Thanks For The Mammaries

I had to borrow the header from another ex-blogger friend, Helen The Felon.

After weighing the pros and cons of blogging, it seemed there were indeed more cons.

Blogging isn't fun anymore. I've got Facebook to take care of interaction and it's so much easier to stay in touch with friends. Updates and information are abound on FB and I'm just not feeling it with blogspot. I haven't been feeling it for over a year now.

I also read with dismay on the demise of one of my regular reads, Little Miss Drinkalot, who said goodbye in a far better fashion than I ever could with my rambling.

I have included her last post. It describes exactly how I feel and says the things I want to say:

"There are so many reasons why I have stopped writing... but the biggest and simplest reason is that I've changed. In so many ways.

I want to keep this little tiny corner of cyberspace - it has been a defining chapter in my life. There have been posts where I bared my heart, shared intimate details of my life, made you laugh, perhaps made you cry, forced details of undesirable bodily functions upon you, helped you while away a lazy Sunday afternoon and even some regrettable posts which demonstrated that I have much room to grow...

But change is upon us always. And for now, I'm going offline. Thank you for all the engagement.

Love,

LMD"

I've been thinking about this for the longest time and it's getting to the point where I feel I don't have very much to say. I've had a whale of a time though. More good times than bad and I've made some awesome friends online. This blog has given me so much that I almost feel as though I'm turning my back on it.

I just went back to my first few postings as Spanky McWanker (god that name still cracks me up) back in August 2004. Damn, my life was so totally different from what it is now.
Some of my writing makes me cringe with the corniness of it all, but at that age I was allowed to be young and naive.

I was reminded of friends who had died like Steph and Rosli and Charles. I was reminded of friends I don't have anymore but miss very much, like B and Feiz. I was reminded of other bittersweet memories, people and experiences I'd not thought of in years. Some great photos too.

Everything has to come to an end, final curtain, the fat lady has left the building.

It's been you and me for 5 years, Polarbearshan. Take a bow and a well-earned rest, baby. I'll miss you.
Here's a little polarbear/puppy loving for you.

Now off you go.

Poetry Isn't Dead

Poetry isn't dead.

It merely morphed itself into something a little more visual.

And I love it.

I Can Read

Just one more reason why I love Nury Vittachi to bits.

So I'm Now 32

*A warning to hypocrites, haters and stalkers. The following blog post contains images of individuals Drinking and Smoking and generally having a good time. This is what a good time for most people looks like. Hold on to yourselves and be sure to put on your judgmental caps on. Haha assholes. You never cease to crack me up.*


Yes I'm now 32.
What have I learned?
I learned that I have awesome friends. And I don't care who knows this.

Drinks at The Loft. A simple affair that needed zero coordination.
A small group of us started at 6:30 while the others came after dinner. This would explain why I was carted home before 11:30. Aww man that was a great night. Thanks to everyone who was nice enough to take time out to celebrate with me. I felt well loved. So much so that there is a massive bruise on my inner thigh and I have no idea how it got there. Whoops that's clearly a story for another day though.

Onwards with photos:

Paysie, Shaz, me and Thomas

Pat, Annie, Andrew, Tanty and that's Suchen bringing in my birthday cake which Szilvie made

Hazel, Feona, Pat, Dewi, me Watie, Ronnie

Chris, Paysie, Shaz, Thomas, Yolanda, Lee, Feona, Hazel, Paul

Michelle, me, Yanti, Susu, Watie
Seated: Carol, Mimi, Mimi's sister, Laynnee

A Slippery Nipple from Paul and Hazel

The awesome cake that Szilvie baked. That was some tasty eating. Fresh cream too!

My cousin Kohi showing me the love. Others joined in too.

I can think of a few people's orifices I'd like to stuff that cake cutter into.
Yes I am as subtle as a raging bull in a china shop. But doesn't my cleavage look great though?

I just got off the phone with Shaz who said she had a great time. From what little I remember of it, I think I had a blast too.

And what do I have to show for turning 32?
A lot more grey hairs
A respectable hangover (which I am currently nursing at home)
Some pretty nice presents dude

So now I'll go back to sending out some emails and wait for Kayo's phonecall. She arrives from Tokyo at 7:30 tonight and I'm taking her out for dinner. Or as she calls it, MAKAN! Banzai!

From Jakarta, With Love

I am not embarassed in stating that I am a massive Gossip Girl fan. I think some of you may remember how I feel about a certain Chuck Bass?

Intania, never one to bore, has sent me some of the most hilariously memorable FB messages I have ever received. Tania is a fellow ex-UWCer, Jakartan, and is mother to quite possibly the cutest toddler in the region, Paloma.

It also has to be said that Tania was, until very recently, a staunch GG supporter.

The lady writes:

"At the risk of sacrilege I am not loving the new season Gossip Girl. Serena vDW is scrumptious but is a pain in the ass. Still love C + B, but this is getting on my nerves. Am I aging so fast that GG has lost its appeal.
Tyra? What is that non-sense.
Hillary Duff? Huh? What is this?
Friends? If we'd wanted guest stars, then let's get some real ones for goodness sakes!
Thank heavens for our saving grace Nate Archibald who is finer than aged wine this season. I BELIEVE God exists when I see his fine ass.

Ah sweet Shan! We must quickly have a one-to-one! Come visit!
XoXo, Tania"

Since I'm on a UWC stroll down memory lane, I'm also well pleased I'll be meeting Kayo and Jee-Young (Japanese + Korean respectively) in the next few days. While I was able to meet up with Jee 2 years ago (her parents reside here), I haven't seen Kayo in something like 13 years. I can't begin to explain how excited I am at the prospect of touching base with people who knew me when I was nothing more than a hormonal teenager who was easily 20 kg lighter.

Ah Facebook. Thanks to you it's gravy, baby.

Last Night...

The platonic love of my life, who only a few days ago invited me to join Facebook's PostSecret Page, emailed this to me last night:

I laughed, went 'ewww', blushed, re-read it, and at the end of it all felt more than a little touched. Albeit with the semi-ick factor firmly attached to it.

And at the very least, it's really funny. At it's best, it's a declaration that someone who's special to me thinks I'm sort of important too.

Ego massaged. Attitude in check. Happy now.

Enough, Already

In light of everything that's happened in the last few days I had to quote my friend Angela's Facebook status:

"to whoever is in charge of the weather, I think you're done now. Please leave South-East Asia alone!"

Angela has every reason to be concerned as her family is currently in the Philippines while she is thousands of miles away in Dubai.

What have we had to deal with so far? Typhoon Katsana with hundreds dead, 2 earthquakes in Sumatra with the death toll hitting well over a thousand, and now super typhoon Parma will be touching land in the Philippines anytime soon, if it hasn't already. I am having a late lunch in the office and our solid glass door is being propped open by some fierce wind outside. The semi-howling, ominous kind.

Outside the region, Samoa (and to a lesser extent Tonga) was hit with an 8.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami. As a large majority of Samoa's coastline is barely above sea-level, the damage and destruction suffered is reported to be massive.

Yes I have friends in Samoa at the moment. No, I've not heard a word back after messages were left on FB and emails sent out - not that I'm surprised, I'm pretty sure lines are down.

And yes, I can't help but feel that cold sliver in my stomach. There are people I care about in that area and I don't know if they're okay, if they're hurt. Because of the remoteness of the islands, even news updates are not as frequent.

In short, until I hear from them, I'll continue to remain worried.

News link 2nd October : Samoan Islands Shaken By Second Quake

Aw Boo Hoo

Methinks there's a response from The Author on their respective blog

Sweetie, we stopped being friends a long time ago. I'm genuinely very surprised that you didn't realise this but I'm glad you finally caught on.

Seriously though, please do understand that I honestly am not concerned in the least as to what you think about me, or what your personal opinions about my lifestyle or my choices are.

Your reaction doesn't change the fact that you're still not a good writer and that I was totally justified. Stick to the parameters of my issue with you.

To be fair you are entitled to a rant in response, I'll grant you that. Whatever we blog about, we have to take responsibility for. I have always maintained that.
But again, to be fair, nowhere did I see anything being brought up about your writing skills or abilities. Just judgement, judgement, judgement about me and my personal life - someone that you barely know, and who hasn't even been your friend for a good few months.

I did not lie about anything in my post nor did I fabricate anything. Your response is based on what you think you know about me. Whereas I based my post on what I can see from your work regularly.

You want to be a good writer? Change your style. Don't endorse and support blindly without having an ounce of an opinion of your own.
Stop churning out fluff and crud. The way you tell it, apparently you've got a huge following. Well then, bloody use it!
Take online writing courses. READ! Find sentences you enjoy, try to figure out how to adapt it into your own work, learn how to edit. Figure out what moves you the most, stick to that. Open yourself up to critiques. Learn to critique the writing of others.
But most importantly, have a bit more humility. Writers far better than you and I combined commented on my earlier post. They agreed with my stance. Confidence is one thing. Thinking that you're the next best thing since sliced bread - another thing entirely. Learn from this! Don't run before you can walk.
You wanna be a writer? Earn your stripes. Then I'll show you some level of respect.

But at the end of the day, I'm very happy to see you've removed the term "The Author" from your blog.
In future please don't be so quick to assume anything about writing for a living is to be taken lightly.

This is a serious profession, not to be sniffed at. Please show it the respect it deserves.

And thus, my work is done

Sex On Fire

It's never too early in the morning for this by Kings Of Leon. And hot damn I love his voice!




"Lay where you're laying, don't make a sound
I know they're watching, they're watching
All the commotion, the kiddie like play
Has people talking, talking
Hot as a fever, rattling bones
I could just taste it, taste it
If it's not forever, if it's just tonight
Oh, it's still the greatest, the greatest, the greatest"


This track makes me ridiculously happy. Not to be knocked until tried. Decipher that as you please. Haha have a great Friday everyone.

Yah, My Fammiry

September has been an awesome month I must admit. Pretty family oriented and I am totally not complaining.

First my cousin Rahul came over for about 5 days in early September.

He introduced me to Soju (Korean rice wine) which is something I'm quite fond of now. Pair a couple of bottles of those bad boys up with some Sam Gyeop Sal and you're good to go. That stuff is half rocketfuel, half partyfuel.

Rahul asked me if I needed anything from KL and I could only think of one thing : Cheetos.
Crunchy Cheetos.I had forgotten just how much I loved them. Too addictive for their own damn good!

His stay seems a little hazy now, which in hindsight is not surprising at all. But I do remember beer,beer,beer,beer followed by wine, shots, you name it. If a drink had alcohol in it, we were probably reaching for it!

At The Loft during his 2nd night. The wobbly boots were firmly on by this point.

On the evening of day 3 we went to Langkah Syabas for a friend's birthday party by the beach.


Here he is debating with Susu over who's drink is fiercer.
Judging by this photo, I think she wins. Heh.

Susu: Ehh you dun pray pray ah. You're in Sabah territory now young man.
Over here we drink until hangkang I tell you.
Rahul: Ohhh. Shaaaaannnnn...your friend...

Over the Hari Raya holidays my cousin Kamal visited with her husband Ravi and their 2 kids.
Look at that all that cuteness - Okay, okay stop staring at me. I was referring to my nephews.
Brought them over to Little Italy for dinner which the kids loved so much they went back there again 2 nights later.

I didn't get a chance to hang out with them as much as I would have liked as there were a few conflicting schedules but we made up for it on their last day. We were chugging beers up till the time I dropped them at the airport.

But I have to say, it was great seeing everyone again.

And I wish holidays would last longer.

You've Got To Be Fcuking Kidding Me

Sorry I'm still stunned.

I was reading a pseudo-popular local blog. It's the usual sort that's found here in Sabah. With the exception of a few older blogs I am becoming increasingly jaded and terribly bored with local bloggers.

I think you can image the sort I am referring to. Lots of food shots which are then replicated by their gang of friends. In short, visit 5 blogs and if they're all buddies they'll have pretty much the same content. Yawn and a pitchfork gag.

Okay so going back to what stunned me.

Since when does a blogger refer to themself as "The Author"?

Excuse me, but what the fuck is this? Bloggers moonlighting as authors now? As someone who writes and reads for a living I take the abuse of this term very seriously.

Now my personal interpretation of the word author is one who writes as a profession. I don't care what your takes on it are. If you're a blogger, you could consider yourself a writer but even that would be a pretty arrogant assumption.


Right to be fair, if said blogger wrote well I would have absolutely no issue. If people like Jas, Mel or Yo described themselves as authors I would be nodding along in agreement. When those girls write, they write well. No question there at all. It's appropriate to use them as examples as they have strong ties to the writing fraternity.

Not to be left out are Hantu Laut (buzzing local political blog), lovely Terri (3rd most popular food blog in the country. The lady has earned her stripes) and awesome Erna. Her writing consistently gives me fodder for thought.

But going back to my rant: When The Author's writing is barely passable and they're shameless in their pursuit of self-amping?

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

Please, please realize how you're coming off. You're giving proper and talented writers who have earned that title and who actually deserve it, a bad name.

The Eureka Complex

The following has come to my attention:

* That Facebook is a lot more fun than blogging - which now seems like a chore. It took me 2 and a half years of having an FB account to come to terms with this fact.

* That I apparently have blog stalkers made up of people I stopped speaking to ages ago. That actually made me feel quite cuffed and massaged my ego immensely. Can't let go? Oh well, can't say I blame you. I mean, just look at me. Feel the awesomeness that is The Shan.

*Wahey! Stop the press!*
Taken during Imelda's last trip back to KK

Head over to The Bag Bar which launches officially on September 22nd. That's my girl Pip's fantastic handiwork together with Sue and Mel. You read it here first!

Have a great long weekend everybody. I know I will.

Mr. Hart Strikes Back

Got this in on my Facebook Inbox from Duncan:

"AAaarrrgggghhhhh...... must you keep teasing and playing with me with all your lifestyle pornnn? There's only so many glamorous photo shoots I can take before getting the urge. ;-)"

And what motivated that cheeky half-rant you wonder? Well it may have had a little something to do with this image right here :

click to enlarge

Our weekly Member's Communiqué for August 26th from LifeAndStyle.com.my

Yesss, a shameless self plug but I'm not fussed. I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to a great long Merdeka (Independence Day) Weekend. And my fun starts at 1pm local time :D