I’m in a rather annoyed frame of mind today, easy to take offence and feeling persecuted by everything. At one of my work places, I got very prickly about a proposed piece related to Eid being shot down (Islamophobia! I growled to myself), and felt my experience and expertise was being undervalued. Not something that […]
Annoyances
A bit of an annoyance today as it turns out my credit card has been blocked and the only way to unblock it is by calling the bank. What is particularly annoying is that I didn’t know there was a block at all, I thought it was an internet issue so kept trying to use […]
Happy day
Yesterday was the day my big contract came to an end, oh happy day. As it happened today, though May Day, was spent working on work for that contract, and I even had a call about it. Still, at least I was on my own time. Not much else to tell, really. It was a […]
Sponge city
This morning it rained and rained, and then was cool and grey. I dawdled a bit and then took the BTS down to Lumphini park, stopping along the way for the Michelin recommended fried chicken in the vicinity. Curious what an economy has erupted around the Michelin guide. I’ve been coming to Bangkok since before […]
Intensity of youth
I’ve just read Elif Batuman’s two novels, one after the other. They are very good I must say, or so I think. For all the mannered-ness and the somewhat terrifying literariness of the protagonist. I found it hard at first to tell if the first one was good because I started reading it without knowing […]
Back to Bangsar
Went there for a quick lunch with my host, an excellent dosa and average ice cream. It looked more or less the same, did Bangsar, though I got a bit confused as we approached it from a different direction. The old DVD shop is long gone, I’m sure, but I couldn’t work out where it […]
Hornbill
It was a very busy Sunday. We were supposed to go for dosas, but I kept having meetings piling up, from an early morning one which needed over an hour of post-meeting work, onwards. I didn’t get to really leave the room except for meals. I fell asleep working, woke up long enough to turn […]
Back to KL
I landed at 3.15 in the morning at KLIA2, which in itself was unfamiliar as these early morning arrivals had always, in the past, been to KLIA on my trips back from Pakistan. Familiarity returned, though, with the passage through immigration, collecting the luggage (as always arriving commendably fast) and walking out of the terminal […]
Antipodean wedding party
Last night was the wedding. I say last night, but more like all of yesterday and into the early hours. Quite the endurance test but that’s the nature of weddings. With any luch I won’t have to attend very many more of these, certainly not stay for the whole thing. The day started off unfortunately. […]
On this day in 1659/1660
Samuel Pepys wrote: ‘Indeed it was past imagination, both the greatness and the suddenness of it’ as he walked through London with ‘all the bells in all the churches’ a-ringing as the rump parliament was dissolved. An entry I remember from the last time it came through my feedreader. I have been reading Pepys’ diary […]