Welcomed Addition

B gave birth to a baby boy today at 12:16. 8lbs 8oz.

Healthy and beautiful.

Mr & Mrs B will make amazing parents - of that I have no doubt.

I'll Be Back

This time tomorrow I will be on a flight to Kuala Lumpur for 4 nights followed by 16 nights in and around Sydney.



WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Geographical Nonsense!

The above video came on the TV the other day as my siblings and I were watching one of those famous music channels. We do like The Wanted - especially since there is one guy who's half Tamil (helps that he's easy on the eye as well!).

Brother: "Best thing to come out of Ireland since Westlife".

Me: "Are they all Irish then?"

Brother: "YES!"

Me: *quick Google search on my phone (because I Google everything!)*
"Erm.. they're not all Irish".

And then I read him this.

Clearly we're very ignorant! :)

But it did make me smile. Especially at how sure sounding he was!

The 'Dam

Some people know think that I am musically challenged. I’m also very unlucky at scoring tickets to concerts I want to see.

So when Take That (complete with Robbie Williams!) announced their tour dates and I found out I would be in Germany at the time they went on sale, I knew I had no hope but was optimistic nonetheless. Leaving strict instructions with my siblings to endeavour to get some, I thought this would be my time. But no. It wasn’t.

So when their European tickets went on sale, I said I was getting some and that would be that! And I did. I managed to secure 3 tickets to their concert in Amsterdam at Amstel Arena (Ajax’s football stadium which was enough in itself to excite me!). And then Take That went and announced more tour dates in Britain – my luck is so bad it’s not worth talking about.

However, Amsterdam 2011 was planned and I have just returned from what was an amazing trip (no illegal substances pun intended). There was a little scare when I heard this but thankfully Monday night RW stepped onto the stage and pretty much smashed the ball out of the park vocally.

TT were incredible. The show production was amazing and the atmosphere inside the venue was electric. There are no words that can do it justice.

But it wasn’t just the show. It was the fact that I spent 4 days with my siblings enjoying stupid jokes, eating crappy food, relishing the crap weather and watching Outsourced (which you must watch – I love Gupta!).

I will post some photos (not that I took many) but just a quick post to explain for the absence.

Coming back to work to a shitload of emails is the worst thing about going on holiday though!

Broken English

My dad is slightly sick. He’s been given a cold and he’s also developed some kind of pain in his upper arm.

Last night he was talking to my mum and I heard her start laughing.

“Why didn’t you say Andy Murray then?!”

Apparently my dad was saying “Anty Mortay” which my mum interpreted as “antibiotics” and she only cottoned on that he didn’t mean antibiotics when he said the word tennis.

Slightly worrying because my dad has lived in the country now for nearly 40 years! :S

25 Days in 2011

No not a new film.#

25 days annual leave a year is just not enough. :(

14 - 18 July: Amsterdam to see Take That perform!

02 - 24 September: Sydney, Australia via Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia (4 nights).

Total number of days taken: 20. :( And that's not even thinking about all the ad hoc holidays I'll need!

(I've already started scoping out where the best places to party are but all suggestions are welcome!)

Cornered

April hasn’t been a very productive month for me blog wise.

I’ve been so caught up in trying to figure out what to wear to the Royal Wedding (if only!).

I love weddings. Well certain parts to them.

RL was married over the weekend. Hindu ceremony on the Saturday and the Christian ceremony on the Sunday. I really enjoyed myself – how she and the groom and their families managed to arrange such a beautiful wedding in such a short space of time is beyond me.

My mum attended the Hindu ceremony with me and not once did she raise the question of “So, does anyone take your fancy?”. My own mother – I was so proud.
A comes over to say hello and promptly asks “So – what about that guy over there? I can hook you up you know!”.

The Christian ceremony was for only for family and close friends due to lack of space. I was seated with three recently married couples (B, A, G and their respective halves). I do like to leave myself open for punishment it seems.
Our conversation pretty much ranged from
“So when is it your turn?”, “What kind of guy are you looking for?”, “What about that guy over there?”, “Go and talk to him” to “Man – married life is hard”, “We need to get our own place but it’s so expensive”, “We have our own place and it’s sooo expensive”, “You can’t eat that” and a little bit more. But that’s not the point of this post.

The bit I love most about weddings is the dancing. And if you don’t know by now, Myself, A and his wife R, RL and her husband amongst many of our other friends are freshies. We love Tamil music. We especially love Koothu/Gaana. I can’t help but move when I hear it. And RL catered for the crowd. On came the choons and off we went!
A always tells me that there must be no music around if I want to meet a guy because I concentrate so much on dancing that he probably wouldn’t get a look in (so true it’s sad!).

As the end of the evening approached, time for the bride to throw her bouquet. And so I stepped quietly away from the corwd of girls that were gathering. Purely because I’m not that kind of person. UNTIL A and R decided to bellow across the dance floor (the music was turned down by this point so everyone could hear!) “SCRUMPS! SCRUMPS! Get into the crowd. Get to the front!” And then promptly came over and pushed me towards the crowd.
If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, it only gets worse. I managed to escape them and find a corner at the back of the room away from this. What does RL do? She throws her bouquet as faaaaaar back as possible so it lands on the table next to where I am standing. To which A and R come running over and thrust it into my hands.

I tried to profusely proclaim that it shouldn’t be mine but no one would hear anything of it. Next thing I know there is a mic in front of me. Me being the ever cool, calm and collected girl that I am somewhat hysterically just muttered “I need to go home”.

(Though, once I had that bouquet in my hand though, I didn’t put it down for fear that someone might try and take it from me!)

However, I don’t think the same implications apply if you don’t actually catch a bouquet! Hopefully, it’ll help my family and friends relax a little!

Siblings & Food

Unmeasurable sibling love is leaving the biggest piece of chocolate cake lamb chop for you because you've been stuck in traffic for three hours.

Refreshing

I like FB. In fact, I am a fan. But it really grates my goat:

• Now that you can't hide your display picture (unless it's from everybody!)
• When people add you randomly (i.e. you've never met!)
• When people say they know you from FB (at a first meeting)
• When people you've met once at a social engagement add you.

So imagine how refreshing I found it when I met a girl on Saturday night who asked me if I wouldn't mind if she added me on FB?!

She was so lovely, I had no hesitations in saying yes! :)

Happy Times

I used to work with this beautiful Mauritian guy (JB). Honestly, I remember the first time he walked into the shop I worked at and from then on, every Saturday I looked forward to knowing that I would see him. He was so hot and of course he had that French Creole accent going on so I pretty much melted every time he spoke. Which unfortunately wasn't that much because he was quite quiet but I made the most of it. It wasn't a secret that I thought he was beautiful and my manager at the time (when he himself wasn't sexually harassing "flirting" with me!) had great fun making us both feel quite uncomfortable. There came a point where JB asked me out to the cinema so I agreed. We went to see a Hindi film. With no English subtitles. Which basically meant I sat there whispering into his ear asking questions about the plot line!

The time came for me to leave my Saturday job - and I was sad to be leaving JB. We'd begun to get along really well. As I was getting ready to leave, in walks JB with a beautiful bunch of roses. I wasn't as emotional then as I am now but I was so touched. I still have those dried roses!

And then JB had to go back to Mauritius. We kept in touch and I thought to myself that I would have somewhere to stay if I ever visited the place!

Last September I received a phone call. A number I didn't recognise. And it was JB! He was back to do his MSc. YAY!

Despite our random FB messages, we only managed to meet up yesterday. Lunch and a movie followed by a romantic friendly walk around Covent Garden. He told me there would be reindeer there! Whilst I was watching a street performer, he told me to wait there and he was going to look for them. He came back with a paper bag.

S: What did you get?

JB: A pretzel. I was hungry!

S: We just ate! How are you hungry?

JB: Do you want some?

S: No thank you.

JB: Well I had mine - this one is for you.

And then he promptly handed me the bag. And it wasn't a pretzel. It was a cuddly toy!

And I melted some more. *swoon*

Inspiration

It's all kicking off here in the UK - snow & ice, the president of SL & his visit to Oxford, Wikileaks and not to mention England's bid for the 2018 World Cup!

I have been a lil' busy - Athens, Frankfurt and Paris all to blog about. And I will do that as soon as - but being at work means I can't upload photos and we all know that trips need photos!

Pseudo has inspired me with her post and I thought I should do the same. After all, it's Christmas (as good as)!



Mariah Carey - All I want For Christmas - Before she became all hoe-ish!




Wham - Last Christmas




Miley Cyrus' Version - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

OK - I could go on and put it out there (even further) at how bad my musical taste is but the most important song that reminds me of Christmas is the next one.



Coca Cola - Holidays are Coming

Secrets

I'm trying to avoid talking about marriage with anybody and everybody but it seems that people are getting married left, right and centre!

RL is getting married. But I haven't been officially told yet.

Conversation with B on Monday went like this:

B: Dude, I have something to tell you and I really want to but I can't!!!

Scrumps: Oh man! You can't do that! What is it?

B: I can't!

S: OK - fine.

B: OK - It's RL.

S: OK - is it what I think it is?

B: What do you think it is?

S: Well marriage....?

B: *Silence*

S: No way?! That's great news!

B: But I wasn't allowed to tell anyone and you have to act VERY surprised!

And then she proceeds to tell me a lil' bit more about it.

Cue this morning, my conversation with A:

A: Man I need to tell you something but you have to PROMISE you can't tell anyone!

S: I promise.

A: It's about RL. Do you know?

S: Know what?

A: OK - you can't tell anyone about this. She hasn't told anyone. Promise?

S: Promise!

A: She's getting married!!!!!!!!

S: Nooooooooooo wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?! (rolling my eyes slightly). To who? When? How?!

A: *proceeds to tell me some stuff*. You can't tell anyone OK. Not even B. RL hasn't told anybody! And you best act surprised!

And then they wonder why I don't share my secrets wholeheartedly with them!

But I love the fact that they love me enough to want to share!

Unhealthy Obsession

I can't help myself. I actually love him. I feel like I am in high school all over again.

My siblings were the ones that introduced me to him. And HOT DAMN - he is beautiful.

I watch a lot of American TV shows (some of which most of you probably don't care for but hey, they entertain me!) which include One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl (how HOT is Chuck Bass), Lost (when it was on), How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory to name a few. There's still so many to watch but I have recently started watching The Vampire Diaries.

Set in a small town in American, it tells the story (so far) of two Vampire brothers who come back to said small town and the story progresses about their history and how it relates to the modern world and how everything and everyone is pretty much linked together. And enter Damon Salvatore - the elder vampire brother. The "bad" guy of the two. The charmer, the one that feasts on humans. The one who proclaims to have no feelings (yes I know he's a vampire so he probably doesn't!) but has been hurt by love. Played by the gorgeous Ian Somerhalder, Damon Salvatore is so hot it actually hurts me and that in the last 48 hours, I have managed to watch season 1 (22 episodes) and get up to date with season 2 (5 episodes). It's taken over my life and I can't get enough.



Yes, I'm sad. But I challenge you to watch it and not fall for him! Edward Cullen who?!

Dignity

Whilst at the cash point waiting for some money, the wind decides to put me in a very Marilyn Monroe-esque moment by shooting up my skirt and leaving me scrambling around trying to preserve my dignity (of which I am sure that I have absolutely none now!) whilst trying to ensure that no one runs off with the newly withdrawn cash.

Not pretty and definitely not cool!

Frequent Flyer

October 28 2010 - November 02 2010: Frankfurt

Somewhere in the middle of November: Paris

November 25 2010 - November 28 2010: Athens

Beginning of December: Budapest

True Friendship

Shoulder to cry on?

Pledging to take down your worst enemy alongside you?

Ensuring you're not a walking fashion disaster every time you go out?

Holding your hair back whilst you throw up after a night out?

Telling you that he's not good enough for you?

No.

True friendship? Being able to discuss your toilet habits unabashedly.

Raising A Smile

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11137903

For Darwin, Pseudo and any other geeks!

Justifying

If you work hard, you should play hard right?

I'm just trying to justify what I've done.

Betty is definitely on her last legs. And as much as I want to keep her, it's definitely not financially viable for me to keep her and buy a new car. So I've put down a deposit (inclusive of Betty) for a new car.

And why am I justifying this? Because it's a brand new BMW 320SE convertible. Being delivered in September. And it's going to cost me a fortune!

I knew I wanted a convertible when I was looking. Mainly because I'm at an age where if once I get married, I'll need a car that's a bit more family orientated right? And then as I get older, I'll need a car that suits the needs of me and my family. And when I get old(er), I don't want to be one of those old people who drive convertibles thinking they're cool when they're really not (cue Friends reference - season 7, episode 14 where at the the end the old guy with the same car comes along and goes "How cool are we?!")! So I went along to BMW just to see what was available. Myself - I wanted a lil' 1 series. Small, compact and within my price range. My brother and cousin on the other hand were living vicariously through me! And so I was steered towards the 3 series. And well, once I sat in one - that was that really!

Why do I need to justify it? Well, what with paying a mortgage, bills, travel and occasionally buying shoes(!), I am going to have to make some lifestyle changes in order to accommodate the car! But like I said - you work hard, you play hard so a few sacrifices will have to be made somewhere. And I've started looking for a second part time job!

So the car has been ordered, the deposit has been paid and is now just waiting delivery. But like I told A - the only place the car will be going is up and down my driveway because I'll be too scared to drive it with the thought that I might damage it!

But oh well - how awesome is it going to look?! And any suggestions for names will be taken on board! :)

Amma-isms

I have road rage. It's a proven fact.

Yesterday - the whole of my area was gridlocked because of some damn traffic lights that haven't been working now for 4 days! Seriously - why do I pay council tax if you guys can't fix things?!

I was in a rush to get to the hardware store to buy some more paint so that I could paint the skirting board before the carpet gets fitted (this morning!). So you can imagine that my patience was at an all time low.

As I indicated to turn left, the car behind refused to give way (some posh sports car that was very big!). Cue me getting irate.

I try not to swear when Amma is in the car but yesterday I couldn't help myself.

"Oh you f***ing w***er! I hope you can f***ing lip read you motherf***er! With your big ass car!" And I continued effing and blinding for about 5 minutes (thoroughly pissed off!).

About 10 minutes later, I must have been talking about some other man and my Amma who pays no attention to me (clearly!) goes " Who? That wonka?!" and points to the car who refused to give way earlier!

Cheered me up no end.

Being Friends with a Gigwhore!

Being friends with Pseudo is rubbing off on me and it's not helping my wallet at all!

Having read QFAP's post and consumed with jealousy, I longed and cursed myself for being poor.

But it seems that sometimes (just sometimes) that I get a break.

WTF am I talking about? An email in my inbox this morning from my phone provider with a code for 2 for 1 tickets to see Bon Jovi. That's right - BON JOVI! OMG! I'm so excited!

I won't be able to do QFAP's review any justice but I can't wait!