Tenaga (Electric Company in Malaysia) has taken us by surprise again. I think surprise is an opposing term. Shock is the right term I guess. So yes, Tenaga shocked us again with RM1,000+ electric bill.

What happens is, when we get our bill month by month, it doesn't really reflect on the right amount of usage. They usually base it on the previous month's bill. So even if we use more electricity, if they haven't checked our meter, and if they haven't calculate the right amount, we get the same bill. And so what happens is that we use more electricity when we have guests, and we can only get the right bill 3-5 months later.

It happened twice already. One time it happened when we were still in our previous house, and it happened again last month. We don't really know the exact amount of electricity we use per month because our Tenaga guys just assume our usage.

So yes, we're a bit tight for this month for paying up the miscalculated bill for the previous months. That also doesn't include our electrical supplies cost. I can just imagine how it would be like if that happens all the time.

I just hope that next time, we would know our true electric consumption and if the bill is lesser, we can set aside the extra amount for the next time's Tenaga surprise.

When I knew there was a possibility of me going with the hubs on his trip to London-Colombia, I decided not to shop for clothes unless and until I got my UK Visa. We started with the UK Visa application preparation after our trip in Brunei, 2 weeks before our flight schedule. Of course, I already had my air tickets for the whole trip then. I knew it's gonna be autumn in London and same weather in Colombia and I didn't have proper gears for this kind of weather/climate. But I waited until I got my visa. Funny thing was, my first UK Visa application was rejected because I didn't have the original invitation from the conference organizers in Colombia. So we had to email them and ask them to send us. They sent the original documents straight away but I only got it the next week, on Wednesday. Take note that our flight schedule was already the next week after I got the original invitation, on Monday. Usually, the VFS Agency would notify that application is processed two days after we submitted the documents. But Friday came and I still didn't hear from the agency. I was planning to shop for clothes on that Saturday. But like I said, I didn't hear any thing from them. So on Sunday, we decided to just borrow from my sister-in-law (who has lived in New Zealand) before something to wear in autumn. Of course, since they're borrowed, I wasn't properly coordinated.

I only got my UK visa at 11:00 in the morning on Monday and our flight was at 3:00 pm. I was dazed. Good thing was, I already packed my clothes along with hubs'.

On the first day, I didn't feel quite cold. So I wore this and got away with it.

But it got colder so I had to wear something more. I felt very awkward wearing this: (scarf off color with my sports shoes)

But in London, nobody really cared. So I also got away with it.

But when we were walking about at Notting Hill street, I saw a few retro shops. We went inside... and was thrilled because all those second hand items were authentic and not very expensive. I didn't see Dansko shoes but I saw a lot of boots. I tried on different ones and I finally got a pair my size, the color of which matched my bag, authentic leather, and my kind of style, at 10 GBP. That was like... wow! I could buy something like that with the same amount in Malaysia, but it would be only for a fashion pair of boots... and not authentic which cannot guarantee a long life.

And of course, I love going to Marks and Spencer's. I saw a matching cashmiri scarf that matched with my boots and my hand bag so I bought one. And this was my put-together autumn outfit: taran!

Note: coat was borrowed.

Another note (to self): must polish my boots. :D

I know. I'm still dazed. Amazed. Blown Away. LOL. But I finally got my good night's sleep last night. Yesterday afternoon, when my body clock said it's time for bed, I refused to take a nap. I was groggy the whole afternoon. But I tried staying up. We had an early dinner and had fishball soup and eggplant grilled and then fried with egg. Since the daddy had a speaking engagement last night, we didn't wait up for him. At 8 pm, i was already in deep sleep while the kids were still playing and waiting for daddy to come home. I think I woke up a little when he came home... but that's all about it. I woke up at 5:00 in the morning! Really thank God I finally got my whole night's sleep. You know when you don't have enough sleep it can get your skin dry and aged. Having enough sleep means no need to use wrinkle cream early on.

I hope tonight will be the same. It's really good to be back to my normal routine. And of course, it's great to be with my darlings again. Did I say that already?

It has been more than a week since we came back from our London-Bogota trip and yet I am still feeling the jet lag. Kuala Lumpur and London time difference is not much. There's an 8-hour difference. Kuala Lumpur and Bogota has 15 hour difference also. But we flew back from London so I've been considering the 8 hour lag. My friend who is currently based in London said it usually takes her a week to get over the time zone difference. And mine is already a few days after a week.

Last night, I went to bed early... probably at 9 pm. Then I woke up. I thought it was already 4 am. I came downstairs and saw the kitchen clock. It's only 1 am! And I was like totally awake and feeling the freshness of the new morning. LOL.

Anyways, I have read some tips on how to deal with jet lag... and actually doing some... to no avail. I'm probably just different. Also, my husband is still jet lagged. He wasn't like this when he came back from the US last time. I think it only took him a few days to recover.

Yesterday, one of our friends who went to Bogota called my hubby. He came back home earlier than us and told us he just got over the lag. So we're thinking... it's probably the Bogota time zone we're adjusting with and not the London's.

Anyways, maybe I try to go back to bed and force myself to sleep... or follow the tips like drink warm milk, watch something on one of those LCD tvs, maybe read a magazine... or maybe stay online. LOL. Possibilities are endless. But the point is... how do I go back to sleep? That's a real challenge.

There are a few airports in London. Depending on which airlines or countries you fly, they have an airport specifically assigned for you to go. When we flew to London from Kuala Lumpur, we took Air Asia airline, so we landed at Stansted Airport. When we flew from London to Bogota, Colombia, we took Air France so we flew from Heathrow Airport. Heathrow is obviously better than Stansted.

We went to Air France office when we reached the terminal to confirm our flight. The rest of the night, we were at the airport lounge.There were only chairs and no tables nor ping pong tables. So we had to sit/lie on the chair all through the night. And then there was 1 GBP per hour fee for internet usage. So I only used an hour of internet, just nice to check if I had some writing assignments waiting for me.

Covent Garden in London is famous for its shops, street performers, bars, restaurants, theatres and the Royal Opera House. Covent Garden is an Italian-style piazza packed with restaurants, bars and fashionable boutiques. Surrounded by Theatreland, in the heart of London's West End, the area is recognised as the capital's premier entertainment and leisure destination.

We went to Covent Garden twice. The first time was just to check it out because our Frenchie friends we met at the hostel were talking so much about it. We went there in the evening. Most of the shops were closed. On the second time we went there, we made sure we went earlier, only to find out the shops close earlier on weekends. LOL. But there are a ling of pubs and restaurants in Covent Garden. There are a lot of stores and boutiques selling signature products. They might even have some weight loss products but because most of the shops were closed, we didn't find any.

When you talk about fashion and entertainment in London, Covent Garden is the place to go.

One of the trivia I have learned from our tour guide... he was probably picking up on us... was from this picture. If you've noticed, there's a nose stuck in the post. Heresays says that it's Napoleon's nose. LOL. I have to look into the internet about it. It might be true, it might be a joke. But he told us it was a nose.

There are a lot more photos I took from our visit in London. Most of my photos are old buildings made of bricks. There were buildings that has walls made of glass tiles. But I took more photos of the old buildings.

I think my body clock is still adjusting to the new time zone. Yes, I sleep at night... but I can only sleep for 6 hours. I wake up in the morning at around 4am and I couldn't get back to sleep. When we were in London, I couldn't sleep much. We were sharing a room with others and some would come in the room late at night and in the morning. I was always half asleep half awake when we were there. I think the first thing that I need to do when I go back to Malaysia is to get an eye cream. I don't feel sleepy at daytime though. Not really sure. Maybe I have insomnia? I hope not.