Life Of A Typical Malay - November 2000

A Malay Man In New York

- Damn it! I don't know to cut & paste using this iMac I will have to just write my Nov entries here.

- Another quick one - hmm..how I love a quick one...heh..

- Still in New York, been to World Trade Center a few times since Monday, still have lots of things to settle, problem is I have no internet connection I find it difficult to communicate with the guys in Singapore, vice versa. And these damn Yankees, they don't even bother to help me out, probably because they thought I'm staying at some expensive hotel where internet connection is not a problem. Dratttsss! Anyway, I have lots of shit to do tomorrow, I, first thing in the morning, have to go to MAS Office to have my flight postponed, I have an appointment with CSCE officer on the 7th, and I'm not taking chances.

- Spent most of my morning at the hotel yesterday, nursing my swollen ankles, been walking every streets and corners of Manhattan like a fool, been to Empire State Building. Madison Square Garden, Rockefeller Center (and yes, I did go to that famous ice skating ring...heh), Times Square, and a few other places. Not once but a few times. I feel like that Home Alone boy, MacCaulay Caulkin, ah...never mind!

- I also toured Nasdaq Broadcast Center yesterday, spent half a day there, more about that when I get back.

- Last night I went to Broadway for a theatre play or something but the ticket (I wanted to see The Full Monty) was like USD 90 or something I changed my mind, I could use that to but air ticket to Montreal. And speaking about Montreal and since I have a few more days until Nov 7th, I am seriously thinking of going there, just to brush up my French. Not confirmed yet, maybe my next entry will be from that city Montreal, Quebec (Canada) or maybe from somewhere in Amish Settlement, I don't know...oh no, the Amish don't use phones or any electrical gadgets...

.....got to go, the one thing I don't like about New York is that internet access is so damn expensive! And boy, why didn't I learn Spanish when I was a student? Spanish is like first language here, everyone speaks Spanish, I do have that Mexican look but I don't speak Spanish...

* * * * * * * * * *

I'm updating this from one cyber-cafe somewhere near Fifth Avenue, they charge USD 12-00 per hour and giving one hour free surfing time, that means they only charge USD 6-00 per hour. And I'll be back tomorrow to claim my free 60 minutes...yessss.....

Original Song: An Englishman In New York by Sting

I don't drink coffee I take tea my dear
I like my toast done on the side
And you can hear it in my accent when I talk
I'm an Englishman a Malay man in New York

See me walking down Fifth Avenue
A walking stick digital camera here in my hand
I take it everywhere I walkgo
I'm an Englishman a Malay man in New York

(x2)
I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman a Malay man in New York

* If "Manners make the man" as someone said
Then he's the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say

(x2)
I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman a Malay man in New York

Modesty, propriety can lead to notoriety
You could end up as the only one
Gentleness, sovriety are rare in this society
At night a candle's brighter than the sun

Takes more than combat gear to make a man
Takes more than a license for a gun
Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can
A gentleman will walk but never run

I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman a Malay man in New York

O....oohhhh....
I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman a Malay man in New York

. . . . . . . . .

- for the first time aku kat New York aku rasa this is a dangerous place on earth, I experienced one scary incident and witnessed a couple within a few minutes last night. I was in Harlem area.........

[ too bad I don't have enough time to write all that down right now, I'm off to Fifth Avenue again in a few mins - I'll get back to the stories in a few days I promise, complete with a few pictures I managed to snap]

- instead of going to MAS Building (because the office opens at 10-00 am), I took a stroll down Central Park in the morning, that lasted until 7 something. Took the subway to South ferry and spent the whole morning at Statue Of Liberty, yeah, I climbed the 354 steps to the crown, it was such a tiring experience after having to queue up for nearly 2 hours to get to the entrance.

- missed my Friday prayer by a few minutes, I arrived at the mosque at 1-30 pm, the prayers had already ended. Actually the mosque is just a kilometer away from the hotel I'm staying at, half way to Harlem area. Not a big one, just a small mosque caters for Black Muslims.

- to Fifth Avenue again in the evening, stopped at 42 Street Tourist Information Center and was told that there's free internet access for 10 minutes each for every visitor so I took the chance to just check some market sites, bridge news, hencorp, binews etc.

- maybe I'll just forget about going to Montreal, it's snowing there right now. I'm checking out of the hotel tomorrow and I think there will be the International Marathon this Sunday, I don't want to miss that one out. So I won't be going anywhere these few days, maybe Monday, I'm off to Penns Station to check for Greyhound trips to cities within a few hours drive from New York.

Oh, I'm off.....sorry this journal is a bit disjointed...see you later...






- prev -


...tomorrow is a day yet to be written...