Itchy Mouth

I'm probably the worst snacker of all time

..or the best?

I remember being at a friends place snacking on cookies and I dramatically say

"TAKE THESE AWAY FROM MEEE! IT WILL NEVER END!"

to which she responds,

 "yes, she's serious, remember Chinese New Year?"

Back up a couple of months to CNY,

we were at a friends place and I was watching a game of MahJong, 

my arm taking it's place inside the kuih kapit (chinese wafer...thing) container.

I wasn't paying attention to anything but the game, 

Next thing I know, I've reached the bottom of the container and the layers of kuih kapit have disappeared. I must have eaten at least 40.

And this was after I've eaten half a dozen tiny mandarins 

and munched down those fried crispy seaweed chips.

Now to last week,

 I was stressfully chomping on hot Cheetos (the best thing ever invented)

I got the giant-est packet because the small packets are child's play.

So I reach in to get my first Cheeto and the bag is empty. 

This empty bag of Cheetos is obviously a conspiracy.

Except it wasn't my first Cheeto and my arm is covered in red Cheeto dust, 

so are the corners of my mouth.

How did this even happen?

I'm so confused that I open a new giant-est bag of Cheetos to calm my nerves.



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Glamping in Caravan Serai

The week before I left KL for Chicago,

Naeust, Fresh and Anne (hereinafter referred to as Gfrans) surprised me with glamping!

They told me to pack my stuff and kidnapped me for a weekend.

I say surprised because I really was surprised!

Anne: OMG YOU TOTALLY KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING!

Me: No, I really don't.

Anne: OMG it's so obvious!

Me: Where are we going?

Anne: OMG YOU TOTALLY KNOWWW!

So yeh, Anne was keeping her cool.

GLAMPING = GLAM + CAMPING

So we weren't really roughing it out. Heck, the tents had air cond with an en suite bathroom.

It's glamping guys, it's Glamping.

This was the entrance of the camping grounds. 

We had our own tents on the other side of the river, but this was where we had breakfast.

There's also a karaoke room on this end!

We'd also brought some wine, but because we were camping (LOL!) we didn't have a fridge!

So we decided hey, let's put it in the swimming pool to chill.

Yea, everything's wrong with the above sentences.

This place is a really good place to hang out with your friends and bond. No interruptions.

Just laughing, talking, enjoying each others company (read: no cell service. cannot find data).

We spent the afternoon lazing in the pool and doing who knows what. I can't really remember. 

Probably just talking a bunch of nonsense and calling each other stupid.

(said in the most loving way I assure you)

Anne running into the pic after clicking on the timer.

For dinner we had barbecue! Which was provided by the glamping grounds.

There's a person who actually barbecues everything for you, Sue Ann was just impatient.

All we had to do was sit back and wait for the food to come. I know right, #campinglife lol

After dinner the same person also made us a campfire! 

I brought along a bluetooth speaker, which I'd recommend.

That, coupled with some wine - kept us entertained the entire night lol. 

At times I wonder where we'd find other people who do/say as many stupid things as we do.

I'm glad we all found each other, that way all the stupid-ness is mutual.
I really think we could star in a reality TV show sometimes.

 Had a guided hike the next morning! The hike was pretty tough as there isn't a trail. 

Just a lot of mud and rocks and branches. It was nice, I liked it!

Thanks for the trip gfrans!

Yea.
We turn into airplanes when we're excited.
This was totally unplanned. I told you guys, it's mutual stupid-ness.
Somebody call Ryan Seacrest.

and wow, I miss wearing shorts, my legs haven't seen sun in a long time.

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About Being Malaysian in Chicago,

May be applicable to anywhere else in The States/any other country actually.

Can't really say la because I've only lived in Chicago.

#1 Speaking English

Question one

a. So where do you live?

b. So where are you from originally?

c. So when did you move to Chicago?

Me: Well, I'm from Malaysia. I came here in January.

Question 2

a. Oh so that's your ethnicity, but where did you live before you moved to Chicago?

b. Oh so how old were you when you moved here?

c. You lived somewhere else before coming to Chicago?

d. You lived here a long time then?

Me: No man, I was in Malaysia until I got here in JANUARY.

Lastly,

a. What? I thought you meant you were born there and you moved here when you were little.

 b. Oh! Your English is really good.

c. So do you speak Malaysian at home?

This brings us to number 2,

#2 Speaking American

"I like the way you speak, like the way you say things,
you say "outtt" with emphasis on the T"

"It's because you guys don't like to use your T's! Like liDerally"

 and ledders (letters) and ledduce (lettuce) and laed-der (later).

 I realize Malaysians must be incredibly accommodating.

When angmos come to Malaysia, we adopt an accent when we speak to them.
When we go to a different country, we adopt an accent X10 when we speak to them.

I'm like mmmh, don't know if I'm willing to give up my T's yet and 

I actually feel like I'm betraying myself if I were to say kent (can't).

Little trixha in my head is like 
"dudee, what are you saying? Get a hold of yourself man!!"

There aren't (or maybe there are barely) any Malaysians where I am, 

so I'm aware that the they way I English is probably more impressionable.
I consciously still say my Ahs instead of Ehs!

With class, not cleh-ss.

and 

pass, not peh-ss.

I'm not gonna be that friend who comes back with a whole different accent ok?
lol well I'm trying anyway.

I think my friends still understand me when I say "mainTenance" instead of ma'en'nence. 
 So I'm keeping my T's! So keep your T's ok?

On a side note,
I think it's normal if Americans find it strange that we use different phrases for things.

E.g. Saying lift instead of elevator.

Both are interchangeable terms, 

but when other Malaysians are like "lol! can't believe you still say lift.

I'm like WHUT!? EH EH EH YOU DON'T FORGET YOUR ROOTS AH!

PLS DON'T BE SO LAME!

Moving on to,

#3 Speaking Malaysian

I still say my la's when I'm extra enthusiastic about something,

then I'd explain that it's just a Malaysian thing and I can't help myself.

"I don't know la"

"La?"

"Yea, sorry it's a Malaysian thing. It's for uhm...emphasis"

"Oh! Like...stop it laaaa"

"YAA! EXACTLY!"

Fast forward to a couple of weeks later when a friend said:

"Omg, get it together la"

I'm like waitaminutee! *eyes all sparkly* Did you just say "la"!?

It caught on, guys! I'll have them Malaysian in no time.
Maybe I'll try to slip in some "aiyo"-s in there.

But I'm here in America la you know, 

So I also make an effort to figure out what the whole "fahrenheit" and "block" deal is.

 Yea, it's tough to English sometimes.

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