Nasi Dagang , Star Wars Marathon and Urban Legend

Over the weekend the local cable station had a back-t0-back Star Wars marathon. I am not a fan. But my beloved and some of his friends were. He railroaded our friend with the largest TV to host a Star Wars martahon party at his house and we all went over to watch the Star Wars movie.

When I said "we" I meant the men, who during the duration of the 7 hours we were at that house. sat with eyes glued to the TV except breaks for solat, short walks to the buffet table and toilet breaks. The other "we," namely the womenfolk sat at the dinning table, ate and exchanged stories and gossip.

I managed to find a lady who makes delicious Nasi Dagang here and was overjoyed when I found out that she was willing to cook it for me. Yahooo! I ordered two sets, one to bring to the party and another set for me to keep at home which I had for dinner the following day.

It was still delicious the following day! I resteamed the rice and it was fabulous!

One of the current hot topics is about the possible existence of a certain "album" containing pictures of women who are interested in looking for a spouse. That bit wasn't that interesting. Rumour has it that THE album was shown and seen by certain MBAs. No not those with the Masters in Business, rather the Married but Available variety of men.

Rumour has it, some women have banned their husbands from going to the house where THE ALBUM is kept.

I for one, am tempted to approach the owner of the album myself, to ask to view it. Not that I am interested in looking for a wife, no. But rather to see if the album really exist or if it is merely an urban legend.

Another rumour has been confirmed as a fact. An MBA did marry wife no 2 here. Wife no 1 is back in Malaysia apparently oblivious to the new development in her husband. Everyone else remarked how wife no 1 was fair and pretty and didn't understand why wife no 2 was taken on board.

The man in question is one of those who was very quiet and looked very pious. Often seen with a kopiah on his head. Actually I don't think I have seen him sans his kopiah. Perhaps the white skullcaps cover the horns very well?

Oh well.

I have started asking around who would be interested in inheriting the steamer I bought in Pekan Rabu or the mortar and pestle (or is it pestle and mortar) I had bought in Saco. I never did use it except when MIL came to visit.

I still don't know if we are staying or moving. I have to start packing soon. I hate packing! But the last thing I want to happen is to find out that we are really moving and I havent packed a thing! I know I have way too much stuff, some I inherited from friends who left so its time I passed it on.

We ended the nite with making arrangements to meet again.

Good friends and good food makes a good insulation when living here. I think one of the things I would really miss most if we move is their company. If we don't move we'll continue to make plans for winter hopefully.


PS Thank you everyone for your comments and opinions. At the moment the status of my move is still "pending."

Am I ready to return?

For some, their hearts are always set to their homeland. Everyday they think about what they miss back home in Malaysia. And every holiday they look forward to returning to Malaysia. Even though their bodies are here, their spirits and their minds are still back in Malaysia.

Unfortunately I am one of those people who don't really fancy the idea of going back. Not at the moment anyways. Yes I do miss some of the family. (Although I have to confess that I don't mind being out of the loop from the family gossips and the latest misunderstanding etc.) And yes I do miss the food.

I can't believe I am saying this myself but I am beginning to like it here. More accurately, I like the life we lead here. I don't have to worry about going to weddings and kenduris. Most of my time is our own, we're not tied down to taking to attend family functions etc. I guess its not just the life here but generally life abroad.

I like the fact that we could travel and of course it helps that we have a bigger disposable income here. For me there is a balance between the amount we could spend and the amount we could save.

Luckily for me my dearest share my passion for travel and seeing and trying new things. I would be so devastated if all he ever want to do is return to Malaysia for holidays. We do like to go to different places ever so often.

So he puts forward to me the possibility of returning back to The Homeland and suddenly I get a little bit sweaty. For me I had always envisioned that we would return when its time to retire. Or at least we would return after we have finished paying off all our debts, have a well cushioned retirement plan.

But of course things change a little bit since we have The Little One. Suddenly we realize the value of living near The Family so both parties could get to know each other better. Also it would be more beneficial for The Little One to know more about traditions and her cultural background. Something which I am not very big on. I know very little about cultural believes and in fact sometimes believe very little in them. (Like pantang larang lepas bersalin etc. I was at the supermarket 5 days after delivering the baby.) But I do realize its important for The Little One to see some of that for herself because its part of her cultural identity and it will be up to her in the future to decide if she would like to keep them or not.

And I guess the other thing is, for me, if or when we return, its means that we are settling down. And settling down is something that I am uncertain if I am ready for. We've been travelling for the last 9 years and I like the adventure of living abroad.

I suppose what it is, is more change. Change in lifestyle. Change in income. Change in responsibilities. Naturally I am somewhat apprehensive to this sort change.

I already lost my mum while we were on the road. Perhaps going back now will be good so The Little One could spend more time with her remaining grandparents, uncles and aunties.

Funnily enough I would have to relearn the Malaysian way of doing things if we go back. Perhaps it is time?