Clarifying Tone
This was published in the latest issue of Marie Claire U.S. Edition (August 2002):

KEEP WATCH
Malaysian women becoming second-class citizens
Since it came to power in 1999, Malaysia's ruling Pan-Malaysian Islamic party has been enforcing "Islamic law." First, it mandated separate supermarket lines for men and women. Now, the government is taking further steps to create gender apartheid, announcing that men and women must use separate swimming-pool facilities. Women (including non-Muslims) will also be subject to dress codes - the bikini has been officially banned. --Marie Claire (US) August 2002, pg. 20

I was flabbergasted when I read this. Oh my. Is this what the magazine's editor thinks of Malaysia? That's just poor journalism... running the article in a national women's magazine without checking out the facts. I decided to write to the editor of the magazine, I felt the need to stand up for my country, and for all the malaysian women. We don't need the U.S. reader to have a tainted image of who/what we really are. So this is the email that I sent:

Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 21:53:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Angeline"
Subject: The 'You need to know' section by Sarah Eisen has a mistake.
To: lesley@hearst.com

Ms. Lesley Jane Seymore,

I'm writing this email because I read an article that appeared in the August issue that I think somehow misrepresents the women of my country.

The specific article is titled "Keep Watch. Malaysian women becoming second-class citizens." In summary, the article mentioned that the Malaysia's ruling Party mandated a different checkout lines in supermarket, and also the ruling of separate swimming pools for men and women.

The rulings are true. Yes. But this only occurs in the two northern states of Peninsular Malaysia (which are governed by the Islamic party called PAS, and the rest of the 11 states are governed by different parties), and it is by no means an accurate representation of the Malaysian women. Women everywhere else in my country have the right to vote, the right to dress as they see fit, stand in checkout lines together with the men, and swim in the same pools.

I'm glad the article brought these extreme cases to light, maybe it'll hit home and show them how ridiculous the rulings are. But I just want to clarify to the readers of Marie Claire that the rest of the Malaysia does NOT live under the rulings of PAS, and therefore the absurb rules that they have in place in the northern states, is not really the way of life for the rest of the women there.

Thank you!

-Angeline
A Malaysian in St.Louis, MO.

If you have as strong of a feeling as I do, please write to the editor and let her know where we stand. Please be nice and courteous, as any crude comments will only serve to tarnish our image. The editor's name is Lesley Jane Seymore and her email is lesley@hearst.com. The article appeared in the 'You Need To Know' section, written by Sarah Eisen, and is on page 20 of the August 2002 issue of Marie Claire (Julia Stiles on the cover with orange colored background).

Growing Pains
You know girls, I have this bad habit of editing my latest blog so that I can get the colors for the titles, but then I forget to cancel and start a brand new blog, so you'll see this exact same blog right down at the bottom, right before Angeline's blog on "Facts that sound like fictions." One thing I do want to say before you all read this -- I wrote this blog on Friday night after reading all your blogs ... I'm not sure at this point if it's still valid or if I've already changed my mind. Angeline, you said that I'm the only one at peace with myself -- the only reason is because I've repressed all of my quarterlife crisis. And your older comment on how you beg to differ that I do not have quarterlife crisis .... it's probably true. I think I do, it's just that I've learned to repress all of them. But anyway, I'll talk to you guys more on this another time. Angeline, your pillows will have to wait till July 4 when we see each other, coz shipping will just cost a fortune!

Here's the original blog:
You're all right -- life has somehow become very ... boring. Not just boring, but full of responsibilities at the same time so that even if you wanted to go all out and have fun to get yourself out of the funk, you just couldn't! And it's because of all the responsibilities: can't spend too much money, gotta save up for sister's education/house/etc., gotta pay the bills, bought too much clothes this month, etc. And to make things worse, all your best friends whom you can relate and talk to are all living far away. Not only do you get to see less of them (that's bad enough), but usually these friends are the ones that make life more interesting in a very cheap way. Think about it: Spend Sunday morning waking up after a long night of chatting (sleep-overs), waste plenty of time washing up and putting on makeup before going off to a Vietnamese restaurant for some cheap lunch, deciding to go window shopping and helping each other suppress shopaholic urges, therefore ending up in Starbucks sipping tea or coffee, complaining about how our shoes are killing us but how we're loving it at the same time. I mean, how expensive can this hobby get? But of course the catch is always there -- you have to live in the same city!!

Angeline, to contribute my opinion to your struggle, I think that since your best friend has moved out that it will be healthier to get a roommate. I understand your need to have lots of personal space, but so get a bigger apartment with a bigger room for yourself with an attached bathroom so you can still walk to the bathroom top-and-bottomless, Diana-style ;) *duck* (Just kidding) But I think deep down we all need someone or something to feel rooted to, even if it's just temporary. For me, it really helps that Michael is around for me all the time. Holly has her circle of friends, however weird they may be sometimes. You used to have Chris, but now you may be in the same boat as Diana. And Diana, correct me if I'm wrong, but I couldn't come up with anybody that you could be rooted to besides Danna (who turned out to be you-know-what). Maybe that's why Diana feels there's a piece missing in her life, because as hard as you try to do different things to control your lifestyle (i.e. doing new things, trying new hobbies, getting away from routine, etc.) if there's not somebody or a group of people you can feel grounded to, you'll ultimately feel like you're floating. And even though I have Mike, I still feel like I'm floating on some level. I have a hard time agreeing to go back to Malaysia because aside from my family, I don't really have any close friends whom I can relate to over there. So to me, the fact that you guys are here serves more as a root to motivate me to stay grounded on this side of the Earth. Does this make any sense? And for Diana, I sense that your family is where your roots are, and that's why you have decided to go home. We all need something to hold on to.

In Diana's words, life sucks. I can't help but agree, as much as I hate to. And it's not like I'm not being proactive and positive about it, but really life at this age, without any roots/grounds, with overwhelming responsibilities, and without any friends to lean on (within 20 miles, that is) .... it isn't easy at all. I'm probably not making any of us feel any better by saying all of this, but I think eventually we'll all manage to get through just fine. It'll take us a while to adapt to this new phase of life we're experiencing, and while we're all in transition, it really helps to know that we can rely on one another and that we're not alone having all these feelings.

In the meantime, take Holly's advice -- let's all eat, talk, and sleep stillettos, football, rojak and SATC. :)