Archive for March, 2008
When I first came to America, I was expecting a culture shock, but I wasn’t culturally shocked. Being here now in an Arabian sand, for the first time I am experiencing a culture that is realistically backwards to what I’ve been used to. I can stand the heat, so it’s not the desert heat at all. It’s the restrictive nature of an Islamic culture that I found inadequate in my vacation.
I will list the things that I think are unadaptable for my lifestyle:
- Paranoia on public display and action.
- Halal
- Fridays - not a good day to go for lunch because you’ll starve. Restaurants and malls open after 1PM on Fridays after the prayer. Sabbath is strictly adhered to.
- Web censorship.
- Annoying TV programs.
- If you’ve been to the likes of Jamaica Avenue in Queens, New York, that’s how the people in the city center behave - without the gang activities.
Regardless of the shock, I still enjoyed my stroll with Mai and friends later this afternoon. We ate in a Filipino restaurant, although I only had a couple of spoonfuls because I already had lunch ahead of them. Needless to say, the Coca Cola Coke that I drank did not taste like one. It tasted like brown sugar was added in it. Very, very weird! Afterwards, we went to a gold souk to look at jewelry for her friends who are getting married - and we ended buying a pair of rings for us. Before I go any further, I’m not getting married…yet. Not in this place! I’ll be sporting a bling when I get back and this is for the first time because I have never worn a jewelry in my entire life.
Afterwards, we all went our separate ways. I went back alone to my hotel room and slept under the serenade of Damien Rice. Obviously, I did not sleep well because apart from a culture shock, I experienced jet lag for the first time. I am writing this entry at midnight. While we’re on the nocturnal subject, life here happens at night. I don’t see this many cars until early morning roaming the streets - not even in the City That Never Sleeps. I’m not brave enough to go outside and take a snapshot of the busy streets, but I soon will.
March 28th, 2008
A recent discovery – Gnarls Barkley. I’ve heard of him before, but I thought he’d be another Hip-hop / R&B singer because of his color. Listened to him today while on the plane to Abu Dhabi and he really sounded like Moby or Morcheeba. One famous song that I’ve heard before is Crazy. I wouldn’t have guessed a black man sang that song. Naturally, I would buy his album from the nearest music store, but circumstances have changed. I have now vowed to halt my CD collection, therefore, I apologize in advance to Gnarls because I’ll “torrent” this one when I get back to New York next week.
While we’re on the subject of music, I heard t.A.T.u’s latest album also (I don’t know when this was first released because I’ve lost touch with music news for years). Anyway, their sound didn’t change at all. Another addition on my “torrent” list.
NOTE: I am saying to torrent this and that because I like it, so don’t complain.
March 26th, 2008
Tonight, before going to bed I thought I’d post an entry on a very interesting Korean film I just saw. It’s called Somebody Special. It’s a romantic comedy about a baseball player trying to find the meaning of love and a girl who has been in love with him since they were young. The story does not interest me, rather it’s the humor. Though many have said that romance and comedy blended really well in the movie (and I agree), the humor has the upperhand. It’s not a simple funny humor, rather it’s a laugh-out-loud humor delivered subtly yet obvious. Finally a paradox from me.
I found this film while searching for Lee Na Young’s works. I like Na Young’s acting because she’s eccentric. She’s vulnerable, yet strong and I think she’s the only actress who can do what she does with her tongue (no malicious intent).
March 17th, 2008
WP2.5 is coming out soon (already late). My theme is still the primitive version. It doesn’t even support widgets yet. I’ve done so much modifications in this theme and I stupidly forgot to keep tabs of the changes. Now I’m contemplating whether to upgrade the theme as I upgrade WP. Should I?
EDITION: I decided to create a test site and start fiddling with the new’r version.
March 10th, 2008
After thirteen years, William Gates is no longer the richest man on the planet. According to Forbes, Gates dropped from first to third place this year. The richest man now is Warren Buffett. I wonder what these people do with their money. For the complete list of Forbes’ annual list of richest people [read this].
March 7th, 2008
