Back in the saddle again......

It sucks being sick....truly. The days you get off are mighty fine, but the fact that you can't do anything with it just plain sucks.

Fell ill on Tuesday. Lung infection, the doctors tell me. Dust in the office to blame. Its really not a surprise...this office has been in continuous use since 1998 without even a thorough cleaning. They did fumigate the place in 2001 after we complained of dust mites attacking us like para troopers in heat, but thats about all they ever did to the place. I've resorted to keeping wet wipes by my desk to wipe off any dust settling on my work area every two hours or so. You'd be amazed how much icky stuf can come to a rest on your table within that short period of time......

Thank God its Thursday though....just one more day before we call it a week. Going to catch a Malay movie tonight with friends. It's only the second malay movie that I've seen in my lifetime. If you've ever seen any local productions, you'll perfectly understand why. Many are horrid, the better ones are sad and the ones rated as "brilliant" by the local press often wouldnt cut it as B-grade movies elsewhere.

But Puteri Gunung Ledang ("PGL") promises to be different. Apparently its been nominated for an Oscar and its been selected to be shown at the next Cannes Film Festival. Premised on the love story between Hang Tuah, a historical figure well known to all and sundry locally, and a princess, its been hailed as Malaysia's first truly "world-class" movie, with cinematography to rival the best from Hollywood.

Now, call me a pessimist, but I've heard that "world-class" mantra one too many times in my short lifetime. What is deemed "world-class" by the local journos tend to be pretty shady at best, often forced upon them by nationalistic pride. The most obvious, of course, being Proton - our beloved national car company. Seriously, anyone who has ever owned one of these jalopies would gladly attest that these cars are nothing near world-class, but yet the local press and PR people would have you believe that their products can stand up to international brands like Toyota and Nissan......ridiculous tosh, I say.

But back to PGL......I've heard so much about the RM 15 million budget and the quality of acting, so I guess its only fair to head into the cinema with a clear mind and a lack of stereotypes for local productions. I'm willing to give this movie a chance.....let's hope it won't turn out to be another example of over-hyped malaysian mediocrity...