Insights into a Bimbo's Mind

NL Diaries: Why people get heat strokes in summer.

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Landed at the Schipol Airport, Netherlands at 6.15am this morning. My in-laws, (Narrrling’s family) greeted us at the arrival gates with an intimidating looking human sized, “JUST MARRIED” sign with at least 3 dozen of oversized balloons tied all around it. Here you go. I was expecting nothing less. The bimbo queen receives her royalty style welcoming even in foreign lands far yonder. But the truth was, I wasn’t sure if I should run straight into their arms or hop onto a trolley and wheel myself quickly out of the airport with one foot, riding it like a skateboard. But alas, family duties are more important. After all, my reputation in the Netherlands is only still in the making, not quite established yet so can still afford a blow here and there. After all, riding a trolley like a skateboard out of the airport isn’t exactly the most glamorous thing to do either. Anyway, I’ll just make sure my in laws get a 'bigger welcome' when they come to Malaysia next year.

2nd time around in the Netherlands. The last time in September, I was mostly doing 3 things, gaping, staring and freezing. This time around, I was surprised at how hot it was. I use to wonder how people get heat strokes in summer. After all, we spend at least 8 hours a day, sitting in a nice cool office, wearing a thick winter-like jacket because for some reason, office ventilation always treat us working class people like some sort of frozen meat. (If not frozen will go bad). For the non working class people, they can always turn on the air-conditioner at home… Ok, even the poorest of all, could walk into a shopping complex in the heat of the day to escape the temperature outside..

So here’s what I found out. Accuse me of being a ‘frog under a shell’ all these while, but what I found out is, the air-conditioner is a rare commodity in most of the European countries! Yes, if the weather outside was 36 degrees, shopping complexes are stuffy and hot and people drive around in their nice BMWs with the windows down. People outside walk around topless and nobody works because guess what? Offices are not air-conditioned neither! Another major culture difference, over here, offices don’t want frozen meat, they prefer barbequed or steamed meat.

So there I was, struggling with at least 200 other women in a small department store, grabbing bikinis on sale from the shelves. And there I was stuffing my fat butt and mini-breasts into the cute little two pieces when I thought I was going to get a heat stroke. My mind hummed the song by Mastika, “I feel the earth! Move! Under my feet!”…. Wonderful. Tomorrow’s headlines(in Dutch) will be, “Asian girl dies in changing room while stuffing herself into a bikini under the extreme stuffy summer heat”. To avoid having that happen, I gave myself a dramatic Scarlett O’Hara’s “Tomorrow is another day” and walked sadly out of that hot, sweaty, steamy, stuffy bikini store on sale. What to do, famous people like me should always have our priorities right. Reputation first, bikinis second...

posted by Miki-C @ 1:25 PM