Lumut to me is one of those places in Malaysia which is rather well-known, yet strangely does not have a proper highway exit. You get here either by getting off the North-South Highway at Bidor, Changkat something, or Gopeng/Batu Gajah and it’s a good 1-2 hours of trunk road journey from there.

Anyway, how to get to Lumut isn’t the point of this entry. What you do once you get here is. Apart from Pulau Pangkor which I bet people here don’t go to everyday, there is well, not much.

Today a colleague and I went to Teluk Batik, a beach about 15-20 minutes from Lumut. In not so many words, it’s like Port Dickson - not as dirty, but just about as enchanting. I think the best thing about our visit was this bunch of guys who were burying two of their friends in the sand, and making a real effort of it. At the end, one guy had sand boobs with pebble nipples and another had a coconut frond in a beer bottle vase stuck by his side. Very entertaining, but rather disturbing as well to watch grown men do this with the fervour of 12-year olds. And the artistry of Martha Stewart.

So what am I doing? Actually with the lack of the very-global Astro, I am watching local channels and learning quite a bit. Like:
1. there's a whole flush of local reality programs apart from Malaysian Idol
2. there are Malaysian teenagers who actually don’t know how many years we’ve been independent
3. there's this program that talks about restoring our old cinemas which I thought nobody cared about
4. the "I'm Not Stupid" series is surprisingly funny and real for something Singaporean, and
5. that there IS an updated version of the Adabi spice mix advertisement

I have another week to go - let's see what else comes my way.

Attagirl

My favourite women in movies are Kate Hudson playing Penny Lane in Almost Famous and Zhou Xun playing Sun Na in Perhaps Love.

Why are these characters so great? Because although their lives were not perfect, they were fabulous, as my friend Jo would say. They made choices, not excuses and bit all of their own bullets. Right between the teeth, and with a smile too because as a chick lit I once read rightly pointed out - there is nothing more unattractive in this world than bitterness.


After which of course, since it’s a movie (but I do believe in life imitating art and vice-versa), they prevail. Stronger, a bit battered but so much wiser and on their way to the next discovery.

I think that’s a really good way to live.


thanks to http://penny-lane5.livejournal.com/ for the almost famous icon - nice work!

Rollercoaster

There are times in life when you fear. I don’t that think anyone has spoken about dealing with it quite as eloquently as Morrie Schwartz, so I will step aside and let him tell you himself:

By throwing yourself into these emotions, allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what fear is. Recognize its’ texture, moisture, the shiver down the back, the quick flash of heat that crosses your brain - then you are able to say, “Okay. This is fear. Step away from it. Step away.”

- adapted from Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom -

For me, fear is when the mind closes in (this usually happens when I find myself in a dentist’s chair or eye-to-eye with a doctor’s syringe). Fingertips turn cold and there are walls everywhere I turn. I want to grasp blindly.

How on earth does one step away? I think as with all other quagmires, you hang on to someone or something and heave. I think that the someone(s) are those who love you enough to somehow will things to work out, and the something is your faith and perspective.

Hold on. It will pass - like rollercoaster rides, waiting IS the worst part. Let's do a day at a time and before you know it, we'll be on the sunny-side-up again. You are one of the most fearless persons I know.

Listen

There's just something really great about American country music. The ones I like at least, and I won't pretend that I'm a seasoned listener or whatever.

Maybe it's the bang-on-the-nail lyrics, honest-to-goodness tunes, how it escapes being corny while rhyming or maybe simply because it doesn't try too hard.

Neil Young: When God Made Me. Spot on. All the right questions.

Dixie Chicks: Landslide. Brings back memories, but good ones now from where i'm looking.

Keith Urban: You'll Think of Me. Now that's a real man's breakup song. Nick Lachey, please take whatever's left of you and get some lessons.


Apologies for being technologically-challenged; would've put in some clever links for you peops to sample the music if I knew how to.