Why Would I Write

Category: Random

  • Austin 2019: A new save point

    Austin 2019: A new save point

    Tonight, we finally moved into my sister’s new home. The place is beautiful, many rooms, high ceilings, wide open spaces, a nice back yard and front porch – pretty much everything you would want in a home. Apparently, they bought it for a steal too. On the downside, there’s no internet yet and cell coverage here is terrible, so I haven’t been doing many online activities. I guess this gives me a chance to be productive tonight – or to chill out playing videogames or watching shows. The weather has been much better today with no rain and wind that numbed my hands every time I went out for a smoke.

    Snuggles has somewhat settled down, but she still barks a lot at my sister’s husband. Not sure why, hopefully she’ll become friendlier over time. She enjoys running all over the place though. Especially up and down the stairs. It’s something she never got to do when living in my apartment back in KL.

    The more I hang out with my younger sister, the more I realize how much she’s like me. If you’re reading this Beth, it’s a good thing! (in my opinion) She talks in the same monotonous tone, has a chill outlook on life, and isn’t concerned with silly subjects like politics. Way to go. She and her husband have been wonderful hosts (I know it’s not just because I’ve been helping them to move boxes) and have made me feel at home in this foreign city. I’m definitely looking forward to coming back here in the future.

    Austin is full of mosquito hawks. These things look mean but they’re supposed to eat mosquitoes. Only issue is I haven’t seen any mosquitoes around. Maybe because they’ve been doing their job. Or they think I’m some big mosquito. Who knows?

    Sitting on a couch in a driveway in the middle of the night just to get internet. Nothing suspicious right?

  • Austin 2019: So Cold I Could See My Breath

    Last night, when I checked Google Assistant to find out what the weather was going to be today it told me that it was going to average 3-5 degrees Celsius. Initially, I thought it must be some kind of error, or maybe it was just a mistake. How wrong I was.

    Fast forward to many hours later, this morning I took Snuggles out for some fresh air – it was cold as fuck. Google didn’t lie. The worst part? It was cold for the whole day. It felt like being in the UK during winter again. Except I spent a lot more time outdoors instead of hanging out in nice warm offices. The cold weather persisted all day long, and it’s still cold now even though it’s probably the warmest it’s been all day (7 degrees C).

    Fortunately, the rest of the week will be back to normal – 13-15 degrees. I’m so looking forward to tomorrow. If I knew today would be this cold, I would have packed some gloves. I don’t miss having cold hands. Smoking was slightly more fun though – I’d exhale way more smoke than usual.

    Snuggles seems to be slightly racist. She barks a lot more at people of a certain color than others. Dogs are supposed to be color blind right? Maybe something else is triggering her. She’s still super attached to me. It’s going to be difficult leaving her behind 🙁 those puppy eyes could melt the coldest heart. Sigh.

    On a happier note, Austin has some pretty good ramen. Not as amazing as Tomita, but still very authentic and delicious. I highly recommend Tatsuya Ramen if you’re jonesing for a fix (of that Limp Bizkit mix).

    Another day of activities ahead tomorrow, the wedding is only 3 days away now!

  • Austin 2019: Dog City

    So one of the reasons why I chose to bring Snuggles to Austin was the fact that this was supposed to be a dog-friendly city. The truth is, it is. It’s amazing how well dogs are treated here in contrast to Malaysia. People bring their dogs everywhere, and some places even let you bring dogs indoors. At one restaurant, they even brought out a huge bowl of water for Snuggles to drink from. At another bar, the cashier even came over to play with her and feed her some treats.

    In Malaysia, I get stares for bringing Snuggles to public open parks, even though dogs aren’t prohibited there. You need to bring them to places that specifically mention dogs allowed. I remember when I was a kid, we brought our dog to a public park, and a Malay kid started crying and screaming until he fell off a swing/slide (memory is a bit hazy for this one). One lady, who wasn’t even the mother of the child, came over to chide us. We didn’t even do anything to upset the kid, we were just walking past the park. It was hilarious. If I had been older/more eloquent back then, I would have yelled back at her.

    Anyway, if you ever want to live in a city where dogs are treated like how they ought to be treated, Austin should be up on that list. The whole experience has been fantastic for Snuggles so far. Hopefully she’ll grow to love it once she gets over me leaving her behind.

    Today was a lazy day – eat, shop for dog stuff, helped my sister to move some stuff into her new place, and drinks at East Cider. If you’re a fan of cider, they have some topnotch drinks. Definitely worth checking out again. Am back in bed, getting some rest so I don’t waste half the day sleeping it away. It’s been a great first day, am looking forward to the rest of the week! Here’s a picture of an exhausted Snuggles.