Checker & Isidora

One night in Bangkok, I had an extremely vivid dream about a kid I’d never met before. His name was Checker and he was about 11 or 14 years old. I’m surprised because it’s rare that I know so much about a dream person and remember details.

He had curly hair, either light brown or vaguely gingery and was very, very smart. He was telling me about a song he’d written called “Isidora” so in my dream, we looked for it on youtube together. It sounded like a very beautiful rumba song and apparently, someone had stolen it from him. So we googled “Checker and Isidora” only to get results about him being slightly famous and Isidora, extremely popular with many fans posting comments.

I was beginning to love this poor brown-eyed kid more and more, in his scruffy 90s getup, dirty sneakers and baseball cap. Felt a great deal of sympathy and wanted to help him with copyright issues and stuff.

And then I woke up.

Bangkok

Listening to The Click Five – Time Machine

Just got back from Bangkok, spent a couple of days there, my first time in the Thai capital! All I’ve learnt to say in Thai though is Sawadee kha and Kap Kun kha hahaha. It was very hot and rained the whole time I was there, typical tropical humidity. Considering the fact that we had no planned itinerary and didn’t know what to do/where to go/any Thai words, I think we did pretty well. Most people in Thailand can speak at least a smattering of English and there are loads of different dialects. I kinda thought it was like being in KL at sometimes. People are very friendly and I love the gentle way people greet each other. Can’t say the same about cab drivers though, one evil bugger blatantly ripped us off and tried to make us pay for the highway toll and grumbled constantly.

Thai hospitality surpassed anything I’d thought was possible :D they really are a gracious bunch! And I think the best part of my time there would have to be…the flowers. EVERYWHERE. And when we checked out the prices, they were ridiculously cheap compared to florists in KL. Not that I’d have been able to buy loads and bring them back. On the topic of buying by the way, loads of people have been telling me that shopping in Bangkok is terrific for us shopaholic Malaysians. However a) I am not a shopaholic and b) it really depends on what you want to buy. Big name luxury brands can be found in both Bangkok and KL. I didn’t go to Chatuchak or Suan Lum (but my friends did) and like I said, it’s good shopping depending on what you buy.

In the end, all I got for myself was a small pillow shaped like a dogbone for 35 ringgit (I LOVE IT) and a lovely scroll of speckled gold paper for seven. I’m a cheapskate student, I am. But I do like taking photos and here’s a brief rundown of what else we did; prayed at the Erawan shrine, wandered about randomly a lot, went gaga over flowers, crossed the Chao Praya river, rode a sampan, rode an elephant and watched the Siam Niramit show. Well done, Mags! Now I’m back in KL and we’re gonna catch Wall-E soon. I’ve spent a lot of my time at the movies, mmmmm.

NO PATD For Me & Another Teenage Cringe

Listening to Panic At The Disco – Mad As Rabbits

I really really really want to see Panic At The Disco on Tuesday night but already have plans which I wouldn’t bail out on and more pressingly, I don’t have enough dough for tickets. I’d go with the Orcs but can’t…aaaaargh! I love their music! Guess I’ll have to watch the MTV Asia Music Awards tomorrow night. Maybe next time I’ll be luckier. Sigh.

We watched Batman recently which I think was fantastic mostly because of Heath Ledger’s performance. The Mummy this weekend perhaps. For now, I’m trying to watch what I eat and have been reading loads. Thinking of learning Latin from a book, an extremely old “One Day I’ll Do It” notion. On the bright side, I’ve been writing fun stuff again hip hip hooray! Been illustrating too. Have a new character amongst whirligigs of numbers and letters finally drawn up…he was just a small sketch from way back in August last year. Also, did the 12 Chinese zodiac animals and might put up a pic of them.

I had lunch with Laurel yesterday and it was really great to catch up on each other’s lives. It’s funny to realize that she knew me when I was 16. I feel so ancient now compared to that teenager. She’s off to Sydney so thank god for the Internet. And we’ll both probably next see each other in a year or so. I’ve been thinking of Reggie and Wazzy lately. The weather’s been extremely hot, the nights cooler. Outdoor barbeque tonight looks promising, only gotta watch out for mozzies, those whiny bloodsuckers. Next week looks promising, will be without Internet access for a few days. Everyone needs a break from technology sometimes!

Just Vegging

Listening to MGMT - Time To Pretend

Spent about a couple of weeks in Singapore just pigging out and watching the world go by, got back a couple of days ago. As a result, I've gained a couple of kilos. Not particularly pleased. Am keen to get rid of 'em and do fun stuff at the moment like dancing or painting. But most of all, writing. My inner inkwell seems to have dried up. No new fairytales but plenty of words stumbling over each other inside my entire body trying to get out. Creepy crawlies. But when the pen touches paper...nothing. Not even an illustration. Just a doodle that wanders miserably then gives up.

Have little errands to do like blacking my boots, more and more spring-cleaning for peace of mind (and want of space dammit). Am not missing uni as terribly as I did the first couple of weeks I got back. A simple mantra of "9 months is a long time" puts the missingache away neatly. I've gotten my results back and am well pleased with them but hey, first year stuff doesn't count towards your final degree classification so whatever man. I've had an AWESOME first year :D and second year looks even more promising.

In the meantime, my threadbanging efforts have come to no good end. Just lots of scrap material and torn clothing tossed into the bin. Ack, all those hours of beading and measurements and squinting for nothing! No matter, I now know myself to be more capable of handling a relatively sharp pair of scissors and poking thread into the tiniest of eyes. Got pricked loads of times too.

Being home is sweet. Been spending time with my loved ones and doing some wordilicious part-time work so hooray for some summer sweetness! Here's a random bit of prose that's been scuffing its feet about my mind for a while now:

"In the meantime, I sit and stare. The skies are grey and the city is grey and the smoke is fey. The smog reaches down to the last few skeletal trees in this noxious city and chokes the budding leaves. The people, old and young, inhale the same thin poison and drag their feet and live their lives -why stop when the going gets tough? We're all heading to the same destination anyway. Why rush to the grave? So many drift about aimlessly in this world and float with green bottles, dried herbs and nasty habits. I sit and choke."

I'm Home! NOM NOM NOM

Listening to The All-American Rejects - Time Stands Still

And now I'm home sweet home, it's been almost a week. One glorious week of food. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I stuffed myself like this. I think I eat fairly well in uni on a student's budget, try to get my five a day and loads of apple juice (I'm not so good at drinking milk, it always expires when I suddenly feel like I need some for tea) and well yeah, loads of rice, bread and pasta. I missed my friends and UEA when I first got back but that ended with the realization that I'll be back in 3 months and there's always facebook.

I still miss my rascals anyway.

Back to nom nom nom, I think my first dishes were fried chicken, pai guat and nasi lemak. Lemme count. At least two Chinese banquet-style dinners, 1 Korean BBQ, 1 Hong Kong Food Culture meal, loads of yummy da pao food (Indian & Malay) and there'll be dim sum soon at some point. Mmmm, the last time I ate out was way back in December when I was last home. It's simply too pricey to eat out in the UK, not that I've missed it very much. Cooking can be fun. Washing up never is. I need to learn how to cook new dishes, that's all.

I was awfully jetlagged and spent most of my days asleep and nights spacing out. Been better today. And am wondering where to get a summer job that not only pays but lets me learn on the job and looks good on the CV, like, in a gallery or museum or something. Ach, beggars can't be choosers. And what with the rising costs of just about everything, the world looks a little greyer. Still, I'm thinking of catching The Hulk with the Orcs. Hmmm. It's also been nice to get my paws back on my D70.

If I've one fairly new shameful guilty pleasure...it's a cheeseburger. No, Maggie, no!

Waterstones & Musings

Listening to Ace of Base - Don't Turn Around

God, it's been ages! I've already done two exams and have one more to go...and then I'll be home in less than a month!! Again, time flies and all I can do is enjoy each moment as much as I can. Waterstones has currently got this great short story competition going on and my entry is number 340-something, I think. Send your story online now! 600 characters limit, though. Neil Gaiman and JK Rowling have sent in their stories too.

The weather was awesome and sunny for a little more than a week which was great - people played football, frisbee, had barbeques, picnics and wore shorts and t-shirts. Then today, it went back to normal (that is, rainy and gloomy) so I'm typing this in my room now heh. I can't wait for it to be sunny again!

So what have I been up to? Fed rabbits in the dark with Scotty & Derek a couple of nights ago, been out in town for abit looking for a birthday present for a friend, watched "Never Forget" in London, figured out module choices for next year, won an essay competition, read loads of fairytales since I've the free time now :D, went for a meeting on student ambassadorship and mentoring, went for a World Art & Museology masquerade ball, a couple of birthday bbqs, met loads of nice people...life is picking up speed and things are looking up :D

Mind you, these are all the 'up' things that've happened in the past weeks only.

I've had my fair share of ups and downs, illnesses and heartache, laughter and joy all squished in my first year abroad at a university. And you know, life is short, you've got to pick the ones of love you and leave the ones who pinch you. I miss my family so much, home is where the heart is eh? Can't wait to tuck into a plate of Hainanese chicken rice and holler for teh o ais limau...or sit in Domes with a Chai latte mmmmm!

STARS & Revision

Listening to Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

I've only just fallen in love with STARS who remind me alot of Broken Social Scene and in fact, the singers have done collaborations with them :D lovely lush music, oh the vocals, lyrics and tunes, everything is sparkling in my head. I really really really want to buy all their albums now! My current favourite is Your Ex-Lover Is Dead but I also like Calendar Girl and Heart (which I'm sure I've heard before)...am gonna listen to as many of them on youtube as I can!



How the video reminds me of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind :D



I'd definitely see them if they ever came to perform in UEA!

I also quite like The Maccabees - Toothpaste Kisses.



It was used in a Samsung ad too heh. Kinda cute in a quirky way.