127 Hours

James Franco (left) and Aron Ralston (right)

Two things stood out in my mind as I readied myself to watch 127 Hours this evening. First, if Aron Ralston could have survived cutting his own arm off, with a dull knife, then I could survive watching James Franco playing Aron Ralston cutting his own arm off. Second, the video where James' grandma said anyone who could not sit through the gritty scene was a p...y. lol. If granny could stand it, then so would I.

That is what I told myself after 24 minutes of 127 Hours, after the rock pinned James Franco's Aron inside the canyon. It was a wow. I enjoyed the movie. Unlike Castaway which was wrong on so many levels to me, the main one being the mere fact that I was forced to watch Tom Hanks and Tom Hanks alone for more than 100 minutes, 127 Hours was gripping. Gritty, gripping. I always love these survival movies - where the human being most go to extreme lengths to survive. Alive was one of those movies that I can watch over and over as well. You see a man drinking his own urine to survive and you wonder if you could do that if that were you. Chances are, you would. Aron Ralston is a brave man and it was a great story. Here  is one part of the segment the real Aron did with Tom Brokaw. This was how I first learnt about him - before the movie was made.





The movie was just right. It was not some campy, sappy ode to the American super hero, probably because it was directed by a Brit. It was a true to life tale, told in a very realistic way, by a great actor. Oscar nom - deserved.

Thank God I don't have to drink my pee today. I have a pinot gris in the fridge and I just celebrated the end of another assignment (which I finished at 8 this morning, without sleeping a wink til it was done - it felt like 127 hours, lemme tell ya) with the rest of the chocolate ice cream. Liverpool beat Chelsea, so there were many happy men in the house, and life is pretty alright on the whole. Not an American football fan, and not interested in the Super Bowl, but enjoy the party anyway, people.

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Nutella Day, Doughnuts, Black Swan, Books - Life

It's World Nutella Day today. I have not seen any Nutella mascots in the streets nor was I given any free Nutella when I went to the store this morning. There was a Nutella discount but I did not patronise. I have never had Nutella actually. I love chocolate but never picked up a jar of this stuff. For good reason. I cannot say no to chocolate stuff. My running comment is that I am so brown because I eat so much chocolate. It's true. The Scarlet Ibis, which is our national bird back home in Trinidad, is not born red. They turn red over the course of their lives, from eating the red crabs in the swamp. So my complexion...gotta be the chocolate. lol.

And to prove my point about my love for chocolate - I bought these yesterday, simply because they were chocolate covered.

Thanks to Tesco for these little gems.

They were delicious. There were 20 in the box - all bite-sized, so don't think I ate 9 regular sized doughnuts in one afternoon. lol. An hour ago, there were 3 left. Now, there are none. I know. I am a pig. A sick pig.

My cup is multi-purpose!
Soup, cereal, Haagie...you name it!

I also have some leftover Haagen Dazs Belgian Chocolate ice cream in the freezer. It was on sale in Budgen's when I went to get water  on Sunday (ahem...conspiracy). Half price. I could not just leave it there. Alone. In the Budgens freezer when it could get all warm in my tummy.

So no...Nutella would be overkill on the chocolate. But I wish all the Nutella lovers out there a very happy Nutella Day. There is a World Nutella Day website and loads of Nutella recipes from Nutella freaks around the world. This started off as a tongue-in-cheek ode to Nutella, but I realise some people really take their Nutella seriously. My God!

I was sooooo sick last night that I could not do any work on said assignment and fell asleep while waiting for drugs to work. I woke up over a dead laptop around 6 this morning and then watched Black Swan. I must say, it did not "wow" me. It was good, but it was not "wow". I did not have any real emotional response to it though I will admit Natalie Portman was excellent. My aim was to see 5 of the 10 nominated films for the Best Picture Oscar. I am now on 2, having watched The King's Speech earlier this week. That one made me bawl. That one was WOW. Colin Firth, the ever amazing and not often lauded Colin Firth was wow. So next up...127 Hours. James "Marry Me" Franco. I can't wait. But I need to finish this assignment first - an assignment I realised I was doing all wrong this morning. Still not feeling so hot, but tomorrow Liverpool play Chelsea and that is a BIG game with all the Torres drama and all the Torres haters wanting to see him flop etc. And on a regular Liverpool match day, this house is a nightmare. I have spied beers and chicken wings and peanuts and that can only mean one thing

The boys are all coming over to watch it. I will not be trying to do this assignment amidst the Reds and Blues melee.

Happy Saturday!

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Fabulous Friday...Not

Warning: This blog entry is very lame. I am waiting for my show to download.

London is extra grey today and add some crazy winds, bad stomach pains and exhaustion and the chicks' night out became a chick night in. I am so tired and after a Tesco ready meal of chicken chow mein, some orange juice and some meds, I am tucked in under the covers - at 5.23pm. Oh sure I have set the "assignment wake up call" alarm but this is as good as it gets this Friday evening, especially based on how I feel physically at the moment. It's not a great feeling. So red light district this is not. But it does not get better than this for me. The party is here. In this bed. With a heated sweater and fluffy socks. And mini doughnuts. I feel better already!

And even better - cheese!

Thanks to smashing Shala for the cheese delivery, straight from New Zealand via Trinidad. I saw the Sainsbury's British cheddar cheese shed a tear as I placed this magnificent block of "down under" goodness in the top drawer of the fridge. It takes very little to make me happy. It was also nice to hang out with the Shals today and catch up.

Streaming last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy, and then I will take a much needed nap and hopefully wake up feeling inspired to work on this assignment. That's a big "hopefully".

Sorry this was not more exciting than this but life happens.

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No Paparazzi, please

There are the cute blue heels that are my avatar.

I am really tickled to be one of the Editor's Picks on Bloggers.com today. I mean, there is no red carpet, no flash bulbs, no prize money (the worst part...lol), but it's cute. So yaay me.

It's pretty amusing to realise 1). how many people actually read my nonsense, 2). how many people actually enjoy reading my nonsense and 3). how much I enjoy writing my nonsense. It is the one part of my day that is not frustrating, and is completely mine.

So thanks to everybody who ensures it is not a solitary experience.

Sephora, Florence, Italy - I had a time in here

Almost every day I get my email from Sephora, torturing me with the specials and sales, and I ask again, Why isn't there a Sephora in London? I mean, y'all taking this Britishness thing too damn far, man. I cannot get NZ cheese. I cannot get American Cheerios (I don't like the Cheerios here - half sweet, half plain, in one box. Gimme 100% PLAIN Cheerios!!! OMG!). And now I cannot get Sephora? Every trip to Miami, the PT and I must hit up Sephora. New York - Sephora. I made it a point to visit Sephora in both Paris and Florence cause it is just one of my favourite shops ever. London - great capital, home of the queen. Why? Why?

Maybe it is for the best since I can barely afford food, and have to resort to getting excited in Boots. Needless to say, I needed a toner and bought one from Boots - a Boots brand and I selected it after reading the reviews, because let's face it, if I was going to buy a toner for under £2, I wanted to make sure it was not going to set my face on fire or burn off my eyebrows. Really one cannot go wrong with witch hazel and tea tree oil.  I had never had a toner that was a blend of both and never used a cheap toner either, but kudos to Boots for this godsend product. Easy on the skin and easy on the pocket. It is as good as a toner can get. Take the free plug, Boots.

A winning beauty combination, ladies. On a budget!

Of course I also got my Mudd facial mask and it really does give a boost of beauty confidence. How I survived this long with just soap and water, and my L'Oreal scrubby wubby is a miracle. I am now leaving it for "special" occasions, which means I may never use it again. Kidding kidding.

Still, Boots is no Sephora. Let's just keep it real now. I am glad I had the presence of mind to pack at least 6 months' supply, though it might really be 8, of cosmetics for black, tropical skin, or I would be a hot, nashy mess. It was a funny story at lunch on Sunday, about a black girl who was using a brand that shall remain nameless, bought here in London, and thought she was swanky, until she went back home to her black friends, and everyone asked her what on earth she was using to be looking so grey. lol. The darkest products here were clearly not dark enough for her but funny that noone thought it would be nice to tell her this. I guess they thought her face was grey? lol. Thank God for Pennywise - the Trini Boots - and my stocks. Looking grey is not an option. Funny that there are so many black people here and still a dearth in GOOD black beauty supplies (emphasis on "good"). Hmmm.

I'm working on my second assignment. As I said before, blogging is the only time I am not frustrated or vexed. lol

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Celebrating my Inner Indian

To say I love Indian food would be an understatement. I love ah curry. So when my girlfriend gave me an opportunity to get out of the house on Sunday after I had finished my assignment, I jumped at the chance to make a suggestion. The main reason was I was too tired to go into Central London, but it sure did not hurt that the closest decent eating establishment was an Indian restaurant.

I had been taken here before on a date and though the date itself was a bust (a trend here, let me assure you), the food was superb and it's nice having a place I could get to with just a bus ride...and not a gazillion train changes.

The service at Babur's is really great. They always make you feel right at home. I was not aware of the Sunday buffet but it was as good as the a la carte and I tried everything - literally. lol. The best was the coconut curry lamb. Having had lamb on Friday evening, I did not want to go overboard with this fatty meat again today but it was delectable. Add the company of Trini girlfriends,  and the knowledge that the assignment was well and truly finished, and it was a perfect Sunday.

Justa few steps away from the
Clapham North station

Fast forward to Tuesday and despite the great curry extravaganza on Sunday, nothing really ever beats a Trini curry. I had been lusting for a roti for days and the buffet on Sunday did not appease my craving. So I got up this morning, got ready and jumped on the train to Clapham North...to Roti Joupa. Two train rides, one half hour wait for the train back and a walk in the rain, just for a roti? Hell yes!

Roti Joupa. I have been here when on vacation. This is not fine dining. Don't expect to go here and meet a maitre d' at the door, in a butler-esque uniform. Don't even expect tables. There is a counter and some stools for those who cannot wait to get home to dive into their meal, but that's the extent of it. It's a typical rotu shop setting.

Admittedly, in my opinion, and as a curry connoisseur, it is not THE BEST curry I have ever had, but in a city where bangers and mash and fish and chips are king, I will take anything. I was on the brink of a Trini curry meltdown so I ordered everything. Paratha, curried channa (chickpeas), curried aloo (potato), curried goat (goat...lol), with some kuchela on the side (will have to wiki an explanation for kuchela, but it's like pickled, peppered mango...it's great!). While waiting, I also ordered some pholourie which hit the spot like a brick. I almost fell off the stool, it was so good. I just find they very light-handed with the meat though. Not impressed. But...

I am a happy Trini. Satiated. Curried out? Maybe not. But until I make the time to make my own version of the above, this was as good as it got and on a rainy day in London (what else is new?), this was pretty damn good.

I found this video while googling kuchela...hilarious. My Trini people.

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