Hello Followers of the J82Productions Blog! 

I am a new contributor on Jeffrey's blog and I have never blogged publicly before so any feedback and comments are welcome! In my posts will be a bit about my life in London, travels and food. If there is anything you would like to see or know about please feel free to let me know.

The Who

A born and bred Singaporean girl who moved to London exactly 51 weeks ago. I work as a Business Analyst in an Insurance company and have worked 7 years with my current company. An opportunity came up to move here a bit more than a year ago and am Thankful to have been the one to be given the chance to experience life here.

Whilst I count myself to be relatively well-travelled for my age (the travel bug clearly bit my Uni harder than the other Unis), there was one regret that I left Uni with. Half (or so) of my Uni mates have gone on at least one-semester foreign exchanges before, most ended up in Europe; and of course with it, lots of travels. I'm glad facebook wasn't common then, if not I might have ended up with a psychological problem. And by graduation, I felt like I was one of the rare breeds who haven't been to Europe before. I wasn't sore, but just a tinge of regret...

The Why

I've heard it many times before I hit this stage: people my age or slightly older than me grumbling about feeling lost, bored, frustrated, etc with life. I used to not know what they were talking about until I reached there myself. 

I think it might have been quarter/mid life crisis.

Lots of people have come to tell me how brave I am but I'm not as courageous as how these people perceive. I'd probably have NOT done it if I've never been to London, if I wasn't familiar with the local culture, if I couldn't speak the local language (so that means no other European country because you will be hampered - but that's another story for another day). I've been in this British company for 6 years, been to London 3 times over 3 years and spending a grand total of 2 months. So I think I have a pretty decent knowledge compared to the average tourist, so I'd like to believe I have a rough idea of what I was getting myself into...

And the weather - apparently a few people died of heatstroke when the temperatures hit 30 Deg C in summer. (Sorry, not funny but as a Singaporean where we'd be really Thankful if DAY temps ARE 30 Deg C, I just can't help wondering what these people did to end up that way).

The What
Over the past year, I felt like experiences of a lifetime have been crammed into one year and I don't even know where to begin. Moving homes twice, fixing an Ikea sofa from scratch (I'm very proud of this - how many girls you know built a freaking sofa by themselves?), cooking more in one month here than I have ever cooked in the first 20+ years of my life, changed about a dozen bulbs at home, watching more than a few live football games, learnt snowboarding, travelled lots, getting my bag stolen in Brussels (which had my most importantly worldly possessions plus passport - another story for another day), and then pickpocketed in Paris (and you would think I would be more careful after the Brussels incident, right?), and the list goes on...

I've had to look through at my pictures from the past year to remind me, I can't even remember everything! I hope its not because aging.

The How

I wouldn't have been able to do this without the support of friends and family - both here and in Singapore.

For friends in Singapore, I admit to have the FOMO-syndrome (Fear of Missing Out). But thanks to facebook these days and Whatsapp, we can still indulge of some of their idiosyncrasies even if you are not physically there. It is also a good time for you to filter your friends though - those who make en effort to see you when you are back, and those who don't seem to bother much. (Although I might have gone home a bit too often compared to others who're this far away....). So Thanks to all of you who remembered me and shown me love everytime!

On friends in London, I am glad to have met so many amazing people, you are indeed what I came here for. I wouldn't know what would happen to me otherwise.

I once hosted a dinner for 5 of us including me (yes, I can hardly cook and I hosted a dinner - that must be some kind of achievement in itself) and all 5 of us were of different nationalities - Singaporean, Malaysian, Hongkie, Japanese and Chinese - I am still very amazed by it till this day.

The When

Travels so far in the past 12 months include Brussels, Val Thorens (France), Oslo, Edinburgh, Manchester, Munich, Nuremburg, Paris.

Upcoming trips to Mallorca, Rome and Moscow.

Past locations include Barcelona, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Maastricht, Antwerp, Ghent, Cologne, and a few small towns within a 2 hour radius from London.

Lest you think we are living up the good life here and travelling, the truth is that: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TRAVEL TO EVERYWHERE DESPITE BEING STATIONED HERE because of 1) Money and 2) Time. The same problem that bugs us no matter where we go!

Ok that's it for now, sorry for the boring (no picture) rant that went on for too long, I promise the next one will be more interesting with photos!

Peko