Skip to main content

Little Asian In The Sun

I've been a little unwell recently. I guess I've just been tired and being outdoors in the sandy atmosphere has taken a toll on me. The indoors, however, drives me mad especially in these past two weeks when I've had lesser work to do. Meaning, nothing much to focus on. I don't really like watching TV during the day, I can only read so much and cooking for two doesn't take forever. In short, my movements are restricted indoors. I suppose for me, moving about, is key to sanity. 

I had spent the last ten days, walking. With a small bag pack carrying water, towel, bananas, an extra pair of pants and a note book, I left home around 3pm, walked through the city for about 2-3 hours before going to my evening bootcamp sessions. I had also kept my RunKeeper app turned on so I could track my distance, time and route.  

Well, I didn't see much on my routes except for a dead kitten and a bird but I did notice the amount of roadworks that's been taking place. It's everywhere, almost at every major road, creating a traffic mess. Some of these are way past their deadlines. Apparently, that's the sad construction culture here, according to the hub. Some of his own projects have been delayed to a year due to many reasons including client indecisiveness. Like how one client had wanted to have all those street lights changed after seeing a design he liked better from another part of the city. At that point, everything has been agreed upon and authorised.  

Having unilateral hearing loss, the busy and noisy outdoors is challenging. There's a combination of sounds from the traffic and heavy machinery. But I also feel that it helps me get used to it all even more so I could be outdoors longer without feeling queasy and misplaced. I do rely more on my eyesight when I'm outdoors which brings me back to the careless and callous driving culture here. Signal fixtures are obviously redundant as drivers take corners and lanes without ever using them. Speeding, well over the speeding limit even when making a turn is a norm that's dangerous and irresponsible. Only one out of 10 vehicles that I came across used a signal when making a turn as I counted and cussed. 

I also got incessant stares, honks from passersby. Walking isn't really a culture here. Especially when the temperature is rising, even more so if you're a woman and an Asian woman at that (many Asian women seem to have sun phobia). I was fully covered, from top to bottom complete with a hat for the long distance. No catcalling but just stares. By now, I've learnt to ignore them, I think. A minority stared like I was naked. A handful of them ogled at the section in between my hips like I was an inanimate picture in a magazine. That still made me mighty uncomfortable and sick. The majority was probably just curious about the little Asian woman in the sun. 

I hope to resume walking some time this week. Despite the challenges, I do enjoy my walks. There are things I don't see and feel when I'm driving. In the mean time, I've been resting at home, quite restlessly. So, I took up a project to revive an old, plain sweater. 



I sewed clusters of dyed stones onto the front of the sweater


Irregular shaped dyed stones in clusters 

Close-up

XX





Comments

  1. A minority stared like you were naked and a handful of them ogled at the section in between your hips like you were an inanimate picture in a magazine... And THAT'S why there's no hope for the human race. I mean that. People have no sense of decency whatsoever.

    I hope you'll be feeling better real soon, Jaya J.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hopefully you get feeling better, being cooped up can take its toll on us. They stare at you because you walk? Idiot humans

    ReplyDelete
  3. You might need to wear a burqa to avoid being stared at in that part of the world! I hope you find a nice cool shaded place away from prying eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Walking keeps me sane.

    I like the sweater. I have a sweater I replaced all the buttons on to jazz it up. I took the plane white buttons off and put all different sizes and styles of metalilc buttons on. I like it better now.

    ReplyDelete
  5. P.S. Guess who's on my show today... Could it be... you? HERE

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Award on Oscar Day

THANKS for the Kreativ Blogger award on Oscar Day,  Queen Bee . It is sweet to pin a badge like this here and since this is my first award, it's all the more sweet.  With this, I'm required to list out ten random things about myself and later tag six other favourite bloggers.  Let's start with the 10 Random Things :)  1) Diamonds are not for me.  I admire jewelry (fine or otherwise) but I'm not in love with them enough to want to own them. My favourite jewelry is a pair of white pearl stud earrings.  2) I drink water for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. It's just a good habit I can't break. I usually write with a bottle of water next to me instead of a mug of coffee.  3) I love balms . Nothing calms me better than a nice balm. It reminds me of my grandma, clears my mind, and puts me to sleep.  4) I keep a hammer in my bedroom.  It came in handy TWICE when the lock jammed. I broke it and set me free. My mother was petrified with the knowledge that m

Me, Myself and I

LOVELY Miss  Azra  has tagged me. It's fun once in a while to do this sort of thing and questions here seem doable too. I'll try to keep my answers short and sweet, resisting the urge to ramble since it's all about Me, Myself and I ! 1. What is your favourite saying, or motto ?  It doesn't matter. Don't worry about it.  Basically, I just try to see the positives in most shitty situations. Realistically.   2. What is your dream job ?  It ranges from being a tour guide, a travel writer and a secret agent to a medical rep, a rose picker for Chanel gardens in France and an English teacher to those under 12. I'm allergic to teenagers. 3. What part of the world do you have little interest in travelling to ? And which part of the world is next on your list ?  I have little interest in Jakarta and Bangladesh, or any place where the temperature is -45 Deg Celcius for most of the year.  My dream destination is Africa. Next on list is either Africa or New York

From Doha, With Love : Minimal Changes

SO I've been to Doha a few times already by now. Minimal or no changes at all on this flat land of sand and sandstorms, except that the population seemed to have increased by god-knows-how-many-folds judging from the volume of people seen at the popular Souk Waqif in the city centre two days ago. It's like people have multiplied like the sea sands. The last few times I was there, I remember liking the place for what it was - a perfect venue to people-watch, smoke Shisha and be a tourist. Now I don't know if that's a good thing... ...if there aren't enough social venues for this astounding volume! Perhaps, I'm a little spoiled coming from a city where food is available 24 hours a day, with freedom of alcohol consumption at random bistros and cafes and to do just about everything I wished for in a cultural setting that doesn't stare at me like I'm some kind of a three-eyed monster. I suppose people here are just a curious bunch given the potpourri of