Day 72: Card.

I made my first online purchase today with my own card. It's a nice feeling not having to borrow one or use my Dad's!

Day 71: Just my luck.

I left work early at 1pm today to sort out my national insurance number myself and to submit a form to my RBS branch.

• It was a painfully long 1.5hour journey to the JobCentre.
• With a bursting bladder I had to walk a mile to the nearest filthy toilet and back.
• Waited in the JobCentre for 2 hours.
• Had an argument with the manager over my passport name.
• Walked a mile to the nearest RBS, only to find it had just closed a mere 10min ago.
• Waved frantically from outside to get someone's attention and asked if I could simply drop off a form, but was refused.
• From outside RBS, I posted my form to RBS. Ridiculous.

Day 70: Sick.

I've been feeling feverish all day. I think it's the accumulated lack of rest that's getting to me. I normally catch up on sleep on Saturday mornings, but have been unable to do so in recent weeks because of all the weekend traveling.

Last night I only slept 3 hours because I got back from the airport late. Mad long immigration queue. Literally over 1000 people waiting to get their passports stamped. There were heads as far as the eye could see!

I'm sleeping early tonight. But first: Panadol x2.

Day 68-69: Hamburg!

I spent the weekend in Hamburg, Germany. Another solo trip. The weather was really cold, sub-zero, but I was well-prepared, wrapping myself up in 4 layers of clothing!

North German traditional cuisine can get really weird. They're into herring, which has a strong smell. In their dishes they often mix the fish and red meat, leaving your taste buds bewildered. I must say though, the Germans really know how to make a good sausage!

The Hamburg parliament house is really grand. Classy. I like it. I think the interior is even nicer than the palace of Versailles in Paris, though not as big. Who's ever heard of leather wallpaper?

The highlight of the trip was Fishmarkt. The place is really happening on Sunday mornings. It's more than just a market. In the hall there's a stage and live band, beer, coffee, wieners and loads of crazy happy people dancing about and having a good time!

Day 66-67: Customer Service.

I spent Thursday and Friday on the phone to RBS internal services, trying to get my bank account, salary and national insurance number sorted. It had been dragging on for way too long.

It took 2 months and I even had to lodge a complaint, but I finally managed to get my bank account opened, with £50 compensation for the crap service I suffered.

I finally got paid proper for the first time, 2 months into employment!

Unfortunately, the national insurance number didn't go too well. I found out that after a month of waiting they still had not applied for my number as promised! Plus the operator had the audacity to hang up on me when I asked for a contact to address a formal complain to. Appalling.

Day 65: Winter Wonderland!

I stepped out of the house this morning and was greeted by the most breathtaking sight.

A picture paints a thousand words... (8000 below!)

Day 63-64: Eyesight.

My eyesight has deteriorated noticeably in the past 2 days. Worrying! Too little rest and too many computer screens for way too long.

Day 60-61: Milan!

I spent the weekend in Milan. It was fun! I am starting to love traveling alone. You enjoy complete freedom and independence; go wherever you want whenever you want, eat whatever you want whenever you want, do whatever you want whenever you want! It's a great opportunity to get away from everything and everyone and just spend quality time with me.

In Milan there is nothing much of cultural significance to sight-see other than Duomo, the massive church in the city centre. When I arrived in the city, I passed by Duomo on the way to the hotel. I still had my luggage with me. I thought that since I was already there I'd might as well explore it despite having to drag my luggage along. Mistake. Initially it was fine when I explored the interior. But later I bought a ticket to go to rooftop. Trouble. I did not realize how tall the building was! It was exhausting carrying my 12kg of baggage up the narrow stairwell which turned out to be 10+ storeys long!

When I got to the hotel I was told their single rooms were overbooked and they did not have a single room to honour my booking. My heart sunk. Just as I was losing hope, he then proceeded to say he's giving me a double room instead!! Free upgrade to double room!! Yipeeeee!!!

Milan is over-rated. It's only great for shopping, especially if you are into designer labels. I went easy on my wallet and settled for the Zara sale.

McDonald's in Italy sells the Baci McFlurry. It is delizioso!! Each and every indulgent spoonful is an incredible experience for the taste buds. Makes life worth living! Hahaha. Seriously, they should really start selling them in McDonald's all round the world!

Day 58-59: Pay Problems.

I’m having complications with my pay. I still haven’t been paid proper because I don’t have a UK bank account. I’ve been trying to open an account since I arrived in London, but have been unable to do so mainly because I don’t have proof of address. I have literally tried applying to every retail bank in London, but to no avail. My last hope is my application with RBS, which is still pending. Please pray that this application will come through.

I just received my first pay slip today and was pleasantly surprised to find they are paying me more than they initially promised. But, I was utterly horrified to find I had been severely over-taxed by £1300!! Horrendous. I am still trying to get my National Insurance Number, which I require in order to get taxed the right amount. For over a month now, I have been waiting for RBS to apply for one on my behalf. They are taking ages! Annoying. I am going to a JobCentre next week in person to try and get one myself. Please pray that they will grant me one promptly and that I will be able to obtain a refund of the tax I overpaid!

Day 56-57: The Icons In London.

I went to see The Icons In London tonight with some friends.

"Las-Vegas impressionist Greg London brings his entertaining show to his hometown. Musical impressionist Greg London takes on over 30 instantly recognizable stars such as Elvis Presley, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Tina Turner, James Blunt, Louis Armstrong, Ozzie Osborne, Robbie Williams and even Kermit the Frog in his West End debut."

I must say he was pretty good. I got my ticket for just £2 because a friend of a friend had free tickets. It was well worth it!

Day 55: Les Miserables.

I watched Les Miserables tonight at Queen's Theater with a colleague. It was spectacular! No wonder it's been running for over two decades. The singing was fantastic and the music was brilliant!

I got my Dress Circle ticket worth £50 for just £31 from a half-price outlet. I want to watch it again some time...

www.lesmis.com

Day 54: Art.

I visited the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery today. I saw the David Hockney exhibition and a collection of modern masters' paintings from Manet to Picasso.



http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/
http://www.npg.org.uk/

Day 53: Super Saturday!

Today I went to work for a full day of in-house training. It was great, it tied together a lot of the ideas and concepts I had been reading about in the past weeks. The best part was the free gifts! Everyone got a free Waterman pen and a bottle of quality French wine!

Day 50-52: Cell Visitation.

I visited a Hillsong Connect Group on Wednesday, Angel cell on Thursday and Oxford Circus cell on Friday. I like them all! What to do! Choices choices...

Day 48-49: Visiting the Loh's.

On Tuesday night I went to the Loh's for dinner. After a sumptuous meal of baked salmon, curry and yogurt prepared by Kevin and Lina, Lydia and I let each other hear the songs we've each written. We did not have enough time to get through all of them, since she has about 40 self-compositions to date and I have over a dozen. But they did somehow persuade me to play such classic favourites like Love Song for Sweetie and Postman Pat, filling the room with hysterical laughter!

We also looked at some old photo albums. This one picture really cracked me up. Look at Anthony!

Day 47: Hillsong London.

I visited Hillsong London today. The service was great! I must say, the music, lights and multimedia were fantastic. The worship was powerful. I want to go again! www.hillsong.co.uk

Day 46: Grooming.

I finally cut my hair today. Cut it quite short, barely long enough to style. Almost a crude cut. Hopefully I won't have to cut my hair till I get back to Singapore. The cost of services in London is high high high! Even this cheap haircut cost £6, which works out to over S$18!

My face has been peeling as a result of the cold dry air, so I bought some facial moisturizer. But what good does moisturizer do if the face is not clean in the first place right? So I bought cleanser/toner too! Hahaha. Feel like a metro. :S

Day 42-45: Blue Man Group.

I went to see Blue Man Group tonight. It was a great show. All drummers would enjoy it. It is a mix of comedy, theatre and musical. The original price of the ticket was ₤45, but I got mine for just ₤25 from a half-price ticket booth. Still quite expensive! http://www.blueman.com/


The most horrible thing happened this morning when I bought an English breakfast from the office canteen for ₤2.05. I paid with a ₤20 note, realised I had quite a lot of coins in my pocket, paid the cashier ₤2.10 in coins for convenience, then: he returned me just ₤0.05 but in my sleepy+hungry state I did not realise the error! Only later in the evening when I was buying the Blue Man Group tickets did I realise my wallet was short of ₤20, but the canteen had shut by then! I am going to have to try to claim my money back on Monday morning, I sure hope they give it to me.

Imagine paying for a $2 plate of kuay-teow and forgetting to collect your change. This is worse than that; ₤20 is worth over $60!

Day 39-41: Happy New Year from Rome!

I decided to go to Rome for a solo holiday over the long new year weekend. It was awesome! I had loads of superb hot fresh pizza. Cheap and yum. Also had gelato, panninis and pasta, but the pizza was the best!

I paid heaps for my return airfare because it's peak travel season. At least I managed to get a good rate on the 4-star hotel, Eurostars International Palace. www.eurostarsinternationalpalace.com

At midnight on 1 January 2007 there was a lavish fireworks display that went on for about an hour! I could hear them going off, but unfortunately couldn't see much of anything because the streets there are so narrow and buildings so close to each other that your view is obstructed unless you are in a fairly open space.

Did you know that Rome has drinking water fountains and taps all around? Water is pumped from the mountains and that fresh mineral water flows constantly out of fountains and taps! I am usually rather picky about what water I drink, but had no problems with this water. It tasted much better than any tap water I've tried.

I never ran out of things to see or do, for I visited Colliseum, Palace of Justice, St Peters Basilica, Pantheon, Forum, Piazza Navona, Piazza Spagna, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Tritone Fountain, Piazza Barberini, Vatican, Santa Maria Maggiore, Castel Sant' Angelo, Palazzo di Giustizia, Piazza Cavour, Palazzo Madama, Circus Maximus, Domus, Arco do Giano, Quirinale, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Piazza della Repubblica, Ara Pacis, Mausoleo Augusto, Piazza Colona, Palazzo Chigi, Palazza Montecitorio, Colonna Trainana, Mercati Traianei, Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II, Arco di Constantino, Trinita dei Monti, Quattro Fontane, San Carlo Quattro Fontane, Palazzo Barberini, Palazzo Venezia, Anagnia Market, Ponte Sant' Angelo, Ponte Umberto I, Ponte Cavour, Piazza del Quirinale and more!

I explored the city mainly on foot and only took the metro a few times. My legs were tired and aching by the end of each day!