The powers of string-pulling that be!

My visa has been approved. I loved the look on the face of my interviewer when a letter signed by the deputy head of the American embassy consular was shoved under his nose. But in all fairness he was an incredibly nice guy who enthused with me about Berlin being one of the loveliest cities to visit in Germany and is so happy that I will be travelling to his hometown, Chicago!

I must say the day started out perfectly, when a nice girl called Mandy struck up a conversation with me while waiting for our interviews. She could have been really bitchy towards me seeing that I had cut her queue due to daddy's contacts at the embassy, but she was the warmest Malaysian I have met in awhile. It's amazing that in 20 minutes, she'd given me generous advice for starting out a career and working towards a life goal of some sorts. People like these shouldn't be met only once in your life... but it makes it all the more poignant.

And the days go by...

Yesterday:
45 minute drive to Mantin (Seremban-lah), with Daddy, to see my aunties. Am officially the family's most spoilt niece as am earning much more in angpows in the past 6 weeks than I would have at a deskjob. Why am I working so hard for this degree? I should just spend more time pandering to my aunties and uncles!
Oh yes, I know why. It should have dawned on me earlier. All my elder girl cousins have been married off, and the family has been deprived of wedding celebrations for 3 years now. This for a family that has close to 40 nieces and nephews who get married or remarried at an alarming rate seems almost like a dry spell. It doesn't help that my cousins marry off at an average age of 25! I can feel them sharpening their claws. They are demanding a wedding, and probably a small sacrifice as well. Oh and they don't just want a boring old PJ wedding. What with my cousins getting married in Las Vegas and Melbourne and Timbuktu and the Moon... they were already planning my European wedding and shushing my cries of "but I've got to earn my first million before that!"

Today:
So everyone's talking about the great migration back to the land of free rain and cheap beer. In the meantime, I'm being forced into RPM classes and step classes and stretch classes and who knows what else to work off the fats that have greatly accumulated thanks to my 6 week Malaysian diet. (and I don't know a better diet than this!). This week is vanity week. Haircuts, facials, aerobics and shopping. It's the best way to spend quality time with mum. She gets to criticise me and I get everything paid for. Its a win-win situation, always!

Tomorrow:
Reapplication for US Visa. After Daddy yelled at them abit, and then yelled at them abit more, THEY called me instead today to clarify everything before I return to their big scary iron gates and pleeeead for permission to take a holiday in their country. CL suggested that I give the interviewer who rejected me a big glare after I get my visa. I suggested a few choice hokkien words too!

It's Daniel!!!

Underdog? What was I thinking?

True, the only Malaysian Idol episode I've watched this entire season happened to be the finale; and judging by yesterday's performance, Nita should have completely thrashed Daniel. That girl was a powerhouse on fire! And boy was she towering over pretty little Daniel, and I mean that literally.

So what did it? I swear it's that cute crooked chipmunk grin of his! And Charme, you HAD to see his rendition of Mimpi today! I've just fallen in love...

With the song, honey, just the SONG!!! You keep warm in London and just think happy thoughts of me!

Idol Fever

I've just done my part.

I expect it is only my patriotic duty to vote for the next Malaysian Idol, and I've never felt more Malaysian in doing so.

Oh well, better Malaysian Idol than Akademi Fantasia. I'm still eagerly waiting to see the outcome of the Kota Bahru Mawi-malady, or Mawilady for short.

Anyway, for the first time ever, I sat through the entire Idol finale and I am such a sucker for the underdog. Yeah lah, I voted Daniel. He's so adorable, I could take him home, give him a basket and teach him to roll over and play dead.

And is it me, or is Paul Moss trying to look like a cross between Sting and Phil Keoghan (of Amazing Race fame). There were times when I half expected him to get up on stage, look into the camera and say "In this leg of the race..."

But hey, the show isn't about Paul Moss (who sure did get his kicks tonight...). It's about talent, and Malaysia sure isn't lacking in that department. It's also about Malaysian spirit and a platform yet untainted by race or religion, nepotism or APs. This is something we can truly consider to be representative of a Bangsa Malaysia.

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

I can't write much these days. I get sleepy early, and lazy to think.

Oh but I do want to add that I am still appalled at the propaganda promoting the teaching of firearms usage at NS camps as a good thing! Teaching 17 year olds to fire M16s will boost self confidence? Do these people actually listen to the words coming out of their mouths?

Superpower, my foot!

It really isn't enough with a bumbling President, the atrocities of the war in Iraq, the need to pretend that global warming isn't really all that bad, and the inexcusable lack of support in the face of a hurricane - 3rd world treatment for a 1st world self empowered nation, now they need to give me another reason to believe that America is a bitterly cruel cruel country.

They rejected my US visa application and wasted my rm380 on a 5 minute interview which managed to discern that I did not show enough social ties in Malaysia. Why? Because I have spent 2 years abroad in the UK, if I may quote the interviewer. (If ANYONE brings up the 'SINGAPOREAN' jokes again and finds it funny, well I don't! Alright! 2 years spent in Singapore has never made me a traitor to my own country, and don't give me bull because I know my Malaysian history and politics better than most of you do!)

So my scholarship letter from Gamuda, which I am incidentally bonded to for 5 years, does not prove that I have social ties in my own country which I have only lived in for say, 18 years?? An official letter from my father's government office vouching my US trip was refused, and yet they wanted me to prove that I had social ties in Malaysia? And how am I supposed to accept the explanation that my two years away from Malaysia studying abroad has resulted in a loss of social ties with my own country? That is NOT a valid reason!

Superpower? Not so much Superman as the THING, and no one ever said he was very smart!

All because of May

You see, I could be doing other things with my busy schedule... like polishing my toothbrush or rearranging the stones in my fish tank... but nooooo... May has to tag me with this meme!
Ah, but I'm always so polite to oblige...

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Charlotte
2. Shu Chen
3. Chaaaaeeeeeeeeeee!!!! (screamed at the top of an emotional teenager's lungs when she can't find the remote)

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
(must we bring up the past? this is so embarrassing...)
1. Viva_X
2. X_AnGeL
3. dulcinea

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. My incredibly unruly hair - it has a mind of its own and a personality as strong as mine!
2. My smile?
3. My freckles!

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. I hate the fact I can't touch my toes and thus can barely pass sit and reach tests!
2. My paternal family's nose
3. My maternal family's appetite (bottomless!)

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. free falling and perpetual motion
2. cockroaches!
3. broccoli dinners

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. 50% pure faith
2. 45% lionel
3. 5% a warm cup of Milo!

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. a blue nightie... and I think I'll have to leave 2 and 3 blank...
2.
3.

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS:
1. Jewel
2. Tori Amos
3. Chantal Kreviazuk & Bic Runga tie for a third!

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS:
1. If - Bread
2. Feels Like Home - Chantal Kreviazuk
3. Love Song for a Saviour - Jars of Clay

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. 'No eyes for anyone else' loyalty
2. 'I can talk to you about anything - even my obsesson with UFOs' openness
3. 'I want to make you smile everyday' love

2 TRUTHS 1 LIE:
1. I have a phobia of capsize drills
2. I want a helium balloon everytime I see them handed out
3. I love broccoli... especially with cheese...

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. Intense eyes
2. A cute grin
3. And an all so cute toosh!

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Reading
2. Drawing
3. Tinkering with the Piano

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Turn off Mother Nature's radiator! I'm sweating buckets!
2. Find those damn recovery discs so I can reformat my desktop
3. Chat all night with Lionel

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING/YOU'VE CONSIDERED:
1. Owning an entire empire of arts and crafts shops
2. Restoring heritage buildings all over Malaysia
3. Becoming Education Minister... yes in Malaysia, where else?

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
Oh dear, where haven't I been to yet?
1. Greece & Turkey
2. New York
3. Egypt

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Make a change in this country... for the better!
2. Do simple things for humanity throughout my life
3. Make a perfect cheese cake!

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY:
1. I can program and I like it
2. I suffer from emotion deficiency
3. I can't participate in petty, catty fights, neither can I understand them

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:
1. I'm obsessive compulsive
2. I cry at the movies
3. I crave cuddles and kisses

THREE MALE CELEB CRUSHES:
1. Johnyy Depp
2. David Duchovny
3. Hugh Jackman

THREE PEOPLE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE TAKE THIS QUIZ NOW:
1. Charme
2. Sherene
3. Sugi

Beribu-ribu ampun!

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!

For not updating, for not calling, for not yum char-ing...
For lost phone numbers and lame excuses...
For forgotten birthdays and downright hiding from the world...
For not telling you where I've been, where I am, or where I'm going...
For not asking where you've been, where you are... how ya doin?

I'm just fine. Been really busy, that's all. Lionel came to stay for a few days (and nights). We ate alot. Drove alot. Shopped a little. Watched 2 movies and 2 dvds. We're incredibly unambitious tourists in our own countries, and since the best things in life are free... the best thing to do is arm ourselves with loads of plushy pillows and a duvet and lock ourselves away in an aircond room watching pirated dvds on my laptop. Why can't we do that in London, you ask?

Well... there's no aircond for starters...

The week before was spent in Penang, appeasing both my grandparents and aunty and just trying to keep the peace. Eccentric is just a mild term when it comes to describing my maternal family. And people wonder why I'm like this.

And now I have this ever expanding list of things I have to get done. A US visa being the top priority. After I'd gotten my standard 2 x 2 visa photo taken my mother in all her wisdom noticed that my eyebrows weren't tidy enough and I will have to get them done tomorrow before taking another photo. I'm not entirely sure what the standard requirements for eyebrows are in the US, but I'm more afraid of my mother than the US embassy.

More crazy antics to be posted later. Gotta get this junk heap of a desktop reformatted first.

A quick dictation

I type faster than I write, and way faster than I think. To some extent that doesn't explain the dearth of emails I have written in the last two years, but it does explain my decrepit bloggability.

Anyway quick updates.

Singapore
Spent 5 days on the island meeting everybody with Lionel. And by everybody, I literally mean EVERYBODY. Maomao, Jac, Viv and JingYe at Chomp Chomp; Sherene, Venki, and Baa at El-something at Holland V; my guardian and family at Tanjong Pagar; my bro at Ang Mo Kio; my Dad at Raffles Place and Xiaokai, Haoxiang, Mel and Sherene and Venki (again) at Sakae Sushi (its almost a tradition for my last meal in Singapore to be Sakae Sushi every time!).
5 lazy mornings spent just watching tv with Lionel, bickering about who should take a bath first. Being able to watch The Kumars at No. 42 is a luxury, alright? 5 lazy nights also spent watching tv, or wandering around Chinatown, or just watching the entire Les Mis 10th anniversary concert. You can't help but be lazy when you've eaten sooooo much! Lionel will just have to explain to my mum when she questions the amount of weight I've put on!

Fresher's Camp
So sorry that we had to push Cheng Chun on to the bus. Otherwise it was a fairly uneventful drive up to Tapah, with CL at the helm, Tao providing much entertainment and Ayish, Tock and I in the backseat playing up to Tao's antics. Our detour to Bidor was found out when around 6pm the juniors were ringing us to ask if we were lost. So nice of them. We didn't even tar pow anything for them. Except 4 kg of jambu batu.
Fresher's Camp was different this year. Freshers were different. I'd say good job done, but things could have been better. But given some last minute change of plans in the situation, I'd have thrown a hussy fit if I were them.
Was just nice spending time with Msoc people. Watching Tao rake in the laughs. Spreading gossip. Making fun of everyone and everything. I hate to say it, but the 3rd years stole the show at the camp... much like a favourite grandparent - spoiling the freshers by buying them ice cream and warning them not to tell the 2nd years in case we'd ruined their dinner.

And the rest...
I cannot stand the weather right now. I hate the humidity, the mosquitos and hot steering wheels! I think all Malaysian drivers were taught to drive by their mothers. I'm within arms reach of my Cleo magazine but it's boring me to death. I need a good book. Any good book. Tash Aw's Harmony Silk Factory would be nice. Pretty please?

If it makes me the bigger person, why not?

This was my e-mail to Nadia on 29 September 2005 (sent to mondayhater@gmail.com). If a personal e-mail really isn't sincere enough, well here it is again. It was the decent thing to do. Although I believe on the part of the offended, the decent thing to do in return would at least have been to reply my email or show some form of acknowledgement by leaving me alone. But if this is what it takes to be the bigger person:

From:	Yeow, Charlotte S C	Sent:	Mon 29/08/2005 18:41
To:	mondayhater@gmail.com
Cc:
Subject:

Attachments:

Dear Nadia,

I really think this would be better talking to you in person or over the phone, but that's quite difficult being all the way in Singapore.

However, I don't want to put this off any longer and I feel that I do owe you an apology and for your sake and the sake of your friends I need to explain myself and the post I wrote.

I agree that it was wrong of me to publish that particular msn conversation to a public audience. I overlooked the fact that you had been mentioned and to be honest the post was originally meant to ridicule Amar. Posting offensive comments about you without any self censorship was a terrible oversight, and for that I am really sorry.

I did not intend to be malicious when I said the things I said. After all it was a real life personal conversation that I had with Amar and it is only natural being friends that from time to time I'd condemn his past relationship to make him feel better. Its no different from telling my own girlfriends that their ex-es are evil scumbags even if in truth they were philanthropist adonis-like demigods. I have no doubt that your own friends criticise Amar to bits (and Amar and his quirks and mannerisms are undoubtedly prone to severe criticism), and I'd have to say I was doing the same. Being a friend, however thoughtless it was.

I have, since last Wednesday, modified the post such that it should no longer be offensive. I would however like to keep it published because even after censorship the main content still remains and since that is the reason I published it, I would like to keep it there as my usual audience thought it nothing more than a hilarious dialogue. They of course do not know who you are and believed you might have been as much a figment of Amar's imagination as his harem girls are.

That is all I can say in my defence. And I felt that I had to say something before your own friends embarass themselves and to stop my own friends from retaliating. I have no wish to be involved in anything between you and Amar, beside knocking some sense into his head from time to time. The both of you are too much alike and there is no use pitting fire against fire. Whatever Amar wishes to do to retaliate has nothing to do with me.

I do hope you enjoy the rest of your summer.

Regards,

Charlotte

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAA!!!!
"And the High Sheep said - be the bestest, greenest lamb that you can be!"
God Bless!

*apologies for lack of updates... off to Tapah for the weekend*