.
Its a 15-20 minutes cycle from here to Rolls Royce Research and Development Center. So when I got there, there was this other English guy with a bicycle, trying to get in through a gate. I asked him where I could park my bicycle. And it turns out the gate he was trying to get open with his card was in fact a bicycle shelter. Its basically where you get to park your bicycles outside the building.
So he kindly let me in and he told me that he was going for the Holistic Gas Turbine Induction Course. Which was the exact same course I'm attending. His name was Dave. He happened to be a 22 year old, living in Derby and he's doing something of like an internship as well in Rolls Royce. But he has been here since September. So yea I've got no idea how their universities work there.
When we got in the main door, I approached the reception to ask for a letter Erica Tyson left me. It was a reference letter so that I could open a bank account. After getting that letter, i went up to the third floor for the course.
Basically what I'll be doing this week is attending a course on Holistic Gas Turbine Engine. So yea. Sounds chim?
Well the topics covered were very relevant to what I had studied in AT in NP. Alot of them had to do with Thermofluids and Mechanics of Flight. So yeap. I'm kinda happy that I did listen on to the lectures in class. I asked directions from Dave on how to get to HSBC bank and planned on rushing there during lunch time.
During lunch I went down to the canteen. It sucks. There's no real food there. I got a pre made sandwich for 1.55 pounds. It was just 4 triangle slices of bread with ham. So yea. It sucked. Well I walked and ate at teh same time. Cause i was heading over to the HSBC bank nearby. Its about a 5 minutes walk there.
When I got there I told the person at the counter what I wanted and she got another person to assist me. This lady then took me to a room and helped me open the account.
My break ended at 1.15pm. But at 1.15pm, I just got out of the bank. I finally made it back at 1.25pm though. And thankfully nothing much was covered during that 10 minutes. And I think Dave helped me explain why I was late while i wasn't there yet.
So after work I got back my bike and cycled home. It was that cold to cycle home. But it was slighly drizzling. Damn it. But i managed to get home without getting too wet. Actually i wasn't that wet at all.
There wasn't anyone at home though. I've got no idea where Donato and his friends were. SO yep I'm alone at home typing out this entry.
Here are some pictures of my house.
Thats the back yard...
The kitchen...
The living room...
The Stairs..
My toilet...
My room. Messy though.
Man i just got back from work. Cycling to work this morning was crazily cold. I was freeezzzzinggg my ass off when I got to work. So yea.
Donato led the way to work today and he told me to get a sort of like windbreaker/raincoat and waterproof pants. In case it rains halfway the next time. Well that's a good idea. But I don't have the time during weekdays to go down and get them. So yeap. Guess I gotta pray it doesn't rain whenever I'm cycling these few days. Ah what the hell. I think I'd just pray for it not to rain whenever I'm cycling throughout my time here.
Its a 15-20 minutes cycle from here to Rolls Royce Research and Development Center. So when I got there, there was this other English guy with a bicycle, trying to get in through a gate. I asked him where I could park my bicycle. And it turns out the gate he was trying to get open with his card was in fact a bicycle shelter. Its basically where you get to park your bicycles outside the building.
So he kindly let me in and he told me that he was going for the Holistic Gas Turbine Induction Course. Which was the exact same course I'm attending. His name was Dave. He happened to be a 22 year old, living in Derby and he's doing something of like an internship as well in Rolls Royce. But he has been here since September. So yea I've got no idea how their universities work there.
When we got in the main door, I approached the reception to ask for a letter Erica Tyson left me. It was a reference letter so that I could open a bank account. After getting that letter, i went up to the third floor for the course.
Basically what I'll be doing this week is attending a course on Holistic Gas Turbine Engine. So yea. Sounds chim?
Well the topics covered were very relevant to what I had studied in AT in NP. Alot of them had to do with Thermofluids and Mechanics of Flight. So yeap. I'm kinda happy that I did listen on to the lectures in class. I asked directions from Dave on how to get to HSBC bank and planned on rushing there during lunch time.
During lunch I went down to the canteen. It sucks. There's no real food there. I got a pre made sandwich for 1.55 pounds. It was just 4 triangle slices of bread with ham. So yea. It sucked. Well I walked and ate at teh same time. Cause i was heading over to the HSBC bank nearby. Its about a 5 minutes walk there.
When I got there I told the person at the counter what I wanted and she got another person to assist me. This lady then took me to a room and helped me open the account.
My break ended at 1.15pm. But at 1.15pm, I just got out of the bank. I finally made it back at 1.25pm though. And thankfully nothing much was covered during that 10 minutes. And I think Dave helped me explain why I was late while i wasn't there yet.
So after work I got back my bike and cycled home. It was that cold to cycle home. But it was slighly drizzling. Damn it. But i managed to get home without getting too wet. Actually i wasn't that wet at all.
There wasn't anyone at home though. I've got no idea where Donato and his friends were. SO yep I'm alone at home typing out this entry.
Here are some pictures of my house.
Thats the back yard...
The kitchen...
The living room...
The Stairs..
My toilet...
My room. Messy though.
Sunday 27 April 2008
Sunday 27-04-2008
London Time: 1.50pm
Whoo I've officially moved in to my new apartment. And i got a bicycle as well. But i've gotta return it to the land lord, Giuseppe after 4 months. And he's charging me 30 pounds for the rent. I guess thats cheaper than spending the money on transport.
Well when i got here it appears that there were already people in the house. So i was guessing that my roomate was at home. And indeed he was. Well i finally met him. And what can i say. He's a really gentle guy? Not those big burly 26-27 year old guy. And his Italian. So yep.
But cuurently, his girlfriend is staying with him in his room up stairs and on my level another female friend of his is staying there as well. So yep.
Well not really in to the mood of blogging much today. But I'll upload pictures of the new place once i've taken the pictures ya?
London Time: 1.50pm
Whoo I've officially moved in to my new apartment. And i got a bicycle as well. But i've gotta return it to the land lord, Giuseppe after 4 months. And he's charging me 30 pounds for the rent. I guess thats cheaper than spending the money on transport.
Well when i got here it appears that there were already people in the house. So i was guessing that my roomate was at home. And indeed he was. Well i finally met him. And what can i say. He's a really gentle guy? Not those big burly 26-27 year old guy. And his Italian. So yep.
But cuurently, his girlfriend is staying with him in his room up stairs and on my level another female friend of his is staying there as well. So yep.
Well not really in to the mood of blogging much today. But I'll upload pictures of the new place once i've taken the pictures ya?
Saturday 26 April 2008
26-4-08 Saturday
26-4-08 Saturday
London Time: 7.44am
Ahh. Finally its Saturday. And soon I’ll be able to start work on Monday! But I gotta go down to the bank during lunch time to get my bank account done. Wonder if I’ll have enough time. I’ll probably bring my big luggage down to the new apartment today. But I’ll come back to Mrs Mary’s place and stay for one more night. Cause she’s getting paid by Rolls Royce for each night I stay here. So I gotta stay for one last night.
Well yesterday after having breakfast, Giuseppe came down and picked me up. Weird name right? He’s the land lord of the new area where I’ll be staying. He looked around 40+? He had graying hair and a really large nose. And he’s in need of breath mints. Well we took his tiny little car down to the place where I’ll be staying.
In the car he told me that the rent was 315 pounds/month. And I had to pay an administration cost of 100 pounds, another 300 pounds for bills and tax on the building, 50 pounds for the remainder of the month I’ll be staying and another 50 pounds for miscellaneous stuff like bedding and stuff like that. Oh yea there’s a deposit of 200 pounds that I need to pay but will be refunded once I move out of the place after 4 months if there’s nothing wrong with the apartment. That was A LOT of money. Gosh I’m gonna be broke. So I worked it out, excluding the deposit that will be refunded, I’ll have to pay around 440pounds/month. That is A LOT of money. Ahhh!!!
As he drove along the road towards the city, he turned right at a round-about where normally if you’d drive straight you’ll reach the city. And he told me to the left was Rolls Royce. He drove for a couple more minutes and turned in to a smaller road. As he drove on, he pointed out to me which of the nearby houses was currently occupied by Rolls Royce people.
Surprisingly the area was quite new. The houses were quite modern. Compared to the houses nearby The Manor Hotel that were quite old. The area where I’d be staying looked like it came out from the show, Desperate Housewives. The road was clean and new, so were the houses.
He pulled up at a house at Gala Drive. And the house was labeled 2. As we got out of the car, he mentioned that the houses around the area were only 3 years old. He also explained to me that currently there’s an Italian (whom I can’t remember the name) from Rolls Royce that was staying at there. He was also a intern there but was offered a contract for one year after he completed the internship. And currently his girlfriend was over visiting him for a few days.
He rang the doorbell but no one answered. Kinda expected cause the Italian guy was probably working at the time. So he took out a bunch of keys and started trying everyone of them. After 5 minutes he finally got the door open.
The door way was quite small. Cause around 2 feet of the door way is a stairs leading upstairs and to the right was a door. He opened the door and it revealed a living room with 2 couches and a big LCD TV. The living room wasn’t very big. There was a guitar beside the sofa. Whoo. I probably could pick up a few tunes from the Italian dude. Inside the living room there was another door at the back. A kitchen was behind that door. The kitchen was slightly bigger than the living room. There was an oven, microwave, fridge, stove, cupboards, and a washing machine. Well almost everything needed in the kitchen was there.
A door in the back of the kitchen led to the back yard of the place. It was a small grassy area with a pavement through it.
Then we went back to the door way and he told me to take off my shoes and proceed upstairs.
There were 3 doors here and one of them led to a giant bathroom. The bathroom was sparkling clean. There was a giant tub that could fit 2 people there as well.
Awesome.
Through another door was my room. It was a pretty small room with just a double bed there without any bedding on it and a chair and an unconstructed table that was still in a box. He told me that it would be best if I could fix up the table myself, he’d provide the screw driver.
So we went back out and he said that the other room was occupied by the Italian’s girlfriend.
There was a third floor as well but we didn’t go up. Cause he said that the room up there belonged to the Italian and there was a bathroom for him as well.
After all that was done. We went out and took his car back to The Manor Hotel. He told me that it was easy to get to Rolls Royce. I could buy a bicycle from him and could sell back to him after my 4 months here. That was quite a good idea cause bus fares were very expensive. (12 pounds/week for the weekly pass).
When we got back, I signed the contract and paid him 300 pounds first. The remaining will be paid when I got my bank account done up and manage to cash in the cheque from Rolls Royce.
After that was done with, I got my stuff and prepared to go to Derby City for lunch. Similarly for the past few days I took bus 60 to the city center.
When I got there I went back to Subway and ordered the a foot long Turkey Breast and Ham Sandwich with bbq sauce, lettuces and some black little veggie. No idea what that’s called. I packed half of it into my bag and had half of it there. Then I went around and took a couple of photos and went to get a microphone headset. That cost me 5 pounds. And I topped up my SIM card for another 5 pounds. In all, I spent 25 pounds on phone alone this month. My SIM card now has 11 pounds remaining. Bloody ex. That means I’ve already spent 14 pounds on calls.
Then I went to the bus stop. It seems that I just missed bus 60 cause the next one would come on 37 mintues. But there was bus 61 that would come in 4 minutes. I thought 61 would get me back as well, so I took it when it came. Big mistake.
As I sat in the bus all the way, after 45 minutes I was still wondering why we haven’t reached. Then I noticed that the bus was going back to the City Center. So I asked the driver if the bus went to Chellaston. He said we just came from there! Shit. I guess bus 61 didn’t go by my bus stop. Damn. So I got off and went opposite and waited for bus 60. Lucky for me this time I only had to wait for 5 minutes for it to come.
So I got back to The Manor Hotel and played my PSP and had my other half of the Subway for dinner before taking a bath and going to sleep at around 9pm.
Oh yea. My address for the new place:
2 Gala Drive
Alvaston, Derby
DE 248YA
Here are some pictures I took in the Derby City
London Time: 7.44am
Ahh. Finally its Saturday. And soon I’ll be able to start work on Monday! But I gotta go down to the bank during lunch time to get my bank account done. Wonder if I’ll have enough time. I’ll probably bring my big luggage down to the new apartment today. But I’ll come back to Mrs Mary’s place and stay for one more night. Cause she’s getting paid by Rolls Royce for each night I stay here. So I gotta stay for one last night.
Well yesterday after having breakfast, Giuseppe came down and picked me up. Weird name right? He’s the land lord of the new area where I’ll be staying. He looked around 40+? He had graying hair and a really large nose. And he’s in need of breath mints. Well we took his tiny little car down to the place where I’ll be staying.
In the car he told me that the rent was 315 pounds/month. And I had to pay an administration cost of 100 pounds, another 300 pounds for bills and tax on the building, 50 pounds for the remainder of the month I’ll be staying and another 50 pounds for miscellaneous stuff like bedding and stuff like that. Oh yea there’s a deposit of 200 pounds that I need to pay but will be refunded once I move out of the place after 4 months if there’s nothing wrong with the apartment. That was A LOT of money. Gosh I’m gonna be broke. So I worked it out, excluding the deposit that will be refunded, I’ll have to pay around 440pounds/month. That is A LOT of money. Ahhh!!!
As he drove along the road towards the city, he turned right at a round-about where normally if you’d drive straight you’ll reach the city. And he told me to the left was Rolls Royce. He drove for a couple more minutes and turned in to a smaller road. As he drove on, he pointed out to me which of the nearby houses was currently occupied by Rolls Royce people.
Surprisingly the area was quite new. The houses were quite modern. Compared to the houses nearby The Manor Hotel that were quite old. The area where I’d be staying looked like it came out from the show, Desperate Housewives. The road was clean and new, so were the houses.
He pulled up at a house at Gala Drive. And the house was labeled 2. As we got out of the car, he mentioned that the houses around the area were only 3 years old. He also explained to me that currently there’s an Italian (whom I can’t remember the name) from Rolls Royce that was staying at there. He was also a intern there but was offered a contract for one year after he completed the internship. And currently his girlfriend was over visiting him for a few days.
He rang the doorbell but no one answered. Kinda expected cause the Italian guy was probably working at the time. So he took out a bunch of keys and started trying everyone of them. After 5 minutes he finally got the door open.
The door way was quite small. Cause around 2 feet of the door way is a stairs leading upstairs and to the right was a door. He opened the door and it revealed a living room with 2 couches and a big LCD TV. The living room wasn’t very big. There was a guitar beside the sofa. Whoo. I probably could pick up a few tunes from the Italian dude. Inside the living room there was another door at the back. A kitchen was behind that door. The kitchen was slightly bigger than the living room. There was an oven, microwave, fridge, stove, cupboards, and a washing machine. Well almost everything needed in the kitchen was there.
A door in the back of the kitchen led to the back yard of the place. It was a small grassy area with a pavement through it.
Then we went back to the door way and he told me to take off my shoes and proceed upstairs.
There were 3 doors here and one of them led to a giant bathroom. The bathroom was sparkling clean. There was a giant tub that could fit 2 people there as well.
Awesome.
Through another door was my room. It was a pretty small room with just a double bed there without any bedding on it and a chair and an unconstructed table that was still in a box. He told me that it would be best if I could fix up the table myself, he’d provide the screw driver.
So we went back out and he said that the other room was occupied by the Italian’s girlfriend.
There was a third floor as well but we didn’t go up. Cause he said that the room up there belonged to the Italian and there was a bathroom for him as well.
After all that was done. We went out and took his car back to The Manor Hotel. He told me that it was easy to get to Rolls Royce. I could buy a bicycle from him and could sell back to him after my 4 months here. That was quite a good idea cause bus fares were very expensive. (12 pounds/week for the weekly pass).
When we got back, I signed the contract and paid him 300 pounds first. The remaining will be paid when I got my bank account done up and manage to cash in the cheque from Rolls Royce.
After that was done with, I got my stuff and prepared to go to Derby City for lunch. Similarly for the past few days I took bus 60 to the city center.
When I got there I went back to Subway and ordered the a foot long Turkey Breast and Ham Sandwich with bbq sauce, lettuces and some black little veggie. No idea what that’s called. I packed half of it into my bag and had half of it there. Then I went around and took a couple of photos and went to get a microphone headset. That cost me 5 pounds. And I topped up my SIM card for another 5 pounds. In all, I spent 25 pounds on phone alone this month. My SIM card now has 11 pounds remaining. Bloody ex. That means I’ve already spent 14 pounds on calls.
Then I went to the bus stop. It seems that I just missed bus 60 cause the next one would come on 37 mintues. But there was bus 61 that would come in 4 minutes. I thought 61 would get me back as well, so I took it when it came. Big mistake.
As I sat in the bus all the way, after 45 minutes I was still wondering why we haven’t reached. Then I noticed that the bus was going back to the City Center. So I asked the driver if the bus went to Chellaston. He said we just came from there! Shit. I guess bus 61 didn’t go by my bus stop. Damn. So I got off and went opposite and waited for bus 60. Lucky for me this time I only had to wait for 5 minutes for it to come.
So I got back to The Manor Hotel and played my PSP and had my other half of the Subway for dinner before taking a bath and going to sleep at around 9pm.
Oh yea. My address for the new place:
2 Gala Drive
Alvaston, Derby
DE 248YA
Here are some pictures I took in the Derby City
25-4-08 Friday
London Time: 6.36am
Ahh darn. Slept pretty early yesterday. Got to bed at around 8pm. And woke up at 6am. So yea. So the plan for today would actually be viewing my new place. Mrs Mary set up for me for the owner of the place to come down and pick me up at around 11 to 11.30am to view the place. So I’m hoping its good. Wish me luck! Well I’m not feeling that bad compared to the day I arrived. I guess I’ve become more familiar with the surroundings and well, getting used to the place I guess? So I guess I’ll last the next 3 months and 3 weeks yea?
Yesterday was pretty uneventful. Had the continental breakfast again in the morning made by Mrs Mary. I ate a small box of cereal with milk, then 2 slices of toast with jam and nutella again. And finally a glass of orange juice.
After breakfast I went back upstairs and lazed around watching American TV shows. Then at around 12pm, I packed my laptop into my bag and planned to go to Westfield Shopping Center to use the WiFi there.
It started raining once I got out of The Manor! So I walked briskly all the way to the busstop and took shelter outside a butcher’s store nearby. Soon after I got there, the rain stopped. The weird thing about people living here is that even if its raining, they don’t really carry an umbrella around! They’d just walk slightly faster to wherever they were going.
When bus 60 came, I went up the bus with a lot of kids around my age. I wonder why don’t they have school on a Thursday. Cause they weren’t in their school uniform. So most likely they didn’t have school today.
A bunch of them got down at Westfield Shopping center and I went to Subway to get lunch. The Subway store was opposite Westfield shopping center. I basically ordered a foot long Terriyaki Chicken Sub and asked the person at the counter to slice it into half and pack one half of it. As soon as that was done, my dinner was settled as well. I put down my stuff at one corner and began munching on half of the Sandwich. It was pretty good, I gobbled it down in around 10 minutes and soon after, I was back out onto the street.
I walked back to Starbucks at Westfield shopping center and asked the person at the counter if there was WiFi there.
“ Oh no, we don’t have our own WiFi here but the entire building has WiFi. But you gotta pay for that one though. You could probably try the Starbucks beside HMV outside on East Street.”
Bloody hell. I thought the lady there told me yesterday that I was able to use WiFi for free there. Feeling damn sianz I asked for directions to the other Starbucks.
It wasn’t too far out, it was just a short walk outside Westfield to get to East Street HMV. As soon as I got there I spotted the reflection of Starbucks on another store’s window plane.
As I got into Starbucks I asked the counter if there was WiFi there. Thank god there was. Then I asked for a power source. She pointed out 2 power sources to me at both ends of the store. But the seats near them were taken. Damn it. So sat down near the entrance and just took out my laptop. Deciding that maybe I could use the internet just for awhile depending on the life of my battery. Thankfully, I was able to hook on to a WiFi service. And got on to the internet. Finally.
Awhile later, a lady and her son got off the seat near the entrance opposite of where I was sitting. I got up and took my laptop with me and went to sit down where they were before they left. I found the power point and plugged in my adapter.
WHOOO I HAD INTERNET CONNECTION AND A POWER SOURCE! WHOOOO.
So I got on to MSN and started doing up a blog.
So basically from 1pm till 5pm I was at Starbucks chatting to family and friends and doing up a blog without even ordering anything from Starbucks.
I felt bad. Haha. But ah what the heck. I shall be thick skinned and not order anything.
Once it got to 5pm, I made my way back to the bus stop to take bus 60 back. Lucky for me the sign said 5 minutes for bus 60 to arrive. Didn’t have to wait long for the bus, I got on and managed to get a seat.
I took the bus all the way back and during one of the stops I saw the same Gangster dude I saw the other day. The one with the leather sleeveless jacket and tattoos. Surprisingly, he got on and was really friendly towards the bus driver. Haha. So I guess he wasn’t that scary after all.
When I got back to the Manor, it was already around 6.00pm. Feeling hungry, I heated up the other half of the Sub sandwich and gobbled that half in no time. Then I had a bar of Kinder Bueno that Candice gave to me.
Some pictures of The Manor:
Yummy.
Think I’m gonna get fat.
Damn it.
Ahh well. Then I took a bath and got to sleep at around 8.00pm.
London Time: 6.36am
Ahh darn. Slept pretty early yesterday. Got to bed at around 8pm. And woke up at 6am. So yea. So the plan for today would actually be viewing my new place. Mrs Mary set up for me for the owner of the place to come down and pick me up at around 11 to 11.30am to view the place. So I’m hoping its good. Wish me luck! Well I’m not feeling that bad compared to the day I arrived. I guess I’ve become more familiar with the surroundings and well, getting used to the place I guess? So I guess I’ll last the next 3 months and 3 weeks yea?
Yesterday was pretty uneventful. Had the continental breakfast again in the morning made by Mrs Mary. I ate a small box of cereal with milk, then 2 slices of toast with jam and nutella again. And finally a glass of orange juice.
After breakfast I went back upstairs and lazed around watching American TV shows. Then at around 12pm, I packed my laptop into my bag and planned to go to Westfield Shopping Center to use the WiFi there.
It started raining once I got out of The Manor! So I walked briskly all the way to the busstop and took shelter outside a butcher’s store nearby. Soon after I got there, the rain stopped. The weird thing about people living here is that even if its raining, they don’t really carry an umbrella around! They’d just walk slightly faster to wherever they were going.
When bus 60 came, I went up the bus with a lot of kids around my age. I wonder why don’t they have school on a Thursday. Cause they weren’t in their school uniform. So most likely they didn’t have school today.
A bunch of them got down at Westfield Shopping center and I went to Subway to get lunch. The Subway store was opposite Westfield shopping center. I basically ordered a foot long Terriyaki Chicken Sub and asked the person at the counter to slice it into half and pack one half of it. As soon as that was done, my dinner was settled as well. I put down my stuff at one corner and began munching on half of the Sandwich. It was pretty good, I gobbled it down in around 10 minutes and soon after, I was back out onto the street.
I walked back to Starbucks at Westfield shopping center and asked the person at the counter if there was WiFi there.
“ Oh no, we don’t have our own WiFi here but the entire building has WiFi. But you gotta pay for that one though. You could probably try the Starbucks beside HMV outside on East Street.”
Bloody hell. I thought the lady there told me yesterday that I was able to use WiFi for free there. Feeling damn sianz I asked for directions to the other Starbucks.
It wasn’t too far out, it was just a short walk outside Westfield to get to East Street HMV. As soon as I got there I spotted the reflection of Starbucks on another store’s window plane.
As I got into Starbucks I asked the counter if there was WiFi there. Thank god there was. Then I asked for a power source. She pointed out 2 power sources to me at both ends of the store. But the seats near them were taken. Damn it. So sat down near the entrance and just took out my laptop. Deciding that maybe I could use the internet just for awhile depending on the life of my battery. Thankfully, I was able to hook on to a WiFi service. And got on to the internet. Finally.
Awhile later, a lady and her son got off the seat near the entrance opposite of where I was sitting. I got up and took my laptop with me and went to sit down where they were before they left. I found the power point and plugged in my adapter.
WHOOO I HAD INTERNET CONNECTION AND A POWER SOURCE! WHOOOO.
So I got on to MSN and started doing up a blog.
So basically from 1pm till 5pm I was at Starbucks chatting to family and friends and doing up a blog without even ordering anything from Starbucks.
I felt bad. Haha. But ah what the heck. I shall be thick skinned and not order anything.
Once it got to 5pm, I made my way back to the bus stop to take bus 60 back. Lucky for me the sign said 5 minutes for bus 60 to arrive. Didn’t have to wait long for the bus, I got on and managed to get a seat.
I took the bus all the way back and during one of the stops I saw the same Gangster dude I saw the other day. The one with the leather sleeveless jacket and tattoos. Surprisingly, he got on and was really friendly towards the bus driver. Haha. So I guess he wasn’t that scary after all.
When I got back to the Manor, it was already around 6.00pm. Feeling hungry, I heated up the other half of the Sub sandwich and gobbled that half in no time. Then I had a bar of Kinder Bueno that Candice gave to me.
Some pictures of The Manor:
Yummy.
Think I’m gonna get fat.
Damn it.
Ahh well. Then I took a bath and got to sleep at around 8.00pm.
Thursday 24 April 2008
24-4-08 Thursday
24-4-08 Thursday
London Time: 7.04am
Well, slept pretty well yesterday night. Think I’m getting accustomed to the London time. But it’s a damn cold morning. Damn it. One side of my nose is running. Plugged it with a tissue. Problem solved. Well I’m pretty used to the idea of being here for the next 4 months. I think its cause I’m more familiar with the surroundings. Mrs Mary told me that the owner of another apartment would give her a call today and he’ll probably get me to go down tomorrow to view the place. It shouldn’t be too bad cause most of the Rolls Royce interns all go there anyways. Essential thing is that there has to be internet. I’m dying here without internet. I’ll bring my laptop down to Derby City Westfield Shopping Center later and try to use the internet at the starbucks later. Really hope its possible.
Well yesterday wasn’t that eventful. Woke up at around 7am and had the continental breakfast again at 8am. Then I went back up to my room and watched Frasier, The O.C, and Smallville. In between watching the shows I was typing out my last post.
Then at around close to 12pm, I left The Manor Hotel and made my way to Derby City. Well I was actually planning to head down to the library first so that I can book a time slot to use the computer at around 3.30pm. While waiting for the bus, there were a lot of kids who just got off school. Like Singapore, they had to wear uniforms. But holy shit, they look awesome. They all wear blazers and white cotton shirts and black pants. And topped off with a tie. Of course I understand that this wouldn’t be possible in Singapore cause of the bloody hot weather. But yea. I wouldn’t mind dressing like that to school. Also while waiting, there was this tall dude who looked like he was in his 30s? Well he was bald with a mid length blonde beard. He was bloody big sized and he was wearing a sleeveless leather jacket, revealing tattoos on his upper arm. And he wore boots. Boots all the way up to just below his knees. I was scared. He looked like a friggin gangster.
So when the bus 60 came, I got on and managed to get a seat. The scary man got on board as well. So I just sat there in my place hoping nothing would go wrong. But as he got on, he was pretty normal. Well he just asked for his ticket and went to the back and seat down. Nothing gangster-ish about him. And just before a stop before where I was getting off, he got off with a bunch of other people.
One stop later I got off. Knowing which way to go, I walked straight to the library. It felt good to know my way around, but then again it didn’t feel good cause I was all alone. I walked past McDonalds and saw a sign that said Happy Meal for 1.99pounds. That wasn’t very expensive, compared to Singapore prices. So I went in to have a look see. It was really crowded when I got in, and really warm. Then there was this fat lady who looked like she’s in her late 20s. She was talking to another person and yelled “f-k blah blah blah” She said it really loud. Since I wasn’t there to have McDonalds, I went out and walked towards the library.
When I got to the library, there was a lady outside who told me that it was closing. I asked what time does it close and she told me, right now. Well I thought they were taking a lunch break or what. So I looked at the sign that shows the operating hours of the library. Bloody unlucky. On Wednesdays they only operate half day. So they closed at 1pm. And it was 12.58pm at the time. Damn suay.
Feeling damn f-ked up, I went back to Westfield to get some lunch. Looking for the healthiest/cheapest option, I had a Potato with Tex Mex Chicken. That cost me 3.14pounds. Don’t ask me why the 0.14 pounds. I have no idea. The guy who served me looked around my age and he was quite handsome. I’m not gay but yea, he had blonde hair something like Zack Effron from the High School Musical. That was when I noticed something. Most of the staff here were young people around my age. It was very different compared to Singapore. Their service attitude was really good as well. They were very nice and polite. While in Singapore its all the grumpy Aunties that want to get you out of their face once you got your food.
The meal was pretty good. It’s something like a baked potato the size of 2 tennis put together. And the topping was the Tex Mex Chicken. Which had a little sour-ish taste. But it was pretty tasty. I had to force my self to eat finish it cause it was too much for me.
After that I walked around and asked around if there was an internet café. Turns out Westfield Shopping Center didn’t have one. But there was WiFi in the building. So if I had my laptop I could access it for free. So I went to the information counter to check it out. The lady who served me was a girl who looked around my age with retainers in her mouth. She talked kinda funny but was really helpful. She gave me a pamphlet about the WiFi in the building. It said that I had to pay to use the internet. Which was kind of a bummer. But she told me Starbucks has their own internet. So I went over to Starbucks and asked around. The lady at the counter told me that there was WiFi in the building and it was free. She told me if I had a laptop I could access it. And there was a power point at one corner. Thanking her, I left Starbucks thinking I’ll give it a try tomorrow.
So I went back to the bus stop and waited for bus 60. The digital sign showed that the bus wouldn’t be here for at least 15 mins. So I went opposite the busstop to a mobile phone store. Going in, I asked the Indian man at the counter what was the cheapest phone I could use just to make calls. I was looking for one cause it was quite a hassle trying to change SIM cards all the time. He showed me one that costs 30 pounds. It was the old Nokia phone, one of the earliest generations of Nokia models that had colour display. Then I said thank you and went out the shop. I was still contemplating whether or not to get the phone.
Soon enough my bus came and I went back to The Manor Hotel to rest. Though when I got back, I didn’t know why I felt so tired. I tried to read the books given to me by Erica Tyson, about Jet Engines, but couldn’t really concentrate. But I knew I gotta try to read finish the books, at least I’ll be prepared when I start my course next week.
I took an hour’s nap and it was already 6.00pm. Though I wasn’t really hungry I thought I’d better get some dinner before it gets dark. So I went out and walked to the Supermart and bought a Curry Chicken Rice set for 1.50pounds from the supermart. Its those kind where you just heat it up in the microwave and it becomes edible.
I was pretty hungry by the time I got back. So I heated up the Curry Chicken Rice Set and waited. It wasn’t such a good idea buying such a strong smelling dinner back cause my room started to smell of curry.
When it was done, I took it out of the microwave and left it to cool. It was pretty alright I guess. I wouldn’t say it tasted great. The rice was quite hard and stuck together. And the chicken was really tough to eat. The Curry sauce was ok though. It wasn’t too spicy, just a little sour-ish.
After dinner I went to play some PSP and read the Jet Engine book. Then I went to sleep at around 8.30pm. Oh yea. The days are really long here. It gets bright at around 5.30am and gets dark only at around 8.00pm.
London Time: 7.04am
Well, slept pretty well yesterday night. Think I’m getting accustomed to the London time. But it’s a damn cold morning. Damn it. One side of my nose is running. Plugged it with a tissue. Problem solved. Well I’m pretty used to the idea of being here for the next 4 months. I think its cause I’m more familiar with the surroundings. Mrs Mary told me that the owner of another apartment would give her a call today and he’ll probably get me to go down tomorrow to view the place. It shouldn’t be too bad cause most of the Rolls Royce interns all go there anyways. Essential thing is that there has to be internet. I’m dying here without internet. I’ll bring my laptop down to Derby City Westfield Shopping Center later and try to use the internet at the starbucks later. Really hope its possible.
Well yesterday wasn’t that eventful. Woke up at around 7am and had the continental breakfast again at 8am. Then I went back up to my room and watched Frasier, The O.C, and Smallville. In between watching the shows I was typing out my last post.
Then at around close to 12pm, I left The Manor Hotel and made my way to Derby City. Well I was actually planning to head down to the library first so that I can book a time slot to use the computer at around 3.30pm. While waiting for the bus, there were a lot of kids who just got off school. Like Singapore, they had to wear uniforms. But holy shit, they look awesome. They all wear blazers and white cotton shirts and black pants. And topped off with a tie. Of course I understand that this wouldn’t be possible in Singapore cause of the bloody hot weather. But yea. I wouldn’t mind dressing like that to school. Also while waiting, there was this tall dude who looked like he was in his 30s? Well he was bald with a mid length blonde beard. He was bloody big sized and he was wearing a sleeveless leather jacket, revealing tattoos on his upper arm. And he wore boots. Boots all the way up to just below his knees. I was scared. He looked like a friggin gangster.
So when the bus 60 came, I got on and managed to get a seat. The scary man got on board as well. So I just sat there in my place hoping nothing would go wrong. But as he got on, he was pretty normal. Well he just asked for his ticket and went to the back and seat down. Nothing gangster-ish about him. And just before a stop before where I was getting off, he got off with a bunch of other people.
One stop later I got off. Knowing which way to go, I walked straight to the library. It felt good to know my way around, but then again it didn’t feel good cause I was all alone. I walked past McDonalds and saw a sign that said Happy Meal for 1.99pounds. That wasn’t very expensive, compared to Singapore prices. So I went in to have a look see. It was really crowded when I got in, and really warm. Then there was this fat lady who looked like she’s in her late 20s. She was talking to another person and yelled “f-k blah blah blah” She said it really loud. Since I wasn’t there to have McDonalds, I went out and walked towards the library.
When I got to the library, there was a lady outside who told me that it was closing. I asked what time does it close and she told me, right now. Well I thought they were taking a lunch break or what. So I looked at the sign that shows the operating hours of the library. Bloody unlucky. On Wednesdays they only operate half day. So they closed at 1pm. And it was 12.58pm at the time. Damn suay.
Feeling damn f-ked up, I went back to Westfield to get some lunch. Looking for the healthiest/cheapest option, I had a Potato with Tex Mex Chicken. That cost me 3.14pounds. Don’t ask me why the 0.14 pounds. I have no idea. The guy who served me looked around my age and he was quite handsome. I’m not gay but yea, he had blonde hair something like Zack Effron from the High School Musical. That was when I noticed something. Most of the staff here were young people around my age. It was very different compared to Singapore. Their service attitude was really good as well. They were very nice and polite. While in Singapore its all the grumpy Aunties that want to get you out of their face once you got your food.
The meal was pretty good. It’s something like a baked potato the size of 2 tennis put together. And the topping was the Tex Mex Chicken. Which had a little sour-ish taste. But it was pretty tasty. I had to force my self to eat finish it cause it was too much for me.
After that I walked around and asked around if there was an internet café. Turns out Westfield Shopping Center didn’t have one. But there was WiFi in the building. So if I had my laptop I could access it for free. So I went to the information counter to check it out. The lady who served me was a girl who looked around my age with retainers in her mouth. She talked kinda funny but was really helpful. She gave me a pamphlet about the WiFi in the building. It said that I had to pay to use the internet. Which was kind of a bummer. But she told me Starbucks has their own internet. So I went over to Starbucks and asked around. The lady at the counter told me that there was WiFi in the building and it was free. She told me if I had a laptop I could access it. And there was a power point at one corner. Thanking her, I left Starbucks thinking I’ll give it a try tomorrow.
So I went back to the bus stop and waited for bus 60. The digital sign showed that the bus wouldn’t be here for at least 15 mins. So I went opposite the busstop to a mobile phone store. Going in, I asked the Indian man at the counter what was the cheapest phone I could use just to make calls. I was looking for one cause it was quite a hassle trying to change SIM cards all the time. He showed me one that costs 30 pounds. It was the old Nokia phone, one of the earliest generations of Nokia models that had colour display. Then I said thank you and went out the shop. I was still contemplating whether or not to get the phone.
Soon enough my bus came and I went back to The Manor Hotel to rest. Though when I got back, I didn’t know why I felt so tired. I tried to read the books given to me by Erica Tyson, about Jet Engines, but couldn’t really concentrate. But I knew I gotta try to read finish the books, at least I’ll be prepared when I start my course next week.
I took an hour’s nap and it was already 6.00pm. Though I wasn’t really hungry I thought I’d better get some dinner before it gets dark. So I went out and walked to the Supermart and bought a Curry Chicken Rice set for 1.50pounds from the supermart. Its those kind where you just heat it up in the microwave and it becomes edible.
I was pretty hungry by the time I got back. So I heated up the Curry Chicken Rice Set and waited. It wasn’t such a good idea buying such a strong smelling dinner back cause my room started to smell of curry.
When it was done, I took it out of the microwave and left it to cool. It was pretty alright I guess. I wouldn’t say it tasted great. The rice was quite hard and stuck together. And the chicken was really tough to eat. The Curry sauce was ok though. It wasn’t too spicy, just a little sour-ish.
After dinner I went to play some PSP and read the Jet Engine book. Then I went to sleep at around 8.30pm. Oh yea. The days are really long here. It gets bright at around 5.30am and gets dark only at around 8.00pm.
23-04-2008. Wednesday.
23-04-2008. Wednesday.
9.30am London time.
Well. Basically its morning right now. And well my phone SIM card is finally activated for 5pence/min. And I’m left with 9 pounds in my SIM card.
Alright so yesterday, 22/04/08 Tuesday, I woke up at around 8am and went downstairs. Mrs Mary prepared for me a Continental Breakfast, I have no idea why in the world it was called that. But there was the breakfast. Fruits and Fibre Cereal with milk, 6 half slices of toasted bread, orange juice, yoghurt, a giant jelly, Nutella Spread, Jam spread and Margarine. I had the cereals, 2 slices of bread spreaded with Nutella and Jam, and I was full.
After thanking Mrs Mary for the meal, I realized that I wasn’t the only one staying at The Manor Hotel. Mrs Mary’s family’s there as well. There’s a blonde lady who looks like she’s in her 40s, and a young blonde girl who looks around my age. Well I’m guessing the blonde lady is Mrs Mary’s daughter and the girl would probably be her granddaughter. Well those are just guesses. But I guess its comforting to know that I’m not the only one other than Mrs Mary.
After breakfast I went back up my room and turned off the TV. Thank god there was regular American shows, Fraiser, The O.C and Smallville. So basically I spent most my morning watching tv and typing out my last post.
Not really in the mood to go to Derby city today, so I’d figured I’d just laze around in my room till lunch time.
When it got close to lunch time, I suited up into my 3 layers of sweaters and went down the lane and walked around looking for a place to get lunch.
There was a Chinese take-away just down the lane and it was really expensive. One dish costs around 4.50 pounds. But I got to a fish and chip take away place and bought fish and chips for 3 pounds. I asked for ketchup, which costs 80 pence for a small packet. Then I started making my way back.
Back at The Manor Hotel, I had my lunch in my room and only managed to finish half of the fish and 1/3 of the fries. It wasn’t really that nice though. I wondered was it because I didn’t have the appetite or because it wasn’t that tasty. So I kept the remainder inside the microwave oven for later.
At around 3.00pm Mrs Mary knocked and came in telling me that there was a call for me. It was someone from Rolls Royce whom I really can’t remember the name. She told me to come down for a Drugs and Alcohol test at 4.30pm.
So after getting directions from Mrs Mary, I took bus 60 down to a place called Merrill Way. It wasn’t really far because it was a few stops before Derby City. So I got off and asked around for directions to Rolls Royce. It was a really long walk. I reached there at around 4.15. And the Rolls Royce area was really really huge. There are so many buildings there. It was crazy big. I was perspiring by the time I got into the building, the Research and Development Center. It wasn’t a really nice feeling cause I was perspiring inside but it was quite cold outside. So yea. Well I went to the reception and told them that I came for a drugs and alcohol test. And the officer there led me to an area where there were interview rooms and sat down on a chair outside the room.
At around 4.35pm an white haired man who looked like he was in his early 50s walked in and told me to wait outside while he went into one of the interview rooms and set up his equipment. Awhile later he told me to get into the room.
Well the test wasn’t what I was expected. I thought they would need to draw some of my blood out for testing. But turns out that for the drug test, all I needed was to swab a cotton bud in my mouth and it would be placed into a small vial and then some of the liquid will be dripped onto a piece of test paper and inserted into a small hand held device. 12 minutes later, the result was out and I was negative for any drugs. For the alcohol test all I had to do was blow into a breathalyzer, kinda like those that traffic police use to test for drink driving. My reading was zero for any trace of alcohol. So basically I passed both the test.
Erica Tyson, the person I’ve been in contact through email with in Singapore met me outside the interview room. It was the first time I’ve met her and she was not what I expected. I was picturing some prim and well dressed lady. But she was a bespectacled, slightly rotund lady who looked like she was in her early early 40s? I can’t be sure. But she was a nice lady. She introduced her self and sat me down in a nearby seat. She handed to me a few documents and a few books on Jet engines. I was told that I would be attending a course on Jet Engine’s next Monday onwards for a week. Then after that I’d be posted to the Combustion Site to start work. She handed me a cheque from Rolls Royce for 1,500 Pounds. It was to cover my travel expenses. But I was only able to bank in the cheque once I moved into my permanent accommodation for the next 4 months and opened a bank account using that address.
Doing the math, I spent around S$3900 when I first came, on my train fare, air fare, and bringing around changing 545pounds here. And 1500 pounds would mean around S$4050. So well I’ve only got S$150 extra. But it was comforting to know that at least I got everything that I spent back.
Erica Tyson sent me back to The Manor Hotel in her car. It was a really small stick-shift car. And she didn’t need to turn on the aircon. Just wind down the window and it gets cold enough.
I got back to my room and mircowaved the remaining fish and chips. I finished up the remaining half of the fish and left 1/3 of the fries.
So I’ve only spent 3 pounds today!
By the time it was already close to 8.00pm and I took a bath and went to sleep. This time I woke up at 5am the next morning.
9.30am London time.
Well. Basically its morning right now. And well my phone SIM card is finally activated for 5pence/min. And I’m left with 9 pounds in my SIM card.
Alright so yesterday, 22/04/08 Tuesday, I woke up at around 8am and went downstairs. Mrs Mary prepared for me a Continental Breakfast, I have no idea why in the world it was called that. But there was the breakfast. Fruits and Fibre Cereal with milk, 6 half slices of toasted bread, orange juice, yoghurt, a giant jelly, Nutella Spread, Jam spread and Margarine. I had the cereals, 2 slices of bread spreaded with Nutella and Jam, and I was full.
After thanking Mrs Mary for the meal, I realized that I wasn’t the only one staying at The Manor Hotel. Mrs Mary’s family’s there as well. There’s a blonde lady who looks like she’s in her 40s, and a young blonde girl who looks around my age. Well I’m guessing the blonde lady is Mrs Mary’s daughter and the girl would probably be her granddaughter. Well those are just guesses. But I guess its comforting to know that I’m not the only one other than Mrs Mary.
After breakfast I went back up my room and turned off the TV. Thank god there was regular American shows, Fraiser, The O.C and Smallville. So basically I spent most my morning watching tv and typing out my last post.
Not really in the mood to go to Derby city today, so I’d figured I’d just laze around in my room till lunch time.
When it got close to lunch time, I suited up into my 3 layers of sweaters and went down the lane and walked around looking for a place to get lunch.
There was a Chinese take-away just down the lane and it was really expensive. One dish costs around 4.50 pounds. But I got to a fish and chip take away place and bought fish and chips for 3 pounds. I asked for ketchup, which costs 80 pence for a small packet. Then I started making my way back.
Back at The Manor Hotel, I had my lunch in my room and only managed to finish half of the fish and 1/3 of the fries. It wasn’t really that nice though. I wondered was it because I didn’t have the appetite or because it wasn’t that tasty. So I kept the remainder inside the microwave oven for later.
At around 3.00pm Mrs Mary knocked and came in telling me that there was a call for me. It was someone from Rolls Royce whom I really can’t remember the name. She told me to come down for a Drugs and Alcohol test at 4.30pm.
So after getting directions from Mrs Mary, I took bus 60 down to a place called Merrill Way. It wasn’t really far because it was a few stops before Derby City. So I got off and asked around for directions to Rolls Royce. It was a really long walk. I reached there at around 4.15. And the Rolls Royce area was really really huge. There are so many buildings there. It was crazy big. I was perspiring by the time I got into the building, the Research and Development Center. It wasn’t a really nice feeling cause I was perspiring inside but it was quite cold outside. So yea. Well I went to the reception and told them that I came for a drugs and alcohol test. And the officer there led me to an area where there were interview rooms and sat down on a chair outside the room.
At around 4.35pm an white haired man who looked like he was in his early 50s walked in and told me to wait outside while he went into one of the interview rooms and set up his equipment. Awhile later he told me to get into the room.
Well the test wasn’t what I was expected. I thought they would need to draw some of my blood out for testing. But turns out that for the drug test, all I needed was to swab a cotton bud in my mouth and it would be placed into a small vial and then some of the liquid will be dripped onto a piece of test paper and inserted into a small hand held device. 12 minutes later, the result was out and I was negative for any drugs. For the alcohol test all I had to do was blow into a breathalyzer, kinda like those that traffic police use to test for drink driving. My reading was zero for any trace of alcohol. So basically I passed both the test.
Erica Tyson, the person I’ve been in contact through email with in Singapore met me outside the interview room. It was the first time I’ve met her and she was not what I expected. I was picturing some prim and well dressed lady. But she was a bespectacled, slightly rotund lady who looked like she was in her early early 40s? I can’t be sure. But she was a nice lady. She introduced her self and sat me down in a nearby seat. She handed to me a few documents and a few books on Jet engines. I was told that I would be attending a course on Jet Engine’s next Monday onwards for a week. Then after that I’d be posted to the Combustion Site to start work. She handed me a cheque from Rolls Royce for 1,500 Pounds. It was to cover my travel expenses. But I was only able to bank in the cheque once I moved into my permanent accommodation for the next 4 months and opened a bank account using that address.
Doing the math, I spent around S$3900 when I first came, on my train fare, air fare, and bringing around changing 545pounds here. And 1500 pounds would mean around S$4050. So well I’ve only got S$150 extra. But it was comforting to know that at least I got everything that I spent back.
Erica Tyson sent me back to The Manor Hotel in her car. It was a really small stick-shift car. And she didn’t need to turn on the aircon. Just wind down the window and it gets cold enough.
I got back to my room and mircowaved the remaining fish and chips. I finished up the remaining half of the fish and left 1/3 of the fries.
So I’ve only spent 3 pounds today!
By the time it was already close to 8.00pm and I took a bath and went to sleep. This time I woke up at 5am the next morning.
22/04/08 Tuesday
Sorry for the poor English.
To all that came down to send me off – Thank you. With all my heart.
22/04/08 Tuesday
London Time: 10.12am
Singapore Time: 5.12pm
Alrighto, here’s my first update to a life in the U.K:
Well I’m currently in my room in The Manor Hotel, Chellaston, Derby. There’s no internet connection here so I’m kinda typing this and posting this once I move into a new place with internet connection.
Trust me, if you’re a Singaporean, alone abroad, an internet connection is what you really need. I’m going mad right now cause I can’t be connected to my friends abroad and calling back home isn’t cheap at all. And I’ve got absolutely nothing to do. Well, I’ve got a SIM card here which is gonna cost me 5pence/min to call back to Singapore, but that discounted rate won’t be in effect till they send me a message saying that it is.
I wish they told me that when I bought it. Cause I thought it was 5p/min immediately once I got the SIM card. Cause I didn’t know that and happily topped up 10 pounds into my SIM card, started calling home and chatted for around 7 mins? Then I checked my account again. I’m left with 3 pounds in the card. That was a real f-king shock. So if you do the math, it cost me 1 pound/min. Which is like, f-king S$3/min??? Only consoling thing is that it cost slightly cheaper to call back using this new SIM card than my Starhub one, which costs S$3.50 to call back.
So now I’m just waiting for the message to tell me that my SIM card has been activated for cheaper overseas calls.
Alrights. I’m just gonna start talking about my friggin-ass long trip here.
So… Well after I said good bye to my loved ones and friends that sent me off, I turned around to have one last look at them for the next 4 months. It was kinda emotional to be honest, cause it was really heart warming to see the people you care and love waving goodbye to you. If you have the chance to experience that, you should.
Then I started looking around for the gate where I’m supposed to go for my flight. Wasn’t too hard cause the signs leading there were quite clear. But the queue at the gate was really long. So I went and joined the queue, wasn’t really much of a surprise when I looked around and saw that most of the people queuing were Ang Mohs. Then I realized that this was how it was gonna be in the U.K. No more little Asian people around and just mostly big white Ang Mohs.
So I went in the gate and had to put my backpack through the scanning machine and was told to take out my laptop. Don’t ask me why. I don’t know. Maybe they thought laptops could be bombs or something like that? Then when my backpack came through the machine, the security personal asked me this “you have a small foldable scissors in your bag?”
“yea I do” I replied.
Then I realized that it was not allowed to have a scissors in your bag on an airplane. So I apologized and took out the scissors from my pencil case and gave it to the person. It was kinda embarrassing but I didn’t really care cause no one there was gonna recognize me or remember me. I guess that’s the only perk being abroad alone, telling yourself that no one’s gonna remember or care who you are.
So I got into the waiting area to board the plane, and found a seat right at the end. When I sat down, all the nervous-ness and fear started to sink in. I was gonna be alone. All alone in a land far away for the next 4 months. You’ll never want to have that feeling inside you. It just kills all excitement for the trip ahead.
The time to board had finally come, I picked up my backpack and walked in to the plane. This was when it got really embarrassing. My seat was in the second seat of a 4 seater in the middle of the plane. I opened up the top compartment where we were supposed to put in our bags, and it was full. And as I was standing there figuring out what to do, there was a line forming behind me. So I took my bag and said sorry to the people queuing behind me and walked in to the area behind where the toilets were. And waited.
When most people were settled down in their seats, I got the attention of the flight attendant and he helped me put my bag in a compartment a few seats in front of mine. Then I got into my seat which an young Ang Moh who looked around my age had to get up and let me in. Well I don’t know if she was my age but she looked that. And she was tall. And slightly plump. So this lady was to my left. And to my right was an older Ang Moh lady. She looked like she was in her 50s? Well I can’t really tell how old are they.
So the flight took off and began my 13 hour journey.
The journey was… Not enjoyable? Well its mostly because every time I needed to pee, I had to ask the lady on my left to get up and let me through. Which wasn’t very nice cause she was sleeping most of the time on the flight. I talked to the lady on my right and found out that she was an Italian and was going back to Italy as she lives there. She was on a flight back from Australia and had to take another flight in London to Italy. She told me it took at least 36 hours in total from Australia to Italy due to all the transit flights. And she has 2 sons who were aged 28 and 32. One was taking his PHD and the other was taking his pilot’s license. Lucky her.
So I spent most of the time watching shows on the in flight entertainment system and trying to sleep. I watched a stand up comedy and “27 Dresses”. And 13 hours, 11000km later, I reached Heathrow Airport Terminal 4, London at 5.30 London time.
I got off the plane and took my backpack after most of the people got off and made my way to the immigration authorites and had my passport stamped and work permit stamped as well. Then I walked to the baggage reclaim belt to reclaim my other 17.5kg bag. So I lugged it along and walked to the London Underground Tube. All alone.
The Underground was at one end of the airport and getting to there wasn’t too much of a problem. Cause there wasn’t much people there at 6.20am anyways. So I got a ticket for 4 pounds from the ticket machine and thankfully I didn’t have to wait cause the train was already there. Just for your information, the Underground’s something like Singapore’s MRT. But the MRT is so much better. The Underground’s trains are quite… old? And its not as clean as Singapore’s. I’m beginning to appreciate Singapore more and more.
So I took the Underground to King’s Cross St Pancras Station, which was around an hour’s journey. At 7.25am, I arrived at King’s Cross St Pancras. I got out of the Underground train and started making my way to the East Midlands train service. It was tough to look around for the right way cause there were no signs that said “East Midlands Train Service”. So I just followed the crowd and asked around.
It was freezing when I was making my way to the train station. Well. Only the uncovered areas of my body was freezing. Basically, my head and hands. So I got out my beanie, gloves and scarf and put them on. I’d like to thank my mom for that.
St Pancras Train Station
After getting the ticket (which cost me a shocking 70.5 pounds) from the ticket counter, it was already close to 8am and the train leaves at 8am. So I got on the train and managed to get in just before the door shut. Inside the carriage, I had to get past a sliding door, with a small round protruding sign that showed 2 arrows in opposite direction that was lit up with neon bulbs, which I had no idea how to open. Cause there was this handle there and when I tried to push and slide it open, it opened up slightly and slid shut again. So I stood there like a dumbass trying to figure out how the hell to get it open. Then I noticed that the sign is actually a button. Pressing it allowed the door to slide open automatically. So I got in and took the seat closest to the door while placing my luggage beside me.
Interior of the East Midlands Train
The stupid sliding door.
The train from St Pancras to Derby took me another 2 hours. When I reached Derby station, it was 10am. It was kinda run down for a train station, with the walls all grafit-ed, looking really old and used. I got into a convenience store in the station and looked around for mineral water. Wow, the water here was expensive. I bought a 1 litre bottle for 1.59 pounds cause I was already dying from thirst since I haven’t drank anything since the plane landed. So as I approached the counter I asked if they sold the pre-paid SIM card. The young guy at the counter said no and told me that if I wanted to get it I had to get into the city.
Then I stepped out onto the street and got into a cab. The cab was really cute, different from what you’d normally see in Singapore. Its beetle-looking, and yellow. The interior is quite large though. But the cab was really old and not comfortable at all. But the cab driver was a nice guy.
In the cab, I looked around the area where the cab was heading and it was, disappointing for me I guess? Cause I’m more of a city boy that was used to clusters of tall apartment buildings, and well, you know, the way Singapore is. This part of Derby was quiet. A few shophouses along the road, residential houses scattered here and there. I felt really out of place and wondered how in the world am I supposed to survive here for the next 4 months.
Inside the cab
The cab driver drove me to the place where I’ll be staying, The Manor Hotel, Chellaston, Derby. In my mind I was imagining a slightly large building with a reception counter where I can check in and stuff like that. Well basically what you’d expect from a hotel. But when the cab turned in to a small corner, drove in to “school lane”, I was wondering if the driver had made a mistake. Then there was this sign on a low brick wall beside a creaky old metal gate that’s quite small. I got out of the taxi and paid my fare of 8.40 pounds. The driver gave me a hand written receipt with his number on it and told me to call him if I needed a cab.
Not impressed by the front of the hotel, which isn’t really a hotel in my Singaporean mindset. It was like a large bungalow with a front lawn. Not knowing what to expect I approached the front door and knocked. It was a really old door that looked like it was from the middle ages.
“knock knock”
“knock knock”
No one came. So I looked in through the window and was quite surprised to find that the house was quite… nice? It was very well furnished. I mean its nothing like what you’d see in a Singapore house. It was beautiful. And since no one came to answer the door, I took my phone out and dialed the number of the owner of The Manor.
“Mrs Mary Fowkes?” I asked.
“Hello?” The voice of an old lady.
“ Oh I’m Jonas and I’m supposed to check in today? I’m at your front door.”
“Ah alright, love, why don’t you come on in?”
“ I can’t, it seems to be locked.”
“Oh alright I’ll be out in a minute, love.”
So I waited. Then a really old lady, wrinkled with a kind face and looked like she in her 70s or 80s, walked to the door and opened it. I smiled to her and said that I was here to check in, and I was from Rolls Royce. She told me to come in and as I lugged my luggage in, I looked around and found that the place was beautiful. Carpeted floor, nice furnishing, comfortable couches, frames of photos and portraits hanging on the walls. It was unbelievably beautiful compared to the exterior of the place.
“ Do you like dogs?” She asked.
Wondering why she’d ask that, I said I was alright with dogs. So she went off to a room and opened it and a slightly large dog came lumbering out. It was white with brown patches. I think it’s a cockerel spaniel. But I don’t have much knowledge about the breed of dogs so that’s my guess. But Mrs Mary called it Dennis.
She showed me to my room which had me climbing a stair up to the second level and turning into a walk way with a lot of doors. As she led me to the door on the left, I opened it. As with the rest of the house, it was a beautiful place. It was nothing I would expect from a hotel. Well. Basic stuff like a microwave oven, tv and bed were there. Then there was a shower room. It wasn’t exactly a room. Its like a small square area at one corner that’s made of 2 sliding glass doors. So there was no privacy what-so-ever from the entire room. So if you wanted to bathe, you gotta lock the room door. Apart from all these, there was a kettle, a sink, a fire place and 2 couches. The place looked wonderful. 
Mrs Mary taught me how to set up the fire place. It wasn’t the charcoal wood type that used the burning of wood to produce the heat. It was a modern one that used gas and an ignition to light up the fire. Once I got the hang of how to operate it, she told me to settle down and come downstairs to talk to her if I had any questions. I had loads of them.
As I put down my stuff on one of the couches and realized that I had to use the toilet. Thankfully Mrs Mary told me before she left the room that the toilet was just outside the room. So I went out of the room and headed for the toilet which was… 5 steps away? Then I realized that this was a common toilet. It was a tiny room with just a toilet bowl. No sink or mirror. But it was nicely decorated.
I got back to my room and took out my note book and a pen and went downstairs. I had to know everything. But first of all I needed to know where I could get a SIM card. Cause it’s damn expensive to call back to Singapore using my StarHub SIM card.
I headed downstairs and knocked on the door where Mrs Mary was at. She told me to come in and sit down on a couch. The room had a small LCD tv, with 3 couches, and again, the place was wonderfully furnished and decorated. So I sat down and she told me that she worked for Rolls Royce and have been doing lodging for interns for over 20 years. I asked if there were any other interns staying here, cause I didn’t see anyone else around, and she said none at the moment. So I thought to myself, I’m gonna be the only one staying here for this week?? That was a scary thought.
She filled me in on information about places to go around here and what buses to take to get into Derby. That was weird, I thought I was in Derby. She then explained that I’m actually in a village called Chellaston and Derby was like the city for the area. Then I asked about the SIM card. She told me that I could get one from the nearby shop-houses like Tesco or the Post Office. But she told me it was a good idea to go in to Derby, Westfield shopping center, to look around at phone shops such as Virgin mobile, Orange and places like that to find out the best deals. Then after all that was told, she gave a call to Erica Tyson, the person that I was in contact with from Rolls Royce and informed her that I had arrived in Derby. I was then told to go for a drug and alcohol test when I got an appointment. And that I was supposed to start work only on next Monday. That was quite disappointing as I wanted to be able to start work as soon as possible to get my mind off being home-sick. She also told me that she was heading down to the hospital for a few jabs and would be back at around 4.00pm.
So I got back up to my room and get my stuff and put on my jacket that I wore from the airport till here and headed out. When I got out it was freezing. So I put on my beanie and my gloves and started walking down the lane. As I walked down and looked around, the same feeling of dread returned to me cause it wasn’t really Singapore? I’m really a city person. I can’t picture myself living in quiet areas like this. Especially for the next 4 months. How was I going to survive!!
">
">
Walking down the lane I saw a couple of shop houses, among them was a hair dresser, a Chinese take-away restaurant, a place that sells alcohol and a couple of other shop houses that I didn’t bother about. Then I walked past a really old church. It was the vintage looking type with reddish brown bricks and a clock at the top of a tower.
">
">
As I continued walking down the lane, I still freezing. Wondering if it would be warmer inside a shop, I turned into a supermarket to walk around. Inside was blissfully warm. Well it isn’t exactly warm that you’d feel hot. It was at a temperature of a normal shopping center in Singapore, maybe just a tad warmer. Walking around the super market, I looked at the prices of the stuff around and was actually quite expensive if you’d convert it to Singapore dollars.
However, if you’d consider that your living here and working here, the stuff aren’t exactly too expensive. I don’t know how to put this across. But yea. Lets just say. A loaf of bread costs around 0.80 pounds to 1 pound? That’s expensive if you convert that to Singapore dollars and compare it to a loaf in Singapore right? But you gotta think that if your working in the U.K, it wouldn’t be too expensive then. It was actually cheap stuff if you think about it. Cause lets say I earn around 1.2k pounds right? And that was a really low income for someone living in U.K, basically it’s like a part time job pay. So if earned 1.2k Sing from a part time job in Singapore, I’d still have to pay S$1 for a loaf of bread. Which wasn’t actually too expensive. So if you are actually living and working in the U.K, most of the stuff here aren’t exactly expensive. Does it all make sense? I hope it does.
">
As I walked further down and out to the main street and the bus stop, I was already freezing my ass off. Deciding that it was too cold to wait for the bus, I walked back up the street, heading back to The Manor Hotel.
">
">
">
">
As I got back, I told Mrs Mary that it was too cold to travel wearing only that one jacket. So I went back up and took off the jacket and tee shirt that I wore from the airport, and put on a long sleeve tee that my mom calls a ‘Long John’, and a woven long sleeve sweater and a sleeveless jacket. I was wearing 3 layers. I got my sling bag out of my luggage and put in my bottle of water and camera. I put back on my beanie and gloves and went out of The Manor Hotel, and walked back down the lane towards the bus stop.
Feeling much warmer than I did when I arrived at the bus stop, I waited there for the bus to come. I was told to take any bus as all of them headed towards the city in that direction. There was a sign board that had indications of how long the bus would take to arrive. And the earliest one said “ 5 “ minutes. A while later, the bus ‘60’ came. I got on the bus and, as I was told by Mrs Mary, I asked for a week pass that cost me 12 pounds. A pass was printed and the driver helped me stick it to a cardboard holder. Then I told him to let me know when we reached “The Spot”. A few others got on the bus as well and some of them showed a card to the driver and he just printed out a receipt for them. Others said the name of their destination and the paid the amount to the driver. It was very inefficient if you compared to Singapore where we use the EZ link card and just ‘tap’ on the reader when we board.
">
As the bus moved on, I looked out and saw that most of the area was the same as to where was I was staying. A few clusters of shop houses by the main road and a few residential areas here and there. Being the city boy that I am, I felt dreadful that I was gonna be living in this area for the next 4 months.
">
">
As the bus went along the area became more and more filled with shop houses. And soon when it turned at a bend, I saw a giant building that said Westfield. As the bus approached the bus stop, an old man that got on the bus at the same stop at I did, told me that I wanted to get to “The Spot” and this was it. So I thanked the man I got off the bus and looked around. The area was… busy. Cause it was like a shopping mall surrounded by shop houses here and there. It looked amazing. Feeling happier cause this resembled more of what I thought of the U.K than where I stayed. As I went in to the building I was told by Mrs Mary that there was a stand that had a digital directory. I went up and used it and it was really advanced. Basically you just had to type in the starting letters of which shop you’d wanna go and a map will be displayed. You can even press a tab that actually tells you how to walk from where you were. It’s a wonder where giant malls in Singapore don’t have such a system. It was real helpful.
">
">
">
">
">
Westfield Shopping Mall was basically a 2 storey complex that had a shape of a ‘T’. Looking up at where I was, I saw an area that looks like a food court. Feeling really hungry cause I haven’t had a bite since 5.30am and it was around 12.30pm at that time. So I went up the escalator and went in to the food court. It’s huge for its size. But there aren’t many food varieties. Basically one stall took up a really large space. So there were around 10 food stalls? As I looked around I noticed that there was KFC right at the end as well. Since I was living on a tight budget I hunted around for the cheapest and healthiest choice there is. So I finally settled on a stall that sold sandwiches. Well its more of like ‘subway’ kinda place? Cause you’d basically just need to choose what sandwich you want and what kinda bread you’d like. So I ordered a Smoked Beef Sandwich. Which cost me 2.69 pounds. If you’d come to think of it again, it was expensive in Singapore dollars. But it was relatively affordable if you were someone from U.K. Cause if you compare to Singapore, you’d have to spend at least S$4.00 to S$6.00 at a food court in a shopping mall to get a decent meal.
">
">
After I got my sandwich I sat down at an area alone. That was when I started feeling depressed again cause I was all alone. All alone. It was a really saddening thought. So I sat there silently eating my sandwich. It was pretty alright I guess? Cause there was beef, bread, vegetable, tomatoes. It was healthy I guess? When left with a quarter of the portion left I was already full. So I packed it up and stuffed it back into my bag and went to walk around. I walked back downstairs and looked around. The first mobile phone store I entered was Virgin Mobile. I stood at the counter waiting for someone to ask me what I needed. And finally a large African-British came and asked me if I was waiting to be served. So I told him I needed to call back to Singapore often and what they had to offer. He told me that I could get a Pay-as-you-go SIM card, which was basically a Prepaid SIM card. I asked him what the rate was calling back to Singapore, and he showed me a booklet that said it cost 20pence/min. Which if converted to Singapore dollars its S$0.60/min. Friggin expensive. So I said thank you and looked around. I went into another shop and asked and found that it cost 40pence/min. That was way too expensive. By that time I was already slowly accepting the fact that it was gonna be around that price to call back to Singapore.
Then I remembered that there was one more mobile phone store I haven’t checked out. Not knowing where it is, I walked back to the digital directory and typed in the letters “Orange”. Then a store name “Orange” popped out on the screen. I tapped on the name and a map appeared showing where the store was. Then I tapped on “How to get there”. A route was displayed and immediately I knew which direction to walk.
As I walked into Orange, a blonde young lady in her early 20s approached me and asked me if I needed assistance. I told her what I was looking for and she checked for me the price of calling back to Singapore. And then this was where I got really happy. Cause she told me that they had a Pay-as-you-go SIM card that would only cost me 5pence/min. Which was like. Damn cheap???? So I got it and topped up 10 pounds. So I started calling back to Singapore happily.
Then I remembered that Mrs Mary told me that I could have access to the internet free at the library. So I asked around and walked out of Westfield Shopping Center. Then I headed in the direction for the library as I asked around where it was. I went into one of the shophouses that sold baby clothes and asked where the bus terminal was cause Mrs Mary told me to head there and take bus 60 to get back to The Manor Hotel. The nice lady in the shop led me out and pointed me in the direction and I thanked her and walked in the direction. As I was walking out, a middle aged man with a grey-ing scruffy beard told me that I could take bus 60 from a busstop nearby to get back to Chellaston rather than walking all the way back to the bus terminal. What a nice guy.
">
So as I walked to the library, I was expecting it to be some building like those you see in Singapore? Like the one at Jurong East. But I was surprised once again. The building was like a chuch, with a clock tower right on top. So I went in and it was really warm inside. I went up to the counter and asked if I could use the computers. The nice lady there who looked around my age told me that I could use it if I booked a time slot. I asked what was the closest available timing and she told me it was from 2.30pm and she could book for me for one hour the most. She was really helpful and nice! I mean compared to the nasty impolite old ladies at the libraries in Singapore. Since it was around 1.45pm, I decided to look around while I waited for 2.30pm to use the computer. There was no charge for using it by the way. So I sat down on a seat where and Indian girl that looked around my age was reading a book opposite me.
">
Since I had nothing to do, I went and dialed the number to check the amount I left inside my SIM card.
“Your remaining credit is, 4 pounds and 81 pence”.
I was like. WHAT THE F-K! How in the world did I spend that much since I only made a few calls. So I tested it out. And I called for back Singapore for 1 min. Then I checked the remaining amount.
“Your remaining credit is, 3 pounds and 81 pence”.
WHAT! It cost me 1 pound per minute???? Unbelievable. I thought of going back to Orange and clarify why. But it was getting close to 2.30pm. So I decided to use the computer before I got back to Westfield.
When I got to the computer, it was a pretty old computer and the keyboard was terrible. I logged on to MSN ( thankfully they had it installed ), and chatted there while checking my emails. It was really warm where I was seated and it didn’t help that I was wearing so many layers. I took off my sleeveless jacket but it was still warm. So I decided to bear with it and continued chatting. It felt good to finally have contact with the world in Singapore. It was then I realized how important the internet was to modern day young people like me.
At 3.30pm I logged off and went out and started making my way back to Westfield. It was still freezing so I put back on my beanie, gloves and the sleeveless jacket. It was slightly more crowded than before along the streets of the city.
When I got back to Orange, the lady that sold me the SIM card was busy with other customers so I approached the counter and told an Indian lady there my problem. She said she’d check out for me and told me that the card has not been activated for overseas calls at a discounted rate. I was like what??? She told me that it takes at least 24 hours before that tariff would be activated. I asked her why I wasn’t told before hand and she said she was sorry and there was nothing she could do. So I topped up another 10 pounds into my card and left the store. Which meant I had already spent 20 pounds just for the phone. Which is around S$60!! That is f-king expensive.
It was getting to be around 4.15pm and I decided it was time to get back. So I went back to the food court and bought a Tuna sandwich for 2.50 pounds from the same stall I bought my lunch from and stuffed it in my bag with the quarter portion of my lunch.
I left the shopping center and waited at the bus stop. Soon bus 60 arrived and it was quite packed. But I managed to get a sit beside an African-British girl reading a book, who looked a few years younger than me. The journey back was quite long cause the bus went in several residential areas before arriving back at the Church where nearby The Manor Hotel was. The nice thing about people here is that they all area really friendly to one another. They’d say “cheers” to the bus driver when they get on or off the bus. And the bus driver would stop when pedestrians tried to cross the road even though they weren’t crossing at a traffic light. Of course the pedestrians would then wave a friendly gesture and smiles would be exchanged. It was a really friendly town.
As I walked back into The Manor Hotel, I entered and found that the door was never locked. And as I walked in Dennis, the Cockerel Spaniel, came strolling out of Mrs Mary room with a slipper in its mouth that was hers. I knew at that moment that she hasn’t come home yet from the hospital. So I went up to my room and put down my stuff. It was very quiet. Then the feeling of loneliness came to me again. So I turned on the TV for some noise and I took the quarter portion of the lunch and placed it in the microwave and heated it up. After eating the portion I placed my dinner beside the microwave, deciding that I’ll have it later.
It was around 5.30pm and I was already feeling really tired. So I decided to lie down on the bed for awhile. My door isn’t really locked and its just left ajar in case Mrs Mary came back and had to look for me. Then Dennis the dog came in by pushing the door with his head and with the slipper in his mouth. He came right by my bed and put his two front paws up onto the bed beside me where I was laying down.
“I don’t know where she is… Go out alrights I need to sleep…” I didn’t know why in the world did I just talk to a dog, but I did.
I led the dog out of the room and it went back downstairs. Heading back to my room, I went back to lie down on the bed and soon fell asleep.
I woke up at 12am.
And there was nothing to do.
So I played my PSP and took my bath and finally got to sleep again at around 4am.
I did some financial calculation on my status here. For the first day in U.K, I’ve already spent a total of around 120 pounds.
And woke up at around 6am and bummed around till 8am.
So there it is. Finally completed the first day in U.K. And many more days to come. I don’t think I have that much time to complete another 9 page report about my life just for one day.
Right now its actually Wednesday, April 23, 9.30am. I just had a wonderful breakfast spread made by Mrs Mary. I’m starting work on Monday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)