the year we made London home

i think this week was just haze...ive been quite stressed about what everything that the trip to finland entails, mainly emptying storages and trying to find suitcases in which to bring some of my stuff back. and the idea of having to throw stuff to trash is always nasty. and theres a lot of other scheduling things that make me feel stressed...  just too much stuff. i obviously want to see my friends but running from one place to another is tiresome.

2016 was politically disappointing, but if i think of this from a selfish perspective - as is typical of myself - it was no a bad year at all. i tried to enjoy istanbul to the fullest in my last year there, the coup attempt was a 'small' hiccup and i started getting pretty restless and stressed about the move after that but since the move everything has been going quite smoothly. living in a residential area life is much more quiet than im used to, but 2017 should provide an improvement to that. we've made friends here, tried to tolerate the cold and dark, and enjoyed lots of nice foods and drinks, while missing some turkish favorites at the same time. and doctor's registration process is going on schedule and he accepted a job offer. pretty good. and i look forward to moving to our own rental property in February 2017.

we spent christmas (25th here) with Avner, Elmor and their friends. very nice dinner and a few films and just chilling.

 films included Sausage Party and Die Hard :) especially the latter is a christmas classic.

a sort of oven stew i made with the braising steak i bought from that free range farm delivery service. 2,5h in the oven! but okay, it was tasty. 

tonight a NY with Avner & Elmor & co again... cant wait to pour some bubbly to our first year in London! then, mayyyybe 2h of sleep and off to Helsinki!

christmas time

watched Queen Mimi, very interesting documentary about a quirky lady from LA.

on monday i went to a cool bar with Anna...(Drink Shop & Do)  there, while enjoying your drinks and snacks, u get to make a REINDEER PINATA! and we made an awesome one ith a superhero cape...

my doctor is execising and watching a Russell Brand documentary about war on drugs. and it's the night before christmas. somehow its surreal. we plan to take a hot bath.

prepacked things (veggie fingers, rice, greens) put together for a lunch <3 br="" nbsp="">

odd to be in a christmassy country again, there is christmas music everywhere and today there were queues in front of every bakery, fishery etc...  i am starting to remember why christmas was a stressy time. and this is one without gifts thank god.

flat update, mainly

UFC Fight Night in London on March 18 is supposed to have Makwan Amirkhani... i think its about time i go see MMA again. and UFC of all things. everything is in this city, hah, im in the right place... :)

so our reference checks for the rental property went through. holy crap. what a relief. it was the last major thing i was concerned about. i think after we learned that, for a while i was just sitting here in utter shock - the shock of not having anything to stress over. it's a state i cannot really...comprehend. and i didnt. ive  kind of moved on to find small stuff to concentrate on. and in january there will be a the residence card application for doctor - that will be a major worry! ive already started but it hasnt really kicked in. still, i am of course happy. very happy.

regarding the flat, we are waiting for the landlording company to get us the papers to sign. i think i shouldnt hold my breath to get it done before christmas, i think things are already slowing down. but i feel like i cant really relax until papers are signed. 

positives and nagtives listed!

the positives:
HUGE
huge wall size windows
artsy floor plan (2 floors in 3 levels)
modern, nice finish
wood floor
about 50m from a big road with shops and restaurants
4min walk from Brixton Village!
Iceland within walking distance (6min)
huge Lidl and Tesco within 11-12min walk (read: bus)
gated area & flat has alarm
close to Victoria line, overground and busses
saving £££ cos partly furnished

the negatives:
street level
boring view/street without shops
closest grocery is Sainsbury's Local (ie. not huge)
cant buy our own washer/dryer cos white goods are included
won't have dishwasher cos rental flats here dont seem to have one...
likely high heating costs (due to large windows etc)
partly furnished...  i prefer to pick my own furniture


doctor is in the process of registering with GMC now. cant believe we're finally at that point! of course, right away, they asked for more papers. so there is the hassle of arranging those...  but that's just something u have to get done and that's that. and omg the bureucracy of the hospital job offer he accepted :D :D they sent like 10 documents/forms to fill and some need to be printed and filled and mailed (proper paper mail). some just filled online, need to register for something to do it. some u need to fill and email. and so on. brits LOVE their forms! also they wanted copies of some papers and him at the office so he went there today, luckily we live close to said hospital. the process seems pretty oerwhelming to be honest but i didnt get involved, it's his stuff and he can handle it - for once i'm keeping my paws off.

week 50 officially the best week of 2016?

if the week wasnt eventful enough with doctor accepting the conditional job offer and our flat offer going through... on friday morning doctor got an email to say he had passed the 2nd exam. the results were supposed to come out next week so this was quite a shock, had to log into GMC website to confirm it was for real. but yeah, he'd passed, was not even close. was a god damn RELIEF. now there is literally nothing stopping us (or slowing us down, should i say). i cant believe everything so far has gone according to plan. unfortunately while i do feel relief and im joyful, i am quick to move on to new worries. now im particularly stressed about the reference check for the rental property which is pretty serious sh*t. but i would say passing this exam was the most important thing out of all - because jobs seem to come easy, and there are plenty of flats too. well not plenty to fit our requirements but overall...it's not impossible to find a flat.  had doctor needed to retake the exam it would've caused a bit of a delay in him starting working and incurred costs of course. those things happen in life but im glad it wasnt the case now. now, if the registration  goes without a hitch, he's due to start work Feb 1st - exacly on schedule (a schedule i've drafted in excel, but thats kind of what counts?). retaking the exam would've complicated his residence card application too...  cos u need a passport for these exams, registering with GMC etc...and thats not really possible if the passport is with the Home Office. so yeah, the news about the exam crowned the week. so proud of my breakfast-in-bed-making bf that i'll share his PLAB2 results here;

somehow im not surprised that the 'bereaved relative' station didn't go so well. there is a reason doctor specialized in emergency med and not psychiatry or oncology or something where u need a that specific type of empathy...:D

Elmor invited us to celebrate the succesful week with her colleagues near tower bridge. there is a row of bars, all full through so many enjoy drinks ourside. reminds me of istanbul. i dont miss standing in the cold through.

but it didn't end there. on saturday doctor got is national insurance number in mail. thats yeat another step towards...everything. nice to have before u start work so that it won't cause delays.

and me...i got my first ever pair of glasses in mail yesterday!! blind no more! i was on my way to prepping for a christmas lunch with some finnish women and i think the frames complimented my look pretty well. although i dont need them inside, so it's mostly my outdoor look. but i had to take a selfie! 

it was quite odd walking around with glasses. i felt slightly different. had some issues estimating near distances, like when in stairs. but the effect of looking at something over the glasses... and it's soft and blurry, and then through the lens...and it's sharp... pretty magical! :D i ordered my glasses from Zenni, which a friend of a friend recommended. she is a pro glass wearer so i trusted in her opinion. i had a few people question how i could trust a chinese website with prescription glasses. like, what if the frames didn't sit perfectly on my nose? oh well, i only need them otside or for watching tv, so. and also, whether they look 'good' on me or not (subjective?). its not a main concern for me, im not in a beauty pageant and find myself attractive enough so that minor stuff like not wearing make up or wearing unflattering glasses don't faze hw i feel about myself. these were my first glasses anyway, and with shipping i paid around 35usd. i think thats an afordable way to get started. then i will learn lessons if needed, and maybe when i know more about what i want and need, and i can invest more in a real optics shop. maybe. and in 5 yrs if my sight has stabilized, i could perhaps get lasik surgery. for now, im happy with my budget choice.

A covered shopping area in Victoria;

my christmas lunch was not very christmassy...fish and chips. but i believe it was my first fish and chips in UK after moving. and mulled cider!

our street late in the evening, all foggy and chilly. 

oh and i just learned last night that we are also getting a bonus at work! i think it's in the next salary. awesomes!!

scary amount of stuff going on

wow sweet god our offer on a flat was accepted...  it was the 2nd offer we made, had to up the budget a bit cos we got greedy about space and it seemed like 2 bedrooms were maybe, possibly, just within our reach if we did. we came here perfectly prepared to live in a tiny box at least for the first year or so, but things have gone slightly better than my conservative estimation. i always rather be positively surprised than disappointed...    and this flat is even bigger than a standard 2 bed. the catch? its street level. on a gated courtyard, but visible, yeah. for us that's not a dealbreaker though. i know having wall sized windows will bite us in the ass in the form of heatings costs but thats life. i am a sucker for space, and modern finish. now i am of course stressed about the reference check that will take several days up to a week. our agent is optimistic that it will go through but turkey taught me to be even more pessimistic and vary than i was before....  since we are new here and my job is from finland, all we have to show is a steady 'ok' income for me, and some savings.

and then....
doctor accepted a job offer from his fav hospital this week. so its a crazy week. but i dont think he will have the contract in hand for this reference check so it won't be considered i think.  and its conditional on him getting registered by then, and that depends on the exam results which are out on the 21st. anyway im really happy things have at least started well for him work wise.

but soo...  i feel like its too early to celebrate the flat until it's all checked out and papers signed. so for now im just gonna put a photo from the outside - our hopefully-to-be home in Brixton near Coldharbor Lane.

last weekend in Enfield - one of the turkish areas of the city. there, one can run into turkish people, get service in turkish in restaurants etc. and eat tassssty turkish food. it had been 3 months so it was time :D

a cute book shop in Brixton

on monday i went to drag queen bingo at royal vauxhall tavern with Anna and her friends. it was much more fun than i even expected, hilarious stuff.

on tuesday, something completely different...  London Chess Classic! the final leg of Grand Chess Tour 2016.  like the little groupie i am, i went there to see the masters play with my own eyes. and the commentary, which i've been enjoying through live feeds, now in front of my eyes! it was very cool. and they gave me a full tournament pass!

and now it finally IS friday

i remember not so long ago the day of the week didnt matter much. even with my current job, i remember working a bit during the weekend and it was sort of all the same, almost. but since being in London, i have noticed a shift towards separating the 'week' and 'weekend'. and i am waiting for the weekend just like everyone else. not cos i hate my job, at all, i have no idea why this is happening. ive always associated that it happens to ppl who dislike their job but maybe not only. anyway so now im like everyone else, waiting for a friday, oh well.

this "Finland doesn't exist" story was almost funny. i get the social experiment aspect kind of, but the starter of the theory believes there is 90% of people who are just trolling for the fun of it, and 10% who actually take it seriously and want to disprove the country exists.  just dont think the number is really 10%. i think it's closer (or exactly) zero. so what i think we have, is a community of peoplw who enjoy the parody and feed off of each other, each thinking that they are feeding proper conspiracy theorists. cos even for people who vote for Trump and cant tell their Africa from their India*, it doesnt take much effort to disprove this theory, does it? so it's almost funny. if there was something similar, maybe not quite as outrageous, that would really have people believing, then i'd be interested in reading. hmm i think thats called bigfoot. and i have read plenty of articles about those to beieve, almost believe, or want to believe. its fascinating stuff.
*inspired by last nights The Apprentice UK episode, where a contestant had trouble distinguishing the two, and also thought 'Colony Gin' was a good name for a gin. go figure :D 

doctor is busy reading and wathing documentaries and whatnot again, kind of like after our move and before the course and hassle of the 2nd exam. i think its 12 days until we get the results actually! and meanwhile, he got another job offer resulting from his interview this past monday. and in case that doesn't pan out, 2 more interviews coming up. then, passing the exam, he would hopefully have a job waiting for him. if not, a sliiiight delay will ensue. last night he was reading about protestantism - and concluded after a while that it was boring as fuck. i said i know, i had to read about Martin Luthen and the rest for years in scool. luckily none of it stuck. look at me, being proud of my ignorance :)

we have Spotify family account and annoyingly the account is linked to the country where the credit card is issued from (=Finland, right now). not billing address or location, although those are required as well. you're supposed to be able to change the location and it should be your physical location but in practise, doesn't really work that way. so we get these finnish playlist suggestions that are quite annoying. i suppose i shouldnt mind, but im not really interested in most finnish music...

London Chess Classic final event starts today. all the big names are there, except for Magnus. but i assume thats cos he was just recently busy with defending his world title. anyway im kind of excited and wanna go and the tickets are free for females (and under 25 yr olds). sexist imho, but well. and i dont even wanna go into thinking how it is for those uncertain of their sex or gender or existence. u just have to go with what your passport says about it i guess, and that decides between 0 and 20£. i understand the positive idea behind the discrimination but not sure i can support it.

feels like friday but its not

me and dcotor went to Greenwich last saturday. there was a christmas market and yadi yadi. cute stuff.

view of London from the royal observatory. not that impressive when looking through a pocket camera lens. 

bottomless brunch at The Jam Tree.went there with Karin, our flatmate and her friend who'd come for a visit from finland. and asked our flat mate how she knows me, having seen my name on her fb friends. she remembered me from IRC gallery when my photos were floating around the internets. odd but so cool to be remembered, still - its been 10 yrs!!

me and doctor tried watching Asperger's Are Us but it was unfortunately a bit boring with the cast planning a comedy show...  not sure what i was expecting, usually i like documetaries and i definitely tend to like 'aspie's cos they're surprisingly much similarities in our thinking! yes im generalizing, and stereotyping, all at once.

i noticed they made a sequal to fifty shades of grey. Jamie Dornan must have been paid a lot to do that. or maybe he thinks its a great phenomenon. i just thougt he was really hot in The Fall (awkward but really...) so then to have him do something like 50 shades...barf. he looks like a puppy in the trailer, like a completely different person.

but what im gonna watch for sure is BAYWATCH! :D :D 

i have a cold, oh no. my sinuses feel annoying. and i ordered a pair of glasses online, from a shop the friend our flatmate recommended. so maybe they wont sit perfectly on my nose, who knows, but going out these days i feel like im blind, and watching tv is a bit tedious too sometimes, so i just need something to be able to SEE. doesnt need to be perfect, and life is not a beauty contest so who cares if the frames are an ideal width to my face. the fact that they didnt cost 100£ was kind of ideal. i can re-evaluate the situation again later.

päätit sit jenni muuttaa napajäätikölle

poikkeuksellisesti poikkesin puolijumala Hesarista ja päädyin lukemaan IS:n uutista sukupuolittuneesta väkivallasta ja jostain EU-kyselystä. sen mukaan 55% romanialaisista hyväksyy raiskauksen jossain tapauksissa. suomessa luku on 11% ja suurimassa osassa maita jotain siltä väliltä. jurha on tuo romanian asenneilmasto mutta tulipa mieleen että kysykää vähän etelämpää turkista jos haluatte räjäyttää tajuntanne. en halua edes arvailla mitä sieltä tulisi. helppo olisi mennä yliopisto kampukselle ja saada ihan eurooppalaisia asenteita mutta jos lähtisi kansan syviä rivejä haastattelemaan niin sieltä paistaisi läpi aika pajon vanhoillisuutta ja "kulttuuria".

viikko meni sen verran sosiaalisesti että aion pitää viikonlopun suht kotikeskeisenä. lääkärin kanssa saatetaanmennä ulos jotain puuhaa mutta mutta olis kiva vaan olla tekemättä mitään.


asunnonvälittäjät soittelee ja kysyy aina ihan samat asiat ku mitä edellisenä päivänä tai paria päivää aikaisemmin. selkeesti vaikeuksia handlata muistiinpanojaan, tai todennäköisesti eivät tee niitä. aina "hei, vieläkö etit asuntoa?"
"joo"
"oliko niin et 2 makuuhuoneen asuntoa?"
"joo, 1 tai 2 on passeli"
"ja oliko hintahaitari mitä?"
"max xxxx  puntaa"
"ja olikse tammikuun tai helmikuun paikkeilla about?"
"helmikuu"
"niin et tammikuu ei oieen sovi sitten vai?"
"joo ei oikeen, meidän nykyinen soppari on helmikuun loppuun ja kahden päällekkäisen vuokran maksaminen kokonaisen kuukauden on vähän liikaa"
"joo no aivan, no sit noita helmikuussa vapautuvia ei kyl hirveesti viel oo... ja eikse ollu niin että Brixtonista päin...?"
"joo siis ihan Brixtonin keskustasta, siis ihan keskustasta"
"joo ahaa oo, mulla tossa nimittäin oli yks asunto Ovalista... ajattelin että....  "
....
jep. HV. joskus niill ei edes ole mitään tarjota jostain 5km väärältä suuntaa, kunha soittavat ja tarkistatavat ettei parametrit ole muuttuneet kolmessa päivässä ja toteavat ettei oo nyt mitää. toki ihmisten tarpeet ja hakuehdot voi muuttua mutta tosi tyhmä joka kertaa käydä ihan samat jutut läpi. siis oikeasti ihan about sanasta sanaan hienolla brittiaksentilla toi ihan sama keskustelu, välitysfirmasta riippumatta! ihan pari poikkeusta on mutta se on yleensä se ihan sama voivottelu muuttoajasta ja "aito yllätys" alueen spesifiydestä. sitä voisvat vaikka kysyä että onko ne hakuehdot muuttuneet? mutta tuntuu et ne ei ihan aidosti monet tee mitään muistiinpanoja. niillä on siellä ehkä about nimi, puhelinnumero, se hintahaitari ja että "etelä" tai "pohjoinen" alueena. no ja ehkä se makkareiden lukumäärä mutta kun hintahaitarin tietää ni ei siinä ihan hirveesti valinnanvaraa oo. ei välttämättä saada siis todellakaan kahta makuuhuonetta, mutta se on ihan ok tässä kohtaa. kaikkea ei voi aina saada.

täällä on niin jäätävän kylmä etei mitään rajaa. mä en enää pysty kerrospukeutuu paljon paremmin, ja silti on nihkeetä. ulos pimeään ei yhtää huvita mennä palelee. ja ihan itse nyt tää kohtalo on valittu. nice job jenni...

still know nothing about wines

living in a room is starting to feel ...a bit much now that doctor is home again, all the time. i am trying to work while he is on a stationary bike watching a horror movie....not ideal. to his credit, mostly he watches better stuff, and not while biking.


i met someone through Vina yesterday at this innovative wine bar Vagabond. im not necessarily 100% sold on the idea, but i think it was interesting. u go to the bar, get a card, load money on it like you would on a travel card, and then u can go around and get your own glass of wine. if at the end of the night u have money left on your card, they give it back to you. same with the 5£ deposit of the card itself. im sure they are happy if u just keep the card and become a frequent visitor. immediate thoughts:
 

• the trouble of educating people on how it works, oh lord...  when you go to a new place and they say "so is this your first time here? let me tell u how we work..."  i go "fuck..." in my head. the time and effort, seriously!
• definitely allows people better chance of trying different things; u have time to ponder and see the options right in front of you (instead of words on a menu), u see the bottles, u can read about them, take a tasting note with you, only buy a tasting glass (25ml)...  so its great for wine hobby-ists and wannabes alike
• for the casual wine drinker, its also ok...doesnt beat table service tho
• the wines are handly organized by taste, not by region or something posh. so this end is for the sweeter wines? thank youuu.....
• the food and nibbles menu complements the wines well, i enjoyed
• skipping the bar queue is handy when u want to fill ur glass
• u still need to go to the bar at the beginning and end though, to buy/charge a card and at the end for the deposit, if nothing else
• at the Northcote branch, the atmosphere is nice and cozy, but as expected for anything nice in London, it's full even on a wednesday night...  good luck getting a table :/ but so this is a common problem
• holy F*** how much must it have cost to develop the self service system?? i cant not think about it. i had to google to find out they did develop it themselves, i was sure there is an american company who is just selling the license. now im sure vagabond must be selling (or trying to sell) the license, to recoup the development costs. running 4 bars cant cover them, can they? but what do i know. 

the back room of Vagabond. 

 

last weekend in Cay Tre for some vietnamese, with Avner & Elmor. tasty stuff, and not crazy expensive.

 something i tried last week. gets the jenni stamp of approval.

me and doctor decided to try this one as it is apparently a local delicacy. we didnt think so, it was meh. 

Zigfrid von Underbelly, a hisptery trendy bar in Shoreditch. very nice no doubt but PACKED in the weekend. i hate packed. 

vintage yard sale at Flat Iron Square. i went there with Susanna. the weather was jus a bit chilly, of course, i think it makes  sense to come back in 6 or so months...

team at 100% again

Sat 26th
i think doctor is healthy again, i woke up to a breakfast in bed;

Tue 29th
wtf Wolford tights are 90£?! i wasnt browsing cos i thought they were cheap, but i was surprised nevertheless.

i have been in further contact with various letting agents. some are nice, some annoying. one guy this morning (from Keating Estates) was super negative... "yeeeea, it's really not likely to find anything that close for around your budget, if you're looking for a steal (i am not) it's really not going to happen in january february, you will face a lot more competition then (well i am in the lookout now arent i??)...you are not going to get any more central than this...oh you are open to living above a shop? have you ever lived above a shop before, have you been to central Brixton in a flat above a shop? it's really quite loud! oh you have lived above a shop okay well then... but it's really not....you will have to give in something if you want a 1 bed so central...oh you have been to viewings that match your requirements?? well what were they like then? oh they were available too early, yeah see you can get a steal now for december but if you want something for february it's just not going to be that cheap (they were not steals, nor cheap, for the record)...so you really need to consider what you are willing to sacrifice...you know you do pay extra for such a central location...   "
i dont know if he was having a bad day or if thats a special technique that works for some potential clients. i was turned off. it's okay to give the facts, and i dont need a pep talk or exceptional optimism, but putting down evetything i say and giving this sad, naggy monologue was just...ufff, i was eager to end the phone call.

my nonexisting prayers have been answered; i found a farm shop that delivers ethically produced meat (and other stuff) to the door. must make a bigger order obv, but they had a good discount so i decided to try. ive been eating mostly bacon and sausages for the past 2 months, thats all the free range/RSPCA assured meat i can find... so some mince meat and chicken is welcome. we can freeze them and use one by one...  this is the order, arriving on friday;

doctor has 1 upcoming job interview at a hospital he had been eyeing, so i am happy for him. its 2 weeks later, but we are not in a hurry right now, as long as things are going forward...   he will get his exam results just before christmas so until then its just waiting, and hopefully some development in the job search front.

2nd hand observations about Dr Hamed's Common Stations for PLAB 2 (vs. Samson)

i need to rant a little bit, but its about my husbands PLAB 2 course so not wildly interesting. but i need to write this out.

doctor decided he should take a course in preparation for PLAB2. fair enough. there are at least 2 well known schools offering PLAB2 common stations courses in London; Samson and Hamed. online, they both have a big fan club with equally positive feedback. doctor had a friend who recommended dr. Hamed from personal experience so he took that. it was a 2 week course with some people traveling here from abroad to participate. boy were they sorely disappointed when the course lasted a few days extra, decided the last minute. so instead of 14 days it was 17 days. also, the mock exam (9 stations) that was included in the price of the course was reschuled for a later date. so those people coming from far away missed out on that. oh well.

the course was supposed to start 9:30am daily... but the earliest it ever started was 10:30. usually it starts around 11. the only break - for lunch - was around 4pm. and the day lasted usually until 9pm, often 11 or midnight. seriously. midnight. oh well thats great you get a lot of hours for your money? no, who the fuck can learn new stuff, sleeping barely 8 hours, spending hours waiting, and then sitting in class for 12h straight?  this seemed fucked up to me and doctor was not too happy himself. he was constantly tired and trying to make sense of everything. of course everyone arrived at the course center later, like 10:30 or even 11, but nevertheless when you study until very late night with just one break...:/

and the extra mock exams if you should buy any? they can be on consequent days, starting at 8am for example. which means you will wake up at 6:30 and be there at 8 but really it will start at 9 or 10 or whenever they feel like it. ok. then, after the exam they tell you the feedback will be given at 6pm. so you hang out in lovely Barking all day. at 6pm, of course there is nothing. at 7:30pm they might start considering to give feedback. and something around 10pm, you will MAYBE get your feedback for the exam you had like 12h ago. so around midnight or 1am you have received it and finally go home and try sleep and feel fresh for the next mock at "8am" the next morning. good luck with that. doctors, at least EM docs, are used to shitty sleeping hours and rough schedule, but for a private company to do this to people who paid proper money for their services is just shit. there is practically no time between the mocks to digest the feedback and try to improve. even if the exam is scheduled at 5pm, it wont start until hours later, and then your feedback can be delayed until 1am still.

however: dr Hamed is apparently a good teacher, the people i've talked to who took his course all agree on this. so i have nothing bad to say about that. taking his course, you will probably learn a lot, and it covers the stuff one needs for the exam - this is the most important thing. he also gives 'nice to know" info on NHS and how things work, which is invaluable in terms of integrating and preparing for work life. he makes people write everything down too, instead of giving free text books or notes as Samson does, so hopefully that will help you learn (unless you leave his class early at 10pm and have to beg others for notes). so im not bitching cos ppl taking his course arent passing their exam or cos the teaching is inadequate - i am bitching cos the organisation and customer respect are zero, when they don't have to be.

Dr Hamed's Common Stations is cheaper than Samson, but his extra mock exam's are pricier (150£ for 2, instead of 50£ each at Samson). and during the course Hamed  advertizes his extra 3 days course, which is more focused on practical examinations, and its 250£. most people take it, cos they don't get enough of that during the actual course. so in the end, you pay almost the same, most likely. Samson's course includes more mock's to begin with, and is a tad bit more organised, with free coffee on the premises (you wouldnt think that matters but if you pay 1£ per cup it starts adding up). i'm NOT saying Samson is better, he also lacks table manners from what i hear, but just putting more info out there. also on some courses, Samson has 'teachers' who just recently passed PLAB2 themselves, but lack teaching skills...so the students rather study from the book on those days. the facebook groups are just full of praise to these demi gods, i need to balance it out. honestly if these courses depended on european students, they would have to change their behavior. sorry to say but middle eastern/african people are unfortunately too used to this treatment and just accept it as it is.

oh and no one gets a receipt from either course, from any of the courses or exams, these businesses are for sure not paying all of their taxes.  im not super passionate about this, what is it to me if they dont pay taxes? but disrespecting student's time and then (most likely) not even paying taxes, somehow i find it double offensive.

another comparison between Samson and Hamed is here. it says there too that Hamed's courses are 17 days, but on Hamed's website they are pretty clearly 14 days. prepare to dedicate about 3 weeks of your life, just in case...

update 8/2017:
a friend of ours took Hamed's course this summer and we discussed it and i asked him specific questions in relation to the things i write about above. Hamed had actually said at the course that he had read negative feedback online and will try to make some improvements :D 
1. schedule: The course usually started at 9.30-10. If the course was to start later Hamed told students to come at 10 and it started around 10.30. Classes ended around 22.30 everyday. (Except for 2 manikin practice days. Those days ended around 19.30
2. Mocks covered 18 stations like the real exam.
3. 2 mocks were included in the course price. But if the date of your PLAB2  exam is too close to the end of the course you may end up having only 1 or none in extremely close dates (like 1 - 2 days to exam)
4. They stuck the overall schedule (ie. the course didnt run extra few days like last year)
So, these sound to me like positive developments.

the journey continues

its time that i open up about annoying stuff in UK:
*property ads do not usually mention the sqm or sq ft size - its like in turkey; "1 bed flat". that could be literally anything. another thing property ads fail to mention is the availability, if you're looking for something starting February (...) good luck with that. or even if you want to move tomorrow, you need to call the bloody agency to find out. i realize it a pull in method, but its annoying.
*reference numbers. brits love reference numbers. i think this, and many other issues are related to the fact that they dont have ID's. and general bureucracy. for example, i called my bank to arrange an appointment to make it a join account with doctor (now that he finally has proof of address to make it possible). they too my details, and hell, im a client of the bank already - not a stranger! and gave me the date and time and name of the person to meet. perfect and then; a reference number. what the actual fuck do i need that for? yesterday i got a txt msg reminding me of the appointment, cool. this morning the person we are meeting called to check we are coming in, and he seemed to now know i am a client at their bank...oh well. but hey i do have a reference number! i just dont get it. its not a huge issue but there is just so many numbers, and they assume you to always have them, HNS number, NI number, tax number, bank account number AND sort code, and the reference numbers to go along with eveything. a secure passcode app to store all these should be popular in the UK? if they didnt love paper so much :D

doctor is ill, poor thing. seems like a flu kind of thing. the day after he returned from Manchester where he took PLAB2 exam, he got ill and in the nights he is shiverng and shaking, feeling cold although wearing 3-4 layers of clothes (including a bathrobe!) and under a down duvet. him shaking in bed next to me keeps me awake too, ive had hard time waking up for work. but i feel bad for him. he's usually never ill this long, he has these short figh fever things, maybe once every 2 years or so, but they are oddly over in 24 hours. now its been double that i guess. at least he is sleeping now, i believe in the body repairing itself.

doctor got well enough to get up and go to our appointment at Lloyds. we finally had proof of address so we wanted to make a joint account. finally, after 2.5 months he has a bank account! party?! it was a 1.5 hour appointment too, the longest ive ever spent in a bank. so many papers, videos with information and just the sheer process of it all. it was tiring, but the customer rep was soooo nice. we later discussed whether they confused as for millionaires or why did we get that.

its as easy as 1 2 3

my facebook feed is always full of foodie videos that friends have apparently liked. they are easy on the eye but thats about it. it always starts with an empty cup, then they pour in eg. milk. easy so far. then sugar. ok, i dont have sugar cos i dont bake but whatever. then pieces of banana. alright. then caramel sauce. wtf, where do u buy that from? okay maybe Sainsbury's would have it. then they put it all in a blender. uff, if i had one that would mean i need to wash it afterwards. then pour the mix into an oven tray. jesus, that means waiiiiiting! while the dish is in the oven, the video shows you how to make a chocolate sauce or something, by using ..whatever, pieces of chocolate, cream, honey...lalala. im way checked out at this point. i scroll further down to forget about it.


the flannel pyjama we bought doctor from Primark. its super soft. this is a country where u need a pyjama in the winter...  thats just the way it is. but i did have to use one in Istanbul too.

a bar in Peckham. its under a bridge, very cool spot.

 Clapham North and pop up coffee shop. 

 Clapham Common park

a lunch made from semi-ready ingredeiens; mediterranean grains, courgettes etc.  i cant remember the last time i properly cooked, without using any pre-prepared ingredients. and i dont really care, for now.

 a korean restaurant, Kimchee. i had a bite there with Elmor earlier this week. it was a bit like a banquet hall, and stuffed, as popular places tend to be. the food was affordable and tasty tho, no complaints there. 

flowers that are starting to wither. doctor brought them to me last week when i was feeling really down. although im not into flowers, i appreciate the gesture. 

a large local branch of real estate agency Foxtons. they showed me a couple of flats. not even close to where i told them i want it (Brixton Hill vs central Brixton, about 4 bus stops in between). the agent thought maybe the extra space provided by the distance would persuade me. but no way. anyway it was a good experience to see something with my own eyes and now the search continues.

i went to the finnish christmas market yesterday with our flatmate. it was expensive of course so i only bought a couple things. they had everything though, from sausages to muumi mugs to handifrafts - it was nice. and outside there was the scandinavian market with mulled wine and swedish meat balls etc.

 the cafe had all the best finnish things :P i had to get a cinnamon roll, its been years since i ate any.

 i spent on a can of pea soup and a chocolate bar.

i also went to see Hunterian museum with Anna. it was pretty cool with all kinds of abnormal and gross stuff, brain tumors and syphilis ridden skulls and snake intestines :D