It's not what it looks like

You know what's a shame? I'll tell you what's a shame. Obviously, otherwise this wouldn't be a blog entry.

It's a shame that people think it's weird for other people to want to be alone. It's a shame that they automatically think that there's something wrong with you. There doesn't have to be something wrong with you to want to be alone.

For example, I love my alone time. I cherish it. I especially love it when both my sisters are away. I love just kicking back and watching TV and generally just being alone. That's another reason why going home for lunch is so awesome for me.

As an extension of this, I love going out for Saturday/Sunday lunches/dinners alone with a good book (and my Archos and heavy duty headphones on Sundays, because that's family day). For a long time, it was IT by Stephen King, just because it was such a thick book. I swear the waiters at Nero Fico saw the progress as I made my way through the book week by week.

And then of course, there are the glances by people who generally think it's odd that I'm sitting there alone having dinner on Saturday night. That sucks, because honestly, I couldn't think of a better way for myself to spend Saturday night other than just chilling out, having a good dinner and a couple of drinks, with or without other people.

Airbus Boycott?

I think most frequent flyers have noticed the unusually high number of aviation incidents lately. If you didn't, then take note. Most notable were:

• May 2009: Air France's Airbus A330 disappeared off the face of the earth [Link].
• Feb 2009: 50 people were killed when a small Colgan Air aircraft crashed into a house (Donnie? Donnie Darko?) [Link].
• Oct 2008: Qantas' Airbus A330-300 suddenly dropped in altitude [Link].
• Sept 2008: Boeing 737-300 crashes in Russia, killing all [Link].
• Aug 2008: Spanair's MD82 aircraft catches fire, 153 dead [Link].
• July 2008: Qantas' Boeing 747-400 developed a case of a hole in its fuselage while in mid-air [Link].
• June 2008: Airbus 310 crashes in Sudan [Link].
• Dec 2007: The year ended with another big crash in Turkey which killed all 57 people
  on board [Link].
• Sep 2007: Jetliner skids off the runway in Phuket [Link].
• Aug 2007: Twin Otter DH6 Turboprop crashes in French Polynesia, killing 20 [Link].
• July 2007: 191 died in Brazil as an Airbus A320 came in to land too fast in one of the country's worst aviation disasters [Link].
• June 2007: Plane crashes in Cambodia. Toddler is sole survivor [Link].
• May 2007: 114 dead as Kenyan plane crashes into swamp [Link].
• Jan - Mar 2007: 2007 was a particularly bad year for Indonesian airlines, with 3 aviation accidents in the first quarter of the year alone, one in each month. Not kidding. Quite unfortunately for Boeing, they were all Boeing 737s [Link].

I started to compile the list of passenger plan incidents since 2007 but it got too depressing after I got this many. There was an accident in virtually every month of 2007. It's pretty ridiculous, and it really doesn't help my recently developed fear of flying. Wtf.

Ophidiophobe

I have ophidiophobia. I don't think it's a secret to anyone who's known me for more than 2 days.

Main Entry: ophidiophobia
Part of Speech: n
Definition: a fear of snakes; also called ophiophobia
Etymology: Greek ophidion 'small snake'
From Dictionary.com

So now that you've learned a new word, my point is this: I hate when I tell people that I have a fear of snakes, that they decide to tell me things like, "But you should just go and touch one and it'll be fine and you won't be afraid anymore!" as if I live in a TV sitcom where all my insecurities, fears and problems can be solved in just one fun-filled, you'll laugh at this later, wholesome event that fits in a 30-minute or 60-minute time slot.

I am an ophidiophobe, and I stand by my fear. It's not an irrational fear. Snakes can kill you. Snakes can kill you in a very real and painful and sadistic manner. Seriously. Ever try looking at a python's teeth? Google Images it. Go on. I'll wait.

There you go. And the beauty of this beast is that they're indigenous to Malaysia, and no, not somewhere outside of KL, but in the very heart of it. Both family homes that I've lived in during my lifetime have had snake problems ranging from 6' pythons being found in the house to nests of King Cobras.

Again, I reiterate, my ophidiophobia is a rational fear and a fear based on the basic human instinct of survival and not being eaten alive. It's not an irrational fear of an animal that only lives in a country I'll never visit, or of inexistant monsters that go bump in the night, or of non-life threatening insects like spiders.

I have tried to deal with this fear in several ways. Well, just one way, really, which consisted of me going to the snake zoo-like place (whatever it's called) in Langkawi one fine day. I walked through it at a leisurely pace, I looked at the snakes, I kept getting mini heart attacks everytime my ponytail touched the back of my neck, and I got through the whole thing.

And yes, I'm still an ophidiophobe. And I'm proud of it. Leave me alone.

What? Complaints?

From The Star: Actor flees Jais raid on fiancee's home without his clothes:

A TV actor tried to make a quick escape – minus his clothes – when Selangor Religious Department (Jais) officers raided his fiancee’s apartment in Petaling Jaya, reported Harian Metro.

The 20-something actor, who appears in a mystic and horror TV series, managed to climb to the next unit’s balcony on the fifth floor at 3am recently.

Five Jais officers raided the apartment after receiving complaints from neighbours that the actor and his fiancee would meet up frequently at her home.

The woman, also in her 20s and an assistant producer in the TV series, told the officers that she lived alone.

The woman, who was dressed in a sleeveless top and skimpy shorts, allowed officers into her room where they found a pair of men’s trousers and shirt.

Jais Special Force Unit chief Shahrom Maarop said: “Further inspection found signs that a person had exited through the balcony.”

The officers then went next door and found a few male foreigners living in the apartment.

One of the officers spotted a man who had wrapped himself with the curtains near the balcony.

“Officers questioned the actor who tried to pose as one of the foreigners. But the ruse did not work as his accent and skin colour were different from the occupants.

“The actor finally admitted that he had been sleeping at the woman’s home and that they were engaged,” Shahrom said.

They were detained for questioning and released on bail.

What? Who complained? And more specifically, apparently they complained that these 2 are always at her home. Methinks the chick pissed off one of her neighbours. That kind of makes people want to call Jais. Am I right, Bitcheline?

Accident? Ya, Right.

From Reuters: Warship fires on village by accident:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian navy said on Friday that one of its anti-submarine ships had fired artillery at a village by mistake, state RIA news agency reported.

The navy said no-one had been injured when a small anti-submarine ship on Thursday opened fire on a village in the Vyborg region of St Petersburg.

"On the 28 May, a small anti-submarine ship from the Baltic fleet was working on a host of exercises in the gulf of Finland including artillery fire at aerial targets," RIA quoted a navy spokesman as saying. "No-one was injured."

Russia's navy has been plagued by a series of mishaps since the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the Kursk submarine disaster in 2000 in which 118 sailors died.

More like sailors going, "Let's see who can get closest to hitting that church steeple!"