Day 3 -4: It’s me and the vampires that keep these types of hours…
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention working the graveyard shift is something I think everyone should try at least once in their life- and hey, why not try this grueling recipe while traveling to a foreign and exotic place too? I’ve been keeping the vampire hours, so I call myself batgirl now. I wake up while most people are coming home from work and work while most people sleep – I wake up around 4:00 -4:30 p.m., shower and get ready for work – slipping into flip-flops, and a sundress I shove my laptop into a bag and trot into the morning darkness in search of breakfast, or is it dinner…?
I’ve been trying to make the most of the free-time I have, so I plan what I’m going to do before I go to bed in the morning, and then head in that direction before starting work at night, which is about 9:00 pm. Are you with me so far? It’s confusing, isn’t it? I find myself saying, “selamat pagi” (good morning) during the p.m. hours and, “selamat malam” (good evening) during the a.m. hours, because I’m really screwed up with time. I think I might be really confusing people with my good mornings and goodnights, because I get disturbing looks – especially after a long, hard night of working, and I want breakfast food and instead of coffee, I fancy a Malaysian mainstay…Tiger beer. After all, it is the year of Tiger, you know. Meow.
Day 5
Mission Not Impossible…
So, my trip to KL is not for vacation, although I would highly recommend this place to anyone that’s looking for a great bargain, set in a cosmopolitan city that offers fantastic food (I know. I sound like a broken record) and warm, friendly people. My trip here is for business, hence my vampire hours. I came here to learn more about my team; to gain understanding about what they know and what they don’t know; to observe and to offer my support. What I didn’t know was how much I’d quickly bond with my teammates and learn all about their lives. I didn’t expect to like each and every person so much. I didn’t know that my trip would prove to be so enriching and prosperous – this is a gift that has been giving to me and it is without question something that I will treasure forever.
Okay, so onto more of the food, baby….
Kuala Lumpur is very culturally diverse, which always translates into scrumptious food…just in case you didn’t catch that…. In the short amount of time that I’ve been here, I’ve had Thai, Malay, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, Indian and no less than 10 different types of curries (and there are more to be tasted too). It’s a foodies dream down here – I cannot begin to describe all the wonderful and fresh flavors that my mouth and tummy have experienced. I’m afraid they both might walk out on me once we all return back home – they’ll leave me out of sheer food boredom after everything we’ve tasted.
Here’s a sampling of some of the tasty treats I’ve had, thus far:
Thai garlic sauce with baby asparagus spears and cooked rice. Hot, spicy and the asparagus was fresh and not at over-cooked. This was absolutely fantastic!
Fresh tilapia (correct spelling) found at a local eatery in KL’s China Town:
Fresh tilapia from the tank above on my plate…along with noodles, rice and sweet potatoe veggies. Seriously. The. Best. Chinese. Food. Ever. Yum:
Okay, that’s enough for one blogging episode. I have to keep you dear readers hungry for more, more, more, right? Oh, for crying out loud, just agree with me, will ya’? Next trip notes highlights: Twin Towers, yes, of course more food…shopping, shopping, shopping, and my new love affair with all variations of roti (long version pictured below). Oh, and just as a pondering thought…I would imagine roti could also be used as a marital aid…but then again… I’m not sure about all those crumbs…hmm…let me continue to ponder on this for awhile:
I had been ridiculously sick on the days leading up, as well as the actual day of my trip – so much so, that I was puking my brains out. Nice. I know. It must have been the large doses of travel shots I had, combined with “Oh. My. God…I’m going to Kuala Lumpur in a couple of days….” anxiety, because fortunately the nausea subsided and I wasn’t sick on the plane.
After traveling for I don’t know, 20+ hours, I landed in Taipei, with another five more hours to go before reaching my final destination. Groggy and a bit disoriented of exactly where I was, and honestly who I was, I stumbled into the only place open at the airport: Eva Air’s Evergreen Club. And who would have ever thought the airliner’s club would have such delectable treats at 4:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning? But Gods, and thank Gods, they did. For those of you that know me know that I love food. I love food as much as I love sex, so with my stomach finally getting with the travel program and cooperating, I began my Malaysian adventure with food:
Day 2:
I’ve found new meaning to the phrase - you can sleep when you’re dead….
Hello, Kuala Lumpur! The airport is some 40 minutes to the hotel, so I can take in the surroundings a little bit while the taxi whisks me away. It really feels like I’m very far from home…tropical, hot and humid best describes the climate here - and everything is lush, green and flowery. I arrive at my hotel…WoW!…fancy-schmancy barely begins to describe the One World Hotel: huge glass doors are opened by white gloves, which are attached to dark-skinned men wearing tanned linen uniforms, with big grins and flashy white teeth. Once you step into the foyer, you’re walking into the much needed beauty of air conditioning. I also notice that I’m walking onto a sheet of golden-hued marble, which spans ½ way up the walls and wraps itself tightly around huge pillars that stand 30′ high. Above me is very large glass chandelier that reminds me of rain drops falling - spectacular. Large, floor to ceiling windows line the back of the hotel, making it easy for a weary traveler to peer outside and take in all gorgeous shades of greens, blues and reds from the myriad of fauna that grow in abundance here. It feels sexy and very exotic.
Because Malaysia is exactly 12 hours ahead of Cleveland, and to continue to work with my client in the states as well as get to know my Malaysian team here, I’m working the night shift. So, even though I’d been up for a gazillion hours, I headed off to work. I was draggin’ my tired ass, but I was also excited to meet the team, so I quickly checked into my room, showered, changed into fresh clothes and headed back downstairs to grab a bite to eat before the taxi service came to pick me up. Curiously, the lounge was rocking for a Monday night. There was a very small band playing really bad choices of music - normally I would just tune it out, or not and bolt the scene entirely, but I also noticed the band had three female singers; each scantily dressed, wearing short, black numbers as they swayed there hips in front of their respected microphones, while they belted out the lyrics to songs like Caribbean Queen and the Pina Colada Song. It was so wrong, but like a moth to a flame, or a rubber-necker slowing down to see an accident, I was pulled into the cheesy lounge act. I asked for a bar menu and settled on a bowl of curry laksa and a mineral water. The service was very quick and within a manner of minutes, I was eating a steamy bowl of rich, savory and spicy, and tapping my foot to the cheese-beat. Delicious:
Thanks for tuning into my Malaysian adventure, thus far. Stay tuned, more trip notes to follow soon…here’s some highlights: meet my Malaysian team, night market shopping, multi-leveled malls with the added roller-coaster inside, where am I? Twin Towers…Times Square? Downtown KL gets a new Neve Black name…more delicious food and pictures! I’ll post more as time allows and the internet service cooperates (grrrrrr….).
Greetings from Kuala Lumpur! I’ve seen these fellas picture above fluttering around and I snapped this while having a little breakfast earlier today. I think he/she is magnificant!
I’ve been having a fabulous time and taking a lots of pictures, while also journaling my travels to this glorious place, to include food notes of dishes that have made my mouth water with delight. And of course, I have very little time to post this a.m., but I promise, I’ll have more to share with you soon. Please stay tuned.
I hope all is well in your part of the world -
Neve Black
…used to be a code name for s-e-x. What can I say? I was shy girl; raised in a strict-Catholic household and rewarded for not speaking about the sins of the flesh. And it should come as no shock to learn that my flesh was burning on account of all my impure thoughts about kumquats, so I had to improvise. I came with a name that best desribed the oooh, la, la, without my parents knowing. I thought the name kumquat dripped with sexiness and the forbidden. I also learned that when eating a sex fruit, you bite into the skin, and devour the whole thing; stopping only to lick your fingers afterwards. Perfect little kumquat.
I bring my kumquat story to you for good reason. As I near my departure for Kualu Lumpur, I’ve been once again reading up on all the delectable dishes of food found in Malaysia. Dishes with incredibly exotic names like, nasi lemak, char kway teow, asam laksa, or cendol. My stomach is growling just thinking about the sweet and tangy, the spicy, the rich and the tempting. Here, just take a little peek for yourself of the yum-asam yum-laksa pictured just below:
And guess what? As luck would have it, even though I’m traveling more than 1/2 way around the world, I just found out that one of my old and dear friends, kumquat has been living in KL for years now. And my sexy and forbidden friend apparently sneaks into many of the Malaysian dishes. Suffice to say, I can’t wait to pay a vist to kumquat. We have lots to catch up on.
I would be remiss if I didn’t write a commentary on a film I’d seen that gained Oscar attention. So, amidst wrapping up a sexy story that’s making me really horny (which I’ve noted as another blog post for the future), staring at an empty suitcase that needs to be filled with items for a trip 1/2 on the other side of the world, and surveying what the contractors have done this week to my house, I finally saw the film, Crazy Heart.
For those that don’t remember, this film was nominated for an Oscar. Jeff Bridges won for his role as Bad Blake, the worn-out, alcoholic, relationship fuck-up, and C&W performer.
What can I say other than I fucking loved this film. It was perfect. The acting, which also starred, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell, the script, the length, the plot, the cinematography, and the music…all of is was sensational. And might I mention, I am by no means a C&W fan what-so-evah, but I might have to purchase the film as well as the CD soundtrack. It’s a keeper and I highly, highly recommend watching this winner.
Finally, I once again have goose pimples over my renewed hope and faith in the Academy Awards. I’m so pleased that the Academy supported, nominated and chose Jeff Bridges for his role. Thumbs up, guys. Nice job.
I’m writing porn. At this very moment too. I’m putting the finishing touches on a story where there’s quite a bit of fucking going on. Yeah, I know, porn writing isn’t really anything new for me, but this year has brought many changes in my life, to include a demanding, corporate America job, and lets face it, I’m a lefty liberal, free-bird, so working in the confines of the corporate world as been quite an, uh-huh - a-d-j-u-s-t-m-e-n-t. I’m also essentially (fuck essentially, I’m gutting it like fish that’s ready for the sushi chef) rebuilding a house that’s a mere 110 years old. I’ve also delved into taking my fascination with language and the entire Spanish culture more seriously by studying Espanol this year. I was on a summer break from language, but my out-of-the-blue trip to Kuala Lumpur next week has me trying to speak Malay: so it’s back to the language drawing board for Neve again. Let’s just say, my cup runneth over with changes this year.
The reason I bring this up is because as I start writing, I find my mind goes like this: I wanted to fuck her. She was beautiful, with full, lips, and hips that swayed, like palm trees in a warm, tropical breeze…fuck…did I remember to tell the electrician about moving that circuit box over so the plumber can pull the pvc pipe upstairs? Or, oh, my God, I cannot believe this account makes billions of dollars each year, and they’re a bunch of whiny-ass babies….so I reached for her; pulling her into the ache of my core…Saya nak beli(which translates from Malay to English as: I’d like to buy.
What the fuck is the matter with me?
Seriously though. This is how I write these days. I take breaks to eat, do some laundry, pet a pussy or three, check FB, blog, answer my phone, while I think about the whirlwind of events churning around me. Does anyone else experience this? How do you block out the world and just get your porn writing on anyway?
Adios and Selamat tinggal
Neve Black
p.s. I used the word fuck quite a lot in this post, didn’t?
I’m lucky to call her my friend, and shes also one hell of a writer - Emerald exposes both her inner and her outer beauty this week at F-stop.
Won’t you join me and celebrate this fantastic woman’s essay on how she kicked OCD in the teeth for good? And hey, no one say’s FUCK YOU quite she can.
Wearing green flip-flops and matching tank-top today honoring Em -
Neve Black
um…gesundheit…? For those that don’t know what the hell a Kuala Lumpur is, let me try and explain: Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia, baby, where bright jewel-toned colors dance in the fabrics, where the balmy heat meets crystal, cool waters, and where fire-breathing dragons come to life in the spicy chillies found in the food. And guess what? I’m headed there in two weeks’ for my day-time, pays the bills job. Nice, huh?
Besides being located on the other side of the world from Ohio, it’s supposed to be one of the most gorgeous places in the world, so the 24+ travel hours it takes to get there are well worth it, so I’m told. Kuala Lumpur also boasts a wide-range of delightful cuisine. I read that there’s something like 25 different types of curries available. Yes, I am going to try like hell to sample as many of those as humanly possible too. Okay, so this porn writer likes to eat, but she also loves culture, which makes traveling across the world so appealing. One of my favorite things to do is to sit in a corner somewhere, sipping a cool drink; jotting my thoughts into a journal, while steeping in the sounds, smells, conversations and customs going on around me.
Sounds fabulous, doesn’t? Well, just keep in mind, I will be working while I’m there, but I know a person can’t work all the time… and I can hear the beat of the Malaysian drums beckoning me to come out and play and I haven’t even left Ohio yet.
Kuala Lumpur is nowhere near Barcelona -
Neve Black
I abhor grocery shopping. Okay, I’ll admit using the word, abhor is a bit strong, because I love to eat, but really the concept of grocery shopping…ugh. Let me rephrase: I love to grocery shop if I’m planning to spread my love of cooking and share a lusty and delicious meal with a friend, or two, or more…but other than that, for me, the weekly grocery shopping experience is just a pain in the ass. I’m a Euro-trash girl at heart, I suppose. I city girl that dreams of a market that’s within walking distance from my house. A cute, little family-owned joint that carries fresh produce and homemade treats. I’ve found these types of markets all through Europe and some of the bigger cities in the U.S., like NYC, Boston and Chi-town. I love that concept. I enjoy going to a local market every couple days to pick up what I need, but the walking distance family-owned market and finding the time both thwart me. So, instead, each week, I write out my laundry list of necessities: milk, yogurt, spinach, empanada dough, bananas, fish, mew-meow food, mew-meow litter, etc, etc. Yawn - boring.
Today, as I pulled my basket filled of weekly food items up to the check-out stand, I took a gander at what the guy right in front of me had in his basket. I wasn’t being noisy. Oh, no, I wasn’t. Just curious. I’m sure everyone does this, right? Well, anyway, it wasn’t necessarily what he had in his basket, but it was how he had arranged the food items inside his basket: heavy, bulky items lined the bottom and the rear of his cart, and then medium weighted things went in next, until the final lighter items sat weightlessly on top.
Then I looked inside my cart: there was mound of mismatched goulash-like of items tossed in with what appeared to be really no rhyme or reason. I looked into his cart again, then into mine. He saw me looking and smiled. His smile begged dialogue:
Me: “Wow. Your shopping cart arrangement is so impressive.”
Him: “Yeah. There’s an order to it. If you put things in the basket the way I’ve arranged things here, *he waved his hand over his basket’s contents, like a magician waving his wand* then the checker packs them that way as well.”
Me: *Silence as I looked inside my cart’s contents again* “Oh. Well, it appears I go for the cluttered look. I tried to rearrange as I went, saving the fragile produce for last.” I felt proud of my response and felt a little better about my shopping cart arrangement, knowing that I really did have some organization shopping skills.
Him: *casts a disapproving look as he looked inside my cart* “Oh.”
Me. “Wait. Are you an engineer?”
Him. *bellows in laughter as he nods his head*
Me: “I knew it!”
Him: “Are you more of the creative type?”
Me: *Ponders answer* “Um, yes. You could say that.”
Him: “Are you a creative writer?”
Me: “Is there a bright red sign across my forehead I’m not aware of?”
Him: “I took a stab.”
Me: “Well, that was pretty good stab, Mr. Ginza.”
Him: “How did you know I was engineer?”
Me: I smiled, but my thoughts screamed: *REALLY!*
Him: “No, really, I’m curious. Have you had some experience with engineering.”
Me: “Um…well, sort of. You could say that I’ve had some experience with engineer types.” I think I was blushing now.
Him: “Really?”
Me: “uh-huh.”
Thank God it was his turn to put his items on the conveyor belt, thus he was distracted from asking me anymore questions. I could proceed to pretend to peruse a house decoratoring magazine.
Him: “Hey, let me know if you’d like for me to show you how organize your basket some time, okay? *Hands me his business card*
Me: I take the card and smile. My mind races: *am I NOT getting hit on by another engineer? Is that possible? He wants to give me shopping cartarrangement lessons.* “Oh, okay. Thanks.
We’re welcoming Ms. Gina Marie this week at F-stop. I met Gina, aka, Aphrodite’s Table via Alison Tyler’s about two years’ ago now. I fell in love with Gina’s gorgeous writing, zest for life and her love of nature. She’s as cute as a button, as sexy as a siren and I’m proud to call her my friend. I love this woman. Please feel free to join me over at F-stop and find your inspiration via Gina Marie…and careful once you get a taste of Aphrodite’s Table, you’ll never be the same…and me thinks that’s a great thang!
Feeling like getting really naked today -
Neve Black
