of fire drills and atas shopping

last night, just as i switched off my lights and layed on my bed to rest my weary limbs after spending the whole day walking (to school to find out that my bank account is still NOT yet ready and to waterloo to hc's sibeh sui4 apartment), i was rudely awoken by a strange and very loud ringing noise. in my semi-conscious state, it took me a while to realise that it was a freaking fire drill. at 1145pm (approx) at night. grabbing my keys and swipe card, i joined the shuffling procession to exit the building. and halfway, they announced that it was a false alarm and we could go back to sleep. sibeh du lan. and it didn't help that the fire alarm still went off periodically after i went back to my room

the next morning, i was roused by my sleep by a familiar sound. it was the same freaking high-pitched wailing of the fire alarm. unable to believe my ears, i tossed and turned in my bed for a while, hoping that it was just a nightmare, or a false alarm, and that it would disappear. but the wailing persisted, and knowing that there was no way i could go back to sleep in such a din, i grudgingly grabbed my keys, swipe card and (fortunately) jacket before exiting the building. what greeted my eyes on the driveway of my hall however was rather interesting. given that it was 730am and most people were preparing to go to school, the hall residents were in different states of preparation. most people were half asleep in their sleeping attire, but some people had shaving cream on, some had wet hair and damped shirts (evident that they rushed out of the bathroom halfway). there was even a girl merely wrapped in a towel. and given that it was a really cold morning (we could see our breath), i kinda pitied her. even in my dry state and my jacket, i was still feeling cold.

later on in the day, i decided to join a friend (aaron) to visit the famous harrods, to see for myself the legendary (6 pounds a roll) black toilet paper (to match your equally atas bathroom tiles).

the sibeh atas harrods

this place is really meant for the really rich. it is essentially a departmental store (like takashimaya) carrying alot of atas brands and providing very atas service. the labels for clothes they carry are in the league of armani and polo ralph lauren. no giordano or even GAP here man. and if the price of clothes are shocking, the price of furniture is even worse. to cater to the exquisite taste (and fat wallets) of their serious patrons, they sell custom-made foosball table for 9995 pounds. there's even a section for personal shopping (by appointment only).

even the familiar brand names are sold at an inflated price. for example, mcvities digestives are sold for 1.85 quid, whereas at somerfield it is sold merely 85p. ouch. and of course they have their own house brand products, but these are mainly food and toys. and of course they are not cheap. one good thing though is that harrods has a krispy kreme outlet, and the donuts are baked fresh and sold at the same prevailing price.

following that, we decided to go shop at a place more befitting our status, the one-pound shop. it operates on a similar concept to Daiso (though on a much smaller scale), selling most of their stuff at only one pound. the shop is pretty small, probably the size of a minimart, but the selection is adequate and the stuff is relatively cheap. i must emphasize on the word relatively because in singapore you can probably get most of the stuff at the equivalent price easily, but not so in london. but still given that it's rather close to where i stay, and toiletries here are really cheap, i'll probably be visiting this store quite often. ah the joy of being a cash-strapped college student.