A New Adventure

Graduation - July 11, 2006 4.30pm

2006-07-21T23:01:00.000+02:00

Greetings!!!!!

At last, to those of you who may not know, I AM OFFICIALLY A MASTER GRADUATE!! yippie!! Well, that auspicious day happened on July 11, 2006 at 4.30pm. I even remember the time. hehe...Well to start the topic off, it was a very memorable day for me. I manage to catch up with most of my classmates and have loads of fun with them. It was good to be able to know where everybody is.

So, Lefty and I flew in Cardiff on a Monday afternoon and started out eating frenzie. First, we went to Nandos. yeap...our long missing Nandos. It was great coz I met Korina and her family there. And it was a very funny meeting and suprising too. On the graduation day, in the afternoon I collected my gown, took my graduation picture with a fake scroll. Yes, FAKE!!! and left for St. David's Hall for the graduation Ceremony. The ceremony took approximately 90 minutes to complete, spoken both in Welsh and English. There was a bit crowd of MBA students turning up for the graduation which was beyond my own expectations. Took some pictures before we returned the gowns at the Student Union, we went back to Talybont to freshen up and went to Troy for dinner. As we were so tired, which we eventually thought of going to Cuba for some partying, but it has been a tiring journey for all of us, we decided to retire early so we can catch breakfast with Thomas, Erika and Sofia the next day. To cut the story short, we enjoyed most of the food, and Starbuck, the company and the wonderful weather as well. So, it was a great rest and a great trip altogether as we accomplish loads.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures I have uploaded......have fun..

The Graduation Hall

Me in my robes..

Me, Thomas and Erika

My honey mou and me..

Stavros, Ioanna, me and Korina in front of the Arts Building.

Rickshaw - Corinthia Tower Hotel

2006-06-25T15:21:00.000+02:00

Hello people,

Sorry for the long absence and the MIA effect. Lots of things have been happening lately. Unlike my sister's great aventure, which she is not as lazy as I am to update my blog, haha....... Anyway, summer has arrive finally in Prague. It does rain heavily sometimes, but it is very hot and humid here now. And the funny part is that most people dont feel like working, but just want to enjoy the sunshine and the summer season while it last before falling back into the depressing winter again at the end of September. Yeap, can't beleive how time passes by so quickly.

Just to let some of you know, I am no longer working for Computer Associates. I switched company early this month. TO be exact on June 5th, which was my first day at Deloitte Touche Tamatsu (DTT) based in Prague as a Deployment consultant. The job description is similar to what I was doing back in XYBASE before I went for my MBA. Nevertheless, the work is still challenging and after being in the company for 3 weeks, I have met many wonderful people (most of them speaks English, Thank GOD!!!), and have been busy with my assignments and work. As it is still early to say about the people and the job, but I feel that it is much much better in what I will be doing in CA. erm, no comments on the further happenings in CA that is. That is history.

OK, the main reason I am updating this blog is also to annouce that I finally found a South East Asian restaurant in Prague. I heard of an Indonesian Restaurant somewhere near the Prague castle, but have yet to check it out. We plan to do it soon...hopefully. haha..Yeap, a very common thing Lefty and I have is that both of us loveeeeee to eat....no wonder we are so big and fat like pigs. haha....just kidding before i get kicked. Anyway, last night we went for a dinner for two. A ROMATIC DINNER ..hehehe..at RICKSHAW. It is a South East Asian Restaurant situated inside Corinthia Tower Hotel. They serve Thai, Laos, Malaysian and Indonesian Cuisine, which is not only mouth watering, but the cooks I presume from looking at the pictures of their website, are from our very own Asia as well. Yeap, the taste of the food is just like home....We started with an appetizer of anchovies, wasabies peas with prawn crackers. Then we had meatballs, prawn cakes, vietnames spring roll and chicken wrapped in banana leaves as an appetizer. There were three different sauce served with the starter - coconut sauce (our very favorite), thai sauce, sweet soya sauce and one sauce that looks like a cencaluk sauce. It taste ok. But the appetizer was epistefto (AMAZING in greek).

Followed by that we ordered Ikan pepes (snapper wrapped in banana leaf marinated with cumin, curry and etc) , masam manis (sweet and sour with prawns, chicken, and pork, which is also one of our favorite) and Kung Kra - Phao (A Thai dish serve with king prawns, brocolli and carrots in oyster sauce but it is a spicy dish). All of these were served with Yasmin rice, which they claimed it is from Thailand, but nevertheless, it is still made from a rice cooker. haha...We also had white wine to accompany our meal, with coke and tea. Gulp..I am drooling all over. And all of this, the compliment of DHL. Yeap, remember during the Christmas party, Lefty and I won a dinner gift certificate. So we finally decide to use it, and it is really amazing. Ok I was planning to upload the whole menu up, but then decided against it coz it could be copyright. hehe..

Well, just so some of you know which hotel we are talking about, you can visit http://www.corinthia.cz, a five start hotel website. Ok, more to come next week hopefully as DTT is having a dinner party with spouses and partners included. Catch you guys later..

cheerio..

May 1st - Labor Day in Prague

2006-05-03T14:49:00.000+02:00

Labor DAY!!!! The day that labors DO NOT WORK!! Well supposingly but that is not true. Anyway, it has been a long time since I wrote any entry into the blog and I thought that it is about time that I start doing something about it before my sister start calling me "hangat-hangat tahi ayam". Direct translation - The chicken shit is hot or warm. hahah...ok..better not let this out.

Basically on May 1st, it is Labor's Day. It is a world wide event. In some countries I beleive it is a Bank Holiday. Anyway, on that day, we labourer decided to take a break and had a gathering at Anupam's, Ash's and Ondrej's place. Have to name all three, if not one of them will get jealous. Anyway, we went to their place for a small gathering with the rest of the DHL people. AND I am not even DHL employee. But I am an imported player. You know, like when you play basketball or baseball, you import players from aboard. So we had some very nice food - more of like Indian food (YUMMY!!) and the food was delicious. Then we had Sisha too or the hubble Bubble some people might know it as other names. But basically its a pipe connected to a bottle filled with water and flavored tabbaco. Basically it is not like smoking Opium, please. I know what my sis is going to say. It is a very "in" thing in the Middle East, and Greece. It is starting to be a trend now. Hmm..I remember the last time I had that was back in Malaysia in one of the bars. Cool.

After all the food and sisha, we decided to go for a nature's walk. Went to the Hostivar Lake we call it. Although I think there is a Czech name to it, but its too difficult to remember. More of like, we dont really care. haha..We had a BBQ in the lake and it was a sunny weather. The place is very serene and tranquil come to think of it.

Anyway, without further delay, let me just upload the pictures and let them speak for themselves...

The Place...

Group Picture at Hostivar Lake

Lefty and I at the Lake....

The King of Crap and the clueless couple...

The King of Crap himself - with beer and his dandelion crown

Aint my honey gorgeous....Welcome Princess Athina...

Princess Little Mouse...haha

Last but not least, let us not forget - The Greek Goddess. hehehe

Vienna

2006-03-17T13:53:00.000+01:00

Hello everybody. I do appologize that I have not been updating my blog lately. Have been pretty busy with work and training. But anyhow, time passes by so quickly and its already March. Phew......

Anyway we made a trip to Vienna to celebrate Valentine's Day and also to apply for my Long-Term Residence Visa at the Czech Embassy in Vienna. I was amaze with Vienna as well. It is an extremely beautiful and historical city. And we manage to go to most of the tourist places regardless of the cold weather. We didn't manage to see most of the gardens coz it was covered with snow. But no worries, we will be returning soon to collect my visa and hopefully during Spring. In addition to it, Vienna is not only a beautiful city, it is also an extremely good shopping place. One word of warning though, it is pretty expensive compared to other European countries and the cost of living there is so much higher than in Prague.

Just a brief history of Vienna. Vienna is the capital city of Austria. Vienna's history goes way back to Roman times. Like many cities throughout Europe, it is based on a Roman military settlement called Vindobona. After the decline of the Roman Empire, the remains of this camp developed town under the reign of the Babenberger dynasty. In 1492 it became the seat and capital of the Habsburger's Holy Roman Empire and started growing to the big city it is today.Nowadays Vienna is the capital of the Austrian Republic, the seat of the government, home to about 1,7 million people and working place for even more residents from around the area.

Vienna offers a lot of different sightseeing attractions. The St. Stephan's Cathedral, one of the oldest buildings, combines, because of its long construction time, a variety of different architectural styles. The Ringstrasse, the former fortifying belt of the city core, turned into a magnificent street in the 19th century, is also worth a walk. A must for tourists is the Schloss Schönbrunn, the former seat and residence of the Habsburgs, with its parks, the palm house, the butterfly house and zoo.Vienna is a traditional melting pot for what used to be a multinational empire during the Habsburg monarchy. The immigration of Hungarians, Czechs and Polish people left its influence everywhere, especially on the surnames of many Viennese inhabitants.

Vienna is not only the political, but also the cultural capital of Austria. It offers a wide variety of theater, music, art and cinemas and the cultural tradition of the high art is well known worldwide. Vienna has been home to many famous musicians, like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Hayden, Ludwig van Beethoven and Falco. It is still a very popular stop and living place for artist from around the world.

Ok not to delay further some pictures for your enjoyment. Till the next time...

Lefty outside of the St. Stephanplatz Church

Inside St Stephanplatz church

Hofburg Castle: Spanish School of Riding

Johanne Strause

Parliament of Austria

Hadplatz Park: Lefty and I

HofBurg Castle

Little mouse on ice

Little mouse having Valentine's Dinner at an Italian Restaurant

Christmas Ball

2006-01-19T22:37:00.000+01:00

Christmas Ball - December 17, 2005

A week before Christmas, we attended a Christmas Ball hosted by DHL. Well, there is nothing to shout about except for the decor of the building. It was amazingly beautiful inside. The Ball was held at Zorfin Palace, near the stop of Namesti Miru (Opposite Horizon Recruitement). It was quite a wet and snowy evening for us and we got kinda lost a bit. Nevertheless, we manage to reach the place with our dinner wear intact, and at the same time manage to also to miss the management prep talk. haha..Well, for me I don't really care since I don't work there. I did miss my own company Christmas Party which was held on December 13, 2005. But I was not that keen to make it for that. Well, there goes another story.

Anyway, the food and drinks were great. Lefty and I went with a couple of his co-workers and arrived approximately around 8pm. In time to eat..yummy...We got some ham, salmon, chicken wing and some other stuff. The whole night was free flow of wine, beer and drinks. It was a very huge gathering I would said. Approximately 1200 people turned up bringing their spouses or partners. The funny thing for me on that evening was that I manage to meet a fellow Malaysian, Elaine Siah. Well, we were introduced and have been talking before we put the voice to a face or its the other way round. Anyway, we hit it off very well on our first meeting. A week after we met at the Christmas Ball, we had coffee at Chodov mall. Elaine is married to a British employee, Mike in DHL. However, our meeting to get to know each other has to be cut short because her husband will be moving to Switzerland to start on a new career and she will be going with her. DUH...Nice lady but such shames for such a short meet up. Hopefully we can keep in touch.

Another amazing event that happened during that night was that Lefty won two vouchers, dinner for two and 20 sessions of Gym at the Corinther Hotel. It was our lucky night because we really didn't pay much attention to the announcement during the lucky draw. When the announcer announced our number, it was really shocking. haha..And to think that we were about to leave 5 minutes after the lucky draw started. After the lucky draw we continued to have a couple of drinks and party all night long. We left pretty early compared to the rest as it was getting late, snowy and we were pretty tired as we live pretty far from the palace. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable night for both of us.

Some pictures….

Welcome to the year of 2006

2006-01-01T19:23:00.000+01:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WELCOME TO THE YEAR OF 2006!!! It is amazing in how time really flies and all of a sudden at a blink of an eye, we have already walked by one year and moving towards a new year. What I can say for the year 2005 is that it is the most memorable year of all of all of us, especially for Lefty and I. Well, we met in that year in Cardiff. On top of that, we also did our Masters in Cardiff and it is the most wonderful life long experience that I have ever gone through. I had the opportunity to meet many people from different backgrounds to enrich my experience.

Now, most of you will be wondering on how we celebrated our new years. For the year of 2006 we are lucky and thankful that we are able to celebrate it with our close friend Anas, and April. We also have a wonderful opportunity (for me that is) to finally meet Anas;s sweetheart - Hanadi. Beautiful gorgeous Syrian girl. Yeap, after three months or so of seperation, it is wonderful to actually finally to be able to meet up again. As for the new year, we celebrated it by eating (yummy, as usual), and the countdown was held at the City Hall. Before the countdown, we went to the amusement park located at City Hall, near to the Law School and we sat on some awesome rides. The first ride that we sat on causes everyone's adrelanin to increased tremendously. It was Amazing or epistefto as Anas will say. We kind of lost our footing after the ride. Then we walked around and we went on the bumper cars. Next, Lefty went for his shooting lessons and won Snoopy (oops, I mean Scooby doo) back. Now, no one wants to get this guy mad. He is a real damn sharp shooter. 7 straight shots!!! Now I must go home and practice with knives on dart boards. ;) We met up with April before the countdown started and there was a firework display. Unfortunately it started raining, so we had to run. We went to Incognito to check out the surroundings there and honestly it was not like what it used to be. Nevertheless, we chilled and left for Troy after 2 hours. We had amazing food again. (Yeap, we went on an eating expedition). Once we reached Anas's place we started to exchange gifts. It is a greek tradition that presents are exchange on the New Years and not on Christmas. So we got Hanadi a beautiful handbag, Anous ties (btw, he looked handsome in it). I got Lefty an Apple travelling set and I got Swarvoski jewerly from him plus a sweater. Now I dont want to go into detail on how Lefty surprised me with the gifts. It was truly a surprise for me. ahaha...The funny part was that when we got back to the room, there was more surprises for me. Now I cant reveal it here. haha..nothing obscene. just more surprises.

Ok, I will try to upload some of our pictures once I get back to Prague and might change a bit of this text. But that is so far for now. Happy New Year everyone and have a good year ahead!!!

Kutna Hora

2005-12-06T23:59:00.000+01:00

Last weekend, I think it was November 26, 2005 we decided to take a trip outskirt of Czech Republic. Well, it was more of like an outing or excursion for us to explore what is outside of Prague. Surprisingly, there are lots of things to see and do. Especially with winter here, we are looking for the opportunity to go skiing. Also depending on erm...."UNESCO Funds" of course.

Anyway, just a brief hightlight of our one-day trip, Lefty and I went to this place called Kutna Hora. Actually we went with a group of DHL crazy people - yeap, Lefty's colleagues. Wish my colleagues were that crazy, and if only they speak English. OK...I will write about that later in a different section of the blog. To continue with the story, Kutna Hora is about an hour train ride from Prague. So we took a train from Hvalni Nadrazi and set out on our journey. Some basic facts of Kutna Hora, it contains a population of 22 000 inhabitans and the distance from Prague is roughly 80 km

Kutna Hora was the richest and the most significant town of Medieval Bohemia. Rich silver deposits were discovered in its vicinity in the 13th century and they helped win fame and glory for the Kingdom of Bohemia. The well-known Prague groschen - the currency of Europe - was minted here too. The architecture of Kutna Hora is composed of various historical buildings and creates a harmonic unit together with the greenery of the town. its picturesque streets and corners make up unforgettable atmosphere. the center of the city represents an architectonic treasure of the UNESCO list of the world cultural heritage together with St. Barbara's Cathederal and the church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Sedlec in December 1995.

There are several main attractions, which we only had the opportunity to visit a few due to time constraint and weather conditions. Personally, if anyone want to visit Kutna Hora and to be able to see everything, I would recommend to spend a night there and to continue their trip. I find that it will be less tiring especially during the winter/fall period. Anyway, we manage to visit a couple of places, and it was worth the trip. When we first arrived, we started with the Monastic Church of the Assumption of our Lady. Nothing really interesting about this church except for the history of it. Monastic Church Of The Assumption Of Our Lady is the largest building in Gothic style in the Czech lands and the convent complex is the first Cistercian monastery established on Bohemia soilt. The monastery was established in 1142 in Sedlec (part of Kutna Hora now) and the church was built between 1282 and 1320 as a cathedral with gallery and was surrounded by a ring of chapels.

Later, we went to a nearby Cathedral - Ossuary (Bone Chapel), which you will find the Chapel of All Saints with a crypt converted into an ossuary (or Chapel of All Saints or bone church). It is made from the bones of ten of thousands of bodies. Now, this church is just AMAZING!! I know, I think I am sounding like Anas already. Anyway, it has chandeliers and shields which were build out of human bones. And from what I have read, it was build out of 40, 000 human bones. Cool eh. Anywa, the cemetery chapel, dating from the end of the 14th century was rebuilt in Baroque style by Jan Santini. It is decorated entirely with human bones like what I have mentioned earlier, some of which were assembled into pyramids in 1511 by a half-blind monk. Its unique decorative items include challices, a monstrance, a monumental chandelier and the Schwarzeberg Coat of Arms. It is estimated that there amy be the remains of as many as 40 thousand people.

We managed to stop by the Plague Column on our way to lunch. This Baroque jewel was made in the workshop of the Jesuit sculptor Frantisek Baugut. The column was erected between 1713-1716 as an expression of a plea for an end to the plague epidemic, which took the toll of more than 6000 citizens of Kutna Hora. It is decorated with motifs depicting miners at work.

After that, we had lunch. With a full stomach, we decided to make a trip to the town's biggest landmark, the Church of St. Barbara Cathedral. Amazingly beautiful architecture and glass pane windows. Inside, the church was still under refurbishment, but we could see the well preserve victorian design in the church. A unique work of High and late Gothic architecture. Its construction was started in 1388 by Peter Parler`s smelt house. Construction work was interrupted several times and the monumental cathedral was finally completed after more than 500 years of building, in 1905. Now, I can't wait to see this place again somewhere in Spring/Summer. I think once they have completed with the construction, it will be awesome.

Another place that we manage to explore is the Sankturin's House. This house houses the most knowledgeable alchemist knowledge in history (from what I think, but I do welcome a debate on it, hehe). It was originally a Gothic house from the 13th century reconstructed in Baroque period. The tower chapel has splendid late Gothic net vaults and the building is one of the oldest in the town. These days the seat of information center, Felix Jenewien Gallery and Alchemy Musuem. By the way, there was this funny story that when we went in, the receptionist actually asked us if we were students. And all of us just agreed nodding and paid student fee. However along the way when we went into the upstairs of the building where the recipes of alchemy was display, our good friend Lefty decided to spill the beans. hehe..more of like subconciously. Anyway, the tour guide was asking us on which school we come from and our dear Lefty just told him "oh no, we don't go to school, all of us are working in Prague". hahaha..And guess what, our tour was cut short and no exams for us since the tour guide did say that he wanted to give us an exam about the alchemy muzuem of what we have seen and learnt. haha..

The other places that we did not manage to explore are as the following. But no worries, we will find time to go back to Kutna Hora (Mom, you interested especially to see the Bone church..eeriee...) hehe...

Corpus Christi Chapel

Construction of the Chapel commenced in the same period as the adjacent St. Barbara's Cathedral, at the end of the 14th century. (In 1995 each was declared a National Cultural Monument). It was orginally an Ossuary, a two storey cemetery chapel with a charnel house. After the abolition of the Jesuit order it fell into disuse. From the end of 19th century unti World War II organ buidling workshop occupied the space.

Czech Meseum of Silver - Hradek

Now this was the place that we missed. We were there a while and the tour took an hour while we had to wait for the tour guide who speaks English for another hour. So we decided to bail and took our trip to the St. Barbara Cathedral instead. Good choice.l Anyway, this small urban castle orginally in Gothic style was erected by a royal building master prior ot 1420. The building currently serves as the Czech Musuem of Silver and visitors can also see the medieval silver mine here. Mark my word, they have to wear mining gear from what I saw. hehe..

St. John of Nepomuk Church

The only example of sacred Baroque architecture in Kutna Hora was built between 1734-1752, to celebrate the canonization of John of Nepomuk. The decoration of the church can be interpreted as a glorification of the patrons of the Czech Lands - a so called Czech Heaven. In 2000 it was re-consecrated and re-opened to the public. Holy Mass is held here anually on the Saint Day of St. John of Nepomuk.

Stone House

One of the country's most precious Gothic burgher houses from the 15th century with lavishly decorated front facade. It houses the recently reopened municipal museum with the exposition "Royal Mining Town - burgher culture and loife in the 17th-19th century."

Italian Court

Originally the Central Mint, it was named after the Italian experts who were at the forefront of th eminting reform. The main area of th emint consisted of coin-makers' - workshops, or Smithies, which were located around the courtyard, and the minting chamber, called the "Preghaus", where the Prague groschen were struck. After its reconstruction at the end of the 14th century, the Italian Court became part-time royal residence. Again, the Italian Court, we were actually able to view it from the Alchemy Muzeum from the upstairs room.

Tyl's House

Natal house of the famous playwright J. K. Tyle with an exposition on his work and work. This building, we never got to see. Honestly, have no idea which mountain top it was located in. Next time..

Inside the Bone Chapel. You can see the hanging chandelier on top

The Schwarzenberg Coat of Arms.

The Plague Column.

The St. Barbara Cathedral. Gorgeous sight minus the poles and iron. When we were there, they were tar-ing the road.

Inside St. Barbara Cathedra. Beautiful glass panes.

Inside the Sankuturin House. This was in the basement of the house. Yeap, there are real drawings of chemistry sets on the wall. Wait till you see the big glass tubes they use to produce yellow and red fluid. NO idea what that is..

Now guys, behave. If not, I will feed you orange and strawberry juice from these tanks.

The book of Alchemy recipes. Wow, I wonder if I can make Gold out of this recipe?

Trails of years

2005-11-28T14:09:00.000+01:00

Ok, sorry for the long absencd from the blog. Have been pretty busy lately running errands and getting things in order. Now, most of you will be wondering, why the title "Trails of Years"? I wanted to tell the viewers or readers on my Birthday this year, just to update the readers on what is happening in my life, but then the mundane word of Happy Birthday to myself which happened like a couple of months back. To be exact, my birthday is on August 22. Yeap, so it has been a pretty long trail. hehe..

Basically I had a very good Birthday bash. Invited my friends to Lloyds club/bar, which is near Park Street in Cardiff. The MBAs at that time just finished the elective exams, and was moving towards in working on the dissertation. Yeap..

Anyway, I will keep this section short and sweet. Will display more pictures. Picture speaks a thousand words. hehe....

Ioanna and Stravros. Look at the grin on Stravros face...man....

Left to Right: Korina, Julia, Lefty, Me and Ioanna. Preparing for the big night outside our residential halls.

The angels posing for the camera...Aren't they GORGEOUS!!.. *whistle*. Talk about multicultural..

Where are all the colors. Thank goodness. Now you can see my rosy cheeks and the alchohol limit in my blood stream..oopss..I think the camera man was drunk..keke

Deepak and I.

Left to right: Julia (Raving Russian beauty), me, Thomas, Ioanna and Lulu (I wonder did she put Euros in her shoes that night)

There we go. Stravros cannot stop making fun of me. What have I done to him in my previous life. And Lulu, she seems to enjoy the conversation. hehe..

Well, as you can see based on the pictures, we had a ball of a time. Amazing night. That's all for now. More later..

Star of Bethlehem

2005-11-25T19:15:00.000+01:00

This is a Gregolio Holy Song. which my sister heard from an anime entitled Chrno Crusade. Here's the lyrics. Enjoy.

Star of Bethlehem
Star on high
Miracle love of midnight sign
Let your luminous light from heaven
Enter our hearts
Star of happiness
Star of wonder
You see everything from afar
Fill with love the age of men
Oh light oh holy light
Oh light divine

Cardiff Bay

2005-11-16T18:52:00.000+01:00

The famous Cardiff Bay. I know one thing Cardiff Bay is famous for. Bowling, TUnisian Food (YUMMY!! I am drooling) and the site seeing view. According to my source (not sure if he can be trusted), it use to be a garbage dump before they make a man made lake to it. And now its like a holiday heaven for the locals and tourists from abroad. Anyway, the details below:

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Cardiff Bay is one of Europe’s largest and most impressive urban regeneration projects, transforming over 1,000 hectares of derelict docklands and mudflats into a stylish quayside location for ultra-modern commercial, government and leisure buildings.

After the decline of the coal industry in Wales and the once great port of Cardiff, the dockland area soon entered decay. In 1987 an ambitious project was implemented and £2bn was invested in regenerating the area, creating 17,000 new jobs and 5,000 new buildings.

What was once sewage ridden and festering mudflats around the bay is now a 200-hectare fresh water lake protected from the sea by a £220m tidal barrier. Cardiff Bay is now the centre for a variety of water sports including the International Power-boating Centre, pleasure cruises and a new commercial marina.

Mermaid Quay is the hub of this commercial marina with a science and technology exhibition in the aptly named Techniquest, as well as a diverse collection of restaurants, high-street shops, bars and cafes lining the waterfront. Part of the ongoing development of Cardiff Bay include a £700m arts and cultural forum; the ‘Sydney Opera House’ shaped Millennium Centre and the high profile National Assembly Buildings covering some 3,300 square metres, a stunning project designed to represent Wales on the world stage.

Redevelopment of the area has managed to keep the best of the historic buildings. These include the Norwegian Church, built in 1868 as a seaman’s rest it was where the famous children’s writer Roald Dahl was baptised and is now an esoteric arts centre and friendly café and the neo-gothic red bricked Pierhead Building which houses a free interactive exhibition on the National Assembly for Wales.

Cardiff Bay really swings into action in the last two weeks of July and first week of August when it plays host to the Cardiff Festival, a succession of events including live music, international Food and Drink festivals and the Welsh Proms.

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An empty plate!! I am surprised the plate even survived the glutonning ordeal of chewing human adnroids at the Tunisian restaurant.

YUMMY!! Now I wonder if we can steal that off Anas's fork. (Everybody wants a Fork on the table!!)

Now Kleo and Max looks stone. I wonder if its the spiciness or just too much food. They are hibernating..

Now, something is lurking out there in the bay. Could it be NESSIE!! I owe her a long time post card since my Scotland day......to contact my her, please go to nessie@scotland.com. From Left to right: Ioanna, Lefty, Me, and Anas

Costa's dream car. Well, he can Dream onnnnnnnnnnnnn.....hahaha

More to come. Stay tuned.......

Why try so hard to fit in, when you are meant to stand out.....

2005-11-16T17:45:00.000+01:00

Nice title eh. Well, first posting for today. Yeah, I could change the date and time of the blog but I decided not to do so since I am just starting to experiment with it. Have been trying some new things like looking at the HTML source codes and trying to add a tag board to it. (Ha, sis, i gotcha there, i manage to).

Anyway, from my last input other then my birthday wishes to my mom, where was I? Oh yeah, I was talking about my times in Cardiff. Well, why I choose the title on why try so hard to fit in, when you are meant to stand out is that everyone is made unique in their own different perspective. No matter what you do, what kind of personality, and characteristics, you are molded to have, God broke it when He created all of us. (Yes Thomas, I know this is a very normal phrase from me!) To get on with the story, I had a totally good year in Cardiff and now what I have left are pictures of memories all embedded in my hard disk. haha..yeah, and also in my own personal hard disk.

During Christmas of 2004 I flew to Arizona to celebrate it with my cousin and her husband. Yeap and during that time my cousin was trying so hard to hide the news of her pregnancy to me. But guess what, there is bound to be someone in the family who will blab it out and that became my SISTER! haha...no hard feelings sis. So the guys in Arizona were trying so hard to keep the secret to me when I finally asked the question on when my cousin is going to shop for her maternity clothes. haha. and boy did that backfired. Well, it was a great Christmas and I manage to see the ultra sound. I didn't know the sex of the baby then.

On April 28th, 2005 at 11.19pm, a new arrival and buddle of joy arrived into the world (and into the family too). AIDAN REED DUNCAN! Yeap, that is my little nephew. Cute, adorable and gorgeous. Did I mention GORGEOUS!! haha.. Here is a picture of him. I am a proud aunt you know...

My Handsome Nephew...

Ok, then after that it was exams, exams and exams. Yeap never ending exams. Rought first two semester. But I am proud to say that we ace it in our business plan, in which my team got the highest for working on a lifestyle management business plan. I will have to look for the picture of everyone in this group.

I made a couple of trips to London (for visiting, interviews and other stuff). And I also manage to go to Bath following the postgraduate school trip as well as the Alton Tower trip. Oh my GOD it was a killer especially the rides on the roller coaster. But nevertheless, I will kill to go back to have more fun. haha...A trip to Scotland with Tao Li and April right after my finals before the start of my hazardous dissertation writting. Well, Ioanna always says that I can close my eyes and write or to be more exact type the words within two days. She implies that I am a typing and talking writting machine. Well, her boyfriend did challenge me on that. haha.. Touch luck Stavros! haha

Me in Cambridge during June 2005. Don't say that I was not in one of England's IVEY LEAGUE SCHOOL. haha..I have pictures to prove it.

Left to right: Tao Li, Me and April. Cheering on coke from what I see in Scotland. We were staying at one of the youth hostel. More pictures but no space to upload it. :)

Left to right: Anas, Annie, Lefty, Me, Amran and Thomas. This was at Alton Tower, a killer and amazing amusement park.

Well as the name says. BE WARNED...I almost die in this ride but hey, I will go for it again. haha..

Now that is one nasty burn. Still have that souvenir from Alton till today.

Ok, I think enough of picture sharing. I will share more in my next blog. Have to separate it by section and also to keep my readers in suspense. I will keep posting it till I come to the present day. Cheerio...

Kalos ilTHateh stin Praha

2005-11-16T13:17:00.000+01:00

Yeap, it means WELCOME TO PRAGUE in Greek...another new title some of you might say. Well to continue from my previous chapter or blog section, I was talking about my times in Cardiff. And why do I name my blog a new adventure is because I am starting, yes another new adventure or a new chapter in my life - in Prague.

I would love to upload some pictures for this section, but somehow I am currently in the office and I did not bring any pictures.

Happy Birthday MOMMY!!!

2005-11-16T12:48:00.000+01:00

Happy Birthday to my MOMMY!! Yeap, my mom is growing more beautiful and wiser day by day. Just called home this morning to wish my mom best wishes. Well, my mom is 55 today. (That is if I am not wrong). Well, from what I heard from my sis, she is going to bring my parents minus the dog (poor Roscoe) to a posh restaurant. U mean no flowers sis? hehe...

Anyway, this post is solely for this purpose. Will write more in another post to continue with my stories....NEXT!!

Bringing Back Old Memories at Talybont South, Cardiff...

2005-11-15T16:58:00.000+01:00

Hello hello everyone. You must forgive me as this is my first posting and I promise you guys that its not going to be my last. Well for most of you who knows what is happening in my life, I have just recently finish my MBA in Cardiff, Wales and it is a new beginning for me. Yeap, new challenges in looking for a job, finding new friends, going to new places and etc etc etc. I must say that one year is a pretty short year, but nevertheless, it was a fun year.

For those of you who don't know, I quit my job in XYBASE, Malaysia and pursued my dream in getting a postgraduate degree. My MBA. In this first chapter, and to let everyone know what has been happening in the whole year of my life, I will try to capture every bit of it slowly but surely in this section of the blog. (That is provided if my senile mind can remember everything.) But do not fret, I will upload pictures and let you know in detail each of it. Again, IF I REMEMBER! haha..

OK, as most of you know I was pretty successful and good at my job in XYBASE as a QA manager and why did I just drop everything else that I have worked so hard for the past 4 and a half years and go for my MBA? Well, everyone has choices and not all the time its right. But at the same time, not all the time it is wrong as well. Life is filled with challenges and I always believe that we only live once to tell the tale. So, I took a big step and venture out to a new place all alone, not knowing anyone and the place at all. Yeah, most people will think that you are crazy or you are taking a big risk giving up everything and bla bla bla. Anyway, I took it and never regretted it. I have to admit it was difficult venturing out like this alone but overall it made me a stronger person and a wiser one too.

Anyway, I arrived in Cardiff at the end of September. Exact date, September 21st, 2005. It was raining heavily and what a dreadful English weather that greeted the international students upon arrival. And I thought after having travelled so much, mostly in the United States, this was nothing. But rest assure, I was so wrong. Well, the university student union picked us up from the airport and brought us to the Business Aberconway building for orientation or more of like registration where we are each allocated to our own respective accomodation. Mind you, along the way I did not manage to talk to anyone in the plane nor on arrival. Everyone was very shy. Most of the students are chinese, or asian origin. And I thought that I could learn the culture of others but I was dissapointed at that momment. To continue with the story and to cut it short, I was registered, given an orientation pack and was on a way to my accomodation in a packed van with I think roughly 15 students in the van with our big bags. I was brought to Talybont South and moved into House 17, Flat 2 Room 3 on the second floor.

My first day at Talybont was the most ironic one. I met my first flatmate, April who became my best friend. She is of Chinese nationality, and her chinese name is Chang Qing. She was schocked to see me coz she saw me going up the stairs from the post box. And when I got into the same flat with her as she was following me from behind, she opened her mouth with awe. You can't imagine the look on her face then. Well, I have no problems settling in into my own room and with my flatmates at Talybont. Follow by that I met a couple more people before school start - Lulu (Room 1, Chinese from China who loves to dry clean her Euros. Oh ya, we learn about that prior to her European trip in the year), Ioanna (Greek, Room 2 who is my most wonderful best friend, and classmate. We were in the same syndicate and tutorial. Talk about fate), April (Chinese, Room 4 in education and very quiet but funny sense of humor. She is also one of my bestest friend. Mind my English and she is the sweetest girl I have ever met too. Took very good care of me and a very very very patient cook. haha), Anas (room 5, a Syrian who is the sweetest guy I have ever met and extremely hillarious..Monseuir Pussy CAT! hehe..), Julia ( room 6, a Taiwanese girl who goes missing and only see her like once a month. hhmm..I hope she is not doing black magic in her room. Just kidding), Deepak (Room 7, Indian who has the loudest boom box in the whole flat. One day, it blew out on him. haha MBA classmate too), and finally Roshan (Room 8, Indian and my classmate as well in the MBA. Yeah, tell me about the number of students we have in the MBA. Well, Roshan, last minute, sweet guy and a last minute guy too. But did I tell you that he is extremely smart too....)

Well, all my flatmates from Cardiff and not forgetting Victoria, my Big Sis from downstairs of Talybont, Costas, Kleo and Thomas, the Greek Clan who are so old that sometimes I wonder if they remember where they put their food. haha.....Basically Talybont South has the biggest accomodations for postgraduate students and fast internet access. Yeap, that is how I communicate. When the Internet goes down, I go crazy. Ioanna can be witness to that.

Ok, I think for this section of the blog as well as the introduction part of it, it will keep you entertain. Well some pictures to share and to remember by..... Enjoy and Cheeriooooooo...!!

Left to right: Roshan, Deepak (hidden), Anas, Me. Sitting down from left to right: Julia, Ioanna, Lulu and April

Christmas is time for sharing. December 2004. Everyone participated in building the Christmas tree. What a celebration...hehe

Left to right: Me, Thomas (Papous) and Ioanna (Bekra mou)

Going out anyone? :) Left to right: Victoria (Tai ka cheh), Ioanna, Deepak, me and Anas