Summer BBQ

After countless months of drizzle, showers, rain, downpour and rainstorm, the sun finally returns, bringing smiles back to the Londoners’ miserable faces. (Touch wood! Hope this doesn’t jinx it!). Coincidently after watching a few episodes of Master Chef Australia, I was really inspired to cook something and then I thought it will be great to mark this rare occasion with a nice BBQ and a picnic in our garden with my housemates!

One worry for me is that our house garden has been left untamed for ever since we rented the house, as you can probably see in the picture, that’s how “neat” our garden is. My housemates and I tried pulling off one or two weeds, but we gave up, I guess we aren’t really the green fingers type.

But who cares about the weeds when we got the BBQ and for a foodie like me. I was really excited about the BBQ and here are the reasons:

Menu:

1. BBQ Peri Peri Chicken drumsticks
2. BBQ Tandoori Chicken
3. Roasted Potato wedges
4. Caesar Salad
5. BBQ corns
6. BBQ sausages 

And the best thing is that they all taste amazingggggggggg! Overall, it was a great day, we had fun and we had lots of food, probably too much to digest ;) 

How I Met Your Queen!

How I Met Your Mother Queen!

On the 25^th April 2012, I had one the greatest opportunity to meet the Queen of England as she visited the Cutty Sark for the official opening of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich after five years it had been ravaged by fire five years ago. Thanks to my classmates who had our timetables swapped with another tutorials so we could secretly skip our tutorials to have a quick glimpse of the Queen. Well. It was a rare opportunity so we couldn’t be blamed for that, besides, some of the lecturers were also eager the meet the Queen themselves. Yes, as foreigners, my German friend and I need to get this opportunity no matter what, to prove we have been to England!!! (and basically can brag about it when we get back to our countries lol)

After one and a half hour of holding an umbrella, standing in shoes soaked in rain and shivering away, the the trumpet sounded signalling the Queen’s arrival. The rain no longer dampened the spirit and the ambience as crowds of locals and foreigners from all walks of life gather in Greenwich to snap a photo and greet the Queen.

Not long after her arrival, the Queen started the official opening ceremony of the Cutty Sark and then speeches by some people in suits and all I heard was “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, blah blah blah…Thank you.” After that, just as the Queen made her way to the entrace of the Cutty Sark, I had the opportunity to be an arm away from her and also to snap a photo of her. And that’s how I met your Queen. 

Edinburgh—The Magical Ancient City

It was the 2012 Easter break that I had the opportunity to visit Edinburgh, Scotland and escape from the hectic and monotonous London life.

After hopping on the East Coast train at the Kingcross Station on the 10^th April 2012 at 7:30 am and several failed attempts to catch some sleep during the 6 hours journey, I arrived in Edinburgh-the city which I fell in love with.

Warm sunshine and cool breeze greeted me as I slowly emerged from the underground train station and gradually overwhelmed by the beauty and charm of the magnificent ancient buildings, churches, monuments and parks. Without further ado, I rummaged my bag and took out my new companion—Nikon Coolpix—and snapped several photos away as I made my way to the Sakura House where I called ‘home’ whilst my stay in Edinburgh.

After checking-in into the hostel, I made my way to the Calton hill to snap many beautiful pictures of the whole of Edinburgh city. I then went to Scottish monument (the black pointy building in the attached photo) which is located along the Princes Street and coincidently I ran into a Scottish bagpiper whom I took a photo with (of course, it cost me a pound). To end my first day in Edinburgh, I went to conquer the Arthur’s Seat which is one of the highest hill in the city of Edinburgh and it is a tourist attraction as the peak of the hill will offer a glimpse of the city of Edinburgh. This one is much much much higher than that of the Calton hill. (I am actually glad I am still alive after that climb)

The next two days, I went to the Scottish National Portrait gallery, the St. Giles Cathedral, the Queen’s House, the Scottish Parliament, the Edinburgh Castle (of course), the Whisky experience and several Scottish restaurants.

Overall, it was a really fun and memorable experience, however, what made me love the city is the architecture and the delicate designs of the buildings, churches and monuments which the city has been successfully preserved. I felt like every brick of those buildings and roads beholds a story of the past. The city is also less hectic and the life seems much more peaceful and serene compared to London’s and time seems to pass by slowly. It is really difficult to express such feelings in words or maybe I am just really bad at explaining (that’s what I was told), therefore, the solution is to visit Edinburgh yourself which I highly recommended!

The End.

HYPER JAPAN 2012!

University life is sure hectic and crazy, but it is always worthwhile to smell the roses along the journey. About 3 weeks ago, I had decided ditched my university assignments and took a break by joining the annual celebration of Japanese Culture here is the UK—Hyper Japan 2012!

Since I was little, Japanese culture has played a great role in influencing my childhood mainly Japanese cartoons and animations like the classic Doreamon, Pokemon, Yu-Ki-Oh! And so on. Japanese games like the Sony Playstation and GameBoy were a must-have in my generations. (Thinking about it now, I am actually tempted to rummage my cupboards where my ‘precious treasures’ which were once locked away by my dearest mom since I left Thailand for my education).

Anyway, back to Hyper Japan 2012, it was held at Brompton Hall and it was where magic happens. Once upon my arrival, I was overwhelmed with the Japanese culture such as the aroma of the Tempura Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza with Shrimp tempura), the beauty of Kimono (Female Japanese traditional dress), and the soothing Japanese songs. There were also many cosplayers who dressed as Japanese cartoon characters at the event—I was really surprised and impressed to see them for the first time actually!

My day then continued with me eating all kinds of Japanese food and snacks available—Moji strawberry, sushi (of course), Japanese ice-cream (soooo Oishi [delicious]!) and Japense Chicken curry. After that, it was picture-time and shopping time!

Overall, the event was an awesome experience as I really enjoyed the Japanese culture and food and it was also a great excuse to stay away from work for one day :D

NEVER GIVE UP

(source: http://dribbble.com/shots/453088-Never-Give-Up-In-Progress)

March is an atrocious and horrifying month for many of the students where all the 9 deadlines of university assignments decide to congregate together and torture the innocent students’ life. I was one of the victims.

To paint you a picture of what I have to complete in this month:

1.       08^th March 2012 Business Ethics and Corporate Social responsibility (2000 words) 

2.       13^th March 2012 Professional Practice International Business and Economics Career Presentation

3.       21^st March 2012  Intermediate Economics for Business Technical report (2500 words)

4.       22^nd March 2012 Cross Cultural Management Case study analysis essay (2000 words)

5.       22^nd March 2012 International Trade and Market Debate

6.       29^th March 2012 International Trade and Market Thematic Diary Submission (3500 words)

7.       30^th March 2012 Professional Practice in International Business and Economics Dissertation proposal(1500 words)

8.       30^th March 2012 Multinational Business in Growth Economics Case study Presentation

9.       31^st March 2012 Business Plan competition’s business report submission (5000 words)

Yep, that’s what I have to go through. I remembered four days ago, I updated my Facebook status “On the verge of giving up for Economic Technical Report” after struggling to comprehend the concepts, data analysis and theories explained in the Economics Journals given by my lecturer. To exacerbate the situation, at that point, I only had 2 days to complete that task which was almost impossible for me as my experiences proved that I usually spent 2 weeks to write one economic paper as I am a perfectionist which sometimes is a disadvantage.

5 Minutes after updating my status and just as I was about to go to sleep at 1 am in the morning, many of my colleagues, friends and people I knew ages ago commented on my status saying that I should never ever give up as they said “Home (me)” they knew isn’t the kind of person that would give up easily. Additionally, on the next day, my economics lecturers also cheered me up and said that she was proud that I chose the hardest questions out of the 3 options to tackle and she has FAITH in me and she believes that I will be fine. After hearing all those comments and encouragement, I suddenly felt so loved and pumped up to fight till the very end.

Amazingly, I burnt the midnight oil, cracked my brain and finished the economic report in 2 nights with an overall of 3 hours of sleep in two days. However, I am so proud of it and the quality I had produced.

I apologize for this boring and moaning in this blog, however, my point that I want to mention is that if you are struggling to finish your coursework at this time or in the future, you will remember that you will be fine and people around you have faith in you that you can succeed and counter any problems you have in life just like me. Today, I had also watched an interview of a young entrepreneur on Youtube, this 25 years old entrepreneur inherited a 20 millions pound debt after his dad’s death from an unexpected illness, however, he slowly turned his dad’s business which was on the verge of going bust into a billion pound worth company in 3 years with his positive attitude and his belief on not giving up. Well, so to end, although my story is really insignificant compared to what this young entrepreneur has to face, but both imply that  giving up should not be an option for those who want to succeed.  

Pancake Day!

Pancake Day, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is the first day of Lent (the Christian observance of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday) and is widely observed in the English speaking countries, especially Ireland, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Canada. In most traditions, the day is known for eating pancake before the commencement of Lent. Pancake are eaten as they are made out of the main foods available, sugar, fat, flour and eggs, whose consumption was traditionally restricted during the ritual fasting associated with Lent.

This year, my housemates and I took the opportunity to celebrate the Pancake Day for the sake of celebration and an excuse for having pancakes rather than for any religious reasons.

Our pancake recipe comprises of:

1.       Pancake Mix

2.       3 eggs

3.       2 teaspoons of Vanilla essence

4.       Milk

5.       Banana

6.       Home-made Strawberry and berries jam

7.       Honey

8.       Condensed-milk

9.       Sugar

10.   Nutella chocolate

11.   Shaved dark chocolate

After an hour of standing patiently and flipping pancake carefully trying not mess it up, here are some photos of our creations J

Jokingly serious

Draped in a green Billabong-jacket, I sluggishly slouched on the desk with my fingers agilely scrolling up and down the Facebook page one ordinary chilly afternoon in the university’s library. Just as I was randomly reading comments and statuses written on the social network website, my eyes caught attention on one of the statuses on my wall. “Boost up your Student life and Join or Start the student societies and clubs today!” posted by the University of Greenwich’s official Facebook page.

Without much thought, I promptly twisted the computer screen and showed my colleague, Nils, the status. “Awesome!” was his reply with a sinister smile.

Nils then enthusiastically tried to convince me to start our own society—“The ambitious student society”. I burst out laughing when he confidently announced the name of our “future society”. Nils then went on explaining the minimum requirements for entering “the ambitious student society” were a minimum first for all the courses and all society members must be ambitious and nerdy. I was speechless for a few seconds before “LOL-ing” (laughing-out-loud) at his idea. Of course, we were just having a good time cracking jokes and we were not serious about setting up such a ridiculous society in the university. (I hope Nils is not)

The moral of the story is that I have a joker as a friend and University of Greenwich offers an opportunity to every student to participate and set up a society or club to celebrate the university's student life as long as it is not ridiculous.

(kasuchan.org/.../uploads/2008/03/nerd.png)

Life as a University of Greenwich’s student.

Life as a University of Greenwich student is a “Beautiful mess”.

Juggling coursework, exams, extra-curriculum activities, my part-time job and social life can be hectic, draining and challenging yet simultaneously interesting and rewarding experience or what I call “mess” for a young independent individual.

From my personal experience as a BA Hons International Business student, I initially found it difficult to juggle all my responsibilities while trying to maintain my grades and adjust to the British culture and environment. However, after much struggle and aid from my fellow classmates and tutors, I was able to handle the afore mentioned stresses and challenges.

University of Greenwich, from my perspective, is a great platform for both local and international individuals who aim to grow and develop into young, knowledgeable, promising and ambitious young adults. This is because the university offers both a perfect blend of theoretical and practical learning process and an international environment to mingle with students from all walks of life and from over the world! Frightening assignments, tests, presentations, group works and terrifying exams would also play a role in training students to acquire essential skills such as the decision making skills, creativity, communication skills and presentation skills.  Besides the dry and intellectual stuff the university has got to offer, the University of Greenwich also offers intriguing extra curriculum activities such as badminton club, basketball club, football club, drama, debating and economic societies, which open doors for students to develop and learn new talents and also to meet new people.

To sum up, although it can potentially present students with a reasonable number of responsibilities, however, I personally believe that the journey and life at the University of Greenwich could shape and mould each of its students into young, professional and promising adults by the end of their graduation. After all, life as a University of Greenwich’s student is a “Beautiful mess”.