Hari Raya

The weekend before last was a lovely, lovely weekend. Not only was it our first wedding anniversary, our anniversary also fell on a four day weekend, as it was Hari Raya - the end of Ramadan. Balik kampung gave me sweet, sweet relief!

Everyone hightailed it out of town for Hari Raya, and M and I were originally planning to do the same. But after realizing that we could 1) join the millions of Malaysians on the highway (and waiting for hours at the toll booth) or 2) stay in KL and enjoy the city, which would be far less crowded than the highway, we knew what we had to do. So we cancelled our reservation at the E&O in Penang, and stayed in KL all weekend.

The city wasn't empty, but it was a hell of a lot less crowded than it normally is. And it was freakin' great. The traffic was nil, the restaurants weren't crowded (the ones that were open, that is) and there was a slower pace to things - and I don't just mean the speed at which people walk here. (Seriously. A snail's pace. Drives us batty. I'm just saying.)

We had a great Italian meal for our anniversary, then spent the rest of the weekend taking it easy, doing a bit of furniture shopping, and we even caught a movie on Monday.

Okay, about the movie...it was Bourne Ultimatum, which I didn't think was all that great. I mean seriously, at the last minute you LOOP YOUR ARM through the seat belt and that saves you from the latest fiery multi-car crash? I am the "Oh, Like That Could Really Happen" Viewer. This is why M hates watching movies with me. But the part of the movie that was actually good? The theater itself. We went to the Gold Class theater, complete with leather recliner, blankie and snacks-on-demand button. I don't know if I'll ever be able to go to a regular movie theater again.

All rested up from our relaxing weekend, we are thinking about putting up our Christmas decorations. It's only October, you say? We aren't concerned with the calendar. In our mind, it's close enough. Besides, it's 90 degrees here at Christmas, so what's the difference? I want to be able to enjoy the tree for a while before I leave for the US (which will be Thanksgiving weekend). Who's up for some eggnog and carols?

(Who am I kidding? In my family, it's not eggnog and carols, it's Bud Light and Dirty Scattergories. Norman Rockwell, we are not.)