VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE

Another good move by some Malaysians

Everytime we think Malaysia is finally out of the dark ages, it rears its ugly head once again.
This happens everytime an international music act plays a gig there. Linkin Park, Gwen Stefani and now Beyonce. The protests come from the union of muslim students (I admit I've got this wrong because I can't be bothered to remember what they're called) in regards to dress code, yadayadayada....ad nauseam.

WTF, my overseas dwelling ass thought.

I wonder if these people have seen what Malaysian female artists are wearing. HELLO??? Just read any malay gossip rag lah and you'll find that these women are actually wearing or not wearing exactly the same amount of clothing as Beyonce. Example:

To the union of muslim yadayadayada students yadayada....etc. etc.:

NEWSFLASH: Why not protest against these women instead? They're right there in your own backyard of Kuala Lumpur, unlike Beyonce or Gwen who are on the other side of the globe. Why not hold these Malaysian women to your own standards?

Why do it only when the international media are watching you? Why embarrass the hell out of other normal Malaysians?

Anything?

Can't bring myself to accept new jobs or look for any. I've spent the past months wondering WTF do I do with my MBA..... WTF do I do about my marriage..... my life.....

During my time in Fontainebleau and Singapore. I let weeks pass by without speaking to my husband. It was easy to immerse myself in the experience and let it change me. There was no third party on my side of things, but I don't know about my husband, though. Corporate Finance people from BigAssGlobal first tier banks like him stray all the time.... the fact that I don't know and don't want to know is a huge concern to me. Don't I care anymore? I really thought I had everything. I was even arrogant about it all. I am looking through my old blog to put pieces of my life together again.

So why am I blogging again? Hopefully I can find myself again. I am so LOST.

This is an idea for what's next

I am not thinking of having a baby to save my marriage. 

Babies happen to people who never even thought of having them. 

I admit that I have never thought of having one until now. 

I have lived 33plus selfish years on this earth. Can/dare/should/would/could/will/etc. I do it?

Still undecided

It's been a while since I finished at INSEAD.

And my life has changed so much. Not what I expected it would be, though.

I haven't come home powering straight into the labour force at all. My marriage has survived but it's so different. I can't even put my head around things at the moment, let alone blog about it.

I am finding myself spending days doing nothing at all because there's a "what now?" void in my life.

The Credit Card Disease in Australia

(July 2007 Australian issue of Marie Claire, pg. 81 article: Are You In The Debt Set?)


This article addresses Australia's "spend now, pay later" culture, amongst young women in particular. I have always wondered how these young blonde things who cut my hair in salons thumb their noses at me for not using those salon products that cost around AUD50 per bottle when they earn a fraction of what I earn, spend all their money on rent, designer gear, partying..... read this article. There are women whose annual credit card bill totals up to 37k when they earn 40k per annum.

I know I'm considered an old fuddy duddy by their standards because I'm approaching my mid 30's, own property and other assets, etc.
The article also states that the national credit card debts total AUD39billion. That's a ridiculous amount. That amount should be sufficient to wipe off the national debt of a third world country.
From the get-go (from birth), we are all told that this is the lucky country, that everybody deserves the Australian Dream.

The Australian Dream is a wonderful thing. It should be something that we aspire to and strive for. I'm all for those values and ideals. BUT I don't agree with the people who walk around in denial in an illusion that they're living that dream that is beyond their means. Sydney is an expensive city- and it is NOT New York, and you're NOT Carrie Bradshaw. Wake up.

Food blogging corner

Tapas for three:
salsa verde, roasted garlic and bread entree, sofritos, polenta biscuits, lamb, deep fried zucchini flowers, grilled cheese, artichoke hearts, tapenade, quail, zucchini, tuna stuffed pimento.... etc.

Perfect for that mid afternoon pick-me-up.

Delicado Foods
2/134 Blues Point Rd
McMahons Point NSW
2060 - (02) 9955 9399
Open Mon-Sat 7am-7pm; Sun 9am-5pm


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On MBA hiatus

I really want to finish this more than anything else in my life right now.
This ain't your run of the mill business school MBA. 

And it ain't no twinning distance program whore-university MBA, so I want to do it justice.
I fear mediocrity more than I fear death....................

Potato post

From The Magnum Cafe in Petersons Champagne House in the Hunter Valley wine country, an hour plus drive from Sydney.
Beer battered chips with sea salt.

Crunchy on the outside, soft in the inside.
The sea salt crystals formed a tasty crust on the outside.

Baaaaaad carbs. Baaaad.

Tangy lime and pepper

I think I'm in love with these. It tastes like Thai green papaya salad with peppery zing.
I love it. I'm stocking up on these next time I drop by Woolworths.

They go really really well with a Lowenbrau.

OK. End of epicurean odyssey.
Heh.

Miss Universe

Watched the delayed telecast on Channel 7 with my husband just now.

As soon as the 15 semi finalists were announced, I named my favourites to my husband who went hmmmph at each one of my favourites.

1. Miss Norway. Half Thai. Not really what you would call beautiful but what can I say- it's asian pride. She was graceful, friendly and confident.


2. Miss Indonesia. So classically beautiful, what amazing bone structure! She had a very classy "you can't touch me" kind of look. She looks like she could be an international model (think Paris), not just those B-grade models who only manage to make it in their own country.

























3. Miss Latvia. STUNNING. What a barbie doll. Unbelieveably Claudia Schiffer-esque.




























And Miss Malaysia.......geeez I have no words.
WHY do we keep picking these types of girls?
The chick needs to get her pale ass outdoors and get herself a healthy tan.
She also needs to stop jumping onto the straightened-hair bandwagon.


OK, my gripe about Miss Malaysia isn't just purely skin deep.
I'm sure she's probably a very smart girl, but it didn't really shine through.
Very very ordinary.

And Miss China looked like she belonged in a karaoke bar as one of those "Guest Relations Officers".......


We've had much better looking girls as Miss Malaysia.
Andrea Veronica Fonseka (2004) was a hot babe. She really copped a lot of shit from Malaysians who claimed she was fat. OK, she was a bit bigger than your average Miss Malaysia, but damn, she is SEXY.
And 5'11.
And she was interesting, athletic and had a lot of personality.


Imagine if the insipid-looking girl to her RIGHT had won instead!

A few of our ex Miss Malaysia's in this pic below.


Elaine Daly, Wong Sze Zen, Jamie Gooi, Tan Su Wei & Lina Teoh.

Lina Teoh is smart, articulate AND beautiful. You can see her confidence and maturity.
Tan Su Wei is quite quirky and interesting... and you can SEE her personality.
Elaine Daly is also outgoing and smart. Lots of sass in this chick!
I have no idea who Jamie Gooi is but she looks alright, too.
Wong Sze Zen. Someone tell me WTF she is doing in the same frame as the rest of these women?

If the winners in 2005 and 2004 are anything to go by, I'd say tanned, athletic women with healthy bodies is the new beauty ideal. Real girls. An asian version?
Hmmmmmmm.
Miss Singapore 2005, Cheryl Tay?


Miss Japan 2005, Yukari Kuzuya? All 6ft (with no heels!) of her?

She's got personality plus-plus too, I reckon.
Check out her outfit for the evening gown! Coolness.


Say NO procelain princesses or barbie dolls!!!!

OK. Better stop the pic posting frenzy. Beginning to look like a bloke's page.

post from work

I am a media tart.
Helloooo 7 o'clock news, hellooo politicians!
Can't reveal too much more. ;P
JUST HAD TO POST.

Fry day

Some bits and pieces throughout the week:

I was headhunted by an american firm. They are trying to rope me in as a project manager. Totally unrelated to architecture. I'll go for the interview next week and see how it goes.
OoooooooOOOoooo.

Remember "H"? I blogged about this particular friend here and here.
Well, she finally spoke to me. It was cordial. I guess the frienship will never be the same again.
I don't like being around people who give out negative vibes for too long. Does that sound too hippie-ish? Well, kiss my flowerpower ass.

Revenge of The Sith rocked my world.
OK, yes I was there with my best friend, "Will", amidst the people who wore their Darth Vader masks throughout the movie.
I don't look anything like your average Science Fiction fan. Not even close.
But a sci-fi fan I am. (Yoda-speak)
I have ALL of Frank Herbert's Dune books and their offshoots.

My wanker banker husband is currently in the Hong Kong office of the first tier BigAssGlobalMerchantBank (definitely no names) he works in. We spoke on the phone earlier this week. He hates being there in that city, but since he was promoted, he feels the pressure to live up to those new expectations. We are SO alike when it comes to ambition.

Tempus Fugit

The title of this post is exactly how I feel right now. Not enough hours in the day to do what I want to do.


Where does all the time go?
What happened?

Sometimes time slaps you in the face to remind you that you made a promise to yourself now get your arse moving. Sometimes I don't know where I'm going but I have to get moving.

I don't feel that I have an easy life. I beg to differ. I think I have to live up to a lot.
Is it easy to to live your life relying on nepotism?
Is it easy to be in someone's shadow?


Got a new Isamu Noguchi light from Kezu.

I quit smoking a few months ago, but I really need a ciggie now.

Coffee vs. Tea

I know I've talked about my love of coffee in the past. And how Starbucks etc.... taste like toilet water etc. etc.
None of that skim decaf soy latte shit, please.
If you were in New York, would you drink coffee at Starbucks or would you go to Dean & Deluca?















A wog friend of mine says "Good coffee is only made by wogs." I tend to agree with this tabouleh brother.
The next time you see your friendly neighbourhood barrista, check out his eyebrows. Do they join in the middle? If they do, that is usually a good sign.
Bankstown in Sydney has a sizeable muslim community. Faroukh el Bahsa's is famous for their baklava, but they also have the best coffee.
It'll make your eyeballs bug out. Heh.

But when in Malaysia, do drink that fabulous teh tarik.
It's wonderful stuff. It's honest and unpretentious.

Anyone who says they love the coffee at those ice blended, frothed, whipped creamed , cocoa dusted concoction joints are posseurs who like just hanging out at there with your crew. It's good if you can admit to that. Nothing wrong with that.
Don't tell me anyone prefers to study at a noisy place where you have to be quasi trendy with one or two ice blendeds instead of a quiet environment where you can maximise your concentration? Ah. I MUST be getting old. Or very pragmatic. Or spaced out.

The theory on why people drink coffee (supposedly bad for you) instead of tea (supposedly good for you) is presumably the same theory why women go for bad, dangerous boys.

Hey Mom, why didn't you warn me?
'Cause about boys there's something I should have known,
They're like chocolate cake, like cigarettes,
I know they're bad for me but I just can't leave 'em alone.
Lyrics from Bachelor Girl's "Buses & Trains".

Back at work and dinner/breakfast in Balmain/Cabramatta with friends

Here I am again. Back to the routine of putting thoughts into words/images.
Shuttling to and from the office, home and grad school in the last few days. Not in that order. Again, I feel that I've taken on too much but I'm determined to get through it. I haven't got to where I am by being easily fazed by obstacles.

Use it before you lose it.

Right then, down to business:
Comfort food differs in definition for everyone.
What gets you nostalgic and comfortable?

A combination of a good bottle of vino, some seafood and conversation with good friends at Balmain. Balmain is to Sydney what Notting Hill is to London. Know what I mean?

My meal. These are not giant prawns, they're actually called Balmain bugs. They're a combination between a lobster and a prawn. I could not finish this, but managed to finish the damn bugs. I love eating them bugs. I love it more than I love saying "I eat bugs".

Another meal was on a jaunt to Cabramatta with my two favourite gay white men (if looks could kill I'd be dead by now. Why? Read on....). Cabramatta is in the outskirts of Sydney and well known for its 80% Vietnamese population and also for its violent gang wars.
And when in Rome....... we had Pho of course.










No woman should leave her pho unattended. Shame on me.


No fighting over the chilli when I'm out with this lot.
More for me! Yay!

Phantom self

Isn't it funny how work piles up while you're away working?
It's as if your workload suddenly doubles. As long as your desk is there, you're there.
Curse all this this correspondence.

Real estate hunt

When I got back to Sydney, the first thing we did was a spot of house hunting.
Not for a new place to live, but for an investment property.
We parked the car and went around on foot and doing the real estate rounds in Mosman.
On the hunt for capital gains!




I feel a Duran Duran quote coming on.

"Burning the ground, I break from the crowd
I'm on the hunt, I'm after you
I smell like I sound, I'm lost and I'm found
And I'm hungry like the wolf"




Just like typical Sydneysiders, we're hydrophilic and we NEED to be near water and have views of water. The properties we're looking at are a few streets away from boutique giftshops, lifestyle shops and patisseries.

And I'm so happy to say there's very good coffee to be found here. None of that Starbucks cat's piss. But at AUD3.20 per pop (inclusive of the ever present Aussie GST), it better be good.











A decent Sydney property with at least 3 bedrooms in a suburb that's nowhere near water, hills, cafes/shopping or train line will still cost you around AUD 650-800K. It's craziness.
In Mosman, you're looking at a teeth-gnashing AUD 650K-800K for a ONE bedroom apartment. And for houses..... it's around 3 million for an old one storey brick home.
*Sigh. Welcome back to Sydney, Implosion*

Back in Sydney again

Last week was all about work, work, work and network, network, network.
It was dry and uninteresting. A bit like airline food, actually.
I didn't get to see my parents during this trip because they were out of the country.
Not really worth blogging about. I finished a book in 8 hours.

Yes. I read this. And found it absolutely riveting.
So call me a freak.

I did find the time to have the dinner I blogged about with my group of friends from the 50490 'hood. We talked about what I blogged about.
Some of us got emotional. And some of them/us share Orked's taste.

*Get yer sugar here, ladies*

And YES, it was exactly as I predicted. Takut bini- WaWa and Mr. UnitedNations left early. They obviously don't read blogs. Bwahahaha.

The Hurdler was having a soiree at her parents' home in Pantai Hills (damn that brings back memories. Back then, her "soirees" came complete with a DJ and strobe lights. Heh.) and the people there were what I would call Malaysian Eurotrash. Heavy emphasis on the "trash".



Now- what do I want to say about these people? They're OK actually. I judge people by their looks more often than I like to admit. I don't think I made any lifelong friends, but they were nice people.

DIY weekend

My husband and I went to Domayne, (To put it bluntly, it ain't no IKEA, mmmm-kay? IKEA it ain't. Best not be too nasty- I know some people in Malaysia think IKEA is bees-knees designer chic.) on the weekend for a full day of shopping.

We bought stuff. I mean lots of STUFF.


I saw the Genie Lamp loveseat I'd always wanted, but hubby talked me out of it. Phew! That was close!














We stopped only to eat and load up on those good little vitamins in those fruit smoothies.

We're satisfied little consumers now.
*Aaaahhhhhh*

Name Your Illusion part 2

I blogged about my friend "H" a while back.
She's the woman who swans around in a fantasy that she's living the life of the rich and famous. The one who hasn't accepted that she hasn't got her daddy's money to spend anymore.

Both she and her boyfriend made me very cross and disappointed recently.

They've started badmouthing "S", a common friend who, despite having an average job, is still living in relative luxury because she is still supported by her tycoon daddy. "S" is a really nice girl. She works hard at her job, she has never been the type to show off, unlike "H".

What do they say?

• "She'll never make it in her job because she's never had to go through any hardship in her life!"

Not true. She's slowly been given more and more responsibilities probably because she's a really hard worker, despite being paid an average salary.

• "She's 30 and doesn't have a boyfriend because there isn't a man out there who isn't intimidated by her being such a high maintainence girl."

Not true. She's recently found herself a banker boyfriend (A first tier bank, not just any second or third tier bank.) of the same caliber as my husband. Well done, girl!!!

• "She looks so plain she could pass for a lesbian."

ROFLMAO... well, yeah she does a bit.....but a cute short haired lipstick lesbian, not a butch dyke type. But she wears Prada type of plain clothes, mmmm-kay?

This isn't the only person whom "H" and her boyfriend spend their time criticising, but I think that this is the person who least deserves their vitriol, because this person has never said a mean thing in return.

My bitchy friend "H" sounds like someone who's gorgeous, tall and has a killer bod, huh?

Nup. She and her boyfriend are both what you and I would consider tubby rotund bodies.

They're unhappy with their own lives so they put other people down to make themselves feel better. He is still overworked and underpaid in his back-office job, hating it but not quitting because they have a lifestyle to upkeep. She still hasn't found a job yet, she still spends her days being Martha Stewart, having dinner parties and doing lunch.

Instead of putting that negative energy into bettering themselves, they do nothing and sit back, watch and wait for other people's failures so that they feel better.
I think I told them so, in not so many words.

I haven't heard from "H" since. I value her friendship.
I want to call her and explain why I said what I said... I think I'll let things cool off for a bit.

At last- finally

My bubbly big-haired mother took time out from her busy travel & social calendar to visit me over the holiday long weekend. We get friday and monday off for Easter holidays over here.
(I don't give a rats' ass the holidays are for, I'm just glad to have a holiday.)

My mum kindly brought a particular DVD over for me. Finally!
Sepet reminds me of every relationship I ever had with someone of another race.
Most of all, it reminds me of the days we spent in KL just before we left to further our studies overseas.

My friends in KL back then were/ are just like me, offspring of VIPs, they went to CBN, TKC, VI, SJI, MCKK, RMC, ISKL etc. (Having fun going nuts on the abbreviations here. It's one of those cheap thrills I live for.) They lived in the 50490 vicinity or in the neighbouring suburbs. Amongst the people in that group was/is a good friend of my ex, that friend is a fellow SJIer who was in a boy band in the late 80's and is now married to a successful local jazz songstress. Another person in that group is a socialite grand daughter of a previous agong, whose brother was........ OKlah, so it's a tangled web we weave.

Now that I've actually seen the movie, I can't say any of them are anything like the characters in Sepet.

Some of us ended the relationship with the person from a different race. Three of my friends claimed that the person was the one big love of their life with whom they had the most amazing sex. They lost their best friend and ended up marrying/ settling for someone of their own race.
And some stories do have a happy ending.
Some of us married that person from a different race.

I resolve to organise a get-together with my old friends (no spouses allowed) when I get time off on my upcoming trip next month and I want to ask the friends in question why they did that. My husband's friends in Malaysia are very different from mine. None of them have ever been with anyone outside their race.

My friends love a good long meaningful discussion session that lasts late into the night. Some guys in the group will usually leave early. (They know who they are.)
Methinks it's a toss up between takut intimacy and takut bini. Heh.

It ain't the size of your axe, it's how you play it, baby.

Don't we all love a man with a guitar?

 

Look at how sexy this looks. How could you not?
OK, so it's John Taylor from Duran Duran.
Axe or no axe, I'll take him any day.

I used to errr.... date a Singaporean guy (when I was in university) who was soooOOooo good with his fender stratocaster.

He played in a serious rock band at night and was an engineering student by day.
He was no white boy and he could “goreng” (Malay word for fry) until the cows came home.
He could play any guitar riff that I asked- just to get some. Heh.
"Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns n Roses would work every single time.
(Hey, this was the early 90's. Gimmie a break, OK?)

There's nothing like the sight of a hot looking man and his hot looking guitar playing a er, hot guitar riff.

When I asked him to play any song on U2's Achtung Baby, he said "Pfffthppth... no challenge." Then he proceeded to show me the finger maneuver that The Edge created for U2's sound. Not the guitar god I thought he was.



Phew, damn- is it getting hot in here?
*Implosion fans herself*

 

Cityscapes part 1

"A city is a congregation of animals whose biological history is enclosed within its boundaries; and yet every conscious and rational act on the part of these creatures helps to shape the city’s eventual character." Claude Lévi-Strauss in Tristes Tropiques.
I like to think that I shape cities in my masterplans. They get built and become reality.
That's just the megalomaniac I am. Armistad Maupin wrote Tales of The City as if San Francisco could be embodied in the personalities of his whacked out characters.

There are pockets of urban spaces I call home within my city.


An apocalyptic sky over Darling Harbour.
Taken on the Western Distributor flyover heading towards the Harbour Bridge.


Clovelly Beach on a Sunday morning. People here are a mix of bohemians and the bourgeoisie. Everyone leaves their things on the concrete and forgets about it for an hour or so while they have a swim'n'bake. When they come back, it's always there. There's a good sense of community here.

Neil Gaiman spun a wonderful urban tale in his one of his Sandman graphic novels, World's End.


In it, a generic unamed city dweller finds himself lost in an unamed generic city.
He bumps into a generic old man on a generic street who says this:
"Each city is a collection of lives and buildings and it has its own personality.
So, if a city has a personality, maybe it also has a soul. Maybe it dreams."

End of intellectual wankery.
Back to the intellectual MBA books sans wankery. (i.e: not very much fun at all)