Tuesday, June 08, 2004
Why doesn’t my phone ring!?
It must be broken….
My phone has been entirely too quiet since I've come back to Malaysia. It's making me wonder it was an illusion that I have a lot of friends here...But I think it's this: because of all the travel I was doing in the last two months, whenever I was back in KL I'd try to squeeze everyone into a very limited time. Now I'm back and there's not the same rush to see everyone. And there's the fact that everyone else may be busy with their own lives.
Also, I haven't reached the point where I make plans and invite people along--I tend to get invited. So when the invitations don't come, I'm alone or bored. I'm handling that better than back in December though, having realized that alone and bored don't always go hand-in-hand and recognizing the value of being on my own--all decisions left to me, without having to consult anyone else. Plus, I've been doing my own work (this week so far: I visited a skills training school funded by zakat money, had another interview with the agency collecting and distributing zakat, and I did an experiment for a magazine article I'm writing--more on that soon!...I find it interesting that everyone I interview asks me 1) if I am Muslim, 2) how old I am, and 3) if I'm married).
I've joined a gym again; it's not as nice as Gold's, but it is within walking distance to my house and cheaper.
And I'm getting antsy. I have to travel to Penang (5 hours by bus) for research next week, but I'm thinking maybe I'll squeeze another research/then beach visit in for the week after...if I can get ahold of the proper people (ones who speak English, especially) and schedule the meetings...That really is the most frustrating part of my work!
Punk'd…or is it Goth?
I'm bad at knowing what music belongs in what music category; likewise, I'm not sure about the followers either. I saw about six teenaged boys the other day in all black, tight jeans, lace-up boots, t-shirts with what I imagine are metal bands…but what really struck me was their makeup. Several of them were wearing black lipstick and others had eyeliner one. One had what looked like a teardrop/line drawn under the middle of each eye. They didn’t seem like they were misbehaving, but I’m sure their appearance makes other people think they’re bad kids. I happened to make eye contact with one and we exchanged smiles (and I was wearing a headscarf at the time even!).
It must be broken….
My phone has been entirely too quiet since I've come back to Malaysia. It's making me wonder it was an illusion that I have a lot of friends here...But I think it's this: because of all the travel I was doing in the last two months, whenever I was back in KL I'd try to squeeze everyone into a very limited time. Now I'm back and there's not the same rush to see everyone. And there's the fact that everyone else may be busy with their own lives.
Also, I haven't reached the point where I make plans and invite people along--I tend to get invited. So when the invitations don't come, I'm alone or bored. I'm handling that better than back in December though, having realized that alone and bored don't always go hand-in-hand and recognizing the value of being on my own--all decisions left to me, without having to consult anyone else. Plus, I've been doing my own work (this week so far: I visited a skills training school funded by zakat money, had another interview with the agency collecting and distributing zakat, and I did an experiment for a magazine article I'm writing--more on that soon!...I find it interesting that everyone I interview asks me 1) if I am Muslim, 2) how old I am, and 3) if I'm married).
I've joined a gym again; it's not as nice as Gold's, but it is within walking distance to my house and cheaper.
And I'm getting antsy. I have to travel to Penang (5 hours by bus) for research next week, but I'm thinking maybe I'll squeeze another research/then beach visit in for the week after...if I can get ahold of the proper people (ones who speak English, especially) and schedule the meetings...That really is the most frustrating part of my work!
Punk'd…or is it Goth?
I'm bad at knowing what music belongs in what music category; likewise, I'm not sure about the followers either. I saw about six teenaged boys the other day in all black, tight jeans, lace-up boots, t-shirts with what I imagine are metal bands…but what really struck me was their makeup. Several of them were wearing black lipstick and others had eyeliner one. One had what looked like a teardrop/line drawn under the middle of each eye. They didn’t seem like they were misbehaving, but I’m sure their appearance makes other people think they’re bad kids. I happened to make eye contact with one and we exchanged smiles (and I was wearing a headscarf at the time even!).
