Faithful and observant readers will see that there has been a major change in the title of this blog. Sitting in the lobby of the Lexis Suites waiting for my Malaysian daughter to come and speak to me again I decided that there was a need to make a change. The Old Me and the New Me were not in harmony. The Old Me has not kept up, parts of her needed to be discarded, some merely abbreviated, for now.
An Aside
My Malaysian daughter is, of course, not my genetic daughter. She is a Lexis Suite Manager. She calls me Mother. I call her Daughter. I have an extremely international family at this moment. A Malaysian Sister (with her family) and a Malaysian daughter and two little Nigerian boys who call me Granny. Except for their familial bonds, nobody is related (by kinship) to nobody. No one, even slightly looks like me, with these blue eyes. There is every indication that this family is going to grow, perhaps in leaps and bounds. Hahaha. If progress or something grows in leaps and bounds it happens very quickly, very rapidly. There will not be the normal gestation period of nine months, doesn’t seem so.
Back to the Title of the Blog.
At the present moment the title reads: ALEXIS MCBRIDE London, Canada, KSA, Malaysia and Beyond.
The UAE got obliterated – might be anyway with all the cloud seeding, heavy rains, treachery, mismanagement and evil rulers. I lived in Abu Dhabi for five months, living in totally understandable and verifiable fear for my life. Managed to escape to my birth country Canada.. Canada will remain in the title. However, it will go on the scrap heap if another country beckons. . Saudi Arabia got shortened to KSA – for those not in the know it stands for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A Kingdom allegedly ruled by a King – but he has Alzheimer’s so one of his sons, a designated crown prince, MBS runs the country and has changed everything. I admit to believing in the hype that surrounded him, thinking he would rule the world. But then something happened, a four letter word GAZA. Oops, the world slowly began to see that he was not the leader with the vision he pretended to have. So KSA is still there, in shortened form. I just might obliterate it too. Watch out world. Hahahaha
What is obliterate? It is a strong word meaning either to destroy utterly; wipe out. Used in a sentence: The memory was so painful that she obliterated it from his mind. The word can be used to describe something that causes a blotting out, an invisibility, as if it never existed. For example, an atom bomb, delivered by the USA, obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. World leaders, particularly President Biden and MBS should be required to go to Hiroshima as I did, reading John Hersey’s book of the same name. It is probably far too late. Biden has been reduced into a laughing stock, an unsubstantial, unimportant hypocrite. Unfortunately and horribly with MBS seems to be proof of the historian and moralist’s Lord Acton’s 1887 observation: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. “ I readily admit to being a MBS advocate, a fan, a believer. But I was misled. I lived in KSA for over six months, talked to tens of people, some in powerful and learned positions, completed research in Ithra (Kind Abdulaziz’s Cultural Center in Kohbar). MBS has absolute power, he has been corrupted absolutely. Not even his Muslim faith could protect him. It is tragic.
My six month stay in Saudi Arabia made me so grateful, and so blessed to be in Malaysia. One of the numerous and varied things I love about Malaysia is that is it NOT a world power. Is not, was not and will never be one. The welfare to the Malaysian people seem to be the primary concern of its leaders. If only that were true of all countries.
I began to wonder when I first considered Malaysia as a place to be. I found the answer. I asked my Malaysian Muslim sister this question on April 17, 2024, reaching an immediate answer. .
Me: Do you need a tourist visa to come to Malaysia.
She answered immediately with the website. I applied for an arrival card, it was SO easy, so clear and SO straightforward. Some of her family, her husband, son and daughter came to visit on Sunday. I spoke of my love of Malaysia wondering if I could possibly be given refugee status or immigrate here. Her husband made a suggestion.
He: Go on line. Look up Malaysia is my second home.
I did and I can. There are certain requirements which I can fulfill, somewhat easily. Inshallah. Mashallah, this is the place for me to be.
I am so enjoying the breakfast buffet. There are people here of many nations. Also many Malaysian families come here for breakfast – not staying in the hotel, just coming for breakfast. It is difficult to figure out which country people come from. Malaysian women are easy to spot with their colorful headscarves. Also women from Saudi Arabia in their black abayas. I spotted a woman in a Canadian t-shirt, speaking to her. She did not understand one word I said. Spoke to a Lexis staff member. She said that Chinese women often wore shorts. Muslim women must be covered, short pants are forbidden for both men and women. I took a photo of the woman’s Canadian t-shirt, she was wearing it with shorts. No wonder she did not speak English. Hahaha
I have been to China, speak to English speaking Chinese of my visit and my impressions.
Photos of a Saudi woman and myself. She and her husband were here in their honeymoon. A photo of the Breakfast Bar sign warning of traffic. A sunset from my balcony the other evening.
Me at breakfast with my Malaysian Sister. Then a photo of food by my private pool. I answered my door on Saturday to find Amin bringing me, unsolicited, high tea – yes scones, sandwiches, clotted cream, pastries. It is no wonder that I feel blessed. Alhamdulillah
