• Tenancy Agreement for your new home in the UK -- When I came here last year, I stayed at my friend's place temporarily. His family let me stay in one of the rooms in their flat. I contribute to rent but the contract of the flat is with him and the agency. So, ... didn't have this.
• Electricity Bill, Gas Bill, Water Bill, Council Tax -- I pay rent all inclusive so again, so ... didn't have this either
• National driving licence -- I just came here so ... didn't have this either
• Proof of your previous or permanent address in the country you came from -- Hmm.. I just came here so ... didn't have this either
• A letter from your previous bank or your agreement that they may contact them  -- ... didn't have this either
• A letter from your employer in the UK confirming your address, salary, etc. -- Doesn't really work for most banks

Oh... And have I mentioned that most companies needs your bank account number so they can transfer salary directly to your account?!

The pre-requisites of opening a bank account have other pre-requisites that a non-resident who just came to the UK doesn't have. Sounds a bit like a deadlock situation!

I eventually was able to open a bank account as I was lucky to have received a letter from the home office that was delivered to my home address. I was able to use it with my employer's confirmation over the phone that I work with them. I'm with HSBC.

After a year, armed with my passport and bank statement, I tried to open an account with another bank to take advantage of the higher savings interest rate. They ran their credit checks on me and told me that I can't because I don't qualify.  My credit rating is not good enough. I checked with Experian (credit rating company) and my details seem to be accurate and I pay my bills on time so I wondered what they problem was. Even Experian couldn't really help... Experian and some friends speculated that it could be any of the following:

• I didn't stay in the UK long enough therefore not enough credit history. -- Doesn't paying the credit card bills on time count?
• The source of my credit history is only from the credit cards -- hmm... so I don't qualify?
• I'm not in the electoral votes -- Seriously?? I'm not even a citizen.

I know they have these things in place for security. But it's just too complicated and there's no one who really understands for sure why or how. It would have been better if there's a system that can actually identify what's wrong with a person's credit rating and provide steps on how it can be improved.

I miss Shanghai. In Shanghai, you just go to the bank, show your passport and open an account.

But out of all these, at least I have one that I can use.  I just can't take advantage of the higher interest rates from other banks.

1. Have played basketball
2. Travelled to Louborough with V
3. Travelled to Nottingham with V and Mila
4. Travelled to York with V
5. Travelled to Bath with V
6. Read the book and watched the movie Pride and Prejudice
   1. Because I was intrigued after all the information I learned from the Bath tour
7. Have travelled with train
   1. I take this to and fro office everyday.
8. Have travelled with the tube
9. Have travelled in a double decker bus
10. Have travelled in a long bus
11. Have travelled by coach
12. Had travelled with a car
    1. I know, I know... Riding a car?! You have to give me this... I'm a foreigner in one of the most expensive places in the world...
13. Had watched a movie in the Warner Studios' London office -- movie: Speed Racer
    1. Speed Racer was great especially when I saw the Korean singer - Rain!!
14. Had watched Sex and the City in Orange Wednesday with Tracy
    1. To Orange mobile subscribers they get buy 1 get 1 free movie tickets when they get a code from Orange
15. Had watched Indiana Jones in Orange Wednesday with Tracy
    1. Don't ask me about the move... Overall it was ok but the ending was disappointing...
16. Have shopped in PriMark
17. Have gone to church - Hillsong
18. Met some nice new friends in the office and in church
19. Had fish and chips
20. Brought a friend around London
21. Have taken up hip hop aerobics
    1. Getting better a little but still suck in memoring 30sec dance steps
22. Goes to Chinatown weekly to get food supplies
23. Have cooked Radish cake (cantonese snack)
    1. I used the wrong flour. I didn't look like how it should but at least the flavor was similar. I'll try to make one again; next time with the right flour.
24. Have cooked green bean soup (chinese dessert)
25. Burned food in a wok
    1. I left the wok over a fire to continue cooking the food. I didn't know meat here was not so fatty.
26. Working on 2 projects with Shanghai
    1. Excited to work on projects with Shanghai again!
27. Working on 1 project with India
    1. It's almost complete now; 2 phases left. It was a good experience. I've learned quite a lot from the people I worked with on this project.

Hmm... 25 things in 4 months... It wasn't that bad. Though recently I'm just staying at home recharging myself for the work the following week. The past 4 weeks were very busy times.

Things I look forward to doing:

1. Get a Schengen visa so I can travel to France and taste authentic French food
2. Buy a cheap return ticket to my hometown for Christmas (wishful thinking)
3. Discover good restaurants around where I live
4. Post some more pictures of places and food of course on this blog

• I've found a new route to work. I go from Woking to London Waterloo by train and walk from London Waterloo to the office at London Victoria. Total travelling time from door to door is around 1 hour 15 minutes. I'm kinda a slow walker. I have to walk faster. If I walk faster, I should be able to do it in 1 hour 5 minutes. Train takes about 35-40 minutes. Walking takes up the rest of the time.
• I met a good friend from Shanghai - Virginia and her sister in London.
• I met my friend from the Philippines - Jeremy.
• I've started with a project the day I started work.
• I've met another good friend of mine from Shanghai - Francis. He came to London for a business trip.
• I've been to China town in London trying to hunt for the best Hong Kong style milk tea.
• Played basketball 3 times already. Thanks to Sarah S. for introducing me to people who play basketball here in the office.
• The case of my monitor is broken and have to be sent to the service center for repair. :(
• Reformatted my PC because it was infected by a virus.
• Had my first ever credit card purchase online
• Showered with icy cold water. Twice was because I didn't know how to turn on the hot water. Today... there's just no hot water at all.
• Purchased a big GBP 20 bag which I think I can buy in Shanghai for only GBP 8-10.
• I went to a museum.

I'll try to post some pictures of the route I take going to and from work/home. Still have lots I can do here...

For next month, I'm going to Louborough, York and Nottingham to visit Virgina and her sister. It should be interesting time.