Prawns, Software and Movies - oh my!

Hi everyone - I don't have any new pictures (the weekend is coming). Work is heating up (appropriate for the location here, I think). I am getting busier day by day, meeting sub-contractor people (Cisco and Cisco local partner, IBM and IBM local partner, Dell). We are working with all of them on this project and nothing is really settled yet. David, our technology sales guy is leaving early tomorrow, back to Sydney.

I saw the American Idol elimination show tonight, missed the performance show this week. I now know what channel to watch. The correct choice was made this week, if perhaps a few weeks too late.

David and I went out shopping and to dinner tonight. Pretty amazing - I saw firsthand some of what I've been hearing about. For the following, keep in mind that it takes about 3.65 Ringdit (RM) to make a US dollar ($).

I bought one movie - The Island - for RM12 - same price for all movies. They also have, on DVD, just about any TV show you can think of. The shops have ring'd binders with all of the DVD jackets, for you to roam thru. You tell them what you want. They either call someone, or send a runner, and in 5 to 10 minutes, you have your copy, in a plastic sleeve, DVD and the color jacket, on decent paper. I don't know if all these shops share a big storeroom of DVD's, or if they are burning them as you buy them. I'm sure it's all legal.

David - bought a whole list of movies (10 or so), and 2 software titles (different shop). He bought Adobe Photoshop, current version, and something for his wife's Mac call iLife. Retail is about $250 US, and he paid RM50. Amazing. They come with serial numbers or keygen programs.

We then went for dinner. There is a street, in the Bukit Bintang area (lots and lots of misc shopping, dining, trinkets, etc), with streetside eateries up and down both sides. It's mostly all asian food, of some variety, with signs you can't read and pictures of dishes you can't identify. We just picked one and sat down. We both had chicken fried rice. David had a Kung Pao Chicken dish and I have a spicy Prawn dish. There was not any cloth napkins or tablecloths, and you definitely went for bottled water, over the free stuff, but oh my - was it good. The Prawns were easily 3 to 4 inches long and thick. They were split and cooked in some sauce, with veggies and such. Very good. Many restaurants here offer Prawns on the menu. For any of you that don't know, Prawns are just huge meaty shrimp.

I've also been shopping for a small over-the-shoulder computer bag, but haven't found one yet. My big roller bag is good for getting to distant cities, with all your stuff, but a real pain on a commuter train packed tight with other people. Also, I seem to be going up and down steps a lot, and it rains often enough that I am carrying it (not rolling) most of the time anyway.

I bought a casual lightweight, light colored short sleeve shirt this evening. It cost RM30 but is very pretty. Not fancy, but right for the weather.

kinda boring blog for today. Sorry, I'll try to do better. bye for now.