Monday, October 30, 2006

Way to Go, Malaysia!

Way to go, moderate Islamic country, Malaysia!

Continue to make those 2 am raids more regularly especially on elderly white foreigners! Yes, who knows, those randy old, white men might have some young and nubile Malay women in their bed! Go ahead, knock on their doors and scare them so that they might leave the country with such good impressions of moral uprightness being practised in the beautiful country of Malaysia!

The Star Online > Nation



Couple in khalwat raid may drop second home plan

LANGKAWI: Retired American policeman Randal Barnhart, who was subjected to a 2am raid by religious enforcement officers, is reconsidering his plan to make Malaysia his second home.

“After that unpleasant episode two weeks ago, I do not feel like making Malaysia my second home. It is a pity because both my wife and I really love Langkawi,” he said.

On Oct 12, Barnhart, 62, and his wife Carole, 61, were in their rented condominium in Kuah when enforcement officers continuously knocked on their door at 2am, accusing them of committing khalwat (close proximity).

He said the officers demanded to see his marriage certificate, although he had told them that they were Christians and should not be subjected to Islamic law.

HAPPIER TIMES: Barnhart and his wife Carole posing for a picture during an outing. They felt humiliated by the raid by religious enforcement officers in Langkawi recently.
“We find it difficult to forget the unpleasant episode. My wife was so terrified by the incident that she fears sleeping in that condominium,” he added.

Banhart said the officers were rude and insisted on “seeing the woman” when he opened the door.

“My wife had to show herself despite only having a sarong on at that time. We felt humiliated for being treated this way,” he said.

He said he had to send his wife back to the United States on the next available flight because she feared people might return to the condominium to terrify her in the middle of the night.

She flew home on Wednesday.

“I want the religious department to apologise to me and my wife in writing,” he added.

“I also want the department to compensate the RM4,315 I had to pay for the return ticket so that my wife could go home.”

Banhart said he would be sailing to Thailand once his yacht was repaired.

State Religious and Humanity Development Committee chairman Professor Datuk Wira Dr Othman Ishak said he would investigate the matter.

“I was not aware of this case. I will ask the Religious Department head. We will get feedback from the vice-prevention squad in Langkawi before making comments,” he said.

Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said he would check with the state Religious Department to find out what really happened.

“I was not informed about this case. I will find out what really happened before making any comment,” he said.


Sunday, October 29, 2006

Thank Goodness for YouTube!

Indeed!

I have been able to catch up with my favorite dancers of the Dancing With the Stars competition via YouTube. ABC has videos of the competition on their site but the download is just impossible to put up with on a dial-up connection. :-(

I am sorry to read that, country star, Sara Evans, has withdrawn from the competition. It seems like she is going through a messy divorce.

Mario Lopez seems to be the favorite with viewers even though I think Joey Lawrence is the more talented of the two. I would hate it if Joey did not make it to the last two of the competition. Emmit Smith has a strong fan base and Cheryl Burke is a talented dancer and choreographer. It was most definitely her talent as a choreographer that clinched the title for her and Drew Lachey in the previous season.

I am glad that finally Jerry Springer is voted out of the show. It has been long overdue! Better dancers have long ago been booted out but because of his strong fan base, Jerry was able to stay on till the 6th week!

I am looking forward to the grand finale! Again, I say, thank goodness for YouTube and the fans who took the trouble to post the video clips online!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Miri Update

It has been three weeks since we arrived in Malaysia. I've been itching to get online but dial up connection can be summed up in two words: It sucks!

Big time!

I have been relying on my brother's computer and internet account to get online. I just couldn't get my own laptop to connect to the internet until today. I brought my laptop to a computer shop in town and a young man got the configurations right and so today I am using my own laptop to get online, using my brother's account, of course.

My first order of business after being able to get online on my own computer was to sign with Rush Limbaugh's 24/7. I have been having talk radio withdrawals.

I am listening to Rush Limbaugh as I write this. I think it is fantastic that even while in Malaysia I can still listen to Rush Limbaugh and keep up with the latest happenings especially on national politics.

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I got to meet Vynne and Francis in Kuching. Too bad Doug was not able to go kayaking because Kuching Kayaking only takes a group of at least three people.

In KL, I met Jared and his daughter, Ayu. Denice and Ayu got along famously!


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On the first day of Hari Raya, I met up with James and several other members of rumahdayak.com The dinner at Ming Cafe was great, and after that everyone continued on to Latong Cafe. I stayed for maybe half an hour. It has been a while since I entered a karaoke pub, and the cigarette smoke and loud karaoke got to me, I guess. I must be showing my age! :-)

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I also visited relatives because none of them has met my children. We didn't do much while in Kuching, and nether did we do much in KL, because the children were still suffering from jet lag and after only a couple of hours out, they got cranky.

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I had forgotten how hot and humid it is in Miri! Maybe in another couple of weeks the heat and humidity will be more bearable. Thank goodness for air-conditioning!


More updates later!

Monday, October 02, 2006

All Set

We are all packed and ready to go! My next posting will be from Malaysia. Woo hooo!

Last Saturday, we had to make a special trip to Walmart to get two more duffel bags. The two that I was relying on were not fit for another long trip. One had a broken wheel, and the other had tears near the handle.

Anyway, with three large duffel bags, I thought initially that I had more space than I needed. But with all the last minute things stuffed in, errr, it is as it has always been when we take a trip to Malaysia. Bags are stuffed till they almost look like they are ready to split! :-(

This trip I made sure to spread our clothings around in all three bags. With the change in airplane in Hong Kong, a bag could get lost, and I didn't want a whole bag of my clothes and things to disapper, or a bag of the kids or Doug's clothes and things to disappear! I am, however, hopeful that all three bags will be there at the arrival carousel in KLIA.

Looking forward to meeting old friends and enjoying the fabulous food back home!

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Guruh Roy. This is hard because I don't listen to much music, and the music I listen to regularly are those associated with the theme music of the talk radio shows! :-)

The Tag Rules are:
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your Live Journal/blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

  1. Rush Limbaugh Show theme song, My City Was Gone by The Pretenders, Learning to Crawl Album
  2. Hugh Hewitt Show theme song, Theme from Last of the Mohicans
  3. Engelbert Humperdinck, The Way it Used to Be, Entayang's current song on her blog
  4. Mark Levin Show theme song ... don't know the name! ;-(
  5. Ray Charles, America the Beautiful
  6. Naff, Kau Masih Kekasih Ku
  7. Stella Philip, Sulu Injau - ringtone ID for hubby

I now tag the following:

Monday, September 25, 2006

Random Musings

I have been enjoying the Dancing With the Stars series. Last week Joey Lawrence scored 2 tens and 1 nine from the judges. It was indeed a surprise this early in the season. But I can tell he was the other male dancer besides Mario Lopez who can really dance.

I am not looking forward at all to missing the subsequent episodes! Next week, we are leaving on the day of the show and from that week onwards I will have to settle for the video clips of the shows on the ABC website! This series is the only show that I follow on TV right now. I do not watch anything else other than the news channels on TV, err, maybe some movie every now and then.

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We are leaving next Tuesday evening, and I have not done any packing yet. It is not something I look forward to doing at all. I will have to make sure that each piece of luggage does not exceed 30 lbs. And that we are not going to have more than 3 pieces of checked in luggage! It will be hard, but we will have to do it. Dealing with two young kids will be hard enough, and we do not want to be distracted by excess baggage!

I heard on the radio today that it is now okay to carry small amounts of liquids and gel onboard. I had already bought some tic tac because if I can't bring any toothpaste in my carry on luggage I'd better have some alternative for freshening my breath!

It was pleasant news for me because that also means I can shop for some perfume from the duty free shops. The prices of perfumes at the US airports duty free shops are far cheaper than those in other countries. Prices at Taipei airport was no bargain and neither are those at KLIA. We'll be in Hong Kong for a few hours stop over and it'd be interesting to compare prices there too.

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This past two weeks I was in a beading frenzy. I spent a few hundred dollars on beads and beading supplies. You can view some of my latest creations here.

I sold 3 pieces of my jewelry to one of my kids' teachers, and because of that surprise sale, I got really motivated! Heheh. The new beads I bought were chunkier and also of better quality. I also spent a bit on sterling silver wire, and find that the finished product looked classier. I like the sterling silver beads and the hill tribe silver too but those will have to wait. The price of the finished product will most definitely go up once I start using the better quality beads and wire.

I enjoy looking at the works of other beaders and I must say there are many of them out there! Others have online stores at places like Etsy to sell their creations. I am not ready to do that although if anyone is interested in purchasing any of my creations that they see on my blog, they are welcome to email me.

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Today I got in touch with an old friend, Vernon, through his blog. It is wonderful to be able to reconnect with Vernon after all these years.

Vernon has an interesting blog that is filled with stories of the lifestyles of Malaysian celebrities. He is in the position to blog about Malaysian celebrities because he is an executive producer and artiste manager. I don't personally know any Malaysian celebrity, not even a small time Iban singer! Heheh. So I am always curious to know what goes on with the Malaysian celebrity scene.

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Today is officially the second day of autumn but it doesn't feel much like autumn. People are still going about in their skimpy clothes. Only the mornings are cool and during the day, the temperatures are still nice and warm. Yesterday I went to church in my sleeveless dress and I was glad I dressed lightly because while we were out shopping that afternoon after church, the weather was quite warm.

One of the things that I miss about autumn, being in this part of California, is the autumn colors. There are very few places that you can go to to enjoy the spectacular beauty of fall foliage. Hardly any near where I live. Pity.




Friday, September 22, 2006

Peridot Necklace


Amethyst Chips Necklace



I used dark purple rochaille beads which were lined with silver foil, amethyst chips, fresh water pearls and swarovski crystals for this three strand creation. It elicited various compliments when I wore it. :-)

Friday, September 15, 2006

In God We Still Trust

Rose Quartz Beauty


Rose quartz bracelet with silver metal beads to match the necklace.


Rose quartz, lamp-work beads, glass chips, fresh water pearls and some metal beads.

Aventurine Bracelet


Aventurine beads matched with some metal beads and some crystal rondelles.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Dancing With the Stars Season 3

Dancing with the Stars' season 3 began today. I enjoyed the previous two seasons and I was lucky enough to have turned on the TV yesterday and heard that the new season begins today. I would have been really disappointed if I had missed the opening show! :-)

One of the dancers of this new season is Tucker Carlson (see pic at left). I know Tucker from his show on MSNBC. But poor Tucker. If ever there is guy with two left feet, he is the one! One of the judges even compared his dancing to sitting on the toilet! I felt sorry for him that I casted my vote for him tonight. Heheh, I don't want him to not receive any votes at all from the viewers! His score was the lowest from the judges. I am sure the other dancers will receive lots of votes. Already I can see at least 3 couples who are really good.

Harry Hamlin (Clash of the Titans, and TV's LA Law) is also one of the contestants this year. Last year his wife, Lisa Rinna, was in the competition. As for Harry's dancing, it was only slightly better than Tucker's. This guy doesn't have the moves. He was quite stiff.

I couldn't believe it when I heard at the start of the show that Jerry Springer was a contestant! I think he has a horrible TV show. But he was game enought to participate in the competition. His score was third lowest. He was really funny and he felt sorry for his professional dancing partner who had him as a partner.

Sara Evans (country singer) was also a contestant. I thought she danced really well, and I was surprised that she had the second lowest score before Tucker.

Mario Lopez (actor and TV host) is the cutest looking male contestant this season! His dimples! Heheh. Mario and his professional dance partner received the highest score from the judges tonight. I think I will be voting for this guy all the way this season too! He reminded me a lot of Drew Lachey in the previous season. They are both natural dancers.

There are a few new professional dancers this season. Jesse DeSoto is one of them and is the cutest looking of them all! Cheryl Burke is back this season. Last season, she and Drew Lachey were the champions of the competition. This season her celebrity partner is Emmitt Smith of NFL fame. He is a really big guy but he can move!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's result show. Tom Jones will be the special guest of the show. You know what? I just realized that I will be in Malaysia in early October and that means I am going to miss the last few episodes of the shows including the final! Boo hoooo. :-(

Update: Tucker won't be dancing with the stars in future episodes. He is the first to be eliminated from the competition.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Going Home

I have finally got the air-tickets for our trip home this year. This time we will be travelling through San Francisco and flying on Cathay Pacific. We normally take Malaysia Airlines and fly through Los Angeles but this time we thought we'd try another airline.

We will be in Kuala Lumpur from October 5 - 9. So those of you in the KL area, and if you are free during that time, how about getting together for some makan makan? Let me know .. Guruh, Agus ...

After KL, we'll be in Kuching for a few days. I am buying Doug a day trip with Kuching Kayak. I just hope that the weather will stay dry during that time. I can't swim, so I don't think I'll be joining Doug for any kayaking trip! :-( When I first mentioned this fact to Francis a few months ago, he told me there was enough time for me to learn to swim. Heh. No time lah.

I hope to meet up with some of you in Kuching too ... Vynne, Desmond, Dara, Mac. Cuthess and Chris come and meet me in Kuching!

After Kuching we'll be flying to Miri ... my hometown. The kids and I will stay till mid January, but Doug will return to California after two weeks. In January, he'll come back to fetch us home.

I told Doug he shouldn't complain about having to spend that money on air tickets to fetch us! Just think of how much more he can save without me there in California spending money on fabric and beads and Christmas toys! :-).

I am so looking forward to all the wonderful food back home! :-) And yes, I'll be sending Doug home from Miri with a bag full of food mixes, pastes, belacan etc! My supply till my next trip home!

Friday, September 01, 2006

End of the Month?

Not having to go to a regular job outside the home, dates are not important to me. But I must know what day it is though. I have to take my kids to pre-school and on the days they don't have to go, I sleep in.

It is the end of August and as I look at the blog entries for the month .... wahhhh, only five? Have I really been that busy? Sort of. Beading, finishing customers'quilts, taking care of the kids, the heat of summer ..

Speaking of the heat. August this year has got to be the mildest since I arrived in California. Not a day of over 100 degree Fahrenheit temperature!! That is quite unbelievable! I'm not complaining because our electricity bill for July was more than double our normal usage! I hope September will be as good, if not better than August. I am ready for autumn!

All the stores are clearing and putting away their summer stuff. That is not always good for me because my favorite fabric store will have put away the fabric for summer. And I am just starting to do some sewing.

I am finally taking the plunge at sewing my own clothes using the ready to use patterns by companies like Simplicity, Butterick, Vogue. Of course, I started of by making something very simple and straight forward. A dress that had no other fancy cuts other than the usual neck, arm holes and sides. That went well, and my second attempt was more complicated. Did I waste a lot of fabric or what!? Good thing I had lots of the same fabric.

One of the saddest thing I discovered through all this sewing is that no matter how good the pattern looks on paper, it doesn't translate the same with the finished product. No, it has nothing to do with the quality of my workmanship. Alas, my once slim figure with its trim tummy is now a thing of the past.

It is depressing to have to adjust and alter the mid section in order for the dress to fit. Just thinking about it makes me want to go on a fast. Yeah, right. Me fast? I, who have to eat a bowl of cereal every night before I go to bed? Heheh.

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Selamat Hari Merdeka!

(Oooopsss, it is already past midnight so it is the beginning of September!)

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Seeing Too Much

Last night I was listening to a Chicago radio station over the internet. I don't remember the name of the show but the two hosts had so much fun talking about What Your Freshman Don't Know.

For example, smoking has never been permitted on U.S. airlines. There has never been a Soviet Union. And the funniest comments from the two hosts came when they got to Young women’s fashions have never been concerned with where the waist is.

They talked about how they have seen things from strangers that they had hoped to see, in their younger days, from their girlfriend after six months of dating.

This brings me back to an earlier entry on this blog that had two pictures of thongs being exposed. Since that entry Paris, France has an official ban on the wearing of thongs on their beaches. Talk radio had a field day with that news from Paris. To them, it was Paris's way of kowtowing to the demands of their increasing Muslim population.

Here in the US, some people with young children were offended by a group of men wearing thongs at Vandercook Lake during the recent heat wave. Now that is one sight that I would not want to miss, provided of course, the men had the body to show off with their thongs! Otherwise, the sight would spoil my appetite. Heheh.

I have never seen an exposed thong on anyone. Maybe I haven't been watching too carefully or those who wear thongs have taken the advice of fashion experts. "It's an inappropriate thing to show your thong sticking out," said Elycia Rubin, lifestyle director for E! Networks. "I don't think it looks nice. It's tacky."

Besides peeking thongs on wearers of low rise jeans, flabby tummies and tummies with stretch marks are also things that I find tacky. I know that there are people who are such slaves to the fashion trends that they don't care that certain fashions are just not suitable for them.

For your entertainment here's a link to Google Video, where you can feast your eyes on a parade of thongs! Doug got quite a kick from that video clip! :-(




Tuesday, August 22, 2006

One Year

Puteri's Musings is one year old today! Woo hoo! Heheh.

I am really glad I got into blogging. Not only has blogging become an outlet for rantings, ravings, and trivial thoughts, it has also brought me into contact with the most unexpected people.

A few people have written to me because they discovered my blog through the search engine ... other Iban ladies living in different parts of the world. I have made friends with other Malaysian bloggers and despite not having met them, they have become people that I really look forward to meeting in person one of these days.

Thank you to Blogspot, the best free blog hosting site on the planet!