Stock-taking my clothes

I did a quick stock take of my clothes that I wear out:

48 t-shirts

11 polo shirts

16 short sleeves shirt

13 long sleeves shirt
Total: 88
this is excluding work clothes, sweaters/winter wear and jackets. I have 10 work clothes which adds up to 98.

2 pairs of working shoes

8 pairs of sneakers

1 pair of trainers

3 pairs of slippers/sandals
Total: 14 footwear

why the hell do I need so many clothes.

How am I feeling

I am feeling stale. Like nothing's moving and I'm stuck here because I can't get things moving because job finding is dependent on luck.

I can't be stuck like this for the next few years. Probably the education route is better for me.

Random musing

My air con was spoilt for 2 nights so I had to spend 2 nights without cold air. How can anyone survive 2 nights without aircon in Singapore? Argh.

I have been coughing for 1 week at night after I came back from London and didn't sleep very well. I think it's because of the dry air in the room because of the air con so when the air con wasn't working I didn't cough at all and slept quite well, except for the fact that it was really warm. The good thing that came out of the spoilt aircon.

I dropped a $5 note today. I was getting change from the caifan auntie and I was thinking will I drop it when I put it in my pocket instead of my wallet? And indeed true enough I think it dropped when I whipped out my phone which was in the same pocket. -_- there goes my meal allowance for tomorrow.

Finding my motivation

1st day of work. I don't want to work. I have no motivation to go to work except the money that's coming in. 

1st week after London. I still want to go to Heaven everyday. I miss Marquie. She's so funny. We were already eyeing each other when I was dancing around her at first. After I went around and came back, she's still at the same place and she pulled me in to dance with her. Then she whispered in my ears and kissed me on my cheeks, and we went on full make out. I like the way she bit my lips. But too bad I went home early and lost her contact. Best memory in Heaven. It was good while it lasted.

I miss PYA too. We spent 2 days together after Piti went Spain. I think we will meet some time in SG or Shanghai, whichever we will travel to. It was also good while it lasted.

I feel like I didn't achieve much in my 5 days of rest after London. Wednesday was gym, resting and unpacking, Thursday was Ant-man movie - which was better than the first btw. Friday was gym and mid-day drinking and visiting my aunt, Saturday was lunch with Andrew and tonic shopping, Sunday was gym and resting at home. I haven't been to the gym for almost 2 week and I just did legs and my legs ache like hell now. 

I'm finding my motivation in life, beside money. Social media is not doing good to me. 

Therefore:

I'm limiting my social media (namely Instagram) and focusing on more tangible things. 

I'm focusing on my fitness until October before my next holiday. 

I'm also focusing on tasting all 14 bottles of my gin collection until I identify my favourite. Current favourite is Cherry Gin, which I absolutely adore. 

Paris Summer 2018

Piti had already bought his train tickets to Paris then I followed his instructions on how to buy and reserve seats. It was pretty easy online on Eurostar and much cheaper. We took the 7am train to Paris. (had to wake up at 4.30am omg).

Day 1: We checked in hotel, first order of business was of course the Eiffel tower, then we walked around the river area towards the Louvre, lunch at KONG - restaurant designed by P. Starck, I went to Musee D' Orsay, and then dinner at a pretty good steak place that we found online. The wine went so well with the steak.

Day 2: Brunch at a bakery, I explored the Louvre while Piti caught up with his friend, saw the famous Mona Lisa, then shopping at gallery Lafayette, Cathedral of Notre Dame, dinner at a simple restaurant nearby - French duck confit is super salty but the red win was yums. Then we went drinking at a bar nearby. 

Day 3: We bought breakfast from a bakery and ate along the river, walked to Champ Elysee, Arc de Triumph, my last minute shopping at La Galleria Lafayette, then we had to head back to London.

Highlights:

• It was a very short trip, all I remembered was I walked a lot till my left hip was in pain. We took lotsa nice pictures and the sun was really strong and sky was cloudless.
• There were many dubious people standing around, I don't really feel safe.
• I almost had a limited edition Maison Margiela Cap.
• The architectures are beautiful.
• You need at least half a day to finish the Louvre, and better to get the audio guide.
• I overspent in Paris. The sale is better than London because all the French designers are there. I bought a AMI tee, Ferragmo belt, a Longchamp bag for my mum, diptyque candles and some underwear just at La Fayette itself.

London Summer 2018

My first flight on Emirates and the A380 plane was around SGD1K to London. The food and entertainment was above my expectation. Free ice cream at Dubai airport for the transit was the cherry on top.

Day 1 Friday 22/6/18 :
I arrived in Gatwick airport in the morning, I remembered it was colder than expected. Bought an oyster visitor card and took the Southern train to Victoria, then changed underground to Pimlico to my apartment. Checked into my apartment, got everything running, wifi and bedsheets, took a shower and headed straight to bed for an hour, until Piti texted me for lunch at Borough Market.

Duck confit wrap and amazing doughnuts at Borough Market, then coffee, then we were chatting and walking around River Thames and the scenic view. Tower bridge, Tate Modern, London Eye, Big Ben, explored Leicester square, National Gallery, afternoon tea at Maison Bertaux, shopping at Primark, bought fish and chips for dinner. I went to waitrose for some water and juice and walked home from Victoria. We were super jet lagged so we ended a bit early for the night. Wow. the weather is AMAZING.

Day 2 Saturday:
Piti took his luggage to my place and went off to lunch with his friends. I went for brunch at a local café and explored the neighbourhood, went to Saintsburys to get some wine and groceries then showered and took bus to Bond street. Witnessed a Brexit Delay protest near my house on the bus, headed to explore Selfridges and the sales. Met Piti for dinner at Nando's and head to Wembley Stadium for Tay Tay's Reputation Tour! More details on the highlights below.

Day 3 Sunday:
Covent Garden day. Lunch at Shake Shack and Flat Iron, then I went to Bricklane market, ate some doughnuts, explored Shoreditch, back to Oxford for shopping but all the shops closes at 6pm on Sundays. Dinner at Burger and Lobster, drinks and walked home with the beautiful sunset.

Day 4 Monday:
Brunch at Duck and Waffles, explored Regent Park and Primrose Hill, another round of shopping around Oxford circus, headed to Gold Mine for dinner, pictures at Piccadilly Circus and took bus home to pack for Paris.

Day 5 to 7 Tuesday to Thursday: Paris

Day 8 Friday:
With Piti gone to Spain, I was travelling solo. Brunch at Muriel's kitchen at South Keningston, V&A museum, went to Harrods, bought the AMI tee I had been eyeing for 50% off, bought my prada sneakers at Selfridges, dinner at Franco Manca, watched book of Mormon, got free eclairs at Maitre Choux, went home to put down my stuff then headed to Heaven and Marquie. Back home at 3am.

Day 9 Saturday:
Portobello Market for brunch, shopping at Primark, met PYA for dinner at Dishoom, went home to change to go to Heaven for some dancing, back home at 3am.

Day 10 Sunday: 
It was super hot in the afternoon. Lunch at Patty and Bun, British Museum, afternoon tea at Maison Bertaux, dinner at Flat Iron and salted caramel ice cream, back home.

Day 11 Monday:
Went to my company's office to visit some colleagues, the cafeteria in our office was cheap and good. Shopping at Burberry outlet, bought a polo tee and then home to pack for my flight back. Dinner at Pret-a-manger.

All those special highlights:

Taylor Swift Reputation Tour -
I didn't expect anything from it because I didn't really want to go in the first place, but I read really good reviews about it, changed my mind and bought the tickets and never regretted. The concert was totally awesome, the best I have ever went to (I've been to many), much better than the Red tour she had in SG. Although I was sitting apart from my friends, the crowd and spectacle was amazing. Big screen, snakes, pyrotechnics, swings, flames, everything.

The opening act was Are You Ready but the songs that were stuck in my mind was Bad Blood (unexpectedly) and I Did Something Bad, with all the pyrotechnics and colours on the screen. The arrangements were so different from the original version and hearing it live makes me wanna dance like mad. I've seen videos on youtube and I still think the big Wembely was the best. And she came over so close to my side in one of the acts with Camila and Charlixcx.

SGD180 for the best concert ever? TAKE MY MONEY!

Heaven -
I love clubbing at Heaven. The dance floor is big and you can dance like nobody's business and nobody will judge you. I went to Heaven 3 times, each with a different experience and wished I had gone more. There are 7 rooms (I think) but I just stayed at the main dance floor. The best thing is it's only 15mins bus ride away from my place, and there's a night bus after clubbing back home. The first time I was there with Piti, second time on the Friday night the entrance was just 1 Pound with the wristband, and I met Marquie. Third time I went with PYA. I FREAKING LOVE HEAVEN. I can shake and dance to whatever I want.
And to add on, people there really love to bite ;P

Book of Mormon -
I thoroughly enjoyed it, it's still funny and entertaining and you don't actually have to get those expensive seats haha. I got the cheapest one and it's also good. 2 hours is the max for me, I can't imagine watching Harry Potter. 4 Hours.

Weather -
Best weather to go to London. Sunlight is from 4am to 9pm, which means more hours outside! The weather's really refreshing, much cooler than Singapore and dry which means less sweating. Lotsa sun and I got tanned for a little bit. And usually clubbing days would end up going to bed when the sun is rising up. All my friends say that it is only like that for 1-2 months in the year, the rest of the year is miserable, especially the winter. Haha. I can't imagine.

Shopping -
I totally came at the right time. Everywhere was having sale, and their sale is up to 70%. It's crazy at Selfridges, Liberty and Harrods with all those European brands. Oh and all shops closes at 6pm on a Sunday so that's a bummer.

So I saw this pair of Prada Sneakers which was on 50% off in Selfridges on Monday, and it's really nice - even Piti agrees. But it was still very expensive considering the sale so I thought if I had fate with it, I will get it on Friday after Paris, if it is still there. So after Paris that Friday I went there and it was waiting for me. So I bought it back home. ~$~. The most expensive shoes I've ever owned.

Food -
London is an expensive place to dine but good. I didn't have any Asian food except for Gold Mine, which was surprisingly good too. I particularly love Dishoom. After watching Book of Mormon I went to Maitre Choux for some eclairs, so I went "Can I get the 2 most popular ones?" and the staff went "ok sure, we only accept card though." Me "Oh but I don't have card. It's ok I'll come back tomorrow". Staff went "Then I will give you for free, don't tell anyone". My heart melted on the spot. Those eclairs from Maitre Choux were so good.

Alcohol is superb and cheap. I realised people there love their Rose wines and ciders, and it's so cheap there. London being the capital of gin, I bought my 4 bottles of award winning gin back, together with my Mediterranean Tonic water back. I can't wait to finish them all and bring more back.

I didn't manage to go to any cocktail bars that I wanted to (Jensen's... sigh) because I always have a bottle of Rose and my gin tonics in my fridge so I don't have to go out for drinks.

I think the main concern is on tap water. Piti said that you can drink water from the tap in London but PYA said it is hard water so it's not good for you? I don't know. I just drank tap water for a week. But the water in the shower is hard so a filter in the shower would be better.

Transport -
Transport is expensive. I think I spent around 100 pounds on transport, including Gatwick express and night buses. I took the bus mostly because it's cheaper and more convenient, and there's no cellular signal in the underground, which I dislike.

So on the last day when I was dragging my luggage to take the underground to Victoria, I whipped out my phone from my pocket and something flew out of my pocket. I was like SHIT and saw my oyster card gone with the wind and landed on the train tracks. I had 20 pounds in it, just nice for my trip to Gatwick. Argh. In the end I had to ask the staff to open the gate for me at Victoria and buy a new oyster card. Damn.

People -
Sale people and waiters are really nice, probably because they are in the service line. Lotsa tourists around the area though, I haven't met any bad guys yet. Asians are minorities. Meeting Marquie and PYA on the last 2 days in London were good memories while it lasted.

Overall -
London is amazing. I'd love to go back again in the summer, with the weather and sales. I'm not really sure about living there, because of the high expenses and also I might get too crazy because of Heaven and the cheap alcohol, and of course I haven't experienced winter yet - I heard it's really depressing. Yea I think my overall post made London sound boring but I had a great time, especially Piti bringing me around and there were no unpleasant surprises.

Now London is a tick off my bucket list. Japan still reigns as my favourite country to travel to. London is my favourite city now.