#15. Shake hands with a politician:

Monday, 10th May, 2010. Today I shook hands with Nick Draper. He is a Labour MP and currently the Mayor of Merton Borough. To talk about this item more, I have to talk a little bit about myself.

Months before I left uni, I was in and out of several jobs. I found jobs very easily, but keeping them was near to impossible. Then I came to a point, where I had enough of being let down by proxy retail and reception jobs. So after I left uni, I decided that I should take out the drama of job-hunting out of my life for a while and instead volunteer. I chose to volunteer with elderly people. I've always thought that the elderly people do not get the respect or care that they deserve. Also, I believe in karma and I'd like to think that when I grow old, there might be some people out there willing to give me a helping hand!! ;)

I volunteer through an organisation. At the end of each month, I have to inform my supervisor the hours that I completed. I've now done over 100 hours and so, I've been invited to an awards ceremony, where Nick Draper was present. He gave out certificates to all the volunteers, who had completed over 100 hours. And thats where I got to shake hands with him. There was also a man there, who took a photo. I'll put it up as soon as I get it!! And just to finish the story, after I started my volunteering, I did manage to find myself a good job, that was neither retail nor reception, and I am still working hard at it. So, I guess karma does work. And heres another cool thing, in the recent elections, I voted for Nick Draper!! ;)

#100. Try acupunture and cupping treatment (partly done):

Saturday, 24th April, 2010. I havent got a clue why, but I've been kind of curious about acupunture and hot cupping. Its an Eastern method of treating a variety of different ailments. This method originated in China and it works by inserting needles in different points of the body, otherwise referred to as 'Chi'. Prior to the treatment, I was given a mini consultation, where I was asked about any kind of illnesses that I have. Without going into much detail here, I told the lady that I have very painful periods and that I tend to get tired pretty easily. She took a look at my tounge, because apparently it is a good indicator of the health of my lungs, kidneys and heart. One look at me and she exclaimed that I wasnt in the best of health, particularly for someone of my age!!! She advised that I should come in for a total of 10 treatments, each costing £50, totalling up to £500!! To me that was ridiculously expensive and so, I excused myself at the end of my treatment.

The actual treatment wasnt too bad. I had to lie on my back while she poked the needles in me. It stung for a bit when she put them in and also when she took them out. She put some heat on me. At this point, I felt very relaxed and calm. I would have liked to doze off, but I had needles in my scalp and on both sides of my neck, so I would have had to sleep like a vampire or like Frankenstein.....and I'm not sure how comfortable that would have been.

After the treatment was over, she took out the needles. I noticed a little bit of blood. For some reason, I did not expect to see that. I was also given some medication to help me with my period pains. This I found really annoying because it was not explained to me clearly and I felt pushed into buying it. The medication alone cost £70!!

In my opinion, acupunture was a bit of a waste of money and time. I probably will go ahead and get some hot cupping done as well at some point, but definately not anytime soon. As for acupunture....I've tried it once, will not be trying it agian. I'll just stick to the old Western ways of having a paracetamol and painkillers the next time I have a bad period!!

#86. Have tea at the Ritz Hotel:

Thursday, 8th April, 2010. I have always wanted to experience the grandeour of having tea at the Ritz Hotel and when I heard that my parents were going to be coming to London from Bangladesh, I insisted that they stay until after my birthday and I almost immediately made a booking for the four of us to have an evening 'afternoon' tea at the Ritz hotel. The four of includes me, the parents and my sister, Tanya. Unfortunately, the 9th was fully booked; the 8th was the best option for me.

Everything was absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous. I was so excited about this, that I made sure I read plenty of reviews. There were good reviews and some really, really bad reviews. Mine would definately be a good one!! Although, the whole thing together did set me back quite a bit, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and I think it was definately well worth the money.

As soon as we made our way there, we were warmly welcomed into the Hotel by the very friendly staff. According to some of the reviews that I read, the staff were not nice; but I can officially say that I have no idea what they were talking about. Every single member of staff that I had some kind of interaction with was absolutely lovely and had a smile on their faces. I also read that photography and recording videos is not permitted there. Again, I havent a clue what they were talking about. Everyone was taking pictures and the waiters even offered to take some for us!!

As it was my birthday, I had also ordered a birthday cake when I made the arrangements. There was a string band, playing classical songs. At one point, they started playing 'Happy birthday' and actually came up to our table with the waiters, who presented the cake. It was quite embarrassing and I did not expect this. The cutest thing was that at the end of it, everyone clapped; I'm sure I must have turned red at this point!!

There were so many different types of tea to choose from and we were given a lot of sandwiches, followed by scones, that were accompanied by clotted cream and strawberry preserve. For those, who didnt fancy having a cup of tea could request for coffee or hot chocolate. I chose Moroccan Mint, my sister chose the Darjeeling Tea and my mum took the Earl Grey. We were stuffed by the time we finished. So, I asked the waiter if it was possible to take it home instead; he put it in a nice Ritz box for me. I still havent had it yet. But, I'm totally looking forward to it!! Definately an experience worth having and I'm glad I took the family out!!

#6. Paintballing:

Sunday, 21st March, 2010. This is something that I wanted to do ever since I first watched '10 things I hate about you'. So, that has been about 10 years. I know, it's an incredibly bold statement to make for so many reasons, but hey it is the truth!!

So, for this it was me, Hana, Caroline and two others (they were friends of Hana's). The first thing they did when we got there was give us these army suits. I wore extra small. That was too big. So, then I had to go down to tiny!! lol. We were given a head gear to wear and was told never to take that off until we were back at the front reception, otherwise chances would be that we would get blind!! And that wouldnt be such a fun story!! And we also got back and chest protectors; but that was only if requested for it. Otherwise, good luck!!

There were quite a few of us there. It was good that we were so covered up and for a while we were all the same person!! We were spilt into two groups; the reds and the blues, distinguished by the colours of the guns we were given. I did get hit a few times. It did hurt; but so not as bad as people make it out to be. It's worth taking part in. I really enjoyed myself and I can so see myself doing it again some time soon!!

#76. Go to a Chinese New Year Festival:

Sunday, 21st February, 2010. Kung hai fat choi!! Happy Chinese New Year. This is the most celebrated of Traditional Chinese holidays. It holds a lot of significance in Chinese tradition and according to the mythology, there was a beast, called the nien. This would go into villages of the first day of every year, terrorising the people and destroying lifestock and crops. On one occasion, he saw a boy, wearing red. This scared the nien and he ran away. The villagers realised that the nien was scared of the colour red and so since then, every year on the first day, they would hang up red lanterns and red spring scrolls.

From what I gather, with my bit of research and background reading, this day is like what Christmas is to the people of the West and what Eid is to the people of the East. People buy presents for loved ones, eat good food and wear nice clothes. I've always been fascinated by Chinese tradition and so this year, I was absolutely determined to go to the Chinese New Year celebrations in London. I started off the day by meeting up with my good friend, Hanna at Covent Garden. Thats where we usually meet up when we want to hang out. We figure thats central, yet not crowdy unlike Oxford Circus or Leicester Square!! As soon as we met, we headed off towards China Town and both got a bite to eat. I absolutely love Chinese food!! Then we made our way towards Leicester Square. Thats where all the fun started!! We saw guys, dressed as dragons; one being the front, the other being the hind. It was amazing to see them dance together. There were people on the first floors of restuarants, holding out  lettuce. The dragon took a bite of it then spat it out. This symbolises good luck and prosperity. So, hopefully I should get rich soon!! And there were people dressed in red, clashing brass syllables together and banging on drums.

There were stalls around the place, that were selling little trinkets. I had to get myself a Chinese summer umberella and a little lantern. I also got a bookmark and a badge to remember the day by. Hanna and I then made our way to Trafalgar Square. The shortest route ever from Leicester Square. We think that they just opened up that path for the day. I would like to check that out though and will get back to you on that one.

There was a stage, set up in Trafalgar Square. There were a variety of acts, performed by different dance groups and acrobats. It was a lot of fun to go there and watch. This was the Year of the Tiger. Tigers are described as hard working and independent. They have good luck and they enjoy success and they are not self-centred. Next year is going to be the year of the Rabbit!! 6th February; you'll see me back there!! Kung hai fat choi!!

#32. Learn to play the guitar (week3):

Saturday, 13th February, 2010. Trevor is mixing things up just a little bit, so that things arent so monotonous and same for me. I've been shown a few chords to play 'Wild thing' (have no idea who sings that), and a few for 'Knocking on Heaven's door' by Guns n' Roses. I have also been shown what the A Minor chord is.

#32. Learn to play the guitar (week 2):

Saturday, 30th January, 2010. My second class. Today, I was shown the C Major scale and what an interval is. Reminds me a bit of the piano (I picked it up when I was about 8. Never liked it much, was forced into it by the power of the parents!!!). I must say though; it's completely different when you are learning something you want to. I'm actually enjoying this. 

#33. Learn Spanish:

Friday, 22nd January, 2010. I just borrowed a BBC Language course book from the library. It comes with two CDs. I've been wanting to learn Spanish for a while. So, here's me trying. Obviously, it's going to be really boring and tiresome to see me write about something I'm learning. So, the next time I mention my Spanish will be when I am confident enough to speak to a Spanish person about the British weather. ;)

#32. Learn to play the guitar (Week 1):

Saturday, 23rd January, 2010. I know that it might look like I've made a mistake by referring to this as week 1, but it is my first week of learning with Trevor and he's taking a different approach to Matt. So, for me, this is week 1. By the way, I have to point out here that I am not Matt's first student to go to Trevor. He's got a few other people who has moved over. Matthew is way too expensive!!

Trevor showed me how to tune a guitar without the aid of an electric tuner or a whistle tuner. I had no idea that you could do that!! He also showed me how to play five different chords; A Major, E Major, C Major, G Major and D Major and also showed me a minor; E Minor. I'm telling you; it is really difficult to play when you have such small hands!! But; I will not give up. I will be playing the guitar like a pro soon!!

#32. Learn to play the guitar (Quick Update):

Tuesday, 19th January, 2010. After weeks of finding my teacher incredibly creepy and also really expensive, I did a little bit of homework and found someone who is going to be charging me £15 less!! I have officially left Matthew now and from the coming Saturday onwards, will be starting lessons with new guy, Trevor. I hope he'll be better than Matt!!

#32. Learn to play the guitar (week 3):

Saturday, 26th December, 2009: My third lesson and final entry for this item on the list. Might refer back to this sometime in the future; but as for now it is my final one. So far, Mattew has been pretty impressed by the speed at which I'm picking up the guitar. I personally think it's more to do with the fact that I'm so keen on learning and it's been something that I have always wanted to do. However, he mentioned that my finger placing was not completely correct and that I should work on my posture. The guy should remember that my hands are much smaller than his; so I'm not going to be as skilled as he is. But hey, I'm working on that.  He was happy with the way that I did my piece and this time I requested that he gave me an additional one to practice at home. I'm hoping to be a good guitarist within 6 months. But, he's being more optimistic about that. According to Matthew, females are quicker at picking up things. The only reason that guys are good at things is because they can manage to make the time to put in that extra effort and practice more. Lets hope I can make that extra time as well!! =)

#32. Learn to play the guitar (week2):

Saturday, 19th December 2009. My second lesson. I'm feeling a little suss about my teacher. I think he has a little thing for me, which I'm not very happy about. If I wanted to socialise, I would have just gone and learnt how to play from a friend!! I'll have to make it very clear to Matthew very soon before it gets out of hand. Otherwise, I'll have to find myself another guitar teacher!! I'm willing to do that. But, I'm not willing to be friends with this man. It's nothing against him. I just hate people who cant and dont act professional. I'll have to see if I can sort it out though. Otherwise, I'll probably just have to bid him farewell

Anyway, enough about that. I was given a proper tune to play today. I wish there was a way of uploading some audio clips, but I'm still figuring things out. Maybe I could sort out some kind of a youtube link.

I was probably getting a little bit carried away, when I got home. I was practicing and happy to play it 'till my finger bled' like Bryan Adams....it didnt bleed; but it did get very sore, had to switch fingers around at one point. I ended up with two very sore and red finger ends!! ;)

#32. Learn to play the guitar (Quick update):

Wednesday, 16th December 2009: A quick update. I went and bought my first electrical guitar!! It's absolutely gorgeous!! It has set me back quite a bit, but I do think it's worth it!! I so cant wait to play proper songs on it!! So excited!! Pictures of new guitar to come up soon! ;)

#32. Learn to play the guitar (week1):

Saturday, 12th December, 2009: My first ever guitar lesson. This is something that I have always wanted to do since I was 6; but my parents just thought it was a passing whim and instead they made me go in for Piano lessons, which is something that I hated. I still resent them for not listening to me back then.

Anyway, earlier this year, I was having a rough time. And MJ's passing sort of tipped me over the edge. I realised that I want to do a lot with myself. And life really is too short! So, I went off to my local Argos and I bought a guitar. Not such a great idea apparently. The best thing to do is go to a guitar specialist shop and go with someone who knows what you need to be looking out for.

It took my tutor, Mattew about half an hour to tune up my guitar. And then he kindly offered to come guitar shopping with me on Wednesday morning. I'm really looking forward to this. And the best thing is that I'm going to get an electric guitar. He heard that I like rock music like Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams and says I ought to get an electric one and later on, get myself an amplifier as well!! How exciting!! When I was younger, I used to write songs. Hopefully, if all goes well, I'll be able to put music to my lyrics! :)

The first song that I'd like to play on my guitar is Sister Hazel's "Your Winter".

  http://www.registryofguitartutors.com

#39. Get onto a self defence course (week 3):

Tuesday, 22nd September 2009. Although, I fully intend on carrying on with these boxing sessions, this is going to be my last entry on this item. I dont want this blogsite to become about a routine that I start. That would just be boring and unneccessary.

There were more people who joined the class today. There were three children, well, actually one child really. The other two were just being annoying and weaving in and out between everyone else. They werent really taking part in the class. They were just being there!! It was good fun fighting that one child though, probably because I do have a chance against him.

The boys were still sweating away as usual!! It really does gross me out. I try to be clever about it and discretely move away. But it's not so easy when you have to fight them and they are all so much taller than you!!

Today, we didnt get our stomachs punched in. Thank God!! Thats the one part of it that I hate and absolutely dread!! I'm sure that it does some work on your abs though. Boxing is definately NOT advised for the pregnant!! Do not box if you are pregnant, wanting to get pregnant anytime soon or if you've just had a baby. You'll be doing way more harm than good!! Just a little obvious tip I thought I'd put in....

#39. Get onto a self defence course (week 2):

Tuesday, 15th September 2009. After last week, I decided to go back for some more action!! This time, there were two trainers instead of the one. On the Sunday thats coming, there is going to be some kind of a boxing convention. I'm not going to that. I'm just keeping my boxing at a basic level for the time being. So, to prepare those people who are going to that, they made the class much more strenous and difficult than last week.

This time, we had to start off by skipping. My hair was getting in the way and kept getting caught in the rope. But fortunately, I was at the side, so no one noticed that. And they also introduced doing push ups while boxing, which is a bit of a challenge. And at the end of the class, something that they did last week as well was get everyone to punch your stomach three times. Some guys are cool and do it lightly and some are ever so serious and do it hard!! I dont like that!!

The boys were still sweating a river. I was still glowing. The trainer was convinced that we werent working as hard. I reassured him that I was just one of the lucky ones who dont sweat so much. Also, this time, I noticed a few guys were NOT wearing deodrants!! I just think that's inconsiderate....you're working out in a group. You're likely to sweat and stink. So, make sure you at least sort out the B.O....But, I'll just have to avoid pairing up with the odour-offenders next time!! I wont say anything, just got to keep guard. OR, I could go in smelling ultra nice to balance it all out....Rekon that would work!?

http://www.boxlondon.co.uk/

#39. Get onto a self defence course (week 1):

Tuesday, 8th September 2009. Of all the different self defencing classes out there, I so happened to choose boxing. I'm not exactly sure why I chose it though to be honest. But, it probably came from a few months aho, when I noticed a pair of small sized boxing gloves going for the bargain price if £3....yes; just £3, reduced from £19.99. Another word for that kind of bargain is irresistible!! So, after almost forever of having my boxing gloves sit idle in my room, I decided to give my local gym a call and see if they offered boxing sessions. And lady luck was in town, they did!! :)

When I got there, the first thing that I noticed was that there were hardly any girls. More than three quarters of the class were boys. I'm not really suprised. Boxing has always been thought of as a boy's sport. We had to get into pairs and box each other. While one boxed, the other had to defend. We would swap positions after a while and be swapping partners from time to time as well. Reason behind partner-swapping is because you could potentially get attacked by anyone, of any size and stature. So, it helps you prepare yourself in a fight situation.

The class was a lot of fun and it was a massive work out session at the same time. I'm curious to know how much I've burnt calories I've burnt in one session. Not sure how I'll figure that out though. One thing that really shocked and grossed me out was the fact that the boys sweat so much!! It looked like something you would only see in a comedy. I only thought they did that for the laugh factor; turns out that it's actually not so funny when that (REAL) sweat drips on you!!! YUCK!! :o

#77. Go to a Nottinghill Carnival:

Monday, 31st August 2009. Ever since I heard about the Nottinghill Carnival, I have always wanted to go and see what the fuss is all about. The Nottinghill Carnival happens every year on the last bank holiday weekend of August; it's the biggest of its kind in Europe and it celebrates all that is the Carribean. This year, I wanted to go with my sister, Tanya. However, she had already made plans with one of her other friends. So, it was the three of us that head off together for the Carnival. We started the day off by getting our faces painted. We chose to get swirly patterns.

There were food stalls set up all over the place and the smell was absolutely gorgeous! After we got our faces painted, we headed towards the direction of the crowd. We watched girls on floats, wearing cute little outfits and dancing around. A few of the girls in the Parade did not wear anything and instead used body paint. It looked quite nice. But a few of the guys started being a bit leary. That did not look too good.  After a while of watching the floats go by, we started to feel a little peckish. So, we went to a stall and ate mutton and rice with kidney beans. It was cooked in Carribean style and  was nice, different from anything that I'd tried before. We were all starting to feel tired by this point. So, we headed off towards a bar, where we sat there for about twenty minutes or so.

Me and Tanya really wanted to have our photos taken with some of the Parade dancers, as a lot of others were doing that and it looked like just good fun. But, as I was about to ask one girl, I saw how rude she was to someone else. So, I thought better not. We eventually did get to take our pictures with two other girls later on. They were much nicer!! There were some stalls that were selling coconut water. I had to get one; I love coconut water and I love the white jelly that's inside.

We also bumped into a blind man, who asked us to direct him to the nearest station. It was difficult enough for us to find the station ourselves, let alone tell someone else, particularly someone who couldnt see. So, we took him to the station. Tanya was really good with him and led the way for him. On the way to the station, I bought a couple of whistles. One for me, one for Tanya. Everyone else seemed to have one, and it looked like so much fun! And it was really fun as well, and at the risk of sounding all cliche, the atmosphere really was electric! Some of the young people that lived in the area opened up their doors and windows. It made it that much more fun! It was almost like a big, big, fat, MASSIVE barbeque! And the weather was amazing as well!! That is a brilliant thing in London!! I definately enjoyed myself at the Carnival and can see myself doing this again next year! :)

 http://www.thenottinghillcarnival.com

#20. Donate Blood:

Tuesday, 25th August 2009. I registered myself to donate blood a few weeks ago. Luckily enough, they had set up the clinic at my local gym, so I didn't have to worry about finding the place. When I got there, one of the first things that I was asked was my weight. Apparently, there is a minimum weight requirement of 50 kgs (which I made sure I was over before I had gone in). This is because regardless of a person's size, they will always take the same amount of blood, which is about a pint. So, if you weigh under 50 kgs and you give blood, chances are that you will become really weak and may faint.

I was given a questionnaire and a goody bag before they did anything. Inside the bag was a cute keyring, which I still haven't used, a fluffy sticker, that I've stuck on my bedroom mirror and a phamplet. The questionnaire mainly asked about my sex life and my sex partner's potential drug habits. But, I'm a good girl, so I ticked 'no' for all of them. The questionnaire also asked about travel habits and they took note of the fact that I'd been to a Malaria-affected area (i.e Bangladesh).

I was given another leaflet to read until a couple of people called me aside. They wanted me to elaborate on some of the answers that I had given them in the questionnaire and they were also keen to check my iron levels. To do this, they pricked me and put a few drops of my blood into a blue solution. If I was a boy, they would have used the green solution instead. If the iron levels in my blood were normal, then the blood that they put into the solution would have dropped straight to the bottom. Otherwise, it would have floated on top for a while. My iron levels were good. I was told to wait until they were ready for me to go through. In one of the leaflets, I noticed that they provide anesthetics if desired.

The lady who took my blood was absolutely lovely. Her name was June. She also asked me about my weight. I think in total I was asked about my weight at least about four times!!! I asked her about the anesthetic, but then she pointed out that although I can take it, it would mean that I would have two needles in me instead of just the one. That grossed me out. So, I opted to go without the anesthetic.

June tried to distract me as she pushed the needle in me and I had to look away. She took the blood from my left hand as I am right-handed and the prick-test was done on the middle finger of my right hand. It felt a lot like a regular blood test, only the needle was much thicker. I noticed that the needle was attached to a few small bags and a relatively larger bag. And when I asked, I found out that the small bags were just so that they could test my blood to make sure I wasn't carrying any kind of disease. Fortunately, I haven't heard anything from them. So, I'm assuming I'm completely healthy :). And the blood that went into larger bag was what they would use to give to the patients. Immediately after I gave blood, I felt a little dizzy and had a little hot flush. Thats normal apparently. One of June's colleague's put down the head and raised up the feet of the bed that I lay in so that the blood would flow faster through my body. She also tried to feed me some orange juice. But that was quite awkward for me. I felt fine after a while. I was advised to have some fluids and a few biscuits and that I should only leave when I felt my energy levels were back up again. It didnt too long for me to feel better.

I'm definately glad that I went ahead with this. June told me that the blood I gave could go up to saving the lives of up to four other people. Impressive, eh!? And I also found out why we couldn't just give blood from accidental cuts and nose bleeds. Turns out it's because that is not sterile blood and they like to have their blood clean. I think that this is something very worthwhile and I can definately see myself doing this again. :)

www.blood.co.uk

#61. Try Drugs:

Tuesday, 14th October 2008. My cousin, Miah is in London for a couple of weeks. She's come over from Egypt with her husband, Aryan and two young kids, who are aged six and four. Aryan has gone away on training for a few days. So, we saw this as a good opportunity to have some uninterrupted single girl's fun time. We started by dropping off the kids at an Aunt's place, who lives about half an hour away from us. And then, me, my elder sister Tanya and Miah all headed off to Canary Warf. The day before me and Miah had a massive fight, which really blew out of proportion and she was still begrudging about it. So, she spent the whole journey time from our place to Canary Warf by deliberately ignoring me. When we arrived at Canary Warf, we met Miah's friend, Tanzina and Tanzina's younger cousin, Ikram. We all had a drink at a bar to start the night off. I was there on an empty stomach, which was a big mistake. Do not drink and do drugs; but if you must, don't do it on an empty stomach. Anyway, we left the bar and made our way to a small corner, away from all the bars and restaurants, where Ikram started to make up the spliffs. He managed to make up two spliffs, which we all shared between ourselves. Miah relaxed and she was being nice to me again. After we had finished having the second spilff, we went back into the bar and had another drink. I must admit, I felt under pressure by Miah and Tanzina to drink more than I could handle. And, if in a different scenario, I would have backed down with some grace. But that night, I felt I just couldn't. They were both being ever so patronising and acting as if I was too young and too small, which was pretty annoying. And, I guess I am too small to take in as much as I did that day. And I definately should have ate before I left the house. When I came back home, I immediately threw up. It was only alcohol that came out. All in all, it was an alright night; but definately not something that I'll be doing again. We were all really tired by the end of it and went straight to bed. The next day, Miah went back to being cold towards me.

 http://www.saynotodrugs.org.uk

#87. Have your own website.

September, 12th 2009. I've just made my first ever website! And I'm really excited about this. I will be using this site as I go through each item on my list. Hope you enjoy this as much as I do! :)