31 Aug 2008
by irenein Malaysia
Today is the National Day of Malaysia. Although 2 other states, Sabah and Sarawak, joined the Peninsular of Malaya to complete the country of 13 states on 16th September 1963, we Malaysians have always celebrated Hari Kebangsaan on the 31st of August. Why… I do not know. This particular issue has been discussed, argued upon and resolved by having a Malaysia Day on 16th September. But I have to say I don’t remember ever celebrating Malaysia Day in my life.
One can read all the boring details about Malaysia either from Wikipedia or the CIA World Factbook. There’s also plenty of guide books because of the country’s ever increasing popularity as a tourist destination. In my opinion, Malaysia is a safer country than Indonesia, the Philippines and maybe even Thailand. It is much more exciting than Singapore and Brunei. Touring the country is very convenient because most of the population understands English.
Although I do not call Malaysia my home anymore, I have decided a long time ago to remain a citizen of this country. Despite how we are viewed by the outside world, I love it for the fact that we are a multi-lingual, multi-religion, multi-cultural, colourful mix of a country. And the variety of food we have… nothing beats that!
30 Aug 2008
by irenein Malaysia
While clearing out old Yahoo mails, I found an email dated 10th December 2000 from my father. Dad just started learning about computers and the internet. I was in the US at that time, accompanying my youngest brother Michael on his first trip to America. Because I have experience in this, it became my responsibility to make sure that things are in order for Michael before he starts engineering school at Ohio State University.
My father was a primary(elementary) school headmaster for 30 years. He has students that went on to become doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc… The email showed his caring side for the children and how generous he is with his encouragements. Here’s part of my dad’s email and a glimpse as to what I am made of:
Everything works out fine and in good order. You ought not to worry. Just keep on enjoying yourself. You need to relax and plan for your future. Don’t miss the chance. Time is running out and passes very fast. You got to decide what is good for yourself. At times you need to be selfish. You can’t affort to be caring at the expense of giving up what you aimed for. You got to seriously do some searching for the good of your future. Go ahead and do it and don’t bother what people say. Never let their words nor actions block your pathway to success. Best of luck to you.
God bless you and love,
Dad
8 months after my dad’s email, I quit my job of 6 years, left Malaysia and started design school in Michigan. This is the beginning of my 7 wonderful and memorable years in the United States of America.
29 Aug 2008
by irenein Belgium
One thing I need to get used to when living in Belgium is the AZERTY keyboards! When I do not have use of a QWERTY keyboard on my boyfriend’s US bought laptop – blogging, emails and chatting can be a pain in the ass.
The AZERTY keyboard I am using right now is 20 years old and I need to type fast in English! The keys require more pressure than the ones I am used to. It felt like typing on a classic typewriter after 2 long emails. It is similar to my mom’s first computer in the 80s. This also reminds me of my brother’s computer when he was still in university. He wiped the commonly used letters off his keyboard within a few months of school work, gaming and consistent fast typing!
An old keyboard, regardless of brand, is an old keyboard. But the boyfriend insisted that it is the best and can’t figure out my whinings. Ah well, this old thing has been with him for 20 years or more. I would say the same about my little baby pillow of 37 years old. It has been with me since the day I was born and went along to all the continents I’ve visited and moved to. I would insist that it does not smell nor feel lumpy… 
28 Aug 2008
by irenein Happenings
It has been crappy weather for 3 days straight. I have not seen the blue in the sky for 72 hours. And according to the weather forecast, it will continue to be so till Friday. I’ve enjoyed 360 sunny days in a year when I was living in Las Vegas, let me tell you that this Belgian weather really takes getting use to!
I try not to get as gloomy as the weather, so I’ve taken my daily walks diligently. Even used the weather as an excuse to wear my raincoat although there was no rain in the forecast. Hey, it doubles up as a jacket. Besides, no one knows me in Gent. No one notices the weird Asian lady with her silly fashion. Also, I get to wear my sweaters. Sweaters are great concealers of love handles! Hahaha!
Oh well, at least it is not stormy. Cloudy and grey I can deal with by taking walks and people watching. Rainy days give me a reason to use my free umbrella from Nordstrom. It’s not that bad after all. One needs to adapt. 
27 Aug 2008
by irenein Movies, Books & TV Shows
I like to think of myself as a well informed person. I’ve known about the evilness of diamond trading for years. Read about the African wars and atrocities that have been going on for god knows how long. I am also no stranger to overly romanticized Hollywood movies. So, I had my presumptions before watching Blood Diamond.
The Hollywood part is true. But I have to admit that the movie was very well done in terms of relating the history and happenings in the diamond trade. 30 minutes into the movie, I do not see Leonardo DiCaprio nor his Beverly Hills glitz anymore. Djimon Hounsou can be a powerful actor, but he is just too gorgeous to play a humble fisherman from a small village in Sierra Leone.
Strong story, too famous and beautiful of a cast, so-so acting especially when it comes to the bad guys but quite entertaining. That aside, I hope this movie will shed some light to the public, especially people in the US. Horrible shit happens (people die, families separated, hands get chopped off) before the pretty brides get the death rocks on their fingers.
I am proud Esther said no to a diamond engagement ring. Let’s hope there’s no nasty stories about the sapphire.
26 Aug 2008
by irenein Belgium
During the work days when I am in Gent, I get to spend 8 hours on my own. Something that I’ve wished for in the past 5 years. I do not miss the hazy 10-hour work days as senior graphic designer of a fast-paced online company.
Planning a routine and a budget was something that I’ve initiated in the very beginning of my new life here in Belgium. It organizes my day and promote my integration into the Belgian society. Most importantly it prevents me from wasting the precious 8 hours I now have each day.
The following is how I spend my time:
- Computer Time. This includes emails, facebook, tweeter, online banking etc. A big potential time trap!
- Doing my chores. I organize and clean. The boyfriend call this my squirrel time.
- Wii Fit. I do at least 30 minutes of yoga, muscle exercise and aerobics. Seeing gradual results…
- Errands. This includes my daily walk, doing grocery and simply enjoying the city, culture and people.
- Designing. This can take up an entire afternoon or morning if I feel really inspired. Loving it!
- RSS Feeds. It was a time trap. Solved this by decreasing my subscriptions to only issues I care about.
- Learning. This means reading a book, looking up a recipe I want to try or just gaining more information about something I do not know about.
- Blogging. I find this activity therapeutic. I’ve grown up keeping a journal and this helps me put my thoughts in check.
Aside from the planned daily activities which I do not do at specific hours (that would be a bit cuckoo…), I also have a few projects lined up. I have yet to do a Photo Day for Gent and Harelbeke and post that online for the family. A web album about things I see daily will answer lots of questions about my new life in Belgium. It will also be a nice creative outlet for me. I wonder if my sister will ever bring up the illustration project that she was planning few months ago. And got to make use of that China connection I have.
So many things to do, so little time.
25 Aug 2008
by irenein Food & Drinks
It is one of the few Asian restaurants located in Harelbeke. According to my boyfriend, Peking Garden or China Garden (depending on which language you read the sign with) has existed for a long long time.
Curiosity got the best of me even though I am never a fan of having Asian food when eating out in Belgium. We went for the dinner menu featuring Sichuan dishes. Sichuan cooking is known to be very spicy, but I assumed that the cook would tone this down for the European palates.
Wrong. The soup which came in cute little Chinese bowls were downright tongue-on-fire spicy! After this little episode, the waitress told the cook to water down the dishes. Ah too bad… because the rest of the food was either too salty or too sweet. Without the fiery spices, the Sichuan dishes lost their unique flavors and identities.
Despite the not so satisfactory dinner, we would probably return to Peking Garden in the future. Harelbeke is soon to be home and there’s only a handful of Asian restaurants. I am sure when I get too lazy to prepare food, the desire to experiment and give this place a chance will overwrite common sense. And think about this … it has existed for more than 10 years, it can’t be that bad, no?
24 Aug 2008
by irenein Movies, Books & TV Shows, Simply Green
I’ve always wanted to watch the documentary An Inconvenient Truth since hearing about it years ago. I was finally able to do so after completing my errands today.
Al Gore is a very intellectual and convincing presenter. His honest urgency on the issue of global warming glued me to the screen and made me hung on to his every word. The Earth’s environmental gained a strong and focused ally when United States decided to not make Al Gore its president.
There’s plenty of facts and memorable quotes – some funny, some humbling and many sad. I will probably re-watch it again in a few months. I highly encourage and recommend watching this insightful documentary.
The official website: http://www.climatecrisis.net/
23 Aug 2008
by irenein Food & Drinks
Located at the Grote Markt of Kortrijk, Brasserie De Klokke seems like a decent place to have a simple yet inexpensive meal this lazy Saturday evening. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to our expectations as it did years ago. Either it was bad luck on our end or the cook was having a really bad day.
Boyfriend ordered the steak with pepper sauce and I the spicy shrimp (scampi) dish. Let me tell you that there’s no lack of sauce on both of our plates! The steak was undercooked but boyfriend ate it without making a complaint. I had to send my dish back for I do not think that raw shellfish was part of the deal. I only feel comfortable eating raw seafood in a reputable sushi restaurant.
The experience was a dissapointment. And it proves that the remark “You can never get bad food in Belgium” is a myth after all…
22 Aug 2008
by irenein Creative Business
I’ve started designing again. It felt really great and hours flew by like seconds!
For now, I am dealing with a few small projects using familiar design programs. My sister-in-law asked me to redesign her salon’s store sign. I need to finish up a photo-retouching task that I promised my sister months ago. For fun and for light creative exercise after the long sabbatical, I am creating some simple wallpapers for my laptop
Eventually, I will want to start exploring GIMP, Inkscape and learn some CSS. Possessing new skills and being up to date with the design industry will serve me well. An online portfolio is been considered, but for now I am sticking to simple design exercises just to get me back on track.
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