Tis the season to be _____ (fill in the blank)

I'm filling in... BROKE.

Partly because this fella here *points down has entered my life. Say Hi to Brue, people. He's a metro sexual male that aspires to become a Jaguar when he grows up. But he's not picky, being a BMW would be fine too.

And since I am broke, Brue and I had no choice but to stay home during Christmas and brood. I'm brooding because of all the Sale that's happening nationwide which I can't go to while Brue is brooding because his owner is so broke that she can't afford to give him a wash by professionals yet she's too lazy to lug buckets of water to the parking lot. So now he has to endure the snickerings of all the clean, shiny cars who are parked next to him.

But Christmas for a Muslim in Malaysia is not just about Sales but its also about all the Christmas decors. So another word I'd use to fill in the blank would be... 'BLING-BLING'. That counts as a word right?

Not to mention that this is also the time when people would go camwhoring like crazy at shopping malls and nobody would say a word. Hence with this in mind I took the opportunity to go camwhoring for my dear pen pal 0f 13 years, Thorwald, who's curious on how does a Malaysian Christmas looks like. So here it is Thorwald, enjoy!

Midvalley Megamall decided to go medieval this year by having having banners and bunting bearing shields and crests hung all over the mall. They even had a wall cum stage area resembling old stone castles erected at the center court (for somebody who has a really porno mind this sentence would really be amusing :p). Anywho, everything was beautifully done in soft gold and cream but the whole ambiance of it all was instantly ruined for me when I went there one night and came upon a sing-a-long dance show which was tacky from the tips of their lime green feathered face mask down to their fuchsia glitter go-go boots. I think they were trying to channel Vegas showgirls. Plus, if you plan on going medieval do your research coz a tunic and leather armour ala Brad Pitt in 'Troy' do not belong in the medieval times.

But still the decor was superb. So here's my dear mummy camwhoring in front of the castle wall. She survived the Vegas Showgirls wannabe routine by shopping the money right out of her purse. Mum... I so envy you!!

Moving on, we have the winter white Christmas fantasy theme at the One Utama (New wing) Mall. It's very snow kingdom-like with all the bare white trees and snowflakes everywhere. And since the white Christmas theme is a very famous and traditional theme, OU decided to do everything traditionally by having choirs singing Christmas carols. It may not be as glitzy and glittery as the Midvalley dance fiesta but its definitely much kinder to the eyes and ears.

Next we have The Gardens Mall which in my opinion has the most gorgeous and extravagant Christmas decor of all the malls I visited! There were Christmas trees everywhere and fairy lights hung on every corner plus an Asian Santa Claus walking around giving out sweets to little kids. Yes folks, Santa can be multicultural too :P

I was lucky enough to be there when the orchestra was scheduled to perform. They played a jazzier version of all the Christmas carols and they were simply amazing. I could just sit there for hours and listen to them play.

Here's my dear mum camwhoring again. This was taken right before her shopping frenzy began. If the cam session was after shopping you'll only be seeing shopping bags with perhaps my mum peeking out from behind them. Or perhaps a picture of only her feet because I can't lift the camera up high enough because my arms are too heavy carrying all of her shopping bags. So again... mum, I envy you!!

But the cutest Christmas decor award should go to KLCC for their gingerbread Christmas theme. It's bloody cute with the trees being decorated with candy canes and all sorts of candy goodness. Luckily it was made of cardboard if not the headlines for the morning newspaper would probably read "Local University Lecturer Apprehended for Consuming Christmas Decorations".

Anyways, that's all for the mall Christmas decors that I managed to capture. I heard that Pavillion's decorations was superb with lights hung in such a way that it looks exactly like snowfall when it's lit up at night. My attempt to go to Pavillion during one of the long weekends ended up with me cursing at the traffic jam and taking a detour to KLCC instead. Anyways Thorwald, hope you have an idea on how Malaysians celebrate Christmas now. We may not have snow but somehow we have managed to create the illusion of having snow. So in conjunction of this festive season I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Joy to the World and Peace on Earth.

Just to add on, I really don't give a damn about this whole BS that Muslims cannot give happy wishes to non-Muslims during their celebrations. We're not bigots I tell you!!

So again...