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why wy?

Monday, November 28, 2005 at 9:14 PM

Just spent an amazing five days in KL, with plenty of shopping, catching up, eating. For those who don't know, KL is the capital of malaysia, about 3 hours by car and 6 hours by bus from singapore. Traffic is crazy, alcohol is expensive (because of a sin tax) and the food is amazing.

The bak kut teh, the yong tau foo, the kolo mee, banana leaf rice, joe's brother's home made crab curry and bacon bone curry, char siew freshly roasted on a tray... i would have taken photos but i couldn't put down my chopsticks... well actually my camera battery is busted but the former sounds more poetic (and is also true).

We also got to meet the king and queen of malaysia! Yes, I am now three degrees of seperation from royalty. A classmate of joe's threw a hari raya party, and it turns out that his mother's cousin married into the royal family, so the couple showed up as well but didn't really socialise. They looked fairly ordinary, none of the ceremonial dress they have on in the photos in every building. It was interesting (to me) to see how everyone parted as they made their way into the house, taking turns to kiss their hands, you felt the aura of royalty rather than saw the glitz you normally associate with being king.

Drinks are just as expensive as in singapore, with beer costing RM15 after happy hour (and the place we went had their clocks 10 min fast, so we missed out) and cocktails about RM20 to 30.

I tried to dress like a malaysian and failed for the second time. Tevas and fisherman pants don't cut it, it seems. Bermudas and tevas are an even bigger giveaway that you are not from around here. To blend in, you have to:
- not wear anything skimpy or shorts. Or you could, and look like an ah lian.
- wear cheap slippers. or high heels. Avoid sporty expensive sandals.
- take the bus. these are usually smoky old heaps, standing next to one can give you lung cancer. you do get locals riding the subway and the monorail, just not as many.
- be extremely fashionable or suitably daggy. I didn't see many people dressed in classic cuts, and if you wear quick dry khaki togs, you have lost the battle.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 2:47 PM

still in mackers, no I didn't stay the night even though it is a 24 hour outlet, but i can't go home. There is construction downstairs, construction in the flat above, so it is too noisy even for one as deaf as me.
the only downside to free wireless, this ah pek just came up and fondled the tip of my screen, wah, toshiba ah, how much?

ek.

had a moment of dejavu - more like recognition really - when i ordered hot tea. It comes with a sealed packet of 2 sugars, creamer and a stirrer. Little packets that sit in my aunt's flat, she works for mackers, sealing sachets of taste while watching tv. I'm leaving mine unopened, it seems a waste of her effort somehow, to just consume one sugar and chuck the rest out, as I know they will.

Monday, November 21, 2005 at 10:00 PM

god bless the golden arches for french fries, ketchup and wireless broadband. Ahhhh. I'm not sure if it is all McDonald's, but the one under my aunt's flat provides free wireless surfing, BYO laptop and buy a drink.

can't get this aria out of my head, Vide Cor Meum, which can be heard in the soundtrack of hannibal, which ridley scott liked so much that he used it again in kingdom of heaven, which is a really bad film despite all the shots of orlando bloom.

wish i could get madonna's latest out of my head, suspect it will replace jingle bells as the new irritating standard of the season.

I have also decided to go back to the newspaper to work for the next month or so. what to do, bumming is an expensive lifestyle...

Saturday, November 19, 2005 at 10:12 AM

I am completely in love with ryuichi sakamoto again, his piano music is just beautiful. I'm not quite a fan of his more electronic music, or even his bossa nova, but the film pieces just make me go ahhhhhh.

anyone has any sakamoto cds (i have casa and 1996) i can borrow? am also looking to boost my collection of The Smiths.

I have in the past couple of months, discovered broadband, and podcasts. am still at a loss as to what to listen to, and would welcome recommendations, but here's what's on my playlist so far:
the naked scientists science radio show (bbc) - hur hur, naked. actually it is just science explained in laymen terms.
cinecast - two guys talking about movies.
coverville - i haven't actually tuned in to this often, but it is cover versions of popular songs.
in our time - a serious bbc discussion on influencial ideas and people. listened to the one on cynicism, quite academic at times although i learnt the early greek cynics fornicated in public and barked like dogs (to make a serious philsophical point no doubt).
naxos audiobooks review - they were reading the play, the importance of being earnest .

i guess i would like some comedy, but the intelligent kind.

Thursday, November 17, 2005 at 4:46 PM

Things i forgot about singapore
self-flushing loos
how fast the buses drive (so you can't afford to look for your stop, read a book and stand up at the same time)
the smell of public transport (or rather the smell of others in a sweaty country)
how regular sunrise and sunset is
how near everything is, now that i'm used to walking aussie distances of near (2km minimum)

Got to go to a really posh wedding where the guests could be divided into doctors, journalists and ex-journalists. Had to make a thankfully short and impromptu speech, by which time I was hoping I wasn't slurring, and if I did, everyone else was too drunk to notice. The groom and bride even had a cocktail list which I was hoping to make my way down, but gave up around the 9th drink to go for my favourite, the lychee martini. By the last drink, I was trying to order more martinis but ended up ordering margaritas. I would have asked ricky the bartender to change the order, but realised (even through my haze) that he was definitely more sober, and had a better change of being right.

We just had another fabulous dinner, at the nazi crab place. If you haven't been, read karen's guide. But our experience was totally weird:
1) We didn't have to queue. Eng Seng is legendary for making you queue even when you get there at 530pm, for a 7pm dinner. They had no more crabs by 640pm, and started turning people away.
2) The crab aunty, aka hegla the ss officer, was cheerful, even polite when we changed the order. You should have seen gnat's face of horror, when she realised i didn't order female crabs (roe), and then, when I said I was going to tell the crab aunty to change the order. Nooooo, she cried, do you want to die?

For any of you who are worried that we had somehow ended up on the twin earth version of eng seng, don't worry. The crab aunty started becoming her old grouchy self by 615pm.

Thursday, November 10, 2005 at 7:02 AM

Finally, a sigh of relief, second year is over. I'm sure my brain is a sieve, information comes in, information goes out, hopefully enough of it will stick. Who needs to know about systole and diastole anyway, ptui.

Went for a gelati crawl last night to celebrate the end, but it's not half as fun as a pub crawl. We only made it to two shops before feeling really sick, despite sharing the first ice cream among 3. Will stick to beer from now on.

I know I'm going to miss Melbourne in the summer, drinking beer outdoors, trying my hand at surfing, eating superthin italian pizza...

Saturday, November 05, 2005 at 4:21 PM

I keep bumping into philosophy-related links lately. There was that very funny reservoir dogs socrates joke, and here's another one. (A bit lame, but I laughed.)

A friend of mine once told me a joke: A job hunter, a philosophy major, went here, there and everywhere in his search for employment, but in vain. Having run out of options, he swallowed his pride and took up the offer of playing a bear in a costume at a zoo. He was locked up in a cage, where he was supposed to imitate various bear-like movements to entertain visitors.

To his horror, another bear appeared in the cage and started approaching him. He panicked and was on the brink of collapse when the bear said: "Don't be afraid. I'm also a philosophy major."


And the arts grads are busy flipping burgers at the food stall next to the bear pit...

It's from an article in china daily btw.

There is also AskPhilsophers, where you can ask real academics questions, unfortunately none of the 'what's going to be on the ethics exam and is cheating morally objectionable' type questions.

enjoy!

Wednesday, November 02, 2005 at 11:40 AM

I love the idea of microcredit, and now you can lend small sums of money to a farmer in Africa. Nobody has defaulted yet, and at worst it becomes a donation. This is the boingboing reference, and the actual site kiva. I think opportunity is the best gift.