Finding it hard.

I can’t get anything done these days. It’s impossible. Plans for the next two months have fallen through and now there’s not much to do around these parts. Nothing much except procrastination.

Case in point. Someone showed me this article on good/bad procrastination two weeks ago.

http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html

It looked interesting and worthy of my time, and it’s been sitting in my Safari internet tabs since then, and only yesterday did I get around to reading it. I can’t believe it.

I procrastinated reading an article on procrastination for 2 weeks.

That is bad! Only to discover that I am a type B procrastinator, which means I put off the good things and spend all my time on the bad things. Big surprise. Which means that I put off reading this article by blogging and facebook and mopping my floor and working out more. Not cool.

I DO have worthwhile things to do, but with no set deadline it’s hard for me to get them done. I guess I need the pressure. The article suggests that the way to solve the problem of procrastination is to "let delight pull you instead of making a to-do list push you. Work on an ambitious project you really enjoy, and sail as close to the wind as you can, and you'll leave the right things undone." True.

Here's one thing to check of my list: finally take this article off of my computer.

Lost art

I love writing letters. No one else seems to share this passion with me, except my family of course. I believe that the Treece family contributes a great deal to the continuing success of the USPS. It's quite a distinguished Treece family tradition. Since my arrival in Malaysia one year ago, I have received dozens of letter, dozens of postcards (all from my mom and dads travels), and dozens of packages from family. And packages aren't cheap, but thank God that I am blessed with an especially generous and thoughtful family.
I love writing letters as a way to keep in touch (albeit one-sidedly, but I don't write with the expectation of receiving anything in return), and I know (assume, I guess) that people appreciate it. Call me old fashioned, but who doesn't like receiving a good ol' hand written letter? To know that someone was thoughtful enough to get unglued to their facebook account and sit down to write a letter that takes thought and effort. Maybe people just don't like to think. My grandma writes chicken scratch and I can hardly read what she says, but I still appreciate the letters. My mom writes really random letters about mowing the lawn, the window treatment installations, and the fact that they're having chicken for dinner tonight. It's the thought that counts!
Sure, it's great to hear someone say "Hey, how's it going?" -or via the ubiquitous text, perhaps- But to know that a person picked out a card or random piece of paper, sat down and carefully chose the appropriate words for the occasion, and concentrated long enough to create something legible (I give exceptions to people over 90 years old, as is the case of my grandma-and perhaps doctors) is so much more meaningful.

Oh, how I mourn the lost art of letter writing! (I'm on a Jane Austen kick right now, can you tell?) All of the cards and postcards and letters I have received since coming here have been tucked away and treasured. Not that I read them and re-read them every day, but it seems like such a shame to throw them away! Someone put good thought and time into it. Letters have so much more permanence to them than conversations or email. I have received letters that I know I'll keep forever.
Which reminds me, my sister recently returned to me some letters that I had written to her when I was 10 years old. My sister kept them all this time, God bless her heart. And written with the hand of a 10 year old, they are hilarious. When I was little I was taught that the proper way to start a letter was, "Dear ___, How are you? I'm fine." I used this format until I realized how stupid it sounds - which unfortunately wasn't too far in the distant past.

Koreans, marshmallows, and the British

I love Koreans. I was surprised to find many Koreans here and they are very hospitable, and very generous with their food. They also love barbecue, which is great because I also love barbecue. Last night we had a pool party. There happened to be a Korean party going on right next to us, and since I knew some of the people so I hopped right on over and they started stuffing me with me with pork. Yum. In exchange for the pork one of us Americans brought out some marshmallows. So, we ended up cooking the pork and toasting the marshmallows on the same grill. Koreans apparently don't toast marshmallows, or eat them either. But they sure enjoyed them last night. They couldn't understand why the marshmallow was taking so long when they were holding it a foot from the coals, but they were especially thrilled when they caught on fire. I like introducing people to new things, when they enjoy it. If the Koreans had hated the marshmallows perhaps I wouldn't have been so fond of the event. But luckily, it was a success.
Today I had yet another pool party (pool hopping is fairly common here among the expats), but this time it was with the Brits. I also have a lot to learn from these good-mannered and proper people. I learn new words and phrases from them all the time, like what it is to "have a tiff", and what they really mean when they say to "bring a pudding". Pudding is a general term for dessert, not just the Jell-o. Oh. This was my first "bring your own meat" party. I didn't really know what that meant, but I think I did the right thing by, well, bringing my own meat. I got to grill it, too, but I got distracted by the fellow grill-ers and burnt my chicken. Not that anybody cares or is particularly interested in this fact. Suffice to say, this was a delicious Korean and British barbecue weekend. Which reminds me, there is a Canadian barbecue tomorrow as well!! We'll see if I make it to that.

Makes me laugh

Chinese Temples

A photo tour of Chinese temples








I found this makeshift shrine in a parking lot in KL. These small shrines are all over Penang. They believe that big trees like this have spirits inside. Looking closer you'll notice that it's not just the Chinese that venerate this tree; it's also worshipped by Hindus.

Lucky Chinese New Year

Gong Xi Fat Chai! (Happy [Chinese] New Year!)

The one thing that I have learned about the Chinese this year is how superstitious they are. Things that bring good luck, such as oranges and the color red, are in abundance, while the things that bring bad luck, are of course, not in abundance because everyone avoids them.

I made a major Chinese faux pas on Monday by cleaning my floor. Apparently I just swept out all my good fortune for this year, dang it! And by sweeping the dirt out my door, I just swept one of the family away. Oh man.

If I cried New Years Day, I will cry all year long. Luckily I made it all the way through the day. Good thing it wasn't Sunday. And not even children can cry, according to one source: "children are tolerated and are not spanked, even though they are mischievous."

There can be no reference to the number "4". In Chinese, it sounds like the word "death". Quote from website: "Instead of saying "4" of something, you can say "2 more than 2" of something. Good thing I am no longer 2 more than 22!

Some other taboos:

Getting a hair-cut in the first lunar month puts a curse on maternal uncles.

Saying words like "finished" and "gone" is inauspicious on the New Year, so sometimes people would avoid these words by saying "I have completed eating my meal" rather than say "I have finished my meal."

Buying or reading books is bad luck because the character for "book" is a homonym for the character "lose".

And don't give clocks or green hats as gifts. Clocks symbolize escorting someone to the grave, and green hats symbolize infidelity.

Oh man, so many things to remember. So many mistakes to be made this month!

Fireworks and Jane Austen

Tonight I'm sitting in my room reading Emma and drinking peppermint hot chocolate. As I'm pondering the curious dis-interest between Mr. Knightly and Miss Woodhouse (what will become of it??, the first of the season's fireworks are exploding right outside my window. Thus begins Chinese New Year...ugh. No good sleep for Erin for the next week or two. No Chinese food either, because all the restaurants are closed.

I read an article about Jane Austen yesterday which says: "She was not much of a looker." Apparently Jane Austen was so "ugly" that they recently had to change her picture on her books. Quite interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6484281.stm