Eating at Restaurants

I've recently been watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and I love it. Despite the serious issues that are brought up, like the cleanliness of the kitchens, the quality of food and service, I find it a bit funny. Ramsay's reactions are hilarious (when he says, wow oh wow or wow wow wow). I admire his passion for food and how he sometimes literally changes these people's lives by putting them on the right track.
Watching this show really made me think about the restaurants I go to. There is a restaurant near work called Azzuro. When I first started working around 2 years ago, me and my colleagues went there a lot. The food was great (though the service not so much). I have been there twice recently and I vow to never go again. First time I had a four seasons pizza which tasted okay but I felt very queasy and uncomfortable after. I then gave it a second chance and tried the risotto. Unfortunately I felt exactly the same way. They must have changed the chef/the ingredients/the process of cooking because something is definitely not the same. It's a shame as I won't go there again even though it is the closest restaurant to work!

I guess the message is, watch out where and what you eat:D

Graze

Have you tried graze? I got my first graze box about a month ago and I am very impressed with it. The snacks they provide are authentic and different. They produce combinations that you think wouldn't work as snacks but turns out they do, and well. Get yours here. My favourite snack so far has to be the after dinner mint mmmm.

I secretly await my graze box every week eagerly. Graze email me with what's in the box the night before, but I love the surprise and anticipation of opening the box and seeing it all for myself. Definitely recommend it if you like nibbling on small things, you can make it healthy with graze! To add to the uniqueness of their snacks, you can choose an 'eatwell', 'boost' or 'light' box to suit your needs. It is also reasonably priced, only £3 a week. After you're done trying, you can rate the snacks on the website and if you don't like something you can bin it.

Praise that graze!:D

Childhood

I was reading this article and I completely agree with it Modern childhood 'ends at age of 12'.

Not that it was that long ago (even though it seems so), but when I was 12 I didn't think twice about how I looked or acting 'mature'. Why should you have to worry about it anyway? You can get away with it when you're a kid so why not take advantage? There's a right time for these things and no one sane or has common sense will judge you for it.

One of the most obvious differences I find between my childhood and say, my 12 year old brother's childhood, is the availability of technology. I work for a mobile company, so don't get me wrong, I love technology and am very passionate and excited when there are new advancements in technology. But nevertheless I find that this has made the experience of childhood very different today. Kids log onto Facebook to update their status (!) rather than talk to their parents. Kids play Xbox and PlayStation rather than go out to the park or take up an extra-curricular activity that they ma potentially keep as part of their lifestyle. To me, this forces kids to be lazy because what they 'want' to have fun is right under their hands within minutes. Kids should be given the opportunity to find what they truly love because, let's admit it, it's easier to learn when you're a kid. For example, rather than always looking forward to going home to play Xbox, why not, say twice a week, go to an after school club that teaches some basic programming in java? or any other programming language. It doesn't have to be programming, it could be dance, exercise or even arts.

One thing I find in common is the over protectiveness of parents. This is a good thing, but to a limit. Parents should learn to let their kids explore and figure out what they want for themselves, not find it obligatory to force 'good things' on their kids. This will help them grow to become independent, mature adults.

P.S. whatever happened to Lego?!

Fried Chicken Shop

The other day I was watching a documentary called 'The Fried Chicken Shop: Life in a Day'. Link is here The Fried Chicken Shop: Life in a Day. Highly recommend it.

As much as I dislike the quality of the food at these kind of places, I think the way in which these people are treated is unfair and disgusting. First of all, I don't understand why the 'consumers' in this shop get SO drunk. Isn't it embarrassing? How can you enjoy being that drunk? Imagine having to deal with customers in that state, I would be a bit freaked out. Worst thing is you can't say anything to them because you need the money. You work crazy hours so you don't even have a life.

The bigger issue, especially after school, is the kids. Kids looking for cheap food which in their opinion is 'so good'. At prices that cheap who wouldn't? £4 for a meal with a drink....you can't resist that. Problem is these kids don't know any better. Instead of wasting your organs away eating, no offence, crap, why not do a useful extra-curricular activity? Go home and read a good book? Kids never think like that, but they should. I sure could have learnt earlier. It's not only school hours that are important but also after school hours. In fact those are probably more important because it's a lifestyle that you will get used to (or pay for!). I see so many overweight/obese kids in the streets and it really saddens me. How have they become this big? Something isn't right. These kids aren't being looked after properly. Instead of a fried chicken shop right next to school, why not open a fruit/veg/smoothie place where they can hang out?

It's so mind-opening how a documentary as simple as this can make you think about the big issues we have in our society.

The Gym

With some motivation I am keeping to my new year's resolution of going to the gym three times a week. I feel really good and I am starting to see results. But one thing I have to talk about is the environment at the gym. I go to Fitness4Less which is a very reasonably priced gym. I don't have to worry about the price and can get all I need out of a gym; the machines.

1. The treadmill: for some reason this seems to be packed out after work on a Monday evening. I think people do it to start the week off well. By the time Wednesday comes, those people are nowhere to be found. I don't know why I do this but sometimes I find myself looking at a specific person whilst they are walking/jogging/running. Not because they are good-looking or because I'm bored (that can't happen with the music I listen to:) but I'm saddened by how they are wasting their time. They are not running correctly. They are running with their hands on the support which isn't running, in fact, it's pointless. You shouldn't be training your body like that. Then there's that lady who is running in her comfort zone. That isn't running. I look terrible after a run but I feel great later as I have worked myself out.

2. Triceps Machine: Once I was at the gym and I wasn't in a very good mood. It was quite packed. Then out of nowhere, whilst I'm on the triceps machine, a lady comes and stands next to me whilst I'm doing the weights. She was waiting for me to finish which is fine but why does she have to stand so near that I can clearly see her? She was distracting me and I had to say something. I said to her 'Excuse me why are you standing here? It's really distracting' She didn't say anything and left. I'm not proud of this but I think she could have done something else rather than just stand there and wait.


3. Guys doing crazy weights. OK this is one thing that I don't get. The sounds that some guys make whilst they're carrying a ridiculous amount of weight (is 100 ridiculous?). Check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRVQS9Tk5Cs the normal guys reaction is exactly how I feel. Hilarious!

Anything else to add?

Bride Kidnapping

Last night I watched this documentary about the tradition of bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan (you can find it here http://www.vice.com/en_uk/vice-news/bride-kidnapping-in-kyrgyzstan-part-1). The title sums it up, the bride is watched then kidnapped by her future husband. After being in total shock at this tradition, I began to give it some thought. A tradition is a tradition and if you follow a certain culture you will never find that tradition wrong or unfair, you will find it normal and expected. Actually, if you don't follow that tradition then you have a problem.

But still, my heart sank. These young women are humiliated in front of everyone and treated like prey that men can just catch. What's even more heartbreaking is that after a few hours the bride settles and is completely fine with the fact that she was just kidnapped by her husband. One of the brides knew the guy and he said he wouldn't kidnap her. He still did. How can you not be mad at a guy who lied to you?

This is a tradition passed through hundreds of generations. How do the parents feel about this? Is it not humiliating and embarrassing seeing your daughter who you've cared for and loved since she were born treated like this? I respect how much these people stick to their culture no matter what.

This brings up an even wider topic about women's rights in countries other than the UK and US. We don't think about this much because we're lucky to have the simplest things like going to university, voting and walking in the street freely. But for some women around the world this is not the case. Many women are still fighting for these simple rights today.

What do you guys think?

The Journey

My journeys on the train are something that I always think about but don't talk about much because I forget them by the time I sit at my desk or get home and start watching TV. Today I realized a few things that I subconsciously do when I'm waiting for the central line train to work at around 8 am.

First, it is absolutely essential that I go to exactly the right place on the platform so that the carriage I get on is parallel to where I am going to change for the jubilee line in about 20 mins or so. What is this urge to save about 10 seconds of time? And you know for a fact that everyone who gets on this carriage and is going to change line is doing it for exactly the same reason. When the time comes to change (and it is clear a lot of people will be getting off), others on the train become excited, as the chances of them getting a seat are very high. This is when the books and newspapers come down and some serious competition happens. You have to be positioned in the correct place if you want to get a seat on a packed train. Somehow this gives you power among the other passengers, like you purposely intended to stand in that place (even though you didn't). You're still proud of your perfect positioning nevertheless.

This brings me on to my next point. When you have a seat on the train, you feel like you own the train and feel like those who are standing are giving you the evils. Getting a seat during rush hour seems so much more satisfactory than getting a seat on an empty train somehow. I feel like I can do so much more than someone who is standing. I won't lose temple run because I can hold my phone properly and don't have to hold onto the poles. I can get anything I want from my bag because I can actually get to it easily. Secretly because I like some mischief, I pack my kindle away to indicate that I'm getting off my train but I'm really not. When I don't get off the train, there is bound to be someone who gives me the look at what I just did.

Flashback. The guy with the massive rucksack, it's half the size of another person. How stupid is he? Why can't he put his rucksack down like every other person with some sense? Fair enough he may be getting off at the next stop so doesn't want to get too comfortable, but still,  his rucksack was in my face and it was horrible. I couldn't read my kindle in peace. I could feel that the lady standing next to me was feeling the same way but neither of us said anything (we were both looking at the guy's rucksack in disgust).

I can't think of much else right now, but they'll keep coming. I love the tube and I love London.