Written by lainie at 03:08 PM on September 4, 2008 in Daily Life.

It's Ramadhan now, so selamat menyambut bulan puasa ramadhan.

I'm sure all Malaysians are having fun with buka puasa (breaking fast), regardless of whether or not they've actually been fasting . I've been thinking of the fantastic tandoori chicken sold in the pasar Ramadhan from Greentown Mall in Ipoh. They sell it regularly in the food court (and it's great), but it's like extra super yummy on Ramadhan month, I don't know why.

To sound even more food-orientated, I woke up from a dream of seafood that I can still remember. Glistening squid and plump, tender oysters. I'm sure attempts at Freudian analysis will be entertaining.

I've been drawing a lot lately, and going out too much - am currently typing this from someone else's laptop. Won't be online much today, just popping by here for a quick hello! to the world because there's a post I simply must update by today.

Today is my second day of unsuccessfully trying to get friends to go for nasi lemak babi with me, I've never had it this tough before. I think my ego terasa for a while, but I just realised most of the people I've asked are either down with the bug going about, or aren't in KL at the moment. Anyway, issue is partially resolved.

I've found a dinner partner for tonight, but we're eating elsewhere because traffic at that hour will be too crazy for him (and, he's muslim ). But tomorrow!

Tomorrow, I want my nasi lemak babi!

[ Apasal so many people asking me (elsewhere) how to find nasi lemak sambal babi? It's in Happy Mansion, Section 17 PJ, near Food Foundry / My Thai Elephant, the shops across the road from Red Comm's old office ]

6-10 Grill and Nasi Lemak

BG-1, Block B, Happy Mansion,

Jalan 17/13

Petaling Jaya.

[ and it closes at 10pm, if you didn't guess from the name. Also not open Mon / Tues nights. ]

Written by lainie at 04:34 PM on September 4, 2008 in Friends, Arty stuff.

It's when I find myself with time to sit down and write, that the realisation my life is going faster than I can self-document sinks in. This on occasion forces me to take a more topical, all-encompassing route in my posts, as opposed to the scattered diary entries I am more familiar with. I know la, which makes me look like a better writer, but my blog's primary function is to record things I do because my memory sucks .

[ Parts of my keyboard don't work. I write everything, then copy and paste the relevant missing letters in after, including in this post. No, I'm not even close to kidding. The rate I fervently C&P during chat sessions is testament to the blossoming chatroom bunny in me. Or my inner spelling nazi, but this blog's regular readers will have good reason to doubt that. And, my laptop regularly hangs at will without warning. ]

You could say these experiences make me more consciously appreciate the time-worthy things I encounter, as I recently did. A winner of Annexe's Grants for Grabs, CAIS Project posters and flyers have been prominently displayed about everywhere in Annexe (nicely designed, too). I would probably have missed it but for Rachel inviting me to her art tour of the exhibition.

 CAIS stands for Contemporary Art in School, an initiative by the folks over at Rumah Air Panas (RAP). It's a great thing that has started in Stella Maris high school, but it seems to be drawing far less attention that either project or readers deserve.  

If you are a product of the same art syllabus I was in local school, your Pendidikan Seni (art) lessons chiefly consisted of painting swaying coconut trees (4 leaves each) by the beach or a kampung house. It is nothing new to rue the state of our education system, suffice to say it could be dramatically improved - as CAIS has done.

Tree with more than 4 leaves!

Doodling  for fun with some coloured pens jogged my memory back to those times in pendidikan seni. The highest grade I ever got for art was C+, a result of laziness and point-blank refusal to paint landscapes (homework, pfft). I'd have loved this CAIS Project in school.

Yap Sau Bin (pic left), co-curator and one of the founders of RAP, accompanied us for the tour.

Lainie: Why weren't you at my school doing this? So cool!

Sau Bin: No funding back then .

So what is CAIS doing, exactly? Come, let me butcher their manifesto (because I can't find my copy) and tell you.

[ If you're going for the art talk, and you like surprises, SPOILERS AHEAD - are these warnings usually used for art exhibitions? ] 

Getting the artists to work with the students. Getting students to participate in making art - not just in execution but in conceptualising too. Challenge them to view the space around them differently, or at least with more awareness - observable in many cases. Having artists do site-specific work around the school.

Think "interesting use of space". A mural along the corridor - one side, the eye of the universe's creator, with planets and galaxies reflected in the pupil. On the other side, the universe as seen in the eye is painted. The students came up with that.

This one's clever! (wait, let me explain the wire fish head first). It's built in a courtyard-like area of the school that's shaped like the hull of a ship, which immediately brings to mind the figurehead found on the bow. This piece, plainly titled "fish head", is based on the head of a particular species of fish known as "Schoolmaster". Geddit...geddit....? 

Rach pointed out you won't find a single work done on canvas here. A school filled with art! And none on canvas. Kinda cool.

Rach, wearing her CAIS Project button, given out at the exhibition (I took a blue one). Rachel started writing about art for Kakiseni a while back, and boooom! Articles about art in many other publications followed very quickly.

This time, she conducted the art tour around Stella Maris, talking about the works exhibited, what the artist was trying to do in each instance, observations that could be drawn, and cracked a lot of school related jokes only I seemed to get / layan (this way please. And in single file!). Being ex-schoolmates from Main Convent, Ipoh, we couldn't help but lament that our school wasn't anything like this.

Part of the art tour staring at the fish head. It's a nice place for the sculpture. I don't imagine it would have worked as well anywhere else.

 The next part was a bit morbid. On the board in the laboratory, a video: split screen of a newborn being bathed, while the baby monkey on the right is dead, being scrubbed and prepared for a formaldehyde bath. I find this an uncomfortable juxtaposition - both newborns look so similiar, but one's life holds far less value in our society. Poor monkey. And then.......

.....I realise they displayed the monkey . Please don't tell me they killed the baby monkey for this....

Owl in formaldehyde. When I was in secondary school, we took a vote and decided not to dissect any frogs. I'd like to think that eating animals is better than having 35 grossed out and disinterested girls maiming a drugged out frog to little effect (except, perhaps, more students turning vegetarian and anti-vivisection).

It's been a long while since I stepped into the labs in Taylors college, much less my makmal (lab) days in school. Stella Maris had a variety of "specimens" laid around, and it felt like a warped revisit to my school, but no one was wearing their uniforms. I was there on Saturday, you see. No students around.

My school's makmal was more ganas (fiercer), we had a human foetus in ours. I think many of us Main Convent girls have examined the huge jar over the years. 

Chirpier, if less provocative, is this trompe l'oeil piece at the narrow staircase, simulating a view of the outside world. I told her it was somewhat ironic that the escapist view they painted on the walls of their school happened to be the church? One institution to another.. 

Stella Maris looks out to the back of Puduraya, and a construction site that has been there about a decade or so. Nice. With Puduraya just next door, I didn't imagine these kids get a lot of clean air. All those buses in one concentrated area made me think of the time I was inhaling the nastier air in Oxford (highest ratio of bus services per capita in UK, that).

Ostritch eggs painted with costumed superheroes by Shia Yih Yiing. The fragility of constructed fantasy images? This room also contained Ahmad Fuad Osman's exhibition, Recollections of Long Lost Memories, where the artist has injected a hippie looking observer into various vintage scenes taken from photographs (as below) leading up to the Mahathir era (grinning his face off as Mahathir tearfully resigns yet again).

Photo taken from Rimbun Dahan website

For those who missed the huge hype in the local art world about Matahati's recent exhibition (and to be fair, it is easy to miss any huge hype in this scene), this part of Fuad's exhibition in Galeri Petronas was very, very popular - probably very much due to the obvious poke-humour many of the pieces had. In Stella Maris, you will see a video showing you a collection of (all?) images in the series. 

confess your sins here!

A photo of TEAR (a homonym, so play with the words a bit over here). I love this part of the exhibition. The contemplative environment of the library is perfect for an installation of a confessional room. You're supposed to flip the way awesome B&W blinds to signal the room is being used for confession (Foucault, anyone?), light a candle (mostly for atmosphere), and then confess your sins anonymously (unless you'd REALLY like to share) by marking the tissue paper laid on the table - use the onions! - with your confession.

Then tear away the top sheet, that's your confession and souvenir to keep. Leave the bottom copy with the other confessions at the side of the table (you can try and decipher the previous ones too, like I did). Again, clever use of space.

I would have installed this in the loo, but you know. Library is probably better. Depends on the concept.

About the only part of the tour that didn't offer any surprises was the wall of graffiti - something I'd expected, along with the words like "Honour", "Truth" or whatever virtue, as loudly painted here. 

Call me a skeptic about the choice of words they painted, but perhaps once they get being politically correct out of the way, the content creativity can come in. From what I've seen around the school, some students have a really fun mind.

This could also become the most interesting bit of the exhibition, provided they keep it open to future graffiti. Imagine having a throw up in school! Much better than Cenfad, where you get bitten by mosquitos and have to avoid being seen (it's behind the toilets).

From Bath Room.

Another one I love, from the Exchange Project. At their indoor basketball court, students came up with the concept of putting in a bathroom where you can take a shower (though I'm pretty sure the bathtub is really only there for aesthetic purposes). The walls are lined with lyrics, you're supposed to sing in the shower there. Mamma mia, here I go again..My my.

 The Flash is the favourite superhero of artist's son. I don't know why I arranged this here.

You'll also see Vincent Leong's Run, Malaysia, Run! (originally in VWFA gallery), Wong Hoy Cheong's video installation. Also, many instances of duality, and deprivation of the senses (Erica Eaton or "angel" performance art by students under Amanda Heng's guidance in Project Exchange)....... Aiyo takde masa to blog . 

Just go see it tomorrow, please. And if you're the kind that needs credentials, yes there are all sorts of artists here: award-winning, renowned, Venice biennale, Korea biennale, banyak lagi biennale, founders of berbanyak things (eg: Erica Eaton = Evolutionary Girls Club).

But I'm not really asking you to go there for the names. I'm asking you to go there and see a wonderful learning environment for art set up in a school - for this, I think Rumah Air Panas has done a fantastic job. It looks like it's been a huge commitment and plenty of work for a lot of people, but it's pulled through really nicely and I would love to see this brought to other schools. Well done to Stella Maris for picking up on this.

There are artist talks for the students and community (registration required), but if you want to go for what I went for, which is the art tour:

ART TOURS

On the 5th, 1.40-3pm, Friday (tomorrow): Exhibition walkthrough with CAIS curator Yap Sau Bin

On the 6th, 2pm-3pm, Saturday (day after): Exhibition walkthrough with art writer Rachel Jena

LOCATION

Stella Maris secondary school, Jalan Robertson, Kuala Lumpur.

(On Jalan Pudu, you know the construction site next to Puduraya? And there's an old car salesroom at the corner? the turn in to Jalan Robertson is there. Watch out for the road sign if the line of buses trying to get into Puduraya is very long).

I would recommend you go on Friday if you can because Sau Bin is a curator, and therefore more familiar with the creative processes that went into the show, and most relevant: because the school is devoid of students on Saturday, which makes it feel very different.

Otherwise, Saturday's art tour by Rachel Jena is also very fun, and Sau Bin will most likely be there anyway to provide additional trivia-info on exhibitions. 

Written by lainie at 01:22 PM on September 5, 2008 in Rants, Links / Email, Stupid, but fun..

I have some friends in a theatre production currently showing in KLPac. It's called 8 Ways to Lighten Your Schoolbag (facebook event page). Will definitely want to make my way there for this one.

Check out details and promo pics here.

 Short documentary of David Berliner, the graphic designer behind the "Big Heads Movie Posters".

Any video that seamlessly manages to fit in gems like "The only head as perfect as Morgan Freeman's, is Ashley Judd's head"..... and jibes like "It's important to make the more famous heads slightly bigger than the less famous heads....But you know you've made it, when your head's a little bit bigger" (which is actually heavily tied in to the truths of how contracts in the entertainment industry work) is bound to be fun.

The kind of humour that hurts because it's true. Like using Trajan typeface in a film poster, once someone points out Big Floating Heads, you'll always notice them. 

[ for the blur people: ya, this video is a spoof ] 

I used to be a huge comics fan. Then I started drinking alcohol, and comic collecting was relegated to the occasional buy when I have spare cash, or come across a penciller I like. I still draw comics, but I don't buy the latest hype anymore.

One of the websites about comics that I still visit regularly is When Fangirls Attack!, which has a more informed view about some issues prevalent in the comics industry, specifically, violence against women as subjects in the comics, glass ceilings they encounter in employment, reviews and more.

Most recently, a rarity; WFA collects links, they rarely do crossposts like this one, a serious note taken from BULLY SAYS: COMICS OUGHTA BE FUN! It was written by John DiBulli, and addressed an observation he made about rampant sexism in comic cons:

a bunch of guys looking at the digital photos on the camera of another, while he narrated: "These were the Ghostbusters girls. That one, I grabbed her ass, 'cause I wanted to see what her reaction was." This was only one example of several instances of harassment, stalking or assault that I saw at San Diego this time. 

more worrying, was the lack of solutions made available to people sexually harassed in one of the biggest comic cons in USA:

So, according to published con policy, there is no tolerance for smoking, drawn weapons, personal pages or selling bootleg videos on the floor, and these rules are written down in black and white in the con booklet. There is not a word in the written rules about harassment or the like. 

This was followed by something else I found: Some cretin engineer's post about how middle-aged women are the bane of comic cons: they are the only rude people he managed to notice, and has decided the cause of their behaviour is due to them being reproductively useless, childless, and ugly.

I can't help but wonder some things about this dude:

Are his eyes only open to judging women he considers unattractive (so he's blind to cretinous behaviour performed by others, including himself). Couldn't she represent idiots? Why'd she have to be defined as a childless woman too?

Does that mean if he sees an exceptionally well behaved middle-aged woman next, she will automatically erase the previous perception, and suddenly they'll all be viewed upon as wonderful human beings, overflowing with babies and ovaries? 

What is it with people defining women by their social graces, and reproductive systems / looks? What if  I don't want to have babies? Am I automatically insulting myself by this guy's standards?

Is he the product of a comics industry that largely portrays women according to a certain beauty ideal?

Is he a middle-aged ugly man? Does that mean if he pisses me off within my sight, I can deduce he can't get it up, can't have children, can't get dates and is ugly?

This blogger does say he is a misanthropist (though to nitpick, when you're at a crowd numbering in thousands, and the only people you noticeably dislike are middle-aged women - chances are, you're more of a misogynist). After all that about middle-aged women sans babies, he ends with:

This isn't to say that all middle-aged women are rude, socially inept dimwits who think the rules don't apply to them. I'm obviously generalizing, since most of them at the con were pleasant individuals who were as polite and friendly as anyone else there. It's only the ones who meet all three criteria above who were the problem, and it was only a handful of individuals at that.

Fulat babi betul budak ni. His idea of "generalising" is to pick the smallest group and ignore the "pleasant individuals". Celaka.

So on one hand, we have people saying sexist behaviour is rampant in comic cons (which isn't absent here either). On the other, we have this guy who saw no problems with comic con people except ugly middle-aged women who aren't mothers.

Buang masa, kan? I'll go get some lunch instead. And yknow, scout for some nice, self-affirming babies to swaddle in my arms. Otherwise, when I hit middle-age, if I'm not some motherly woman minding my Ps and Qs, I'll "scare the bejeezuz" out of this guy.

"Here, look! Don't be scared, here's my baby! You're a big, brave man again! You're a walking Viagra ad! How many babies do you have?"

I know I'm already making some of you sit back a bit and raise an eyebrow that I actually bothered to write this. If you want a more level headed tone on why comic cons need a code of conduct that protect against sexual harassment, try Forgive me if this is a stupid question.

 Before I go for lunch, here's some good news that has come about: The Con Anti-Harassment Project (CAHP)

The Con Anti-Harassment Project is a grass-roots campaign designed to help make conventions safer for everyone. Our aims are to encourage fandom, geek community and other non-business conventions to establish, articulate and act upon anti-harassment policies, especially sexual harassment policies, and to encourage mutual respect among con-goers, guests and staff.

You should read the comments here calling the second blogger a somewhat leftist asshat. I just found it, and some of the comments are making me giggle uncontrollably (er, update: the comments eventually get dominated by a troll).

Written by lainie at 02:33 AM on September 9, 2008.

Ahmad did it again, told Chinese not be American Jews

Racism should not be tolerated. Those who try to incite racial hatred, and create greater divides between Malaysians, even less so. Ahmad Ismail, even if this is a calculated move, I don't think you know what you do. Or maybe you do, and I just don't identify with your act of great evil.

Either way, I am waiting for justice.

[ MCA - I'm not saying you should join PKR, nor that this man represents the entire Barisan Nasional (much less Malays /  Muslims), but you are staying in that coalition, because?* ]

*I was groggy when that brainfart came along, but I basically meant this is the UMNO dude in PENANG! My god if BN's chances sucked before, theyare totally  never winning another election there as long as these kindsa idiots are made chiefs. Like, hello? And other areas with a lot of urban Chinese? Pffft. What's the average political price of overt racism in Malaysia again? Oh, right. nothing. Job transfer / holiday.

Written by lainie at 12:30 AM on September 10, 2008 in Daily Life.

I like to carry an "everything book" with me. It usually begins with a theme. "Black pen sketches of things I see". "Portrait doodles". "Words I like". Then, inevitably, I'll feel the need to jot something extra down, or a doodle that cannot be ignored - and the thematic book will eventually fill up with random ideas, quotes, memos, drawings and one-liner bad emoting. But I still start each notebook with a theme.

Sometimes I stumble across an old "everything book", and it's like visiting a self-contained world of me. Certainly less cringeworthy than my preteen-era diaries (that crush on Matthew Lawrence! WHY, LAINIE?), which helps. I love it when I find a book I'd forgotten about.

Which leads me to an observation - I am increasingly drawn towards hiding all these pieces of myself. I'm like the fairytale cameo of a squirrel with acorns, but the human graphic designer version. I bury these books away from the curiosities of the world. Away from myself. And I harvest, later on.

To facilitate this, my room is pisstastically messy. I have an obsession with buying black cover notebooks with plain paper inside (which makes me go weak in the presence of a Muji / Moleskine notebook). I probably have enough black pens within reach right now to cover myself with the colour three times over. I have entire shelves of notebooks, used or otherwise.

 Now I find myself with work hidden away everywhere in this bedroom alone, not archived, and certainly not useful in job applications until I compile them. Coupled with previous hark disk failures and data loss, I am slightly dizzy at the idea of compiling my portfolio. I live in an organised chaos resistant to change.

To top it off, I am prepping for an advertorial tomorrow. I know I've sworn off advertorials because they make me feel kinda greasy inside, but the things I don't do have never paid the rent - kept me from being tagged in a few embarassing photos on Facebook, yes. Rent, no.

So. I am applying for a job. As an illustrator. I need a portfolio. I should be making my scanner chug away all night, and not for scanning butt prints (though sketches of characters in numerous states of undress may be included, depending on what I find)...but I'm prepping for an advertorial-interview, looking for my angle. A big part of me is tempted to say I can take it easier for advertorials, but I know I can't, it'll drive me nuts. Which is what holds me back from writing them, the idea of investing myself without passion. But illustrating....ahhhh. A career of doing what I like seems feasible.

Years of freelancing, and I finally am going to attempt to settle down, if I get the job. The example isn't accurate, but it almost feels like being ready to marry into responsibility after years of dating. In my head, it involves signing papers somewhere. I've really no memory how a steady office job goes. I mean....

....I've been freelancing so long at graphic design and writing, my last "office job" was many years ago. Auditing accounts.

*cue sound of imploding brains*

YES! Somewhere in my closet (where not many things remain ), there's the type of stripey-office pants girls buy when they think they're gonna start working in the adult business world! I've not worn them in, well, years. Though I doubt anyone at the place I'm applying for expect stripey office pants, much less of their designer.

Written by lainie at 02:27 PM on September 11, 2008 in Arty stuff.

(click - this links to flickr page)

I'm working, but here's a moment of procrastination to upload a practice sketch I did about two weeks back. 

Tei is planning a lil trip away from KL soon. Photography, walking the streets, shopping and historical buildings. Woodfire pizza and yeah, lots of drinking. I'm looking forward to it. 

Meanwhile....

Work.

*grunt*

You are a Truth Monger!
You are a Spin Destroyer!

Spin doesn't belong in the news. [..] It's like putting motor oil in the mojito. Now there's a website and software tool that exposes news spin and bias, misuse of sources, and suspect factual support. At SpinSpotter, you'll experience the news in a profound new way. Yes, the truth is back in town.

It's still in "Very Beta" stage, but for those tired of spin doctoring in local media, check out this website that allows users to alert others towards spin in articles: Spinspotter.

Written by lainie at 04:38 PM on September 12, 2008 in Friends, Links / Email, Arty stuff.

Flashback to a night when Cloth & Clef was still new. It was 3am, and the DJ at Frangipani had just played the last track (Edith Piaf's La Vie En Rose). Rach, Juria and I walked across the street to C&C, the place with the afterparty, if you know about it.

If the doorbitch screening entries lets you through, you will step in to find a small crowd of people - faces you will have seen before in other events. Everyone's chilling to the music, having some last drinks and winding down before that drive home. It really is a good place for us to end the night slowly.

For some, it's their last chance to get laid. A friend described the guys who approach at the final hours as the ones with an extra dose of "no one else will, OMG please go home with me" desperation. It's like looking at gonorrhea swimming in their eyes.

Tonight, a guy butts into our conversation. I guess he thought he did so charmingly from the way he smiled. He was trying to pick Juria up, acting cute and asking us to guess which country he was from. Can't speak for Juria, but if there's one thing Rach and I can't abide, it's people trying to be cute.

Guy: I am from The Greatest Civilisation in History!

Rach: ....Greece?

Lainie: ....China?

Jur: ....(tak layan)

Guy: Er, no.

Let's just say he didn't get very far, and he's from the land of "triangles" (his choice of clues, not mine). 

I thought after Jemufo left for Hungary (2 year scholarship to study feminist things), no one would "gently remind" me to pimp out AWAM's 2008 WWRP programme. I hear it's a good programme, and you'll meet interesting, like-minded people. It was amusing to find this in my inbox: 

hello - now that your housemate is gone to the states, i'm taking her place to bug you on posting this on your blog..

The Writers for Women’s Rights Programme (WWRP)

Call for Applications

Are you a young woman between the ages of 18 to 32? Are you interested in

what's happening around you? Do you have a passion for writing? Do you want

your voice heard in the mass media? Have you been thinking of getting

involved in activism but not sure where to start?

If you are, then the Writers for Women's Rights Programme may be just what you

have been looking for.

Organised by the All Women's Action Society (AWAM), the programme will help

develop your understanding of gender and social justice issues, writing and

analytical skills, and media relations.

If selected, you will attend a live-in workshop from the 13–16 November 2008,

where you will receive training from experienced AWAM writers and trainers on

those areas. You can look forward to connecting with a motley crew of inquisitive

young women who are passionate about social justice and social transformation.

Keen? Apply now!

Write or email a short statement (500 words) explaining why you

are interested in the programme and what you hope to gain from

it. Include a brief biodata or CV, write 'WWRP' as your subject

heading and send it before 30th September to:

Snail mail: AWAM, 85 Jalan 21/1, 46300 Petaling Jaya (fax: 03-

7874 3312)

Email: advocacy-programs@awam.org.my

Applicants may be asked to attend an interview. Selected

applicants will be notified by 15 October 2008.

Selected participants are required to pay a workshop registration

fee:

Students or unemployed: RM 50

Others: RM 100

If you need a waiver or a reduction of the fee, please write to us

explaining your circumstances with your application. Waivers or

reductions may be granted based on the discretion of the

organizers. 

Now I have here two sketches I did some time back. I am doing a series of drawings on mythical / semi-mythical beings. The trouble with this is, I have very little information to go on with regards to how they look. Do they wear modern clothes? Long, swarthy robes? Are they all varying shades of green?

I ended up drawing them all naked.

(click to Flickr page)

This is a  WIP drawing of Hantu Tetek (Boobs Ghost).

She's a ghost in Malay folklore. Something along the lines of a ghost in the evening / night with huge breasts. Her breasts are so big she envelopes small children / young men under them, and you would either suffocate to death, or disappear forever. 

This is actually the first local ghost I ever heard of, so I had to draw this mythical being (I hope). This is the last thing you see before Hantu Tetek gets you.

I described Hantu Tetek to an incredulous Rach, with a straight face. That wasn't easy. Most stories of female ghosts in local legends that I've encountered have traits directly related to their breasts / vaginas, and babies. Whether they can have babies, or were barren, or died during childbirth, or had babies die, or were virgins.

from there, it only seemed natural to come up with this:

(click to Flickr page)

WIP sketch of Hantu Kote (Testicals Ghost), the male ghost version of Hantu Tetek / spirit afflicted with elephantiasis (only) in the genitals. 

The Hantu Kote has a huge nut sack, and goes about preying upon children and young women(?). His balls are so big, he envelopes them underneath, and they either suffocate to death, or disappear forever into mystical dimensions - which means like Hantu Tetek, his private parts are a gateway to another dimension, yeah? 

Hantu Kote could literally teabag you to death. This is a drawing of him sneaking up on someone asleep. Actually, with Kenny Sia making so many jokes about his coconuts, this could be linked to him too. I should draw a semi-mythical being, Hantu Coconuts Kenny Sia .

I have to admit that technically, his name should make him Penis Ghost, but this is only due to my awful grasp of Malay language, and Hantu Bola Bola doesn't really work in this context. I welcome anyone to help me name Hantu Kote more appropriately.

I don't know why some people think the idea of Hantu Kote is so much more ridiculous than Hantu Tetek. It's pretty much the same thing. 

These are the pencils for two characters in a series. They've been inked by now, and I'm slowly working on the others.

Sigh..I need a new laptop so badly. AND, I've a huge headache from reading Malaysiakini's reports about RPK detained under ISA, the show cause letters being issued.

Our country memang banyak hantu, I read about them all the time.

Written by lainie at 02:29 PM on September 13, 2008 in Rants, Friends, Arty stuff.

Rach took this photo - I'm showing off the CAIS badge I got in Stella Maris after attending the art tour.

And yes, I have a Gila Gila tshirt. Legenda? Lagenda?

=====

Twitter was profusely updated by Malaysians last night. RPK and Sin Chew reporter Tan Hoon Cheng had both been taken in under the ISA, detention without trial. Following Teresa Kok's detention, I could barely keep up with the news online.

Chats largely revolved around conspiracy theories. How Teresa Kok's arrest indicated this might be a move to incite a response from the Chinese (or non-Malay, but I'm guessing Chinese) community.

That an impromptu street demo against the unjust detentions under ISA could look like we are challenging UMNO (likely) / ketuanan Melayu (because it's been making headlines and people can't tell the difference, and media is largely manipulated or bullied by the government).

The first time I had an inkling of this, I was thinking...........NO LAH, don't tell me they're trying to recreate Ops Lalang / racial riots. But having faith in Barisan Nasional tactically moving past brute force and racial issues is like believing in the tooth fairy at my age - and I am not in the mood for anyone to leave stupid attempts at cutesy comments about tooth fairies being real.

I got a near-psychic sms telling me to stay calm. Rumour has it there's a list of 15, 16, or 17 people to arrest. The usual suspects were named. One friend called it the list of "non-Malay heroes" (with inverted commas). I expect these people to be lying low for a while. They shouldn't have to.

I already had a protest coming up against RPK's detention (and the Orang Asal walk, but that got cancelled). After Hoon Cheng and Teresa got caught in the ISA dragnet, there'll be two more candlelight vigils tonight. One by DAP, and another by the Abolish ISA Movement. 

This infuriates me:

"There will be lots of tale-telling. We want to stabilise the country's political situation with the intention and objective of paying greater attention to the needs of the people," he was quoted as saying by the NST daily.

quote by Prime Minister on Malaysiakini.

You know what I don't need? Shit like that.

I'll be frank. My god I have never liked the government. And I disagree with baiting MPs to switchover, even though I strongly resent that enough people voted in Barisan Nasional that they could form government. After this? I give. I hate UMNO. Crossover! Crossover! Pots of moral gold on the other side to cleanse your previous sins! And SABAH! SARAWAK! WATAFAK TUNGGU APA? Does it even look like people remember you guys teamed up with peninsula people to form the country??

Please, let Sept 16 happen whenever they can get it done. The longer that political party stays in power and wreaks damage to maintain the status quo, the more the rights of citizens in this country gets raped. 

I have deep mistrust for Anwar and trickiness involved in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. But hell. That's still way better than my perception of BN. I'll take my bloody chances that this is the lesser of two evils. 

=====

I had dinner with some bloggers last night: Suanie (I've been mistaken for her a few times now), KY (who does food reviews) and Erna (I ganked a thumbdrive from her).

Because Suanie is much more in tune than I am, politically, she told me about the whole Teresa Kok being blamed for keeping the mosque from broadcasting azan, as claimed by the former Selangor MB Dr Mohd Khir Toyo (the head of the mosque has since lodged a police report against Khir Toyo for those allegations).

Suanie imitated the secretary of the mosque holding a press conference to explain that Teresa Kok had nothing to do with it.

Suanie: Basically he said "WATAFAK??? NO?!!". Well, not exactly la, but you know. 

Hehe. Quite succinctly put, I thought.

Written by lainie at 11:51 PM on September 15, 2008 in Rants.

I was at the candlelight vigil last night for the ISA detainees - there were two main ones advertised, one in Taman Paramount (organised by DAP), another at Bukit Aman police station (organised by Anti-ISA Movement). My friends and I chose the Bukit Aman vigil.  

We didn't drive there, in case police roadblocks meant an entire convoy of supporters don't make the vigil. Parked outside PAM, and walked towards Lake Garden where the entrance was. Running late, but weren't alone - bumped into some other people my age, dressed in black, headed that way. Some of them from Kudeta.

As we walked, people heading back told us we had missed the vigil. One guy condescendingly said "Oh you missed it, but it's the thought that counts!". Yeahla yeahla we're a bit late, don't have to use that tone on me. Was told numerous times to head back - including once by a helpful policeman, saying no one remained. Kept walking anyway.

 People were starting to light candles again as I arrived. 

 People were still arriving when we got there.

The FRU was there too, with Black Marias (I find out the next day that they did earlier get aggro on my other more punctual friends). After some other protests, especially the Kampung Berembang one, I am wary of them. Oh well, they're an evil in vigils, protests and all other events that allow policement to come and say to you "THIS IS AN ILLEGAL GATHERING!". 

I saw Latheefa Koya. Latheefa's a human rights lawyer (understatement), and she's usually the one who negotiates with the police (if you look at photos of any local protests, she was probably one of the people near the officer, negotiating).

Our crowd was so small that the FRU packed up after a while. Not like we were left alone though - some policemen came over after, and an officer started shouting for us to put out our candles and disperse or he'd arrest the lot of us. She told him off for shouting.

That's Latheefa grinning at the spectacle this guy is causing. We did have to go though, but she got him to treat us a little better. She's quite cool to watch. Candles were put out.

"Thank you everyone for your support, your courage - please go home and tell everyone the police are afraid of a few people with candles!"

 Some mates who were wiser and drove straight to the vigil, but were too late - arrived in time to see us disperse.

Officer shooing everyone along, making sure they disperse with unlit candles.

Yes, still making sure everyone leaves.

I got shot a "What are you still standing there for?" look.

You should see some of the royal glares I get from police / fru for taking their picture. Maybe I am that fucking muka tebal because as a resident of Damansara Jaya I have to pay a private security company RM80-100 a month to patrol my area for snatchthieves. *grumble grumble send the bill to balai*. 

 After Bukit Aman vigil, I told some people there I'd friends over at the national mosque, holding another vigil. That was another long walk. But worth it, cause had some people I knew there, didn't feel so awkward. Managed to bring almost 10 people there - some of them had been at the Orang Asal walk in the morning (that one lasted 10 feet before the police stepped in), so they were tired of being ordered to disperse.

My candle at the next vigil.

Kecik!

Poster on the wall.

Sharing fire, lighting candles.

Bermula...

We actually attracted far less attention till all the police cars showed up (there were very few of us - less than 20). Then traffic slowed down to see what we were doing, and they needed even more cops to direct traffic along.

Officer zoomed in on Tate to get the rest of us to disperse - he had been leading some anti-ISA chants.

Police presence, but we kept the candles going as long as we could. The policeman pretty much started by saying something like "I know, it's tanglung festival, but you forgot the tanglungs".....He must have been hearing that at all the other vigils.

[ Actually, to clarify, it's possible to do the mooncake festival thing with just candles, sans lantern, okay? ]

More police arriving. Everytime I see cops on the political beat I wish they were looking for actual criminals.

People wearing plainsclothes berjenama iPolis, talking to the officer.

These helpful people then clear up the candles, take the poster (evidence?).

If you take a lot of photos at protests, this is the obligatory shot you will get, where police casually walk in the way of photographers, you move, they move. If you need to squat for a photo, it gives them time to move in front of you, and that is how you end up with what I call the obligagtory shot of some dude's package / butt cleavage.

When we left, this is how many police cars we attracted. We were quite clearly outnumbered. The trick behind protests is to get them to ask you to leave, as opposed to running away (cause then your chances of looking guilty and being chased down gets higher, however that works).

Tate actually talked to the officer at this time, asked him what he thought of the ISA - the police officer said he was just following orders, "his hands are tied", he's not free either.

My personal take is that he's part of the system, he's perpetuating the situation. Still, he was nice, and I'm not saying I'm settling for half the cookie, but it helps to have people in the police force who aren't out to arrest everyone.

We were bummed out from having to disperse. Those of us who take alcohol went to Ceylon bar after that for a drink (well, except farah, who had a very expensive diet cola).

Still keeping an eye out for the ISA detainees. Wish I knew what to do. But till then, vigils, protests, support, whatever. As I write this, an sms just came through informing me Anwar has announced at the Kelana Jaya stadium rally he has his 30 seats. Now, I wait.

Written by lainie at 03:50 AM on September 17, 2008 in Stupid, but fun..

You will never get to see Darth Vader trying to behave like Luke Skywalker, but I found something pretty damned close. Amuse yourself with:

Najib's personal website, 1Malaysia....

It starts off with a video - a personal message from Najib. I'm sure he's saying something, but to me it sounds like "Come to the dark side, we care about you too". Er, no?

The first time I watched it, the sheer kolotness and awkwardness of Najib's attempt at videoblogging made me laugh - I doubled over with a cramped stomach. It's so formal, and I think his website was designed to look like it was from the 90s.

Now, it's just kinda scary that he actually thinks people will connect with this video (birds chirp in the background!). It looks so oddly removed from my reality.

See if the same shivers go down your spine when you watch this video. I almost expect to see some wires coming out from behind his head as he recites what he does. 

At 12 minutes long, if it wasn't so creepy, it'd be a downright sonorous ceramah. Still, the giggles are there (before the creepiness sinks in). That it's at the expense of our DPM is a bonus.

[ mental image of him saying "I foundz innernets buttons! You is all doooooomzed! I can has world do-mi-nay-shyen! Lullllz! ]

After his video, you may want to recalibrate your reality-meter. Here's a little help:

http://www.thenutgraph.com/

http://www.malaysiakini.com

http://malaysia-today.net/

Written by lainie at 03:01 AM on September 19, 2008 in Rants, Stupid, but fun..

But not little kitten Tonks......yet.

Sign the petition to free the ISA detainees.

It's for all the little Tonks out there.

Written by lainie at 04:54 PM on September 19, 2008 in Rants.

Sometime back, while travelling in Dalat (Sarawak), in between exploring sago plantations and witnessing crafts that are dying out, I took this photo of the river

If a dude didn't just enter the outhouse 4 feet away, this could look inviting (probably still might, to the unsuspecting). Where I stood, it looked like a sign of the times.

[ Insert caption here ]

Written by lainie at 01:35 PM on September 23, 2008 in Daily Life.

One thing about being a lesbian is....you eventually pick up all the bad lesbian jokes. So it's no big surprise that in the full list of stuff lesbians like (all 62 of them), this nearly tops the list at #2: Telling The Stupid U-Haul joke.

That's right. Lesbians move in together by the second date, so they can conveniently shag AND it saves on travel costs so they can buy more alcohol for dinner and set money aside for beach holidays. We even have Youtube videos about it:

As for me, I'm slowly heading in the direction of  #21: Professing to know everything about someone based on his or her star sign. Yeahla, I'm single, not moving into any girl's house anytime soon innit? So I spend my time procrastinating by checking horoscopes of girls online.

"What's your starsign" is no longer a sleazy pick up line, it's a loaded question that warrants me postponing my judgement on you till I get in front of a computer. YOU'RE A CUSP? Let me call a friend who actually owns a horoscope book. Or two. Or twenty.

I was once slightly less of a whackjob about horoscopes, but after a consistent amount of accuracy in the time vacuum that is Cafe Astrology, I succumbed. The birthday function on Stalkerbook is now my new best friend (they should come with date, time and location of birth).

It's solar anthropology, haven't you heard? I can't help but wonder if Terry Pratchett ever satirised horoscopes in Discworld.

Now that I've linked a very lesbian site, and talked about horoscopes, I will progress towards the Feminist Movie Night I attended on Saturday at the Food not Bombs' HQ on Saturday. The only people there seemed to be the Food not Bombs people, and my housemates (with the exception of Annu, who will be subletting my room from Adri after I move out).

I left a thumbdrive with a lesbian movie for the fnb people, having absent mindedly forgetting I'm trying to get Persepolis off them (great movie). We watched Persepolis (Kakiseni review), and For The Bible Tells Me So (my write up), then they had to pack up the projector and bring it to Annexe for the screening there.

[ update: I like Pajiba's reviews, and they have a write up on For The Bible Tells Me So - the trick to reading Pajiba is to include the comments in your reading. ]

Written by lainie at 12:56 AM on September 24, 2008 in Friends.

Smile's the token straight girl I hang out with (in one of my groups), and as such, totally owns the lesbians around her. Once, she went on holiday and came back with bracelets for me and Tei. She jokes (I think) that these are our dog tags and she owns us.

Well. The woman buys me food and drinks, provides shelter, entertainment, and the occasional pretty friend. She can call me anything she wants, as long as she's not running those very long nails down my arm (gives me the heebie jeebies). 

The knots on the bracelets are a bit weird, so it's too loose for us to wear anymore (or so I make my excuses). 

Today, Tei came back to pick me up, and Smile was in the car, bored and therefore slightly pesky.

Smile: Pet, I'm very upset with you, pet.

Lainie: *signals tear rolling down my face*

Smile: Don't you even want to know why?

Lainie: You mean I can change your mind? Okay, why?

Smile: Where's your dogtag? You don't love me anymore?

Lainie: It is in my room, on my desk. Right next to my laptop, on top of my passport.

[ I am smug. I win! I keep present from Smile in Very. Important. Place. even though I can't wear it anymore ]

Smile: And you Tei? Where's your dogtag? Why aren't you wearing it?

Tei: Well-

Smile: Can you tell me it's exact location? Is it next to your laptop, and on top of your passport, in your room?

Tei: Well....My passport's with you. ....Dear.

Lainie: *burst out laughing*. Okay, she wins.

Smile: Oh dear, you can't even leave the country without me knowing.

The straight girl may own us more than we realise. Or admit to, anyway.

Written by lainie at 01:37 AM on September 26, 2008 in Daily Life.

Zomgs, it's good to be home.

I've been out the past few days, mostly coming back to shower and leave catfood in the bowl before heading out again. Invitation cards, business cards, letterheads, posters and tshirts to send for production!

I ate just one piece of muruku today, cause I kept thinkin I'm about to run out for food, then I'd forget and end up working. And I usually don't want to stop as long as my laptop doesn't conk out - which is frequent, but today it's been freakishly cooperative. I'm typing gently like I expect it to explode.......(I kinda do expect smoke). 

I need to get some additional illustrations done, coloured and emailed by tomorrow, cause....deng deng deng! I went for a job interview! They're looking for an in-house graphic designer, mostly someone who can illustrate, generate advertisments and do basic webdesign.

I have to draw something they requested as part of the application, which I think is fair. I can handle a few illo styles, but if tak ngam what they're lookin for, then tak ngam la. I hope it's okay though :S.

This job looks fun, and what I find significant is that I like a lot of their company policies - it's pretty much the reason I applied there over some other available options. An example: I learned during the interview that they officially recognise all forms of relationships - so if I were to have a commitment ceremony, my (presumably female) partner and I will share the same medical benefits as a wedded male-female couple.

While I can't envision myself hooked up that way, I like that they recognise it. I'm quite openly gay, and I've managed to work in some very safe spaces so far - yknow, all those artsy fartsy (and slightly tarty) arts scene stuff.

I don't even want to talk about what I'm writing now for rent, but want to see how far I can vomit lightning if it was drawing stuff? I think that'd kill me...illustrating how homosexuality is a Western vice (an opinion I encountered last week), or working with people who use patriarchy as an example of gender equality (at a meeting this month):

Guy: I mean, look at the cigarette girls! They do fine within patriarchy! They know how to work the system! They make money.

Lainie: *puts fork down*.

At that moment, I had no idea where to begin. I was thinking of power, definitions, heterosexist norms, access, Jemufo having an aneurysm, glass ceilings, the gaze, my friends who are cigarette girls, etc etc etc etc - but mostly, I was thinking "ARE YOU KIDDING???? Do you have ANY idea what that word means??". 

I actually had a lot of things I needed to do after the meeting that night. Twas supposed to be a quick drink. Then I took a look at him, beaming with pride that he had spotted a huge flaw in feminism - "no one needs it anymore because women benefit off patriarchy".

Lainie: Okay. I say they're a product of the system, and that we sit down and have a very long talk.

And so we did. Till past 3am. It didn't get very far, but I think we managed to agree on a few things. Kinda. Like.... like.....never mind. I can't remember anything positive, the blast of misogyny is a bit overwhelming in the memories.

Okay, so sometimes freelancing rocks, and sometimes it's more trying. Can you SEE why I'm reluctant about a steady job? I like my flexi hours (which this job offers), and if I have to deal with constant stupidity from colleagues I can't fire, I'd eventually take to bitching nonstop everyday. 

You could say I don't know everyone who works at this place I've applied to, but I have a fair bit of faith that if I work there, I will have good people I can learn from around me.

The downside is, I am sorely in need of a new laptop, but cannot afford both laptop and legitimate software (bloody hell, I don't thnk I can afford even just the software?). If I work here, I'll need to go legit because I get a monthly laptop allowance, and I'm expected to bring my laptop in for work. So if I berpirate-pirate (Ahoy me hearties! Arr!), some people could kena unnecessary crap over my booty la - if it helps, I know my lack of willpower for bad puns is tragic.

I enquired, to get the entire design premium suite that allows me to handle animation, print, photo editing and illustration (ie: Adobe), it'll cost RM7000. Just for the software T____T. I reckon their laptop allowance is calculated to essentially pay for a laptop that could handle word processing, not graphics. Graphic designers need desktops for the processing power, but if a laptop is absolutely necessary (which it is, in my case), we usually need the powerful ones just to handle the heavy applications.

I'm a power user, definitely. This is the 4th laptop I'm busting through, in 4 years. :/ So what're the other software options? Buying second hand, or a license from resellers (although at bloody RM6869, I'm not sure what the point is).

As much as I love trawling Sourceforge to see what's new, or trying out "cheap" software - GIMP can't do half the stuff I use Photoshop for, and Xara (which I once used) doesn't focus on the features that are the reasons I use Illustrator..

GIMP had photo stitching way before Photoshop CS2 did (and twas horible too, before they moved onto CS3), and Xara had vector generated bitmap tracing long before Illustrator, to say nothing of their vector-art-on-crack interface, but the Adobe suite does everything I need , and there's the certainty that versions of insanely popular plug-ins for open source stuff will eventually make their way to Adobe as well. It doesn't always work vice versa.

Hrm. I'm thinking too much. Or rather, I'm too hungry to be thinking at all. I thought I had a fever, so I took some meds - till I realised (or rather, it was pointed out) it's actually low sugar levels causing a headache :/. And I'm quite pansy today, I'm totally feeling the medication. Think I'd better sleep now and draw tomorrow - last part of the "interview"?.

 I liked how the interview went, btw, very chillax. 

I've never been for a job interview, yknow? I'm so used to people just giving me jobs, this is weird. Right before I went to sleep, Smile was asking all these weird demanding questions along the lines of WHADDYA MEAN, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT WORK YOU'VE DONE?? WHADDYA THINK?? THEY'RE INTERVIEWING YOU!! I stayed up an extra hour trying to get a list of work I've done, snippets I might need....Arranged for Smile to give me a wake up call.

I slept through her wake up call (or rather, I talked through it and zonked back to sleep the moment she hung up). I think Chen is familiar with this trait of mine. But! I woke up by myself, with plenty of time ahead! Cause I was excited! Hah. I can be quite a nerd. My first job interview! 

I had such an adrenaline rush, in the few minutes I was home (showered, fed the cat) after the interview, I swept the floors AND tidied up the living room a lil, before meeting Chitoo. Our film editing got postponed again .

Written by lainie at 09:39 PM on September 26, 2008 in work?, Arty stuff.

So I sent in my job application today, with two illustrations. This is not one of them (too many things going on la), but I thought a fiery lil dude would be fun to draw, so I took that idea and....Yeah. Behold, Eyeballs-on-fire man.. I took a break from the job application to do this, lost track of time and.....Well yeah. 

The version I sent Gazel had a lil "wtf?" poof coming out from his butt. It looks a bit random without accompanying text, but feel free to guess what it's about.

(the dude up there is meant to look a bit like Bruce Lee, because everyone should draw a Bruce Lee character at some point in their lives).

Now to get food and call someone. I'm laaaaaaaaate.

Had lunch with Kat today. Saw a rooster crossing the road.

Two lesbians + one cock = many very bad, very unsexy jokes.

Twitter exchange with Adri:

Adri: How does Abdullah continue to be PM when he talks about transitioning like this: "Err... memberi apa... apa perkataan tadi... laluan.."

Lainie: It's amazing enough Abdullah hasn't been caught on camera sleeping through his own speeches

Insomniac? Watch Badawi's speech here! 

Written by lainie at 12:37 PM on September 28, 2008.

Something in my inbox:

Dear gals and pals,

I would like to bring your attention to a special cause today: a dear friend of mine, Yuki Choe, a male-to-female transsexual, is in dire straits and urgently in need of donations to support her living expenses.

HER CURRENT SITUATION:
Yuki is currently unemployed and living on what remains of her savings. She is also relying on some donations made through her blog but PayPal is not recognised by most Malaysian banks. She has few friends. Some are helping but not enough. Her family has turned her down as well.

She has applied for over 60 jobs but had only 2 interviews, one of which rejected her, and the other offered her a job as a mortgage and home loan provider. She is eager to take it up as a part-time job, as well as start her own business (selling art pieces), but lacks start-up capital.

She has been disq ualified for state welfare. She is currently staying in a single room in USJ until she gets evicted. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
(1) Donate to Yuki -
All donors will be listed at Yuki's blog (www.yukishock.blogspot.com). Donors can choose to be named or remain anonymous. Any amount will be deeply appreciated.

(2) Notify Yuki if you know anyone willing to offer her a job with a stable income -
Those of you involved in LGBT activism will know that many transsexuals in Malaysia entered the flesh trade after failing to notch a single decent job offer, but Yuki is determind not to meet the same fate. She is also the only actively blogging transsexual LGBT advocate in Malaysia. Let's help her help herself, so that when she finally finds a firm footing, she can be a role model to all other transsexuals in Malaysia to lead independent, healthy and responsible lives.

(3) Spread this message around -
Post this on your blog, tell your friends, email your contacts - spread the word, get as many people as possible to chip in a little bit.

Please help Yuki get by, one day at a time. 
Your help will be deeply appreciated.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: 
She can be contacted at yuki.choe@yahoo.com.
For those patient enough to want to read about her life story, they can refer to yuki-thejourney.blogspot.com and yukishock.blogspot.com.

Please help if you can, donations, crossposting on your blog, whichever works. Yuki is an NCC Diploma holder, well versed in administrative work, sales and teaching. More a customer service person, with good computer skills.

Written by lainie at 02:49 AM on September 29, 2008 in Daily Life.

Last night was a huge ISA vigil in KL. Lots of funny and inspiring stories from those who attended. Great photographs. I wasn't there.

I'd told Winnie I'd help her at Amir Muhammad's booklaunch for KAMI in Annexe, because I mixed up some dates and it would've been inconsiderate to ditch her when I realised. Was too late to get a replacement.

I'd been working on a personal project (Chitoo is involved in two other aspects of it), but I've just discovered Danlim, Amir Muhammad and Mun Kao are working on exactly the same thing. Not only does it have the same concept, Danny and I both did research drawing from the same resources, and the presentation / display idea is the same too........Fuckin hell....

Danlim managed to get photos at vigil. Those at the booklaunch ended up hanging out with some of the journos / people at the vigil in Bau Bau cafe later, exchanging stories.

I think I was incredibly stressed out at the booklaunch - not because I was missing the vigil, but because we gave away so many orange plastic bags. I didn't even have the time to check whether they were recyclable. Almost everyone who bought a book (and got a free poster) wanted a plastic bag. Many had bagpacks, and a fellow volunteer was readily giving them out by default with every book he sold (imagine me at the side, holding a free poster, going "Hi! Free poster withyourbookpurchase, say, do you need a plastic bag"?).

For a lil while, my eye was actually twitching. This could be accumalated guilt from not composting in this house I stay at (don't cook much anyway), and that pile of recyclables that's starting to encroach upon the sink area. We're never gonna separate it till we frame the sink area with milk cartons and aluminium tin cans, the rate we're going.

Recycling near my house sucks - we don't even have a centre nearby. Bangsar was much more convenient. Then again, Rach got her handbag snatched the last time she went to recycle.

There is no point to this post.

Oh yeah. Stop using so many plastic bags. You're stressin me out.