Written by lainie at 05:57 PM on August 2, 2008 in Daily Life, Holidays / Road Trip.

Lately I've been filled with this desire to own a Mac laptop - my 3rd Dell is slowly disintegrating, the keyboard buttons are falling off, it's crashed numerous times and I think I still hold the record amongst my friends for "slowest startup time". And it'd be nice to switch to a Mac, I really really really want to. Pity how the budget doesn't always fit with the desires, but hey. I believe good things happen.

Anyway, quick update - I'm heading to Singapore from the 5th-8th, August. This trip is long overdue.

Since I've been seeing Adri here a fair bit, I'm gonna see her for once on her territory (although I'm very sure she's out of Singapore more than she's in). I'm not there for long, but will anyone like to meet up in the day? I don't have many plans, though the night for 7th will be reserved for ContraDiction, where Adri will be reading (and I really like Yi-Sheng's poetry too).

(Bastian, I just got your message - I'll get back to you soon! Hi!)

If you see a lost Malaysian Lainie walking around Singapore those days (probably carrying a beat up laptop and looking for wifi), feel free to say hi!

Only online for a bit, since I'm at Rach's place, bumming after a leisurely late lunch, while she makes a cup of teh tarik. Peace.

Btw, I met Zac, the cutest Singaporean mixologist at Velvet last night. He'll be mixing some tequila drinks at Skybar tonight, so I'll probably be heading there. Fun! Come!

Written by lainie at 10:37 PM on August 3, 2008 in Daily Life.

Us four girls last night were given a bottle of tequila. Really good tequila, but all tequila is the same the next day. It's official. Tequila gives me the worst, most lasting hangovers ever. 

Brief updates of the previous week, what I do remember (chronology probably all fucked up):

Went for lesbian event, KL Word, in Heritage Mansion. Again, sex toys were given out as quiz prizes (er, I heard about the raucous mock strap-on demonstration, which most likely isn't my kind of entertainment anyway). I didn't really take to the music, so I had spent most of the event hiding downstairs, talking with Ding, Liy, Spes (Ding brought the boy to a dyke event, so kesian - he was so bored) and a few others. I enjoy conversation more anyway.

anotherday:

Bernice and Tasnem's joint birthday dinner celebration by Bernard, before he heads off to UK. It was nice to revisit the house I stayed in for two months, one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived in. The conversation that night was very interesting, though one aspect that struck me was how they think people from the Kinta Valley - a lot of them got on a plane right after secondary school, and started an interesting life in all corners of the world, doing really well at whatever they do.

The cabbie who brought me there had an interesting name - Assalamu'laikum bin Bachok. The stories that go behind it are quite cool too.

anotherday:

Went to Bar Savanh Too at Mont Kiara for a jiwang Indon rock concert with Smile and Adam. I'd thought it'd be some melayu rocker scene, but it turned out to be a very yuppie crowd (to be fair, I found out the venue very late).

Aku bahagia, bahagiaaa. Aku bahagiaaa.

Perbedaan was my favourite song that night (lead singer has cute dimples), but the recorded version is so not my thing. Starting 2:45 on this youtube video, that was the part I really liked that night (imagine it a lot more energetic, louder, rockier - and more frequent throughout the song).

anotherday:

Shopping at Ikea with Nicholas. Dinner at La Yosh Japanese Western restaurant in Plaza Damas with Rach, followed by free drinks at Ceylon bar, because Duncan, the owner there, rocks. Then it was over to Loft for the Converse event. Kelvin got me in for free, bless the boy, but I couldn't stay in there for long, too smoky, crowded and the music wasn't to my taste.

My first hint should have been all my usual TAG friends drinking at Terrace Bar instead of going up to partay at Loft. Stayed a few minutes before accepting that my long-yearned for TAG night wasn't going to happen, and headed back to Terrace Bar.

Then Adam got me into Velvet under his guestlist, which was better. I got groped by Kevin so much -_-". But it was mutual . We're like drunk, incestuous gay cousins who can't keep our hands off each other (all the while remarking "wow, I don't feel a thing! This so doesn't do it for me").

But yeah. TAG didn't happen cause of Converse, and I'm sorely disappointed. I wonder when it'll resume, cause the next day we heard Kelvin has dengue, poor guy. And Xu has dengue too. So how? That's two of the TAG djs :/. Hope they get well soon..

yesterday:

Skybar. Mixologist dude got the four of us (Juria, Annie, Rach and I) a botte of very spicy tequila. The idea of undignified tottering about on the wooden planks beside the pool discourages most from peeing.

Club hopped to Frangipani's, which was a bit of a meat market and filled with French prats delighted at behaving like....French prats. That was a weird night. Too many things happened.

After Frangi's closed, briefly went to say hi to Bo at the new place Cloth & Clef,  where the party continues late, and some superangry doorbitch was shouting at people who wanted to return to the club once they''d exited. I'd be highly strung too if I had his job. Everyone tension when the cops went by cause they opened the party up till late.

Convinced some dudes we were from the seedy side of Kelantan.

today:

Nursing hangover. Nasi kandar lunch felt too heavy. Wondermilk cafe coffee and cupcakes tasted plainer than usual. Went to friend's place where her very cute 2 year old son made me think of midgets on crack, spouting gibberish and running around in a large, invisible hamster wheel with obvious glee (must be all that crack).

Don't get me wrong, the kid is cute - but the fear of motherhood is strong in me.

Drawing vector designs for work, kicking myself that I still haven't bought a mouse.

Written by lainie at 01:11 AM on August 11, 2008 in Daily Life.

I arrived here from Singapore some days ago, but only returned to my bedroom a few hours back. My mobile phone battery is resuscitated, internet withdrawal is dealt with, and all that remains is to now sleep and let my body recover.

What can I say? I came back on a Friday night and the weekend bodyslammed into me. I'll have photos, and stories of Singapore, soon.

Meanwhile, as intermission, meet a Msian delicacy I call "Burger on Crack":

Click for the full glory of (beef) bacon glisten, sauteed mushrooms, caramelised onions, cheddar cheese, lettuce, telur goreng and beef patty (warning: staring at the larger sized photo will probably add 2cm to your thighs, and cause burger cravings at all inconvenient hours).

Happy Monday, people.

[ This is a mamak stall burger from Rasta in Taman Tun - personally, I found the thick slices of cheddar cheese inside a bit too much for me, had trouble finishing this (though I did) ]

Written by lainie at 05:47 AM on August 13, 2008 in Friends, Holidays / Road Trip.

I was awakened at dawn with a choice - bring my laptop, or my clothes, to Singapore.  Blissfully sleeping through three alarm clocks without packing the night before can do that to a person - luckily Kat gave me that wake-up call. I decided the need for fresh underwear trumped that of hunting for wifi while on holiday.

At least, I knew where my passport was this time around (I'd been unwittingly using it as a coffee mug coaster at  my workstation for a while).

....Bus made a pit stop more than halfway through the journey, and it's still hours before I usually wake up.

I arrived in Singapore on their national day. The flag was everywhere, and the buildings had giant numbers affixed to the top for easy identification. A side of me marvelled at how organised it was - the country seemed like a giant shopping mall, with each person and building individually barcoded. Set my imagination on fire wondering how I 'd interpret designing the signages.

This was also the first time I was using the public transport. My memory of travelling within Singapore is a car driven by a relative who explained the box on the dashboard taxed the distance he drove (insert obligatory "Singapore is a fine country" joke here).

I've been to Singapore numerous times, few years ago with family, and all I ever saw was the likes of Muji stationery I love, Takashimaya and Borders bookstore. My teenage impression was that this was all there was to Singapore. Shopping malls, clean streets, well maintained people, money talks.

Kat handed me an EZlink card, and I took my first MRT ride to Orchard. Welcome to normal life in Singapore, Lainie.

My first meal was lunch with Niki and Kat - duck rice at Food Junction. I had a craving for duck. Actually, I can't explain it, but wherever I go, the first thing I want to know is how their duck rice tastes. This one was okay, but I was hungry and happy to be in Singapore after the long bus ride.

Kat insisted we get our caffeine fix from Coffeebean, so we hung out at Orchard, and the people there decked out in bling and carrying a few shopping bags from Prada did little to change my impression of Singapore.

Kat could tell Orchard wasn't my thing, so when her sister arrived, we headed to Bugis Street, where I saw not everyone in Singapore wears designer labels (I mean, I know this, but it's hard to reconcile the country from my memory with the Singaporeans I'm friends with).

I liked Bugis Street. This god of fortune always reminds me of my grandfather - they look so alike.

I made a pit stop at a temple, got some joss sticks and prayed a bit. I'm atheist (and contentedly so), but put me in any place of worship and I'd give it a shot if it's allowed. Partially out of habit, partially because if I don't understand why some people do the things they do I sometimes try it out first.

Sim Lim Square was a multi-storey tech heaven. A lot more iPhone accessories here, and far less claustrophobic compared to Low Yat. I'm instinctual - since I get no clear shopping vibe from this place, I'd refrain from making major purchases unless I bring someone familiar with the shopkeepers here. Still, it's ogle-heaven, and enough variety for small gadgets.

Then it was off to Bugis Street Market (brought me back to London's Covent Garden market for a moment).

Bought some "shuin phun zhi" ("abacus" yam balls, fried with shallots, garlic and mushrooms). I liked it.

I parted way with Kat and headed to Tiong Nam area, to find June and Sylvia's place. June's a foodie friend (food writer too), and when foodies offer dinner at their place, nev-ahhh say no!

I got out at the station, and asked for directions. Everyone was so friendly, but no one knew the place I wantd to get to, so I aimlessly walked off, with only the name of the street. Turns out my feet made a beeline to their home, a street of pre-war shophouses with art deco (and slight Bauhaus influences?) architecture. I got there so early I arrived before they did, because I'd set aside time to get lost.

I just started relaxing after exploring the buildings and checking out the architecture when June poked her head out back where I was. She'd found a backpack outside her frontdoor, and figured it had to be me.

(spot teh Lainie!)

Made it inside! It's so nice in there. June told me it had quite a lot of men staying nearby with fabulous apartments, and I can totally picture it. Dinner was to be, as June put it, "innovative Japanese".

The first serving of udon. Mushrooms, pork belly, duck confit oil, garlic and more ingredients. Let's just say it was very yum (at least until June offers illumination via GTalk).

[ June: "home made duck confit. garlic confit. chives. leek. shiitake" ]

Please pay special attention to the eggs, as my only contribution to the making of this dinner (shelling them ). Beef skewers and vegetables grilled with pork lard.  Came with a dark sauce.

I just told June I'd move to Singapore for her wine collection (and company ).

Sylvia baked sticky date pudding served with ice cream, le yum. I'm usually not a dessert person, but I liked this so much. I think I'm a sticky date pudding convert now.

June brought out dessert wine - Concha Y Toro Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2001. Massive love at first sip, like Sauvignon Blanc turning into a light honey ice wine. I was tempted to go lick by lick.

June, June, June! She's the one who suggested I shell the eggs.

Sylvia, the chef for the night. She remarked we should have gotten more eggs because I was....er....a tad indelicate with them till I got used to it, them fiddly, slippery buggers. Okay, I'll stop about the eggs. Syl's with Fridae.com, and reminded me I owe them an article . Her name preceded her, I used to see Syl's byline in my Fridae email subscriptions (first gay personals website I ever joined), and hear about her long before we met.

Niki, who came from work to meet us - she's probably smiling here because she's looking at the sticky date pudding .

Late night conversation, I think I kept them up way later than they're accustomed to. I asked them to bring me for a lesbian event that would be happening the day after.

Sylvia: What are you doing tomorrow?

Lainie: Art galleries, meeting Adri for dinner? Day after, meeting some Sayoni people for lunch then ContraDiction.

Sylvia: Quite a power trip you're making huh?

Lainie: -_-" Not on purpose

[ Sayoni is an online space for Asian queer women, based in Singapore ]

A few days ago, I'd been added to an ongoing email exchange where fellow writer from Tilted World, Gabrielle, had told the Sayoni people she wouldn't be in Singapore for IndigNation (Singapore's 4th annual pride season), but I would be, which is how I ended up with a lunch appointment with them. Is this the gayest part of the blog entry, or what?

June and Sylvia walked us back because Niki stayed close to them. Nice walk. This turned out to be the best meal I had in Singapore, but that's really no surprise, twas awesome!

Thought it apt that we got semi-lost in a maze of HDB flats looking for hers on Singapore's national day .

And that was how the first day went. More to come, my schedule was pretty full there, so I'm not even close to halfway done.

Written by lainie at 10:15 PM on August 13, 2008 in Friends, Holidays / Road Trip.

Us Malaysians are used to complaining about our public transportation. So when I was in Singapore, armed with my EZLink card (a credit card for the public transportation system*), and a borrowed mapbook I didn't understand, I marvelled at the convenience of it all.

*I won't even use a Touch N' Go card here because I hate the idea of my movements being tracked, but I guess this is me on holiday

I barely lost my way in Singapore, and almost felt like I had a normal sense of direction.

I'm a graphic designer, so when I travel, I notice signages. I like Singapore's, it's the implementation of clean, thoughful designs that work in other countries too (why, Malaysia, whyyyy??).

Just simple things, like slanting the bus stop seats to face the direction of traffic, to easily see the bus coming. Efficient bus routes. Less adverts, more information panels. Diagrammatic map ala Harry Beck, outside every MRT station.

Infrastructure seemed quite friendly overall for those reliant on wheelchairs (not sure about access to buses, and that being said, the tactile ground surface indicators (TGSIs) for the blind didn't seem efficient enough - I say all this as a passing observation. I'm curious enough to keep a look out next time. hmmmm).

I love how warm the people in Singapore have been to me. Just a stranger, with a map book and tourist camera. No idea how to get where I'm going. I mean, no one needed to take the time, but everyone did.

I sound so kumbayah. Fuck it. Everyone's been great, and it really added to the visit.

Spot teh Lainie!

The bus drivers were really helpful (though you should have seen the eye I got when I asked for an illegal stop). Everyone I approached for directions took the time (even ignoring the green pedestrain light) to look at my mapbook, occasionally pointing out shorter routes, or suggesting more venues to visit.

Kat says it helps that I have this face that makes people want to give me help, like a perpetually lost puppy or something.

Anyway, enough about the people I harassed there. I'd meant to wake up early, but only made it in time for lunch. Maklumlah, not a morning person.

First I headed to Cecil St, and made my way into Bangkok Bank. I kinda.....let myself into the Asia City publishing company's office, which is located there. I'd been getting their issues in the mail, it's like a weekly KLUE issue for Singapore, so I paid it a brief visit (but everyone was out for lunch, so :/).

Niki was there with me, and as we took the lift back down.

Niki: With that camera, you look like such a tourist.

Lainie: Hobbyist...*purrs and strokes camera*

This tall Caucasian dude in the lift whom I'd said hi to earlier snickered, and I found out muuuch later he's one of the owners of the magazine. Quite a hands-on guy huh? .

Lunched at Moi Lum a little Cantonese restaurant near Red Dot Design Museum. I ordered the set lunch, which comes with the option of drink or soup of the day.

Lainie: What's the soup of the day?

Waiter: You cannot decide. It can be anything. It can be chicken, vegetable, gourd blablabla.

Lainie: Yes, but I asked what's the soup of the day?

Waiter: No! You cannot choose! It can be anything. Anything!

Lainie: No. I mean, what is the soup - TODAY?

Waiter: You cannot decide. It can be vegetable, it can be-

Lainie: (cuts him off) Okay. I'll take the soup. Whatever it is.

Irked, I gave him my best "I'm talking to an idiot, and just to be clear, that idiot is you" look.

He's right though, this could be anything with a lot of gourd . To be fair, it was alright, though I was surprised by the corn I found.

The texture for the black pepper venison was done nicely, just tender. Rice was dry, so guess what I used most of the soup for.

 Niki had lemon chicken rice.

After that, headed to the red dot design museum, because I'd heard that red dot award winning designs are exhibited here, but alas. No exhibition when I went. Oh well. Niki saw I was a bit bummed out, so she took me to her favourite coffee place nearby:

Syed Mohamed Drinks - A line waiting for their coffee, while other coffee stalls nearby were largely ignored.

Chit-chatted with the dude, while a more stoic man made my iced coffee. Friendly chap, I can see why people like buying coffee from him. And the $0.80 price tag can't hurt either. Had caffeine, was happy.

Walked to the historic site that is Ann Siang Hill, with iced drink in hand.

I liked how old school everything looked, restored so well! I'm a tourist, I'm supposed to love shit like that . Those lamenting conservation and total disregard for the facades of our post-colonial builings back in KL (signboards splashed over all the architectural details) can come here and pretend they're in a nice part of KL . Especially the purists who cringe over how unrecognisable Asian Heritage Row has become.

Ann Siang Hill turned out to be one of my fave places in Singapore, and this lovely little place is the reason:

BooksActually, a bookstore built out of love (I'm totally projecting here, but you can feel it - this place was made to quietly smile and say "Yes, we love books too"). And, I loved the "cat viewing gallery"! The bookstore's cat is kept behind glass doors, surrounded by large cat post, pillows and whatnot. I could hang out here all day.

I loved the book selection, the stationery (found Grid-it! notepads on sale, which I planned to make my first purchase this coming weekend, but my plans for Singapore got cancelled), the typewriters along the bottom of the bookshelves and:

cameras lining the top! I LIKE! Any owner of a bookstore with so many medium format cameras s/he can afford to decorate with them, I like. This was in a corner of the bookstore, and I surprised myself by being very tempted to grab one and run like hell. I've only ever handled Bernice's Rolleiflex, and I likey..

Outside Books Actually. I was gonna do a "spot teh Lainie!" but macam sial je...so obvious.

 After that, we parted ways and I headed to Clarke Quay. Along the way, I saw this strange, very colourful bridge. It bordered more on toxic-pop than happy colours.

I was in the area specifically to visit Singapore Tyler Print Institute.

Look how much space they have... Nice place for exhibitions. They were showing Henri Matisse's works from 1917-1952. It was mostly an exhibition of his prints, with 3 drawings and a painting.

1917 marks his work after the Fauvist movement, and I'm not passionate about his works, much less most of the later ones, so it was more...educational...than inspiring.I liked some of the litography works, studies of the female form. Etchings, drypoint, not so much my thing. Print-wise, I've always had more of a thing for litography.

Still, it was free, I liked the space, and even if I'm not great at appreciating Matisse, I'm glad I saw the works..

I only saw this after I'd taken photographs, but to be fair, I'm also the kind of person who'd take photos of "No Photography" signs. Stayed about half an hour then walked around Clarke Quay a bit.

Comparisons to the unsightly additions at Petaling Street - somewhat inevitable.

Boats!

Mosaic along the MRT station, because I'm off to the Singapore Art Museum.

One of the few places that took me longer to find (strangely enough, the art students I stopped had no idea where the art museum was, and it turned out to be just literally around the corner).

Iron cast sculpture that greeted me outside.

Pretty lights art installation

 more sculptures inside.

I spent a long time in this museum, because I really liked it. I'm very keen on returning to this place for my next trip.

Niki called to say she was done with work. Somewhat reluctantly, I said goodbye the Singapore Art Museum. At least I was hungry  by then.

Dinner was pork soup and dry noodles - looked better than it tasted After a quick dinner, we were off to our next destination:

No, I didn't get a tattoo... Niki did, two small ones. Met up with Paradoxx, a friend from secondary school days who wishes I'd burn those old photos of him. Ah, the nineties

Kim, the tatt artist, prepping. She's Johorian.

I love the look of uncertainty and fear most girls have before their first tattoo. After that, they tend to realise tatts hurt far less than legends claim, and the fun is gone.

Ahhhh...the sound of tattoos being done.

Tadah! behind the ear and

on her wrist.

Followed by movie and supper

Day 2 photodiary, over.

Written by lainie at 09:54 PM on August 17, 2008 in Daily Life.

I know I'm not done with blogging about Singapore, much less about what I've been up to more recently - especially since I jumped off the bus that night, immediately got into a cab for an art exhibition, followed by a disruptive performance art event, and a night of drinking / clubbing / supper in KL. And that was just the one day I came back, I'm very aware of all the things I've not updated about but..........

....My life is moving faster than I can blog about it . Niki was down for the weekend to visit, and I think I dealt with that beef rendang craving of hers quite well.

Just sent her off on a bus back to Singapore (running down the bus platform was involved), and now I'm home because it's my turn to pack. I'm of to Sarawak for about a week. Landing in Sibu, and will be taking hours of potentially precarious boat rides (praying for clear skies).

I have been warned not to pet any logs floating upstream, or crocodiles. The faith people have in me, I tell you. I'm happy.

Love y'all. Have some good days, I'll catch ya guys when I'm back! I leave Nessa in charge of this blog in my absence

Written by lainie at 05:59 PM on August 22, 2008 in College, Friends.

I received this message in my phone last night, in Sarawak:

"Mr. Teh Leong Kwee, lecturer from Cenfad, has passed away"

My condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, students, peers and everyone who'll feel his loss.

I could not attend his wake as it was in Nilai, and I remained a plane ride away. All I could do was forward the message to some of my ex-classmates from Cenfad that Mr Teh had been taken away by cancer, in case they could attend.

Mr Teh was one of the first lecturers I hung out with, in the college canteen. I think he liked the rebels in college more - he was fun to hang out with, and I always suspected he was considered quite the rascal himself. The first thing he taught us about design was the grid. He spent many classes after that trying to get us to learn the fun in stretching or breaking the very rules he taught us.

He experimented in fine arts, and his paintings decorated his office in college - one was a study into lines, grids, and consequently, breaking free from the application of society's rubric lines and entrapments on the self (that is what I recall, at any rate). Another was a white-on-white painting he created by driving over a canvas.

Mr Teh taught many classes in Cenfad, but as a lecturer will chiefly be remembered for handling the typography classes, opening up his folder of sketches and previous work, aweing students who would eventually realise "shit, he means for us to do the same".

He made us draw out letters from different typefaces, scrunched his eyes and spotted leading mistakes from afar, accurately critiqued our work while holding them upside down, and laughed at how crappy our work were before encouraging us to the better typography work we eventually produced.

He used to see me as the only Cenfad student regularly attending all the art events and exhibitions, both of us conspicuously red-faced if there was alcohol available. We talked about how art can be viewed or created. I still remember his painting of wooden homes with a bright moon, at the (now defunct) Sputnik Art Gallery.

If I am not mistaken, Mr Teh had students in many art colleges - Malaysian Institute of Art, One Academy and Cenfad were but a few. He certainly had many in Cenfad. He must have taught a lot of students how to break out of the grid. I had left Cenfad wishing I'd learned more from him.

There are many rules in life - the most constant one is that individual life eventually ends. Now, maybe he's far away, broken free from where we are. Maybe there's a bright moon shining there. If there is an afterlife, I'd like to think he's free and happy.

To the man who trained my eye to the differences between the likes of Bodoni and Georgia, Gill Sans and Helvetica. To the man who grinned when I sheepishly said I'd not finished my assignments, when he'd seen me drinking at Annexe the night before. To the man who taught, and inspired many: I know my exclassmates and I will miss you, and we are but a sliver of the numbers. Rest in peace, and I'll look you up if things happen that way in the afterlife.

[ Why is it that when people pass away, I always hear how their laughter went? Gnite, Mr Teh - and thank you ]

Written by lainie at 05:03 AM on August 24, 2008 in Friends, Holidays / Road Trip, Arty stuff.

Pimping website: If you have any interest in Malaysian issues, you should know of The Nut Graph by now. It's not so much a news site, as one that sums up the important issues - regardless of whether they make headlines in newspapers. I didn't dare to hope it was true when I read their editorial policy, which claims many things I would like to see in the media, but it'd be really really cool if they stick to it.

There's much to explore in the website, and I'm currently checking out Danny Lim's photos of Permatang Pauh. He's a friend, but he was one of my favourite photographers way before I met him, and still is. You have to check out photo #9: PKR built a bloody cannon, cracked me up.

My third day in Singapore began with meeting the Sayoni people - except I didn't know where, when, or who. I had sheepishly told June and Sylvia I only had Kelly's first name.

Fortunately, some circles being small as they are, I asked Kat to get it for me, and within a short time, I had both Kelly's old and current mobile number keyed into mine. KL, Singapore, pffft. Barely any distance within the social circles.

Met Anj and Kelly of Sayoni. Kat took the pic for me. Looks like I'll be meeting them soon for Seksualiti Merdeka weekend in Annexe soon.

Kelly invited me to Le Chasseur, a Chinese restaurant with a French name (sounds like Le Charsiew to me, so hey!). Made a mental note that this place claims to serve food without MSG - it'll come in very handy for some people I know.

They wanted to take me to a vegetarian restaurant but settled for this, in case I returned with reports of evil vegetarian Singaporeans. I quite liked the claypot chicken rice here, and was surprised to hear from Anj and Kelly that there's an increasing trend of people not eating pork because of the way the meat tastes. I don't identify.

I actually like vegetarian food (and am supplied with many bad lesbian vagitarian jokes, har har har), so I told them it's okay to go to one next time. Kelly's a Singaporean foodie, and looked a bit mortified when I told her I'd been eating at convenient places, which usually happen to be a food court . Sorryla, blur Malaysian in your territory.

I had once remarked to Kat I seldom have photos of myself on holidays, and woah. Kat's been taking pics of me, I've never had these many photos of myself. We were walking towards the MRT station to meet Adri. Adri gave me directions, and obviously I screwed up.

Kat and I got out at the wrong stop and had to take the MRT twice. Kat not happy with Lainie.

Me, walking with Adri around Singapore's Little India. If you read her blog, you'll know Adri's heart is Indian (or in the hands of a certain travelling girl, depending how you look at it), so it's no surprise than when she's in Singapore, she can be found in Little India.

At a mamak with Adri, Niki and Kat. It felt like I was in a part of Brickfields where all the people were too posh to drive local cars.

Tea break at a secret Nepali restaurant. It was nice to see a more underground side of Singapore (no subway jokes, please). This is a place where Nepalese people can have some homecooked food. No license = can't make further details available, sorry. As Adri put it, don't reckon the Nepalese people will be too pleased if they lost their lil home away from home, much less because of some blogger.

After hanging out at Little India, Adri had to go for soundcheck at 72-13 for her reading later at one of queer festival Indignation's events, ContraDiction IV.

The reading had refreshments provided, with names like cut cock (roast chicken), cherries (pop!), S&Ms (Skittles and M&Ms). Singaporeans know spreads can be a whole lotta fun, I see .

 After her soundcheck we went for happy hour at Brussel Sprouts.

Kat took this photo.

 And this one. That could be Adri's "scheming world domination" look.

 Niki's happiest when there's dessert in front of her.

 Back to Indignation. In the time we took to drink a beer, the place had filled up. So many people! Response for reading / queer events is really good in Singapore.

I'd arrived just in time to catch Yi-Sheng's performance, followed by him stripping, and putting on cone bra / horns. Well, looks like the night was off to quite a start at least.

 Interpretive dance with poetry.

Iris Judotter performing some songs. I like her voice. People were still coming in at this point. Somewhere along the lines I told my friend that "If one more girl with strange hair, boybeater top, big belt and boots walks in, this place will spontaneously combust".

Yes, more did come in dressed in the International Dyke Uniform, and no spontaneous combustions were noticed - except in my head.

Chris Ho read "Sex by Nationality". Singaporeans have to submit what they're reading to be approved by the government before they can perform in public (somewhat like our theatre scene - scripts have to be approved). If I recall correctly, he said he was going to show with his reading that the gov's getting more open minded, because they approved his provocative piece.

It was about this Borneo boy he shagged, erections and how jungle boys are so much better than Singaporean boys. I thought it was entertaining. He ended with a joke: He is not gay. Not at all. He only pretends to be gay to get into reading fiction like this.

While it seems like an elbow-nudge joke everyone should understand, I couldn't help but feel it took away from his proclamations. He's right though, I concur Borneo boys are generally cuter than Semenanjung boys (and I include Singapore in this generalisation).

Adri read next. It's like she had her personal fanclub there, what with the cheering like a mini stadium for her. She read "Why I am Still a Feminist". I must have had a look on my face when she told me earlier (she blogged that I rolled my eyes). She asked if that was a dyke thing to do, and I said it was sooooo dyke. Then she read a poem (also in her blog). I liked hers.

I also liked the last reading, after Adri's. A bitchy playful script of four men quoting Sex and The City while looking for real love. Entertaining, the way four catty people can be.

The complete list of people who read (unlikely you will ever see this in KL, I reckon):

[ Curated by Jasmine Seah and Ng Yi-Sheng ]

1. Ng Yi-Sheng - Invocation
2. Teng Qian Xi, Standing Figure, Crossings at the Green Man, The
Evolution of Language
3. Zhuang Yisa, Dog Lovers, the Tough Guys, I Sit to Write This Letter of Hurt
Pi: Chrystal Yang - My Definition, Ink on Skin, In Response to the Amended
4. Yen Feng and Chan Sze-Wei - Poem beginning with a line by a dying
man, Out of our eyes like Butterflies, Fragile grave
5. Iris Judotter (first sequence)
6. Dominic Chua - Three Sundays On, Psalm Concerning the Heartland
7. Austin Zeng - Silence
8. Nicholas Deroose- The Singaporean Dream
9. Koh Jee Leong - Head, Roof of the Mouth, Jaws and the Jaw-hinges,
Temples, Forehead, Chin, The Finger-Nails
10. Jasmine Seah - I'm Not A Very Good Gay, In the City
11. Iris Judotter (second sequence)
12. Lee Yew Leong - Key West, 2008, Knowledge Can Change Your Fate
13. Chris Ho - Sex By Nationality
14. Adrianna Tan - Why I Am Still A Feminist
15. Jacke Chye - The Pot Luck Club

There were some good readings there tonight, though I have to say that overall it came out average to me. It might be weird to have soooo many readings, and like them all, but I've attended excellent readings by Singaporeans in KL, which raised my expectations. Perhaps not the fairest basis for comparison.

After the readings, June and Sylvia brought me to the lesbian clubbing night they promised me - it was lesbian night at a club called Play. They were giving away prizes when I arrived, some food coupons or equivalent gift of non-interest to me. The place was packed! Then the prize-giving was over, the emcee was done yellin into the mic, the international guest dj lady started spinning, the music was pumping annnnnnnnnnd.......Zip.

Nothing happened.

It. Was. So. Weird. Okay.

A club packed with people dressed all trendy, buying booze and doing nothing. I have never been this tempted to call a whole group of people posers, simply because they hardly seemed to be doing anything else. No wait. There were about 10-15 people on the dancefloor, but don't Singaporean lesbians dance for any reason beyond showing off the girl they're with?

Was I at the wrong place to have some fun? Singaporeans don't really party? Lesbians don't really party? I am too used to the crazy wankers in Loft? I left before the club shut, usually a good way to gauge that I wasn't totally feeling the place. Still, kudos to the Singaporean scene for the excellent turn out, but not happening enough on the fun factor the night I went.

Overall, quite an interesting day. A look at their arts scene, a taste of Singaporean clubbing scene, meeting the Sayoni people, a secret Nepali restaurant and cheap booze during happy hour at a Belgian(?) restaurant, meeting many lesbians...Was pretty tired by the time I hit the bed.

Met Niki the next day over her lunch break - she wanted to take me to a restaurant called Inle Myanmar Restaurant (liked the tamarind prawns!). She took some photos of me, but I feel strange posting up more photos of myself (despite the many usericons I use on this blog), and you guys already know what I look like, kan?

Saw this guy trying to win fluffy soft toys from these machines, which instantly made him cuter. Er. This should not be mistaken for me finding him attractive or shaggable.

Singapore has Hooters? I know they have a "family-friendly" version of the restaurant, which seems relatively pointless to me, but the magazine?

I've not read porn mags much, except the stash I found at home when I was a kid, left behind by the previous owner. That, and flipping through magazines in Australia as a young teenager, while my parents had lunch and ignored what they knew I was up to. Not my thing at all, porn magazines.

After lunch at Inle, Niki wanted me to try some wonderful dessert at Zambuca, an Italian restaurant in Pan Pacific Hotel (joined to the mall Inle was in). The staff at Zambuca were very accomodating, even offering to take a photo of Niki and I for us.

I had these chocolate dumplings. I liked them, but I feel kinda bad that I can't remember what they were called .

This is what Niki had insisted we come for. Warm chocolate cake with (honey?) ice cream. She insisted I take the first bite, but I'm so alien to desserts I promptly made a much bigger mess than I foresaw as possible with cake and spoon.

And this is why she wanted me to take the first bite - a surprise of melting chocolate inside the cake! Big sacrifice for Niki, really.I sent a picture of this dessert to Smile after I came back to KL and she nearly died.

This is my last food outing in Singapore before jumping onto a bus - not bad huh? Niki is new to Singapore, but she knows where to get her desserts. I suspect the next time I'm back in Singapore, her list of places to go for sweet things will have lengthened .

Niki had to head back to the office, so she dropped me off with my friends. I had a bit of time to kill before heading to the bus station, and Kat was supposed to meet us.

I realise pics in this post of Adri don't really show her face. This is to confirm that she does have one / I do not slash her face out of pictures in my spare time.....(turns away to hide blank psychotic look). I'm just kidding. I do public psychoness.

[ Was supposed to meet her last night at a party, but she wasn't feeling well ]

Now, as far as I know, Adri is usually late (or near late) for her buses, trains, planes - whatever she has a ticket for. I know this.

So why the heck we made her timekeeper for when I would leave for the bus station, I'm not sure, but the obvious happened - I ended up running up Novena's stairs, answering Kat's panicky phonecall warning me the bus is disembarking, pounding my way towards the bus stop through the crowd of shoppers, Adri running ahead and navigating.

I made it.

I liked how I went through bag-check in Singapore customs, but in KL...There were two lines to go through.

1) Duty to declare

2) No duty to declare

We casually walked by because no personnel was there to give a shit. I guess this is a regular occurence since some poeple didn't even bother to bring their luggage for inspection.

Have you heard that joke about Mas Selamat, the most-wanted terrorist fugitive who escaped from detention in Singapore? His wanted posters are everywhere in Singapore.

Mas Selamat is in Malaysia. Because when you enter Malaysia, it says Selamat Datang.

They should hang that in the Malaysian customs.

So that was my entire trip in Singapore! I'm glad I went, I enjoyed it a lot. Next up, posts about trip to Dalat. I think my body still thinks it's in Dalat.

Written by lainie at 10:18 AM on August 26, 2008.

Ipoh readers, ya itu aunty-aunty, uncle-uncle dan rakan ria Ipoh-mali sekalian,

If you do not know this man, some of you will probably be meeting him, soon. He's a redemptorist priest I met in Dalat, Sarawak. Father Pat Massang, also known as the Singing Priest (he released an album titled Church By The River).

When I met Father Pat in Dalat (Sarawak), he told me he'd be transferred to Our Mother of Perpetual Help church in Ipoh Garden soon.

He also announced during mass that I was from the Beijing Olympics but returned to Dalat as I couldn't get any medals....He should be in Ipoh by now. He has a fun sense of humour, I think it'll keep things interesting .

Am now sorting through a few gigabytes worth of Dalat photos.

Written by lainie at 01:23 AM on August 27, 2008.

[ This entry was written during my 2nd day in Dalat, on a borrowed laptop. Was a bit of a surprise for me to find it buried amidst all the photographs from the few days I travelled there, so. Here it is: ]

I think it's been established that I am terrible at getting off boats. Ask anyone who's tried it with me, the amount of nervousness and near-boat tipping I inspire is very real, and nobody wants to fall into the rivers of Dalat. Sure, you see children gleefully playing in it all the time, but jambans (outhouses) line the river, and everything expelled in the jamban plonks through a hole in the ground straight into the water.

You get used to the constant sound of the river and leaves being rustled by the wind, very quickly.

I'm in Kampung Kekan, (possibly) in Dalat, in Sarawak, in Malaysia, in Asia, in Earth, in a place where it doesn't feel too tired to write this way. The pace is a lot slower here. Those of us used to sleeping just before the sun rises back in KL find ourselves yawning here by 10pm, and sound asleep before midnight.

This was before the boat got full, even. When I could still pivot and take photos around me.

In Dalat, boats are an everyday affair. First, it's a two hour long cramped speedboat ride from Sibu. On my left, a sweaty man smushed up against me, finding space on the narrow bench that barely fit my hand before. On my right, Tei had knocked off, sleeping soundly over the waves, the occasional cool breeze that enters and breaks the stifling heat. We had so many bags from other passengers in front of us, I literally could not move my feet for an hour. I was eventually lulled to sleep too. Somewhere out there exists a photo of Tei and I, sleeping with our mouths open while the boat sped down the river.

I joined him right after this picture.

When I later found space to walk, I made my way out, to the top of the boat. A boatman was sitting there, shirt flapping open in the wind. He gestured - I had to hold onto the bar he did, or risk falling off. We had a very broken conversation in Mandarin, where it was established I am from Ipoh, Dalat is an hour away, the scenery is very pretty, and my Mandarin is utter balls.

I had earlier been advised not to pet any "logs floating upstream", as they may turn out to be crocodiles. I presumed the presence of children bathing in the river at least said something about its safety from predators, and the snarkiness of my companions. Later that night, we passed by a meter-long crocodile (our driver said "alligator") roadkill, the first time we headed back to our place to sleep. And no, it was not a mutant monitor lizard or iguana. I'm not sure how the presence of crocodiles and children works in favour of the children. Crocodile snackies?

People tell us about animals here. How there were always otters, hornbills, kingfishers, monkeys, birds. And just when I was thinking, it'd be nice to see a family of otters walk by, they say this is a rare occurence. Sarawak, even the really outback areas, is no longer filled with animals. Kingfishers, sensitive to their environment, do not fly by anymore. It's sad when Sarawak of all places, is losing its primary jungle - to palm tree plantations.

There are, however, cicadas. Seeing them here, huge, black and scary (to me), I realised Ipoh used to get cicadas during certain months of the year, and an occasional kingfisher used to perch outside my bedroom - no longer.

Tei took this picture. Me, about to eat a Melanau kid.

I'm distracted from writing because the Melanau child who's latched on to us the past two days just called Tei a pondan. She can't tell if Tei's a female or male, and somehow this is important. I'm sitting in a blue wooden house built on stilts (Astro dish appended to the side). A Melanau lady who lives alone has agreed to take us into her home for the next few days. Her niece is the child who's taken a shine to us - I've been identified as a ready source of sugar, and from the moment I gave her a roll of pink bubble gum, I had her attention.

The Melanau lady is telling us she's Bumi - but a second class Bumi, after the Malays.She's talking about how heritage is difficult to trace amongst the Melanau, because by a patronymic system like the Malays, they take on their father's name. You can however tell which tribe someone is from based on their names. eg: Ngau is a Kayan name, and Bulan a Murut name.

Yes, sunsets here are gorgeous. Pic by Tei.

I can feel the ground move beneath me. The house sways with the land, and everything around it. It feels like a mild hallucination when nothing in the house is completely still. The water in the glass ahead of me has been constantly moving slightly, like a calm sea in a cup reminding me of this.

As for my friends - Tei is here, with her videocamera. Another two, Steph and Lou, are here to write a book. Lou's a marine biologist (specialising in marine mammals), and I think I'm in love with her camera kit. I'm the unofficial bumaround, triggerhappy with my camera, eager to purchase tuak and willing to eat everything. Tei has noticed I'm quite unabashed when invited to try anything under the tag of "local culture". And I've discovered my camera has a strand of hair on its CCD, which introduces a blemish in some of the photos I take, but I'm not really concerned.

Our first dinner here was a drive out to Oya, a seafood restaurant where we had umai (raw fish accompanied with sago pellets), seafood and satay. It was so dark out by the sea, we couldn't really see our food. Asides from the umai, most of the dishes seemed cooked with either salt, chillies, or a combination of both.

--

[ And this was written a day before I left Dalat ]

In a little boat ride wayyyy down the lonely river (Sungai Ud), which we're visiting for a dip in the dark, clean water, I see a dark shadow dart just a few feet away, low amongst the greenery.

Lainie: HOLY. What was that? Monkey. Someone say that was a monkey. Monkey?
Tei: An alligator.....
Louisa: An alligator......
Lainie: ........

Now. You're on an unsteady boat. There are no other boats around. The only land near you is the jungle or the bottom of the river, and civilisation is nowhere nearby. You've just learned there is at least one alligator around. At this moment, there are some things you don't want to hear, such as

[ Cue: Thunder ]

We looked up, looked forward, and I think we got out of that area in about a quarter of the time it took for us to get in.

--

sebenarnya bukan buaya.

I will write about Dalat when I'm done sorting through photographs. NGRAHHHH!

Written by lainie at 11:18 AM on August 29, 2008 in Rants, Events, Arty stuff.

Once a year, our country's independence day comes along (or twice, if you remember Sabah and Sarawak), and everything gears up for Merdeka celebrations. Each year I've felt like I have little reason to celebrate the freedom of our country, especially when so many freedoms are not only missing, they're actively oppressed.

So pardon the language if two days before merdeka I am asking: Apa pantat is happening to our country now? Twitter has been buzzing with disgruntlement. The last message I received before I slept was from my father, asking for Malaysia-Today's mirror website. I woke up to one from my mother, asking the same.

For those who are not clued in, TMNet has blocked access to Malaysia Today, and other providers like Jaring and Time are expected to follow suit soon.

Malaysia Kini reports back with Minister defends Malaysia Today ban:

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said today that the prominent news portal Malaysia Today had been banned because it published "libelous, defamatory and slanderous" content.

"I think we don't intend to curtail people's freedom and right to give information and debate," Syed Hamid told reporters.

"But when you publish content that is libelous, defamatory and slanderous to other people I think it is only natural we take action," he said.

He defended blocking access to Malaysia Today that has attacked top leaders, saying it had ignored warnings against publishing "slanderous" articles.

"So many warnings and opportunities have been given and it is not heeded, so I am sure they have exercised their authority well under the law."

Malaysiakini reported yesterday that government-backed watchdog Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission had ordered all internet service providers (ISPs) in the country to block the errant website, whose founder Raja Petra Kamaruddin, has already been charged with sedition.

Considering Malaysia ranks 124 out of 169 on the worldwide press freedom index (by Reporters Without Borders), I seriously doubt Barisan Nasional can generate credibility over what it decides is "libelous, defamatory and slanderous".

You can read more on letters to Malaysiakini.

The mirror to Malaysia Today is here: http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com/2008/.

[ Reconfiguring your DNS is easy and takes less than a minute. Illustrated guide for your connection here (heck, apparently your download torrents will be speedier too if you use it) ]

You're probably best off redefining your DNS server as more websites may be unavailable to you soon: Government to target blogosphere next. So yes, enable your access to the content again, past the censorship, but I hope you do not stop there. Make some noise about it. Cmon. You know if we let this happen it'll get very bad.

BN being allowed to censor whateverthefuck they consider slander? PFFT. You've got to be kidding me.

Damn, if they'd dared to pull this shit before the elections....So merdeka is coming up. There'll be a lack of celebration over here.

Merdeka my arse, but I will be at Annexe over the weekend for Seksualiti Merdeka and Arts For Grabs. I've been there, painting a typography mural the past two nights with some peeps.

Here are some of them minions hard at work.

Nothing compares with being in an enclosed area for hours with people (some you just met), getting increasingly cuckoo from inhaling paint fumes.

[ I shared an idea with Liy, whom you may know as the poet Dizzy, for Arts for Grabs, and hopefully our booth makes it through. ]