El Maghreeeeeb baby, El Maghreeeeb!

Just a quick post to let you all know I'm going on my first proper vacation away from work (proper vacation meaning to a destination that's further away than 50 minutes!) with my girlfriends to MOROCCO BABY YEAH!

We've planned this trip to one of our dear friend's wedding, so we'll be in Marrakech for a night of exploration, then we head over to Rabat for a couple of days of wedding frenzies and general moroccan madness... ooooohhh I cannot wait... ooohhhh I'm staring at my empty suitcase with a big panicky grin as it's already 9:43 and I don't even know how many shoes I'm taking!

Just for your fun (and incase you're not an informative blog surfer like I am), here's a (stolen) image from our friend Mahmood Al Yousif who's beaten me there already! Perhaps we'll meet and then collectively blog cool pictures of all the fun things we've seen... ooh I'm excited already at the prospect of taking pictures let alone the whole TRIP!

MOROCCO BABY YEAH!

Top 10 List of 2006: Top 10 Flashbacks and Good Times

10. 14 July 2006: Walking up a hill in Finchley Road with my parents, to a house that was long forgotten by my Dad. I watched him so expertly turn around corners and stand infront of the residence that was his home for 4 years. Someone showed us around that house and I got to see where my Dad lived as the young man I can't imagine he once was. Stuck in my mind: My dad pointing out a bus stop that he used to stand at every wednesday night with his friends who are now married to eachother. He used to walk over with his friend (now husband) who would be walking the pretty girl (now wife) to wait for her bus to take her home. Very sweet indeed.

9. 21 September 2006: Panic! @ the Disco with Ahmedi. Stuck in my mind: Going hysterical when they covered Smashing Pumpkins and RadioHead so well and lecturing Ahmedi how these are songs that "Define my generation" and that he should listen to them. =) Remembering what "My Generation" is and how things have changed, making me feel a lot older than little me really is.

8. A collection of nights out with the LLO6 gang, including Chinawhites, the Gardening Club and good ol' times at the trusty College Arms. Special shout out to the house warming that never was and the horrid ending to Niksi's awesome birthday which made us all realize we're good kids and even better friends. Stuck in my Mind: Taking a rickshaw home from Soho and gaining the nickname "Princess Sara" for the rest of the year.

7. That night as I sat in the back of the cab and listened to some pretty foul language come out of someone's mouth. And prior to that, happier times when we all danced like monkeys, like that night in Dunes when everyone showed up. You know what I'm talking about, when we all snuck into the bathroom to escape the racial congregation in the kitchen and told jokes until the morning. Stuck in my mind: Warnings that if we were too loud "The Lord will come and get us!" and the giggles that would not stop.

6. March 2006: Watching Kathim croon in the Royal Albert Hall. 'Nuff Said.

5. My sister's birthday lunch with the whole extended family, and more importantly, my immediate family all together. I have a group picture of us crowded around a birthday cake and it makes me smile. The icing ofcourse was being my niece's "Pink Sister" for the day, she melts my heart.

4. Sitting in my kitchen in Sehla with my beautiful all time indispensable friends, drinking tea, having Jan, making cup cakes, talking, talking, talking, reminiscing and missing, looking forward to the new. I miss you girls x

3. Running and Jumping in the Park: Hands down, most beautiful day in London ever. Not only was the sun shining hot hot heat and the grass as green as it could be, but the company brought some good times which we all will never forget. Stuck in my mind: Watching Girl, Interrupted & Lunar Chick whispering on the grass together from a distance, looking so relaxed and pretty, and thinking of what great friends we've become. And then attacking them both =)

2. Driving to Waterford along the coast on that blindingly sunny day. A smile escapes my lips everytime I remember our route, our music and our near tone-deaf voices singing along to songs that should have stayed in 1995. I remember looking over to the driver's seat and telling myself "this is how it should be..." I am truly blessed to have you babe.

1. Will always stick in my mind: That cold day in September. Leaving my first and very demeaning interview, Sajni gave me a call and asked to meet up somewhere and gave me the wrong address: I arrived at Embankment only to find out after calling her, lost, that I have to cross the bridge towards Southwark to get to her. I cursed her until no end, how could she not know which station she nearest or where she was? I had just had a room full of stupid Essex HR girls tell me the chances of getting this job were slight to slim and I came out feeling drained, I did not need to run around the city to meet a friend for comfort. I was feeling so let down that things were so tough and I was just stuck in the middle and just needed some tlc and even that was hard to get because this little Miss didn't know where the hell we were supposed to meet! This is supposed to be her home and I knew it better than she did! I was angry at Sajni for not knowing where she was and angry at myself for not knowing where I was either: What was I going to do next? Here or There? Did I keep looking for a job in this strange city and fight my best years away, or did I pack up and go home? I was in a state of limbo as I found my bridge and walked across the River Thames, slowly fighting back the urge to hurl my binder of papers into the murky waters below me. I slowed down halfway down the bridge and looked around me: To the left was the Square Mile and Canary Wharf at a distance. To my right was Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, St. Pauls... Before I knew it, I was naming all the buildings, all the sights, quickly recalling times when I did this or that over here and there, and fighting back the tears that came surging before I could realize that this was my city. Of course I knew it better than Sajni, because London is mine. It may not be mine forever, but it was at that moment and I knew that it wasn't just time for me to leave yet. I looked around me at a tiny ray of light that fittingly beamed across my path between the grey clouds and made my way to a trusty chain venue where a comforting friend was waiting for me with a big hug and lot's of encouragement. 3 months later I'm still here, trampling these grounds, thanks to all the support I got from everyone around me. I love you guys, I'll give it up when it's time to give it up.

Honorary Mention Goes to: All Those Times With The Mice, All Those Times in Our Moroccan Place and The Wardour Street Adventures.

A Christmas Tale (and other stories from the Holiday Season)

It's 2007. Yeah! I remember how weird it was saying "2004" or "2005", or even "1997" and that was 10 years ago. Anyhoo, without any delay, I wish you all a bright and successful year ahead as I do for myself. At least I'm honest about it.

This was my first "holiday season" in England and I got to spend some quality time with friends - something I haven't done in too long. So when our very own resident Parisian catwalked through the Waterloo terminal on Christmas Eve morning I ran to her with open arms. Then I sniffed her.

"Err" I stuttered.

"IT'S THE CHEESE, SOOS" she barked back with a smile. I broke into a huge grin and jumped her again. She brought me the cheese! And not just any "the cheese", but all "the cheese" I could ask for! We then made our way back home (which unbeknownst to us, would be our smelly sanctuary for the next 2 days), giggling, reminicscing of old times and planning our break together. Of course, the second we got into the flat we tore open her near empty suitcase that was half filled with the goods. The camembert, the roquefort, the second favourite which was clearly my first favourite... the good stuff. Needless to say, I couldn't take any pictures as i consumed most of it without any delay, so I had to resort to a google image to show you a taste what I've been gorging on for the last week.

Oh yeah, I can see you drooling. Take that and times it by 6 different pasturised blocks of heaven. And of course, for the next 2 days, every other sentence that came out of our mouths had to comment on the smell of feet coming from the fridge. Oh, it was a good smell to me, but by the end of Day 1, my christmas companions did not agree.

So it was Christmas time and our main mission was to feast, which we did with pleasure. Christmas Eve was a feast of nibbles and when Christmas Day came we were ready: Time to cook our birds. Our mulla friend had kindly explained her special slaughtered diet in advance and we were ready for it - although we couldn't find the right turkey, we did find his Muslim cousin The Chicken and found it fit for the job. This meant that since we clearly weren't going to have a whole chicken and a whole turkey (and the fact that I heard some people DIE from eating Turkey that isn't cooked right and I freaked out on Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve! I was one of those people who freaked out on Christmas Eve!), we resorted to a nice slab of Turkey Joint for us electrofied meat eaters. Yummm.

The Chicken had to be stuffed and someone had to do the job:

Note, those are not my pretty white hands as I'm of the brown variety - but those hands did a lot of poking and it was well worth it. Our Chicken was cooked to a perfect crisp, our turkey didn't kill anyone (whew) and our sides were de-licious. Unfortunately, CARROTS were our enemy this christmas but I'll let it slide as we did manage to cook up a feast fit for a
dozen baby Jesuses.

Nice eh? I'm feeling a sense of pride at our meal. We ate until we sweat gravy and couldn't eat anymore. We were all in our PJs, watched some Christmas movies (including Elf, every christmas needs some Will Ferrell) and spent time together dancing to Christmas Carols. As I write this now from work, I miss rockin' around the Christmas tree and nasal singing "Santa Babyyy... tooo dooo dooo doo dooo too too too too!" Good times...

Of course, no Christmas in London is complete with the obligatory rib-crushing-boxing-day-excursion. Yup, the next day we bundled up in our most comfortable clothes and decided to see what the fuss was all about way too late to enjoy it. We were crushed, stepped on and shoved aside to grab clothes/handbags/shoes/cutlery/body parts/you name it... Everything was on sale and everything was up for grabs. We went, we saw, we got trampeled on. I would put up a picture of my exhausted fake smile while waiting for my Senchen Phad Thai that evening but I'm scared someone would recognize me as "That Cow that was in my way in Selfridges". Apparently, we were in everyone's way the whole 15 minutes we spent inside.

Overall, it's been a good week. I went back to work for 2 days where I managed to bill a helluva lot more clients than they would have liked (Merry Christmas!) and then took some time off for a nice and quiet New Year's celebration. Unfortunately, no pictures there but I assure you it was just lovely. That period was spent relaxing, reflecting and eating good cheese (you thought I'd leave it out, didntchya?): Now let's see if our predictions for 2007 will come true.

Lot's of love,

Soos x

Merry Christmas

To quote the Cure:

Dressed up to the eyes
It's a wonderful surprise
To see your shoes and your spirits rise
Throwing out your frown
And just smiling at the sound
And as sleek as a shriek
Spinning round and round
Always take a big bite
It's such a gorgeous sight
To see you eat in the middle of the night
You can never get enough
Enough of this stuff

It's Friday, I'm in love

It's Friday, I've got a long weekend. I'm in love with the idea of stripey socks and DVDs and cheese. The eating kind.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas

Soos xxx

(ARYRSE: I miss you guys. Now that is cheesy)

coughing in a winter wonderland

Bah Humbuger, my darlings!

The Christmas spirit is upon us all here at Froggymen's as my immediate team all stretch out after our Christmas lunch. I clutch my side and relax; postponed a conference call because of an important "team meeting" that "ran over" which was due mainly to the fact we couldn't decide whether we wanted the bannoffee pie or creme brulee; after all it's Christmas, we're allowed to take it a little easy.

'Tis a season to be jolly and celebrate indeed: our office Christmas party was 2 weeks ago with the awesome theme of Boogie Nights - I know my cheesy sister is nodding her head in approval somewhere... Oh you would've loved it - it went the whole 51 yards with disco balls and bell bottoms everywhere. It was a fun night and an excuse for everyone to let their hair down or into a fake afro and just have a good time. And hey, everyone looks good in an afro after a couple of alcopops. It was a good night and got to boogie down with my colleagues who usually all just hide behind their computer screens in stress (hey, I'm one of them, too) - good times, definitely good times.

Since then it's been one christmas 'do after the other. Big lunches with work, dinner with the sweet flatmate and drinks with friends of friends and their friends. Soon though the big day will roll around the corner and I'll be celebrating my first ever Christmas in England. Yes, for this Christmas, I'm entertaining in my own home and will be cozying up on my couch with my dearest girlfriends. This will mean that I'm going to have to go on a mulla slaughtered turkey hunt this evening and start planning how I'm going to cook this bird. I sure hope I'll be able to find such fowl and I'm sure there's someone out there who'll do the job. Wouldn't the butcher find it comendable and a bit of a challenge, or will he shake his head at me for mixing too many rituals in one? Hmmm... I'm sure my local ASDA will find a way to cater to its good Muslim shoppers who like turkey. Why limit yourself to halal chicken or mutton (how I hate that word)? I suppose if all else fails I'll settle for a Jewish Christmas with some chinese takeout and a good movie... Now, if that isn't mixing I don't know what is...

Eid's coming up, Hannukah's near an end and Christmas has been and will be upon us for some time now... It's a nice time to celebrate, so happy holidays for everyone who likes to celebrate, and go scrooge yourselves for those who don't.

Ethiopians must laugh real hard when they pee all over our starbucks coffee beans

We got some new coffee today for the coffee machine on my floor - Starbucks Christmas Roast. Yum. Shame, I've only just perfected the microwave latte and really beginning to enjoy it. This is probably something I get from my mum, but I absolutely hate adding cold milk to hot drinks. See, in order to go around this, I would add my milk first into my tea cup and then add the tea/coffee. This still doesn't taste that great, I don't really know what it is, it's probaby something to do with the way the milk breaks down when added to hot water, I don't really know. Hence comes in dried/instant milk/creamer, which I love (CoffeeMate is my mate too!). People at work think this is strange - that I don't add cold fresh milk to my tea or coffee and insist on doing it a multitude of different ways but the one way everyone else does it. I think people at work also find this amusing. None of this bothered me until I recently ran out of CoffeeMate for my afternoon coffees and needed my caffine. Don't fret, I was only temporarily stuck until that one and only cartoon lightbulb above my head appeared with the approrpriate ring of our microwave oven. I figured it out: I started by microwaving the milk first and then adding the brewed coffee (Make sure everything is piping hot - I also cannot stand warm, let alone lukewarm, beverages. There is only one way, and that is hot-te) and ta da, I have a lat-te (almost, well, not entirely, but it's cool). Good stuff, I know. I was really proud of myself. I was drinking 3 or 4 extra cups an afternoon. Y up. But now it's over, we have the Christmas Blend. So I'll be drinking that, black. Straight up. No milk, no mates. Nada.

Oh well, from one sham to the other, I wonder what's next here at FroggyMen's.

Out of the trenches with Muse

Swivel my thumb around the dial, click the button.
Push through to the sliding doors and wait with head down.
Look up at the moving darkness through the glass, moving slower, slower: then comes the light.
Things will now come to a
stop.
I straighten myself and look forward.
Time stops, momentarily, there is a pause.
One, two, three, four... the doors open
and we surge forward.
The rush, the rush, no one stops to look,
no one dares to stop for anything.
We all swarm straight ahead -
I'm up at the front and I move just as fast as everyone around me.
Quickly down the stairs,
quickly turn that sharp right corner
and quickly down the narrow corridor.
Quickly before the mob gets to us and
quickly back up to open space.
No one thinks anymore of where to go
what steps to take next
we all move in
unison in the same direction.
twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen steps,
Turn, One, Two, Three, Four,
Pause,
Five, Pause,
Six,
Escalator.
We know what we're doing and there's no time to waste.
If you blindfolded us all
forced that poison down our throats,
no one would stop for orientation
and no one would clutch onto another for help -
no one will stumble to find their way up
and out.
Like the back of our hands
the curve of a lover's back,
we know
every contour
and every line.
The electric stairs slowly disappear and once again it's
One, Two, Three, Four, Turn,
Pause, Five, Six, Turn, Pause,
Push through on-coming human traffic.
Almost there.
Focus,
there's no other way
but out.
Electric Stairs, the long ones this time, and
up, up, up we go.
No time to stop, everyone moves up,
one impounding step after the other and we're almost there.
Your legs begin to ache at the last dozen steps or so
but you don't stop,
you never stop.
Four, Three, Two, One
and the steps begin to disappear.
The dull light of day comes to sight and you reach into your pocket
swiftly touch in and touch out
your blue sleeve to the yellow disc.
It beeps,
it opens
and without any interruptions
you're out of there.
"Together we're invincible"
Only to be back again tomorrow.

AIDS AWARENESS DAY

No wants wants to talk about it but it is a reality: Around 40 million people are living with HIV throughout the world - and that number increases every day. Ignorance and prejudice are fuelling the spread of a preventable disease and we need to spread awareness.

Wear your red ribbon and break the silence.

I think happiness is a mat outside of a doorstep.

My hectic week is slowly coming to an end. I will now pick up the phone, answer personal emails, go out for coffees and lunches and me time. I will walk slower. I will stay out with friends until unreasonable hours and not with my keyboard. I will wear nice clothes (like jeans). I will not wear my glasses. I will be fun again! Super! I will not want to bash Charlotte in the face with my telephone!

I will not be mean and have no evil thoughts. Promise.

Friday is almost here... so close I can taste it.... in the form of some bubbly at a client cocktail party...

Soos on the first day of the week - pooped

I need a weekend to recover from my weekend... Monday mornings are always a drag and this does not make it better: a starbucks credit card? It depresses me to no end to think that we can't even have the time to fish for change in our purses because Starbucks have found a way to take away those few peaceful moments paying for your coffee - that and put you in debt by not realizing how much money you can spend at a Starbucks.... I can hear the corporate lemmings cheering from their cubicles, sadness...

I suppose I can only leave you with some fun from the Surrealist with their movie quotes... who ever thought Soos could do so much?

Happy Monday people, it's almost over...

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world soos didn't exist.
(The Usual Suspects, 1995)

A Vodka Martini, please

This weekend baby: CASINO ROYALE!!!


Bond pre-his licence to kill... oh... I am... slowly... dying....

Daniel Craig is well hot... He's the first actor under 40 to play James Bond since George Lazenby and if you can't tell, I am very excited... For those of you who think Bond can't be blonde, let's not judge him until we've seen the movie.. and I for one am looking forward to a change for the first ever Bond...

I've already heard tickets are fully booked this whole weekend, let's hope I get my hands on one SOON....

For all car lovers, head over to Harrods where you can see the 2007 Aston Martin DBS in their store window, along with Bond's suit, his cigar and his layday... woooo...!

Bond on love: "I have no armour left. You've stripped it from me. Whatever is left of me - whatever I am - I'm yours. " wooooooo...

Happy Friday!

Breakfast Run

Recently, I had to come into work fairly in the morning - an hour earlier than usual - for a conference call that could have been without my breathing over the telephone. Being able to sit in a dark empty office all alone is nice; checking the emails and organizing the works for the rest of the day, all in absolute peace... the only noise in the office this morning was the scribbles of my pen and the grumbling of my stummy.

The race to make a call early that morning justified my race for a Starbucks treat before everyone started filing in... Breakfast is very important to me... It's that morning warm drink, be it a milky chai or a nicely brewed coffee, that gets me going in the morning... then there's the cereal, the toast, croissants, eggs (only cooked one way), bacon, sausages, the yum yums... I'm a breakfast person, as a lot of my friends can tell at 8 a.m. while we sit in someone's kitchen and my stomach sings its happy song as I flip some pancakes... ah uni days, days made for waking up for a nice full english and nothing else...

I hadn't had breakfast and it looked like I wasn't going to have lunch, so I thought, "half assed cappacino? Never" and proceeded with my order... A coffee, a panini and a muffin... Mmm... My mouth watered as they raised the melted mozerella from the press and proceeded to wrap it in its special oragami package just as my lips tingled watching the temprature rise of my extra-hot-wet-skinny-toffeenut-latte (fairtrade, always fairtrade)...two of my all time favourites that only come with winter time and when I allow myself for a treat...

They're really not the best breakfast foods - mozerella panini with sundried tomatoes and pesto shrugs a knock off riviera lunch and the latte is skinny for a reason (not everyone can stomach full fat milk my friends... not everyone...) so it's not entirely breakfast, so sue me (and take me back to the 90's, please!) but it's good sustienance for the rest of the day... and I deserve it for having to listen to a Sharon and Amit argue at 8 a.m. in the morning...

One of my favourite articles about breakfast foods is by the Daily Mail which is awesome - puts down everyone's perception of the skinny bluberry muffin in Cash Cow Coffee that isn't really that skinny... we like it when they trick us, don't we? We allow it all the time and I'm not exception... Anyway, it's a fun article to read when you're thinking of what to grab for a quick breakfast... (here)

What keeps you going for the rest of the day?

(Dedicated to the gorgeous breakfast at a said-so trendy hotel which was an absolute treat - thank you St. Martin's Lane!)

For Zoosh

don't forget everything you've learned

don't forget

to love

live

give

look deeper between lines

but not in your own stories

look further than what's in front of you

but still within the walls of your new home

be strong

safe

smart

good

build a new life

on a strong foundation

of family

good friends

and a stronger you.

There's a lot out there waiting for you... so go grab it with both hands and take it all in... It's time for a brand new beginning and we're proud of you...

always...

I am a tiger defying the laws of gravity...

You know how a lot of "bloggers" post "lyrics" on their "blogs". Yeah.

It's Friday and I've got a buzz in me, so there's only one way to start off the weekend: with some Freddy. This is my lyrical tribute is to one of the greatest out there who would have turned 60 last month if he were still alive. Sixty. Imagine what kind of world we'd live in if Freddy Mercury were still alive and turned sixty this year. Wow, the thought blows me away - Hasoon, I think you agree with me.

Here it is: some of the coolest lyrics ever. No one else can pull it off the way he did. Only a good metrosexual friend comes close, but still no where near.

RIP Farokh Bulsara. Let the weekend begin!

*******

Tonight Im gonna have myself a real good time
I feel alive and the world turning inside out yeah!
And floating around in ecstasy
So dont stop me now dont stop me
cause I'm having a good time
having a good time!

I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like lady godiva !
I'm gonna go go go
There's no stopping me

Im burning through the sky yeah!
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me mister fahrenheit
I'm travling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you

Dont stop me now
I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball dont stop me now
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call

Dont stop me now (cause I'm havin a good time)
Dont stop me now (yes I'm havin a good time)
I dont want to stop at all

I'm a rocket ship on my way to mars
On a collision course
I am a satellite I'm out of control
I am a sex machine ready to reload
Like an atom bomb about to
Oh oh oh oh oh explode

I'm burning through the sky yeah!
Two hundred degrees
Thats why they call me mister fahrenheit
I'm travling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you

Dont stop me dont stop me
Dont stop me hey hey hey!
Dont stop me dont stop me
ooh ooh ooh (I like it)
Dont stop me dont stop me
Have a good time good time
Dont stop me dont stop me ah

I'm burning through the sky yeah!
Two hundred degrees
Thats why they call me mister fahrenheit
I'm travling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you

Dont stop me now
I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball dont stop me now
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call
Dont stop me now (cause I'm havin a good time)
Dont stop me now (yes I'm havin a good time)
I dont want to stop at all

Queries and thoughts

(of which I know all the answers to...)

1. When am I going to take a long, deserved break? When Optimus Prime fights the Misfits in Castle Greyskull...

2. How come I hate the word "blogger" so much...? 'Cause it's stupid.

3. How come there's so much bad writing out there by so called "bloggers"? 'Cause they're stupid... no, it's not that, it's because the quality of our live has gone down in every way... We're breathing shittier air, eating shittier food, toiling away at shittier tasks and reading shittier material... and accepting it overall... I don't think people 100 years ago would have accepted the crap we accept today...

4. Why do the managers get Paul's to nibble on in meetings when I have to have bloody Typhoo tea? Because most of them are gay and probably knob the bakers.

5. Is it coincidental that everytime I try to write in my "blog" someone walks in, or is it co-incidental? Both.

6. Why won't my credit card let me buy my holiday ticket? Because someone up there is laughing at me at trying to book a holiday.

7.Will my family remember me during the Jewelry Arabia exhibition? Always, they are truly awesome. Love you guys.

8. When will I catch a shooooting staaaar.... I'm no Toni Braxton

9. Will I ever get my fun fun bags of fun life back? Perhaps...

10. Why do we revert to asking questions when we're stuck rather than try and solve them? Because asking a question is easier than acting on one...

I heard my niece had a pyjama party at my house last weekend... am very jealous... then again, she did remember I had a red door & lived in "W1" and no one can take that away from me...

Reading an awesome, awesome book and loving it so much I didn't want to get off the train for two mornings in a row because I'd miss out on the pleasure of reading in an invisible box between dozens of people... it's such a good book I'm so tempted to pull it out, hide underneath my desk & read it with a bag of mini weetabix... so lesson of the day: if you hear an empty desk crunching away, feel sympathy for your work colleagues - they don't think you smell, they just want to read a good book...

Nicest thing someone said to me today: Soos, you are a muffin... they're so happy... oui ma petite pêche, I am a muffin...

Eid Mubarak

As I sat on my balcony and watched the Diwali celebrations accross the river burst into the sky, I said a little prayer to all my brown friends out there who are celebrating some sort of religious holiday today...

Eid Mubarak & Happy Diwali

Remember, Eid is a time to be celebrated with friends & family, where we all appreciate the long, hard month we all endured & thank God for the return of that much needed mid-morning snack.... Don't forget to count your blessings...

Sport's fan quote of the day (with picture)

"Maybe Spanish referee Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez can see something in Henry that the rest of us can’t?"


Thanks to Gunnerific for this awesome picture, and to last night's ref, bite me.

The Crackberry

Working with different jurisdictions means two things: 1) you learn how to sweet talk in different cultures in order to get something done for you and 2) work doesn't stop when you do. Working with people all over the world means when you go to work early one morning you will probably have a fright-of-a-sight of an email inbox with furious chains of "Where the hell are you? I need this right now!" sent at unreasonable times - times when you were trying to catch up on your crochet or One Tree Hill (admit it - even the toughest of you watch it)... Working with different parts of the globe means you have to find people when they're available and make sure you're catching someone during working hours in order to get your own work done. Of course, all of this can be resolved if you live in the office (insert sarcastic laughs from Clifford Chance trainees) or you've got a Blackberry.

I have to admit I did really wanted one... It just seemed so cool to be scrolling down your emails with your thumb on the train while everyone else looked sullenly on... Men were so much cooler, women so much more powerful, everone seemed to have this cutting edge that I didn't have because they were furiously thumbing away on escalators/movie theatres/bathroom stalls while I was just wondering what surprises my email inbox held for me...

Of course, I wanted one until I started working. You see, only a number of my bosses here that have a Blackberry actually use it - some choose to ignore it. Why, you may ask, Why would they want to bang their little office in a pocket against the wall? Reason would probably be because you're literally at your client's mercy with it. Anytime, any place, you're forced to answer back emails and calls from clients whom against you can't use the excuse that you were "unreachable" (To which they'll probably reply, Bull-Shit). And this I know, as I've received emails from my Boss at 00:08 a.m., answering back queries from NY and much to my pleasure, have pestered co-workers on the other end of the world to make sure my clients are happy in the wee hours of the morning, their time.

So here I am, stuck in a Catch 22 situation: I want to look cutting edge and fiddle around with my Blackberry Pearl but I also don't want to sell my soul to my company - where do you draw the line? After much contemplation, I can solemnly state that these things are little Monsters. Oh, and definitely a little intimidating, especially after reading this article here of how addictive these things are. Anyone who actually has one will agree - and those who don't are better not knowing what sleepless nights are like because of a little twinkling tone.

**
Slow start to the week which is fine as I'm not feeling too well - waiting to see what madness the rest of the week has in store for me...

MOVIE REVIEW: The Departed - a far departure from the original...

Applause, applause, I managed to get over to the theatre this weekend to watch Martin Scorsese's latest movie, "THE DEPARTED". The only reason I actually got to the cinema and wasted three hours (yes, three hours) of my time was the curiosity to watch Scorsese's Hollywood adaptation of the Chinese blockbuster "Infernal Affairs" - and to see whether he's mucked it up or not.

Infernal Affairs is a story of an undercover cop in the Triads and a Triad mole in the police force - it's the story of two young lads who started out together and went their separate paths working for different ends of the police force. Due to some seedy scams, they're forced to seek eachother out from the instructions of their superiors (also big time cops) without getting themselves discovered. It's basically an intense, skilful crime thriller in the streets of Hong Kong done by the famous Chinese director Andrew Lau (War of the Underworld, A Man Called Hero). The leads are played by Andy Lau and Tony Leung (you can feel the Chinese girls swooning already) and they do an excellent job of portraying the good cop who's not really a cop and the bad cop who turns good cop. The script is clearly written for a Chinese audience and is definitely not a made-for-Hollywood Oriental film - don’t expect this to be anything artsy and include some computer enhanced martial arts. This is a Chinese action film, not what you'd watch at your local world globe theatre before drinks with some wanna indie cover band members.

Rather than the streets of Hong Kong, The Departed is set in Boston with native Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio running up and down the Charles. I must note that this isn't entirely a story about the police force, but a story about the Boston Police Force and the Irish Mafia that exist within it. It was an interesting insight into what could be going on, and the star studded cast including Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Marky Mark Wahlburg and a chubby Alec Baldwin, definitely had you entertained with their fake Bostonian accents. "Get in the caaah. Get in the feckin' caaah!"

Scorsese follows the original script quite well, with a few additions and extractions of his own. Scorsese's neglects to build up the relationship between Martin Sheen's character and DiCaprio's - definitely something he shouldn't have taken out as you don't really understand the dynamics of their relationship. Also, the original includes the extra character of May (Chinese pop star Elva Hsaio) who is only in the film for a brief scene, but definitely includes a sweet touch to the thriller as Tony Leung's old flame. There are a small number of new twists and turns but The Departed sticks to the original's production quite well, with the main scenes being almost exact the same as the original. Also spot a lot of scenes in china town = much appreciated by fans of the original.

Part of the excitement of the original Chinese film was the fact that it's filled with subtleties - nothing is spelled out for you and the story unravels as you watch the struggles of Tony Leung's character cope with being an undercover cop and you understand the relationship he has with Mr. Wong, with brief flashbacks of the young student's upsets at the Triad Academy. This was the main problem with The Departed - the original movie was about an hour and forty minutes while this version was stretched out for an extra hour. A whole extra HOUR. Mainly because Scorsese's must have though American audiences wouldn't be able to keep up with the plot and had to explain every detail while Chinese audiences were left sitting at the edge of their seat, taking in every detail in order to piece together the story. Entirely necessary? Perhaps Scorsese's thought he could put forward extra scenes with cussing and some flesh in order to keep his audience focused on the plot (perhaps).

Another disappointment: Scorsese's didn't bother milking out the emotional scenes (Mr. Wong/Martin Sheen - don't want to ruin it for you) to replace them with some tactlessly placed sex scenes with Jack Nicholson involved. Grr. I do love The Shining star - his facial expressions in random bursts of irish song are brilliant as the main villian in the film - but was it completely necessary? Picture Nicholson, naked but for a leopard print silk robe. Think hard now.

Overall, I'd say the movie was "good" for an adaptation of a chinese film to for a western audience. It definitely over simplified the plot and did put in some extras that weren't entirely necessary, but again, overall, it was good. "Very good" for those who haven't seen Infernal Affairs and won't compare it to the original. "Not so great" for those who look down on Scorsese's not having seen the original when deciding to film The Departed. "Disgusting" for those die hard Andy Lau fans who think Matt Damon is no equal.

Rating: 3.5/5

More about The Departed here, and Infernal Affairs here.

I can't waaaaiit... for the weeekend to begiiiiin...

Weekend Stuff:

- Steady's coming over - much missed after a 2 month departure (yes, it's been that long!), looking forward to having a chinese & a chat with my narcaleptic friend. Sometimes we think Teddy's Deady when he passes out, but lucky he's not this bad.

- OCTOBER 14 - DOOMSDAY - card-game night at my place, prepare yourself for some dog-eat-dog-rummy. I don't have a name for our game, could someone give suggestions, err... please-gesstions?

- Preparing for the London Film Festival coming up next week - looking forward to seeing some good British films, especially Venus, which is a collaborated work of one of my favourite writers, Hanif Kureshi, and with Peter O'Toole in the lead. That and Breaking and Entering with yummy Jude Law. Yummay in ma Tummay. If I do end up going to a movie, go over to Coffee & Dates to read my review and then applaud me for actually sitting through a whole movie in the cinema & not thinking it's an absolute waste of time.

- Tom the temp (who was also my advocacy opponent in law school) is leaving today, I will be very sad - no one to take countless coffee & tea breaks with who will complain about the quality of coffee & tea with me.

- Weekend means sleeping in - fun!