Different Strokes for Different Folks

Strange Snacks in Malaysia

Some of the best strange food I have yet to get a picture of. I don't always want to look like a tourist.
Hit snacks at the local movie theater right now? Cheesy Seafood Tofu. Seriously. You could pair it with some Banana Popcorn. MMMMMMM Good.
But I have snapped some pics:

This next one needs no explanation for Asians, but for Americans, just to be clear: Birds Nest is not a label. It's not a flavor. This is literally a cup of Birds Nest juice: juice made from birds' nests.

And for one last one that's just cute, not gross, and actually really good. In Asia they have Hello Kitty everything. EVERYTHING! And one of the best ones is this juice; it's basically Capri Sun. Delicious. They also have a Barney version.

The Past Me

A Night at the Symphony

A few weeks ago, Rose and I went out for an evening at the Singapore symphony. It was the Disney orchestra, where they have singers and a symphony performing songs from all the Disney movies, with images in the background and a cool light show. If you ever get the chance, it's totally worth it. We both loved it.

Rose in the Brig

We got stopped at immigration. Rose had been in the country 91 days, instead of the allowed 90. Now, Rose's mom is Malaysian. Rose has a right to a Long Term Social Visit Pass, or a Family Visa. When we tried to get one, they asked for a 5000 rm bribe to process the application. That's the only reason she doesn't have one in the first place. We spent an hour in the detention center.

Food Nation

Singapore's food is pricey. It's some of the most expensive in the world. It's worth it. Rose geetting down with some fresh-squeezed orange juice, miso soup, and Japanese curry chicken.

Manimals

If you want to see the worst of human behavior, go through the motorcycle line at the Singapore / Malaysia border around rush hour. It's inhuman. It was bad in 2012, and it's gotten much, much worse. It's a glimpse at humanity's taint. So, we came early and had hours to kill. We wandered around the Star Centre people watching, window shopping, and eating and drinking.

Best Mocktail Ever

At a really nice German restaurant / bar, Rose had the best mocktail ever. Muddled strawberries and herbs, and some other ingredients. It was like a a summer day in a glass.

The Past Me

The cutest goddamn thing Rose has ever said.
We're in the Star Theatre, reveling in the people-watching. Singaporeans are a boorish, poorly behaved people. Sorry if I offend anybody, but, honestly, the fans at American Baseball matches are better behaved than the audience at the Singporean Symphony. They all ignore the cell phone rule; I'd say half the audience had the phones on at least half the time. When they looked up from the phone, as often as not it was to speak loudly to their neighbors, not to watch the show.  Over half the crowd brought in food in plastic bags that they shared loudly. You can't go an hour without eating!!??!!
Anyway, while Rose and I are watching this, I notice her dress. It's one of my favorite dresses of hers. It's a long, tight, black dress with spaghetti straps and a simple red flower as the only decoration.
I'm looking at it, and I notice, there's a slit in it. She's cut a thigh-high slit in the dress.
She notices me looking at it and tries to cover it up. Too late. Busted.
When I ask her about it, she says: "Papa, you can't get mad at me. OK? You can't get mad at me, this Rose. If you want to get made at somebody, you have to get mat at the Past Me. This was the Past Rose that did this. She was in Absarokee, and she was playing Project Runway. So the Now Me didn't do this, the Past Me did this."
How do you argue with this? You don't. It's an unassailably cute argument.

Hallucinating Sober

We went to Melaka three times during this trip so far. The first two times, we both got violently ill.
Recently, I found this entry from one of those trips. I never posted it, and I can't remember why. I do remember how sick I was at the time. I've never really been sick like that, for as long as that. It was like three weeks of food poisoning. And day three or four was right around the low point, and that's when I wrote the following:


Last night I was lying in bed, wracked with literal jungle fever.
Towards what I thought was dawn, but was actually around midnight, my world started to disintegrate. I was a pool of sweat.
Draining. . . Draining. . . .
Absorbed.
Sucked into my mattress. My world became a spongy prison. Was I square? Was I fabric? Why could I not dry? Was I now water? Had I become my own sweat? Was my body even relevant anymore?
What happens if you've become your own sweat and you turn on the fan? Can you dry yourself out? Can you erase yourself? Gone into the vaporous M'sian night, to join the other spirits rising.. . .
A beacon. Something was shining to me. . . . Calling to me. . .
More water. . . 
A brother in the night. A like-minded soul.
That silly voice from Sesame Street boomed out from the bedstand:
"Con den sa tion."
I looked.
Condensation.
There it was. My water bottle.
My life vest for the evening. My small mountain biking water bottle. Filled before bed.
It called to me again:
"Condensation."

Papercraft

PaperTrend

The new trend all the kids are into over here: papercraft.
You print off these patterns off the net. Then you fold them and glue or tape them into shapes.
It's very Minecraft inspired. It's also very Asian, with an emphasis on paper folding, and small, delicate work. It'll be interesting to see if there's any of it going on in the States.

I'm a big fan. Frankly, these days, I'm a big fan of anything the kids are doing that isn't on the screen. It's real, they get into it, and it's creative: they are actually making something. Love it.

End of an Era

Rose's Tumultuous Two Terms are Terminated

Rose is done with her tenure at Austin Heights. Why? Where to start? Don't want to complain too much, but there were so many problems at that school, that even with half price it wasn't worth it.
But I will miss moments like this:

It was great being in the same building as her. That was something I really looked forward to from this trip to Malaysia. AHIS is a primary / secondary school. We had visions that Rose and I could be together until she graduated maybe even. It was a beautiful dream.
Oh well . . . . .
She did go out on top more or less. Second in her class.

We had a great time celebrating. Chapter 1 in Austin Heights. Great restaurant. We'd go there more but Rose thinks that one of the waitresses has a crush on me, and she's in protective daughter mode. Too cute.

Sundays for Teachers

Many people have a skewed view of teachers.
In Malaysia, it comes from the many government teachers who do their job poorly, and really don't merit the title of teacher. In their defense, the pay is usually around 2k rm / month, which doesn't really buy much.
In the States, it comes from a lot of the right wing talking points. The horror stories of tenured teachers.
When I was going back through the pics I've taken so far this year in Malaysia, I found this one.

This was on a Sunday morning. A stack of exams. Lessons being planned on the computer. And my butter coffee.
I also worked on Saturday. I also work most nights, late into the night. Teaching is, realistically, for the serious teachers, a 12-14 hour a day profession.