Cleaning Act: Of Hairy Plotter and New Year Solution

Starting from Christmas until the second last day of 2008, i am taking over Thais' shifts as she will be busy having fun in Turkey before meeting me in Athens to take a freakishly small plane to celebrate our New Year in Mykonos. Yes, the Malayzy Juya is cleaning house. There is God, i guess.

So far, I think I have done quite well. Striked a deal with Scott (Thais' house cleaning partner) that I will do almost all the cleaning, toilets included, leaving him with taking the trash out and bringing the dirty sheets down, if he will do my half of waiting at the desk for guests until the wee hours of the morning. As I have been trained by the best (scary seniors) in cleaning house every sunday for 5 years while in TKC (boarding school), the cleaning of the whole 2 apartment units takes me less than 2 hours. pretty good deal, huh, considering our shifts are 10-hour-a-day shift?

As a compulsive bed-maker, I love my time out making sure the beds are looking sharp. If I get bored waiting, i will take out a sheet and make the beds one by one, the unmade beds rationed like coveted pleasure not to be touched by Scott. He loves it that I love making beds so much!

Toilets though are another matter all together. I mean, can someone tell me how can a shower gets clogged by hair so quickly? And especially when room 24 has only 3 male guests, all with short hair. And what's with these hair? Do we actually need them? A human being lose 40-100 hair a day, that's a lot of protein going to waste, think about all the wasted consumed soy tempe, salisbury steaks and canned tuna. Evolution-wise, humans have so much hair to keep the pre-historic humans warm - that's why white men are so hairy and brown people are brown. We have now the ability to manipulate hair of other species into clothings for our species and synthetically manufacture warm textiles, do we need all these follicle-born keratinous filaments sapping the protein out of our skin? I beg of you to seriously consider these possibilities - thin haired women will no longer harbour envious feelings towards their big-haired-sister, excessive haircare products will cease to annoy us in elevators and and male pattern baldness will dissapear from psychology text books as a cause of self-esteem issue in men over 35.

I therefore move to vote for genetically modified hairless babies starting new year 2009. Trust me, their mothers/cleaners and subsequently wives/cleaners who will clean their toilets will thank you for it.

Happy New Year everyone!

Love:J

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Sushi of my heart

three months of no sushi - a shocking thing for a hantu sushi who gets her fix every week if not every other day! - i decided to ask sylvia if she would like to get some and help me break the long puasa. a fellow hantu, we decided on 'daruma sushi' on via cavour. walked from the hostel, we wolfed down 2 set plates of mainly salmon and japanese rice in record time. the selection was really bad but i got what i really wanted, so, i am still a fan.

needless to say, it felt like heaven when the orange gold melted on my tongue!

i love sushi so much i want to marry sushi. yes, we are going to live and travel the world together forever and have lots of green tea ice cream babies! sushi, i am forever yours!

ok, perhaps that is a little too much :) what can i say, three months is a long time. maybe i just miss it a little too much :))

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Post-Examination Exploration: Greece

The examination looms ever so nearer, putting a damper on my excitement. New Year in Athens, who would have ever thought? i have always wanted to go to greece, mamma mia and sisterhood of the travelling pants just make me more excited. of course this being winter, i understand it will not be as beautiful.

but i still can hardly wait!

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Why the Change of Address?

Euthanasia.

A boy once teased a group of girls about the honor of putting to death a barely living frog that has been run over by a car. the boy was teasing the girls because the girls came from this school whose abrevation reads KaTaK (BM for frog). you know how that goes, boys always tease girls they (secretly) like. ever since that day, i have always been just a little bit facinated by the concept of mercy killing.

In view of the concept, i am just putting to death a connection so some people wont get updated, as requested. i am taking this decision out of their hands and executing this for their benefits because some people doesnt seem to be able to move on and focus on own lives, instead, hell-bent to use everyone as an excuse for why their lives are imperfect.

and, of course, because i can.

i hope some people are happier now and that they would now be able to focus on what is wrong with their own lives instead of some imaginary obligation i have towards them.


(*def*Euthanasia: the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit.)

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There is such thing as a free lunch!

Sometimes I get scared at how often my wishes are granted. Yes, I almost always get what i want. And I am scared.

Mostly I am scared that I am using up all my good lucks on bad wishes and that one day i will not get the one wish that is really good, partly I am scared that what I wish for may not be the best thing for me. And also I am scared that maybe I am special - oh, the pressure of obligation and expectation!

After a day of training at cleaning house in Gulliver's House, which is where I was supposed to start work last week, I was told that a girl who used to work there who left for Barcelona is back and they are giving her the job. I have no job. In normal situation, this news could be devastating to a job seeker. But as you know, my main cause of living in this hostel is to escape the dump. The money, although definitely attractive, is not the issue and I can do without the additonal time-sucking component of my daily life. They are still looking to fit me somewhere, but it will not be anytime this month.

So here I am, living in a hostel free of charge, helping Thais here and there when she is too tired and earning pocket money. And it was not even my fault! Perfetto!

Hmmm...It's just scary how perfectly things fall into place.

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i have yet to master the art of saying goodbye

Hadi went home today. sent him off to termini, we hugged and i cried on the platform as he left on the train to fiumicino. we were in each other's constant company for not more than 10 days and already i am suffering pangs of withdrawal symptoms.

today, i am wont to agree that you never get over your first love. you move on, fall in love, live your life, but at the back of your mind, he is always there. especially if he is as amazing a man/friend as Hadi.

Juya of hard heart and uncompromising principles, save me.

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I am done "romancing rome"

Let me be honest with you, I have almost give up on Italy and Italians, and i think i have not been too secretive or diplomatic about it. I have to say that am dissappointed by what I found in Rome, and I am not the only one. A friend found himself wanting to shove little old ladies dragging grocery shopping roller-bags aside on his way to class, and he was shocked that he has turned so uncaring and rude. Osmosis, we think.

However, last weekend's little trip to northern Italy has changed my mind. I went to Milan, Verona and Venice and realised that perhaps I was too harsh to scrunch my nose when i speak of them. Italians aren't that bad. In fact, I think i fell in love with some of them - met some really interesting ones while on the road, people who could make you love who they are in just 10 minutes.

my bad for judging them too soon. i dont have to love them, but perhaps if i can keep my mind open, it wouldnt be too bad. after all, it is a big country.

You know how we become the worst version of ourselves when we are tired? I am just saying, maybe the Romans are just tired. Maybe when we lose out identity imitating others in the name of being modern and cool, we just became a shell of our former selves without the glory of our former selves.

so, now, i am just going to navigate this year, cobbled streets and beyond! See ya around!

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While i was being a bad girl

Hadi had a course up in Milano and i took a few days off to join him. Told Thais that i am doing all the 'must-have-a-date' destinations with Hadi so i dont have to worry about who to go with later. She on the other hand has a February deadline to find a 'potential partner' for her Venezia Carnavale-cum-Birthday trip. Sure, Hadi and I arent a couple, but hey, details...details...:))

We decided against Como and Hadi was a little too sick for the mountains, so we did Milano to recce for future shopping trips, Verona to visit Juliet and Venice to get lost. So, here's a photo each. The rest will be uploaded on my facebook, IF and ONLY IF i did not do too badly in the development econ exam :))

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Rome-Milan-Como-Verona-Venice-Rome

I am a bad, bad girl. I'll be better next week. I promise.

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Moving Day: 25th November 2008

The question is, is Milan and/or Venice going to be a reality, or am I going to be a good girl?
...

Permesso di Soggiorno

3 things to do before the appointment:-

1. take passport size photos to be submitted at the booth at the Metro station - it's really crazy, we already sent 4 photos in the application
2. find letter of enrolment confirmation given by Lucia in the pile - yes, i have a pile of loose paper already :)
3. walk really fast - be at the police station by 11.36 am!

results:-

1. i now have 17 passport size photos (costing EUR10, RM50) not including the ones i have already submitted to the police and 2 i brought from KL. Note to self: read the fine prints, they might say the machine will not give change back for the EUR3 per 7 photos :P it was either take the photos or lose the money
2. found the letter. yes, i will put the paper in the piles into relevant files.
3. walked the 4.1 km to the police station in 45 minutes, arrived 30 minutes early, waited for 1.5 hours to be called for double finger and palm printing - digital and in hard copy, was the last person to be served, walked back home in hujan rintik-rintik.

"The Permesso di Soggiorno (PdiS) is your most important document if you are a foreigner in Italy. It can be translated to Permit to Stay. The PdiS is not just for those who are planning on moving to Italy but for anyone who will be in Italy for more than 8 days. Basically, every foreign national needs to register at the police station. If you are staying in a hotel or vacation rental, they should register you themselves (this is why they record the information on your passport when you check in). If staying with family, friends or at your own residence, they you need to go to the local questura and do so within 8 business days of arriving." ~ expatsinitaly.com ~

I am really glad that i have completed my permesso di soggiorno processes. now, we wait for them to process and i most probably will get it in 3 (or 6) months - maybe in time for the resident card to be renewed next year ;) in the meantime, i will need to give notice to the police if i want to leave the country unless i am going back to Malaysia. do people really do that? Anyhow, they'll sms me when the resident card is ready.

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Thank you, God

Every few days I will call home to give and get updates to and from the family. And by home I mean Papa's handphone, Cik Yah's house and handphone, my contractor's office or my banker's handphone. These calls which usually take 15 to 30 minutes depending on whether it is good or bad news – when it is bad, I require a few minutes extra to scream, usually at my banker – in total and cost me EUR3 to EUR5.

Today was one such day and the calls took less than 10 minutes – definitely a good news day. Even the conversation with my banker was pleasant. I wanted to know if and when my parents are going to Pakistan to be with the nephew and are they all packed, who is/are footing the bills, if my agents have found someone to rent my place in Kota Damansara, what will happen to my car while my dad is in Pakistan, if my banker has come to get my document from Cik Yah and if she has started the processing. I also wanted to tell the family about change of address and the job, my classes and maybe get some tips on how to study econ from my aunt.

After the conversation, I walked to the Chinese shop across the street from the Metro Station to buy a pair of gloves – the weather is definitely cold enough. I chose a brown pair and a matching head gear to keep my head warm, paid the EUR4.50 (thank you, China) and walked a few shops down the block to the Turkish kebab place that makes fantastic kebab. As usual, the guy who assured me on my first visit that they only use chicken and turkey charged me 30 cents less than everyone else – I call it my 'sconti musulmana'.

Said goodbye, got out, walked the 300 meters to 'home'. It was a beautiful day – still cold, but the sky is blue and the sun was shining. I couldnt help but think about what my aunt said today, that I my life path has been made smoother by God through agents - there are always people who wants to help or just help make things better. And I am thankful – how many people can take a year off to chase a dream that might or might not become a reality? Sure, there are costs, but they are not insurmountable and at least I actually have the opportunity. I am doing exactly what I want to do and not just sitting in an office somewhere wishing I can do it.

I really dont have anything to complain about in this life. Of course there are challenges, what kind of life it would be without those? And isnt it the knowledge that you have overcame these challenges in spite of everthing that gives a little spring to your steps? I know I whine a bit, it's a bad habit I enjoy, but at the end of the day I love my life. And sure, there are things that I would like to have or situation that I would like to be in, but not having and being there doesnt make this less beautiful or me less thankful. Maybe it will come one day, these dreams I have, and having that hope is already a wondeful feeling. I love my life.



I know some people who dont even realise how lucky they are. I dont want to be like that. In this case, I'd rather be effusive in my thanks than to look cool. I am conscious of the fact that I am blessed, both in loving my life and in realising that I love my life.

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Moving House

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~ this is a rant. Skip it if you dont have the stomach for it ~
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Allora, Thais and I are moving end of this month.

We havent started packing yet but since we dont have that many stuff, I am sure it wont be too much work. We are sad about the whole moving thing but things have become almost unbearable to live here. The saddest thing is that the apartment is so close to our class that we can smell the white board marker from our room.

The other 2 inhabitants of the apartment are Italians. They are really sweet people – helped Thais set the room up before my arrival and took her around to buy stuff and meet people at parties and all. They shared their food with us and taught us how to cook Italian style.

However, they are not particularly clean – they leave pots and pans and plates and glasses in the kitchen sinky for weeks if you dont remind them to clean up. They leave half eaten food on the kitchen table with bread crumbs and whatever not. They also did not clean the apartment according to the Roster Thais drawn up – and one actually gave me an excuse that “a lot of bad people live in this house” (please take note that they are learning English, so this is not meant literally).

At first we reminded them to clean up after themselves, and they did. I reminded them that the top shelves in the fridge and freezer are for non-pork food stuff, and they used the rest of the shelves for said items. After a while, I am sure their lives picked up and all, it took them longer and longer to clean up, up to a point when asked to clear the sink because I needed to use the kitchen to cook our meals, they washed a pot and left the rest. I found salami on the halal shelf and salami just sitting on the kitchen table.

I am not one of those spotlessly clean persons, my family will gladly tell you the mess I made in my lifetime, but when there are 4 of you living in a cramped house, it really is important for everyone to keep their own things in order. Thais informed one of them that if things dont improve, we will leave. I, especially, dont want to live in a dump, where I cant even cook my meals which is important to me because it helps keep my cost of living down.

And then there was the noise – from the TV that blared through the night and Italians – housemates and guests - in 'discussions'. If you have heard these animated discussions before, you would know how loud they can get. It doesnt help that the walls here are paper thin. Although I can sleep through it with nat king cole and billy holiday on my earphone to drown the noise, Thais is a little more sensitive to it. The worst thing for her is that she has to wake up at 6 to go to work. We constantly have to ask them to pipe down.

So early this month, I told Thais that I am leaving. The situation was not working and I really want to live in a house that I am comfortable in. I left it to her to decide if she would like to come with me or stay. We talked and she said she wanted to move with me. So, that was that. So we told the others. Since the apartment is near a university, it didnt take long for them to get a new housemate. In fact, we got one the very night we told them our decision.

And then it started. They took Thais aside to tell her how dissapointed they are in her, that Thais has changed since I arrived, that I am disrespecting them for not talking to them. And because Thais told one person and not both of them, they did not acknowledge that we warned them that we would leave if the place continued to be a dump. Of course, they couldnt say anything to me, for one I can hardly understand them with my slow-ass teething italian, for another I am not as nice as Thais, I would definitely give them my piece of mind just the way they give theirs regardless of whether they understand me or not.

I have no excuse for not being social with them. I am just saying that after the umpteeth time of reminding them to clean up and being ignored (and no, to them, leaving their mess in my face is not disrespecting me. Being loud at midnight almost every night in spite of our requests is not disrespecting us) I got tired and angry and was so not in the mood to be nice - baby, i aint you mama. So I keep to myself and tried my hardest not to make them matter. So, shoot me, I am just like that. In Kuala Lumpur and Rome!

They keep telling us how in Italy renting a place together is not just about signing a contract, it's a social contract. But at the same time, they absolutely refuse to acknowledge that they contributed to us not wanting to live here anymore. They think I am rude for ignoring them, but they dont think they are rude for ignoring my requests that leads to me being rude to them when it is common sense to clean your own mess and not expect other people to do that for you (oh, my family will absolutely love this!). They said Thais have changed since knowing me, but they dont even want to consider that the reasons she is not out partying with them anymore is that she has to wake up early for work the next day and that she is getting a little tired of the partying scene. And the worst thing is that, they absolutely refuse to consider our side of the story, what they think is the absolute truth and we are absolutely wrong. They have convinced themselves and are being closed minded about any other possibilities.

Now, I just cant wait to leave. I am upset but I know we made the right decision to leave because some differences will somehow rise some day and we would still be in the wrong. I dont want to think this is how they do it in Italy, I am sure this is a special case, but I have to work hard at understanding that. I am sad that they might go away from this with a bad taste in their mouth for Malaysians and Muslims in general but I dont want to continue to live in a dump. They said they will change for the next girl who will live here after us, but their attempt in the last few days is hardly a success.

Thais is as traumatised by the whole affair. So much that she came up with a suggestion. And this is the absolutely best part! Both of us are going to work at the chain of hostels she is currently working at. We give them 8 to 10 hours of our day (half of it will be spent sitting and waiting) 6 days a week – everything is negotiable if we need time to study and travel – and they give us free lodging and almost half of what I get paid in Kuala Lumpur!

And the best thing is we get to live in the city centre, 10 minutes walking to Kailash's crib, 15 minutes walking to the english cinema we go to and right smack in the middle of shopping district :) The bad thing is if you guys come to visit, you wont be able to bunk with me. but you can stay in the hostel i work in and pay from EUR10 per bed - but you get to be served breakfast by me and i'll even make your bed so tight that a coin can bounce on it! (thank you, TKC!)

Dont get me wrong, it will be hard work and they understand that studying is our priority, but this way we wont have to deal with the issues we are dealing with at the moment, and that if we clean after other people as we are doing here, we are getting paid for it! I look upon this adventure as a scientist would upon putting electricity through a corpse – desperately and not without excitement.

We'll see how things go.

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The rice cooker has arrived!

A kind Malaysian lady lend me her rice cooker while waiting for mine to arrive from Algeria. The very night, i cooked Nasi Lemak and sambal udang and, man, was it good! tonight, Thais and i had perfect nasi putih and sup ayam.

mmm...mmm....mmmm..mmm...mmmm....sampai menjilat jari!

PS: the day has come! i want to blog about what i learn in school because it has gotten so damn excitng - from environment & poverty to institutional development to biofuel, but havent had time yet to sit down and put it down on paper. i'll see what i can do :)

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Our Proposed Colony

It is a no-contest statement that Italians are beautiful people. Period. Everywhere you turn, beautiful people are drinking coffee and smoking like chimneys, not picking their dogs' poos or involved in a heated debate over which politician is more crooked. Beautiful people are driving and ignoring the green light for pedestrians, protesting over something or on a strike somewhere, or dressed in a gladiator outfit outside the colosseo. They are everywhere!

It's one thing to see them running loose on the streets, it is another thing all together to have one of them standing in front of the class and teaching you the workings of macroeconomics. It's downright distracting! You ended up watching the way his lips curve over the normally respectable English words as the words sensually slither over his tongue, and after half an hour of deligent oogling, you asked yourself, "what happens again to the level of saving when the interest rate goes down?"

"People like him should not be allowed to teach!" Thais ranted on the way back from the police station at Grotto Perfetta, where we were supposed to deal with her Permesso di Soggiorno. "He looks like an underwear model!"

And he does. With his tousled hair and lean body, dressed carelessly casual in a way that can only come from careful planning, he expertly maneuvers around our doubts on the neo-classical model. And when he tires of our amateur quizzing, he smiles his intelligently lopsided smile and inteligently pushes his inteligent glasses up his inteligent nose.

"So that the world would be a better place, all beautiful people should be carted off and confined to a colony, where they can only be seen on the billboards and TV. So normal people wont feel inferior about not being able to be with them," said Thais.

"But then, beautiful people will only breed with beautiful people and the uglies will always have ugly kids," i said.

"Then, kids should stay with their parents until a certain age, maybe 12. Then there should be a screening for beautiful people. They should then be taken to the beautiful colony, where they will be allocated into different categories according to their IQ level. the normal people get to choose to breed with them from a catalogue."

This coming from our brazilian human rights proponent? hmmmmm...should i be scared? :p

And then we arrived at the junction near our school and our planning for a better world is shelved for another day.

This Week: Update Update

Yes, I know...it's been a week. It's really amazing how fast time flies even when you are having a cosi cosi time.

Updates...updates...

1. The weather is getting colder but i still use any excuse to take my long walks. Bought a really warm and nice coat for EUR35 (a steal! thank you, China!) and a 'circus hat' in the words of mr kailash (he would know, he's a clown himself :D) that'll keep my head warm. it gives me helmet hair but hell, my head is cold :)

2. We are moving! still looking and hoping to be able to get a new one by end of the month. pray for us. Thais and i want to stay together because we surprisingly click well (yeah, there's a first for everybody :)) io especially!) and it is easier with the studying and all. but if we find it hard to stay together (it is cheaper to share, but easier to get a single room) we might have to split :(

3. Hadi is coming over! Well, not exactly...he has a course in Milan. But we intend to perhaps drop by Venice and Pisa. And he's staying until after Aidiladha! Yay!

4. Speaking of which, i have an invitation from the Malaysian embassy rep for Aidiladha. Met them at the Embassy Dinner on Saturday, joined them to pick olives in somewhere near Viterbo on Sunday and had a load of fun. Amelia said i might be able to use her Algerian connection to get my rice cooker to Rome! What luck!

OK, i need to get some pizza...feel like grazing ;) A dopo!

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Dear visitors!

I wish i know who comes to visit. I know Islamabad is Sara and those from TreeDweller must be one of the girls. But Taiping, Ampang, Petaling Jaya, Wilayah Persekutuan, Johor (many many malaysians...must be my friends!), make yourself known...let's chat a bit...even if you are not my friends (yet!). I am missing home very much.

Leave a message, will ya!

ps: do i sound desperate? damn if i care :))

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Juya and Thais Romancing Ostia

So, we finished the background classes, a combo of economics, mathematics and statistics. As usual, mathematics bled me dry. Statistics on the other hand was very exciting, and it was not just because of the charming mazziotta (oh, it helped!). Economics on the other hand was potentially interesting, I just wish we had more time to devote to this.

Wish granted, we will be starting the first module at school - development economics on Wednesday. There will be lessons on microeconomics, macroeconomics, environment & poverty, institutions & development, international economics, foreign debt...and examinations. Calling on my economics Gurus for assistance!

But for now, we have 5 days of no classes.

Thais said, "Oh, we must, we must, we must leave Rome this weekend, or I will surely soon perish in this insanity. The advantage of this trip will be entirely yours. I am determined to change your mind if you insist on rusticating." (can you tell I have been watching Jane Austen? :P). Since we had only one day free - italian classes for Thais on monday - we chose to do a day trip to Ostia Antica and the excavation site, and Ostia and the beach. We decided to take the boat down Tiber to Ostia as it looks like it was going to be sunny, which takes 2 hours, and later come back by the metro.

Thais and I spent 4 hours walking around the ancient ground, before heading to the beach just in time for the sunset and dinner, then home, tired and happy. But not before we were distracted by and stopped at a local amusement park.

The captain worked at sea for 36 years before retiring to the river boat. He's been to Melaka and has a son in the engineering faculty at Rome Tre. Dont know why I had that last piece of information ;)

Ostia Antica (Latin: mouth 'ostium') which sits at the ancient mouth (siltation in the last centuries have pushed the ancient city 3 kilometers from the mouth of Tiber) of Tiber River that runs through Rome ancient and modern, is about 22 km from Rome. So far two third of the real city has been excavated.

It used to be the harbour city for Rome in the 4th century BC - its inhabitant at one point peaked at 75,000 - until 9th century AD when it was abandoned due to the repeated invasions and sackings by Arab pirates. Romans then used the bricks and marble from the abandoned city to build various buildings in the area and even farther. It was said that the leaning tower of Pisa is built entirely from bricks of Ostia.

Thais had this great idea of climbing on the walls to get better access to some of the more overgrown areas....until we realised that we have a slight fear of the heights.

Some of the mozaik that survived the centuries. Even then, they knew men were supposed to give us things (in supik) and we women sit with our curvy thighs and lopsided breasts and smell the flowers :)) Go for shorter men as they will fly like the wind to please you

some of the current inhabitants!

somehow all the marble carvings of men seem to have lost their....well, gems.

the gem of the site (me thinks!) - the teatro.

Ostia - or Ostia Lido/Lido di Roma - is the summer destination for many Romans, only 3 kilometers from the excavation site. It was sleepy when we were there but apparently summer at the Lido can be very busy. At the beach, it was molto fredo! in the sky were the wind surfing parachutes.

the sunset.

We were on the way to the metro station when we saw the amusement park and thought, "Why not!"

We tried the very tame roller coaster....

...and the amazing trampoline (a.k.a rebound-tumbling facility). It was my first time and boy, was it a lot of fun! I couldnt stop laughing and was totally bushed by the time our 10 minutes were up.

It was a good day. A short, simple and sweet break. Now to the books!

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Grocery Bills October 2008

Thais and I share the bills for the groceries. We try to cook and eat at home as much as we can as eating out costs quite a bit more than if we cook. I have no problem with that as I love cooking for us (and Kailash sometimes).

Yesterday, we did the calculations of the money we spent for groceries for October and are happy to report that between Thais and I, we spent EUR80.80 for groceries for the month :) that's way less than the EUR100 I budgetted. I think with care, we can make it at EUR50 per month per person for groceries. I think we both deserve a gelato!

Now, if only I can cut down the OTHER spending....hmmm...

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Juya and Azwa Romancing Rome

I was up before the second ring, switched the phone alarm off before it too wake Thais up, and jumped off the bed onto the cold floor. Searched for the slippers in the dark, cringed when the creaking of the door seemed too loud in the silence of the dawn, I shivered when the freezing tap water touched my face.

Yesterday was an important day. True, I was excited at the prospect of getting my rice cooker because I have been eating porridge a lot lately. True, I was looking forward to more authentic Italian cooking with the guidance of the Italian cook book the Danes gave me. But more importantly, Azwa was coming to town and I get to play tourist for half a day!

Azwa and I came a long way - we went to TKC together. At 13, her bunk was 5 steps away from mine. At 15, I accompanied her to Subang airport from school in Seremban on her way back to her hometown when her mother passed away. At 17, we parted company after 5 year of living and learning together. And in between, we navigated the path and minefields to adulthood together. Yesterday, she transitted in Rome from Algeria on the way home. 3 hours to kill in Rome.

So, what would people do if they have 3 hours to kill in Rome?

Colosseum and Trevi, of course! And on the way, we saw the Arch of Tito, Foro di Cesare, monument of Vittorio Emmanuele II and palatino in the distance.

With my coursemates, i have had to play the resident. They are too cool to be tourists in Rome. With Azwa, I was a tourist, right from the continuous photo taking to the crazy poses. Yes, when in Rome, do as the Asian tourists do (minus the peace sign, PLEASE!)

The Arch of Constantine.

It was just Azwa's luck, the sun was out in full force at 8 am (amazing for end of October!), blue skies abound, no one around because it was a little too early. We got Colosseo to ourselves!

Excavation still in process.

Azwa taking pictures of naked men.

Trevi at first sight, nestled in the middle of the city, at a convergence of three streets (Tre = Three, Vie = street). The fountain felt like it was hemmed in by all the buildings around it, but oh, how i love the Trevi. Like the colosseo, I have been delaying the pleasure of seeing and photographing, reserving it for special occassion. Trevi is as romantic in real life as it was in the old films!

Azwa tunjuk apa tu, wa? :))

Azwa kat mana, wa? Korea ke Taiwan ke Jepun? I thought your Japan trip will be sometime next week? :P

The compulsory photo :D

There's a superstition that says if you throw a coin (or three, according to some) with your right hand over your left shoulder, you will either return to Rome or find true love (you pick which one floats your boat). And who loves superstitions more than Asians? This is me doing the compulsory coin toss. If you look closely, Azwa caught on film the 10 Malaysian sen coin as it was falling into the water.

When asked if she would like to toss one of her own, she said, "buat apa? buat tambah pening kepala." (whatever for? it's just going to add to my headache), refering to love as she is married and all. Apparently she already had a way of making sure she'll be back to Rome ;) Kan, Azwa?

To those who just thought "Suckers!", the money (estimated at EUR3k daily) is collected at night and used to subsidise a supermarket for the needy. What better cause, huh, true love and charity?

"You cannot come to Rome and not have pizza or Gelato," I said to Azwa. "Which one do you want for breakfast?" She replied, "Why not both?" I quickly agreed!

Tough decision, this. Which flavour to choose? There are about 30 here!

We settled on Cafe & Choc Chip, and Tiramisu & Nutella!

Azwa and 2 Italian mamats.

Fare thee well, friend. We'll meet again, soon :)

All photos published by The Treedweller. All Rights Reserved. If you want to use it, drop a line to thetreedweller@gmail.com.