Just got back from Tulsa, where I went to spend Christmas with Derek and his family. It was fun but schlepping back and forth between Malaysia and the United States is beginning to be a drag. The trip from Tulsa to KL took me 40 hours, door to door. I did get back in time to see a great New Year's Eve fireworks display -- probably the best fireworks I've ever seen. The city must have spent a fortune because the fireworks were so extensive, elaborate and sophisticated. The best part was, they were so close to the hotel, I felt like I could have reached out my window and touched them -- they were that close.

My friend Tony is coming over from the States in a few weeks. We're going to go to Bangkok. I have to start researching now to pick the places I want to see. I expect it will be a little like going to Rome, except that instead of seeing one church after another, it will be one temple after another.

I really want to learn more about Eastern religions. I realized how little I knew about Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, Confucianism, Shinto, etc. so I went to Wikipedia and read up on all of them. It is all so vast, each belief system with its own tenets, histories, and nuances. I can appreciate just how vast the study of theology is. It would take years to get an understanding of any depth. (I guess that's a whopping understatement, considering that most people's entire lives are spent on just such a quest. I meant more an intellectual understanding than a spiritual one.) I still don't really get it -- many of them, with the exception of Islam, seem more cultural and philospohical, rather than based on set theological tenets.

By the way, I'm noticing more and more women in Burkas here in KL. The sight is still a little startling, especially in places like the mall or around the pool. If the intent is to make themselves "invisible," or at least "non-descript," for me it has the opposite effect. My eyes are drawn to women in Burkas and I find it hard not to stare. I know that my own cultural biases and preconceptions are making me feel that way, but still . . . I think even an objective observer would find the look a little spooky.

I finished The Plot Against America. Highly recommend it. I also finished Middlesex and The Constant Gardner. I have just been a reading demon!