What happen in Istanbul

Came back from Istanbul almost 2 weeks ago, didn't have a chance yet to upload pictures or to share anything, been pretty busy lately.
Just remember an interesting night at Starbucks(i didn't choose the place, would rather go for something local) in a huge shopping mall. Me, Sorah(work colleague in Herzo) and Yusuf(work colleague who based in Istanbul) sat down after a long day,taking a break, and have some famous turkish cakes but it turned into a rather interesting conversation.
We all come from very different background, Me(Malaysia born Chinese), Sorah(half Afghan and half German), Yusuf(Macedonia born Turkish), bizarre really to end up at the same place, well not really, but we are all working for the same company at least.
From food to parents, to grandparents, to ancestors, to heritage, to history, to culture, to war, to survival.....we shared our experiences, we talked about religion(big part of the discussion), it was inspiring and bloody fantastic! I never felt.more.alive! I've been travelling quite frequently for the last 4 months: London, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Nurnberg, Dusseldorf, London, London, Hamburg, Istanbul-even went to London twice in March, but Istanbul was by far the most interesting one, it was a very tiring trip, but i love it so much that I'm already planning when to go back again.

how do you ask for pay rise and less work at the same time?

Tricky. Tomorrow is my yearly appraisal, and i've tried to come out with a plan. A plan which i can get what i want- a pay rise and reducing my current workload. I cannot think of how i can justify why i get more money but not taking on more work. Hm.....

well, it does hurt. leaving tomorrow

I didn't think it would hurt so much to leave family and friends, is tearing me apart right now. When i told my nephew who is not yet 4 that i'm going back to a country far far away, he said 'don't stay too long'. I didn't really know how to reply.

I have to admit, i do miss my life in Europe, the weather is unbearable here, safety is another issue, freedom....but now i feel terrible of leaving. I ask myself: what do i want-honestly, i don't know.

Alexander McQueen died

Rest in peace. You will be remembered.

I'm too upset to write anything

New Year. 2010

New year started off with a busy schedule again, work for 2 weeks, went to Berlin for Bread and Butter show, then work for another week, i packed my bags and flew to Hong Kong before coming back to Malaysia.

I had a good time in Hong Kong and Macau, met up with some friends and finally i came home. I have to say, is a strange feeling to be coming back here, is strange yet familiar.

ps: is so hot that i cant write anymore.

Quite an unusual christmas day

It was Christmas Day, everything was close. We were sitting at home(in London), had nothing to do, feeling bored and hungry, and feeling the urge to escape families, we thought it might be a good idea to go out. Convinced that we are in London, not in Germany, we can get food easily at anytime and anywhere, we set out to our little adventure, looking for Food, or more specific-fast food-KFC.
We started on Fulham high street, to our surprise, nothing was open(except chicken cottage), feeling disappointed, we drove on and believe any of the services on motorway would be open. We drove towards Heathrow direction, and saw one services coming up soon, not feeling too excited because we would have to settle for Burger King(most of the motorway services in UK has Burger King), and i don't like burger king, only to found out minutes later it was close! Completely! Not even the Gas station was open! Disappointed again! we decided to head to the last resort-Airport. Parked our car at Heathrow Terminal.5, saw the Costa coffee wasn't open in the arrival hall, my heart sinked. He didn't care and dragged me to the departure hall.
He.was.RIGHT. we were lucky that almost everything was open. We settle at a Italian restaurant, relieved that we were not going to starve to death. We had a good meal, even got magazines for the evening, still it was kind of strange to spend Christmas day at the airport when you are not flying.

I have to thank him for his determination and stubbornness, or else i would have been starved to death(ok, I'm exaggerating) I have to say sometimes I'm not that spontaneous like him, i wish i am but I'm not. It reminds me of what my friend said once-Maybe life with a very different partner is not that bad after all because you experience more and it brings you jump out of the box sometimes just to please the other half, of course, you are not going to enjoy it all the time, but this Christmas day, i find it extremely fun and i thoroughly enjoy it.

Another horrible drive

It took me almost 5 hours to drive from Mannheim to Dusseldorf. What a day??

I was so exhausted. Again, more snow on the road, traffic....i love snows, but please, i don't want to drive in this condition anymore.

He lives on the ground floor with communal garden, i woke up this 'afternoon', and the garden is covered in more than 10cm snow.....for a moment, it feels like im staying in a ski resort. Is actually quite nice staying indoor, and is nice and white outside. :)