Shout Out To My Ex

Dear exs, dear you. 

Don’t worry.

I don’t love you anymore.

Cos, i mean, c’mon…

that would be creepy.

but

I still remember the feeling of youth

and how easily i fell for each of you.

Now that I’m older,

just thinking about it makes me…ugh.

Dear boys, dear you.

I fell for you, the boy in a band,

the boy with the guitar and bass.

The boy in the football club,

the boys who never got to 3rd base.

Dear exes, dear you.

You’ve ruined song lyrics and movies,

certain places and diary entries.

We were both there, made some memories.

Even though you were my past, 

you’ve contaminate my history.

Dear boys, dear you.

My optimistic young love was based on 

fantasies and fiction.

However,

Young girls like me forgot about reality 

and all its disheartening contradictions. 

A mirage of Jesse McCartneys in the distance,

but up close, 

you were far from my romantic expectations.

Under optimistic young loves persistence,

I took what I could get and morphed it into existence. 

You said ’I love you’, 

it wasn’t real, 

you hadn’t a clue.

Then

I said it back,

I guess I lied too.

Dear exes, dear you.

You broke my heart,

I might have broken yours a little bit too.

But who were we kidding?

In reality,

our hearts never even cracked,

let alone split in two.

Ah… youth.

Dear boys, dear you,

I met you at school,

I met you through a friend.

I met you online,

Oh the days of MSN.

A few of you I still cherish 

Valuable lessons, here and there

The others I learnt nothing

Yet in a way they made me who i am.

Dear exes, dear you

We’ve lost touch,

that’s just the way things go.

Some of you are even fathers now.

Which, lets be honest,

makes me feel quite old.

16 seems so far away

but I swear to god, 

wasn’t it just yesterday?

Dear boys, dear you.

I really thought you were cute.

I’m sorry I made you believe,

I was worth the pursuit. 

See, there was always something in me

that never felt quite right

18 years it took me

to correct that oversight.

In the most simplest terms, 

that I can convey 

I just didn’t or ever could like boys

in that way.

So to end this,

Dear exes, dear you.

An insignificant spec in your memory,

I may be.

I’d just like to take this chance to say

thank you,

Sincerely me.

🎞

英國趣事 / uk stories - 002

You know,

sometimes

I wish I were a Sim.

So I could choose to have the 

'ambitious' trait.

Then I wouldn't be so

god damn lazy.

.

.

.

趣事; tsui si

英國趣事 / uk 'tsui si' / uk stories

I'd like to start a series of blogs about the fun and interesting stories

that have or may happen during my time here in the, 

soon not to be, 

United Kingdom.

🇬🇧
*
「 The Theif 」

This 'tsui si' happened about 5 months ago.
Yes,
well done Asha for being so goddamn late again.


Location:
Rosa's
Carnaby Street, London

I was with Caro and Katherine.
Chilling and having overpriced,
non-authentic Thai food.

#shade

We were in the indoor area,
safe from shoppers, their noisy chatter
and their nosey looks at our plates.

So we were chatting away.

okay,
fine.
Maybe not chatting.
Probably poking at our phones.
Too comfortable in each others company.

Aren't we all?

So at one particular moment,
we all happened to look outside the window.
Observing the other humans having lunch.

And
there were these 2 girls,
most likely tourists,
sitting right by
the short restaurant barriers.

Those barriers that help keep a 'distance'...
more like,
'encourage' some distance
between patrons and passerby's.

Practically useless barriers.

And at that very moment -
an asshole on a bike sped past.
In one swift movement
snatched up one of their purses.

Everyone witnessed this tragedy take place
in slow motion.

A millisecond after it happened,
some stood up and gasped.
Unsure of whether to help the poor girl,
to reassure the poor girl
or
to pretend nothing happened/mind their own business
and carry on with their meals.

Others, like us, stared at each other.
Feeling just as useless as those barriers.

I suspect before coming to London town,
she clearly misinterpreted London
as the safest, friendliest city on the planet.

She doesn't anymore.

This event, however,
strengthened my own personal argument
on Hong Kong being the best home city ever.

Back to the story,
Before another millisecond went by,
a man in the crowd sprinted towards the thief.
He didn't come with her,
didn't know her.
He just reacted.
He helped her.

Let me first help you all paint a picture -

Luck be a crowd.

Carnaby Street,
in summer.
Tourists everywhere.
This asshole/thief,
was on a bike.

Somehow,
this criminal mastermind thought
he could quickly manoeuvre through a dense crowd.

.

.

.

Needless to say,

he didn't get too far.

And the nameless hero who went after him,

got the lady's purse back.

As all my UK stories,

I learned something from this.

1. Never leave your personal belongings out in public

2. London is crawling with pickpockets

3. London is filled with civilian heroes

4. Rosa's thai food is overpriced

-
And that was that.

job interview

The first Monday of July 2016

was an exciting day.

Finally, 

after a month since landing in London Town - 

I had my first job interview. 

Now if you’re thinking - 

“Wow asha, 

you’re such a slacker. lazy much? 

just this one interview in the whole of 30 days? 

shame Asha, 

shame.’

Ahem,

I will have you know that

 I have sent out more than 20+ job applications, 

customised/personalised cover letters 

to companies I had no interest in applying to. 

But hey, 

girl’s gotta pay rent.

😅

I have also received many rejection e’mails, 

I would more than love to forget about.

Ugh...

Reminding me, 

I’m not qualified, 

I lack experience,

not thoroughly educated enough. 

Thanks.

Yet on the first Monday of July 2016, 

I finally got my first ever job interview. 

I’ve done embarrassing castings, 

I’ve been to teaching position job interviews, 

all in hong kong, 

all non-terrifying. 

But 

 this time

.

.
.

This time

it was London.

This was a studio assistant job position. 

This was 'gwai lo' territory.

I don’t know if any of you watched my ‘leave your comfort zone’ video… 

actually I’m not sure if I mentioned this.. 

I think I did… 

well I think those who went to the meet n greet back in HK know this. 

That

I wanted to get an assistant job in London. 

I wanted one SO BAD.

It was like… a dream job. 

To me. 

Crazy,
I know.

Makes no sense.

No logical,
rational,
sane
24 year old
would voluntarily WANT to be an assistant.

Maybe I've watched 'The Devil Wears Prada'

too many times.

Too many.

I just always thought I'd make a pretty good assistant.

Especially if it was in an industry I was 

hopefully familiar with.

I didn't put much thought into it before heading out the house.

Studio life, 

subtle fashion, 

clean should do.

Right?

Simple.

No skirt, 

heavy makeup,

heels.

Nothing fancy.

Just my kind of thing.

Black sweatshirt, 

black jeans, 

Vans.

♥

Out the door. 

Flatmate gives me a quick look

and says

'That's what you're wearing?

To an interview?'

I start doubting my fashion choice.

She had a point. 

It was an interview.

But then, 

it was a pretty cool studio.

But..

it was an interview.

Fuck.

I went for it.

This wasn't Hong Kong.

This wasn't an 'office' job.

This wasn't corporate.

Flatmate couldn't be right.

Bless her.

So I left the house.

And

I got the job.

-

[A]

英國趣事 / uk tsui si - 001

hello all,
i am back.
👋🏼

趣事; tsui si

英國趣事 / uk 'tsui si' / uk stories

I'd like to start a series of blogs about the fun and interesting stories

that have or may happen during my time here in the, 

soon not to be, 

United Kingdom.

🇬🇧
*

「 The Refreshment Incident 」

So my first 'tsui si'
was on the day all our crap from HK had arrived.

It took about 2-3 months via sea freight,

in total 50 boxes including small dining table, chairs etc.

The team at Baggagexs (not sponsored, duh) was absolutely great. 

If anyone needs to relocate, I fully recommend them.

Anyway, 

back to my tsui si - 

Doorbell rang, 

cp went and gathered the cats into a room for safekeeping,

and I went to open the door. 

Two middle aged gwai lo's 

(Canto slang for westerners) 

were patiently waiting.

They cautiously went up and down the stairs with our boxes,

until our what used to be empty living room, 

was filled up from floor to ceiling

with boxes.

I then realised that I was a terrible host.

I had completely forgotten to offer any form of refreshments.

I am actually an introvert,

and avoid human contact if at all possible. 

If not, 

my acting skills are quite up to par 

when needed to come across as a

seemingly functioning adult.

So I did what my HK cultural upbringing would usual do -

I offered them

water.

💧

'Would you guys like a glass of water?'

I offer.

The bigger guy looks at me as if I had said something

rude 

(?)

He could tell by my bright eyed, deer in headlights gaze 

that I had no idea.

He then so replied:

'A cup of tea would be nice.'

 ☕️

The culture shock finally hit after just 2 weeks in London.

Tea.

Of course tea!

Rookie mistake. 

I was in England afterall. 

Tea is always to be expected.

So it finally occurred to me 

that I may have actually insulted him

by offering him my common tap water.

Well now I know.

So we put the kettle on, prepared the mugs, 

and asked if they wanted milk and sugar in their teas.

Wouldn't want to make another rookie mistake

by smugly assuming how much milk and sugar they used

...

I believe we've all learned a valuable lesson here today.

Remember darlings, 

tea.

Always tea.

-

And that was that.

'sup?

i'm thinking that my blog updates are the only thing i have failed on my vision board....

i really should reflect on this....

anyway... i will be vlogging this moment in a second but just so I WRITE SOMETHING ON HERE, you, whoever is reading this, will know first hand that i am flying to the Philippines to surprise my parents later this morning!! (it is currently 1:11am... i need to be on a bus at 5am....hmmm) I don't think any sleep will be done on my part as I haven't even packed.

So yeah, I will be vlogging my entire week with them :) Hopefully my cousin remembers to pick me up. I really don't feel like being stranded at a Philippine airport.

please see attached picture of moi as my gratitude that you have read my blog. mind you, it's a really oldish picture. I mean old, I mean the time I was in Singapore for Netflix Asia end of March, so relatively out of date. But it has been seen no where else, so ta da - a secondhand-mermaid selfie exclusive!

you're welcome.

ok, now i need to pack.

JAL = love

This blog post entry is 4 months late,

but you know me,

better late than never.

So the 4-months-ago-Asha wanted to write a blog

about this holy airline :

*que heavenly music*

Now why this airline impacted me so that I HAD to review it?

It's because never have I ever flew economy

and felt like I was given a 4-5 star service.

The whole experience was just exceptional,

it was so blatantly obvious that the Japanese have got it right

and all the other airlines with their economy seating are rip offs.

This flight took place when we were flying from NYC to Japan

for our 4hr layover then Japan to HKG.

Apparently,

JAL and AA are sister airlines so to be completely honest

I wasn't expecting much.

Before I continue,

let me state that I am in no way sponsored or paid by JAL

to kiss their ass.

I am doing this completely out of the sheer love I have of them

after that one experience.

let the rain of compliments begin:

let me first start off with the cutest inflight entertainment and such.

do you see the 'inflight exercises' option?!

DO YOU?!

How cute is that?!?!?!

What airline provides that?

What airline, what country, what culture even cares about that?!

America?

Hong Kong?

China?

England?

Thailand?

Philippines?

No.

JAPAN.

THATS WHO.

Ugh,

Already so impressed with the attentiveness on screen.

And when you press the button to call for assistance,

cabin crew practically fly to you with a smile on their faces.

Their service is just so on point.

How can one airline be so perfect?!

😩Let's move on,

first thing you notice is the goddamn LEG ROOM!

JUST LOOK AT IT!

I'm 5'8 (173cm) and my dad is 6'1 (185cm)

needless to say this was our most comfortable economy 8-9hr flight ever.

here are my legs stretching forward,

look how my knees are so far away from the seat in front of me!!

these picture are to demonstrate how wide I can spread em.

there is just so much spaceeeee.

(even 4 months late and I am still amazed)

this picture is self-explanatory.
will you just look at that legroom!?!?!?!?!

we got offered green tea which was my first time drinking green tea mid air.

usually I ask for apple juice or coke but not for this flight.

hell no.

it was green tea after take off, during lunch and dinner and right before we landed.

green tea, green tea, green mother flipping tea.

YES JAPAN. YES.

girlfriend thought I was too overjoyed and was embarrassed to sit next to me.

BUT GREEN TEA AND GREAT AIRLINE THOUGH!!!

Moving on...

So you know how during dinner on airplanes,

they roll the trolley by and mumble what's on the menu 

and you just reply with whatever has the meat you prefer,

hoping for the best that you don't regret it

then covet your neighbours inflight meal choice instead.

Everyone take note,

Here is how JAL does it.

THEY PRESENT YOU WITH A MENU WITH PICTURES.

SO YOU KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE GETTING.

No surprises!!

Therefore, you can make a calm and informed decision.

If this hasn't won you over by now,

I feel sorry for you.

You heartless human being.

This is what I got and it was glory with a cup of miso soup on the side.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Mum and dad even got a small bottle of wine EACH.
😚 cuttteeeeeee 😚

bringing it back slightly,

when we were flying from HK to America 

my dad complained about the plastic cutlery that was provided during meals.

He said he lacked class and he felt like a child or convict,

so those flights did not get the Cuthbert stamp of approval.

Me?
I honestly didn't think much of it.

Cutlery was cutlery to me until JAL came into my life
and showed me how
you can eat like a respectable and civilized being in economy class.

METAL!

BEAUTIFUL METAL!

It actually came as quite a shock.

I had been so accustomed to plastic everything that

holding cutlery with some weight to it seemed unnatural.

But by god was it impressive.
JAL trusts you, JAL believes in you.
They know you won't go knifing the person next to you.
They want you to eat like an adult and they let you.
😚😚😚😚😚😚The next unbelievable thing that I had yet experience

until JAL came into my life.
This unbelievable thing
was that the aircraft had no window shade.
NO.
WINDOW.
SHADE.

As I was not sitting by the window
I was confused at first at this sight:

until this happened:

There were adjustable buttons so that you could control
the colour of the shade/filter and minimise sun light!
This made so much sense!!!!!!!!!
You've paid to be in the air,
so why need window shades??!

you can see the different shades in the last picture -

it was bright af outside but you could dim your window completely

and still see outside without the blinding glare of the sun!!!

It was just such a nice touch so that

you wouldn't feel trapped in a confined space.

utterly brilliant.

to the toilet!

The JAL toilet was the most spacious economy toilet

i've ever pooped in.

All set with your typical, run of the mill Japanese auto-toilet.

I use it every time.

How can you not?

So yeah that's pretty much it for this blog.

I can't wait for my next JAL long haul flight.

I love you JAL,

I really do.

x

[A]