bits and pieces

we arrived safely back in Chicago Tuesday afternoon.

... came back to a pee-saturated rug - thanks, crazy cat!

spent the whole day yesterday pretty much just recovering from the whole trip(s)

... today did laundry and will be heading out for some grocery shopping.

will do a bit more updating of the past month in a few days.

... in the meantime - Happy 50th Birthday to Malaysia! MERDEKA.

So last night we went to do this early check-in, a fantastic service available at Zurich Airport provided for quite a few airlines & destinations. Kosh and I have our borading passes already, and will be unencumbered by anything except our carry-on backpacks most of the morning today if we were to head out to Zurich town one last time before heading to the airport. No chocolate-laden bags to cart around...., until we get to ORD lah, heehee!

Poor Kosh has been quite the zombie these past few days, what with having had loads of nights on call prior to the aborted flight last Thursday. But yes, he managed to finagle replacement/earlier flight (as opposed to the same flight 24 hrs later), arriving with enough time for freshening up and to mark by brother's birthday before we left for the family reunion/gathering thingy. omg, *i* hardly recognized anyone, musta been a major blur for Kosh, poor thing! The following day was lunch with my aunt & her hubby - of course, Swiss meals being very much like the French gastronomical experience, all in all lunch was from 12:30 till almost 5pm, LoL! So what if it involved a bit of driving higher up the side of the mountain to get a better view of the lake and its surrounding areas while putting up with surly service that barely gets compensated by the view :p The *next* day, Kosh & I made our way back to Zurich (bro had gone back the day before, had to work mah!), back to bro's apartment, then up to a nearby mountain/viewpoint. The view was of course magnificent, but it wasn't a clear day, so we could only see hints of the Alps in the distance. My bro & s-i-l prepared a special farewell dinner which we consumed voraciously *late* after we'd done the early check-in thingy.

So now, it's a matter of slowly waking up, saying our farewells to bro (work) and s-i-l (either language class, or doctor's b/c she's not feeling too well), and figuring out whether we be lazy and take a bus straight to the airport, or we put a bit more "tourist time" and head into town. After all, Kosh hadn't got to see much of anything apart from restaurants/fields/trains/trams/busses... :p But he *did* get a BigMac for lunch yesterday, LoL!

Anyways... catch up properly in a few days' time. Ciao!

cancelled?!

aaarrggghhh, Kosh's flight to Zurich has been cancelled... seems that there's really crappy weather out there forcing delays and cancellations... dunno how the airline is going to scramble and replace/make up for the cancellation... bummer, eh? :( was sooo lookin forward to his arrival today too! :(

my typo fairy went hogwild, didn't he?

Wow... I'm only now reading what I last posted... where I didn't get to reread anything, and just hit publish assuming I'd done ok with my typing... heck, the screen was flickering and all smushed up, there was no way I *could* read what i'd typed... yikes, it was bad, LMAO! so there you have it, one reason my posts take a while to get published, or, once they are, I may republish a few times as I read and then find error after error, LoL!

anyways... time is slowwwly running out for my trip to Malaysia... next stop, Switzerland! Land of chocolates, cheese, and clocks [we'll i'd say "watches" but thought i'd stick to the "c"s]... I think i'll be taking a whole bunch of the chocs back w/ me to Chicago :-)

This might be my last Malaysian entry, so let me just mention that my parents and I went to see TUNKU the Musical last night [TQ TQ TQ TQ Lina!!], and wow, go go go go go see it! The storyline is a bit weak la, but it still serves as a good reminder/education for those who forgot/never really knew the history of Malaysia in terms of the racial divide, the separation of Singapore, and the race riots of May 13th 1969. But... what made the whole thing an excellent show is the fact that it is 99.9% song. And excellent songs. Excellent singing. A fantastic production. Look for where the cynical reporter finally gets "hit" with the enormity of the racial havoc. Prepare to be impressed at the artistry yet utterly horrified at the realistic portrayal of a rape during the height of the riots. Overall, it's 2 hours well spent. And an indication of great things to come in the Malaysian arts scene. Read/see more here and here.

Okay.. over and out!

last call for postcards!

please see HERE for details... remember I just might add a bonus country too... all for free... the only "catch" is that you mention me/the postcard with some linky love to tihs page once you get yr postcard... easy what... so what are you waiting for? :-)

So today was my last torture/massage session... gonna miss getting tortured by 100-year old spoons, suction cups, and recently when I complained about getting this pain in my bloer back upper butt area when walking around KL, I also got totally elbowed in my butt, ouch!!, but you know what, no more twinges when walking after that :-) No pain no gain, my friend! :-)

uh oh... the monitor is on the blink!! I'll post this while I can... bye!!

"welcome to Malaysia"???

The scene:
About 145pm, Sunday August 12th 2007, at the 2nd floor public toilet of Central Market.

The situation:
I am waiting seemingly forever for a bathroom stall to free up in the row of squatting/sitting stalls. Over on the other side are the horrid feminine urinals the inventor of which I would like to have flayed, but that’s off the topic. So there, I am, waiting waiting waiting for a door to open… One or two other girls come in and walk by me to check the stalls, then realize I’m waiting, and maybe they just can’t wait, so they go over to the other side, and I’m spared asking them to *ahem!* I’ve been waiting here, get in line, eh? I’ve never understood the concept here of queuing in front of an individual stall door: what’s so difficult about waiting in one main line??

Then.... Ahhhh..... then in walks this person... maybe in her mid-20’s... does the whole walking past me and checking the stalls thing... then takes up a post halfway down the way, obviously intending to pounce at any door that would open next.

Me: Uhhh, excuse me, do you mind to queue, please?
[note my use of broken English, and I did use the Malaysian cadence of speech,]

She: [turns towards me with eyes flashing and aggressive body language] What? I HAAAAAVE to queue ah? Where is the sign? You show me any sign [accompanied by exaggerated outlining in the air of a signboard] that says we MUST queue to use this bathroom? Who are you to order me?

Me: [totally taken aback] [with an incredulous look on my face] Ummm, I used “do you mind” and “please”, it certainly wasn’t an order...

She: [continues to membebel belligerently] I stand here easy lah, door open I go in lah, [blah blah blah]

[her lips are moving but I’m not capturing what she’s saying because my mind is still trying to process the fact that I’m getting bitched out for asking someone to queue]

[she walks off in a huff, to go to the other side, I suppose]

... and her parting shot as she rounded the corner?

“Don’t try to teach* me in my own country!”

Me: [almost bursting out in laughter] Hey hello, I’m a Malaysian lah! F*ck you!

By that time a stall had opened up so I made my way in [a squatting one, ugh!], dunno lah if she said anything back. Okay, okay, okay so I dropped a few levels by that last phrase, but you know what, even with that I didn’t come anywhere close to where she resides.

What if I actually *had* been a tourist? How would THAT have been for a “Welcome to Malaysia” message, eh?

And no matter I was Malaysian or not, no matter what your problem might be, you. Just. DON’T. react in such an ugly, repulsive, arrogant, toxic manner to a polite request!

Ugly Malaysian indeed.

And we’re celebrating our 50th year of Independence in 19 days?

This country has a looooooooooooooong way to go.

*******
NOTE
*******
For those unclear = the use of teach is a direct translation of the Malay term used, most commonly found in the phrase "kurang ajar" (less taught, having a deficiency in "education"), an insult!, not just because it means you have been deemed deficient in certain skills/social niceties/whatever, but there's that implication that you are rude, disrespectful, etc etc etc.

So her parting shot implied that she decided that I had deemed her as "lacking teaching" and didn't appreciate the judgement.

Unfortunately for her, her reaction to the whole thing shows that she is, indeed, kurang ajar.

One more interesting perspective to add to this: if you want to take a step back and look at the philosophy behind this "kurang ajar" concept ... coming from a more community-based society [as opposed to the more individual-based "western" sociey] it places blame for someone "lacking teaching" with the "teacher" and not the "student", i.e. the parent more than the child,,, otherwise wouldn't the term used indicate a deficiency in LEARNING?

Or it could be designed very much like the insult "bastard" where it's not so much the recipient as the recepient's mother who's targetted by the insult, and that's why it's such a powerful insult?

Hmmmm.....

I'm burning, I'm burning, I'm burning, I'm burning for ... ?

Heh, Malaysia must not want me here. Guess who’s been hit with fever *again*? I’ve been stubbornly not wanting to see the doctor because I’ll just be given panadol (aspirin) and antibiotics without so much as a glance! Although since the fever’s been going on for a while, I *might* need the abx if for some reason I’ve got an infection brewing? We’ll see how I feel tomorrow morning – I’ll be downing cough syrup *and* panadol tonight before bed. And because of this second round of fever, I’ve had to cancel lunch and after-work plans on Wednesday, a pig-out nasi lemak session today, and a lunch tomorrow. Grrrrrr! I have only one “real” week left to catch up with this week’s postponements *and* next week’s already-planned dates. Sigh!

Btw – those who signed up for postcards from Malaysia – keep an eye out for ‘em!

And for those who have yet to sign up – I’ve extended the “deadline” to Sunday 19th August. And and and and! Depending on my travel plans while in Switzerland, I *might* add a bonus postcard/country too! Aren’t I nice??

Okay, I’m gonna go play Spider Solitaire till I pass out now.

Life is Good.

The audience was laughing out loud! Yes, the Malaysian audience, that perhaps didn't really know the cast of characters that well, and that is usually quite subdued, they were laughing out loud and totally enjoying the movie. That made my experience of watching The Simpsons Movie even MORE enjoyable, and that's saying something because apart from a few slightly draggy scenes, I didn't feel it was a bloated tv episode, and was really enjoying myself.

Oh hey, did I mention I went to see The Simpsons Movie yesterday?

heehehee!

Did the whole Cheese Naan and Milo Ice Blended with Tapioca Balls things too, mmmMmmmMMMMmmMMmM!!

Oh, and Kosh is joining me in Switzerland in a few weeks' time! Whoohooo!

Life is good.

drained

... i don't remember being so drained by the local weather when I was here for 6 months last year! But this time around... yikes! I'm sweating after two steps, and am totally drained of energy halfway through the day! Even after showering in cold water I'm wiping not just water but sweat off of me. B.L.E.A.H! ... I pity the person I'm meeting at 530pm tomorrow - i'll be all stinky sweaty b/c I'll have been out all day by then :p Saturday's going to be a full day too, but at least I'll be with the car, ... sometimes you just can't get enough air conditioning!!

Haven't had my nasi lemak yet... can you believe my digestive system is still out of whack? :( But saturday evening I *will* have cheese naan no matter what :D

Now to recover from a totally unfruitful errand-running morning.
Ciao!