A weekend with the cousin...

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
You've got a friend

- Carole King's "You've Got A Friend" -

It was a lovely weekend, dear cousin, even though the trip to Greenwich tak jadi :p hehehhe...

Paid off the second installation of my tuition fees on Friday morning (more like Friday afternoon!)..pheww....that's one load off my mind..and even that have to be done at the last minute, as it was the last day to pay the fees..hehehe..met Tom, from my Marketing Communications group..*sigh*..gimme a Chinese guy with an American/British accent anytime...plus a rugby player body! *swoon*...bumped into him twice lagi! ehhehe...pity he's finished with the course, don't think i'll be seeing him anytime soon.... :(

did a little bit of grocery after that...got some stuff for the guest we were gonna have, hehehe...that includes those yummylicious chocolate-covered Hob Nobs..yumms! after prayers, went off to Euston to pick Tina up...got home to Nasi Ayam prepared by Kak Iza and Ainor...ashamed to say this, but we polished off the WHOLE pot of rice! watched the vcd of Tina's sister's (Kak Bin) wedding, the usual combo of Friday night shows..and ended the night with an Indonesian vcd, Andai Ia Tahu...synopsis: A guy and a girl was trapped in an elevator for a few hours, and within that span of time, got to know each other, and felt a little bit of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai laa...unfortunately, the guy's engaged and the girl's off to another city..but somehow, as the girl said, it was "kismet"..and off they went, looking for each other, employing a modern-day bomoh along the way ..i'll leave it to you guys to see how it ends, but let me know if u want the ending, hehe :p..verdict: it was an ok movie (Karina, jangan marah!)..Marcel (from Shanty and Marcel fame, who btw, goes by his real name Marcellius) is rather a rigid actor, but VERRRYY good looking...the girl, Rachel Mariam, is this sprightly young thing with GORGEOUS curly hair whose personality shines throughout the movies, lending to the movie its sparkle...pity bout Marcel's wig tho'...the story is kinda sweet, altho'i'd much prefer it if they had more scenes between the lovers...

slept late...woke up late to a rainy day...so, the Greenwich plan was scrapped...lepak around, Tina cooked corned-beef nasi goreng..yums! i can go on without eating rice for a week, but put nasi goreng in my face, and i can finish 3 huge plates! no guesses as to where all the bulk came from huh? hehehe...and then Tina decided to get her younger sister, Nana, a Peter Pan outfit for a costume party..so, off we went, on the 38 to Oxford Street...arrgh! before that, when we wanted to get a bus pass for Tina, Miss Clumsy here a.k.a. Cik Dalie yang tak serik-serik lagi, altho' she's confined to a lifetime of knee braces and potential early athritis, had to put her foot into some unseen crack on the pavement, kinda freak-twisted her ankle, and ending in a grand finale of falling, one-kneed, into a puddle, with the hands up in the air..sungguh memalukan! so, i had a patch of muddy splodge on my right knee..wanted to go home to change but the bus arrived, so just jumped on it, muddy jeans all...decided, oh well, let's just sport the hippy/klutzoid/no cares attitude and attire for the day..what better place than Oxford Street, huh? ....checked out the Disney store for the suit..they even have a Captain Hook outfit with the ruffles down his front! soo cute! ..unfortunately, too expensive la pulak the Peter Pan costume, so decided not to buy it...walked in a few shops, where they got a few things...it was raining and the crowd was stifling...so, we went off to Bayswater to have lunch at his halal restaurant...i had the falafel in pita bread (first time makan falafel!), Ainor had this chicken and lamb kebab, while Tina had this soo sedap shish kofta...yum! this restaurant has a small floor space in its basment, so we've been praying there whenever we have a meal there...then went to Boots, where Ainor bought 2 lip gloss!! hehehe...she wanted to rush off home to catch CSI Miami, but Tina wanted to go see Mariam, her stewardess cousin, to get some stuff..so, Ainor went off home, while me and Tina went to catch a bus to Kensington High Street, where Mariam's staying...

met Mariam, lepaked for a while in her hotel room, ate belated raya cornflake cookies which was soo crucnchy, took a few pictures, then went home...it was really windy that night, and we had to wait for a while before the bus came..grr...so, decided to just hop on to one that was going to Piccadilly Circus and tukar bus there...got off at Piccadilly, then went to the fountain in front of Lillywhites and did a very touristy thing: took pictures..hehehe...was kinda shy at first, but after mem-belasah-ing, saw a few groups also taking photo...i so love the place, it's soo lively, with people walking around, street musicians/performers, long queues of people going into clubs and bars...took the 38 home..got home to eat more of the nasi goreng..hehehe...we planned to join the Aidil Adha prayers at Malaysian Hall the next morning at 9 a.m...so, tried to sleep early...

next morning, Kak Iza decided not to go..and after dressing up in less flashy baju kurungs (haha!) rushed to catch the bus...we got there rather early, so took a leisurely walk to Bryanston Square..the women's praying area was barely filled when we arrived, so we sat and listened to the takbir..rindula pulak, cuz for Raya Aidilfitri, we arrived late and missed the takbirs...waited till the whole place filled up..and while waiting, Ainor managed to make friends with a certain Kak Salina, who apparently, is looking for people to fill up a bus chartered by a group from the Malaysian High Commision, going to Stoke-on-Trent... hehe..so guess we're heading to this Saturday? good job Ainor! dapat jugak berjalan...earlier, thought of going to Manchester this weekend..but as Kak Iza wants to come along and drag her hubby as well, we decided to postpone it so we could plan the whole thin properly..a little while later, Athirah, arrived and sat behind us...so chatted for a while...then the prayers started...after the khutbah, took some pictures, took the nasi bungkus (hehe, nasi bungkus je for Raya Haji), went out, met Shima, who told us the new pengantin, Huda, couldn't make it...alaa, nak jumpe Puan Huda! eheheh...Shima asked if we wanted to watch Phantom of the Opera? Hello??!! Of course! so she promised to get in touch with us for the next theatre gang outing..hehehe....

walked all the way to Hyde Park to eat our nasi bungkus of nasi minyak and ayam masak merah...hmm, after all this while of planning to go to Hyde Park on a nice Sunday morning to listen to the speakers at Speaker's Corner, i managed to kinda do that on sunday...but from afar, we heard the guy launching on an all out bellow which had tinges of Christianity, so we decided not to risk it...Ainor brought along the skirt which she bought the day before to exchange it at H&M, but all the shops would only be open at 12 p.m.! we had about an hour an a half! so, went to the Ben & Jerry stall and had waffles and ice-cream...makan lagi!...pagi-pagi buta pulak tu! ehhehe...free advertisement lagi for B&J as we took hungry bites at the waffle and slurp the smackerdoodlicious choc fudge brownie ice-cream by the stall...more yums! so, hung round till 12...masuk Books Etc, where i amused myself with the books, and Ainor felt asleep at one of the couches..hehehe...exchanged her skirt, went into a few more shops..then went home on the 55...

we were beat, so after making plans to catch a movie later, both of them slept...i went online, even tho'i was soo sleepy, found Rey, Karina and Ainurul online and started chatting...harruummmppphh..tak tido jugak...by the time they got up, it was raining, and none of us had the mood to go out...so, we cooked some dinner, and had a feast of fried rice, fried chicken, smiley face potatoes, garlic and mushroom pizza, and lovely, lovely keropok ikan and udang...went to sleep early as Tina had to catch an early train the next morning, and i have already started my classes, but unfortunately, didn't know where the classes are located nor what time they start, so i had to go early to find out...went to school on the 253, which also took Tina to Euston....pheww...and that was my weekend with my dear cousin, Tina Yoohoo....it was a blast! had great conversations over matters that have been steaming in our minds, had loads of food, and generally, had a nice time with a member of the family :) come again aiight...you're very the welcome!

by the way, i have added the link to a most talented blogger...hope she doesn't mind... :) mind-blowing stuff, i tell you....plus, * i hope you're not going to kill me if i do this, but the Nonz did it first, so u can kill her off first..haha! sorry Nonz for the lack of loyalty :p * i've decided to add your link Miss A.N...hope you don't mind, but if you do, just say the word, and i'll take you off the list...but you're still on my favourite list laa...i can't get by without the *almost* daily dose of humour, sarcasm, down-to-earthness, and generally, ke-sangat-comel-an of you! hehehe..haa, don't blush now ;)

sorry for the long read folks...have a good day ahead now :)