Art

"Which book do you think I should get her?" AN asked, our arms full of potential Christmas gifts, as we browsed about MidValley's MPH.

"Jodi Picoult, Cecelia Ahern..." I rattled off a list of the usual people-pleasing authors.

"Do you read those?"

"No... the stuff I read, most people consider boring." I pounced upon Mendocino and Other Stories. "OMG, I didn't know Ann Packer had a new book (yes, I am aware now that Mendocino was one of her earlier works)!" I turned to AN, hugging the book to my chest for effect, "I love her stuff, she knows exactly how to put into words, the feeling, the emotions."

Because we were caretakers of each other's habits and expressions, weren't we, witnesses who didn't just see but who gave existence?

The next day dressed in some random model's bebe dress (size XS a tad tight - must have gained 5 lbs in Malaysia by now), I checked out the resultant photos on KJ's borrowed DSLR and realised the appeal of each picture depended on how well the emotion was captured.

We later killed some time at the Petronas Art Gallery whilst waiting for Di. Raja Shahriman's sketches and sculptures were dark and almost violent.

And then I thought about the amazing band I'd caught at Hard Rock Cafe, Penang, of the passion in the vocalists' voices.

And then it occured to me. "Art is what happens when you make emotions tangible," I marvelled to KJ. This rare nugget of profundity was completely lost on him. I got a grunt in reply.

Returning to the scene of the crime

On a random whim in the midst of a hectic day, IT drove us around my old neighbourhood. Everything seemed the same, but on closer look, was not. The peeling paint, the rusty gates had been renovated. I suppose with the spike in property prices, the original tenants had moved on to less pricy suburbs.

My former next door neighbour, Aunty Raji, had moved. TLY was working in Penang; ES in Canada. Similarly, the rest of my friends were pursuing their careers interstate or overseas. Ah Peng, the ancient kedai runcit owner had sold up and retired. The corner cafe Hot Chocolate, was remarkably enough, still thriving in spite of its insipid nominal drink.



My kindergarten, Villa Maria was still standing. "Was I a very serious kid?" I asked my mother, chancing upon a small photo of my childhood self like the others, unsmiling and pensive (see below), in her wallet. She shook her head.

I was Minnie Mouse for the school play. Turns out Mickey was in my high school all along. The extra foot and 200 pounds or so kind of threw me off for a while.



My former home had been bought over by the Rich Turd of a Neighbour Whose Multimillion Ringgit Monstrous Construction Inconvenienced Us Greatly. Apparently, the property (valued at MYR2 million in 2003) is now used as the domestic help's living quarters. The brown gate whose parameters I had often been forbidden to trespass was now gone, in lieu of a grey brick wall.

Why yes, Chinese DO eat everything

The smaller version of these looks really gross. Like an eyeball attached to a stick.


This is especially for KG. Geoducks (pronounced gwee-ducks) - another (apparently) tasty (not to mention expensive) abhorration of nature. Ignore deeply unappetising physicality.

Sights and sounds, City of Angels

"Twist and Shout" exhibition at the new Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre, BACC


Wat Po


Reclining Buddha




Mahboonkrong, the Sungei Wang of Thailand


Friendly kitty. Ended up being the inadvertent subject of several tourist shots.




Outside the Siam Paragon. Seriously, the place is turning into Orchard Road.






Legendary Bangkok jam


The Makkasan station of the new train line which joins to the airport. It starts next year, but as we'd arrived on a public holiday in honour of the King's birthday, we got a free test run.


Heliophobic flight attendant on the SkyBus who insisted on drawing the curtains. Or a corpse.

Jingle balls

KJ, X and I met up in Pavilion, KL. After a satisfactory dinner at Dragon-i and dessert at J-Co, we squeezed past masses of grotesquely expanding Malaysian throngs strolled about.

We stood at the main entrance of the exquisitely decorated mall to admire the Christmas sculptures.

Pretty, right?

Then KJ's eagle eyes spotted something things unusual.





We spent the next half an hour snapping rude photos.

At least we now have confirmation that Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph are male.

Live from BKK

First day in BKK. Tired. Up since 6am. Carried suitcase on my head around because X wouldn't ask fellow sex tourists white people for directions. The place is amazing. Maybe it's due to my being stuck in a hick town for so long (though I now adore Gold Coast in its own way). Stuff seem even cheaper now thanks to the strong Aussie currency. Got waxed. Painful but only cost AUD25 for several turfs. They had textured tiles and a gilt-framed Renaissance poster on the ceiling for awkward moments when you can't look your beautician in the eye. Spent 3 hours straightening hair yesterday and am not allowed to shampoo for 3 days. Look somewhat like stereotypical Asian ghost. Hairdresser now has a bald spot and gained 10 kilos and is no longer cute; still remembers me (probably because he once asked me out). Everyone keeps talking to me in Thai.

2 more days before I'm home

I'll be spending the entire month of December in Malaysia (well, except probably five days in either Bali or Bangkok; we're still trying to decide). Looking forward to seeing everyone - new babies, grown up babies, grown up adults, family, friends and I'm even contemplating looking up ex-clients and teachers, if time permits.

This is Ray the blueheeler, 84 doggy years old. He has a limp and isn't allowed in pool. He's on diet, but tries getting his way with this gullible, injured expression when no scraps are thrown his way.


These are Old Bugger (R) and Older Bugger (L). The funniest, most irreverent people I've had the pleasure of meeting in a long time. Older Bugger had no qualms explaining swear words to mild-manner Shim from Hiroshima ("Janice, how would you explain wanker?" I responded with the appropriate hand gesture.). I arrived at the party bleeding on their floor, having accidentally scratched a femoral vein (it didn't hurt, I didn't notice). The night was hot and humid and we ended up in the pool in borrowed tees and undies, clinging to pool noodles, a doughnut float and Crikey, the croc. Half the guests were Japanese, so I felt free to announce, "I'm going home commando!", much to their bemusement.


Weird stuff Japanese people buy #988564397230. Jelly balls that swell in in water and feel good when squeezed (seriously, there's no other use). They had to reiterate several times, "Not dessert! Not dessert!"


Funky crab from 15 course Chinese dinner at Ming Palace in Broadbeach. It was yummy stuff. Between the 6 of us, there was something like 40% leftovers. It wasn't quite a free lunch dinner though; my faulty English-Mandarin (atrocious), Mandarin-English (so-so) interpreting skills (loosely used term) was required.


My TAA class. I wouldn't have choosen to make presentations on nerdy topics like Maintaining Indoor Plants and Diagnosis and Treatment of Sprains in front of any other 4 people.


JK is the Head Chef at Mike's Kitchen. His meticulous kitchen skills are an art in itself. I swear we were all entranced watching him turn fruit into tiny little evenly-sized cubes. His salad here was bee-yoo-tee-full. Truffle oil does bring out the flavour in everything. Like MSG, but classier and less reviled.


A mussel (OMG, I am so excited I can finally say Lala and actually be understood when I get back!). I'd never seen a live one, thanks to the notoriously efficient seagulls here. See the white lip sticking out? They move by pushing themselves using that. Fascinating to watch in motion.


Lunch at Kamikaze in the Robina Town Centre with Min Wye. I only wanted to take a picture of the gorgeous wall deco but his big fat head got in the way (I'M KIDDING). The food and service were terrible; I'm never going back. This creepy Chinese waitress spent the entire time hovering over our side dishes like a vulture. And our entree of tempura calamari arrived after our bland food.