2009 – A Year in Review

1)    Where Is My Mind? – The Pixies

 This is my zoning out in the car song. When I really need to think, but I also really need to have something awesome playing in the background.

2)    I Try – Ben Taylor 

I don’t care if this is a cover of that Macy Gray song. I love it. He has a pretty nice voice.

3)    King of the Road – Rufus Wainwright & Teddy Thompson 

This song reminds me of road trips with my dad, because my dad would always play Roger Miller. But I like this cover, because I like covers, and I like Rufus Wainwright. What a profound statement. Dad and I went to Malaysia in April, so this song sort of reminds me of our epic road trip.

4)    Reason is Treason – Kasabian 

My fondest memory of listening to this song is when I was driving, and this old lady cut me off, and right as this song got to the chorus a cop pulled the offending old lady over. I giggle every time I think about it.

5)    Have A Cuppa Tea – The Kinks 

Let me just say this: I LOVE THE KINKS. This is not their best song… but it’s one of my favorites, because it talks about tea. Actually, a lot of Kinks songs talk about tea, but this one is silly, and I value the silliness. And the Kinks.

6)    Daylight – Matt & Kim 

An awesome song from an awesome person. Hannah Jones, you are my musical soulmate. I just need more of you in my life. Let’s run away together, please?

7)    Don’t Let Me Down – The Beatles

 Since the Beatles Rock Band came out in September and rocked my world (not to mention all of the remastered albums that were released), I heard this song and it struck a chord (no pun intended) and I have had it stuck in my head ever since. As an additional plus, it’s really fun to sing at top volume.

8)    Who’s Lovin’ You  - Jackson 5

 When MJ died, I revisited his music, like the rest of the world. And I discovered that this song just gets me. You dig?

9)    Catch My Disease – Ben Lee 

All I can think about when I hear this song is driving to Chattanooga with Jill for a day of free-spirited fun. I wore red lipstick and ate amazing pizza and spat off of a bridge. Overall, it was a very fulfilling day. There is definitely a video of Jill eating the pizza on FB, too.

10)                  Wilco (the Song) – Wilco

 This song used to play ALL THE TIME at Starbucks (Liz can back me up on this). Wilco has so many good memories attached to them, and this song is just a culmination of those happy feelings, even if it’s not a stereotypical Wilco sound. And it reminds me of the feeling of summer at Starbucks, which isn’t a good feeling, necessarily, but still a feeling.

11)                  The General Specific – Band of Horses 

Every time that this song comes on, I have to stop what I’m doing and sing along. “In time I'd find a little way to your heart, down to the general store for nothing specific / Gonna wash my bones in the Atlantic shore - only for you and me” – I love little lines like that.

12)                  Kids – MGMT 

So, I decide to jump on the MGMT bandwagon. And let me tell you, it was the right choice. This song has some of my favorite elements that are essential to good music: strong beat, a little electronic sound, awesome lyrics, and cool voices. A+, MGMT.

13)                  Alabama – Neil Young 

The first time I ever heard this song, I was on Monte Sano (mount insano!), sitting on the hood of my car with the windows down in my car, and I was listening to “Harvest” and for some crazy reason, I had never heard “Alabama” on it before. And it was a sticky summer night, and I pretended to squeeze the moon between my index finger and thumb, and I thought about all the reasons why I’m who I am. And then I got in my car, drove down the mountain, and had a surprisingly pleasant evening by myself.

14)                  Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long Long Time) – Elton John 

If I were the kind of girl to sing karaoke (which I am), I would sing this song. This would be the moment in the movie where the whole bar starts singing along. With the power of my voice and the grace of Elton John, I could make life like the movies for about 4 minutes 41 seconds.

15)                   Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare) {feat. MGMT & Ratatat) – Kid Cudi 

Another Hannah Jones Classic. No one believes me when they find out that I am actually a superb rapper. But they should. That really has nothing to do with this song, but you better believe that

16)                  High Speed – Coldplay

 This album has been out forever, but I still love this song. Every time I talk to someone about Coldplay, I have to talk about how much I think Chris Martin’s voice is sexy. Am I a broken record? Maybe. But this song just proves my point.

17)                  The Passenger – Iggy Pop 

After all those commercials for that movie with George “Thinks He’s So Hot” Clooney, this song got permanently stuck in my head. It’s okay, though, because this song is a beast. But not a bad beast, more like a French Bulldog. You know, still beastly, but cute and serious and awesome all at once.

18)                  Where’s Your Head At – Basement Jaxx 

Sometimes, a girl’s just got to have some rhythm in her life. Usually, I am a fan of something a little more complex than Basement Jaxx, but for the conclusion of 2009, it seemed like a perfect fit.

 

2009, you can choke on it. Because I have a feeling that 2010 has my back. 

We're Home!

We're home!

Here is the best picture of the trip, what made the whole trip to Malaysia worth it:

HOME!

That's right. We are headed to the airport in less than an hour for HOME! I am seriously feeling the way Joey did in the episode of Friends where he is totally homesick for London. Not that I haven't loved it over here and everything, but I am getting really tired of Asian everything. I am ready to go back to America where everyone hates you (or at least stays out of your business, haha!). Dad feels the same way. Yesterday we hit up Little India, which is a cool bazaar but we were out of space in our suitcases. Also, it was so hot I literally felt like I was going to puke. Gross. 

Today we went back to the 5-story techie mall, much to my chagrin. I was not amused. Then we did something pretty un-smart: we went and watched a 2 hour movie before a 26 hour plane ride. And now I'm watching my last Malaysian sunset while Dad takes a shower (little does he know I used up all the shampoo. Ha! That's for using all of my good soap!). Soon I will be back at home with a lot of Malaysian stuff and life will go back to normal. But I definitely have loved my stay here (except for some bathroom experiences)! See you all when we get home!

A Little Taste of What We've Been Up To

Cool ceiling facet thingy at Meneras Tower. 

Me and Dad in the revolving restaurant (which was so cool) with the Petronas towers in the background. 

The Petronas Towers by night! 

Again, with some of the city around it. 

Bird's eye view of sunset in Kuala Lumpur.

Look at some of the awesome food we had!

We were REALLY high up there...REALLY REALLY high!

The towers by day. 

Some cows that crossed the road. Cows are sacred to Hindus, and so in Hindu areas they free-graze...right across the road. We were stuck in a little traffic jam for about 5 minutes while a whole heard meandered through. 

This is a picture of the inside of one of the shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur. This mall is dedicated specifically to electronics, and Dad wanted me to take a picture for all of his techie friends. 

I think he was getting rather fed up with my picture taking. 

A beautiful male peacock at the bird sanctuary. The sanctuary is the world's largest free-flight bird sanctuary, and  it was beautiful. Unfortunately, I only have a couple pictures of this place because my camera got too hot and died right as we started (just FYI, actual temp that day was 99 degrees, and with the humidity the heat index was something like 110, so I don't blame the poor camera). 
This one's for Zack. Check out the water park right by our hotel. You would love it!

This is how dark it got in the middle of the day when a storm was headed in. 

We've been having a good time here, but are missing American food and all of our friends and family! Stay tuned for an update. We are on the hunt for gifts for the family (which is becoming quite a challenge).

Monkeys!

Monkeys here...

Monkeys there...

Monkeys everywhere!

Including on people.

I'm Still Here!

Yes, I am still alive and kicking. The interwebs here are being pretty lame, though, so I have mostly been reading a book. I've been told by pretty much everyone not to go out unless I've got a male chaperone, so I haven't been doing much going out until Dad is back at night, and then we can go explore. 

Sadly, no pictures this time. I am just glad that I'm able to finally post something! 

Last night I had my first obstacle of sorts - an entire shrimp. Most people know how I feel about eating stuff that's looking at me. I just couldn't do it. Like, it had eyes and brains and skin and legs and veins and things, and that was all good and dandy, but it was LOOKING at me! I couldn't eat it and as a result was hungry. But that's ok. 

Other than that, not a lot has been going on. Last night, Dad and I went to the Central Market again, and got a lot of stuff for everyone and also ourselves. That was pretty fun. Tonight we're eating dinner with a Russian (!! excitement), and then this weekend we are planning to head out of the city a little bit and see what's around us. Sometime next week we're also thinking about eating at the KL tower, which is similar to the Space Needle in Seattle. If we go, I'll definitely have some pictures to post of it. 

It's still pretty awesome here. It's been so hot I haven't felt like doing a whole lot of anything, really. It's kind of hard to describe just HOW humid it is (and this is coming from an Alabama-raised girl). Nonetheless, it's still pretty out here, and at night it's not as bad, because A) there is no sun and B) the wind is blowing a little bit. Hopefully there will be pictures all around soon!

FYI: I am old enough to drink here. I love Malaysia!

First Impressions

Some titles of Malaysian romance novels in a book store... they appear to be a lot more risque than U.S. titles!

A cool government building that we drove by in Kuala Lumpur. Our taxi driver told us that it was made by Russians. Interesting. 

This is definitely only the beginning of the odd food parade. Trust me. Pastries stuffed with sardines only begins to encapsulate the strange foods. 

I'm not sure if you can read this, but this is a sign painted on the side of the jail. It basically says that the mandatory sentence for possession of any illicit drugs is death. That is why Malaysia's drug usage rate is so low. They take it pretty serious here. 

The Petronas Twin Towers, one of Malaysia's biggest attractions. It is the tallest twin towers in the world, and they were the tallest towers in the world period until 2004, when Taiwan built a larger building. Surprisingly, this building only has 88 floors (the Twin Towers in NYC had something like 115). It's still pretty neat to check out when you are standing under them. Talk about feeling like an ant. 

Our view from our room at night. We're 20 stories up. I like this picture because you can see me in it too!

I’m doing my best to remedy this picture situation, because I am starting to get a bunch of pictures that I think are worthy of sharing with the internet as a whole.

Today we went out on the town and hit up the Central Market, got some fabulous ice cream and FRESH SQUEEZED APPLE JUICE (very important because it was amazing), went to an aquarium where I touched a very large snake that really wanted to escape, and saw Chinatown. Our taxi driver is pretty rad. He comes from Bombay (which I suppose is now Mumbai), and although we don’t communicate well, he is a hoot. Also, very nice, because he totally stopped our car in the middle of traffic, whipped out an umbrella because it was raining, and took me in the middle of the road so I could get some pictures. And because of that, I will forgive him for his crazy driving (although everyone here does it).

Everyone knows that I have the bladder the size of an English pea, right? Well, today, after we had been gone about two hours, I had to “go”. So after many hand gestures and gesticulating, I found my way to the bathroom. First of all, you had to pay to get in. Not a big surprise, because in a lot of larger foreign cities (and even in the U.S.) this is common. So I pay my dues, which was RM.50, which is about $0.14. No big, I will pay $0.14 because my bladder is going to explode if I don’t go. So I walk into the bathroom, and there are these little room type things. Going off of my bathroom schema, I realize these are the stalls. I also notice on the wall that for the six stalls in this room, there is one lone toilet paper holder on the wall. A warning flag pops up in my mind, and I go to grab some TP but low and behold, it was empty. And when I get in my peeing room, there was none either. I know I can deal with this, mostly because I have no choice. But the toilet itself – OMG! It was not a toilet at all but a glorified hole in the ground! Just equate a men’s urinal to this thing, because there was definitely no sitting on it. I did some maneuvering and finally made it out of the bathroom, but from now on I am SO carrying TP with me when I’m out and about. I am such a wuss, I know, where is my sense of adventure? But I just really like indoor plumbing and TP. Is that too much to ask? Apparently in Malaysia, it is.

Anyways, later we went to this HUGE mall that is connected to our hotel. Let me tell you, this is the biggest mall I’ve ever been in. It could eat like twenty Opry Mills, no joke. Also, there are no anchor stores, it’s all little shops. On the ground floor (there are five floors total) there is an ice skating rink. Also, there is a grocery store and an amazing pastry shop and THREE Starbucks! Just a shout out to my work homies who are probably too busy, ya know, working to read this, but I have seen a three-story Starbucks in downtown Kuala Lumpur. It was pretty epic. Also, they have waaaaay different pastries than we do. Just FYI. I have not actually bought anything, because I am too busy trying local fare, but I have walked past several and checked out what they have.

Another thing: they pretty much worship McDonald’s around here. I totally don’t get it, probably because I am an ignorant American. But around here, it is a big deal to be able to go to McD’s. Also, their McD’s are HUGE (as in I saw a four-story one) and always packed. AND they deliver. And I’m pretty sure they have different menu items, but once again, I have not actually gone inside one.

Last night we ate at a for real Chinese restaurant. As in, we had to point to what we wanted and gesture. Also, we were the only non-asian people in the joint. It was delicious, too. Except dessert, because I got a dumpling thing that was made out of bean curd and stuffed with red beans and bananas. It wasn’t as gross as it sounds, but it wasn’t delicious either.

I keep thinking of everyone while I’m here! For instance, all I could think about in the Central Market was Megan and how if she were here, she would totally buy all of this stuff (it is totally cheap) and decorate her house with it. And also wear a lot of it. I also keep thinking of Cody, because all the women here are beautiful and he would totally get a kick out of it. They really are. I’ve seen like…two unattractive women out of the 3459743704 people I’ve seen. And of course I think about Mom and Zack all the time, because they would get a kick out of some of the things we’ve done and seen. Everyone needs to take a trip to Malaysia with me, haha!

The food here has been out of this world. If I lived here, I would definitely be able to accomplish being a vegetarian. They have so many fresh fruits and vegetables, and there is so much variety that it is mind-boggling. I could eat myself sick on some of the random fruits they have. It is absolutely nothing like in the states.

Another thing I totally dig: everyone here is super-friendly. Imagine your grandmother, the way Starbucks employees are supposed to be perky, and Southern hospitality all mashed into one and you will get this level of friendliness. It’s really difficult to be unpleasant or in a bad mood when everyone else around you is so warm.

EDIT:

I just tried Wendy's here. Definitely not as good as home. #1 - the ketchup is gross. It is too sweet and has an odd tang to it. #2 - my fries were good (although they'd be better with REAL ketchup) but my burger was also odd. I'm pretty sure this is because Wendy's in Malaysia is Halal, which means it is OK for Muslims to eat there. This means that the meat has to be slaughtered a certain way, only certain spices and additives can be used, etc. Another thing - Coke is different here too! AND THERE IS NO DR. PEPPER, WHICH BREAKS MY HEART! Hannah Jones, if you are reading this, our conversation inspired me to go get greasy food. Too bad it was not Waffle House (which is what I really wanted)!