The unseen blog

MY BLOG AND MY SO-CALLED LIFE
Hmm…have received some feedback that my blog reflects that I’m happy and merry here. And now that I think of it, my life on the blog does seem kind of exciting, with the outings and the café sessions. My life seems to be packed with activities, doesn’t it? Deception, deception, deception. HAHAHA…

Very often, there are lull periods where nothing very much happens. Just college, college, college. I’ve blotted out the mundane stuff. So what DOES NOT happen occurs as much, if not more than what gets written here on the blog. Y’know what I mean (add British accent here)??

Mundane stuff include

Going to the supermarket and spending an hour because I spend so much time deciding how much I should spend.

Thinking of what to cook for the next meal. Still quite enjoyable at this stage because I have cooked so many strange dishes and every meal becomes so kind of eccentric experiment. Some good experiments, some best forgotten.

Coming back to the room with just the tiniest of radio (I still do not know what you call them, those which people listen to on the bus).

Not knowing what to do at 8pm on a Saturday (when I just don’t feel like reading anymore). No TV, no internet. Just a tiny radio. Your flatmates are all doing their own stuff in their rooms and you don’t want to intrude.

Listening to songs on my computer for the 1278th time because I don’t own an MP3 and I don’t want to waste money buying CDs.

Buying newspapers on only two days to save money. One has an education supplement which I am interested. The other, the Sunday paper, comes with at least two other supplements which will last me a few days.

Constantly wishing that I was at least five years younger so that I have more time to use what I have learnt

Wanting to take up short courses here but the concessionary prices are only for UK residents.

Things would get better soon because my financial situation would improve soon, I think. Nevertheless, things are ridiculously expensive and I still want to save as much as possible.

My life is not 24/7 rah-rah excitement.

Having said that, there are moments of entertainment like the following!


MY JAPANESE FRIEND’S ENGLISH FRIEND’S CLIENT

Yes, the heading’s confusing. But a stroke of luck was bestowed upon me in this rather confusing way.

Hanako(classmate) to me and Christina: Mei and Christina, are you free on Thurday night?

Me: I think so.

Christina: Mmm…yes.

Hanako: I have a friend’s friend’s client who gave him four tickets to the musical, “The Producers”. But my friend cannot go because she has to go back to Japan and so there are three free tickets. I have asked my friend Tamaki to go. I cannot go because I am teaching the Japanese dance class on Thurday. So are you free to go?

(Christina and I were silent for a while. We were extremely confused about the friend, the friend and the friend. So, who is who?)

Me: Erm, so, who will be going?

Hanako: Ah, sorry. (She says sorry quite often) My English friend, Barry, is my Japanese friend’s friend. His client has given him four free tickets. He has asked my Japanese friend and I to go but both of us cannot go. Tamaki, my friend from Chesterman house (her hostel block), also knows Barry and she is going. So, there are now two free tickets.

I was still extremely confused.

Christina: What is “the producers”?

Me (this, I knew): The lastest musical in London. Very popular show now.

Hanako: Yes, yes. So, maybe both of you can go?

Me (to Hanako): So, it’s two of us and how many of your other friends? Two, right? Coz there are four tickets.

Hanako: Ah, yes.

Me (to Christina): We can go after class on Thurday?

Christina: Ya, ok we go.

So, two days ago, Christina and I were lucky enough to watch a musical without paying! The tickets were £37.5 each. That’s equivalent to about $100!

After the musical, Tamaki (yes, Hanako’s friend, Christina and I went to a café and we had a great time talking. Tamaki is doing her MA in transnational and global comm and she’s an editor back home. She looked like she was in her early forties, so when she revealed that her daughter is 24 and her son is 25, Christina and I almost fell off our seats!

She says her children have already grown-up and this is the time to take a break and really learn. She is extremely well-travelled and is keen on meeting different people. In fact, she was quite disappointed that in her hostel flat, three out of seven are Japanese. She said she preferred a more international mix. Cool lady.