Monday, October 05, 2009

Tardy Thoughts and Turkey

Zomg!
No updates since Tok Woot!
Well, lots has happened and also not so much.
I hang out a lot more on weekends. No big, exciting plans but enough to keep busy. And that makes me happy.
I have become a book fair hound. I think i average 3 new books a week. Such a monster. But seriously, if you also suffer cheap book fetishes, definitely go check out the Pearson/Penguin book sale at Pearson Publishing House (off Jalan Templer which is the left turn off the Federal Highway after the Naza showroom, assuming you are driving AWAY from midvalley... meh. Google it!)
I love the fact that eddie is back! He calls and I feel wanted =) and occasionally he is breakfast buddy!
I tried for, heard back from and then was ignored by Mix FM. *Big sigh* Radio deejay-dom needs more work.
I've been playing badminton semi-regularly. That's a MAJOR change for me! (And less aching now!)
Liverpool is in 'shambolic' form. *sigh* But Torres is still leng chai as ever. For a female football fan, that is of course a pretty big priority.
Oh, and biggest news of all... FAMILY HOLIDAY!
I am quite excited over the fact I don't have to slug it out in hostels and figure out where I am by myself. But coaches and zooming over sites is a bit of a sad thing. We are staying 3 extra days in Istanbul on our own so I have been reading up quite a bit for Turkey. I promise those pictures I will share, okay? (Have been lazy with Rembang but to be honest there isn't much to see there)
The itinery consists of Istanbul (Grand Bazaar! Haga Sofia! Blue Mosque! Topkapi Palace! Bosphorus River!), Troy (Eric Bana and Brad Pitt and a big wooden horse!), Cappadocia (potentially a hot air balloon ride and caves where the Catholics used to hide from the Romans i think), Ankara (the current capital of Turkey but i don't know much else) and of course, YUMMY FOOD!

Things i have learned since a week ago about Turkey:
  • There is OIL WRESTLING using extra virgin olive oil (less acidity so stings less) and has been source of homoerotic inspiration
  • Troy is in Turkey (=S) Honestly, had no idea.
  • The whirling dervishes perform a few times a week in the waiting room of a train station. When not totally touristy, they are actually quite mystical, as performers go into a trance-like state to do their spinning
  • Topkapi palace was main venue of a film called Topkapi that my parents watched about 40 years ago.
  • Topkapi palace is also the old palace of the sultans before administration moved from Istanbul (not Constantinople) to Ankara
  • Edirne is site of oil-wrestling festival and also closest to the Greek border
  • Turkey is actually pretty darn big... it looks like the size of Spain on the map.
I suppose I will learn more as I go along so, for Turkish enlightenment, do drop by in about 3 weeks. Yay Kebabs and Hummus!