London London

Went down to London for two nights, first night to watch Varekai by Cirque du Soleil which was superb, incidentally - and the second night we had a night out at a very cool Notting Hill Arts Club with Zlynn and Jason L and their mates. So here are some pix from our little sojourn to lively London!












Sneaked in a pic of the Varekai stage inside the Royal Albert Hall before getting told off by an usher!








Taking a break in Leicester Square after visiting the National Portrait Gallery.






Joined Zlynn for a spot o' Indian lunch near her office at Farringdon.


Apparently Kate Moss hung out in this club a few days ago.
















Me & Andrew T at Kensington in a really lovely French patisserie...


... as seen here behind a very excited G.

Cold and colder

Just a quick note to say that I'll be in London for the weekend, so don't expect any posts... I'll be having too much fun! Haha... hopefully anyway. Judging by the wind and rain outside the window at this moment, it's gonna be QUITE a weekend.

Here's to wool coats, thermal clothing, high boots and beanies. May they help me get through the next few days.

House arrest!

G's put me under house arrest today while he's at work, so I've had to find ways to occupy myself at home. Guess he thinks I'll get lost again on my way home. But that happened only when I first arrived here two years ago!

Anyway, I've just been catching up on my work since 7am this morning... the window cleaner gave me a huge shock when he started banging on my window with his tools this afternoon. I sit in front of a window, see... and I was like "oh shit, who the heck is that?! hide, quickly!" and I hid in the corner of the room till he moved on to the front door.

I cooked a most awful lunch of pasta today. Pasta, you say? How can you ruin a meal like pasta?! Well, I did. I haven't cooked farfalle before (the ribbon-shaped ones) and they took AGES to get soft. So when it was al dente (or so I thought) I figured, okay that's enough. Little did I know that only three quarters were al dente, and the other quarter was hard as nails. So there's a lesson for the rest of you... make sure you test about three pieces before you decide they're cooked enough.

I don't know why, but time seems to move slower in England than in Malaysia. I'm not complaining, though. I love it this way :P Went outside with G's mum earlier to bring the wheelie bin in from the road (they have to bring the wheelie bins, or rubbish bins, out to the main road from their driveways so the rubbish collectors can do their jobs quicker). The air was crisp, cold and very pleasant. Lovely! Walked out in my bulky pink windbreaker and grey and pink pyjama pants tucked into my slouchy suede pink boots. Gosh I must've looked a sight. At least I done a good deed today by giving the old people on the road a good chuckle.

Pancakes, haircuts, British films and London

It's 9am now, and I've been up for 4 1/2 hours. I've been having pancakes since I arrived... and I think I've eaten about 10 pieces by now! Time to move on...

Iknow it's about time to put up some photos, but I haven't taken any yet. Yesterday, we went to Shrewsbury, but nothing much happened there. Hmmph. Leaving the house soon to get G's hair cut. Exciting, eh? Maybe I should sneak in some shots then...

We watched a DVD last night of a British movie called Hot Fuzz about an extremely efficient London policeman transferred to "Village of the Year" Sandford in Gloucestershire. Apparently the safest village in the country, but in reality, ironically so! :P I only watched half of it as my eyes just refused to stay open - but it was good! Really funny as only the British can do it. Look out for the film. You won't regret it.

Going down to London on Thursday for Varekai (Cirque du Soleil) and am sooooo looking forward to it! Then meeting Zlynn and Jason L for what will probably be a superb night out on Friday. Wooooo! It's gonna be a good week :P

Comparing MAS and Emirates

I'm finally here! In cold, wintry England!

It actually isn't as cold as I thought it would be. Not yet, anyway. The first day I arrived was beautiful... it was dry and pleasant. It's 5am now on Sunday morning.

I didn't sleep much at all on the plane to Dubai and then on to here. I tell you, Emirates Airlines is good, but I'm not choosing it for my next long haul flight. Compared to Malaysia Airlines, the plane itself is slightly nicer, with bigger seats and more entertainment options (you can watch the outside of the plane via a forward view camera or a downwards camera!), BUT the whole experience of flying on Malaysia Airlines is better, because of their cabin crew.

On my first leg, it wasn't too bad, because it was a midnight flight and everything was dark and quiet. Only thing was that the flight attendants weren't as friendly as the MAS ones... but still alright. It was the second leg, from Dubai to Birmingham, that actually got me annoyed. See, usually, on MAS flights, no matter what time of day it is, if it's a long flight, they usually ask you to lower the shutters on the windows so that the inside of the plane is dark and people can have a rest. Emirates didn't do that. And because I didn't sleep from KL to Dubai, I was really hoping to catch up on that second leg... which I couldn't, because it was too bright, and because it was bright, everyone was up and about, walking and talking.

Secondly, during the night, when I pressed the button to call the flight attendant for some water, I waited for 10 minutes and no one came. They should patrol the aisles more often to see if people need anything, don't you think? On MAS, they definitely would've shown up. Also, on MAS, they regularly serve juice and water to passengers, so that you rarely have to request for drinks. But on Emirates, I always had to ask for water myself.

The feeling I get from MAS cabin crew is that they're part of a whole, but the Emirates cabin crew are like individual people who do different things. One example was when they were serving meals, and on MAS flights, they always ask you politely to raise your seat so that the people behind you can eat comfortably. On Emirates, one flight attendant asked the people on the left of the aisle to do so, but never looked on the right. So I thought, okay, maybe the right side is the responsibility of another attendant. But when our attendant came to give us our meals, he never asked us to raise her seats, so the woman in front of me left hers reclined during all the meals. Sure, the seats are bigger and all, but it's still less convenient to eat when the seat in front of you is reclined.

So, yeah, those are my opinions between the two airlines. Emirates = nice plane, but Malaysia Airlines = better flying experience.

It gets dark here by 5.30pm! How cool is that? Hehe...

Clearance sales are wonderful!

Apologies once again for taking so long to write this post. I haven't had internet access for days! Plus, I've been super busy working, trying to finish everything before my holiday. I thought of so many things to write, so let's see if I can remember them all now.

I just got back from a day's shopping at Mid Valley and Bangsar Village. Oh, by the way, before I forget, someone mentioned that they couldn't find the Magic Sponge at Village Grocer. I got mine when they were displayed as a 'side' product - you know those products which they hang on the shelves as an additional thing, not actually placed on the shelves. They were located opposite the shelves selling tupperwares, cooking utensils etc.

Anyway, I was at Zara at Mid Valley and Mumsy Bumsy, the darling woman, found the red winter coat I saw a few weeks ago, which I loved, but didn't get because it was too expensive, selling at half price! Naturally, I got it... and I'm so thrilled about it. I also got a really squeaky waterproof (jumper). Cool, retro and cheap.

So many places are now having clearance sales, and one thing I notice that's really great about places like Zara and Massimo Dutti is that they actually take the trouble to print the marked down price and stick them on the tag. It makes it SO much easier for shoppers to decide if something's worth it. Especially if they leave the original price visible ;) I walked into Warehouse and browsed the 70% discount rack, and realised how difficult it is to calculate 70% off RM686, while trying not to look like you're doing mental calculations and acting like you're putting the outfit back onto the rack because you didn't like the material, and not because you realised that it's still out of your budget... so... thanks, Zara.

Remember what I wrote a few weeks back about dancing in heels, and me needing to get strappy shoes or start wearing flatties to dance? Well, last week I wore strappy shoes... and they ended up worse than normal heels! I got so many blisters from the straps rubbing against my toes, I was in pain all next day. So last night I decided to wear covered heels again, but shorter ones... and they work! Heheh... I've found the secret to success.

I'm flying to England on Friday night, and I haven't prepped anything yet! Haven't packed, haven't sorted out my affairs for the next two months... I hope I don't forget to do anything. I actually like packing because it gives me the opportunity to dig out my clothes and look at them lovingly without feeling guilty about wasting time :P So that's the part I'm looking forward to. I'm also looking forward to finally using my boots again in wintry England. What else? Oh yes, I'm really looking forward to seeing Grandpa G! So I'd better get some rest now cuz it's gonna be a looooong day tomorrow.

Sucking my head

Wow, I dunno why I feel so sleepy now. Maybe cuz I woke up early to let the cleaner in. At least I don't have to wake up so early tomorrow. Yay!

I just got back from touching up my roots at the salon. It actually makes quite a bit of difference, that one inch! Looks like I coloured my whole head again. Also makes a big difference in my wallet. Just one inch costs so darn much.

I also did a scalp treatment, compliments of Pretty Nicole. Apparently it cleans all the dirt on your scalp and all that jazz. It smells exactly like toothpaste and it made my head feel so cold! It also reminded me of mint candy and gave me images of putting my head in my mouth - figuratively speaking - and sucking on it. I don't know if it's expensive, but it only takes about 10 minutes, so try it out if you're interested.

I gotta get off now cuz my laptop's out of battery!

"I'm happy with my body"

I'm back and feeling better than ever!

This week is gonna be a whirlwind for me cuz I'm leaving for UK next Friday and I have so many things to wrap up for good or prepare to bring over.

Before I forget, you know those annoying gym people who keep calling you to join their gym? Who doesn't, right? Well, I have a 1-month guest pass for California Fitness and so far have only used it once in three weeks. At least once a week, this woman calls to bug me about joining up as a full member. And each time, she calls at bad times! Yesterday, she called and I was at a client's place. Today she calls and I'm driving. I don't recognise the number so I keep picking up the calls. And when I told her I wouldn't be here for the next 2 months, she asked me which date exactly I'm coming back to KL and has made a note in her diary to call me the day after. After which, she proceeds to tell me all about her own trip to London and how she fell sick because it was freezing! All this while I was trying to drive home.

Oh, she also said, "Go to UK, eat lots and put on weight so you can come back to our gym!". Very nice, isn't she?

Talking about weight, I've been watching E! News and sometimes they have news on how the next overweight starlet is saying "I'm happy with my body" and everyone cheers her for it. It's one thing to be a healthy size 8, 10, 12, or even 14 if you're big-boned - that's UK size - but there's a big difference for fatsos like Nikki Blonsky (from Hairspray) who say "I'm happy with my body"... because her body just isn't nice! (By the way, I like Nikki, she seems sweet, but she needs to wake up to her non-existent neck and upper arms).

A girl isn't big and beautiful because she's proud of her body, she's big and beautiful because she's a healthy size and weight. It seems like anyone in Hollywood who's fat but says "I'm happy with my body" is worth of praise, but secretly, everyone wants to be a Nicole Richie. And then slam her for being her size.

Big and beautiful is people like Janet Jackson or Fergie or Britney. They obviously are not the skinny binny body types and they work out a lot and look great. Big and beautiful is not "lumpy and proud of it".

So will people please stop saying "kudos to her for being happy and not anorexic" to fatsos, and instead, say "glad you're not anorexic, girl, but for goodness' sake get your ass to the gym".

No posts?

Sorry guys, I know it's been a while since my last post, but I have an extremely VALID reason...

I'M SICK! I'm very very sick... :( Like, chest infection sick.

So there will be no posts from me until I'm completely recovered and don't have to lie down every few minutes. Hopefully that'll be this weekend.

Till then, have a good week and take care of the planet!

The Magic Sponge

I just found an amazing product in the shops!



It's called the Magic Cleaning Sponge and I can give you my personal guarantee that it totally works! I bought it from Village Grocer in Bangsar Village for RM5.90, and all of you have to do is apply a few drops of water to the side of the sponge you're gonna use, and start cleaning! No cleaning liquid needed, and the sponge just dissolves away as you use it. Awesome!

Most of you probably don't know that my laptop is a complete dirtball of a machine. It has stains and marks everywhere (being white) and was always so embarrassing to take out in front of people. But now... now!! Just look at it! As white as snow :P

Do yourselves a favour and go get yourselves one of these miracle workers and start cleaning! It does office stuff like computers and printers, furniture like sofas and tables, and there's even a sponge for toilets (sinks and taps, presumably... who'd wanna stick their hand into the toilet bowl even with a magic sponge?).

Seriously... buy it!

Laze-oholics Anonymous

Now that we're into the third day of the new year, it's time to go back to some serious work!

Fortunately, I managed to dig deep and find a morsel of motivation to get some work done this afternoon. Spent the morning in a kind of daze cuz I was woken up by Dad asking me to send him somewhere. But I feel quite happy that I've finished some work today anyway.

I like watching Jamie Oliver and David Tutera cuz they're so into their work, it inspires me and makes me wanna really get into my work and enjoy it too. I think I'd enjoy it a whole lot more if I had a new (and bigger) Mac *hint hint. Donations are most welcome.

PHOTOS: Clearing up the phone memory

If I did believe in New Year resolutions, my place would be a lot neater. As it is, here was the condition of my entrance hallway on December 31.





Yup, my shoeboxes took a tumble and I now have to jump over them when I come in or go out.

My toes hurt again from all the dancing in heels. Seriously, the next time I go out, I'll wear flatties. Or flip flops. Or maybe I should just start liking strappy heels. Another souvenir I brought home from Bar Club on NYE are two nice bruises on my shins. Can anyone guess where they came from? Yup... from the bloody "stage" where our sofa is located. Some people like dancing up there, which is fine, but if you're dancing with someone down on the floor, please be nice and come down too so that we don't have to bring shin bruises home.

The next photo is from my dad's birthday dinner at Zing, the Chinese resto at the Grand Millenium Hotel. Cheesy name for a hotel, but nice place with good service. The décor is beautiful - very Euro-Chinese - reminds me of Shanghai. Has good food, but the mango pudding was a bit dodgy.



Marmalade is such a pretty place I just had to take some pictures. Had lunch with Mumsy Bumsy a few days ago and had the spaghetti carbonara which was delicious. The juices are also affordably-priced at RM9 for a large glass of freshly blended fruits.






Spaghetti Carbonara




Mumsy Bumsy looking perplexed.

PHOTOS: NYE 2008

I vote for January 2nd to be a holiday!

For many of us, January 1st just doesn't exist. We spend all day recovering from the night before and all of a sudden, it's time to go back to work. Where's the fun in that?!

Today I woke up at the usual time even though I slept at around 6am. Had a quiet steamboat lunch with Mumsy Bumsy, Uncle Thomas and Laughbox Lance, which was great because I wasn't feeling 100%. Had a very short nap in the evening (which was awfully hot by the way) before going out to meet friends for dinner at Marmalade. I used to avoid that place actually, but now I appreciate the healthy meals and reasonable prices (especially after eating so often at pricey places like WIP and La Bodega. I also have the Max card which gives me a 10% discount off the total bill, but forgot to use it tonight!

Did I mention that we went to Bar Club to usher in the new year? "Bar Club again?" you say. Yup. Bar Club again. T'was good though. Good music, good company.































Thanks for the photos, Carrot!

The last post of 2007

Okay, just one last post for the last day of 2007 *sniff!

I wanted to write about what I've achieved in 2007, to remind myself that I'm not a failure just because I don't earn as much as my friends, or drive a car as flashy as theirs. Life means much more than money and possessions. Not a cliché. I truly believe that life is about experiences and how happy you are with what you have and who you are.

What I don't believe in is New Year's resolutions because I hate setting targets and forcing myself to do something I don't want to :)

2007 Achievements

• Maintained a long-distance relationship... over 3 years now and counting!
  
• Went to England with entire family in tow and survived
  
• Went to Dublin with Grandpa G and survived arctic temperatures
  
• Designed and organised entire February 2007 OTE (almost) on my own
  
• Quit depressing and unfulfilling job
  
• Started own company
  
• Got a TV in my room
  
• Had sexy French guy stay at mine and teach me rude French words
  
• Okay I know this is not a 2007 achievement, but I can't stop thinking about it - I'm going to watch Cirque du Soleil next month!!! (just had to gloat)
  

(I really have to find a new nickname for Grandpa G. After all, I'm already nudging the number of years he was when we first met.)

See y'all, and have a great New Year celebration! I'm off to get dressed now. Peace and love to all!

Something to watch

Stumbled onto quite a brilliant movie on Star Movies earlier called The Darwin Awards.

Starring (an incredibly attractive) Joseph Fiennes and Winona Ryder, it's got a spattering of stars throughout the show like David Arquette, Wilmer Valderrama (That 70s Show) and even Metallica! It's quirky, indie and really fun. You could say it's something like Along Came Polly, but this is cleverer.

Seems like the Fiennes brothers (Ralph and Joseph) have some kind of magnetic quality onscreen. I always find myself drawn to them when I watch their films. Especially in romantic roles (excuse me while I swoon). Gotta love them.

Ooh, just found out they're from an aristocratic family related to the Windsors. Gotta love them more now :P

Cuz my mother told me

I have a pet peeve. I feel really put off when I hear someone saying "I can't drink cold drinks during my period or I'll get a stomach ache" and other old wives' tales.

Following these old wives' tales puts restrictions on yourself, and once you follow one, you're gonna have to follow another one and before you know it, you're busy counting the number of times you turn the lock on your door, the number of steps it takes to the bathroom from the bed and the number of times you brush your teeth from left to right.

Get with the times, people! Listen to Jamiroquai, bounce around the room and get rid of the superstitious shit people have been telling you. Use your own brain and the tools we have... if you hear a superstition you're not sure about, go search for it online, go watch Mythbusters... just don't follow something blindly and expect me to follow it too when the reason you give me is "cuz my mother told me".

(Incidentally, my sister tells me that she read in her Girlfriend magazine that drinking cold drinks during your period causes cancer cuz apparently, it clots your blood (??) and could form something that causes cancer *shrug*)

PHOTOS: Random

Some photos for your amusement.

Boxing Day post

'Tis the season to be sick!

I'm just recovering from a sore throat and flu, but so many other people are still sick. Must be all the late nights and drinking everyone's doing.

Went to my aunt's house last night for her Christmas do. My extended family only gives presents to kids, so I was wondering if I was still going to be considered a kid. Had my fingers crossed! Even if it's just chocolates, it's nice to open presents.

Well, yes, in fact, I DID get presents (yippee!) but missed out on one particularly important box. You see, my aunt gave me some money in a gift box, but someone distributed that box to someone else (who the heck else has a name like mine??! Grrrrr!) and so I am poorer for the mistake. Someone's loss is someone's gain, I suppose. Sigh.

Christmas Day itself was a bit of a blur for me. I was feeling pretty dense because I hadn't slept AT ALL the night before. Went to Hotel Maya for Jason L's birthday do. Stayed the night but couldn't sleep cuz three sleepyheads grabbed the bed early on and left me and a few others the lovely floor. It was so bloody hard and the room was so bloody cold... and I only had a small towel to cover myself with :(

So I was feeling prreeettttyyy whoozy and headachey on Christmas. Played with some magnetic building stuff my kid sisters got for Christmas... super fun!

Anyway, had a good night's sleep last night, and going for some street dancing class later so I should have another good night's rest tonight. Hope you guys had a great Christmas!

A Christmas rant

Had the craziest night at Bar Club yet. I even have a huge circular bruise on my right foot! And that was just from some guy stepping on it. Thank goodness I don't have any bruises from all the falling down... goodness knows how many times I was dragged down by very very tipsy people!

Anyway, as Christmas is just round the corner, I'd like to wish everyone Merry Christmas!

You know what? It's one of the best times of the year, but this year, thinking about it just makes me stressed. Bad enough that people will be holding Christmas parties during the day and night, but do people have to have birthdays on Christmas and Christmas Eve?

Parents, can you please be more considerate to yourselves and to others, and try to conceive at a time when the baby won't be born any time near a huge holiday? Thank you!

So not only do I have family dos and Christmas parties to attend, I've got two birthdays! And I want to/have to go to all of em! Streeeeeesssssssssss..............

And maybe it's my fault for booking my trip to UK at this time of the year, but spending on Christmas and birthday presents has sapped my holiday fund dry. What to do... what to do....

I think I read somewhere that the presents you give says a lot about yourself. I guess it's kinda true. I usually like to get arty crafty stuff, books, or even toys which look like my old ones, for my younger cousins. And this year I've got quite into flowers and I find myself looking at flowers for other people as well. Scary thought?

Hitz.fm is shameless

Hitz.fm has launched a radio campaign badmouthing another local English language radio station. You've probably heard it before. It's about how successful people listen to Hitz, but after tuning into --- FM, they become dorks. Switching back to Hitz, they regain their social status as the hippest of the hippest in town!

I think it's firstly, a stupid ad, because no one is going to be taken in nor even intrigued by it for a second unless they're 12 years old. Secondly, they tell people not to "go for cheap imitations, and go for original". There IS a difference between pirated CDs, bags and radio stations! Sounds like Hitz wants to eliminate (instead of challenge) competitors which is so juvenile (wonder if the Morning Crew thought of this campaign) because healthy competition is GOOD! How else will they improve?

Hitz.fm isn't all that great. Their DJs say the same things over and over again and are not remotely entertaining to anyone above the age of 13 (my sister's 16 and she thinks they speak very unintelligently as well). The only one worth listening to is Adam C cuz he knows when something is interesting and when it's not.

I would love to comment on each DJ's annoying qualities but it's kinda mean when I put it here for all to see! I just have to mention Jools/Jules though... her voice and accent is really irritating. So fake and well, just irritating! Every time I hear her voice on the radio, I literally change the channel. So does my sister. So does my mum! Tell me, is that good for business?

A bit of advice for everyone who listens to radio. Listen to BBC 1 online and that will really expand your listening experience. This is how good radio DJs are. We used to have them in Yasmin Yusof, and dare I say it... Patrick Teoh, in the old days (like I'm so old!), but now it's just all about how good you look in person or how mixed your ethnicity is. Have even an inch of each of those and you're a DJ for Hitz.

PHOTOS: Bar Club

As some of you know, I'm going to England next month for a 2-month break. It'll be my first time arriving in the middle of winter and it's freaking me out kinda! Last time I was spending time with Gary it was at the start of spring, but it was still having remnants of the long, cold winter. I was missing warm weather so much and not having to put on so many layers every day.

But it'll be fun.

Some of the fun I've had so far is buying winter coats! Yummy!

I have two already which I think is sufficient (winter coats are so expensive!). One short, sporty one for casual, and a long classy one for nights out. Had to make sure the coats were made mostly of wool otherwise what's the point? Mumsy Bumsy and I found a super stylish red coat from Zara Woman yesterday that's made of 100% wool, but was unfortunately a short jacket and Mumsy Bumsy, being the practical one, refused to buy it for me. In the end, we bought a nice, elegant black wool trench.

Oh, and don't worry about me being away for two months next year... I'll definitely be posting still. And putting up loads of pictures!

Which reminds me, a whole zoo of us hung out at Bar Club on Saturday night and as Carrot so sweetly left a comment here that I would get a hot photo of myself that night, I forced her to take some with her camera (I don't have one *sniff).

Thanks for the photos, Carrot!





























This is from the week before, same venue.

An apple a day...

... keeps the doctor away?

Is that really true? What do apples do for you anyway? Is it safe to actually take one a day, or should we be alternating them with other fruits? Apples are quite acidic, aren't they?

Random question, I know, but I'm curious.

One question I asked Gwyn L last night was, "Do prawns have brains?" We were eating these humongous prawns cooked with green stuff (pesto, I think) and she started at the head and said they tasted mushy. So we thought about it for a few seconds, but didn't find an answer.

Her boyfriend decided not to waste his time thinking about such a useless question.

Glad the weekend is here

I used to dread the weekends cuz it meant being busy with family and friends, all packed into two wee days...

Which meant 5 blissful days of 'me' time! Except now I'm so busy with work, I'm thankful for the weekends. When I'm at "work" (aka. home), I have a fridge full of food and two TVs at my disposal, but I feel so obligated to do work because all my clients are! At least during the weekends I can say, hey, it's the weekend and I'm not obliged to work for you okay??!

So here I am, lying on the bed with my laptop, Facebooking.

I'm getting rather tired of Facebook actually. Tired of biting people, throwing sheep, sending booze, Scrabbling... the list goes on. Now I'm just looking at people's friends to see if there are any cute guys. None so far. Lots of hot girls though. Wonder if I should change my profile picture to something resembling a hot me.

Nope, can't find one :)

(Wonder if anyone will be taking pictures tomorrow night at Bar Club?)

California Fitness service is the dumps

Went to California Fitness in Mid Valley a few days ago to start the 1 month trial.

I arrived at 9pm hoping to go for the 9pm street dancing class, but the girl at the reception refused to let us in till we had signed up properly for a pass. Okay, fine, since the class is about to start, can I enter first and leave the forms for the member who brought me to fill up? Oh no, you have to do it yourself. You should have come half an hour earlier.

How do we bloody know it takes a time-wasting half an hour to bring a guest with a trial pass in?

As if it wasn't annoying enough that we couldn't go in without all this fuss, the girl had to go and say "You should have come half an hour earlier. This is procedure." like we were professionals of registration. She was so uppity about it, I was about to retort when another guy at the reception turned to us and said, "Anyway, you can't go in now because warm up session has started."

I looked at the clock. It was exactly 9pm. What warm up session? The timetable says class starts at 9pm but there's a warm up session before that? So I asked that snooty faced guy, "What time is the warm up session supposed to be? How come it's not on the timetable?" And without a word, he turns back to do whatever he was doing before irritating me.

Bloody... !!

The only saving grace was the manager looking guy who explained the procedures to us nicely, albeit with bad english. Still didn't stop me from fuming about the uppity and snooty service people there. If they don't prove to be nicer in the one month I use their facilities, I'm SO not gonna sign up with them even though they're nearby!