I love colours.

Most recent duty-free purchase

Ankkuri Shoulder Bag from Finnish design company Marimekko

If you're wondering how on earth I can still be shopping - or indeed, travelling - at a time like this, I have a couple of words for you: welcome to the joy that is my job.

I'm happy that I was able to help a colleague during a very trying and difficult time for him, but... who's going to help me out?

I am exhausted... and not at all prepared.

I really do not want to have to go through this ever again.

I think I'm ready for the CFA exam now in the "Fuck it, I don't give a damn" any more kind of way.

That's probably not good.

The thing is - I'm in the middle of making my notes now, and while it's taking me far far longer than I took last year (I spent the whole of the weekend doing Book 3 and I am still not done, although admittedly, I am a lot less focussed than I used to be) - I kind of feel as if I understand everything in the most superficial way and that everyone else is freaking out and they have had far more time than I've had, so, if I were to infer from all of this, it's this one inalienable fact: I'm screwed.

And yes, to put things into perspective, the worst that can happen is that I fail this paper, and I can always retake it next year. Still, after everything, after struggling to balance work and studying for so long, after sacrificing the last few weekends and almost going crazy because I don't have that many friends here (something which doesn't make it easier to study, but does exacerbate my frustration at being a little cooped up and lonely), I really want those f***ing initials, and I want them this year.

Proof that the CFA examination is good for the global economy: I have bid on a number of eBay items sold both in the UK and the US (even though auctions for the latter tend to end at unreasonably late hours but at least it gives me a good incentive to continue staying up late to study). Today, I was outbid on a Mondrian-inspired dress which fills me with regret even though my kiam siap-ness (attributable to my eminently sensible Chinese heritage) means that I usually don't overbid on items I'm not entirely sure will fit with my general wardrobe.

I'm tempted to list the designers who have been occupying my mind recently, but until I get my hands on those dresses, I'd much rather not, in case I inadvertently create further competition for myself! But darn those HMRC folks for imposing customs and duties taxes for anything worth over £18. Because once the customs and duties are imposed, the Post Office will impose a further handling charge (usually around £20 or higher) and that can more than double the cost of anything you purchase from overseas. I'm kind of tempted to ask some friends in the US or Singapore if they'd be willing for me to have stuff shipped to them and I'll pick it up next time when I'm in their neck of the woods, but I feel quite embarrassed to impose on them like that. I can't do that to my folks as we're right in the midst of moving.

Sigh. Little Miss Random Shopaholic is getting quite antsy as a number of things she dearly wishes to purchase have popped up on eBay in the US right as of yesterday and this morning.

P.S. Doesn't the Mondrian dress by YSL (created in 1965) look amazing? Instant love! Diane von Furstenberg may be one of my favourite designers, but her recent Mondrian-inspired dress, lovely as it is, doesn't come anywhere close! I just love how bright the original is.

It certainly has been an interesting week. The day after Man Utd's Double win, which of course left me in a sheer state of ecstasy, I got into work in the afternoon, having been out of the office on work in the morning, blissfully unaware that a number of my colleagues had been made redundant.

My entire team was safe, as it turned out, and good thing too, because quite a few of us, like myself, had been in and out of the office last week, and, hence, probably wouldn't have found out till after the late May bank holiday if that hadn't been the case.

Unfortunately, something else far worse hit my team, and I will now have to cover for a colleague and am scheduled to take a two-day business trip next week.

It's been a little crazy. I feel bad for getting this opportunity, even while telling one of my junior colleagues that they shouldn't feel guilty for being safe, because, quite honestly, this is probably just one of several rounds to come. At the same time, I'm a little freaked, because as the exam date nears, every little thing just makes me more and more twitchy.

And I do feel bad for wanting to step up and help out as much as I can while, at the same time, recognising that I really do need the time out to be as prepared as I possibly can be for the exam.

It reminds me of when I was working in Singapore last year and I expressed my worry that the team wouldn't be able to cope with the increased workload after I left for London, and my regional head told me that it's the team's problem, not mine, and that I shouldn't jeopardise my chances in London by asking for a delayed transfer date just to help out my soon-to-be-old team.

I recognise that I can't control everything, and that I can't do everything either, but still, I feel bad.

And, yes, I recognise that there are other things - far, far worse things - that have occurred and continue to occur out there, and that, in the grand scheme of things, my own worries are insignificant. Still, I do have the right to want to do all I can on the matters which I can actually affect, yes?

"Don't wonder why people go crazy. Wonder why they don't. In the face of all we can lose in a day, in an instant, wonder what the hell it is that makes us hold it all together."
- Episode 4.15 Crazytown, Grey's Anatomy

It's been a heck of a day today. I don't want to blog about it right now, but those of you who I've spoken to know why I'm so shaken. It's the peril of working where I work, I'll accept that, but, still, it's always unexpected when it's the first time.

It may not be that important in the grand scheme of things, but right now, the narrow escape is all I can think about.

Glory, Glory, Man United! Champions of Europe!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

I was so excited this morning, I could hardly work. And it was obvious which team I was supporting from what I was wearing. And by the time the match came around, I was just buzzing.

Two great teams, both with brilliant strikers and fantastic keepers... the most one could ask for was for both teams to give it their all, not to mention playing fairly. And for the most part, they did, though Drogba - in slapping Vidic in front of the referee - really evoked memories of Zidane's headbutt of Materazzi during the France vs. Italy World Cup Final in 2006, when Italy - also my team - went on to win on penalties.

Of course, I was biting my nails throughout the match. I was so upset when Ronaldo's - of all people - penalty was saved, and screaming my lungs out when Terry missed, and then Anelka's was saved by Van der Sar.

After that, my friend commented that he'd never seen me so happy. And to top things off, I was shaking really hard. And while I probably would have cried if we had lost, the converse didn't hold true. I did feel a little bad for the grown men crying around me though... but obviously not bad enough to keep from cheering and screaming in sheer ecstasy.

For today, all else was inconsequential

And after the Double, I feel re-energised. Bring on the CFA! The Treble beckons! RRRRARRRR!

When coffee no longer works, a combination of exercise and Airwaves will do the job.

But make sure you get the Menthol and Eucalyptus flavour, otherwise it won't work. It's like wasabi, but mintier.

Bon Iver and Iron and Wine last night were a much-needed break from the horrible work week I had. It was nice and exciting in a "now that's why I moved to London" kind of sense, but coming at the time that it did (and it's still ongoing for the next few weeks) didn't do much for my already-low CFA confidence levels.

In short, I think I really am dooooooooooooooooooooomed this time around.

Still, the concert last night - after spending twice the hours a typical French worker would in an office (or as a French colleague said, "you really think French work as long as 35 hours? You are joking, no?") - was a welcome respite.

A review of the concert will be posted later (if at all) but after soaking in all the wonderful acoustic folk rock goodness (Sam Beam has a really good singing voice), I simply had to hear the song which first introduced me to him - Such Great Heights, which featured on the soundtrack of Garden State.

His take on The Postal Service's track is incredibly different. He stripped out all of the electronic accompaniments to the tune and rendered it into a spare, bare-bones, slow tune of tender yearning and muted joy. And although I heard the original first, my preference tended to be for Iron and Wine's cover because it is a beautifully simple and simply beautiful tune.

And as I haven't listened to The Postal Service's original (available for download from the band's site) for some time, I put that on too.

To my astonishment, I found tears in my eyes, just listening to it.

Some people have criticised it for seeming too upbeat - it's faster, and there're definitely more beeps and bloops because of the synths - but to me, it was perfect.

Moreover, it brought back memories of T., who introduced the tune to me, dancing to it at Poptart.

They weren't tears of yearning or even tears of regret. They were, quite simply, tears of happiness, from listening to such an incredibly joyous tune, and having equally happy memories associated with it. I don't quite know how to explain it, but it just made me feel really lucky and blessed.

Moments like these really do help relieve the other times when I feel as if, to paraphrase Simon and Garfunkel, I'm the only living girl in London.

So far this week, I have spent 47 hours in the office. It's not something to be proud of, admittedly, though the project I am working on is far more interesting, if rather stressful given the short turnaround, than studying for the CFA.

Still, having had around 12 hours of sleep over the last three nights, and being absolutely exhausted and knowing that the effects of such incredible sleep deprivation (compounded by many years of similar incidents) are increasingly reflected in the quality of my work, with my making silly (to me) mistakes on a weekly basis.

Some folks think I am being too hard on myself. I only know that in today's current environments, if I'm not as good as I'm reputed to be, having come with arguably an enhanced reputation from Asia, then who knows what will happen? I don't exactly work in an industry which promises job security and while I'm not unduly worried, I am, nevertheless, still a little fearful of what may happen.

Or perhaps I'm just overly emotional because I'm too tired to rein in all my worries and insecurities.

But who can afford sleep when there's a big exam just a few weeks away?

Started off the day with my very own homemade Bircher muesli.

It's not as good as the one I buy from Eat on occasion but it's probably a lot cheaper in the long run than having to pay £1.85 per bowl.

Note: Three teaspoons make a tablespoon and 16 tablespoons make one cup.

Bircher Muesli
Serves 2

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup natural yoghurt
pinch of cinnamon
1 apple (preferably Granny Smith)
1 tablespoon crushed almonds
1 tablespoon dried cranberries
1 banana
1 handful blueberries

1) Mix rolled oats, juice, cranberries and cinnamon together in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.
2) In the morning, grate the apple and slice the banana into the mixture. Stir in enough yogurt to reach a desired consistency. Mix in the blueberries.
3) Sprinkle with crushed almonds.

Any fruit at all can be used in this recipe. The mixture can keep for three days in a fridge.

There are plenty of other variations of this recipe which you can Google for. A favourite entry of mine is from Delicious Days which has wonderful photographs accompanying her muesli post.

Edited to add: It's an amazing dish. I ate this at 7.15 am and still wasn't hungry at 1 pm. On normal days, I tend to get rather hungry by 11.30 am. Wow!

C'mon, you Reds! EPL title #10! And a goal scored by my favourite Man Utd player on his record-equalling 758th appearance for the club!

Bring on Moscow!

But not the CFA just yet.

Dare I say Treble*-winning season?

* EPL, Champions League and CFA lah.

On a gorgeous day like this (27 degrees in Spring in London?!), I found myself having to venture out some 2 km to the nearest DIY store to get some tools to rectify some household malfunctions.

Along the way, I picked up a T-shirt from Uniqlo's T-shirt collection as well as a polka-dotted belt and an All Saints dress, the latter two costing a grand total of £4. Not actually sure what the sellers were on, but I'm pretty sure if I were inclined to put the dress up on eBay, I get a pretty good return on it, given that All Saints dresses usually cost in excess of £50.

All this while wearing a T-shirt and short skirt, what I usually throw on when I run errands in Singapore.

Now, having repaired the household problem, and hitting the CFA books once again, two things are running through my head:

1. I don't understand these mathematical equations. I'm f***ed.
2. F***, I'm bored.

Sigh.

It's not good when for a brief 60 seconds, I curl up into a little ball in my office chair because I'm having a bit of an anxiety attack about the CFA examination. I was very grateful for how high my cubicle walls were because there was no way I wanted my colleagues to see me like that.

After recovering, I continued searching for a CFA study item I was convinced I had ordered but not taken home. By this time, my hands were shaking.

Unable to locate the item, I curled up again into another little ball and then sent a note off to customer service to check on whether I could repurchase the item and got a response from them informing me that I had not, in fact, purchased the CD-Rom, and had instead opted for online access.

Silly me.

I have never been this worried about an exam before.

I really hope I will not have to go through this again.

Back from a wonderous relaxing sunny vacation. Sadly, with no tan though I distinctly felt the heat searing my skin while studying (!) on the beach. Happily, loaded with shopping including a number of items from MAC's new Naughty Nauticals collection and a couple of new pairs of summer footwear.

Back to reality and cramming like heck for the next few weeks. But first, a dance.

Nordic Bakery
14a Golden Square, Soho, London W1F 9JG

Food: Purportedly London’s first Finnish coffee shop, the shop serves traditional Nordic fare, which are, as the words on the shop window state: “dark rye bread / cinnamon buns / coffee”. There's not much else other than smoked salmon on rye bread, Karjalanpiirakka (karelian rice pastries, best eaten with the traditional accompaniment of egg butter) and korvapuusti (cinnamon buns). Everything other than the rye bread is baked on-site in the kitchen located in the basement.

The day I was there, I opted for the last two, seeing as both of these are traditionally Finnish. The pie turned out to be a rice cake wrapped in pastry, and without the butter, would have been quite bland otherwise. It’s not too large and is most likely meant to be a starter to a more substantial meal, which, in my case, happened to be the gigantic cinnamon bun. Now, I am a huge cinnamon bun fan (no pun intended… or was it? Heh). I’m a fan of cinnamon and anything sweet in general, and this warm, delectable, soft-yet-crunchy-in-the-right-parts pastry sure hit the spot.

Beverages: The cappuccino was pretty good in my books. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the Finnish are the largest consumers of coffee per capita, drinking five cups of the stuff (and we don’t mean weak Starbucks stuff here) a day on average. The shop uses Illy for its espresso-based drinks. It was good enough for me to sip it in conjunction with my cinnamon bun without requiring sugar (although after the sweetness of the bun, you probably wouldn’t want to consume any more sugar!).

Prices: Cappuccinos and lattes cost £2. The open-faced rye bread sandwiches cost £4 (which I felt was rather high given the relatively small sizes), while the karelian pie was £1.50 and the enormous cinnamon bun was an incredibly good bargain at just £2. Overall, I guess the prices average out… just as long as you get the cinnamon bun!

Service: Service was good. The staff was generally friendly. The only quibble I had was that whenever people came in through the door and were clearly looking for seats, none of the staff would come forward to offer assistance. In my case, while I was told all the tables were taken, I spotted some with spare seats and pointed them out. To the staff’s credit, they checked with the customers sitting there for me, and I managed to get a seat.

Size/Ambiance: The place is of a decent size, although tables seemed relatively small. The day I was there, it felt as if the place could potentially get too noisy, if you know what I mean. However, though I was by myself and just generally people-watching and sort-of-eavesdropping, I just felt at peace with the world. Perhaps it had something to do with the woody design scheme chosen by the owner: the Alvar Aalto furniture were made of pine wood which had been coloured dark brown, while Finnish paintings were hung on the wall. I felt as if I was in a quaint, cosy log cabin, close to nature, as opposed to being smack in the middle of the bustling city. Even the way the food and drinks were served added to this effect. Everything came neatly arranged on a small wooden tray.

Overall, this place is a great stop for a 30 minute coffee break (or a fika, as a Scandinavian might say). If it’s not too crowded (hah!) or if you don’t feel bad lingering in a place for too long, then I’d say it’s a great place just to sit and chill out with a good book.

I can’t wait till my next trip there. As you may have guessed, I’m going just for the bun!