Siryn's Imaginarium

Back in the Land of Gravlax, Ikea and Abba

2008-09-09T07:37:00.002+02:00

After neglecting this blog for about 10 months, I've been encouraged to revive it by some friends of mine.

The reason being that I've just moved from hot, humid Malaysia to the chilly climes of Sweden. Here, I shall record the minutae of my daily life as a would-be immigrant in Ikealand (for some reason the first thing people think of when I mention "Sweden" is either Ikea, or Swiss chocolates - apparently many mistake "Swede" for "Swiss").

I was affected by a strong fear of incurring excess baggage fees when I was packing, but to my great relief, the Thai Air check-in counter at KLIA didn't weigh my hand luggage (I don't want to get into what I put in there to make it so damn heavy :P).

There was a 4-hour transit at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, which went fine as well, as there were many F&B and retail outlets open till late, and plenty of places to sit. There was some anxiety that the demonstrators against current PM Samak would cause flights to be delayed and general chaos at BKK, but it was very peaceful.

The flight went smoothly - I highly recommend Thai Air! The in-flight entertainment was basic (one programme projected onto a screen, or shown on monitors suspended from the ceiling), but the food was much better than the food served on MAS (very fresh and tasty - though very mild). The service was very warm and friendly as well. And there were little thoughtful touches that made one's travels a little more comfortable and pleasant.

I arrived in Stockholm on Sunday morning, and since then have just been cooking, unpacking, and generally making myself at home in the new apartment I share with F. I love it here, and I love being here with him. :)

We've planned the entire week's dinners (and lunches - leftovers from dinner);last night we made assam fish with a pack of spice paste from the package I sent from KL - handy when one is homesick, especially. Today after F gets off work we'll be shopping for groceries we didn't manage to get last night, and check out what's available at the little Asian sundry store I found during my last trip. I remember seeing a small selection of Lee Kum Kee sauces... mmmm.

P/S: A redesign of this blog is long overdue. Will be done soon!

Solidarity Vigil in Support of Burma's People

2007-10-03T17:15:00.000+02:00

Support the Struggle for a Free & Democratic Burma

There are times
when we are powerless
to prevent injustice,
but there must never be a time
when we fail to protest.

Date: Friday, October 5, 2007
Time: 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: KLCC (entrance nearest to Menara Maxis, opposite Avenue K)
City/Town: Kuala Lumpur

Phone: 03 7784 3525
Email: suaram@suaram.net

Please attend the following peaceful solidarity vigil in support of Burma's people, who are unable to exercise their human rights in their country, and to express our opposition towards the Burma military junta's bloody crackdown on anti-government protests. At least 13 people were killed and hundreds arrested in the crackdown on demonstration of Buddhist monks and Burma's people.

The vigil is an initiative of civil society organisations, including Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Civil Rights Committee of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH-CRC), Youth For Change (Y4C) and Amnesty International (AI) Malaysia.

Please come to show your solidarity. Please bring candles, candle-holders and banners.

For further information, please contact SUARAM (MoonHui) at 03-77843525 or Amnesty International ( K.Shan) at 03-79552680.

Please use your liberty to promote ours.
~Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
detained Nobel Peace Laureate

The Return?

2007-10-03T16:46:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone... it's been a long time. I'll endeavour to fill you in on the highlights of the past few months, soon, but there's something that needs to be highlighted at the moment in the next post...

Dance Magic Dance

2007-05-27T17:39:00.000+02:00

Oh. My. Gawd. I didn't realise that I hadn't updated my blog since February! Sorry, you guys who have been continually checking my blog for updates... (you know who you are!) please keep reading! And leave comments please, even if it's to flame me for my lack of posts :P

Lessee, wot's happened since I last posted...

* F came to visit for a month in Apr/May; we went to Batu Caves and climbed all the way up 272 steep steps and down again; rode, petted and swam with elephants at Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary; attended Wesak Day at the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brickfields--the crowd was really big this year, and there were performers from other Buddhist countries gracing the event (we caught the awesome musicians and dancers from Sri Lanka); and for the last weekend we went to Perhentian Besar island for a romantic snorkelling holiday, swimming with lots of colourful fish, huge turtles and reef sharks... and F got stung by a jellyfish :P I got really tanned. ;P We stayed at Tuna Bay Resort, which is comfortable and clean, with friendly staff and an inhouse restaurant that serves good food. He went home about 3 weeks ago... can't wait to see him again. He's getting his degree this year, so hopefully we'll be able to live together very soon. :)

* F and I had 3 photo sessions of me in my bellydance costumes... we made good use of his Canon EOS350 and got some really, really nice shots! :D I just wanna say, sweetie, I'm really happy you enjoy photography so much ;) I am the luckiest bellydancer in Malaysia! Teehehe

* The whole editorial team, except me and HairyChest, has resigned. Sigh. Hopefully they'll hire some new writers ASAP.. I may be efficient, but I'm not superhuman (plus, they don't pay me enough! :P).

* Odissi classes have been going well. I love this dance... Bellydance remains my first love, but Odissi is so beautiful. Plus, I apparently have a knack for it :) Jan mentioned that the students in my class who can will be performing the dance we've been learning, in June--holy cow, that's so soon! I don't think I'll be able to make it, though I'd like to. I'm certain that if I started in January I'd be ready to perform now, but I started mid-March, so... (or was it mid-April?)

* This weekend I attended cane and zills workshops by Morocco, a wonderful veteran of Middle Eastern Dance in the US, and an authority in the history of the dance. She's gracious, funny and explains the movements well! I'm so glad I took the workshops even though I am really broke this month. The choreographies she taught were very classical Egyptian, fairly simple, but nice, and left room for more advanced dancers to add more layers and improvise, which is the best way to go, I think... seeing as they didn't say the workshops were for which level of dancer.. also, anything too complicated will be difficult to most people to remember. I liked the zills workshop a lot; I'm quite confident now that I can improvise with the zills based on whatever music I listen to. After the zills workshop, after I posed for a pic with Morocco, she smiled at me and said that I'm really good... OMGOMGOMG, you can imagine my surprised, utter delight! *huge happy over-the-moon grins*

* Tonight I attended the show Morocco was headlining in; I arrived halfway through... am too used to the timing for press events that I forgot there are some events that start on time :( Anyway, I managed to catch her dancing... that woman can move wonderfully for someone who's 67 this year! I hope I can still dance that well when I'm that age! :)

Hmm, I'm sure there's more, but that's all my tired brain can regurgitate for now. Stay tuned for the next instalment ;P

Let's Talk

2007-02-24T05:51:00.000+01:00

Ok, now that I have a brief flash of inspiration, here's a quick post to keep you guys up to speed as to what I am/have been up to :)

I've discovered the wonders of two American bands:
* The Toids (San Francisco), who blend the folk music of Eastern Europe (and some of the Middle East) with jazz and other modern music. The result is beautiful... my favourites so far are "Ilahi" (download the full mp3 from here), and "Whisper Hungarian in My Ear", which can be heard on The Indigo's site.
* Djinn (New York), whom I've mentioned earlier (Kaeshi taught a tribal fusion choreography to their fabulous "Brooklyn Baladi"). The band fuses traditional Middle Eastern with their own distinctively unique sound, which combines obscure instruments such as the cümbüş and hurdy gurdy, beatboxing and more. Sample clips of their music can be heard on their site.

I'm re-exploring Coldplay.. they're brilliant. I finally got round to listening to X & Y - it's so bloody gorgeous. I think the hype surrounding it when it first came out put me off. I guess my recent mood - mellow and slightly melancholy - is perfect for Coldplay and Roddy Frame. It's also time to have some sort of break from my Middle Eastern immersion.

Went to watch Mystical Steppes with Allegra nearly a month ago; it was great to finally be able to see the beautiful dances of Xinjiang. American bellydancer Tamalyn Dallal (who has given workshops in KL) mentioned going to Xinjiang to learn their traditional dances before, but I didn't know that they had strong Turkish influences.. I regret not knowing earlier and being informed enough to ask her about it, but well, at least I have an idea now. :)

I had a little heated debate with HairyChest about Mystical Steppes; he thought it was too polished and commercialised, "like a Broadway or Disney production". I retorted that if they didn't add glitter to the whole production and modernise the music, it won't be suitable for general audiences. I mean, how tribal do you want it to be? Will the average Joe really appreciate any culture's traditional tribal outfits and music in their original state? At least now, after watching this show, more people are aware that there are such cultures and dances in China. I don't know if it was my perception, but he had an air of gweilo superiority when he dismissed it as commercialised fluff that might be "ok for local audiences" (but not for the more worldly, like him - his unspoken implication). This really riled me and I had to put it to him - as a performer, no less - that there are solid reasons for stylising tribal dances and adding structure and polish to a large-scale, stage production such as this. Maybe I overreacted, but he really pushed the wrong buttons with me.

I'll be missing the Muse concert, which will be happening tomorrow night... sigh. The organiser is stingy with the media passes, giving them only to selected media. And by the time I wanted to buy tickets, they were all sold out. ;( Sigh. Oh well. I've not lately been in the mood to jostle thousands of sweaty, excited people to watch a rock band anyway. It's just that I've moaned so long about great British bands never popping by KL on their Asian tours, and now that one is actually holding a concert here, I'm not attending it! (and yes, I do like Muse's music, but perhaps not as much as Coldplay's or Roddy Frame's :P)

Me mom was back in KL for 3 weeks recently, bringing back loads of costuming stuff from Humen, China's fashion district. She seems happy teaching in China, and regaled us with tales of her observations there. I'm trying to get her to write about them! Would be interesting, to say the least :) Maybe when she comes back I can help her...

She missed Malaysian food, of course.. and said that Malaysian Chinese food is way better than China Chinese food. Hehe. While here, she helped me sew some harem pants and the skirt for my blue costume... she's the bestest :) I've worn my new red harems out several times now, drawing curious stares. Lynx says I look "huge" in hem, but I don't care, they're soooooo comfortable!

I stayed up till the wee hours last night working on my blue costume, finally ctually DOING stuff to it... it's turning out gorgeous, I can't wait till it's finished and I can perform in it. :)

Started a new exercise regime.. or rather just am determined to exercise at least a few times a week, to increase my stamina and improve my metabolism. Bellydance classes have been erratic lately, and I find I'm getting quite rusty. The only time S seems to want to hold troupe practise is when a show is coming up. Grrr. So I guess it's time for me to motivate myself to keep myself fit and practise on my own.

After some thought, I decided that instead of joining a gym - which 1) costs money 2) adds extra commuting time to my day, which I'm not willing to spend - I'm going to make use of the facilities in my condo. Been swimming several times during the CNY holidays, and am planning to use the tiny gym soon. Wish me luck. ;P

Finally, I am trying to persuade S to sponsor the awesome Sharon Kihara for some tribal fusion workshops in KL, after seeing that she'll be in Thailand in the fall. Sharon's just updated her tour calendar to include KL as one of the workshop destinations, so I guess it will be happening!!! OMFG, I'm so excited!!! This is my first initiative to suggest sponsoring a particular instructor to S, and I'll be so stoked if/when it happens - what's more, it's Sharon Kihara!!! *swoons*

This is all the more reason to keep fit, as bellydance workshops are pretty gruelling, especially the 6-hour ones... you can't absorb much if you're almost dead on your feet from exhaustion after the first workshop... :P

How was everyone's Valentine's Day? I can't even remember what I did on that day. Did I spend time with you, Allegra? But I did do something non-commercial for my darling through snail mail. :) Not sharing that, but I'll share this with you guys, a bit late for Valentine's, but I think it would be amusing to read nonetheless ;)

Several people have asked me how I sustain and deal with a long distance relationship... some of whom are embarking on such relationships themselves. I think I'll write a post about that soon.

Hope you all had a lovely Chinese New Year, by the way. Mine was very quiet, no visiting relatives or anything, but was nice to have time to myself, sleep a lot, and do things at my leisure. Anyway.. hope everyone had a great start to the year of the Golden Boar, Siryn's wishing everyone good health, and an abundance of wealth, opportunities and happiness throughout the year. :) *hugs to all*

The Dreamer

2007-02-19T20:23:00.000+01:00

You are The Star
Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised. It is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

P/S: I know it's been, lyk, 4evar since I posted, but bear with me. :P Will bring you guys up to date somehow.

Back to Reality

2007-01-20T01:11:00.000+01:00

Back in KL for nearly 2 weeks now. Fortunately, the weather wasn't scorching as I'd feared.

Was back at work the day after I arrived, jumping in with two feet... still haven't really gotten back in the groove yet, and I feel more disenchanted the more time I spend there.

Then, a few days ago, this terrible flu hit me really hard and brought me down low. So low, the company's panel docs gave me 3 days off. Am still suffering from it, and am unable to go for the picnic organised by Allegra today. Oh well.

On a more cheery note, I finally got my Zildjian zills, which Nadya helped to order from a local music instrument shop (thanks, babe!). We waited 6 months for it! Gawd. They sound great though, lovely pitch, really loud and resonant, great for larger venues. It's so nice to have a pro set at last. Now, to learn how to play it well...

Am really excited about the new costumes I have planned... the new tribal fusion troupe costume has a jungle theme, and the main colours to use are shades of brown and green. I've a lot of ideas for this, and am just thinking of ways to pull them off in a practical manner. Also, I really need to finish my blue costume (long-overdue)... sigh, so many ideas, so little time! Need to stop dreaming and start doing. :P

Finally, am really looking forward to watching Mystical Steppes Along the Silk Road, performed by the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar Theatre Dance Troupe, with A next week! The costumes and music are so beautiful (from what I've seen in the video - this link begins downloading the vid, which is now unavailable thru the website), and I see elements of Chinese, Middle Eastern and Russian dance in the one performance I watched online! Really fascinating. :)

Will go lie down now. Tha drugs make me seepy.

New boots?

2006-12-18T14:38:00.000+01:00

Continuing to feel spaced out, tired, sneezy and dehydrated. Going to meet one of F's friends for coffee soon, and shop for new winter boots and leggings/stockings. Hurray!

Found this brilliant short documentary on bellydance through another dancer's blog, featuring Kaeshi Chai, Hands of Kali and other US dancers. It's informative and inspiring for bellydancers and non-dancers alike.

In the meantime, check out this fun Q&A meme I lifted from Nadya's blog and filled in with my own responses:

Were you born before the end of the first Gulf war?
Yes, definitely, if you're talking about the one that ended in 1991. :P

Childhood nickname?
Not sure, really... maybe it was traumatic and my brain is blocking it out. :P

Historical person you have the biggest crush on?
My days of having crushes are long over.

Favorite type of candy?
Dark chocolate, very nutty nougat.. something not too sweet

Favorite foreign country?
Sweden :)

Fish or chicken?
Fish, but chicken's good too :P

Do you have your own perfume line?
I'm not a supastah

Have you ever written a children's book?
No (not yet anyway)

Have you been in a movie based on a book?
Ha! Hahahahaa. Is this a trick question?

Ever posed nude for a photo?
No, but I wouldn't mind, if it's shot artistically

Guiltiest pleasure?
Surfing the Net?

Your best nonguilty pleasure.
Bellydance

What are you allergic to?
Some mysterious substance(s) I've yet to identify

Worst pickup line you've heard?
"Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?"

Were you bas mitzvahed?
I'm not Jewish

Have you ever cried during a TV interview?
Can't remember... haven't watched TV for ages

If they made a movie of your life, who would play you?
Whoever she is, she'd have to be willing to have really long hair (or extensions), be ultra-curvy and know how to bellydance

Pet peeve?
Inefficient people.

If you weren't doing what you do, what job would you like to have?
Bellydonsah! ;)

Place you will never be found?
Let me get back to you on this.

Cold and Rainy

2006-12-18T13:11:00.000+01:00

I have arrived safely in a cold and rainy Sweden, and finally understand why F has been complaining so much about the weather. Last night we walked out to town to catch Eragon at the theatre, and the roads were slick with rain... on the way there, it started drizzling too. Quite miserable, especially since it was so cold as well.

When the plane touched down on Saturday afternoon, it was dark outside at 4pm. We were late by an hour because the plane's departure from KLIA was delayed by extremely tight security checks that resulted in any and all liquids being confiscated from handluggage... I was not allowed to take mine on board because it contained a lot, apparently (shampoo, face wash, conditioner...), and I was told that it would be checked into cargo and arrive at the same time as all my other luggage... but it didn't :( I'm really hoping it will arrive soon, as it contains my new white tribal costume as well as other things I hold dear.

My winter boots were in my handluggage too, so I was traipsing around in my long slit velvet skirt and frigging SANDALS when I arrived. I was FREEZING. Perhaps that's why I've been feeling woozy and sneezy. Slept an amazing amount of time since arriving. The speed at which daylight fades is alarming.

It's lovely to be back in Sweden though, despite the cold and the rain.

P/S: Eragon started off promisingly, went well in the first half, but thereafter it went downhill. The only thing good about it was Jeremy Irons. :P

6 Things around the World

2006-12-18T13:01:00.000+01:00

Inspired by Daniel's 6-things post about six places that you would want to do something in... six things you want to learn around the world. I decided to elaborate on what I posted in his comments:

1) Learning bellydance from the great Middle Eastern dancers: Dina, Raqia Hassan, Mahmoud Reda; and/or tribal fusion, gothic and cabaret bellydance in the US (which, oddly enough, has the world's highest concentration of bellydancers!)

2) Study tailoring/fashion design, either specifically for bellydance costuming (not sure where.. perhaps Egypt, from this lady), or perhaps at one of the fashion capitals of the world: London, Paris, Milan, New York

3) Study metalsmithing for jewellery making, perhaps in Sweden (beautiful chainmail jewellery) or Thailand (gorgeous Hilltribe silver)

4) Learn Arabic in... Egypt? UAE?

5) Learn the art of massage in either Thailand or Bali.

6) Learn how to play the guzheng in Shanghai....

Where would you like to go to learn or do something? :)

Siryn's back, bustin' out the Bellydance!

2006-12-13T17:55:00.000+01:00

Yes, I am back, finally! Apologies to any and all who have popped in time and again in the past few months looking for new posts... I will try to start posting regularly again.

Notes from some developments during the unblogged time:

* I completed a new white tribal fusion costume in record time.. a month? This in time for a few performances in November, which went excellently! I loooove my new costume ;) The photo above is of the medallions I hand-beaded, for the belt and headband. Will try and post more pix soon. :)

* Found the elusive metal studs and cut cowrie shells I've been hunting high and low for!!!!! Good ol' Petaling Street, and bellydance forums! :)

* Found a great Nepali jewellery stall in one of those small dingy shops in Petaling Street... lovely jewellery, very tribal looking - perfect accessories for the tribal costume.

* The culinary fest came and went--I'm so glad it's over. Damn thing.

* My new-ish gweilo editors, GeekGod and HairyChest, initially bursting with enthusiasm and efficiency, but I think the company culture has already worn some of this good stuff off them.. they're good guys, and always try to give the overworked among us a break whenever they can, but there's only so much they can do.

* I think it's probably the working here that's done it, but I don't really enjoy writing anymore... my passion for it has been eroded. Was chatting with a colleague, and she said that she noticed that in this company, if you were really good at your previous company, once you join this one, you get beaten down and become less of what you were originally.. your potential is stunted. So it isn't just me.... I just hope I can regain my enthusiasm for the next job, when I seek it..

* This warrants its own special section, but I'll (try to) keep it brief... Kaeshi, director of Bellyqueen and founder of PURE stopped by KL during her Asian Tour to conduct 2-day workshops in Tribal Fusion techniques and choreography, and the Chiftetelli rhythm.

As always, her workshops were absolutely awesome. In the Tribal Fusion workshops, I learned how to actually execute the moves I've seen done by the Indigo girls as well as the ATS (American Tribal Style) ladies. The choreography taught (to the track Brooklyn Baladi by New York band, Djinn) incorporated tribal fusion and ATS style... the very dance posture was different from that of the cabaret style I'm used to. The choreo was beautiful and I can't wait to perform it! :)

In the chiftetelli workshop Kaeshi taught us how to play the chiftetelli rhythm with our zills (finger cymbals), as well as how to dance while balancing props, such as a tray, cane, sword or candelabra on our heads. She focussed some on dancing with a sword (apparently she took classes with a Kung Fu expert so she could learn how to hold a sword as a weapon!), and most on balancing a candle tray, and offered a wealth of tips on that specific prop.

I also got to witness my very first "live" Turkish drop as Kaeshi demonstrated a choreography and surprised us with the drop as a very impressive finale. She also shared with us advice on how to strengthen the relevant muscles and the care needed to execute the turkish drop, which is a rather difficult/advanced and potentially dangerous move (very easy to hurt yourself if not done properly).

If you're interested to see what a turkish drop looks like, this is a video of it being done the "cabaret" way, and this is a video of it being done the tribal fusion way. What you see in these vids is a result of lots and lots of practice.

A few dancemates and I took a private class with Kaeshi after the workshops, but Nadya and I were left rather unsatisfied... one rather anal dancemate 'hogged' the instructor. Oh well. At least I now know how to improve my posture, sort-of know how to execute a barrel turn, and have seen upclose the Rajasthani turn. All in all, I'm very happy with Kaeshi's instruction, and would love to study a lot more with her...

* Have discovered some lovely places to eat: Basil Thai Nudle Bar in Bangsar Village (omg, the tomyam noodles...), Bakerzin in Bangsar Village (mmm... desserts), Dragon-i in Mid Valley (pretty good Chinese), Rak Thai in Amcorp Mall (good steamed fish), that Chinese place in Sentul that Nadya brought Kaeshi and the gang to.... sooooooo good ;)

* Birthday came and went, with some surprise greetings from people I haven't heard from in ages... which was nice. Allegra managed to help me escape from the office earlier than I should have on my birthday, by turning up and waiting outside the office around 8pm..? Gweilos released me (yeah, like from prison), we sped to Mid Valley, grabbed a quick bite at McD's and watched Happy Feet... :) Then a few days later she organised a little get-together with a few girlfriends and we went to a nice little restaurant in Uptown, which has a tropical jungle/beach theme. She also got me a MAC product of my choice, thank YOU for all you've done for me, dahlink! ;) *big hugs and wet kisses for A* :D A lovely package also arrived from Sweden bearing several thoughtful and useful gifts... courtesy of my darling. :) I love this man of mine! Hehee!!

* Last but definitely not least... I'll be flying to Sweden this Saturday (in about 2 days and approximately 8 hours).... to spend Christmas and New Year's with my darling!!!! :D:D:D Really can't wait, as you can imagine. :)

All Killer No Filler

2006-12-13T15:49:00.000+01:00

You are a dark goddess!

10007 other people got this result!
This quiz has been taken 2913610 times.
5% of people had this result.

Take this quiz (Which Ultimate Beautiful Woman are You?)

Guhh.

2006-09-23T19:15:00.000+02:00

Haven't written in more than a month... hit a new low in blogging? :P

Anyway, this is what has happened:
- F came to visit during a busy time, work wise, but had a good time too; he played photographer at one of my gigs, got to stay at the gorgeous Four Seasons Langkawi with me, bought a lot of books, CDs and pirated software, and tried bak kut teh at last. He also taught me how to sew with the machine. He's so lovely :)

Now, I've bought a book called "The Happy Hooker", and am learning how to crochet. ;-p

SoaP!

2006-08-13T10:03:00.000+02:00

It's a lovely lazy weekend for me... lots of sleep and surfin. :P I don't know what made me look up Snakes on a Plane (SoaP), that notoriously-titled movie starring Samuel L Jackson.

The actor famously accepted the lead role in SoaP on the strength of the title alone, and demanded that the (working) title be retained when the studio tried to change it to the pretty boring Pacific Air Flight 121.

In June this year, Jackson said, while presenting the award for best movie at the MTV Movie Awards, "I'm here tonight to present the award everyone's been waiting for: best movie. Now, this award holds a special place in my heart because next year I'll be winning it for Snakes on a Plane. Now I know, I know that sounds cocky, but I don't give a damn. I am guaranteeing that Snakes on a Plane will win best movie next year. Does not matter what else is coming out. The New James Bond... no snakes in that! Ocean's 13... where my snakes at? Shrek the Third... green, but not a snake. No movie shall triumph over Snakes on a Plane. Unless I happen to feel like making a movie called Mo' Motha-fuckin' Snakes on Mo' Motha-fuckin' Planes."

Here's some linky goodness I just had to share:

SoaP on Wikipedia
- To read what all the fuss is about, go to the History and Internet sections.

Snakes who Missed the Plane!
- Grammatically flawed but hilarious parodies of the movie poster - ok maybe only hysterically funny to people with a warped sense of humour like moi :P

All Your Snakes Are Belong To Us (video)
- SoaP + All Your Base = brain explosion 0_0

SoaP on CNN (video)
- Teh SoaP internet frenzy has even been reported on CNN!

Snakes on a Blog
- This guy started this blog in January with a view of getting an invitation to the Hollywood premier of SoaP. And guess what? His blog (and others) generated so much pre-publicity for the movie that he got what he wanted!

---

In other news... in attempting to help a young friend discover what sort of course he should take up in college, I googled career quizzes for students, and after some doing finally found a free one from the Princeton Review. I can't resist quizzes, so I took it also. :P

Your interest colour is BLUE
People with blue Interests like job responsibilities and occupations that involve creative, humanistic, thoughtful, and quiet types of activities. Blue Interests include abstracting, theorizing, designing, writing, reflecting, and originating, which often lead to work in editing, teaching, composing, inventing, mediating, clergy, and writing.

Your usual style is YELLOW
People with yellow styles perform their job responsibilities in a manner that is orderly and planned to meet a known schedule. They prefer to work where things get done with a minimum of interpretation and unexpected change. People with a yellow style tend to be orderly, cautious, structured, loyal, systematic, solitary, methodical, and organized, and usually thrive in a research-oriented, predictable, established, controlled, measurable, orderly environment. You will want to choose a work environment or career path in which your style is welcomed and produces results.

I guess I'm in the right industry, huh? ;-p More or less. :P

Looking Inwards

2006-08-10T09:22:00.000+02:00

I keep putting off blogging because I wanted to have time to sit down and write a proper post. So much for such intentions. Here I am again writing one off the cuff.

Work on my blue costume seems to have come to a standstill; I’ve covered the bra cups but can’t seem to decide on how to do the straps… I don’t feel like making another halter but I don’t like having the conventional straps cutting into my shoulders as well. Stretchy or non-stretch? Also, Nadya has taught me how to make the waistband for the skirt (which I anticipated would be the most complicated part), but I haven’t made the paper template pattern yet… uhg.

Work is as usual, piles of stuff to do as we have to start doing the promotions for the… err… epicurean event. I’m covering almost half the participating restaurants (including the ones in other states) and my editors and Ms Kawaii (new editorial assistant) are covering the other half. Strange distribution of duties, but what can I say, perhaps they like my writing. :P

GeekGod (or Clark Kent, as Allegra and I refer to him) is the new Canadian editor that set female tongues in all the other departments wagging before we at editorial even clapped eyes on him. A young ex-editor-in-chief from a tech publication background, he’s only been in this part of the world for a few weeks, with cruel-raced (Japanese, BJD reference) girlfriend in tow. He seems reasonable so far; we’ll see how working with him turns out.

Ms Kawaii is our sweet petite editorial assistant, hardworking, eager to learn and idealistic. I feel worldly and experienced when she asks for my advice on work, but I also feel so old. I used to be the youngest in offices. Oh well. :P

Anyway. On to something that makes me long terribly for next Friday: Shrike (F) is coming to visit… :):) I think this is the longest time we’ve been apart between visits. I can’t afford - either financially or in terms of time - to fly to Sweden again this year, I think… so this few weeks he’s here are going to be so precious. Hope that I won’t get any more things on my plate than there already are…. so we can be together more. Wish us luck…

Finally, a test I took:

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion:
You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations.
A low key, laid-back lifestyle is important to you. You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people.

Conscientiousness:
You have low conscientiousness. Impulsive and off the wall, you don't take life too seriously. Unfortunately, you sometimes end up regretting your snap decisions. Overall, you tend to lack focus, and it's difficult for you to get important things done.

Agreeableness:
You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair.

Neuroticism:
You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure.

Openness to experience:
Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseur of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

MAC Mania

2006-07-18T08:35:00.000+02:00

I had a crazy weekend. On Saturday, Allegra and I woke up at an ungodly hour and rushed over to Renaissance Hotel for the Estee Lauder Staff Sale. The invitation card stated the opening hours as 9:30am to 3pm, but women (and a handful of men - most appeared to have been unwillingly dragged there by their SOs) were lining up by 7am to get in. The friend who got us the invites insisted we should arrive at 7:30am, otherwise we would miss out. After much wrangling with Allegra about the time we should arrive, we got there at 8am. No handbags were allowed in; each shopper was given a huge white plastic bag to carry their loot. Although there were like 9 other brands there (Estee Lauder, Aramis, Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Origins & Stila), we concentrated our efforts mainly on MAC... and an unknown number of others apparently had the same idea. By the time we got there, like half the MAC stock (Read: all the good stuff) was gone! Goodbye, Powerpoint pencils! ;(

One of the reasons why most of the stock was gone in half an hour was because people just grabbed whatever they could from the MAC (and Bobbi Brown) counter, then squatted down somewhere to sort out what they want and what they don't. The 'rejects' were then returned to their respective counters for us late(r)comers to sift through. :P

When A and I finalised what we wanted to buy, we tried to find the end of the credit card line.... and discovered that it wound like a fire hose near the cashiers, then snaked along the entire perimetre of the grand ballroom. When we reached the end of the line, which was at the entrance of the ballroom, we discussed and decided not to waste an hour of our lives lining up to pay for the goods... some painful elimination had to be done so we could pay by cash (I brought enough for my purchases but she didn't) and get the hell out of there to feed our (by then) starving selves. :P Sigh, oh well.

Here's the list of my MAC loot from the sale:

Lipstick (Normal price: approx RM60 each)
RM55 pack of 3 (Savings: RM125)
Rocker (deep red), Fleshpot (nude), Push-up Plum (plummy purple)

Glitz Gloss (Normal price: approx RM65 each)
RM25 pack of 2 (Savings: RM105)
Girl's Got It (fuchsia glitter), Foreign Intrigue (red glitter)

Paint (Normal price: approx RM60 each)
RM40 pack of 2 (Savings: RM80)
Flammable (red), Base Light (gold-nude)

Pigment Colour Powder (Normal price: RM80 each)
RM30 pack of 2 (Savings: RM130)
Goldenaire (gold-nude), Blue

Platinum Bronze Powder SPF27 (Normal price: approx RM80)
RM20 each (Savings: RM60)
Summersoft (yellow-based bronzer)

Eye Shadow (Normal price: RM57 each)
RM50 pack of 3 (Savings: RM121)
Overgrown (vibrant yellow-green), Love-Bud (orangey-pink), Botanical (glittery pale purplish brown)

Total Paid: RM220
Total Savings: RM621 (approx)
******

Lest you think that I'm turning into a makeup-obsessed airhead... well, I'm not, so perish the thought. :P

After that, we went to have a brunch of comfort food, the chicken and beef pies at Dome, MV. While we were eating, one of my dancemates-turned-instructor, LadyofLeisure, called me to ask if I could sub for her 4:30pm class at Allegra's ex-gym. I didn't even know she was still teaching! With no idea what she's been teaching her students, and not very certain how to get to the studio, I was very hesitant... plus, I had a dance gig at a wedding that evening (also a last minute thing that I agreed to on Friday). I had to turn her down because I wouldn't have time to rush home, shower, put on my warpaint, pack for the show and rush to the venue, braving the horrendous weekend jam in town. Apparently my dance teacher Salena suggested getting me to sub for LadyofLeisure... sometimes I think she's a bit unrealistic.. and as Shamrocq (WY) says, she's starting to take us for granted. Yeah, we're fabulously multi-talented (hehe), dedicated and responsible, but that doesn't mean we're completely at her disposal. We have our own things to do during our free time.

My gig that evening was held at a rather popular, small Middle-Eastern restaurant in town. My first task was simple: leading the procession of adorable pink-glitterdot-clad 'flower girls' into the restaurant, with the bride and groom following behind the kids. They played Tarkan's Simarik... uhg.. oh well. I discovered that there a number of bellydancers and some Datins I had a passing acquaintance with in the audience; made me a little more nervous, but it went ok, I think. After the ceremony and after the guests had tucked in to the buffet, I danced one number, and that was it. Phew. Got good feedback from said dancers after that; not sure if it was flattery or sincere compliments, but it was nice anyway. :)

I was exhausted when I arrived home around 11pm, as I was up since 6:30am. The next day I taught an afternoon class. There were quite a number of new students, and I started teaching a new choreography. Had to teach some basics such as hipdrops, snake arms and shimmies for the benefit of the new students, but had to keep the more senior students occupied too.. wasn't easy; I went around correcting the new students, and at the end of the lesson, I came away thinking that I should have done more for the seniors. Must keep this in mind the next time I teach.

Watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest that evening with bro - it was entertaining, as expected, with some corny moments. It's amusing that Davy Jones has an octopus for a head. :P Oddly enough, I could recognise Bill Nighy's mannerisms and expressions through the tentacle face! Amazing. *went "Ah-HAH!" when viewing the credits after the movie* And does anyone remember if there was a thing between Liz Swann and Jack Sparrow in the first movie?? I certainly don't.. Anyway, it ends on a cliffhanger... let's just hope they don't take too long to complete the third movie.

Finally, my dears, here's an opportunity for you to express what you think of me through my Johari window. Please have a look. ;)

New Blue

2006-07-08T19:16:00.000+02:00

On Wednesday night, I finally started making the belt base for my new blue costume, and completed the 2-piece belt base at around... was it 2am? I forget. The belt is made of 2 layers of buckram, 2 layers of felt and a layer of pretty surface fabric... fearing the sewing machine, which I haven't been brave enough to try using yet, I handsewed everything.

I think one thing that made me procrastinate making the base was that I keep thinking that it's difficult to make (or I don't want to screw it up) because it's an item of clothing. I don't have the same kind of mental block when I cut a piece of paper or card in craft - why?

Anyway, I put the first layer of buckram - which was cut in the desired belt shape - on the felt and buckram, and safety-pinned the heck out of it then took a big breath and applied scissors to cloth. Sometimes you just gotta do it and not keep thinking about what could go wrong.

Happy and quite satisfied that I'd gotten it done at last. Now I need to cover the bra... which is trickier because you don't want to find that the cups have shrunk after you've covered them with the cloth (ie what happened with my purple costume bra - I feel like my cups will runneth over whenever I wear it! :P). Another thing that makes it tricky is the need to cut off all the original straps and stretchy bits and replace them with something sturdy like grosgrain ribbon, covered with the pretty surface fabric (non-stretch, more secure). I'm wondering if I should go this way, or to replace the straps with elastic covered with the pretty cloth (stretchable, more comfortable). We'll see..

I just finished a book Allegra lent me, called Empress Orchid by Anchee Min. It tells the story of the infamous Empress Tzu Hsi (CiXi), from her humble origins as the daughter of an impoverished Manchu bannerman to her ascent to become Emperor Hsien Feng's favourite wife. For decades Chinese schoolchildren have been taught that Empress Orchid was "a mastermind of pure evil and intrigue," but this author presents an intelligent, headstrong, yet compelling woman who used her beauty to become one of the Emperor's seven wives (also to escape marriage to her dimwitted cousin) and her brains to become his confidante and lover. It was an absolute page-turner, finished in 2 days. Highly recommended.

Now I'm reading The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. In this book, the protagonist, Jessie Sullivan, a fortysomething, seemingly happily married woman returns to the remote island of her childhood due to some shocking news about her mother. There, she finds herself drawn to a Benedictine monk on the verge of taking his final vows. I'm more than halfway through now, and really like the gorgeous imagery and dreamy descriptiveness of Kidd's writing. It's such a treat to read good books, one after another!

The other day, I was talking to another dance student and encouraging her to come for more classes. She declined, saying she'll only come for the 6-7pm session and not stay for the 7-8pm one:

SY: bellydancing makes me hungry!
SY: especially whenever we do belly roll or stuff like that, sure hungers man!
Siryn: hehe ;-p
Siryn: but it's good for your belly, the rolls
Siryn: not bread rolls or sushi rolls, but bellyrolls :P
SY: lol lol lol
Siryn: hehe

I agree with her, though- it sure works up your appetite.. but I try not to eat after class, it's sort of counterproductive.. why replenish the calories you burned during class? :P

On to the World Cup Fever, which has gripped the planet for the past few weeks. I found a few amusing articles on the female perspective. For footie mad guys whose wives or girlfriends willingly, eagerly watch the games with you... if you think your lady is gripped by the action on the field... think again. ;)

* Women tune in to ogle hotties of World Cup
* Hot World Cup Footy Totty

P/S: No, I do not watch football. :P

A Long Kiss Goodnight

2006-07-03T20:39:00.000+02:00

I was planning to blog loooong ago but kept procrastinating till I can't catch up with all the stuff that has happened in the past few weeks.

Since I stayed in office till almost midnight, I'm quite knackered and will just write a rather disjointed post tonight.

Allegra tagged me to do this like a week or two ago, and I wrote it up then, but had intended to post more with it... sod it though, here it is:

Siryn's top 10 things to do before the end of the year
(in no particular order)

1) improve my skills in the art of zill-playing
(instructional zill dvds, come to mama!)

2) learn how to be a more confident dance teacher
(yes, I'm starting to sub classes for S, and I'm having fun :) )

3) learn how to use the sewing machine and make at least one costume piece a month
(but first, I have to wield the scissors with no fear and cut that cloth)

4) start saving money again (ha ha ha)

5) learn how to drive (ha! hahaaha)

6) clean my room and give away old clothes
(the way from my door to my bed is a mere path amidst a jungle of clothes, books, accessories, DVDs, CDs and assorted bellydance paraphernalia)

7) learn how to crochet
(Allegra - help? ;-p)

8) tone up thighs and arms
(start swimming again besides bellydancing at least twice a week?)

9) learn how to make costumes that fit properly

10) reduce burgeoning credit card debt
(so I don’t need to pay my credit card company huge amounts in finance charges, as I have to now)

Also, I found a quote about dancers that I find to be very true, and couldn't resist posting:

1. Beginning dancer. Knows nothing.
2. Intermediate dancer. Knows everything. Too good to dance with beginners.
3. Hotshot dancer. Too good to dance with anyone.
4. Advanced dancer. Dances everything. Especially with beginners.
(Attributed to Dick Crum, folk dance teacher)

Since S suggested playing Shakira during the classes I sub for her, I have been on the lookout for pop music suitable for drills. While new students would probably feel motivated by Shakira, the artist most popularly associated with bellydance in Western music right now, I prefer to think of more unconventional choices if we're going to go into pop music for bellydance classes. One of the obvious choices may be Bellydancer by Akon, which I much dislike, and will not use. I'm totally in love, however, with Craig David's Hypnotic, which I imagine would do really well for undulations, figure 8s, snake arms and such flowing movements. I'm also beginning to like and see (horror of horrors) Justin Timberlake's Senorita as a possible candidate to do chest/shoulder/etc pops and locks to. Agh, what has become of my taste in music?? :P

And finally, some links I'd like to share with my beloved readers ;)

Boobie Pillow Pattern - a hilarious and 'sexy' crochet project guaranteed to keep your man amused, at the very least

Sex Tips from Dr Necco Feelya A.K.A Doctor Luv Ya To Death.. - Not Safe For Work, do not enter if you do not have a sense of humour... make that if you do not have a warped sense of humour :P

Dancing Again

2006-06-07T18:41:00.000+02:00

My desk at work is awash with invitations: cocktail receptions, press conferences, signing ceremonies, fashion shows, art gallery launches, parties. These past 2 weeks have been completely packed with assignments, both day and night ones. I've come down with a mild flu, due to the strain, I think. This job keeps me busy without being too challenging though.

Tuesday night's dance rehearsal was great; we are preparing for the 3rd annual Malaysian hafla (bellydance party), which will be happening on 18th June. I still have to brush up on the Egyptian choreography we'll be performing (too many mis-steps and vital bits forgotten for comfort!), but I'm quite happy with the other item I'm involved in - I will be performing with zills (finger cymbals) for the first time ever! Quite excited about that. I've always been keen on learning zills, and am self-taught. Glad I finally get to use my newly acquired skills (though I still am a long way from being an expert). :)

S just asked me to stand in for her at a class on Sunday. Am surprised and quite nervous bout it, as I've only stood in for one class previously. Most of the students are beginners, and I know the choreography well, so I am hoping I will be able to teach the class well... but I know being a good performer doesn't necessarily mean one'd be a good teacher. I'll just try my best. Wish me luck!

Also found out we'll be getting more dance gigs. Hurrah! It's great being back in the scene! :D *so happy*

I'm currently reading On Beauty by Zadie Smith. Finding it warm and witty so far, and much to do with relationships and how people live their lives... like Nick Hornby's books, which I enjoy very much as well.

This article by Australian bellydancer Despina is a good reminder of why women should learn to love their own bodies, how bellydancing helps with that.

On Being Happy

2006-06-02T06:20:00.000+02:00

Hmm, what to write about today. This entire week has been filled with night assignments so I'm pretty knackered. Ah, yes..

Allegra has finally entered the blogosphere on Dragonfly Wings. From what she tells me she will be publishing her tales of what it is like being a girl-about-town who dreams of a glamourous, high-flying lifestyle. Hurrah, no-longer-tech-neanderthal bessfren! *spin cycles and waves epilator around :P*

On a more serious note.. I've just discovered this term, "Poverty Mentality". What is poverty mentality? It's when you have many blessings in your life, but you still feel like you don't have enough - whether they be material possessions and wealth, attention, compliments, power or even sex. So you try to get more, but you are never satisfied, no matter how much more you get. The strange thing is, people who are affluent are just as prone, if not more prone to this poverty mentality.

I'm as guilty as the next person of this, but lately I find I've been trying to be more generous, more forgiving, more content with what I have. I won't be a perfectly and completely benevolent person anytime soon, but I will definitely attempt it...

So what do you get for being content with what you have? Well, for one thing, you will enjoy life much more; you will be happier and healthier (less stress). I never thought I'd ever quote a motivational speaker, but this quote by Zig Ziglar is simple and true: "Happiness is not getting what you want but wanting what you have." Don't believe him or me? Just try it. :)

And now, for some interesting links:

Sexual attraction: the Magic Formula

The "it" factor: Charisma, charm, or that special something - do you have it? The secret to former US president Bill Clinton's charisma is his electrifying eye contact, which makes you feel as if you're the only other person in the room. (try that intense gaze on that cute guy/girl, but prepare for strange looks)

P/S: It feels like I've got a lot more to say, but I will save it for another post...

Quickie

2006-05-22T19:44:00.000+02:00

Hmm, I started writing a blog entry at work, but the damn PC hung. Anyway.

Just watched Da Vinci Code a few hours ago with A. No, I haven't read the book, but I think I will eventually... I thought it was pretty interesting. But what is more interesting is the controversy about Christians who read the book leaving the Church because they thought what was in it was the truth. Or is it?

On to a more giggly fangirl note, there's this scary character in the movie that I thought I recognised, but wasn't sure because he looked trés creepy in it. Checking IMDB though, it turned out that I was right, Silas, the very scary character, was played by Paul Bettany, who is trés cute. Also found these top 3 most active forum topics about him on the site:

He is scary as hell in Da Vinci Code
He should go to hell for being in The DaVinci Code
He was hot as hell in The Da Vinci Code!

I concur with the first and third. ;)

And now, on to a few links:

* Exercise a Challenge for Saudi Women

* Vulgar, lewd, disturbing: Nightmare Fuel (but incredulously funny if you possess a warped humour like I do). Not Safe For Work.

Glitter and Evilness

2006-05-15T05:52:00.000+02:00

Last night, I was reading one of the forums I frequent and came across this post that made me giggle aloud. I just had to share:

The Wash Cloth

I was due for an appointment with the gynecologist later in the afternoon and that morning I received a call from the doctor's office to tell me that I had been rescheduled for that morning at 9:30am. I had only just packed everyone off to work and school, and it was already around 8:45am.

The trip to his office took about 35 minutes, so I didn't have time to spare. As most women do, I like to take a little extra effort over hygiene when making such visits, but this time I wasn't going to be able to make the full effort. So I rushed upstairs, threw off my pajamas, wet the washcloth that was sitting next to the sink, and gave myself a quick wash "in that area" to make sure I was at least presentable. I threw the washcloth in the clothes basket, donned some clothes, hopped in the car and raced to my appointment.

I was in the waiting room for only a few minutes when I was called in. Knowing the procedure, as I'm sure you do, I hopped up on the table, looked over at the other side of the room and pretended that I was in Paris or some other place a million miles away. I was a little surprised when the doctor said, "My, we have made an extra effort this morning, haven't we?" I didn't respond. After the appointment, I heaved a sigh of relief and went home.

The rest of the day was normal...some shopping, cleaning, cooking, etc. After school when my 6 year old daughter was playing, she called out from the bathroom, "Mommy, where's my washcloth?" I told her to get another one from the cupboard. She replied, "No, I need the one that was here by the sink, it had all my glitter and sparkles saved inside it!"

posted by:
Malevolent Harridan, Chicago

Glittery glamourous labias aside... Allegra just returned from Oz yesterday with a light biscuit tan, oddly, from the winter sun. The darling girl got me a few things, including this tee, which announces to the world what I and my nearest and dearest have suspected all along:

Writing this post is enough to banish the Monday blues. :) Cheers, everyone!

Peace and Prayer

2006-05-13T10:53:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was Wesak Day. I went to the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brickfields with my mom to pray.

We are not very religious, but even so, we abstained from eating meat on this day.

It was overcast when we arrived at in Brickfields at around 3:30pm. The street on which the temple's entrance was located was lined with stalls selling all sorts of things: flowers, joss sticks, candles, vegetarian food and drink, statues and images of Buddha and Buddhist symbols. There were also stalls set up by buddhist societies collecting donations for the building of new temples. Oddly, there were companies such as Celcom (telecommunications) doing promotions for their services there as well, which I felt wasn't very appropriate.

As we were walking towards the temple's entrance, I came across a stall selling lanterns depicting Buddhist images as well as Nepali silver jewellery and prayer beads, the same one I bought a few items from last year. To my surprise, the Nepali businessman, Mahendra, actually recognised me, and bade me a warm welcome. As I was browsing, it started to rain quite heavily. All the stallholders hurriedly covered their goods with plastic sheets, and we were ushered into Mahendra's colourful stall to wait for the rain to subside. I chose a few items, a few packs of Ilam tea and a bag made of some sort of pretty tribal weave, and spent the rest of the time talking with Mahendra about the conditions in Nepal and having him explain to me the meanings of the images on the lanterns.

After a long while, the downpour became a drizzle, and I started taking photographs.

Photographs of the elaborate floats that passed by, preparing for the long procession that would start at nightfall, heading to the Kuala Lumpur town centre and then back to the Maha Vihara. This procession would last till around midnight, as the long line of floats would be escorted by candle-carrying devotees accompanying the floats on foot. Photographs of the devotees who thronged the temple clutching umbrellas along with their offerings of candles, joss sticks and flowers. Photographs of the serene monks who moved amongst the crowd, clad in their distinctive saffron orange robes.

Everywhere you looked, there were people running around offering your lotus candles for a 5 ringgit donation, or two paper containers of flower heads for RM1; people frantically taking photographs; people holding long stalks of pink lotus buds or bunches of chrysanthemums; people eating ice cream and vegetarian food. And the beggars. There were so many beggars... in a wheelchair, or sprawled on the roadside with a diseased limb in full display, or holding a pitiful sleeping child - their begging bowls placed in front of them, awaiting your donations.

Mom and I went to kneel amongst other devotees - Chinese, Indian, Burmese, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Thai - to pray. Offering flowers, we got sprinkled with holy water by the monks. We lit oil lamps for peace and happiness. We donated to the beggars. And I kept taking photos till I felt quite wilted from the rain and humidity and sea of humanity around me.

The results of my labours can be seen in this Flickr photoset.

A New Look

2006-05-07T22:02:00.000+02:00

I made changes to the CSS of my blog using EclipseStyle, a nifty freeware programme I downloaded mainly for this purpose, and also made a new header. Time for a makeover, I thought. :)

Dan Suitcasing, a fellow blogger whose writing I really enjoy, has announced that he's going to stop blogging on the 18th this month :( , so he can concentrate on writing to be published (as in not self published on the net). As one of his readers said, what will be a loss to the blogosphere will hopefully be a gain for the literary world. All the best, Daniel.. please do keep in touch!

One of the textile shops in SS2 is currently having a clearance sale, with many beautiful quality fabrics on offer... I bought metres and metres of gorgeous lace, velvet, brocade, and an (currently) unidentifiable silky shimmery material - all for future costumes. Big hole in pocket, but if you think about it, these textiles are all pretty expensive normally, so I consider it an investment. Will post photos later. :)

Another thing: I saw the doc on Saturday and he said I can remove my cast from now on! He bent my arm this way and that, pressing it in different places and asked me if it hurt. Even showed me a few exercises I can do to strengthen it... and asked me to stay away from contact sports for a while. :P It's really nice moving around without it; I didn't realise how restrictive the cast and sling were until I could take them off. Still feels a bit fragile and I'm still quite careful when I'm out. But I'm happy. :)

Lazy Ovaries

2006-05-07T11:02:00.000+02:00

Allegra (who is in Oz at the moment) and I were chatting earlier this afternoon, and there was a part of it I just had to share because it was so amusing.

She has a friend who apparently whines about anything and everything, and thinks everyone likes her. This friend (W) also is thinking about having a baby (because all her peers are producing babies left right and centre like there's no tomorrow) but doesn't like sex. This doesn't stop her from planning/fantasising what she's going to stop doing when/if she gets pregnant: stop going to the gym, stop travelling, stop being active, stop this and that, etc. This part of the convo happened after Allegra was told W's period was late:

allegra: i was gonna be rude and ask (when she told me W's period was late)
allegra: it was juz on the tip of my tongue to say : In 1st place, is she having sex wif her husband onot?
allegra: (evil thoughts looming) :P
siryn: lol, ah well :P
allegra: already i thought of more sarcastic things
allegra: make sure ur seated firmly before i tell u
siryn: i'm sitting :P
allegra: ok
allegra: imagine.. she's so lazy
allegra: ppl who wan try for baby will be at it like rabbits day and night
allegra: wherelse she's probably juz lying there, not wanting to do anything
siryn: yes ;-p
siryn: lie back and think of chow kit?
allegra: in 1st place, whether she's EVEN doing anything
allegra: say her hubby does all the work and she juz lies there
allegra: doubt he'll hv much to go on also
siryn: yeah... what a turn off :P
allegra: then even IF her hubby is as mighty as a stud (NOT)
allegra: her ovaries/eggs might be juz as lazy
allegra: they'd probably juz lie there going "wat??!?! wat u mean i have to go meet the sperm? let them come to me"
siryn: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! *hooting with uncontrollable laughter*
allegra: and then after dat go "wat??!?! u mean after dat sperm has jabbed me, NOW i have to travel to the uterus???!!"
allegra: "but it's so far....... and i'm sooooooo tired..............."
siryn: "and I have to start multiplying too? what a lame gig"
allegra: "forget it man. maybe another day"
siryn: =))
allegra: :P
allegra: told u i hv evil thoughts looming
siryn: hehe, it's ok ;-p
allegra: mebbe i shld be the one having ur T instead
allegra: the one dats says "evil inside"
allegra: rotfl
siryn: hehee ;-p
allegra: now.... contrast it wif some other person's ovaries
allegra: probably they'll be going "Yeee--HAW... it's raining men! Hallelujah!!! COME ON BAYBEH!!!"
allegra: then going WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE, zooming down to the uterus
siryn: oh yeah bebeh let's have a merry multiplyin time!
siryn: wheeeeeeeee
allegra: then rapidly multiplying and thinking SO many things to do, so many of us to do it
allegra: rotfl
allegra: ok... over active imagination
siryn: dats wat i luv bout our convos ;)
allegra: hehehehe

Bitchy, I know, but sometimes we all need an outlet to release our stresses. :P

Quick hot links

2006-05-03T19:48:00.000+02:00

Just a quickie to post recent funny/useful links I've come across:

Clean or Dirty? Crafty fun, funny and cute. :)

"Think happy testicle thoughts" - *giggle*

The True Meaning of MILF - Hunny, I think I aspire to be a MILF too :P

Also, I've been re-reading some graphic novels... gothic humour and adventure (sorta) - The creepy, funny and gorgeous Peculia by Richard Sala, and the smart, elegant Courtney Crumrin series by Ted Naifeh, which is set to be made into a movie soon! Excellent stuff. :)

I swear by threading now to neaten my brows (yes, boys, every girl who has pretty eyebrows either plucks, waxes, shaves or threads them)... here's a helpful article for those who want to DIY at home: Threading - Step by Step

This & That

2006-04-29T21:26:00.000+02:00

Hey all,

My arm's feeling better and better.. I've taken to removing my cast at home now, but it's always on when I go out, so people are more careful around me. Range of motion is still limited though, but I'm pushing it a little more every day. Can't wait to get back to dancing again! And of course, tying my hair with both hands, putting on my clothes normally again, etc.

Mom arrived home at 2am yesterday; her Air Asia flight was delayed by an hour. It's good to see her again. She keeps saying "things are so cheap in China", and tells us interesting tales of the happenings in her school. I'm trying to persuade her to start a blog and write these tales in them. :P

D's been sending me out on a lot of assignments lately... good thing, I guess. :P But there's only so many media parties, launches and press conferences you can go to before the novelty wears off.

I had the good fortune of watching The Fire of Anatolia on media passes (with my bro, Allegra and WY!) last Wednesday on the Gala Night... the synchronicity of the dancers and intricacy of the choreography was breathtaking! Despite the show starting late due to poor organisation and the fairly uncouth audience, I loved the show... the charismatic doumbek player; the dreamy whirling dervishes; the lightning-quick, Riverdance-like lineups; the drummer face-offs; and of course, the lovely bellydancers. Highly recommended. :)

Before the show, I was hit on by an Iranian guy in the food court of KLCC... or rather, I was approached by his sister. It was flattering, but quite strange: a very attractive girl taps me on the shoulder while I am enjoying my shish tawook and asks me if I'm married yet. Must be some Middle Eastern courting ritual? :P I ended up taking her number and she gave me a rose from her brother, telling me "You're very beautiful!" before she left. :P (I replied to her, "So are you!")

Darkluke's given me 2 bags of cowries that he got on a trip to Bali... thanks a bunch, mate. :) I've made a lovely new pair of long cowrie falls for my tribal bellydance costume, using 88 cowries and thin red yarn for each fall. I'm planning to embellish them with coins, peacock feathers, beads and bells. Thinking of taking the first pair I made apart (the ones on the left, made with black yarn), as the backs of the shells are cut.. and use them for sewing onto other tribal gear instead. So many costume ideas, so little time...

And now, for a little fun... these are the recent search strings leading people to my site:

for a minute there i lost myself - Radiohead fans unite!
veil senza card - hmm...?
new paris ss2 - excellent food, fast service, good price.. address below
broke my arm - hey, me too!
steamed talapia on the bbq - mm... yummy
KLIA - dat be vere ze planes go
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai - hubba hubba
wesak procession - I'm thinkin of going again this year...
shashkin tekbilek - excellent song
questionnaires funny - haven't done any lately
japamala blog - ?
japamala resort - a place of dreams...
black clothes dye - going goth are we?
siryn - that's me! :)
herrgard cheese fat content - sorry luv, I just eat it

Good food seekers, here you are:
New Paris Restaurant
No 62, 64, 66, Jalan SS2/72, 47300 Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-7955 9180, 7955 0186
(I highly recommend the pai kwat wong, deep fried eggplant slices, and stirfried spinach... everything I've had here is yummy!)

Oh, and typical me for procrastinating on my intention to record a voice greeting for him... I want to wish Dan Suitcasing a very happy belated birthday! I hope you had a great one (and a great party yesterday).. :)

One more thing... F, sweetheart, I just want to tell you again (and again, and again..) that I love you, and miss you unimaginably much. Please come see me soon? *sends warm tropical kisses to springtime Sweden*

Comeback

2006-04-14T11:27:00.000+02:00

So, I've avoided writing more than I have to the past few weeks, since I'm typing with one hand.. but now I'm in the mood again I guess I should bring you guys up to speed as to what I've been up to tho. :)

After spending an additional 10 days with F, which were wonderful despite the arm, I embarked on the long journey home to KL on 28th Feb.

This time was without a doubt the worst journey back. I found that I'd get depressed and cry easily when tired, hungry and off the painkillers for too long. Also, after this trip I knew it would be some time before F and I could see each other again. It's his final year and he doesn't have much time off.. and after my long medical leave and extended holiday, I doubt my office would approve another long stretch of leave... sigh.

I flew KLM, so from Stockholm there was a transit at Amsterdam before the long flight to KL. The Dutch airport staff were not very friendly, but I guess they've seen their share of dodgy characters, working in Schipol. Most other people were helpful and sympathetic, though.

When we touched down in KLIA and got out of the plane I started feeling the oppressive heat and humidity - something I definitely didn't miss. Dad and bro were there to pick me up. Was nice to see them again, though they were grumpy from the heat too and having to wait over an hour because my plane had arrived late. Headed home exhausted and withered from the heat, not even able to tie my own hair up properly, in a strange drugged world of my own.

Crazily, I went back to work on 2nd Mar, Thurs. My Southern gentleman boss (let's call him D) was still shocked to see physical evidence of my injury, but seemed glad I was back. Typing with one hand isn't as fast as with both though, and I can't really write longhand, as I broke my left arm, and I'm lefthanded.

On Friday I literally couldn't get up from bed in the morning, my whole body ached, so I had to tell D I would try to go in only after lunch. He told me to pull myself together and take care, and hoped he would see me later. That night after work, I went to get a new mattress, a long overdue purchase. F had suspected I didn't sleep so well due to my lumpy old bed.

Saturday, I went to see an orthopedic specialist in the nearest hospital, and was told that with a broken limb I was entitled to at least 6 weeks of leave! Was X-rayed, given more drugs and 4 weeks of leave, and rested for 3 before D called me and asked if I was up to going back to work, as they were shorthanded. Turns out 2 of my fellow writers had resigned.

During those 3 weeks, I stayed home mostly but met up still with me best mate A in the weekends. She kindly helped me to cut food that needed to be cut into bite sized pieces, a humbling experience, but shows what a good friend I have. :) Because I became so restless, I also started working on a new blue costume (yes, the purple velvet's complete). How do I make costumes when I can't even cut my own food? Well, since I have full mobility in my fingers, I could still make beaded fringe, so I popped by the haberdasheries in town to get the supplies of beads, sequins and appliques needed. It's turning out beautifully; I'm 3/4 done with the belt fringe. :)

Another thing.. my mom's taken up a teaching post in Guangdong, China. She left for China while I was in Sweden, so I haven't seen her in a while. She seems very happy there though, teaching English to A-Levels students - I'm really glad she's enjoying herself. :)

P/S: I watched Kung Fu Hustle for the first time in Sweden, surrounded by Swedes who chose the movie, didn't understand the language, yet enjoyed it. The surreal feeling I had then probably wasn't due to the drugs.

A Little Dazed

2006-02-20T11:35:00.000+01:00

I broke my left arm last Wednesday while sledding with F and some friends...

It was quite scary... I flew at high speed down the hill on the sled and according to F I flew 4 feet in the air when i hit a high bump at the bottom of the hill and did a spectacular double somersault. When i landed, my left arm wasn't where i thought it was, and i couldn't move the arm tho i could move my fingers. And i thought "uh oh". i knew something was wrong, and said, "i think i broke my arm! i think i broke my arm!"

Everyone ran down the big hill when i didn't (and couldn't) get up. F was quite freaked out, and so was everyone else.. apparently it was quite a bad fall. When they ascertained that it was indeed broken, someone called for an ambulance. Fortunately i could move my head and legs and other bits and didn't have concussions or anything.

I was brought to the university hospital of Linköping, the town we're in, got injected with painkillers, my arm put in a plastic cast and x-rayed.. According to the docs it's a clean break. I'm now in a short adjustable plastic cast and sling cuz the fracture is right in the middle of the upper arm. Felt quite miserable and scared on the day it happened, but I'm feeling a lot better now. :) F's been taking really good care of me :)

The painkillers they prescribed are quite strong and make me quite spaced out, but at least they work well :). The cast makes my arm itch like hell. Arrrrgh!

I think i'll be able to remove the cast in about 6 weeks and i will have full use in 3-6 months...

Was scheduled to fly home last Saturday, but I really didn't feel like travelling in this condition, so I relayed the news to my boss, who was, fortunately, sympathetic... so I'll be in Sweden another 10 days, only flying home next Tuesday.

One thing good came out of this ordeal tho... I get to spend a little more time with F, and let him take care of me. It's lovely. :)

Snow-whee!

2006-02-01T07:59:00.000+01:00

It's my fifth day here now in snowy Sweden. Linköping is covered with snow, unlike the last winter I was here, and it's so pretty! Right now it's 8am and F has gone back to sleep... I wake at the crack of dawn every day, and can't go back to sleep, to his dismay, my mind is so active. Hehe.

I love going out for walks here. If you ask me to go for a walk in Kuala Lumpur or anywhere in Malaysia for that matter, I'll look at you as though you're mad. It's nice and cold here, and of course being a visitor there are a lot of things to see. Fat ducks keeping parts of the icy river open by diving into them, equally fat geese waddling about (and leaving steaming piles of poop), red-cheeked toddlers bundled up in colourful warm layers, smiling old folk walking their collies/alsatians/etc, kids making snowmen and sledding, people having semla and coffee at trendy cafes, the lovely vast snowy landscape. I keep taking pictures.

Now, I keep imagining having banana pancakes for brekkie. Will try and make some now. ;)

Make me thrill as only you know how...

2006-01-21T08:52:00.000+01:00

In 6 days, I will head to Sweden. :) Feels like I have a million things to do before I fly! And my heart beats triple time at the thought that I'll be with F in less than a week. :)

My purple costume is very nearly ready (and so gorgeous! I'm so happy with it), just need to get more of the sparkly sequins I've been using on the bra. Going to Sungai Wang (translates literally to "River of Money" - it's a mall downtown) to get them today, also to look for some decent-looking boots to wear to Sweden. Most Swedish girls are pretty stylish, and I'm NOT going to look frumpy when I go there, though I suppose comfort and warmth is more important during winter. :P

Gifts for F's family: local coffee, CNY cookies, shawls, brooch, almond coffee. :)

P/S: Ramli Ibrahim is most eloquent, and Odissi is beautiful. I hope to take up classes as soon as I come back, if Sutra Academy will have me. :)

Shop till you drop

2006-01-02T06:03:00.000+01:00

Allegra's been dragging me all over town shopping. New Year's eve it was at Midvalley. New Year's day it was at The Curve/Ikano. Today it will be Sungei Wang and Berjaya Times Square. Ah well, I need to look for some things anyway, but shopping is pretty darn tiring, I tell ya!

In the last few days, I've bought: La Senza lingerie, a long black evening dress, more cloth/trim for costumes, a gorgeous sequinned turquoise top, things for F and presents for his family, julmust from Ikea and shawls.

*phone rings* Gahhh! She's here in 2 minutes! Gotta go, have a lovely holiday, everyone! ;)

It's back!

2005-12-30T20:24:00.000+01:00

The header image is back, thanks to Flickr! I got the idea of hosting it there after remembering that Dan (Suitcasing) does this too, for some of his photos. :)

Went to New Paris in SS2 for dinner just now; ordered some of the usual dishes (stirfried spinach, ribs in Chinese barbeque sauce, the restaurant's specialty tofu) and a fish dish.. steamed talapia with spicy sauce. It was SO good. I highly recommend the place!

Got some gorgeous red stretch velvet and a beautiful remnant of tiger skin-print-esque chiffon from Kamdar, plus lovely gold trim (for red costume) and rick-racks in 6 colours (tribal costume) from a haberdashery in PJ Old Town. I can't decide whether to make a red or white bedlah first... or a coin one? Gold or silver? Aghhhh, decisions, decisions!

Anyway, schleepy now. F is heading to Gothemburg to see the new year in with his dad's family. I miss him..

Making a comeback...!

2005-12-30T06:48:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone!

Ok, it's been quite a while since I wrote... 2 months? Anyway. I'll try to pick up where I left off.

F went home on 13th November. I was supposed to work that day, but managed to get out of it.. needed to spend the day with him. On this trip, we didn't go out of town, just explored the attractions in KL, because it was a really busy time for me. I brought him to the KL Bird Park and KL Butterfly Park, and my parents took him to Petaling Street to shop some. He bought a bunch of pirated DVDs; my mom made the exasperated (but desperate?) seller test every single one of the discs before she let F pay for them, hehehee.

He also got to act as my photographer for a work assignment, and met my new American managing editor, and various members of the foreign diplomatic core! He also had to be the shutterbug for a dance gig at KL's most beautiful Middle Eastern restaurant, Al Nafourah, where gourmet hors d'oeuvres and wine was being served during our performance, and there was a gorgeous chocolate fountain on the buffet table. Tee hee.

As the Deepavali and Hari Raya celebrations happened during his visit, he got to experience those as well. We were invited to my colleagues' houses and he met quite a number of them. During Deepavali, I wore a saree, and F was exposed to some crazy Indian humour. Haha!

During one of my company's gourmet events, he sampled many different types of wine, won a cigar, and ate a tonne of the most yummy baklava from Lavand.. while watching a demonstration on how to make the delicious but complicated-to-make sweetmeat.

Then we stayed at the new Boulevard hotel for one night, quite a beautiful place.. and had planned to go to the Kuala Gandah elephant sanctuary the next day, but unfortunately he got ill with a high fever. I was so afraid it was the dengue fever (there was an outbreak at the time), but it was not, thank heaven.

I'd say he had quite an adventure in KL. :)

Since he went home it's been work, work, work (with some dance gigs in between). Feeling quite drained with regards to work. I'm also still working on my purple costume... but that should be done as soon as I've finished the fringe. Will put some shots of that up soon!

Seriously, if I didn't have my dance I think I'd be much worse off...

One thing that has made me happy recently is my (third ever) solo bellydance performance at the company Christmas party, held at my boss's house. I was pretty nervous as I made my entrance into the hall (yes, his house is huge), where all my colleagues were gathered, but once I got warmed up I really enjoyed performing! It was a great experience, because I'd never danced in this kind of venue before, where the audience was all around me, so I had to modify the choreography and improvise quite a bit. But it was really fun because everyone was so enthusiastic, smiling and clapping along to the music (most were probably shocked to see it was me too!). The positive energy from the audience really boosted my spirits and as a result I did some of my best dancing then, I believe. :) I was wearing a brand new black costume that my mom and I rushed to finish, and my entrance was framed by a red veil for drama and to reflect the Xmas spirit. ;)

Ok, that's all for now. I'll try to get myself blogging again. :P If I don't post later or tomorrow, here's wishing each and every one of you a great start to 2006! Happy New Year! *big hugs all around to all!*

Love, Siryn

P/S: Domain is in "redemption period" because I didn't renew in time. So I have to wait till mid-Jan to attempt to get it back... sigh.

Across the World...

2005-10-22T02:02:00.000+02:00

.. my love is come. :) (well, soon to do so)

This post will be short, but I wanted to do it now as I'm unsure as to whether I have time to post more later at work (yes, working this Saturday unfortunately).

First of all, I apologize for the missing header graphic (orchids & "mysterious eyes") and radioblog. It will be up again soon.. (I hope).

Second, work's been crazy because of the upcoming culinary event my company's organising... I'd been assigned to assist the events management department with it.. lots of tension and stress.

Third, dance has been going well, beading for the fringe of my new costume has commenced, might get some pics of the beading-in-progress up one day soon.

Last (but perhaps most important), F is arriving in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon... I'm so happy. :) We're going to spend a blissful first weekend away alone somewhere. Hopefully uninterrupted...

In the meantime I leave you, my dear readers, with these links:

Experiences of an English teacher in Japan: "Ok, so I'm an assistant teacher in three Japanese middle schools. You know what's kind of funny though? Some kids can't say "Good morning", but damn near all of them can ask if I have a big dick. Or, "bigu dikku" in Engrish."

Mythology and Symbolism in Middle Eastern Dance: An interesting paper on MED, better known as bellydancing, which I haven't finished reading yet, but would like to share.

Outrageous EBay Auctions: A blog on precisely what it implies. People are willing to bid on some very odd things.

Sevenses

2005-09-27T08:56:00.000+02:00

Without being tagged, here are my sevenses... Work's temporarily not hectic atm. :P

Seven things I plan to do before I die:
1. Perform with a famous bellydancer
2. Attend the whole Glastonbury Festival at least once
3. Live in Europe
4. Expand my Mandarin and Cantonese vocab (terribly limited atm - I'm good at ordering food :P), learn more languages (Arabic, French, Swedish)
5. Travel more (Nepal, Bhutan, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Europe)
6. Get tattooed
7. Experience living in a goth community

Seven things I can do now:
1. Do tedious but fairly beautiful beading for costumes and bead jewellery
2. Bellydance (without looking like a total amateur)
3. Type the proper way, very quickly, without looking at the screen or keyboard
4. Build a website with handcoded HTML on Notepad
5. Make myself look almost Middle Eastern with makeup
6. Write painful poetry in the throes of angst
7. Do simple Feng Shui analyses

Seven things I cannot do:
1. Drive
2. Write a novel (I don't think I can sustain interest long enough)
3. Stay in noisy, frenzied, crowded places for long
4. Not get a chill down my spine when I look down from a great height
5. Stay away from the Net for more than a few hours, unless I'm with F
6. Be tidy
7. Watch local TV productions

Seven things that attract me to the same (or opposite) sex:
1. Genuine warmth
2. Intelligence - widely read, curious about everything
3. A good height - I admit, I like tall men
4. Strong hands and arms - Mmm
5. A warped sense of humour - so he'll get my own twisted mind
6. Inner strength - because I want someone to take care of me sometimes too
7. Creative and spontaneous - I like a good imagination

Seven things I say most often:
1. "Okay...."
2. "You should try taking up bellydancing..."
3. "I'm a writer for..."
4. "I know I'm weird...."
5. "No, I'm NOT going to use my credit card today, NOOO"
6. "Anything-lah"
7. "Hmm, what do you think?"

Seven celebrity crushes:
1. Jude Law
2. Colin Firth's Mr Darcy!
3. Alan Rickman, velvet voice
4. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love
5. Lovely Nicole Kidman
6. Angelina Jolie? Although I don't like her taste in men after Jonny Lee Miller
7. err... Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn?

Seven People I would like to do this:
... I don't think I have enough readers/friends who blog :P

Wisdom: Rest is V. Important

2005-09-25T16:23:00.000+02:00

It's been a lovely day home alone, spent on some long-needed rest, talking hour after dreamy hour with F on Skype, listening to music, supping on thin-crust pizza and cold blackcurrant cordial, lounging around naked. My good mood has been restored. :)

Here are the last 2 parts of Daniel's Fives meme:

Five turnoffs in other people

1. Rudeness and fake niceness.
2. Trying (seriously) to speak in an accent that clearly does not come naturally. Eg. Speaking with a British accent after visiting the UK for 2 months.
3. Making fun of those less fortunate than oneself, such as the disabled or even the socially inept.
4. Greed for power/megalomania, no matter how small the scope.
5. An attitude of helplessness in spite of the obvious ability to help oneself.

Five things that were probably spawned by the Devil

1. Music videos that shove sex and bling bling into the audience's faces.
2. The Thin Ideal.
3. The irresistible urge to give in to lying down for just "a few minutes" when you are really tired but still have a lot to do, knowing somewhere in the back of your mind that you will fall asleep.
4. The idea most employers have that just because they pay the salaries, they have the right to all your free time (as if you sold your soul to the Devil? :P ).
5. The female predilection for shiny things.

And now, I'd like to share an amusing, but somewhat alarming snippet of a recent conversation with a new dancemate:

Me: are you a manager?
C: was an accountant
C: tho life was tough then
C: now a financial analyst
C: life is goin down the drain
C: should have stuck to being an accountant
C: i'm trying to con my bf into marrying me so dat i can quit work and go full time into dancing
C: and charity work
C: but he's too smart to be conned.
C: :'(

Do men really have to be conned into marriage these days?

P/S: Meme was fun. Should I do the Sevenses too? Heh heh

Am I Wise? No...

2005-09-23T14:51:00.000+02:00

Five Pieces of Alleged Wisdom You Would Like to Share

1. Don't put off things you've always wanted to do (eg. taking up a new dance class, going backpacking, climbing a mountain, etc) because of excuses like not having enough time/money or you can't find someone to accompany you, etc etc. Where there is a will, there's a way, and if you don't do it now, you may end up never doing it at all. Plus, you don't know what you'll miss if you didn't...

2. (Hmm, I'm not feeling very wise atm...) Before acting on negative feelings, calm yourself, and reflect on the consequences of the action you want to take. If you can't think, try to purge yourself of the negativity without affecting others. Most of the time, that's the best way to go.

3. Don't let other people tell you how to live your life. Take responsibility for your actions and choices, because at the end of it, no matter who you blame, you have to live with what you did/chose.

4. Don't worry too much about what other people say about you. You can't please everyone.

5. Always remember to make time for the people you love.

Meme from Daniel (Part 2)

2005-09-21T09:27:00.000+02:00

Five places you would love to revisit

1. JapaMala Resort, Tioman Island. I remember this beautiful, rustic little resort with much fondness; my time there with F was almost like a dream: looking out to the ocean from the tiny balcony of our elevated wooden chalet feeling the warm breeze, swimming in turquoise waters, having cup noodle breakfasts with almond coffee on the verandah, exploring huge boulders on the beach, taking an evening walk after dinner right to the end of the charming wooden jetty with its uneven planks to watch huge schools of little silver fish congregating frenziedly there, attracted by the floodlights. Just lovely.

2. Alnön island off the coast of Sundsvall, Sweden. Was there with F and his mom and half-brothers to bathe in the sea. On the way to the secluded beach we had to go through a little foresty area infested with huge mosquitoes, and trees dying slowly due to parasitic insects that left the branches bare and covered with a fine net/weblike substance, giving them the ghostly appearance of trees in an enchanted forest. Mosquito bites and all, it was worth it.. there were few people at the beach, because apparently not many knew of it. The beach was clean, and the water was chilly, with undercurrents that were alternately very cold and delightfully warm... and hardly salty at all (this fascinates me for some reason). I also saw ponies and their riders swimming in the sea for the first time in my life (the ponies left turds, but oh well..). It was a very fine day, the air was nippy but it was very sunny. I began to understand why Europeans love the sun so much, and started to appreciate it too..

3. (This isn't a place per se..) It's amazing to finally meet someone you know very well online but haven't met in the flesh. It doesn't matter where we have it, but I'd like to have another gathering with my friends of and from Cymmeria, the kingdom in which I was a member in the online text-based game, Utopia. Everyone was so familiar, the different personalities that we knew online just came to life, and all these people who'd never met before got along like a house on fire.

4. If I could go back in time, I'd tell the teenage me to take up bellydancing (or some other form of dance) and tailoring, and to ignore the demons in my head and the bitches around me.

5. Following a cultural and food trail in Penang (wrote about before, here). At the hottest time of the year, F and I spent 3 days going from place to place eating traditional Penang food, checking out old buildings and temples and trying out new things. Power-touristing, as F would call it. I rather like it, though it can be exhausting. :P

P/S: Apparently I'm as long-winded as you, Daniel, hehe ;)

Bellylicious

2005-09-20T03:56:00.000+02:00

I've updated my radioblog with favourite bellydance tracks, as promised. :) Just posting the track list quickly before heading out for assignment:

Alf Leyla Wi Leyla - A great mix of fast and slow.
Harem (REG Project) - One of the first choreos I learned was to this. REG Project is marvellous.
Shashkin (Omar Faruk Tekbilek) - I love this track!
Bitwannes Beek (Warda) - A beautiful traditional song.
Dance of the Scarves (Marcel Khalife) - Lovely for veil dancing.
Bent El Balad (Tarkan?) - The requisite drum solo.
Ah Ya Leil (Shereen) - Irresistibly danceable Arabic pop.
Cleopatra - I imagine the golden-skinned Cleopatra being entertained by her handmaidens when I hear this; great for practicing snake arms. :P
Sanatein Wanahayel Feek! (Hossam Ramzy) - Great stuff from the Egyptian master percussionist.
PURE: Foundation - Represents my tribal aspirations; from PURE.

Enjoy! :)

Back to Blogging

2005-09-19T10:49:00.000+02:00

I've voluntarily been tagged by Daniel of Suitcasing for his meme. Since there are five of them, I will post one (or more) every day for
the next few days:

FIVE BOOKS YOU THINK ARE GREAT

I enjoy reading, but I don't claim to be a great reader... Most of the following books can't be considered great pieces of intellectual literature, but they each mean something to me.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera)
Mr Kundera has the startling knack for putting into words the most abstract of tangled human emotions. This is my first Kundera book and my favourite thus far.

Bridget Jones's Diary & The Edge of Reason (Helen Fielding)
Actually 2 books, but read them as a set. In Bridget, Helen Fielding has created a character that is as warm and loveable as she is exasperating, yet avoids the pitfall irritating her readers. I personally know many women who can truly identify with Bridget and her experiences and feelings.

Boy & Going Solo (Roald Dahl)
I'll never get tired of Mr Dahl. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, but perhaps it is the way you look at things that makes life interesting or otherwise. Follow Dahl through the highlights of his life, from childhood till the time he returns from his stint in the RAF during WWI (also 2 books, but I read the omnibus :P).

How to be Good (Nick Hornby)
It was a toss-up between this and Hornby's About A Boy. The characters in 'How To Be Good' feel so incredibly human, especially Dr Katie Carr, the main character. Her constant examination of her own values and actions really hits a chord in me.

The Awakening (Kate Chopin)
This was one of the things that helped me through a rough period in my life. I won't say how now, but maybe one day I will.

More to come:
Five places you would love to revisit
Five turnoffs in other people
Five things that were probably spawned by the Devil
Five pieces of alleged wisdom you would like to share

P/S: I suspect you all know why I've not been blogging... been very tired lately. But I will start to make time!

Here Comes the Ocean

2005-09-13T09:28:00.000+02:00

Through the falling snow
Through the falling snow
Glides the electrical train
Bar Acacia's closed
Draw my fingertips
Down the mountain stream
Trace your body and soul
In the window steam
Neon city burns harsh and bright
In my eyes, I'm compromised
Hurry me home

Through the falling snow
Through the falling snow
Flesh and bone, heart and mind
To the shore I go
Winter wonderland calls to my heart
And I'm realised
Carry me home

She's the kinda girl who makes the darkness bright
Smiles toward the world and makes it all seem alright
Here comes the sea
Here comes the ocean

Words and music by Roddy Frame

Dancing Alone

2005-08-21T19:03:00.000+02:00

I've been doing nothing much at all today. Home alone, I slept a lot, read a bit (How To Be Good, by Nick Hornby), watched the rest of Dark City (Jennifer Connelly and Rufus Sewell - shwing!), ate pizza and dragon fruit and chocolate, watched parts 1 and 2 of Pride and Prejudice again, walked around the apartment naked, SMSed F through the day. I thought briefly of doing some beading, but decided this would be a day of complete rest.

If you haven't tried walking around your own house completely naked, try it. It's wonderfully liberating. I do it whenever I have the chance.

On Friday and Saturday nights I had dance gigs. Maybe that's why I was so tired. Friday's gig was for this guy's birthday, a rather old gweilo boss of some travel agency, with a rather young Thai wife. WY and I did several items plus lots of crowd interaction. About half the audience was very vocally appreciative and the other half was quite cold/shy/bemused. If I wasn't a dancer I might have said the loud part of the audience was being a little too rowdy, but when you're dancing your heart out, you want to see some sort of positive response... but stopping short at actually manhandling us dancers, of course. We're not doing that sort of entertainment.

On Saturday I followed QY (a new colleague - she's a part-time singer) to Shah Alam for my first ever solo gig. It was for a rather grand Indian wedding dinner, and we were there very, very early. The wait was exhausting... I was in costume hours before my item, as there were about 20 items in the programme. It went well, though! I did two dances back to back. Was just a bit nervous, but smoke (dry ice generated) and lights prevented me from having a very clear view of the audience's faces, so that helped a lot. I'm still a very shy person at heart. The crew and the rest of the performers were very cool people. Also, this gig might generate future ones, as the crew is interested in working with me again and the organizer approached me for my contact info on behalf of some guests.

I really have to start on new choreography and many more costumes...

P/S: Just want to note here that there is a lot more appreciation for fuller figured women among the Indians compared to the Chinese. Most of the other female performers were model skinny, but I wasn't made to feel like an outcast among them... I was regarded with friendliness and an admiration for my bellydancing, which apparently most of them have not been exposed to. It was refreshing.

Purple Haze

2005-08-14T22:47:00.000+02:00

Hullo everyone! Forgive me once again for taking so long to write a new post. *spanks self*

Yes, I've changed the header image; I've had this image in mind since I chose this template when starting this blog... but didn't get round to creating it till tonight. It doesn't go with the rest of the colour scheme, but I just don't have the energy nor inclination to change the rest yet... Might change to another template that would be easier to modify in terms of colour, but that will be later, when I have more time. In the meantime, let me know what you think of the new pic! :)

Tomorrow will be the start of my third week at the new job. It's going well so far, I'm rather happy here, mainly due to my new colleagues (i.e. in the editorial department). They're pretty cool and most are rather new to the company (most have been here for only a few months). The editor is alright too, he seems like a reasonable guy who doesn't take himself too seriously. I'm being sent out on assignments and am involved in plenty of projects already. Keeping busy. :)

Through one of my colleagues I've gotten two solo dance gigs, one for next weekend and one for her wedding in September. I'm quite nervous about them, but at the same time elated. It'll be great getting some extra cash for costumes (maybe I can even start buying instructional DVDs and books to supplement my dance education!), and at the same time gaining experience and exposure. Whee!

Yesterday I went shopping for supplies for a new purple costume with WY in the heart of town. The shopping trip reminded me of why I hate going downtown.. the insane traffic and the accompanying exhaust fumes; the heat and humidity; the bustling, staring, occasionally rude crowd; the need to be on guard all the time against snatch-thieves, pickpockets and molesters...

But downtown KL is where all the best, most well-stocked haberdashers, textile shops, bead/trimmings and craft shops are... So that's where we went. Fortunately, the haze had cleared that day, the air in Kuala Lumpur going from eye-smartingly, chokingly thick, to clean and clear, as if by magic! It was not magic though: most of the odious blanket of haze that enveloped the Klang Valley for about a week was blown away by rather strong winds towards the Northern states, up as far as Kedah, Perlis and Terengganu. The haze has been a topic of conversation among many KLites, yours truly included, but I shall not go into it because I'm not feeling properly fired up about it at the moment, having spent a day resting and breathing in haze-free air. Instead, here's a link to an article mirroring the general sentiment of KL dwellers, with an explanation of this phenomena: Haze ushers in winter of discontent.

Anyway.. it was nice hanging out with WY. She brought me to all the shops she gets her supplies from, and I got the most lovely appliques and matching beads/sequins for my costume, but the hunt for the purple velvet I wanted brought me all the way to SS2. It's a nightmare trying to find the right kind of cloth, especially in the right colour and tone. I finally found it though. :)

The thing about bellydancing is that once you're really passionate about it, you're more likely than not also want to design your own costumes.. and if like me, you want to save money, you will create them too! Then there's incessantly searching for good music to dance to, learning to incorporate new props in your performance, getting new dance gigs, learning about the different styles and the history of the dance, etc etc. It's a passion that you can incorporate into every part of your life.

Before I close, I want to mention that I have finally watched entire Pride and Prejudice BBC miniseries (well, for the 2nd time now)! It's excellent, and Colin Firth was smoulderingly brooding, as promised in BJD. :P I'm a sucker for period dramas.

Also, I watched Sex and Lucia, which is a great movie. Sure, there's a lot of sex in it, but it's all there for a reason. It's very moving (but at times confusing), and the soundtrack is great. Highly recommended. :)

P/S: My next planned playlist consists of my favourite bellydance tracks. Should I or should I not?

The Way To a Man's Heart...

2005-07-27T01:43:00.000+02:00

Went for dance class last night. A new saiidi choreography was being taught, a lot of hopping! Was not too difficult to catch up with the rest, but of course I will have to work on polishing my movements and transitions, and memorising the choreography. It's nice to be learning new styles of the dance. I'm a little sad and disappointed though that I won't be performing at the jazz festival in August; I agreed to perform for it before I left for Sweden, but now apparently S asked a newer student to dance instead. *sigh* :( Oh well. Maybe she was afraid I would not come back and she'd be stuck without enough dancers. :P

Anyway. Here's something about what I did in the land of blondes, pickled herring and aquavit. During a week when F came home from work every night at 10:30pm tired but ravenous, we would cook something fairly fast and easy, but it still did take some time and we usually ended up eating at 11pm or later. So one evening I decided to make for dinner a chunky, stew-like soup. Soup filled with good stuff is comfort food to me - it brings about a certain cosy dreaminess... er.. yeah.

I improvised when it came to the ingredients, having no recipe to follow, but having an idea of what sort of flavours I want. Fortunately, the soup turned out very tasty. Now, as F and I enjoyed the result of my 'experimental' recipe a lot, I decided to record it here for my future reference, and to share with you peeps who'd like to try making it. :) To make Siryn's Hearty Soup (ahem) you'll need..

500ml water (approx)
1 packet bacon, cut into approx 2in pieces
10 new potatoes (small), scrubbed and cubed (with skins on)
2-4 tomatoes (medium), quartered
1 carrot, cubed
1 small cucumber, cubed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
1 can/box (small) crushed or pureed tomatoes
1 chopped onion (large white Spanish)
3-4 cloves garlic (at least), minced
1 cube bouillon (beef/pork/chicken)
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
salt and roughly ground black pepper to taste

Method:
1) Pour water in large pot and heat. Add bouillon cube and bring to boil, making sure the cube dissolves completely. While waiting, fry the bacon pieces till crisp, and drain away the oil when it's done (or reserve for frying the onions if you don't mind the cholesterol).
2) Put carrots and potatoes in boiling bouillon/water. Simmer for about 5 minutes before putting in the tomatoes and cucumber.
3) Add crushed tomatoes to the pot and stir the mixture, leave to simmer. In the meantime, fry the onions in same pan used for bacon.
4) Add fried onion, beans, basil, thyme, chilli flakes and about half of the fried bacon into pot, and stir till well mixed. Simmer for about 30 minutes to let the soup thicken.
5) When you like the consistency, add garlic, salt and black pepper to the soup mixture, stir and taste.

Serve piping hot, topped with the fried bacon (maybe some grated cheese?), with sliced baguette (or similar crusty bread).

Suggestions & notes
- This recipe serves about 4 people. If you can't finish it, refrigerate or freeze; this soup reheats very well.
- I didn't use measuring cups or spoons. Everything is approximate; the teaspoons I used are the ones we use to stir our coffee/tea.
- If the flavour is too flatly salty or a tad too sour due to all the tomato, add a tablespoonful of honey - I find that usually helps to balance out the flavours perfectly.

If you wish, you can add or substitute some of vegetables with bell peppers, celery, baby corn, radishes or cabbage. Potatoes can be substituted with pasta (fusilli, shells, farfalle or similar small pasta shapes) - or you can have both. Instead of new potatoes, you can use any other waxy, low-starch potatoes that hold their shape well after cooking. The meat component can also be meatballs, or bite-sized pieces of pork/beef (marinated and pre-stirfried). In place of the beans, you can also use fresh peas, garbanzos (chickpeas), black-eyed peas, lentils or any other bean you like (probably). Raw shelled groundnuts (peanuts) would lend the soup a earthy, nutty flavour.

Comforting Sounds

2005-07-25T21:51:00.000+02:00

WE stood in the shrill electric light,

Dumb and sick in the whirling din

We who had all of love to say

And a single second to say it in.

"Good-by!" "Good-by!" -- you turned to go,

I felt the train's slow heavy start,

You thought to see me cry, but oh

My tears were hidden in my heart.

- Sara Teasdale

Back in KL now.. ahh, the familiar heat and humidity..... or rather, aghhhhhhh.. :P I was stone tired by the time I arrived because I didn't get any sleep on the 12-hour flight (well, I didn't really try to do so..). How did I occupy myself on that long stretch of time spent more or less confined to a 2x2 ft space (the seat next to me was empty and I had a window seat)? I watched a teen movie on figure skating called "Ice Princess", not once, but TWICE; watched the same National Geographic extreme sports feature, not twice, but THRICE; read the inflight magazine from cover to cover (and decided to filch it because there was a good world map near the back); read the entertainment guide and shopping catalogue from cover to cover (sad!); ate approx 3 turkey ham-stuffed rolls and had countless cups of orange juice offered by the cabin crew between dinner and breakfast (*burp*); read all the issues of (After)life in Gothland that Mo got for me, plus the free issue of Boneyard (all v.v.g.); went through BJ: The Edge of Reason to find amusing passages with which to comfort myself.

The truth is though, I profoundly miss F already.. have since the moment I had to check in and we had to part. If I feel this way now, how do I endure not seeing being able to see, to hold him for months on end? I know we've done it before, but I doubt I'll ever get used to it..

Now, as I've gotten about 2 hours' sleep in the past...48 hours or so?.. I think I will get some sleep. If I have the energy, tomorrow I shall write more about the flight.

One more thing... I spent the afternoon compiling a new playlist for my radioblog.. something to hopefully make up for the long drought. Thus without further ado, I'd like to present Siryn's selection of old bootlegs, covers, b-sides and unreleased songs from one of the greatest bands in the world, Radiohead! :) And the set begins with....

Nobody Does It Better (live) - Here is my absolute favourite version of this Carly Simon cover. Thom declares in the beginning that this is one of the sexiest songs that was ever written. I concur.

Black Star (live) - A favourite that always sounds good to me no matter how much time has elapsed since my last listen.

Sing A Song For You (live) - Sweet, morose Tim Buckley cover. Unreleased.

Lucky (live) - This is not just any live version, but the one with Michael Stipe on vocals, just for you REM fans.

What is it that You Say? - Early Radiohead; can be found on "On A Friday" demo tape.

Lozenge of Love - Contemplative acoustic track named after a line from a poem. Thom's voice takes on a somewhat luminous quality here..

Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong (live) - This grows on you. Listen to the lyrics. Love hurts?

Maquiladora - Early rawk from our favourite Oxford boys. Pretty darn cool.

Wish You Were Here - Thom York and Sparklehorse cover Pink Floyd. According to GreenPlastic.com, Thom sang his part over the phone from his hotel room, and those extra bits you hear in the background were from the TV in his room. I think this is the right file, though it doesn't really sound like Thom... good song anyway. :)

True Love Waits (live) - This is very likely a bootleg from 2001, when the band started playing the track on their live sets. Beautiful song with seemingly bizarre but oddly touching lyrics. Another favourite of mine.

Creep - And last but not least, a suitably slacker-angsty acoustic version of the song that gave the band their break, and gave thousands of geeks (or geeks-at-heart) around the world an anthem. Enjoy.

Note: This is the actual order of the playlist; I tried numbering the tracks but they still won't be arranged in the order I want. Oh well. Have fun anyway.

Blissed Me

2005-07-20T14:21:00.000+02:00

We'll go where the crowds don't stare
And no one laughs at what we wear
The phone might ring
The rain might sting, oh, but we don't care

We'll fly over the endless ocean
We're heading for the winter sun
'Cause you and me we're just two creatures on the run
- The Tears

More than 4 weeks have passed since I came to Sweden, and nearly every moment here has been wonderful. I hope you forgive me for not posting, dear readers (all 3 of you)... I plan to give you the highlights of my time here, gradually, when I get home.

Now, as F is now home from work, we're going to get prepared for a picnic/bathing outing at a lake nearby. *big silly smile* Till later!

P/S: The Tears are indeed a fabulous band. Brett Anderson is a sexy beast (well, quite), and his/Butler's new music makes me happy. Go listen.

Be Mine

2005-07-01T08:23:00.000+02:00

From the very first moment I saw you
That's when I knew
All the dreams I held in my heart
Had suddenly come true
Knock me over stone cold sober
Not a thing I could say or do
'Cause baby when I'm walking with you now
My eyes are so wide
Like you reached right into my head
And turned on the light inside
Turning on the light
Inside my mind

Come on baby, it's all right
Sunday Monday, day or night
Written blue on white it's plain to see
Be mine, be mine!
Rainy shiny, night or day
What's the difference anyway
Honey till your heart belongs to me

If I had some influence girl
With the powers that be
I'd have them fire that arrow at you
Like they fired it right at me
Maybe when your heart and soul are burning
You might see
That everytime I'm talking with you
It's always over too soon
That everyday feels so incomplete
Till you walk into the room
Say the word now girl
I'll jump that moon

Come on baby it's OK
Rainy shiny, night or day
There's nothing in the way now
Don't you see
Be mine, be mine!
Winter summer, day or night
Centigrade or Fahrenheit
Baby, till your heart belongs to me
Be mine, be mine!
Thursday Friday, short or long
When you got a love so strong
How can it be wrong now mercy me
Be mine, be mine!
Jumpin' Jesus, holy cow!
What's the difference anyhow
Baby, till your heart belongs to me

by David Gray

At This Time Tomorrow....

2005-06-17T16:38:00.000+02:00

...I'll be in his arms again :):)

After lots of stress, mild depression (or something that felt like it), frustration and lots of other emotions, I'm really feeling calm now. Or maybe it's because I'm tired from staying up all of last night.... :P

But anyway, now all I can think about is just to be there with F.. got most things packed and will be leaving the house in about 6 hours to pick bro up and head to the airport.. :)

Hopefully I won't be bored stiff on the plane because all the things I'd planned to do to amuse myself involve sharp things (scissors and needles - tassel making/beading :P) and I don't want to risk getting thrown off the plane for attemping to make my dance costume.. hehe

*sighs* So excited! :):)

Probably won't be posting for at least 48 hours, hopefully will manage to have some pictures up too, when next I write. :) Stay tuned and wish me a smooth journey!

Big Calm

2005-06-12T21:45:00.000+02:00

I'm not very calm atm, just very tired. Things are finally getting into motion though; I've started packing a bit; there are far too many clothes I want to bring, so need to cut down on that.

Went with family to New Paris for dinner to celebrate dad's bday early. Had their fantastic fried eggplant wedges.... delicious! Also had the fabulous pork ribs (pai kwat wong), also excellent. I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone; they've got fast service, good food and reasonable prices. It's no wonder the place is always packed at dinnertime!

Have had good progress on my tassel-making. Just gonna do what I think will work for me, S is quite fickle anyway. Love the colours of the yarn I bought, so it's a pleasure to work on them.

Gotta remember to burn the music I wanna bring there into CDs. It's too bad I can't listen to mp3s on my phone during the flight. :-/ It's gonna be a long one... really can't wait to see F again.... :)

Gonna get some things done tomorrow, including buying my ticket.. hoping the travel agent guy isn't too slimy (he calls me 'darling' - I'm hoping that's just his general term for anything female).

Finally, I just have to mention this. I love cheese, and when I was in sweden last year, I found a most delicious cheese called Herrgard. It's excellent in sandwiches... yummy. :) Just remembered it somehow just now, and looked up some info on it. This is what I found:

Herrgard is a traditional, creamery, semi-hard Swedish cheese made from cow's milk. It comes in large wheels and is apparently Sweden's second most popular cheese. The name Herrgardsost means "manor house" in Swedish. It has a round shape and the smooth, pale yellow, natural rind is usually covered with yellow wax. Herrgard is very similar to Gruyere but it melts easily and keeps well - it is a much softer and more supple cheese with smaller round holes. It's also similar to Cheddar. It has a mild nuttiness and a fresh tang. It is ripened for up to seven months and has a fat content of around 45 per cent. There is also a low-fat version made with skimmed milk which has 30 per cent of fat. It is ripened for four months. The creation process for this cheese involves pasteurized milk, acid-producing bacteria and lactic bacteria (for a starter culture). After the curd is cooked, molded, pressed and salted the cheese is coated in wax and cures for 3-4 months at 60 degrees F.

(Info compiled from Cheese.com and iGourmet.com)

Yes, I am a nerd.

P/S: If you like chillout music, try dZihan & Kamien's Homebase and Alpha's Once Round Town. I recently discovered both and they have become firm chilled favourites.

P/P/S: Radiohead's live rendition of Nobody Does It Better is probably the sexiest song ever! Heard it years ago and I still find it gorgeous. :)

Not Myself

2005-06-10T19:25:00.000+02:00

I've sat here for a few minutes trying to write a blog post because I can't seem to sleep although I feel tired. I'm not sure if this is a physical, mental or emotional tiredness - I guess it's not mental, because although I'm tired, I can't even rest because my brain is overactively thinking negative thoughts.

I'm sorry for not posting for the past few weeks. I have no excuse except to plead exhaustion, which is possibly stress-related.

My last day at work at the travel mag was 6th June. It was fairly hurried and anticlimatic, but I didn't mind. Wanted to leave as quietly as possible. I went in the next day to collect my stuff and clear my ex-PC. Said farewells to about half of the people in the office, and all the ones that matter to me. I'll miss my fellow writers, ed and the usual lunch gang.

What have I been doing since then? Resting and trying to sort out stuff for my trip to Sweden. There's been more stress about that (finance- and time-related), but I think it is mostly settled now.

Should be relaxed and relieved because things are working out, but there's a mild depression hovering over me, for some odd, complex reason. Yes, I know I'm being vague.

Could it be partly (mostly) because I miss F? It'll be lovely to see his family again. I've seen so many nice visiting gifts I'd like to get for them but sadly my budget doesn't permit me to get most of the stuff.

In Siryn's bellydance news:

There will be a women-only hafla in Mont Kiara on 19th June, in the evening, with performances (bellydancing, capoeira, flamenco), dancing, dressing up, food and drink. Sadly I won't be able to make it, but if anyone reading this is interested, do contact me.
Am hoping to order and get a shipment of tribal costume supplies (shells, studs, etc) from Thailand before I fly.. can't wait to start making my costume!
Also waiting for images of bellydance coins from Mo's friend so I can decide what I'd prefer..
Bought far too much jewellery and other stuff for the dance this month due to the 9(?)-day-long Indian cultural fair in Midvalley. Got some real bargains and overpaid for some things, but all in all I'd say that there is some really great stuff there. Too bad my budget is so tight atm. :-/
Bought far too much chunky yarn from Macy's, in a riot of colours, to make tribal tassels. Completed my third tassel already; I rather like my first, ultra-fat tassel, but mom thinks it's 'huge', so I caved to pressure and made the subsequent two smaller. Maybe should ask WY and S which size is better.
I don't think it's a crime to use whatever's readily available to make a dance costume, especially if it's for tribal. For example, I'm sure the shells from shellfish that are easily found here (such as la-la, si ham, balitong, etc) would make great accents for our costumes too. Sure, the idea doesn't seem glamorous, but I think these shells are almost as nice as cowries, which are de rigeur in tribal bellydance costuming. Sigh. Maybe I'm just frustrated that it's so hard for us to get ahold of cowries atm.
Learning 2 spiffy new choreographies that make excellent, sweat-inducing, vigorous workouts. I think I was born to be a bellydancer; it never fails to make me feel good.

There. Just writing that makes me feel a little better already. Cross your fingers and toes, maybe I'll manage to muster the energy to write another post very soon.

Losing My Religion

2005-05-22T09:02:00.000+02:00

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple;

the philosophy is kindness.

- The Dalai Lama

I'm due to cover the Wesak procession this evening, starting at the Maha Vihara in Brickfields. Wesak Day is celebrated to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and passing away of Buddha 2,549(?) years ago. Officially I'm a Buddhist, but I don't call myself one because I know very little about Buddhism. Should be interesting though..

Seem to be in a haze lately, like I'm moving slowly through a vat of honey. As for job hunting, I've only applied to one place, but prospects are good after I went for the second interview. However, I should send my CV to more places.

Got to go make food now before I head out for my assignment. Although the celebration started last night with prayers that last till today, the procession itself - probably the highlight of the celebration - starts at 7pm. Apparently there'll be around 20,000 people taking part in it. Phew!

But before I close this post, this is my result from the latest quiz I found:

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.

Cultural Creative

81%

Postmodernist

69%

Romanticist

56%

Idealist

56%

Fundamentalist

44%

Existentialist

44%

Modernist

44%

Materialist

38%

What is Your World View?
created with QuizFarm.com

Turn Turn Turn

2005-05-14T04:42:00.000+02:00

Sorry for not updating for so long (again). I handed in my resignation on Tuesday (10th).... have mixed feelings about it. Rushing to go out now, so I will elaborate later.

Empty and Frantic

2005-05-05T16:36:00.000+02:00

..like a cat tied to a stick

that's driven into frozen winter shit

calm, fitter, healthier and more productive

a pig in a cage on antibiotics.

- Radiohead

I'm just feeling... numb. Just when I had set my mind to sit down and really work on my articles, I got a bomb of an email from Ed, one that left me feeling completely crushed and wanting to leave that hellhole of a place, instantly. The email was CCed to two other people. The feeling I had was akin to a kick in the stomach. I was veering between hysterical tears of humiliation and numbness. Chose the latter because weeping might've made me feel worse. Maybe I deserve it, and maybe I should see it as a challenge to improve myself and mend our relations, but I'm just too tired and demotivated. Sometimes I wish I could just quit this fucking place and start over again far away, in a place where no one knows me, where I have the task of learning new things to keep me occupied.

I was feeling so shitty when leaving the hellhole that I just couldn't summon the strength to go for class. Also feeling under the weather, so I doubt it would've done me any good to exert myself.

When I came home I threw my energy into setting up the radio blog you can now see on the right sidebar of this page. It took quite some time to get it looking like it does now, plus the conversion of file formats and uploading, but it was worth it. Love the way it looks and am happy with the sound quality; plus, it kept me occupied, at least for a while.

For A Minute There, I Lost Myself

2005-05-05T07:18:00.000+02:00

Karma police, I've given all I can, it's not enough,
I've given all I can but we're still on the payroll.
- Radiohead

I've just discovered this wonderful, wonderful radio blog thingy and have been playing with it while working on my articles. This is a productive day, like yesterday; I haven't felt this way for some time now.

Through the radio blog thingy, I've been searching and listening to tracks from Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Dead Can Dance, various Britrock bands as well as Radiohead. This is a so much better way to review
music than listening to 30-second sound clips on Amazon! I'd almost forgotten how much I love Radiohead.. sacrilege! Will be digging out their CDs when I get home. :)

Will also be setting up a radio blog on this site, so look out for it! I've got several playlists in mind already. :) Whee!

P/S: I've been thinking more and more how much I enjoy writing about and researching food. Am currently writing three articles on food for the next issue of the magazine, plus more issues of my column. Excellent. We are what we eat after all. Okie, I'll stop babbling now.

Siryn, the Book Monster

2005-05-04T13:29:00.000+02:00

The greatest university of all

is a collection of books.

- Thomas Carlyle

Went to the Times warehouse sale on Labour Day, the one that CW invited me to go to last Friday. Not that much great stuff left, but still I managed to get 13 books (which includes the Chuck Palahniuk book I asked him to get for me). I just have to post this list before things get too stale:

Invisible Monsters - Chuck Palahniuk (RM8)
Field Guide to Gestures - Nancy Armstrong & Melissa Wagner (RM8)
Things my girlfriend and I have argued about - Mil Millington (RM8)
Before You Go (planning your gapyear) - Tom Griffiths (RM8)
Eat Me - Linda Jaivin (RM8)
Intercultural Marriage - Dugan Romano (RM20)
I Married A Barbarian - Dennis Bloodworth & Liang Ching Ping (RM3)
Fitness Stretching: the pleasures of staying supple - John Jerome (RM8)
The Third Witch - Rebecca Reisert (RM8)
New Free Chocolate Sex - Keith Lowe (RM8)
Good Girl's Guide to Negotiating - Leslie Whitaker & Elizabeth Austin (RM8)
The Only Boy For Me - Gil McNeil (RM8)
Chinese Palmistry - Henning Hai Lee Yang (RM8)

I wanted to include a good line from each book here, but after a few attempts I realized that it's a bit ambitious to go through 13 books in a short space of time. Yes, there are probably bloggers out there who would do it anyway, but I'm not one of 'em. :P

I've been very restrained this time but it's because 1) I'm broke, and 2) there are about 10 bags full of books bought from previous warehouse sales that I haven't had the chance to read... Apparently, there were other Palahniuk titles, as well as Kundera! Milan Kundera books!! Arrghhh! How come I didn't come across any?? :( Need to also look out for: Anthony Bourdain, Jeffrey Eugenides, Haruki Murakami and Hunter S. Thompson books in my second round, after salary's out.

Dance, Work & Taxes

2005-04-27T22:56:00.000+02:00

The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist
is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.
-Mark Twain

On the night of the 16th, Saturday, I went to an all-women's potluck party at the yoga studio. There were about 20-30 women, students of bellydance, flamenco and yoga as well as their friends. I brought bottles of sparkling grape and apple juice, which were quickly consumed soon after opening. The party was pretty fun; we performed 3 items! I discovered that I still feel a tinge of nervousness when dancing up close to an audience, especially if they are unsmiling and look judgmental, bordering on hostile. To those reading this: if you are ever part of an audience, try smiling or at least look interested when you watch a performance; it will help the dancers put up a great performance for you!

The situation at work has been ambivalent. I feel like the black sheep of the department, and a misfit in this company. I try telling myself, I've always been a misfit, what's new? - but it gets tiring sometimes, ya know. It's still a job that I love, but other factors are making working life there nearly untenable for me. What should I do? :(

Met up with Loki for dinner today, to get my EA form from our ex-company (the EA form is an annual income statement issued by employers to employees, which forms the basis on which the individual's tax return is prepared). It was good seeing him again. He's the only ex-colleague I could relate to when I was working, and the only one I am in touch with now. Oh well. Anyway. Laid out almost all related documents needed to fill in my tax form thingy on the bed now. Can't seem to find bookshop receipts I saved for tax exemption. Gah, I hate doing my taxes. Put me off the mood to write about some other stuff I had lined up for this post. Stay tuned for the next, hopefully more upbeat update.

In the meantime, a few links for your pleasure:

Stortroopers - This reminds me of playing with paper dolls when I was a kid.

Order of the Stick - Stick figures can be surprisingly entertaining!

Kierkegaard's Narrative - A paper on a Danish philosopher's plot outline that I found while surfing for movies based on Nick Hornby's books. Among the movies listed here, I've seen High Fidelity (of course), The Truman Show and Adaptation: all good movies in my books. Strange? Or maybe not so. It's good to watch "an aimless young man obsessed with aesthetics, finally commit to a single woman". :P

Of Forwarded Questionnaires and Procrastination

2005-04-25T09:34:00.000+02:00

What is interesting about self-analysis
is that it leads nowhere - it is an art form in itself.
- Anita Brookner

Bad me. Not been updating. Lots of things to say. *spanks herself* Will try to sit down and write it all up ASAP, but in the meantime, keep yourself entertained, dear loyal readers (waves at her immense audience of, oh - two, out there) with this questionnaire thingy I was forwarded:

1. Do you have an alias? What is it?
* Siryn.

2. What are your favorite ice cream flavors?
* Chocolate, Mango, Maple Walnut (and other nutty flavours).

3. What movie/s are you waiting for?
* The next movie based on a Roald Dahl book.

4. If you wanted to be in a band, what genre of music would your band play?
* Britpop.

5. What is the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
* Congealed pig's blood. Gravlax (it's actually quite nice, but I felt funny eating it).

6. Do you want to live with your parents forever or move out?
* Move out.

7. Where is the place you want to be right now?
* With my bf.

8. What songs do you listen to feel happy?
* Jazz, chill, indie rock, britpop, bellydance music.

9. In The Lord of the Rings, who are your favorite characters?
* Eowyn, because she's not a wimp; and the Elves for their ethereality.

10. In Star Wars, who is your favorite character?
* My low level of interest in Star Wars doesn't move me to choose a favorite. Maybe Yoda.

11.What movies made you cry?
* The last one was "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".

12. Name famous people that you have a crush on:
* Jude Law. Nicole Kidman. Angelina Jolie. Sort of. I'm too old to have a crush on people I can't get to know.

13. What are your favorite drinks?
* Water, lemonade, teh see, green tea, Tetley's, Kilkenny, a good merlot.

14. Which cartoon character is your favorite?
* Daria.

16. If you could freely kill just one celebrity, who would it be?
* I don't hate any celeb enough to want to kill them.

18. In a week, how many times do you go online?
* Daily.

19. If you could be someone else for a whole day, who would it be?
* Can't really think of anyone. Maybe Rachel Brice.

20. Single or married?
* Attached.

21. Describe yourself in one word?
* Dreamy.

22. What's the first thing you do when you wake up?
* Look at the clock and panic.

23. What's the last thing you do before you go to bed?
* Talk with bf.

24. Something about you that you're proud of:
* Meticulous (in some matters).

25. Are you in love?
* Yes, very much so.

27. Are you happy?
* Mostly.

28. Why?
* Why mostly happy or why happy? If you want to know either way, ask me.

29. What is the most important material object you possess?
* Can't really say.

30. What are you listening to right now?
* The Hefner remix of Omar Faruk Tekbilek's Shashkin.

31. Complete this sentence: The world needs...
* An intelligent and enlightened race, to replace human beings.

32. What was the last thing you ate?
* Roast chicken and pork rice (See, Mo? I had pork).

33. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
* Purple.

34. What do you do during your breakfast time?
* Surf the net, check my mail, eat a bun.

39. Auto or Manual car?
* I don't drive (yet).

40. Favourite day of the week?
* Holidays, weekends and days when I go to class/perform.

41. Favourite place to be?
* With my bf.

42. Favourite sport?
* Swimming. Does dance count as a sport?

43. Siblings?
* One.

44. The best way I have to release anger:
* Stop thinking about what pissed me off and dance.

45. People I hate most:
* Are people who try to suppress me.

46. What is the best thing about being a gal/guy?
* For starters, I hate the word 'gal'. The best thing? I don't get dissed for wearing skirts.

47. What's the last thing you bought?
* Training Pants from Nike. Yes, I know they're a big bad corporation that has sweatshops in third world countries.

49. My best friends are:
* My bf, Allegra, Mo, FS. I must be a social outcast. Most of my best friends are people I met through the Internet.

51. SMS or call?
* SMS. I'm very bad at phoning people.

52. If you could turn back time, you would...
* Pay more attention to learning Mandarin and Cantonese.

Note: Some questions were deleted because they're a waste of space, or simply because I don't like them.

Stay tuned for the elusive update on Tioman and all the other exciting things that happen in my life. :P

Of Films and Links

2005-04-09T00:46:00.000+02:00

How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot!

The world forgetting, by the world forgot

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!

Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd.

- Alexander Pope

No, still haven't sat down to write about Tioman yet. In the next post, hopefully. :) Pic editing is going well though.

When F was here we watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on DVD. Finally. I've been wanting to watch this movie for a very long time. It's one of the best films I've ever seen, and I highly recommend it. However, if you're looking for a shiny happy romantic comedy, then look elsewhere. Eternal Sunshine stirs you, moves you, not just in a nice warm way but also in a painful way. It makes you fall in love, then rips your heart out. It induces introspection. It's brilliant. Watch it!

We also watched Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events in the cinema. I've only read the first, beautifully bound, book - The Bad Beginning, I believe it's called - and liked it very much. A bit expensive to buy the entire series (about RM19.90 per book), but I'll get round to it eventually. Yes, I read children's books. So what? But I digress. Back to the movie: great atmosphere, good actors, very entertaining. Dark, but with a warm heart. I liked all three main characters a lot, and the whole audience loved baby Sunny with her adorable biting habit. Those who like Tim Burton's work will probably enjoy it. A must-see. :)

Other movies seen recently were Be Cool (quite entertaining; The Rock takes on his best role ever!) and Spanglish (doesn't seem to have a very strong main point to it, but it's a warm, feel-good movie). We missed Sepet, which is too bad - I really wanted to watch for my second time, with him. That movie warrants a post of its own though, so I'll write bout it later.

Those of you who read my old blog know how much I love Skype. If you do, too, then you might be interested in this: VTech launches launches cordless phone compatible with Skype
(thanks for the link, FS!)

I'm always interested in advancements in technology that improve the quality of life (yes, there are some that, in my opinion, don't). And in light of the relatively poor water quality in KL, this article caught my eye: Community Water Works: Cheap water purification for developing nations
(link from BoingBoing)

Another link, this time on cheap, "very low-tech" ceramic water filters by a nonprofit organisation called Potters for Peace: Ceramic Water Filter Project

That's all for now, folks.

Crazy Rush

2005-04-06T05:21:00.000+02:00

Success usually comes to those
who are too busy to be looking for it.
- Henry David Thoreau

Ok, I haven't written here for more than a week again. :( Sorry bout that. I promise to try and write more. Things have been hectic, and for some reason I'm always exhausted when I get home. Falling asleep is as easy as turning off a light.

Anyway, just a few short updates:

Teaching went fairly well, though I think I spent too much time trying to make sure all the students got the movements right. Most of them were fairly or totally new to bellydance, so I felt that I should try and help them get it right from the beginning so it's easier for them when S introduces more advanced stuff. Was so engrossed in the class that I almost exceeded the time, and did only a short cool down session. Given more opportunities to teach I think I will improve though. :) And the music was really suitable, I'm glad I took the time to compile the CD. :)

The trips to and from Tioman/Mersing left much to be desired, but the island and resort were gorgeous.. just wonderful! More about that later (hopefully with photos).

F started his journey home yesterday, after some confusion about his departure date and some mad rushing around to fix things. I spent most of the day in a tearful, stressed out mood - I'm going to miss him so very much. Ed wasn't happy at all that I took emergency leave; she doesn't know what happened, but I doubt she would care even if she did. Have to leave more detailed explanations for later, got to get back to work.

A Life Less Ordinary

2005-03-25T07:22:00.000+01:00

"Live as if your were to die tomorrow.

Learn as if you were to live forever."

- Mahatma Gandhi

Okie, I've been bad again, not writing for more than a week. Anyone who knows me will understand though, I think.. am rather preoccupied atm. :) Have been showing F as much stuff as possible, got things better planned this time somehow.

Performed two shows at Mont Kiara last Saturday afternoon, one at 12:30 and the other at around 3pm. It was blisteringly hot, and the henna 'tattoos' we got before the second show started blotting and smearing onto everything as we sweated in the heat.. we suspect the henna mixture contained mostly poster colour to make it look impressively black, instantly. No wonder the henna lady (who had a booth there) offered to paint us for free..

Fortunately for us though, the henna mixture applied on our skins didn't seem to contain para-phenylenediamine (PPD), an industrial-strength chemical used to colour black hair dye and used in the textile industry to dye black clothes - definitely not meant to be applied directly on to skin or mixed with other substances. PPD is a transdermal toxin and a potential carcinogen, which can cause blistering and permanent scarring. Apparently, unscrupulous 'henna tattoo artists' add PPD to natural henna paste in order to make the tattoo stain the skin black and make it last longer. Read more about it here.

Anyway. They were very fun performances, in spite of the heat and sweat and melting tattoos. I'm glad F got a chance at last to see me dance. :)

Sunday to Tuesday we were in Penang, where I dragged him all over Georgetown. He got to see the Goddess of Mercy temple, beggars and all, as well as the Masjid Kapitan Keling. Also brought him on part of the Penang Heritage Trust's endangered trade and traditional foods trails; he got see some of these trades in action and the preparation of some foods as well. He has sampled ais tingkap (Indian sherbert) and fabulous coconut tarts, seen traditional coffee roasting (he bought like 4kgs of the stuff to bring home..) and the preparation of yau char gwai (Chinese crullers), bought handmade sandalwood incense and Him Heang tau sar pneah (bean biscuits), got driven in a trishaw (by a really old dude), got a haircut at an authentic Indian barber (complete with neck massage/twist, cologne dousing, etc - the cut made him look very German), and eaten copious amounts of famous Penang food: char kway teow, assam laksa, fruit rojak, ikan bakar, chendol and ais kacang (can't be described with a few words - check my photo albums after I update them :P). He did quite a bit of shopping in Gurney Plaza as well!

The hotel we stayed in was quite nice - a heritage hotel which was a bit away from Georgetown. Not very convenient in terms of walking distance to the places we wanted to go to, so we got into and out of town by taxi. The only thing that should be changed is the water heater in the bathroom.. there was no way to regulate the heat so it was either damn hot or cold.. the best time to bathe was late afternoon, with the heater off, because the water would have been warmed gradually by the blazing sun. All in all however I'd say we had a great time. :)

Tonight we're taking the latest bus to Mersing, where we will languish for a few hours in the extremely early a.m. in some coffee shop and the jetty before heading to our paradise chalet in Tioman by ferry/speedboat. Can't wait. :) Whee!! Hectic, but hey, we only live once. :) On a similar vein, we are only young once, and thus only have energy to rush around madly like this in our youth...

P/S: I almost forgot to mention!! S is training WY and I to be teachers! *very thrilled* We'll be replacing 2 of her basic classes next week; I'm currently compiling a list of music I want included on my CD.. :) A bit nervous about it, but I think it will be very interesting! I just hope I don't panic midway through class.. :P Stay tuned..

P/P/S: The trip to Gemia island was cancelled. Still disappointed and don't want to talk about it, but I guess if I went I wouldn't have been able to make it to S's teacher training briefing on Thurs... everything happens for a reason, it seems.

Zonked Happiness

2005-03-17T09:35:00.000+01:00

He has come, he is here, my love has come home,
The minutes are lighter than flying foam,
The hours are like dancers on gold-slippered feet,
The days are young runners naked and fleet --
For my love has returned, he is home, he is here,
In the whole world no other is dear as my dear!
- Sara Teasdale

F is here, finally.. :) *so happy* Took the ERL to meet him at KLIA, where he was already waiting after the customs check and stuff. It felt a bit surreal, but so very good to have him so near again; to touch and hold him again. It was a mixture of joy and tenderness and an inexplicable poignant aching..

I didn't sleep last night, doing a last minute whip-clean of my room, then finishing an overdue article. Got to rest an hour before heading to the airport, and as a consequence I'm now completely zonked. My eyes actually feel tired and dry. Got class tonight, and then rehearsal again for Saturday's shows..

Ed seemed on the verge of breaking down today, seems she went through an ordeal on Monday involving a mad taxi driver who kept cursing at her and threatening her, taking the wrong route and scaring her half to death. Poor her, her nerves have been on the edge for some time now, and with this added to it I fear they might snap.. :( I wish I could do more to comfort her..

On another note, Mo sent me this link last night, about sturdy shelters that can be erected quickly, and I am quite fascinated with the idea: "A pair of engineers in London have come up with a "building in a bag" -- a sack of cement-impregnated fabric. To erect the structure, all you have to do is add water to the bag and inflate it with air. Twelve hours later the Nissen-shaped shelter is dried out and ready for use."

Belly butterflies, belly dancing and much travel

2005-03-16T10:01:00.000+01:00

Oh you are coming, coming, coming,

How will hungry Time put by the hours till then?

- Sara Teasdale

It is going to be an extremely busy and exciting 3 weeks ahead. F is arriving early tomorrow morning, so I will be up at 4:30am to prepare to pick him up from the airport. I'm so thrilled and excited and relieved that he will be with me, in about 14 hours... We've been apart for only two and a half months, but it seems like forever. Yet I remember how it was, being with him, as if it were yesterday. Sounds clichéd, but the longer I am in this world, the more clichés I experience and figure that most of them stem from human instinct. Anyway.

This Saturday will be hectic, rushing from work to Mont Kiara for two shows. Going to do about 3 items each, including a revamped choreography and a simple item with zills... finally! I love them zills (or zils, zeilss, finger cymbals, whatever you call them).. just started learning them, but one day I'd like to do an item, where I dance and play my zills to live percussion, and no other music. Much fun! Also discussed with S and WY the possibility of doing the tribal style with our next costume. Seashells, flower power, hair extentions, colourful beads, silver ethnic jewellery.. gorgeous. Exciting! :)

Early Sunday morning will see F and I heading to Penang by bus. Gonna spend a few lovely days there, coming back Tuesday, then (probably, pending the boss's approval) heading to Gemia island early Wednesday for an assignment with CW! Glad I managed to talk the organizers into letting F come with me. :) On Friday night F and I will go straight from K.Terengganu to Mersing, then to spend a few leisurely days in Tioman. Not sure what we'll be doing beyond that, but it doesn't matter. What does is that we will be together. :)

The rebirth of Imaginings..

2005-03-11T22:43:00.000+01:00

Since the code and programming stuff for my first blog, Wild Imaginings, has gone wonky (main page no longer writable), and I don't know how to fix it, I've decided to give in to easy "push-button publishing" with Blogger. Hopefully this time it will go ok. My old posts will be compiled and published on my site as a manually archived html document, sometime, when I've got time to breathe.. as every day is a frenzy of activity. Stay tuned for more frequent posting in this blog (hopefully).