A Hardly Weighty Entry

My now-retired former boss dropped by for a visit Yesterday. I didn’t notice her at first until she called out to me. And the first thing she said was, ‘Look at this girl. You seem to have lost weight!’

Errr, thanks. I notice that too.

Then later, we had a high-tea gathering with our new colleagues. My colleague and I sat together with two guys from the other Department [well, we gotta know them sooner or later anyway]. We stuck to the safe topics for conversation and then we started talking about each other’s ‘known skills’. Somehow, I have this reputation as a Scrabble Queen [I’m Sure it won’t be long before they call me the Shopping Queen]. Then we talked about golf – my new BigBoss had joined us when I returned to the table from yet another trip to the buffet table – and this is not a familiar topic to me. They were explaining the costs associated with playing golf, from membership at clubs to paying for the ball etc, etc. I thought of all the Isetan catalogues I’ve received and said, ‘Yeah, and you need to invest in the clothes too,’ images of golf T-shirts, golf shoes, gloves, in short, golf attire floating in my mind.

They turned and looked at me.

Guy 1: Clothes? You need to buy the clubs and that cost a lot.

Guy 2: Yeah. A club can cost up to thousands.

Me: [Oh s***. Golf clubs. Now why didn't I think of that? But surely, you still need to invest in golf apparel!!! OK, trust a shopaholic to think in those terms.] OK, I think I’ll just stick to Scrabble!

Colleague: Yeah, and that only costs what, a Scrabble set and dictionary, right?

Phew!

Me: [Must change the topic! Turned to BigBoss] Are you done eating?

BigBoss: Yes. I need to watch what I eat. But you must eat more.

Me: [Darn, are we going to talk about me now?] Don’t worry, I’m on my weight regain programme!

Guy 1: I’ve seen you for a while, and every time I see you, you’re still this size.

Me: [Oh cheers, mate. Wait, you noticed? OK, this doesn't sound right somehow]

Guy 2 and BigBoss: It must be the metabolism.

Me: Yes, it’s my metabolism. [Can we talk about something else now, please?!]

I wonder now how people who don’t know me seem to notice my physique [it sounds a bit disturbing!]. I can understand if my former boss commented on my weight but that’s ‘cause she’s known me since I first started work, and now that she sees me only once in a blue moon, she may notice that I’ve not managed to gain. But I don’t notice these things about my friends, whether they have gained or lost. To me, my friends are my friends and I don’t befriend them because of their sizes or height.

And I don’t worry about my weight, as long as I am healthy. Be rest assured that I don’t starve myself and that this shopaholic is not an anorexic.

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Hurrah! Today is the last day of November and that means the end of my self-enforced no-shopping month. I’m quite proud of myself, I’ve managed to control my spending – that means I can be disciplined! OK, OK, I did buy some books earlier this week but hey, that surely was an investment in knowledge. And besides, I can set that expenditure off my taxable income for this fiscal year. See, I’m not some dumb shopaholic; I do my own tax assessment and Sometimes also give advice to my friends. For free.

YES! I deserve a reward myself. How timely as Y.E.S. commences tomorrow!

Oh but in the meantime, I have to pack for my move to my new Department... dang!

Me the Snob... NOT!

There are times when I wonder if people truly think I am a snob. See, I have had people actually telling me I look stuck-up and snobbish, right to my face!

Because I don’t listen to local songs or follow the local entertainment scene or watch the local movie/drama. And I neither watch local reality programmes nor dig what they are all about. I don’t read local entertainment magazines [used to buy the British mag Smash Hits but that had stopped – thankfully] ‘cause like I said earlier, I don’t keep track so why should I start ‘investing’ in those mags anyway? I subscribe to the National Geographic magazine – member since 1997 – because I love the authors’ style and flair for writing; the beautifully scripted articles that describe everything in vivid details; the wonderful pictures that have me marvelling at the photographers’ patience and endurance in capturing those shots; the new world opened to me with each issue... so many places to discover and learn, so many cultures to understand, and so many species of the animal kingdom to appreciate [my only grouse is the dinosaur stories and Mars and Darwin’s theory but I guess that’s ‘cause I’m Just A Girl who doesn’t appreciate these stuff]. Surely reading educational, informational magazines instead of silly entertainment magazines does not make one a snob.

Because I do clothes Shopping only at Isetan now. ‘Cause I can’t be bothered with other stores anymore. I don’t dig other stores’ clothes and, yes, while I did use to patronise certain other stores, I no longer care to check them out. Maybe I have Finally embraced the convenience of Shopping for things all under one roof [well, except for groceries, toiletries, vitamins and food supplements, and books, where I still go from one store to another]. Or maybe I’ve advanced a bit in years and no longer go Crazy at the sight of advertisements screaming ‘SALE!’ by all the other stores in the city [did I tell you that I’m the reference point for sales update for my friends?]. Or maybe I’ve grown lazier over the years. I do know that I’m familiar and comfortable with Isetan layout. So surely I’m not just a snob in that department [pun intended]! So here’s free marketing for Isetan from a member [I’ve been a member since 1990 when the Isetan first opened its doors to KLites; aye was already a shopaholic despite being on a miserable student stipend!].

Because I suspect some people have not been easy to pass judgement on me especially after learning that I am a product of a ‘posh prep school’ [well, that’s how people refer to it]. I don’t think we are snobbish at all although granted we do tend to be all excited when we meet up/bump into each other, inevitably ignoring other people [who cares].

Because I normally speak in English – not that my English’s all that good but because I feel comfortable conversing in English [thanks to my BBGS primary schooling and ‘posh prep’ secondary schooling]. And because I don’t want to understand local dialects [at boarding school we didn’t speak any dialects] and will look Lost when people start talking in various dialects to me [like when I had to stop for directions somewhere in the heart of a neighbouring state and the men at the coffee stall who helped me with directions spoke in such thick Nogori dialect that I felt can't they make me even more Lost]. Is it possible to look snobbishly Lost?

Because I don’t like to eat rice on a daily basis for lunch [but I do eat noodles] and since I’m rarely sighted having rice, I get teased when I do make myself eat it. ‘Eh, I thought Mat Saleh don’t eat rice?’, ‘Hey, you’re Mat Saleh, can you stand this spicy stuff?’ [actually no, I can’t stand spicy stuff!]; ‘I didn’t know you eat local food,’ and on and on. Only a couple of days ago, my mates invited me to join them for lunch at a stall/restaurant [it’s more of an expanded stall but not quite a restaurant] selling mainly food from an East Coast state. I felt like an outsider, looking suspiciously at the food chosen by my mates and couldn’t help asking questions like ‘What’s this?', 'How do you eat this?', 'Aren’t there any forks and spoons? Oh, do we have to eat using our hands?’. Don’t get me wrong: I will eat with my hand only at home [Sometimes]; it’s just that I wasn’t keen to return to The Office with my hand smelling of lunch. To save them from further potential future embarrassment, I told them they don’t have to invite me along to the establishment in the future. Though I think they might, ‘cause they are nice people and also ‘cause they probably enjoy my discomfiture [what an oxymoronic sentence!].

Because I have these automatic pilot responses to local places outside the big, beautiful city of KL: ‘Oooh, where’s that?’, ‘Whoa, that’s far!’. Look, my definition of far is anything not within 15 km radius of KLCC or parents’ house. So to me, Subang Jaya is far, Shah Alam is further, and Serdang is even further. Plus I don’t drive so of course these places seem even further to me because of the different modes of transportation I have to take should I need to go to these places [Sure, taking a cab is more straightforward and easier, but my parents don’t trust me to take cabs alone because hey, anything can happen there. Where else in the world can a girl be raped but on a bus and later murdered? Where else can a girl be murdered and later have her remains detonated?]. I shall not apologise for being born and bred in KL but I suppose people who don’t know me any better will immediately dismiss me as a snob because of my responses.

And yes, I always indulge myself from time to time. ‘Cause I deserve to. Everyone does. If you’re comfortable with yourself, with the money you earn/make, then by all means, spoil yourself to life’s little luxury now and then. Treat yourself occasionally. You deserve to. As Shakespeare put it, ‘Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin as self-neglecting.’ There’s no point in slogging yourself only to die at the premature age of 47 and have other people enjoy your hard-earned money. What’s the point of living? Yes, as a Muslim, I must make rational judgement and be able to divide time, effort and energy between this world and the hereafter. So what’s the point of making money only to have others enjoy the fruits of your labour? Of course, I’m single and hence no compulsion to set aside much money for my beneficiaries. So indulging oneself is definitely not being snobbish! And if I say I don’t buy fakes [my exception is fake footie jerseys], I’m not being snobbish, it’s just that Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing, baby, I can afford it.

Because I’m single [maybe I should buy that new fragrance by YSL ‘Young Sexy Lovely’ - they really should’ve named it Young Single Lovely instead], people have been quick to dismiss me as choosy, having high standards etc. And what is wrong with that, I wonder? Even if you want to make a purchase, you’d spend time picking and choosing before Finally being satisfied and paying for it, so what more with a life partner! None locally here. I don’t think you should lower or compromise your standards just so that you could stop people’s tongues from wagging. Do they even stop to think that I may be having my own issues and problems - my insecurities, doubt, worries, lusts, angst that keep me awake at night that I have to settle first? That Sometimes I wonder if I love good enough or will ever get good enough love. I wonder if I’m doomed to be Failure To Launch for life. I wonder what it is that I want that other girls are gifted with, or what is it about men that is so off-putting. I know when I reply people’s questions [why I’m not married, where my husband is, how come I’m still not married], whether these thoughts cross their minds: ‘Gosh, she’s still not married?’, ‘Pity her’, ‘She must be choosy’, ‘Hmm, maybe she’s a lesbian [maybe]’, ‘What kind of person does she want? Prince Charming?’, or worse still, ‘Gosh, no wonder she’s not married. No one she wants because ... ‘. [And then the less sensitive ones would proceed to give me free lecture on why I should not be choosy straight...]. Do they know that all I want/need/pray for is another chance to make love?

No, I am not a snob. I am just so Misunderstood.

Shaken and Stirred

Went to watch the new James Bond movie Casino Royale after work on Tuesday. We decided to try out the Cineleisure mainly because the scheduled screening time was at 7 pm [thus allowing us to perform prayers first], plus we'd never been there before. We were caught in the daily November Rain and the jam that resulted but still managed to reach the place in time to collect the pre-booked tickets [collection must be done an hour before show time! And so we killed time by walking to The Curve and IKEA; I can do a real quickie window Shopping]. The place was ok, the plus point is that the prayer rooms are located very near to the theatres so we didn’t have to Rush Rush through prayers for the movie and even managed to catch some trailers too [Déjà vu looks like it's worth watching].

The movie was good and the company too; and yes, we all have to shift our paradigm some time and adapt ourselves to a blond Bond [so it might as well be now] - not that I had any issue with his hair colour. I especially like the part when the bartender asks Bond if he prefers his martini shaken or stirred and he replies, ‘Do I look like I give a damn?’. I much prefer the first Bond girl but alas her character was killed too soon. Personally, I’d also much prefer less violent scenes in movies but I suppose it wouldn’t be a James Bond movie then. OK, OK, some people may find them mild. And the movie was, among others, shot at my two favourite places in the world - Venice and Lake Como in Italy. [For more info on the movie, go here].

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I was a little late in leaving The Office Yesterday and when I got home at 7 pm, I found a ripped plastic bag on my porch, yes, just like previously but this time it was black viscous substance instead. It smelled Toxic. Fortunately, Aunty was still nearby and I ran to her and asked her to stay a while with me. I was a bit shaken then. Second time in less than a month! How very irritating and annoying!!! Grrr...

I tried to wash it off but, again, it was a futile effort. Worse, this time it was black substance and the stain left of the splashed substance looks simply awful. OK, I was close to tears and I wondered who could be so mean, vicious, spiteful, malicious and evil to do that to me. Why, Why, Why? I tried to call on my next door neighbour but because it was Maghrib, no one came to the door and I didn’t try again later.

[The yellowish stain is the earlier paraffin stain]

It saddens me that there are evil people out there. I don’t know any but some evil character seems to know me to have made me his/her target and this has somewhat shaken my trust in humankind.

Cooking was understandably the last thing on my mind after that and my substitute dinner was cheese and crackers and miso soup. Yea, yea, I know, what a combination [West meets East, eh]. It spoilt my weight regain programme of course so I hope the perpetrator was happy. Strewth!

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Belated footie footnote: Arsenal shook off a shaky start to come back from a goal down to beat Hamburg 3-1 late Tuesday [for full report, go here]. It makes me wonder how Arsenal only managed a draw with Newcastle last weekend and lost to West Ham previously. I guess it’s equally puzzling how Liverpool manage to do so well at the Champions League level and yet perform poorly at the Premier League.

November Rain

[Among others, a tribute to the currently rainy month! Not that I'm complaining as Rain is a blessing from God.]

When I look into your eyes
I can see a love restrained
But darlin' when I hold you
Don't you know I feel the same

'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain

We've been through this such a long, long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain

But lovers always come and lovers always go
An no one's really sure who's lettin' go today
Walking away

If we could take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head
Just knowin' that you were mine
All mine
So if you want to love me
Then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
In the cold November rain

Do you need some time...on your own
Do you need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone

I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal a broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you

Sometimes I need some time...on my own
Sometimes I need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone

And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain, ohhh yeahhh
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain

Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one

Too Many, Too Much, Too Late

Too many words have been said
Too many tears have been shed
Too many Sorrys have been uttered
Too many demons in the night to be wrestled

Too much insecurity to be dealt with
Too much doubt to be put to ease
Too much hurt has been inflicted
Too much heartbreak to be endured

And now it's too late.

And it's just too much for me to handle.

I should have just been strong and taken the risk
But I was too scared and such a coward
Too insecure with myself and with you

Life goes on. Because it must. There's no other way.

Adek The Temple Raider

It was a trip arranged many months back and Boy, all that waiting made me really looked forward to it. Left micasa early Thursday morning after waking up earlier than scheduled [even managed to watch (and curse) the Gunners firing blank shots in their Champions League match, silly asses!].

Flight took off on time and we reached Siem Reap at 1105 and it was already so very bright albeit a little hazy. Our pre-arranged tuk tuk driver who introduced himself as Len was already waiting as we emerged into the bright Khmer morning and manoeuvred us through the streets of Siem Reap, at times tarred and at times, red-caked, to the hotel. Paddy fields and traditional houses gradually made way for hotels lining the National Route no. 6 or Airport Road. We reached our hotel 15 minutes later.

After checking in and freshening up, we endured a bumpy tuk tuk ride to a village where we boarded a boat for a ride at the Tonle Sap Lake and visit to Kampung Phhluk. Now, if you recall Geography, this is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. I had a bird’s eye view of the lake earlier, just as the plane began its descent. As the monsoon season had just ended, the lake had swelled up [during the dry season, the lake is fairly small with a depth of one metre and an area of 2,700 square km]. It was a pleasant boat ride, breezy and because we were in the shade, not too hot. Lunch was provided and it was satisfactory.

After half an hour or so, we came upon the floating village of Kampung Phhluk. There were about 300 people staying there [if my memory serves me right], living in stilted huts and whose livelihood revolves around the water. Everything lives on the water, yes, not just everyone, but also the pigs and chicken the villagers somehow manage to rear there. We went to a small temple where we had a bird’s eye view of the village, chatted with a friendly monk eager to practise his English and find out about us and watched the village boys playing some traditional musical instruments before we re-boarded the boat. Then the boat navigator took us out to where the lake met the mighty Mekong River and gosh, it was water, water and water everywhere. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think you’re in a sea rather than in a lake!

It was another half an hour boat ride back to where we started out and from that village, we went to buy the entrance ticket to the temples for the following day. The deal was if you buy the ticket after 5 pm, you get to enjoy the sunset at the temples in addition to the entrance the next day. So we did exactly that and joined hordes of other gawking tourists to explore and sight the sun set over Angkor Wat. Unfortunately, the hazy weather didn’t improve so it wasn’t a clear sunset after all. We entered Angkor Wat from the western gate which was the main point of entry, crossing the moat with balustrades and statues lining the entrance bridge. A little piece of information from Wikipedia: Angkor is a vernacular form of the word nokor which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (capital), while wat is the Khmer word for temple.

We then made our way back to the hotel. We managed to get a ride from the tuk tuk driver to Phsar Chas [Old Market] but it was getting dark and only a handful of shops looked opened and what I saw didn’t impress me much. Dinner was at Little India which claimed it served halal food. We walked back to the hotel – turned out it was pretty near – after stopping at Phsar Kandal [Centre Market]. Btw the greenback is widely accepted [the locals somehow prefer it to Riel] and credit cards are not that widely used yet - some establishments that do accept plastic charge an additional 5% transaction fee!

I was amazed and intrigued at the sight of the Khmer people – it’s somewhat surreal when you see people who look so much like you speak a different language altogether. In my opinion, they are the closest I’ve seen who resemble us.

Friday: Today was the day when Adek became Lara Croft and be a tomb, I mean, temple raider. We set off for the temples at 0845 – it was a clear day today, hurrah! The first stop was at Bayon temple within the great walled city of Angkor Thom where we were greeted by statues of smiling [or was it smirking or even grimacing?] faces lining the causeway. The temple’s distinctive feature was also the multitude of smiling faces. We spent some time here capturing Kodak moments but truth be told, after a while I had enough of these faces and couldn’t tell if they look different. We explored the surrounding area for a while before meeting Len.

The next stop on our Amazing Race around the Angkor Archaeological Park was Thommanum. It was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu and quite a small temple by comparison, and hence, we didn’t linger long here.

It was Ta Keo temple next, a plainly decorated but towering structure of a temple. It was left uncompleted by its builders.

Ta Prohm followed next. This temple is famous for the sights of it being ‘choked’ by giant sprawling Banyan trees. However, I read that the destruction wrought by the trees is slowly causing the destruction of Ta Prohm and there is a campaign to do something about it before it’s too late. We spent considerable time here walking along and in the maze of the temple corridors and sprawling tree roots and temple ruins. When I saw the ruins, I blurted out aloud, ‘It’s as if there was a sudden earthquake or something causing the destruction and ruin.’

Our next pit stop was Banteay Kdei, a religious monastery with a terrace that led to two courtyards. There were square pillars in the middle. Then on it was to Sras Srang [Pool of Ablutions], just across the road, before we went for our well-deserved lunch. I was famished and badly needed a visit to the washroom.

After regaining energy, we went to our last pit stop, Angkor Wat. Unlike the day before, we entered the temple from the eastern gate this time. And yes, we climbed the seriously steep steps up to the tower [thank God for lunch!] where I enjoyed a good view of the surroundings and cool afternoon breezes. I stayed awhile before making my way down and finally out of the temple.

We made our way back to town and stopped at Phsar Kandal [again!]. Len picked us up at 6.30 pm and brought us to Angkor Mondial dance for our cultural performance/Apsara dance dinner. That was quite good and entertaining.

Saturday: Went to the Siem Reap River [Srung Siem Reap] for the water festival only to discover the river devoid of action – turned out the boat race would be held in the afternoon instead. Good thing we had Plan B, which was to venture to Phsar Chas. Like I said earlier, I wasn’t too impressed with what I saw during my first visit but it turned out that during the day, the market was more lively and bustling with activity. There were vegetables and sea/river products, meat, clothes, appliances and shoes on sale for the local shoppers, souvenirs for tourists and (to my delight) gemstones and jewellery too. For souvenirs, there are a wide range of Khmer handicrafts, textiles, statues, curios, bags, krama [scarves]… I spent some time looking at the jewellery [and ended up purchasing too!].

We then decided to leave the hustle and bustle of the trading place and walked to Neak Mah mosque [Masjid Nikmah] at Kampung Sieng Nam. The map showed the site but one has to walk a bit further before finding the mosque. Most of the Khmer Muslims lived around this area and we spent some time chatting and getting to know the locals and also performing prayers.

It was past noon when we left Sieng Nam and walked back to Phsar Chas area for lunch. After lunch, we stopped briefly at Phsar Kandal before making our way back to the hotel. It must be the afternoon heat as I did plan to venture out again but fell into a slumber instead. Dinner was at another restaurant serving halal Indian cuisine but two biryanis in a day proved waayyy too much for me.

Sunday: Left the hotel at 10 am for the airport. Landed at KLIA at 1530 but the plane only made its way to the landing bay [is that what you call it?] some 10 minutes later and guess what, there were five other planes behind ours. So we rushed to the immigration with hundreds of other travellers from other planes. I was impressed with the fast bag handling as it was barely 15 minutes after landing when I was reunited with my check-in luggage and no, I didn’t bust the allowable limit, hurrah to me.

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I had a great time in Cambodia. It’s a relatively young country – I said that because I saw mainly young to middle-aged people about [I think only a handful of old Cambodians are still alive, no thanks to Pol Pot]. And the children were everywhere [even adorning postcards!]. It’s heartbreaking to see them resorting to work, peddling their wares at such a tender age when they should be playing or going to school but I suppose economic conditions dictate otherwise. There are special ads on free hospital treatment for children and ads in tourist brochures pleading visitors not to have sex with children and I think I know why: it’s to guarantee these children, the future of Cambodia, a brighter future than what their parents knew. But that is still a long way to go and for now, these children have to be child labourers, like it or not. I do hope that with increasing tourism, the standards of living will improve over time and that these children will suffer no more. But they have dignity, they do not beg unlike those children I came across in India. And the Khmer people on the whole are very warm and friendly people, despite their poverty. Such great hospitality! Almost all children we met would wave and say Hello or Bye Bye Bye to us. They were just so sweet, cute and adorable and I can see now why Angelina Jolie adopted Maddox.

Go to these links for a general idea on the country’s speciality [shopping], and info and photos on temples.