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Two Beers, Nine Wines and Two Gins was what we had at Vinopolis! It was great to be back at Vinopolis after being here during my University days for the LEAP Awards.

Here are some pics of the experience!

The day started with a session on how to taste wine! The speaker talked us through the senses to be applied while tasting wine. After the session, you are free to roam around and venture into tasting rooms whereby the wines are displayed along with the price tag and flag from where it is from. Like anyone who is clueless about wine, I aimed for those with a higher price tag but soon learnt that is a flawed way to select wine. You are also provided a notebook to scribble down the wines you have tasted.

There are several wine tours available at Vinopolis which gives you a variations of drinks to taste which includes Champagne and Whisky.

The experience is available as a 2 for 1 if you travel by train to London. Further information about the venue is available at their official website.

It is a great day spent and it can get busier after work hours so it is best to visit during midday to avoid the crowd.

Another Sunday morning and I am busy doing tweaks on my websites and blog. My blog is still have several bugs looming around such as the fotobook (facebook gallery plugin) is not working and also some links and pictures appear to be broken.

Will spend a couple of hours to sort that out.

I also managed to download pictures from my camera and it contains pictures from Hartwell House which was when I arrive in Aylesbury that I will look into sharing on my blog shortly. Heaps of content to back post.

Well, enjoy the rest of your weekend then! Till my next post. Take care!

Cheers.

Look what took me by surprise on the desk in the office on Friday morning. A copy of the Oscar (this one has a Man-Gina! and akwardly holding a cup trophy) with my invitation to this year’s Office Christmas Party. I customized mine to say “Best Employee” and Trevor went a step further by placing “Lifetime Achievement Award”. Nice start to the day and I am looking forward to my first Aylesbury office christmas party! There a fancy dress element to the event which I am struggling to find a costume for. Don’t want to spend too much money on it. Ideas anyone?

So, there I was over the pass day and half at Kensington Olympia. It was indeed a crowded event and I am glad that I stayed over in London last night to arrive early today.

I was fortunate to meet Jonathan Yates, the author of Freesourcing and got him to sign a copy! Luckily I did that because his session at later the day was jam packed and I couldn’t get entry. (Jonathan, its proof of your upcoming following). Freesourcing challenges the norm by stating that you could start your business with what you already have in hand. Will review his book when I am done reading it.

Author Of Freesourcing

As there were back to back seminars all day, I tried to attend every main session where possible. It was worthwhile as I got an abundance of new ideas and inspiration to apply at work and also personal endeavours. Some of the key speakers where from BBC’s Dragons Den (Concept adopted from Japan!!!). They were Doug Richardson from season 1 & 2 and the new Dragon Julie Meyer from the online version of the series. I did not manage to see Richard Farleigh as it was overcrowded which demonstrates how popular he is. There were other good speakers such as Richard Branson’s ex right hand man, Brad Rosser.

Tons of booth filled with heaps of other products and services were also present. If you have the funding, you could outsource and co-source most of your back end work but the challenge is to get the right balance. I had a browse around and nothing in particular attracted me but it is worth saying that a handful were internet based services and businesses. This shows that the internet is still growing.

Last but not least, I spent GBP 40 on books which was worth while as it appears to be cheaper than Amazon. Since the event was free entry, it was like a trade off. In the picture you can see my event ticket and my band which is proof that you have entry and also the stack of books I got.

Books

Will be my winter reading list!

Can’t wait until next years Business Start Up! Till my next post! Take care!

Cheers.

There’s where I will be in the next 2 days. I can’t wait to attend London’s biggest business show “Business Start Up“. Tickets are free and there are several free talks that I would be participating in.

If you are familiar with BBC’s Dragons Den, a handful of dragons will be giving talks there which I am looking forward to. Hopefully I will be able to get some additional inspiration for my upcoming personal projects and also work!

Will update everyone on my time there and also share any pics that I may have.

Cheers.

The time of the year is nearing. I spent the day in the London office before heading to a Temple near to Oxford Street. Surprised to hear that? Well, I have been dropping by here since 2004 when I came to study in London. They do all the celebrations including Wesak.

Well, back to the lights at Oxford Street. This year’s themed was based on the Walt Disney’s A Christmas Carol movie. (sorry for the blurry picture at the bottom, taken from a shivering hand in the cold using a blackberry) There seems to be an animated theme going on as the previous years included Ice Age and The Incredibles.

Talking about the movie, have you seen the poster? It freaks the hell out of me.

Although the animators have spent hours perfecting every single wrinkle on the Jim Carrey voiced character, I wouldn’t even give the poster a second look. How do you expect kids to watch such things. I bet there would be kids haunted by this image of an old man in pyjamas for the rest of their lives. Well, probably not as bad but the image of the Mr Scrouge is stuck in my head right now. Here is the trailer with Mr Scrouge and his glorious wrinkles…

While I was in the city, I managed to get my haircut as well in Chinatown. My head feels instantly lighter. Probably shed half a ton just like that. Managed to speak hokkien (Chinese Dialect) to her as she is from a neighbouring state, Kedah in Malaysia. She told me she has been in the UK since 1998 after graduating high school. I told her I have only been here 2 months to cut the conversation on my end short.

Well, it will be just around two more weeks before Song Yia drops by Aylesbury and I can’t wait. Should have more pictures and interesting posts by then.

Till next time, take care!

Aylesbury Vale – A Great Place To Grow… In case you can’t read the lights in the background.

Was in town center today thanks to Angie Li for informing me about the event. She has made a joint blog post as well.

As part of my on going initiative of integrating with the local community, I decided to be an active supporter of such occassions. Wandered into the town square where a stage has been setup with a band singing “Ladies Night” and a there was quite an impressive gathering. Never thought the town would ever be this crowded.

Had dinner at a local pub and missed the turning on of the lights but it went on so discreetly that we hardly even noticed. Witnessed a brawl on the streets and in typical Malaysian behaviour, tried to take a peek but gave up after having restricted view from the pub window.

Was 9.30 p.m. when I decided to leave and all the stalls were gone. The stage was being taken apart but I thought the party just started! Well, I was later informed by a colleague that the event was a family event (more for kids though!)

It was certainly a nice evening out after a stressful week!

Been addicted to this track thanks to Song Yia. It seems this is probably Lady Gaga at her best!

Fit for royalty! Enjoy what’s left of the weekend!

Been busy lately with website developments. Just uploaded and customized it over the weekend. It has over 3,400 flash games to keep you busy. It can go viral as well as you may add games that you like to your website.

Came across this game which was damn funny. Have fun!

Finally participated in a local event at the Rugby Club organized by Mix 96 which is the local radio station. The ticket cost only £5 to worship fire and also watch a magnificent fire display! Here is a pic of the bonfire courtesy of my BlackBerry.

Fire Burning…. Fire Burning….

Guy Fawkes Night is an annual celebration on the evening of 5 November (in this case, the nearest Saturday night). It marks the downfall of the Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605, in which a number of Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to destroy the Houses of Parliament, in London, capital of England.

Besides witnessing an amazing fireworks display, there was also a small fair with game stalls and rides..

This is a first step from me intergrating into the local community, more posts of local events to follow!