Monday, January 16, 2006
1/16
Another day on the Malaysian cyber-ranch, and word-by-word, byte-by-byte, moving closer to having a completed manuscript for Alabama. On deadline now (1/31), and working away on it during every possible moment: resolving issues of permissions, accuracy of quotations, and correct format. By the time Chinese New Year arrives, on the 29th, which is a major 3-day national holiday here, hopefully all will be finished (for the time being, anyway).
My distractions today came in the form of meeting some of the VIPs at Multimedia U. In the early afternoon, my colleagues Khong and Wong accompanied me to a meeting with the president of the University, Dr. GHAUTH JASMON, who interrupted his busy day for a brief lunchtime discussion and exchange of pleasantries. I conveyed to him my pleasure of being here, and was surprised to receive a nice gift from him (a carved wooden butterfly in a frame). He was in a hurry to have lunch with the school’s chancellor, so did not get to talk very much, but will hopefully cross paths again sometime. Later in the afternoon I was escorted by K & W to meet Dr. Chuah Hean Teik, who is Vice President 1 (R & D and Academic Development), Dean, Faculty of Engineering, and Director of the Centre For Research and Postgraduate Programmes at MMU. He’s a very jovial fellow who spent time in Arlington, Texas, as a Fulbright scholar, who was happy to tell tales of his road trips in the US, and tell me about various places he thought I should see in Malaysia. I almost had to interrupt him in order to explain what I plan to be working on while I am here (which I thought he would – and he did – find interesting). I had been prepared by my colleagues here to expect a series of formal meetings with the higher-ups, and that’s part of what’s happening this week. Tomorrow morning it continues, as I meet with Dr. Ahmad Raffi, who is Dean of the Faculty of Creative Multimedia (FCM, my department here). I anticipate that this meeting will involve more business than pleasure, but I welcome all discussions at this point.
Funny responses to my new look around campus (i.e., shorn head, pants and a tie), the look of shock of the FCM secretary (and our friend Leza), Dr. Ian Chai exclaiming (with some humor in his voice) that I no longer looked like a poet but an MMU faculty member, and (most humorously) Wong saying that I no longer looked like me, but perhaps like someone who my brother (which is exactly what Stella says to me every time I get a hair cut – but she knows my brother!). Well, believe it or not, I’m the same person, and in the long run it’s really not what you look like but what you do that defines you. Odd, though, how much looks really seem to count both at home and abroad.
Another long day comes to an end on a high note in the form of a sweet email (including permissions to quote) just in from Augusto de Campos. A movie, POESIA É RISCO (Poetry is Risk), taken from a laser exhibition of his poems in an open space (Avenida Paulista in São Paulo), is attached. Very cool!
amanha, amigos, GBSA, CF
Another day on the Malaysian cyber-ranch, and word-by-word, byte-by-byte, moving closer to having a completed manuscript for Alabama. On deadline now (1/31), and working away on it during every possible moment: resolving issues of permissions, accuracy of quotations, and correct format. By the time Chinese New Year arrives, on the 29th, which is a major 3-day national holiday here, hopefully all will be finished (for the time being, anyway).
My distractions today came in the form of meeting some of the VIPs at Multimedia U. In the early afternoon, my colleagues Khong and Wong accompanied me to a meeting with the president of the University, Dr. GHAUTH JASMON, who interrupted his busy day for a brief lunchtime discussion and exchange of pleasantries. I conveyed to him my pleasure of being here, and was surprised to receive a nice gift from him (a carved wooden butterfly in a frame). He was in a hurry to have lunch with the school’s chancellor, so did not get to talk very much, but will hopefully cross paths again sometime. Later in the afternoon I was escorted by K & W to meet Dr. Chuah Hean Teik, who is Vice President 1 (R & D and Academic Development), Dean, Faculty of Engineering, and Director of the Centre For Research and Postgraduate Programmes at MMU. He’s a very jovial fellow who spent time in Arlington, Texas, as a Fulbright scholar, who was happy to tell tales of his road trips in the US, and tell me about various places he thought I should see in Malaysia. I almost had to interrupt him in order to explain what I plan to be working on while I am here (which I thought he would – and he did – find interesting). I had been prepared by my colleagues here to expect a series of formal meetings with the higher-ups, and that’s part of what’s happening this week. Tomorrow morning it continues, as I meet with Dr. Ahmad Raffi, who is Dean of the Faculty of Creative Multimedia (FCM, my department here). I anticipate that this meeting will involve more business than pleasure, but I welcome all discussions at this point.
Funny responses to my new look around campus (i.e., shorn head, pants and a tie), the look of shock of the FCM secretary (and our friend Leza), Dr. Ian Chai exclaiming (with some humor in his voice) that I no longer looked like a poet but an MMU faculty member, and (most humorously) Wong saying that I no longer looked like me, but perhaps like someone who my brother (which is exactly what Stella says to me every time I get a hair cut – but she knows my brother!). Well, believe it or not, I’m the same person, and in the long run it’s really not what you look like but what you do that defines you. Odd, though, how much looks really seem to count both at home and abroad.
Another long day comes to an end on a high note in the form of a sweet email (including permissions to quote) just in from Augusto de Campos. A movie, POESIA É RISCO (Poetry is Risk), taken from a laser exhibition of his poems in an open space (Avenida Paulista in São Paulo), is attached. Very cool!
amanha, amigos, GBSA, CF
# posted by chris funkhouser @ 6:26 AM 
