Sorry for the delay on my most recent post but lately Jim and I have had a full social calendar. It all started when my friend Sim got a part-time job as an MC doing pub trivia. So last Wednesday was her audition and she needed support so me and Jim joined her at a pub in the Village called Ronnie Q's. It's definitely an expat bar with a mix of foreigners from all over. We have been here before on the night we did our own pub crawl. Sim was nervous but she got through it and was hired.
Jim has a colleague that used to work for DHL named Sanjay and his boss is American, also from Chicago, so Sanjay thought it would be good idea to introduce us. We had dinner with John and his wife Christen on Saturday. They seemed like a nice couple and we enjoyed ourselves. The highlight of the evening for Jim was when John mentioned that he plays poker twice a month with a group of other Americans. We had dinner at La Bodega and then drinks at Finnegans both in the Village. Later after we parted ways we stopped by a club called Absolute Chemistry. I have several pages on the web like MySpace, Facebook, and Tagged and I met a DJ on one of them. Well I didn't meet him on the internet, I actually met him at Sim's birthday party. Since then he sends me updates about various clubs that he spins at so that's how we ended up at Absolute. It's mainly an Indian club, me and Jim were the only non-Indian in the place. Kris ( the dj ) plays pretty good music and he even sent a shout out to us when we first got there. Funny thing is, while we were sitting there several men kept coming up to Jim and introducing themselves. I'm not sure why, it may be because Kris said Jim was with DHL, but they kept buying him drinks and one even sent over nachos to him. I almost thought we may have been in a gay bar all the attention they were giving him. Later on we went closer to home and ended the night up at City Golf which seems to be our new hangout over George and Dragon. G&D just isn't the same since Sim quit, and while we were up at City Golf, a girl named Kat who we've seen there before invited us to a Facebook mingle they were having on Tuesday.
So then Tuesday rolled around and in the meantime I had been communicating with Kat on Facebook so I was looking forward to the event. Normally City Golf is where Jim hangs out and occasionally I'll join him but now that I've made some friends there I can go hangout without him. The mingle was held there so I got to meet some new people and before I knew it I looked up and Jim had gone home without me! I was too busy running my mouth that I didn't notice that he said goodbye.
Wednesday I went back down to Ronnie Q's to keep Sim company. Her new boss wants things done a certain way so he told her that she was just to observe instead of MC so we took it as an opportunity to drink and hangout. He wasn't too happy that we were socializing more than paying attention to him but we didn't care. Our friend Scott joined us which was great because we have never hung out with him outside of G&D ( he's the head chef there ). We took some photos which I will put up but we really had a good time and before we knew it we were one of the few people left in the pub.
Thursday night I went to Finnegans in Sri Hartamas because Sim was working trivia plus I wanted to hang out with Melissa. I think I've mentioned her before, she is like the PR manager of Finnegans and G&D and really funny! We just click. Jim had received an email from John that there was a poker game going on so of course he jumped at the chance to play. He didn't do so well but now at least he has something to look forward to twice a month. He is thinking of getting poker table custom made and having his own poker night. Plus this group is mostly Americans so now we can mingle with other expats. Finnegans was fun, me and Mel partnered up to answer the questions and we cheated a couple of rounds but in the end we won the bonus round only because I recognized the questions from one of the nights at Ronnie Q's.
I also finally got to go and get the fish pedicure I've been talking about. I was shopping in the Village for something 80's like because there is a party tonight at Finnegans commerating their 8th anniversary. I had a little time on my hands so I went to the spa. I was the only customer there. I washed my feet and legs and dipped them in the pool and the fish came right for me! I was creeped out at first especially by the bigger fish, it kinda tickled but mostly creeped me out because fish are chewing at the dead skin on your feet and legs. The lady in the spa suggested a get a magazine so I couldn't see them and that did the trick. After about 5 min. it felt like jacuzzi bubbles on my legs but really fish. I'll probably go back again because it does make your feet soft and it feels better than a pedicure, I still have to paint my own toes. Maybe I'll suggest that they add a manicurist.
So that's been my life the last week and like I said tonight is the 80's party plus Sim is sleeping over so who knows what we'll end up doing tomorrow. I'm going to try to get her to go to Absolute Chemistry so I can attempt to hook her up with Kris the DJ, it all depends on what condition we make it home in tonight. I'll take photos and put them up next time. Check you all out later!!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Thursday July 24, 2008
Well we returned from Hong Kong on Sunday and I admit I have been a little lazy since we got home. It usually takes me a few days to get adjusted once I've been on a trip. I like to say " I need a vacation from my vacation!" We really enjoyed ourselves and tried to see as much of the city as possible. Jim was fortunate enough that his business portion of our trip was short so he got to spend a lot of time with me when originally I thought I would be sightseeing mostly on my own. We arrived on Wednesday, early in the evening. We decided that we would not hire a driver or rent a car because we heard so much about how reliable the Hong Kong public transportation is. We took a train from the airport which took us to the central subway station in downtown Hong Kong. We then transferred to a different line which took us directly outside of our hotel. It was very simple and easy to figure out how to get around so we purchased public ride cards or Octopus cards as they call them which gave us unlimited rides for the duration of our trip. Along the way I picked up pamphlets and maps so I could plan for the days I thought I would be going it alone.
Thursday morning I booked a couple of tours for me and Jim to take. Whenever we go to a different city I find that this is the best way to decide what you want to do. They take you different places and you can always go back if you want to spend more time at a paticular place. In my subway card packet there was a pamphlet highlighting places you could ride the train to so my first excursion out was to Lantau Island to see Ng Ping Village, the Po Lin Monastery and the World's largest outdoor seated bronze Buddha. The subway in all it's simplicity and efficiency is very interesting particularly the hoards of people walking through. Picture if you would a cartoon where people are going to and from work, walking in step, and singing a song, yet being quiet. I took the blue line out to Lantau where I had to ride a cable car to get up to the mountain. I met a family from Wisconsin on the way. It's funny, when you don't live in the States you can definitely hear an American accent. Even though they were going to the same place as me, I just had a short conversation with them and ventured out by myself. The cable car ride took about 25 minutes to get to the top and along the way you can see all the outlying islands, skyscrapers, the China Sea...really beautiful! And just when you thought the view couldn't get any better, there perched on top of a mountain is the massive Buddha. There's nothing else around it, no cities, no residential neighborhoods, just the monastery and the village which is more like a strip mall with stores and restaurants whose sole purpose for being there is to cater to the tourist coming up to see Buddha.
I stopped and had lunch in a Chinese restaurant ( I'm trying to get as much practice as I can with the chopsticks ) and then I walked through the village where I bought a Chinese hat and some fortune telling sticks, then I made my way to Buddha. I thought for sure there would be an easy way to see it but NOPE!! Just like at the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, standing before me is a half mile of steps. I almost didn't go up but figured I was there so I might as well. Good thing this time is that there were no wild monkeys along the way. At the top was Buddha and six demi-gods giving offerings to him. Below and inside the buddha was information on how and why it was built and of course gift shops. It was a great view of the mountains and sea from up there but after a while the clouds started rolling in and I figured I'd better start making my way back down in case it was going to rain. I went to the Po Lin Monastery next where I toured the prayer halls and watched people buy and burn incense as offerings to the many gods for answers to their prayers. Needless to say, the entire area was very fragrant and smoky. I saw Monks doing Tai Chi but felt it would have been disrespectful to take a picture of them, so I didn't. It was getting late so I headed back to the hotel to meet Jim and have some dinner. Every night in Victoria Harbor they have a light show at 8 pm so we went to the rooftop to watch and found ourselves very disappointed. I mean it's cool to see all of the skyscrapers light up and shoot off lasers but the hype that is built up around the nightly event is grossly exaggerated.
The next day I couldn't decide if I wanted to go to Ocean Park to see the Pandas or to the Central District which is the financial hub of Hong Kong to see the world's longest outdoor escalator. I opted for the escalator. Just as I was about to leave, Jim returned to the hotel and said that he was done with work so he could go with me. Once again we took the subway and walked a few blocks until we found the travelator. It's 800 meters long and was built for the residents because it sits on a steep hill which can be tiresome if you had to walk back and forth each day. It isn't one continuous escalator, it's made up of about 20 different ones with stops along the way so you can get on or off at different points. Also from 6 am to 10 am it only runs downhill, from 10 am to midnight it only runs uphill, so once you get to the top you have to walk back down. This is to accomodate the times people are going or returning home from work. This is also where we came across Soho. Jim found a tavern called Cochrane's so since it was past noon we stopped for a beer. As I was reading the menu I noticed all the mugs hanging from the ceiling and asked what they were for. I was told they were members of the Painkiller's Club. If you drink this cocktail made with some british rum, coconut milk, brandy, and some juice then you're in the club. So I figured why not? Jim bailed out, the drink wasn't all that bad but it was d-efinitely strong so I just drank it as fast as I could while holding my breath so I couldn't smell it. Now I have a mug and a membership card which entitles me to a 10 % discount on purchases anytime I'm in Cochrane's in Soho. I bought a couple of dresses and then we headed towards the harbor because we signed up for a night cruise with the feature being the Symphony of Lights light show which I already mentioned.
The cruise boat was in an old Chinese theme and served unlimited drinks (woo hoo!!). It sailed Victoria Harbor from Kowloon Island to Hong Kong Island. The best part was just looking at the shorelines of both islands. I told Angela that if the inside of a tv was a city, it would look like Hong Kong. All of the neon lights and skyscrapers boasting every name in electronics imaginable, plus all the signs for the Olympics. Hong Kong is the co-host for the games with Beijing, they're hosting the equestrian portion. There is so little land mass, it's hard to believe that 7 million people live here until you go into the subway, which explains all of the high-rise buildings. You can only own a house here unless you're rich and then you have to live up in the mountains. The average size of an apartment is 800 sq/ft and that's for a family of 5 imagine that? On the cruise we met a brother/sister from Australia and hit it off right away. We talked so much that we didn't notice the boat dock to let the passengers off and then leave with us still on board! The crew wouldn't turn around to take us back so we had to ride to the other side of the harbor and then take a separate ferry boat back. The crew acted like it happened all the time, maybe because of the unlimited cocktails. We invited our new friends to have dinner with us ( I can't remember their names...go figure!) and talked and laughed until late where we said goodbye. They are planning on being in Kuala Lumpur next week so we gave them our info so we could get together and show them around. After that me and Jim went back to the hotel and passed out.
The next day we signed up for an all day tour that covered land and sea. Little did we know that our first stop of the morning was the same cruise that we took the night before. The morning cruise did not offer unlimited cocktails but it was a little longer than before. It went through a couple of typhoon shelters for the fisherman and also we got to witness the tiniest cannon blast ever. We spent almost 2 hours on the boat this time and we did get off when we were supposed to. After that we had chinese dim sum lunch at the Hong Kong Cultural Center. It was 8 courses and surprisingly Jim liked everything except dessert and any dumpling that had green color in it. From there we got on a tour bus which stopped at other hotels to pick up more passengers and then we all headed off to Victoria Peak. It is the highest point in Hong Kong and named after Queen Victoria ( for those who didn't know, at one time the area was part of the Briitish colonies ). From there you can see everything! It is really beautiful up there but we could only spend 20 minutes there and then it was back on the bus. After that we went to the Aberdeen Fishing Village where for centuries fisherman have lived on their boats called a samban with their families, dogs, cats, whatever. Even now they still live on the boats but some have washers, satellite tv, and little outdoor patios. We paid a fisherman to take us out on his samban around the village where we also got to see the Jumbo Restaurant. It's a huge floating restaurant that can seat 3000 people at one time. Several movies have featured the place including the upcoming Batman movie. We could have eaten there but didn't have enough time left in our trip to get a reservation. From the fishing village we got back on the bus and drove by Repulse Bay which is named after a naval vessel that docked there throughout the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. That part wasn't really all that interesting considering the bus never stopped, we just drove by. The last part of the tour was the Stanley Market, a street bazaar selling all kinds of goods from clothes to purses to sunglasses. Me and Jim walked around and shopped a bit and decided that we would not take the tour bus back to the hotel we would just hang out and grab some dinner. Jim wanted to watch a rugby match so we walked along the bay walk where there were several restaurants and pubs. Of course the one place that was showing the game was packed and we got in just in time because shortly after we sat down it started pouring outside. Since we were right on the water and the restaurant was open-aired, the restaurant got more packed as people were trying to move from the outside to the inside. I started to get a little crabby but I calmed down after I got some gumbo in me. So after dinner we went back to Kowloon to our hotel and prepared for our trip home the next day.
We took the subway back to the airport. One thing that I really appreciated was something called in-town check in. We could check our luggage and get our boarding passes from downtown Hong Kong, a 28 minute train ride away from the airport. It was very convenient, definitely a great idea. We got back home and our boys were happy to see us. I did have some mopping to do because my house smelled like dogs. So hope you all like the photos we are happy to be home. Hong Kong is a little too crowded for my tastes but I would definitely go back to do some shopping!!
Thursday morning I booked a couple of tours for me and Jim to take. Whenever we go to a different city I find that this is the best way to decide what you want to do. They take you different places and you can always go back if you want to spend more time at a paticular place. In my subway card packet there was a pamphlet highlighting places you could ride the train to so my first excursion out was to Lantau Island to see Ng Ping Village, the Po Lin Monastery and the World's largest outdoor seated bronze Buddha. The subway in all it's simplicity and efficiency is very interesting particularly the hoards of people walking through. Picture if you would a cartoon where people are going to and from work, walking in step, and singing a song, yet being quiet. I took the blue line out to Lantau where I had to ride a cable car to get up to the mountain. I met a family from Wisconsin on the way. It's funny, when you don't live in the States you can definitely hear an American accent. Even though they were going to the same place as me, I just had a short conversation with them and ventured out by myself. The cable car ride took about 25 minutes to get to the top and along the way you can see all the outlying islands, skyscrapers, the China Sea...really beautiful! And just when you thought the view couldn't get any better, there perched on top of a mountain is the massive Buddha. There's nothing else around it, no cities, no residential neighborhoods, just the monastery and the village which is more like a strip mall with stores and restaurants whose sole purpose for being there is to cater to the tourist coming up to see Buddha.
I stopped and had lunch in a Chinese restaurant ( I'm trying to get as much practice as I can with the chopsticks ) and then I walked through the village where I bought a Chinese hat and some fortune telling sticks, then I made my way to Buddha. I thought for sure there would be an easy way to see it but NOPE!! Just like at the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur, standing before me is a half mile of steps. I almost didn't go up but figured I was there so I might as well. Good thing this time is that there were no wild monkeys along the way. At the top was Buddha and six demi-gods giving offerings to him. Below and inside the buddha was information on how and why it was built and of course gift shops. It was a great view of the mountains and sea from up there but after a while the clouds started rolling in and I figured I'd better start making my way back down in case it was going to rain. I went to the Po Lin Monastery next where I toured the prayer halls and watched people buy and burn incense as offerings to the many gods for answers to their prayers. Needless to say, the entire area was very fragrant and smoky. I saw Monks doing Tai Chi but felt it would have been disrespectful to take a picture of them, so I didn't. It was getting late so I headed back to the hotel to meet Jim and have some dinner. Every night in Victoria Harbor they have a light show at 8 pm so we went to the rooftop to watch and found ourselves very disappointed. I mean it's cool to see all of the skyscrapers light up and shoot off lasers but the hype that is built up around the nightly event is grossly exaggerated.
The next day I couldn't decide if I wanted to go to Ocean Park to see the Pandas or to the Central District which is the financial hub of Hong Kong to see the world's longest outdoor escalator. I opted for the escalator. Just as I was about to leave, Jim returned to the hotel and said that he was done with work so he could go with me. Once again we took the subway and walked a few blocks until we found the travelator. It's 800 meters long and was built for the residents because it sits on a steep hill which can be tiresome if you had to walk back and forth each day. It isn't one continuous escalator, it's made up of about 20 different ones with stops along the way so you can get on or off at different points. Also from 6 am to 10 am it only runs downhill, from 10 am to midnight it only runs uphill, so once you get to the top you have to walk back down. This is to accomodate the times people are going or returning home from work. This is also where we came across Soho. Jim found a tavern called Cochrane's so since it was past noon we stopped for a beer. As I was reading the menu I noticed all the mugs hanging from the ceiling and asked what they were for. I was told they were members of the Painkiller's Club. If you drink this cocktail made with some british rum, coconut milk, brandy, and some juice then you're in the club. So I figured why not? Jim bailed out, the drink wasn't all that bad but it was d-efinitely strong so I just drank it as fast as I could while holding my breath so I couldn't smell it. Now I have a mug and a membership card which entitles me to a 10 % discount on purchases anytime I'm in Cochrane's in Soho. I bought a couple of dresses and then we headed towards the harbor because we signed up for a night cruise with the feature being the Symphony of Lights light show which I already mentioned.
The cruise boat was in an old Chinese theme and served unlimited drinks (woo hoo!!). It sailed Victoria Harbor from Kowloon Island to Hong Kong Island. The best part was just looking at the shorelines of both islands. I told Angela that if the inside of a tv was a city, it would look like Hong Kong. All of the neon lights and skyscrapers boasting every name in electronics imaginable, plus all the signs for the Olympics. Hong Kong is the co-host for the games with Beijing, they're hosting the equestrian portion. There is so little land mass, it's hard to believe that 7 million people live here until you go into the subway, which explains all of the high-rise buildings. You can only own a house here unless you're rich and then you have to live up in the mountains. The average size of an apartment is 800 sq/ft and that's for a family of 5 imagine that? On the cruise we met a brother/sister from Australia and hit it off right away. We talked so much that we didn't notice the boat dock to let the passengers off and then leave with us still on board! The crew wouldn't turn around to take us back so we had to ride to the other side of the harbor and then take a separate ferry boat back. The crew acted like it happened all the time, maybe because of the unlimited cocktails. We invited our new friends to have dinner with us ( I can't remember their names...go figure!) and talked and laughed until late where we said goodbye. They are planning on being in Kuala Lumpur next week so we gave them our info so we could get together and show them around. After that me and Jim went back to the hotel and passed out.
The next day we signed up for an all day tour that covered land and sea. Little did we know that our first stop of the morning was the same cruise that we took the night before. The morning cruise did not offer unlimited cocktails but it was a little longer than before. It went through a couple of typhoon shelters for the fisherman and also we got to witness the tiniest cannon blast ever. We spent almost 2 hours on the boat this time and we did get off when we were supposed to. After that we had chinese dim sum lunch at the Hong Kong Cultural Center. It was 8 courses and surprisingly Jim liked everything except dessert and any dumpling that had green color in it. From there we got on a tour bus which stopped at other hotels to pick up more passengers and then we all headed off to Victoria Peak. It is the highest point in Hong Kong and named after Queen Victoria ( for those who didn't know, at one time the area was part of the Briitish colonies ). From there you can see everything! It is really beautiful up there but we could only spend 20 minutes there and then it was back on the bus. After that we went to the Aberdeen Fishing Village where for centuries fisherman have lived on their boats called a samban with their families, dogs, cats, whatever. Even now they still live on the boats but some have washers, satellite tv, and little outdoor patios. We paid a fisherman to take us out on his samban around the village where we also got to see the Jumbo Restaurant. It's a huge floating restaurant that can seat 3000 people at one time. Several movies have featured the place including the upcoming Batman movie. We could have eaten there but didn't have enough time left in our trip to get a reservation. From the fishing village we got back on the bus and drove by Repulse Bay which is named after a naval vessel that docked there throughout the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. That part wasn't really all that interesting considering the bus never stopped, we just drove by. The last part of the tour was the Stanley Market, a street bazaar selling all kinds of goods from clothes to purses to sunglasses. Me and Jim walked around and shopped a bit and decided that we would not take the tour bus back to the hotel we would just hang out and grab some dinner. Jim wanted to watch a rugby match so we walked along the bay walk where there were several restaurants and pubs. Of course the one place that was showing the game was packed and we got in just in time because shortly after we sat down it started pouring outside. Since we were right on the water and the restaurant was open-aired, the restaurant got more packed as people were trying to move from the outside to the inside. I started to get a little crabby but I calmed down after I got some gumbo in me. So after dinner we went back to Kowloon to our hotel and prepared for our trip home the next day.
We took the subway back to the airport. One thing that I really appreciated was something called in-town check in. We could check our luggage and get our boarding passes from downtown Hong Kong, a 28 minute train ride away from the airport. It was very convenient, definitely a great idea. We got back home and our boys were happy to see us. I did have some mopping to do because my house smelled like dogs. So hope you all like the photos we are happy to be home. Hong Kong is a little too crowded for my tastes but I would definitely go back to do some shopping!!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Monday July 14, 2008
Well, it's Monday again and so begins another week of cleaning, ironing, laundry and pet training. Sox so far has turned out to be a wonderful pet. Only 10 weeks old and he has already grasped the idea of being house-trained. After the first day of taking him outside to do his business we found that if we let him loose downstairs with the patio door open he would go out on his own when the urge hit him. And so far there have been no accidents in the house. He is having some issues with walking on a leash. Every night we usually take Oso for a walk and we're trying to get Sox used to this but when we put the leash on him, he'll just lay down in the street. If you take it off he'll happily follow you around the block usually with no problems. He's also mastered how to get up the 3 stairs from the living room to the dining room but getting back down seems to be a problem, we are working on that. At night he sleeps in his little apartment downstairs with no barking and no accidents so we're really happy with the way things are going. Oso on the other hand came down with something and on Saturday we had to take him to the vet because he vomited like 8 times and was being completely unsociable hiding under our bed. The office is right down the street and we didn't need an appointment. When we got there the doctor was finishing up with some bunnies and then it was our turn, we were surprised there wasn't a longer wait. But the vet drew some blood and performed the lab work himself while we waited and then he gave Oso some medicine to stop the vomiting. The cost very cheap too about 140 ringitts ( $45 U.S. )You'd never be able to have lab work done and a visit for that cheap back home. He seems to be doing a lot better now and is even starting to tolerate Sox jumping all over him. Oso won't however allow Sox to come under the bed with him. It's like he tells Sox "Stay out! I don't go in your apartment, you're not allowed in my condo!"
W
So last week was the same old same old, nothing exciting going on. I didn't even spend that much time up at the mall. I've been going to the gym early in the morning with Jim. I find that if I do this I will go more often since he goes every morning before he goes to work. Otherwise I get up and keep putting it off and then I never go. I'm not sure yet if I like this gym yet. Since we've joined we've received several telemarketing calls from them trying to sell us personal trainer sessions and this morning as I was working on the ab machine one of the staff came over and tried to help me out. First of all I am not a morning person, anyone who knows me knows that untill I have a cup of coffee don't say anything to me. Second, if I wanted the advice of a trainer I would have taken advantage of the 2 free training sessions they gave me when we signed up. I just want to go, work out, and come home. I'm convinced that had I let the guy help me, he would have tried to sell me some sessions with him.
Sim stopped by yesterday since we haven't seen each other in a while because of her new job. I wasn't really in the mood for company since me and Jim had been out late the night before and all I wanted to do was lay in bed and order Chinese food. But I was glad to see her anyway plus she has agreed to house sit for us and watch the dogs when we go to Hong Kong on Wednesday. I am getting excited about going. Jim of course will have to work so I'll have 2 days to wander around the city all by myself. I'll probably sign up for a tour to get some ideas and then go back later to all the places I'd like to spend more time at. We have been to China before and enjoyed ourselves in Shanghai but I hear Hong Kong is totally different. I just have to make sure I keep an eye on my wallet and hope I don't have problems with the taxi drivers like I did in Shanghai. Supposedly if they take somewhere, on top of the regular fare some of them will try to charge you a fee so that they can return to where they picked you up at. If that happens to me I will have to learn about their subway system for other means of getting around. We will be gone Wednesday through Sunday so I probably won't write again until we get back and hopefully I will have some good stories to tell plus some new pictures.
Jim found a wireless internet connection at our house so now hopefully my phone calls will sound better than they have in the past. If not I have figured out how to forward my Skype calls to my cell phone so I don't miss anymore calls plus it sounds 100% better only bad thing is I can't do video calls on my cell phone. Hope everyone enjoys their week and I'll post again when we return from our trip.
W
So last week was the same old same old, nothing exciting going on. I didn't even spend that much time up at the mall. I've been going to the gym early in the morning with Jim. I find that if I do this I will go more often since he goes every morning before he goes to work. Otherwise I get up and keep putting it off and then I never go. I'm not sure yet if I like this gym yet. Since we've joined we've received several telemarketing calls from them trying to sell us personal trainer sessions and this morning as I was working on the ab machine one of the staff came over and tried to help me out. First of all I am not a morning person, anyone who knows me knows that untill I have a cup of coffee don't say anything to me. Second, if I wanted the advice of a trainer I would have taken advantage of the 2 free training sessions they gave me when we signed up. I just want to go, work out, and come home. I'm convinced that had I let the guy help me, he would have tried to sell me some sessions with him.
Sim stopped by yesterday since we haven't seen each other in a while because of her new job. I wasn't really in the mood for company since me and Jim had been out late the night before and all I wanted to do was lay in bed and order Chinese food. But I was glad to see her anyway plus she has agreed to house sit for us and watch the dogs when we go to Hong Kong on Wednesday. I am getting excited about going. Jim of course will have to work so I'll have 2 days to wander around the city all by myself. I'll probably sign up for a tour to get some ideas and then go back later to all the places I'd like to spend more time at. We have been to China before and enjoyed ourselves in Shanghai but I hear Hong Kong is totally different. I just have to make sure I keep an eye on my wallet and hope I don't have problems with the taxi drivers like I did in Shanghai. Supposedly if they take somewhere, on top of the regular fare some of them will try to charge you a fee so that they can return to where they picked you up at. If that happens to me I will have to learn about their subway system for other means of getting around. We will be gone Wednesday through Sunday so I probably won't write again until we get back and hopefully I will have some good stories to tell plus some new pictures.
Jim found a wireless internet connection at our house so now hopefully my phone calls will sound better than they have in the past. If not I have figured out how to forward my Skype calls to my cell phone so I don't miss anymore calls plus it sounds 100% better only bad thing is I can't do video calls on my cell phone. Hope everyone enjoys their week and I'll post again when we return from our trip.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Sunday July 6, 2008
Hello, hello, hello! If you haven't seen our new son yet, scroll down a lil bit and meet Sox! I said before that I thought Oso needed a brother so sometime last week after leaving the gym I visited the pet store. There was Sox and his sister just as cute as pie! I fell in love immediately and when Peter, the store clerk took him out of his pen for me he just fell into my arms and showered me with kisses, an instant match. We had to wait a couple of days to bring him home because he is still young but we're really happy to have him all settled in now. He still has a long way to go as far as training goes like last night when we took Oso out for his walk, Sox wanted nothing to do with the leash, he would just lay down in the street until Jim picked him up. Eventually he'll start looking forward to walks just like Oso does. Oso is a little on the jealous side right now but only when he sees me holding or playing with Sox, he doesn't care if Jim holds Sox...Mamma's boy! I would have loved to take Sox's sister home with us too but Jim wasn't having it plus she's a girl. Anyway we are thrilled plus Jim is happy because Sox doesn't bark in the middle of the night, come to think of it, he doesn't bark much at all he just waddles around.
So this past weekend was the 4th of July and it was uneventful. Even though there are many Americans living here there was no advertised celebrations going on. I was a little disappointed, it's like celebrating your birthday by yourself: you want to be happy but there's no one around to share it with. Jim was on a business trip to East Malaysia and a friend of mine Melissa had invited me to go see a Doobie Brothers cover band in Bukit Bintang but by the time Jim got home he didn't feel like driving me so I watched a MTV marathon of Debbie does America. I did manage to have a couple of glasses of wine at Georges, like my own private celebration, and Jim went to City Golf and played on the simulator. I hope everyone else had a good time, I should have had the BBQ where I invited all my Muslim friends but I was afraid they would be scared of the dogs plus I really wanted pork ribs which is a no-no.
Earlier in the week we had dinner at Sim's to celebrate her new job. Yes she has resigned from Georges to get a real job. I'm happy for her but I must admit that I miss not being able to see her when I want. It was me and Jim, Sim's mom and grandparents, Melissa and Kenny ( guy we met on Sim's birthday) and a couple of Sim's mom's friends who are from Denmark. Sim did all the cooking and had a lot to say about her first day of work, mostly complaining about how no one was friendly. I could have told her that considering the number of unfriendly people I've met. We all had a good time plus I think me and Melissa hit it off well. I've met her before but we never really sat down and talked so this gave us the chance and we figured out that we really like each other. She is Chinese but she reminds me of the comedian Margaret Cho from the States, she's really funny. Ever since then we have been texting one another, she doesn't drive here either.
I did have a strange incident happen to me last week. I was at Georges, I think I was writing my last post, I was sitting outside and a man came up to me and asked if I would like to join him and his lady friend. I told him that when I was done writing, maybe, so I did. I can't remember his name but the lady was Brook and she was from Australia and had travelled throughout Asia. The conversation was pleasant enough but then it started getting weird. The guy kept saying to Brook "She's cute, isn't she?" referring to me, and they would look at each other like they were talking with their eyes in code. I started getting a bad vibe, and when Brook went to the bathroom I tried to keep the conversation going. I asked him a couple of questions and his response was very defensive like "Why are you interrogating me?" I apologized and explained that I didn't mean anything by my questions, I was just making conversation. I asked for my bill but the staff at Georges told me that the guy paid my bill. I hadn't ordered anything since coming to sit with them so I didn't think that it was right he picked up my tab so I insisted that he take my money which he took offense to. Finally, I put the money in his shirt pocket and told him to buy some shoes or something with it and they both laughed and he said "My shoes cost more than 120 ringitts", like I insulted him. I quickly said it nice meeting them and goodnight. My impression is this: I think they were swingers and were trying to pick me up. The next day Sim text me to tell me they were in the restaurant again asking for me. Hopefully I will not run into them again, I think it would be awkward.
So that has been my week and I feel pretty good about it, although going to the gym has made me ask myself if it's worth it considering how sore I am. But I really want to stop shopping in the plus size section. Probably won't happen considering I've never been a size 2 or 0 in my life!
So this past weekend was the 4th of July and it was uneventful. Even though there are many Americans living here there was no advertised celebrations going on. I was a little disappointed, it's like celebrating your birthday by yourself: you want to be happy but there's no one around to share it with. Jim was on a business trip to East Malaysia and a friend of mine Melissa had invited me to go see a Doobie Brothers cover band in Bukit Bintang but by the time Jim got home he didn't feel like driving me so I watched a MTV marathon of Debbie does America. I did manage to have a couple of glasses of wine at Georges, like my own private celebration, and Jim went to City Golf and played on the simulator. I hope everyone else had a good time, I should have had the BBQ where I invited all my Muslim friends but I was afraid they would be scared of the dogs plus I really wanted pork ribs which is a no-no.
Earlier in the week we had dinner at Sim's to celebrate her new job. Yes she has resigned from Georges to get a real job. I'm happy for her but I must admit that I miss not being able to see her when I want. It was me and Jim, Sim's mom and grandparents, Melissa and Kenny ( guy we met on Sim's birthday) and a couple of Sim's mom's friends who are from Denmark. Sim did all the cooking and had a lot to say about her first day of work, mostly complaining about how no one was friendly. I could have told her that considering the number of unfriendly people I've met. We all had a good time plus I think me and Melissa hit it off well. I've met her before but we never really sat down and talked so this gave us the chance and we figured out that we really like each other. She is Chinese but she reminds me of the comedian Margaret Cho from the States, she's really funny. Ever since then we have been texting one another, she doesn't drive here either.
I did have a strange incident happen to me last week. I was at Georges, I think I was writing my last post, I was sitting outside and a man came up to me and asked if I would like to join him and his lady friend. I told him that when I was done writing, maybe, so I did. I can't remember his name but the lady was Brook and she was from Australia and had travelled throughout Asia. The conversation was pleasant enough but then it started getting weird. The guy kept saying to Brook "She's cute, isn't she?" referring to me, and they would look at each other like they were talking with their eyes in code. I started getting a bad vibe, and when Brook went to the bathroom I tried to keep the conversation going. I asked him a couple of questions and his response was very defensive like "Why are you interrogating me?" I apologized and explained that I didn't mean anything by my questions, I was just making conversation. I asked for my bill but the staff at Georges told me that the guy paid my bill. I hadn't ordered anything since coming to sit with them so I didn't think that it was right he picked up my tab so I insisted that he take my money which he took offense to. Finally, I put the money in his shirt pocket and told him to buy some shoes or something with it and they both laughed and he said "My shoes cost more than 120 ringitts", like I insulted him. I quickly said it nice meeting them and goodnight. My impression is this: I think they were swingers and were trying to pick me up. The next day Sim text me to tell me they were in the restaurant again asking for me. Hopefully I will not run into them again, I think it would be awkward.
So that has been my week and I feel pretty good about it, although going to the gym has made me ask myself if it's worth it considering how sore I am. But I really want to stop shopping in the plus size section. Probably won't happen considering I've never been a size 2 or 0 in my life!
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