Time flies when you're having fun

The weekend was a welcome respite from the previous 2 weeks of nastiness at work (of which I might or might not write about at a later date). As is always the case, it was awfully nice to just get away from the mundane activities of daily working that seem to suck the soul out of life and one couldn’t have asked for better company that my two closest friends from uni. Last time I had this much fun was when I was back home in Msia, which isn’t that long ago come to think of it.

There was a rather varied range of activities, which is not surprising as the three of us do have rather varied interests and personalities with Venn-diagram-like overlaps. The supposed highlight of the weekend was catching Patrick Stewart play the role of MacBeth, which was everything that I had thought it would be. It wasn’t set in the traditional manner of Scotland in the middle ages, but appeared to be placed in a more fascist-like setting with Orwellian overtones. The dark atmosphere and images that were projected onto the wall (e.g. the spread of drops of blood into water) were very apt and there was no faulting the acting. Special mention must be made for the chap who played MacDuff (amazing facial expression when he found out his family was massacred) and the actress who played Lady MacBeth - her shriek of agony was chilling enough to send a tingling sensation down one’s spine.

Unfortunately, Jo fell asleep through most of the show. The poor dear was just too exhausted from work so Reem and I tried to downplay the show that she had missed!

The other show/exhibition we caught was Amora, ‘an educational experience into love, relationships and sex’ although I do think that it was heavily skewed towards the sex bit. Not that I was complaining as it was a rather amusing experience, with Jo discovering hidden talents and Reem proving that she’ll never be a dominatrix with all her giggling.

That was followed by a trip to Camden town, which is a rather unique part of London and one that I do not tend to visit very often. It’s got lots of character though, and meandering through the stalls is an experience not unlike walking through the Chow Kit (sans the cultural revolutionary background that is). Poor Reem did look out of place at times but sportingly joined in the little adventure, and Jo was at her element, culminating in her almost orgasmic delight at the discovery of a rather funky pair of shoes.

We did spend loads of time eating as well – gorging ourselves on mainly Asian cuisine. This included a cute little Oriental place with tasty pad thai, introducing Jo and Steven to rendang and other dishes at the Satay House (where Radzi, who was down for a course, was able to join us but unfortunately couldn't stay any longer) and a rather fancy Indian restaurant that Reem took us to that was just teeming with folks celebrating Diwali (and hence the inculcation of a tremendous amount of tasty treats and intricate decor). The other place that we hung out at was a little more British, with the three of us indulging our sweet tooth and elderly selves by having high tea at Sketch.

The rest of the time was spent window shopping (played around with the iPhone for a good few minutes like a little boy with a new toy at Christmas whilst the girls just looked on indulgingly) and just catching up over bagels and waffles and shisha. Don’t think any one of us are having the easiest of times at the moment, but it always makes things more tolerable when you know that you have friends who love you loads and will happily provide that shoulder or two that you need.