Ahh, Langkawi ( pronounced: Lang-cow-wee )! First let me give you some information about the island itself. Langkawi is a cluster of 99 islands separated from mainland northern Malaysia by the Straits of Malacca. Pulau Langkawi is the main island where we stayed and is only about 15 miles long with a population of around 60, 000 with the locals being mostly Malays. Only 4 of the islands are inhabited with their source of revenue being padi, rubber, fisheries and mainly tourism. So many people travel here from Kuala Lumpur because it is one of the most affordable and closest beach destinations in Malaysia. It's only an hour's plane ride away plus the entire island is duty free which makes for cheap shopping, drinking, eating, & cigarettes. Of course we took advantage of this perk. Even though it's a tourist hot spot and only a ferry ride away from either Thailand or Penang Malaysia, Langkawi is still considered a rural area with 2/3 of the island dominated by rainforest mountains, hills and vegetation. Most of the structures are located next to or nearby one of the many beaches ( or pantai ), with Pantai Cenang being the most popular. We stayed in Pantai Tengah, which wasn't very far from Cenang at the Holiday Villa Resort which has it's own private beach. Most people come for the beaches and of course duty free shopping but a lot also come to go hiking and scuba diving. Everyone knows how I feel about nature so this of course was not on our list of things to do. I was already afraid because of all the stories of jellyfish infestation but fortunately I did not see any. There's also a huge population of eagles, it is not out of the ordinary to have an eagle fly over your head and if you'd like you can take a tour out on a boat and feed them. There's also another island called The Isle of the Pregnant Maiden whose mountain tops look like a pregnant woman lying on her back from a distance. There are several legends and myths of ogres, gigantic birds, warriors, princesses, battles and romance about Langkawi, one of them being about the pregnant maiden. The lake on the island is supposed to have been the favorite bathing place of Princess Putri Dayang Sari, one day a prince Putera Teja saw her and fell in love but he could not win her over. So he asked a wise man what he could do and was told to wash his face with the tears of a mermaid and soon after they were married and she became pregnant. The baby died and that's when the princess found out her marriage was through trickery so she buried her baby in the lake and blessed the water with fertility powers so supposedly if you swim there, you can become pregnant ( I'm assuming men are excluded ). So naturally this is popular place with tourists wanting to have babies.
Our first day we hung out at the beach and eventually made our way to the pool which has a swim-up bar ( Jim's favorite ) and we met 2 girls. Both were traveling alone and had met at the hotel. Becky was from London and on her way home after living for a year in Australia, and Samantha was from New Zealand and was seeing the world. Since both of them had been there for a couple of days we asked about where we could go and so began our friendship. That night we had dinner at the Boat restaurant where we met the owners Tang and Lim who were both funny and good cooks. Tang explained to us the squatting toilets in detail that had us crying with laughter. Next to the Boat was a place called the Reggae House which Becks and Samantha said had a live band so of course we're going to go there! Walking up to it was creepy, it was a long driveway of mud ( it had rained ) and it was dark with forest on either side and then you saw a shack with lights. It was an open-aired bar with Bob Marley posters everywhere and everyone was friendly. I had to use the bathroom so I walked around back and had to turn around because one look at the "facilities" and I decided that I needed an escort. I got Jim, imagine an outhouse with a toilet and running water on a concrete slab but dark and surrounded by jungle. I had to "hover" and "air dry" while Jim held the door closed and kept watch for any snakes or monkeys. The band did not start until after midnight and they were good, not great. It became really interesting when Samantha left and Becks was approached by a local who just sat down at our table, drunk, and started talking to her. He kept falling asleep and waking up talking, it was so funny! He gave Becks a bracelet and we warned her that she should ask if she should pay him for it because nothing is free. He told her it was a gift, and if she returned tomorrow he might have a necklace for her. Next thing you know, the music stopped, the lights were turned on and the bar became quiet. No one said anything and were just looking around wondering what was going on. Becky's admirer got up, grabbed his unopened beer Jim and just bought for him and said goodbye. After about 5 minutes everyone was whispering that the police were in the bar and were checking the bar's documents and everyone's I.D.'s, then after about 15 minutes they rang the bell and said "Last Call!" Our bartender came over and told us that the police were shutting them down because they were open past 1 a.m., but to wait a while and maybe after they left they would stay open, so we ordered 2 rounds and made ourselves comfortable. I mentioned in my last post that the 27th day of Ramadhan was considered especially holy and technically it was the 27th day since it was past midnight so the police were going around and shutting down all the bars that were still open. The police left and the bartender said we could stay but the band was packing up and it was already late for us so we finished our drinks and walked back down the muddy driveway in the dark back to our hotel across the street. Already we were excited to see what else Langkawi had to offer considering our first night theatrics.
The next day Jim and went exploring the shops that lined the main road. I don't know if I could say shops because most were shacks offering everything from batik prints to scooter rentals and island tours. We were looking for a place to have lunch. Most of the eateries were open-aired and offered a variety of food from Malay, to Chinese and American cuisine. We chose the Sunday bistro which looked brand new, chic and most important, clean. The place on the inside looked like an art gallery with various statues and rattan decor. I told Jim I could buy things for our house only to discover that they did have a store in the back, of course it was pricey. After lunch we found the duty-free store and it was like Christmas for Jim. Normally we would pay RM130 ( $40 U.S. ) for a bottle of Capn Morgan in Kuala Lumpur, here it was only RM30 ( $9.50 U.S. )!! We got a couple of bottles to take home and some to drink during our stay. We spent the rest of the day lounging at the pool bar because the weather had turned and it was cloudy and rainy. That night we met up with Samantha and Becks and had dinner again at the Boat then walked down the street to a place called the Sunbah. Jim and I had discovered it that afternoon but it was not open during the day. It's in a stripmall that one person owns and in addition to the bar there are 2 other restaurants, one I know is called SunKumatra and the other Sun-something I can't remember. The great thing about Langkawi is that it's a party every night. If a place has a band on Friday and Saturday, they have a band Sunday thru Thursday too. Sunbah has a tiki hut feel to it with concrete floors and wooden tables and chairs and a mock thatch roof. They also had a live band and the atmosphere quickly became lively once they started playing. It also became our favorite place to hang out in for the rest of our trip since somehow no matter where me and Jim go, we end up being known by everyone and become "celebrities". Becky again was extremely popular with the men and soon had admirers coming up to her wanting to buy her drinks and dance. We ended up telling everyone Jim was her brother since he is such a big guy, the admirers seemed hesitant to approach her. We met a guy named Sam who was British but had lived in Santa Barbara for a while and we eventually figured out that Sam was "that guy". You know what I mean, "that guy" who everyone knows, who has connections, who has information about anything, who can get you WHATEVER you want?. He invited us to his party on Monday and he and Jim clicked immediately. We ended up going back with him that night to his house for an "after party" and his house was definitely prepared for a party anytime. He had bottles on top of bottles of liquor, cases of water, juice, red bull, beer, you name it, he had it, except diet coke. Becky came with us, Samantha had left Sunbah a while ago because she was leaving Langkawi the next day and was on her way to Hong Kong. Here's where I'll have to be vague because I'm not sure who will be reading but short version: Sam drove, we almost hit some pedestrians, had a few drinks, I'm sure there were some unmentionables floating around, decided it was getting late, Sam drove us back, plopped into bed sometime after 6 a.m. Whew!! End of 2nd day...it's only been 2 days!!
The next couple of days we basically did the same thing: sleep, go to the beach, eat, and then go to the Sunbah at night. The next story I'll have to change the names, again because I don't know who's reading. Unexpectedly, we had a friend fly in from KL, we'll call her Lori. We met Lori at the airport because Langkawi only has one ATM in town and it was broken so we had to go all the way back to the airport to get cash. Lori had another friend, we'll call her Tish, picking her up from the airport so she agreed to pick us all up. As soon as we met her, I knew she was a lil wacky and "out there". We're driving back to our hotel and all of a sudden she slams on her brakes and pulls over. Now, we're out in the country on a dark road and I have no idea what's going on. Tish, jumps out of the car and disappears. I look at Jim like "what the hell?". She returns and she's holding 2 kittens. Somehow she saw them in the middle of the road and decided to rescue them. So instead of going back to our hotel as planned, we had to go to Tish's house to drop off the kittens. Tish does not have a house, she has a compound, there's all this land with 3 or 4 houses built that she owns. There are other people there, all preparing the dinner for the big Hari Raya celebration. Her house again is like a tiki hut but bigger, the living room is actually a covered porch with a pool table, couches, chairs, tv, and refridgerator. Everyone welcomes us with open arms and then it dawns on me that they are Muslim, but I'm confused because they are all drinking and Tish has like 3 dogs which I thought were a no-no. Lori doesn't say much about how she knows Tish, just that she is a friend from KL but somewhere during our stay I hear something about Tish being the wife of a Malaysian politician. WHAT!! It was never confirmed so I'm not sure if it was true. She did apparently have some influence because we spent a couple of days partying with her and once when she went on the dance floor at the Sunbah, all the men cleared the dance floor for her. We also spent Hari Raya with her and ate some of the best food I've ever had along with some Moet champagne.
So the rest of our vacation we spent enjoying all of our new friends. We never did make it to Sam's party. We heard through the grapevine that he is a hustler of sorts and if he asked Jim for investment money to just say no. We ended up staying 2 extra days because we weren't ready to leave, it was just that fun! Jim has plans to spend Christmas in Langkawi and that's fine by me even though it will be peak season, I'm sure we made impressions there and everyone will instantly recognize us once we return. In the meantime, we're back to our daily routines, I think our bodies have detoxed all the Capn Morgan we drank, and now we're looking forward to our trip home in November. So much for "what happens in Langkawi, stays in Langkawi!".
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Saturday October 4, 2008
So we have returned from Langkawi!! We are tanned, dehydrated, tired, lazy, but unregrettful. Sorry this post will be short. I am in the process of trying to remember everything we did and all the new people that we met, plus download the pics that I did manage to take, and with the Malaysian internet this can be a chore. So I'm off to a mall where the internet is better and work on my new project. Trust me it will be worth the wait, lots to tell! So much, I think Jim has forgotten that he is now 34!! Stay tuned.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Friday September 19, 2008
Selamat Ramadhan, Selamat Hari Raya!! Yes, we are in the midst of "holiday" season here. Let me start with Ramadhan, it is the month of fasting where Muslims around the world abstain from food, drink, smoking, and sex from dawn to dusk ( for some reason when I ask, everyone always mentions the sex part...didn't know the people here really enjoyed afternoon "quickies" ). Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of the religion and one of the highest forms of worshipping. Abstinence from earthly pleasures and desires is regarded as an act of obediance and submission as well as atonement for sins. It starts in the 9th month of the Islamic calendar although the date changes every year according to the moon, an Imam ( holy man ) will declare the exact date. So early in the morning families will have a meal ( Sahur ) before the sun comes up and then pray, throughout the day when they show signs of thirst or hunger ( or horniness) they will pray and then after sunset they have a meal ( Buka Puasa ) and pray again, five prayers total p/day. Ramadhan lasts a month but the last 10 days are considered highly blessed especially the 27th day which is called the "Night of Destiny". It is believed that on this day Muhammed received the first revelation of the Qur'an, subsequently during the 30 days of Ramadhan, the entire Qur'an is read aloud in the mosques. In addition to fasting Muslims are encouraged to help the needy and homeless financially and emotionally because they feel their reward will be 70 times greater ( don't ask, I don't know how they came up with 70 ). At the end of of the month is a celebration called Eid-ul-Fitr also known as Hari Raya.
Hari Raya means "Celebration day of Fasting", to me it's like Christmas for Muslims. At the end of 30 days everyone gets together in their new clothes, exchange gifts, go to mosque, and then have feasts. All of the malls have promotions, decorations, and play Hari Raya music. People also do renovations on their homes during Ramadhan so they can be ready when their families come to celebrate Hari Raya ( we have about 5 homes around us that are construction zones ), so much for giving up earthly pleasures. I don't mind all of it, I get some good deals when I go shopping because of it all plus when they're done for some reason, everyone gets into the Christmas spirit. Muslims don't celebrate Christmas but from what I've heard they do exchange presents.
Now back to our life. Oso is a fixed man now with clean teeth. He had his "surgery" and seems to be doing better although his patience with Sox is thinner now. I feel bad for him but I know it's all for the best. Jim had a first last week. He was driving somewhere and got pulled over for talking on his cell phone without a headset. He didn't have his passport or license so the officer had to call his supervisor over. He started explaining to Jim how much he was going to have to pay in fines and such so Jim asked what could they do to fix the "problem", he had already taken some money out of his wallet and was holding it discreetly close to the inside of the car door. The supervisor whispered for Jim to hold the money lower, then the supervisor said "You can buy me a drink sometime" and took the money, then sent Jim on his way. Jim's first bribe! I thought it was funny. Something not so funny was the other night we were watching tv downstairs and we had the patio door open so the dogs could in and out when all of a sudden I saw something fly into the house. Everyone knows that I hate bugs and lizards, but this was a bat! I freaked out and laid down on the floor. Jim was like "What's wrong!" and I'm like "There's a bat in the house!". Next thing you know we're both on the floor crawling until we can run upstairs and locked ourselves in the bedroom. I had just seen an Ellen show where a man had a Malaysian bat on and all I remember him saying was that they could get so big where their wing span would be 6 feet long! We waited for a while and then I sent Jim downstairs to check everything out. Thankfully the bat found it's way back outside but nowadays when I go outside I'm checking every corner for flying rodents.
So that's been whats happening with us. Only other thing I can think of is recently we were warned of upcoming riots. Apparently the political opposition says that they have enough members to take over the government. Odd enough, they announced the date they were planning the riots to everyone but at the last minute it was changed and rescheduled. I don't know, if I was planning a coup I don't know if I would call up the newspapers and announce it, wouldn't you want it to be a surprise? Rest assured that we are keeping up with the updates so we can avoid going out when it does happen, if it happens, although a lot of people have told Jim that no one will riot in Bangsar where we live. Supposedly this is an affluential area so we should be safe. I'll let you know. We have also booked some flights home so we'll be seeing everyone soon enough plus we'll be in Langkawi next weekend for Jim's birthday. I probably won't post anything until we come back and hopefully I'll have some delightful stories to tell.
Hari Raya means "Celebration day of Fasting", to me it's like Christmas for Muslims. At the end of 30 days everyone gets together in their new clothes, exchange gifts, go to mosque, and then have feasts. All of the malls have promotions, decorations, and play Hari Raya music. People also do renovations on their homes during Ramadhan so they can be ready when their families come to celebrate Hari Raya ( we have about 5 homes around us that are construction zones ), so much for giving up earthly pleasures. I don't mind all of it, I get some good deals when I go shopping because of it all plus when they're done for some reason, everyone gets into the Christmas spirit. Muslims don't celebrate Christmas but from what I've heard they do exchange presents.
Now back to our life. Oso is a fixed man now with clean teeth. He had his "surgery" and seems to be doing better although his patience with Sox is thinner now. I feel bad for him but I know it's all for the best. Jim had a first last week. He was driving somewhere and got pulled over for talking on his cell phone without a headset. He didn't have his passport or license so the officer had to call his supervisor over. He started explaining to Jim how much he was going to have to pay in fines and such so Jim asked what could they do to fix the "problem", he had already taken some money out of his wallet and was holding it discreetly close to the inside of the car door. The supervisor whispered for Jim to hold the money lower, then the supervisor said "You can buy me a drink sometime" and took the money, then sent Jim on his way. Jim's first bribe! I thought it was funny. Something not so funny was the other night we were watching tv downstairs and we had the patio door open so the dogs could in and out when all of a sudden I saw something fly into the house. Everyone knows that I hate bugs and lizards, but this was a bat! I freaked out and laid down on the floor. Jim was like "What's wrong!" and I'm like "There's a bat in the house!". Next thing you know we're both on the floor crawling until we can run upstairs and locked ourselves in the bedroom. I had just seen an Ellen show where a man had a Malaysian bat on and all I remember him saying was that they could get so big where their wing span would be 6 feet long! We waited for a while and then I sent Jim downstairs to check everything out. Thankfully the bat found it's way back outside but nowadays when I go outside I'm checking every corner for flying rodents.
So that's been whats happening with us. Only other thing I can think of is recently we were warned of upcoming riots. Apparently the political opposition says that they have enough members to take over the government. Odd enough, they announced the date they were planning the riots to everyone but at the last minute it was changed and rescheduled. I don't know, if I was planning a coup I don't know if I would call up the newspapers and announce it, wouldn't you want it to be a surprise? Rest assured that we are keeping up with the updates so we can avoid going out when it does happen, if it happens, although a lot of people have told Jim that no one will riot in Bangsar where we live. Supposedly this is an affluential area so we should be safe. I'll let you know. We have also booked some flights home so we'll be seeing everyone soon enough plus we'll be in Langkawi next weekend for Jim's birthday. I probably won't post anything until we come back and hopefully I'll have some delightful stories to tell.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Friday September 5, 2008
Well right now I am at G&D with Mel hanging out while she does a photo shoot for the new menu they have rolled out recently. I decided to come up and offer some of my advice to her and to keep her company. My activities have been limited this week due to a foot sprain. Last weekend Sim and I went for massages which I was really looking forward to because I really enjoyed the last one. Unfortunately for me I did not get the same masseuse. This time I had an Indonesian woman who gave me an Indonesian massage which consisted of her walking on my back ( which honestly felt great!), twisting my arms and legs in ways I didn't think they could go, and most painfully of all: torturing my feet. I swear she had my feet in a pair of vice grips! And even though I was yelling and screaming in pain she kept going. Funny thing was she asked Sim if she was hurting me! So my reaction was "No I always scream this loud when I feel good!". She said that she could tell by touching my feet that I have a lot of internal problems and she was trying to work the "stones" out of my feet. My reply was that I'm aware of my internal problems and unless she was going to cure me in an afternoon, I'd live with them. The entire massage wasn't complete torture, just when she touched my feet, I swear her thumbs are made of steel. After all that pain we decided to treat ourselves to an indulgent lunch at the Telawi St. Bistro. Sim and I sipped Moet champagne, nibbled on some wonderful tapas, and indulged in Thai chicken & asparagus risotto. It was a lot of fun, and we got to catch up because Sim has been traveling with her job lately so it hasn't afforded us a lot of time to spend together. And that's when we decided to continue our afternoon at her house in the pool.
We got Jim to come along, originally he and I were supposed to go to a movie ( it dawned on us one day that we hadn't been to the movie theater since we got here and thought we would enjoy the experience even though the movies are censored to high hell ) but he wanted to go swimming. We taught Sim how to play Spades and she picked it up pretty quick. There is a swim up table and stools in her pool so we were playing there and drinking when I fell over the side! I didn't see the step that leads into the main pool and I banged my foot. I didn't think anything of it until we got home later and it was swollen. So all this week I've been limping around while my foot changes colors. Everyone thinks I need an x-ray but I've injured myself enough to know when I've broken a bone or not. We have learned that Malaysians will go to the doctor for any reason whatsoever so of course my friends want me to go and see someone.
So that's why I haven't really done anything this week, plus for some reason even though it's not the rainy season yet, it has been raining cats and dogs everyday. I really hope that it clears up by the time we go to Langkawi in a couple of weeks. I would hate to be at the beach and not be able to enjoy the sun and surf. I also know that I have missed some birthdays and I'm sorry but everyone knows by now how I feel about the post office here. Jim has also decided to apply for a new position here, if he gets it he would become the director and of course that would extend our time in Kuala Lumpur, I also suspect it would require more of his time and right now I'm feeling selfish because of a crisis that happened at one of the warehouses I haven't seen too much of him lately. He is trying very hard to not make me feel neglected but I know he has to do what he has to do and I'm fortunate to have some friends to help occupy my time as well as the dogs. Speaking of the dogs, Oso has really taken a liking to Sox, I mean REALLY taken a liking to Sox, like in a boyfriend-boyfriend kind of way. I had to separate them for a couple of days and now I think the worst is over but poor Oso has an appointment this weekend so we can strip him of his manhood. Til next time...
We got Jim to come along, originally he and I were supposed to go to a movie ( it dawned on us one day that we hadn't been to the movie theater since we got here and thought we would enjoy the experience even though the movies are censored to high hell ) but he wanted to go swimming. We taught Sim how to play Spades and she picked it up pretty quick. There is a swim up table and stools in her pool so we were playing there and drinking when I fell over the side! I didn't see the step that leads into the main pool and I banged my foot. I didn't think anything of it until we got home later and it was swollen. So all this week I've been limping around while my foot changes colors. Everyone thinks I need an x-ray but I've injured myself enough to know when I've broken a bone or not. We have learned that Malaysians will go to the doctor for any reason whatsoever so of course my friends want me to go and see someone.
So that's why I haven't really done anything this week, plus for some reason even though it's not the rainy season yet, it has been raining cats and dogs everyday. I really hope that it clears up by the time we go to Langkawi in a couple of weeks. I would hate to be at the beach and not be able to enjoy the sun and surf. I also know that I have missed some birthdays and I'm sorry but everyone knows by now how I feel about the post office here. Jim has also decided to apply for a new position here, if he gets it he would become the director and of course that would extend our time in Kuala Lumpur, I also suspect it would require more of his time and right now I'm feeling selfish because of a crisis that happened at one of the warehouses I haven't seen too much of him lately. He is trying very hard to not make me feel neglected but I know he has to do what he has to do and I'm fortunate to have some friends to help occupy my time as well as the dogs. Speaking of the dogs, Oso has really taken a liking to Sox, I mean REALLY taken a liking to Sox, like in a boyfriend-boyfriend kind of way. I had to separate them for a couple of days and now I think the worst is over but poor Oso has an appointment this weekend so we can strip him of his manhood. Til next time...
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Sunday August, 24, 2008
It's a nice, cool, Sunday evening and we just finished watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympic games. The games is one of the reasons why I haven't posted in a while, we've been watching quite a bit. The satellite company here Astro developed 10 interactive channels specifically for the event. There is a red button on the remote control and if you pressed that twice then you would get a screen showing all the events taking place and then you can select the one you want to watch full screen. It was pretty cool especially since we're on the same time zone as Beijing. I don't think I've ever watched this much Olympic coverage in my life. Even though the Chinese dominated the games it was full of drama as well.
We haven't really been up to anything special lately. Jim has been dealing with a crisis at work the last couple of weeks so I haven't really seen all that much of him. Sim was working in Penang, which is north of Kuala Lumpur all last week so I was without my homie until she returned on the weekend. That just leaves Mel, who I talk to on the phone at least once a day and text message constantly. I had a couple of doctor's appointments just for check ups on my diabetes and everything seems to be well in that respect. Friday night Sim spent the night after keeping me out late til 5 am, then Mel spent the night on Saturday after a relaxing evening at City Golf. Jim has met a group of Americans who play poker twice a month so he invited them to join him in a fantasy football league. No one here besides Americans understands the NFL and it's pointless to even try and explain it to them. To them it's all about the soccor or cricket field which I just can't seem to get into. I'm not sure yet what Jim is working on so somehow, some way we can see the games. It would be great if we could, it would be just weird going through September to February without it...
I have managed to book us a trip to Langkawi next month for Jim's birthday. It's one of the popular island destinations in Malaysia, and it's duty free so supposedly everything is cheap. Even thought we live in a tropical site, where we live it's mostly like a city built in the middle of the rainforest so I'm really excited about going to a beach where we can snorkel, jet ski, drink little cocktails with umbrellas hanging off them. Should be a good time. I've decided to board the dogs because of the last incident with a house sitter. It's worth it just to be able to come home and relax instead of cleaning and mopping for 5 hours.
My brother Nicholas who is in Baghdad has encountered his first casualty of the war. He lost his platoon sergeant this past week and I know it's really bothering him. I would like to ask everyone to continue to pray for his safety as well as his sanity. I know it can't be easy for him and he does hide it well. We all would just like to see all of our troops return home safely to their families. Thank you and God bless.
We haven't really been up to anything special lately. Jim has been dealing with a crisis at work the last couple of weeks so I haven't really seen all that much of him. Sim was working in Penang, which is north of Kuala Lumpur all last week so I was without my homie until she returned on the weekend. That just leaves Mel, who I talk to on the phone at least once a day and text message constantly. I had a couple of doctor's appointments just for check ups on my diabetes and everything seems to be well in that respect. Friday night Sim spent the night after keeping me out late til 5 am, then Mel spent the night on Saturday after a relaxing evening at City Golf. Jim has met a group of Americans who play poker twice a month so he invited them to join him in a fantasy football league. No one here besides Americans understands the NFL and it's pointless to even try and explain it to them. To them it's all about the soccor or cricket field which I just can't seem to get into. I'm not sure yet what Jim is working on so somehow, some way we can see the games. It would be great if we could, it would be just weird going through September to February without it...
I have managed to book us a trip to Langkawi next month for Jim's birthday. It's one of the popular island destinations in Malaysia, and it's duty free so supposedly everything is cheap. Even thought we live in a tropical site, where we live it's mostly like a city built in the middle of the rainforest so I'm really excited about going to a beach where we can snorkel, jet ski, drink little cocktails with umbrellas hanging off them. Should be a good time. I've decided to board the dogs because of the last incident with a house sitter. It's worth it just to be able to come home and relax instead of cleaning and mopping for 5 hours.
My brother Nicholas who is in Baghdad has encountered his first casualty of the war. He lost his platoon sergeant this past week and I know it's really bothering him. I would like to ask everyone to continue to pray for his safety as well as his sanity. I know it can't be easy for him and he does hide it well. We all would just like to see all of our troops return home safely to their families. Thank you and God bless.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Thursday August 7, 2008
Well right now I am supposed to be grocery shopping but one of our afternoon downpours came so I find myself back in front of my computer. A few weeks ago Jim found a wi-fi connection that was great and I could use my laptop downstairs but alas! We've been discovered and blocked so I'm back to using the desktop upstairs. One day we will get our connection improved so in the mean time I'm still going to G&D if I need to make phone calls.
Last Friday was the 80's party at Finnegans. I invited Sim and Scott over to our house for dinner before we left and so we could all get dressed up in our costumes. Sim was indecisive as ever on what she should wear so I had to help her out. I gave her a corset and told her to wear her bra over it like Madonna. She was hesitant at first but she went for it and then decided to cover it all up with one of Jim's shirts tied in a knot. I went all out! Oversized shirt layered over a tank top, big white belt, headband, neon pink earrings, leggings, fishnet socks with ballerina shoes. I look ridiculous! But it was all in spirit for what was to come. Jim did the layered polo shirts with the collars stuck up complete with jeans rolled up at the bottom, suspenders, and a bandana wrapped around his wrist and sunglasses, very Corey Haim I must say. So off we go! We get there and the place is completely packed! We could barely walk through the crowd as we were looking for Melissa, one thing we did notice was that no one else was dressed up besides us and the staff! That just made me look more ridiculous. People were staring at us, especially Sim with her purple wig on, looking like we just stepped off of a spaceship. We made the best of it anyway.
Finnegans was having an air guitar competition and I sorta coaxed Jim and Sim into entering. They did pretty good, Jim pulled a muscle in his thigh, Sim stayed in rythmn and we all laughed. Jim came in 3rd place and received 300 ringitts worth of male spa services which he'll never use. The pub was so hot that we were all sweating through our costumes and going outside was no better. The winner of the air guitar contest was a guy who stripped completely naked in the pub! I was getting drinks for everyone and suddenly everyone started cheering and clapping so I turned around and all I saw was someone's ass on the dance floor! I ran over and lo and behold there was a naked guy. I missed it all! I'm really pissed because I videotaped Jim and Sim but after they were done is when I went to the bar. I think Jim would have won had the other guy not stripped down to his birthday suit but you can't argue with NAKED! I won first place for best dressed 80's person which means that I also got spa treatments that I will probably use since Sim has introduced me to 2 hour massages. She took me last weekend and it was great! The 2 hours went by so fast I didn't want it to end. Kinda weird though, the masseuse asked if I wanted my belly rubbed so I said yes, next thing I know she's rubbing my breasts and I'm thinking "That's not my belly!" but when in Malaysia...
So tonight we're all headed off to a restaurant called Rumours. Melissa like a mentioned is a PR manager for the Finnegans Group and Rumours is part of that. She is treating us all to dinner and drinks so she can take photos to put on the restaurant website. Imagine, me and Jim representing a place we've never been to! What if we hate the food? Are we supposed to smile and act like we're having a good time. I'm not worried because Scott and Sim are joining us along with Mel and Kenny and all of them are funny and we always have a good time. I'll let you know the website so everyone can see when it's published.
This weekend we are having "Girls Day Out". Me, Sim, and Mel ( I think from now on whenever I say "we" I'll be referring to the three mentioned because it's too long to type ) are going for breakfast on Saturday, then fish pedicures, then eyebrow threading and then up to City Golf. Sim and Mel have never been there and I think it would be a good place for them to meet guys. Yes, I'm playing match maker, there's no reason why Jim and I should be the only fun couple in the bunch and Scott's wife works in Saudi Arabia so she can't very well join us. If it happens, great then I can take credit for it, if not then at least we can have another good time!!
Last Friday was the 80's party at Finnegans. I invited Sim and Scott over to our house for dinner before we left and so we could all get dressed up in our costumes. Sim was indecisive as ever on what she should wear so I had to help her out. I gave her a corset and told her to wear her bra over it like Madonna. She was hesitant at first but she went for it and then decided to cover it all up with one of Jim's shirts tied in a knot. I went all out! Oversized shirt layered over a tank top, big white belt, headband, neon pink earrings, leggings, fishnet socks with ballerina shoes. I look ridiculous! But it was all in spirit for what was to come. Jim did the layered polo shirts with the collars stuck up complete with jeans rolled up at the bottom, suspenders, and a bandana wrapped around his wrist and sunglasses, very Corey Haim I must say. So off we go! We get there and the place is completely packed! We could barely walk through the crowd as we were looking for Melissa, one thing we did notice was that no one else was dressed up besides us and the staff! That just made me look more ridiculous. People were staring at us, especially Sim with her purple wig on, looking like we just stepped off of a spaceship. We made the best of it anyway.
Finnegans was having an air guitar competition and I sorta coaxed Jim and Sim into entering. They did pretty good, Jim pulled a muscle in his thigh, Sim stayed in rythmn and we all laughed. Jim came in 3rd place and received 300 ringitts worth of male spa services which he'll never use. The pub was so hot that we were all sweating through our costumes and going outside was no better. The winner of the air guitar contest was a guy who stripped completely naked in the pub! I was getting drinks for everyone and suddenly everyone started cheering and clapping so I turned around and all I saw was someone's ass on the dance floor! I ran over and lo and behold there was a naked guy. I missed it all! I'm really pissed because I videotaped Jim and Sim but after they were done is when I went to the bar. I think Jim would have won had the other guy not stripped down to his birthday suit but you can't argue with NAKED! I won first place for best dressed 80's person which means that I also got spa treatments that I will probably use since Sim has introduced me to 2 hour massages. She took me last weekend and it was great! The 2 hours went by so fast I didn't want it to end. Kinda weird though, the masseuse asked if I wanted my belly rubbed so I said yes, next thing I know she's rubbing my breasts and I'm thinking "That's not my belly!" but when in Malaysia...
So tonight we're all headed off to a restaurant called Rumours. Melissa like a mentioned is a PR manager for the Finnegans Group and Rumours is part of that. She is treating us all to dinner and drinks so she can take photos to put on the restaurant website. Imagine, me and Jim representing a place we've never been to! What if we hate the food? Are we supposed to smile and act like we're having a good time. I'm not worried because Scott and Sim are joining us along with Mel and Kenny and all of them are funny and we always have a good time. I'll let you know the website so everyone can see when it's published.
This weekend we are having "Girls Day Out". Me, Sim, and Mel ( I think from now on whenever I say "we" I'll be referring to the three mentioned because it's too long to type ) are going for breakfast on Saturday, then fish pedicures, then eyebrow threading and then up to City Golf. Sim and Mel have never been there and I think it would be a good place for them to meet guys. Yes, I'm playing match maker, there's no reason why Jim and I should be the only fun couple in the bunch and Scott's wife works in Saudi Arabia so she can't very well join us. If it happens, great then I can take credit for it, if not then at least we can have another good time!!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Friday August 1, 2008
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!!
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 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!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sunday June 29th, 2008
So I was all excited about my weekend and it was for nothing. I mean we were out and about but nothing special. Friday night I decided to something special for my husband since he finally bought our tv for the living room and Astro ( the one and only television provider in all of Malaysia...talk about a monopoly!) came out to the house and hooked up our service. By the way, the reason it took so long for us to get a television for our living room is because Jim is in charge of the LG warehouse and they promised him a discount by buying direct from them, so it took about 2 months for them to provide a list of models we could choose from and then Jim had to comparison shop in the mall for the best deal. Once he paid them, they delivered the tv right to him and he brought it home in the back of his HOOPTie ( that's what I'm calling it now since it's been in the shop more times than I've been to the doctor. ) While the installers were in the house I had them move our other tv from the guest bedroom to our master bedroom ( don't worry if we get a good deal on an extra tv we still have the wiring in that room so our guests can watch tv.) but when I asked them to do the extra work, the installation fee damn near tripled! It was a flat rate for the extra decoder box and then to move the box we already had that cost twice as much and then for some reason because the tv downstairs is larger, it needed a lightning bolt protection something or other which was about the same price as moving our original satellite box. Of course since the installer was an independent contractor he wanted cash but I wasn't expecting all of the additional costs so while they were doing there work I ran up to mall to use the ATM just to find that both machines ( only 2 in the entire mall ) were out of order so I had to forge my husband's signature on a check. Hopefully it will not bounce considering the episode of the stolen check from our wallet. So anyway, that was the long version, the short version is I made Jim lasagna and brownies for his reward and later on Friday night I came up to George's to visit with Sim. Exciting...huh?
So Saturday came and instead of waiting until Sunday, Jim went up to City Golf for a couple of hours. I was planning on meeting him up there but after I did some laundry and cooked my new favorite ramen noodle dish I was full and sleepy so I took a nap. When I woke up, for no reason at all I was irritated, I don't know if it's because when I walked around the house I could tell what room Jim had been in, or the construction noises that are continuous around our house or if Oso's barking at all the noise was bothering me, but needless to say I wasn't in the greatest of moods and Jim knew right away to tread carefully around me. He suggested we go to Outback for dinner down in the Village since we haven't been there yet. Their menu is slightly different than the restaurants in the States, like instead of real bacon they serve beef bacon which totally changes the flavor of the food. And as usual when we ordered soup and salad to start with, they brought everything out at the same time. The odd thing was while we were eating dinner we could hear like a flock of birds above us and all of a sudden one fell from the trees smack into the pavement. At first I didn't pay it any attention until I noticed that it didn't get up and fly away. It's back was turned to me and for a moment it looked like it was headless but Jim pointed out that it probably broke its neck when it fell and that's why its head was at an awkward position. Since it fell on the pathway leading up the entrance of Bangsar Village mall a security guard came over with a piece of plastic and picked it up and threw it into some bushes. I felt so bad for the bird and even after we finished dinner, went to Dinty's and shot some pool, checked out a gym ( which we joined, for some reason Jim has put on 7 lbs since we moved into our house, I think it's from eating curry for lunch.) the bird was still on the sidewalk fluttering about trying to fly away while a kitten was stalking nearby. So sad, if I had the heart I would have put it out of it's misery.
So now it's Sunday and we awoke to a very gloomy, overcast day. It's been raining off and on all day. We did manage to make it to Mid-Valley mall ( the location of my robbery) because I needed a vacumn cleaner. I've decided that my house is too big to try and sweep everyday considering that Oso sheds and it's a pain in the butt to try to get it all up. Jim also decided that I need wireless headphones for the tv downstairs. Because our house is made up mostly of concrete, marble and tile floors, there is an echo through the house and when I came home from George's the other night he could hear the Asian Food Channel upstairs as though he was watching it in our bedroom. The cool thing about the mall is the parking garages, they have car washes in the parking garage so while you shop your car is getting cleaned and afterwards they will park it for you...pretty cool, why hasn't anyone in the States thought of this? I also bought a new Ipod since I can't find my other one, which makes me angry because Jim gave it to me for a birthday present and had it engraved. Hopefully I will be able to transfer my music library into the new device. Jim also got his hair cut and the place we went to was definitely a first for us. It advertised a haircut for 13 Ringitt in 13 minutes. When you walked in there was a machine that you fed your money into, much like a change machine, once you did that you received a ticket and you sat on a sensored bench. Depending on the number of people waiting for a haircut, there was a traffic light that signaled the wait time. If the light was green, it meant that your wait time was nothing. If the light was yellow, you'll have to wait 5-10 min. If the light was red, your wait time was 15 min. or more. If you didn't purchase a ticket you couldn't sit on the bench because then you would throw off the wait time which was displayed in the window of the salon for other customers to see passing by. They even advertised an air wash shampoo system which was basically them applying a vacumn cleaner to your head to get rid of all the cut hairs. Great idea for a salon especially for customers like Jim who just want to get their hair cut, no conversation, no shampoo ( he doesn't appreciate the neck massages like I do ) and get the heck out of there. I wish I would have brought my camera, I'm sure he'll go back next time he needs a haircut.
After that we came home, went to George's because I thought Sim was working but she wasn't ( She called in on a family emergency which was taking her mom to see Beauty and the Beast on ice.), Jim went home early and I talked to some of my family because I've been out of touch for a while because of my internet connections. So I am attempting to write as frequently as I was before but don't get your hopes up, I've just been inspired lately and I hate to disappoint.
So Saturday came and instead of waiting until Sunday, Jim went up to City Golf for a couple of hours. I was planning on meeting him up there but after I did some laundry and cooked my new favorite ramen noodle dish I was full and sleepy so I took a nap. When I woke up, for no reason at all I was irritated, I don't know if it's because when I walked around the house I could tell what room Jim had been in, or the construction noises that are continuous around our house or if Oso's barking at all the noise was bothering me, but needless to say I wasn't in the greatest of moods and Jim knew right away to tread carefully around me. He suggested we go to Outback for dinner down in the Village since we haven't been there yet. Their menu is slightly different than the restaurants in the States, like instead of real bacon they serve beef bacon which totally changes the flavor of the food. And as usual when we ordered soup and salad to start with, they brought everything out at the same time. The odd thing was while we were eating dinner we could hear like a flock of birds above us and all of a sudden one fell from the trees smack into the pavement. At first I didn't pay it any attention until I noticed that it didn't get up and fly away. It's back was turned to me and for a moment it looked like it was headless but Jim pointed out that it probably broke its neck when it fell and that's why its head was at an awkward position. Since it fell on the pathway leading up the entrance of Bangsar Village mall a security guard came over with a piece of plastic and picked it up and threw it into some bushes. I felt so bad for the bird and even after we finished dinner, went to Dinty's and shot some pool, checked out a gym ( which we joined, for some reason Jim has put on 7 lbs since we moved into our house, I think it's from eating curry for lunch.) the bird was still on the sidewalk fluttering about trying to fly away while a kitten was stalking nearby. So sad, if I had the heart I would have put it out of it's misery.
So now it's Sunday and we awoke to a very gloomy, overcast day. It's been raining off and on all day. We did manage to make it to Mid-Valley mall ( the location of my robbery) because I needed a vacumn cleaner. I've decided that my house is too big to try and sweep everyday considering that Oso sheds and it's a pain in the butt to try to get it all up. Jim also decided that I need wireless headphones for the tv downstairs. Because our house is made up mostly of concrete, marble and tile floors, there is an echo through the house and when I came home from George's the other night he could hear the Asian Food Channel upstairs as though he was watching it in our bedroom. The cool thing about the mall is the parking garages, they have car washes in the parking garage so while you shop your car is getting cleaned and afterwards they will park it for you...pretty cool, why hasn't anyone in the States thought of this? I also bought a new Ipod since I can't find my other one, which makes me angry because Jim gave it to me for a birthday present and had it engraved. Hopefully I will be able to transfer my music library into the new device. Jim also got his hair cut and the place we went to was definitely a first for us. It advertised a haircut for 13 Ringitt in 13 minutes. When you walked in there was a machine that you fed your money into, much like a change machine, once you did that you received a ticket and you sat on a sensored bench. Depending on the number of people waiting for a haircut, there was a traffic light that signaled the wait time. If the light was green, it meant that your wait time was nothing. If the light was yellow, you'll have to wait 5-10 min. If the light was red, your wait time was 15 min. or more. If you didn't purchase a ticket you couldn't sit on the bench because then you would throw off the wait time which was displayed in the window of the salon for other customers to see passing by. They even advertised an air wash shampoo system which was basically them applying a vacumn cleaner to your head to get rid of all the cut hairs. Great idea for a salon especially for customers like Jim who just want to get their hair cut, no conversation, no shampoo ( he doesn't appreciate the neck massages like I do ) and get the heck out of there. I wish I would have brought my camera, I'm sure he'll go back next time he needs a haircut.
After that we came home, went to George's because I thought Sim was working but she wasn't ( She called in on a family emergency which was taking her mom to see Beauty and the Beast on ice.), Jim went home early and I talked to some of my family because I've been out of touch for a while because of my internet connections. So I am attempting to write as frequently as I was before but don't get your hopes up, I've just been inspired lately and I hate to disappoint.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Friday June 27, 2008
I welcome the upcoming weekend, this past week just seemed to fly by and I didn't even do anything special. Jim did his thing: wake up at 5:30, get dressed, get online for a little bit and then leave for work around 7 am. Go to work, sit in meetings, meet with clients, wonder how DHL has stayed in business so long. Drive home, sit in traffic, curse out some motorbikes ( I found out this is the proper term for scooters, they don't like it when you call them scooters ), get home, eat dinner, watch a lil tv, walk the dog and then read a book until he falls asleep. Me, a couple of times this week I strayed away from Oprah and Ellen. I think the urge to get out and do things is taking hold.
Sim came and picked me up one day because I mentioned to her that we were looking for a brother for Oso and her friend Pri, her mother had rescued 2 puppies and was looking for homes for them. The house was absolutely gorgeous!! It was situated at the top of a hill but the front was covered with tall palm trees and other tropical flowers. Once you got past the gate and walked past the carport there was a 2 story house that looked like something out of a travel guide. It was Balinese style so lots of dark wood and a pool that ran the entire length of the house, big exposed walls from the living room and dining room so you could just jump right in the pool from the living room. It was awesome! The dogs were cute, but I couldn't take them because they were both girls and Pri's mom did not want to separate them so I'd have to take both, plus I wasn't sure about how big they would get. We had a tough enough time finding a house that would allow Oso, imagine if we move somewhere else and we had 3 dogs. So I'm still on the search for one, boy, toy-sized dog that Oso can manipulate. Sim was disappointed that we didn't take them because she was excited about dog sitting when we go out of town.
Speaking of going out of town, Jim just asked me this week if I wanted to go to Hong Kong with him on a business trip next month- like I'd say no! So I have that to look forward to plus I'm still planning our trip to Penang and Langkawi for August. I've been straying a little bit from Oprah because most of the shows I've already seen, so I've been watching the Asian Food Channel. Similar to Food Network but with shows I've not heard of. My doctor tells me that I have to cut back on eating meat because my protein levels are elevated and I'm like "Do you know who I live with? Me put a plate of pasta and veggies in front of Jim? That ain't gonna happen!! So I've been watching this show called the Veggie Table which is produced here and it is hilarious!! Not only do I get to learn new vegetarian dishes that I can cook for myself for lunch, but I get a good laugh out of it because of the 2 hosts. One is the host and one is the chef and they couldn't be more different. Basically the host stands there and talks nonsense about cooking and stirs something every once in a while, while the chef who is Indian tells you how to cook the dish. Most of the time she skips how to do something because of the time limits but I have found the recipes easy enough that I can handle. I have also been experimenting with my favorite ramen noodles. Most hawker stalls here either sell rice or noodles so I've been paying attention to what they serve it with. I usually cook the noodles and drain them, then in a skillet I saute whatever vegetables I have on hand, maybe some leftover chicken or tuna, scramble an egg, then I throw in the noodles with the flavor packet, some other spices and sprinkle either some green or fried onions on top YUMMM!! When I come home I will gladly make it for anyone.
Once again this weekend we were invited to Harald's and Susan's for pizza and beer and once again they have cancelled. Not sure why this time, I know before it was because they were arguing which seems to happen often. It could be that Susan also works full time and just doesn't feel like entertaining anyone on the weekends. It's ok with us, sometimes I'm the same way, I just don't want to be bothered by anybody. I did go shopping in the Village this week, I had some other things to do too. 3 people have sent me packages and I only received 1 from Jayson in Chicago. The other 2 were sent even before he mailed his so I had to go down to the post office to register a complaint. The reponse I got was the mailman came by the house to ask me some questions and I have to admit that I wasn't all that nice. I wanted him to know that I meant business, it's not cheap to send anything here, ask my brother Chris who has vowed to only send me stuff that he can order online with free shipping. Anyone have the email address for the makers of Kool-Aid?
As you can see I have posted some new photos. I still haven't figured out why my camera won't download to my computer anymore but I bought a memory card reader so that seems to be working for now. I'll also see if I can send out the movie of our neighborhood fumigation which just recently happened again, of course I had clothes out on the clothesline drying so I had to wash them all again. There is a break in my case of the stolen wallet, someone last week tried to cash the check I had in my purse from our Malaysian bank account for 5000 Ringitt ($1587 U.S.) so the bank called Jim to verify that it was legit. Now I'm waiting for the bank to send us a photocopy of the check so I can forward it on to the Inspector whom I haven't heard from since I filed my report. I just want my driver's license back!!
Enjoy your weekend and I'll try to post again soon. See ya!!
Sim came and picked me up one day because I mentioned to her that we were looking for a brother for Oso and her friend Pri, her mother had rescued 2 puppies and was looking for homes for them. The house was absolutely gorgeous!! It was situated at the top of a hill but the front was covered with tall palm trees and other tropical flowers. Once you got past the gate and walked past the carport there was a 2 story house that looked like something out of a travel guide. It was Balinese style so lots of dark wood and a pool that ran the entire length of the house, big exposed walls from the living room and dining room so you could just jump right in the pool from the living room. It was awesome! The dogs were cute, but I couldn't take them because they were both girls and Pri's mom did not want to separate them so I'd have to take both, plus I wasn't sure about how big they would get. We had a tough enough time finding a house that would allow Oso, imagine if we move somewhere else and we had 3 dogs. So I'm still on the search for one, boy, toy-sized dog that Oso can manipulate. Sim was disappointed that we didn't take them because she was excited about dog sitting when we go out of town.
Speaking of going out of town, Jim just asked me this week if I wanted to go to Hong Kong with him on a business trip next month- like I'd say no! So I have that to look forward to plus I'm still planning our trip to Penang and Langkawi for August. I've been straying a little bit from Oprah because most of the shows I've already seen, so I've been watching the Asian Food Channel. Similar to Food Network but with shows I've not heard of. My doctor tells me that I have to cut back on eating meat because my protein levels are elevated and I'm like "Do you know who I live with? Me put a plate of pasta and veggies in front of Jim? That ain't gonna happen!! So I've been watching this show called the Veggie Table which is produced here and it is hilarious!! Not only do I get to learn new vegetarian dishes that I can cook for myself for lunch, but I get a good laugh out of it because of the 2 hosts. One is the host and one is the chef and they couldn't be more different. Basically the host stands there and talks nonsense about cooking and stirs something every once in a while, while the chef who is Indian tells you how to cook the dish. Most of the time she skips how to do something because of the time limits but I have found the recipes easy enough that I can handle. I have also been experimenting with my favorite ramen noodles. Most hawker stalls here either sell rice or noodles so I've been paying attention to what they serve it with. I usually cook the noodles and drain them, then in a skillet I saute whatever vegetables I have on hand, maybe some leftover chicken or tuna, scramble an egg, then I throw in the noodles with the flavor packet, some other spices and sprinkle either some green or fried onions on top YUMMM!! When I come home I will gladly make it for anyone.
Once again this weekend we were invited to Harald's and Susan's for pizza and beer and once again they have cancelled. Not sure why this time, I know before it was because they were arguing which seems to happen often. It could be that Susan also works full time and just doesn't feel like entertaining anyone on the weekends. It's ok with us, sometimes I'm the same way, I just don't want to be bothered by anybody. I did go shopping in the Village this week, I had some other things to do too. 3 people have sent me packages and I only received 1 from Jayson in Chicago. The other 2 were sent even before he mailed his so I had to go down to the post office to register a complaint. The reponse I got was the mailman came by the house to ask me some questions and I have to admit that I wasn't all that nice. I wanted him to know that I meant business, it's not cheap to send anything here, ask my brother Chris who has vowed to only send me stuff that he can order online with free shipping. Anyone have the email address for the makers of Kool-Aid?
As you can see I have posted some new photos. I still haven't figured out why my camera won't download to my computer anymore but I bought a memory card reader so that seems to be working for now. I'll also see if I can send out the movie of our neighborhood fumigation which just recently happened again, of course I had clothes out on the clothesline drying so I had to wash them all again. There is a break in my case of the stolen wallet, someone last week tried to cash the check I had in my purse from our Malaysian bank account for 5000 Ringitt ($1587 U.S.) so the bank called Jim to verify that it was legit. Now I'm waiting for the bank to send us a photocopy of the check so I can forward it on to the Inspector whom I haven't heard from since I filed my report. I just want my driver's license back!!
Enjoy your weekend and I'll try to post again soon. See ya!!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Tuesday June 24, 2008
12 days have past since my last post, you can really tell that we're getting used to our routine at this point. The only exciting thing that has happened is our car has broken down a couple of times. I'm still watching Oprah and Ellen most days and catching up on Desperate Housewives as I get to watch all of the old seasons. The first time the car broke down Jim was coming home from work and was around the corner from the house when the brakes completely went out. He had to use the emergency brake in order to stop. Somehow he managed to park the car in our driveway. His boss Harald knew someone who worked on Jeeps so Jim called him and I must say that the service was excellent. Benson ( the mechanic ) sent out 2 guys to our house and when they figured out that they couldn't drive the car to the shop they called for a tow truck. The car was gone for the weekend but when they were finished they delivered it back to us. They had to replace all of the brakes, fix a window that wouldn't roll up or down and the radio antennae that wouldn't go up. The price wasn't bad either, about $600 U.S. for everything including the tow. Can't beat that in the States!!
The second time the car broke down was a different scenario. We decided to go up to a place called Genting Highlands which to me I thought was a Malaysian version of Vegas. It's located up at the top of the rainforest about 45 minutes outside of Kuala Lumpur. As usual me and Jim jumped at the chance to try and drive there even though we weren't sure how to get there. Luckily we only had to make one U-turn and enjoyed driving through different towns. The bad luck started when we got there. There are 2 options to get to the top: you can either drive all the way up or you can park at the bottom and take a 20 minute cable car ride to the top. We decided to ride the cable car. We pulled into the parking garage and started looking for a space, as Jim was going up another floor he couldn't quite make the turn so he backed up a bit but when he put the car in drive once again it wouldn't go into gear. The car is still running but we can't move and we're blocking the entrance to the upper floors so a line started to form behind us of other people trying to park. Jim tried to push but that didn't work. One guy parked his car and came over to try and help us and before we knew it we had a clan of security guards, police officers and other citizens gathered to try and help. Somehow they all managed to push the car out of the way of the entrance so other people could go by and a rep from Genting called a mechanic. The mechanic showed up and discovered that a cable had snapped that connected the gear box to the transmission, he thought he could fix it but didn't bring any tools with him. He told us to go ahead up to the resort, have a good time and he would call us when it was finished.
So we boarded a gondola for the 20 minute ride up through the rainforest. This part was fun and terrifying all at the same time. We kept playing out a disastrous scenario of the cable car falling and how we would be screwed. You couldn't even see the ground that's how high up we were. We got to the top and started exploring. The property is made up of 3 hotels and each one offering different attractions all connected by escalators and tunnels. We walked around and found a buffet to eat at for lunch which was disappointing. No Vegas-like buffet here. It was mostly Malay, Chinese, and Indian cuisine; no prime rib, ham, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, taco bar, mostly rice and noodles and a lot of spicy food. We decided to go into the casino after that but was denied access because Jim was wearing shorts and I was wearing a tank top so we had to go shopping. Fortunately we were able to find clothes that fit us in a store called S&M ( no, there were no whips or chains for sale ). We got into the Monte Carlo casino and after a few minutes we realized that it was the quietest casino we've ever been in. They had slot machines but the sound was turned off, the place was packed with people but no one was talking, no one was yelling because they had won or lost, just quiet like a library. Other than slots and roulette we didn't recognize or know how to play the other games offered. There was baccarat, pontoon, min, caribbean stud poker, casino war and pai gow. So another disappointment for us because I know Jim was looking forward to playing blackjack or texas hold 'em.
We left the casino and found the World Hotel which offers an indoor and outdoor theme park. Again, compared to Vegas it looked like Blackberry Farm. The outdoor park had roller coasters and a water park but the water park was drained so no swimming, the rides were ok but nothing spectacular, mostly kiddy rides. The indoor park was everything America. There was a Statue of Liberty, an Oscar statue, Hollywood memorabilia and rides, mostly kiddy. One thing I thought was cool was they had a place called SnowWorld and for $18 RM you could go into an arena that had snow and was cold inside. Considering many people here have never seen snow it was a big attraction. We didn't go inside ( for what? I've experienced being cold one too many times in my life ) but they had an observation window and you could see all the kids running around trying to build snowmen. I say trying because the texture of the snow was so artificial there was no way they could succeed. Me and Jim shot target practice with mock AK-47's that was about the most fun I had in the theme park. We tried to go into the casino of the World hotel but was denied access again because we had the bag we got from shopping for clothes to get into the last casino. We tried to rent a locker to put it in but they were all full and by this time we were so disappointed with our day trip we were just ready to leave. But we couldn't because the mechanic hadn't called us yet!
We found a sports bar and had some cocktails while we watched soccer and finally the mechanic called to tell us that he couldn't find the part he needed until Monday and wanted to know if we could get a hotel room. We thought about it but everything was booked because the Osmonds ( yes, Donnie and Marie ) were performing that night. I told Jim to ask if they could tow us back home and the mechanic said yes. So we took the cable car back down and he picked us up and took us back to his shop where our car was being loaded onto the tow truck. As we started out back down the mountain I'm thinking we're not going to get home for 2 hours because the driver never put the truck past 2nd gear. I decided to go to sleep. When I woke up we were close to home and I was glad!! He must have taken a different way than we did going up because it only took him 45 minutes to get back to Bangsar. Again, very good service from the time we broke down til the time we got home. How many parking garages do you know of that would arrange for a mechanic to come out and offer to fix your car in the States? So Benson and his guys came out yesterday and picked up the car and had it back to us last night before dinner time.
As far as Genting Highlands is concerned, I'll probably never go back up unless there is a group in town that we want to see in concert or we learn how to play pai gow ( quietly ), or if anyone comes to visit because everyone should ride in the cable car.
The second time the car broke down was a different scenario. We decided to go up to a place called Genting Highlands which to me I thought was a Malaysian version of Vegas. It's located up at the top of the rainforest about 45 minutes outside of Kuala Lumpur. As usual me and Jim jumped at the chance to try and drive there even though we weren't sure how to get there. Luckily we only had to make one U-turn and enjoyed driving through different towns. The bad luck started when we got there. There are 2 options to get to the top: you can either drive all the way up or you can park at the bottom and take a 20 minute cable car ride to the top. We decided to ride the cable car. We pulled into the parking garage and started looking for a space, as Jim was going up another floor he couldn't quite make the turn so he backed up a bit but when he put the car in drive once again it wouldn't go into gear. The car is still running but we can't move and we're blocking the entrance to the upper floors so a line started to form behind us of other people trying to park. Jim tried to push but that didn't work. One guy parked his car and came over to try and help us and before we knew it we had a clan of security guards, police officers and other citizens gathered to try and help. Somehow they all managed to push the car out of the way of the entrance so other people could go by and a rep from Genting called a mechanic. The mechanic showed up and discovered that a cable had snapped that connected the gear box to the transmission, he thought he could fix it but didn't bring any tools with him. He told us to go ahead up to the resort, have a good time and he would call us when it was finished.
So we boarded a gondola for the 20 minute ride up through the rainforest. This part was fun and terrifying all at the same time. We kept playing out a disastrous scenario of the cable car falling and how we would be screwed. You couldn't even see the ground that's how high up we were. We got to the top and started exploring. The property is made up of 3 hotels and each one offering different attractions all connected by escalators and tunnels. We walked around and found a buffet to eat at for lunch which was disappointing. No Vegas-like buffet here. It was mostly Malay, Chinese, and Indian cuisine; no prime rib, ham, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, taco bar, mostly rice and noodles and a lot of spicy food. We decided to go into the casino after that but was denied access because Jim was wearing shorts and I was wearing a tank top so we had to go shopping. Fortunately we were able to find clothes that fit us in a store called S&M ( no, there were no whips or chains for sale ). We got into the Monte Carlo casino and after a few minutes we realized that it was the quietest casino we've ever been in. They had slot machines but the sound was turned off, the place was packed with people but no one was talking, no one was yelling because they had won or lost, just quiet like a library. Other than slots and roulette we didn't recognize or know how to play the other games offered. There was baccarat, pontoon, min, caribbean stud poker, casino war and pai gow. So another disappointment for us because I know Jim was looking forward to playing blackjack or texas hold 'em.
We left the casino and found the World Hotel which offers an indoor and outdoor theme park. Again, compared to Vegas it looked like Blackberry Farm. The outdoor park had roller coasters and a water park but the water park was drained so no swimming, the rides were ok but nothing spectacular, mostly kiddy rides. The indoor park was everything America. There was a Statue of Liberty, an Oscar statue, Hollywood memorabilia and rides, mostly kiddy. One thing I thought was cool was they had a place called SnowWorld and for $18 RM you could go into an arena that had snow and was cold inside. Considering many people here have never seen snow it was a big attraction. We didn't go inside ( for what? I've experienced being cold one too many times in my life ) but they had an observation window and you could see all the kids running around trying to build snowmen. I say trying because the texture of the snow was so artificial there was no way they could succeed. Me and Jim shot target practice with mock AK-47's that was about the most fun I had in the theme park. We tried to go into the casino of the World hotel but was denied access again because we had the bag we got from shopping for clothes to get into the last casino. We tried to rent a locker to put it in but they were all full and by this time we were so disappointed with our day trip we were just ready to leave. But we couldn't because the mechanic hadn't called us yet!
We found a sports bar and had some cocktails while we watched soccer and finally the mechanic called to tell us that he couldn't find the part he needed until Monday and wanted to know if we could get a hotel room. We thought about it but everything was booked because the Osmonds ( yes, Donnie and Marie ) were performing that night. I told Jim to ask if they could tow us back home and the mechanic said yes. So we took the cable car back down and he picked us up and took us back to his shop where our car was being loaded onto the tow truck. As we started out back down the mountain I'm thinking we're not going to get home for 2 hours because the driver never put the truck past 2nd gear. I decided to go to sleep. When I woke up we were close to home and I was glad!! He must have taken a different way than we did going up because it only took him 45 minutes to get back to Bangsar. Again, very good service from the time we broke down til the time we got home. How many parking garages do you know of that would arrange for a mechanic to come out and offer to fix your car in the States? So Benson and his guys came out yesterday and picked up the car and had it back to us last night before dinner time.
As far as Genting Highlands is concerned, I'll probably never go back up unless there is a group in town that we want to see in concert or we learn how to play pai gow ( quietly ), or if anyone comes to visit because everyone should ride in the cable car.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Thursday June 12, 2008
So I find myself slowly getting out of my slump and have done a couple of things this week other than housework. Of course I'm still an internet junkie but I've actually gotten off the block. I am happy to see that Obama has won the nomination for Democratic candidate however since the announcement my inbox has been flooded with a lot of negative material directed at him. Things such as his Muslim background and lack of military experience while at the same time I've been receiving positive messages regarding McCain whom I haven't heard anything about until now. The great thing about America is the freedom of speech and the right to vote. Sure there will be different opinions regarding both candidates but the bottom line is that the people have voted for who they want to see run for the White House, both seem to be qualified politicians, they are afterall already serving the public as Senators. The thing I want to address is Obama's Muslim background. Socially in America the people see Muslims as a negative issue. I can say that after living in a Muslim society for the past 3 or so months everyone really needs to do their research regarding Islam. I think our media focuses mainly on the radical Muslims and never addresses the religion as a whole so people, turn on History channel, read a book, google search, whatever, just make sure that you're not judging a person by how they were raised. I came from a diverse background and I don't think I'm a bad person for it, I think I'm a better person because of it. It's easy to be fearful or opposed to something when you don't have all the facts, instead of being ignorant, educate yourselves to a different perspective.
So over the weekend Jim and I went to our friend Sim's birthday party. She turned 21 ( I know, I can't remember myself at that age ). Of course we got lost trying to find her house so her Mom had to come find us so we could follow her back. There were a few people there with a DJ, food and of course cocktails. I was really impressed with the house because when we first got there, we parked in the back entrance next to a house and when I looked to my right I thought the building next to us was a school but it was Sim's house. It was huge with a very nice pool and spa out back. So we ate, drank, swam, danced and met some new people. The party ended about 9 pm but Sim wasn't done celebrating her birthday so we all got changed and went to a bar called Finnegan's. I've mentioned this place before, there are several locations and last week when I went to the party at George's I got to meet a few of the managers. So we went to one that I've never been to before in Sri Hartamas and it didn't feel like a new place because when we got there I recognized quite a few people. Sim drank a couple of Flamin Lamborghini's which is similar to Flaming Dr. Peppers but they stack about 6 glasses on top of each other with liquor in the bottom one, then they take cognac and ignite it then pour it over all of the glasses so it looks like a tower of fire, then you drink the shot out of a straw at the bottom. I've been in the bar business a long time and I'm still impressed by it. I'll try to demonstrate it when I come home. So we had a good time but the next day I wasn't feeling so great and I came to realize that when we were swimming at Sim's house, my insulin pump became disconnected so I wasn't getting my medicine like I'm supposed to. I rested a couple of days and soon everything was back to normal.
I went about my normal routine after that and on Wednesday I decided to go shopping. Sim is about the same size as me so I had asked her where she shops so I could get some new clothes. I went to Mid-Valley Mall and was enjoying myself and found some cute things. I decided to go into a department store called Jusco and check out their women's department. I looked through the racks and of course everything was a size 2 or 4 and then I looked across the aisle and saw a sign that said Plus Size so I figured if my size wasn't in the regular women's section I must be plus size by Malaysian standards. I was right. Very depressing when you first think about it but if I need clothes this is what I have to do, I can't even get one leg into a size 4! So I'm all by myself looking through the racks finding quite a few things that I actually liked and then- it was like an elevator opened a group of women were all around me. One minute I'm by myself, the next I'm not. I really don't like being crowded so I tried to walk away to a different section but of course there were so many women around me it was difficult. At first I just thought it was the usual circumstances where people don't want to get out of your way and it wasn't until later that I realized what was really going on. I kept on shopping and when I was ready to check out, a sales girl took my items to ring them up. I looked down at my purse and it was unzipped. I knew that at the last store I zipped it up after putting my wallet in it so I thought it was odd that it was open. I went to grab my wallet just to find that it was gone! Of course I panicked and then retraced my steps but I already knew that it was stolen. Everything was in it including cash to get a taxi home so I had to call Jim to pick me up.
While I waited for Jim to come I went to the service counter and logged a report and then went to the branch police station to do the same. The officer filled out a form and even had me type in my contact information and what I thought happened. Those bells and whistles that were going off in my head when all those women were around me were trying to warn me and instead I took it as claustrophobia. After I filed the report the officer told me that I had to go down to headquarters to speak to an Inspector and have him take a statement from me too. So Jim picked me up and we went there. Now most people who know me know that I'm no stranger to police stations but this was definitely a first for me. It looked like a RV park, a huge parking lot with several police cars parked everywhere and then a few buildings. We stopped at the gate and asked where to go and the officer pointed us toward a building that looked like a run down Super 8 motel painted blue and white. He told us to go to the 1st floor and what room number to go into. Outside was a mountain of computers and monitors, not sure if they were confiscated or what I just know that there was a lot of them. We got to the "room" and inside there was a small waiting area and an office area that was separated by plexiglass like a currency exchange. The furniture was all beat up and torn ( me and Jim joked that it was confiscated from a drug dealer and the reason there were holes in it was because the cops had to tear it up to look for drugs ), a tv, stereo and speakers, I honestly thought I was in the Twilight Zone or candid camera. We were told that the Inspector was not in but we should wait. So we did and Jim started to make the phone calls to report my credit cards stolen. We waited a long time and my patience was growing thin because there were several people in the office area who looked like they were playing video games and I started to wonder if there was only one Inspector in the Investigations Division. Finally he showed up and took us up to another "room" on the 3rd floor of the hotel where he basically asked me the same questions that the first officer at the mall asked me. I told him that I did not expect to get my wallet back and he answered it was a 50/50 chance which at first I thought was good odds but then I realized he meant either I will or I won't. He promised to look at the security cameras at the mall and he would get back to me.
By that time it was past 8 pm and we were hungry and I was irritated and angry. I cancelled my lunch date with my friend Janet for today because I didn't feel like my mood would be good plus the business of cancelling the cards and trying to figure out how I'm going to replace my driver's license and social security card. My dad told me a long time ago when I used to venture out in Atlanta by myself to never look up because people would pick your pockets, now I'm adding if you're crowded by people to speak up loudly and say "get away from me" because theives don't want attention drawn to them.
So pretty exciting week so far, Jim's boss has invited us over for pizza and beer this weekend so I can give them all the juicy details of my stupidity. Talk to all soon.
So over the weekend Jim and I went to our friend Sim's birthday party. She turned 21 ( I know, I can't remember myself at that age ). Of course we got lost trying to find her house so her Mom had to come find us so we could follow her back. There were a few people there with a DJ, food and of course cocktails. I was really impressed with the house because when we first got there, we parked in the back entrance next to a house and when I looked to my right I thought the building next to us was a school but it was Sim's house. It was huge with a very nice pool and spa out back. So we ate, drank, swam, danced and met some new people. The party ended about 9 pm but Sim wasn't done celebrating her birthday so we all got changed and went to a bar called Finnegan's. I've mentioned this place before, there are several locations and last week when I went to the party at George's I got to meet a few of the managers. So we went to one that I've never been to before in Sri Hartamas and it didn't feel like a new place because when we got there I recognized quite a few people. Sim drank a couple of Flamin Lamborghini's which is similar to Flaming Dr. Peppers but they stack about 6 glasses on top of each other with liquor in the bottom one, then they take cognac and ignite it then pour it over all of the glasses so it looks like a tower of fire, then you drink the shot out of a straw at the bottom. I've been in the bar business a long time and I'm still impressed by it. I'll try to demonstrate it when I come home. So we had a good time but the next day I wasn't feeling so great and I came to realize that when we were swimming at Sim's house, my insulin pump became disconnected so I wasn't getting my medicine like I'm supposed to. I rested a couple of days and soon everything was back to normal.
I went about my normal routine after that and on Wednesday I decided to go shopping. Sim is about the same size as me so I had asked her where she shops so I could get some new clothes. I went to Mid-Valley Mall and was enjoying myself and found some cute things. I decided to go into a department store called Jusco and check out their women's department. I looked through the racks and of course everything was a size 2 or 4 and then I looked across the aisle and saw a sign that said Plus Size so I figured if my size wasn't in the regular women's section I must be plus size by Malaysian standards. I was right. Very depressing when you first think about it but if I need clothes this is what I have to do, I can't even get one leg into a size 4! So I'm all by myself looking through the racks finding quite a few things that I actually liked and then- it was like an elevator opened a group of women were all around me. One minute I'm by myself, the next I'm not. I really don't like being crowded so I tried to walk away to a different section but of course there were so many women around me it was difficult. At first I just thought it was the usual circumstances where people don't want to get out of your way and it wasn't until later that I realized what was really going on. I kept on shopping and when I was ready to check out, a sales girl took my items to ring them up. I looked down at my purse and it was unzipped. I knew that at the last store I zipped it up after putting my wallet in it so I thought it was odd that it was open. I went to grab my wallet just to find that it was gone! Of course I panicked and then retraced my steps but I already knew that it was stolen. Everything was in it including cash to get a taxi home so I had to call Jim to pick me up.
While I waited for Jim to come I went to the service counter and logged a report and then went to the branch police station to do the same. The officer filled out a form and even had me type in my contact information and what I thought happened. Those bells and whistles that were going off in my head when all those women were around me were trying to warn me and instead I took it as claustrophobia. After I filed the report the officer told me that I had to go down to headquarters to speak to an Inspector and have him take a statement from me too. So Jim picked me up and we went there. Now most people who know me know that I'm no stranger to police stations but this was definitely a first for me. It looked like a RV park, a huge parking lot with several police cars parked everywhere and then a few buildings. We stopped at the gate and asked where to go and the officer pointed us toward a building that looked like a run down Super 8 motel painted blue and white. He told us to go to the 1st floor and what room number to go into. Outside was a mountain of computers and monitors, not sure if they were confiscated or what I just know that there was a lot of them. We got to the "room" and inside there was a small waiting area and an office area that was separated by plexiglass like a currency exchange. The furniture was all beat up and torn ( me and Jim joked that it was confiscated from a drug dealer and the reason there were holes in it was because the cops had to tear it up to look for drugs ), a tv, stereo and speakers, I honestly thought I was in the Twilight Zone or candid camera. We were told that the Inspector was not in but we should wait. So we did and Jim started to make the phone calls to report my credit cards stolen. We waited a long time and my patience was growing thin because there were several people in the office area who looked like they were playing video games and I started to wonder if there was only one Inspector in the Investigations Division. Finally he showed up and took us up to another "room" on the 3rd floor of the hotel where he basically asked me the same questions that the first officer at the mall asked me. I told him that I did not expect to get my wallet back and he answered it was a 50/50 chance which at first I thought was good odds but then I realized he meant either I will or I won't. He promised to look at the security cameras at the mall and he would get back to me.
By that time it was past 8 pm and we were hungry and I was irritated and angry. I cancelled my lunch date with my friend Janet for today because I didn't feel like my mood would be good plus the business of cancelling the cards and trying to figure out how I'm going to replace my driver's license and social security card. My dad told me a long time ago when I used to venture out in Atlanta by myself to never look up because people would pick your pockets, now I'm adding if you're crowded by people to speak up loudly and say "get away from me" because theives don't want attention drawn to them.
So pretty exciting week so far, Jim's boss has invited us over for pizza and beer this weekend so I can give them all the juicy details of my stupidity. Talk to all soon.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Thursday June 5, 2008
I know Brigit! I have been totally slacking on my writing and I know how disappointing that is for you. I can't promise that will change anytime soon. I read a while ago that most expats start to get into a rut after about 3 months after moving and I think that I have reached that point. Now that the house is as complete as it's going to get I've found that my motivation to leave the house has but left me. Here's my routine: I usually get up around 10:30 am, go downstairs make a cup of instant coffee. I let Oso out and give him his morning treat. Usually I get online and check all of my emails and respond to them or of course forward them out to everyone I know. That usually takes me about 2 hours while I drink my coffee. By then I get hungry and I make myself some lunch and while I eat I watch Oprah and the Ellen Degeneres show. When that's over it's 3 pm and I usually do some laundry, housework, cut the grass and start making dinner. I never know what time Jim will get home but so far he has been good about letting me know if he's running late. Jim will get home and then we will eat dinner, walk Oso and watch tv for the rest of the night. He usually goes to lay down around 10 pm and I will stay up and read until I get tired. Sometimes I'll try to call people since it's daytime there. Most of the time I fall asleep around 3 am which is why I sleep until 10:30 am unless of course the construction that's going on in my neighborhood forces me to get up earlier. Right now I have a total of 3 houses around me doing some kind of renovation, combine that with the daily rain and Oso's barking at the thunder and it can be downright frustrating.
Last week I was up at Georges with Jim and as we were leaving I noticed a lot of employees who were not working sitting around so of course I had to stop and say hello. I found out that they were all there because there was a party planned after the bar closed for the employees for Gawai. Here is another cultural lesson for you all. Gawai is a holiday that is primarily for the area of Serawak which is located on the eastern pennisula of Malaysia called Borneo. Basically it's a chilie harvest celebration that most of the people I asked about it compared it to Christmas. Even though Jim and I were leaving I invited myself to the party. I went home and walked Oso and came back up to Georges. When walked in there were still a few customers so I talked to my sister Stephanie until the party started. My friends Sim and Scott hung out for a bit and we ate. Scott is the head chef at Georges so he had cooked a spread of Malaysian food like nasi goreng (fried rice), beef rendang ( spicy, cinnamony beef cubes), nasi ayam ( chicken wings) and some vegetables. Everything was good and I found that I am getting used to the spicy stuff. Scott was little ticked off because some customers saw him put the food out and they thought it was for anyone so they started eating it. Shortly afterwards they had drawings for the employees to receive various gifts like DVD players, gift baskets, and gift certificates. I felt honored that they asked me to draw a few numbers considering I invited myself to the party, but everyone knows me so no one seemed to care. After that is when the party really started rocking. Apparently even though Muslims aren't supposed to drink alcohol, it is allowed for this holiday. Everyone was passing around shots and pints of beer, drinking scotch and whiskey and then the singing started. Mostly it was 2 guys who started and it was like they would sing a small song for each person at the table. I couldn't tell if the songs were funny or insulting or what because they were singing in Malay. I was finally bold enough to ask them to sing one for me and to have someone translate. They started singing "Amazing Grace" and everyone started laughing. They also sang "Sweet Chile O Mine" and "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. That's pretty much how the rest of the night went. I was talking to the manager of Georges Kabil and few other managers from related restuarants in the corporation and the next thing I knew it was 7 am and the place was a mess. I went home and finally fell asleep. I had a really good time and Jim wasn't upset with me because he knows that I want to learn about all the local customs while we're here.
Right now my friend Sim has asked me to help her plan her birthday party this coming weekend. She is turning 21 and having a pool party. She has changed her mind so often about the food I don't know what we're eating. All I know for sure is I'm baking her a cake, there will be alcohol ( tons of alchol according to her, she is sitting next to me while I write this ) and lamb. The time of her party is odd, it's from noon to 6 pm. I told her there is no way she is going to get everyone to leave by then because they'll all be drunk. She plans on going out later on that night but right now I'm betting she won't be able to get off of her chaise lounge next to the pool. I'll have to fill everyone in later on about the party.
So now Brigit I've caught you and everyone else up on what I've been doing since March 23rd which was the date of my last entry. Hopefully I will get out of my rut soon and sign up for the classes I've been meaning to take like yoga, learning malay, and a cake decorating class. I think once I sign up for those then I will have more things to write about other than what I had for breakfast. Until next time...
Last week I was up at Georges with Jim and as we were leaving I noticed a lot of employees who were not working sitting around so of course I had to stop and say hello. I found out that they were all there because there was a party planned after the bar closed for the employees for Gawai. Here is another cultural lesson for you all. Gawai is a holiday that is primarily for the area of Serawak which is located on the eastern pennisula of Malaysia called Borneo. Basically it's a chilie harvest celebration that most of the people I asked about it compared it to Christmas. Even though Jim and I were leaving I invited myself to the party. I went home and walked Oso and came back up to Georges. When walked in there were still a few customers so I talked to my sister Stephanie until the party started. My friends Sim and Scott hung out for a bit and we ate. Scott is the head chef at Georges so he had cooked a spread of Malaysian food like nasi goreng (fried rice), beef rendang ( spicy, cinnamony beef cubes), nasi ayam ( chicken wings) and some vegetables. Everything was good and I found that I am getting used to the spicy stuff. Scott was little ticked off because some customers saw him put the food out and they thought it was for anyone so they started eating it. Shortly afterwards they had drawings for the employees to receive various gifts like DVD players, gift baskets, and gift certificates. I felt honored that they asked me to draw a few numbers considering I invited myself to the party, but everyone knows me so no one seemed to care. After that is when the party really started rocking. Apparently even though Muslims aren't supposed to drink alcohol, it is allowed for this holiday. Everyone was passing around shots and pints of beer, drinking scotch and whiskey and then the singing started. Mostly it was 2 guys who started and it was like they would sing a small song for each person at the table. I couldn't tell if the songs were funny or insulting or what because they were singing in Malay. I was finally bold enough to ask them to sing one for me and to have someone translate. They started singing "Amazing Grace" and everyone started laughing. They also sang "Sweet Chile O Mine" and "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. That's pretty much how the rest of the night went. I was talking to the manager of Georges Kabil and few other managers from related restuarants in the corporation and the next thing I knew it was 7 am and the place was a mess. I went home and finally fell asleep. I had a really good time and Jim wasn't upset with me because he knows that I want to learn about all the local customs while we're here.
Right now my friend Sim has asked me to help her plan her birthday party this coming weekend. She is turning 21 and having a pool party. She has changed her mind so often about the food I don't know what we're eating. All I know for sure is I'm baking her a cake, there will be alcohol ( tons of alchol according to her, she is sitting next to me while I write this ) and lamb. The time of her party is odd, it's from noon to 6 pm. I told her there is no way she is going to get everyone to leave by then because they'll all be drunk. She plans on going out later on that night but right now I'm betting she won't be able to get off of her chaise lounge next to the pool. I'll have to fill everyone in later on about the party.
So now Brigit I've caught you and everyone else up on what I've been doing since March 23rd which was the date of my last entry. Hopefully I will get out of my rut soon and sign up for the classes I've been meaning to take like yoga, learning malay, and a cake decorating class. I think once I sign up for those then I will have more things to write about other than what I had for breakfast. Until next time...
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Friday May 23, 2008
Well TGIF!! That actually may mean something to the rest of you but for me nothing really because everyday is Friday. Well this week I've actually gotten off of the block a couple of times although it's been to go to the hospital for my tests. Tuesday I went and they drew blood and gave me my ultrasound on my neck. Previously the doctor had felt a lump on my thyroid so just to be on the safe side he ordered the ultrasound to see if it was solid or not. I had to fast for my blood work so I got there early, went to my doctor's office where they drew blood, and then headed off to radiology for the ultrasound. I checked in and they told me that my wait would be anywhere from 5 minutes to 1 hour, it's first come, first served, no appointments and that there were 8 people in front of me-GREAT!! At first I thought my time would be short because there were several doors and they kept calling people's names but then it dawned on me that those people were only getting x-rays done which takes less time than an ultrasound, so I waited, and waited. I always think about it later that I should carry around a book in my purse for these type of situations so I was forced to bid my time by people watching, which can be fun.
One family that I watched really touched me. It was the father, daughter and the mother who appeared to be very ill. She was a very tiny lady and she seemed very weak so she was in a wheelchair. Just sitting there watching her daughter take care of her was very moving and had she not been called before me I would have given her my place in line. I'm not certain but if I had to guess she probably was a cancer patient. Finally after 2 hours my name was called...Hooray!! I was ushered into a small room, almost like a closet and I changed into a robe and waited until the previous patient had left the ultrasound room. When the nurse came to get me she took me into a dimly lit room and had me sign a consent form. My doctor had written on my orders that if the lump was solid, to go ahead and perform a biopsy. The doctor explained the procedure to me and the entire test took about 10 minutes. Most people in the waiting room after their name was called and they had their procedures done would return to the waiting room and then someone would bring them their x-rays and the doctor's report to take with them. Since I was seeing my doctor on Friday I chose not to wait for my report and headed back home.
Tuesday was also mine and Jim's anniversary and it was a quiet occasion. I made his favorite dinner ( lasagna ) and he brought me flowers and a card. Later on we went up to George's for cocktails and to give me a chance to talk to my brother who left this week for Iraq. Wednesday and Thursday were quiet for me with the only highlight was watching David Cook win American Idol- Woo Hoo!!! I liked the other contestant David Archuletta too but I thought Cook was a better performer and I'm glad the American people agreed considering I couldn't really vote. That was the only current American tv show I could watch so now I'm back to watching CSI, Desperate Housewives, Friends, and the Discovery Channel.
So now it's Friday and I went to my doctor's appointment to find out my results. I am not going to die. Everything on my blood test is alright except my cholesterol which I already take medication for so the dosage has been increased. The lump on my thyroid actually turned out to be one large on the right hand side and several small ones on the left. The doctor said that they weren't solid which I already knew because there was no biopsy performed on Tuesday. Since they were liquid there was no cause for alarm but he still wants an ultrasound done on them yearly. Apparently they don't go away, supposedly genetic, they could get larger but there is nothing you can do about them unless they turn solid and then I can start to panic. I also had to get a vaccine for Hepatitis A, apparently this area is prone to outbreaks which are transmitted through food and water-GREAT!! Two things I love to do, eat and drink! Now I have to figure out a way to drag Jim in so he can get one. We are still working on a solution to my insulin problem however. When I was at the doctor's office I asked his assistant to get the representative from the maker of my insulin pump on the phone so I could talk to her. I wanted to know what she would do if I were a brand new patient so she agreed to meet with me at my house on Monday to show me what to do. Hopefully she'll have answers or somebody is going to Singapore to get me some medicine.
One thing that surprised me was the cost of my medical care so far. We are having to pay out of pocket and then getting reimbursed so the day of my ultrasound I was paranoid about how much that was going to be. Surprisingly not that much. I paid 104 RM which is roughly about $33 U.S. I was completely shocked because I just had an ultrasound done on my gall bladder in February in the States and my co-pay alone was $100, the insurance company paid about $1000 for my procedure and there was nothing different from one ultrasound to the other. Just makes you think about how much we're getting ripped off in our own country. You couldn't walk into a hospital and receive a bill the same day let alone pay it off unless off course you're financially sound. Makes you go Hmmmmm....?
One family that I watched really touched me. It was the father, daughter and the mother who appeared to be very ill. She was a very tiny lady and she seemed very weak so she was in a wheelchair. Just sitting there watching her daughter take care of her was very moving and had she not been called before me I would have given her my place in line. I'm not certain but if I had to guess she probably was a cancer patient. Finally after 2 hours my name was called...Hooray!! I was ushered into a small room, almost like a closet and I changed into a robe and waited until the previous patient had left the ultrasound room. When the nurse came to get me she took me into a dimly lit room and had me sign a consent form. My doctor had written on my orders that if the lump was solid, to go ahead and perform a biopsy. The doctor explained the procedure to me and the entire test took about 10 minutes. Most people in the waiting room after their name was called and they had their procedures done would return to the waiting room and then someone would bring them their x-rays and the doctor's report to take with them. Since I was seeing my doctor on Friday I chose not to wait for my report and headed back home.
Tuesday was also mine and Jim's anniversary and it was a quiet occasion. I made his favorite dinner ( lasagna ) and he brought me flowers and a card. Later on we went up to George's for cocktails and to give me a chance to talk to my brother who left this week for Iraq. Wednesday and Thursday were quiet for me with the only highlight was watching David Cook win American Idol- Woo Hoo!!! I liked the other contestant David Archuletta too but I thought Cook was a better performer and I'm glad the American people agreed considering I couldn't really vote. That was the only current American tv show I could watch so now I'm back to watching CSI, Desperate Housewives, Friends, and the Discovery Channel.
So now it's Friday and I went to my doctor's appointment to find out my results. I am not going to die. Everything on my blood test is alright except my cholesterol which I already take medication for so the dosage has been increased. The lump on my thyroid actually turned out to be one large on the right hand side and several small ones on the left. The doctor said that they weren't solid which I already knew because there was no biopsy performed on Tuesday. Since they were liquid there was no cause for alarm but he still wants an ultrasound done on them yearly. Apparently they don't go away, supposedly genetic, they could get larger but there is nothing you can do about them unless they turn solid and then I can start to panic. I also had to get a vaccine for Hepatitis A, apparently this area is prone to outbreaks which are transmitted through food and water-GREAT!! Two things I love to do, eat and drink! Now I have to figure out a way to drag Jim in so he can get one. We are still working on a solution to my insulin problem however. When I was at the doctor's office I asked his assistant to get the representative from the maker of my insulin pump on the phone so I could talk to her. I wanted to know what she would do if I were a brand new patient so she agreed to meet with me at my house on Monday to show me what to do. Hopefully she'll have answers or somebody is going to Singapore to get me some medicine.
One thing that surprised me was the cost of my medical care so far. We are having to pay out of pocket and then getting reimbursed so the day of my ultrasound I was paranoid about how much that was going to be. Surprisingly not that much. I paid 104 RM which is roughly about $33 U.S. I was completely shocked because I just had an ultrasound done on my gall bladder in February in the States and my co-pay alone was $100, the insurance company paid about $1000 for my procedure and there was nothing different from one ultrasound to the other. Just makes you think about how much we're getting ripped off in our own country. You couldn't walk into a hospital and receive a bill the same day let alone pay it off unless off course you're financially sound. Makes you go Hmmmmm....?
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday May 19, 2008
Well today is yet another national holiday. Wesak Day as it is called is a Buddhist holiday which goes to show how diverse Malaysia is. Even though the national religion of the country is Muslim they still recognize other religious groups holidays. Can't wait to see what Christmas is like here! I had to do some research on Wesak Day because neither Jim or I were familiar with it and it wasn't readily advertised like the other holidays ( remember I missed Easter ). Basically it's an opportunity for Buddhists to celebrate the birth, enlightenment, and passing away of Guatama Buddha. Devout Buddhists and followers alike are requested and expected to assemble in their various temples before dawn for the ceremonial hoisting of the Buddhist's flag and the singing of hymns in praise of the holy triple gem. The triple gym is similar to Christians trinity: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit except Buddhists recognize their trinity as The Buddha, the Dharma ( his teachings ) and the Sangha ( his disciples ).
They also offer fresh flowers, burn candles and incense as a symbol that these items will burn out life is also subject to decay and destruction. Buddhists are encouraged to consume only a vegetarian diet during Wesak and they also release birds, insects and animals by the thousands as a symbolic act to liberation. We haven't witnesses this act and really I'm ok with that considering my phobia of insects, don't really want to be around thousands of them all at once. From what I can tell everyone is just enjoying the day off from work and I assume the Buddhists are all sitting in temples somewhere dressed in white. They also have a list of commandments similar to our 10 Commandments but they only have 8. They are called the Eight Precepts: 1) Not to kill, 2) Not to steal, 3) Not to engage in improper sexual activity, 4) Not to indulge in wrong speech, 5) Not to take intoxicating drinks and drugs, 6) To abstain from taking food at unreasonable times, 7) To refrain from sensual pleasures such as singing, dancing, self-adornment, 8) To refrain from using high and luxurious seats in order to practice humility. See, quite similar to Christianity although we eat when we want. So there is your lesson in Buddhism for today.
Jim and I are taking it easy. I finally finished hanging all the rest of his dolls and he played golf up at Golf City and did some work online. Right now we are having some cocktails at George's and heading home soon to make dinner and iron some clothes for the week. Happy Wesak Day everyone!!
They also offer fresh flowers, burn candles and incense as a symbol that these items will burn out life is also subject to decay and destruction. Buddhists are encouraged to consume only a vegetarian diet during Wesak and they also release birds, insects and animals by the thousands as a symbolic act to liberation. We haven't witnesses this act and really I'm ok with that considering my phobia of insects, don't really want to be around thousands of them all at once. From what I can tell everyone is just enjoying the day off from work and I assume the Buddhists are all sitting in temples somewhere dressed in white. They also have a list of commandments similar to our 10 Commandments but they only have 8. They are called the Eight Precepts: 1) Not to kill, 2) Not to steal, 3) Not to engage in improper sexual activity, 4) Not to indulge in wrong speech, 5) Not to take intoxicating drinks and drugs, 6) To abstain from taking food at unreasonable times, 7) To refrain from sensual pleasures such as singing, dancing, self-adornment, 8) To refrain from using high and luxurious seats in order to practice humility. See, quite similar to Christianity although we eat when we want. So there is your lesson in Buddhism for today.
Jim and I are taking it easy. I finally finished hanging all the rest of his dolls and he played golf up at Golf City and did some work online. Right now we are having some cocktails at George's and heading home soon to make dinner and iron some clothes for the week. Happy Wesak Day everyone!!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thursday May 15, 2008
So Thursday is here and where do I begin? The construction next door is still going strong so several times this week I have sought refuge at George's during the day just so I can hear myself think. Earlier this week I got bad news from the pharmacist regarding my insulin. Apparently they have my medication here but not in the form that I need it. So I was forced into finding a doctor sooner than I had expected. I was already looking into it but it wasn't a priority. I contacted Pantai Medical center, one of the major hospitals in our area here in Bangsar and it had already come highly recommended not only from friends that we've made here but also from my Yahoo Answers community which I frequently consult regarding questions on Malaysia. My pharmacist had originally recommended a general practitioner but I decided to go with an endocrinologist since I'm diabetic. There were only 2 listed so at first I went with the one whose name I could pronounce: Dr. Khabul Abdul Khadir, there wasn't much background information available but because it was an emergency to me I made an appointment. The earliest was on the 26th because the doctor was on leave until then, so I cancelled it and went with option 2 Dr. Nadaraja or is it Nadaraya? I forget. His office could get me in today so that worked for me.
When I got up this morning I was not in a good mood...at all. I was already cussing people out in my head preparing myself for the worst that my appointment could go. Would they be able to understand me? Would I be able to understand them? Would the paper work be complicated? Would I get the results that I wanted and if not what would be the next step? Would I be able to get a taxi there and what about my return trip home? So many questions going through my head so the only thing I could do was put on my happy face and find out. Getting a taxi wasn't all that difficult, I think because it was early morning so any fare at that time the drivers would accept. When I got to the hospital, the layout was confusing so I asked the info desk where the doctor's office was and they were very helpful. As I was walking down the halls I don't know why I thought it but they resembled something out of a bad horror film. Very undecorated, not necessarily sterile smelling just outdated although they did have a Starbucks, which everyone knows I boycott. But really no fanfare welcoming you, making you get into a good mood before you see your doctor. The waiting room was filled with people but quiet nonetheless which I welcomed considering the construction zone my house seems to be in. I filled out a simple form asking for my name and address and emergency contact and liable party...ok so far so good. Shortly afterwards I woman called my name and wanted to take my weight and height information which she did in the waiting room, with all of the other waiting patients observing- so much for confidentiality. Then I waited another short while, I did arrive early only because I did not know what to expect. My name was called and I was escorted into the doctor's office, literally his office because the only things present in the room was his desk, a couple of chairs and an exam room. Yes, the exam room is the same room as the office, not multiple exam rooms where the doctor makes his rounds, when it's your turn you are the only patient being seen, which I thought was attentive. We spoke a while about my medical background and the medications I take etc. He is going to try and order my insulin from Singapore or Bangkok, he also admitted that I would be his first patient using the insulin pump and only recently has he been contacted by the manufacturer of my insulin pump so really it's still all new to him. GREAT!! Still, my mood is maintaining.
He asks if he could examine me and of course I say Ok. The receptionist enters the room then and she instructs me to remove my shirt and bra, that's it. I thought this was odd because my last doctor in the States has never examined me to the point where I had to remove clothing, that was always with my ob/gyn. So he checks my blood pressure, glands, breasts, pulse, reflexes, and then tells me that he detects a lump by my thyroid gland but nothing to be alarmed about. It was a very thorough exam, I mean thorough to the point that if there wasn't a lady present I could have sworn I was just felt up by my doctor minus the pelvic exam. I get dressed and sit back at his desk where he writes me prescriptions for the medications I currently take plus a supplement he recommends. He then says that he is ordering an ultrasound on my thyroid. I jokingly say I thought there wasn't any cause for alarm and he says he wants to make sure that there isn't anything wrong. GREAT!!! So after paying 280 RM, getting felt up, a few prescriptions and still no insulin that I need my mood has soured. My ultrasound is on Tuesday along with some blood tests so you'll have to tune in to find out the results...who needs General Hospital when my life is starting to resemble a soap opera minus the cheating husband and illegitimate children...unless Jim is cheating and fathered some kids I don't know about...Hmmm?
But the week hasn't all been bad. The other night of course I was at George's I spoke with my sister-in-law to wish her a Happy B-day and since it was slow the bar closed early. My friends Mon and Sim invited me to go out with them and of course since I knew Jim would be sleeping by then I accepted. We drove down to Bangsar Village because they wanted me to have Malaysian food and to smoke shisha ( pronounced shee sha ). Shisha is the hookah that I've photographed before where it's flavored like strawberry, tutty fruitty, grape, etc. So finally I get the chance to eat at a hawker stall and mix with the locals. Sim who has lived in Australia ordered for me Nasi Goreng Ayam which translates to fried rice with chicken. Our other friend Alex joined us and I really had a good time. So much that I didn't notice the time. We were just talking and laughing about the differences between Malaysia and the States, it was probably the most fun I've had since we got here. Later on Alex gave me a ride home on his scooter, I got to finally ride a scooter! and I kept warning him that he had to be careful otherwise Jim would kill hm and he just laughed and made me wear a helmet. When we got to my house immediately the neighborhood patrol pulled up behind us like we were criminals. I told the guard that I lived there and showed him my keys and everything was ok. The guard then proceeded to question me whether or not me and Jim had joined the neighborhood watch program which consists of us paying 50 RM p/month, of course Alex took off right away. He's not a bad person, he seems like a good Muslim kid, he doesn't drink or smoke ( other than Shisha ) and has a girlfriend, but I think the guard made him nervous other than the fact that he was dropping off a married American woman at 4:30 in the morning. Yes I stayed out much later than my normal curfew, what else is new? Just because I'm in another country doesn't mean I have to change everything about myself, I wouldn't be me if I did.
So I'll let you all know later on next week how my tests went, hopefully it's just a cyst that can be treated or drained. In the meantime, keep us both in your prayers. See you!!
When I got up this morning I was not in a good mood...at all. I was already cussing people out in my head preparing myself for the worst that my appointment could go. Would they be able to understand me? Would I be able to understand them? Would the paper work be complicated? Would I get the results that I wanted and if not what would be the next step? Would I be able to get a taxi there and what about my return trip home? So many questions going through my head so the only thing I could do was put on my happy face and find out. Getting a taxi wasn't all that difficult, I think because it was early morning so any fare at that time the drivers would accept. When I got to the hospital, the layout was confusing so I asked the info desk where the doctor's office was and they were very helpful. As I was walking down the halls I don't know why I thought it but they resembled something out of a bad horror film. Very undecorated, not necessarily sterile smelling just outdated although they did have a Starbucks, which everyone knows I boycott. But really no fanfare welcoming you, making you get into a good mood before you see your doctor. The waiting room was filled with people but quiet nonetheless which I welcomed considering the construction zone my house seems to be in. I filled out a simple form asking for my name and address and emergency contact and liable party...ok so far so good. Shortly afterwards I woman called my name and wanted to take my weight and height information which she did in the waiting room, with all of the other waiting patients observing- so much for confidentiality. Then I waited another short while, I did arrive early only because I did not know what to expect. My name was called and I was escorted into the doctor's office, literally his office because the only things present in the room was his desk, a couple of chairs and an exam room. Yes, the exam room is the same room as the office, not multiple exam rooms where the doctor makes his rounds, when it's your turn you are the only patient being seen, which I thought was attentive. We spoke a while about my medical background and the medications I take etc. He is going to try and order my insulin from Singapore or Bangkok, he also admitted that I would be his first patient using the insulin pump and only recently has he been contacted by the manufacturer of my insulin pump so really it's still all new to him. GREAT!! Still, my mood is maintaining.
He asks if he could examine me and of course I say Ok. The receptionist enters the room then and she instructs me to remove my shirt and bra, that's it. I thought this was odd because my last doctor in the States has never examined me to the point where I had to remove clothing, that was always with my ob/gyn. So he checks my blood pressure, glands, breasts, pulse, reflexes, and then tells me that he detects a lump by my thyroid gland but nothing to be alarmed about. It was a very thorough exam, I mean thorough to the point that if there wasn't a lady present I could have sworn I was just felt up by my doctor minus the pelvic exam. I get dressed and sit back at his desk where he writes me prescriptions for the medications I currently take plus a supplement he recommends. He then says that he is ordering an ultrasound on my thyroid. I jokingly say I thought there wasn't any cause for alarm and he says he wants to make sure that there isn't anything wrong. GREAT!!! So after paying 280 RM, getting felt up, a few prescriptions and still no insulin that I need my mood has soured. My ultrasound is on Tuesday along with some blood tests so you'll have to tune in to find out the results...who needs General Hospital when my life is starting to resemble a soap opera minus the cheating husband and illegitimate children...unless Jim is cheating and fathered some kids I don't know about...Hmmm?
But the week hasn't all been bad. The other night of course I was at George's I spoke with my sister-in-law to wish her a Happy B-day and since it was slow the bar closed early. My friends Mon and Sim invited me to go out with them and of course since I knew Jim would be sleeping by then I accepted. We drove down to Bangsar Village because they wanted me to have Malaysian food and to smoke shisha ( pronounced shee sha ). Shisha is the hookah that I've photographed before where it's flavored like strawberry, tutty fruitty, grape, etc. So finally I get the chance to eat at a hawker stall and mix with the locals. Sim who has lived in Australia ordered for me Nasi Goreng Ayam which translates to fried rice with chicken. Our other friend Alex joined us and I really had a good time. So much that I didn't notice the time. We were just talking and laughing about the differences between Malaysia and the States, it was probably the most fun I've had since we got here. Later on Alex gave me a ride home on his scooter, I got to finally ride a scooter! and I kept warning him that he had to be careful otherwise Jim would kill hm and he just laughed and made me wear a helmet. When we got to my house immediately the neighborhood patrol pulled up behind us like we were criminals. I told the guard that I lived there and showed him my keys and everything was ok. The guard then proceeded to question me whether or not me and Jim had joined the neighborhood watch program which consists of us paying 50 RM p/month, of course Alex took off right away. He's not a bad person, he seems like a good Muslim kid, he doesn't drink or smoke ( other than Shisha ) and has a girlfriend, but I think the guard made him nervous other than the fact that he was dropping off a married American woman at 4:30 in the morning. Yes I stayed out much later than my normal curfew, what else is new? Just because I'm in another country doesn't mean I have to change everything about myself, I wouldn't be me if I did.
So I'll let you all know later on next week how my tests went, hopefully it's just a cyst that can be treated or drained. In the meantime, keep us both in your prayers. See you!!
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