meanwhile* 

Most friends know that my cafe plan has been given the backseat due to financial constraint. Facing the crossroad, both Ir and myself decided to return to our 'glamorous' advertising jobs (hah!) and continue saving for sufficient capital. So like prodigal daughters, we did that. With weighty hesitance.

One day, while watching Music Room on CNN, I texted Ir and cheekily suggested that I wanted to migrate to Australia and do something I will not share publicly on this blog.

She return text to say that she too, was contemplating to quit and maybe go to Singapore for awhile. To work at Borders, this would be heavenly - being amidst endless rows of books and reading them for free.

We laughed at our own silliness.

On some blue moons, I'd call Ir for some catching up and amuse us both with gossips entwined with wicked humour and sarcasm. Such sharing of good humour lifts me up, especially when we are the victims of our own jokes. But at the hidden corner of our conscience, there lies an unsettled deep urge to take the plunge into unknown territory. At most times, our heads still reign over our hearts. Or is that just lame excuse for being chicken shit. Shrug.

Looking and reading around, I am equally encouraged witnessing others taking the plunge. See them zig while I am still zagging.

For starters...

1. MQ, an ex-colleague and good friend, recently opened a boutique coffee joint in Changkat Bukit Bintang called 'Ole Cafe'. A bit pricey but the Taiwanese barista, Shiong (aka Bear) can churn some mean latte. Especially the one with a dash of Bailey's. Slurp!

2. My pastor decided to heed the Lord's call and go fulltime into the ministry. Besides that, he and a fellow church mate will be buying over a cafe at IOI Mall.

3. Tracy, an ex-client and friend (and fellow church mate) decided to start small - she will be selling 'thong-sui' at the upcoming flea market at Plaza Damas. Wonderful!

4. Jo, has started her own line of t-shirt designs. For the past three weeks, she has been selling her creations at the Street Market of 1-Utama. I was with her last Saturday and we both had a jolly good time.




5. Genius, despite his terrorist idiosyncrasies, walked the narrow path of fulfilling his heart's desire albeit all odds. Now, besides songwriting and singing, and with strings of awards to his name, Genius has branched out to HTML geekdom, writing and acting. Oh, and did I mention he's now also a full-time stalker to KLites with his news and pixs everywhere. (Horror!)

[One more terrorist story here]

6. Moby (the other genius!) has opened Teany Cafe. Go check it out. Just like Moby, think the cafe idea is super cool. This is another terrorist to watch out for - he writes, he masterminds music, he draws, he's human and he's not a whale. (Corny!)

'Big Star', on the left, is one of Moby's many drawings. I loved it the second I saw it and decided to decorate it on my wallpaper. Laced with Leo Burnett's brainy quote 'When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either.' as a constant reminder of the bigger thing to come.

Hmm...one fine day, our dream will come true.
It's all in God's timing. Am sure of it.

Till then, just be nice to me and I may feed you with my evil yam cake, wicked assam laksa, devillish laksa johor (which will make the shack people cry in shame), lobak and my now-perfected banana walnut cake. Whoa!

August 30, 2004 // anjali* pranced on tip-toes all over the keyboard at 2:11 am
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lagu untuk si jantan berkokok* 

Title translation: Song for the crowing rooster*

Ketenangan malam menghantui kalbu ku
Meredah hirisan kepedihan dan kesepian di jiwa
Ku menatap gambar mu buat kali seribu
Dan sejuta kali lagi.


Aduhai Kasih! Aduhai
M. Nasir

[click here to listen to the song]

Biar malam mentertawakan aku
Biar habis badanku dimamah rindu
Namun membiarkan ingatan ku luput
Dari mengenangmu
Itu sama sekali takkan ku lakukan
Habis apa lagi yang harusku hadapi
Tuk memiliki jiwa sepertimu kasih
Dalam seribu tak bisa ku temu
Sejuta hanya satu
Mimpikah aku kali ini
Bukan semudahnya
Ku berkata cinta
Jika hati tak tersentuh
Bukan semudahnya
Melepaskan dunia
Jika jiwa mencipta tembok kepalsuan
Aduhai kasih! aduhai
Sambutlah, sambut tanganku
Tak ingin hidup terlepas dalam kekosongan
Aduhai kasih! aduhai
Sambutlah, sambut cintaku
Tak ingin terlepas tak kesampaian...
Tak ingin terlepas tak kesampaian...
Tak ingin terlepas tak kesampaian...

August 23, 2004 // anjali* pranced on tip-toes all over the keyboard at 3:17 am
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which cina are you* 

[Received this mail from several friends this week. Haa...nothing like poking fun at your own kind. Verdict: I am partial-Regular! Enjoy!]

Today, in Malaysia, there is no longer just the Chinese. Along the way, the Chinese people divided beyond dialects and religious faith. We now have denomination within the Chinese. The major three groups are Regular, Cina, and Ah Beng.

The Regular

The Regular group is the minority, making up less than 20% of the Chinese people. This group has the following characteristics:
1. Speaks English as the first language. [Guilty! Of coz occasionally I speak fluent BM and mixed-Hokkien with hometown friends.]
2. Thinks the world owes them a living. [Guilty!]
3. Uses the Internet more than the other two groups combined. [Guilty!]
4. Loves the iPod and/or IKEA. [Partial guilty.]
5. Watches one or more of the following TV series: "Sex And The City", "Friends", or "CSI." [Guilty as charged! Especially when one is totally in LUST with Warrick Brown! Drool, drool, slurp!]
6. Thinks that the Regular group is way larger than it is and makes fun of the other groups, particularly the Ah Beng group. Why? Because it's fun. [Guilty! Guilty!]

Recent studies have also shown that there is a growing splinter group within the Regular group known as the CPWTTANC group. (CPWTTANC is short for Chinese People Who Think They Are Not Chinese.) [Guilty! I hate being called 'Ah Moy'. Worse still, 'Ah Lian'.] This growing subgroup are considered elitist by some and are found making statements like "I wish I were in the U.S." or "This never happened when I was studying in Australia." [Not true. Still think KL is the best but don't mind considering KK as second home.] They also tend to speak with an unidentifiable accent. [Not true. I just laugh like Macy Gray and pretend I am Tracy Chapman when I pout my lips.] The women may also prefer to date white men from foreign countries with the excuse that local men just "don't understand me" and have the secret desire to be taken away to the U.S. to live in a sitcom. [Also not true. Don't date. Period.]

Cina

The second Chinese group, Cina make up approximately 55% of the Chinese community. (Cina is derived from the Malay word Cina which means Chinese and is pronounced "chee-na". And you will have to say it in a condescending tone for effect.) This group is considered mainstream and contribute to the numbers that reflect development in the country. They are the masses in context of the Chinese community. In other words, if you want to sell something to the masses of Chinese people, the Cina is it.

The Cina are identified by the following traits:
1. Speaks Mandarin or Cantonese as the first language.
2. Generally quiet, self-effacing, and obliging but are actually shrewd and calculative.
3. Sees Taiwan as the place to be.
4. More likely to forward chain email to people in their address book.
5. Goes to Halo Café or Wow Wow Café BY CHOICE at least three times a year.
6. Has Astro hardwired to Wah Lai Toi.
7. Calls a music video an MTV instead of music video.
8. Knows all the dim sum dishes by name.
9. Seventy percent of lighting at home generated by flourescent lights.

Ah Bengs

The last group are known as the Ah Bengs. This term was probably made up by the Regulars in the early 80s during the cultural invasion that saw the mass import of music and movies from countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and to some extent, Japan. This phenomenon saw the more open-minded and runaway members of the Cina group defect into Ah Bengs and its feminine equivalent, Ah Lian. They just took their Alan Tam and Anita Mui a little too seriously.

Perhaps the most made-fun-of group not only by its own Chinese people but by people of other races, the Ah Bengs are often seen as people living on the edge and have more flamboyant tastes.

One may identify the Ah Beng by these tell-tale signs:
1. Built-in visual self-defense mechanism that keeps people away from them. [This has nothing to do with being Ah Beng. Am just a hermit who has mastered the 'Go play far far' look.]
2. Have enough amplifiers in their one car to power speakers for six cars.
3. Hair not in their original colour. [Aiyo Guilty also woh!]
4. Volume of voice is automatically five decibels higher than everyone else.
5. Excessive use of the phrase "Kan Ni Na Bu Ciao **". (Although, to be fair, some members of the Regular group have been reported to use the phrase on a daily basis as well.)
6. Once a fan of one of the following groups: Vengaboys, Dr Bombay, Aqua, or the Cheeky Girls.
7. Their Proton car does not look like a Proton car due to modifications.
8. For the Ah Lians, have at least one bag fashioned after a furry animal complete with the head.

August 20, 2004 // anjali* pranced on tip-toes all over the keyboard at 12:35 pm
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to duran or not to duran* 

[While cleaning my saved mails yesterday, chanced upon this one. It was written on Dec 5 to some of my colleagues, asking for opinions on whether I should make my way to Singapore for the concert. A bit of nostalgia. Nice. ]

Morning people,

My dilemma for this week, and I foresee this will continue till next week too...is whether I should Duran or not. (Gee...get a life Anjali!)

Short consultations with 3 close guy friends resulted in an earlier decision to not Duran, but to spend them durian instead as consultation fees.

Gleesz:
"Please lah...Duran Duran??? You must be out of your stinking mind! Why wanna spend money on a bunch of hasbeens. The only fishing reason they're doin this concert is that they're broke and are sponging on idiotic retards like you to do some charity for them."

"Oh, lastly, a word of advice from me - please keep this news about you going to the Duran concert to yourself. There's no need to broadcast you're a hasbeen too."

Keepz:
"Have some dignity, Anjali...don't go!"

Italiano:
"Eh, I went to their concert lah back in uk. Simon can't sing live lah. No energy at all. Don't want to see u hurt yourself, babeh...Spend me some durian and I can show you a good time. Heh heh heh"

But then today, I visited the Moby website. And guess what? Moby went to see Duran! Moby, the great singer. Moby, who is definitely not a has-been. Moby, the one who won grammies. Moby, who is not a whale. Moby, aiya you get my drift lah.

So, shall i heed the advice from 3 lovable dirtbags, or should I listen to Moby?

People, help me out here. I need to keep my sanity to be able to continue my stay till January. Tolong lah adinda yang didamba kekeliruan...oh, inikah dunia? Terlalu keliru. Pusing dibuatnya...

Hey, what if I tell people I went to see Duran with Moby.
Err, maybe not.

------------

And Ben replied:

Duran Duran it is. The Fab 5 of the 80s. The ensemble who pioneered the revolution of music videos and forever set the mark for musical and visual artistry. The Band that inspired millions of wannabes who wanted to dress, look and be like Duran Duran. They were the best, destined to grace the halls of legendary artistes like the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the phenomenal ABBA. So, why die without ever having seen them live? Will life be meaningless and unlived without ever witnessing one terrific Duran Duran concert. The answer is Yes. Surely Yes.

In my immortal words (hopefully) : Indignity is the suffering of one who is viewed as ignorant and lives insulated from elements that shaped the world.

How else is one a whole person if he has seen so little? If he has not seen Duran Duran, he forever falls short of a historical event that revolutionised music when time truly mattered. Now, that is truly pitiful. So what dignity does he really have? None. Absolutely None.

Duran on!
August 18, 2004 // anjali* pranced on tip-toes all over the keyboard at 12:57 pm
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whatz your color* 

extremely.
where's the exit?

August 11, 2004 // anjali* pranced on tip-toes all over the keyboard at 12:11 am
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fetish* 

Deteriorating taste gets worse.

Most friends know I have this strange liking to people with a gap between their teeth. Absolutely sexy. Drool factor #1. Many a times, I was contemplating to get a gap myself...but then I thought, err don't think it suits me.

And if I meet a guy with such gap, character and intellectual level set aside, he would have instantaneously score 10 points in my 555 book! Easy, eh?

The most recent incident happened in February. Prior to being introduced to the MD of my biggest account, most colleagues had a gala time sharing 'horror' stories about him.

The fateful day arrived and I was prepared to pee in my pants. Upon introduction by my boss, he shook my hand and smiled. Wah liau eh, got gap woh!!! And I knew I will be fine.

Below is the list of such sexy people...(of course some are sexier than others.)

Oh yes!
Ben Harper. (Have I shared how many times I entertain the idea of feeding from the tad leftovers stuck in Ben's gap. Yum! )
Elijah Wood. (If my maternal instinct do kick in one fateful day, I would love to have a son as gorgeous as Elijah.)
Gareth Gates.
Madonna.
Jorja Fox. (of CSI fame)
Chan Kok Hoong. (an ex-colleague whom I loved to torture and still do! He likes Woody Allen too.)
Jalaluddin Hassan.
Dumb. (of Dumb & Dumber)

Oh no!
Lawrence Fishburne.
David Letterman.
Elton John. (Thanks Sita for reminding me!)
Arnold Schwarzenegger.

August 02, 2004 // anjali* pranced on tip-toes all over the keyboard at 12:15 am
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