Back in Kuala Lumpur…

Petronas Towers-KL

Back in Kuala Lumpur now after being in Cherating for probably around ten days.  We decided to make the trip back to the city so we could have a Xmas dinner that didn’t consist of rice and noodles (I know, we are so spoiled).  Doubly spoiled actually because we were welcomed by a surprise email from M’s aunt telling us to go out for a Xmas meal on her and she would pay us back! Very excited, we arrived back in KL at about 6pm on the 25th, checked back into our regular guesthouse and went to the Marriott as I had previously heard they were having a buffet Xmas dinner.  Buffets are always better for us since we don’t eat turkey.  There are usually a lot of options compared to a meat based set meal that is wasted in us.  Not surprisingly, the Marriott was all booked up, so we went across the street to the very grand looking Grand Millennium.  We had a huge buffet meal for about $30/person including dessert buffet that had more than enough options for the fish-eating semi vegetarians we are.  Although I have decided to give up most seafood once we are done travelling, I have to say, the oysters on the half shell and the sashimi were exceptional.

Bungalow in Cherating

We are now working out our next move, but we will most likely stay in KL for NYE and then either go back to Cherating (we’ve made a good friend and M is hooked on surfing) and then head to Singapore for a few days before flying out to Bali, or go directly from KL to Singapore. 

Kampung Baru-Kuala Lumpur

I’ve finally figured out how to compress photos on Iphoto so I have uploaded some more onto flickr.  Since I was having such a problem uploading them before (20 photos would take about an hour and a half on the public or paid computers here), I have become a bit discouraged with both taking photos and uploading them.  Now that I’ve figured this out, you should be seeing some more, and I will try to make my posts not so text heavy as I know that can be super boring!

Hoping all of you had a warm and happy Xmas and a fantastic new year.  I am thinking a bit about “resolutions” if you want to call them that.  I know a lot of people are anti New Years resolution, using the argument that you do not need a certain date to start something new etc.  While I totally agree with this, I do like Chris Guillebeau’s perspective.  He uses the end of year and the one coming up to reflect on past goals, set new ones for the future and examine what went right in the past year and what went wrong.  I think everyone could use an annual review and I will be working on my own.  Pretty difficult given my current transient state and not having any idea where I will be next week, let alone the next year, but no matter where I am, I believe personal goals can be set that will involve a more internal management.  What do you think? Happy New Year to my few but growing readership!

xo

snowy sunday.

Things i am loving:

-The Betsey Johnson window that i pass on my way to work.  I have yet to be able to afford anything from this store, nor do I currently have anywhere to where a magenta tutu but somehow just walking by the window in the morning and seeing the display makes me happy.  There is just so much crinoline, floral goodness going on in there, and a perfect mix of frilly girly meets hard rock badass.  I’m in love. Oh, and I dare you to look at this polka dot bathing suit and not want it. You are welcome to buy it for me

Weekly inspiration:

This weekend I am full of inspiration-which isn’t always the case with me! I find this time of the year particularly energy sucking, especially when I am living on the West Coast. However, a couple things have been keeping me sane(r) lately:

Chris Guillebeau. Man, this guy is great. I am only about 2/3 of the way through his book “The Art of Non Conformity” but every so often I read something in it that hits me on the head like a tonne of bricks. I particularly like what he has to say regarding his “Principles of Unconventional Living” and his stuff on fear:

“When faced with uncertainty about taking a leap of faith, take the leap. You’ll regret the things you didn’t do much more than anything you did so you might as well try new things.”

You can check some of his stuff out here. But you probably should just buy his book.

Added thoughts:

Last weeks meditation class dealt with the topic of “forgiveness” and some concepts that the teacher outlined really spoke to me: Many of us form negative habits and we keep thinking that our negative emotions and feelings are a result of external circumstances. For example, when we feel anger, it is always THAT person or THAT circumstance which is making us angry-an external force affecting our otherwise clear and logical mind. While we have to remember that our original mind is pure, it gets clouded with delusions which bring on negative actions and behaviour and so too is it the same with other people. No one wants to be angry. Everyone ultimately wants to be happy. But they are perpetuating their own negative states of mind which makes them act how they do. But if we can try to remember when we feel angry at someone, that their happiness is just as important as our own and that they suffer from the same delusions and clouded minds as we do, we might take a moment to think before something comes out of our mouth that we will later wish hadn’t. This is a major “work-in progress” theme for me. I often get angry and later wish I hadn’t said things that I had and I also react to other people’s anger in ways I later wish I hadn’t. So this advice seems sometimes unattainable, but at least something to strive towards.

Let me leave you for now with the song of the moment: