My Inner Conspiracy Brother: The Disappearing Plane

It's been a while but it's a good time for my Inner Conspiracy Brother to rear his skeptical head and speak on this enigmatic situation. To most people I know, I'm the only person they've ever meet who's actually been to Malaysia; I used to live in Kuala Lumpur, the origin city of the "disappeared" plane. On the surface - in a non-conspiratorial though process - I could get past the simple question, "How the hell did you lose a 777 plane holding 200+ people?" That's one hell of a fucking magic trick.  How is that possible with all the tracking technology surrounding us? We have satellites could find hollow caves housing terrorist cells in the caves of the Middle East, but we're not keeping up with commercial jets mid-flight? What if a plane is flying from London to NYC at the same time there's a plane flying from NYC to London during a storm? Are they gonna crash because traffic controllers can't track them? Obviously the government of Malaysia is offering far-fetched answers because the spotlight is too bright for "I don't know" answers; but it's pretty fucking clear they don't really know. I was drawing a blank... but then I put on my conspiracy cap and ideas came to me quickly. The plane's black box (which holds the valuable data about the plane's travel and performance) was turned off? I doubt your average airline passenger knows where that is or how to disable that. According to reports, the plane had drastic changes in elevation and direction. But yet, the pilots did not explain the situation to any nearby traffic controller before supposedly crash landing the plane into the Indian Ocean? One of the pilots had been handling his personal life in an inexplicably erratic fashion the week before the flight? Smells like an inside job. The pilots, crew, possibly the nearest air traffic controller (ATC) seem the only people with the expertise to execute such a plan. What if there were someone important onboard that some powerful institution wanted silenced? There are many theories that this is what happened for former Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and the mysterious plane crash that killed him and 34 others in Croatia. Or what if the plane did not crash at all? That's possibly the scariest possibility of this all, it could be a lot of places. It could be sitting in a shed in Indonesia under the control of someone who plans to use it in a devious manner in the future. If the 239 people didn't die in the plane but hadn't contacted their families, that would indicate to me that they're captives or have been executed. Is this why other non-nearby countries such as America and Japan are assisting in the search? Are they concerned about possible consequences of not finding it? This is so cold blooded to say but at this point, the best (best feasible anyway) scenario for our safety is that the reports are correct and through no malicious action, the plane crashed into the ocean signalling an immediate demise to the plane passengers and crew. As I shake my head at myself for the last sentence, lemme take a moment to explain: at least then, the plane is not being tampered with for use to kill thousands (a la 9/11). I wish there were a feasible scenario where these people are like and chilling somewhere, but I don't see it.  Am I being cruel or overly calculating? Maybe, I don't know, think what you want. I've Been Called Worse...

Stop Me When I Start Lying: Not as Normal As I Thought

There are certain things I had come to believe where very normal here in 2011 . Well, one of teh joys of living overseas is that you see that they are not. LOL. Here are some of the things I've found were not nearly as normal as I thought:

• Toilet paper. Garden hoses beside the toilet and completely wet bathrooms aren't cool.
• Silverware. I struggle to take anyone seriously who eats curry-covered foods with their hands, even when wearing dress clothes.
• Shower curtains and proper tubs. No use in the entire bathroom getting wet when something so simple can keep things together
• The concept of "the right of way" while driving; Venomous anger runs up my spine several times a day at moves that Malaysians think are normal which completely disrespect this all-time driving standard
• Central air conditioning and hot water; Why isn't central A/C a priority in a country where it's 90 degrees every day? How am I supposed to keep my clothes white when the water is cold? Why do I have to add an attachment to every single shower head just to take a hot shower? They act like I'm crazy when I ask such questions.
• The desire to keep insects, lizards, and other such creatures out of your house. You'd be seen as a pussy here if you minded seeing lizards run across the wall of your living room; get used to it.
• Hobbies/enthusiasms. The average person does absolutely nothing interesting, and the only idea for going out is drinking at the same street called Changkat
• Women of "substance"; I admire intelligence and ambition in ladies, which is very hard to find here. Most of these women bored the hell out of me.
• Ambition in general, above and beyond just getting married and starting a family at a young age
• The desire to take vacations and do something other than work; Why is it that most locals here have never even been to neighboring countries when they're only a few hours away in each direction?
• The desire to stay fit; Locals eat nothing but rice and meat, then they don't work out and complain about why they don't look the way they want to
• Casual sex; With the aforementioned issues with substance-less women, becoming 'boo'd' up to fulfill your sexual needs is more a tale of settling for less than your standard than committing to someone u like enough to be in the place.

I guess the differences are what make places distinct, right? In my mind the question I just asked seems like a way for someone to rationalize not knowing how to use toilet paper or silverware in 2011. LOL. Stop Me When I Start Lying

Do Better: No Education, No Ambition, Now What?

I couldn't resist posting that funny pic even though this is serious problem. I’ve been here in Sandakan (East Malaysia on the island of Borneo) for a few days now and I haven’t seen a whole lot yet. But one of the things I have observed makes me sad: there is no priority put on education for small children. I work on a construction site, where the general workers live on-site in tenements that they built out of the project materials and whatever else they could gather. It’s bad enough that grown men have to live this way but that’s just how it goes in Malaysia. But here I’ve seen so many 10-14 year olds working at my site, at restaurants, and everywhere. All I can keep thinking is: what kind of life are they setting themselves up for? Not only do they have no idea what they’re missing or what is going on in the world, they may not know about anything going on outside of this construction site. If this is the case, there is no ambition in them, no drive, no expectation of a better life at all. All they know is that tomorrow, the sun will come up and they will come out and continue to server as helpers for lightweight construction work such as grouting and finish work until the day ends and they walk back to their tenements and start the process over tomorrow. Once this project is over, they will likely find another project nearby and start the same lifestyle over again. I was once told by a Malay co-worker of mine that locals – even the educated ones – are essentially programmed to be robots in this country. Whether you go to school and college or not, once the work world comes at you, the expectation is to settle into some convenient lifestyle close to home. Get married, get some job (often with no upward mobility), work hard enough not to lose this job in the next 40 years, start a family and never think about anything outside of that. I talk to locals about my travels and they’re amazed, even though they’ve spent their lives in this part of the world. You’re from Kuala Lumpur and you’ve never been to East Malaysia? If you plan ahead, you can fly there for next to nothing. You’re from Kuala Lumpur and you’ve never been to Singapore? It’s a 4 hour bus ride for something like $10 US. I dare not even ask about China, Australia, Thailand, or somewhere else slightly further away. So what are they waiting for? The truth is they’ve never even thought about going somewhere else. That’s why my presence and situation shocks so many people. I’m not saying every American thinks globally because most don’t. But even Americans I know who have never left the US have travelled a bit within their region of the US; they have wanted to see SOMETHING other than what they see in their hometown every day. Well, over here, travelling that region of the US is like going from country to country, and the locals have not done it. You ask them why and they stumble. They say they don’t want to miss work like they don’t have leave like me. They may say money, like it’s not dirt cheap if you plan ahead. At the end of the day, it’s a mindset. To me, they’re existing and not truly living. Forget travelling, but most locals (even many educated ones) don’t even have any idea what is going on outside of their country. How is it you have cable television and the internet but you have no concept of current events whatsoever? I could see if you had hobbies or enthusiasms which were taking up your time, but no that’s not the case either. I’d guess that if you charted out their days it would go: Wake up, work, back home, eat, watch tv, talk about something other than current events or hobbies with your family, go to sleep, start over. To me, you only get one life and that is no way to spend it. I know my two cents doesn’t mean much to them and wont change their culture, but I can’t surround myself with people like that. Knowing how sensitive Malays are, this is one of the things I’ve been trying to spare feelings about when people here ask me “Nigel, you’re not going to stay here in Malaysia forever?” I can't say "I feel like I'm losing intelligence if I'm willing to stay surrounded by dumb fucks" so I have to gracefully sugar coat this kind of question. I'm tired of it. It depresses me, I weep for them. This lack of education makes things like the Nazi shirt mentioned in the last blog entry necessary. Readers out there, I never thought I would appreciate you so much just for the simple fact that you can read. SMH. Selamat malam

Do Better: Is that a Nazi Swastika?

You may have heard me speak before about the occasion thought in my mind to politely slap the shit out of someone repeatedly. Well, I recently had the same urge when I saw Malays walking around in a shirt with a Nazi swastika on it. I know what you’re thinking; it was an Asian religious symbol for luck and prosperity first. And I know that, I've seen it on temples in Thailand, Singapore and other places. But no, this was the tilted swastika in the circle and the red background just like the one on Hitler’s arm (and it wasn't crossing it out like the one I inserted); str8 skin head, Neo-Nazi swastika. I had heard about this foolishness before. Apparently, they try to defend it saying that “Well, I’m Muslim. I don’t like Jews. Neither did they, so we’re on the same team.” My reaction first time I heard it, “WHAT THE FUCK?” Ridiculous, right? The lack of education (blog coming next) shows through immensely with such simplistic and misguided logic. Had we been in an English speaking country, I had the right to: 1) try to educate the man that Hitler would have also despised you (a Malay), me (a Black man), or anyone who wasn’t prototypically Arian (tall, blond haired and blue eyed), 2) assume that he knows more about Hitler which would entitle me to slap him as mentioned above. But here, because of the language barrier, I can’t even communicate with him to rid him of this deeply misguided mindset towards Nazis. All of this is processing in my mind as he walks by and I catch a glimpse of the back of his shirt………………it’s made by Levi’s. HOOOLLYYYY SHIT. Are you serious? Levi’s, which I’ve since been told is actually like a Hebrew name, is taking advantage of these uneducated people and using them as the marketing base to sell this filth? The anger inside which was brewing deep within but being held at bay by my rationale about the unknowing foreigner all of a sudden rose very quickly. I can’t think of a more disgusting example of selling your soul for the profits. Even in the immoral world of business, some lines should not be crossed; this is one of them. You know what, it’s time for me to go. The level of uneducated individuals is starting to annoy me. You think there are some ignorant people in America, you can’t imagine some of this bullshit. Do Better…

A Robbery, Straight Ninja Style

I can now confirm the presence of ninjas in Malaysia. After a night drinking (not drinking too much), I was on the way home at about 3am and I was a bit fatigued; it had been about a 10.5 hour workday before. I had dropped the lady off who I was drinking with, was about 2 minutes from being home and got to a red light which was a bit long. I dosed off for maybe one and a half minutes or so. I woke up to the sound of someone knocking gently on my car window telling me to wake up. Slightly bewildered and intoxicated, I wake up, look around and finish driving home. I get home a couple minutes later and as I'm leaving the car, I realize my iPod touch is no longer in the adapter holder plugged into my cigarette lighter. I searched the car a little bit more, then it hit me....I WAS ROBBED, BY SOMEONE AS STEALTH AS A FUCKING NINJA. That alcohol dose-off isn't some really hard dose off, even a gentle sound usually would wake you up from that. So you're telling me that during the very short time I nodded off, someone identified that I was asleep in my car, identified that there was valuable electronics in the open inside the car, approached the car in the middle of the intersection, opened the passenger door, grabbed the iPod, closed the door back in a way that didn't wake me up, and got missing. The most likely person is probably the guy who knocked on my window. Meaning he robbed me quietly enough to be undetected, then woke me up? Strange. In hindsight, I wish I would have been in a more clear mind state so I could have picked up and acted in real time. Also, I know realize that cars in Malaysia don't automatically lock the doors while in Drive the way most cars do in the US, so it may be a good idea to physically lock them myself if I am going to be out and in such a form. I'm honestly more embarrassed than mad at this point. Lesson learned: NINJAS ARE EVERYWHERE. In the words of the Wu Tang Clan. "Protect Ya Neck."

Fuck the Police, Internationally

My hatred for policemen (obviously not all, but many) now knows no borders, it has crossed the Pacific and gone international. As I was walking back from a bar with two friends of mine, one Nigerian and one Sudanese, we see cops on motor bikes. I don't think much of it at the time. Until I see one's head turn towards us and he signals to the others to pull over near where we're walking. It was like deja vu, it was as if I'd seen it before, the same bullshit being rewinded. Here comes this police bullshit again. And it has a different spin here becuz police here are only driven by money. They arrange random traffic stops anywhere and stop everyone without the intention to write any tickets or citations, they just play that "Well, the ticket is this price. But if u pay me half of that, I'll let u slide" all the time. In America, a lot of cops are crooked, but most of the time they're tryna make money off the criminals; taking some of the money they find in raids, taking bribes to "turn their heads" on things, etc. Here the police are into exploiting regular ppl. Ain't that a bitch? So to them, they think we're three Africans, we're an easy target to them. No reason to stop us at all, but they ask our ideas. My temperature already starts rising, but I stay civil and hand over my ID. After the one in front of me argues that my ID must be fake, the one who has somehow worked his way behind me starts frisking me, feeling me all up and down. Instinct told me to punch him in the face for laying hands on me. But it is a cop, no matter how crooked or sorry. So I kind of brush him off me and grab it from my pocket myself. "It's Carmex, lip balm. What do u want from me?" He inspects the little tub as if it's filled with anthrax. At this point, I'm getting madder. One of them is raising his voice questioning why I'm trying to con them with a fake ID. I raise my voice right back, "u a fucking American ID expert now? How do I know u not just a douchebag in his policeman Halloween costume taking a joy ride?" At least in America, they have to at least act like they have some valid reason to stop you. Even if it is bullshit, they have to act like u did something suspicious to get stopped or pulled over. And beyond that, we have rights. If they try to make u open ur trunk or glove box or want u to get out so they can frisk u, u have the right to say "No, do u have a warrant?" The cop might not like it, but if they try to "make u" u have grounds to sue them. We've seen ppl sue and win large sums of money from the police force for unlawful interaction. and once again, in true police fashion, when they realized they had nothing on us, they tried to explain with bullshit. "Oh this is normal at night when we see people walking." MOTHERFUCKER A DOZEN PEOPLE HAVE WALKED BY SINCE U'VE BEEN TRYING GROPE ME. U AIN'T STOPPED NAM ONE OF THEM. JUST US BLACK GUYS." He can try to go sell that shit to someone else, I don't play that shit. Fuck u and leave me alone. If u haven't noticed, this is a topic that gets me hot quick' which isn't actually that easy to do. But this picture to the left gives u an idea of the mentality that pisses me off so much. As great as the "idea" of the police is, the actuality of what many of the police have become is a far cry from serving and protecting. They're clinging to the power of the badge to feed their greed and prejudice. I don't fuck wit em, period. If u think I'm exaggerating or somethin, open ur fucking eyes and grow up. If u think I'm being bitter or sensitive, fuck it, I've Been Called Worse. As Lil' Wayne says (odd person to quote for me, I know), "Real niggas fuck with me, and I don't give a fuck u don't."

Do Better: Malaysia, Part One

I named this installment of Do Better a part one because I'm fairly sure more will be coming before I return to the US. Some things that are different here are simply the result of cultural difference. But in some ways, there's no better way to say it than "They're really just fucking up." I'll keep it brief, I wish I had pics of all the stuff. But even though I don't, trust that I'm tellin the truth....

• It's 2010, why are there so many men, young and old, still walking around with their collars popped? What r u on the "Real World" from 2001 or something? Do u hang with the cast from "Saved By the Bell"? The caption on the picture to the right expresses my sentiment; just exchange the word"fag" with "douchebag." I hope his head is turned away from the camera because the cameraman just punched him very hard...
  
• I see at lot of Floyd Patterson and Johnny Unitas haircuts over here. Guys are going to the barbershops and paying money to look like fools. Those haircuts lost popularity in like the late 60's. If u have that now u either hang with Chris Mullens or only live near military barbershops...
  
• Ight, I will start by saying I'm not a big fan of guys in sandals in the first place. However, if u're a guy and u are wearing sandals, u either gotta go with the toe thongs or the ones with the strap going all the way over. I've seen entirely too many guys in sandals that look like they are intended for 5 year old girls (observe picture to right). Looking like u bought them at Rainbow in Freedom Mall (reference for my Charlotte folks). Did they really look at those in the store and combine the two thought "I'm feeling these, I'm buying them" and "These are definitely made for guys." If so, they need prayer...
  
• These different ATMS for different functions are bullshit. U go in a back and there's an ATM lobby with like 6 machines. U can only withdraw cash from two of them, u can't deposit into the same one u're withdrawing from, u can't deposit cash in the same one u can deposit cash into, etc. A serious waste of machinery to me, where's the efficiency? SMH..
  
• If I use the bathroom at night, go to bed, wake up, go to work for 10 hours, and I get back and the bathroom randomly smells terrible (not even like number 2 sustained, but randomly terrible), that means that something about the plumbing is sub-par. I don't wanna have to explain to company that it's not me, it's just the piping in the bathroom. SMH
• Being that locals like to eat traditional Indian or Malay food with their hands sometimes, ample quality soap needs to be located by the sinks. It's bad enough they're slack on both paper towels and toilet paper; toilet paper is sometimes only found by the sinks in place of paper towels
• Speaking of toilet paper, don't think I say 'they don't have toilet paper' as in they're temporarily out of toilet paper. I mean they had no plans of ever having toilet paper. You'll just see a hose, to be used as a poor man's bidet. I was told "it's fun, just make sure u aim before u shoot." I flatly refuse. SMH once again...
• I saw a Black guy, probably African but possibly not, who was bald on 80% of his head and had dreds on his front lobe rubber banded together into a short pony tail. Nuff said. I was trying so hard to get a picture without being blatantly obvious but I couldn't find a way. To be fair, I won't charge that one to Malaysia. That was the monumental failure of one man and one man alone. The phrase "I blame who let you leave the house like that" is a tremendous understatement. I'm mad at him, whoever did his hair, patronized him to boost his confidence, even anyone who was talking to him and ignored the urge to smack him repeatedly; all of the aforementioned ppl deserve to be back-handed, humiliated, and rolled down a mountain in an oil drum filled with fecal matter. I don't know this man but I wept for him...
  

I will inevitably encounter more noteworthy blunders and shameful embarrassments while I am here in Malaysia. And sense I'm judgmental for the sake of comedic value, that means that more of these posts will come. Stay tuned, foreigners trying to imitate Western culture, or even blend it with their own, when they tend to be decades behind in some aspects of fashion or technology becomes hilarious. It's my duty to ridicule them to add humor to my descriptions of my new temporary home....

Stop Me When I Start Lying: Restaurants 'Pimpin' Their Workers in Malaysia

Before I start passing any kind of judgment, I’m gonna describe a situation and you think about it for a second and tell me what kind of job you think it sounds like I’m describing. Someone has the pull to smuggle, well, let’s say bring (without much resistance) beautiful women over from a nearby country. They provide them with a strictly controlled housing situation. They revamp their wardrobe and try to add some more ‘sexy’ to their image to enhance their attractiveness to the customer base. They put strict weight limits (enforced by expensive fines, $75/kilogram) on the women, give them cooks so they don’t have to leave their place for food, control their transportation on a strict schedule to and from work, and enforce strict, unreasonable (9 pm for grown ass women) curfews on the women on their off days. Take a moment and let me know what you come up with. U thinking what I’m thinking? She works for Pimpin Ken off Moreland in East Atlanta; or the deep-voiced poet on HBO’s “Hookers at the Point” has told a rhyme about her. Even on the legal side, maybe high fashion or pageant model who needs to stay at 6’1, 90 lbs to make sure she doesn’t get booted out of the industry because she has enough meat that her ribs don’t show. Good guess, but wrong. This is what they do to the women who work in restaurants who do nothing more than come and sit at your table looking good, make conversation and ensure that you have a lot of fun and laughs while spending a lot of money obviously. I had a conversation with two Filipino women who are roommates and work at two different restaurants in this role. It sounds like they were granted visas to come live in Kuala Lumpur by an ‘agency’ just for the purpose of being one of a restaurant’s in-store table escorts. At first I was thinking there must be more to it than what they’re saying, like they may be turning tricks after work or something and don’t want to tell us. After all, this is the land of the reflexology massage parlors, which are constantly under investigation for ‘vice’ activities as the newspaper calls them; I guess this is where the US massage parlors (also employing most Asian women) got their “happy endings” from. But it seems like they were being honest when they said their driver is standing by precisely at the end of their shift to take them straight home when they get off work at midnight; the cook is still available if they are hungry also. Crazy. Maybe it’s legit. Maybe there’s an intense on-going competition about who has the hottest in-house escorts or something. Maybe all the guys who are legit business owners now used to be pimps and use the same business plan in their current business for how to attract men and control women that work for you. They say it’s the world’s oldest profession. I guess it wouldn’t have lasted if the business plan didn’t work. Stop Me When I Start Lying…

What Will I Tell Them??

I can't get the question from my international exchange application off of my mind lately: "What part of American culture do you hope to share with those you encounter in your exchange country?"

Next week, I will land in Malaysia (look for it on a map, I know I had to), where honestly I expect to get crazy looks of shock everywhere I go for the duration of my stay. I'm a 6'2 young Black American male who's typical casual look would be classified in America as 'urban' and in the rest of the world as 'hood.' I fully expect to be walking through an airport of preconceived notions, whether illegitimately star struck ("What NBA team does he play for?"), admirable ("I wanna party with that guy") scared ("I hope he's not here for crime"), or even testing ("I wonder if he'll get mad if I say that N-word I here in the rap songs"). I've mentally prepared myself for that because there's no benefit to getting mad at some foreigner's (foreign to me anyway)ignorance of my true personality and purpose in their country. But as some point legitimate conversation will arise about America whether with a Malaysian, my British co-worker, or someone else I happen to encounter in a deep conversation-prone situation. So as I navigate the many onion-like layers of my mind, I wonder how exactly I should answer the questions about my many often contradictory thoughts and interaction with my home country.

Should I tell them it's truly the land of opportunity where immigrants, poor people, and other underprivileged can find a way to make it to prominence and wealth? Or that the top 1% control 42% of the nation's wealth and in the midst of the financial crisis, the CEOs who ran the companies into the ground made multi million dollar golden parachutes for themselves while dismissing their everyday workers with nothing more than a pink slip?

Should I tell them that America is truly the 'Melting Pot' made up of immigrants, transplants, explorers and the descendants of slaves who all have been finding a way to coexist and mesh their cultures? Or that it's a place run by bias older white males who have made my demographic (young, Black males) the default criminal prototype and the most hated and feared demographic in the world?

Should I tell them it's a land of democracy where the son of a Kenyan can be elected President? Or should I tell them it's a land of little political transparency where the President is trying to fight through the maze of back door alliances, campaign contribution loyalties, and party-biased infighting?

Should I tell them it's a land of religious freedom and social choice where there is some level of tolerance for even the most eccentric and extravagant lifestyles? Or should I tell them its a land where fundamentalists of classic religions are constantly plotting terrorism as a statement against the secular social and sexual anarchy that our country has allowed itself?

Should I tell them about our land where education is free and available up until high school and very easily accessible at the college level? Or about how despite these great opportunities, Americans are dropping out in high numbers and falling behind the rest of the developed countries in education while foreigners come in take advantage of our education system right under our noses?

Should I tell them about the land that has gradually made progress as far as political forwardness and social tolerance? Or the country where even systems such as law enforcement, law making, and homeland security have tremendous problems with high-level corruption and untrustworthy practices?

Should I tell them about the powerhouse with the technological and financial might to develop the best medicines and alternate energy sources in the world? Or the country where these capitalistic greed speaks more than right or wrong so health care and other industries cost so much that they alienate most of those who need them?

I could go on forever, but the bottom line is: Do I tell them about the wonderful and glamorized America that I want to come back to and live in after my internship? Or the potentially corrupt and cut throat America that I left to experience another culture? I'm not sure, I feel that to tell one side without the other is being dishonest. America is honestly an elaborate blend of this yin and yang. Maybe I'll just wait til I have a few drinks and see which stories come out.

One More Month

One more month til the trip of my lifetime....so far. Seven million people in the globally advanced city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are waiting for me. Despite news from gossip sites calling Kuala Lumpur the "tranny capital of the world," I'm still excited about the opportunity to take this internship and spend a good amount of time immersed in another culture. Talking to different people who have been to, heard about, or have family in Malaysia, I think it will be great. Obviously it will be different in many ways. I'll stick out like a sore thumb becuz I'm black and I'm probably about a foot and a half taller than everyone else there. There's no real winter time, it'll be between 70 and 86 degrees pretty much all year; but it will be more humid than I'm used to tho. I'll have to operate in the midst of monsoon season for a lot of the year too. I'll have a British co-worker who I'm expecting many cultural arguments with. As heart-breaking as it may be, I don't expect to see much booty or hamstrings on the women I see when I go out on the town; which might not even matter becuz I have no idea what kinda music I'll have to dance to. I may have to train my taste buds for the hottest food I've ever really had to endure. There may be many customs or practices that I'll have to learn that could seem very weird. I'm not sure if I'll have my usual preference of a Wal-Mart, Best Buy, liquor store, grocery store, and a movie theater all being at easy access. But this is one of those points in life where stepping out of your comfort zone helps you to grow up, so I'm game for whatever. Hopefully this will be a wonderfully eventful chapter in my life story. And as for the tranneys, I'll have to make the Adam's Apple check and hood-club style frisk down part of my usual routine when I encounter women. Whether they get offended or not, I need to know...even before we begin casual conversation at the bar. Judgemental of Me?? Whatever, I've Been Called Worse...

Broadening My Horizons

It's now official. This fall I will be doing an internship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for up to a year. I feel that learning to function on your own while stepping out of your comfort zone ur own person. It's too easy to stay within your comfort zone (your parents' house, your hometown, somewhere you're surrounded by poeple you know, etc.) is essential to growing up and becoming your own man. All I needed was an opportunity. AIESEC, an exchange and internship program and the biggest student run organization in the world, has given me that opportunity. I originally wanted to go to either Europe or South America. Malaysia came out of left field, but upon doing research on the place, I think it will be a great experience. I'll be working within my degree field, working with people from different regions of the world and learning another culture. Not to mention they sell EVERYTHING crazy cheap (I've been asked to bring back high grade weave for a friend) and its near to Japan, China, Singapore, and Australia for visits. Hopefully the humidity and monsoon season aren't too much to handle. Life's an adventure and a story, I hope this is a wonderful upcoming chapter of mine...

P.S. Don't worry tho, I've Been Called Worse will continue from overseas. My mission will remain to entertain or enlighten no matter what continent, time zone, hemisphere, or even planet I should be blogging from