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moving south

lots happening. wandering around zombie like trying to sort 1000 things before the move. yes. thats right. we are relocating. in 2 weeks time. 

the house needs to be rented, its contents need to be packed into neat boxes,  a new place needs to be found, the  car needs to be sold, the plants need new (doting) owners, bank instructions to be set up and more and more

it is all a tad overwhelming.

alias grace

Went to see alias grace at KLPAC last night with ever faithful tonto.  It was opening and night and damned pack. seemed like half of aussie embassy and all of the lit types were there. Surprised that I had managed secure 2tix considering the scrum.

The reason why I got the tickets was because I have 2 copies of the book by margaret atwood but have not read either of them because they are lying under the  massive rubble of bought-but-not yet-read books by my bedside.  I bought the first copy in 1997 when it first came out (I think), started reading it then lost the book, could not justify a second purchase then gave in and bought  second in 2002 before the big move to La Malasie. When i eventually unpacked all the books from the boxes into shelves and rubbles in may last year, I found out that the earlier copy was never actually lost, just missing.  You'd have thought by now I'd have read the book. but no, shame shame shame I still havent read it yet! Must get to it pronto.

xx

Knew we were in for a treat when the protaganist appeared on stage in a vintage buttoned up long dress (flared skirt with red lining) and  started her soliloquy with "Murderess. Murder-ess. The word rustles like a tafetta skirt across the floor" in a dated oirish brogue (I know because I lived in Ireland in my previous life).

The next 100minutes danced by ever so quickly.

Monologues are so hard to do. I have seen so many fall flat on the stage and shredded to bits by critiques the next day.  This one, I am happy to report, not only held its own but  also managed to outshine all the other plays I have seen in KL since 2002. [ Yes, that good and comparable to my previous no1 monologue seen in 1996: Malone by Samuel Becket directed by someone I cannot recall, shame ].

Do go and see if you have a free evening. At RM37 its a steal. (and a half).

• Director: Laurence Stragio
• Actor: Caroline Lee
• Presented by The Instant Cafe Theatre Company & Malthouse Theatre with the support of the Australian High Commission.

the call of evita

as everyone knows, the traffic in KL is mad and bad.

one afternoon, 2 weeks ago, as the cars got stuck in gridlock and crazy drivers continue to rev their accelerator in a faux attempt to tailgate the (stationary) car in front, the traffic police showed up in their bikes, blue lights flashing.  they made cars move to the side so that outriders first, then swish cars with red plate numbers could pass through. after the diplomatic entourage got through, they jumped on their bikes and headed straight for the next intersection where the whole scene would be played again (and again).

[this reminded me of the time in my previous life as a quasi-govt official when the bus i was in (with 20 other officious officials) received a similar treatment in hua hin, thailand. i couldnt believe what was happening and asked our host whether it was really necessary.  my seat partner, a canadian (his face as red as beetroot from sheer embarassment) laughed nervously and agreed with me that it was alot of fuss over nothing whilst the aussie sitting in front of us commented that they would have got in a heck of alot of trouble if this was to happened down under. both the canadian and aussie said that the taxpayers in their country would have gone ballistic knowing that traffic was being stopped for some bereaucrats making their way to dinner!of course, nothing changed, and so we continued to be ferried from one location to the other in this way. ]

Getting back to that afternoon 2 weeks ago.  As I was walking into KLCC, I noticed the fleet of cars seen earlier on the road, parked right outside the entrance.  The building itself were full of bodyguards carrying walkie talkies and men in uniforms. Very Important People in the Building obviously said I as I headed to the concourse on the Ground Floor.

And then as I turned, I saw them.

The folks who had roads cleared for them and the po-lice in attendance by the bunch: Small elderly ladies wearing big sunnies covering half their faces, cosseted in the  Evita Peroni shop looking at accessories for their hair and tudungs.

Yes pins, bands and clips.

hahahhahahha

immediate vacancy

The Malaysian PM gets my vote this morning for issuing a sensible statement to the newspapers: "No Snooping Please". He also made me smile by appearing in a scout's uniform (seen on  page 2 of the same publication) for a (scout's?) meeting in Jakarta. How sweet. God bless his cotton socks.

Since we're on the subject of news, I thought I'd share some of the classifieds found in the dailies here. Enjoy!

the news in malaysia

And here are some news snippets for Malaysians living outside the country who are missing home and for the non Malaysians who are considering somewhere different for their next holiday destination.

• Malaysian stock markets enjoying a bull run.  Kuala Lumpur Composite Index shooting up, a first since the Asian crisis.
• The dos and donts for  the  year of the golden boar* (sic). Advice for the year: invest, welcome change and produce babies. avoid recklessness and wastefulness.
• Eastern state Terengganu enlists more voluntary mat skodengs** to spy on couples that may be having sex or about to have sex. mat skodengs to comprise of hotel employees and other places where immoral activities are likely to take place.  Perak religious authority endorses the move.
• Well known Islamic religious figure advocates the return of the chastity belt for women in Malaysia. The benefits of the belt include prevention of rape and incest by sex maniacs and provide reassurance to all husbands.
• Mat rempits*** to be given RM50 and their own motorcycles as incentive not to pimp their girlfriends.
• Prime Minister and Cabinet urge all Malaysians to make Visit Malaysia Year 2007 a success so that the country's 50th year anniversary  will be a truly, memorable one.

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*The Malaysian press ever so sensitive to the piggy phobia the malays(muslims) suffer from,  have decided to use another porcine word i.e. boar, in the hope that this may be more readily accepted by the masses. So far so good, noone has lodged a complaint on the glorification of the golden boars.

** Peeping toms hired for a fee to tip off religious authorities on carnal activities of others.   usually highly charged, surly faced pimple faced yoofs who are sometimes found hiding behind bushes (hands below the waist) leering at girls in skirts. Not to be mistaken for mat rempits*** (see below).

*** Highly charged, surly faced yoofs found on motorcycles, doing wheelies on a busy highway. Normally travel in groups and often provides pillion to exuberant girlfriends.  Sometimes engaged in gangwars or theiving, usually of the snatching variety. 

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unfortunately, the pix used above are not mine.