I resisted shopping at Pavillion for many, many months. As a fiercely loyal Taurean, I stick to one shopping venue until it becomes unbearable, then move to a new favourite spot. For about a decade, my mall of choice was KLCC. Six minutes away from home (gee, thanks Ampang Elevated Highway!), ample carpark (except when Isetan has their Sale), and numerous makan-minum places PLUS a cineplex - I was sorted.

So when Pavillion opened more than a year ago, I was not an enthusiastic would-be shopper. The fact that it stands where a school used to be, which was torn down to make way for this complex, was a sad reminder. The fact that getting to Pavillion requires gargantuan levels of tolerance for the &*%$# drivers who ply the Bintang Walk stretch and park alongside the complex, demonstrating their "ah don care wan" attitude towards other road users, the fact that you can take 20 minutes to get from the traffic lights to the Pavillion carpark, the fact that padestrians pretend they are colour blind and saunter across the road when clearly the red "don't walk" sign comes on - were just too much for me to handle for a few hours in a shiny new Jualan Hebat venue.

However one fateful day I wanted to watch Quantum of Solace and the passes I had was for the cineplex at Pavillion. Half-heartedly I went. I survived the painful journey to Pavillion (luckily it was a Monday) and waited for my second Blond Bond Experience.

Two hours later I emerged from the cineplex absolutely LOVING the movie, with a teeny weeny crush for for Daniel Craig, and discovered that there were plenty of makan-minum places downstairs still open. I then realized that Pavillion's layout has been done quite cleverly, with ample space to walk so I don't fear that my body-buffer-zone would be invaded (unlike KLCC, where big crowds force body contact with strangers - something I'm REALLY uncomfortable with).

So now I go at least twice a month to Pavillion - I love the fact that most of the outlets there are different from the ones you get everywhere else. I like the fact that there are many, many restaurants, cafes and bistro's to choose from, AND I have found a new route from home that bypasses the horrid, horrid crawl to get there (last time I checked, it took me exactly 8 minutes from my house to the carpark).

Only two complaints - a) the restaurants on level 3 close WAY too early (hey we're Malaysians - makan time is ANY time, we linger and chat, so don't chase us out at 12 sharp), and b) the mice problem they have.

But that's a whole different blog altogether...

Everywhere you turn, you can't escape Obamamania. Bloggers blog, analysts analyze, naysayers say nay, columnists ponder and the caribou in Alaska have run to the hills as fast as their legs can carry them, because hunter and lifelong NRA member Sarah "I-can-see-Russia-from-my-house" Palin has returned, Wassila's most famous ex-beauty queen now its prodigal daughter.

Miss "You Betcha, God darn it!" has been accused by many as taking the position of women in politics backwards by not just a few steps but back by a few years, because now that the gloves are off, tales of her Coast-to-Coast mad spending spree making over her family emerge, diva-like tantrums have been claimed by McCain's senior aides, worthy enough to get some airtime on CNN, no less.

I can breathe unhindered now that the Wassila Witch is back safely in the boondocks, knowing that the world would not have to suffer untold stupidity (she thought Africa was a COUNTRY, for goodness' sake) for at least four years. My best friend used to say in the run up "Palin's a heart attack away from being PRESIDENT!" and I used to wonder if Americans would be THAT foolish, to go with a candidate who's been said to have one foot in the grave and a running mate who can't tell the difference between countries and continents (but boy can she handle a double-barrel shotgun).

I actually took leave on Nov 5th, and my two girlfriends and I had what I call OBAMARAMA, held at one of their homes, where we watched the votes being tallied on the big screen while Nasi Lemak and other breakfast items were consumed systematically.

Breakfast turned to lunch, then tea, then dinner. Conversation ranged from "OMG look at what she's wearing!" to "Isn't he handsome" to "You see! THIS is the real McCain!" to "ha ha she looks like she could bite a moose's head off", all the time agreeing that Obama's victory speech was the most inspiring we had ever heard, and made you want to cry, not least because of the historical significance, but also the wistful thought that we should ever be so lucky to hear someone in this country who could weave the same sort of hope into our future.

Until then, I shall live vicariously through my American friends, envious at this stage that they have someone the whole world sees as the beacon of hope.

I love Christian Bale. Always have, actually. Loved him when he that morose kid in Empire Of The Sun. Loved him (and his ultra-ripped bod) in the mind-bending American Psycho. Loved his just-out-of-Auschwitz-looking character in The Machinist. But the terrible temper that landed him in trouble with the law recently? Ya - not loving THAT so much. I know first-hand what it’s like to have a terrible temper, and the consequences they bear - I have one too. In fact, I used to be really TERUK at controlling it. Things would be flung against the wall, rude drivers who cut in would be chased down the street in my little Kancil with me frothing at the mouth in the driver’s seat. Yup. NOT a pretty sight.

So when Mr. Bale loses it and causes major drama with his mum and sis, to the point where la familia have to lodge a police report against him…I am fully sympathetic to BOTH parties. After all, tempers left unchecked and uncontrolled could very well cause you hurt or causing others to get hurt. So as I write this (with a light crush over the Dark Knight) I do hope Mr. Bale takes some anger management classes. I didn’t, but then again I have the benefit of a family who intervened and gave me a wake up call. I’m still not as calm as I ought to be sometimes but am a lot better than I was even as recently as three years ago. Thank god for music. I mean that’s my chill pill when I’m driving in mad KL among law-breaking road users. A little Bebel Gilberto, Peter Grant, Azymuth, Gavin DeGraw, Alicia Keys…and I can keep my BP in check and the bull horns retracted.

Anyhoo…my grouse of the week - the Ampang Elevated Highway being open to motorbikes now. What’s up with THAT?