@liztai@hachyderm.io
@liztai@hachyderm.io avatar

liztai

@liztai@hachyderm.io

Malaysian tech writer. Works in tech. Former journalist but always a writer. Autodidact.

If you follow me I promise that I'm absolutely random.

Toots #IndieWeb #Obsidian #Malaysia #TootSEA #Books #TV #Writing #CDrama #KDrama #Urbanism #Cats #Dogs #Tech and very occasional #GeoPolitics

Occasionally talks in Manglish.

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liztai, to Malaysia
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Lol so much excitement at the apartment tonight
Cops and the fire trucks are here.
Have a wild guess what is happening 😁
Hello, abang bomba!

liztai,
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@rakyat We heard four explosions so far. I don't suppose this is one of those aliens who survived being shot down by america...

This is what you get when you have a writer living in the neighborhood

liztai,
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@rakyat Funnily one neighbour suggested snake, and I said, damn that's a hella big snake if it requires two fire trucks and three policemen on bikes 😆

liztai,
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@toddtyrtle @rakyat My block is far away but I forsee an electricity free night 😅

liztai,
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@rakyat There was smoke, at least g to one neighbour there. But not sure if there's fire.

liztai,
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@rakyat Just went to kaypoh. Apparently all the fuseboxes and transformers are exploding in one block. Bomba went to second floor but had to come down cos it was too dangerous. Now waiting for tnb.
We live in exciting times?

liztai, to Malaysians
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This is a riff of a recent post by @MeanwhileinCanada

How and confuse the world

  • We have 9 sultans. Each will take a turn to be the Yang di Pertuan Agong, or the Head ruler every 5 years
  • Most Malaysians speak multiple languages. The number of languages vary individually
  • There are many, many races in Malaysia. We don't call our national language Malaysian - it is Bahasa Malaysia which literally translates to Language of Malaysia

liztai,
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  • Most of us speak English but proficiency varies; urbanites tend to have better English
  • We have Malay, Chinese and Indian language medium schools.
  • There is West and East Malaysia, divided by the South China Sea.
  • 99% of drivers do not understand what a zebra crossing is for
  • 99% of motorcyclists think that the stop sign/ red light is a suggestion
  • It is wise to fear for your life on roads

Tell me how your country' confuses the world 😃

liztai,
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One more! Msians tend to add "lah" to words or sentences. It can soften a sentence, make it less mean and aggressive.
Where and to which word we append it to is a science only known to and most of the time we do a poor job of trying to teach said art to non-Malaysians

liztai, to Malaysia
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I little something about me - I am Peranakan (Penang Peranakan, to be specific) .
Peranakans or "Straits Chinese", moved to (then) Malaya hundreds of years ago. I know my ancestors have been in for more than a century, most probably 150+ years.
Our is a blend of and .
My grandma used to dress like the ladies in the video below.

If you prefer to read in my blog
https://firediarist.wordpress.com/2023/02/20/what-it-means-to-be-peranakan/

https://youtu.be/xg_soC86wXg

liztai,
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If you ever feel so inclined, you can watch this documentary about Penang Peranakans.

As this documentary says, I most probably have Malay ancestors somewhere in my lineage.

Ps: Had to lol when the narrator said that Nyonyas don't use chopsticks but forks and spoons. My dad was anal about our table manners, and it is a decidedly Anglophile way of eating. (I used cutlery when eating prawns!)

https://youtu.be/aIVa1zCjJ_w

liztai,
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Now that you have seen the Penang Peranakans, here are the Malaccan Peranakans.

Notice that they speak Malay, while the Penang Peranakans in the documentary spoke Hokkien.

https://youtu.be/l8ZjA2LEl8Y

liztai,
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And yes, she used to carry that handkerchief everywhere. At home, she will just wear a sarong and tuck that handkerchief near her bosom ☺
I wish my generation carried on the traditions. Heck, I cant even cook our famed Nyonya dishes! I feel like I should at least get a baju kebaya (tho I doubt I would look as elegant) 😅

liztai,
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There are Peranakans in Singapore, Penang and Malacca - we share similar traits but are different. My friend who is Malacca Nyonya says that Penang Nyonya food is sweeter for one. I mean I wouldn't have a clue but I take her word for it. Also, the Penang ones speak a form of creole Hokkien dialect, which means we confuse our Southern Hokkien cousins 🙃 The Malacca ones don't speak Chinese at all but only Malay.

busycrying, to random

I think that fish cake doesn’t belong in Char Kuey Teow… like it’s just wrong

Yet many food places in Melbourne do this

liztai,
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@busycrying No ... just no lol 😅
But si ham or not 😆

longfy, to Malaysia
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The humid weather is the reason we see more cars than pedestrian in

liztai,
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@longfy I must be weird rarity because I walk everywhere. Still, what @osyen and @rakyat said is true - it all depends on planning. I live in a walkable neughbourhiod. A cafe, supermarket, clinic and hardware shop is just a 5 min walk away.

But humidity is a factor i have to admit - I could walk to the train station near my house to go to work but I don't want to because I would end up a sweaty mess at the office.

liztai, to random
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Woke up at 6am to start work ... life of an early bird! Looking forward to walking to the nearby cafe for some coffee to kick off the day :)

I didn't use to be like that, but it would seem that my body just prefers waking up at this ungodly hour to do difficult things like coding or writing that white paper.

And the only thing that enabled me to live my natural rhythm was working from home. Before, this time would've been used to prepare to travel to work.

liztai,
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@rakyat We are even more terror like that.

liztai, to Cat
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We are at the "I want your food" stage of the relationship.

Yup, Kooky is back to his usual self after a visit to the vet.

liztai, to PetBirds
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I was getting worried for baby sunbird because she just flew off and I didn't see her the whole day
And then around 6pm she returns with mum and dad and she's now chirping up a storm, probably telling them about her adventures.

There was another chick though

Wonder where it went.

liztai, to Malaysians
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Better late than never, but my colleagues and I had yee sang today at a Chinese restaurant at Seputeh.

To non- this is a special salad where you toss as a group. Often done during . While tossing, all of us will shout out what fortune we would like for the year.

This is not really traditional Chinese culture, apparently but was imported from somewhere. Just where, I am not sure 😆 But it is yummy!

liztai, to Cats
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It is a fact of life that while you may have a 900sqf apartment, the spot your cat will choose to lick his butt will be on your pillow.

liztai, to Cat
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That appointment every loves

Not!

Thanks to Kooky's wandering ways he came back sick, so we are testing him for parvo and all manner of viruses. Currently waiting for his Parvo results. May it be ok results. He is now having his blood drawn

Can hear him crying from the waiting room 😅😅😅

He is not a happy camper.

liztai, to animals
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Kooky being confused when praised for something he does naturally.

But honestly, it's a miracle that a street cat would do this on a scratching board vs a sofa! I once had a foster cat that dod his scratching on my bicycle tyres 🙃

Not that Kooky didn't give my sofa a scratch lol. But he seems to prefer the board, thank God.

A brown and whit cat using a scratching pad

liztai, to Cats
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Look at this spoiled fellow. He's already hankering to go out despite being saved from a terrible fate, lost out there in a world full of cars. Tut tut
You are lucky you are so cute Kooky 😆

Here is Kooky feigning innocence as usual

liztai, to PetBirds
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Now that the sunbirds are grown up, they leave around 7am to go on their bird adventures all day and return around 6pm for bed time.

I had a good look at the nest today and was amused and quite impressed that it is made up of rafia string, twigs, dried leaves and...fur! What dog or cat contributed to this nest, I wonder?

liztai, to PetBirds
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The wee little sunbird chick returns to the nest for the night. Where you been all day, little bird?

Sunbird chick returns to the nest

liztai, to random
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liztai, to InteriorDesign
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I ❤ this! This is more or less what I did with my apartment but with less fancier furniture.

Most of my furniture is from my old apartment, my parents' castoffs or bought second hand.

I believe in the wisdom of reclaiming old places and making it beautiful, rather than move to a fancy condominium tower with all the shiny facilities.

https://says.com/my/lifestyle/malaysian-transforms-kindergarten-shophouse-into-cosy-vintage-home

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