http://amalaysianabroad.today.com ... a Malaysian/Swiss mutt exploring Springfield, IL so you don't have to! (since September 2009) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:46:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en image source Remember, remember the Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot, I know of no reason Why the Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot. . During the recent holiday-themed World Blog Surf Day, Zuzanna who writes at Success Abroad and Emm who writes at Emm in London, chose to feature an important event in Great ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/11/05/remember-remember/ Another World Blog Surf Day is here! The first was about life as an expat in general, and the second about food.  This time around it’s about holidays & celebrations: What is your favorite ~new~ holiday and how is it celebrated? image source When I first heard of Halloween being referred to ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/10/31/wbsd-3-a-new-holiday/ I just found out that today is Mole Day!  *giggle!*  It is marked between 6:02 am and 6:02 pm on October 23rd by a specific group of mainly North Americans.  Who are they, and what do you think this day celebrates? (don't Google it, just play along, k? I've given ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/10/23/happy-mole-day/ What do you usually receive in your mailbox?  No, not your virtual email one; the physical one, where snail-mail arrives. Swiss mailbox by Toni_V Nowadays, this is what greets Kosh and me: Netflix DVD about once a week some statements/bills (many but not all have been switched to electronic statements viewed online) one or two ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/10/09/happy-world-post-day/ Having slacked off on the monthly review of Holidays, Festivals and other Events in Malaysia, Switzerland and the USA for quite a while now (I only managed Jan Feb Mar April & May 2009!), I'm going to be exploring and sharing some of the ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/10/08/springfield-il-to-write-so-fine-a-piece/ A very large tip of the hat to JD at I Do Things So You Don't Have To for the inspiration behind this post's title and a malaysian abroad's new tagline! Yes, I've decided to take it upon myself to explore what Springfield has to offer visitors and residents alike, ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/10/01/springfield-il-so-you-dont-have-to/ Actually, the theme hasn't been decided yet... but since it's going to be held on October 31st, calling it the Halloween edition wouldn't be wrong, right? In case you were wondering what I'm blabbing on about: the third iteration of World Blog Surf Day is coming up!! Registration is now open, so ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/09/19/world-blog-surf-day-the-halloween-edition/ We are moving again! This time, we are heading for Springfield! (The one in Illinois) Springfield is closely associated with one of the greatest Americans of all time -- Abraham Lincoln spent 24 years here as a lawyer and politician until he left in 1861 to become the 16th President of the United ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/09/04/another-break/ image source One of the most important things to do when planning to live long-term in a foreign country is to find out and adhere to the immigration laws of the land.  The last thing you want is to be struggling to communicate with police/judges as they take you into custody ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/09/03/jailed-in-india-family-thought-he-was-meditating-in-the-himalayas/ ... the minister ducked. My favourite joke of this type: A rabbi, a priest and a minister walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, "What is this, some kind of joke?" . Of course there's this one: A priest, a rabbi and a leprechaun walk into a bar. The leprechaun looks around and says, ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/08/25/a-rabbi-and-a-priest-walk-into-a-bar/ I was racking my brain trying to figure out why Chicago Public Libraries were going to be closed today.  Sure, I've let my Public Holidays, Festivals and Events monthly review stall a few months ago so I've not reviewed August... but still... what on earth was going on in ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/08/17/city-of-chicago-is-closed-today/ So you're watching two random people having a conversation... image by whitebeard Without eavesdropping on them, how do you know what they are talking about? Without any other body language as input, how would you know if the discussion is about something surprising, fearful, funny, serious? What is it about the facial expressions ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/08/14/facial-expressions-east-west-interpret-them-differently/ I just found out that a blog I read regularly, Empty Nest Expat, came in 5th place in this year's Travel Blog Awards organised by tripbase.  Congrats Karen! Click these links to see all the winners in the Expat category (or see all the categories in contention). image source I was ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/08/05/congratulations-to-travel-blog-awards-expat-blog-winners/ Yasmin Ahmad has passed away. Yasmin Ahmad (1958 - 2009) ... a loss not just to Malaysia, but to the entire world. I would like to celebrate her life and works, but since I don't have any of her movies I'll be looking at YouTube: I noticed that Sepet and Gubra seem ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/07/25/requiescat-in-pace/ It's been a while since a malaysian abroad has done a Malaysia in the Movies post!  Today I'd like to feature Yasmin Ahmad, an internationally-acclaimed filmmaker who unfortunately meets with a lot of resistance from the local Malaysian entertainment authorities because the subject of her films usually ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/07/23/malaysia-in-the-movies-yasmin-ahmad/ Yesterday, I was puzzled to see this status message on Facebook: why would a man, on the morning of his wedding, curl up and go to sleep on the sofa of the office where he was interrogated for ten hours, and then wake up to throw himself out the window, ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/07/17/quis-custodiet-ipsos-custodes/ Have you heard about the latest gimmick-cum-tourist-attraction in Chicago? Newfangled Sear Tower Lookout Boxes by JOE M500 The Sears Tower recently opened to the public two glass "ledges" that jut out 1.2 meters / 4.3 feet from the Sky Deck at the 103rd floor of the building -- that's 412 meters / ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/07/15/last-day-for-vertigo-at-the-sears-tower/ Of course, the significance of "July 11th" only makes sense mainly in the USA; for most of the rest of the world, "7-Eleven Day" should be the 7th of November, right? Thanks to the folks at Free Things to do in Chicago, I just found out that I've been missing out ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/07/11/july-11th-is-7-eleven-day/ loading zone by garann Update: All moved out of the old place 30th June 2009 We're now settling in to the new place: tons of boxes to unpack, and allergy-inducing dust mites to fight, ... but at least we've got internet connectivity again! I hope to be properly back online next week. In the meantime, here's wishing y'all ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/07/03/an-update-on-the-break/ a malaysian abroad will be on a short break for slightly over a week, until early July: the Naranek household will be moving (within Chicago, no worries), and will be needing a lot of non-internet time to pack, move, unpack and settle in the new place. Moving Woman by jynmeyer Afraid ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/06/24/taking-a-break/ Oh to have been in waiter Mohammaed A. Sekhani's shoes last week! Johnny Depp (source) It seems that Johnny Depp and a few other people involved in 'Public Enemies' were here in Chicago last week for the opening of the movie.  They then headed to Gibson's Steakhouse -- a Chicago institution on ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/06/24/johnny-depp-not-such-a-public-enemy/ As promised in my recent World Blog Surf Day entry, today I made my way to another Farmers Market in the heart of downtown Chicago: Federal Plaza @ Adams & Dearborn Located at the corner of Adams and Dearborn, Federal Plaza hosts a farmers market every Tuesday. The weather today was so much ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/06/16/chicagos-farmers-markets-federal-plaza-tuesdays/ Welcome to Part Two of my World Blog Surf Day entry: where I report back on my trip to the Printers Row Farmers Market, one of the over thirty Farmers Markets held weekly in over twenty Chicago neighbourhoods. When I woke up this morning, I wondered if I was going ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/06/13/world-blog-surf-day-chicagos-farmers-markets-2/ Welcome to Part One (of Two) of a malaysian abroad's participation in this iteration of World Blog Surf Day! If you're following the chain, you probably got here from Emmanuelle, who wrote about 5 Ways Food Can Boost Your Expat Social Life.  Hi!! From NASA, Public Domain [A tip of the ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/06/13/world-blog-surf-day-chicagos-farmers-markets-1/ Image by spekulator A while ago, I blogged about my niece and I (please click! you'll die from the cuteness!!): an astute commenter observed that the difference in hair quantity between my niece and I could be attributed to "the Asian gene".  Well, I do sardonically refer to myself as a ... http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/2009/06/08/mustering-mutts-for-marrows/