Getting Twisted

Something's been bothering me lately. I find myself getting twisted over the littlest things. It makes me feel like a really unpleasant person to be around.

I left the office yesterday to head to the airport. Two hours later, we finally arrived at said airport. The traffic nearly made me crazy. So the twisting began. Keep in mind that I think I spent more time in traffic than I did in training, so this had been building all week. And luckily, Friday was Indonesia's Indepedence Day. Have you tried to get out of Houston on Fourth of July weekend? Take that times 1,000.

Then, I got to the airport check in line. There were two parties in front of me. Fifteen minutes later, I'm in the same place. I check the desks. Yes, all the desks have a customer service rep. Yet, we are not moving. They are all just sitting there. Maybe it's a computer problem. And here's where I know that I'm become a total bitch. See, at this point in time, I couldn't give a rat's ass about the computer problem. Maybe if you caught me at another time, I don't know. Sometimes this stuff doesn't bug me at all. But other times it's all I can do to not cause a scene and end up in airport security. I imagine it's not a pleasant place to me. All I know is that I'm in work clothes in an airport that has virtually no air conditioning. Move the fucking line. It's all about efficiency, folks. And the twisting continues.

So, I finally make it through the line and got to customs. Short line I observe, thankfully. Until the customs officer in the line that I chose to stand in seems to want to read through the couple in front of me's entire passports, and then discuss the next Harry Potter book's plotlines. MOVE. So I switch lines, which is never a good idea, but I just can't help myself. I have an uncanny knack for picking the slowest moving grocery/immigration/entry/check in line. As I move, another line becomes open next to me, so I try to get the guy's attention who is in that line. He finally he looks at me and I utter the only words I can politely say at this time. I motion to the empty line and say:

"Go."

For the love of God, just go so that I have a chance to get through the line before midnight. Karma is busily chowing down on my ass.

I finally get through customs and breathe a sigh of relief.

See, I get twisted lately. The smallest things will, in my mind, build up to the point where I will, for example, exclaim "Well, for fucks sake!" to the poor Continental Airlines counter clerk when my flight is delayed (as is what happened in Austin a few weeks ago).

This is not healthy. Nor polite, which kills me more than you would know.

I could say that this is because we are living overseas. But we've been here damn near a year. I could say that this is because I've lowered my Lexapro to a pitiful 5mg a day. It's the stress. It's being a newlywed. It's work. There are lots of excuses for the fact that I get twisted over the tiniest things.

But the thing that scares me the most is that, maybe it's not the living situation. Maybe it's not the travel. Maybe it's not.......fill in the blank here.

Maybe I've just become a total bitch.

I'm well versed in the ways of chronic mild depression (which in my mind, is simply the result being too self reflective for my own good, coupled with the genetic predisposition to depression, which makes me truly unpleasant at times). I'm also very familiar with GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) which plagues all the women in my family. I think it's a result of good ole' genetic Catholic guilt gone awry when combined with the white-bread Methodist background of my father.

I've suffered from GAD and depression since I hit my teens. It's easy when you are plagued with these particular ailments to blame everything on them. But I've finally gotten to the point where I think I know myself well enough to, well, know myself. And so because of my supposed self-awareness, I think I should be able to rise above this. As I've always said "The first step is understanding the root cause. The issue. Only then can you take the necessary steps to correct them."

Only, the problem is, I know my issues. But I can't seem to change my reactions.

I just feel that I'm spending a lot of my time here pissed off about one thing or another. And I just despise that. It makes me feel terribly ungrateful. But I can't help my reactions. Logically, I know that we have an unbelievable opportunity. Plus, I get to keep working, even though M's job is really the one that moved us here. So, ungrateful = guilty. Plus, the one person who understands my frustrations is M, but I worry about sharing my frustrations with him, because then he feels guilty. Like it's his fault, or rather his job's fault. But I encouraged him to take this job. So it's an endless cycle of me reassuring him, and him reassuring me.

So I'm going to assume that this is just work travel hangover. There are so many things we enjoy here.

If I could only get over myself and appreciate them.

No Wonder My Back Hurts

Purse BKLM (before Kuala Lumpur move)

Purse: a lovely, compact black Coach with matching wallet
Contents:
- wallet
- 4 lipsticks
- lip liner
- face powder
- pen
- sunglasses
- key chain with approximately 7 keys

Purse AKLM (after Kuala Lumpur move)

Purse: all weather nylon shoulder sling bag. Think parachute pant material. Quite the fashion statement.
Contents:
- chapstick with SPF
- 4 lipsticks (some things never change)
- toilet paper/tissue packet (the lack of toilet paper in some bathrooms is a very real concern)
- umbrella (for the impromptu rain shower or hot midday sun)
- mini deodorant (it's freakin' hot)
- cash (no credit cards)
- house key card
- hair claw, clips and bands (again, freakin' hot)
- sunglasses
- pens
- camera (for feeding my Flickr obsession)
- face blotting papers (powder just mixes with the sweat and makes a...paste)
- spare flip flops (if I'm wearing my "going out" shoes, which I can only do if we are cabbing it. Then, if we can't get a cab home, I'm all set with my walking shoes)
- cards (so Matt and I can play gin at the pub - we like to live on the edge)

The cuty, tiny clutches that are so popular right now are just a pipe dream for me.

Can you imagine when we have kids? We won't be able to leave the house without one of those luggage carts you find at the airport...

Hi, I'm a Stereotype!

Before we moved to KL, I felt like I was fairly culturally sensitive. I may not have been the most worldly person, but I was sensitive to other cultures and somewhat aware of how my "Americanism" was perceived by many people outside the U.S. Therefore, I've always strived to combat the perception of the obnoxious, rude American expat at every turn.

That's why it drives me nuts when I act like one.

See, ever since we moved to KL, my number one stress trigger has been shifty cab drivers. Specifically:

1) KL cab drivers essentially get to interview you and decide whether or not they want to take you where you want to go.
2) The meter rate is a foreign concept to them. Some of them "forget" to turn it on, and then some just outright refuse to when you ask them.
3) The reasons for not using the meter vary - "It's raining" is a popular one. In fact, forget getting a cab at all if it's raining, but if you are lucky, you can get one and only be charged double or triple. Other reasons include, "Bad traffic" or "It's Tuesday" (or fill in the blank with whatever day of the week it is).
4) Back to being interviewed...some cabs will drive by the cab stands and ask people where they are going and then pick the one that is going where they want to go or who they think they can charge the most to. It doesn't matter where you are in the queue. Still others will queue up in front of restaurants and smoke while calling out "You need a cab?". Then the negotiation starts and he decides what to charge you. If you say no, then that's fine, he will choose to continue to sit by the side of the road and make no money rather than agree to what we consider to be a reasonable rate (and still more than the meter).
5) Most of them drive like a bat out of hell and some don't even have seat belts, so you are paying a premium price for one crazy ass ride.

This happens to locals as well as expats, however, I feel that it happens to expats more often. In fact, when we are with one of our local friends, she will usually hail the cab for us, just so we can get the meter rate.

Let me say, there are some cab drivers who don't do any of these things. Some of them are very nice people and we keep their cards and try to use them whenever possible. So no hate mail, okay? If someone gives us the meter rate, we usually tip extra because we are so grateful not to be cheated. So if your husband, brother, cousin, etc. is a KL cab driver who goes by the meter, don't yell at me. Send me their number and we'll gladly use them at every turn.

So...we were walking up the street after our spa afternoon and managed to hail a cab. This was good, because it looked like it was about to rain, I had on a white T-shirt and we had no umbrellas. Good so far. He turns on the meter. Good again. We needed him to take us by the grocery store, wait for about 5-10 minutes and then take us home.

Now, cabs have two meter rates, a "driving" rate and a "waiting" rate. The waiting rate is less. We got to the store, and the driver said "Five extra to wait", to which Matt said okay. I love these arbitrary negotiations. I was surprised that Matt said yes, because it would have been less than half that had he gone by the meter rate. We figured that he meant a flat fee of five to wait, RATHER than the waiting meter rate. We got back in the cab, and he had kept the meter going, so he was going to charge us five extra PLUS the meter waiting rate.

Okay, please let me say - This is not about the money. I repeat, this is soooo not about the money. This is about our frustration with the treatment we have gotten from most cab drivers ever since we moved here. This is about the principle of the matter.

So Matt told him (nicely, I might add) that we could go by meter rate or the flat five to wait, but not both. So pick one or the other. I'll spare you the gory details, but this pissed the driver off and things escalated pretty quickly. Much yelling was done by all three of us while we are driving down the road. At one point, he pulled over and we were just going to walk. He told us that we needed to read the taxi laws and that it was just one or two ringgit and did we think they they are all just shit, he always uses the meter (hello?) and on and on it went.

We finally struck a deal, which I think ended up being more than if we had just kept our mouths shut. Yes, I will cut off my nose to spite my face for the principle of a matter almost every time. Not about the money. About the principle. But we finally made it home.

Matt and I realized when we got home that it was really probably a misunderstanding. He thought we agreed to five ringgit PLUS meter waiting rate, and we thought that it was five ringgit instead of the meter waiting rate. So of course we felt like giant American turds who raised hell over two ringgit. But it's the principle!!! I would gladly support an increase of taxi rates throughout KL. I have no problem paying more. As long as everyone pays the same amount for the same journey.

So even though the misunderstanding was due, in part, to the lack of clarity about exactly HOW he was going to screw us over, the fact remain that he was going to screw us over. Still, I can't help but feel like a total obnoxious American expat stereotype. Like America needs any help with being unpopular right now...

Let Me In, Dammit

An adorable, very pregnant kitty adopted us at our hotel in Cameron Highlands. She hung around our patio and several others during our stay. She must belong to someone because she was so domesticated. We brought her leftovers from our dinner. (They don't really have "doggie bags" here, so explaining that we needed a "kitty bag" for the remains of our romantic dinner was awkward.) She had leftover chicken for dinner and leftover fish for breakfast the next morning. Kitty ate good.

I couldn't resist posting this picture. For those of you that love cats, this is classic. They have such distinct personalities. It's a crack up!

Love Is...

To borrow a title from Donna, love is...allowing your husband to pick the hike that you do on your weekend break.

See, I married the poster child of REI. (For those of you who aren't familiar with REI, it's a US-based store for the outdoorsman (or woman), filled with handy camping, mountain biking, kayaking and various outdoor gear.) I, on the other hand, am not driven to many bouts of physical exertion unless it involves walking to get ice cream.

But I think it's important for spouses to at least make an attempt to try some activities that the other spouse likes. You don't have to like it, but at least try it, you know? That's how I found out that I like tennis. It's all about compromise. So they had these hikes, and Matt really likes outdoor activities. He says it helps his stress levels, and he just genuinely enjoys them. I understand. Little Debbies snack cakes do the same thing for me.

So, they had several hikes, and I told Matt he could pick one, as long as it's not the hardest one. I like being outside. I don't mind getting dirty. I just don't like scaling the side of a mountain on my vacation. For me, vacation = massages and drinks with umbrellas in them. Well, the hike brochure was a bit misleading, as it stated that the hike Matt picked was the fourth or five most difficult trail out of eight or so. Wrong. So wrong.

So after about the fifth round of scaling up the mountain, then back down again (the down part? No picnic either), I turned to Matt and asked him if people really did this for fun. He replied by telling me that he owes me big. Took the words right out of my mouth, he did!

I can barely walk today, and I know tomorrow will be worse. In exchange for the hike from hell, Matt has to go to the spa with me this weekend. Somehow I think he got the better end of the whole deal, if you ask me....

We Survived our first road trip!

We are back from the Cameron Highlands, and I'm happy to say we survived our first road trip in Malaysia! Since we had never driven on the left side of the road, we were more than a little curious how we would fare. Matt did the driving, and what was interesting to him is that all the things that he thought would be troublesome, weren't. For example, the fact that we were on the left hand side of the road wasn't a problem. What threw him for a loop was the layout of the car - specifically, he would always reach for the seat belt to his right (it's on the left) and every time he wanted to use his blinkers, he switched on the windshield wipers (they are switched). So not only is the driving direction the reverse of what we are used to, all the bells and whistles in the car are switched as well, which we had not even considered. For me, riding as a passenger on the left hand side of the car was pretty weird too. But we got the hang of it, and now we are mobile!

Cameron Highlands was nice and cool, which was exactly what we were after. We stayed at Cameron Highlands Resort, which was nice but totally overpriced. However, we had a chance to drive around and found a couple other less expensive places to stay next time, like Bala's Chalet. We will definitely go back - the weather was fantastic, the scenery was beautiful and it had a nice mix of the types of things we like to do.

The one low point of our weekend was when, on the way back, about an hour or so outside of KL, our rental car just....stopped working. We were crusing down the North-South Highway at about 120 km/hour when, the engine just stopped. No sputtering, no warning, but at least we were able to make it across three or so lanes of traffic to get to the side of the road. And thus began our adventure titled "What the Hell do you do when stranded on the side of a road in a foreign country?"

I will try to make this explanation short, although it seemed the experience was neverending. We called the rental guy, and shortly thereafter a mechanic showed up on the side of the road. We asked, "Did Hawk send you?" he said yes, and that was about all the English we got out of him. That and "Looks like the timing belt." He told us to wait there and left. We called the rental guy back and turns out, no one had called a mechanic. So we aren't sure what that was all about. The rental guy said, "Someone is on his way." Now, this is at 4pm on a sunny day in Malaysia, so it's not exactly pleasant sitting in a car on the side of the freeway in the baking sun. After several more calls to the rental guy (some of which he answered, some went to voicemail), we thought someone was coming to get us. After getting the guy's voicemail, we called the agency number on the sticker inside the car. Guess what? Disconnected. WTF?

Anyway, it seemed like the rental car company didn't really have a standard procedure for this, so it took about 5 or 6 calls before we finally got it straightened out and the rental guy came to get us. Luckily we had a bit of water left from our hike that morning, because by the time he got there, we had been sitting in the sun on the side of the road for two hours. Matt and I talked about it, and we honestly don't know if, had this happened in the US, if the response would have been any better. However, while we were waiting, several people stopped and asked if we needed help, which I thought was very nice. And we saw a full rainbow on the way home :)

So, lessons learned:
1) Take water on future road trips. You never know when you will need it!
2) Find out what the procedure is for car trouble. I was all worried about the insurance, but it didn't even cross my mind that the car would break down.
3) Get a car that was serviced in a timely manner. Turns out, ours was overdue when we got it. I don't know if it would have made a difference, but we were less than pleased when we did the math on the side of the road and discovered that ours was overdue.

Can't wait to hit the road again (with a serviced car, of course)!

Life's Soundtrack

You know how sometimes you can hear a song, or smell a smell, or eat a certain food, and it evokes a feeling, a memory of that certain point in your life when you heard the song, smelled the smell, etc.? I love that feeling. I especially get it with music. See, I LOVE music. It has to be a part of my life. In fact, I took a personality/aptitude test a few years ago at work, and it essentially said that if I can't work directly with music or the arts, that I needed to have it incorporated in my daily life somehow in order for me to be truly happy. So while I don't work directly with music, I almost always had it on in my office (back when I had one), and my 8 GB ipod Nano is almost full.

So anyway, Matt and I are going on a road trip this weekend to the Cameron Highlands. The last time that Matt and I drove together was on our honeymoon in Tahiti. We rented a car one day to explore the island and wanted some local island music, so we picked up a Tahitian CD by Bobby & Angelo, local musicians. And we listened to that thing all day and during our entire honeymoon. So when we started planning this little getaway, I decided we should take that CD, since it evokes such memories of a relaxing, wonderful time and we certainly feel the need to "get away from it all" this weekend. But then....I couldn't find the CD!! I was so bummed. I looked everywhere for it. I knew it made it to KL with us, but that was before we got our household shipment, so I figured there was no telling where I put it.

So after searching high and low, and even looking to see if I could replace the CD or download songs from it off of iTunes (no luck on either), I decided to search one last time. And it was right there where it was supposed to be, which is probably a first for me - in it's own case in our CD cabinet. Seems obvious, right? Well, if you know my home organization skills, it's not surprising that I didn't think to look there the first time. I'm sure I have Matt to thank for putting it in it's rightful place.

So as it's about to pour here in KL, I am listening to my Bobby & Angelo CD and loving it. Takes me right back to Tahiti; I can smell the ocean and feel the breeze...

Other random songs that take me back:
"Free Fallin'", Tom Petty - takes me back to playing darts in a friend's garage in Texas. We did it every weekend and always listened to Tom Petty and Bob Seger.
"Informer", Snow - I wonder if anyone else remembers this song? Reminds me of cruising around town in high school. Same with "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega.
"Africa", Toto - Reminds me of playing in our den (we called it the New Room, since it was converted from a covered patio). I can still smell the way the new room smelled then, over 20 years ago.
"Minute by Minute", Doobie Brothers - reminds me of my dad, patting his legs to the beat, the change jingling in his pocket, jamming on his ginormous headphones that were cool circa 1984.

I could go on and on...

So what songs take you back?

Watch out, Malaysian roads...

...here we come! That's right, someone actually gave us the legal right to drive in Malaysia.

Right now, neither Matt nor I drive in Malaysia. The fact that we live in a VERY high traffic area and are already close to work, we figured it was a bit pointless. Plus, we thought it would be a good idea to learn how to get along with the traffic and the whole left-hand side driving thing as a pedestrian before putting ourselves behind the wheel of a vehicle. Call us crazy.

But several weeks ago, we started to feel like we could tackle the Malaysian roadways. Maybe not KL during a Friday afternoon rush hour just yet, but we figured a weekend road trip was doable. So Matt applied for, and about six weeks later, got his license. Well, actually, his work did it so that made it very convenient for us.

So we are ready to hit the road! This weekend we are going to drive to the Cameron Highlands to get out of this heat and humidity. Now we just need to buy a good road map and a handy reference guide for the road signs, which happen to be mostly in Bahasa Melayu once you get outside of KL.

Woo hoo, our first Malaysian road trip!

Well, they say you can blog about anything....

This post is not for the squeamish. Okay, I've warned you. Now on to my thoughts on visiting the gynie for the first time in Malaysia!

I was in need of a visit to the gynocologist. No, Triad, I'm not pregnant.

Now, for any men still reading (which I doubt, as the word gyno usually sends them running the other way), a visit to the hoo-ha doctor is never pleasant. So going to a new one is usually a bit nervewracking, but add on to that fact that I am now in a new country where I really know very little about the quality of medical care, and that adds a whole new dimension of ickiness to the whole thing.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at the differences between going to the doctor here versus the US.

So anyhoo, I decided to bite the bullet yesterday, looked at a list of doctors, picked the ones that I had heard good things about and that had good credentials, and did some calling. The first place I called could see me on Monday. Monday! That's unheard of in the US. First of all, some doctors in the US won't even accept new patients, so you have to call around until you can find one that does. Even then, the best they can usually do is 2-4 weeks out, sometimes longer. Now, if you have a regular doctor, it's usually less of a wait, but I didn't have high hopes as I was going to be a new patient wherever I went here.

Then I thought, "well, I hate to wait the weekend", so I thought I'd try my luck and call the next one. They got me in the very next day. How's that for service?!

I arrived early, since I figured I would have to fill out mountains of paperwork, like I always have to in the US. Whether you are a new patient or not, the amount of paperwork they ask from you is often so large that they mail it to you ahead of time so that you can fill it out at home. But it was just a couple of simple forms that I had to fill out. You may ask, "So how do they get your medical history?" Here's the lovely part. After being called back (right on time, another vast difference between here and the US), I was in the doctor's office. The actual office, with a desk, and diplomas, and books and the whole bit. And the doctor was already there! And he got my medical history the way it's supposed to be given...by an actual face to face conversation with the doctor. I never felt rushed, or like he was simply ticking boxes; I felt like he was actually listening. Many times in the US, I would feel like the doctor was too busy, or just going through the motions, so this was really a nice change.

So after our conversation, I went into the other room where the exam would take place. It was right off of his office, so no shuffling around, waiting for the nurse to come and take my vitals (he did it right there in the office), waiting for the doctor, etc.

I'll spare you the details of the actual exam, but we'll just say it was fine. A nurse was in there the whole time. Plus, he did an ultrasound (again Triad, no, I'm not pregnant) to make sure that my inside bits were all where they needed to be, etc.). And what made the difference for me is that he took the time to explain to be what we were looking at, what he saw, all in a very professional but non-clinical way. The ultrasound even looked for cysts and checked to make sure the bloodflow to my ovaries was good. I know that's more info than you really wanted to know about my ovaries, but for a borderline hypochondriac, I like lots of information at the doctor. Plus, I got to see my cute little uterus on ultrasound. Sexy! :)

Then back out into the office, where we talked some more, he told me what he thought and wrote out prescriptions. All in all, a good experience as gyno visits go. I was able to get my prescriptions filled at the pharmacy right downstairs in about 10 minutes. Very efficient. Plus, the whole visit and prescriptions was about what I would have paid in copays alone in the US, and that was the whole amount! (Here, they usually don't file claims for my insurance, so typically you pay for it all up front and then file a claim later).

I felt like I got excellent care, and a compassionate, well trained doctor who didn't herd me in and out of his office like a number. It was such a pleasantly different experience than in the US that I had to share. Okay, overshare, but it's my blog, right?

Hong Kong

I'm a bit late on this post, since we got back from Hong Kong last week, but here goes.

As I mentioned earlier, Matt had a business trip in Hong Kong, so we made a weekend out of it. The Hong Kong Rugby Sevens Tournament was going on, so there were a bunch of people in town. To recap:

Friday:
Matt went to his meeting, then to the tournament for some testosterone fueled bonding. I worked from the hotel. After work, I went in search of jeans in what is supposed to be Asia's shopping mecca known as Hong Kong. What I discovered was that it is a shopping mecca if you are a sub size zero. So after a couple of hours torturing myself, I made myself feel better with a pedicure. Then Matt and I went to Lan Kwai Fong for a night out. More on Lan Kwai Fong later.

Saturday (a.k.a, How many different modes of transport can we take in one day?):
After rolling in around 2am the previous night, we got a late start. Took the ferry over to Hong Kong Island, went on the Peak Tram, took photos, then took the ferry over to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha. We had a yummy late lunch (satay anyone?). Sidenote about the food: Now, I really like American Chinese food, but I found out when we went to Beijing last year that American Chinese food is not real Chinese food. Real Chinese food is not my favorite. I have too many texture issues with most of the food, and I don't like chicken feet floating in my soup. So I steered away from Chinese food this time.
Then we tried to find a cab to take us up to the Big Buddha. Uh, yeah. Not a lot of cabs on that island. So after an unfortunate encounter with the one cab driver we could find (in which I wasn't at my most ladylike best), we luckily came across an expat, Amanda, that said we could share a cab with her. Very cool of her! She gave us some great sightseeing tips. So after a scary cab ride up some winding roads, we arrived.

The Buddha was great; I'm glad we saw it. We didn't realize how many steps would be involved, but we walked up them anyway. Took lots of photos.


Bad hair day being in the clouds and all. Then we took the airtram down. We hit a night market (all the same stuff in Chinatown in KL), then we rounded out the day having some drinks in a bar in Kowloon.
All in all, we figured we walked somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 miles that day. Modes of transport: Walking, bus, subway, ferry, cab, ground tram, skyrail.

Sunday:
We got up and headed out to see the tournament. We really didn't know much about rugby, but we enjoyed it a lot. I now kind of understand why some people think that American football is for weenies. These guys were hard core. No pads, lots of brutal hits, and they never stop moving. Even when they get injured, they lay there for a minute, walk it off and get right back in the game. The 7s series is a tournament with teams from around the world, and it differs from regular rubgy since it is played in two seven minute halfs with seven guys on each team.

After a few hours of that, we took a cab to see the bird market, flower market and goldfish market. Then off to Lan Kwai Fong for another night.


More on that in a separate post.

Then we came home on Monday! All in all, it was nice to go, but I don't have any real desire to go again. Hong Kong is very modern; in fact, the most westernized city we've visited since moving to Asia. And I have to say, big westernized cities aren't really what I'm interested to see while we live over here. Plus, the sheer number of people would be maddening if I had to deal with it every day. Especially when many of them don't realize that they share their world/their space with other people (like on subways, sidewalks, etc. - let's all work together to move in the same direction, people). But I'm glad we went.

Maintenance Woes

Our bedroom air conditioner is leaking. Again. Okay, a bit of background here...

We have had numerous maintenance issues since we moved in last October. The one that is probably most bothersome are the aircon leaks. I mean, who wants a big water spot on their ceiling? They service the aircon once a month here. I don't know what they do, but they come in with their ladder and do something to it. Last month, after they serviced it, we had a leak. This involved me calling the management office repeatedly until I could get someone to answer, explaining the problem, and then at some random point within a few days the maintenance folks come up and look at it. Now, they usually can't fix it, they have to call the aircon people to fix it, so I don't know if they just come up here to verify that I'm not crazy or what, but anyway. So then, a few days later the aircon people will show up to fix it.

So, we had the leak. They fixed it. Then about a week after they fixed it, the aircon stopped cooling in the bedroom. We had it on 16 celsius continuously and it never got cool. I hate being hot when I sleep. So my husband, who has some background in HVAC, said it needed a charge. So I call and explain this to maintenance, telling them to go ahead and call the aircon people, there was no need to come check it out first. Let's cut out the middle man here. But of course that didn't happen so about 10 days later the aircon was fixed. Ah, sweet air conditioning!

That's just about the time that it was time for the aircon to be serviced again. Once again, after they serviced it, there was a leak. A big leak. So again I call. Again they come and look at it. They said that the drip pan (I'm assuming) was tilted so the water was dripping, which made sense to me. So they fixed it and left. Then I went back there and while they may have fixed the leak, now the damn thing is making this rattling, whirring noise that it did NOT make prior to their little visit.

So I again call the management office repeatedly, finally getting someone, and they send maintenance back upstairs. What a shocker! They are going to have to call the aircon people! So apparently they fixed the leak, broke the damn thing and now can't fix what they broke.

So hopefully in a week or two we will have fully functioning aircon. Not a bad thing to have in a tropical environment, huh?

Ahhh..just another fun filled day in Malaysia :)

Hong Kong (and Sanjaya McCrackhead)

I am off to Hong Kong tomorrow. Matt has a business trip there and so I'm going up there for the weekend with him. Luckily, I have a colleague who grew up in Hong Kong and sent me all kinds of great tips. Of course, I'm probably most excited about the dim sum. Again, I love the snacky food. I'll recap when I get back.

And on another note, I just saw American Idol. You've got to be shitting me. Does Sanjaya not realize that about a billion people see him acting like a karaoke singer on crack every week? I really think someone must be paying Sanjaya to act like an asshat. First, the horrendous rendition of "You Really Got Me" last week, and then this week we were treated to the banana clip mohawk look. Even Gwen Stefani couldn't say anything cool about this kid.

I think the pressure's finally gotten to him.

Grumpy

I've been sort of gloomy and grumpy lately. It seems like these things come in cycles since we've moved. When we first got to KL, everything was so new and different that it was sort of a honeymoon phase. Then, after we'd been here a couple of months, things became more difficult. We had been here long enough to realize all of the little inconveniences and we would get more easily frustrated at being ripped off by a taxi driver, sweating all the time and maintenance taking two weeks to fix the leak in our bathroom.

But then we started to come out of it. I guess we just got used to the differences of everyday living here, and we wouldn't get bent out of shape by the little annoyances. But for the past week or two, I can feel myself sort of slipping back into the grumpies. I'm not sure what exactly is causing it; I could give you fifty different possibilities, but I know that's not the root of it. Maybe I'm still in the adjustment period...blah! I thought I was out of it!

Okay, that's my whine for the day.

More on Censorship

I'm becoming more aware of the censorship that happens in Malaysia, not only in television and movies, but also books. I recently came across a list of recently "banned" books as well as "restricted" books.

For some interesting reading on how book banning works in Malaysia, please read:

http://freethebooks.blogspot.com/2006/11/banned-books-malaysia-101_05.html

The following books have recently been banned in Malaysia (meaning they have been officially banned by the Internal SecurityMinistry of Malaysia for disrupting peace and harmony) :

1. The Bargaining for Israel: In the Shadow of Armageddon authored by Mona Johulan and published by Bridge-Logos Publishers, United States (USA).
2. Islam (Mathew S Gordon, Oxford University Press)
3. Lifting the Veil (Trudie Crawford, Apple of Gold, United States)
4. A Fundamental Fear of Eurocentrism and the Emergence of Islamism (Bobby S Sayyid, Z
ed Books Ltd, United Kingdom)
5. Islam Revealed - A Christian Arab's View of Islam (Dr Anis A Shorrosh, Thomas Nelson Publishers, USA)
6. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam (John L Esposito, OUP)
7. Mini Skirts Mothers & Muslims (Christine Mallouhi, publisher not available)
8. The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (Karen Armstrong, Harper Collins, UK)
9. Kundalini For Beginners (Ravindra Kumar, Health Harmony, B Jain Publishers (P) Ltd, India)10. Sacred Books of the East (Epiphanius Wilson, J-Jeiley Asian Educational Services, India)
11. Sharing Your Faith with A Muslim (Akbidayah Akbar Abdul-Haqq, Bethany House Publishers, USA)
12. Cults, World Religions and The Occult (Kenneth Bon, Chariot Victor Publishings, UK)
13. Petua dan Doa Pendinding, Penawar, Penyembuh Penyakit (Awang Mohd Yahya, Unsie Publisher, Kuala Lumpur)
14. Hakikat & Hikmah 7 Hari Dalam Seminggu (Abu Nashr Al-Hamdanly, Pustaka Ilmi, Batu Caves, Selangor)
15. Pemuda Bani Tamim Perintis Jalan Imam Mahdi (Abu Muhammad, Penerbit Giliran Timor)16. Kontroversi Hukum Hudud (Kassim Ahmad, Forum Iqra Berhad, Penang)
17. Risalah No.2 Dilema Umat Islam-Antara Hadis dan Quran (Kassim Ahmad, Forum Iqra Berhad, Penang)
18. Siri 7 Amalan-Amalan Bid'ah Pada Bulan Syaban (Ustaz Rasul bin Dahri, Percetakan Putrajaya Sdn Bhd)

Also, the Home Ministry or Kementarian Dalam Negeri (KDN) has the power to ban books that it feels are "detrimental to public order" or may "contribute to immorality". These are the "restricted" books. My understanding is that these can be arbitrarily confiscated by a customs agent if they feel that the book is not suitable for Malaysian readers. This happens on the spot when book shipments pass through customs.

Books Restricted by KND Johor Bahru - List 1 ISBN
1 1840282509 Well Woman's Sourcebook (Hardcover)
2 9812320822 Beauty of Yixing Teapots (Hardcover)
3 1903816378 The Heart of Tantric Sex (Paperback)
4 9813056223 The missing page (Paperback)
5 9813056703 No Money, No Honey! A Candid Look at Sex-for-Sale in Singapore
6 9813056096 The SPG Rides Again
7 0375756469 Women (Paperback)
8 0811845737 Fashion Illustration Next (Paperback)
9 981305655x "Ransom" by Douglas Chua
10 0312873077 Knife of Dreams (Wheel of Time (Hardcover)) - Robert Jordan
11 1853755605 Things a Woman Should Know About Seduction (Paperback)
12 9813056606 Revenge of the Sarong Party Girl by Jim Aitchison
13 0099648814 The Private Life of Chairman Mao (Paperback)
14 0521609763 Company to Company Teacher's Book (Paperback)
15 0785378103 Poems & Prayers for Children (Hardcover)
16 0785368760 Read-Aloud Children's Classics
17 1840189096 1001 Nights Without Sex: The Curse of the Single Girl (Paperback)
18 1843401703 Composition (The Photographer's Guide To...) (Paperback)
19 1840725222 Seduce: 100 Tips to Arouse (Hardcover)
20 0749325003 Taking Chances (Paperback)
21 1844425762 "Vogue" Make-up (Paperback)
22 1844422968 Sexual Intelligence (Hardcover)
23 0099591111 Filth (Paperback) - Irwing Welsh
24 1850436665 Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror (Paperback)
25 0716757230 Practice of Business Statistics (Hardcover)
26 0099273675 A History of God (Paperback)
27 0304357278 E-tales: The Best (and Worst) of Internet Humour (Hardcover)
28 1844422968 Sexual Intelligence (Hardcover)
29 9813056363 The Official Guide to the Sarong Party Girl
30 0224077643 Memories of My Melancholy Whores (Hardcover)
31 1412735467 Sea Sale: SpongeBob Squarepants
32 1412733820 Counting Adventures Sound Activity Book, by Disney
33 1412731755 Dora's Fiesta Adventure ActivePoint Book Set! [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover) 34 1412735297 MUSIC FOR SLEEPY BABIES
35 1412731747 Count On Me (Spongebob Square Pants)
36 1412735610 The Wiggles Shop Wiggly Jukebox
37 0719566762 Mao: A Life
38 0572028806 Anatomy for the Artist: They Dynamics of Human Form (Paperback)
39 009189753X Feel: Robbie Williams (Hardcover)
40 0744586828 Bits, Boobs and Blobs (Paperback)
41 0679463356 Shalimar the Clown (Hardcover)
42 0099283360 Atomised (Paperback)
43 0224060066 Clubland (Paperback)
44 0091795346 The Dirty Girls Social Club (Paperback)
45 0099437880 Platform (Paperback)
46 0749932155 Carolina Moon (Paperback)
47 1844541320 Being Jordan (Paperback)
48 0521539064 An Introduction to Islam (Introduction to Religion) (Paperback)
49 1853755540 Sex Lives of the Famous Gays (Paperback)
50 1844425703 The Dirty Girl's Joke Book 2: Provocative Puns and Laugh-a-minute Gags: Bk.2 (Paperback)
51 0285635549 10 Commandments of Pleasure: Erotic Keys to a Healthy Sexual Life (Paperback)
52 1582380570 How to Talk to Your Child About Sex: It's Best to Start Early, But It's Never Too Late : a Step-by-Step Guide for Every Age (Paperback)
53 1844425991 "FHM" True Stories 2 (Paperback)
54 1841612146 Men ... the Insufferable Sex (Paperback) 55 0091878438 The New Book of Massage (Paperback)
56 0330411500 Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood (Paperback)
57 0752845985 Lip Kisses (Paperback)
58 0749931671 Lip Service (Paperback)
59 0091880688 Little Book of the Kama Sutra (Paperback)
60 0099648814 The Private Life of Chairman Mao (Paperback)
61 1400054788 The Probability of God: A Simple Calculation That Proves the Ultimate Truth (Paperback)
62 0521425387 Life on Earth: And Other Pieces (New Cambridge English Course) (Paperback) 63 1853755540 Sex Lives of the Famous Gays (Paperback)
64 0091815290 Mars and Venus in the Bedroom: A Guide to Lasting Romance and Passion (Paperback)
65 0744586836 Snogs, Sex and Soulmates (Paperback)
66 0749395923 The Malayan Trilogy: "Time for a Tiger", "Enemy in the Blanket", "Beds in the East" (Vintage Classics) (Paperback)
67 1896597777 Scrapbook (Paperback)
68 0969670117 Playboy (Paperback)
69 0340752114 Sex Etiquette (Paperback)
70 0969670141 The Best of "Drawn and Quarterly" (Paperback)
71 1896597440 The Poor Bastard (Paperback)
72 189659770X It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken: A Picture Novella (Paperback)
73 1896597416 Vernacular Drawings (Hardcover)
74 1896597831 My New York Diary (Paperback)
75 189659784X Clyde Fans: Bk.1 (Hardcover)
76 071532067X Bra: A Thousand Years of Style, Support and Seduction (Hardcover)
77 0099429780 Peoplewatching: The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language (Paperback)
78 0679463348 Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992-2002 (Hardcover)
79 1844424065 "Vogue" Beauty (Paperback)
80 1843308940 Sex,Lies and Stereotypes: Challenging Views of Women, Men, and Relationships (Paperback)
81 0375701958 Breastfeeding Your Baby: Revised Edition (Paperback)
82 1846091586 Addicted to Love: The Kate Moss Story (Paperback)
83 0812577566 Knife of Dreams (Wheel of Time (Paperback)) (Mass Market Paperback)
84 0761535810 Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War On America (Paperback)
85 0330433059 Dining with Terrorists (Paperback)
86 0375756981 The Vagina Monologues (Paperback)
87 0812976533 Midnight's Children (Paperback)
88 0805053115 The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey (Paperback)
89 1857152174 Midnight's Children (Everyman's Library Classics) (Hardcover)
90 0099421860 Fury (Paperback)
91 0224061593 Fury (Hardcover)
92 0099443384 Fury (Paperback)
93 0679783504 Fury (Modern Library) (Paperback)
94 0375759603 Fury. (Paperback)
95 0312422784 The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey (Paperback)
96 0812969030 Midnight's Children (Modern Library (Paperback)) (Paperback)
97 0099578611 Shame (Paperback)
98 0312270933 Shame (Paperback)
99 0099421879 Step Across This Line (Paperback)
100 0333490207 Salman Rushdie and the Third World: Myths of the Nation (Hardcover)
101 0224061615 Shalimar the Clown (Hardcover)
102 0224061607 Step Across This Line: Collected Non-fiction 1992-2002 (Hardcover)
103 0679783490 Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992-2002 (Modern Library (Paperback)) (Paperback)
104 0099578514 Midnight's Children (Paperback)
105 0099268132 The Swimming-pool Library (Paperback) 106 1844421791 The Best Sex Positions Ever (Hardcover)
107 1843171961 Sex in Every City: How to Talk Dirty in Every Language (Paperback)
108 9812040978 Bali Style (Hardcover)
109 0393061221 Making Globalization Work (Hardcover)

First let me say, I am completely against censorship in any form. However, aside from that, I guess I can sort of see why some of the more obviously sexually graphic novels make the list. But other than that, I figure it's pointless to try to figure out the logic here. Far be it from me to want to learn the latest makeup styles, how to breastfeed my baby, or what Michael Jordan's childhood was like. Furthermore, I guess wanting to teach my child about sex education (horror!), put music on to help my baby sleep and then dig into a nice business statistics book is detrimental to public order.

But alas! - Not all books are banned in Malaysia. Next time you are in the KL airport, you can pick up an English edition of Hitler's "Mein Kampf", right at the front of the store. Now, I don't think this book should be banned either. But given the list above, can someone tell me why this one didn't make the cut when SpongeBob is such an obvious threat?

So, read on, America! Maybe you can tell me how Dora's Fiesta Adventure ends!

Dinner, Malaysian Style

We have just discovered hawker cuisine! Hawkers are essentially small food stalls set up alongside the road or near markets. Many times, you will find hawker stands in groups, with little tables and chairs set up in the sidewalk or street for diners. These groups of hawkers give you the chance to sample all sorts of authentic Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine, all in one setting.

Now, I remember a time when Matt and I saw hawkers and thought, "Oh, we are never eating there" and of course, you do need to be a bit smart about it (i.e., bugs on the food = don't eat it), but we went to Jalan Alor on Saturday night and really enjoyed the whole experience! So, again, it's all about perception. And the food is actually very good - and cheap! We had satay for 7 ringgits, which is about $2 USD. And it kicked ass! Peanut sauce goes with everything.

I just think the whole concept is great. Lots of food choices, cooked right there, and a big group of people all relaxing, eating, talking. It's much more casual than a restaurant, and a pretty cool experience.

Weekend Recap

On Friday night, we ventured out to Bangsar. Bangsar is an expat neighborhood on the outskirts of KL. Lots of nightclubs, restaurants, etc. A part of the neighborhood is set up like a grid, so window shopping (okay, bar hopping) is relatively easy. We had never been there at night, so we thought we'd give it a try. We waited until around 7 for the traffic to die down, but alas, it didn't. So...after a very hungry taxi ride of almost an hour, we finally arrived. (Note to self: Trying to venture to the KL 'burbs on a Friday night is like trying to get out of Houston on a Friday night. Never again.) We went to La Bodega, since the tapas we had had there on my salon excursion a few weeks ago were yummy, and one can never have too many tapas, right? I do love the chance to sample all sorts of yummy foods in one sitting and not have to unbutton my pants. Anyhoo, the tapas were tasty, the wine was tasty, and then we decided to check out some other nightspots.

Finnegan's in Bangsar - a bit of a disappointment. We much prefer the one on Jalan Sultan Ismail. More people watching opportunity. Then onto The Lockup or something like that, where all the waitstaff wear black and white jail ensembles. We sat outside, but again, not much to look at. Everyone looked like us! Plus, the waitstaff gave us the feeling that they didn't really want us there, so we headed across the street to what looked like a Latin bar. Wrong. After about 45 minutes of Indian dance music (which is fine, just not our cup of tea) we went home. Oh, on the way home we picked up Season 1 of Six Feet Under, my favorite show of all time.

Saturday was all about sleeping in, grocery shopping at Isetan, looking for patio furniture (so our patio doesn't look at white trash as it currently does, what with the camping chairs and folding card table) and watching SFU. Oh, and we made some yummy fish tacos.

Sunday we organized the gym a little, watched SFU and then attempted some shrimp cakes from Matt's new cookbook. He's definitely the chef, I'm the sous chef, following behind him, cleaning up, putting things in bowls, etc. It works. Anything for Matt to get to use his new knifes. Well, the only shrimp that we could find that were already shelled, deveined, etc., were at Isetan. I mean, after peeling shrimp, de-pooping them, pulling off their little legs (and heads!), I am just not all that keen on actually eating them. So, we got these baby shrimp. Mistake #1: They were frozen, and rather than dethawing them (which we forgot to do), we just Magic Bullet-ed them right up. Makes for a watery cake, which we then had to put in a muffin tin to chill for them to hold their shape, and then sop up the extra water from the top. Yum. So after all that work, we were ready to cook those bad boys up. We pan fry them, and Matt takes a bite. Okay, here's where we get to Mistake #2: At Isetan, some of the labels on the meat, produce, etc. are not in English. So we saw shrimp, and we picked up shrimp. Now, something on the label must have said Packed in Brine, but we didn't see that. So the shrimp cakes were so unbelievably salty we had to throw them out. Good thing for the frozen pizza we had in the freezer. We ate that with our artichokes and the yummy mango-avocado salsa we had made for the shrimp cakes. It was pretty good, actually.

Changing Impressions

Recently, Matt and I started talking about how much our impression of KL, Asia, and just other cultures in general have changed over the past several months. For example, when we first came to KL, we drove through Bangsar, Ampang, the city center area, etc. and everything seemed so...foreign. So very different than what we were used to. A hodge podge of storefronts, new buildings, buildings that looked like they should be condemned, scooters, hawker stands, and the like. Now, keep in mind that that was our perception then. Neither one of us had ever lived outside of the US, had never even visited Southeast Asia, and both grew up in small towns. The closest that I had ever been to living in a big city were the occasional pub crawls in Sundance Square in Fort Worth, Greenville Avenue in Dallas and some brief outings in downtown Houston. But now we are realizing that all the things that had changed about our lives, that were once scary, foreign, intimidating, are starting to become more comfortable, familiar, and more appreciated. As we venture through Chinatown, or bar hop along Sultan Ismail, or even take a simple grocery trip, things that were once so "foreign" and different to us, what strikes us is how much our impression of it has changed. Now, I find a comfort in it being somewhat familiar, but still new enough that I am eager to experience more. I find tiny victories in habitually looking to my right first when I cross the street, in knowing the best place to find the best lunchmeat (quite a challenge at times), or even hailing a cab without getting ripped off.

Things I Had Never Done Before Moving to KL:
1. Hailed a cab
2. Walked on the left side of everything!
3. Paid for pork at a separate counter
4. Bargained for anything
5. Not owned a car
6. Worried about shoe choice for comfort as opposed to fashion
7. Questioned whether or not a sleeveless shirt was appropriate attire
8. Heard call to prayer
9. Watched Al Jazeera
10. Smelled durian
11. Learned how to pick a mango
12. Seen whole squid in a market
13. Owned six umbrellas
14. Ate jellyfish
14. Been catcalled from a construction site

Now, I know we haven't ventured as far off the beaten path as I'm sure we will at some point, and some of the things above aren't necessarily culturally significant (although some of them are), but the overall lifestyle change hasn't been minor, to say the least. A local that might read this might find it amusing that I ever thought that a simple trip to the grocery store could be kind of fascinating, but it's all about perception, you know? I never knew anything other than what I had grown up with. I think that's something that Americans, generally, miss out on. There's a whole world out there that unfortunately, many people don't get to see or might not even be interested in. To each their own - everyone has to do what's best for them, but I feel amazingly lucky to be able to experience all that living overseas has had to offer. I think we are finally starting to get the hang of this...

Street Harassment Rant

I just got back from a quick jaunt to the office and once again, I was harassed on the way to work and then on the way to home. About 80% of the time, something happens when I walk by myself on the streets of KL. Many times, it's construction workers whistling and catcalling from the buildings that they are working on, but a lot of the time it's also from passing cars, trucks and scooters. I am so disgusted by it! Usually, the f*ckers that do it from a car or a scooter just either whistle or go "hellooo", but I would actually be less offended if they just grabbed their crotch or at least just said what was on their minds, because they ain't just saying hello when they are saying hello - they know it and I know it. Snively little perverts "pretend" to be nice by saying hello, but how many people just randomly say "hello" from a car to a stranger on the street? And it's not "hello" as in "hello, how are you?" but "heellloooo", all singsong-like. What do they think, that I will give them a big smile, a big wave and say, "Hi! How y'all doin'? Sure, I'd love to take a ride on the back of your scooter!! You know, I'm not from around here..." A woman just knows what they are getting at, you know? The least they could do is have the balls to just say it.

Today it was even better. On the way to work, I had a guy intentionally scare me from a truck parked on the side of the road. He made a loud noise when I walked by, and it made me think someone had snuck up behind me on the sidewalk. I was between a construction and a line of trucks on the road, so I was spooked, not because I thought I would be hurt, but I'm usually more worried about someone snatching my bag. He wasn't sneezing, or coughing, or talking on his mobile phone, he just grunted REALLY loud when I walked by. Fucker.

Then on the way home, I was coming up against a couple of construction workers on the sidewalk who were coming back from lunch. I was so preoccupied with the fact that they were going to say something to me (which they didn't, by the way) , that I didn't even notice, at first, the guy leaning out of his van window going "Heelloooo? Hellloooo? How are youuuu?"

Now, let me just say that this is not all men KL, not by any means. I have met countless nice, polite, chivalrous men here. But it's these few that are on my last nerve.

Now, I never really feel threatened or in harm's way when these things happen, I'm just totally disgusted and insulted with their insidious ways. Do they think I am such an idiot that I am fooled by their false politeness? It's just creepy to me. I hope they don't pull that one day when I am in the wrong mood, or else I will beat them about the head with my umbrella.

Wonderful Sabah

First of all, this would have been posted a couple of weeks ago, but I just now learned how to upload photos to my blog - yes, really.

Matt and I had the opportunity for a a wonderful three day weekend in Kota Kinabalu a couple of weekends ago. Kota Kinabalu in in the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo. Matt had a business trip to Labuan on Thursday, so we decided to make it a weekend break of sorts.

We stayed at the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru resort (http://www.shangri-la.com/kotakinabalu/tanjungaru/en/index.aspx), which was a really nice hotel. We arrived on Friday afternoon, and since Expedia had messed up our reservation (yet again...why do we even still use Expedia?), they upgraded us to a renovated suite on the top floor. We quickly went up to the room, then down to the Horizon Club (which was also included in our upgrade) for drinks. Being that it was going to be a laid back weekend, Matt didn't bring any slacks. Unfortunately, shorts on men aren't allowed during the happy hour. But...all was not lost; they gave Matt a lovely sarong to wear over his shorts! Truly though, the service at the hotel was very good the entire time we were there and Matt looked cute in his plaid sarong. Below is a view from our table:

The next morning, we got up and played tennis. Yes, I actually played tennis and I did better than I thought I would. But we forgot one important element of playing tennis...in the sun...at 11am. Sunscreen. Mistake. We are still paying for that one. After tennis we lounged by the pool for a while, and then back to the bar for drinks. Then we rounded out the night by playing cards on our balcony.

The next day we decided to go island hopping, as there are five islands that are just a quick ferry ride away. First we went to Manukan Island, where we went on a nature walk and then snorkeled. The snorkeling was great! However, we did learn about the sneaky little bastard known as the trigger fish. Trigger fish are very aggressive fish who really don't like it when you swim too close to their nest. That little discovery was made when one of them charged at Matt. Now, they are not really big or anything, but still. So Matt went to swim away and about three or four came at him and BIT him! We're talking, drew blood and everything. They were small bites, but when a fish actually bites you, it kind of freaks you out, no matter how small they are. So, after that, we opted to check out another island :) So we hopped back on the ferry and went to Manikan Island, which was just as pretty and a little more laid back. We rounded out the day with another visit to the Horizon Club and more lounging on our balcony.

Sorry that this sounded so much like a travel review, but we were so pleasantly surprised at how great everything was. We really, really love Sabah and can't wait to go back and try something a little more adventurous, like maybe a jungle trek, or white water rafting, or even climbing Mount Kinabalu!

http://www.mount-kinabalu-borneo.com/
http://www.visitborneo.com/

Say What???

The Husband and I were watching TV this weekend, and we always get such a kick out of studying what is censored and what doesn't make the cut. It's the same puzzlement I have when I see a local Malaysian woman in her traditional dress answering her mobile phone, the ringtone of which is Akon's "Smack That". Something just doesn't quite add up.

Anyway, so we watched Wedding Crashers and kept track of which words were censored and which weren't. I won't bore you with the entire list, but a few comparisons would be: Censored="teet", Not Censored="prick". Oh, and apparently "hooters" is okay to say, as well as several slang terms for homosexuality. However, "sheet" was censored, I guess because it sounds very similar to "sh*t". We just find the whole censorship thing kind of interesting. I've never lived in a place where I just really didn't have the choice on what I did or didn't hear. Given the choice, I typically go for all the colorful words...

Oh, another interesting example...this weekend, we took the ferry from Labuan to Kota Kinabalu (more on that later) and I was absolutely astounded at the movie they showed. Now, this is a country where we get a censored version of Wedding Crashers on HBO, but lo and behold, we saw a completely uncensored version of "Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny", which is the new Jack Black comedy. For those of you who are familiar with Jack Black's band Tenacious D, then you understand why I am amazed they showed that movie. There were women on the ferry that were covering their eyes, parts of it were so offensive.

But the best (or at least, the most interesting) example of censorship I've seen thus far was this morning when we watched The Aviator. During the scene where Howard Hughes and Ava Gardner are getting their car smashed by the other chick (Hughes' girlfriend), Howard tries to appease her by using the term of endearment "Pork Chop". Now, Malaysia is predominantly Muslim, and so pork is forbidden. I certainly respect their religious practices, but I did think it was interesting that the term "Pork chop" was censored and in it's place was... "Chicken". Doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?....